Aubree's trip to the park

We went to the park last summer, but Aubree was just a couple months old.  I couldn't wait to take her this year!  She was so excited to see the playground!  She is used to going up the stars and down the slide on her toddler swing set, but she really loved going down the huge slides!  

She giggled every time Dan pushed her on the swing and laughed when I played on the swing next to her.

She is our little monkey.  She is definitely a climber!

She is getting so independent.  And she can really walk when she wants to.

And we had to do a little hopscotch before we went home.

 

14 Months

Age: 14 months

Height: taller every day

Weight: We will find out for sure at her 15 month appointment.

Head Circumference: 87th percentile

Clothes:  Still in 12 months, but 9 month winter clothes when it is chilly

Diaper Size: 2

Things she loves: Walking... All. The. Time.  She can walk from room to room.  I counted over one-hundred steps a couple weeks ago.  (Tiny steps with a small dance break around step 65)  She is also getting so fast!  She also loves swimming in her pool, playing with the dogs, emptying Mommy's bag (well, emptying anything that has stuff in it and can potentially make a mess).  
Things she hates: She is getting better at sleeping!  Thank goodness... 2 years of not getting a constant night's sleep was killing me.  She sleeps 10-11 hours!  She also hates being alone, like when she wakes up or has to play in the bathroom while I shower or get ready). 

Milestones:  Walking, Talking... I feel like she is growing up so fast there won't be anymore milestones for her to hit.  Does her first (and second, and third) bruise count as a milestone?  Aubree was moving her little table around the living room and tripped and fell face-first into the corner of the coffee table.  I was devastated that she got her first black eye!  She is tough though!  She was ready to keep cruising before I could pick her up.  We also went to the park for the first time.  She likes the swing but the slide is her favorite.
Talking:  Definitely "Mama", "Dada", "Doggie", "Up", and "Amp".  We are working on "Ball" and "Night, Night" before sleep time.  She can say it when she is tired, but not too tired.  She is signing "More" for more of everything... food, milk, bubbles, playing.  She also said, "Owl" the other day... I would have missed it but she reached for our plastic owl on the porch at the same time.  

Teething: 9 teeth... we are currently getting an upper molar.  It's been rough on us all.

Sleeping: Great!  (Knock on wood...) but she loves her night time routine: bath, brush hair and teeth, story time and cuddles with Mommy in the glider, talking about our day and prayers, and then she lays in her crib.  Once in a while she cries for a few seconds and then she sleeps!  She doesn't even stand up when I put her in her crib anymore.  (Honestly, it broke my heart a little that she doesn't need to nurse to sleep anymore and that she can fall asleep on her own... On the bright side, maybe Dan and I start thinking about making up for the honeymoon that we never took because our 2-year wedding anniversary is coming up.)

Eating:  Grahm Crackers.  That is all.  She loves them and will eat them all day if I would let her.  
She is also eating more foods.  She likes eggs with cheese and bananas.  She is getting tired of quesadillas so we got her a burrito at The Rio and she LOVED it.  She enjoys watermelon, mac and cheese, and hamburger too.  There isn't much she won't eat but I will guarantee that she will feed half of it to the dogs.  

Looking forward to: Everything.  I love spending every single day with her and each day she amazes me with something new.  I am so excited that it is summer and we get to play outside.  I also can't wait for the 4th of July and watching her enjoy the fireworks because she slept through it last year.  Dan and I are excited to celebrate our 2 year anniversary next week!  

13 Months

Age: 13 months.  I can not believe we are officially in the toddler stage.

Height: She looks taller every single day

Weight:   She is definitely getting heavier

Head Circumference: 87th percentile

Clothes:  12 month clothes.  On cold days she has to wear long-sleeved 9 month shirts because all of her 12 month stuff is summery.  She looks so big in her big-girl, two-piece pajamas.

Diaper Size: Still in a size 2.  I can still only find size 3 overnights and swim diapers.

Things she loves: She still LOVES making messes.  She has also found a new love of moving things around... Anything that she can push, she will.  She also loves walking.  She is getting so much better at it and is taking more and more steps each day.

Things she hates: Her crib and sleep, mostly.  We can officially add NOT nursing to the list.  We stopped the night before she turned 13 months.  She signs for "milk" and cries but I know we were ready to stop.  It certainly makes bed time even harder than it was before but it will get better... Right?

Milestones:  The biggest one... WALKING!  She takes about 10 steps and is picking up speed!
Talking:  She can say "Mama", "Dada", "Doggie", and "Up".  She signs "Milk" and "More".

Teething: Officially 8 teeth!

Sleeping: Not great now that we are done nursing, but I am hopeful that it will get better.  It has to get better...

Eating:  This kid will eat anything.  Her new favorite is graham crackers and goldfish.  She LOVES almond milk and drinking from a straw.  

Looking forward to: Swimming!  It is summer and I can't wait to lather the sunscreen and spend some time outside!  We are also excited for Aubree to walk more.  

12 months!!!

Age: ONE YEAR OLD!  We officially have a toddler!

