19.06.06 / Uncategorized / Author: admin / Comments: (0)

June 10th 2006,

I finally remembered to take out the other letters…. she was excited to have new ones to play with an now she knows the entire alphabet. She knows some of the lower case letters too. I haven’t actually counted how many yet though.

June 4th 2006,

Audrey was the flower girl in Mindy’s wedding and did a great job. She walked down the aisle and even lost a few flower petals along the way! Now Audrey has a new Uncle “FO-FO.” Still waiting on pictures…

I really think she might be exceptionally smart…and it’s not just because I’m her mother, I swear. For some reason this intelligence is attributed to Rob?!?! (Until he came along they thought I was smart! ) 😛

Starting at the end of May we overheard her identify and say the letters A-X-P and U on several occasions. I only had out about 10 of her magnetic alphabet letters because I didn’t want to overwhelm her. Now she knows every letter very consistently (yes, out of order) with the exceptions of W, M, N, L and V. She also recognizes and can spell her name and identifies all her numbers 1-10 and can sometimes identify 11 and 12. She counts things almost obsessively using 1 to 1 correspondence and tells you the color of anything you ask her…(now having mastered colors like brown, grey, pink and white.) These are abilities of the average 3 1/2 year old (42 months) and she’s only two (25 months)!?!?!

08.05.06 / Uncategorized / Author: admin / Comments: (0)

After:

March 11, 2006

She really kissed us today for the first time! It was SO sweet!

She’s says everything now.. she’s a little mocking bird ( which means we have to be very careful!) Her most common phrases are Mommy-Play, Help- Please, C’Mon-Dora ( our cat), Out-Please, Bless You and Up- Please. Lets hope her good manners aren’t just a phase! Its starting to loose its sweetness because she will yell PUHHLLLLEEEEESSSSSSS nonstop until you do what she’s requesting.

February 19th, 2006

She knows all the numbers in the correct order! She counts all time time. Hopefully she’ll do better in math than I did 😉

We took a trip to Jacksonville – just me and Audrey. We got a DVD player for the car and I don’t know how I ever lived without it. Now we can go anywhere! She’s quet as a mouse unless the video ends when she will yell ” ELMO- NOODLE” We spent a long weekend with Aunt Lorrie and JJ. She was spoiled rotten by them as usual… she went to Chuck E Cheese, The Jacksonville Zoo, and Babies are us to buy toys and clothes.

February 14, 2006

She counted to ten today, unprompted… we overheard her counting as she stacked her blocks.

Jan 25, 2006

Today sang row row row your boat along with Blues Clues on TV. Too cute – “WOH -WOH-WOH-MEMA-MEMA-MEMA”

19.01.06 / Uncategorized / Author: admin / Comments: (0)

I have been so busy that I actually forgot all about the babys blog!

She it talking all the time now – too many new words to list. Some of her favorites are MOON, CRACKER, CHEESE, TOWEL, COW, FLOWERS, BATHTUB, APPLE and of course, NO. She also says PEARS and CLOCK a lot – but pronounces them PISS and COCK, which is really hilarious, as long as I’m not in public! We went to our homeowners association meeting and she announced repeatedly ” COCK, COCK, COCK” when she saw it on the wall. We left early! 🙂

She learns new words every day and its amazing to watch. We spend almost every morning out at playdates. She sees her best friend Avary about twice a week. I have attached pictures of them together.

She’s very picky about food. The only meat she will eat is a chick-fil-a chicken nugget. Other than that’s she’s perfectly content eating only breads, crackers, cereals, and fruits. We try everyday to get her to eat new things but she repeatedly pushes them aside and firmly declares ” NOOOOOOO”.

She told her 1st ” fib” last week when we gave her a little cup of Lucky Charms cereal for dessert. She ate all the marshmallows, then dumped the cereal out. She brought me the cup to show me it was empty ( doing the “ALL GONE” gesture ) and then pointed to the box for more. It was too cute. 🙂

Her favorite things right now are her Disney Princess Figurines, the Telletubbies, and anything Elmo.

