A lil of this and a lil of that

William is 3 months old

They say God gives you what you need, not what you want. I thought I wanted a sister for Lauren, but now that our sweet Wills is here, I couldn't imagine it any other way. He is always smiling and laughing whenever anyone talks to him and loves to sit on your lap and face the crowd.

He isn't so little anymore....weighing in at 12 lbs now! And his eyes still haven't decided if they want to be brown or blue and we are crossing our fingers that his hair doesn't fall out. Its gotten a little lighter and a little more wild.

I just can't get enough of him. He goes with the flow all morning long and settles down right after lunch for a long afternoon nap. He wakes up just in time for some late afternoon play time and daddy time, before settling back down for the night. He is still waking up once at night, but we did have one night where he went from 11-6am.

Miss Fancy Pants

It started a few weeks ago. It was gradual, but my power over what Lauren wears each day has shifted. I can still use psychology to persuade her at times, but I'm mainly using it to tell her she will be too hot in a winter sweater when its 90 degrees out. She won't wear jeans, almost always wants a dress or skirt and is very particular on what shoes accompany her ensembles.

Case and point...

(dress courtesy of Emma P.)

Then there is the accessorizing. Most days she gets dressed and then heads down to her dress up drawer to complete her look. I actually think styles herself pretty well.

We scored these jelly bracelets and a whole bunch more jewelry for a dime at a garage sale. Only problem, I'm picking up jelly bracelets all over the house, the grocery store, and my car.

This is her "kissy face." You wanna kiss, she puckers up REAL big for ya:)

Lastly, its being naked. Her clothes and diaper come off at least once a day. This happened before I could get her bathing suit on. "I wanna be naked mom."

Happy Sunday.

XOXO

Aubrey

Happy Anniversary

I love today. We have made traditions out of today and not just a trip or a dinner out, but we always watch our video, flip through our wedding album, and most importantly we take the time to look back on where we have been and where we want to go.

Our annual check up, so to speak.

This year I feel like I'm looking back on the where we've been and am overcome with emotion about my dad and just how amazing Billy has been through all of it. When we celebrated our five year anniversary last year we talked about planning for another baby, how we are constantly trying to make us the best we can be, how to raise "perfect" kids, and where our next vacation will be. Of course there was never a discussion on how we as a couple would deal with the loss we faced.

We will watch our video tonight for the first time since my dad died and I know it will be hard. Having him there to walk me down the aisle with my mom and dance with me are two precious memories I'll always cherish. And watching that video, you can see how truly proud and happy my dad was that Billy had come into my life. He said he was the luckiest guy that day.

Billy,

You have been there for me and my family more this year than ever. You let me let me pick a fight with you, when you knew it was my dad I was angry at. You worked long hours, cleaned our house and played with Lauren just so I could rest my mind and body. And when the doctors scared me, you always knew William would be perfect.

You were our constant, providing patience, compassion, and of course humor.

Lauren really is right, you are Superman.

So Superman...thank you. Thank you for making me the luckiest gal 6 years ago today!

I love you and everything you do for this family.

Happy Anniversary.

XOXO

Aubrey

Happy Father's Day

We had a great Father's Day celebration this past weekend with a trip to the petting zoo and a bbq at the Bohn's house. Billy really wanted to enjoy his day catching up on sleep and spending it with his kids. Done and done!

Lauren loved all the animals, especially their accessories!

She loved the pony ride just as much as last year too!

The BBQ was also to celebrate cousin Drew's 15th birthday and Nana's 80th birthday. I'm so happy we got this picture with nana. She is our only grandparent and we are so lucky that she is so much a part of William and Lauren's lives.

Happy 80th Birthday Nana!

XOXO

Aubrey

I'm a big girl!

It has taken months and months of giving in, regressing, and wrestling with the idea of whether or not Lauren was ready to kick her nuk addiction, but it finally happened. It began last fall when her daycare teacher told me she doesn't use it. I said "but for naps she does, right?" Nope, not even for naps. That's when I should have went cold turkey, but I wanted it to be gradual, so we started a nap and bedtime only rule.

It was tough few days, kind of like living with a mini crack addict. She would throw herself on the ground and throw a tantrum, explaining how much she "needed" it. We were doing well for about a month and then when my dad died, I just gave in because it was easier for me to give her a nuk then deal with a tantrum. A few months passed and I got back on it, but again there was nap/bedtime/upstairs rule. You want your nuk? You must be ready for a nap. But then the rule would get broken for wind down time before bed, or if I wanted some quiet to make dinner or shhh, have an adult telephone convo with a bestie.

Needless to say, there were rules when we wanted to enforce them.

But enough was enough, she can speak in full sentences and I kept going back to the fact that she didn't use it at daycare. While in Richmond we were talking about saying good-bye to "nuky" and that if she gave all her nukys to the nuk fairies she would get a present. The morning we left I asked her if she wanted to leave her nuky in Richmond and be a big girl. She took it out of her mouth, put it on the table and "left" it.

