Audrey's Playground

Audrey is one lucky little girl. This past weekend, it was decided and agreed upon that Audrey should have a few elements of a playground at her disposal, so Gramps and Pappy assembled with Daddy and set to work on phase one: the swing set. They were actually able to crank out a really nice swing set frame out of cedar in an afternoon, and attach the boat swing that Audrey got for her birthday from Grammy and Gramps.

The swing set gets Audrey's "Weeeee!" of approval (photo by Linda Ware)

The unoccupied finished product

While the guys assembled the swing set, Grammy, Mimmy, and I went to Costco where we stumbled on the last of the pre-made sandboxes. Everyone pitched in, and the following day Daddy had a new project...

Naturally, it's the windiest and chilliest day of the weekend when assembly begins

The directions claimed this was a 2 person job, but Kyle did it all on his own

Despite the terrible directions, a shape takes form...

Getting closer...

Finishing touches

Sandbox!

The next day, Audrey checks it out, heading straight for the shovels

Next, a beeline for dirt (we haven't filled the sandbox yet)

Getting a closer look

Audrey figures out the edges are the perfect hight for sittin' ("Aaaaaah")

She sits on every side

Happy baby

Digging out the other sand toys

Audrey's sandbox and swing set turned out great, and all are just the right size... what a lucky girl she is! Now, bring on the nice weather!

Pink Sand!

Audrey loves digging in dirt so much, Mimmy and Pappy improvised a sandbox for her on their front porch. However, this box of sand is special- it's full of pink sand! Audrey really enjoyed her first sandbox experience, and it makes me even more sure that she needs one of her own!

Audrey makes her first move in the sandbox

She gets stabby with her shovel

Pink toes in pink sand

Finally all reservations were lost and she dug in!

Escape to Mimmy and Pappy's

This past weekend, Kyle had a LAN party, and amidst the 8 computers and their cords and corresponding gamers, there wasn't a lot of play room for Audrey, so we escaped to Mimmy and Pappy's on Saturday.

Sleeping Beauty

Audrey had tossed and turned all night Friday night, and was pretty tired by the time she woke up... at 6am. We got up at 7am, did our usual morning routine, were on the road by 9am, and she was out by about 9:15... and who could blame her? Thankfully, Mimmy had hot coffee and an amazing breakfast waiting for us when we got down to Cleburne. After breakfast, we danced to XM Radio while Pappy did the dishes, put Audrey down for her nap, and afterwards, headed outside...

Audrey zeros in on the messiest thing on the portch

You can't tell by the pics, but before the cameras made it outside, she was kinda skittish about digging in the wet dirt

In no time, Audrey was up to her elbows and loving it

"Doort"

Audrey figures out how really, really wet dirt will splatter

No matter how far away I moved, she found me

She tasted it, then thought I should, too

The final product

After digging out a decent amount of bricks and dirt, we decided it was time to get cleaned up and to start thinking about dinner! Alas, I had cleaned out the diaper bag a few weeks prior, and had realized the spare clothes in said bag were way too small for her... and had never replaced them. SO, while Pappy washed her outfit, Mimmy and I gave her a bath, and while we waited on the dryer, we rigged an outfit from an elastic headband and an old t-shirt. Audrey looked like a Grecian cherub.

The outfit from the back: Audrey lounges in the sun

Headstands with Mimmy

Side view of shirt-dress

Playing with Mimmy's keys

Hair slowly drying...

Hangin' with Mimmy and Pappy

Enjoying the scruffies on Pappy's face

Audrey's clothes ended up drying just in time to slip them back on, pack up, and head out to dinner. We stopped at a restaurant in Alvarado that had a live band made up of old men and older instruments, but they kept Audrey enthralled through the entire meal. We arrived back home just in time for Daddy to give Audrey a bath, put on her pj's, and tuck her in to bed. It was a nice little getaway for us, and it was even nicer spending a whole day with Mimmy and Pappy!

Fun with Jennifer and Ethan

On Friday, Jennifer and Ethan came down to spend the afternoon with us. Jennifer and I figured out that the last time Audrey and Ethan had been in the same room together, Audrey hadn't started crawling yet, and Ethan could barely sit up on his own. That is far too long, especially since they're supposed to be getting to know each other (and falling in love, since we joke that they're betrothed...)! To remedy this problem, we arranged a playdate, and I can honestly say it wasn't just Audrey and Ethan that had a good time... it was really good to see Jennifer, too!

Audrey plays ball while waiting on Ethan to arrive

(she had a great time chasing the kitty, too)

"Ball"

Ethan and Audrey get right down to business, and do a pretty darn good job of sharing toys, too

Happy Mr. Ethan

Lunch time

After lunch and naps, a trip to the park

Audrey stretches her hammies before heading to the gym (jungle gym, that is)

Audrey takes her "tik" and pokes the "wrok"

Destined to be at least good friends