The Braxtons

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-23T07:42:00.000-07:00

Andy had a great Father's Day this year. His best friends from TCU have been staying with us, and the guys went to see A-Team on Sunday night.
Here are some pictures from the morning when Audrey gave Daddy his present, another knife.... that looks an awful lot like one he already has, but what do I know :)

BIg Girl Bed

2010-06-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

We have been blessed with a child who does not climb out of her crib, so we were not in a rush to switch her to a big girl bed. However, she'll be three next month, so it's time.
This was her reaction when she saw her new big girl bed.

She really likes it! I wanted to keep with the same color scheme of pinks, lime green and red mainly so I wouldn't have to buy new curtains. Her red curtains are black out curtains... and not cheap. Do you know how hard it is to find cute bedding with these colors that does not cost $200? Well, we did it... with a little help from "Aunt" Cindy.

Sorry for the wonky angle. Andy was trying to avoid the crib which was still in her room. We have some adjusting to do. We just put it together quickly last night, so she could sleep in it.

Not that easy getting into, but she can do it.

"Just my size." Well, times 2. We only got a double bed because we found the headboard first for only $50. The plan is for it to hold us over until Andy can make a headboard to match her dresser, so we were thrilled to find something inexpensive.

Ready for bed. She did not want the pillow or the blanket, but she'll get used to it.

The night was a success!!! She did not wake up, fall off or get out of bed. This morning, she woke us up with her typical call: "Mommy! Mommy?"I went to get her and she stood up in bed and shouted, I slept in my big girl bed!" She was so proud, and we are, too. Right now, she's taking her first nap in her bed. It has been successful, too.

What a great year

2010-05-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

Back in September, we sent this baby girl off to preschool:

And we got this beauty in return:

Today Audrey and her classmates sang, "If You're Happy and You Know It" during the end of the year ceremony. I'd post the video of it, but somehow she ended up behind the line of everyone else and could not be seen on the video. But she sang!!

After the chapel service, we went back to her classroom where her teachers gave her a certificate.

Mrs. Bedford and Mrs. Oxendine

House Painter

2010-04-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

While I was putting on my make-up, this was happening in Audrey's room:

Did you see the empty white rack in the closet? That's where all the colored bins are SUPPOSED to be. Here's the story: Audrey comes into my bathroom and wants to "paint" with my make-up brushes. Not a good idea because make-up will get on the walls. So I say, "Go look in your room for something to paint with." She comes back and says she needs "paint cup." I say, "Go look in your room for something to put paint in." My clever little painter found LOTS of containers to put paint in!!! After dipping her light stick/paintbrush in a few colors, she would then "paint" her closet door. And the camo hat made a perfect painter's hat, too!! I just adore this little girl and her amazing mind.

Easter Morning

2010-04-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

*** This is my 5th post today, so scroll down to "Meet BearTeam" for the first of today's posts.***

Audrey woke up to find a trail of eggs leading to her basket.

Yes, you saw 2 chocolate bunnies. Actually, there's another one in the living room. Daddy for some reason thought I might not have gotten Audrey a chocolate bunny, so he bought one for her and for me. Silly man, I'm the Momma..... I won't forget to fill the basket.

We squeezed in a little more chocolate with storytime just before nap. Two books later, her hands melted a hole through the bunny.

We went out to lunch after church and tonight we're grilling hot dogs. Since we can't be with our family and the Wynnes are out of town, we decided to forgo all tradition so I wouldn't be sad. But then the preacher mentioned deviled eggs...... boo hoo. We hope you all had a wonderful Easter filled with renewed hope because the Savior is more powerful than the death our sin required.

Coloring Eggs

2010-04-04T14:28:00.000-07:00

I told Audrey it was time to color eggs, so she got out her crayons. I giggled and said, "Baby, we're not gonna color them with crayons." And she said, "Markers?"

Pre-Easter Photo Shoot

2010-04-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

I confess: Audrey's wearing last year's Easter dress.... for several reasons. First, I am VERY picky when it comes to Easter and Christmas dresses. Can't explain it, but most of the ones in stores just won't do. I start my search as soon as the first seasonal dresses hit the stores. This year's search was not good because nothing could top last year's dress. That got me thinking.... we were rushing to church last year and did not get any great pictures of Audrey in this fantastic dress. (By the way, Andy came home from deployment exactly a year ago today... YAY!) And she will not see anybody this year that saw her last year since we are in a new state, so why not wear it again? But this time, I want great pictures. So we did a photo shoot yesterday in our neighborhood.... and oh, we are sooooo happy. You'll see why.

Here she's calling the horses to come over. The were nowhere to be seen, but still.... "Horsey!!"

blowing kisses

Just for fun!

Kings Dominion

2010-04-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

On Friday (April 2), Audrey and I went to Kings Dominion with the Wynnes. Daddy couldn't get off work (long story). We had an idea that Audrey liked rides because she liked the few she rode at Disney. But now we know that the girl LOVES rides. She wants to do them over and over and actually cried once when she couldn't. Again, I had to post the pix small, so click on them to see larger.

This was no sissy coaster. It had lots of dips (notice her sweet head flung back). This might have been Audrey's favorite. She's riding with Sadie, the oldest Wynne daughter.

She rode it two more times before leaving the park. The girl in the red taught her to raise her hands on the roller coaster. So cute, I cried. Audrey dropped her hands to the bar after the first dip though.

Audrey really wanted a hat, and kind of needed one, too. She was thrilled I found this "cowgirl" hat. That's "Uncle" Lee.

This is on top of the park's Eiffel Tower replica. Audrey walked straight up to the grated walls and looked down. No fear whatsoever. Meanwhile, my legs are tingling thinking that grate could give way any minute, and she could shrink inexplicably and slip through those bars.

This is KD's version of Disney's Grand Prix cars. Audrey would not stop squealing on this ride. She loves to "drive" Daddy's truck.... and this car actually moved. BONUS.

You'll see that this car is on a loose track, so you have some leeway to swerve left and right. Imagine a two-year-old behind the wheel...... lots of swerving and squealing at every bump.

