Figuring Things Out

I took my usual Sunday afternoon nap today and Michael caught Audrey investigating instead of napping. I didn't bother to edit, so it's a couple of minutes long.

Take 5

1. Wednesday morning, on the way to Audrey's checkup, I was driving down the road, minding my own business. Suddenly, I hear a loud thud against my driver's side window (the one inches from my face) and see feathers fluttering. I bird flew into my window! Michael was driving behind me and I called him to see if he had seen what had happened. He said the bird was definitely dead. Was this bird blind? I could understand him not seeing me if I was going fast, but I was going 30 mph and down a straight road! It put a damper on my drive, knowing that I just killed one of God's creatures.

2. Audrey has a hard time digesting sweet potatoes, among several other things. I noticed a few months ago that if I ate a sweet potato, Audrey would be in tears all night. Now that she's older and eating solids, I gave her some sweet potatoes. It was in my beginner's pack of veggies and I thought she would just love the taste. Surely her tummy can handle it now. Wednesday night, she woke up every 2 hours. I thought her shots were hurting her. She was fine all of Thursday and I gave her some sweet potatoes at dinnertime. She was up nearly every hour last night. So, I'm pretty sure it was the food and not the shots.

3. Since Audrey didn't sleep last night, we slept in past 9 this morning. We were playing in the den when the doorbell rang. I was not expecting anyone and my pj's aren't really appropriate to wear while answering the door to a stranger. I ignored the second doorbell and the knocking (I do this quite a bit actually). Then, the man got up on our roof! What?! I ran back to our bedroom and called Michael. It was an adjuster to look at something we had reported to our insurance company. Michael didn't know he was coming and wanted to be here when he did. Well, I knew that he needed to come inside, so I put on some better clothes and got him down off our roof and into our home. I felt foolish for not answering the door, but I was soooo relieved that he wasn't about to break into our house and rob us! A girl's mind can run wild, you know!

4. Do you believe in luck? I didn't use to, but now I'm thinking that my dad is a pretty lucky guy. And it is not just because he's married to my mom. He wins things all of the time! I don't know how many trips he has won, but it is quite a few. He's been to see a Stars game in California and stayed at the same hotel with the players because he won first place in a contest. He entered a Ranger contest in which they select a name in a particular inning and if a Ranger hits a grand slam that inning, they win something. His name was pulled and ARod hit a grand slam. Yesterday, he was the 10,000 viewer on Lynn's blog and won a gift card. This man is lucky!

5. Last night, we ate dinner with Greg and Shirley Broom. Now, Greg is lucky to have Shirley! They are such a fun couple and wonderful spiritual leaders for Michael and me. We want to raise our family to be like the Broom family. I am so blessed to know them and to learn from them.

6 Months Stats

Alright. Shannon has motivated me to be more intentional about blogging about what Audrey can do at each phase of her life. Thank you, Shannon, for doing such a great job detailing life with Morgan to get me going!

Audrey checked in at 26 inches and 14 lbs 10 oz at her 6 month checkup. That is another drop in height for her (60%...used to be 90%) and staying steady at 25% for weight. She's a little one! She is eating solid foods. She's had peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, prunes, and pears. Audrey's favorite is carrots!

Audrey is a rolling machine. When she is placed in her crib, she would rather play than sleep. She rolls about two miles worth in her crib before she grows tired and goes to sleep.

Audrey also learned to sleep on her tummy. If she is only a little tired, she will sleep on her side. If she is super tired, she immediately rolls to her tummy and buries her face into her taggie. She prefers to sleep with a pacifier and her taggie touching her face.

Sitting up is still a struggle, but she is getting better. If she is sitting by me on the couch, I'll let her sit while I fold a shirt or something. She's not so good that I would leave her sitting on the floor beyond my reach.

Today, while Mimi was here, we trimmed her hair. She no longer has that strand of hair that curled over her ear or the long straight strands that ran down her back.

She is constantly blowing air out her mouth while pressing her lips around her tongue. She also likes to kick her knees. She will kick a knee while eating, while nursing, or while getting her diaper changed. It's really funny.

She likes to sleep about 12 hours at night. I have been feeding her at 4am, but the doctor said that she can go later than that, so we'll see how that goes!

She's been on all fours, but she scoots back rather than crawl. Again, she prefers to roll.

That's our little munchkin at 6 months!

Our "Vacation"

Michael was off for vacation last week. We didn't go anywhere, but it was busy. We both went to the dentist and we both had to get two fillings. Sad day. Poor Michael went to the dentisit office three days in a row. Michael got his eyes checked out and got a pair of new glasses. We got Michael some clothes for Father's Day. We got to see a movie. We ate out A LOT. We even went to Kobe Steakhouse. Audrey did not enjoy the food being cooked at our table, but was totally into the what was going on at the table next to us. I guess it was too scary when it was so close. It was really just a time for all three of us to be together and get important doctor appointments in. Audrey had a pretty hard time napping last week. I really think it was because she wanted to be with Michael. If he left to get the car's oil changed or to buy some groceries, she fell asleep pretty easily. She loves her daddy. We also got pictures made of Audrey. The photographer got her to smile! He had only been working at this place for a month and had previously done sports photography. I couldn't believe how easily he made her smile and laugh hysterically. Unfortunately, it was the flash that really made her laugh, so her biggest smiles were after the picture was made. Silly girl. Here are a few of those pictures:

My Baby is 6 Months Old!

Audrey is half a year old! In another six months she'll be walking around and saying words! Here are some pictures I got of her this morning.

This was a little too Gilligan's Islandy, so we opted for the bow instead!

Still chooses to keep that smile under wraps!

I love this face of her's! She does this a lot!

Her face is finally filling out some.

Having fun with her favorite playmate.

New 'Do

I know you've been dying to see the haircut (yeah...right!), so here it is. I know you like Audrey pictures better, so she's with me to make the picture more interesting. She participated in her first Girls' (+ one 9 month old boy) Night last night. She had fun. Stayed up past 9:00 and all! She and Vander got a lot of attention at the restaurant. Vander waves at anyone looking at him, so there was a lot of interaction between us and the other customers. We watched 27 Dresses. If you've seen the movie, don't you think those dress styles were a tad far-fetched?

I've Got This Problem

My child has crazy hair. It naturally does a mohawk. That might be cute on a baby boy, but not my baby girl. The picture to the right does not do justice for what is actually there. I took this picture right after she took her morning nap. I decided that I'd better change her diaper and put her in her clothes for the day before I start taking pictures. It is like putting a diaper and onesie on a monkey (hmmm, another monkey reference...). So, after all of the wrestling, her hair started sticking up around that big center curl that flows back and down her head. The second picture shows just how crazy that hair in the center is. Just one curl following another, heading towards her back. Then she has straight, flat hair that totally doesn't match up with what's going on at the top. There is one curl that isn't located at the top and it's on her left side, behind her ear. You can see it in that second picture. She'll be turning 6 months soon, and I am wanting to get some 6 months pictures taken. Any ideas what I should do with her hair? I have been putting gel on her hair, but now that her hair is longer, it just looks wet and crunchy. I also hope that I can get a picture of her
smiling. That last picture is the only I got of her smiling, and she looked down! Michael is off next week, so maybe I should do it then. She just lights up when he comes home from work. I do too. He's our favorite and we can't wait to celebrate Father's Day!

Audrey Laughing

As hard as some of us try to make Audrey laugh, her Daddy does it easily.

Take 5

1) Flip Flops: I just saw on the news that flip flops are horrible for your feet! This famous summer item is linked to ankle, lower leg, knee, and back pain. I ONLY wear flip flops in the summer. I like that they are comfy and that they keep me at 5'9" and not too much taller than my husband. They said that wearing them around the pool and around the house is fine. Well, I do that, but I've also been known to take walks in them too. I guess I'll have to wear my warm sneakers for that walk from now on.





2) Haircut: I had my hair cut Tuesday. I went in wanting a style that I found in a picture. I also wanted highlights. I came out with shorter hair that didn't look like the style I had in mind, and also a lot blonder than expected. Two of my worst haircuts have occured when I have brought in a picture. Why is that? I thought a picture is worth more than a thousand words. I guess I just get really disappointed when my hair fails to look like that of the one pictured. I'm learning to live with this head of hair and may even end up liking it after a while.

3) Cutting Coupons: I may start cutting coupons. I came across this website that seems to have a great strategy. Stores go through a 12 week (typically) cycle of putting certain things on sale. For instance, household cleaners will be on sale one week and canned veggies the next. You can get outstanding deals on certain items and stockpile those things. Pretty soon, you have stockpiled most of what you need and have saved big bucks. The site keeps track of everything. It tells you where to look, when to buy, and how to use the coupons. Have any of you used this? How did it go?

4) Red Wings: The Red Wings are Stanley Cup Champions. Did anyone catch this game?? Has to be the most exciting ending to a championship game that I've seen in a long time. The previous game built upon that excitement because you knew the Pens could make a comeback in the last few seconds of play. Osgood made the save and we saw the puck travel parallel to the goal line with just 0.01 second left. Wings celebrated and the Pens cried.

