Christmas 2011

We had our first Christmas in our first home with our first baby this year. It was a great weekend full of family, food, gifts, more food, and lots of laughter. And I finally made Christmas stockings for us this year!

Audrey was a trooper. When she opened her presents (with lots of help, of course) she was so delighted to see a new toy.

We got to spend some time with Great-Grandma Laura on Christmas day. Here's a 4 generation pic.
And we also spent some time with my family, including Audrey's furry cousins.

We were especially lucky to have Deg and Jessica visiting for almost a whole week. We LOVE aunts and uncles!!

Ho, Ho, Ho

Audrey met Santa Claus at my family's Christmas party on Saturday.

She thought he was cool until we put her on his lap. Then, she did exactly what any sane person would do if they were dropped onto the lap of a strange, smiley man wearing a furry suit. She cried.


She was so relieved to be back in her Daddy's arms.

Thanksgiving

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend. My sister Malley and her husband, Chris, came to visit. We had the entire Nisula clan at my parent's house for dinner. We LOVED seeing Auntie Malley :)

We had a turkey that was bigger than Audrey (and tastier too!).

And over the weekend Audrey got so comfortable walking with one hand holding onto her cousin that she started taking some steps on her own!!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, Christmas has begun. Charlie Brown himself couldn't have found a better tree. We just love it.

Time Flies

Wow, the months are zooming by - Audrey is already 8 1/2 months old and it seems like everyday she learns something new. She starting to really like reading books. A couple days ago she was in her room playing and I noticed she was rather quiet. Thinking that she was getting into trouble with something, I walked in to find her like this:

She found "Pat the Bunny" - her favorite book. She's still a little water baby. Whenever she sees the bathtub she gets sooo excited.

It's always sure to put her in a good mood.

Audrey was a giraffe for Halloween. She totally knew she was cute.

My favorite part of her costume was the mohawk. Sweet.

And this is why we had to put those annoying child safety locks on our cabinet doors. I decided I no longer wanted Audrey's "help" while making dinner. Now, when she tries to open the door and it won't budge, she screams. Haha.

Birthday

For my birthday on Saturday we celebrated with a hike up Mt. Monadnock. Audrey did a great job - she sat happily in her pack on Chris' back making happy noises, smiling at the other hikers and babbling the whole way.

When we reached the summit, Audrey took a little snooze (it's EXHAUSTING climbing a mountain).
Kudos to Chris who carried her on his back the whole way and still said it was "easy".

Audrey took her first couple steps "by herself" last night. Looks like this might be a new favorite toy.

A "Big" 7 Month Old

Audrey is 7 1/2 months old!And boy have things changed around here in the last month or so.

Audrey doesn't take baths in the bathroom sink anymore, but I like this picture so much I thought I'd share.

She had her first visit to the Gardner Fire Station, where my dad works. She thought she was so cool.

She has been crawling and standing up on EVERYTHING.

For some reason she always wants to bite on this knob.

Yes...she is chewing on a bone..and loving it.

She is a really happy girl. What you can't tell in this picture is that she is actually screaming right now. That's how she laughs. She just gives a high-pitched squeal.

A Big Weekend

We had a pretty big weekend. First, Audrey met her Uncle Deg and Auntie Jessica for the first time! We were very excited to have them here for a few days.

They came for Uncle Dan and Auntie Lisa's wedding.

It was a really great time - we danced and danced and had so much fun being all dressed up.

Then there was a HUGE hurricane...which ended up being just a bunch of rain, phew! And we found out that although Audrey loves the water she is not too fond of it coming very fast from the sky.

living room

WE MOVED IN!!! It's been a few weeks, but I haven't blogged because there are a lot of things that we are still finishing. The living room, however, has been done for a while now (except for window treatments - who knows when that will happen). So here it is, all the hard work is starting to pay off.

Here are a a couple befores and afters..

A Five Month Old

Audrey has become a real baby. No more sitting still and being happy with it. She loves to play with toys, watch people, smile (a lot), and grab, grab and grab. She easily rolls onto her belly from her back.


She constantly needs a change of scenery. Her day consists of floor, mommy's arms, swing, exersaucer, mommy's arms, floor, exersaucer, floor, mom's arms, mom's arms, dad's arms, floor, exersaucer, mom's arms..okay you get the idea.

She has a newfound love of water. She immediately splashes around.

She also LOVES watermelon.

Where did my newborn go?

Summer Happenings

Although I haven't updated about the house recently, that doesn't mean nothing has been happening. We FINALLY got our counter-tops in and they look better than we had imagined.

Yay for no more plywood!

Audrey had her first experience in a pool. She wasn't totally thrilled, but she wasn't upset either. Then again, how can you be upset when you're in 90 degree water?

And in honor of America's birthday, Audrey wore her birthday suit at our family party. She was feeling pretty independent! :)

Four Months Old

Audrey is 4 months old! A friend from church told me that ages 3 - 9 months is "magical" and I'm starting to agree. She's becoming such a little sweetie. Here are a few pictures...