Squash!

Aubrey has a new favorite activity - watching Daddy play squash at Madison Squash Workshop. Safety freak Daddy says eye protection is mandatory. We'll have to find some that fit Aubrey.

Aubrey's First Story

Aubrey wakes up from her nap after an eventful morning and tells T a story....
"Egon, Samuel, house, fun!, lunch, bye-bye, nap, Egon, Samuel, nap"

T's interpretation for those who need the rest of the words... "Egon and Samuel came to my house this morning. It was fun! After lunch, everyone goes bye-bye since it is nap-time. Everyone naps."




P.S. Aubrey's favorite sentence of the day... "Eat more cookies!"

Christmas Bird Count

Daddy: "Put your eye up to the scope and look for birds, Aubrey."

Daddy (laughing): "No, like this. What do you see?"

Aubrey: "Lake!"

110th Christmas Bird Count, Madison WI
December 19, 2009

Snow? Snow. Snow!

All dressed up and waiting for snow.Finally, some snow. Time to play, same as any other day.

Okay, it's getting serious now! Good thing daddy is shoveling and not me. Gives me a chance to watch the sandhill cranes flying over.

A & W

Aubrey holding Cousin Weston for the first time. She was so proud and shocked at being a big girl that she couldn't smile fully.

Playing with Friends

Aubrey and Leo

Samuel, Egon, and Aubrey.

Cows....Eat? Grass!

The punctuation is a bit off and there are awkward pauses between words sometimes, but Aubrey is trying her best to put two (or more) words together. Here's a sample of recent sentences in chronological order (first said to most recent):

"Love Leo." -No, not mommy or daddy, or Egon. Sorry Egon.
"Love Mommy." -After spilling milk on the floor. Instantly forgiven.
"Cows eat grass." -Hiking with Bea and Fred at Hook Bog Lake Natural Area.
"Emma run fast." -Fred's dog. She does run fast.
"Mommy no work! Nurse!!!" -Screamed upon waking up to find T off to work.

We also have a collection of words that are used daily:
"This one!" -Pointing to cds or books.
"Alright" -When asked to do something she wants to do and "no" otherwise.
"Come on!" -Repeating after daddy, who apparently says "come on" a lot.
"Cook!" -Might be replacing "Eat" as the signal to get food into Aubrey's belly.
"Watch?" -A new favorite, used for cooking primarily.
"Shave?" -Requested of daddy by Aubrey while mimicking daddy shaving.

Busy Bee, continued

Aubrey took her bee costume pretty seriously, uttering "buzz" sound effects on cue and running all over the place. Here she is helping with yard work:
Of course, even a bee can't be busy all the time:

Busy Bee

Pics from the East Side Mommy's Group Halloween Party:

Au-Bee!

Check out the lion, couch center.

On to party # 2 of the day. Egon and Au-Bee in complimentary colored costumes.

Aubrey's New Cousin!

Weston Scott
7 lbs 5 oz, 20.5 inches
Born October 21, 2009

Uncle Patrick and Aunt Katie

Part II of our back-to-back, action-packed weekend series: a visit from Uncle Patrick and Aunt Katie! Aubrey was in remarkably good spirits despite the disappointing Homecoming loss:
and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them:Well, Aubrey's smiles weren't happening at this exact moment, but trust me, there were many. Aubrey had so much fun she took a 3-hour nap (!) after they left. Thanks Patrick and Katie for coming to visit! We hope to see you soon!

Cabin Girl, Part Deux

We spent last weekend hanging out with Bea (Fred and Nicole), Egon (Alma and Tobias), and Emma (Fred's dog). The trip to Bea's cabin was some time in the making (about a year), but well worth the wait. With a fireplace, lake, and woods to roam, there was much to do and only one cold, snowy weekend in which to do it. Aubrey enjoyed it all!Aubrey, Bea, and Egon

Franken-Aubrey

Courtesy of a tumble on the gravel driveway at the orchard, Aubrey is on her way to this year's Halloween costume. Now we just need to find a turtle neck, some too-short pants, and black shoes to complete the outfit.