She’s still teething and has some molars. Sleeping is still a struggle. I just pray she stays tiny so we can keep her in the crib until 2!

Christmas was great. She was the life of the party both on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. She got so many gifts that I have some stored out in the garage to give to her later. She’s so spoiled!

Some of her gifts were and Elmo medical Kit, a ride on bike/rocker, a red leather chair, a piano and her own mailbox. Not to mention money and clothes. She has more money in her account than we do, which is really scary. But al least we can feel confident that we can pay for UF or Julliard. 😉

I cant believe that her second birthday is just a few months away!

LINKS TO PICTURES:

HalloweenBee.JPG
ChristmasMorning.JPG
ChristmasEve.JPG
WithAvary.jpg

26.10.05 / Uncategorized / Author: admin / Comments: (0)

10/25/05
Audrey had her first “emergency” trip to the Doctor today! After jumping down from a toy that she shouldn’t have been standing on, she tripped and fell forehead first into the sharp corner edge of the entertainment center. I was shocked that there was no blood, but the lump on her head was huge and had pulsating veins throbbing out of it ! I was sure that her skull was cracked and her brain was ready to burst out of her head. I grabbed my purse and the diaper bag and immediately got her in the carseat and started driving toward the hospital. After calling my Rob and my Mom on the way, I realized that I had left water boiling on the stove ( I had just started cooking dinner)! Rob got home just before all the water boiled out of the pot ( 1/8 inch of water left!). The swelling and pulsating subsided on the way to the After- Hours Pediatric Clinic so by the time we got there I was calm. Audrey had stopped crying but was drifting in and out of sleep. The Dr. said it was a bad contusion/hematoma but that her scull was ok. He examined he for a while and then told me to wake her during the night and check her pupils for symmetrical dilation. He also said that she had a large amount of swelling and blood and it may settle in her sleep, so not to be surprised if she wakes up with two black eyes and/or swollen eyes. We went home (It is a miracle we had a house to come back to) and put her to bed.

10/26/05
She woke up this morning and her head looks much better and she doesn’t have the dreaded black/swollen eyes. She’s acting like herself (I’ve already caught her trying to climb onto the coffee table this morning). This kid has no fear?!?!

These pictures were taken about 3 hours after it happened, while she was eating dinner at home. (This was after the swelling stopped and there werent any more veins bulging out of her head!)

04.10.05 / Uncategorized / Author: admin / Comments: (0)

October 1, 2005,

Audrey has 2 favorite things right now: Dancing and Sesame Street. She dances all day long, whenever she hears music, rocking, wiggling, bouncing and spinning. She also loves Elmo ( she calls him ” Muuuuuh”). She searches out things that make music all ay long, like the TV, alarm clock, toys, cell phones, and music boxes. If you ask her to do ” her beautiful dancing” she will respond with a slow twirl with on arm in the air. ( Clearly, a future Broadway dancer.)

Her favorite foods now are breaded chicken, 12 grain bread, mandarin oranges, and key lime yogurt. Vegetables are struggle but at least she’s eating meat now. Her favorite treat is gummy candy, especially Swedish fish. She knows that she will only get those from Daddy when he gets home from work, so when he walks in the door she runs to the cabinet he keeps them in. She points up to it and demands ” ISH,ISH ! “. She went for a weight check and was up to 19 lbs. Hopefully shell be back on the charts at her 18 month check up.

The sleep specialist couldn’t tell us anything we didn’t already hear from the pediatrician, but by some miracle, a few days after the appointment, without any intervention, she started sleeping well. Things are MUCH better now. She sleeps through the night a few days a week and her bad nights aren’t so bad.( I’m knocking on wood.)

We are currently battling Audrey’s urge to climb. I feel like I say ” NO, get down” 50 times a day. She climbs on top of the coffee table, the ottomans, climbs the footboard on the bed, the shelves into he closet, and uses toys to climb on top of the couch. She also hangs off tabletops like they are monkey bars and has learned how to open doors.

