On a daily basis, I am in awe of how blessed I am to have Aubrey Ann. I am often trying to soak up every minute with her, as I know these precious years will pass all too quickly.

We are so fortunate to have a camera and video camera to help us capture all of these precious moments with Aubrey Ann, but there are many things that a camera cannot capture. So, I thought I would make a list of things that I know I will want to remember as the years pass on.

The camera could never capture:

The feeling of Aubrey Ann sleeping on my shoulder, completely relaxed in her Mommies arms, completely safe, completely loved.

The feeling of her sweet hugs, and wet kisses. When she gives us hugs around our necks she makes a grunting sound because she is trying to hug us with all her might.

The feeling of her being wrapped around my leg. She often runs from another room in search of us, and all she needs is a quick hug on our legs, and then she is off in search of more fun.

The feeling of her head on my shoulder as I pray for her. She is completely safe, and comfortable talking to her Savior.

The feeling of her little hand inside mine, completely trusting that I am leading her in the right direction.

The feeling of her whole hand wrapped around my pinky, when she is unsure of where she is going and she is seeking her Mommy’s guidance.

The feeling of her soft hair and skin as she sits on my lap reading a book.

The smell of her clean hair and body right after she gets out from her nightly bath.

The feeling of her little hand against my face as she says, “gentle” showing me how to be gentle.

The feeling of her little body in my arms when she needs a hug after falling down.

The feeling of soft butterfly and eskimo kisses.

The feeling of her hands in our hair, as she rides on our shoulders.

The feeling of a surprise kiss on the lips when we aren’t looking, and her sweet giggle when she realizes she surprised us.

The feeling of holding her close as we dance around the room.

The joy of her laugh as we spin around and around the room for the hundreth time that day, only to hear “again, again!”

The camera cannot capture the love and joy of holding your child, the way it feels to cuddle her and kiss her. It will fade away as soon as the moment passes. I can only hope as the years pass, I can hold on to some small memory of what it feels like to be a mother and have her child in her arms.

God, I pray that you help me to remember. Help me to treasure every hug, every snuggle, every sweet baby kiss. Help me to remember that in a few short years, my sweet little girl will be grown, and to hold dear all the things the camera cannot capture.

Aubrey Ann has been going to story time at the library on and off since she was 6 months old. We took one long reprieve when she was around 9 or 10 months because she wouldn’t stop yelling, “Hi” to all the kids during the story. But, other than that she loves story time and seeing all the big kids. The program is geared towards preschoolers, so it is very focused on having the kids sit in one spot, not much movement involved, which can be tricky for a toddler to say the least. But, generally Aubrey Ann does quite well and enjoys the stories and songs.

One day we were at the library and in honor of African history month, they were doing a storytelling, and not actually reading from a book. At the end of the story, the leader asked each of the children to come up and tell stories of their own. Most if not all of the kids are at least 4, so it was easily done.

Jokingly, after the last kid told their story, the leader looked at Aubrey Ann and asked her if she wanted to tell a story. The group giggled, and before I knew it, Aubrey Ann was headed for the front of the class. I wasn’t sure what to do, but Aubrey Ann seemed like she knew EXACTLY what to do, so I just watched.

Well, she marched up to the very front of the class, climbed up into the teacher’s chair, looked very confidently into the eyes of her audience and said:
“Once a time, Dadddy, Jasmine, Cinderella, Ariel, go get the mail.”

I guess that was the end because then she smiled at me and tilted her head as if to say “what in the world do I do now mommy?” Her audience laughed and applauded, which only served to fuel the Aubrey Ann fire. She then proceeded to lay on her belly on the chair, look at her audience and say, “I’m a swimming!”

So, that was that. Definitely not her first performance, as I get those everyday, but definitely her first real audience. I think she did quite well, and I had a rather hard time convincing her that it was time for her to come off of her “stage”. I guess we will need some more transitioning out of character next time.  I just love my little girl!  I can’t get enough of my little actress!

Manners are big in our house. They aren’t always adhered to, but we try. It isn’t unheard of for Aubrey Ann to come running at the sound of a sneeze so she can tell the person “bless you”.

We work on our please and thank you’s of course, and excuse me for rude noises, and when she wants to get to something and Mommy is in her way.

Well, the other day we were at Walmart and we were getting ready to go down an aisle with our cart, but we had to stop because someone was at the end of the aisle bending down to look at something. I had decided I would just wait a few seconds until the woman finished looking since she didn’t notice us standing there.

Well, Aubrey Ann took this moment to practice her new manners. She, turns around in the cart and in a very “mommy-like” voice (like when I am trying to make sure she is listening) she says, “Ex-cuse me”.

The lady looked up in complete shock at this little toddler asking to pass. I blushed and passed quickly, only to see the woman laughing out of the corner of my eye.

In this same trip, we were standing in line, and the lady in front of us had a liver spot on her face. Well, Aubrey Ann just had to turn around and announce to me, and everyone else in our line, that the lady in front of us had a “mole” on her cheek.

Lovely.

So this lead to a discussion about how not all marks on skin are moles, and how sometimes they are owwies, and how some people might be embarrassed if we talk about their owwies. With follow up conversations about how to whisper.

We haven’t mastered the whispering thing, at all.

Ah, such is life with a toddler, eh?

This morning when I got Aubrey Ann up, our conversation went something like this:

Me: Did you sleep well?

AA: Ya.

Me: Did you dream?

AA: Ya.

Me: What did you dream about?

AA: A dog. Barking. A dog barking out his tongue. (AA sticks out her tongue and tries to bark.

Then later this morning while Mommy is folding laundry:

AA: Elmo panties!

Me: Yep, I am folding your Elmo panties.

AA: I like Elmo panties.

Me: Yes I know.

AA: Daddy like panties!

Me: Daddy likes panties?

AA: Yeah. Daddy like panties!

Me: I am not so sure about that, but ok.

I just really hope that she doesn’t decide to yell “Daddy like panties” at church or something!

Aubrey Ann has taken to trying to make things out of her art.  For the longest time when she made something and I asked her what she had made it was a shape, color, number, or letter.  It was very cute because she would make a random scribble, and then look at it and interpret it as whatever it actually looked like.  I think she thought she was really writing!  But now, she has taken to actually interpreting her art as something else.

For instance, the other day, she was coloring on a piece of paper, and she made a long swooping line.  I asked her what it was and she said “Daddy getting the mail”.  It is so cute because that is one of her favorite daily activities to do with her Daddy.  Another day she made a painting with a big dark spot and underneath it was a bunch of squiggly yellow and green lines.  When I asked her what she had made she told me it was an “oval in the grass”.  It is not uncommon for things to be cats or dogs too.  It is so sweet and I just love all of her art work.  I couldn’t be more proud of my budding artist!

I am making a quick post because AA is playing with her new princess figurines and she is being so cute. Here is how her conversation just went (AA is doing the talking for all the princesses)

Ariel: Good Morning!
Narrator (also Aubrey Ann): Time to say ‘Hello!’
Ariel: Hello!
Jasmine: Hello!
Ariel: How ARE you?
Jasmine: Feeling great! What your name?
Ariel: Ariel
Narrator: That’s Ariel

Aubrey Ann (to Mommy now): I like Ariel.
Mommy: I know baby, she is nice, and has a pretty heart.
AA: Yeah. I like Jesus.
Mommy: Me too. I love Jesus.
AA: Daddy love Jesus and Mary.
Mommy: Yes, he absolutely does.

Back to more princess chatter!