Aubrey's Favorite Things (15 months)

MOOSE!

Mommy

Apples

Dipping sauce

Car at Open Gym

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Cabin Girl

Aubrey enjoyed a wonderful weekend with Grandma Trouble and Papa J at their friend's cabin. She made friends with a bear:

Cruised the lake:
and learned how to operate a boat (mostly the radio):

Labor Day Weekend

Aubrey, T and I went to Minneapolis for an action-packed Labor Day weekend. Day 1: Minnesota State Fair. Day 2: Baby shower for Aunt Kim and Baby Boy B. Day 3: Birthday party for Calin. Day 4: Labor Day 5k and party at Aunt Kim and Uncle Scott's house. Oh, and did we mention that our friends the Lemkes and Hilgers (see gone fishing) were up for the weekend. Busy! and tons of fun. Aubrey renewed many friendships and made a few new friends:

Josie, Hannah, Shenna and La-la (Lily) at the baby shower

Kayden, Lily, Calin (Happy 1st Birthday!), Aubrey, Landon, Nadav, Isaac, & Ian at Calin's birthday party.

Aubrey and Nadav (her long-lost twin brother?) at Calin's party.

Cute pics

Update

Hello Aubrey fans. It's been a long time since I put up a new post. I wish there was a good excuse for the delay. Alas, there isn't one. We're in a stage now where Aubrey's vocabulary is increasing daily, physical skills are being mastered (e.g., climbing chairs and stairs), and new teeth are coming in. Suffice it to say, these are happy, although trying, times. Aubrey's sleep schedule has been out of whack since Philly due in part to new molars (2 in on top, looks like 2 forming on the bottom), changing from formula to milk, and a small growth spurt. She's throwing temper tantrums now and while they can be quite cute (Me: Aubrey, sit down! We don't stand on chairs. Aubrey: No! No! NO! NO! NOOO!), they do get old fast. Oh, and she's added a sly little grin to her "No" in response to our telling her "No." I think we are comfortably heading to the terrible two's. Fun stuff.

For those astute viewers, yes, we're back on dairy. Aubrey seems to be handling it fine. That's a huge relief for all of us - T can eat what she wants (cheese, more cheese, ice cream, yogurt, milk on her cereal, and all other foods, listed in order of preference) and I can eat dairy now without feeling guilty about it. Aubrey's new favorite word, besides NO, is "Cheeeeeese!" said just like that. I'm happy for her, as any Sconnie daddy should be, and looking forward to teaching her about the finer points of cheese.

Until next time, I hope this little update finds you and yours well.

Philly Postscript

On the end of our trip to Philly we added a (too) brief excursion to DC to visit good friends from our days in Missouri. On our way from Philly to DC we stopped to visit Eva and Faye, then joined them the next day on a trip to the National Zoo. Somehow we managed to visit the zoo and not take any pics (sorry!). But, we do have a very sweet picture of Aubrey and Faye to share thanks to Faye's mommy:We stayed with Chris and Marissa while in DC. They were gracious hosts and we can't thank them enough for sharing their apartment with us. Marissa even taught Aubrey how to check her email!

Happy 80th Birthday to Great-Grandma R!

We love you Great-Grandma R!
Aubrey making sure the balloon has fun too. Uncle Matt, Uncle Dan, and Grandma Kris

Visitors

Aunt "Kee" and Uncle "Cot" came to visit this weekend. Aubrey really enjoyed playing with them!Can you spot Aubrey's cousin? Only 2 months to go.

Egon is back!

Philly

Aubrey, T and I spent some time in Philly and DC last week. While I did spend the better parts of 4 days at a conference we managed to take in a few sights:

Independence Hall,

the Liberty Bell,and a "famous" square in Center City. Of course, it wasn't all serious sightseeing. There were a few opportunities for fun:Taunting a bear at the National Academy of Sciences and chasing pigeons at the park.