The Last Thursday

I can't believe this week is almost gone, already! Yay for the weather, yay for Audrey's great moods, and a conflicted yay/boo that Saturday is almost here!

On the 15th of last year, I was wrapping up all loose ends, because it was my last day at work before my maternity leave started! Oh, happy day! I had mentally checked out several days earlier, but this was officially my last day... I remember completing all necessary FMLA paperwork, and having many people stop by throughout the day to say good-bye (like I wasn't going to come back or something... hmm...).

On this October 15th, Audrey and I stayed at home and alternated playing with naps and chores. I was able to carve and decorate her little personal birthday cake, and it now sits ready for smashing and bashing in the fridge. I also baked 4 pound cakes for the everyone-else cake, and did some more cleaning.

Grammy joined us in the afternoon, and we played with puzzles and toys until dinner time. After dinner, Grammy let Audrey play with her iPhone, and once Audrey was off to bath time, Grammy headed to the airport to pick up Aunt KK (what a special girl Audrey is- Aunt KK flew in just for her party!).

Audrey begins the day in a summery outfit, investigating the helmets left on the couch

Once the cold front blew in, we had a wardrobe change, and Audrey moved on to the stuff under Mama's sink (with close supervision, of course)

Audrey enjoys some of the fresh, cool breeze

Audrey hangs out with Dada and Grammy


Audrey finally gets a hold of Grammy's iPhone

The Last Wednesday

What a gross, hot, sticky Last Wednesday. I actually had to turn the air conditioner back on. There's supposed to be a cold front coming in, which will make Audrey's birthday cool, dry, and clear... I hope it gets here soon! Also, worst hair day ever! ...well, for me, anyway.

OK, let me think back to the 14th last year... hmm, nothing really stands out. I was at work, I was huge, and I'm sure I was getting excited, since I only had one more day left to work until my leave started.

This October 14th was a busy day of errands. With the exception of the early morning, we spent the day running here and there and everywhere, and generally preparing for Saturday. Audrey was in a particularly good mood all day, which made the in-and-out routine of car seat to store much easier. When we weren't out and about, we got to play a bit...

Audrey empties cloth diapers out of a drawer in the living room

She then gives them a quick toss...

...and snuggles down!

My sweet girl

We grab a quick lunch and head to CostCo

At CostCo, we got some really good blueberries, and Audrey samples a few

Finger lickin' good

Audrey gets in to her Crayons while waiting for dinner

She had her first real meat hot dog at dinner and seemed to approve- she ate almost the whole thing! Then she played with Mama and Dada until bath time, when she climbed up the stairs and led the way to the bathtub. She played with her three rubber duckies, and went straight to sleep after being tucked in. Good day.

The Last Tuesday

Slow down, week! The end is looming, and I'm still not ready! Tuesday is already gone? Aah!

Hmm... the 13th a year ago, a Monday, was the beginning of my last week at work before my maternity leave. I had originally planned on beginning my maternity leave the following Monday, as my due date was the 22nd, but I had a ton of vacation that was going to expire at the end of the year (and I secretly knew I would deliver early), so I bumped my leave to Thursday the 16th.

I had spent the last few weeks getting everything set up in my office so in my absence things would run smoothly. I was set and ready for a smooth last few days, but that didn't go according to plan; I was called by my boss as I drove in to work and asked to cover groups at a treatment facility that everyone in my department was supposed to be sharing... it was her turn to go, but something had come up, and I was sent out on the fly (not uncommon). SO, my last Monday at work was spent on my feet talking to groups of people in treatment for 3 hours, while Audrey rolled around and caused quite a spectacle.

This October 13th was much more calm (and comfortable!). Audrey slept really well, and I had to wake her up at 7:45am for breakfast. After cereal, raisins, and Toasty-Os, she did her customary 35 minutes of solo playtime, and we headed upstairs to get dressed. She rounded out her morning investigating the new shelf in her 'play area' that now holds almost all of her toys.




After a very long morning nap (which I once again had to wake her from), she got up and headed straight for her pink musical walker thingie, courtesy of Jackie. We did laps around the house until Liz and Will arrived to join us for lunch and a play-date.

All that walking makes Audrey parched

Will dives in to a basket of stuffed animals

Will tickles Audrey's feet

The kids roll around

Audrey tries to get Will's attention back

Will (kinda) teaches Audrey to share

Liz and Will

At the end of the day, Audrey got breakfast for dinner and ate one and a half sweet potato pancakes all by herself! She spent the last hour before bath time playing "aaaaah" with Dada. During one of her open-mouthed "aaaaahs," we noticed- Audrey finally cut an upper front tooth! Not a bad way to end the day... no wonder she's been sleeping so well lately! What a relief!

The Last Monday

Aah, the last Monday before Audrey turns one. The 12th. Last year on the 12th (a Sunday), I was trying to pep-talk my huge self into one more work week packed full of programs and goings-on. I don't remember much about that Sunday, except the fake blood from my Halloween costume the night before wouldn't completely wash off, and I was worried about going in to work looking like I had some weird rash or hives all over my arms.

