Do the wave!!

Audrey waved good-bye to me at daycare today. I tried to get her to wave good-bye again before I left, but she seemed to think she got her point across the first time. She also waved hello to Eric when he came in from mowing the grass this evening.

There is an obstacle course set up at Audrey's daycare. Apparently, she is the only baby that understands that one goes THRU the tunnel. She has been trying to teach the other babies, especially the boys apparently, how it's done. I think she's becoming a (ring)leader.

I bought her a book for her bath the other day. She loves it! She looks at me like I've lost it when I put it in the bath with her ("but, won't it get WET??"). She tries to stand to get it when I put it up to dry off. I love her love of books.

It didn't go swimmingly!

Audrey's first dip in the pool was not as successful as I had hoped. I think perhaps she has inherited her mother's love, er, dislike, for water. We'll try it again soon.

Audrey signed 'milk' last Wednesday. It's a good thing I was headed to get her a bottle! She has started eating oatmeal, and she had her first taste of bananas on Thursday. Those things are slippery! She was getting frustrated she couldn't pick up the piece of banana, then it got away on her! She then lost it when it got stuck on her wet fingers, and it ended up on the floor. Needless to to say, the same thing happened with a Cheerio. We'll keep trying!

She pet Fris' muzzle today. Fris seemed to like it! Fris spent the weekend at the doggie spa and hotel while we were out of town for a wedding. Fris came to Audrey's room almost immediately when she got home, to check out Audrey's status. She then passed out in front of Audrey's crib while I was rocking her to sleep. Still closely monitoring, but it's nice to see this emerging relationship.

In the beginning...

Audrey is 7 months old tomorrow, and I am feeling waaaay behind in documenting her story thus far. I am hoping that this blog will encourage more frequent documenting of her daily activities, milestones, and stories that I hope to never forget.

Audrey was born at 8am on a moderately cold day in December. Her red hair was no surprise to me. Her 9lb, 1oz birthweight was no surprise to Dr. Klus, who delivered her. Eric and I heeded her recommendation for a c-section as Audrey didn't seem to have a plan to come on her own. The end result of a healthy baby girl was reason enough for me to not second guess this decision.

Audrey is full of life, with her red hair matching her persevering personality. The name Audrey means, "noble strength", and I think she fits this to a T. Ruby is her grandmother's maiden name, and she seems as Irish as can be. She army crawls with the boys at day care, and swats at them if she notices they are pulling ahead during a race (and kicks them if they try to take one of her toys). But, she also smiles if I show her a dress that she approves to wear, and lays so still when I brush her hair. She is the perfect mix of a strong but soft and kind-hearted little girl.

Her best friend is Frisbee, who she is starting to win over. Audrey has found this not to be the easiest task she has had in her short life. Frisbee was shocked when she found out she was no longer the only child in the house. Though Fris seemed to look at Audrey as, um, prey, on her first night home, Fris has started to accept Audrey into our "pack". Fris let Audrey pet her feet yesterday while she was eating, and didn't blink when Audrey decided to toss her water bowl. Fris has even started sleeping in Audrey's bedroom (that is, until she hears we are heading to bed). When I mentioned to Eric that their relationship is hard to understand, Eric simply said, "Yes, but all that is important is that they understand it."

Her favorite song is Barbara Ann by the Beach Boys. This is one of few things that I have found will keep Audrey quiet and, most importantly, still, on the changing table. She likes that the song says, "Ba ba ba", just like her! She likes to listen to her mom and her dad's versions, but of course, prefers the Beach Boys' version.

Audrey loves books, and often peers over my lap when I'm trying to rock her to sleep. She seems to always want just one more book before bed. We love The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Doggies, and Moo Baa La La La. When I rock her to sleep, she loves to hear the story about Princess Audrey. Mom isn't the best story teller, but she seems to wait to hear this story before falling asleep, though she rarely hears it in its entirety. "There once was a little girl named Audrey, who just also happened to be a princess..." The story goes that Audrey's daddy comes home from work one day (I guess from being a king!) and announces that the family is going to Ireland for a trip. Audrey is very excited as she has heard many things about Ireland. The whole family (including Fris!) goes to Ireland on their private plane (this is the only way Fris is allowed in the country!) and the family travels all over Ireland. Audrey meets a little boy named Oliver, who just happens to be a prince. Audrey asks her daddy if she can marry him, and he says, 'no!' since she's only 5! He tells her to come back in 5 years, then 5 more years, then 5 years again to talk to him about this. He finally allows her to marry, and the whole family must move to Ireland so that Audrey is not sad about living in Ireland without them. Not sure how this story developed but this is what happens when you start a story and your little one continues to listen, even when you're out of ideas for the next plot twist! Audrey tends to listen intently until the part when her daddy continues to ask her to come back in 5 years. This is too much for a 6 month-old to stay awake for! I'm sure she'll want to stay awake for the conclusion of the story soon.

I started sign language with her three days ago. We're focusing on milk, eat, more, play, change, dress, all done, book, and sleep. She smiles when I sign to her and it seems that her wheels are turning trying to make sense of my funny hand motions. I think her curiosity will bode well for her to learn some basic signs.

Tomorrow, we're planning for her first dip in the baby pool. Her swim suit is all ready!