Happy Halloween from our little Ladybug!

For Audrey's first Halloween, she dressed up as a ladybug and loved it! She liked checking herself out in the mirror. Yesterday we went up to my sister's house to get some photos with the cousins and then headed to Gigi's house to show off her costume. Today, she took a trip to Nana's office party. Unfortunately, it was such a busy day that she was in bed before the trick or treaters came, so she didn't get to hand out candy, but I'm sure she'll love it next year!

Ladybug on the go!

It's pretty hard to get a good photo with 3 busy little girls!

Gwendolyn was a KU cheerleader

Meredith had two costumes - Rapunzel and Snow White.
She's quite the fashionista!

Gaga and the ladybug

Baby Fashion Police!

I just did some shopping for Audrey and had to show off the latest finds...jeggings and gold cowboy boots! When they arrived, Scott said "what are jeggings?" Only the hottest trend in baby and adult fashion! :-)

Showing off her new boots!

Like jeans, but with the comfort of leggings!

We also got some hand-me-downs from Aunt Mandy. I discovered an outfit in the box that I bought for Meredith 5 years ago! The print matches her room! I know velour track suits are a bit 2006, but I couldn't resist - too cute!:-)

Anniversary Stay-cation!

So even though our 7th wedding anniversary was last weekend, we celebrated it this weekend with a little stay-cation! This was the first night that Scott and I were both away from Audrey! We went out to dinner at our usual anniversary place, Capital Grille, and then stayed at Hotel Phillips. Audrey stayed with Gaga and Papa. I have to admit, I was sad to leave her, but of course it worked out well. She was in great hands at Gaga and Papa's house and did really well. She slept her usual 12 hours and we were back to get her by noon on Sunday. It was fun to have some one-on-one time with Scott and get out on the town - we don't get to do that very much anymore, so when we do, it's a nice treat!

Sunday was also Scott's birthday, so we went over to his parents' house to have dinner and celebrate with his family. Since Audrey goes to bed at 6:30, we decided to just put her down over there, so she had another overnight away from home Sunday night at Nana and Papa's! It was so weird to be home without her here, it felt very empty and I missed her like crazy! The dogs were also very concerned about her whereabouts - they kept running around the house looking for her. Since I didn't get to see her Monday morning, I was really missing her by the time I got home from work. Luckily I was able to leave a few minutes early today from work, so we got some quality Mama/Audrey time in! Nana and Papa said she did really well, and slept for 13 hours straight! She's our good little sleeper (knock on wood)!

11 Months Old!

Audrey is 11 months old today! More than ever, she is changing so fast, it's hard to keep up on everything she is doing now! An important development this month - TEETH! She finally got her first two teeth! It's her bottom two and they came in at the same time. They are only poking through a little bit so far, but we can tell they are going to be crooked! Guess she might need braces at some point like her Daddy (her Mama didn't need braces, for the record). So I'm hoping this will make eating a little easier. She is starting to get the hang of feeding herself chunkier foods. Right now, she is loving bananas and puffs! Every time I shake the container of puffs, she gets so excited! We've also added eggs to her diet. I wouldn't say she loves them, but she'll eat them.

Our parents as teachers representative came this week and she said Audrey is doing well! She said we should be working on asking her to do things to check for understanding. It's amazing how much babies can understand even though they can't talk yet. When we tell her to do pat-a-cake, she'll clap her hands. She can point to her nose when we ask "where is your nose?" And she even pointed to the nose of one of her dolls and her stuffed dog Violet! What a baby genius! She's also really into peek-a-boo now. If you ask her "where's Audrey?" she'll cover her eye with her hand (or sometimes she'll cover the side of her head, but we know what she means!). And just within the past two days, she has started doing the sign for more. We've been trying to teach her a few signs (more, all done, you know, the basics), but this is the first time she's signed back to us! So much fun!

She continues to move around all over the place, but isn't quite walking yet. She'll sometimes test her balance and stand on her own for a few seconds. I'm sure she'll be walking in no time, but I'm in no hurry for it to happen! In fact, we're planning her first birthday party and I still can't believe how fast time flies by - I have to remember to savor every moment because she is growing up so fast!

Pumpkin Patch

Today we took our first trip to the pumpkin patch. Now that we're a little family, I'm hoping to create lots of new family traditions and this is one of them! It also happens to be our 7th wedding anniversary today, and we thought it would be a fun way to celebrate with Audrey. So we headed to Johnson Farms! We got to see all kinds of animals including cows, turkeys, goats, horses, baby pigs and llamas! Audrey loved every minute of it! Then we headed out into the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkins - fresh from the vines! We each picked one out and then headed home for nap time. What a perfect day!

Audrey and Mama picking out pumpkins!

They had a firetruck there and we just HAD to get a photo with Daddy!

Closer to walking

Audrey is on the move more than ever! We can tell that she really wants to walk, but she's not quite there yet. Last weekend, we had our parents over for dinner and right in the middle of the living room as everyone watched her (center of attention, of course!), she pushed up on my legs and stood on her own for a few seconds! The grandparents were so excited that they were there to see her stand on her own for the very first time. She actually just did it again today while she was in her crib before her nap - gotta love the video monitor!

Gaga, Nana, Audrey and Brody -
guess our love of animal print runs in the family!

She's also discovered a new way to crawl...on her hands and feet! It's pretty funny looking, but she sure can get to where she wants to go in no time! She's also pulling up on everything now.

Otherwise, we've really been enjoying the weather and spending lots of time outside with Audrey. Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year! We've discovered that she loves the park across the street from our house and can't get enough of the swing! I'm sure we'll be spending a LOT of time there in the years to come! And today we had Audrey's 1 year photos taken. A bit early, I know, but we really wanted to do it outside while it was still nice and before all the leaves fell. We went to Weston Bend state park and Scott's co-worker Jeremy took the photos. He did a great job for her 6 month photos, so I'm sure we'll have some great shots - I can't wait to see them! Once we get the proofs, I'll be sure to share the link!

So happy to have a brand new park across the street!