I have really been slacking with the pictures lately… Here is a picture of her dancing in the pool at her friend Avery’s 2nd birthday party and one of her eating her first Krispy Kreme doughnut. I am very busy right now trying to design my online class, but I will update again soon.
dancin.JPG
kk2.JPG

10.08.05 / Uncategorized / Author: admin / Comments: (0)

August 10, 2005

Audrey has had a reaction to her MMR/Chickenpox vaccination. She broke out in a horrible rash (see pictures)! We were planning to take her to visit her Great-Grandparents in Miami this weekend! Hopefully we can still go!?!?!

July 29, 2005
I am finally getting the opportunity to write in Audrey’s journal again! I have been spoiled this summer with all the help I had from my Mom. She took Audrey overnight about a dozen times and I got a much needed break. We have also hired a babysitter for a few hours a week so that I can get work done and sleep when I am very deprived! Her name is Carissa and she lives in our neighborhood. She is SO great with Audrey and Audrey loves her! To top it all off, she speaks Spanish and is teaching Audrey! This will make things much easier as I go back to work in the fall and wont have anymore help from my Mom during the week.

She has learned so much in the last few months. She is walking like a pro and even running! She calls everything a “Guhhh” but she says a few words: MaMA, DaDa, Kih ( Kitty), Dah ( that). She also makes a cute sniffley sound through her nose to imitate the sound a doggie makes. She shakes her head “NO” when she’s doesn’t want things, sings, dances, points to things she wants and can kick her soccer ball and brush her teeth.

Her Stranger Anxiety has hit its peak. She usually does not want to be held by anyone she does not know. The only people who can walk away from me while they are holding her without Audrey freaking out are Rob, my Mom, My Dad, Carissa, and usually Lorrie. Other than that, She acts like she’s being abducted and throws a big fit!

She likes playing peek-a-boo, pat-a-cake- this little piggy, itsy bitsy spider, etc. But what she likes the most is playing rough. She loves to be thrown around ( especially by Rob) She’s happiest when she’s hanging upside down or being thrown in the air or chased around the room. She’s quite the daredevil, climbing on everything and diving right into danger.

She still doesn’t sleep through the night, but We are coping much better now. She will be seeing a sleep specialist next week. She’s 18.1 pounds now, still rather small ( average is about 22 lbs). The doctor has suggested giving her weight gain supplements because she has ” fallen off the charts”. Her favorite foods are cantaloupe, grapes, vanilla pudding, and Goldfish crackers. She doesn’t like meat or vegetables very much but she still eats them in jarred babyfood. She loves whole grain breads, eggs, yogurt and cheese. Getting her to eat is never a problem. She eats like a piglet.

May 28, 2005

Its been a long time since I’ve posted because I have been very busy chasing Audrey all over creation. She is walking now and really keeping me on my toes. She mastered walking about 2 weeks ago and now wants to roam everywhere and explore everything. This weekend Aunt Mindy and Uncle Forrest are here and we are taking her to the Florida Aquarium. I will post pictures. She is communicating more by waving at everyone she sees , pointing at everyone and when asked for kisses or mooches puckering up and making kissing noises. She spends lots of time with grandma and grandpa. She loves playing with my dad – he teaches her how to get into all kinds of trouble!

April 29, 2005

Audrey has a great 1st birthday! She had a Tinkerbell cake and got lots of presents from her family.

March 14, 2005

Saturday night we spent out first night away from the baby. One of my Moms 32nd birthday gifts to Rob was for us to have a night alone in a hotel while she stayed at our house to watch the baby. We went out to dinner at Maggianos and then stayed at the Quorum Westshore. We even got a free upgrade to the CLub level with bathrobes, etc.! We had breakfast the next morning and came home at about 11:00. We had a very nice time. I slept the whole night without having to get up once! ( Keep in mind I have not slept through the night in well over 300 days- so this is huge!) My mom is insisting on buying a crib and taking the baby overnight more often so that I can rest, and I am reluctantly taking her help. I know that she’s right, if I don’t get some rest I may die.

