Week 10

Audrey continues to become more and more fun each day! I can believe how quickly she is changing! She smiles all the time and is so aware of everything around her. Other developments include drooling and real tears. Before when she cried, there were no tears but just in the last few days, she sheds tears when she cries - so heartbreaking! :-( She has also moved up out of the newborn diapers to the next size and is starting to outgrow her newborn clothes. So it's like she gets a new wardrobe every few months - how fun!

We had a fun week. Wednesday was a big day for us. When Scott is working, we usually don't get out much because she has been eating so frequently and not sleeping much during the day, which makes showering a challenge. But on Wednesday, the stars aligned and we were able to leave the house for almost the entire day! First stop was my friend Jeni's house. We had to return the maternity clothes I borrowed and visit with her and her two kids, Makenna and Bennett. Audrey loved playing with them - she was excited to see other small people! I think she might have a crush on Bennett - he is one cool dude!

Makenna and Audrey - Bennett had already left for his nap.

Next stop was my friend Nickole's house to see her and meet her daughter, Johnna. Johnna was born one week and one day before Audrey, so it is fun to share stories on how things are going. I was so bummed that I forgot to take a photo of them together! We'll have to get one next time - we are hoping to have many play dates since they are so close in age and Nickole and I are both off work until May. I'm still getting the hang of this memory-keeping thing - I need to be more on top of things! :-)

Last stop was Gaga and Papa's house. We missed Papa's birthday, so this was kind of the celebration. Gaga even made brownies from scratch! Audrey managed to eat at each place we stopped, so for her, it was like a progressive dinner all day long! :-)


Happy Birthday, Papa!

 On Thursday, our friend Ashley came over for dinner. This was her first time meeting Audrey and we had a blast! Ashley sang to her (of course, the karaoke queen!) and they played on the floor!


Youle and Audrey - they totally coordinate!

Official 2 Month Stats!

We went to our 2 month doctor's appointment today. They said overall, Audrey looked great! She got four shots and an oral vaccine. She didn't like it, but she was a trooper. I think taking the bandaids off afterwards might be worse than the actual shots! Here are her official stats:

Height: 22 in. (36%)
Weight: 9 lbs. 14.9 oz. (27%)
Head: 15.35 cm. (53%)

She has gained about a pound and an inch since last month. So it looks like she might be petite like her Mommy (I was kinda hoping she might be tall like her Daddy, but we'll see!).

2 months - baby's first leopard print! :-)

Mom-nesia!

It's official - I've lost my mind. The books tell you about how you might have "baby brain" once the baby arrives, and man they weren't kidding! I can't remember anything! For example, the other day when we were going to Costco, Scott asked me to bring the reusable grocery bags and I didn't make it to the car with them. I put them down to put on my shoes and forgot to pick them up.

But today was the last straw...I got lost on my way home from the grocery store! This was the third time in the past two weeks that I've gotten lost while driving. I've lived in Kansas City all of my life, so there is NO reason I should be getting lost! When I say getting lost, it usually means I've missed the turn I was supposed to take and either have to turn around or go extremely out of my way to get home. Once I realize what has happened, I can usually find my way. Maybe I should use my GPS more...that way the lady will tell me when to turn!

The first time I got lost was when I drove to Leavenworth (as referenced in a previous posting), the second time was on my way home from meeting my friend Stacy in Lee's Summit...I took I-435 the wrong way and had to drive through downtown to get home (about 30 minutes out of my way). But today really took the cake. I stopped at the grocery store on my way home from the gym and missed my turn on the way home. This time it was only about a 10 minute detour, but really? In my own neighborhood? I think Scott is starting to worry about me...

Week 8 - Snowed in!

Audrey is now 8 weeks! I'm sort of struggling with when to count her in months...does it fall on the 8 week mark or will it fall on the 20th of the month since she was born on November 20th? Anyway, we had kind of a rough week. Since we got about 6 inches of snow and the weather was so cold, we didn't get out much this week which makes for a stir-crazy mom! Luckily, Scott was off work for a good chunk of the time, so we got to hang out as a family. We took another trip to Costco (love that place - am still amazed at how fast we go through a case of baby wipes!) and we had our first dinner out as a family at our favorite Mexican place - Salty Iguana! I had my first margarita since last February - so yummy!