My family went to Kings Dominion when I was around 10. I don't remember much about it except for two rides. I remember riding this ride with my Mom. They were brightly painted parrots back then, and I remember them soaring much much higher and farther over the "lake." The lake turned out to be a small pond with a fountain. Now I've gotta dig up that picture of me and my mom on this ride :)

I also remember this wooden roller coaster. It's still a great roller coaster with lots of dips, but I remember it being higher and the dips deeper.

Our little thrill seeker.

Fun day!! We can't wait to go back!

Meet BearTeam

2010-04-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

For Easter, Nana and Papa wanted to treat Audrey to her very first Build-A-Bear. Andy and I took her on Thursday night (April 1) and I think we had as much fun as she did. I really wanted this to be HER bear, so I committed to not swaying her choices and to just let her create. Here's the story in pictures (click on them to see larger):

After seeing every animal they had to offer, Audrey chose the pink bear.... the very pink bear.

She was very shy standing in front of the employee while she stuffed Audrey's bear. I know Audrey was so excited inside, but she refused to show any emotion.

The pedal to blow out the stuffing was a little scary until Daddy held her hand.

She chose a gingham red heart.

She did everything the employee asked her to do: rub the heart on your nose, so your bear will always smell good; on your ear, so she'll be a good listener; on your knees so she can run really fast with you (I think... can't remember why).

And then give it a kiss.

Next, it was to to shove the heart inside her stuffed bear.

Once we walked away from the employee, Audrey perked up and started showing her excitement. She's giving her bear a bath.

Now it's time to get dressed. Audrey chose a pink shirt, pink skirt, pink bows, and shoes that were..... you guessed it. We made sure she saw the Disney princess dresses, but she was stuck on the pinkness she already chose.

We sat down to register the bear and give her a name. Audrey told me that the bear needed a family, and I said that we would be her family. When I asked her what she wanted to name the bear, she said, "BearTeam." Here's a little back story: Audrey has been learning about teams and family, and will often say, "We're a good team, Mommy" when we're picking up toys or "Come on my family, let's go outside," etc. We also have a Braxton cheer and a Braxton kiss, and whenever we do this I usually say, "Let's kiss our team captain." She knows that our family is a team, so when she wanted her bear to have a family, she was also thinking about a team. And so was created our newest family/team member: BearTeam. Cute, huh?

Tool Belt

2010-02-18T07:26:00.000-08:00

I bought a Daddy for Audrey's doll house.

I know he looks more like our president than Audrey's Daddy, but the one that looked like her Daddy came with a couch and a TV. This one came with a tool belt and tool box. We were a little insulted.
Anyway, Audrey discovered that THIS tool belt did not fit HER Daddy, so her Daddy brought out the tool belt that DOES fit him.

But HE never got to wear it. Audrey needed to fix her dollhouse.

Valentine's Day

2010-02-18T07:19:00.000-08:00

Before heading to church on Sunday, Audrey had time to open a Valentine from her "Prince."

I think she likes it. She named him Snuffy, but most of the time she calls him Ruffy. So, who knows.

The loves of MY life.

Blown Away

2010-02-11T13:45:00.000-08:00

I'm blown away at how awesome my daughter is. She is kind, grateful, smart, creative and funny. All at the age of 2 1/2! I wanted to write down a couple of "stories" that have happened recently so I don't forget. And lucky you.... you get to read about them.

Tonight while I was rocking and singing to Audrey before bed, she said, "I itch right here," and pointed to her side. So, I scratched it for her. She chuckled and said, "Dat feels good. You're a good friend, Mommy, for helping me." Is that not pure sweetness?

Lately, Audrey has been choosing a toy and asking me who gave it to her. When I tell her, she'll say, "I need to say her thank you." A few times the toy was from Daddy and sure enough, when she saw him again, she would tell him thank you. I love her grateful heart.

Audrey knows when her birthday is and can say sixteen clearly. However, she can only count to 13 clearly. Here's how it sounds beyond that: uhteen, uhteen, uhteen, uhteen, uhteen!! Cute, huh?

I'm quite smitten with this little girl.

This picture was from last Friday. We took Audrey to the ER (the doctor's office was closed due to the upcoming blizzard) because she was complaining of ear and throat pain. When she started to get a little fever, we decided to take her in so we didn't get stuck with a REALLY sick baby and no way to get meds. Thank the Lord for this moment of wisdom because Audrey not only had a severe ear infection (again), but she also had strep!! Anyway, the ER experience was traumatic since they are not experts in pediactrics, but Audrey quickly forgot about it when we gave her some tools to cure Sleeping Beauty.

Don't let this face fool you...

2010-02-02T13:10:00.000-08:00

... this little "angel" gets in trouble at school. Grr. As a former teacher myself, my deepest desire is for my child to not be THAT child. I don't think she is yet, but she seems to be trying. Our shy girl is quite comfortable at school. Comfortable enough to tell her teachers what's what and to slide across tables. She got a warning last Thursday, and I reminded her today that she was not allowed to do that, and that if she did she would not get any TV today (She usually watches Dora during lunch, so this would be an immediate punishment.) Well, guess who went Table Surfing today? This beauty:

Just to make you happy

2010-01-26T13:17:00.000-08:00

... and you know who you are.
Just to make "her" happy, I went looking for some pictures to post, and learned that I haven't been taking many. This is terrible!!! So, I'm glad I got the wake-up call. I can't let these precious days go by without a record... and I'm a scrapbooker! Oh, the shame. (Well, we do take pictures, but it's usually on our phones and they never turn out good.)
For example:

Every now and then, Audrey gets to take a bath in Mommy's BIG tub. It's like her own pool.

When she's stubborn and won't eating her vegetables, we give her a toothpick to pick them up with. This time, she stuck a green bean on the toothpick like a popsicle and was licking it. Love that imagination!

Audrey and Daddy had a special date. He bundled her up and took her to the park, but first they had to play in some snow.

