Audrey's Wardrobe

You will notice a recurring theme to this month's blog . . . Audrey's wardrobe. We are now washing nearly daily as she is fairly adamant that only her "cinderella dress" (aka santa photo dress), "soccer jersey", or "ballerina dress" are worth wearing. Sometimes she puts them all together.

Here she is mid-jump in her ballerina dress and "glass slippers". They look more fuzzy than glass to me, but I know better than to argue with a 2 year old.

Close up of the "sparkly's" adorning the ballerina dress.

Woodland Park Zoo has an indoor facility with climbing rocks and a whole lot more for those rainy Seattle days. It really is a wonderful way to let the kids burn some energy when the park isn't an option.

Needless to say, Audrey's pretty excited for the new Flamingo exhibit opening May-08.

Notice the ballerina dress under the soccer jersey?

The second the rain lifted we headed out to see some 3 dimensional "aminals". Unfortunately the first one Audrey saw was Mickey Mouse. Of course she set out a dead run ignoring my informational talk about how this wasn't her Mickey and that hers was safe at home. The poor girl up ahead had no idea what was about to hit her.

I got her settled in and headed over to her favorite . . the giraffe feeding cages. One problem living so close to the zoo is that she now thinks these types of animals are common place. No real excitement here.

Yes Audrey, this is the look you should use when there are actually animals in view.

Relaxing before bedtime with a little p-corn and milk.

The kid loves the tub. She has learned that she doesn't have to get out until her fingers look like raisins. It's approximately 27 minutes for those who are curious.

Here comes baby brother!

Audrey still isn't too excited about baby brother. Sharing isn't going to be easy.

100% girl.


So excited for the next five minutes of her life.

After one bite of that cream cheese frosting she knew milk had to be in the equation.

Okay, back at it.

Anytime there is a cake, it must be someone's birthday. No, well let's just pretend it's mine.

Maybe not. Not sure how she managed to slingshot it across the table, but well done Audrey.

Relaxing with mommy.

Relaxing with Mickey.

My least favorite pic of Audrey of all time. I can't believe she takes up the entire love seat.

Another day, another cup-cake. Another day, same cinderella dress.

Lisa and I managed our first two-nighter away from Audrey (yes, we're those people). Auntie Sooz got married up at semiahmoo and Lisa was in the wedding. It was a beautiful day and she was a beautiful bride. Here she is sneaking up on her man Nick for the first time in her dress.

And here is Nick's reaction. Smart guy!

It was a beautiful wedding and this was the sunset that greated all as we left the ceremony.

Here's Audrey's idea of accessorizing the cinderella dress. Oh my lanta. The funny thing is Lisa was reluctant to spend $30 on a santa dress that Audrey would wear one time and probably hate. You could say we got our $30+ and shouldn't complain, but seriously, it's every day!

Fall, Snow, and Santa

2 years old and very task oriented. Oh the joy of seeing Audrey actually contribute something to the family other than cute smiles and sloppy kisses. She picked up quicker than Lisa could prune!

However, she proved not so helpful in helping Dad rake and pick up the leaves.

Following Thanksgiving it was off to Alan Acres in Stanwood for the annual christmas tree hunt. I thought it was a good tree until upon closer inspection Audrey found a bare spot on the back side. Whew, that was close.

While the snow caught us by surprise, I think I still could have taken a few minutes to put proper clothes on my 2 year old. "Jeez Dad, can you find me some gloves!" I think she came out of the snowman construction unscathed (as long as she didn't stare to long at my freakishly bright shoes).

In line to see Santa and Mom and Dad are definitely having a good time. I think at this point Audrey is remembering the trauma of last year's photo session. She has that vague "something about this is familiar" pose.

What a difference a year makes! A 2 year old can actually be bribed with promises of candy canes and ice cream. Proof below that the same bribery does not work with a 1 year old.

Who needs a baby brother when you have a posse to roll with like this! I used to complain about all the stuffed animals and Lisa would remind me that one day Audrey will have tea parties, etc. As usual, Mommy knew best.

Audrey has entered the much anticipated stage of demanding to pick-out her own clothes. Safe bet that any 4 days out of the week you'll see her in the soccer jersey (vaguely seen underneath), the "cindawella" dress (aka santa photo dress), and the ever fashionable rainbow sweats. Grandparents, please ignore the fact that Audrey is jumping on the bed in this photo . . . If Billy can sleep through it, it must be harmless.

It just wouldn't be a posting if we didn't have a photo of BFF Sydney included.

Feather Boa and Halloween

Lisa has a good friend who is a photographer so we enlisted Bill's services and took Audrey down to Gasworks Park for a little photo-shoot. Little did Audrey know, this is the scene of mommy and daddy's first kiss. This will no doubt one day give her the heebie-jeebies, but it's good memories for us none-the-less.There is something so precious about little chubby fingers. I still completely freeze if her hand happens to land on my arm for fear that she'll notice and move it.

