6 Month Stats

We had our 6 month doctor's visit yesterday and everything went well! They said Audrey looks great! She really hates her shots, but I think the worst is over now. Our doctor's office gives a book each visit from 6 months until 5 years old, so we got our first free book...I love that they do that!

Here are her stats:
Weight: 13 lbs 15.1 oz (13%)
Length: 25.5 in (32%)
Head: 43.2 cm (70%) (!!!)

So apparently she has a disproportionately large head for her rather petite body. Guess that just means she'll be a genius! :-)

Another new development today - constipation! She hadn't pooped since Friday and we could tell she had been trying (grunting, etc.). The doctor told us to add prunes to her cereal and that should do the trick. We tried it tonight and she loved it! Hopefully it will work...guess the change in her diet could have caused it.

6 Months Old!

Audrey is 6 months today! She is just such a happy baby and changing day to day...I understand now when parents say " they grow up too fast!" I'm already wishing she would just stay like she is right now...she's at a really fun stage! It's amazing to watch her...you can tell she is just soaking everything in and learning so much right now. She is very vocal...she likes to scream as loud as she can...she thinks it's hilarious. Plus she is still babbling a lot. Today Scott and I were trying to figure out if she recognized any words and I think she knows her name. She also looked at Daddy when I said "where's Daddy?" She did the same thing when asked "Where are your doggies?" and "Where's Mama?" What a smart little girl! She is rolling over all the time now, she thinks it's a pretty cool trick. The catch is that she can't roll from her tummy to her back yet, so once she is on her tummy too long, she gets fussy and angry. She's not quite sitting up on her own yet, but I think she's close.

This week we had our first visit with Parents as Teachers. We met with Kathy on Thursday and she said Audrey looked like she was right on track with everything and was even a little ahead in her verbal skills! She gave us some fun new activities to try, like playing with a big bowl. She tries to hold the sides and can sit up on her own for short periods before toppling over.

Another fun first...food! We tried giving her carrots today and I think she liked them (not at first of course)! I made them myself and I thought they tasted pretty good! (The video is really long, but you just need to see about the first 30 seconds to a minute to see her first taste.)

We also had some 6 month photos taken today. Scott's coworker, Jeremy, did them for us and he did an amazing job! Audrey was such a good sport the entire time. We had three outfit changes and she didn't fuss once! Below is a link to the photos. The password is scotty.
http://www.jbennettsphotography.com/Children/A-Lee/17178838_wVv3ZG

We have our 6 month doctor's visit on Tuesday, so I'll post her official stats then! Can't wait to see how much she's grown...

She's Rolling!

For a while now, we've been encouraging Audrey to roll over. You might remember a video from week 16 of her rolling over. Well, apparently that was a fluke because after she did it four times that day, she just stopped rolling over. She's been really close for a while to rolling from her back to her tummy, but today she did it...and I missed it! I left for work at about 8:00 and she was getting ready to go down for a nap (an early one...she has a cold so I think she's been more tired than usual). Scott texted at about 9:00 and said she had rolled over in her crib from her back to her tummy! Gaga came over later to watch her for a while and she did it again in her crib a couple of times. I'm off work tomorrow so hopefully she will do it again for me!

One Cool Chick

As promised, here is a photo of Audrey with her cool shades on. She really does love wearing them!


I'm ready for my close-up...and my walk!



3 kids + 4 dogs = CHAOS!

This weekend my sister and her family are in town to search for a house. They are moving here in July, and we are so excited to have them back home! Tonight, everyone came over to our house to have dinner. And when I say everyone, that includes my parent's dog and Mandy and Andy's dog. That's FOUR dogs in our house. I didn't get a picture of them all together because they were trying to kill each other and we had to keep them separated at all times.

Audrey's two cousins, Meredith and Gwendolyn, were here and Audrey was excited to see them. They played, read books and of course posed for photos. Meredith is 5 and Gwendolyn is 16 months (exactly 10 months older than Audrey!).

Aunt Mandy, Meredith & Gwendolyn

Sisters and Cousins! (and Brody)

Walk with Owen

Today was one of my days off (I'm working part time in May to ease back into work and will be full time in June), so we decided to take advantage and hang out with my friend Jeannie who is on maternity leave and her son Owen. Audrey has met Owen before, but this was really their first official date and I think it went pretty well! It was hotter than expected, so they both went barefoot. We realized that they have almost the same size feet! Audrey is almost 6 months and Owen is just a month! So cute!

Ready for our walk!

Wait a second...whose feet are bigger?

Cooling off afterwards (the humidity makes her hair go crazy!)

First Mother's Day!

My first Mother's Day was wonderful! I just feel so lucky and blessed to have Audrey in our lives. She has brought so much joy to us and I just love being her mom! Audrey and Scott got me beautiful tulips and a card.


Happy Mother's Day!

 First we went to Aunt Crystal and Uncle Charlie's house to celebrate with Scott's family. Audrey did well until it was time for a nap. We tried to use their pack 'n play, but she refused to sleep in it, so she was a bit grumpy the rest of the day. The girl needs her naps!



Nana and Audrey - she loves her feet!

 Later, we went to meet my parents and Grandma for dinner to celebrate with them. Unfortunately, it was close to bed time, so we had to eat and run to get her in bed, but we had a fun time with Gaga, Papa and Gigi.


