and we're walking....

She did it again!

Ever since she took those first unassisted steps earlier this month, Audrey has shown absolutely no interest in walking. Sure, she cruises around the coffee table like it's going out of style and she would walk so long as she had two hands firmly grasping something to offer her some support. But the instant she was down to a one-handed support, her butt was instantly on the floor. I was starting to wonder if we had pushed her too hard too soon.

After a couple weeks of no pressure (& some gentle coaxing by my mom over the last couple days), Audrey has slowly started to build her confidence again. She will now cruise around the house with only the support of one hand. And tonight, when she was sufficiently distracted with a new toy she would take a couple steps all on her own.

I know it's hard to tell, but her left leg is clearly off the ground. Clearly.

Maybe (hopefully?) it will just be a matter of days for her to build her walking confidence even more. I honestly don't know how ready I am to have a full-time walker on my hands, but I'm just so excited for her - she was so proud of herself tonight!!!

And because you can't see her face, here are a couple SUPER cute pictures of S.B.G. hamming it up for 阿婆 on Friday.

Audrey is 1 year, 1 month & 5 days old

the end of the 101 in 1001

It started as a lofty idea - 101 tiny little goals - how hard could it possibly be?

:: gigglesnort ::

It all started back in late 2007. Before S.B.G. Before I got laid off and became a stay-at-home-mom. It seems like FOREVER ago that I started and there is a huge part of me that is so disappointed I didn't get further. But, I did accomplish a lot. And some of the goals I did accomplish (*ahem*Audrey*ahem*) are the most important that it doesn't even matter how many didn't get finished. But because it's over, I guess I should recap. I'm not sure if I'm going to give it another shot - I probably will - but for now let's just close the book. (Although, I would like to point out that I did finish more than 50% of my goals. That in & of itself should be an accomplishment!)

53 FINISHED GOALS:
1. Finish (composing) my 101 list
2. Turn 30 & love it - not sure if I love it yet, but I celebrated my birthday and it was awesome
3. Finish putting together my wedding albums
4. Start the baby-making process - Best.Goal.Ever.
8. Get Lasik - okay, so it wasn't Lasik - but I can see without glasses or contacts!
9. Get my teeth straightened - I'm currently going through the Invisalign process, so I get to mark this one as done
10. Get a physical
13. Paint the interior of the house - We're scheduled to have the kitchen & bathrooms repainted next month and those will be the last rooms!
18. Buy a new washer/dryer
20. Teach Riley to swim
22. Get a raise/promotion
24. Switch to compact fluorescent lightbulbs - We still have a few "old" lightbulbs in our house, but I only buy CFL's as replacements.
25. Use cloth grocery bags
26. Buy a Gucci purse - My intentions behind this goal was to buy something nice for myself without worrying about the cost. Miller bought me a lovely designer handbag for my birthday & I didn't even balk about the cost. We'll consider this one a success!
27. Host a holiday family dinner
30. Travel to Europe
31. Snail mail birthday cards - I got bad about this about mid-way through the 1001 days, but I did awesome at the beginning. I absolutely need to pick this one back up because it's a goal I love.
33. Play in the snow
34. Call Mom & Dad at least once a week - This one ABSOLUTELY happens. If my mom doesn't get to talk to/Skype with Audrey at least every couple days all hell breaks loose! :)
35. Clean out the closets a la Tim Gunn's Guide to Style
36. Go to a museum
37. Take a photography class - I'm enrolled in one right now!!
38. Read a non-fiction book
39. Read a fiction book
40. Blog once a week
42. Attend a non-UT sporting event
45. Join a professional organization
47. Buy all new underwear
49. Donate my hair to Locks of Love
50. Donate $1001 to charity
54. Learn to drive a stick shift
55. Take a yoga/pilates class
56. Get new family photos taken
57. Bake bread from scratch
58. Visit a new state in the U.S.
59. Participate in a charity event
60. Fill the iPod and buy a new one - I got an iPhone (which doubles as an iPod) so we called this one done
61. Drink a Guiness
66. Get a drastic haircut
67. Learn to knit and knit scarf - I never actually finished anything, but I did learn to knit!!!
68. Go on a romantic weekend getaway - We had a romantic night away for my birthday...that's about as good as it's going to get now that S.B.G. is around. I still can't stomach the thought of being away from her for more than 24 hours!
71. Fly first class
75. Stand/swim in an ocean
76. Go to a movie solo
77. Have a spa day
81. Contribute to a Wikipedia article
83. Get Riley neutered
84. Go camping
88. 72 hours = no computer/internet
90. Win $10 off a single lottery ticket
93. Watch the entire Godfather saga
94. Plant a tree
97. Ride a roller coaster

