This Thanksgiving was fun and LONG. It started (for me, cooking that is) Tuesday night, and didn’t end until, ummm is it over yet? So, I started cooking on Tuesday night, just getting all my prep work done. I did this after Aubrey Ann went to bed. Then my Mom, Steven, Sandra, and Grandma came over on Wednesday to help with all the cooking. In just a few short hours we had most of the meal done. Aubrey Ann stayed under our feet the entire time, until I found a job she could specialize in, clean up!

Oh yeah, it is just that good!

Later that night we had friends and family over for our annual Day Before Thanksgiving Pizza and Poker Night, which is a night designed to get me out of cooking dinner.  Here is what Aubrey Ann did during the night.

On T-Day (Thanksgiving slang, awww yeah) everyone came around noon or so, and we had dinner at 2:30.  It is amazing because that is actually the time I told everyone we would eat.  Normally, we are a good hour behind or so, but now I have got this Thanksgiving stuff down to a science.  Aubrey Ann had tons of fun.  She was our entertainment for the evening.  She loved being with everyone.  Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving.

Why is he so happy? Mmmm...broccoli rice dish...

We are probably arguing about whether or not Steven needs to check the "te-te-tures" on the turkey.

As usual, we made up. What would a Thansgiving be without me and Mom bickering like a couple of ole' biddies?

Still happy as ever, we are so blessed!

Steven, checking the "te-te-tures" AGAIN

Most of the gang, and part of the spread

Our little family!

My little "mini-me"

Oh yeah, that is Chocolate Dream Pie

And it is SO good!

Actually, this is the face Aubrey Ann makes when we ask her to close her eyes.

Here is our THANKSgiving turkey.

Thank you everyone who sent in, or wrote down your feathers.  It was a wonderful way for our whole family to feel connected.  Aubrey Ann did a wonderful job making the Turkey.  Mommy and Aubrey Ann love to do crafts.  Occasionally, the Kindergarten teacher is unleashed on the whole family.

Hugs for Cousin Micah

If he can't have turkey, he is going to just have to find something else to eat!

The very next night we had more friends and family over to play games.  It was a great way to eat up all the leftovers!  One of the cutest things that happened that night was when Uncle PJ made a joke and everyone laughed, Aubrey Ann laughed and said, “PJ funny!”.

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving, thank you to everyone who was a part of it.  It is so wonderful to watch Aubrey Ann experience all of these special holidays for the first time.  We are a truly blessed family to be able to celebrate our holidays together.

Love you all!

I can finally admit it.  I am the mother of a toddler.  She is 18 months old, and there is no denying that she is a full-fledged toddler now.  I still won’t say she isn’t a baby anymore, but I will admit that she is both toddler AND baby.

So, what is the Doodle up to these days, you ask?

Well, currently her favorite song is “Head, shoulders, knees and toes”.  It is the first song that she can sing all by herself.  She does this often, at random times.  I always wanted to live in a musical, and now I do.  Aubrey Ann will burst into song at a moments notice.  She also loves to to sing her ABC’s, twinkle twinkle little star, and the Veggietales theme song.

Recently we put up pictures of shapes in her playroom, and occasionally she will ask me what they are.  So, I point to them and tell her the names.  The ones she remembers are rather interesting.  So far she has circle, oval, diamond and octagon.  She calls it “awwwcagon”.  My kindergarteners always remembered octagons first as well.  Weird.  If it weren’t for stop signs, I still wouldn’t know what an octagon really was.

She also looks at colors daily.  She always gets yellow and blue right.  In fact, if you ask her what color something is, she will not admit that she doesn’t know, oh no, instead she just calls it yellow.  So funny.  Recently she has picked up black and purple as well.  For some reason, red is just not that interesting to her.  Now red is something my Kindergarteners always picked up first.

One of her other favorite things to do is spin, do somersaults, and what we have labeled the “water horse”. The water horse is something she does only in the bathtub that involves a lot of neighing, and basic crazyness.  During the day, she spins around for a good 30 seconds, stops and says “dizzy” while grabbing her head.  So adorable.

She is huggy and kissy.  She is very affectionate to anything and everything in our home.  When she is in her high chair, even her milk with get “hugs” occasionally.

She is working on mastering the art of eating with utensils.  She is pretty good, and loves to “stab” things with her fork.  If she can’t quite get it, she will pick the piece of food up with her hand, put it on her fork and then eat it.  Funny girl!

She also LOVES being outside.  She likes to go to the park and she can climb the stairs and go down the slide by herself.

She is now speaking in little sentences.  They are so cute, and I am often amazed at all the different things she comes up with.  It is so fun to hear what she is thinking all day.  Some days it seems like she knows the word for everything she comes into contact with.  Rest assured, if she doesn’t know how to say something, she will simply call it an “oh my”.  I never knew how often I said that phrase until Aubrey Ann started imitating me. I really need to get some new material.

Aubrey Ann is basically my shadow.  She loves to imitate everything I am doing, all day.  Mommy has to really watch herself lately.  Everything I do, Aubrey Ann WILL end up doing as well.