23.02.05 / Uncategorized / Author: admin / Comments: (0)

March 2, 2005:

It didn’t work 🙁

Here are some recent pictures of Audrey:
Crawling : crawl.JPG
Playing with her books : book.JPG

March 1, 2005

Audrey truly slept through the night for the first time last night. No rocking, reinserting the pacifier, no turning her on her tummy. Nothing. She went to sleep at about 9:30 and sleep until 6:00. Then I picked her up and she fell back asleep until 7:00. Its a miracle. I am not expecting this to happen again though. The night before last she woke up at least 15 times so its probably just dumb luck. Today I am going to try to keep her on exactly the same schedule to see if it helps.

February 26, 2005

Okay – this is not entirely Audrey related, but Mindy got engaged today and I am so excited! Audrey will have an Uncle Forrest soon! ( Lovingly referred to as Uncle Fo- Fo). She will also be a flower girl even though she’s only going to be about 2 years old then. Maybe Audrey will get some cousins in the next few years? 😉 Congrats Mindy!

Febuary 23, 2005

We think Audrey might have said “DaDa” this morning! She days a few ” words” now – “GEE” means she’s happy. ” AGh-Ah” and ” Bah Bah Bah Bah”, are general conversation. ” Kuhh” is the word for Kitty. She is saying “DaDa” off and on all day long now but I think she is making the association between Rob and DaDa. As for MaMa, doesn’t look like she’s say that any time soon. She rarely makes the “M” sound at all. Yesterday she learned to stand up without puling herself up with a handle or ledge. She used out sliding glass door to lean against and stood. Its amazing how she has gone form first crawling to standing so well in only a few weeks. She does take little steps while she holding on to things, but no real steps yet… she has tried but she falls. She’s such a happy baby – usually if she falls she laughs and gets back up. The novelty of standing has worn off now. She tries to climb is there is anything nearby to step on. She also started waving to people. She doesn’t usually wave ” bye-bye” – she just waves to anyone or anything she sees and likes. She eating a little more table food now. She likes pickles! She has tasted little bits of chicken and vegetables off our plates. She’s drinking about 3 8ox bottles a day and eating 2-3 jars with lots of Cheerios and Gerber crackers and snacks. She’s also drinking about 2 oz of juice a day. Now she takes two naps – one at 11 and one at 4. On good night she sleeps from 8 or 9 pm until 7:00 am waking only once or twice. Those nights are wonderful and I feel almost sane. Those nights are still the exception. Normally, I am up at least 3 or 4 times.

February 3, 2004:

Audrey crawled for the first time today! She’s been standing up while holding on to toys and furniture for about 2 weeks and during the last few days she started to ” cruise” a bit – taking little shuffle steps while holding on to the table to get to the other side). Now she plays standing up for at least 1/2 the day She’s a really good sport about falling down, she usually giggles and pulls herself right back up. She’s a had few bumps on the head so far, but nothing serious enough to give her trouble with long division. Watching her ” explore” is really nerve racking for me. Its hard to find a comfortable balance between hovering over, removing her from every potential scenario for a fall , and letting her explore independently. I spend about a third of my day cringing.

My Christmas sleep miracle ended by New Years. I’ve given up on the whole sleep thing and gone completely into survival mode. My We have done everything but “cry it out”, so in my book, there is nothing left to do but cope with it. Now, when Audrey wakes up, she sits or stands up in her crib immediately making it even more difficult to get her back to sleep. She is practicing her new skills at 3am. She’s so excited about her new talents that she wakes up to try sitting up or standing – just one more time !

I have learned that there’s tired, and then there’s mommy tired. Before I had Audrey, I assumed that I could master sleep deprivation as I’d mastered staying out dancing until 4am, or exam cramming. I also figured the fatigue would go away around the three-month mark, when she would begin sleeping through the night. All the books said it would happen this way!?! I was so thankful to have escaped the curse of colic, Ha.