48 FAILED GOALS:
5. Draft a will - Seriously. How lazy am I? Ugh.
6. Vote in as many elections as possible - I voted in almost every major election, but I did miss a lot of the smaller elections.
7. Learn CPR - Miller & I scheduled this many, many times. We really need to get this one done.
11. Learn Espanol - Hahaha. Who was I kidding.
12. Take golf lessons
14. Paint the exterior of the house
15. Install landscape lighting
16. Install hardwood floors
17. Renovate the kitchen (new appliances, etc.)
19. Finish other decorating projects - sheesh. nice, ambiguous goal.
21. Learn to wakeboard
23. Take the Mensa test (just for fun)
28. Take a cooking class
29. Travel to Asia
32. Get boudoir photos taken - call me chicken
41. Attend my 10-year high school reunion
43. Start working out regularly - call me l.a.z.y.
44. Go to the theatre
46. Buy a piece of artwork
48. Try a new restaurant each month
51. Adopt a second dog
52. Watch the entire list: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies
53. Go skydiving
62. Go to the dentist every 6 months
63. Sign up to be a bone marrow donor - I still really, really, really need to do this
64. Go to Mount Bonnell
65. Buy something from Tiffany's
69. Run a mile without stopping
70. Go to the dermatologist for a skin check
72. Buy wine rack and fill it up
73. Ride on the Harley
74. Finish buying all our wedding china
78. Ride in a helicopter
79. Watch the entire Sopranos series
80. Go to the Kentucky Derby
82. Update passport to married name
85. Try 20 new beers - I thought this goal would be one of the first to get finished. Getting pregnant & nursing a baby threw a monkey wrench in that one.
86. Visit a winery
87. Get concealed handgun license
89. Complete a 26 Things project
91. Make lasagna from scratch - I watched Miller do it, once. Does that count?
92. Go to comedy club
95. Go fishing & catch something
96. Take salsa lessons
98. Watch a new movie each month
99. Frame my diploma
100. Blog about all 101 goals
101. Celebrate that it's all done!

13 months!!

There may not be any more stickers, but that doesn't have to stop me from taking pictures each month!!

S.B.G. is a whole 13 months old today. She still isn't walking and she still doesn't have any top teeth but she is still one of the funniest, most awesome tiny people around. She waves up a storm and will pretty much wave hi & bye to anyone (and anything) around. She learned how to shake her head when you say, "nononono" and got really good at it for a while. We've been working on nodding "yesyesyesyes" and she is slowly catching on (but it's a more slow, deliberate head movement). The unassisted standing is still hit or miss - some days she is easily distracted and will stand for a good while, others she is more aware of her surroundings and won't dare let go of her closest support. She loves to take things "out" and will pretty much empty everything around her - the toybox, her shopping cart, the kitchen cabinets...

I also read around the interwebz that today is "Stick Your Tongue Out Day" so S.B.G. was none to happy to oblige.

....and because it was cute...

Audrey is 1 year & 1 month old

done. finito. no more.

Audrey is officially done breastfeeding. (insert sobbing here)

I started the weaning process shortly after her birthday, telling myself that I would give as long as it took for Audrey & I both to adjust. I slowly transitioned away from the lunchtime nursing and limited myself to one nursing per night. I was happy with the arrangement and then Audrey decided that she no longer needed to wake up at all anymore and would sleep all the way through the night. Fine by me; not so fine for my milk production. The next thing I knew, we were nursing once a day - only because I was forcing the issue on her. By Wednesday it was a struggle to get her to nurse even once a day, so I knew we were done. We haven't nursed since Wednesday and she doesn't even seem to notice. I'm so thankful that we made it as long as we did - 1 year, 3 weeks & 4 days - I can only hope & dream to be as successful nursing future child(ren?) as I was with Audrey.