Audrey recently had her first cup of hot, er, luke-warm chocolate. She kept saying, "Mmmmm!" after each sip, but she didn't drink much. Oh, and Audrey is praying now!!! They usually go something like this: "Fank you God..... fer yunch. Amen!" or "God and Jesus, Fank you fer...... good day.... (mumble, mumble.... He knew what she said) AMEN!!" I fight tears every time she prays.

Gingerbread House

2009-12-27T18:04:00.000-08:00

We made our first ever gingerbread house on Christmas Eve. I've always wanted to do this, and thought this year was a great time to start the tradition because Audrey is old enough to help. Since we were staying in a condo, we didn't have an electric mixer so the icing ended up too runny which allowed for lots of licking.

so much candy

Most of the pictures look like this

Notice the little finger tracks? Hmmm....

She was even dragging Daddy into her icing swiping. Of course he preferred the more direct tube-to-mouth technique.

Ta-Da! The finished product. Like my icicles?

Braxton Christmas

2009-12-27T17:50:00.000-08:00

Since we were leaving the day after Christmas, we had Christmas with Grammy and Poppy early so they could see Audrey play with her toys for a few days.

Audrey's big gift from Grammy and Poppy was a princess piano vanity. Let me quickly explain how awesome this toy is. At first glance, it is a vanity complete with a pretend hairbrush, nail polish, eye shadow, etc. Lift the edge of the tabletop and it's now a piano with extra songs and sounds. You can also record your own playing. So neat. Plus, the hairbrush is now a microphone, nail polish a bell, eye shadow a harmonica, etc. It was a huge hit!

Audrey's blowing the polish dry on Poppy's nails.

Disney!

2009-12-27T17:39:00.000-08:00

Back in April, we were able to purchase 5 day park hoppers to Disney for a really great price. We went for 2 nights with Summer's family, but left Audrey with Grammy and Poppy (Braxton). Since we still had more visits to burn and since Audrey now loves princesses, we decided to take a no-pressure trip to Disney yesterday with Nana and Papa. By "no-pressure" I mean that we were only going to do as much as Audrey could handle, and only those things she would "get." She's not really ready for a full day at Disney, but she was certainly ready to meet the princesses.
When we first arrived, Audrey noticed Cinderella's castle right away. And a show had just begun.

This is her expression when 3 princesses came on stage.

This is the kiddie roller coaster in ToonTown called Barn Stormers. It was more aggressive than I imagined a child's roller coaster would be, but of course my little thrill seeker loved it.

Next up: Meet the princesses!! We didn't know what to expect from our Shy Girl. She was still shy, but walked up to each princess on her own. And even spoke a few times.

Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) was by far the best princess we met. She was so sweet to Audrey and stayed in perfect royal character the whole time.

Audrey wanted to see Aurora's kiss on her face.

Another ride Audrey wanted to do again. There was no repeating anything. We have never seen Disney so crowded in the dozens of times that we have been.

Christmas Program

2009-12-17T14:47:00.001-08:00

Audrey's Christmas program was this morning. As you'll see, she does not have a desire for stardom at this point in her life. Notice how she planted herself as soon as she got on stage as if she were told to pick her spot and stay there. And she's not picking her nose. She's shushing. The kids are singing, "tip toe around the baby." Also notice that as soon as it's over, she is ready to get off stage. Oh, and please excuse the poor filming. I couldn't stop giggling.
Regardless of her performance, she was certainly the best dressed kid in the whole school. (And no comments about her bangs. We are growing them out.... deal with it.)

Snow Bunny

2009-12-17T13:32:00.000-08:00

Look at my Snow Bunny!!! She seems to have changed from a baby to a kid right before my eyes. She asked to wear this skirt instead of jeans, and to try out her new snow boots (even though there was no snow). Of course, we had to complete the outfit with her new puffer vest from "Aunt" Cindy. I giggled at how cute (and grown) she looked.

Our First Snow

2009-12-05T13:55:00.000-08:00

It has snowed most of the day today, and we've all been so giddy. We now have a long shopping list of water-resistant outwear and a snow shovel to get. We didn't keep the cameras out too long because they were getting pretty wet, but we captured a few memories. One of the memories I hope to forget is when I hit Audrey smack in the face with a snowball. Andy started the fight and I missed on one of my retaliations. It hit Audrey square in the face. Poor thing bawled until we got all the ice out of her jacket and dried her face off.

Look What Aunt Jenn found for $3!!!

2009-11-29T17:39:00.000-08:00

She kind of likes it.

And everyone knows princesses help those in need.

Kara fell and Audrey said, "I help her up." She walked over to Kara and said, "Hold out your hand." Kara did, and Audrey (sorta) pulled her up. Kara thought that was a hoot, so she walked ten steps, plopped down on her butt with a smile, and held her arm up. So cute!!

Isn't my youngest niece adorable? My siblings and I make some wonderful and cute kids.

Disney Pajama Party

2009-11-29T17:22:00.000-08:00

The Disney Store had a Pajama Party a couple weekends ago. We knew it would be fun for Audrey to put her princess PJs and slippers on and head to her favorite store. They had coloring pages for the kids when we first got there. Then they played a pictionary type game, passed out snacks, and had storytime. Audrey loved it!! Andy expected more from DISNEY, but I reminded him it was the store, not the park. LOL!

School Feast

2009-11-20T11:56:00.000-08:00

Audrey had a Thanksgiving feast at school yesterday. Before they ate, the kids sang a turkey song. I am so proud of my girl!!! She was the only one in her class to do the dance moves, and she beamed the whole time. I just wish I had the video camera instead. I had no idea what to expect.

Not for Halloween

2009-10-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

Audrey had a wonderful surprise when she woke up from nap today! Aunt Jenn and Nanny sent her a Princess Belle dress complete with crown and light up shoes. Audrey has really gotten into dress-up (thanks to her new friend Noelle), so Santa has planned to bring her lots of dress-up clothes for Christmas this year.... especially princess dresses. This is not her Halloween costume. You'll get to see that on Saturday night.

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

My oldest niece and nephew, my sister and my mom are all here visiting, so we took the kids to the pumpkin patch at Cox Farms. Included in your admission were fresh apples and cider, and a free pumpkin. I think this was the first time Audrey ate from a whole apple.

