CA & AZ

Back in March, we had some good memory-making moments. 

First, Grandma came to town! As always, we had a blast with her. On the drive home from the airport, she coined a song in response to Audrey's persistence in asking for cheese. It goes a little something like this, 

"Audrey loves chee-ese. Yummy, yummy chee-ese. Mmmm, mmm, mmm. It's so good." 

It has many verses (including "Mama loves chee-ese. Stinky blue cheese. Yuck, yuck, yuck. It's so gross." Because it's true, I do. And Grandma clearly doesn't.) We continue to sing it, inserting different foods. Sometimes it's true (milk), sometimes it's an attempt at brainwashing (peas). She loves it every time. And tonight she finished her whole bowl of peas, so thanks Grandma!

Before Grandma left we got to give her an early birthday present. In the process we took our only pictures of her visit. But they're winners, so it makes up for our earlier lack. As you can see, Audrey was thrilled with Grandma's idea to turn the bow into a headband. And now we know who she got her laugh from :)

This one's so sweet:

Before long we were off on a trip to visit Audrey's future husband. This picture shows that she has learned how to sleep on planes. Oh the joy of getting her own seat.

Picture taking lameness struck again in the fact that we didn't end up with a single group shot of the love-birds and happy in-laws. But between train rides, massages, golf, yummy dinners, and a trip to the San Diego zoo, Jamie and Eric planned an awesome weekend. And Finn passed Daddy's approval with flying colors. He didn't even seem nervous for their first meeting.

"He's so cute! What's his name?"  "Uhh, Finn..."
Apparently that conversation happens more than
you would expect.

This pic will probably get left out of the wedding slideshow.
So scandalous.
You're welcome, Jamie, for keeping your boy unexposed.

Zoo day finally came! We had been talking about the zoo with Audrey for a while, and she was pretty excited about the thought of seeing all the animals. Let's just say it didn't disappoint! Even now she points to pictures of animals and proudly says, "zoo!" like she remembers seeing them there. But then she also says it of pigs and cats, so her memory might not be perfect. She particularly loved the monkeys. However, she still calls all monkeys "George" after Curious George; and, I think I've mentioned before, in her dialect "George" sounds like "Jew," So there she was, eagerly pointing out all the "Jews" she was seeing. Luckily nobody else was within ear shot. Still, when I ask her what her favorite animal was at the zoo she'll say "Jew!" Awkward.

Just a couple mama's with their baby monkeys.

The fish were a hit, but they were also a distraction
from the two gigantic hippos swimming behind.
I don't think she ever saw them.

Walking through the aviary.

Finn decided he had seen enough, and to make it quite clear he showed us he could be louder than the bears we were standing next to. So Jamie and Eric took him for a drive while we hurried off to the giraffes. We saved the best for last. Audrey is still so in love with her pink giraffe ("Josh"), and getting to see the big Mama giraffes was a bit mind-blowing. She for sure had the longest attention span with them. We got a cute video of her saying "Wow!! Jo-osh!!" and pointing out the babies, but, of course, it won't load.

We then took off to the elephants, expecting the same excitement, but surprisingly she was pretty scared of them and kept burying her head in my shoulder. I stuck her back in the stroller to make our way up to the moose (another favorite, thanks to Grandma) but by the time I went to the bag to grab a snack and got back up to her she looked like this:

Clearly, that much fun is exhausting. (Skipping a nap might do it too.)

We said our farewells to the in-laws and drove up to Newport to give some belly pats to Audrey's second cousin. He'll be making his debut in July/August and we're pretty excited about it. (I just talked to Nicole on the phone tonight, and when Audrey heard me say her name she said "baby!" So maybe that memory is better than I realize.)

The next day my mom joined the three of us as we hopped on a plane and headed to Phoenix to visit my grandma. Sarah flew down from Redding to join in on the fun too. Ryan had a conference during the five days we were there, so while he was learning we were playing :) Audrey had only met Bashe and my aunt Ann when she was maybe five months old, so I was excited to introduce her to the rest of the Arizona family. Lots of aunts, cousins, and second cousins to meet! And I hadn't seen all of my cousins' kids in ages, so I was glad to get to see them again too. 

Except for a new baby, Audrey was the youngest of the kids, but seeing her sit at the kids' table for lunch and play with them in the yard made me so happy. She's such a big girl, hanging with the big kids :) Would it have been great to get a picture of all of them? Yes. Did we do it? No.

I couldn't resist the cuteness of her picking oranges and putting them in her basket.

The big kids climbed the tree, so RahRah helped Audrey get up there too :

Another day we walked to Bashe's neighborhood park. She got to show off her running skills (mainly pumping arms and walking fast), go down lots of slides, swing, climb, and even take a potty break under a tree.

portable potty seat = awesome purchase

When Daddy was done with his conference he would meet up with us for some play time. One afternoon it was in the hotel pool.

How hilarious is that wet ponytail?

 When we took RahRah to the airport Audrey learned how to make kissy faces for the camera. And the fact that Sarah got on that airplane somehow has supplanted all other associations of planes, because now, without fail, every time Audrey sees a plane flying overhead she says, "RahRah. Home." And I say, "Yep, RahRah went home on an airplane." Every. Single. Time.

