What's old is new again

We haven't yet found homes for all of our stuff since we moved into the new house. We used to have an attic at the old house, so all of the stuff we weren't using on a regular basis went up there. We had a ton of storage at that house. It was great. This house has NO storage compared to what we were used to. We were spoiled. We do have a storage shed out back which offers a decent amount of space, but for those of you with babies - you know how big that stuff is. We have 2 swings, a bouncy chair, the jumperoo, the pack and play, the cosleeper, plus about a dozen awkward but large toys that Audrey doesn't play with but I am saving for future babies. Its a lot of stuff. I am slightly ashamed to tell you that right now most of that junk is just sitting around in random places. It irritates me, but we have to move around stuff in the shed to get it all to fit and we haven't done that. 

So what that means for Audrey is that all her old toys are available again! And surprisingly, she finds them interesting again. She really likes playing with her baby gym - remember this?

This was taken at the old house before the move. Had our junk out then too.

One year ago.

And then there's the bumbo. She never really cared for it much when she was a little baby. I think she felt too restricted in it. But now! Oh now it can entertain her for a half an hour at a time! She looked so cute trying to fit herself into the chair and it was fun to watch her concentration while she did it. She couldn't figure out how to get in and out but eventually she got it. 

And here's another unrelated video. Just because she's cute.

Blog Book

I haven't been blogging lately. I'm sorry! We moved into the new house (finally) last Sunday and have spent every day and night working on unpacking and getting some of the many projects started. I really, really am trying to get some pictures to put up here to see the inside and see some of the progress we've already made but I'm just not there yet. I apologize.

Two new things:
I had my blog printed into a book. The main reason I started this blog was to make it easier to share updates about our little family with the rest of our family, but another reason was to document my own experiences through my pregnancy and now through motherhood. In that sense, the blog has turned into a bit of a diary for me. I used to be very good about journal-ing, but since having Audrey I have written only two entries and they both are quite nonsensical and ridiculous. Instead, I have found it much easier to just pop on here every few days and write an update - that way I am more likely to write about the little goings-on and less likely to miss anything (it is so hard to come back after 2 weeks and try to fit everything in that has happened in 2 weeks...). SO with all of that said, I'd like to share with you - Patience and Perspective: The Book!

There is a website I found that basically just prints your blog into a hardcover book. I had mine done with a table of contents which was unnecessary but I didn't see an option to change that. The posts were printed chronologically with pictures, which is great. I had it printed up through Audrey's birthday. I think I am going to do this annually from now on so that one day when the internet disappears or is replaced by some super fancy better-than-the-internet thing, I'll still have this documentation of what our lives were like and how we felt. :) The only thing I don't like about this book is that in the posts where I had videos, there is nothing. So from now on whenever I post a video, I am also going to post a picture so that when I have the blog printed a photo will be in the book.

Moving on...I also FINALLY got around to ordering a photo book for 2010. Yes, in October of 2011 I printed our 2010 photos. It was hard work. If you remember, my computer crashed in August of last year, and I lost all of my pictures. I had some, but not all of them saved online. This was honestly a blessing. I had something like 3000 pictures just from August-December of last year. I learned two things. 1) I need to edit my photos and get rid of the ones that are crappy. I tend to just snap snap snap away when I have the camera out and of 20 pictures, only 10 are clear/in focus/useable. While I do still want to keep the less than cute pictures, I think I am going to start moving them to a "not perfect" folder so that it makes it easier to locate good ones for printing. 2) I need to start working on my photo book earlier so I don't feel rushed. The company I ordered from was running a special and I wanted it NOW. Which meant that instead of putting the time and effort into a well done book, I just let the computer auto fill using the pictures I selected and it came out less than perfect. I ended up getting a pretty standard book and the price was reasonable, so I'm happy with it overall. And now we are almost at the end of 2011 and I have probably 5000 more pictures to sift through to get started on this year's book. Lots to do!

I will try to update later in the week with pictures of Audrey and of the house.
xoxo

One Year Photos

I forgot to post Audrey's one year portraits on here, but you all saw them since they are on Facebook. Our photographer did a sweet blog post about them here if you want to read it. My sweet, happy girl!

Cox Farms

On Saturday Audrey and I met up with some friends and visited Cox Farms here in Centreville. Every fall they have a huge festival with slides, hay rides, pumpkin patches, animals, and so much more. I've always wanted to go because I love family stuff like this, but I figure it'd be kind of creepy if Josh and I just show up to a family festival by ourselves, so we never went. Thank goodness for Audrey, because this place was so fun!

