Fun in the Sun!

Swimming at Mammo and Pappo's house! This is the boat that they bought her last year that I think we used once. Last year she was barely sitting up on her own and was so little in it...this year she asks to "drye" (drive) the "boa"!

The water feels so good since being this pregnant in May in Houston is like being pregnant in the heat of summer. We have hit the mid 90's a lot the last couple weeks and I am always burining up! Not to mention the feeling of being weightless in the water!
Us girls!A true girl! She just wants to lay "baak" and relax! :)

Galveston Getaway!

Since I was 35 weeks pregnant with Baby Natalie and in need for a little getaway, we decided to head to Galveston for a mini vacation with my family. It was perfect timing since my sister had just finished her sophomore year at A&M and had about a week before she left for Spain for a summer study abroad program too. We stayed in a great condo at the Pointe West Beach Club on West Beach. Here are some pictures of our fun in the pool and on the beach!

Taking a break with some "ish" and "juice"!

Good thing I'm pregnant and can only drink virgin daiquiris, because Audrey stole my "juice" and tried to hide and drink it! Wow! That was cold!That evening it was raining, but we decided to load up in my Dad's car and head into Galveston to eat dinner. As we drove to The Seawall the weather got worse, so we decided to make it a quick dinner at IHOP. Something for everyone! Well, we loaded back up and started the 16 mile drive back to our condo, right as we were leaving The Seawall we saw lightning strike the water right off the beach. It was the thickest bolt of lightning that I think I have ever seen (at least that close up) and it went all the way down to the water and when it touched the water it lit the ocean up this fire orange color. It was amazing! Then from the backseat we hear, "I wanna see that again!" from Lara, well her wish came true. It happened in that instant! It was raining so hard and it was so windy coming off the ocean. I can't even start to imagine being on the island during a hurricane like Ike or even a tropical storm. No thank you! We drove on and it got so bad that at one point that the road disappeared and we could not even see our windshield wipers. Debris started hitting the car so we pulled over and waited till we could see. Around this time...I felt like I was going into labor. I think it was that I was so nervous and tense, but it literally felt like Natalie was trying to crawl out! I just kept trying to breath and relax...which was hard since my Mom was in the front seat having a panic attack! We made it back to the condo safe and sound, but when we got back we saw on the weather channel that we were under tornado warning and that there could be a tornado moving up the island from Jamaica to Crystal Beach, which is exactly where we had just been. I don't think we actually drove through a tornado, but it sure was close or right above us. It sure provided a little excitement!

Anyway...one morning when Audrey woke up she ran to the beach bag and pulled out her her pool floaty and hat and was ready to go to the beach in her pajamas at 7:30 in the morning!Playing with Uncle "ick"! Beach time! Hugging Aunt "awa"! Watching "dada" bury Uncle "ick" in the sand! Silly boys!
Galveston sand in definitely not the best, I kept telling Eric...I wouldn't want to be buried in that! Oh well! Yes...that's a Woody!
"Hapo" and Audrey!
Audrey LOVES the "beesh! She is a little hesitant about the water, but she will stand where the waves come up and cover her feet. She loves the "saay"(sand) and playing with "bicket" (bucket) and "shuv" (shovel). I'm not usually that much of a beach person, I like laying by the pool, but seeing it all through her eyes...with her excitement, makes it all worth it! I now love the beach too and can't wait to go again!

We went and walked and had dinner on The Strand our last night there. After dinner we posed for some pics next to the NOAA ship. Well this picture was taken at the same moment that they decided to blow their horn. You can see Audrey looking back at it and my expression. It was really funny and perfect timing for a great picture! ha!The whole familia!
As we were all packing up to leave the condo, Audrey disappeared for a little bit and came out looking something like this! Toilet paper is so much fun!
Great getaway with great family memories!

Shorts for a Hat!

I told Audrey to go and find her shorts for Mommy and she came out of her room like this! Adorable! I think she knew she looked cute because she picked up a Nordstrom shopping bag and took off to the front door like it was time to go shopping!

Lately I ask her to say "Cheese" and sometimes it works for pictures. Here is her "Cheese" face!

Dress-up with Daddy!

One morning Bryan went and got Audrey out of bed before he left for work and decided to put his undershirt and shorts over her pajamas. He's so clever he even stole a chip clip out of the pantry to pin the shorts so they stayed up. She loved playing dress-up, even in Daddy's clothes!

Audrey and her Little Men

We were outside playing at my parents house and Audrey has really taken a liking to all of my Mom's Gnomes...or as we call them "Little Men." Every time we go outside she has to rearrange all of them and they usually end up in a line with Audrey sitting with them. On this day Mamo had bought Audrey some new birdies that chirp so she brought those out to join her "Little Men." Here's Audrey and her friends!

That was hard work...now time for a nap!

1 1/2 years!

Audrey at 18 months!

I don't even know where to begin! This little girl understands everything! She is our little genius...even her teacher from MDO calls her that!