5) LOST: After the finale, I have a ton of questions. Here are a few:

• How does Christian (Jack's dad) play into all of this?
• Is Claire alive or dead? Was she unalive like Christian seems to be?
• Is Michael alive? Remember Hurley told Walt he was lying to protect those on the island, like his dad.
• Is Locke really dead? How come he's now Jeremy Bentham and off of the island?
• Where is the island now? Is it still an island?
• Will Sawyer and Juliette become an item since they believe Jack and Kate are dead?

Monkey See, Monkey Do

My parents found this video. They thought it resembled Audrey in how no matter how hard we try sometimes, Audrey will just not smile or laugh....especially in front of a camera! Just to clarify, they didn't think the monkey looked like Audrey, just acted like her! :)

Learning to be Thankful

Last night, we had Jill and Landon over to watch the LOST finale. I must begin by saying that it was a great show! But the names, oh the names! Sawyer is James, Kate is Monica, Freckles, and about half a dozen other names, Henry is Ben, and now John is JEREMY! Whoa. To read the significance of this latest name, go to Micheal's blog.

Any time we have company over, I become very thankful for our wedding gifts. Thanks for the china, dishes, silverware, glasses, crockpot, and linens! How could we have people over if you guys had not been so kind to us?! I'm also thankful for the dishwasher that can so easily clean all of those dishes!

I also have been reminded recently on how blessed we are to have Audrey. Just this week, God has shown me people that have gone through the following:

• Unable to conceive.
• Miscarrying early (over and over again).
• Miscarrying late.
• Delivering early.
• NICU
• Losing the child shortly after giving life to the child.
• Raising a child with severe problems.

I don't know why these things happen. I don't know why I was spared from these things. I know God loves each of us tremendously. We'll understand it all by and by. What I do know is that the child I saw yesterday that is living with severe problems is a unique child of God and a precious angel. I prayed for the young boy when he was born and it was a blessing for me to see him interact with Audrey. Two precious children.

Sometimes I get a little down when dealing with Audrey, my collicky (which has passed - whew!), allergic, and dificult tempered child. I know how easy-going some babies are and long for Audrey to be that way. I long to eat things that have milk and soy in them, like ice cream - yum! But I must remember that Audrey is perfect the way she is and I wouldn't have her any other way. I'm thankful that my dairy and soy free diet has kept most sweets away and makes it easier to lose the baby weight. And those smiles from Audrey mean even more!

Visiting Nana, Sasa, and Mimi

Last Friday, Audrey and I visited my grandmother, aunt, and mom. It was the perfect way to start the long weekend.

This is a four generations picture of Nana, Mimi, me and Audrey. Nana is just a hoot to be with.


This is a picture with my mom's sister, Sandra. We call her Sasa. She is basically another mom to me. She has given me much time and love.Here's Audrey having fun on Nana's floor. She just loved rolling around while we visited. Her fingers are almost always in her mouth these days.
So, we have been in search of this teether. It took me a loooong time to find someone that was actually carrying the teether. I finally found one at RightStart. Audrey LOVES it! It's her favorite item for the moment.

LOST

You may wonder what Michael and I do when Audrey goes to bed around 7:30 or so. How in the world do we occupy our time? We watch LOST. A lot of it. A couple of months ago, our friends, Jill and Landon, had us watch the pilot episode. We got hooked. Since then, we have flown through seasons 1, 2, 3, and almost 4. Can you believe it? We will watch the last show tonight and watch Season 4's finale with the rest of the world.

If you are a LOST watcher, do you have any theories? I would love to hear what you think is happening. Also, who is your favorite character? Have they always been your favorite?

Hurley is my favorite. I love the comic relief he brings. I would like to think that he would be my friend in real life - aside from the fact that he's in and out of the looney bin all of the time.

The Stanley Cup

I am so very proud to be a Dallas Stars fan right now. The team played their hearts out. Detroit was just the better team and deserve to be in the Finals. They have my respect.

Every hockey fan desperately wants to see their team lift the Cup. I've seen my team do it once. 1997: Stars lost Game 7 in round one. 1998: Dallas lost the Western Conference Finals to Detroit in Game 6. 1999: Stars won the Cup.------->2007: Stars lost Game 7 in round one. 2008: Dallas lost the Western Conference Finals to Detroit in Game 6. 2009????? :)

If you like hockey at all, you will love this commercial. Enjoy!

Why I Dislike Timer Warner Cable This Week

I've always had bad feelings towards TWC.

The two redeeming qualities it has are these: 1) stays on during storms...cable totally beats satellite when it comes to this 2) We're able to afford a sports package that includes the VS channel. It proved invaluable during the playoffs. We couldn't afford to have VS when we had satellite.

Now, some pretty aggravating things have been occurring since Monday this week. Most channels have a pause or a mini-blackout every 30 seconds or so. You completely miss a portion of a news story, an interview, or a play in a win or go home hockey game. Also, they have completely blacked-out several channels at a time while trying to repair them.

