Quick getaway to Puerto Rico

We had a good visit to Michigan for Christmas and when considering flight options to get back home we realized we could enjoy the beach in Puerto Rico for a couple of days.
Matthew loved playing in the sand and Audrey enjoyed sleeping on the beach. It was weird to be on a beach with warm weather at Christmas time but we would definitely do it again.

We went to dinner one night and Matthew did so well. He ate shrimp, lobster rosotto, salmon, and mahi mahi. Audrey fell asleep on my shoulder so she was a little fussy during dinner. Afterwards, we headed for an ice cream shop. There was a 30 minute line but all the customers were entertained with Matthew and Audrey. The shop played dance music and Matthew was dancing and moving his hips to the music. Audrey was dancing too. It was so funny to watch the two of them. As soon as Andy got the ice cream, both kids were crying. Matthew wanted sprinkles on his and Audrey couldn't get the ice cream fast enough. We got it all fixed and everyone was happy. It's a lot of work traveling with the kids but it was rewarding to spend time with them as well.

I will post more pictures soon.

Matthew is showing me his coconut

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Baptism and Christmas

On Dec 18th, Audrey was baptized at our church. There were 5 babies that were baptized that day. The weather was cold but the sun was shining. She was the only baby that cried during the 45 minute event. She was a little sleepy and she didn't like it when mommy had to give her to Daddy for the ceremony. But she looked beautiful in her white dress.

We had a wonderful christmas in Michigan. Matthew opened presents from Santa and he really liked eating the christmas cookies. He was waiting in his bedroom in the morning until he knew that Santa was gone - we had to tell him to come check out the presents. We went to mass on christmas eve and Matthew did so well at the church (Audrey is another story). Over the holidays, Audrey started taking more steps on her own.

Audrey's 12 month stats (Dec 16) are the following:

Weight 19 lbs 11 oz 48%

Height 28.5 in 24%

Head Circum 45.7 71%

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Audrey's 1st Birthday

It's hard to believe that she is 1 year old already. My baby is growing up too fast! We had a very small party on Saturday where our neighbor, Nicolas (2 yr old), came over to help us celebrate. Audrey enjoyed playing with the toys and then we went outside and blew bubbles. She is fine just holding my hand and walking around. That's her favorite thing to do right now. She took a couple of steps on her own on Wednesday. Daddy and I asked her to walk back and forth between us and she would hold on to our hand as long as she could and then we would try to get her to take a step on her own. She would fall into our arms on the other side and give a big smile. We would clap and say "yeah, Audrey".

Audrey and Matthew had a cold this week. I got it too and I have to say that it is annoying with all the drainage/sore throat and plugged up noses, especially in the night. Matthew enjoyed Audrey's birthday. He blew out the candle and helped open presents. He even played with her toys as if they were for him. LOL

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Carriage ride

December 2, 2011

December is here and the cold weather has moved into Dallas. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go. We have been doing some fun holiday things. On Friday, we took a carriage ride around Highland Park to view the christmas lights. The weather had been windy and cold in the 40's and 50's but warmed up to the 60's for a pleasant ride. Matthew was all smiles. He cried when it was over because he didn't want to leave. We petted the horses afterwards and one of the horses peed and it was like opening flood gates. Andy made a comment about how huge it was and Matthew thought it was cool/funny as well (boys).

I went to the mall with Matthew and Audrey and we took a christmas picture of the two. I hope to have it for Christmas cards soon. Matthew insisted on going inside this bubble thing in the mall. I was so impressed because it's such a big kid thing to do. He liked it at first but then he was done.

Big girl

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Ready for a break

Work has been keeping us busy. I started a new job within American about a month ago and I have been busy learning the ropes. I went to Calgary for one night last week and then we hosted am airline in town this week so it's hard to see Audrey everyday at lunch during the week like I normally do. I am ready for the holidays.

Andy went to Tucson last weekend for a work related trip. I managed to hold down the fort with the help of our babysitter. Matthew threw up Sunday but felt better afterwards. We went to the mall area to get him out of the house because he had so much energy. I woke up Monday morning and Audrey puked in her crib and Rusty puked by the back door and pooped inside. It was a lot to handle on a Monday morning but I survived. luckily, the cleaning lady came shortly after. Andy arrived Monday and Matthew was so excited to see him. He told Andy that he was gone for a long time.

Audrey is more stable in trying to walk. I expect her to take off soon. She has a big brother to chase after.


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Happy Halloween

Getting ready for halloween

We bought Matthew a buzz lightyear costume and he loves it. He runs around the house saying "To infinity and beyond!" He likes to put it on during the weekends and wear it while playing. Audrey is going to be a teddy bear for halloween since her nickname is Audrey bear. We went to the park this weekend and took their picture in costumes. I will share as soon as I get it back this week.

Matthew went to a birthday party on Sunday and he enjoyed playing with his friends. He went to the mall with Macie afterwards and enjoyed a pretzel and playing in the children play area. Macie is in a separate class so he doesn't get to play with her as much this year.

Texas State Fair

Funnel Cake

Big Tex

It's that time of year for the Texas State Fair. We went to the fair on Saturday at noon. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea because it was crowded. Last weekend was the UT vs Oklahoma game and then it rained last Sunday so I think everyone waited until this weekend when the weather was nice. It was hot in the sun but cool in the shade with a nice breeze.

