So Audrey turned one. I figured it was time to update. I have Wimbledon on, which is how I spent much of Audrey's first two weeks, so it is a nice bit of nostalgia. (I could go all stream of consciousness here and talk about the Nostalgia Man, which was(/is?) the guy in the Memphis Redbirds logo which would then make me switch over to baseball and then I would talk about the Chipper Bobble Bundle which is the three-game Durham Bulls ticket package that I purchsed so Patrick could have another bobblehead to destroy, look how off topic I can get, THIS IS HOW MY BRAIN WORKS.)
Anyway. Last Saturday my mom and I went to get Audrey's handprints done in ceramic, glazed and fired and whatnot. We did this for two reasons: (1) we did it for Patrick (when he was 6 months, second child syndrome right there) and (2) I like the handprints but am incapable of producing them myself. I tried. The last night, on her actual birthday, we did one-year pictures including cake smash. I am excited about these but I really wanted the 'golden hour' or whatever before sunset and it was cloudy and the light was not exactly what I had in mind -- but perhaps (probably) I'm idealizing it -- so I may try to do some more on my own.
Wow. Two paragraphs in and I still have not gotten to the point. This is my journalism degree in action. HA.
It is sort of anticlimactic that Audrey is one. Perhaps because she has been walking for more than three months already, she just seems older. Maybe it is the second child thing. I don't know. I successfully took 365 photos so she will have the same book that Patrick got. (WOO!) By this point in his life, Patrick had already spent a weekend with Grandma and Grandpa while Mom and Dad jetted off to Colorado, but Audrey has not had to put up with such a separation. I guess I should get to the damn point and talk about Audrey: Age 1.
Audrey has moved past walking and basically runs everywhere. She knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. She likes to play with her big brother and all his toys. (Poor Patrick. He just sits there. "Mom, she's sitting on me. Audrey's sitting on me. Make her stop.") She loves being outside; she has always been this way. She picks up sticks and mulch and anything she can get her hands out outside. Often, she then tries to eat it. She is not much of a fan of baby food but will try anything we are eating. She grabs anything sweet out of my hand (or mouth) and will not give it back. (Smart girl.) She likes to play in the water, so bathtime is always fun, as is the sprinkler, hose and pool. She is of course fearless so this is not as much fun for Mom and Dad.
In the past month or so, she has gotten much better about sleeping. I am not sure if this is just that she finally go to a good point for HER with regards to sleep or if she realized that I had gotten to a point where I was not going to take it anymore. She now takes a morning nap from roughly 10-noon each day. In her crib. Alone. This is huge. She will also go to sleep at night on her own, most nights. The rest is a bit murkier. She only sleeps for a stretch of 3-4 hours at night. So she goes to bed at 9 but is usually up again wanting to eat around midnight or 1 a.m. She does not want to go back to her crib alone after this point. She also probably still needs an afternoon nap, but if she takes one, she won't sleep at night. I am trying to figure this one out still. Either she's cranky from 3-9pm but goes to sleep easily or she naps from abour 4-5 pm and is much happier but WILL NOT SLEEP. We'll call this a work in progress.
She likes to dance, badly, when she hears any kind of beat. It's cute. She has defeated the baby gate, which we had to put at the foot of the stairs because she kept climbing them.
I am pretty sure Audrey's first "word" was uh oh. She says it when she drops something and it is adorable. I *think* she also says thank you but it is basically unintelligible. But she is always bringing us things and we say thank you (of course) and I have noticed she says it sometimes when I give her things. Well, I have noticed the inflection in what she says sounds like my thank yous. She says, basically, ah oo, which ... every baby says. Perhaps it is my imagination, but I'm going with it. She might also say ball. She will bring you a ball if you ask her to go get her ball. And she has been saying ba/baba for a while but on that one I am not sure if it is just babble or if she really gets it. (Oh what the heck -- my kid is smart! She says ball. Let's go with that one too.)
She does NOT wave byebye. I think this is because she refuses to let me leave her anywhere so we don't get to practice this. She is also not a big fan of clapping, though she will grin hugely if you clap for her. (Ha.) She occasionally will deign to clap.
We are still nursing. I didn't really plan this. I don't necessarily want to keep nursing. But I am pretty sure Audrey does, as she seems unwilling to give it up. We'll see how this goes.
Her party is Saturday. I am excited. I can't believe she's 1. We love her. :)
[Pictures to come!]
