What Audrey's Doing Now...

It is the craziest thing, I honestly feel like Audrey turned from a baby to a toddler overnight! She is on the verge of turning 14 months (who new I would do the month thing after a year, but I am one of those mom's it turns out) and I look in awe at her daily.

So right now, she is:

Walking - Now that she is walking, a whole new world has opened up to her. She can all of the sudden reach door handles, things on the counter and much much more. She unfortunately has inherited my klutzy-ness and falls down quite a bit, but she bounces right back up and keeps going. It's amazing the confidence she has now and how thrilled she is with herself.

Milk & Sippy Cup's - We are completely phased into the world of milk and sippy cups (and have been for awhile now). She LOVES her milk and is drinking a TON of it. We are going thru a gallon a week and she is at Nancy's during the day so I think that is a lot? She loves her sippy cup, though I have yet to find the perfect one that doesn't look like a bottle or spill all over the floor, my car, me, etc. Recommendations for your favorites would be quite helpful!

Stacking/Lids/Containers/etc. - She loves putting things into each other (like stacking cups, anything into a box or bag or Tupperware, etc.) then taking them out. She will sit there for a long time concentrating just with a lid to her sippy cup and the cup itself, putting the lid on and then off, on and then off, it's crazy. She has also figured out how to take lids off, which is great for her motor skills or whatever, but you now give her a tube of toothpaste with the lid on (which used to be great fun) and turn around and the lid is off and she is sucking all the toothpaste out. Time to get some new play things, eh?

Words - She is saying hi and waving which is pretty cute (except at the grocery store when she does it to every stranger there and then I have to say hi too). She still "talks" a ton, but there aren't a ton of words coming out. We are at da-da, ma-ma (VERY rarely the little bugger), hi, and then yeah and yum sometimes.

Mealtime - She is veering away from being the stellar eater that she was. She still eats pretty well, but definitely way less then she used to. She loves forks & spoons and seems to get the concept of them, though has not mastered the actual piercing or scooping that you do with them.

Temper - With all the cuteness, this little ones seems to be starting the temper tantrums a bit early. Which my mother loves because she says it is payback for all of the ones I did with her:) She will literally lay on the floor screaming and crying and the other night she started kicking her feet as I thought only a 2 year old was capable of... Ugh...

Lobster...

We grilled out every night during vacation, which was awesome and low key. (Actually each couple got a date night out where the other 2 couple watched their child, but the couples that babysat grilled:) The last night we decided to do Surf and Turf, lobsters and steak, to close out the week right. We had lobster pro's on hand (Robb & Nicole) and lobster virgins (Rich & Krissy, though Krissy wouldn't get anywhere near them) which was a fun combo. Robb gladly gave directions on how to properly eat a lobster, while some listened and some just dug right in...

The guys went out to buy the lobsters and when they came back we had to take some pictures.

Here are the guys proudly holding their meal...

Audrey was really funny with the lobsters, she was completely not scared of them...
Charlie put one right in front of her and she was totally not phased...

Lobsters and steak, on the deck, with friends, what more can you ask for? A perfect end to a perfect vacation...

Sand Castle...

I had this bright idea before we went on vacation that we should have a sand castle building contest between all 3 couples for a little friendly competition. There were 4 engineers in the mix, how could you go wrong? It turned out when we got to the beach the 1st day that the sand wasn't the best for making sand castles, it was very dry and rocky. Well this didn't stop the guys from deciding one day to build one. The 3 teamed up and spent a good amount of time on it and it turned out pretty well. They mentioned that they are engineers and not architects as you can tell by the design (actually build-able in real life and not just in theory :) Sorry Lina, you know I love you...

So here they are, very proud of their accomplishment...

Charlie was particularly proud, is anyone surprised???

They filled the hole in before we left so no kiddies fell in and hurt themselves (or drunk adults for that matter)... Charlie was really excited about the demo portion as well....

The Girls...

All 3 of us couples that went on vacation together have little girls within a year of each other which was perfect.

Payton, on the left, is the oldest and wisest at 2 years old and Madeline (center) and Audrey (right) are 3 weeks apart at 14 and 13 months respectively.