Last night, we went to a going away party for one of Michael's coworkers. As usual, the DVR was set to record American Idol. This morning, I turn on the tv to see how this FINALE went last night. I get 62 minutes of an infomercial on chronic pain followed by QVC. Thanks, TWC.

I'll have to watch all of the singing on youtube.

5 Months, Already!

Audrey turns 5 months old today! I can finally say, where has the time gone? There's no way my little baby will be crawling soon! Right now, she's just a rolly-polly. She also is beginning to think that Mom and Dad are pretty funny. Other milestones - eating rice cereal and sitting, if just for a second. Audrey got to spend her 5 month birthday morning with her cousins while I went to a doctor's appt. Boy, I'm sure glad I can leave her for awhile now and that she LOVES her cousins!

Here's a pic of my two favorite people from a couple of Sundays ago. These guys crack me up!

This is Your Chance!

Are you one of the many people living in the Metroplex that doesn't get hockey? No hard feelings. I understand we live in Dallas, where football is king and you hear Spanglish while you eat your Tex-Mex. I wouldn't be surprised if futball overtook football here soon.

Thursday, at 11:00 AM, on FSN Southwest, the rebroadcasting of the magnificant Game 6 will occur. This won't be hours upon hours of hockey, but the Reader's Digest version of the most hard-faught periods of the greatest game on earth. Why not take a look on why the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in sports. It's worth just to see the save Nabokov makes on Richards. UN-B-LEEV-ABLE!

May Already?

Can you believe that May has arrived? May means NHL playoffs! The Stars had the chance to close out another series last night, but we'll have to wait a little bit longer. Sure looks like we'll be playing the Red Wings in the conference finals. Tuesday night's game may have been one of the best games I've ever watched. Both teams were playing their hearts out. There were hits (checks) being thrown everywhere, a short-handed goal, a penalty shot, and sudden death overtime. We came out on top. :)

I started thinking last night about that game and how it made me feel. I've heard so many times people wonder why people will cheer at a sporting event but not for God. I get this, but then I don't. The elements of the game that makes one cheer aren't usually present for me when I praise God.

I grew up going to church and reading the Bible. Although the Bible is the Living Word, I don't anticipate that I will read something that will make me jump off the couch with arms in the air. Maybe it would if I were reading the material for the first time. Growing up with it means that I gradually understood the Good News, and I definitely don't fully understand it. I am very thrilled, don't get me wrong, but John 3:16 is more of a mental thing than an emotional thing for me at this time.

I have decided that perhaps one way I will jump for joy will be if/when our children profess to be followers of Christ. If we discover this at home, you better believe I will shout out with joy. If it is at church and my child walks down to the front to be baptized, I'll be more subdued.

What are your thoughts on this? I know that sports truly don't mean anything and God is everything. But do you think I should be ridiculed for jumping up for joy when a goal is scored and not when a sermon is finished?

*** I felt I needed to add that singing may be my most emotional act of worship. I've cried, raised my hands, and done a small little jig while singing before. I'm referring more to the sudden and immense joy that can come from sports. I hope I am making sense and don't offend anyone in any way.

Feeling Blue

Yesterday, Audrey wore my favorite color, blue. I just love baby girls in this color! I really wanted to do her nursery in blue, but thought I might be taking it a little too far. I'm just not that into pink, so purple and green won. Below is Audrey in her Bumbo chair and also a video of her rolling onto her tummy this morning. I finally caught her doing it! I was thinking she was waiting for me to walk into the kitchen before she rolled!

I know you are wondering about my reactions to last night's hockey game...yeah right! Since I've already posted twice today and the Stars play again tonight, I will wait until tomorrow to post on how proud I am to be a Stars fan!

The Truth Comes Out!

I recently saw a news show with past Idol contestant (and Dallas Stars Anthem singer), Celina Rae. She spoke of how the show tries to get certain singers voted off. She showed the news host how the band's music was too loud when Carly was singing. She pointed out how it was frustrating Carly as she sang. Just one of the many ways American Idol tries to sway the vote.

Now, you probably know what happened last night on American Idol. If not, go here. Paula "Where's My Brain" Abdul couldn't follow the new format of judging. They had to hold their judgement until everyone sang one song and then quickly dole it out. She critiqued TWO of Jason Castro's songs when he only sang ONE. She said she looked at David Cook's notes, but she did not. She blasted the faux second song of Jason's. That would have been the criticism for David, but she said David was her favorite. ??? Could the judges or producers write out what they are going to say even before the song is sung? Is this just another way to sway the vote? What do you think? BTW, I thought Jason did a fantastic job! His and Syesha's were my favorites last night. I'm sure one of them will leave this week.