Audrey: May (10 months)

Oh how I love this little girl. Nicknames include: baby doll, little lady, little girl, La la and Aud. She was reaching up to run her fingers through my hair, I would squeal, she would laugh and so the game goes.

Little Audrey is this close to crawling. She doesn't get up on her knees, but she goes from sitting and pushes forward onto her belly. She tries to get up on her knees, but they slide out from under her and she ends up moving backwards. I think in the next month or so we will have a crawling baby.

Audrey loves to play toys, clap her hands, coo and "dance" to music. I think music and food move her in the same way because she sways when she eats as well ;)

This baby loves to eat! She prefers to feed herself and will swat your hand away if you try to give her food until you allow her to take it from you so she can feed her self. She loves pasta, fruit, eggs, crackers, green beans, sweet potatoes, pretzels, Cheerios and chicken. She's not picky and is quite content in the high chair.

She loves to be held and when she wants to be held .... she will let the entire neighborhood know! She is very good about sitting and playing by herself or with Devon for 20 minutes or more, but if you happen to walk by and she sees you you better be prepared to pick her up. If you choose to not pick her up, she will let out a scream that is so alarming it sounds like she is missing an arm or something when all that's wrong is she wants to be picked up.

In spite of her condition that Joe affectionately calls being a "hold-a-holic" or as I call it, having "hold-a-holism", she is such an easy baby about naps and sleeping at night. I can just lay her down and walk out of the room without having to wait until she is asleep. In fact, she doesn't really like being rocked to sleep and much prefers to just lay in bed. She loves to "pet" the cat and is starting to show preferences to who can or can not hold her. Can't believe she's nearly 1! Planning the party already ;)

Freezer cooking .... again

After some much needed nudging, I got back into doing freezer cooking. It is SUCH a lifesaver. It is so relaxing to know that if I can't get to the store or if I'm too tired to cook that I can reach into the freezer and heat up a delicious vegetable laden, ground turkey lasagna AND have leftovers to boot. I also used disposable pans (thanks for the idea Katy) so not only will I not have to cook, I won't have to do dishes either. My sister told me about a book that teaches you how to prepare 30 meals in 1 day (Dinner is ready), but I think that is too stressful for me so I decided to make a few meals every few days during the kids' naps. I did all the mise en place the night before and THAT made a huge difference is the ease of actual cooking the day of. I was surprised at how easy it was. When you make one lasagna, it's really not THAT much more time or work to make 2 more. Plus, buying food in that kind of bulk is cheaper than just buying enough to make one.

From cooking days 1 & 2 I was able to make:
2 servings of marinara sauce
2 servings of meatballs
3 lasagnas
2 servings of cooked, shredded chicken
1 Mexican casserole
1 stuffed pasta shells
1 stuffed mannicotti

So not only do I have 10 meals, I also don't have to clean my kitchen or wash dishes for 10 days and it only took about 4 hours of cooking over a two day period. How great is that?

These meals are a great supplement to cooking fresh meals as well as being able to drop one off to a friend who needs a hand or a Mom with a new baby.

Easter

Easter was so fun this year. In 2010, Devon was too little to hunt for eggs so we were really excited for him to participate in the fun this year. We didn't decorate eggs, but I hosted an Easter dinner at my house with my parents, my brother's kids and Jane and her kids. We pooled all of our plastic eggs and had nearly 200. That allowed each child to find about 38 eggs so there were plenty to go around.

Each of us provided a dish (or two) so there was plenty of food and I didn't have to do all the cooking for 15 people. Joe even grilled the ham (that's right .... grilled ham. It's INSANELY good) so I made a pound cake, cup cakes, filled and hid the eggs and got the house ready. I set up a cupcake decorating station for the kids and sent them home with the ones they didn't eat on the spot.

I made Autumn a barrette and each of Jane's girls a felt flower corsage in different styles and colors. They. Were. Adorable.



(I didn't get a picture of Emily with hers for some reason). They wore them to school the next day ;)

Aunt Jane entertained Audrey most of the night. Love that sweet sister of mine!

Checking out Harrison's cool shirt.

Autumn, Emily and Chloe giving the castle their stamp of approval.

I also made Devon's Easter basket this year and I think it turned out OK, but it could have been better. I didn't measure anything and I didn't spend a lot of time making it exact, but my goal was to make him a basket .... not to make him a perfect one ;)

I got a card board box and added felt until it looked finished.




Gold sequined rattle snake tail.

A sneaky mouse evading the snake's red tongue and some hidden eggs.

I tried to make a "manly" basket that would possibly get some use beyond Easter. Devon took the basket with him on a play date and to the grocery store. Mission accomplished!

Devon: April

Devon has definitely become a climbing climber. He is outgoing at the playground, "jumping class" (gym class) as well as furniture. I have to trust his coordination, but I still keep a tight watch on him so we don't have to go to the hospital for stitches ;)

This is Roman.

He's adorable and out going and Devon loves him. His Mama is one of my closest friends. We met at story time when the boys were just starting to crawl.

We were pregnant together with our second kids and Audrey and her son Lincoln are about a month apart.
High five!

You have eyebrows!

Fist bump!

Hugs.

Cutie booties!

Just a couple 'a guys hangin' out and holdin' hands.

Devon LOVES his cousin Sadie. We see them at least once a week at "jumping class". It's a gym class where the kids get to just run around and use the equipment. In this picture she was teaching him how to slow dance. "Hold my hand and put your arm around me!" The giggling between these two kids is hysterical.

We are so lucky to have so much family live in town. I can just call up my parents and go out to dinner .... and we did. These two kept cracking each other up.





He loves to give "fumbs up". Look at how far back he curls his little thumb!