Definitely got mom's eyes.

And mom's sense of fashion. The "feather boa" made an appearance sometime in September and is still a daily accessory (I'm not kidding . . . seriously). You would not believe how many feathers are tied into that thing. It's managed to shed into every conceivable nook and cranny of the house and is beginning to take on the appearance of a rat tail as we head into mid-November.

Photo proof that the once lush and luxurious boa is now something less (much less). Here she's sampling some of dad's fashion advice . . . tank top and rainbow sweats. What year is it?

Who doesn't love muppet inspired slippers?!

Same birthday hat that I managed to snap the elastic strap on her chubby little chin during her 1st birthday. I'm happy to see there are no lasting emotional scars.

October meant the 2nd annual trip to the pumpkin patch with Audrey's BFF Sydney. On the hunt for the perfect carver . . .

"Wait Syd, here it is!"

Now that the pumpkin is picked out, it's on to costume selection. "Mom, can I please be a Babushka from early century Russia?".

"Sorry honey, you make a much cuter fairy princess.".

Despite her best efforts, the Fred Meyer wings simply weren't rated for 35lbs. The skirt from Auntie Sooz absolutely killed though.

1st official halloween party and out of 3 girls . . . 3 fairy princesses?! Are you kidding me? Where's that babushka costume!

The embarrassment of the costume's un-originalness was nothing a little handholding from her BFF couldn't fix. They literally stood there holding hands for 5 minutes, which in 2-year old time is like 17 years. It was amazingly adorable. Or maybe they just like their pictures taken?

August . . Must Be Birthday Time!

Another August . . . another birthday! 2 years old and absolutely addicted to Mickey (don't worry though, I think we've already moved on to the doodlebops). Who loves birthday cake more than a 2 year old? Well, by the looks of mommy's face . . . mommy does!


While Audrey loves GG (great grandma), blood only gets you so far when it comes to sharing Mickey. "Maybe later GG, I just got him!".



Also a big hit with 2 year old party goers was the lawn mower. Audrey made a run for the front yard in hopes of keeping it out of the reach of friends. When does the sharing concept kick-in? Audrey, if you want to help daddy mow . . . move to the right a smidge!


While we didn't get it in time for the birthday, we got Audrey her long awaited, much asked for tricycle. Right about here Lisa informed me that when one of her friends put her daughter on a tricycle for the first time the front wheels fell off (see Audrey's concern in the next photo).


While maintaining complete eye-contact, Audrey slowly reaches for the screwdriver . . "If I'm takin a spill on the tricycle, I want to make sure it was put together right!".

Another August . . . another Seahawk season. Audrey got her annual pre-season taste of the action. It's Sunday afternoon baby-sitters from here on out baby!

Lisa couldn't wait for the day she could make popcorn "old-school style" on the stove and watch a movie with Audrey. That day has finally arrived.

Mommy had to leave the room during the scary scenes.

Audrey (and friends) polishing off another bowl of cereal in all-star fashion . . . bottoms up!

Audrey has been teasing us with the idea of potty training for a few months now. Don't let the picture fool you. I admit, she really looks like an old pro. However, she has yet to actually "go" while in the position. She has managed to hold off on "tinkling" until she gets up and walks away. Which leads to . . . .

. . . a quick pick up and drop in the tub!

Red Sox Fan?

In a shameless attempt by my father to get me to "see the light" on baseball and cheer for a real team, he has supplied me with a Red Sox t-shirt. Little did he know how much Audrey was going to love the "w(r)ed shirt" with the "big leddurs!".

I was in Boston a couple of weeks ago and got the chance to go to Fenway for a game. Icouldn't pass up the opportunity to get Audrey a matching "big leddur" t-shirt. As you can see, grandpa Jack has a head start with Audrey.

Audrey's Day as a Flower Girl

Our friends Greg and Jessica asked Audrey to be in their July 21st wedding back in March 2007. To our surprise she even walked down the aisle (with a little help from dad being in the front row).

4th of July Boat Ride

Introducing Audrey to our 4th of July tradition of spending a little time at Campbell Lake at the Johnson's. It was actually Audrey's 3rd consecutive Johnson 4th. Her first was when Lisa was 8 months pregnant and we literally had to "duck and roll" as a wayward firework was headed directly our way!

Lisa was a little nervous and was going over "boat safety" with Audrey. I love Audrey's "got it Mom" pose. Very intent.

Every since this little trip Audrey has begged for another "boat w(r)ide". Anything is a boat (including cardboard boxes . . . she's desperate!).