11 Months

Aubrey I can't believe you are 11 months old.

I can't believe one year ago Cameron was taking these pictures of our little family. At the time I knew our family would only get sweeter once you arrived, I just didn't realize how sweet.


You are all over the place and pulling up on everything. You love to explore everything around you. You especially love Ashlyn's toy box. Surprisingly you haven't discovered the kitchen cabinets.


You will shake your head and say "no no, no no" when you do something you aren't supposed to.

You love love love the dishwasher.

You can sign more and all done. You sign all done by waving bye bye.


You like to clap your hands and will clap to the song "If your happy and you know it".

You still love baths. I always bathe you first and let you crawl around the bathroom while I finish Ashlyn up. You will pull yourself up on the tub and laugh and squeal at Ashlyn getting her hair washed.

You like to feed yourself at meal times. You love potatoes, sweet potatoes, blueberries, toast, and cheerios. You don't really care for pasta and banana's. You still eat baby food at each meal to help fill up your tummy.


You love to swing outside.

You say Ma-Ma, Da-Da, ni-ni (Night, night), and no no.


You have four teeth. I may have jumped up and down when your top teeth finally broke the surface. You are the biggest sweet heart, but boy you aren't a happy camper when your working on teeth.


You like to give kisses and lay your head on my lap when I'm sitting on the floor.


You are still a big momma's girl. And I'm still ok with that!

Aubrey girl Mommy and Daddy love you to pieces!

Nap Time...

You know how Clark Kent lives a double life? By day he's a reporter but when trouble arises he becomes Superman?
Well, we aren't Superman around here. That became evident to Phillip and I when Ashlyn asked "Daddy, fly me like Tinkerbell". Any other house it would have been "fly me like Superman". Anyways, apparently my daughter is Ashlyn by day and Ballerina by night, I mean nap.

This is the boring dress Ashlyn had on when I put her down for a nap.

Under Ashlyn's bed I keep a tote that has clothes that are too small, clothes for next season, and storage of other miscellaneous items.


Ashlyn greeted me after nap in this little git up. Anyone else would think nothing of it, except me, I'm her mom and I know better.
Plus there was a strap around her neck and she had stocking feet.
















Ta Da!



Remember how I store things that are too small in the tote?
I also keep her old training pants in there...

Because my life really is this random...

*Aubrey is signing "more". She did "All Done" once but apparently getting more food is more important to her than not. Ha!

*When Aubrey saw I was getting her shoes out of her closet for church yesterday morning she shrieked with excitement. Apparently she loves her shoes!

*I love hearing Ashlyn give Aubrey vocabulary lessons, especially when she can't properly pronounce the word herself. "Aubrey these are tennis shoes. Can you say tenti-shoes, tenti-shoes?"

*I have to go to the dentist tomorrow to start my crown and fix one of the fillings the previous quack put in. Can someone pass me a paper bag to breath into?

*Aubrey's top two teeth are alllmmmost cut through. Sigh...

*We are building a pergula over our back porch. I'm not included in that we statement. I'm the water girl, I'm not good at lifting 100lb support posts.

*You know you have a good friend when they help you dig post holes in 100' weather. And are coming back the next day to help.

*The dentist said my dental work tomorrow won't be bad. Whatever, he's the one HOLDING the drill. Plus he'll get an all expense paid trip to Disney for his family courtesy of yours truly once it's all said and done.

*One month and six days until Aubrey turns ONE.

*I have her birthday dress cut out and ready to sew, I'm excited to see it finished!

*I'm starting to plan her birthday party!

*Let's move on before I start to cry...

*Aubrey loves to say "no" and shake her head. I'm sure she thinks that's the name of many many items in our house. She sat by the osculating fan on the floor shaking her head saying "no, no no,no"

*Ashlyn starts MDO (mother's day out) in a couple weeks. She can't wait for "school" and to take a lunch box. The one day away from momma will be good for her. I'm hoping she'll break out of her shell more and feel more confident without me. She tells me the reason she is quiet around people is because she's shy. Ugh, I hate that for her, it breaks my heart!