School Picture Day

2009-10-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was Picture Day at Audrey's school, so of course we searched long and hard for the perfect outfit. In fact, I spotted this dress while shopping with my mother-in-law before school even started. I originally wanted it to be her first day of school outfit, but I'm glad we couldn't find it in her size then because it was perfect for picture day. After I searched about 5 stores that sell Carter's clothing in my area, my friend Cindy found it while vacationing in Williamsburg. (Yes, I had a few people on the lookout.) Audrey's teachers said he wasn't happy to have her picture taken, but that they did get her to smile and that there were some sweet ones without smiles. I can't wait to see what they look like, but the ones I took are AMAZING!!

This one with Nana is silly, but I wanted you to see the whole outfit.

Horses

2009-09-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

We try to go on a family walk a few times each week, but only recently started walking down to where the horses are. Only had my phone with me, so the quality isn't the best, but they're still pretty. Audrey prefers the horses when they are far away :)

The horses actually came over to us. Guess they thought we had some food.

I love how long her hair looks here.... kind of like a mane :)

First Day of School

2009-09-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

What a thrill!! It was so fun to send Audrey to school today because I knew that she would have such a blast.... and she did. Since Grammy and Poppy (Andy's parents) are here visiting, they got in on the fun, too. Audrey told me that she sang songs about "wheels" and "Bible" and that she played with puzzles and read a story about "ducks" and "piggies." Now, those of you who know me well will be surprised that Audrey's First Day of School outfit isn't more elaborate, but her teachers have said MANY times to send them in play clothes, and I didn't want to be THAT mom :)

This is me so excited that I'm skipping and smiling because her teachers just asked me to be ROOM MOM!!! How did they know I was born to be Room Mom?? LOL!!

LadyBug Princess

2009-08-30T12:59:00.000-07:00

Isn't this outfit adorable? The Wynnes gave it to Audrey for her birthday, and as with most pretty outfits, Audrey loves to wear it. They also gave her the wand. The other pictures are from the pet store. We go there a lot!!! It's one of the best free entertainment options for Audrey.

Here she's waving hello to the fish.

The down side to no more diapers

2009-08-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

Can't keep some of your britches up.

"Reach, reach"

2009-08-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

Remember how I said Audrey wants to hold things that can't be held? Here she's trying to reach the clouds. She really thought she could with some help from Daddy and a little chanting: "Reach, reach, reach."

Ready to have your heart melted?

2009-08-17T12:17:00.001-07:00

I do not know what gave her the idea, and they have never done this before: Audrey just walked right over to Daddy, grabbed his hands and stepped on his feet. Thank goodness the camera was on the same floor!!

The dip!! Every girl loves to be dipped.

This was later that night. Our friends watched Audrey so Andy and I could go on a real date!! They were dancing to Toddler Tunes with her.

Bikeywave

2009-08-17T12:07:00.001-07:00

Audrey's GG, my Grandma, sent her some birthday money, and I knew what we HAD to get. A microwave! She wants to use Mommy's when she is cooking for us, but now she is thrilled to have her own.

Poor quality, but it shows how happy she is to have a microwave.
Mmmm, hot lettuce.

Sprinkler Fun

2009-08-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

As Audrey's Grandpa so creatively pointed out, it's been a while since I've posted new pictures. So, here we go.

These are from a fun afternoon of playing in the sprinkler waiting for Daddy to come home.

She called the sprinkler "rain" and had to have a "brella."
Not sure what's going on here.
Trying to catch the "rain." She does this to images on the TV, too..... and animals at the zoo.

Audrey's Room

2009-07-27T07:42:00.001-07:00

Since we're renting and cannot paint the walls, I decided to use my Cricut and cut out some vinyl designs to dress up Audrey's room. I'm pretty excited about the results. Now it's time to do the rest of the house :)

Hopefully, you can tell that I tried to match the flowers from her blanket. (My mom painted the shelf before Audrey was born.)

Some random pix

2009-07-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors' gorgeous tree. Look how huge these blossoms are!!

Another one from the Potomac River

Long Lost Pictures

2009-07-26T14:28:00.001-07:00

I found these photos on our old camera and they are from my parents' visit last month. We took them out on the boat on the Potomac River. It's a cool feeling to see George Washington's house from your boat.

Playin' it safe..... really REALLY safe.

Audrey loves being on the boat. She says, "Boot."
We hit a HUGE wave coming back in and we all nearly fell out. Momma was holding Audrey and she injured her back since she didn't have free hands to brace herself. :( Scary.

The Birthday Girl....

2009-07-16T18:21:00.001-07:00

... is sleeping now.

... loves Toodles (aka Mickey Mouse).

... is potty trained!!!

... recently started putting up a fight over eating vegetables.

... still sleeps with Ni-Ni and Mwah (blanket from Nana and bear from Daddy)
... prefers to be outside in running shoes.

... copies Momma and Daddy.

... has an incredible memory (except when you ask her where her cup is).

... can sit still in your lap listening to 5 or 6 books in a row.

... wants things done a particular way (aka OCD).
... eats at least one apple a day.

... is petrified of loud noises and strangers who get too close.

... loves clothes!!!!! She twirls as soon as she puts on a new outfit.

... will try to say every new word you ask her to.

... communicates really well. If she doesn't know the words, she will use sounds or motions to get her message across.
... will start going to a twice-a-week preschool in Sept.

... kisses boo-boos and says, "Sorry."

... takes good care of her baby dolls. (Except for that brief phase of spanking her babies before putting them to bed like Papa showed her.)

... thinks Finding Nemo is the best movie ever.

... is loved!

Birthday Morning

2009-07-16T18:07:00.001-07:00

Audrey is 2!!! We started off this wonderful day with a birthday waffle. (She's so good at blowing out candles.) And, yes, if she asked for a bowl of Cheerios, I would have figured out how to get 2 candles in there also.

