MiMi Visits and Audrey Update

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After Kevin’s wedding, MiMi came back to San Diego for a visit with the girls and helped me while Jeremy was out of town. As usual, Bella and MiMi had a blast together. They made it to the zoo twice – played countless hours of doctor and MiMi even made a surprise visit to her preschool as a mystery reader. We also hung out a Moonlight beach and MiMi did a little bonding with Audrey while I headed out to the gym. At the end of this post are some of the photos. It was a wonderful visit!

I also wanted to update a little about what is going on with Audrey. It is amazing to me how things change with her weekly – and I don’t feel like I’ve posted enough about her growth. Boy – is she GROWING! Some of the things she loves to do right now that I never want to forget:

  • She crawls SO fast – and loves it when Bella crawls with her for a race or sets up an obstacle course for her.
  • She will mimic you if you stick your tongue out with lilulilulilu sounds – it is hilarious.
  • She can clap on command
  • She is eating more finger foods – peas, broccoli, tofu, soft cooked carrots, blueberries
  • She is so determined – and does not like it if you take anything she is into away – she is not easily distracted either
  • She doesn’t really sleep that much. 7pm-5am is pretty normal with 1 one hour nap a day plus *maybe* a catnap in the afternoon. But she seems to function fine on that amount of sleep – she just barely makes it to 7pm though.
  • She has been sick since labor day. Seriously, snotty nose always…maybe a cold, maybe allergies, maybe teething…who knows? Wonder what she would sleep like if she could breathe.
  • She is very attached to the people she knows well – and is now a little hesitant to move to “new” people – but can be persuaded easier than Bella was at this age. (For example, she was fine with MiMi after a little bonding time or she will tolerate the gym daycare…) She loves the moment Jeremy comes home – and gets mad and cries if he heads straight upstairs to change without giving her what she feels is a proper greeting!
  • She is a great eater as long as it is something she likes. If she doesn’t like it, or is done – she literally spits it all over. It is actually really funny, but I don’t laugh because I don’t want to encourage her.

She is just this beautiful bright happy star – and I’m having so much fun in her babyhood enjoying her sweetness and cuddliness. She gives everyone in the family heartwarming smiles that change the day. We are so lucky to have her. I love you sweet little Audrey!

 


Welcome to the family, Aunt Shawna!

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This past weekend the family went to Las Vegas for Kevin & Shawna’s wedding.

Shawna has particularly endeared herself to me from the first time we met.  My mom was in the hospital in critical condition and (having no experience with babies) she agreed to care for Audrey when she was just a wee four weeks old. She would play with her, change her, and get her down for naps and then bring her to me at the hospital every three hours to nurse. She followed all my crazy instructions. She was so cool under pressure. Most people would be a bit stressed caring for a newborn for the first time – in a small hotel room at that – but she was as graceful as an experienced caregiver. She and Audrey had an immediate bond, and I noticed this weekend whenever they were in the same room, Audrey couldn’t get enough of looking at her…(of course, she did look like a princess in that dress and hairband – at least that is what Bella thought…so that could have been the reason too!) She was there for Kevin during the stress, and available to my mom for whatever she needed. I remember clearly saying to Kevin after only knowing her for mere hours – “You need to marry this one!!” He said he already had plans in the works for it…

This summer we got to hang again during our trip in Big Sky – and she and Bella hit it off as well. She even endured a long hike with all of the young ones with total patience as the cousins teased each other and took all of her mints, begging to stay by her the whole time. She is fun for us adults to hang with as well, thoughtful on top of all that helpfulness – and that seals the deal for me (not that I really had any say in the matter… 🙂

I couldn’t be happier for Kevin – as this is the happiest he has looked in years – and I also couldn’t be happier for our family getting to welcome such a wonderful sister-in-law into the mix. We had a great time at the wedding visiting with everybody – and Bella in particular had a great time with all the Lei’s at the reception dinner. 🙂

Congrats to my awesome brother and sis-in-law!