Thankfully, I had no hives to worry about this year on the 12th. We started our last Monday-Before-One practicing self-feeding (video on Facebook). Once Audrey was sufficiently satisfied, we moved on to solo playtime, got dressed, and played around the house until nap time.

Another 35 minutes without even blinking!

Waiting for Mama to find an outfit in what was left of the clean Aud-er-ey Laun-der-ey

Looking for LeeLoo

Getting ready to take a spin around the house

More puzzle time (she loves these puzzles!)


Audrey makes some calls

All that playing wore Audrey out; she went down for her nap and fell straight to sleep, and didn't wake up until I woke her up at 11:45am! She woke up and said "hi," and when I told her to smile for the camera...

...she kinda did! The cloudy day made it dark enough that I had to use the flash in her room- I would have squinted, too! After nap time, Audrey investigated our toy-organizing project...


..and we concluded the day with a brisk bike ride in the mist. We drove through puddles, swarms of mosquitoes, and the very light rain that started falling, and Audrey sat comfy in her Chariot with the flaps closed, shaking her maraca and making monkey sounds. It was a good Last Monday.

The Last Sunday

My baby is about to turn one. I might as well have typed "kmacohiwaei&jhnf@#@Khajkh," it would have made just as much sense. I can't wrap my head around it yet. Last night, we spent more than 2 hours watching the hundreds (I don't exaggerate) of movie clips of Audrey's life from beginning to present. When I look at her now, I still see a baby, but watching those clips last night, I started seeing how much she had changed. It's even more amazing, though, to see the Audrey-ness that hasn't changed.

I decided to document the last week of Audrey's babyhood before she hits the big 0-1 and enters pre-toddlerdom. We begin with:

Audrey's Last Sunday Before Becoming One

Last year on the 11th, I was huge and miserable, and would lay awake in bed, all covers off and burning up (while Kyle slept bundled like an Eskimo due to the air being turned way down) watching Audrey's elbows and knees poke out of my belly. The 11th was a Saturday last year, and I spent that whole weekend getting excited about my upcoming maternity leave. I closed that Saturday night by attending my cousin's early Halloween party, dressed as a person with an alien bursting out of their belly (complete with fake blood and yarn spagetti). I remember how hot and humid the day/evening was. I have since lost the pics from that Halloween party, sadly.

THIS October 11th, a Sunday, was a cool and rainy day. It started on a groggy foot, as Audrey revisited her teething thing full force, and it caused her to wake up and fuss from 1am to 4am. After a big breakfast of Cream-of-Wheat, raisins, applesauce, and puffed wheat, Audrey played by herself for 35 minutes, then joined Mama and Dada for some quality puzzle time:

She loves pulling the pieces out and trying to fit them in the wrong spaces
(Puzzles courtesy of cousins twice-removed JaneGay and Kent)

We then watched LeeLoo (who, by the way, Audrey can now call by name about half the time) frolic in the rain, and followed the LeeLoo viewing with some light coloring...


After Audrey's morning nap, we packed up the bikes and cruised down to the park on our street. Audrey loved swinging...

Mama gives Audrey a push

Leash fine? Ha. We walk on the wild side.

We went down the slide a few times, but she didn't much care for that. Seems she'd rather crawl on it than slide down it.

Dada played catch the Audrey

After the park, we shared some sweet potato pie, and Audrey went down for her afternoon nap. We closed the day with some Domino's pizza and Audrey home movies...

No More Bottles

It seems high time for some updates. Update number one: time is flying way too fast.

This week, Audrey decided that she was far too old to be taking bottles anymore, and quit them- on her own- cold turkey. She even stopped wanting the one before bedtime. Nada. Zip. This came as quite an unexpected blow to Mom and Dad, as we weren't ready for our baby to be over the bottle that fast. Apparently, though, bottles were SO last month. The problem for me is this is just another thing to add to my list of paranoia. Is she getting enough to eat, now that I can't measure what she's taking in ounces? Is she getting enough liquids? Am I offering her a balanced diet? Should I be giving her more or fewer choices at meal times? (...and the list continues.)

Along the same lines, Audrey doesn't want to be rocked before naps or bedtime now, either. (side note for the BW advocates: we never rocked her to sleep, we just rocked her for a few minutes prior to a nap or bedtime to help her wind down and relax) For a few days now, when I try to sit down and hum our nap time or bedtime song, she whines and reaches for her crib with all her might. I guess it's every mom's dream; I just take her to her crib, give her a hug, put her down, and walk away. She doesn't complain, cry, or utter a peep, she just grabs her blanket and slowly drifts off all by herself. It just kinda sucks. I think I needed more time to adjust to this!

Another recent milestone has been the expansion of her vocabulary- she now says 'hi,' 'bye,' 'up,' 'dada,' 'mama,' 'bottle,' 'ball,' 'bite,' 'yeah,' 'ice,' and 'aaaaaaaaaaah.' She's been trying to say kitty and LeeLoo, but they come out as 'sheeshee' and 'LowLow' or 'NuNu.' I'll take it, though, because it's totally adorable.

I swear, if I go to get her up one morning and she's dressed herself, I'll freak out. For now, though, I think I can cope with these changes. I think.