crawling pictures

I added pictures of Audrey crawling to my last post.

that's all. :)

and now she has a nasty cough, lots of flem in her throat and it sounds like she's lost her voice...poor thing.

little crawler

she's finally crawling!!!

it was well over a month ago that we were expecting Audrey to be crawling "any day now." she's been so close for so long! she decided to take her time and that's completely ok with us...she's growing up fast enough anyway! we can't wait to chase her around the house!

this is the day before she started crawling, she still wasn't sure what to do!

and she's already getting into everything!

Audrey's 1st Snow!

OK…it’s not technically the first snow she’s seen but this is the first snow she’s been able to experience. Yesterday around 4:30ish it started snowing so I bundled Audrey up and got her ready for a little snow photo shoot! She didn’t know what to think at first, then she loved it and by the end of the shoot, I took her mittens off and once she touched the snow, she was done with the snow. it was so fun to see her first reactions to snow!

Silly Questions

We're iced in and I have nothing great to tell about right now, so I got this off of one of my friends' facebook page. enjoy!


1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My middle name is Olivia, after Olivia Newton John “You’re the one that I want. You are the one I want! Ooo-ooo-ooo!”

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? A few days ago when I walked in to get Audrey from a nap and she was sitting up in her crib waiting for me with a big smile on her face. There weren’t actual tears but I teared up…she’s growing up so fast!

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Not particularly, but I can make it look really nice, just like kindergarteners are supposed to write. I had to be their example for 4 years

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? turkey

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? No, just one kid ;)

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes, I think I’d be my own friend

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM? Who me??? No….not at all.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes, they‘re still there.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? NAKED? Yes, I would bungee jump and no, I wouldn’t do it naked

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Right now it’s All Bran Yogurt Bites, but I can’t find it in the store anymore!

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Yes, I do

what happened to 12?

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Waffle Cone Overload and Van Chunky Chocolate (Erin. Katie. You know what I’m talking about.)

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their smile

15. RED OR PINK? Both, for different occasions

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I don’t know, my fingernails, they’re very weak and thin

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? It depends who I’m with/not with at the time

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST? Yes, it’s something fun to do when you’re iced in at your house!

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black sweats and no shoes

Where’s 20?

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Nothing, the house is quiet

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? What?!? Um…some sort of light green.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Heavenly, fresh blueberry muffins and Audrey after a bath

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My dad

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? College football

27. HAIR COLOR? Dark brown

28. EYE COLOR? blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? nope

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Chicken queso burrito from Qdoba, lasagna, a good steak

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Definitely happy endings

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? You, Me and Dupree

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? gray

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Both, at the same time

No 36?

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Whoever has time

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I don’t know, not that many people read my blog

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, Wild Goose Chase and LOTS of children’s books

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? No mouse pad for the laptop

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? I usually watch the Bachelor on Monday nights but Tyson and I watched You, Me and Dupree instead, we had dvr’d it

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S). Audrey’s laugh

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? if I have to choose, it would be the Beatles, although I don’t know many of their songs

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Cozumel

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? By “special” do you mean hidden? Not really

46 WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Aurora, NE

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Whoever does it!

48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER? At college, we were on the same intramural softball team our freshman year

and now it's your turn!! come on!

aaaahhh...memories

Seven years ago today, Tyson and I started dating. we were both sophomores in college. he was 20, I was 19. that first day we started dating, we both knew that we would be together forever. we didn't say it to each other that day, but when we talked about that day months later, we both admitted it. aaaahhhh, how sweet.

and I was going to put an old picture of the two of us on here, but Audrey just woke up. sorry.

edit: here's that picture I was going to put up...it seems so long ago.

a new job title

As of today, I am officially a stay-at-home mom!!!

I decided this morning that I would go to my school and see some of my co-workers (and show Audrey off) and if my principal was available, I would tell her that I'm not returning to teach next year. Since I had taught 3 years in the district, I was able to take a one year leave of absence and still have a job waiting for me if I wanted for next fall. I had to tell my principal by March 1 but since I had already made my decision I figured I might as well just tell her and not keep her wondering. Sure enough, she was available and it's a good feeling to have told her and have it over with. She said she wasn't surprised and that she was happy for me. I will always consider myself a teacher and I look forward to returning to it once all of our children are in school. Even today, walking into the school and seeing the other teachers, there was a part of me that missed it, but there's an even larger part that knows I can always go back to work...Audrey will only be little for so long.

So...it's official! I feel so blessed to get to stay at home with Audrey and our future babies. I know not everyone can or even has a choice about staying at home or not, so I am not taking it for granted.

yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess it's time to babyproof the house!

This morning I was puting some things into the dishwasher when I happened to look over at Audrey, who was happily playing in the living room. and I could barely believe my eyes!!!!

The second picture is about as high as she got. As you can see, her feet are very far apart and she's not very good at balancing yet, so she promptly fell back onto her bottom.

