Grandma's in Town

My mom is in town this week to help me in my final week before returning to work next Monday. We're having a really fun time going for walks, hanging out and playing with Aubrey. We've done a little shopping, ate out, gone to strollersize together and enjoyed eachothers company. It's going to be tough saying goodbye on Friday, knowing that in only 3 short days I return to work. We're heading to the daycare tomorrow to visit with the teachers and introduce them to Aubrey. We've been trying to give Aubrey a bottle once a day with some difficulty...I think part of it is that I'm in the room when someone is trying to feed her. It's tough listening to your baby cry when you know you could solve the problem by nursing her but I know we have to get her used to being fed by others. I've been told by Aaron and Elizabeth that she takes the bottle just fine when I'm not around so hopefully that will be the case at daycare. Luckily, I'm super close by at work so I'll be able to run over if needed. Ahhh! Talk about a nervous Nelly I'm becoming!

Anyways, below are some cute pics.

"Who are you and what have you done with my Mom?"

"Well hello there!"

"Mmm salad. My favorite."

Sleepy time girl

Out to Lunch

We had a nice morning today, enjoying some mommy-daughter time. Aubrey was so cute and smiley, I had a hard time not kissing her over and over again. For lunch, we met Aaron for an Italian sandwich and salad at Viafores, which was delicious. Aubrey always enjoys seeing her dad in the middle of the day when she least expects it. After lunch, we ventured over to the mall to see if there was anything worth trying on. To my surprise, I didn't find one thing that piqued my interest. Although it was nice to get out, I have to say that my favorite part was coming back home and snuggling with Aubrey. We're back now and Aubrey is making a valiant effort to stay awake instead of take her nap. I think her fatigue will win :-)

3 Months!

Aubrey on my legs at the baseball game last week. We like to joke that she is our little Mother Theresa when the blanket is wrapped on her head.

Aubrey is 3 months old today! Where does the time go? Today, we went to our usual workout class but mixed it up this afternoon by venturing out to run some errands. As I was driving over to the paper/scrapbook store, I decided to swing by the sports med building I work in once a week to introduce Aubrey. They were thrilled to meet her and were fortunate to see all of Aubrey's emotions...happy...sad...scared...in pain. Unfortunately, she bonked her head on my shoulder when she tried to push off of me and burst in to her loud pitched screaming. This girl has a set of lungs on her!!!

After the meet and greet, we went over to a paper store to pick up some double sided tape for Aubrey's baby books and some Thank You cards. We have so many thanks that are owed so I was glad to get those picked up finally.

2 More Weeks

Happy girl outside while mom picked weeds on Sunday

Unfortunately, I'll soon be headed back to work. I got the call from daycare last week letting me know they had a spot available for Aubrey starting on May 3 and I decided to take it. It will be tough but I am reminded that it could be worse. We're lucky that the daycare is located right behind the building I work in so I'll be able to go feed her over lunch or breaks and visit whenever I want. My mom is coming into town next week and we're going to go in to the daycare for another visit and to get the rundown on everything I need to bring on Aubrey's first day and beyond.

With 2 weeks left, I'm trying to soak up my time with the little one. We went to strollersize today, spent some time playing with blocks outside and learning about the different plants in our yard. Aubrey has started to grab on to things which has been fun to watch. This past weekend, she grabbed on to a rattle and shook it around for a while until she ended up rattling her head pretty hard. She was not a happy girl. We quickly switched to wrist rattlers which she is starting to notice and shake around. Another fun game Aubrey has been enjoying is "Aubrey's Wrecking Crew." This game consists of Aubrey toppling over 3 foam blocks after Aaron and I have stacked them. This game will often go on for long stretches of time.

Aubrey holding her rattle and playing with her blocks... pre-meltdown

Post rattle hit

Yeah wrist rattler!

Where did she get these big feet?

A Night at the Game

Not too happy baby

Last night, our little family joined Paul, Gina and baby Ryan for a Mariners Game up in Seattle. Our seats were amazing, only 15 rows back behind the Mariners dugout. Unfortunately, we all learned that baby's and nighttime baseball games don't agree with each other too well. Within about five minutes of finding our seats, both babies were not happy and needed to relocate away from all the noise and lights. We laughed that despite the great seats, we probably watched a total of 10 minutes of the game as we tended to keeping our little ones content. We'll have to do it again when both babes are a little older.

Today, Aubrey and had our morning workout at the Y but I unfortunately am having some pretty bad heel pain after purchasing a new pair of running shoes. A couple trainers advised me to return the shoes and trade them in for cross trainers which are better suited for the aerobic activities we've been doing. We'll have to go to the store and do that tomorrow. That's about it for now. Hope you have a great rest of the day!