We started out by going on the hayride which was nice and long, but Audrey didn't care for it, probably because she couldn't really see over the side of the truck. She did enjoy throwing the hay around and possibly tasting a piece here and there. We then headed over to one of the slides and waited patiently in the long line for our turn. I held her in my lap as we slid down, and she really enjoyed it! Maybe next year she'll be big enough to go down alone. We had some lunch while we were there and then ventured on over to the Kiddie Zone section, which is designated just for the littlest kids. It was perfect for Audrey. They had a little pond where the kids could throw rocks in and watch it splash, but Audrey only was interested in climbing the wall and attempting to get in the water, so we didn't stay there for long. We went up the hill where they had some corn pits - like sandboxes but filled with dried corn kernels! It was the jackpot! Audrey loved this. She had fun dumping and tossing and mixing and filtering the corn through her hands. She did really well, but I had to watch her very closely because every few minutes she would try to sneak a taste.

 

We also went on a long walk through the corn maze and walked around a bit more before Audrey was ready for a nap and we headed home. She was so worn out from all the excitement that she fell asleep in the car before I even pulled out of my parking space. It was such a fun day with some our our friends and Audrey and I both had a blast. I was disappointed that Josh had to work, but we agreed to go again on Friday, just the three of us! 

Birthday Everything

I've been planning Audrey's first birthday party in my head for a few months. I like to plan, but implementing ideas has always been troublesome for me. I get sooo stressed out and tend to just give up. BUT! This was my Audrey. I was determined to make it happen! The decorations turned out well and everything looked pretty and when it was all said and done I was very happy and satisfied with it all. We went with a "lemonade stand" theme. Josh made a lemonade stand as a prop for photos and it turned out so cute! The best part is that we can keep it for pretend play in the future. I got most of my inspiration for the party off of pinterest, so sadly not many of the ideas were my own. I think my favorite part of the decorations (other than the lemonade stand!) was the string of monthly photos I had. I just loved looking at her development from month to month. Right at four months is when she changed. She just looks different.

Originally, I had planned for us to go to the zoo on Friday (the day of her birthday). I was so disappointed to wake up Friday morning and see the nasty weather outside. Rain Rain Rain! It wasn't so much that I had my heart set on the zoo (well, that's a big part of it), but I also just didn't want the day to go by just like any other day. Unfortunately, that was kind of what happened. We hung out at the house with my mom (she flew in to celebrate!), Josh's mom, Lauren, me and Josh. We cooked and baked, opened presents, and had a yummy sausage pasta dinner with broccoli (Audrey's favorite!). Josh made a chocolate cake and Maria brought a cake as well, so there were many sweets for everyone. My plan was to fill the living room with balloons the night before her birthday so that when she woke she would be surprised and have a fun living room full of balloons to play with. And I totally would have done that if I had not fallen asleep at 8pm the night before. Oh well. Instead I just did it after we woke up in the morning, and she didn't seem to notice the difference. That's the beauty of a first birthday! They are unaware of it all!

Whoa.

For breakfast Josh made us all pancakes and made Audrey's pink. She also enjoyed some yummy strawberries. I'd say that's a good way to start your first birthday!

Man this is so delish!

Proud Papi

Audrey's party was on Saturday. We held it at Bull Run Park at one of the covered shelters. I was really stressing about the impending rain, but to my delight it held off all day. In fact, we even got some sunshine! With all the clouds and gloom lately it was such a nice surprise. Dad and Josh grilled up some burgers and dogs, Maria made arroz con gandules, we had cupcakes, cake, fruit, cheese, strawberry lemon bars, rice crispy pops, and lots more. Audrey has never had most of those foods so she was really in for a treat! She got soooo many presents that our living room now looks like a toy store, and her closet is like a fashion show!! Thank you everyone for all the gifts - Audrey is one happy little girl!

Audrey and Gigi 

Having so much fun

Her one year doctor's visit went great. She is 23lb 13oz and 30.5 inches tall, putting her in the 85th percentile for weight and 90th for height. The doctor says everything looks and sounds great, and for the first time ever she actually said Audrey's ears look perfect! That was like music to my ears! Hopefully we can make it through this fall and winter without any ear infections.

OMG  I'm one, already??

Yeahhhhh I'm one!

I could probably go on and on and on about her party, what's new with her, and a bunch of sappy stuff about how bittersweet this event was, but now that this is all over with I am just exhausted! Have a good night yall!

One Year Old

My precious beauty. Sweet girl. Little muffin.

Darling Audrey

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Friday, September 23, 2011

She is such a happy, joyful little girl! We are so lucky and enjoy every day with her. Thank you all for being here for this first year with us!

A Prayer for my Daughter

On her first birthday, I pray: 


"First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her

When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels.

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.

“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes." 


If only I had the ability to put so eloquently into words exactly what I felt. Sadly, I do not, but Tina Fey does! This is an excerpt from her memoir, Bossypants. Although I didn't write this prayer, I sure do feel it, especially today.