Time to buy some Kleenex stock

I meant to post this last week, but the pictures weren't uploading....

"Aubri has been sniffle free for three weeks! Thank you Jesus! Before that it had been 3 months of runny nose (with two, one week breaks in there). That is a lot of tissues.

Found these pictures of her that I took the day she got sick again after a week break (which happily fell during her birthday!). For the most part she never complained or slowed down (except Mexico) but this day she wasn't napping well and *gasp* actually sat to watch TV. "

Should have posted it when I had the chance, because a runny nose has hit again. I am so sad, frustrated, mad, and I'll be honest, pissed off that my baby girl suffers from this so much! Another mom recently told me that it that it was a good sign kids don't know how to blow their noses because it means colds dont' stick around long enough. Wish I knew what that was like! Aubri has been blowing her nose for a couple of months! I'm praying she recovers quickly and we find out for sure what is causing it. Germs from other sickies? Allergies? Teething? Lord heal her fast!

Starting to eat

So here is the messy evidence that Aubri is starting to like food!

Funny story...we had just got home from the beach and I bathed her to clean off the sand (hence the wet ringlets). DUMB mom, she pretty much needed another bath after this!

Aubri has improved so much in her eating. She especially loves spaghetti, yogurt, peas, blueberries, olives- pretty much anything that is "fun" to eat. We showed her how to bounce the peas "little green balls", put olives on her finger, and slurp spaghetti (gonna have to unlearn that) She went from barely 20 pounds 3 weeks ago to almost 22 lbs at her doctor visit a couple of days ago!

Beach bum

LOOOOOVE the hot weather we have had! Perfect excuse for a last minute beach trip with my friend Sonya. Sonya got to see firsthand my weight loss secret- chasing after Aubri! We didn't stay as long as expected (you can only chase a little girl so long) , but it was fun to be out on the beach.

Even though my feet hurt from the cold water, Aubriella couldn't get enough! As soon as I put her down, she would take off towards the waves. She was fearless...and soaked!

Bummed I didn't take the camera, but got a cute picture of Aubri running away on my phone.

RANDOM!

*I babysit a little girl once a week. Aubri LOOOVES having her over, and it is great teaching her to share her toys and mom. Yesterday the two little girls kept finding the camera and video camera bags, and would each grabbed one to wear as a purse. SO cute! I would have taken a picture....but they had the cameras! The little girl is named Ella. It is so funny to say "Aubri, Ella!"

*There has been lots of talk about a large California earthquake. Pastors and people we know and respect have felt the Lord telling them to warn people to get prepared. Then Japan happened. Then that geologist predicted there would be an earthquake (didn't happen as predicted). Bottom line we are taking heed of the advice and have prepared ourselves for disaster. Just in case. Let me tell you disaster preparedness is not cheap!

*Aubri is as active and happy as ever. She is also as defiant and strong willed as ever. Oh that little girl. I can tell she is going to give us a run for our money. Time to pull out the Dobson books and start learning how to use this determination and independence for good! Her favorite word right now is "No", she runs from us when she has something she's not supposed to, and shakes her head and waves her finger right before she does something bad. She can scream and throw a fit one second, and give kisses the next. Oh, and she is FAST. She can run around the house, the church or a restaurant in no time.

*Aubri has gained a pound! She has finally ended her 13 month food fast and is starting to eat more solids. By more I mean we cheer that she will eat a small yogurt container over the course of a day, a few blueberries, a pinch of peas, a cracker or two, and a couple of pieces of pasta! She has also impressed us by eating a tiny bit of chicken. Way to go Aubri! This is a huge improvement for her as she prefers to survive (and in my opinion THRIVE) on milk.

*Aubriella's 3 month cold magically disappeared the day her 6th tooth popped out! Her top gums had been swollen for months, and over the last two weeks all 4 broke through. I'm a believer in teething colds now! We haven't had a snotty sneeze in a week!