Before we took off the next day my mom dressed Audrey in an outfit that she wore at Audrey's age. How adorable is this.

We taught her how to salute :)

And in that little backyard the sweetest thing happened. Bashe has a sculpture of an open Bible, just to the right of where Audrey is sitting in those pictures. Audrey and my mom were outside together, and luckily I came out just in time to witness this: Audrey grabbed my mom's hand, pointed to the Bible and said "JiJi, Bible!" Then she walked a little ways away, sat down, and folded her hands in her lap. When JiJi wasn't responding as quickly as she liked she said again, "Bible!" Then my mom asked her, "Do you want to hear a Bible story?" "Yes." So the BSF children's leader in my mom came back in full effect, and Audrey got a perfect little story about how Jesus is coming back! (The lesson we were currently studying in Matthew.) Then JiJi asked her two questions and got enthusiastic "Jesus!" answers to both. Both of our hearts melted. This is such a testimony of what she has learned in her little BSF class this year. She sees a Bible and she wants a story! She sits attentively and listens. Then Jesus is the answer! I'm so grateful for the teaching and training she got there. She's going to miss her teachers. Watching her give them goodbye hugs and kisses was so sweet and encouraging.

Another precious moment was when Audrey picked up a banana and alternated between treating it like a telephone and a microphone. But the best part came when she decided that it was Jesus she was talking to, and then she started singing a little "Ooo, Jesus. Ooo, Jesus" song into the "mic". Again, I have a video, but it's not uploading. Boo.

Our visit was filled with good food. Lots of laughter. Lots of watching Audrey trying to track down the "Meow," which kept avoiding her. And, of course, lots of good conversation. We love you, Bashe! Thanks for letting us come visit :)

Halloween

Well, I'm several days late on Audrey's 22 month update, but we still haven't gotten her growth chart picture, so it'll have to wait. And since there would be something very weird about putting up a Halloween post in December I better just skip to this for now.

First of all, I was so close to going with this costume option:

Talk about hilarious...

But in the end I went with my original plan to pick another bird, since last year she rocked the baby owl and I love having real feathers all over her.

Still sporting a bit of a black eye from our fall
down the stairs. Not a fun memory. But this pic makes up for it!

I die just looking at these :)
Such a ball of chubby, fluffy cuteness.

So this year the bird was a peacock! 

(I kinda wish I hadn't done an owl last year, because she is CRAZY about owls right now and it would have been so cute to hear her hooting away in her costume. I showed her some pictures of peacocks in anticipation of this costume, but it still wasn't the same as being in a costume where she understands what she is. Oh well, she was still cute!)

I especially loved how it accented her
big belly and chunky thighs :)

She was pretty adorable, if I do say so myself. And she felt so fancy! That was my favorite part, watching her walk around like she knew she was in a special outfit. She even requested to wear her feathers around the house for several days after Halloween had passed. 

 So, wearing the fun outfit was excitement #1, #2 was answering the door for all the trick-or-treaters (all the older girls kept saying how adorable she was), and #3 was the bowl of candy! Besides her chocolate bunny for Easter she hasn't had any real candy before, but somehow she knew immediately that this was a pot of gold. 

Sorry, hun, that one will kill you :(

 KitKats were the candy of choice, and man oh man, did she love them!

Then Aiden and his folks came over so these two buds could experience their first trick-or-treating together :) 

But first, another KitKat in preparation...

Then it was time to head outside! 

Bucket in hand and we're ready to go!

She ended up with a good amount of loot from the 10ish houses we visited. And they were a hit each time, of course. It was pretty cute watching her pick out pieces of candy, smile at neighbors, ooo and ahh over decorations, and proudly carry her bucket like it was her most prized possession. 

the loot!

Can I have one, please?

pretty please... :(

The next several days consisted mainly of her walking around the house carrying her candy bucket, carefully "counting" each piece, and eating more KitKats :)

yum!

Alaska

Okay, here's the next batch of better-late-than-never pictures from our most recent trip to CA and AK (end of August through beginning of September). Audrey and I had a few days in Cali while Ryan was finishing a few more shifts back home, and the purpose of these quick few days was to meet a couple adorable babies! First off, Audrey was introduced to Finn, an adorable hunk of a future hubby. I'd say it was a typical first meeting of destined love-birds. He didn't seem to notice her, while she kept pointing, staring, and saying "Baby." We managed to snap a few pictures that will resurface on their wedding day. (And don't worry, her future in-laws are proof that the girl can totally be the older one :)

what a stud

I wish I was cool enough to splice the images
so we could have one with both looking.

first pajama party!

"check it out, mom, a baby!"

Maybe we were forcing it too much.
Finn apparently didn't like her coming on so strong...

Then we got to meet sweet puppy Gracie (and see Aunt Nicole's adorable new house!) Audrey's still working up courage to be around dogs and not think they're trying to eat her, but Gracie was probably the best dog-experience she has had yet. It helps that she is so mellow and soft.

Then it was off to AK, where Dada met us the following day. Our week there was chalk-full of good hang-out time with all the family, plus a few little adventures thrown in. 