The girls played great together and it was fun to see all of their very different personalities. Payton made sure to teach the "babies" all kinds of cool things, like eating fruit snacks and "hot cheese" (mac'n'cheese to all you people uneducated in Payton speak) , reading "Go Ditka Go", how to ride in a wagon and how to stay up real late. Payton and Audrey loved to rock in the rocking chair together and sing "Row Row Row your Boat"...

Audrey and Maddie really enjoyed playing on the beach together. They loved playing in this little pop-up tent that Nicole & Robb brought and laughed forever going in and out of it. They also enjoyed the poles of the umbrella's which was hilarious. They would both grab it and swing and laugh and dance. We are hoping this is not an indication of future careers for the 2 of them. I'm sure it will be fine...

Maddie and Payton LOVE books, and there are a few that they especially love that were read to them over and over again. Nicole wins for having the best "reading" voice, but that is a little unfair seeing as her mother is Librarian, kind of cheating right?

Here is Krissy reading "Go Dog (Ditka) Go", while Audrey miraculously sat still for 1/2 of it.... I was hoping the love of books would rub off on her, but not so much. Really, there is too much to do to sit still for that long right?

Vacation...

We just got back from vacation, and one of the best things about it is we got to pack up the car and drive an hour and we were there! You would have thought we were going for a month from how full the car was (Audrey almost had to stay home!) but who cares right? NO checked luggage! We rented a house in Falmouth down on the Cape with 2 other families for the week and it was fabulous. The other families had never met, but no matter, everyone got along great and I'm happy to say we are all still talking (or e-mailing) today... Nicole & Robb and their daughter Madeline are our good friends here (you may remember Maddie from the joint 1st birthday party we had), they live in Marblehead and Nicole and I work for the same company. Rich & Krissy and their daughter Payton are our good friends from Purdue, they live out in Chicago and drove out to join us for the week (yes, that's a long drive, they are such troopers!).

The house turned out to be awesome. I was really nervous as it was picked from some pictures I saw on the Internet, but it turned out to be perfect. It had enough room for all of us to be comfortable (there were 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, a good sized kitchen, eating and living area), a huge 3-sided deck that had views of the water, and Robb's favorite feature, an outdoor shower. There was a fully stocked kitchen (with dishwasher thank goodness) and a grill that we used daily.

We were the first "block" off the beach and we could walk there in less then 5 minutes. This was perfect with the girls, bringing them back to nap or eat was no big deal. It was perfect for the adults too when the beer or water ran out someone could run back and replenish quickly... We basically spent the entire week on the beach which really was awesome. We were quite a site with the camp we set-up daily: 4 umbrellas, 6 beach chairs, and multiple towels and beach toys.

It was great to relax, hang out with good friends and drink wine (enough for all 3 of us girls, a tough task but the other 2 are both pregnant so I had no choice!). I am happy to say that I was able to read a complete book during the week, mainly during Audrey's naps, which hasn't happened in a LONG time... A little Chick Lit, on the beach, what more can you ask for???

Back to Reality...

Well we are back from vacation and unfortunately have to return to work tomorrow, ugh... We had a fabulous time! It was perfect beach weather for the entire week, 80's and sunny... I will share some pictures from the awesome week later. I did upload an album on Audrey's website if anyone wants to take a peek.

The Dennison's on the Vineyard, in front of Charlie's boat... Someday...

Walking...

Well I'm happy to announce that I think we finally have a walker! She decided this week using walking as her main form of getting around. It is hilarious to watch her, she is like one of those weeble toys, teetering back and forth. But everyday she is going further without falling and I'm sure she will be running soon, there is so much to do and so little time...

She actually seems to perform under pressure... We leave for vacation in a couple of hours and will be with 2 other little girls that are walking... I think she knew she couldn't show up for vacation and be "that girl that is still crawling"...

Vacation, yeah! We are headed to the Cape with 2 other good couple friends and their girls for the week. I am so excited I can't even tell you. It is supposed to be beautiful weather so keep your fingers crossed! I know it is upsetting but I won't be able to do any posts til I get back. I'm sure you will all find something else to read for the week...

Loves the Beach...

So as she hated the pool, but she LOVED the beach this weekend. Which is a good things, seeing as we are going on vacation to the Cape in 3 days and she will be spending a lot of time there whether she likes it or not... I considered last weekend a little prep for what was to come and I have to say she was awesome. She loves the sand and it doesn't bother her at all to be covered with it (or that her food is that she is eating, crunch crunch). We brought her down to the water and she actually seemed to like it. Granted it was pretty warm, but she sat right down and splashed away. The stupid Canadian geese were around way too much, which she thought was cool, but I had to run after at one point to get them away from us (I think I got bit by one as a child and will forever be scared by those things!).