Gaga, Gigi, Audrey and me



Gaga and Audrey



Back to Work

Today was my first day back at work and it went better than I thought it would. I had a minor meltdown Sunday afternoon and got it out of my system and was happy that I didn't cry once all day today! I got up early to get ready before Audrey woke up and it worked out perfectly. I got to spend about an hour with her this morning before I left. It was great to see everyone at work and it was an easy day. Just got caught up with everyone, had lunch with the gals and cut out a bit early to rush home to see Audrey before bed. I was very disappointed to get home and discover she was sleeping! Scott put her down around 4:30 and assured me she would be waking up any minute. It's now 8:30. I think it's safe to say she's out for the night. I really hope she starts going to bed later than 4:30 or I'm never going to get to see her! :-( Glad I'm working part time this month, so I'll get to spend all day tomorrow with her!

Scott said the day went really well (this was his first time staying with her all day long). They played and she took her usual 4 naps. He sent me updates and photos throughout the day so I knew what she was doing. He even got her to laugh again! She has giggled a few times for me, but he said today she really laughed. She sneezed and he said "God bless you" in a funny voice and apparently she thought it was hilarious. She also had her first frontal poop blowout! He said it was so bad that he had to give her a bath (only the second bath he has ever given her)! And he even had dinner ready when I got home from work - what a super dad! It's so reassuring to know that while I'm at work Audrey is home spending quality time with Daddy.

Since last week was kind of crazy, I didn't get a chance to post anything about what we did, so here are a few highlights from last week.

The big event this week was eating! We gave Audrey rice cereal on Tuesday. Her first reaction was "yuck!" but then she got used to it and seemed to like it. I don't think she actually swallowed much, but it was fun to grab the spoon. When I tried again on Wednesday, she started chewing on the spoon and blowing bubbles and talking with the spoon in her mouth. Pretty cute (it's kind of long and Scott got too many shots of the dogs, but you have to see her first reaction - priceless!).

Another fun discovery this week - her feet! She has kind of been looking at them and playing with them for a week or two now. But this week, she figured out how to pull her sock off and chew on it - yummy! She also likes those footie pajamas that have animals on the feet - fun to look at and stick in your mouth!


One more tug and...GOT IT!



She is also testing her independence. We've been giving her more bottles in preparation for my return to work. The other day, she grabbed the bottle while I was feeding her and held it herself - what a big girl!

Finally, we also tried out baby sunglasses this week. Whenever we go on a walk, she is really bothered by the bright sunlight, so I got her some cool shades at Target. At first, she didn't like them, but once we got out in the sun and she realized their purpose, she loved them! (forgot to get a picture of this, will post one later!)

Grandpa Borello

This was a very sad week in our family because Audrey's great grandpa, Scott's grandpa, passed away on Monday. We attended the visitation and funeral this weekend in Arma, KS. Grandpa lived in Pittsburg, KS. We were very close to him, so it was a difficult time for the whole family. We're so glad that Audrey was able to meet him and he was able to enjoy his youngest great granddaughter. They were able to hang out last Saturday for our Easter celebration and she was just smiling away at him. I was also lucky to have been able to spend time with him. He always made me feel like one of his grandkids. My favorite memories of him are the bowling tournaments at Thanksgiving, polka dancing with him at weddings and Barto's, his delicious homemade red wine and most importantly, his warm smiles and hugs every time I saw him. I included the obituary below because I thought it was a beautiful tribute to him and further explains what a great man he was. We will miss you, Grandpa.

Grandpa & Grandma

Grandpa and Audrey at Christmas

Mario “Burrs” Borello, 88, died Monday, April 25, 2011, at Freeman Health Systems in Joplin, MO. He was born January 30, 1923 at Camp 50 and attended Camp 50 schools and Arma High School where he graduated in 1940. He was a lifelong resident of the Pittsburg area.

Mario married Josephine Sray, the love of his life, on June 6, 1942, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Arma, KS. Before entering the service he worked for a short time in Chicago. He proudly served in the United States Army during World War II. Afterwards he was employed by the Grapette Bottling Company. Mario, his wife, brother-in-law and sister-in-law owned and operated the B&B Tavern from 1949 to 1979. His job at the U.S. Postal Service began in 1954, retiring in 1985. He started out as a clerk and eventually had a rural route. Mario was a member of the American Legion and Rural Route Carriers Association.
Mario was an awesome husband, father, brother, uncle, grandfather, and great grandfather. His friends spanned many generations. People seemed to be drawn to him no matter their age. His hobbies through the years included hunting, fishing, golfing, bowling, blackberry picking and winemaking. He made wine because he liked to give it to friends just like he gave of himself. He also enjoyed making French cookies with Josephine.

Recently Mario had a chapter about his life published in a book called “Raisin Pie in a Miner’s Bucket” where he spoke very proudly of his heritage.

Survivors include his wife, Josephine Borello, of the home, daughter, Jeanette K Lee and her husband Jim of Overland Park, KS, son, Dr. Dan Borello and his wife, Sally, of Joplin, Mo. He is also survived by one sister, Madeline Yartz, of Arma, KS. Mario had 5 grandchildren whom he adored and their spouses, Brian Lee (Laura), Crystalyn Belt (Charles), Scott Lee (Jessica), Dr. Brad Borello (Shannon), Dr. Blake Borello (Clare). He was also very proud of his great grandchildren, Sydney, Ryan, and James Thomas Belt and Boston and Isabella Borello and Audrey Lee.

Mario was preceded in death by his brother Maurice Borello.