Aubrey Jo said her first word!!1

Aubrey Jo said her first word the other day. Of course it was DADA we all could have guessed that one. Gabe caught the action on video while I was at work Friday and showed me our smart, beautiful little monkey when I got home. We have also been doing sign language with her so when she puts her had on her head that is the sign for daddy. We are so proud of our little girl, she makes us smile all hours of the day. As for other achievments... she is now sitting up on her own playing with anything she can grasp around her. At her last weigh in she was 17 pounds 12 ounces and 26.5 inches long. Growing like a weed this one. I am almost done with the semester and I am looking forward to the time off with my little family. I love spending time with her so I get a whole month of Aubrey before I student teach in the Spring, and then I graduate (hopefully) in May. I hope everyone is doing well and has a great holiday season.

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NOVEMBER- Gobble, Gobble

Well, we are well into November now and I have not updated in awhile. Aubrey is growing faster than I could keep up with the blog anyway. I feel like I have not seen her at all this month. Halloween she was her with Mama E, we went trick or treating with Aunt Molly and our little monkey. The next weekend she was up in St. Louis visiting, because I had homework, work, and Melissa's bachlorette party. And as we speak she is on her way to West Plains for a deer hunting weekend with daddy. Well she isn't going deer hunting but I have my Praxis exam on Saturday morning and I needed some time to get some MORE homework done. Yes, the neverending pile of homework that I have put off until now. But the end of the semester is quickly approaching and I have to take advantage of my alone time. And then next weekend is Aunt Lissa's wedding and Aunt Shannon will be her for the weekend because I am going to be around but not.
As she gets bigger and more playful it is getting harder and harder for me to be away from her. Not that I did not LOVE LOVE LOVE the newborn phase, but now she is just so much FUN. Everyday it is something new. Right now it is raspberry's, she loves to blow them when she has food in her mouth. She is also very curious about faces, she will grab your nose or mouth but HARD (she has not learned gentel yet, poor diesel)Yes she loooovvvvveeeesss the doggy. She is sitting up for a few minutes on her own now, and she is now a side sleeper. I put her in her cradle and she immediately rolls onto her side and puts her face up against the bumper. Silly girl! Once again sorry about how long it has been since the update. XOXO

Wow it's been awhile

Sorry everyone, it's been over 3 weeks since I have updated. It is a whirlwind these days and I am just running short on time. Well, real quick, Aubrey is so spectacular, she smiles, LAUGHS (most precious noise I have ever heard) and is still a daddy's girl. She is eating solids and is as impatient as her dad when it comes to eating. If I do not spoon it in fast enough she starts telling me to hurry up. The picture of her with all the food on her face is sweet potatos that we were trying for the first time. So far so good on all of the foods but we haven't really gotten into the veggies yet. Fruits are all yummy! She still is not sleeping through the night (well at least for me, she slept for Mama E)maybe she misses me and wants to wake up to see me. She is trying to sit on her own now and is just....well getting big! Sorry it's a short one but it is getting late and I need to catch as many ZZZZZZZ's as possible. XOXO

Who's rolling over? That's right I'm rolling over!!!!

Ok, where to start. Aubrey is growing so fast it makes me sad that I am not around to see all of it. I am really really busy with school and if I am not at the High School or in class I am doing homework. 8 more months, thats it. But then I will hopefully be getting a big kid job. I don't even want to think about it right now. One day at a time. Speaking of today, did you know that Aubrey Jo rolled over!!!!!!!! I thought that babies went from tummy to back first... well not my kid. She is a back to tummy kind of kid, it's those strong abs she got from daddy. Anyway I did not get to see it because, oh that's right you guessed it, I was at school. So I got home at 3 and from that point on I was trying to get her to roll over and she would get soooooooo close but not quite there. But daddy swears she did it and Aunt Hollie was here to witness. Maybe tomorrow I will have more luck. The grandparents are all visiting On the 11th for my sister's wedding shower and they have so much in store for them. She is so entertaining now, she smiles, she gives kisses, she almost has a giggle, and she just loves to hang out and be with you, what parent could ask for more. She also had her first time at the gym with me. My gym has a little daycare that will watch your baby for up to 2 hours. She did really well and had a good time watching the other kids play. It is nice to have a couple hours of week just for me, it helps to get her out of the house as well. We go back to the doctor next Thursday for her 4 month check up and shots. I am always excited to see how much she has grown. Her last growth spurt really got her going. She is in 6 month clothes and she in in 2's now for her diapers. Well, sorry for the not so frequent updates. Love you all!!! Can't wait to see you all soon.