We enjoyed hamburgers, fries, fried peanut butter and jelly, ice cream, slushie, and funnel cake. The corn dog line was too long so we passed on that. Andy bought the ice cream and it was pretty funny because everyone had a lick - even Audrey. And he would pass it along to everyone in the same order to have a lick. It was fun.

Tricky sleeping schedules

The work week was relatively uneventful. Both kids are well so that's good. Audrey is 10 months old now. She is cutting teeth on the top. She has 2 on the bottom and 2 on the top left hand side but she is getting 2 more on the right hand side. I give her tylenol at night sometimes and that helps take the edge off. She is getting a rash from all the saliva on her chin. She eats everything that we eat. I made pumpkin pancakes this weekend and she loved them.

I visit her everyday at lunch and she is so excited to see me. She claps and smiles and crawls over to me. I will feed her at lunch and then put her in her crib because she is asleep but as soon as I put her down, she pops her head up and she doesn't want to sleep anymore. The daycare workers says this happens with all babies there. I guess they get to a stage that they don't want to miss out on anything.

Audrey is sleeping all night long and wakes up at 5 or 5:30am ready to eat. Sometimes I can get her to go back to sleep. Over the weekend, she was ready to wake up so I just had to go downstairs with her so she doesn't wake up Matthew. The smallest noise wakes up Matthew and then he is Mr. Grumpy because he woke up too early. It is very tricky trying to get them to nap at the same time. On Sunday, Audrey slept at 10am while Matthew and I went to nursery duty at the church. When we came home at noon, Audrey was ready to play and Matthew was hungry and didn't want to take a nap. Andy finally got him to nap around 4pm on the couch. So then Audrey and I decided to get out of the house so that he could sleep so we went shopping. I was so exhausted Sunday night that I went to bed at 8pm!

Matthew's allergies are bothering him lately. We give him allergy medicine every night but he has a runny nose and he is just so grumpy and obstinate sometimes. Andy has been taking allergy shots and they are working well. Otherwise, we would have 2 grumpy guys in the house.

Matthew had fun this weekend at the neighbor's 4th birthday party. He enjoyed an inflatable slide with water at the bottom and a trampoline. We were planning to go to the fair on Sunday but it rained so we decided to stay home. Andy enjoyed smoking some meats in his smoker so that kept him busy.

Fall is here

Aug 2011 - Audrey 8 months, Matthew 3 yrs old

We survived the 100 degree temperatures and the long-awaited fall is here. The temperatures are in the 70-80's during the day, even 90s on a couple of days. But it is so pleasant compared to the 100 degree temperatures. Matthew likes to quote the nursery rhyme "Wee Willie Winkie" when he gets tired around 8pm and he is usually spot on but lately he says it around 7:30pm because it is getting darker earlier.

Audrey started saying "mama" last week. She wakes up very quietly in the mornings and then she will say "ma-ma". It is so sweet. She started sleeping through the night last week.

Matthew's teacher wrote in this in his notebook this week:

"The funniest thing happened outside. We had just talked about squirrels and how they hide their acorns. I noticed acorns dropping from one of the trees. Way up high there was a little squirrel pulling acorns off the tree and eating parts of them and then dropping the rest. I gathered all the kids under the tree to see the squirrel and then all of a sudden acorns started falling everywhere hitting the kids on their hands and tops of their heads. One of my little friends says 'Ms Andersen look, it's raining acorns!'

The kids are fascinated with the leaves falling from trees. They have also been looking for bugs (not sure why) In french, the kids are learning their colors and in spanish we are learning to count. Friday is technology and they have been doing matching games on the smart screen. Next week we will continue our learning on fall, adding pumpkins, scarecrow, and crows."

Matthew has decided to be buzz lightyear for halloween. He loves toy story. For the grandparents, if you want to get ahead on Christmas shopping, Matthew would love anything Toy story - toys, pajamas (3T), plastic plate set, etc. He would like any Disney classic movies on DVDs. He only has Shrek and Toy Story 1 on DVD.

First baseball game and 9 month appointment

On Thursday, we took Matthew to his first baseball game. A coworker gave me free tickets so we arranged for a sitter and took Matthew after work. He was a little impatient with finding a parking spot because he was ready to eat but daddy put him on his shoulders and we headed straight to the hot dog stand. Matthew didn't want to sit very long as he thought that he was going to get to play baseball. We took him to centerfield where they let kids throw balls and bat off a tee. Matthew was not used to the tee. He called it "that stick". He enjoyed an icee and French fries and a little ice cream in a rangers hat cup. The weather just cooled down on the 70s so it was nice. The rangers beat Cleveland and Matthew enjoyed a few fireworks.

Audrey had her 9 month check up. She is healthy and growing. She was a little constipated from eating so many solid foods but she is better today. She has some teeth cutting on the top.

Weight: 19 lbs 14 oz 76%

Height: 27.5 inches 41%

Head Circumference 17 3/4 in 83%

Last week was Teddy bear week and Matthew had to care for his Teddy all week at school. He enjoyed it. They made charts of colored gummy bears and had a picnic with their bear on Friday. We enrolled Matthew in a music class because he enjoys learning. He had a soccer game on Saturday morning and he was timid at first but he was so happy and confident afterwards.

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