party for our little cupcake

i am posting a ton of pictures because i can't pick between them. we had a professional photographer (my dad) and ten other family members with cameras so we got a ton of pictures. if you are not into that kind of thing, skip this post.

audrey jane turns one on the twenty-third of july but since she had cousins, aunts and uncles in town for the fourth, we did her cupcake party then.

the birthday girl after her nap





her party outfit



the party paparazzi



the decorations



the grandparents





the cuzzies (brody was asleep)





when Brody woke up



the food - we had mini pizzas (not pictured) chips, mandarin oranges and drinks



the cake



when she first saw the cake


trying to lick the cake












what do you get when you rub your eye with a hand full of frosting? pink eye!


when audrey was done, everyone else had to try the giant cupcake, yummy.



Clark did some decorating in the living room and then he and JJ tooked turns jumping over the crepe paper





coloring paper cupcakes







Clark singing happy birthday to Audrey


everybody decorated their own cupcake. we had strawberry, chocolate and yellow cupcakes (some were dyed green and blue) and chocolate, vanilla and cream cheese frosting and little bowls of assorted candy, sprinkles and chocolate chips

the cupcakes



Kate with her cupcake





Auntie Laura and Kate


the opening of presents

is this how i feed the baby?


giving her baby doll a kiss


loves her little batons


Auntie Melissa reading to Audrey


Clark was such a good helper, he helped Audrey open all her presents


Audrey loves anything that makes noise


Audrey's favorite movie is "Snow White"











a big thank you to everyone who helped put up the decorations, cook the pizzas, took pictures and brought such sweet and generous gifts for audrey. it was such a great day for me and my little family...hope you all had as much fun at the cupcake party as we did.

a little update

here are some photos from recent events:

riding the paddle boats at the tidal basin





audrey and i went to san diego for nine days and got to spend time with Madison and Mitchell.

Mitchell in his three pig opera


good times with cuzzies...audrey would always grab for Mitchell's hair


sometimes she would get it and not want to let go but Mitchell was always patient with her.


Madison is not praying, they are clapping and trying to get audrey to clap (notice that Mitchell has moved his hair out of audrey's reach, haha).


audrey's first time on a swing (she was a little unsure at first and then she loved it).





love her little smile in this one


it was such an easy transition to go from swaddling to not swaddling, and she always sleeps on her tummy now


this girl LOVES snow white, if i have cleaning or cooking to do i put it on for her and she is happy as a clam for at least an hour (this day she watched the whole movie without moving from that spot).

yay audrey

audrey's favorite thing is when she gets applause. she loves when we tell her she has done a good job and she especially loves when we clap our hands and yell, "Yay Audrey!" when we were driving back from the grocery store i thought i heard her clapping and she has always loved the clapping sound she can make by banging her open palm on her high chair or one of our arms. we got home, i put her in her bumbo and i started clapping and cheering for her and she would mimic me with cheering and clapping. i tried a couple of times to get it on my phone and finally i ran and grabbed my camera and i got it. she is such a happy little girl.

Happy Mother's Day to my LOVE!!

I was looking for a great picture to post for your first 'official' Mother's day and this is the one I absolutely adore. When I watch you with baby, I see the same tenderness and love captured in this photo on the day she was born.



Happy Mother's Day, Love!

oldest baby ever to be swaddled

okay so my little princess is 9.5 months old and still needs to be swaddled tight in order to fall asleep and stay asleep. i have tried several times to break her of the habit but always resort back to swaddling so we can all get some sleep (especially because she has been sick). i no longer feel comfortable with her being swaddled though. she moves around too much and rolling over is her favorite thing to do so i feel it is dangerous to keep her swaddled in case she rolled over in her swaddle. i am listening to her cry right now. i have gone in a few times to soothe her and put her binky back in but it only keeps her calm for about five minutes. i would appreciate any tips on how to de-swaddle a baby. i know if i went in their and bundled her up and put her binky in her mouth she would turn her head to the side and fall right asleep. i am prepared for a few sleepless nights while she is learning but i would love any suggestions to make this transition easier for her. i just don't think she feels secure without being swaddled.

last night she fell asleep in her high chair at dinner and when i picked her up she wouldn't even lean on my shoulder even though she was sleepy (she has never been one to lean her head on her mommy or daddy's shoulders, she wants to have her head upright even at her most exhausted) so i know it is going to be difficult to teach her to sleep on her own. i will keep you updated.

this and that

everyone has been sick at our house and i have not been very good at keeping this blog updated. i have just uploaded my pictures from my little camera and i have not done that since february so i have plenty of pictures to post. dave is enjoying his new job but not the commute. my mom and i went to lunch at coastal flats on wednesday, that was fun. i bought a new pair of shoes that i was really excited about, loved them the first time i wore them and then the second time they cut into my heels and gave me blisters because my feet were too swollen...i am really frustrated with not being able to wear shoes. the swelling in my feet always comes back. even when the swelling goes down, it is always just temporarily. i am sending the shoes (cute red strappy mary janes) with my parents to jerusalem to give to mariah. i hope they fit her and won't be a complete waste of money. hmm, what else?? dave and i are off sugar for the month of may and i have been doing jillian michaels thirty day shred. i am currently on day three.

audrey is a champ at rolling to what she wants. she rolls across the room and i imagine she will be crawling soon. she is so playful and loves to play with her mom and dad, her grandparents and the dog.

here are a few pictures of recent happenings:

the view on our hike at torrey pines in san diego


thomas singing "the highwayman" (the poem my mom would read to us when we were little) to my mom during the program for her birthday


my coupon shopping trip. this all cost me $15.31. i saved $18.59 in coupons. i was making a cake for truman's birthday and the snickers were at his request. the frosting tubs were fifty cents a tub. i need to continue shopping with coupons since groceries cost so much here.


some cute shots of audrey:





in a darling outfit from Edee and Brooklyn Proctor (thanks!):











she was playing and she started to whine while i was cleaning the kitchen so i walked over and she had gotten herself tangled up in her activity gym:





who's that kid with the oreo cookie?




here are a few that dave snapped when we were knockin' around old town alexandria:




portrait taken 4/28/09