I'm a completly different kid!

Hello everyone! Sorry it has been awhile, school is alot to deal with right now so the posts may be further apart. So a quick update before bed. Aubrey is growing like a weed she is 13 pounds 4 ounces and 23 3/4 inches long that puts her in the 90% for wieght and 75th for length.She is starting on rice cereal and she really didn't mind it. She still eats like a mad women and is still waking me up at least once a night. I have to admit a full nights sleep sounds like an all inclusive beach vacation right now. I would probably take the sleep over the vacation. School has caught Gabe and I off guard and we are slowly adjusting to the daily juggling that has become our life. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming but then I look at her and I feel like superwomen. Gabe and I had our first weekend away from the baby last weekend. We had to attend a wedding in Cape, so Aubrey stayed with Mama E and she had a BLAST!!! And thanks to Eileen for no getting fed up with the all of the phone calls and the lost diaper bag that didn't make the transfer. Only a mini crisis nothing Eileen couldn't, she has raised 4 children so she has a little experience :)
Aubrey is really good about keeping herself occupied now. We got her some Baby Einstien videos and she LOVES THEM!!!! She will sit in her boppy chair in the morning and watch them forever. It's nice because it gives me some time to get more homework done. AAAAHHHH Yes the neverending pile of homework that is taking time away from Aubrey. I'm almost done but May seems so far away. For now we are taking it one day at a time. Hugs and Kisses from Springfield. (Slobbery ones, she is still teething)

Daddy's little Girl.... oh you have no idea

PEEK A BOO! It's Aubrey's new favorite game that Nonna taught her. She loves that blanket, we call it fuzzy. Now that she is past the mutant newborn phase we are really getting a sense of her personality. For instance she is a major daddy's girl! Gabe went home to West Plains last weekend and little miss was just not her usual self. I usually never have any trouble getting her to sleep and she usually doesn't scream when she is sleepy. Well she did this weekend, ontop of teething and I think another growth spurt, thank goodness for Nonna. As soon as daddy was back she was better and I think it is a safety thing, I am the same way. We both just feel safe when Gabe is home and on watch. She is so much more vocal these days to, cooing, and that almost giggle, i just can't wait until it is a full blown laugh (she is soooooo close). Another reason she is such a daddy's girl is because of the pictures below. As you all may now know Gabe is a Cub's fan and I am a Cardinals fan. I came home to find my little one in a Cub's onesie. Later that day I turn on the camera and what do I see but 15 or more pictures of my little one smiling ear to ear for daddy. So to balance this out I put on the Cardinals onsie and tried for 10 minutes to get this smirk. So for now we have pictures of Aubrey in a Cub's onsie smiling, smiling and more smiling. Aubrey is a Daddy's girl!

I am 3 months Old!!!