As an example, I was getting something out of our pantry the other day, and I accidentally dropped a full jar of peanut butter on my toe.  In an effort to not yell loudly and scare Aubrey Ann, I held it in and instead, I hit my hands on our counter.  Well just a few moments later, Aubrey Ann was walking around slamming her hands on the cabinets.  Yeah,  I should have just yelled.

She is so much fun, and I often have people in Walmart and the grocery store tell me that they have never seen such a happy, friendly baby.  She really is.  I love how much she loves other people.  It is a lot of fun taking her places and watching her interact with others.

Basically, life is wonderful. Brandon and I are so in love with our little one, she is truly precious and we are so amazed that God trusted us with such a special little person. Thank you to everyone who has helped in making Aubrey Ann who she is today. Both baby and toddler, I think I could live with that!

I figured everyone was wondering what Aubrey Ann’s new panties look like, so here they are.  Who’d of thought that panties could be so multi-functional?

Big girl panties!

Big boy hat? And yes, they are clean. In Daddy's defense, it was very late and doing laundry makes us silly!

Don’t laugh, any man who can put a pair of panties on his head and pose for a picture must be VERY secure in his masculinity!  What a guy!

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, our family was blessed to have two overnight visitors from Uganda.  Our church asked us to keep two girls visiting with the Children of the World Choir, and we gladly accepted.

We brought them home where they immediately began running from room to room turning on all the lights. Aubrey Ann followed close behind, imitating everything the girls did.  At one point, the girls took turns putting Aubrey Ann on their hips, much to my dismay.  However, I was quiet surprised to find that the girls held her like they had been holding a baby all their lives.  I honestly thought Aubrey Ann was safer in their arms than my own!

After the girls took their baths, (where they asked that I “don’t be putting the rush on them”), they wanted to watch High School Musical.  It was late, but we thought it would be fun for Aubrey Ann to join the girls in their preteen bliss.  It was so funny to watch Aubrey Ann climb all over the girls.  She loved watching the girls dance and sing along with all of the songs.

One of the funniest things was that Aubrey Ann picked up on the girls names very quickly.  The girls must have asked Aubrey Ann a million times to say their names.  For days later, Aubrey Ann kept asking for the girls by name.  When I told her that they had to go bye bye, she responded with “Work. Money.”

We were so blessed to have our time with the girls.

Here is a picture of all the girls watching “High School Musical”.

This morning as I got my little sleepy-head out of her crib, I asked her the same questions that I normally ask her every morning.  Our conversation went as follows:

Me:  Did you sleep well?

AA: Ya.

Me: Did you have dreams?

AA: Ya.

Me:  What did you dream about?

AA:  Daddy pee pee.

Me:  Daddy pee pee?

AA:  Daddy people.

Me:  Oh, Daddy and what people?

AA: Yoanina, Has-FWA, Gra-ma  (the first two were two children from Uganda who had stayed with us the night before.)

Me:  No pee pee?

AA:  No.

I have been excited about many things in my life.  Christmas as a child, graduation, going to college, getting my first teaching job, marrying my best friend, and of course giving birth to a beautiful daughter.  Well, I must say, a recent event that has taken place is right up there (ok, well that may be a little exaggeration) with those others.

Aubrey Ann just………

pooped on the potty!  You heard me right.  She pooped, right there on the potty.

If anyone had been in my house, they would have seen me jumping up and down, doing the cha cha while singing “Poo poo on the pot-ee”.  It was ridiculous, even Aubrey Ann thought so.

So here is how the poo poo’s went down, literally.

I knew she needed to go.  I could just tell.  So I was keeping a close eye on her.  Well, she finally came up and told me “Poo poo, pee pee”, and marched to the bathroom.  So, I sat her on the potty.  Well, as soon as her bottom touched the seat she announced, “All done, down peas”.  So I let her get down.  We did this three times.  Finally, she asked me for a diaper, and I told her that her poo poo’s wanted to go for a swim in the potty, and she was a big girl and she didn’t need those silly diapers.  So, the next time she said “poo poo, pee pee” we went to the potty and lo and behold, those poo poo’s went for a swim!

Mommy proceeded with her poo poo dance, and Aubrey Ann clapped while saying “yaaaay” over and over.

Then I asked her if she wanted to call anyone to tell them.  She said yes, so I asked her who.  Her first choice was Meme and Pa, then she called Mamaw and Papaw, and finally Daddy.

So there you have it.  I had to share.  I bet you never knew it was possible for someone to write “poo” or “pee” so many times.  If you talk to me, it is about all I talk about right now too.  Seriously, I am getting on my own nerves now.

So, there you have it. I am so proud.  This is the second time she has pooped on the potty, and I couldn’t be prouder.  Seriously, if I had taken a picture, I would probably post it.  Yeah, I am just gross like that.

Here is a picture to get that image out of your heads!

So, as some of you know, I have recently taken up residency on our bathroom.  It isn’t very comfortable, and the reading materials are a bit juvenile, but I am trying to make the best of it.