Back to the "work week"

Baby Hands

Aaron is back at work today and Aubrey and I are back to our weekday routine. Strollersize this morning followed by a nice nap for Aubrey. We had a nice weekend which included the YMCA Kids Run on Saturday, the parade, some yard work, a swim for me, some Masters golf, and a nice slow cooked pork butt in the crockpot. The three of us clocked in at 34 minutes for our 5k with winds blowing in our faces for what seemed like the whole run. At one point I said "I'm not having fun! Are you?" Aaron replied "No." Luckily our attitudes did perk up shortly thereafter those comments and we found our second winds. It was nice to see a bunch of clients and friends at the event and fun for Aubrey to get some more people time. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera so no pics of us on the run. Probably a good thing though because I'm pretty sure we weren't looking too hot.

As you may have noticed, I've been posting a few new black and white pics. These are professional pics done by a coworker of mine when Aubrey was 5 weeks old. I'd love to take credit but all credit is owed to Lisa. She did a fantastic job.

Yeah! The weekend!

Big Yawn!

Happy Friday! This week went by fairly quick which is bitter sweet; the weekend got here faster so we can enjoy some time with Aaron but I am one week closer to going back to work. I love my job but Aubrey definitely is going to be tough to leave. I know though that she is going to be quite the lively, social girl and that putting her in daycare will be harder for me than for her. Anyways, I'll just stop thinking about it and continue enjoying the time I have left.

Tomorrow morning, we are off to do the YMCA Kids Run in downtown Tacoma. It's a 5k run/walk and has been something I've worked at for the last three years. This year will be the first time I don't have to work it and I can just hangout and enjoy some time with my family. After the run, there is the Daffodil Parade that we are going to stick around and watch. Surprisingly, this isn't Aubrey's first parade...a week short of 3 months old and already 2 parades under her belt! Besides that, I hope to get a swim in on Sunday at the Y. I got a new suit, cap, and goggles and am hoping to train hard so that next time we're down in Phoenix, I can really give my dad a run for his money! Have a great weekend everyone!

Another Rainy Day

Welcome to the Northwest. We are hanging out inside again while the rain pours down outdoors. Aubrey is down for a nap and I am enjoying a chai latté as I write this blog. Although its raining now, we did get out this morning for our tri-weekly strollersize class. There were 10 moms in class today with their babies so we were really crammed in to half the gym at the YMCA. Aubrey was awake for most of the class, acting very cute; cooing and smiling as I sweat my buns off. I found out today that our instructor is apparently a well known scrap booker: Heidi Grace. Anyone know of her work? I guess she invents a bunch of scrapbook parafinalia. Pretty cool!

I had plans to head to Target or Costco to pick up baby wipes and garbage bags but have recently discovered Diapers.com which delivers to your house next day and is a bit cheeper than the store. Although it would be nice to venture out, it is super slick to order online and get what we need the next day.

That's about all for now. Not too exciting but that's ok for a Wednesday. I hope the weather is better wherever you are!

"I love you Dad! I missed you today!"

A Great Night Out

"Oh Michael...it's great to see you too!"

Dinner was so good! We shared a pesto lasagna and New York steak. Delicious!

We had a great time Saturday night, going out to dinner and then the Michael Bublé concert in Seattle. We were so lucky to have Elizabeth and Chance babysit Aubrey for us. They are going to be great parents someday and we hope they let us repay the favor. We heard Aubrey was a chatty Kathy all night which will be fun in the years to come.

"Look Elizabeth! I'm dressed in your favorite Strawberry Overalls!"

"Hi guys! I can sit in my high chair already!"

3 Strikes

Today was a pretty uneventful day for Aubrey and I. We had great intentions to go for a big walk, sell some shoes to a consignment store and get a baby gym (? the toy that goes over baby with a bunch of things for her to look at) at a second hand kids store. When we got down to the waterfront for our walk, I put Aubrey in the stroller and the sky dumped on us within 30 seconds. After looking at the dark sky all around, I decided to press the rewind button and put Aubrey back in the car and the stroller in the trunk. On to the consignment store... unfortunately, they weren't accepting new items today so we'll have to return tomorrow. Next we were off to the second hand kids store. There were a few baby gyms but all of them were pretty boring; not too many hanging toys or gadgets for her to look at. We checked out some sleepers for her but were very distracted by a young mom yelling at her kids to no end. All I wanted to do was get out of there and give Aubrey a snuggle. I felt so bad for the kids because they really weren't doing anything wrong. I think the mom was just super immature and liked to be in control. Very sad.

Next, Aubrey and I came home. After feeding Aubrey I was able to put Aubrey down for a nap and watch Oprah. It's really nice now because Aubrey is developing a pretty predictable schedule. I usually can bank on 3 naps during the day to allow me to get a few things done. That's it for now. Off to strollersize again tomorrow and dinner and a concert on Saturday. I booked reservations at a restaurant called the Pink Door. It looks fun and tasty! Something different...