Oh how the months have flown by. Gabe and I are now back in school and the first week so far has scared to crap out of me. I am in for a tough one but I have a little motivator at home name Aubrey Jo. I want nice things for my baby, I want her to see that school is important and that I made a commitment to finish and I did even though I knew that juggling a job, school,helping my sister with her wedding, a newborn and a boyfriend would be hard. I look at her and I push myself to do well even though I am sooooooo very tired, I know that all the hard work will be worth it. I mean I did go through labor and that might be the hardest thing I have ever done. Actually that is a lie, pregnancy was harder than the labor was :) But the end result was the most beautiful thing in the world. She is sooooooooooooo much fun now a days. She smiles she plays she is just getting so big. She gets a whole new wardrobe now since she is starting to outgrow her 0-3 stuff, I wish my wardrobe rotated. My momma is coming to visit today and I just know she is going to be shocked at how BIG she is since mom hasen't seen her since she was 6 weeks. Also, spread the word Uncle Naj finally held her and he did just fine. Hopefully they will be having one of their own in the next year so that Aubrey will have someone to play with. My first night away from her is coming up, and I don't know how I feel about it yet. I am actually having nightmares, but I had to do it sometime. Gabe and I have a wedding to go to next weekend so she will be spending the night with Mama E (thats what we have decided to call Eileen). Other than that she is doing much better, pooping everyday, no more gooby eye, but she is having a bout of teething. Yes, I said teething, that is what the doctor told us so we have a slobbery sometimes very cranky baby. Good Luck Mama E! Love you all....

Being a mother can make you crazy (in a good way)

Itty Bitty baby feet, she gets bigger and her feet stay the same. Just another picture of how precious she really is and how bad you want to make sure that they feel their best every day. So everytime your child coughs or cries your stomach sinks, and no offense to daddy's everywhere but I just don't think that they get that same feeling. I don't know if it is the tough factor but daddy's are there for tossing the ball, rough housing and horsey rides. Especially with little girls, daddy's are the twinkle in their eyes. I remember trying to beat our golden retriever to the door when dad got home. We would call dad when one of us was hurt because mom would just freak and we didn't want her driving 90 miles per hour to get home. There is just nothing like the relationship that daughters and daddy's have. Mom's on the other hand are crazy people! And now I totally understand what we put our mothers through. Gabe has been hurt on every spot on his body and I have been sick more than healthy. Aubrey is constipated her thrush has still not gone away, she has as small fever, a gooby eye and is just all around not feeling well this week and I just want to cry because I know she is uncomfortable. All the rules go out the window when your baby is sick. They get what they want, if they want to sleep on you, you let them, if she wants to be up and walking around you do it. Anything to make her comfortable. We are going to the doctor tomorrow with a list of questions for him because a parent wants to make sure that all the bases are covered. In a way I am becoming a crazy person, it is all I can do not to cry with her. You sit around waiting for her to poop, doing things to help her poop (bicycle the legs, juice, tummy massage) I have never been so interested in poop... I must be crazy, but it comes with the job description. I will let you all know how the doctor appointment goes tomorrow. LoVe

Beautiful Baby

Aubrey is FINALLY on a schedule. It is soooo nice since school starts in a week and I am able to SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! Well, not completly she still wakes up at 4:00 but she is going to sleep at 10:00 (by herself) so I am ok with that and after her 4:00 feeding she goes back to sleep until 8:00. She is being so much more interactive lately, smiling and talkin to you. She has been a little crabby though she has thrush so it hurts her to eat and she has been a little fussy with it. But we got some medicine and she seems to be doing better each day. She is much more attentive as well, she will follow you with her eyes, she especially likes to follow the cat. I guess because he is black and white he is a nice contrast for her. I can already see how that relationship is going to go, he will be the first thing she crawls towards and grabs. She is such a happy baby, we truly are blessed. My first night without her is around the corner I have to go to one of Gabe's friends weddings on September 13th and we are dropping her off in West Plains on the way to stay with Mama Eileen (I think that is what she decided she wanted to be called). I knew the day would come and I guess I need to deal with it because I was thinking about taking a trip after graduation. Yea that is a year away but I just love being with her and I don't want to miss anything because she changes everyday. Which is why I keep updating so that everyone who can not be here on a daily basis can see her progress. Love you guys, thanks for stopping by.

Chunky Monkey!