Here she is in all her glory in Grandma Lutz's bathing suit, too cute...

What is this skirt thing???

She loves the umbrella for whatever reason...

The Canadian Geese decided to get in the water right near her and she was thrilled, I was not so much...

Splish Splash...

She is lovin' walking in the sand...

After multiple attempts, this is the only picture where she is actually looking at the camera with me...

Hated the Pool...

I was interested to see what Audrey thought of the pool. We haven't been before, but I was hoping she would like it seeing as we are going to Orlando for a week and she will be spending a ton of time in one hopefully. My Aunt & Uncle have a pool, where we spent the 4th, and so it was our 1st test of trying one out. All I can say is it failed with flying colors, she HATED it! I'm not sure why, I blame it on the water being "too cold" but who knows... Anyways, these pictures are priceless. It is such a rough life being a baby isn't it??? Easy to say while I was dry and warm on the side right?

Pictures...

I have been dying to see the pictures from the portrait session we had with the Tirado's a couple of weeks ago... I waited very patiently and was not disappointed when I was finally given access to the photo gallery from Audrey's 1 Year Old Portrait session (let me know if you want the link!)... They did the most amazing job, I really could not be more thrilled! They captured Audrey's personality PERFECTLY, it is really unbelievable. I can't speak highly enough about Rene & Melissa Tirado, not only are they awesome photographers, they are wonderful people too. Check out Audrey's post on their blog...

Now I just need to figure out which pictures to order... Hopefully it doesn't take as long as it did for me to decide on our wedding album (I think that was 2 years for those that don't know)...

Thirty...

Well I must say I have been dreading this day for awhile now, my 30th birthday. For some reason a year ago it sounded horrible. It's something my friends and I have been talking about since we turned 29... "Wow, we are going to be old next year, the big 3-0". Most of my friends have already turned as has Charlie and they all seem to be doing just fine. So now I am thinking 30 might not be so bad. I sat and thought this morning about where I am in life at 30 years old and I must say I think I am in a darn good place. I have a wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter, a good career and house that I love. Here's to the next 30 years, I have a feeling it is going to be even more fabulous then the previous... As long as I always look 29 right???

Independence Day...

Happy 4th of July everyone! The Dennison Family headed out to the Berkshire's yesterday to celebrate. It started out as a cool & cloudy day, but by the time we got out there it was all sunny skies and gorgeous! I finally got some color, what a concept!

We went to my Uncle Bob & Aunt Joan's house in Pittsfield and had a wonderful day hanging out by the pool, eating all of Aunt Joan's food and seeing lots of cousins. We hadn't been there since last August (which is pathetic I know, it's a 2 1/2 hour drive for goodness sakes) and hadn't seen some of the cousins in that long.

Audrey had a blast running around, ok crawling around I guess, trying to keep up with everyone. She enjoyed everything except the pool which I will write about in a separate post. Those pictures are priceless... That's not totally true, she enjoyed standing on the edge of the pool and laughing and clapping at all her cousins. Getting in was the issue as you will see...

Here she is with Aunt Joan. She warmed up to everyone very quickly which was great. We had an awesome time and look forward to seeing everyone again soon!

Driveway...

Anyone that knows Charlie knows that he ALWAYS has a project going on. It was easy when we were renovating the house as there was plenty to do. Well, the house is finished and he has moved outside. He doesn't have as much time for his projects with Audrey running around, but he manages to get them in regardless.

His latest was the driveway. He came home one day and told me he had a guy coming to rip up the old driveway (it was asphalt and had seen better days ). Ok. So one of Charlie's work buddy's showed up with a heavy piece of machinery and tore up the driveway. After a lot of prep work, the driveway was ready to be placed. Being a concrete guy, Charlie worked his magic and had some guys at work come and place a concrete driveway for us. They used "stamps" to give it the look of cobblestone and I have to say it turned out really nice. Charlie was not satisfied with just the driveway, and ended up taking some leftover brick pavers from our walkway and lining the driveway with them. And here is the finished product! It looks awesome and we are the envy of the neighborhood, until someone else does some cool project...