First Steps, Tooth #6, Cigarettes...........

We are so proud to announce that Audrey took her first steps last Monday, September 26th! It is by far one of the most special moments of my life. Audrey and I were playing in the living room, and she was standing up reaching for me to hold her. She had been extra, extra fussy and clingy lately. Instead of picking her up, I tried to get her to walk to me. I do this all the time, so I really wasn't expecting her to do anything. I was half watching tv when I realized she was walking toward me. She took 4-5 little bitty steps toward me. We danced all around the room. I was so excited! I tried it again and the second time she took 3-4 steps toward me. Yay! Happy dance again. I tried for a third time to get her to walk, and she wouldn't have it. By this point she was really getting mad at me. I was just thrilled. It was so fun, and I have to admit, I am so glad her first steps were toward her Mommy. Love love! I hate Andrew missed it, but she did walk a couple of steps for him when he got home from work.

Ever since then she has still not been much of a walker. She has taken steps when we try to get her to walk (well, most of the time) but she is still very much a crawler. This is her perfected "bear crawl".

We were able to capture a few steps on camera.

We had a family park day a few weeks ago. I look forward to more of these now that the weather is cooler. Audrey loves to swing!

Audrey loves spaghetti! I love watching her eat and get messy. She is a hoot!

We moved last weekend to a house in Florence. We absolutely love it! Still unpacking and organizing, but everything has gone pretty smoothly so far.

" There's my daddy!" She is pointing to Andrew working in the yard.

 Audrey is loving digging through the boxes. She has been very "helpful" as we unpack everything. ;)

 If you are not careful, she will hide important things from you in random places. Here are Andrew's car keys in one of her toys.

 We have  a big fenced-in back yard now. Audrey is sitting on her tricycle....her feet do not yet reach the pedals. :)

 Oops! Crash! She fell off as she was attempting to get off of the tricycle. Silly girl! No worries, she wasn't hurt. :)

 Audrey likes the slide, but she hasn't quite figured it out. She tumbled off the back of it yesterday. She wasn't hurt, but it did scare her a little bit.

Audrey had an interesting day yesterday. We went to bible study, and after we had finished, we found her in the bathroom playing in the toilet. There was water all over the floor, her sleeves were wet, and the toilet brush was in the toilet. GROSS! I knew she was being too quiet....I thought she was playing with the other kids. Haha. After bible study, we all went to the park. I kept Audrey in her stroller until she protested so much that I let her out. At this particular park - Marriott park, just so you know - there are lots of cigarette butts on the ground. I do not know why people do not put those in the ash trays designated for them! The one second I turn my head, Audrey puts one in her mouth. There was tobacco all over her hands, around her mouth, and inside her mouth. I feel nauseous every time I think about it! We quickly cleaned her up, but it was tough getting all of the black stuff out of her mouth. I hate to admit, but I think she did swallow some of it. I was worried she might get sick, but so far so good. So.....to all of the cigarette smokers out there....please, PLEASE do not throw them on the ground!!! Especially at a park. Really??

Audrey has learned a new trick. I can say, "Where's Mommy?" and she will point to me. It is so cute!! She has not yet learned to point at her other family members, so right now I am loving that she knows "where mommy is". :)

Audrey got her sixth tooth almost 3 weeks ago. (9-19-11) Weirdly enough, it looks like it has not moved from the day I saw it come in. This tooth has been quite the ordeal as Audrey has been extra fussy, very whiny, and even has had an upset stomach because of it. Thank you to Rhianna for reminding me about children's Advil. Why do we forget the obvious things sometimes? Wow, what a great thing!! It really works. Those swollen gums are no fun. Hopefully it will start moving soon. :P

Audrey also loves shaking her head "no". I can usually ask her a question and she will just start shaking her head no. The other morning Andrew was getting ready to leave for school. He had a test also that day, and I asked Audrey, "Is Daddy going to do good on his test?". Hahaha, she quickly shook her head no. We laughed and laughed. Fortunately, he did do good. I'm glad she was wrong.

She is such a sweet little girl. I love every minute I get to spend with her. I am so very thankful I am getting to stay at home. It is the best job in the world!

I love you, baby girl.