His new obsession is Clifford and LITERALLY memorized an entire book. It's called Clifford's first Halloween, but Devon calls it the "hand book" because there is a hand wiggling on the wall. His memory is staggering. He will read other Clifford books as well, but also loves to watch him on TV.

Devon is a totally different kid this month. He has come out of his shell even more and is so out going. He speaks very well and has a few phrases that he has latched onto. Some of the classics include:

"I love you so much."
"Wanna see cool trick?"

"Um, so, how's your day, Mom?"
"I'm Spiderman/Woody/Mr. Incrediboy/Prince Charming."
"Probly wanna clip it."

He had a hang nail and once I clipped it off and it stopped hurting. "Clipping it" is his standard solution for all types of pain. Sun burn? Probly wanna clip it. Headache? Probly wanna clip it. Stubbed your toe? Probly wannt clip it.

Devon loves lizards (geckos specifically), snakes, and birds. Somehow a Bull snake got into our house and I caught it so show to him. He was so brave and wanted to touch it. He is very gentle and without being told, only used one finger to pet it's tail. He is fearless with that kind of stuff. Can you see the snake?

I was worried about Devon loosing some weight so I took him to the pediatrician. He had, in fact, lost a couple of pounds so the doctor told me to mix ice cream into his milk, cut back on milk to two sippy cups a day, pizza twice a week, regular hot dogs (not the turkey ones I usually give him), dessert, ranch dressing on his veggies and let him basically eat whatever he asks for (with in reason). I have to say for the first week it seemed like allowing him to have fattening foods seemed to have "primed" his appetite "pump", but after a couple of weeks he went back to not really wanted to eat and now asking for cake, ice cream and cookies ;) I hate that I am now reduced to getting him to eat dinner with promising him dessert afterwards.

Look at that happy face!

Devon will show you his happy, pouty, funny and fierce face. The fierce face is my favorite because it comes with sound effects and hand gestures. Devon is such a fun little kid and has a truly sweet personality. He is very tough, but at the same time very sensitive and doesn't like for us to see him cry. If he gets hurt, he will turn his head so we can't see his face and won't look at us until he has calmed down. We tell him all the time that it's OK to cry when you get hurt, but he still doesn't like for us to see him cry. He readily shares his toys with other kids (this does not include his sister at the moment, but we're working on it ;)and is an all around fun kid to hang out with. His new bed time routine includes reading books, kiss on the lips, monkey kiss (eskimo kiss), butterfly kiss and a hug.

Audrey: April (9 months)

Audrey has quite a lot of personality for not even being a year old yet. She has selected "her" blankie and won't sleep without it. I tried to get her to use one that could be used year round since the one she likes is a little warm for summer, but she wouldn't have it. They really do know what they like don't they?

She is doing great at sitting up and I don't have to sit and hover around her to make sure she doesn't fall. She loves to play with her chewy, crinkly toys, a slinky, a ball and has some sort of baby radar for finding things that she could choke on.

Devon opened a plastic egg from Easter and dumped out M & M's. Before anyone saw her, she scooped up an orange one and ate it. We didn't notice she had something in her mouth until there was orange drool dripping down her chin followed by chocolate. I am super vigilant with that sort of thing, but when she and Devon are playing all bets are off.

Her official first trick is clapping. It. Is. Adorable. She sort of holds her right hand still and claps her left hand into it. I say,"Yeah!" very enthusiastically and she claps and giggles. It is so sweet, genuine and innocent happiness it just warms my heart. She is such a sweet baby.

Audrey loves to eat lunch meat, scrambled eggs, peas, sweet potatoes and Ritz crackers with her brother while they watch cartoons on the couch. She doesn't really like to be spoon fed and much prefers to feed herself. She will sit happily in her high chair, but doesn't like the tray pulled up too close to her.

Audrey loves to see her Daddy and interact with him. She reaches out to touch his face and then gets shy and buries her head into my chest to snuggle. It is a special, tender bond that they share.

I only leave the kids once a week on Sunday when I teach yoga for an hour so they are not used to me leaving or being gone for that matter. Even though I am only gone two hours (teaching and driving time), it is sort of fun for me to come home and Audrey kicks her legs and waves her arms in excitement when she sees me. You would think I had been gone for a week!

Audrey and her little, dimpled friend, Lincoln, at a picnic lunch.

This little baby gets so many kisses, hugs and love from so much family it is amazing. Aunt Jane snuggles and plays with Audrey every time I see her and Audrey is just smitten with her. All my nieces and nephews (all 18 of them) love this little girl and always give her attention. I am so grateful for grandparents, aunts and uncles who help, hold and love my children.

I can't believe in just a few months she will be one! What?!? HOW does it go so fast? It feels like just the other day I said to Joe,"Not to alarm you, but I think I'm in labor." What fun we are having with with sweet, sweet baby girl.

Dear god of infants and toddlers,
I would like to make it through today without being projectile vomited on, pooped on, diapers exploding in cribs, or mysterious-liquid-from-the-garbage-leaked-on. Just for today. Seriously, this has gone on since Sunday and my washing machine has been brought to it's knees. I did 12 loads of laundry on Wednesday and took 3 comforters to the dry cleaners. Enough already.

Thanks,
Annie

OK. Apparently it will have to wait til tomorrow, but tomorrow would be great. Gotta go now. I have to wash Audrey's sheets, change her clothes, give her her a bath and air out her room. Ugh.

It's not always about the kids

Daffodils.

Daffodils are officially my favorite flower.

Joe brought these home for me yesterday and when I saw them .... I decided they were my favorite.

They are so happy and yellow and beautiful and interesting.

Daffodils.