1st Christmas

Audrey's first Christmas was good however very exhausting, at least for Mike and I. She didn't sleep very well Christmas Eve night which we though was just another round of teething issues (...or the excitement for Santa coming) however it turns out she was coming down with a tiny little cold that Mom got as well. She was still a champ most of Christmas Day though. We opened up some presents at 6:30am and finally finished that by 10:00am ...and no, thats not because we spoiled her that much but because we had to pause a lot to eat, nap, change diapers, or whatever else came up. She was still more interested in the wrapping paper, cards, bows or cardboards box than the actual gift itself however once that was all out of the way I think she finally took a liking to all her new toys. After all that we headed over to Aunt Sara and Uncle Dave's for Christmas dinner which was really nice once we got the pac n play, booster seat, diaper bag, food and presents unloaded from the SUV (how do people do it with a car)! Then, after just four short hours Audrey insisted it was time to go home because it was past her bedtime! So Christmas was over just like that. We were home and Audrey was sound asleep in her own bed (crib) by 6:30pm! Twelve hours had come and gone in what felt like a matter of minutes! Jeesh ...I can't wait 'til next year!

Thank you to everyone who got her some new toys and clothes! She sure is starting to take over just about every inch of our home. Thank you to Grandma Nelson for the Christmas outfit. It sure was a big hit with everyone!

Good News!

Test results are back ...she is Spherocytosis free! Yippee! The doctor said her results confirm that she currently shows no signs of the hereditary gene. It is possible though, as her immune system matures, that she could start to develops some (I wasn't diagnosed with it until I was 2 years old), however he's very optimistic that she'll be healthy this time next year as well. We're optimistic too however we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

She's starting to take a bottle in the afternoon now. It's still somewhat of a battle however I think she's becoming more receptive to it, especially if Mike gives it to her. This is good news because come mid January I will be going back to my previous job full time again. Mike and I have some work to do between now and then, first and foremost finding her a daycare. That's all I'm going to write on this for now because my stomach starts to turn whenever I think about it (...God grant me the strength...)!

I still have a lot of Christmas shopping to do so I'm grateful that tomorrow is Mike's last day at work until after the New Year! Audrey will love spending all that time with her dad too! Merry Christmas everyone!

Presents? Who needs presents when you have the paper?

So if anyone was wondering what to get Audrey for Christmas just go ahead and forget the present and just give her the wrapping paper, she'll be entertained for hours! The above pictures, compliments of Heather Z, were taken at Sammy's 1st birthday party. Sam had a lot of presents to open and Audrey was just happy to sit back and watch as long as she had some wrapping paper to play with. Just a couple of days prior to this I discovered her new found love for paper as I was browsing through a magazine that she just insisted on having. I tore out a page and gave it to her and she was happy as a lark ...and then so was I.

We went to the Hematologist last week to test her for Spherocytosis however we don't get the results back until later this week. The good news though, her hemoglobin levels where normal which is a good indication that she'll test negative (knock on wood) but we still have our fingers crossed.

We've also been very busy this week in trying to master the bottle. I'll tell you what, she is definitely a Taurus, sign of the bull! The first day I gave her the bottle she took it like a champ ...sucked it right down! I was in shock, and I'll admit even a little heart broken, but happy that it went over so easily. Then the next day came and she looked at it like it was the most evil thing she'd ever seen, and that's where we've been for the past three days. She is being so stubborn that she'd rather just skip a meal then to have to drink from a bottle or even a sippy cup. I really wonder what we are in for when she starts going to daycare. Yep, that's right, mom is going back to work full time, hopefully sometime soon within the new year. I'll post more about that when or if the time comes. First things first ...OPERATION: Bottle intake! Stay tuned ;)

Below is a picture, compliments of Krista, of our little snow bunny! She's such a trooper when we feel it's necessary to bundle her up in this cold, cold Michigan weather.

Santa!

Audrey had a little visit today with a jolly old man that we all know and love! That's right, her first visit with Santa! She obviously has a lot of trust in us because she didn't even flinch when Mike just plopped her in the lap of some weird dude with a really long white beard. She looked at him, then looked at us and even smiled at first (mom didn't have the camera ready for the smile and it was gone as fast as it came). We're just so proud that there weren't any tears!

Thankful for Four Generations

Audrey's first Thanksgiving is in the books! Grandma Billie had us over along with GG (great grandma Weil) for a lovely turkey dinner. Aunt Sara and Uncle Dave made a special trip over just to visit with 'lil Miss Audrey before they headed over to his parents house for dinner (...now that she's married we have to share her)! Audrey was in a great mood that day, all smiles, and even took a small nap at Grandma's house! I was very thankful for that ;)

Four Generations:

Grandma Billie:

GG (Great Grandma Weil):

Aunt Sara: