Zest

This is so typically my daughter. She has such a zest for life! She is a little firecracker and full of so much energy I wish she would share some with me! :) Most things in her life she describes with extremes. This blue dress she put on this morning she said was so wonderful while squealing and spinning in the mirror. Every dress everyday is met with the same joy and yes in her book every day is a dress day. The better it spins the better the dress. :)

It was a cloudy morning and this afternoon when the sun came out she went outside and said "Yay! The sun came out!" and she made this same face and threw her hands in the air in the same way!

Loved the hot weather last week!

Kick kick kick!! She loves swimming! I try pull her around in her star but she says, "no mommy! I do by self!!"

Lots of sunscreen on my white belly and my girl and off to the pool we went!

Little stories I don't want to forget

Audra loves calling her daddy either her honey or her babe or sometimes even honey babe. :) he usually is the one to get up with her when he isn't already at work himself. He is much more of a morning person than I am. Audra knows that if her dad is home to get up with her she can usually get him to give her a little bit of juice. Mom isn't as fun and makes her eat breakfast instead. :)
One morning Audra was up early and I brought her out to the living room, gave her some cereal, and told her I was going to go lay down a little while longer. Andrew was still in bed. A few moments later Audra comes to our door and whispers, "honey!" ... "babe" ... "juice?" it was all Andrew and I could do to keep from laughing. She thought that by whispering maybe i wouldn't hear her.

One day as we were preparing to get out of the car at The Forum I began prepping Audra. I told her that when she got out she needed to be sure to hold my hand because there would be cars and I needed to be sure she stayed close to me. She looked at me and folded her hands together and said, "I'm praying." I told her even though she was praying she still needed to hold my hand. :)

Sometimes she likes to make up songs or she will mix songs together. One song she likes to sing goes like this, "Mommy and daddy song! Mommy and daddy love you!" she just sings it over and over again. Another song she sang the other day went like this, "For the Bible says no more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Loves her daddy

Audra has been a super mommies girl from birth but lately she has become quite the daddies girl!
I love when Andrew gets home from work she she runs to him for a big hug yelling, "daddy daddy daddy!!" melts my heart every time.
A few times lately she has fallen down and run right past me for a big daddy hug. Maybe i am less huggable with my big belly?
When she sees a prince or a princess she says it is the princess and her daddy. I hope she maintains that perception for at least another 20 years! We watched Thumbelinna the other day and at the end of the movie when she is reunited with the prince Audra said, "Her daddy got her!! Her daddy is hugging her!" so precious.

This is just a picture of Andrew and Audra looking for eggs at Andrew's Aunt Kate's house.

For the love of mac!

Audra and her daddy share a mutual love of Trader Joes mac & cheese. It is by far Andrews favorite comfort food. Usually when he makes some he makes enough to share with Audra. One night he was doing just this and she was sitting on the floor in the dinning room talking to him and watching him cook. Andrew asked her, "Audra how much do you love mac?" she threw her head back and kicked her legs in the air and said, "Thank you Lord for mac!!"

Mother's day with my girl who made me a mommy!

Getting ready for brother

Audra is starting to really get excited to have a little brother! I think partially because we have been reading this book called Baby on the Way. (http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Way-Sears-Children-Library/dp/0316787671)
It is the sweetest book about a family getting ready for a new baby. The first time I read it to her when we read the page about making a place for the baby to sleep she popped up and said, "yeah! In the basket in mommy's room!" I loved that she had already put that together. There is also a page about going to the doctor's or midwife's office and hearing the baby's heartbeat and she always says "boom boom boom!" They talk about how as an older brother or sister you can see if you have and clothes or toys to share. So sometimes when she is saying hi to her brother and talking to my tummy she will say "brother? You need toys?" I think the real reason she is excited about her baby brother though is because the book talks about how when your baby is born you get to have a Birth Day party to celebrate and I told her she can make him a card and we will make cupcakes! (or someone will make them with her.) :) Lately she has been hugging my stomach and saying "uh oh mommy brother is stuck!" she just wants him to be born already! I hope she is just as excited when he actually gets here!

Sunday school

Audra has never been a big fan of the nursery at church and we never liked the idea of leaving her if she was hysterical.
Other friends have told us their kids did better once they were in the two year old class because it is more structured than the nursery.
Needless to say we were excited for her to get to experience that! And we were excited to get to do church together again! Believe it or not she has stayed the last two weeks and Andrew and I have been able to stay in the sanctuary the whole time! Yay!!!
Here is her first Sunday school activity she brought home. So cute!!

Funny new words

A couple of Audra's favorite new words that she likes to incorporate wherever she can are actually and probably.

Last night I asked Audra if she wanted to pick her pjs and she said "no, I'm probably ok without my jammies."

If I ask her a question she will usually answer by saying, "actually..."
For example if I ask her if she wants pretzels she will say, "actually, I need an apple."

Last night after I read her a pile of books she pretended to keep reading them herself and every time she would set one down she said, "that's a great story!"

I don't know where she gets these things!

Castles for his princess

Audra and her daddy. Her number one thing she asks him to draw is a castle. A castle for his princess! We have castles on white boards and chalk boards and outside with sidewalk chalk. :)

Snuggles and story time with daddy