We also let her open one present from us. It was a toy vacuum. Audrey is scared to tears of my vacuum, so I thought having a toy one would get her used to it. When she looked inside the bag, I asked her, 'What is it?" And when she didn't answer with "Eeeeeeee!" (which means noisy vacuum) I told her what it was. She almost had the toy out of the bag, but when I said "vacuum," she dropped it, stepped back and said, "No." Once I showed her Minnie Mouse on the wheel and how it worked, she was hooked.... thank goodness. Wish I caught this moment on video.
After watching some Playhouse Disney shows, we headed to the park for a picnic lunch. (Oh, Andy took today off to be with his girl, so it was an extra fun day.)
Our girl LOVES all slides..... even the really tall ones. She got a little nervous when other bigger kids came up behind her.

Peeking through the playhouse window

Birthday Afternoon

2009-07-16T17:58:00.001-07:00

After a short birthday nap, Audrey opened her present from Grandma and Grandpa.... a pool!!

After birthday pizza, we had birthday CAKE!!
Audrey is so good at blowing out candles. She's had a lot of practice. (This shot was the rest of the exhale... must have been a good wish.)
She said, "Mmmmm!" with every bite.
We ended the night with opening presents from Mommy and Daddy. Here was the BIG one. She was a little scared to jump in it at first, but she loves to jump and quickly learned that this was a great place for it.

She's 2 (almost)!!

2009-07-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

Since Nana and Papa were here so close to her birthday (and it's my mom's birthday today) we decided to have a little mini party to celebrate. Don't criticize our Pepperidge Farm cakes. We didn't want leftovers and mom really loves their coconut cake :) I used my 4 years of Publix Bakery experience to jazz 'em up. Oh, and my Cricut helped with the mice.

The banner I made with my Cricut. I just love that machine.
Nana and Papa got Audrey a tricycle!! Oh my. She can't ride it, but it has a handle for us to push her around.

Playing tourist

2009-07-02T12:21:00.001-07:00

Down the street from our house is Gunston Hall, the home of George Mason who wrote the VA Bill of Rights and was instrumental in our constitution.

We found some wild strawberries on the path to the Mason's burial site.
Nana and Audrey being southern belles. Nana was trying to get Audrey to say, "Oh Lawd!"
Audrey loved churning butter (even though it was empty).

We visited Mt. Vernon (George Washington's home) and Arlington National Cemetery

The view from the cemetery

After our first day of playing tourist, we realized that visiting historical sites was not for a 2 year old, but what are we supposed to do? Stay home?

Nana and Papa are here!

2009-07-02T12:09:00.001-07:00

Nana and Papa arrived last week!! Audrey asking, "Papa yite (write)"

Nanny lovin's
Papa showing Audrey how to move the shadow.

Daddy's Day part II

2009-06-21T17:43:00.000-07:00

Here's Audrey showing me the Daddy fish

and the Audrey fish. Are you ready for the next one? It'll melt your heart!! I warned you.
Told you so!

Happy Daddy's Day!

2009-06-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

Audrey helped me make this shirt to honor her Daddy. It says "Hooked on my Daddy" and has two fish on it (the part Audrey did). The day we made this, I told Audrey it was a surprise and not to tell Daddy. When he walked in the door from work, she jumped in his arms and said, "Daddy ishes" and pointed to where the shirt was hiding. She cannot keep a secret :)

Here's some of my favorite shots from our little Daddy/daughter photo shoot today. This was the first one I took. Don't ask Audrey to say cheese because this is what you'll get... Little Miss Cheese Ball.
But if you make her laugh, this is what you get. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. Think I'll make a poster out of it :) There's more. Check the next post.

Soon after this shot a fat bumble bee covered in pollen showed up. Cool. Andy had to take pictures of him.

Real paint this time

2009-06-21T17:21:00.001-07:00

We used real paint this time around to make some Father's Day projects. Audrey loved it and is quite good at painting :) I was glad to see she didn't mind getting all gooey.

She decided on her own to paint her hand.

Zoom in on this one if you can. The purple is when she itched her ear. I did not see the green show up, but it's in her hair.
Love this shot!! What a fun day!

Poop Money

2009-06-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

Audrey is just about potty trained. She was having a hard time pooping in the toilet. She thinks that passing gas might be poop, so she would ask to sit on the potty several times in an hour with nothing to show for it. When it finally was time, she'd be tired of the false alarms and end up having an accident (that's my best guess). To encourage her to keep getting on the potty, we started giving her coins to put in her piggy bank after she put poop in the potty. It seems to have worked. She is now going potty on the big toilet (with a smaller seat on top) and only has a few false alarms. And she ADORES big girl panties!!

See, so serious when she's busy.
"Cheeeeeeese!"

What Goes Up Must Come Down

2009-06-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

Audrey's just like her Momma: She has no upper body strength. She didn't even hang for a full second.

Picasso or Tom Sawyer?

2009-06-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

I found this idea on a blog so I can't take credit for it, but I am so grateful to have found it. Audrey LOVES to "paint" the sidewalk with water. What a great idea!!

Her first artistic stroke. (The rest looked like this, too.)

"This!!!"
"Au-gee this!!"
We even went to beautify the Tot Lot. Andy and I were both thinking: Tom Sawyer white washin' the fence. Notice how serious she is. When she's deep in pretending, she'll have such a serious face; when she's done, she'll squeal with delight.

Sweet Prayers

2009-06-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

Isn't this the sweetest sight? She doesn't yet know how powerful this simple act is, but our prayer is that she'll always yearn to talk to Jesus. (Sometimes, she reminds US to pray at mealtimes. Don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed. LOL)

Grandpa Came!

2009-06-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

Grandpa came up to VA to entertain Audrey so we could get the house ready. Although she was shy at first, she quickly remembered how much fun Grandpa is.

Good-bye Sippy Cups

2009-05-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

Our almost 2-year-old drank from a cup all by herself at lunch today. She only had one mishap from lifting the cup too high too fast. Other than that she did a fantastic job.

Sweetest Face

2009-05-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

I've never seen a more perfect face. This girl makes me smile every day without fail. I am blessed beyond what I deserve.

