Playing on Her Own

Audrey still has her days where she just wants to sit on Mom's lap or be entertained by Mom and Dad's growing range of voices and facial expressions, but then there are days like today, when she is happy playing on her own. We love watching Audrey gain independence!

Mom Tries to Cure Audrey's Hiccups

I love it when one of us stumbles upon something that cracks Audrey up.

Little Cubs Fan

You can't tell, but this is a Cubs sleep-n-play outfit.


Modeling Mike's hat.


2010 has GOT to be the year!

Audrey's First Christmas

We spent Audrey's first Christmas in Rochelle, splitting time between the Wetzels and the Kruses. It was such a wonderful holiday for our family. Audrey was a good little girl at Christmas Eve service (past her bedtime), enjoyed unwrapping her presents, and delighted the whole family with her newfound skill of babbling.

Grandma Patti had fun feeding Audrey in the high chair they used when I was a baby.

Aunt Kelly joined in on the fun.

Audrey loved this shiny, crinkly paper and kept trying to eat it.

Audrey showing Daddy one of her new toys.

Audrey was a really good present unwrapper, although she kept stuffing the wrapping paper in her mouth. She loved all her presents and got a special kick out of this musical one:

Snow Days

Mike and I both have the rest of the week off for Christmas. Today we had a little bit of fun in the freshly fallen snow.

First word??? You be the judge.

Just Audrey and me today. I thought I would post a few pics while she is napping. Audrey has started saying Mama, and I am calling it legit as her fist word. I tried to get somen video.

Someone's Excited

At various points of the day (and often) Audrey gets really excited. In this video, she is really excited about the camera and eating turkey. Sound like a certain Mike we all know? Also, I'm not the best video taker--sorry for the times when Audrey is almost off the screen!

Audrey Makes Bathtime So Much Fun

So tonight we discovered two more things Audrey seems to love. Splashing and pickles! Tonight's bath was a first for both and it was soooo much fun. If you listen closely you can hear Shannon and I in the background trying not to crack up. Audrey just keeps getting more and more fun!!!

Audrey and Sophie

"Oh, Sophie, you crack me up!"


"Why don't you come up here and have a seat next to me."



"You are such a good dog."

"Why, thank you for the kiss!"

Audrey and Sophie are pals.

Audrey!!

We had a great day today with Audrey! Grandma and Grandpa Wetzel came up and we went shopping at the mall. Audrey was supposed to nap while we carted her around in the stroller, but she was having too much fun laughing at everything that was going on around her. She was so fun! She crashed at the end of the day, but Mike and I feel so lucky to have such an easy going daughter. This will continue throughout the next 18 years, right?

SANTA!

If you are under 7 stop reading this.

Mike helped out our friend Kristy tonight by being Santa Claus at one of the events she planned for the Schaumburg Park District. Mike was an AWESOME Santa, and his "hohoho" was top-notch. Audrey had a great time with Santa and hanging out at the event with our friends. We even ran into her babysitter Laura there! She was a trooper even though it was past her bed time. We also discovered that Kristy knows exactly where Audrey's funny bone is.

Sitting Up

Audrey is getting the hang of sitting unsupported. But we'll keep the area around her pretty padded for the still inevitable teeter to the floor.

Had her 6-mo. dr. check-up today. She is showing typical growth and suffered through four shots with just a few moments of crying. Doc also said her cough was not in her chest so it is nothing to worry about.

First Veggies

We gave Audrey her first veggies on Sunday--carrots. At first she wasn't so sure.
But she seemed to warm up to them pretty quickly.

Sick Day?

Audrey has had a runny nose for a few days and then a cough started up last night. To be on the safe side, I stayed home with her so she wouldn't get our babysitter's daughter sick. It was heartbreaking to hear Audrey coughing in her crib early this morning. But I'm getting suspicious she might be faking:

This doesn't seem like a sick little girl, does it? I'm onto you now, Audrey.

Christmas is coming!

We just decorated our house for Christmas and it look s pretty good if I do say so myself. But not quite as good as Audrey looks in her snow suit.

Playing With Payton/Six Months Old!

Audrey and I spent the day at our friend's house today as a substitute babysitter while the regular nanny is recovering from surgery. Payton is a sweet little boy. He just turned 13 months old, so he is seven months and one day older than Audrey. I can 't believe Audrey is 6 months old already. She is emerging as a bubbly, friendly baby. What a joy she is!

Audrey loved this toy of Payton's.


Audrey is smiling at Payton--she smiled at him all day.



Payton played nicely with Audrey and kept handing her toys.

Payton moving in for a hug.

Fun at the Sitters

We are lucky to have one of our good friends Carla watch Audrey on Monday afternoons. She does a great job of loving our little girl while Mike and I are at work, and Audrey gets to play with her 11-month old girl Teya. Plus, Carla sends us pictures from the day's events each week!

Here a few good ones from the past couple of weeks.

Keeping Warm

We got this great carseat cover at a baby shower. It's perfect for toting Audrey around on a chilly night.

On to Eating

We started Audrey on baby food this weekend. She did pretty good. We'll see how she does when we start adding veggies and fruits, but the rice cereal seemed to go down okay. However, I need to work on my aim.

Thanksgiving

As you can tell from this photo, Audrey had a pretty good Thanksgiving. We were in Rochelle, balancing time between our two families. We had two turkey meals on Thanksgiving, and then Friday several aunts and uncles from the Kruse side had a little reunion at my folks' house. For some of us, it had been years since we have seen each other. It's hard to get together when family lives at different corners of the country. Seeing my dad's sister and brothers and my cousins again was such a great treat. And Audrey was so good! Amid 17 people, many of whom were strangers, Audrey was just a happy, curious and content baby. She was passed around so many times and barely gave a peep of unhappiness.


My Uncle Tim and cousin Nick held a mini-jam session for us. Nick has been teaching himself the guitar while my uncle makes his living playing the piano.

Smiles for Aunt Kelly.

Meeting Great-Grandma Kruse

We also had a nice time at Mike's folks' house. Audrey loves her cousins Matt and Ben--everything they did made her laugh and smile. They are still warming up to her.

Grandma Wetzel is a pro at wrangling her two grandsons.

Playing with cousin Matt