I said "goodbye nuky, its been fun." She repeated me and walked to the car.

A few friends have said I was CRAZY to do that before a 10 hour car trip, but in my mind I thought I wouldn't give in because all I had to do was drive a car. I didn't have to a list of things to get done, just a screaming kid who was strapped into her seat. It was painful though, she didn't know how to relax herself at first, but by bedtime that night she didn't seem to miss it. And the next day she asked for a few times but I kept reminding her that we left the nukys in Richmond and the fairies would be sending her a present.

She wanted a purple princess bathing suit. Ok. Where was the master fairy gonna find that? While at grandma and grandpa Crawford's last week a package arrived from Nukland, USA for Miss Lauren Crawford. There was a letter congratulating her on becoming a big girl and apologizing for not being able to find purple princess bathing suit.

Lauren didn't seem to mind the purple princess dress!

"Look at me mom, I'm a princess"

It has now been two weeks and she does ask for it every few days, but I remind her that she is a big girl that's why she got a princess dress and all is forgotten. It was a proud mama moment to have moved on from nuky but that moment when she said goodbye I felt a little lump in my throat because this was really the last baby thing besides potty training. And as much as it keeps getting better and better, its happening way too fast.

XOXO

Aubrey

Road Tripin' to Richmond

The first and last part of our trip was spent in Richmond with Aunt Roberta, Uncle Doug and their greyhound, Belle.

We were laid back....did a little shopping our first day, which quickly ended with cranky kids and a tired mom. Enjoyed some wonderful meals (thank you Aunt Roberta for cooking all week), watched a little tv, like this crazy show...seriously, jaw on floor the entire episode, bbq'ed, lounged outside on the patio and chatted it up!

Belle graciously let Lauren use her pool for the duration of our visit. Lauren thought she was all that and more in her Lily bikini!

Woody and Jesse were a part of all the festivities as well. They came everywhere with us, but we are pretty sure they are both suffering from closed head injuries with how often they were tossed onto the ground.

Steamed oysters were oh so delicious!

And we wine tasted. The Barboursville Vineyard was gorgeous. The reds weren't as full bodied as I'd prefer, but there were a lot of good whites to try.

It was a crazy to start because William got fussy right after the first glass was poured and the movie we had for Lauren wasn't working and she wouldn't sit and color. But after I shed a few tears and took a few deep breaths, William fell asleep and Lauren was happy being held.

Wine tasting probably isn't the best place to take kids, but people do it all the time. And in the end, it worked out.

But then there was this guy. Yep, his shirt says "phour aces" and he was THIS close to us. I said to Billy "can he get any closer?" Billy responds "he just did." He was clearly looking for the fastest $5 buzz and we were moving too slow for him. We finally let him and his posse pass us and before you knew it, he was gone.

Barboursville was a great place to visit if you are in the area, we had a picnic lunch and toured the grounds.

Thomas Jefferson only designed a handful of homes, I've now seen two of them. I'm not saying that visiting them all is on my bucket list of life, but if it happens, it happens:)

Thanks Aunt Roberta and Uncle Doug for hosting us!

XOXO

Aubrey

The Crawford's visit DC

After spending a few days in Richmond we headed up to DC to visit Aunt Cara and meet up with Billy who flew into DC. There was no agenda for this overnight trip except breakfast reservations at Founding Farmers (which was really good, but Toast in Bham/Ferndale is still my #1 fav). But we ended up packing a lot in for the 24 hours we were there and enjoyed our "test" visit and can't wait to go back. Getting around DC with two lils and two strollers was a lot easier than I thought. The restaurants were more than accommodating and even Cara's apartment proved to be the perfect size for this family of four!

We started our stay with a picnic in a local park/circle. Cara made some munchies and we arrived right in the middle of a parade. Not your typical parade, but entertaining.

Billy's friend Reid also stopped by to meet William and see Lauren.

After dinner we walked to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave and just happened to meet the Obama's. Ok, the last part is a lie, but it was the first time I saw the White House from the other side.

We did brunch on Sunday, the National Muesum of Natural History, walked the mall, and as I previously posted, Lauren had her first merry go round ride.

(Billy and I have a picture that was taken in the same spot 5 years ago...we tried to take it with the kids, but Lauren wouldn't have it)

Lauren (and William's) first Metro ride.

We had a great time and thanks Aunt Cara for having us!

XOXO

Aubrey

Sneak Peek

We were on vacation to Richmond, Virginia and Washington DC and took a blog hiatus.

But, I'm back and promise a trip report this weekend. We've just been getting settled back in and spending lots of time outside and away from the computer

We enjoyed ourselves with Aunt Cara,

ate and drank well,

caught three memorial day parades

wine tasted in Virginia

soaked up family time

and watched this little guy laugh and smile all week long.

Stay tuned and stay cool...if you are living in this heat like we are!

XOXO

Aubrey