Halloween, Vacation, and all the stuff in between!

It's been a little while since we had a chance to share Aubrey's latest adventures, and daddy's slight laziness coupled with our busy schedules lately are to blame...it's not all lazy daddy's fault!

 A lot has happened in the past few weeks, with a trip to the pumpkin patch, a trip to Wisconsin (yikes!) and Aubrey's first meal of gourmet rice cereal.

  We saw pig races, what seemed like millions of pumpkins, and lots of people enjoying the warm fall day.

We made our annual trip back to Wisconsin in Late October also, and it wouldn't be an official visit without going to the cheese factory! Aubrey met the other side of her family, who were all anxious to see the cute wiggle worm in person. We had a great time, but now realize why people with children refer to these visits as "trips" and not vacations...we were pretty worn out by the time we got home. It was good to be back and visit though.

On the shore of Lake Michigan

As to not overwhelm anyone with cute baby pictures, we'll save the rice cereal escapades for tomorrow, but come back and bring a bib, it was messy!

Memories

 We  recently had a liquid amber tree planted in our front yard in memory of Kristen's grandparents, who both passed away earlier this year. We were fortunate enough to live across the street from them and be able to stop by and say hi every so often. Grandpa was always outside as much as he could be, making sure his lawn and plants were trimmed and neat looking. He would always attach a portable sprinkler to the hose so he could give a little extra attention to the spots the irrigation system didn't quite reach. I'm sure his yard was always the envy of the entire street. Grandpa's trash cans were always the first out for pick up and the first back in the yard after the trash truck came by, and I was able to help him out with this when more of his time was needed to care for Grandma. It may seem like a simple job, but I was always more than happy to do it because before Kristen and I were married he would always come across the street and put out the trash cans for her. For me, it was a way to say thank you for years of helping out my wife.
 Grandpa never got to meet his great-grand daughter but would always smile and his face would brighten up when we talked about how we were setting up the nursery or how she was getting closer and closer to arriving.            


Grandma was able to meet her great-grand daughter and spend some time with her, which was really neat. When Kristen would take Aubrey across the street Grandma would smile and look at her, and it was very special to be able to have 4 generations together for a little bit! No matter what is going on in life, it seems like a baby can always bring a smile to the face and the heart. I know our family will always cherish the memories we have, and the stories we will be able to tell our kids about their great-grandparents as we sit in the shade of our tree on a warm summer day.

Great-Grandam, Grandma, Mommy and Aubrey!

                                                                                                        

     

Spa Time!

Aubrey had her first adventure in the spa last weekend! The weather was nice, the water was warm, and we decided it was time for our little girl to get her feet wet. At first she seemed a little surprised but quickly decided that this wasn't so bad. Aubrey spent a few minutes soaking everything in, and then it was on to bath time inside. I'm pretty sure as she gets older it will be harder and harder to drag her out of the spa, we may have to invest in some little wind up sharks to chase her out.

Good times were had by all, and I'm sure in no time at all our backyard will be full of little people screaming and yelling and playing in the water while daddy sneaks up on everyone with the garden hose...those will be the days :)

Beach Day

Mommy took Aubrey to Coronado for her first overnight trip to the beach this weekend, and I think she could quite easily turn into a beach baby.

She got to spend some quality time with Grandma and Papa, and Aunt Nikki too. Daddy missed out on this trip but maybe I'll be able to make it next time. Daddy did get some quality time counting sheep, and slept in till 7:45!!! It makes me a little sad that this is what sleeping in has turned into, but if I dwell on that too much this will turn into a big whiney blog and we'll avoid that for today. Mommy and Daddy are already thinking about the days when Aubrey can hang out on the beach and test out the ocean, I'm sure that time will come before we know it!


Aubrey hanging out with Mr Elephant, her
faithful companion

Stuff Aubrey Likes

My daughter is amused by the most random things so far, which is nice as most random things are free (I fear her entertainment will only become more expensive as she gets older).

Baths
Looking surprised to see her
Ceiling fans
T.V (I try to limit her to watching sports but Mommy is sabotaging my efforts here)
Putting her whole hand in her mouth
Cuddling with Mommy and Daddy

I'm sure before we know it she'll be playing with our keys and phones, so we're just going to enjoy the simple things that make our daughter happy and smiley :)

 All wrapped up after her bath

Watching the Dodger game with Daddy

Yay for the internet!

This is our first foray into the blogging world, so please excuse any general mistakes along the way until we figure out how the heck this thing works. The goal of this whole deal is that friends and family who aren't in the neighborhood can still get their fill of our little munchkin and her adventures. I know, it sounds noble and makes us seem like great responsible parents, but truthfully my daughter has more posts on my facebook page than I do lately and it makes me realize that I may not be very exciting anymore....so here's her very own blog!!!

Obligatory cute baby picture here

We'll do our best to keep updating all the adventures that Miss Aubrey has, with plenty of pictures and all that good stuff. We already have what has to be at least a million pictures of her, so there will be no shortage of adorable baby in various poses. Now it's nap time so we'll catch you later!


She's been asleep for twenty minutes already so hopefully daddy can catch some zzz's for a bit :)