"Wings" (as Audrey calls them)

Maybe she calls them wings on purpose.  It's such a fitting name.  This was our second experience swinging.  I know, I'm a horrible Mom.  There are no swings at the park we usually go to, so she never knew what she was missing.  One Saturday when we had nothing going on we grabbed dinner and went to swing.  She didn't want to leave.  She was upset.  She begged me for weeks at least once a day to go swing.  This was our second time.  I was going through the pictures and she has a huge smile on her face in every one.  We probably need to go swinging more often.  We had a really good morning. This place has 10 different playground areas lined up.  She just went from one to the other until it got too hot to stay.

    

Lions, Tigers, and Bears......and Shadows?

Audrey was afraid of the vacuum for a really long time.  Every time I brought it out she would hide in the corner.  She eventually got over it.

This last week she developed a new fear.  Wait for it....   She's afraid of her shadow. I poke fun, but for her this is a real fear, the shaking crying kind. She first noticed it when we were outside drawing with chalk.  She immediately wanted to go inside, screaming for me to hold her.  Then last week she noticed it was inside.  I tried to explain to her that it was just her.  That she could wave and it would wave back.  That made it worse. All I got was, "No Dow No Dow!". Eventually I was holding her more than I wasn't.  She would only walk on this small carpeted area in the living room.  Then on Saturday I noticed she started crawling and walking on her knees to avoid seeing her shadow.  She found out if she got low enough to the ground that her shadow would disappear.  She was reduced to the army crawl and me holding her.  I was going crazy trying to figure out which blinds I could close and which ones I could open to reduce the shadows.  Eventually I found the best formula.  I could open the windows facing North and South, but not the ones facing East and West, but that didn't help in the evenings when I had to turn on the indoor lights.

When your daughter becomes afraid of shadows you start to realize that they are EVERYWHERE!  I might be going crazy.

I think it's getting better though. She saw the shadow of her arm on the table as she was eating breakfast.  She pointed it out to me.  I told her to say hi.  She waved and said, "Hi Dow" but then followed it up with a quick, "Bye Dow".  I think we are making progress.

Audrey's Birthday

I can't believe she's two!  With it has come many more words and many more conversations. I love when she says (pease) please. It makes me proud when she's polite. 

I never realize how much I say something until she starts saying it. A few weeks ago she started saying, "There you go, that's better".  It makes me laugh every time.   

She loves to read and she loves to learn.  Her favorite thing to do is sit at the fridge and match magnetic letters to an alphabet printable I got from Google images.     

The day she started opening doors was a bad day and a good day.  Good because she's more independent and bad because that means she can open the pantry and the door to the garage. Now I have to lock the door behind me when I go to pull the van into the garage.  

Since her birthday she has added Cinderella 2 and 3 to her list of favorite movies.  I'm happy because the original was getting a little old.  I might be able to quote it from beginning to end now.

She has become really picky with food.  I sometimes miss the 9 month old that would eat anything I put in front of her.  Now she has her favorites: potatoes, cheese, bread, and fruit shakes. 

She cried because we wouldn't let her eat it right away.    

  We had more of a birthday weekend this year.  On Friday evening we went swimming with James, Jenny and kids.  It was so much fun, and it's really good when we get to spend some time with family.  It was there that I learned how much Audrey loves water.  She kept saying, "Bun, Bun, Bun (fun)!". 

On Saturday we watched Cinderella 2, made cake and ate cake, took pictures, and opened gifts.  On Sunday we went to church and afterward we went to Mike and Merian's house where Audrey got spoiled with a second birthday and mashed potatoes. There's no food she loves more than mashed potatoes.  

Pudding Paint

My preferred way to finger paint.  Successful family night.  Audrey didn't paint much.  She mostly just wanted us to paint pictures for her while she ate.  Paul called his masterpiece the Titanic.....it looks like a large turtle to me, but what do I know.    Maybe I'm looking at it from the wrong angle.

Being a Mom

I feel so lucky everyday that I get to be a Mom to this little girl.  Being snuggled up on the couch with her reading stories is my favorite thing to do.  She would let me read to her all day, and I would but sometimes I feel like I have to be productive.

Audrey is growing so fast.  I told her a couple days ago that she wasn't my baby anymore, that she's a big girl now.  She got this frustrated look on her face and said, "is baby!".  Apparently she is still a baby, and I don't mind.   She can be my baby forever.

I love that she just gets me. We can have a maniacal laughing contest, or dance around like crazy people, and she thinks it's awesome.

About a week ago I was having a really bad day.  She was dancing around the kitchen and singing to herself and I had to pause and remind myself that THIS is what life is all about and nothing else matters.

Life is good!      

Feeding the Ducks and a Morning at the Temple

Sadly I didn't get any pictures of Paul and me at the temple.  I love to be there, and there's something special about the Houston temple that I just can't quite put my finger on. We don't get to go very often together.  Rod and Anne were so nice to watch Audrey one of the mornings they were here.  I think she really enjoyed having them all to herself.  I don't think she even missed us.  I got a little weepy on the way home from the temple just thinking about the time she was able to spend with her grandparents, maybe because I miss mine so much.  I'm so grateful that she has two sets of really great grandparents...three if we count adopted ones. It means so much to me that she has such great examples in her life.

Later we fed the ducks.  They were happy we shared our food.  We had quite the following.  I've never felt so popular in my life.  Some of them were nicer than others.  The best part was watching Audrey feed the baby ducks.  They were so cute.

Independence Day

I'm sorry for the next few posts.  I really have to get caught up before Audrey's Birthday because I'm planning on some awesome pictures.

The Kendall's came out to visit again.  We really enjoyed having them around for a few days.  It was really nice to spend the 4th with family.  We had good food and good company....which just happens to be my favorite combination.   Sadly we saw no fireworks this year, Audrey was too tired.

Don't mind my dying garden and the brown spot in my lawn.  Apparently I do not have a green thumb.  I'm working on it. Maybe some day Paul's mom will rub off on me.

We had some minor difficulties with the water and Dean and Jane ended out with a face full of water.  It turned out to be a pretty awesome picture. I feel bad, but it didn't seem to traumatize them.

Let's get together again soon!