For Your Viewing Pleasure

Did you really think she would do this without crying? Me neither! And, no, she isn't wearing lipstick! :)

Grandmommy

Yesterday, my grandmother rejoined her Father inside those pearly gates. She lived 86, nearly 87 years. The last year or so was difficult for her. I am glad she is finally at peace.

These are a few things I've remembered during the past 24 hours:

• She often offered Moon Pies and Coke when we came over.
• She made splendid pudding pies.
• I remember playing with a set of Lincoln Logs for hours over at her house.
• She had a fun aluminum Christmas tree.
• The light of different colors that shone on that tree was stuck on just one color for as long I can remember.
• She was a lover of crossword puzzles.

Thes are just some things that immediately pop into my mind when I think of Grandmommy. I lover and I'll miss her.

One Precious Year

Audrey turns a YEAR old today! I'm so glad that the weather wasn't icy last year. I don't know if we could have even made it to the hospital if it had been like this. I sand truck overturned right next to our hospital early this morning and they had to close down the entire street for hours. I would not have enjoyed trying to get by that while in labor if that had happened a year ago!

Audrey has such the little personality now. She just babbles away. She took some steps last week, so I'm just waiting for her to start toddling all over the place. We go to the doctor Thursday, so I can give you her stats then. I did weigh her last week at my mom's and she a light 17 pounds. Ha! Can you believe how teeny she is?! Her favorite thing to do now is to "cruise" on the couch, practice standing on her own, and plopping onto the cushions. Of course, I'm always there to catch her so that she doesn't go over the edge. She loves it when her daddy tickles her. She'll throw her head back and laughs over and over again. It is so good to hear that laughter when remembering all of her crying those first 4 months.

Below is a video I made that shows some pictures of Audrey's first year. I chose the song Rocking Song by Acapella. This song is very precious to me. I had experienced a hard day the first time I heard it. Audrey was colicky and I was home alone with her. I called Michael to come home after 3+ hours of screaming and I was beginning to cry myself. When he arrived, she had fallen asleep in my arms. Even while she slept, her little body would jump with those little hiccups you get after a hard cry. Michael had received this CD in the mail that day and played this song. I clung to every word. I still can't hear the beginning of this song without tearing up. I know that as Audrey grows older, the ending will mean a lot to me also.

Audrey's Very 1st Birthday Party!!!

Man oh man, have we been struggling with health at our house lately! From the last post, you all know we struggled with poor Audrey being sick. Well, Michael went to the doctor next. I went to the doctor 5 days later and then back again 3 days after that! We managed to all be well for Audrey's party on Saturday. I'm so thankful that we were all well and got well enough to shop and prepare for the party. Bad mom on my part for waiting so long, but I wanted to see what Audrey received from her early Christmas with the Hall's.



So, I totally stole the party theme from my friend, Shannon. Her daughter's party was the same day, so we missed Morgan's party. Too bad! Shannon gave me the idea of Winter ONEderland. I had already decided to make a snowman cake and reindeer cupcakes, so it fit perfectly!

Audrey apparently likes the song, It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To. She is not a big fan of crowds, especially if she's the center of attention. She did enjoy seeing her gifts as I unwrapped them, so at least she's normal kid in that department! She got a lot of great things. I'm so blessed to have so many loving family members that live near by.

We almost had an accident with the candle. I had been teaching Audrey to blow, practicing for this very event. Unfortunately, I didn't think about how enticing a flame would be to Audrey and that she would want to touch that very hot flame. Her grab missed the flame, but it taught me not to linger very long around fire with a toddler!

Audrey got her first taste of chocolate! She didn't get as messy as I thought she would. My cousin, Jordan, was trying his hardest to have her put her messy hands in her hair. Luckily, she just ignored him.

So that's it! She turns one tomorrow! We are so thankful to have spent the past year with such a doll. I don't know why God blesses some families with healthy children and not others, but I want to have full appreciation for the gift that is Audrey.

Thanksgiving with the Halls

This year, we spent Thanksgiving with the Halls. We spent Wednesday and Thursday at the Great Wolf Lodge. I was a little worried before we left on how Audrey would do without her crib and spend the night in a strange place. She was also breaking in 4 new teeth. The picture below is my poor daughter drooling and with a runny nose.


We got to the Lodge and couldn't wait to go swimming! Even though it was time for Audrey to go to bed, we swam until 9:00. Audrey LOVED it! Here she is in her swimsuit and cover-up.

Well, Audrey's congestion just got worse and worse. I thought it was from teething, but it must have been a cold. She would try to sleep, but her difficulty breathing kept her up all night. I had her sleep on my chest while I tried to sleep on the couch. All three of us received very little sleep. I didn't get a wink. We swam about 30 minutes Thursday morning before I decided that we all needed to go home and rest before returning to the lodge for our Thanksgiving buffet. We only live about 10-15 minutes away, so it wasn't a big deal.

Here's Audrey with Michael's mom, aka, Ma.

The whole Hall clan at Great Wolf Lodge.

Great Wolf Lodge.
Thursday night, we drove home. But we first wanted to buy a Vick's vapor humidifier. We weren't going to stay up all night like the night before. As we drove around town trying to find a store open late on Thanksgiving, Audrey got pretty sick in the car. I'll spare you the details. Thursday night was another sleepless evening. We missed spending Friday morning and early afternoon with the Halls because the only way Audrey could sleep was in the carseat. I think the incline helped her breathing. So we spent a couple of hours cruising Highland Park looking at the beautiful houses and the gorgeous foliage. This may have been my favorite time of the holiday. I don't get to spend much time talking with Michael, so this was great. We spent the rest of the days at the Halls.

Friday at the Halls...Audrey gnawing away on the teether.

Ma and Poppy with their babies.

Audrey went to sleep Friday night at 3am. We had to be back at the Hall's at 8am for a special guest.

The kiddos listening to Santa.
What Audrey thought of Good Ole St. Nick.

Audrey checkin' out her gift from Santa.

Audrey trying to get into the Christmas spirit.

Michael's into it!
Bed-head.

On Sunday, we went back over to the Hall's for pictures before church. The girls all got Little House on the Prairie gowns. Here's that picture.
And here's another family picture.

Audrey went to bed at 5pm Sunday night. She was exhausted!