She also must be going through a growth spurt because she is eating about every two hours during the day and not napping much. She seems to sleep better at night and usually has about a 4-5 hour stretch and then another 3-4 hour stretch and then if I'm lucky, another 3 hour stretch. I'm constantly reading the sleep training books (as previously mentioned), but still a little fuzzy on the best techniques. I'm hoping she will fall into a pattern soon, they say it should happen more around 3-4 months, so we'll see!


Story time with Daddy!

 We have our 2 month doctor's appointment this Friday, so I will post again with her latest stats! She is continuing to give us big smiles and I think we are close to laughing. She is also starting to enjoy having books read to her, which is fun! She is also starting to "talk" more - we are figuring out "ooooo's" and "ahhhh's". She is a very happy baby, we are lucky! She makes the cutest facial expressions now, I tried to capture some the other day when she was in her bouncy seat...


Pouty face!





Happy baby! Talking to the fish on her bouncy seat.

Skeptical...




The tongue - I think Daddy taught her this...



Week 7

Audrey is 7 weeks old today! We had an eventful week! Today Audrey and I made a trip up to Leavenworth to visit Daddy at work for the first time. Well, I've been there many times, but that didn't stop me from getting lost on the way there. I swear I've been there at least 10 times and I missed my exit and drove almost all the way to Lawrence. I guess I shouldn't drive while sleep-deprived...

Audrey met Scott's co-workers and posed next to the fire truck. She didn't get to ride along this time, but maybe sometime soon...

Yesterday, we met up with my friends Jen and Laura and her son Henry. We went to lunch at our favorite sushi place - I hadn't had sushi since before pregnancy and it was delicious! Earlier this week, Scott went hunting for pheasant and quail, so on Wednesday, we went to Nana and Papa's house to try it and Audrey got to see her aunts Crystal and Laura and uncle Brian and her cousins Ryan and JT (Charlie and Sydney couldn't make it).

Nana and Audrey

On Tuesday, my parents came over and brought dinner since Scott was working. Papa discovered that Audrey loves it when you sing nursery rhymes to her. Guess I need to learn those!

The only pic I could find of Papa with Audrey was in the hospital!
Need to take more photos!

Audrey's Final Christmas Celebrations

We wrapped up the holidays this year with a visit from my sister Mandy and her family - husband Andy and daughters Meredith (5 yrs.) and Gwendolyn (11 months). They live in Biloxi, MS, but next summer they are moving back to KC! Audrey is so excited to have her cousins in town - I'm sure they will be BFFs! This was the first time Audrey met them, so it was very exciting! We celebrated Christmas, Meredith's birthday and just hung out. As you can see, Audrey loves her cousins!


The cousins - Gwendolyn, Meredith and Audrey



Four generations! Audrey and me with Gaga, Gigi, Gwendolyn, Mandy and Meredith

I can't believe that Audrey is six weeks now! She is getting so big and smiling now. She gets really excited when Daddy comes home from work - she always greets him with a big smile! We've also been getting out of the house more which has been nice for mommy and Audrey. We took another trip to Oak Park with Gaga, went to Costco with Daddy and even went out to dinner for the first time with my family. She slept the whole time.

Audrey in one of her new Christmas outfits

Speaking of sleeping, we are hoping that Audrey will sleep through the night soon. She has been pretty good about sleeping longer stretches at night (about 3 hours at a time). But last night, she slept for FOUR straight hours! I know it might not sound like a lot, but that was the longest stretch of sleep I've had in six weeks! It was heaven. And if you know me, you know that I love my sleep. Before Audrey arrived, I would sleep at least 8 hours every night and about 10 hours on the weekends when I could (that was true even before pregnancy!). That has probably been the hardest part of having a new baby for me - sleep deprivation! I've been reading all kinds of "sleep training" books, but I think a lot of it is just luck. If anyone has good sleep training advice, I'd love to hear it!


So peaceful...let's do more of this at night!