Gone before you know it

Yet another summer has drifted by more quickly than anyone wishes it would have! I go back to work on the 14th, so I am trying to soak up and enjoy every last minute home with Audrey. Yesterday, we did a lot of playing, especially jumping on the bed. This has become one of her favorite things to do!

Since my last post, Audrey and I made another trip to TN. We went up at the end of July to surprise my mom for her 50th birthday. We hated that Jerry couldn't join us, but he didn't have the time to take off work. Grandma Terri was very surprised to see Audrey and me! We enjoyed a great visit with family.

Audrey seems to be learning and doing more every single day! It is crazy to see her becoming this little person instead of a baby. Below I'll share some of the funny/new things she's been doing along with how big she is:

• Audrey weighs nearly 30 lbs (it was 29.8 when I took her to the doctor recently), and she looks bigger than several 2 year olds! Luckily, she's tall too!
• Her clothing size is all over the place. She is mostly wearing 24 months or 2T, depending on the brand.
• She's getting ready to move into a size 6 shoe, and boy does she love shoes! I constantly find her in her room with all her shoes pulled out onto the floor playing with them. Her Aunt Jill must have passed along the shoe loving trait!
• Walking is old news; now she wants to run! She especially loves to try to get Betsy, our dog, to chase her. Then, she gets to run AND squeal!
• She is still signing some ("milk," "more," "all done," "thirsty"), but she's stopped signing "eat." Instead, she tends to grab my hand, pull me to the fridge (sometimes opening it herself), and show me what she wants when she wants to eat!
• Speaking of food, she has become a big fan of Chick-fil-A (she even recognizes the bags now), pizza, and black beans. Those are definitely some of her favorites.
• She says a lot, but of course, isn't always understandable. Words she says pretty clearly are "Ma ma," "Da da," "Nigh-nigh" (night-night), "juu," (juice) and "nana" (banana). She also tries to say her own form of Jill (my sister's name), Wiggles (she loves dancing to the music on that show), and a handful of other words.
• She is SO affectionate! She gives hugs and kisses all the time, and boy - Are her kisses wet! It is so sweet though to tell her to go tell Daddy "night night," and hear her run down the hall to him going "mmmmmmm" as she prepares to kiss him! She also shares her affection with Betsy, giving lots of hugs.
• If climbing were an Olympic sport, she may have earned a gold medal by now. She wants to climb EVERYTHING! She climbs onto the kitchen chairs, the couches, and tries to climb onto our bed. One day recently, I walked in her room to find her sitting in her gliding rocker with a proud smile on her face!
• She still sleeps very well at night (usually about 11 hrs). Her naps during the day are usually about an hour long (sometimes shorter), but she's beginning to protest them a bit more, and she usually plays in her crib for quite awhile before finally falling asleep.

Only a few more days of summer left for Mommy to be home with Audrey, and I am certainly doing everything I can to cherish them. People say that it gets easier, but I disagree. And I also wouldn't want it to. I never want it to be "easy" for me to just leave my child all day with someone else. I love being home with her, even when she frustrates me, and I miss her like crazy when school starts!

I'm sure there are plenty of other things I should remember to post, but this is all I can remember for now. Jerry and I are loving being parents and have so many, "Wow, I love her!" moments (while there have also been a lot of "Oh my gosh, she's got to learn to listen!" kind of moments too!). Blessed doesn't begin to cover what we are, but we sure are thankful for it!