*Our kitchen was so close to being complete! We had a working sink and a dishwasher about to be delivered! Then my dad set up the sink to install the dishwasher, only to get a call the dishwasher wouldn't arrive for a week. We are back to an unusable sink and no dishwasher. Hopefully tomorrow it should all be resolved.

*We finally did our taxes and are getting back much more than we expected! It is so amazing to see how God has met our needs even though I quit my full time job last year. I tell you this to encourage you to tithe! We've faithfully given tithes and offerings to our church and continued to give to our favorite organizations (Care Net Pregnancy Center and World Vision) and have seen God show up in many unexpected ways. I can't begin to express how grateful I am to Him and thankful that I am able to "stay home" with Aubriella!

*Our backyard swing set continues to sit in boxes in our garage. Every time Jose and my dad plan to assemble it, it rains. We always have so many weekend commitments, so I pray we get a free, dry weekend sometime soon!

*My first Bradley class starts in a week! Yay! I'm excited, but praying for at least one more student couple! Pass along the word to any preggo friends!

Family Portraits

We managed to get professional pictures every three months throughout Aubriella's first year. I'm kind of sad our appointments with Christina (Moments Captured) are over for now. Every shoot seemed to get better and better, and Aubri's one year pics were no different!

Aubri may have been sneezing up a storm, not willing to sit still for a second, and the weather may have been chilly, but I love these pictures!

You'll notice she is clutching her shirt in many of them. It is because she is obsessed with her belly button and the surest way to get a smile is to ask to see it!

Ovredue Update

It has been a very long time since I last updated! I have a million pictures from last month of Aubri, house deconstruction, Jasen's 15th birthday (the parents rented a beach condo for him and 20 friends to hang out. Can you all feel bad for me that the youngest gets everything? ;-), and so much more!

Here's a short recap on things that have been going on...

The end of February and now early March have been as busy as ever. I completed my Bradley academic requirements and am now an approved provisional teacher! I'm hoping to start my first class in a week! YaY!

Aubriella has had a rough time teething, culminating in a horrible 2 days while we were in Mexico (deserves a post of it's own) where three teeth finally broke through! Poor thing was so misserable in pain, had a very high temp, and refused to eat for days. She has had a runny nose for months now, and it makes me so sad for her. No 1 year old should go through this many tissues, know how to blow her nose, and like the booger sucker. It seems to be getting better since the teeth came out.

A few months back our dishwasher leaked/broke and caused some cabinet damage and some mold to grow. We finally got the insurance claim and had weeks of an unusable kitchen! It was pretty intense how serious they take the mold issue. Thankfully after the company came and tore our kitchen apart, my dad was able to repair it back together!

It seems like our house is never completely clean or picked up. We are always going in 5 different directions, have busy weekend schedules, and somehow the cleaning is the first to get neglected. I try to at least pick up, and find myself following the Aubri tornado around. I pick up her toys at least three times a day and put things back in the cupboards up to 5 times a day. I can't stand to leave the mess out all day so for now she takes things out and I put them back all.day.long.

Birthday season has come and gone for us. In the past three months we've had all our parent's, all our little family's, and my brothers' birthdays. I need to figure out the math and make sure we don't add any kids to the family with birthday from December-March! Lots of presents and parties!

Hopefully I'll get around to posting more details about things we've been up to!

Her "real" Birthday

Aubriella's actual birthday was the day after her party! After a fun morning at church (I heard her tiny tot's class sang Happy Birthday to her during snack!), we went out to eat with Aubri's grandparents. I love these pictures Jose snapped right before we went in. She looks so grown up!

It was an exciting day because Aubri got to use her new forward facing car seat! She loved it! The excitement of it wore her out though...

Later that evening, Aubriella's grandparents and great grandparents came over for dinner and more cupcakes!

She is a pro at blowing out candles! Every time she did it she said "Gen, Gen!" (Again, again!) I think she made us sing and relight the candle close to 5 times!

She knew exactly what to do!

All this birthday stuff is too fun!