Happy Halloween

Audrey was Tinkerbell this year for Halloween. She had a blast trick-or-treating, she went to every house in our neighborhood and held her bucket the entire time and just stared at the people, ha. It was pretty cute. Her first costume we had for her was disco baby, it came with an afro wig, not such a good idea, she was so scared of the hair. Tinkerbell was a much better fit for her.

We didn't get any awesome shots of her costume, she was so mad when I put it on her, she hated it. By the end of the night she was digging it.

Graduation Day!

It seems like just yesterday that Audrey was this size and now today she graduated from the infant room at daycare and is moving to the toddler room on Monday. Where has the time gone?

They made Audrey extra special this past week by having a whole wall of pictures just of her and her family, friends, and pets. They even got a picture of her in her graduation hat, super cute! If only I had a scanner I could share it with all of you.

They said that she is soooooo ready to move on, she is getting smarter and smarter every day. Today when they starting blowing bubbles, Audrey just yelled out, "Bubbles, bubbles." They said she is the first to ever say that word in the infant room.

We are sad that she is leaving her best friend Alexis, but in two more weeks Alexis will be joining the toddlers also. The ladies at daycare said those two are like two peas in a pod, they do everything together.

The toddler room has a bit more of a schedule they follow as far as activities, meal time, naptime, going outside. They get to go outside every day, even when it snows. Audrey is going to be thrilled. Lately she just brings us her coat when she is ready to go out. I am a little concerned about naptime and expressed that at our little walk through last week, they sleep on cots in one big room. But they assured me that they wear them out in the morning and they are practically falling asleep at lunch, so it usually works out just fine and is an easy transition from the crib.

I'll fill you in next week and let you know how it's going. We have such a big girl now:)

Family photo shoot

This is our first photo session without Aunt Christine. She is so busy right now and it's been far too long since we have had a family photo with Audrey, since she was 6 months old to be exact. Heidi suggested her coworker and we went to Bluff Park in North Mankato on the most perfect fall day. The colors are fabulous and Audrey was having a blast.

This might be when she saw a dog:)

Look at that crazy tongue!

Maybe pointing to dog poop, she actually picked some up at one point in the photo shoot, gross.

Public meltdown

Audrey had her first public meltdown, of all places we were at the public library, a place that is really quiet. It made it extra fun hauling her throughout the entire place to leave. Brent and I both went to get her some new books and that way one of us can look for new books and the other can play with Audrey and the fun toys in the childrens area. She sat down at one of the little computer stations that she just loves, she likes moving the mouse around on the table. Well, another little boy sat right down beside her and leaned in on her and said, "My turn." She was fine with him being there, she just stared at him, but before things got any worse with this little boy we figured it was a good time to leave. So, we were trying to get her out of the seat and she just flipped, screaming, kicking, just bawling the entire way out of the library. We thought it would be horrible trying to get her in the van, but as soon as I gave her one of the new books she was happy once again. Whew, we survived our first public meltdown.

Beautiful Fall Weekend/Owl Sighting

We had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the nice weather finally. Fall is one of my favorite times of year, but this fall has not been the best. Yesterday Audrey and I did a little shopping and both got cute new sweaters for our photo shoot yesterday afternoon at Bluff Park in North Mankato. We wanted some family pics since it's been since Audrey was 6 months old. I wanted some nice fall pictures and this weekend was perfect!

Saturday night Brent and I enjoyed a date night and we saw Couples Retreat and then went out for dessert. Today we had some of Brent's coworkers over for the Viking's game and then we hung out outside the rest of the afternoon.

Right when the Vikings were almost going to lose I was looking out the window and spotted an owl in our tree. I have never in my life seen an owl just hanging out in the tree, maybe I have seen one at the zoo or something, but this was amazing to me. I tried to get the best picture I could until it flew away, which was incredible to watch also. Click on the picture and you can check it out up close, so cool!

Extra cute

We thought Thursday was group picture day at daycare so we got Audrey all dressed and looking super cute and Brent realized it was next week. We just had to take pics of our "so grown up looking little girl."

Lining up the pins

Audrey usually hauls the pins around and bangs them together. I always set up her pins and try to get her to bowl. Tonight she actually starting setting up all of these pins herself, it was awesome.

hugs

Audrey loves giving her stuffed animals many hugs lately. We know when she is tired, she grabs one of her stuffed animals and lays down on the floor and cuddles.

Our little talker

I have not updated in a long time about what is the latest with Audrey. She is jabbering a ton, which is so much fun. I will sit across from her at the table and say something and she comes back with a ton of babbling, it's hilarious. It's like we are having conversation in a way:) She is starting to copy words that we say, we really need to watch what we say now. We have been working on "touchdown" while putting our arms up, it's so much fun to hear her try and say it. She says Tina all the time, which we aren't sure if she is referring to our cat Tina or not. She says it a lot. She says No, uh oh, and just tonight starting saying bubbles while in the tub. Of course a lot of these things are very hard to understand, but after I say something I know she is trying to repeat it.

Brent taught her to say "ahhhhhh" after taking a drink, she does it every now and again and thinks she is pretty funny.

I have to say I absolutely love this age Audrey is at , but it's also incredibly frustrating at the same time. She can't say lots of things and wants something specific and we have no idea what she wants. We both get frustrated trying to figure it out. It's so much fun to see how much she is taking in and learning. I feel like I say "No" a 100 times a day. I just recently read somewhere about parents saying "No" a lot at this age, so it made me feel a little better. She is just trying to explore everything she can, but at the same time likes to test us also.

Audrey is so easy going and is starting to be able to play more and more on her own, which we are loving. Her toy room is all complete finally at our new home so she is really enjoying having an extra room.

Audrey came home today with a fever, so we are hoping it passes quickly so she can return to daycare. She has had a runny nose for a few days now and seems to be drooling tons, she is getting some of her molars already. Lets hope it doesn't last too long.

Just the three of us

Me, Audrey, and Thor