So we had a doctor's visit Thursday and I knew that she had grown but I about craped my pants when I saw the scale. 11 pounds 6 ounces, HOLY COW!!! what a piggy, she also has grown almost 2 inches in length. She also got her first round of shots which just broke my heart because it is the first time she has been hurt. She looked at me with those eyes, asking me what the heck was that. Then the tears started oooohhhhh my little baby. She was a little crabby for the rest of the day and the next but she made it through without any other problems. The doctor said the rash on her face was from drooling and other mositure so now instead of a read face she has a shiny face from the vaseline.
Friday Grandma came for a visit so we decided to take Molly and Aubrey to the pool for a bit. Molly was thrilled but Aubrey not so much, the water was a little colder than she is used to. She managed to stay in with daddy for about 10 minutes and then pooped out for a nap. She is doing much better with her sleeping issues. Still not sleeping through the night but is managing to put herself to sleep around 9:00 or 10:00 and is up around 8:00. It is so nice to have her on a schedule now it will really help once school starts. Gabe and I go back on the 25th, and I super nervous because it is my last semester before my student teaching so it will be a busy one I'm sure. Let's see other updates, she will mimic facial expressions now. You smile at her and she smile's back, or you stick out you tounge and she does the same. It is a real fun game that we play all day long. She also loves to stand now, if you try to put her on her behind she will stiff leg until you stand her up. I love watching her grow and I get a little sad because I just know that she is getting so big so fast and that it was just yesterday that she was so little and loved to be cuddled.
I hope everyone is still reading the blog and enjoying it, because I love talking about her new discoveries. Everyone needs to leave me some comments so that I know you are reading and enjoying the growth of our little Aubrey Jo.... LOVE YOU ALL

2 months and still growing

Well Aubrey Jo is 2 months old. HOLY COW!!!! She is getting so old, it feels like just yesterday i was pregnant. It is weird to look at my pregnant pictures and think that she was in there. As you can see by the pictures she is growing rapidly, long ways and sideways (Little budda belly). I got her to smile the other day although there are no pictures of it since it is still pretty random. Tecnically since she was three weeks early she is only 5 weeks when it comes to hitting infant milestones, so the next 3 weeks should be really exciting. Lots of smiles, kicking and playing with toys that hang over her head. The past two days have been spent trying to teach AJ the difference between daytime and nightime. During the day we keep it as light as possible in the house with noises going all the time. Night time begins at 7:30 with a bath, then it is into the bedroom where it is dark and quite so that she can distiguish day from night. This has been pretty successful since she is starting to go to bed around 9 and waking up for the day around 7 or 8. She isn't sleeping through the night though, she still wakes up every 2 to 3 hours. I am hoping that once her night time routine is more established she will consider sleeping longer. She is the one in charge so we will see. We go back to the doctor on Friday YEEEEAAAAA!!! I am always curious to see how long and heavy she is. Plus I have a list of questions for the doctor. The first one is why the baby acne? I want to go get professional pictures taken but am waiting for the acne to go away and for the smile to be more readily avaliable. So hopefully by the end of August we should have some cute 3 month old pictures. Lets see, what else, all I can say is how fast she is growing and how much fun it has been being a parent. Love you all!!!

OH BABY!

My little baby is not so little anymore. Along with getting bigger, her personality is growing and changing everyday. She will look at you when you call her name, she has a million different faces. He expression changes every 5 seconds it is really funny to watch.
Which is why I do not get much done because I just stare at her all day long. She still does not have much of a schedule which is hard because she likes to stay up till 3 in the morning. Night owl like her parents I suppose. I went back to work last week which is why it has been awhile since I have updated. Gabe's first night with the baby was a rough one she was going through a growth spurt as well as she has not been away from me for more than an hour or two since she was born. This weekend was better though, Aunt Lissa was on watch Friday, Grandma was on watch Saturday,(she brought the monster dog up so he could meet his sister... he wouldn't stop slobbering on her) and Daddy was on watch Sunday and I got a good report from them all. It is nice to know because I was stressing. We have started to introduce a formula bottle once a day because she is eating so much that I am having trouble keeping up with the pumping and keeping milk stocked. We also get to make a trip to the doctor next week for her two month check up. I will update the wight and length then because I am done guessing. All I know is she i getting big. I CAN NOT believe that she is almost two months old already. We are truly blessed to have such a great baby. And I will try to keep the updates coming.

