First Halloween

Happy Halloween from the Michael's!! Here is a picture of Aubrey's first Halloween costume. Can't wait to take her Trick or Treating when she is older.

Back at the Beach!

Aubrey and I made it back home on Tuesday night. She did great on the flight home which made traveling easy for me. The next day she was a bit fussy and I think all the excitment and change of schedule caught up with her. Daddy came home from Key West last night and she was excited to see him and be in his arms again.

We had lots of fun in Houston, Aubrey had many visitors. Aunt Jenny drove in from San Antonio and Gram and Gramps drove in from Dallas. It was a short trip and we look forward to going back with Daddy for the holidays!

Nana got me a pink Bumbo

Playing with Grandma Laurie

Tummy Time (it was hard with Nana and Pap's four dogs!!) Aubrey and her Grands Connie and Adrienne came to play too! Aubrey loved Connie's voice, we are trying to convince her to make a CD for babies:) Aubrey just loved her bouncer at Nana's Aubrey and Mom at the Houston Airport Hanging out in her big girl stroller while Mom got a snack at the airport
Saying bye to Uncle Taylor and Nana At home ready for Halloween!

Traveling Baby!

Well I wasn't able to take a pic of Aubrey's first plane ride. Honestly I didn't even think about it until I landed in Houston and was in the car headed for my parents house. Its hard when you only have one set of hands to handle a baby and all her gear!! Aubrey was a fantastic traveler and didn't have any problems in the plane, she never cried once! The only issue was a dirty diaper but thankfully the nice lady sitting next to us stood up and made it easy on me. Aubs played for the first hour and slept in my lap for the rest of the 3 hour flight. We were in the very last row and everyone who walked to the bathroom commented on how peaceful she looked.

Since I don't have any pics of our plane ride here are a few from our Texas visit so far.

Pumpkin Patch (this is at a church where I went to preschool)

Grandpa Dave and Aubrey (Nates parents drove from Dallas to Houston to visit on Saturday)

Texas Bound

I will be taking Aubrey to Texas for the first time this week. My parents bought me a ticket to Houston while Nate is training in Key West. I am really excited to show Aubrey the great state of Texas! You know, she was actually born over Texas soil. Yes that's right, Nana overnighted Texas soil (it cost her $40 to mail dirt!) so Aubrey could tell people she was born over Texas soil. Our friends think we are crazy and that people are brain washed in Texas but they just don't understand. I always say home is where the Navy takes us, but the truth is Texas is our TRUE home:)

Our Texas baby!

The Texas soil Aubrey was born over, and the pink camel Nate got her in Dubai (her first present from Daddy!) The Navy has broaden our horizons:) My friend Katrina took the above pictures during Aubrey's newborn shots. She made Aubrey's birth announcement. You can visit her website here, she does lots of print work and logo design. Thanks Katrina!!

5 month Birthday

I can't believe our little girl is 5 months old today. She is getting so big and its amazing to watch her grow and develop each day. Here are a few things that she has been doing this month. (The list is long, its more for my memory and to put in her baby book!)

*Aubrey wakes up every morning smiling and giggling (this started at about 2 months). She is definitely a morning baby and it sure starts my day off on the right foot. I look forward to each morning with her.

*Rolling around, she is a "rolly polly baby" as Nate says! If you put her on the floor she roll travels and will end up on the other side of the room in no time! She now loves being on her tummy.

*She loves I mean LOVES playing with her Dad. She will laugh uncontrollably at Nate. I love watching them together, it melts my heart.

*Sticking things in her mouth, if its in her reach you can bet it will see the inside of her mouth.

*I started Aubs on rice cereal this month. I originally wanted to nurse exclusively until 6 months but she just seemed ready for the next step so we gave it a try. At first she was more interested in the spoon but each day gets better at taking the cereal. We give her about at tablespoon of rice cereal with breast milk before her last feeding.

*She loves watching TV. I play Baby Einstein for her about once a week which she loves but she will watch anything especially football.

*She loves to chew on Vulli the Giraffe

*She loves to move her hands and legs while she is on her back (it looks like she is running) to music. This normally leads to me picking her up and dancing around the room with her.

*Aubs loves bath time and her newest thing is splashing water EVERYWHERE. She gets those legs kicking and the counter and Nate and I get a bath too:)

*She will sit up for a few seconds and then topples over, I don't think it will be too long before she is sitting on her own.

*Aubrey is really good at supporting her weight on her legs. She will stand up and lock her knees and wobbles around but is definitely supporting herself.

*Talking, Aubrey has two voices her play voice and her soft sweet voice. Some days she will talk non stop when she is playing and other days she will softly whisper to me after nursing or while we are rocking her. She is excellent with eye contact and will look right at you when your talking.

*Sleeping, Aubs has been a rock star sleeper from day one. She normally goes to bed at 8pm and wakes at 8am. Lately I think she is going thru a growth spurt because she has been waking a 6am starving and then goes right back to sleep till about 8:30am.

*Textures, Aubrey is discovering that everything feels differently. She likes to rub her fingers on objects/fabrics and learn about things thru touch.

Aubrey we love you so much, you bring so much joy to our lives! Below are a few pics I took today to mark your 5 month birthday.

Photo Session

Nate and I had the pleasure to volunteer for a local photographer this past Friday. Our friend Jenny watched Aubs. This was the first time we left Aubrey with someone other than her grandparents. She is starting to get some separation anxiety but Jenny is a pro and took good care of our Bugs--Thanks again Jenny!!!

The photo session was so much fun, Christene is very talented and makes you feel at ease during the shoot. Her company is called C.S. Photography, you can visit her blog here and her website here. We will definitely be hiring her for some Aubrey pics later this year. Below are two pictures from the shoot, you can become a fan of her facebook page to see more.

80's workout

Today I decided to play dress up (I must admit this happens almost daily) and put Aubrey in some new leggings my Aunt Jenny sent her. I think they are meant to wear with dresses but I put her in a onesie and she looked like she came straight from a Jane Fonda 80's workout video! They were so cute and she really liked them. They are perfect to add a layer when its a little chilly out. Here are two pics I snapped!

Weekend with Grandma

Grandma Laurie came to visit this past weekend and we had a great time! Living far away from our families in TX is hard, but we make sure to tell Aubrey every day how much she is loved by them. Aubrey was so excited to play with her Grandma and was showing off on Saturday morning when she discovered her voice. She has talked before on occasion, but she really had a lot to say this weekend. I think we have a talker on our hands:)

On Friday Nate and I decided to take advantage of our free babysitter and went on our second date night since A was born. We had an a delicious dinner at Sonoma Wine Bar!

On Saturday we celebrated Laurie's birthday, went to a Farmers Market, toured Cape Henry, and went to dinner at Just Georges so we could watch Navy beat Air Force.

On Sunday Grandma got Aubrey a high chair, then the girls helped Nate stain the deck. It was a beautiful fall weekend in Va Beach and we enjoyed every minute of it!

Here are a few pics from our weekend.

Farmers Market

Our Punkin on a Pumpkin

Date Night

Aubrey in her PJ's ready for Grandma to babysit
Happy Birthday Grandma (the cake tasted better than it looks:)