Our first Sunday up there we got to go out to lunch with a bunch of the extended family after church.  It was the same restaurant where, almost 27 months previously, we made our very first announcement that I was pregnant :) And here she is, in all her sweetness:

 Talk about sweetness, Elijah just adored her and was so incredible with her the whole time. He even sent her a recorded, self-composed song after we got back home about how much he loves her. Precious. He sent her another one when she was in the hospital that just about made me die of sweetness and hilarity (that's a word, right? Either way, it was a super funny song.)

And, while this shot doesn't do it justice, Audrey got to meet the rest of the extended-cousin clan too. Including Harlee and Waylon (below), Kailee and Jamison, and Milly. Such a cute bunch up there!

Sadly, we didn't get much cross-over time with Alayna and her kids, as they were headed down to CA shortly after we arrived. We did, however, got to celebrate her 30th birthday in an awesome 80's style! Sadly Ryan and I did not attend in costume (even though Sonya picked out an incredibly cool one for me) since he was just arriving from the airport and we headed straight there, just catching the end of it. But the outfits were all quite memorable :) Audrey was going to go in style with a leotard and leg warmers look, but then she had a diarrhea incident that necessitated a new and non-80's outfit. So she couldn't even make up for us. 

Sunday night we did an overnight get-away for Mama and Dada at a fancy ski-lodge (a belated birthday celebration for yours-truly! 31...yikes.) Audrey had some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa, with Elijah stopping by often to "check-up on Audrey." (They are currently next-door neighbors :)

Grandma is known for her expertise as a baker-of-delicious-cakes/cookies/bread/cinnamon rolls/etc. Pretty much anything yummy she's baked it. So of course it made complete sense to have their first Grandma/Audrey baking time! Audrey got to be in charge of the dumping and stirring. I envision a lot more of this in their future :)

Grandma also makes wonderful play-dough! So that was next up on the menu:

Bedtime stories and cuddles rounded out an awesome day for all of us.

The next day (after lazily sleeping in and eating a leisurely, big breakfast just the two of us!) we met up with them at the fair! I'm going to be honest, I was looking forward to this for a long time. For my sake as well as Audrey's. Hard to beat greasy fair-food and the buzz of energy all around. The fact that it was drizzly the whole time didn't dampen our mood too much. (Until we were in line for way too long for the ferris wheel and then decided to cut out when we finally got to the front. Those squeals of wet metal as it tried desperately to have enough traction to turn a barely full load was too much for us. Plus Audrey had had her full and was ready to go home, so we'll just have to wait for our first family ferris wheel experience.) 

My highlight was the bucket of fresh donut holes we plowed through. Audrey's highlight was the petting zoo. Kind of. She was actually pretty terrified at first and clung on to me for dear life. But check this out, she's petting a goat with a smile on her face! ("But don't even think about putting me down, Mom."

not so sure about the pigs...

The chicks weren't nearly as difficult to warm up to. 

She would have happily stayed there the entire time.

The pumpkins were the biggest things I have ever seen! Clearly Audrey wasn't impressed.

But she was impressed with the duck river game! 

She was pretty proud of herself for catching one and winning a prize :)

We got to hang out with the Swansons a good deal while we were there too (including the fair). It was fun to see their kids (who are hilarious!), their new house, and catch up with them, while hoping that Jenny would go into labor and we would get to meet the third Swanson child, but alas, baby Kate did not arrive until right after we left. We did, however, get to meet her the following month in Santa Barbara when we were all out there for a wedding!
Of course we were lame and didn't get a picture with all of them, but I snapped some cute ones of what will hopefully be the start of a sweet friendship between Audrey and Lola :)

chillin in a tent in REI

One day they took us to the Alaska children's museum (if that's what it's called) that had a ton of fun hands-on activity centers.

Audrey and Dada riding the pully chair

she could have watched the marble maze all day long.

the fish too

crawling around the nature corner
peek-a-boo!

learning about doll houses :)

Back at Grandma and Grandpa's house Audrey got to go on her first four-wheeler ride!

don't worry, they pretty much just putted around the driveway.

She also got to go on her first canoe ride in the creek!
We wheeled her down the road in a cute little wagon, which she thought was a fun ride all in itself.

Then for some reason I decided to crawl in too for a slightly silly looking picture, but having a creek like this in your back yard is worth a family photo!

we're off!

We we got back Audrey spotted the big balls on the lawn, so of course we had to stop and play for a while.

The rest of our time was spent hanging out with family (Mama even got in a girls night with the cousins and a baby-free shopping trip with Sonya). Little did we know, at that time, that we would be seeing them all again in July when we MOVE UP THERE! It's true, though it's still hard to believe...We're going to be Alaskans for the next few years. Ryan got offered a great job at one of the hospitals up there and we really felt like it was God opening this door for us and giving us an awesome chance to live near his family. We'll see how God continues to direct us in the future, but for now, we're pretty excited about it!
So all of our goodbye's were really just see-you-later's :)

a final story time with Great-Grandma :)

a little more playdough time with Grandma

saying our goodbyes to Alan and Adele.

and an extra big goodbye hug from Elijah!