Growing Pains

Well little miss it growing leaps and bounds. We weighed her and she is only 9 pounds 10 ounces, I assumed she would be heeavier but I think her length is where she is really growing. We didn't get to measure her length but I do know that her sleepers with the feet do not fit her in length so I had to put her in 3-6 month ones so she could stretch out. Gabe's Great Grandparents made the trip from Nebraska to see Aubrey last weekend. We also made our first big trip this week up to St. Louis to meet Great Grandma Kern. Great grandma was all smiles to finally meet Aubrey Jo. Papa Steve also held little miss!!!! He was all smiles to. It is impossible to not to smile when you look at her she is such a blessing and she makes my life worth living. You never realize that you could love someone so much. Mommy went back to work this week, there are mixed feelings about this. I LOVE my daughter but sometimes the conversation is lacking :) It was good to be back at work and it is a little easier to move around now, so I work a little faster. Daddy stayed home with the baby who gave him hell. She cried all night, but she ate over 10 ounces from 8 until 1:30 which tells me that she probably is having another growth spurt. On the plus side she slept from 1:30 untill 8 this morning, YEAAAAA poor daddy, he wore her out for me. So mommy got a little extra sleep last night which is always appreciated. I also went to the doctor this week and everything is all clear, he said that everything healed nicely and I can continue regular activities. So I get to start working out this week WOOHOOO. Untill next time.... LOVE YOU ALL.

My little angel

Well it is time for my weekly update. I decided to get it done early since this weekend is going to be chaotic. Gabe's sister gets here tomorrow night, and my mom and cousins tomorrow afternoon. The rest of the weekend is up in the air. Just a lot of visitors this week. None of which come to see me but my little angel who gets bigger everyday. I am sure for all of them she looks like she has grown enormously in the past 4 weeks. I know for me she is getting bigger and bigger but I see it her everyday. Her head continues to get stronger and stronger, so I lay her in her boppy pillow and we brought out the bumbo seat so she can get more practice.

She is also taking notice to sounds she likes. That is why the laptop is sitting next to her while she swings. Daddy downloaded some tunes for her to listen to and she is very quite and so content when she is listening to them. She was a little fussy this week so we have been trying new things to calm her. I think she is having a growth spurt... or at least that is what the internet says. I do know that she is no longer in newborn diapers or clothes so she must be getting bigger. It's amazing I already have to start putting clothes into storage. Well I will have more after the weekend once everyone has left. LOVE

I am 1 month old!!!

Happy Birthday U.S.A., and Aubrey Jo who is 1 month old today. Aubrey is tipping the scale at 10 pounds these days and she is about 21 inches long. Like I have said in previous posts she is getting so big so fast. We celebrated her first big holiday by going to see the fireworks out in Battlefield. Of course my little mellow baby slept through the whole thing. My mom is in town this weekend because she just couldn't stand to be away any longer. She will be back on Thursday with My cousins Brandi and Emily. Gabe's dad got to come see Aubrey again and OH MY GOSH GUESS WHAT...Slept on him.
She is getting soooooo strong with her head, she will throw herself around with it, she stands up with help, stretching out those long legs. She has grown out of her newborn diapers and is on to size 1, just another reminder of how much she has grown in just 1 month. We are excited for Gabe's sister to get here to meet the new addition, since the last time we saw her, I was actually pregnant and didn't know it :) Irony at it's best. I am hoping Aunt Shauna and Mommy will get to go out for some drinks. Daddy gets the baby and I have stocked up on the milk for just this occasion. Let's see, Let's see, I am trying to think of any other new developments. She is still in love with her swing, sleeping in all the time. She slept for 4 hours last night :) it was quite nice. I just can not say enough about my little girl she is sooooooo wonderful. I am still somewhat in shock, it seems surreal since technically I was due last Monday. I am so glad that she was early so that I got to spend an extra 3 weeks with her before my very hectic, stressful school year starts. One more semester, and then student teaching (YEA, pretty much a full time job with no salary). Well, I will post any new updates when they happen.

