About Me

Hi! I'm Abby. My husband, Carl, and I are happily married since October 2007. Our little family of 2 (well, 3 if you count Chief, the dog) added one more in October 2011 when we welcomed Audrey Elizabeth, our first child into the world. Our life was forever changed. And to add to the joy and excitement, we added another daughter, Clara Marie, in May 2014. I wanted to create this blog originally to document all the milestones throughout my pregnancy with Audrey so we could remember that special time in our lives. And now I get to write all about Audrey and Clara and our life with these amazing "Larson Ladies", which is so much more fun!

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Saturday, December 8, 2012

Audrey's 1-Year Pictures

On October 8th, we hired a photographer to take Audrey's 1-year pictures.  It was a lot of fun!  We went up to Cantigny, this beautiful park in Wheaton, IL.  The weather was a bit colder than we had anticipated, but I love how the pictures turned out with us in our outerwear.  Audrey was a good sport, very cooperative and fun for the photographer.  And the pictures turned out great!

Here are some of our favorites:




























Audrey is 1 year old!



They took her official weight and length at her 12-month wellness check (no shots!):
Weight:  22.6 lbs (~70th percentile)
Length:  31.5 in (~95th percentile!)

Clothes:  18 months
Diaper:  Size 4

Food:  We can officially start transitioning Audrey from formula over to whole (Vitamin D) milk.  We're transitioning gradually, starting off with 1 or 2 bottles per day of milk instead of formula.  Each week, we are going to switch out 1 more bottle a day until she is completely off the formula.  Can't wait until then!  Dr. Tess said that obviously Audrey is a good eater so he was pretty laid-back about her eating schedule/routine.  He told me that we could continue with our current routine, 3 solid food meals a day with 5 milk/formula bottles (or sippy cups) throughout the day, and test out new things to get her to eat more table and solid food than milk/formula so she gets the majority of her nutrients from solids.  We'll work up to that. Sometimes at dinner we feed her the solid food first and then follow with milk/formula.  We'll start doing that more regularly in the near future.

Sleep:  Audrey sure sleeps well at night.  It's all that moving around all day... that girl is on the go constantly!  She sleeps straight through from 8pm-6am (or later sometimes on the weekend).  She also has been consistently taking a 2 hour nap from 11am-1pm and snoozing for about 15 minutes on our way home from daycare.  Well, maybe I should clarify... she takes a good, consistent 2 hour nap at home on the weekends, and at daycare it's more like 90 minutes.

Teeth:  Audrey still has about the same # of teeth - 2 on top, 4 on bottom - and they are growing in a lot more.

It was an exciting month for Audrey!  She officially took her first steps on September 17th, 2012.  And now... watch out!  That girl can walk.  And quickly.  For about 1 week now, she's been walking the full length from the loft into our (Carl and my) bedroom.  She loves climbing into and on top of anything she can... diaper box, laundry basket, toy stroller, her toy box... anything.  She also loves pushing things... again, diaper box, laundry basket, toy stroller, and also a cool toy that Grandma & Gramps Patton got Audrey as an early birthday present.
Playing in the diaper box
Climbing in the laundry basket

Here is a video Gramps took of Audrey pushing that toy on 9/29/12 while we were visiting their house:

Audrey taking a couple steps, 9/23/12:

Doing "The Frankenstein", 10/4/12:

10/14/12:


This past month, we also did a lot to prepare for and celebrate Audrey's 1st birthday.  We took pictures with a professional photographer, Carl and I took her pictures at home with a "smash cake", and we also had a big party with friends and family!  I will post separate posts with her 1-year pictures and of the birthday party.

I cannot even believe it has been 1 year since Audrey was born.

I was looking at the clock on the morning of her 1st birthday at 5:56am on 10/15/12, and I got a little emotional thinking back.  Exactly 1 year ago at that exact time, Audrey was born.  That was such a special day... really, truly the happiest day of my life.  This first year has been a journey, and I would go back and do it all over again with our little Audrey Bear.  She is a joy and so laid-back and such a wonderful little girl.  What a blessing to Carl and me!  I love her to pieces!  And I know Carl feels the same way.
The birthday girl!
10/15/12
10/15/12
Our Birthday Girl!

Audrey opens her birthday presents from Mom & Dad:

Eating a Birthday Cupcake:

It was an exciting month, and our Audrey Bear is proving that she steals our heart more and more each day... if that's even possible.  There is so much laughter and joy in our house, and that little girl is usually the center of it.

Happy 1st Birthday, Audrey!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Audrey is 11 months old!





Dancing to Pandora on Auntie Ash's iPhone

Can you see my top 2 teeth?

Weight:  22.5 lbs (approx)
Length:

Clothes:  12 months & 18 months (12-18 months)

Diaper:  size 4

Food:  I believe that 22.5lbs is in the 90 percentile for 11 months - wow!  Needless to say, Audrey is a really good eater.  :)  Seriously, she will eat anything she can get her hands on.  Tonight I was eating a cheeseburger while she was having her "dinner bottle", and she was pretty persistent about having pieces of my cheeseburger.  She's had a lot of table food over this past month:  steak, chicken, soft vegetables, fruit, taco meat, lettuce, cheese, bread.  Really anything I'm eating, she gets to taste.  She even had more birthday cake this month as we celebrated my birthday.  1 more month and she'll be eating her own cake!

Sleep:  Audrey, again this month, was a consistent sleeper!  She's still sleeping very well from 8pm to 6am (sometimes longer on the weekends!) every night.  And she's napping pretty consistently, too.  She's been sleeping at least 90 minutes during naptime recently.  That's really good for her.  She is on-the-go constantly during the day... I think she wears herself out!  

Teeth:  Audrey now has her front 2 teeth on the top and 4 on the bottom...6 teeth total!  About 2 weeks ago, Audrey's b.m.'s were really loose and consistently leaking/exploding out of her diapers.  Even the big diapers!  There were many outfit changes, some extra baths, and many "you got this one" arguments between Carl and me! Oh, I'm just kidding... it was a team effort.  ;)

Here is a video from this past month.  Just a typical night at our house... Audrey wanted to show us all of her tricks!


Maci Whetstone turned 2 on August 18th, and Audrey and I went down to their house in Maroa for the party.  It was the first time that Maci, Audrey, and Colby Marr were together.  Look how well they played together!  
Note: It is impossible to get a picture of all 3
paying attention at the same time!

The party was a safari theme. Loved Maci's
giraffe headband and cute dress!

On Labor Day, we spent our day off at the Brookfield Zoo with Adam and Laura Hardy and their twins.  It really was a lot of fun!  Audrey is such a people watcher that she cared more about the kids and people than she did about the animals.  


Brennon & Adalee Hardy (9 months), Audrey

Audrey started swim lessons this month at the Lockport Park District.  She loves the pool, doesn't mind going under water, and loves chewing on the rubber ducky toys.



(Sorry the video is sideways... I can't find a way to "flip" it)


More pics from this past month:
"I love my Daddy!"

Audrey's Sox hat... from Grandma & Grandpa Larson!

Audrey loves Gramps' kisses

Reflecting...

Auntie Ashley love at Cacciatore Stadium watching
Auntie Amber play in the DePaul softball alumni game

Auntie Ash and Auntie Ber