• The days of talking in front of her about things we really don't want her hearing are over, and when I tell someone a story about something she did (even a month ago) she chimes in and helps me tell the story...or wants to do it again.
• She is very serious, very studious, and you can just see those wheels turning when she looks at something and studies it silently for minutes.
• She would much rather sit on our lap and read a book, sing a song or just talk than play with toys.
• She has a huge imagination and loves playing pretend. She will randomly pick something such as a knob on a cabinet, or a CD case, or just out of the thin air and pretend that it dispenses lotion. She then walks around and gives everyone lotion for their hands. She pretends that she is cooking something (like soup or eggs) and then eats it and shares it.
• She loves looking at pictures of family and naming everyone...which by the way she is getting really good at saying every ones names (at least she tries every time!)
• She loves to dance and sing. I actually caught her copying Lady Gaga's moves from a performance on American Idol. When Lady Gaga would get on the floor and dance, Audrey would get on the floor and then stand back up when she did. (I don't know how I feel about my 18 month old daughter trying to be Lady Gaga...but it sure was cute!)
• Her favorite songs to sing are... Happy Birthday, The Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle, Patty Cake, and Itsy Bitsy Spider. She has signs that she made up for each of these and signals to us as she says one word or sound effect from it to tell us which one she wants to sing. Also, their are no bystanders when Audrey is singing, if you are around she points at you and wants you to sing along and do the hand motions...and if you stop, she stops singing and points you out until you start again. Everyone must participate!
• The cutest thing ever is she will be walking around the house and out of the blue start saying "Haaappy!" in the most precious voice. I then ask her, "Who's happy?" and she says, "AAAud". What could make a mom happier than hearing that their child is happy!
• If you ask her "What color are her eyes?" She says, "Booo!" She also knows that Daddy's are "Geeeen" and Mommy's are "Bowww".
• She loves to try and count everything. If you ask her, "How many _____ are there?" She will always say, "Twoo." It works for most body parts except nose and mouth, but she has found away to make nose work. She just sticks her two pointers into her nostrils and says "Twoo!"
• Her favorite songs in the car are: "Boom, Boom Pow" and "Imma Be" by the Black Eyed Peas, "Say Hey" by Michael Ferranti, and "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley. She asks for these over and over again!
• She goes to bed at 9pm and sleeps till 7:30am.
• She loves to eat ALL BERRIES! Especially blueberries or as she calls them "BooBoo's." I even water down Cran-Blueberry juice and give it to her and that is all she ever wants is "BooBoo juice"
• This kid will ask for "Cheeees" at every meal. She definitely got that from her Dad!
• She loves her "Gilk" and starts her day off with two glasses back to back and then will ask for it at least 4 times a day! I usually have to reason with her and coax her into accepting "BooBoo juice" instead! ha!
• She loves talking about the beach!
• Other words she says: Mama, YaDa (Daddy), Sayee (Sadie our puppy), Milll (Millie our other puppy), Mamo (my mom), Hapo (Papo my dad), Sha (Grandma Marcia), Ick (Uncle Eric) sheep, puppy, seee (Horse), duck, book, up, peese (please), thaank (thank you), ore (more), fast and probably so much more that I can't list them. Everyday it's something new...it just amazes me!
• Her 18 month stats: Height 33 1/4" (75th percentile) and Weight 28lbs (85th percentile)

Maroon and White Spring Game

Being the die hard Aggie fans that we are we headed up to College Station for the Spring Game. I usually am not that into the scrimmage, and this year was no different! Even Bryan said it was a really boring game. But hey, we always love visiting Aggieland!

At least we had a good time at Buffalo Wild Wings after!

Fountains at Vintage

She loves staring into the water and waiting for "monies" to throw in!

Mini Beach Vacation

We went to Port Aransas last month for a little mini vacation before baby Natalie gets here. We rented a condo and stayed for a long weekend and had a great time! The first two days we were there our friends The Rose's were there too...so we had a little fun with them. (Especially Audrey and Colin!)

Here Audrey is telling me "Shhh!" She was pounding the big blue exercise ball (like the air log in Gymboree) and then she would stop and pause and say "Shhhh!" Her and Colin had so much fun with that big blue ball!

Reading Colin's books!
It was past both of their bed times, so here they are laying on the ball! They get along so well and are so cute together!
We went and spent the day at the beach...too bad the weather didn't cooperate. It didn't rain, but it was super windy and really cloudy! Audrey absolutely LOVED the beach! She loved the sand, the cold water coming up and getting her toes, and the seagulls! It has been a month since we were there, and she still talks about it like it was yesterday. She signs about the wind, the cold water and the birdies! She can't wait to go back!

Pondering something...

She was more interested in the seagulls than taking a picture with me!Calling the birdies!


Chatting with Daddy before bedtime!

She loved the shark mouth at one of the souvenir shops...she must have run in and out of it a hundred times!

Back at the condo...lounging on the patio!
Me and my love! I love you Audrey...so much!