All Girl

2009-05-15T09:28:00.001-07:00

Audrey loves to do all things girly. Here she is taking her baby shopping. She put all this stuff on herself (except for the earrings). Note the bucket used as a purse... this IS the hottest new trend that no one knows about YET.

She's shopping for contact lens solution. She also emptied the cans out of the cabinet.
Later, we watched for Daddy out the window. She's calling for him in this photo.

Who needs Pizza Hut....

2009-05-12T15:09:00.001-07:00

....when Audrey and Momma make a mean homemade pizza? This is one of the Mom moments I've always dreamed about. I had a blast, and I think Audrey did, too.

sneakin' some of the ingredients

The cheese was put on in clumps, so the pepperoni should be, too. Right?

Teeny Purse

2009-05-11T07:26:00.001-07:00

Audrey always carries a purse on her arm when she goes "shopping." Somehow, she found this teeny plastic purse in the apartment and made us laugh so hard when she hung it on her thumb! She used the same dramatic movements (like sticking her arm straight out) as she does when pulling on a full-sized purse, so it was extra funny to watch. We still have no idea where the tiny purse came from or where she found it in the apartment.... kinda scary.

Hodge Podge

2009-05-11T07:01:00.000-07:00

It's no surprise that the grandparents have been asking for pictures, so here's a random collection of pix from the past week:

This face is just way too sweet. We'll have to try it agian without the Aunt Jamima head wrap. Just having some fun before gettin' out of her PJs.
The classic horse ride from Daddy. Now he can't lie on the floor without Audrey shouting, "Neigh, neigh!"

We tried out the chapel service on base last Sunday. I got Audrey's dress for a great price at an outlet mall on our drive up here. (Momma, she needs her bangs cut again. I need you!!!)

We have a house

2009-05-06T06:35:00.001-07:00

We just got word that our application to rent this house was accepted. Unfortunately, we cannot move in until May 22. But this was a great house with a great landlord, so it's worth the wait..... sorta :) And it's only 3 miles from base (which means a 15 minute commute with this crazy VA traffic)!! These pictures are from the listing, so the quality isn't the greatest and of course that's not our stuff..... thank goodness.

The landscaping is gorgeous even though the yard is miniscule (that's how ALL the homes are close to base). The pink tree is a dogwood!! And there's a garden on the side of the house with herbs and lettuce.

This is the living room right across from the kitchen.

This is the room they added right behind the kitchen. My huge table Andy made me will look gorgeous here!! There's a door to the right that leads to the deck.

Not my dream kitchen, but I like that it's open to the living room.

There are 3 bedrooms upstairs. Nothing special about them. The basement is finished and has a gorgeous bathroom (don't know why they didn't upgrade the others, too). It also has a bar and tons of closets. We'll put our office and my craft room down there. Can't wait!

We'll post more pix once we move in.

Smoothie Queen

2009-04-24T17:53:00.001-07:00

After a long unproductive day of house hunting, we stopped for a fruit smoothie. Andy and I put our cups down on the table to do some serious grown-up talking and weren't paying much attention to the little one. When we went for another sip, we discovered this:

Nature Trail

2009-04-23T18:51:00.001-07:00

We went for a walk tonight down one of the many trails here on base. Audrey LOVED being outside and had to give good-bye hugs to all the logs when we left.

So excited to be in PaPa's forest

Catching Daddy.... she ran most of the trail because she was so excited to be surrounded by so many sticks and trees.
Yes, it's cold here. High 50s, low 60s and windy. And yes, the jacket is too small. Time to get a new one.... but what Floridian buys a jacket at the end of April. It's just not natural.

Dandelions

2009-04-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of dandelions on base. Audrey can not walk by one without trying to blow off the "petals." She usually needs help.

Road Trip

2009-04-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

We took 4 days to reach Ft. Belvoir, VA mainly because the AF gave us that many days. It was really nice to only spend about 4 hrs in the car each day. Audrey did so well! We'd leave each morning after breakfast and stop at an outlet mall to kill an hour before lunch and to let Audrey run around. Once back in the truck, Audrey would sleep and we would almost make it to our stopping point before she woke up. a great way to travel. Here are some fun pix form along the way taken with my iPhone so please excuse the poor quality.

She LOVED this bike (hint hint grandparents) and kept saying, "Jay Jay" while riding it. Her only other encounter with a big bike was one her cousin Jay rides.

Happy (??) Easter!

2009-04-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a day! The devil was pulling overtime trying to get our focus off of celebrating Christ's resurrection.... from a whiney baby making us late for church, to spilling hot squash on my dress and down my leg, to missing naptime, to not getting any good pictures of "the dress," to getting locked out of the house right when whiney baby finally fell asleep...ugh! BUT we did manage to realize that it was all a way to try to make us forget why we put on our best clothes, attend a special service and spend time with family on this day. We didn't forget, and we hope you didn't miss it either. Christ took on YOUR punishment of death... and then conquered it. What a mighty God we serve!

"Pack Pack"

2009-04-14T12:05:00.001-07:00

Andy and I went to Disney with my family for a couple of days WITHOUT Audrey. (Grandma and Grandpa Braxton watched her.) We brought Audrey home a Minnie backpack. I wish we hadn't though because she looks like she's ready for school :( Oh, and the hat is a necessity when going outside with Grandpa.

"Ning nings"

2009-04-14T12:00:00.001-07:00

Audrey loves earrings already. (I should've gotten her ears pierced when she was tiny....ugh.) She calls them "ning nings." We HAD to pull out the camera when I realized the pair I was wearing could be hooked onto her ear. She loved it!

"Ish"

2009-04-14T11:55:00.001-07:00

Daddy brought out his tackle box full of rubbery fish and lizards and Audrey was in heaven!! Even the slimy ones were a hit. Ever since Daddy taught her how to say fish back in July, they have been her favorite animal.

Excited about her collection of ucky fish on the table behind her

Thanks for sharing, Daddy

It's over!!

2009-04-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

We made it! Andy's year-long deployment is over!! We thought it would be neat to compare pictures from the day Andy left until his deployment was over, but it actually just made us sad.... there's so much that he missed :( BUT it's over and we're all together and having a blast. We're heading for our new home in VA on Saturday.