All I can say is that we have a LOT of babyproofing to do around the house!

My Favorite Things

I was tagged. So...here are my favorite *material* things around the house. obviously, my favorite "anythings" around my house are Tyson, Audrey and Walter...but since this is about material things...here are my favorite "things." :) In no particular order.

my multi-colored ballet flats/slippers that I wear a LOT. they go with everything/anything. I think of them as my "Joseph" shoes.

my jewelry box. lots of fun earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, etc.

we got this as a wedding present from my college roommates' parents. her mom did the calligraphy and I just love what is says.

this bookshelf used to be in my grandparents' house(dad's side), at the top of their staircase. and now it's in our master bedroom. Tyson's brother made a dresser for us to match it. and then Tyson built a headboard and footboard and a nightstand to match it also.

my grandpa (mom's dad) refinished this for me, it goes way back in the family. if I remember right, it used to be his grandma's rocking chair...very special.

candy in the house...it's a must

I made a calendar for our kitchen...all of Audrey!

this plant was given to me by my high school basketball teammates Jan. of 2000 when my grandpa Gus died. it's been with me ever since (college dorms, duplex, apartments, our house)

Audrey's closet. it's not really the clothes I love, it's the things that will happen in them. the first time she crawls, walks, says "mama," her birthdays, etc.

my two favorite perfumes...heavenly and then I don't even really know the real name for the small bottle, but I got it a a gift for being in a friends' wedding and it's officially my summer scent.

one of my students' moms made this diaper bag for me...so sweet

the showerhead in our master bath: it's a rainfall showerhead...simply amazing.

and this is my favorite song right now. "The Best Day" by Taylor Swift. she wrote it about her mom and it makes me cry. I wouldn't have thought twice about this song before I was a mom, but it has a whole new meaning to me now that I have a little girl.

Audrey's first flight

hello from Denver!

We're about to celebrate Malorie's 3rd birthday. everything is ready and both kiddos (Malorie and Audrey) are napping so I figured I had a little bit of time to write!

I must admit...I was a little nervous about Audrey's first plane ride. would she be able to sneak in naps during the day? where would I nurse her? what if she screamed the whole time and everyone just stared at me? I've had a lot of people give me advice about what to do during take off and landing and I had people that were excited to hear all about Audrey's first plane ride and then there were still others that didn't seem to care at all and thought it was rediculous of me to even think that a plane ride is something to be nervous about...

anyway, I was nervous. She is already a creature of habit and follows a schedule during the day and craves her naps. all of this is great until something is new. and I consider a plane ride new.

the day started at 9am when my parents picked us up at our house and we drove about 2 hours to OKC. we checked in, got through security (that's a whole other story) had some lunch and made our way to the gate. it was about the time of her usual afternoon nap but she was so distracted by all the new surroundings she wasn't going to let herself sleep through all of the great new things!

so we boarded and before we knew it, we were taking off. I had brought some diluted apple juice for her to drink, but instead of drinking it, she used the bottle as a teether. (sidenote: I know, you're supposed to serve juice in something other than a bottle but she will not drink from a sippy cup right now, she only chews on them, so I decided I better bring something that she has and will drink out of) that didn't work. so we fed her some Cheerios and she was as happy as ever! my ears were popping like crazy so I knew hers had to be! Cheerios worked great. about 20 minutes into the flight she was acting VERY tired but since everything was new, she wouldn't settle down. I had only one choice...nurse her to sleep. and that worked like a charm, too! after about 5 minutes, she was out and she slept an hour and 20 mintues, until the plane landed at 2:30pm (mountain time) and the pilot turned off the seatbelt sign.

aaaaahhhhh....

I was overjoyed and relieved and confident all at the same time. I know not all of her flights will go that easy, but hey, it was a great first one!

and now I'm off to party!! Three-year-old style. :)

when will the madness end?!?

oh. my. goodness. I. am. exhausted.


Christmas Eve we drove from OK to Meade, KS (about 5-6 hours), were there until Dec. 28th, then drove to Aurora, NE (about 7 hours) to help my parents finish packing up their house. On the 30th we drove back to OK (about 8 hours). We helped my parents unload the trucks and unpack the boxes and we celebrated the new year by spending the night at their new house. We then packed our bags again and headed to Corn, OK (about 3-4 hours) for Tyson's cousin's wedding on Jan.3. We got back last night and I'm done. I think Audrey is done, too. She's already taking her 2nd nap of the day at it's only 11:30, that doesn't usually happen until 1. oh, well.



and Audrey and I are planning on going to Denver this weekend to celebrate Malorie's 3rd birthday!! we'll see if there's enough open seats on the plane...



and Audrey is 8 months old today! I really want to write all about the new things she's doing and what an amazing little traveler she was but what I really want to do is nothing. here's her latest picture with her giraffe:



I'll write more later, maybe. :)