The mommies & I went back to Butler Park this week (the site of Audrey's first true sprinkler park success) and we had an equally successful trip this time. I even remembered to bring my camera along!!I also managed to get the cutest picture EVER of Audrey and her future husband, Connor.

I was also messing around taking non-Audrey pictures (gasp!!) and managed to get this pretty cool one:

The other day I got Audrey a new, bright pink toothbrush and she wasted no time giving her chompers a quick cleaning.Hopefully she'll have more teeth on the top (whenever they decide to make an appearance) so we don't feel so silly brushing just two tiny little teeth.

Audrey is 1 year & 4 weeks old

We were due.

To say yesterday was a crappy day would be an understatement of epic proportions. EPIC.

Audrey & I had plans to have a playdate with a friend yesterday after lunch so we loaded up the truck and happily went on our way. I stopped at a red light about 10 minutes from our house and when it turned green and I hit the gas, I immediately knew something was very, very wrong with the truck. I worked my way into a parking lot, got out to take a peek, and this is what I saw: :: GULP ::

Seeing as how this is our only vehicle, I knew we were screwed. I've changed a tire before, but never with a 12-month-old in the back seat. I wasn't about to attempt. A few quick phone calls later & Becky was to the rescue. She picked up Miller from our place & brought him to the truck so he could work on getting the tire changed. Becky then took Audrey & I (who had been chilling in the cool air conditioning, courtesy of the Golden Arches) back to our place to let the girls play. Heck. Might as well have that playdate anyways, right?

As Becky & I happily watched our little munchkins play with almost every toy in the house, Miller was pretty much in hell. The truck jack was broken. He walked to a hardware store about a mile away to buy a new one. When he finally tried to jack the truck up to change the tire he discovered that the front axle is bent, therefore making the tire changing expedition completely impossible. He schlepped a cab back home so I could leave for class and our vehicle has been towed to a repair shop where this morning they will (hopefully) make a quick repair of our axle and give us some shiny new tires.

Class. I snuck that one in there, didn't I?

I recently enrolled in a photography class with some gal pals to get a better understanding of my camera. I've pretty much self-taught up to this point and could really use some direction in all the nuances & features my camera has to offer. The class is a pretty basic introduction so I will hopefully get the chance to take some more advanced classes later on, but I'm really liking the refresher and the chance to improve my foundation. Yesterday we spent an hour at the beginning of class taking pictures around campus...here are some of my favorites SOOC (straight out of camera = without any post processing).

So, needless to say, Miller & I were ready for SOMETHING good to happen last night. After our crappy day we were due. It was owed to us. Naturally, Audrey came to the rescue and slept through the night last night without making a peep. She had been getting much better lately - with maybe one waking at night for a little comforting or an earlier than usual call time in the morning - so we had already been considering ourselves lucky. But last night from 6:45pm until 8:00am there was nothing but silence coming from her room. And it was AWESOME.

Audrey is 1 year, 3 weeks & 4 days old

meh. updates.

I don't know what has been going with me lately but I have zero desire in catching up on my blogging. Or taking pictures. I haven't touched my camera since Tuesday.

I think it's time for a blast update post to get me all caught up so we can start the week fresh tomorrow. Hopefully not having any posts hanging over my head will motivate me to resume my regular blogging. Hopefully.

My parents came in town for July 4th and we had a typical weekend. The in-laws came over, Miller cooked, Audrey played. The weather was surprisingly nice so Audrey had a great time playing outside with the water table while the the grandparents looked on.

Because of Audrey's early bedtime, we completely missed out on any fireworks and ended up hanging out at home like we usually do. Hopefully she'll be more willing to stay up late next year to enjoy more 4th festivities.

After a lazy day on Monday (taking advantage of the "holiday observance day") Miller decided to play hooky on Tuesday so we could take advantage of the nice weather. We headed back to the Domain to try out the sprinklers again (after a not-so-successful attempt on my birthday). It still wasn't a huge, resounding success but she did tolerate the water more than last time. Baby steps, baby steps.

