Giggles and Cute Pix

I was just trying to get Audrey's attention--I wasn't trying to be so hilarious.


Looking pretty in her dress from Aunt Kelly.


Matching!

Another B-day Party

Week 2 in a row for birthday parties. This time, Audrey and I headed out to wish Eli (son of college friend and roommate Annie) a happy 1st. Eli is blessed with an older brother and an insane amount of cousins! It was awesome to see so many little ones running/crawling around. It made me look forward to having two kids of our own, as well as welcoming another cousin in our family (due a month before our guy).


Audrey getting ready for the party with a too-small hat and too-big shoes.


Audrey and the birthday boy Eli, who, among all his new toys, was perfectly content to play with a plastic cup.

Annie and Audrey

Birthday boy (in high chair) getting ready for his cake. Careful with that knife, Annie!

Utensils Down

After several frustrating meals, we've turned a corner this week. Part of this is due to Audrey's teething subsiding, and part of it is due, I think, to Audrey's improving skills with a fork. She's been enthusiastic about eating everything we put in front of her, as long as she can stab at it with the utensil. Here she is gobbling up zucchini for the first time.

Birthday Party

Audrey and I headed out to a birthday party Saturday afternoon. One of my sorority sister's adorable little girl turned 1, and we were thrilled to share in the celebration. It was a treat for Audrey to be around a few other kids so close to her own age.

Birthday girl Addison and her mom Kate


Kate, Addison (b-day girl) and Audrey


The girls were wearing matching tennies.

Audrey was inching up to Austin here.

My cutie-pie.

Bright Side of Life

It was a pretty crappy week. But Audrey seems to be back to her old self again, so rather than dwell on the bad stuff this past week, I'd like to remember a few of the fun things.

Audrey takes a walk with Mike Saturday morning--feeling good and wanting to stretch her legs. Tuesday morning as Mike was leaving for work, she gave him a sweet little wave and said, "Bye Dad!" without any prompting. It was pretty darn cute ,and the first time she's done that. She'll also grab my keys off the side table, bring them to me and say "bye."

Yay a learning opportunity! Audrey hears a lot of "no," and this was a chance to teach some "yes." Audrey would eat her watermelon the proper way and I would nod and say "yes!". Then she would stick the watermelon in her mouth like above, and I would exaggeratedly tell her "no". She got a big kick out of it.

Audrey was feeling cuddly enough to actually watch a bit of the Jungle Book without losing interest within 30 seconds. She particularly loved the scene with King Louie and the other monkeys.

Teething Bites

Audrey has been hit with her worst bout of teething yet. She's been really struggling to keep up a happy, active demeanor, but for the most part has just wanted to snuggle, read books and rock her baby doll. I feel so bad for her. I hope the teeth are done bothering her soon. It has been fun to see her budding mothering side. I hope she is as enthusiastic about her new baby brother as she is about rocking and feeding her baby dolls. Her baby brother, by the way, is already proving to be quite the mover. Mike felt his first kick last night!

Tired eyes all day.

Chatting on the phone.

Playing with her Little People, which she loves.

Storytime. This is a counting book we often read. I caught her today "counting" to herself as she looked at the book. She's not saying the actual numbers, just pointing and babbling. It was pretty cute.

Well, everyone, we went to the dr this morning and baby and Mom are both doing great. Huge shout out to my lovely wife for only gaining 3 pounds!!! So, it appears that Audrey needs to prepair herself for a little.....................................BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!

Castle!!!!

Grandma Patti came through with an awesome Beauty and the Beast castle. I wanted to tell her how much Audrey loved spending time with her this summer and can't wait until the school year is over!! Both Audrey and I LOVE the castle! We have not been able to get her out of it for 2 days.(The exact amount of time it took Shannon and I to figure out how to put it together.)

Boy or Girl?

Hopefully we will find out tomorrow morning! I am so excited for my first ultrasound to see this little baby that I have been feeling wriggling around inside. We hope the baby cooperates so we can find out the gender. Audrey did not cooperate right away, so we are trying not to get our hopes up too much.

I'm now 19 weeks along and feeling great. I feel the baby moving often, which is like God's reward for putting up all with the other discomforts of pregnancy, (for me, anyway).

After the doctor appointment first thing tomorrow, I'm heading out with my friend Kristy to meet my other college roommates for a girls' weekend. It will be up to Mike to update the blog with the news about whether Audrey is having a sister or brother!

Madison Excursion in Video

We did leave a tip for the hotel maid.



Sorry for the skewed angle. I don't know how to fix it.

Madison Excursion

Our little family drove up to Madison, Wis., to check out the huge farmer's market at the Capitol building and the free local zoo. We had a blast!

The farmer's market was awesome, but crowded. Audrey and I took a break in the shade on the lawn of the Capitol building, eating some fresh vanilla almond scones we just purchased.

Madison has a wonderful free zoo. It was nothing huge, but we were pleasantly surprised. All the animals were out and about and visible. Here, Audrey's taking in the penguins.

Audrey's first carousel ride. She grinned from ear to ear the whole time. I wish I had the camera with me on the carousel.

Kisses for Daddy in the hotel pool.

Fun with Kleenex in the hotel room.

Hanging With Our Friends

Audrey and I had a few friends over today for a visit. All the kids, at their various ages, got along really well. Thanks to Janel and Carla for bringing food--that was so nice!

Audrey helped me get the pools ready for our visitors.

2-year-old Noah playing with Little People

19-month-old Teya and Audrey.

4-month old Nate

14 Months

It's a frequent post kind of week. I guess we just have a lot to share and the time to share it.

Audrey is 14 months old today and really making the transition from baby to toddler. I could write a chapter on the new things Audrey has been saying and doing, but I'll just hit the main highlights today.

She's still too young to get what a princess is, but she is showing signs of liking to dress up. She's become interested in wearing headbands and hats, necklaces, bracelets and purses. The other day I caught her walking around with one of my flip-flops slung up her arm like a shoulder bag. Sometimes I have to wonder what her Grandmas are teaching her...

Audrey talks a lot and is just limited by the consonant and vowel sounds she can make. That will come eventually. In the meantime, I'm learning all the variations that sounds like "buh" and "bah" can have. In our little world, "bah" can mean baby, bottle, bye, ball, belly button, etc. And Audrey is rapidly expanding her repertoire of animal sounds, which include snake, lion, dog, duck, monkey, chicken and cow.

On the same token, Audrey's comprehension of what we are telling or asking her grows by leaps and bounds. I'm often surprised at the things she understands and the requests from me that she responds to.

Other fun things:
--Grandma Patti taught Audrey how to blow kisses.
--Grandma Wetzel taught Audrey how to do the itsy-bitsy spider part with her hands.
--She loves throwing and chasing after any kind of ball.
--She can point out nose, eye and belly button on herself and others.

She is such a joy and a blessing!

Target Clearance Rack

The tutu and leg warmers were too cute (and cheap) to pass up today.

Kane County Flea Market

We spent the better part of the day at the Kane County Flea Market today with Audrey's grandmas and Grandpa W. We didn't buy much, but had a good time walking around checking out all the stalls. Mike did find some cheap sunglasses and plenty of yummy fair food. Audrey spent most of the time walking around with us and took a long nap in the afternoon.


Check out this awesome dog and his sunglasses!


Lunchtime! Audrey enjoyed her pickle the most.


Audrey spent more time pushing her stroller than sitting in it!

More Walking Videos

It took Audrey 2 months from her first wobbly steps to now, where she prefers walking to crawling. So the Wetzel household has been very excited to see our daughter exploring the house. Enjoy the videos!





Audrey really loves her ball.