fun holiday package from the Reeses

audrey got such a fun holiday package in the mail, complete with outfits and pajamas for halloween and christmas, plus socks, an elmo christmas book, a halloween costume, a valentine t-shirt and a fun fall dress with a matching hat. she is going to be dressed to the nines! a big thanks to John an Gayle Reese for such a thoughtful "welcome to the world" package for our little princess.

you can't see it in this picture but the sleeper with the pumpkins on the feet has a big pumpkin on the bum! so cute.

i can't wait to get audrey's christmas picture taken in the velvet red dress!

thanks again. we love it.

blame it on the rain and getting over sickness

i have been sick for over a week and even though i am feeling a little bit better, i still have a horrible cough that is waking me and keeping me up at night. my voice sounds a little better too, though not quite back to normal. i have been very glad that audrey has not become sick but dave is not feeling well today and i think i may have given this bug to him. yuck. anyone that knows me knows i have the immune system of an infant (well, maybe weaker than that since audrey hasn't gotten sick yet) and i fear that i will get better just in time to pick it up again from dave (audible sigh). it is tough to be sick when you are the mom. audrey and i have spent most of our week at home in comfy loungewear. let's hope that dave can recover quickly!

today we took the princess to get her pictures taken. i can't wait to get them back, i will post some of them on my blog for sure. as i was getting ready so we could take audrey, i was listening to my ipod and what comes on? blame it on the rain by milli vanilli, haha...i haven't heard this song in years and didn't even realize it was on my ipod. oh, it took me back. whenever i hear this song i think of my friend megan tall. one saturday when we were in sixth grade i had the dreaded chore of cleaning the bathroom. at my house you didn't go and play with your friends until your chores were done, no exceptions. my friend megan wanted to hang out and so she came over and we put on old t-shirts and boxers and got into the shower to scrub it down with scrub brushes as we listened to milli vanilli. ever since, the song "blame it on the rain" reminds me of cleaning the shower with megan that day. this morning i couldn't stop thinking about how nice that was of her. how many friends want to be with you so much that they will clean your family bathroom? not many. in case i didn't say it then, thanks meg.

julie and megan, macaroni grill, february 3, 2000




julie and megan, heritage gardens, june 20, 2006

the bodies exhibit

dave lined up a sitter for audrey and planned a date for us last saturday. it was such a fun day. first he took me to see the bodies exhibit at the leonardo downtown. it was so cool. i have had a new respect for my body since having little audrey and this exhibit left me in awe of all that our bodies do for us every day. there were a few moments during the two plus hours we were there that i got a little emotional. it was fascinating to see each part of the human body and read about it's function and how it interacts with the other systems in the body. i would strongly encourage anyone who hasn't seen it to go. it is incredible.

dave and i then jumped in the car and drove to the movies. we saw lakeview terrace. although it was not the best movie in the world, it was entertaining enough and it was fun to be together.

then we went out to dinner and ordered fun fruity drinks and talked and laughed and really just enjoyed each other.

thank you dave for planning this fun day for us. thank you for being such a great husband and father. thank you for taking the overnight shifts with audrey so i can sleep and be rested for the day. i love being a mom so much. i am hopelessly devoted to our baby girl who i adore more than i could ever have imagined. it was nice to get out and spend some quality one-on-one time with you because as much as i love being a mom i love being a wife, more specifically, your wife.

two months old

my dear sweet little audrey jane,

today you are two months old. i can hardly believe it. it was heartbreaking to watch you get your shots on friday. you turned bright red and stopped breathing for a few seconds before you started screaming. tears were just streaming down your face. daddy and i just held you afterward and you calmed right down. you were sleeping before we even left the doctor's office. you now weigh 11 pounds 14 oz. you are such a strong little girl. your pediatrician was impressed when we told him that you are already rolling over because that is a four month milestone and you have it down at just two months old.

you are so verbal. when daddy and i talk to you, you always respond with all sorts of noises, cooing and gurgling in delight. you love to sing. i notice it most when i sing you lullabies, i can hear you "hmm hmm hmming" rhythmically to the song i am singing like you are singing along. you are always flashing us big smiles. ana spent lots of time with you when you were brand new, just home from the hospital. she said you were the most smiley baby she had ever seen. one of your favorite things to do is to kick your legs. you don't enjoy tummy time and you now almost always roll over so you can be on your back. you have discovered your tongue. you often stick it out and look around (almost as if you are rolling your eyes, haha. dad says you got that trait from mom) and it makes us laugh. you sneeze in multiples, usually four at a time. you love to blow bubbles and do rasberries with your tongue. i love you my baby girl. i love holding you in my arms and locking eyes with you. i love watching you watch the world around you with eyes full of wonder and your response to every new thing. you love music, whether it is a lullaby in the evening or a fun activity song dad is singing to you at playtime, music calms you.