Staggering around in the middle of the night is a big part of my life now. Having a baby who doesn’t sleep is like being in an all-day aerobics class – without the benefit of weight loss, of course. With lifting a 17 pound baby a hundred times a day and squatting to pick up toys with her in my arms I should be completely toned by now. But you see, to sustain yourself though this marathon you need to eat sugar and carbs. I mean, who wants to eat a salad or a chicken breast at 1:00 in the morning? Chocolate is the perfect food, day or night. No mixing, heating, or utensils to wash, and it gives you energy. It is also the last decadence I can indulge in – since the odds of getting a manicure, massage, shoe shopping, or even shaving my legs is pretty slim.

Anyway, In the beginning you’re perpetually cuddling, rocking, and pacing the floors with a motion-sensitive infant. Later, you’re running after that same baby as she happily bungees off the furniture and terrorizes the cat. Sleeplessness is really rough, but it’s the rituals of changing, feeding, soothing, and entertaining a baby day in and day out — even when you’re overworked, or have a migraine, don’t think you can keep your eyes open for even one more minute, or simply can’t bear picking up one more toy one more time — really suck the life out of you. ( I can envision all the mothers nodding as they read this – and all the women without kids doubling checking their pills!)

17.12.04 / Uncategorized / Author: admin / Comments: (0)

Dec 17 2004 –

BECAUSE ROB IS NOT KEEPING UP WITH THE WEBSITE, I HAVE TAKEN OVER. PLEASE HAVE PATIENCE AS I LEARN TO DO THIS! IF YOU MISS THE FORMER PROFESSIONAL QUALITY OF THE SITE – PLEASE HARRASS ROB.

So I’m going crazy because Audrey won’t sleep through the night. Not even close. She has regressed into waking up about 8 times a night and I really think I might die if I don’t get some sleep. Took her to the Doctor about her teething ( no teeth by the way, just swollen gums). This was not my usual Dr. and this heartless man said to her ” cry it out”. ( Letting the baby cry itself to sleep no matter how long… after 3 nights most babies are supposed to be magically cured.) Now, with all my Psych background I was familiar with Ferber, Brazelton’s, Sears and the like – but I thought that ” Ferberizing” was an ” old school” practice that had since been deemed to be bad for a baby’s developing attachment and would create negative associations with sleep. Guess I was wrong and thee are still a lot of people doing this. Needless to say I was not going to do this and ran to the library to brush up on my Child Psych. According to most of these books I was doing everything right (having a bedtime ritual, not jumping up right away when she fussed,waiting a few minutes before going to her to see if she falls back to sleep on her own, reassuring her but not picking her up unless she was very upset… etc.) Nothing seemed to work. I let her cry one night out of sheer exhaustion for 4 -5 minutes, that was all I would take. When I came in her sweet little cheeks had tears on them and as soon as I picked her up she snuggled into my chest and slept. This was all the evidence I would need to be sure that the ” cry it out” method ” was not for me. Have these Doctors forgotten about Erickson : Trust vs. Mistrust?

Then I was granted a Christmas miracle…
Audrey Grace is now sleeping. Thank you God! The weather changed, it got very cold so I pulled out her warmer blankets. These are especially soft and I was rocking her to sleep with the blanket on my chest, between her body and mine. I set her in the crib on her tummy with the blanket underneath her and it was bunched up under her head and around her face. She also rolled up against the crib bumper and looked quite cozy. She pulled the blanket over her head and slept for 4-5 hours! Its been 2 days of naps and overnights and she’s sleeping great! Thank goodness we were paranoid enough to get the SIDS bed monitor or else I wouldn’t be able to rest knowing she had a blanked over her face! She’s taking 1 1/2 – 2 hours naps and sleeping in 4 – 5 hour stretches! Maybe its just timing, or dumb luck, or maybe the poor kid just needed a pillow!