Height: 27.5 inches (6th percentile)

Weight:   15 lb. 12oz (3rd percentile)

Head Circumference: 87th percentile

Clothes:  She is officially wearing her 12 month clothes!  It has been so nice that she has been able to wear some fun, new outfits.  On cold days, I pull out some 9 month long sleeves (that I can't bring myself to box up yet).

Diaper Size: Still in a size 2.  I think she may be a size 2 until she is potty trained.

Things she loves: everything.  This kid is one happy baby.  Her favorite thing is to make messes.  It doesnt matter what it is, taking laundry out of the basket, emptying the cabinets, throwing food on the ground, if it is messy, she loves it.  She loves standing and walking with her walkers.  She can take about 4 steps before her head moves faster than her feet and she falls forward. She is so close!  She likes being independent.  She is so proud of herself when she can climb the stairs, go down the stairs on her own, and cruise everywhere.  

Things she hates: Her crib and sleep.  She cries when I even walk her next to the crib.  I seriously have no clue where her hatred of sleep came from.

Milestones:  So many!  She is hitting milestones every time we turn around.  Standing, cruising, pointing, talking, signing, playing peek-a-boo.
Talking:  She can say "Mama", "Dada", and "Doggie".  We are working on "Up" which she has said once or twice.  She can also sign, "milk".

Teething: She is stuck at 7 teeth.  The 8th is so close.

Sleeping: It still depends.  I really thought I would be saying that she sleeps through the night by now... Sometimes she only wakes up once, sometimes its four times. 

Eating:  This kid will eat anything. 

Looking forward to: Celebrating Aubree's First Birthday!  And taking her one year pictures.

Waffle Iron Pizza

I am going to be honest... It has been about two weeks since I have been to the grocery store.  So I completely dread the "What are we having for dinner?" talk every. single. night.  I tell myself each day that today will be the day I go to the store, but I always find something more pressing to take care of.

Needless to say, we don't have a ton of food in our house.  We are out of frozen meals, we have eaten all the bagels, we have been out of milk for a while, and we have had some form of pasta for the last 4 days.

So, we scoured the fridge and after we dismissed grilled cheese and couldn't find the stuff for burritos, I was about to give up and make brownies for dinner.  Instead, we pulled out a can of biscuits, pizza sauce, cheese, artichoke hearts, and the waffle iron.

This is all we did...

1. Cut the biscuit dough in half so you have 2 circles.
2. Layer pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings on one circle of dough.
3. Place other circle of dough on top and attempt to seal the toppings in.
4. Place in waffle iron until golden brown.
5. Take out carefully.

They were not terrible.  They may even become a staple in our dinner menu rotation.  It was quick easy and cheap.  Where was this when I lived in the sorority house?

and another week...

Our weeks turn into months in the blink of an eye.  I remember just thinking, "It's March!"  And all of the sudden, "It's May!"  I don't know where the time goes but here is a look at the last month (even if it feels like it's only been a week) in pictures...

11 months

Age: 11 months!  I can't believe that we will have a ONE YEAR OLD in a month!

Height: getting taller.  We will find out in a month.

Weight:   Just over 15 pounds.  She hasn't gained much weight but she is moving so much!

Head Circumference: getting bigger.  We will find out in a month.

Clothes:  Occasionally I will get sentimental and pull out a 6 month shirt that I can't pack up yet.  Otherwise she is mostly in 9 month everything.  12 months is just a bit too big.  I remind myself of that every time I forget to do laundry and have to put her in 12 month jammies that are about a mile too long.

Diaper Size: Still in a size 2.  Apparently I thought I would never go to the store again because I stocked up on a few hundred diapers from Sam's Club.  We are still considering cloth diapers but for now we are working our way through our size 2s.

Things she loves: everything, still.  Her new favorite is standing, pulling herself up, climbing over things, walking with her Sit to Stand Learning Walker.  

Things she hates: Aubree hates being left alone and being in her crib.  She also is a grouch when she is tired but hates sleeping so that is fun for me.  

Milestones:  She is finally starting to imitate us!  She makes a clicking noise with her tongue after we do.   She is also starting to stand on her own and walking with her toys.  I am 98.5% sure she is saying "Mom" and "Mama".  It could also be "More" when she is demanding food or water.  

Teething: She is stuck at 7 teeth.  She has 4 on top and 3 on the bottom.  The bottom right just won't pop through.

Sleeping: Depends on the night.  I have to knock on wood, but she occasionally sleeps 6-8 hours!  On the other hand sometimes she is up every 2-3 hours, but I prefer to look on the bright side.  It helps that we installed a blackout shade in her room so in looks like the dead of night at 8 am.  

Eating:  This kid will eat anything.  She LOVES pasta, especially tortellini.  She also loves drinking out of her straw cups.  She will eat anything that we eat and wants everything that we drink out of a straw.

Looking forward to: OUR BABY TURNING ONE!  I also can't wait to watch her walk for the first time and start talking.  Is it too soon to look forward to her being potty trained? :)