Hi

"Hi" is Audrey's first real word.  She has done mama and dada, but more as sounds than in actual association with each of her parents.  Anytime she sees someone now, she will say hi and wave.  I really thought dog would be the first word, because she makes the "Dah" noise when she sees the dogs, but she can't get the "guh" attached to the end of it.  It is so funny to hear her actually use a real word in proper context.  I am so used to her babbling sounds and random noises and have perfected my response of having a fake conversation with her.  However, with real words, I feel the need to respond in a manner that is appropriate to what she is saying.  So, when she says "Hi," I often reply with "Hi."  Unfortunately, that starts a cycle of back-and-forth "Hi's."  I guess since it is her only word, she likes to use it every chance she gets.  So, I am having to adjust my response to be another sort of greeting like, "Good morning" or "How are you doing?"   

Today, we made our first visit to the zoo this year.  Audrey really liked looking at the bears, monkeys and leopard.  She would point at the animals and say, "Dah," which in baby-Audrey speak means dog.  That's right, she thought every animal we saw was a dog.  Then, she would say "hi," wave to the animals, and then wait patiently for them to wave back.  None of them did.  I think she really enjoyed the trip, even though she fell asleep before she got to see the hippopotamus and elephants.  I was pleasantly surprised by how engaged she was the entire time.  Her favorite part was the ducks, because they were very active and splashed into the water.  She called them dogs as well, but "dah" sounds somewhat like duck, so we pretended that she was calling them by the correct name.  I forsee many more family trips to the zoo coming this summer and in future summers!  

Audrey is Turning One!

It is so hard to believe that it was a year ago that I was wondering whether we were ever going to meet our little girl, what she would be like, and when she would get here.  Now, she is almost running around the house, loves her books and dancing, and is keeping mommy and daddy on the run.  I know that every year will have many changes as Audrey grows, and we all get a little older, but it is hard to imagine that any future 12 month span of time could bring more amazing growth and change into our lives that the year that is coming to a close.  I thought it would be fun to do a comparison of April 2009 to April 2010...fun for me at least! 

• Audrey was born at 8:53 pm on Friday, April 3 weighing 8 pounds 10 ounces.  I am estimating that she now weighs about 22 pounds. 
• She was 22.5 inches long when she was born.  Now, she is more than 30 inches long. 
• Audrey was born with very little hair.  She now has more, but it's still not a lot.  We call her look a baby mullet. 
• When we first brought Audrey home, her favorite activities were sleeping and eating.  Well, they were really her only activities.  Now, she loves looking at books, playing with blocks and stuffed animals, dancing, and exploring anything she can get her hands on. 
• Audrey could not move a whole lot when she was first born.  She could turn her head, but couldn't support it.  She could move her arms and legs too, but that was about it.  Now, she is walking and starting to climb.  She discovered a child-sized rocking chair at her Great-Grandma Amanda's house this weekend, and spent at least 30 minutes climbing up into it and then sliding forwad out of it. She also started throwing the ball for the dogs this week.  Granted, it only goes about 2 feet before falling to the ground, but it is a start.  Before long, she will be Jack's best friend.
• As a tiny infant, Audrey was Audrey, but that was really hard to define.  In case you haven't been around infants much, they don't really have much of a personality (see previous comment regarding her favorite activities).  Now, Audrey has quite the personality.  She is generally happy, inquisitive, mischievous, loving, and fun.   
• Last April, Daddy was taking 2 classes last spring during the first semester of his graduate work for a Masters Degree in mechanical engineering.  He now has a graduate certificate in composite structures.  He is also taking only 1 course per semester now, a decision his wife greatly appreciates.  At the current rate, he will graduate in the fall of 2011. 
• A year ago, mommy was always tired, worried about being a good mom, and trying to improve her relationship with God.  Wait...none of that has changed! 
• When we first brought Audrey home, we often felt like we didn't know what we were supposed to be doing as parents, and it was sometimes scary.  Now, we still feel like that at times, but it isn't as scary.  We are more comfortable with our parental roles now, and that makes it easier to focus on our spousal roles as well.  
• At the hospital right after Audrey was born, we had a continuous parade of visitors.  Our family and friends were so excited for us, and we couldn't wait for them to meet her.  I am glad to say that one year later, you are still important parts of our lives.  We will see many of you this weekend as we celebrate Audrey's first birthday.  For those of you we won't see, we hope we'll get to see you sometime soon!

As I look at my little comparison project, I realize that not much has really changed with the exception of Audrey herself.  I am astounded by how much children develop during their first year of life.  Children really are God's little miracles.  I am so thankful that we've gotten to experience this one in our lives.

Mommy...who?

After being gone on business travel for four days, I returned home yesterday afternoon.  Billy picked me up from the airport, and I couldn't wait until we got back downtown to pick Audrey up from daycare.  When we got there, we walked into the room, and Audrey just stared at me.  She waved, and then walked around me to go to her dad.  I was mortified.  She didn't even seem to care that I was home.  So, I swept her up into my arms to give her a hug and walk her out to the care.  By the time we got to the car, she had remembered who I was.  She was smiling at me, and even layed her head on my shoulder.  When I put her in her carseat, she proceeded to scream as if to say, "NO!  Don't leave me again." 

Since I have been home, Billy has mentioned that she is much more of a troublemaker than she was when I was gone.  She also fussed a little during swimming lessons today when I was in the water with her, but she had never done that with her dad.  As I think about it, it has become increasingly clear that she wants daddy to play with her and mommy to comfort her.  This morning when I took a shower, daddy worked at his computer and Audrey played quietly.  As soon as she saw me, she walked over to the toilet to play with it, tried to eat dog food, and grabbed a candle to chew on.  Ugh!  Evidentally I have somehow reinforced in Audrey, more than her dad, that bad behavior will garner attention from me.  This is definitely something we will have to work on!