Peeling the walls

Grandma and I have been working hard to get Audrey's room looking very cute. We painted the walls two different colors, a lighter celery green on the top and a darker sage green on the bottom. We put up a border between the two colors that matches her bed set and we have matching window treatments to put up this week.

We finished the border on Wednesday and I thought I had given the border plenty of time to set before I put Audrey's bed close to the wall again and put some of her other furniture back in the room as well. So this afternoon I did all the rearranging before putting her down for a nap.

Apparently, that was not my best idea. As you can see, Audrey didn't sleep at all, she was too busy peeling the border off the wall - and shredding it. Luckily, from what I can tell, she didn't eat any of the border.

Another Tooth!!

I knew Audrey was getting lots of teeth all at once. I can feel them right below the surface of her gums, but it is still fun and surprising to see which teeth make it out first.

The funny thing about the latest tooth, is that it is a top tooth on the left of her left front tooth. So she is getting teeth on either side of her mouth, making it so she still only has one matching set (top and bottom) that she can bite with.


Top teeth: 2 (all on the left side of her mouth)
Bottom teeth: 3 (1 left, 2 right)

Sorry if this is confusing, I will try to get a picture as soon as these latest teeth are actually visible.

Watch Out, Nemo

Watch out Nemo - here comes Audrey!

Audrey's mom has a strange affinity for the costumes that are puffy and soft - especially when the costume has a tail. Luckily, Audrey is a good sport about trying them on - and she is the cutest little clown fish ever!!

In the top picture, Audrey headed for the stairs as soon as the costume was on.

In the bottom picture you can see her top tooth as she struggles to free herself. She would not hold still for a picture because she liked walking in the fish suit so much.

Squatter

Audrey loves to squat down and play with things and then stand up move a few feet or yards and then squat down and play again.

Here she is seen playing with two of her favorite things, the remote and her baby doll.

Teething game

Audrey just had another tooth break through on the bottom. This is her teeth score:

Bottom teeth - 3
Top teeth - 1 (a bit of a cheat even because she busted her gums open to get this one out)

We are all hoping the top teeth make a comeback soon and tie up the game. Chewing will be so much easier with a few more teeth.

Remote Control

Audrey loves to walk the remote control(s) around.

Outside

Audrey has discovered the joys of going outside. We have a glass door to a deck right off the kitchen and today I looked over and she was kissing the door.

New due

Hair can be tricky at any age, but at 13 months...

Audrey has long hair on top and short/no hair elsewhere. So in order to keep the long hair out of her eyes while it is growing, I have been using a hair clip to the side. This worked well, until Audrey figured out that they were always there. Now she pulls them out (even when it hurts and makes herself cry) and tries to put them back in (after a taste or two).

So I tried the "ouchless" pony-tail holders, pig-tail style on top of her head. Unfortunately, her hair is not thick enough to fill out two pig-tails. Finally the solution is, one Pebbles-style pony-tail right on top.

Call for pictures

Hey friends and family,

I know most of you who read this are far away and don't get to see little Audrey very often, so I have a favor to ask of you.

I have a little book with pictures of people who love Audrey. Lately, it has been her favorite book. She loves to look through the pictures of people and point to them. The only problem is, I don't have very many pictures. So if you have any pictures of yourselves that you would be willing to share, please send them to me.

My hope is that by seeing everyone's pictures, Audrey will be able to warm up to people she doesn't get to see very often much more quickly (and remember people longer).

Any picture will work. Please keep in mind, Audrey will enjoy seeing pictures of the people who love her as much as you enjoy seeing pictures of her.

Thanks in Advance.

Daddy's Girl

Today at dinner time...

Ryan: while speaking to Audrey, "Where's Daddy?"

Audrey: looks directly at Ryan, points to him and says, "Daddy"

We both responded by clapping and being very enthusiastic. When Ryan tried to teach her "Mommy" by pointing at me, etc., Audrey clapped enthusiastically for him. It was as if she was saying, "very good Daddy, you know who Mommy is."

