Hamming it up for the camera

Birthday Pancakes

We now have a 1 year old!

Five seconds after we put the plate in front of her!

Ready to party!

Happy Happy Happy Birthday!

Dear Aubrey,

I cannot believe you are already a year old.  It seems like yesterday we were bringing this sweet newborn baby home from the hospital.

Just days old

You have brought so much joy to our lives.  Even at such a young age you can make us all laugh- your sweet giggle, a funny face or your own unique crawl.  

Smilie Jane

You love to eat- meals, snacks, and milk.  Your favorite snack is crackers.  I call you Trouble, you are very curious and love to explore things.  You have been a good baby.  You seem happiest when you stick to your schedule. 

Aubrey sporting a hat and some attitude

You really like gadgets like remote controls and cell phones- basically anything that isn't a toy.  You love people.  You are a very social baby.  Your big sister, Lily Kate, is one of your favorites.

Your dad and I are so thankful God chose us to be your parents.  We are so grateful to have seen you grow this year.  You are such a blessing.  We love you so much!  Happy 1st Birthday, Aubrey!

~Mom & Dad

Just a Swangin'

Blueberries for Lil

Ever since we read Blueberries for Sal (over a year ago) I have been wanting to go blueberry picking.  Thankfully we didn't have to climb a mountain and didn't encounter any bears.

Today the girls and I met up with Karen and Benjamin to pick blueberries.  The nearest berry farm (Bush-N-Vine) is about 45 minutes from here, so it was a hike...but well worth it!

Only a few berries made it to Lily Kate's bucket

Aubrey sweating in the shade

Totally opposite of her sister, Aubrey wouldn't eat a single berry.  She spit out the one I put in her mouth.  She doesn't realize what she is missing out on!

Karen and Benjamin picking berries-
 Benjamin is buried in the bushes :)

We got fresh peaches, green beans, green peppers, and cucumbers.  I'm excited to use it all for dinner.  Now I just need to come up with some recipes to use up all of these blueberries and peaches.

Say What?

I just started reading When I Lay My Isaac Down by Carol Kent.  This quote introduces Chapter One and I had to share it.

"There are moments when God makes utter and complete sense to us, and then suddenly, life changes and he seems a foreign remnant of a childhood force-fed faith..."Lord, give us eyes to see your coming and going, ears to hear your voice and your silence, hands to hold your presence and your absence, and faith to trust your unchanging nature in all seasons.""

-Elisa Morgan

Wordless Wednesday

Night on the Town

At the Hilton

Stephen's "class" and some of the faculty

Getting his diploma

Shivani & I

Bachelor Aint Got Nothing On Me

Every season I say I'm not going to watch it, and then inevitably, there is nothing else on TV so I watch one episode and I'm hooked.  

I love the date in the Bachelor when they go shopping and the date gets to pick out anything she wants.  Well last night, I had that date (except we also had our two lovely shopping assistants with us :))  The Resident Graduation Banquet is tonight and I wanted to get a new dress.   Stephen pulled out all the stops...he got me new everything! I can't wait for my date tonight!

Sneak peak...more pics to come!

A Little Help from My Friends

 Holding a lightening bug...when i snapped this shot it had landed on the storm door.  (look at the railing)

She does a great job dressing herself.  Sometimes she just needs a little extra help :)

I Can't Stop the Rain

I hate it when people I love are hurting.  This week, three of the people I am closest to are hurting.  I want to fix it, and make it better.  I want to hold them until the pain goes away.  I want to cry with them and eat ice cream by the pint.  It’s times like this when I have to let go and let God.  The Bible tells us in James 5:16 That prayer, while often my last resort, "the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much".  And in the valleys it is the only thing this fixer can do.

These lyrics are so powerful.  But selfishly, I don't want them to have to go through these trials!  

I Get Around

If you follow my blog for kid friendly things to do, cool places to eat, or the recipes: I will apologize ahead of time.  This post is for the grandparents!

Aubrey has her own unique way of getting around.  It functions...it's just not typical.

Say Click...Take a Pic

The dentist recommended that Lily Kate stop sucking her thumb.  I was a little worried when she suggested it because the first time we breached the subject Lily Kate got incredibly upset (waterworks).  That was about a year ago, so when we brought it up again, Lily Kate was on board.  We made a chart with eleven boxes on it (her choice).  Then each naptime and night that she didn't suck her thumb she got to put a sticker on the chart.  Today she put the final sticker on!  

Here she is with her chart and her new camera

Once she decided on her prize, it was pretty simple for her to quit.  We went as a family to Target tonight to get her prize!

She took pictures of everything once we got home.  Her favorite subject was Reese (poor guy).  Here's a few of her best:

We are so proud of the beautiful girl that she is becoming.  And incredibly grateful that she won't suck her thumb until she's six (like her mom did :))

Toy Story Campout

One thing I love about our church is that they always go all out when it comes to the preschool programming.  This summer they are offering several day camps for preschoolers and today was Lily Kate's first one: Toy Story Camp- You've got a Friend in Me!

 When I told Lily Kate about the day camps...she started calling it the Toy Story Campout.

A braid like Jessie

Giving Buzz some love all the way to church

A Mr. Potato Head craft, an alien magnet
and they painted Hamm piggy banks

They learned Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loves at all times"

Lily Kate wanted to make a video to tell you all about it.

She also wanted to show you how to play Hot Potato -but the camera memory card was full. :(

Cutest.Pictures.Ever.

I have been very delinquent in having the girls pictures made.  With Lily Kate, I had professional pictures taken every 3 months.  Aubrey has only been to the photographer 3 times- one of those being her newborn pictures!  

Last Friday, I met with Jennifer Hogan, the photographer who did Aubrey's newborn pictures.  I am amazed at the shots she captured during our half hour session at Freedom Park.   Here are a few of my favorites:

How Aubrey felt about the whole ordeal- she wasn't feeling
well, but Jennifer still got her to cooperate!

She's all girl- she hated having her feet in the dirt!

If you are in the Charlotte area check out Hogan Imaging the next time you need some pictures taken!  And while you are there, check out the cutest newborn on the website :)

Imagination Station

I am constantly amazed at the creative play that Lily Kate comes up with.  She loves to pretend to bake, play doctor and take care of her babies.  This week she added hairstylist to her list of pretend occupation.  She gave me two pony tails and several spritz of detangler as my hairstyle. 

She decided to put on every necklace
 that she owns- all at once!

Aubrey is my curious child, she is always into everything- rearranging the DVDs, making sure the remote works, helping me send text messages.  Yesterday I caught her playing with LK's baby doll.  She was sharing her toys with Chloe.

Pools Out for the Summer!

Stephen had a Board Review Course this Saturday...so how did the girls and I spend our Saturday: on the back porch in the pool!

Lily Kate testing out the slide

She would have stayed out all day if I would have agreed to it!  We swam in the morning and after nap.  Aubrey "wasn't a fan" but I know she will come around.  She has a virus, so she hasn't been herself lately.