April 2008

April 2009

Cousin Love

2009-03-31T10:34:00.001-07:00

Today, Audrey got to play at the park "with" her cousin, Garrett, who lives in NC. They mostly played near each other because that's just how it is at this age. In the parking lot, we kept asking them to give good-bye hugs until we got some good shots. A fun day!

"They're cousins.... identical cousins"

"Nanny Wash"

2009-03-29T16:26:00.001-07:00

Tonight I called Audrey into the bathroom for bathtime. She kept saying what we thought was "Nanny watch." So my mom said she'd sit and watch. Then Audrey started rubbing her skin and saying clearly what she meant along: "Nanny wash." Nanny said, "You want Nanny to wash you?" Audrey says, "Yes!" Nanny says, "Okay, I'll wash you." Audrey walks over to me, gives me a big hug and says, "Bye bye." I'm only a little crushed because it's awfully nice to have a break from bathtime....LOL!

Lil Gardner

2009-03-27T19:26:00.001-07:00

We discovered today that Audrey loves to water the yard. Whenever I stood close to her, she would say, "Bye Bye." That's her way of telling me, "I got this Mom. Please don't make me stop." I didn't and our front yard is a bit flooded because of it :)

Here she's pointing out the bubbles the water makes when it hits the mud

So serious... She's saving lives.... plant lives. My oldest niece, Jewelya, has this same look when she's concentrating.

I LOVE these eyes! I think it's a great picture even though I caught my mom wiping the dirt off Audrey's face. unfortunately, the next shot was Audrey's blurred hand reaching for the camera.

Hodge Podge

2009-03-19T10:12:00.001-07:00

Just some random photos from this month so far. Andy comes home in 2 weeks!!

Laughing

Audrey is great at jumping on the trampoline. She gets several inches off the ground and lands on her feet. Her older cousins taught her how to do flips..... she falls on her back and rolls to the side. Close.

Beautiful "new" dress I bought back when she was 12 months old :) Yes, it's a 24-months size that I bought almost a year too soon.

Cousin Kaylee had a firsy party over the weekend, and all the girls got to wear wings and wands :)

I'm a runner!?

2009-03-14T15:49:00.001-07:00

Today I achieved one of my biggest goals: I ran in a 5K race. I decided to do this in early January and have been training myself since. I actually finished 2 minutes faster than my personal best... which is very exciting! This particular race was mostly on loose dirt which is something I'll NEVER do again :) But I am looking forward to my next 5K (hopefully in May) that will have to be completely on pavement. (There are several more photos thanks to Bobby, but these are the only ones suitable for public viewing...LOL)

Daddy called

2009-02-21T10:27:00.001-08:00

Audrey talked to Daddy today without the speaker phone. You can tell how much she loves hearing Daddy's voice. We really miss him, but..... only 1 month and 12 days to go.

Shoe Lover

2009-02-21T08:09:00.001-08:00

Audrey really impressed me when she found one boot and searched in the "shoe pit" for its mate. And then she put them on the right foot. Surprisingly, she gets the shoes on the correct foot more often than not. And I love that she wanted her hood up for the picture... so stylish!

Happy Late Valentine's Day!!

2009-02-15T17:57:00.001-08:00

Sorry I didn't get to this yesterday..... but we hope you had a great day with your loved ones.

Audrey is really into putting on everyone's shoes.

Puddin' Tang

2009-02-08T18:59:00.001-08:00

While I was getting Audrey's bath ready, Nana (my mom) allowed Audrey to get to the rest of a pudding cup she had been working on earlier. Since Audrey was already naked for her bath, Nana thought there'd be no harm in letting her feed herself...... but guess who has to clean the mirrored closet doors now?

Ready to Run

2009-02-08T11:19:00.001-08:00

Audrey knows how important it is to stretch before a run. (Personally, I think she's mocking my attempts to become a runner... LOL.)

Diggin' It

2009-02-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

Audrey had a blast digging in the front yard with her cousin, Kaylee.

Kaylee's not thrilled that Audrey chose to dig in the exact spot she was digging, but she was so patient with Audrey. What a great big cousin!

Pigtails and Shoes

2009-01-29T17:03:00.000-08:00

Audrey put her shoes on by herself the other day and didn't do too bad a job. She got them on the correct feet, but was stepping on the tongue and heel of the shoe. Momma was still proud.

The rest of the pix are from playing outside (which we do EVERY day).

I don't wanna grow up....

2009-01-26T17:02:00.001-08:00

I pulled the walker out this morning to see how my 11-month-old niece, Kara, would like it. After scootin' around the house a bit, I took Kara out to check her diaper. When I turned back around, the "big kid" tried putting herself in. I guess Kara made it look like lots of fun. I WAS impressed with how close Audrey came to getting in the walker. The look on her face tells you how comfortable it was, right?

Silly Morning

2009-01-22T10:26:00.000-08:00

Little Miss Audrey was being awfully silly this morning. I came out of my room and found this lovely sight in the hallway. She was actually pushing the cart when I first saw her. She looked like a little old bag lady.

While I was looking for some earrings to wear today, Audrey walked out of my room and I heard a clomp, shuffle, clomp, shuffle. This is what I found!! And, yes, it's a matching pair.

Happy Half Birthday Audrey Hope

2009-01-16T11:39:00.000-08:00

I can't believe our favorite girl is halfway to turning 2! She impresses me every day. Her latest "thing" is coming to me with a minor injury and making a kissing sound, so I'll kiss the boo boo. If you look closely, you'll see a goose egg in the middle of her forehead. I back into her and knocked her down, and she hit her head on a cabinet. If you ask her about the boo boo on her head, she'll say, "MaMa." Breaks my heart :( Oh, and I love how Audrey is saying, "Yes" now. I can't believe she's saying yes before saying no. Don't kids usually say, "no" first? Maybe she'll be an optimist.

