9 Months

Aubrey was 9 months old on Monday. Here a couple of videos that have been made over the past few days.

Dancing Aubrey

Jumping Aubrey

Mount Rushmore - Part 2

On Wednesday, we headed to Deadwood and Sturgis. Deadwood was very disappointing. There's hardly any history left to the town. It is just filled with casinos. We did visit a replica of the saloon where Bill Hickok was killed, but we had to walk through a bar/casino to get to it. I guess I can say I've been there now.

Aubrey also got very sick on Wednesday. She wouldn't keep anything down, including Pedialyte. About 11 pm, we took her to the ER in Custer because we were afraid she was getting dehydrated. She was not dehydrated but she was diagnosed with another ear infection. Since she wasn't keeping anthing down, the doctor decided to give her a shot instead of the liquid antibiotic. She wasn't happy about that, but there was a very noticeable difference in her the next day. Aubrey was back to her happy self by Friday.

We headed for Mount Rushmore on Thursday. Here are some of the pictures we took. Enjoy!!

Mount Rushmore - Part 1

Last week, we ventured to South Dakota to visit Mount Rushmore. I highly recommend it. It is so beautiful and there are so many things to do there. We left a day earlier because we weren't sure how Aubrey was going to make the trip. We wanted to get there in 2 days, but we allowed 3 days just in case.

Aubrey was great. She's an excellent traveler. I sat in the back seat with her and she mostly slept the whole way. Of course, that means she was up all night, but it was worth it. I just made sure to bring lots of toys and snacks to keep her happy.

The first day we made it to York, Nebraska. In the morning, we stopped in Kearney, Nebraska to visit the North Platte Archway Museum. This museum stretches across Interstate 80 and it takes you back in time to pioneer days across the Oregon Trail.

Our happy traveler

Kissing her Harley doll

Checking out the buffalo at the museum

Aubrey Stands!!

It's so hard to believe that only 8 months ago, Aubrey was a tiny newborn and all she did was eat, sleep and poop. She's come a long way. She can pull up and stand on her own, and you should see her face when she does it. She's so proud of herself.

This is how I found her one morning.

Aubrey also likes to play in the clean laundry. First, she flipped the basket on it's side and then proceeded to dig the laundry out. Ultimately, she used it to stand up.



This is Aubrey trying on her new tennis shoes. She wouldn't move her feet with them on at first.



Finally, Aubrey loves to play in her own laundry basket in the mornings. I put the basket right outside my bathroom door while I get ready in the morning. Today, she figured out how to stand up in the basket. She also figured out how to fall over, which means no more playing in the laundry basket. I'll have to figure out something else. Any suggestions???

Goodbye House

As all of you probably know, Robert's mom's, Donna, house burned down 2 weeks ago. Thankfully, she wasn't there at the time, but her house lost the fight. The final verdict was lightning. Donna said that lightning has struck the house several times over the years, but never actually catching fire before. Still, I think we're all in a state of shock. It just doesn't seem real. Donna has been great about it. She's been so positive and trying to look for the good things. She was actually making jokes about it later that day.

She told me, "Be careful what you pray for. I asked God to help me with my clutter problem and He answered it."

Here are some pictures that Robbie took the day after the smoke had cleared. The pictures really show all the devastation that the fire left. It's kind of hard to see what's what in the pictures. Try to use the fireplace as a point of reference.

Mother's Day

Ok, I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of Mother's Day. It was my first Mother's Day and it was so wonderful. Julie and Rachel came down for the weekend and it was so great to spend time with them. On Saturday, we went to a Mother's Day Brunch in Arlington at Nana's church. Aubrey had a blast; she loved all the attention from the church ladies!!

Playing with the girls


Aubrey and Nana

Aubrey and KayKay

Aubrey Sits!

Aubrey has mastered sitting up by herself. When she lays on her belly, she gets up on all fours, and then pushes back and sits up. She is so proud of herself. She always has a big smile on her face when she gets done. We managed to some photos and a video today.

I also got an early birthday present, a new camera. It's a Sony Cybershot and I love it. I'm no professional but the quality of the pictures are so much better.