LOVE

Weekly Update

My little baby is getting so big! I know I say that in every post but daddy weighed her today and she is 9 and a half pounds according to our scale(which may be slightly off). She giggled at me the other day and I can not help but laugh my butt off because it is the sweetest sound EVER! She is also in the new habit of trying to stay awake. Not that I am complaining I love being with her and playing but I was used to the extensive napping that she did. It seems like I used to have a little more time in the day to get things done, but now I just sit and play and stare at this beautiful baby of ours. It just showes you how much they change from day to day. Today we tried out the swing and LOVED IT. She slept in it for almost 3 hours. She also got a chance to hang out in the Jumparoo even though she is still to small Gabe had to try it. We are also beginning to introduce bottles, she doesn't seem to mind them because she just wants to eat. It is nice because Gabe will wake up with her and get her a bottle ready so that I can have a few more hours of sleep. I think he likes the feeding time to, a little father daughter bonding, just like reading time. Gabe loves to read her Dr. Suess and Aubrey loves to sit and listen. Aubrey also got a visit from her "boyfriend" Harper and Aunt Hollie, Harper loved Aubrey, Aubrey didn't seem to care. She is so carefree, I am sure I am cursing myself but she is the best baby I could not have asked for anything better. I hope everyone is doing well, I will try and post another blog later this week. LOVE

She is getting soooo big!

OH Aubrey Jo she is the joy of my life. She is getting so big so fast, I swear she has gained another pound, or maybe its the heavy loads in her diapers. This week she is definantly being more active. She waves her arms and is starting to balance much better (view the picture below). I don't watch it makes me nervous. She is also responding to voices, she can be in a dead sleep, but when daddy gets home from work she is wide awake (just like when she was in my tummy). She will look your way when you are talking to her and she loves to stare at me when she eats. We have more family visits in the coming weeks. Gabe's mom is on vacation now so she is going to come and help out for a little while and let mommy catch up on some school work and tanning :). Also Gabe's sister Shauna will be out on the 10th to meet her niece (she left for Europe the day Aubrey was born). My mom and cousins are also coming down on the 10th to drop Emily off for some R&R with her cousin Lissa, and to see Aubrey of course. I see alot of pool time in my future. I am having some concerns about Aubrey's eating though, she has started to occasionaly throw up everything she eats, mommy is not a fan of it at all. I feel heartbroken when she does because she just seems so sad. The doctor said to watch how she is eating because lack of appitite is the first sign of a sick baby. She is still eating well but is a little more fussy when she does eat. Maybe Gas??? Well I hope everyone is enjoying the blog and there will be many more to come. LOVE YA

Aubrey has arrived!

Hey everyone!!! this is Gabe and I's attempt to keep everyone updated. Aubrey changes everyday and we would like everyone to be able to take a look. I will try to put up new posts as much as possible. Aubrey is now 2 weeks old and at her last weigh in she was 7 pounds 12 ounces, and growing. I would not be suprised if she gained a pound a day the way she eats. She truly is a blessing, we could not have asked for a better baby. She is very content just looking around and hanging out with mom and dad. She also is the most talkative baby I have ever heard of. She is either grunting, cooing, or meowing like a cat (it is the only way to describe this sound). Gabe and I are excited to see what each day brings, because she is changing every minute. We never take our eyes off of her because we fear that we will miss something. Aubrey Jo is finally here and we couldn't be happier.

LOVE YOU ALL!!