Snaggle tooth

Audrey's front bottom two teeth are old news. And several times I thought she was just about to get the top teeth, but they haven't popped out yet. That was until the garbage can helped her out - about two weeks ago...

Audrey was trying to push the kitchen garbage can again and tripped a little. She banged her mouth on the edge but didn't fall, so I thought she was okay, until we saw blood. She cut her upper gums on her left side. It all healed nicely within a few days, except for a little white spot of a tooth that was exposed on that side. Now that little white spot is really on its way down, while on the other side, the tooth is still hiding safely below the surface.

Somehow, Audrey manages to still look amazingly beautiful even with a snaggle tooth.

Pool time

While we were in Utah, Audrey had her first pool experience. She liked it - except for the water over her head part.

Now that we are home, I set up the little blow-up pool on our back deck and jimmy rigged the hose up to the second floor to fill it up with water. Audrey was thrilled. I made her wear little non-slip booties on her feet to prevent both slipping and splinters, but she didn't mind at all. As long as she could haul the water out of the pool and onto the deck for redistribution, she was a happy camper.

Bud's Wedding

Audrey's Aunt Bud just got married and this was the dress Bud picked out for Audrey and Tori. It was almost as if Audrey knew she looked fancy. She kept showing off for everyone. If no one was around to show off for, she walked around until she found someone.

In this picture she is on her way out of the reception in search of new people to make friends with.

Packing Fun

Audrey is always trying to help. Here she is sitting inside my suitcase and pulling out all of the stuff I put into it. She was quite pleased to discover just how much fun suitcases can be.

Fancy Shoes

In order to get ready for Aunt Bud's wedding, Audrey had to practice wearing shoes. Here she is seen examining them very closely.

table talk

It seems like everyday stuff to me, but today Grandpa (my dad) asked what Audrey likes to eat and I realized that this everyday stuff, may still be of interest to the rest of you.

Audrey's favorite foods so far are - bananas, apples, corn, yogurt, chicken, and whatever I am eating.

Recently, Audrey has really taken to scrambled eggs. She even says eggs - which actually sounds more like a slow "x" - but she is close.

She now likes to feed herself and almost won't let me spoon feed her anymore. With eggs, that isn't too much of a problem, but yogurt, applesauce and babyfoods are scary. I have visions of food flying every time I reluctantly hand over the spoon. Thankfully she really is aiming for her mouth, so the food hasn't flown too far yet....

Her Aunt William came up with a game where she basically chanted "A" or "O" depending on the finger food and then put it in Audrey's mouth. Well, the game is a huge hit and Audrey now chants the "A" and "uh" (her version of "O") at each meal.

Basically there isn't anything that Audrey won't eat. She will make a this-is-awful-face while eating her food if she doesn't like it, but when that bite is over, she will still open her mouth for another.

Red Duck

Little Audrey is a chatterbox. She is constantly talking and humming. She isn't however actually saying anything. That is until Thursday. On Thursday she felt inspired to start actually saying something. She attempted a "Hi", and then said "Duck" and later on "red". The only one she says with any consistency is "Duck" pronounced "cuck". A funny first word indeed.

Happy 1st Birthday!

Audrey had her 1st Birthday on July 22. At the party she encountered her first cake and she did not understand how to blow out the candle. This picture was captured seconds before I blew out the candle and that precariously perched hand, dove straight into the cake.

Walking like a champ

Audrey is now "officially" walking. She no longer utilizes her knees at all - except for with the stairs and only then because it can't be helped.

Since she is walking so well, I thought it was time for her to try walking outside, she of course, had other ideas - namely, sitting. The sidewalk was just far too interesting for walking around on, she had to inspect close up first.

Three Kids in a Basket

This weekend, Kalyn and Bryan came up with their kids (Ali and Josie) for the 4th of July Weekend. It was lovely having them here and Audrey enjoyed having some kids to play with. She did not however, appreciate the game of sitting in the basket nearly as much as Ali and Josie.