Pictures from Audrey’s 1st Christmas:

Getting Ready to go Christmas Shopping: mall1.JPG
Opening a Gift : ballet.JPG
Eating Christmas Dinner: dinner.JPG

01.12.04 / Uncategorized / Author: admin / Comments: (0)

November 30:
Audrey had a wonderful 1st Thanksgiving! Her Great Aunt Linda from New York and Her Aunt Lorrie for Jacksonville were here visiting and spent lots of time with her. Grandma let her eat mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes with her hands! She liked the mashed, but really loved the sweet potatoes. She had Gerber Dutch Apple desert too. Afterward she needed a bath because she was covered in potatoes, they were even in her diaper!

Over Thanksgiving weekend Audrey started teething, we cant see any teeth yet, but we are sure that it’s time it is the real thing. She has been very fussy, has especially pink cheeks, tugs on her ears occasionally, bites and chews on everything in sight, isn’t sleeping through the night and is sticking her tounge out all the time! We can’t even get a good look at her gums because she pulls away or sticks out her tounge every time we touch her mouth! We have only had to give her Tylenol twice so far, but I hope this passes soon. She seems really uncomfortable.

Audrey sits up by herself very well now but the Doctor thinks she may not be a crawler (like her Mom.) She says her little legs are very strong and that she might just start “pulling up.” She anticipates her to starting crawling or pulling up to happen sometime in December. She was 14 lbs 11 oz at her last appointment but she is still fitting in some of her 0-3 month clothes. She has gotten a little longer though and her feet have grown! She no longer fits in some of her baby shoes. Her bald spot has completely filled in! Her hair is getting longer and starting to hang over her ears now!

Rob took her for a walk last night and she liked looking at the Christmas lights in the neighborhood. Now that the weather is cooling down we are spending more time outdoors. She loves watching the neighborhood kids play in the street and watching the birds in our backyard. She laughs easily now at pretty much anything her Dad does. If he laughs, she laughs. It’s so cute to watch but I’m a little jealous because she doesn’t seem to find me nearly as amusing. Then again, Rob sometimes goes to great lengths to make her laugh hard, usually by breakdancing on the kitchen floor. I can’t compete with that kind of entertainment!

Audrey actully likes going out now, so short trips to the store are no longer a problem. We will be spending lots of time in the mall as it gets closer to Christmas and I am going to take her to get her picture taken with Santa! Check back for that picture before Christmas.

Thanksgiving Pictures:

Audrey Eating Turkey Dinner: turkey1.JPG
Audery Bathing After Dinner: turkeybath.JPG

October 31:
Audrey was a ballerina for Halloween. We bought her costume on eBay and it was really cute. She had a tutu, a headband, and the feet had little satin slippers. Of course, she is too young to do any real trick-or-treating, but she helped us hand out candy at the front door where everyone could admire her cute costume. Rob’s Mom came over and brought her some Halloween treats including a Halloween book and bib. My parents stopped by later to see the baby in her costume. Audrey seemed to like all the things there were to look at on Halloween. Our neighborhood has a great Halloween celebration and we probably had 75 trick-or-treaters come to our door! Of course, lots of people commented on how cute our little ballerina was!

Picture of Audrey in her costume: hallow.JPG

23.10.04 / Uncategorized / Author: admin / Comments: (0)

Audrey took her first real trip last weekend. We went to Miami to visit her Great Grand Parents. My Dad and sister Lorrie went with us. We left at 5:00 in the morning, thinking she would sleep until 8:00. This didn’t quite work as we had planned. She was awake for the first hour but slept for most of the trip there. She adjusted to all the new people and new surroundings pretty well. Somehow we forgot to bring the baby’s pack-n-play (has a portable crib.) Although I had to thoroughly inspect it to relieve myself of my anxiety over suffocation, bed bugs, and other horrors, she slept in the crib we rented at the hotel. We had a great time visiting my Aunt, Uncle, Cousin and Grandparents and I was very happy they got to meet Audrey. Audrey’s Great Grandma bought her a “Happy 6 Months” birthday cake and we celebrated after dinner on Saturday. Audrey was a little angel the whole ride home, we even stopped to eat lunch in a restaurant! This trip went a lot more smoothly that we had anticipated. We are looking forward to going back…hopefully in the Spring.

A picture of Audrey & family in Miami:
miami.JPG