your new toy this week is your bumbo seat. we sat you down in it on sunday and you weren't sure what to think of it at first. you were ready for something else after ten minutes...but today you were happy as a lark for about twenty-five minutes. way to go princess!

i think about how fast time has gone since you were born and i want to slow it down. i want you to be my baby girl forever. dad says you are never going to grow up and get married because he wants you to stay his baby girl forever too. i think that even when you are a grown woman with children of your own, to me you will still be my baby girl to love, nurture, protect, and take care of.

daddy and i could never express the love we have for you our little audrey jane. you are the most precious and important thing in the world to us.

love, mommy

this one makes me laugh

with her little tongue out

caught her on camera mid-sneeze


here are her two month pictures we had taken at a studio:

so long, farewell...

today i told my boss that i would not be returning to work when my leave was up. it is hard to believe that i am not going to be going back. i am going to miss my friends and coworkers there a lot. i feel very lucky to be able to stay home with my audrey. today was also the first day of my new job. i got a job i am able to do from home when i have time here and there while audrey is napping or dave is home. it does not have the social benefits that my last job had, but being able to work in my pajamas is a definite perk.

a little video

my strong little girl

a big thanks to my sister rachel and nephew jj for watching audrey for a few hours for me today. that was so sweet of you rach. i know you probably just wanted to lay down and rest (that is all i wanted to do when i was pregnant and i didn't even have a two year old to chase after) and instead you not only watched audrey but you made zucchini bars too. you are supermom! jj was so good to her. rachel showed me a little video tape of her crying and jj rubbed her belly and said, "what's the matter princess?" haha, is that the cutest thing you have ever heard? anyway, i guess audrey rolled over twice today. what a strong little girl! not even eight weeks yet and rolling over like a champ. i think it is just a testament to how much she hates tummy time, haha.

not really a tag

even though this is a tag, since i wasn't "tagged" by anyone, it is just a list of stuff about me.

I am: a mother
I think: i need to be perfect to be lovable
I know: my husband and daughter love me even though i am so far from perfect
I want: more time to sleep
I have: a love of rainy days
I dislike: insincerity
I miss: my dad
I fear: sickness
I feel: joy in seeing audrey smile
I hear: the tv in the background
I smell: nothing...ever.
I crave: more sleep
I cry: when i am tired
I usually: sing in the shower
I search: for the good in people
I wonder: how long I will live
I regret: the times i have been unkind
I love: when my house is clean
I care: about other people's feelings
I always: drink diet coke with lime when i have mexican food
I worry: about my health
I am not: as crafty as i wish i was
I believe: that people work hard and do the best they can
I sing: louder when i am alone
I don't always: keep my cell phone charged
I argue: when i need attention
I write: lists of things that make me happy when i feel down
I win: when i stop thinking about myself
I lose: when i compare myself to other people
I wish: i had finished school
I listen: to music when i clean the house
I can usually be found: kissing my baby girl
I am scared: of the dark
I forget: where i put my keys
I am happy: when i hear my husband laugh

like mother, like daughter??

after reading the comments posted by my sisters about audrey's resemblance to me in her pictures, i thought i would post pictures of audrey and i at exactly the same age and let all of you be the judge...



julie ann, september 8, 1979



audrey jane, september 9, 2008

seven weeks old

audrey is seven weeks old today! here are some pictures i took of her yesterday afternoon. i wasn't planning on taking pictures but i set her down and she was looking so sweet and calm so i grabbed the camera and kept taking pictures until she fell asleep. some of them are awake pictures and some are asleep pictures.


one of my favorites


her inquisitive look, she gets this expression when she is studying something...


she was kicking her leg in her sleep, it was so cute


her favorite way to hold her hands, everyone asks me if i pose her this way. nope, it is just her thing.


funny expression


beginning of a yawn


sweet smile...she smiles like this frequently when she sleeps. i always wonder what she is dreaming about. at least i know she is having sweet dreams.

back in the saddle again

being that my feet are still too big for any of my shoes (hopefully they will go back down and one day all my old shoes will fit me again)i purchased these new temporary running shoes and headed to the gym this evening. it has been quite a while since i have worked out and even though i am a long way from my goal, it felt good to get out there and sweat.

six weeks old

today audrey is six weeks old. we had a little baby photo shoot this morning with our big camera and not just the one on my cell phone and i was able to catch some really cute little shots of her. i know that most of my recent posts have been about audrey and this is becoming a baby blog but that is pretty much what i do these days and she is my life right now...and it is much easier to post photos on this blog than to send out pictures by email to family and friends.