*She thinks she's going to ride the yellow bus there. She doesn't believe me when I tell her I'm taking her.

*Ashlyn asked me when she got big and had boobs if she could feed Aubrey milk. I almost wet my pants trying not to laugh. She was dead serious.

*I think I have the best husband in the world. No particular reason. Just because.

*I need to clean my floors today. Aubrey eats everything she can find. She lays on her belly and tries to pull dust bunnies out from under the fridge. Gross!

Commission

Phillip and I both agree that money management is one of the top important life skills you need. We were both blessed with parents who were good money managers and passed that on to us. I can honestly say that we have never had an argument concerning money. We have had very deep conversations about how we think our money should or shouldn't be spent, but never argued. From the very start we knew we wanted to teach our children how to properly handle money and to also teach them that money is earned through hard work, it's never just handed to you.

While listening to a podcast on teaching children how to manage money, Phillip decided it was time for Ashlyn to start earning money. But she won't be receiving an allowance, she earns commission. Phillip doesn't want our girls to think they can do a, b, and c then receive their "handout". He wants them to learn to look for work. Our girls will have to find things around the house that needs to be done, then come ask if they can do that task for commission. This will teach them to be more observant and look for things that need to be done, a character trait that is definitely lacking in our society. Our girls will definitely have regular responsibilities around the house but they are going to do them because they are part of our family and everyone pitches in, their commission is above the normal making your bed every morning tasks.

Obviously Ashlyn is still too young to realize that her laundry needs to be put away or the silverware in the dishwasher needs to be put away, but we are training her. Right now she earns commission by cleaning her room, emptying the silverware in the dishwasher, putting hangers on her clean clothes and helping me put clean clothes and towels away. She loves being a helper!


Ashlyn has three jars on her dresser to divide her commission up in; church, save, and spend. In that order. And she knows that is the order. She got to spend some of her "spend" money the other day and chose to buy ice cream at McDonald's. We made a special trip and she took her purse and handed the money to the cashier. She also took her purse with her to church and put her "church" money in the offering plate. She thought she was so big! She is saving up for a Tinker Bell movie. So cute!

Soak'n up some Sun

I am finally getting back to my blog. Our power supply for the MacBook bit the dust so we haven't been able to use it while waiting for a new one to come in the mail. We have our PC hooked up to the TV which is awesome for listening to music and watching videos on line, but it's so much easier to do everyday stuff with the MacBook. Phillip is probably pumping his fist in the air out of sheer excitement, he has made a Mac converter out of me!

We had a busy week with our Small Group getting together at our house and having friends over for a play date but we most enjoyed a relaxing day on the lake Saturday with our friends. The Ames' invited us to their family's place out on the lake for some swimming, boating, and relaxing.

The guys went out Friday night and did some late night and early morning fishing. This wasn't mine and Lauren's idea of a good time so we drove out later Saturday morning with the kids. Good thing Lauren brought Hot Dogs to grill because the guys didn't have too much luck with catching dinner.

Enjoying a Whoopie Pie and relaxing with Daddy!

Aubrey's life jacket cracked us up. It came all the way up to her chin and wrapped around her head. When I first tried it on her I thought "she's gonna scream the whole trip", but she LOVED it. She couldn't even sit up by herself very long without falling over. She fell asleep about 2 minutes into the ride and slept most of the time. She loved it!


This was also Ashlyn's first time on the lake and she loved it just as much. She loved swimming with her friends Emma Kate and Drew. She keeps calling it the beach! Ha! Nana and Pawpaw will have to take her to the beach the next summer trip we take to South Texas and show this city girl what the beach is.


Emma Kate and Ashlyn were so funny with this fish. It was a metal fish hanging on the deck railing for decoration. They were petting and kissing the thing! They are such girls!! And yes, Emma Kate swims in her bow. I have never seen that sassy thing without a bow!


We had such a wonderful time!!