2007 so far....

Okay, so it's been a LOOOONG time since I've updated. And because of that I'm definitely going to forget some things, but bare with me. Audrey turned one in April. That makes her almost 16 months old now. I absolutely LOVE this stage, but it's sad to see my baby growing up so fast.

Let's see, what are some of the BIG things that have happened?
Audrey got sick for the first time Easter weekend (right before her first birthday). She had her first ever fever, which hit almost 103 degrees at one point. We've been so blessed that she has been such a healthy little one. Considering she was a preemie and everything. I remember having SOOOO much guilt when I decided to stop breastfeeding (when she was 6 weeks old), because you always hear, "breast is best!!", especially with her being a preemie and needing the extra immunities, etc. But, I just couldn't do it anymore, I was under SO much stress and wasn't producing properly. Thank God, we have one healthy little girl!!!

Right after her first birthday we moved her into her own room. I struggled with the decision, mainly because I didn't want to "let her go". She'd been sleeping in our room (in her own bed) up until this point. But she did wonderfully!! The second night in her room was the first time she'd EVER slept through the night! And she's done it ever since then!! So I've decided when the next one comes along, we're moving him or her into a different room a LOT sooner!

That same week, we weaned her off of her bottle and completely off of formula. She had these three MAJOR changes happening within days of each other and she just sailed right through them with no problems or hesitations at all. Needless to say, that was definitely a bittersweet week for me!!

She took her first steps on her own at 12 1/2 months, although it took her a few weeks to feel confident enough to take more than 3 or 4 steps! I love watching babies when they're first walking, it's so adorable!!


She is also talking up a storm. Her vocabulary is growing at such a fast rate!! Here are some of the words she says:
~Mommy
~Daddy
~puppy
~Gordy (one of our dogs)
~Rikki (our new puppy, although it comes out Kikki)
~Bite (this is what she says when she wants a bite of your food)
~juicy (for her juice)
~turkey
~hi
~bye bye
~nose (although it comes out without the 's' sound)
~no or no, no
~stop/stop it (she hears me tell the dogs this)
~bubble
~uh-oh
~gentle
~kisses
~baby
~ball
~pink ball (this is her favorite ball, which is pink)
~big ball (for her ball that is, well, big!)
~hello (she says this when "answering" her cell phone)
~doo da (she sings this along with one of her toys that plays 'Camptown Races')
~Audrey (although it comes out Aw-gee)
~ducky
~dancy (for dance)
~fishy (although it comes out pishy)
~peek-a-boo (sounds like pee boo)
~there she is! (when playing peek-a-boo under a blanket)
~bebe (this is her stuffed rabbit)
~thank you
~okie dokie
~night night (it comes out die die!!)

These are all of the words that I can think of at the moment that she says on a regular basis, although there are a LOT of other things that she has said when copying someone else.

In the last couple of weeks she has also learned where her nose is. About 40% of the time she hits her cheek or mouth though!!

Now that the school year is about to start back up I'm going to start "schooling" her a bit more. Of course I will just be working with her on VERY basic things. Body parts, colors, animals, sounds, letters, numbers, etc. Also, the whole potty training thing is starting to enter my mind, but I'm going to wait until she's at least 18 months to introduce the potty to her!

I'm very fortunate because Audrey is NOT a picky eater at all. She will eat pretty much everything, although she doesn't eat much. So I'm trying to work with her on eating more and gaining a bit of weight. At her last appointment (at 14 1/2 months) she was average for her height (31 inches, I believe), but she was only in the 10th percentile for her weight at 19lbs. 14oz. The pediatrician wasn't too concerned about it, but he just wanted to bring it to my attention. So now I'm trying to fatten her up!

Also, another thing that is great is that Audrey couldn't care less about the tv (except for pushing the buttons, of course!). I've put on a few different things for her in the past and she watches not even a minute of it and then she's off playing. Although, I have to admit that at times I wish she liked to sit and watch tv, just for a break!! ;)

One thing she LOVES so much is music. This girl is obsessed!! Bryan has an electronic drum kit and two guitars set up in our room, so if she's ever in there she walks up to the guitars and starts "strumming" them. Or if she hears Bryan on the drums it immediately draws her attention! One time Bryan was playing the drums with his headphones on, so Audrey and I went in and sat down on the bed to watch, Bryan gave me a set of headphones to put on Audrey and I tell you she sat there for a good 10 minutes or so and just listened and watched!! She LOVES music!! Which is so great because she has BIG time music lovers for parents!!

Anyways, this was a brief (yet long!) update on what's going on with Audrey. I'll try and update again soon!

Also, if you'd like to see pictures of Audrey go to: http://www.dropshots.com/jen_l_06
I try and update the pictures regularly!!

Love you all!!
xoxo,
Jen =)