I usually take my computer in there (why do you think I have been able to post so often? Coincidence?  I think not.)  We are currently on day three of hard core potty training and we are going strong.  We have only had one pee accident in the three days , and she is loving her big girl underwear.  She picked out Elmo undies, and I am constantly reminding her that Elmo appreciates not being peed on.  Poop, well that is another story.  Pooping on the potty is stressful, and Mommy isn’t pushing it.  I know that part will come when she is ready.

My house is a mess, my bathroom is covered in toys, books, unused diapers, and itty bitty scraps of toilet paper, and you better believe that it isn’t getting cleaned anytime soon.  But, in exchange my daughter is 18 months and has only used 3 diapers in the last three days (at night, I am not about to fight THAT battle!)

I am an all or nothing type of person, so we are going to give this a fair shot.  If it doesn’t continue to go well, I will throw up my white flag and head for the hills (or at least a room as far from the bathroom as possible).  We can always try again later.

On an even lighter note.  I just felt AA’s underwear to make sure she was still dry.  She was, so I said, “Oh, Elmo says thank you for keeping him dry”, to which she responded, “Elmo welcome!”

Potty training has definitely provided AA with all kinds of good material.  She has become the regular comedian.

But so far, so good.  Thanks for all the encouraging words I have been getting from everyone.  They are what keep me heading to the bathroom every hour a half all day long.

Here is another shot of AA on the potty.  This gives you all a sneak peak into what I am seeing all day long.

Take special notice of the toys and books scattered around.  Also, notice that our TP roll is missing.  Probably because AA’s favorite past time is getting little pieces  of TP and wiping, over and over and over. I am all for good hygiene, but lets be reasonable here little one.  She has probably gone through an entire tree worth of TP already.

We are headed for yet another bathroom,  AA has learned that three simple words get my attention REAL fast.

What words could those be, you ask?

“Pee pee potty!”

Brandon often wonders why I am so starved for adult conversation when he comes home.  So as an explanation, I thought I would make a post containing a recent conversation I had with with Aubrey Ann:

AA:  Mommy boy.

Me:  No, Mommy is a girl.

AA:  Mommy boy.

Me:  No, mommy is a girl sweetie.

AA:  Mommy boy.

Me:  Mommy is a girl, just like Aubrey Ann is a girl.  Daddy is a boy.

AA:  Mommy boy…Aubee boy.

Me:  No… (suddenly realizing that this conversation is going nowhere fast) Do you like apples?

AA:  Ya!

Me:  Me too.

AA:  Me too.

Me: You too?

AA:  You too.

Me:  Oh, ok.

AA:  Okey, dokey, mokey.  (exits stage left, while slapping her belly)

So, needless to say, by the time Brandon is home I have so many important, philosophical things I am dying to say, however I lack the energy to say them.

In all reality, I wouldn’t trade these sweet conversations for anything in the world. Even when my gender is in question, it is all worth it!

Mommy boy, that's a knee slapper!

On September 27th Uncle PJ and Aunt Valerie got married at Pismo Beach.  Aubrey Ann was the flower girl.  The wedding was beautiful.  We also enjoyed taking Aubrey Ann to the beach for the very first time

.  Here are some photos of her first trip to the beach:

Aubrey Ann with Daddy on our balcony

Here are some pictures from the rehearsal, that night:

She said, "Picture...cheese", and this is the smile she came up with!

She always has a kiss left for her Daddy

Here are some pictures from the actual wedding the next day:

All dressed up and ready to go!

Walking down the aisle with her Daddy

Yes, she has goldfish in her flower girl basket.

What a beautiful ceremony

Someone isn't cooperating, who could it be?

With her Mamaw and Papaw

Being a stink-bug with Nana and Papa

The happy couple!

Aubrey Ann did great the entire ceremony, until she spotted a sea-gull.  Then she thought she needed to let the entire wedding know that a “bir-dee” was near.  giving us all one warning would have been enough, but no, Aubrey Ann thought that “bir-dee” was an imminent threat, so she let us know a…..few…..times.  Did I mention that my daughter doesn’t have volume control?  Wonder where she got that from? Ahem, Hopkins family?  Certainly didn’t come from the Parkey side, right? 

Here are a few more pictures of Aubrey Ann having a play day on the beach.  Unfortunately it was cold that day, although Aubrey Ann never seemed to mind.

Digging in the sand with Mommy

There is that dinosaur again. Silly dino.

She thought these, "glashes" were hilarious. So did we!

Aubrey Ann didn’t like the sand at first.  She spent the first several minutes saying, “Yucky.  Wipe.”  while wiping her hands on me.  I guess when you are a Mommy you become the human kleenex.  After about 10 minutes or so, she realized that it was ok if she was a little dirty, and she dug right in.  We have a beach baby for sure, we could hardly keep her out of the water!

It was a great trip, and we are so happy for Uncle “pee-jay”, and Aunt “Val-bee”.

I love you, my little beach baby!

So here are a few pictures of our little lady.   Mommy took these while Aubrey Ann played on Mommy and Daddy’s bed.

Have you ever seen such a happy baby?

What are we going to do with you baby girl?  I think I might just hug and kiss you to pieces!