Just wanted to show you a full shot of this outfit. My mom made it for my oldest (11 years) niece who was born in Alaska. We had 50 degree weather today, so all us Floridians were stackin' on the layers. These overalls are lined in flannel!

The Aquarium

2009-01-14T09:49:00.000-08:00

Audrey LOVES fish, so we thought it would be a great idea to take her to the Florida Aquarium while Andy was home.

Unfortunately, she was a little afraid of the GIANT wall of fish..... hence, the hand biting.
More hand biting.... those birds were almost as big as Audrey. If you click on the pic, you might be able to see how wide Audrey's eyes are. Poor thing.
Big scary fish in the dark this time...that's why I'm holding her so tight.
This is a seahorse!!!! I thought he was seaweed. God is so creative (and I think he might have been laughing when he made this guy).

Happy Birthday Daddy

2009-01-11T15:06:00.001-08:00

Audrey wanted to get some balloons for Daddy's birthday. We took some pictures of our "party" so he can enjoy them, too. Unfortunately, Andy spent his birthday stuck in Germany for 48 hours... at least... he could still be there.

Happy Birthday Daddy!! We miss you and love you so much. You truly are an amazing dad and husband. We can't wait to have you back home.

Fun Pix

2009-01-03T07:23:00.000-08:00

Here are a few fun pix from the past few days. Audrey got into something filthy.... I think it was Daddy's truck tires.

Drawing on the magnet board with Daddy

In a few days, we'll both be basket cases.

Tea Party

2008-12-26T17:54:00.001-08:00

Aunt Krissy and Uncle Brian gave Audrey this amazing, so perfect for her, tea set. I give Daddy 2 more years before Audrey makes him wear a hat and pearls to the party :)

Audrey's First Boat Ride

2008-12-26T17:41:00.001-08:00

She loved it!! Especially when Daddy went fast.... she would squeal with delight.

Audrey has learned to say "cheese" when she sees a camera. I have a feeling we'll be getting these toothy, "cheese"y smiles from now on :)
Naturally, her favorite part was being in the driver's seat.

And we saw a ton of DOLPHINS!! Audrey noticed them, too, and called them fish.

More gifts

2008-12-26T09:29:00.001-08:00

Once the family arrived, it was time for more spoiling. Grandma and Grandpa Braxton got Audrey this cool table and chair set. She loves sitting at it and coloring right on the tabletop (It's meant for that.).

That face is Audrey saying "Oooo."
She quickly figured out that her crayons (and even her sippy cup) fit nicely into the little fabric holes.
Nana and Papa brought Audrey this cool tunnel. She loves to pop up through the holes in the top, too.

More proof that she LOVES this car. She wouldn't even get out to open a present.

Christmas Morning

2008-12-26T09:12:00.001-08:00

What a fun Christmas morning!! Audrey was so great at opening her presents. It was fun to watch. The biggest hit was her very first car. She'd eat in there if we let her. At first, Audrey had some trouble getting the goodies out of her stocking until she figured out to dump it. Fun memories!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-26T08:22:00.000-08:00

Not only did God give us the awesome gift of sending Andy home for Christmas, but He also sent him home 3 hours earlier than expected!!! Here we are all dressed up for the Christmas Eve service at Andy's parents' church. If Andy came at the original time, we might not have made it to the service.

No Christmas Card

2008-12-22T09:13:00.000-08:00

To all of our loved ones ~ You won't receive a Christmas card from us this year, but we will be sending out a photo card as soon as Andy gets home. He is headed to the airport as I type this (Monday afternoon), but he won't arrive until 3 pm on Christmas Eve. Please pray that all his flights will be safe and on time. We wish you a wonderful Christmas full of the joy He offers to you.

Today

2008-12-07T13:17:00.001-08:00

Just got back from church and decided to take a few pix for Daddy.

Horned Tadpole?

2008-12-03T06:31:00.000-08:00

Our friends Andy met in college were so sweet to send Audrey a TCU shirt and pom-pom when they celebrated their 10-year reunion at Homecoming recently. I just sent the pictures to Andy and can't wait to hear his response. He'll be thrilled!! (Even though she'll probably end up being a water moccasin instead of a horned frog?!?!?! hee hee... Go Mocs!)

Rodeo

2008-12-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

There was a rodeo at the ranch Sat. night. I was nervous about taking Audrey because it started at her bedtime, but she did great!! She was in awe of the horses.

We visited the ranch's little petting zoo on Sunday morning. You can see for yourself how much Audrey loves animals bigger than her :)

Happy Camper

2008-12-01T13:36:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, Audrey and I joined the rest of the family camping at River Ranch in Lake Wales. Audrey and I didn't exactly "camp." We shared a hotel room with Aunt Krissy and Kara just in case it was too cold for the babies :) Good thing we did because we heard the campsite was awfully noisy.

This was on a hayride. There was an old hillbilly singing country karaoke and Audrey clapped after every song. She must get her music taste from her Daddy.

Turkey Day

2008-12-01T13:17:00.000-08:00

We had a busy and fun Thanksgiving Day. We met Grandma and Grandpa at Cracker Barrel for a short visit, then headed to Aunt Jenn's for the big turkey dinner. Audrey later slept over at Grandma and Grandpa's so Mommy could do some Black Friday shopping.

She loves the slide!!! And it's fast, too!

Happy Veterans' Day Daddy!

2008-11-11T18:30:00.000-08:00

We are so proud of you, Andy. And we love you loads and miss you mounds :)

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

My sister threw a fun party last night and we took the kids trick-or-treating in her neighborhood. Audrey didn't quite "get it," but I had fun showing her off. Just in case you can't figure it out, I was the Queen Bee. I really wanted to be a beekeeper, but thought Audrey would be afraid of me with a net/hood covering my face.

SCORE!!!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-31T10:32:00.001-07:00

We made a short visit to a pumpkin stand last night just to get some cute pictures so Daddy can see Audrey's Halloween shirt :) It says: Daddy's Under My Spell. Check back tomorrow for trick-or-treating photos.

Go God!

2008-10-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

I love this series of pictures! Doesn't she look like she's observing God's creation and then applauding Him?