Note the squatting. She does this all.the.time.Water. Straight up the nose. Haha.

It pretty much rained the rest of the week and ruined most of our playdate plans. We did hit up an indoor bounce-house "playground" this past Thursday, and while Audrey was not a huge fan of the bounce-house she did enjoy playing in the under 18-month baby zone. I don't know if it is going to make our regular rotation of playdates, but it was a great place to go on a rainy day.

On Friday we took Audrey in for her 12-month well check. The doctor gave her a clean bill of health (a couple weeks late on that one, good Doc) and a boat-load of immunizations. And, her monthly numbers:

Height - 30.5 inches (75-90%)
Weight - 20 pounds, 3 ounces (25-50%)

So basically, Audrey is tall. The above 30 inch height now means that she can no longer fit in her infant car seat that we have insisted on using for the last 12.5 months. We FINALLY got the convertible seat installed into the truck today and Audrey is still deciding if she likes it. She loves the new upright vantage point, but falling asleep in the carseat is no longer a given. While we were out running errands today, she fussed & fussed (& fussed & fussed) until we gave up and brought her home. Hopefully her opinions on her new ride will change soon and our great car companion will return.

So there you have it. The last couple of weeks in a nutshell. Let's wipe the slate clean and start fresh tomorrow, mmmkay?

Audrey is 1 year, 3 weeks & 1 day old

uh....yeah....

I have 12 days to finish my 101 in 1001 list. Yeah. That's pretty much not going to happen.

Hopefully before the 12 days is up I'll be able to post a (final) update on the list and where I stand on all those pesky unfinished goals. I'm not sure if I'm going to venture out for another shot; I'd like to think I could stick with it, but considering my piss-poor performance the first go-round I am not motivated with my odds.

I'll sleep on it.

Happy (belated) Father's Day!!!

I forgot to wish post a Happy Father's Day wish on the blog. Whoops.

In my defense, we were still recovering from Audrey's birthday party the day before & kept it pretty chill around here. I'm pretty sure Father's Day is going to take a backseat to Audrey for quite a while -- last year we were busy coming home from the hospital on Father's Day -- so I guess it's a good thing that Miller is pretty chill when it comes to celebrating these kinds of "holidays."

We basically spent the day opening up Audrey's presents & enjoying each one in its own special way. The wagon was definitely the huge hit of the day.

Happy belated Father's Day, hubby!

dinner & sprinklers

A couple weeks ago some friends of ours came over so we could grill & have a couple beers. They have an almost 4-year-old daughter that loves Audrey so it's always fun watching the two of them play together. While Miller was busy cooking it up on the grill, we let the two girls have some fun playing on the water table & splashing around in the new sprinkler (thanks, Lin!).

I didn't get too many pictures & Reese was being camera-shy, so it's mostly pictures of Audrey.

Audrey is 1 year, 2 weeks & 3 days old

another one for the books

Audrey took her first (unassisted) steps today!!

Nevermind that she can barely stand up on her own without freaking her freak - S.B.G. was so distracted by 阿婆 & Grandpa that she just hobbled on over!

It was so unexpected that I didn't even think to capture it on digital memory film and I'll be curious to see how long it is before she gets brave and tries again. But she did it! I'm so proud. And freaked out.

Audrey is 1 year & 2 weeks old

No Reservations!

Miller & I have recently become obsessed with a little known chef & a show he puts on the Travel Channel: Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. Maybe you've heard of him?

I was pretty excited when I was randomly checking an Austin events calendar and noticed that he was going to be in town for a book signing for his new book, "Medium Raw". We excitedly purchased our book, got our wristbands at 9am the day of, arranged for the in-laws to hang out with Audrey, drove downtown (in traffic!), and huddled in with the crowds to hear Tony speak. He is exactly like you would expect him to be - tall, well-spoken, completely vulgar in a charming way, hilarious - and the ~hour that he spoke/took questions was awesome.

Naturally, I forgot to bring my camera so we had to rely on the trusty iPhone camera. (And I am *so* bummed that the picture of us with Tony is blurry!)

The evening was a huge success (even if I'm only left with blurry pictures), but we've got an awesome keepsake that will last a long time. (And we got another book signed for me, too.)