Congratulations...

to the 53% of you who thought Audrey was getting a sister because you were CORRECT! I honestly didn't have a feeling beforehand as to whether I thought it would be a boy or girl so I was stumped (unlike with Audrey, who I was "sure" was a boy). Although, yesterday Audrey informed us that it was a girl. When we told her that it could be a boy, she insisted that it was a girl. I knew then that she was probably right. Because honestly, if anyone was going to know, I believed she would know. So, now I get to sit back and enjoy the next few months without having too much to do. The one blessing is that there are very few things we'll have to buy since she will be born in the same season as Audrey and we already have the furniture, bedding, toys, etc. My, I mean, our biggest decision now will be a name. Another reason to be grateful for another girl- Brett and I find it easier to agree on girl names than boy names. And by easier, I mean, he likes 1 out of 100 names I throw at him for girls. But all it takes is one name. Good thing we've got almost 20 weeks to figure it out.

Christmas

Audrey definitely had a wonderful Christmas. Santa should have saved his money and just brought these 2 gifts (princess dress up trunk and a guitar) because they are by far her most favorite. The rest of the family spoiled her with tons of fun presents and I have been spoiled with 2 days of her being so entertained with her new toys that I don't have to listen to cries of boredom. We had a wonderful Christmas and feel very blessed to have such great friends and family. I hope you all enjoyed the day with your families and wish you all a Happy New Year!

What Do You Wear To Bed?

If you're Audrey, this is what you wear. Minus the birthday hat, which sat on the table beside her bed while she slept, and was immediately returned to her head as soon as she woke up.

This Halloween costume was the best $20 I've ever spent.

Audrey's Christmas Program

Tonight was another first in the life of Audrey. She had her first musical Christmas program at school and it turned out really cute. I was worried that she would just get up on the stage and cry (especially when she spotted her cheering section) or that she wouldn't even make it on the stage, period. And with good reason- as soon as I dropped her off at her classroom she broke down crying. Ok, let's be honest, screaming. A high pitched, everyone within 20 miles can hear me, shrill. Because that's how she rolls. This girl is full. of. drama. Luckily, as soon as she got on the stage, she was back to herself. Singing, dancing, and having fun.

Singing about baby Jesus (and Audrey's pretending to rock him- 2nd one on the left)

Bustin' a move (3rd from left)

Clapping for a job well done.

Getting kisses from Uncle Justin.

And hugs from cousin Addison.

Audrey made this adorable sign for me. I love it!

We ended the evening with a stop at TCBY for frozen yogurt to celebrate with family. I wish I had my camera in the store because Audrey gave all the customers an encore of the Christmas Program. It was a great evening and I look forward to many more programs in the future. These things are quite fun when it's your own child on the stage! ha ha

Bleh...

So, I wrote up a little post yesterday to announce (to anyone who isn't family or on Facebook), that I am pregnant with baby #2. It was a happy little post about how excited I am and how I was feeling great- all nauseousness gone, blah, blah, blah. Whatever. I guess I was just having a great day yesterday and that's all because I'm pretty sure I'm not going far from the bathroom today. Oh well. The good thing is that I know it will pass. And it should pass soon, right? I mean, c'mon. I'm almost 15 weeks!

But one piece of unexpected happy news is that we'll find out what we're having on December 30. Happy New Year to us! I didn't think they would do it until January but thank you to December for having 5 weeks! So, in honor of baby #2, and because I know how everyone loves to guess what the gender will be, I'm posting a little poll to the right hand side for you to share your opinion.

And for the record, I really am excited. I just forget some days. :)

Hmmmm....

It might be time to invest in some new dress up clothes.

A Tribute

To an incredibly great man who lived his life to the fullest and loved everyone he met. I have never heard him speak badly of another person nor have I met a person who would so willingly give you the shirt off of his back (or $20- which I liked to test often). He was so full of energy, M&Ms, and a willingness to play Shanghi at any time of the day. I admired his green thumb and his ability to make any garden he touched into a beautiful masterpiece.

One of his favorite things to do was to go 4-wheeling and I will never forget when he took Brett and I 4-wheeling in Idaho a couple of years ago. We spent all day exploring an area around the Snake River and I will always cherish the time I got to spend with him laughing, racing, appreciating the beauty of the earth, and of course, eating ice cream. Because when you're a McBride, there is no better way to end your day.

I will miss him deeply but will forever be grateful for the 30 years that I was able to have him in my life. So many good memories, so many great hugs. I am grateful to have had such a wonderful Grandpa and I look forward to the day when I will see him again. Maybe then I will be able to beat him at Shanghi.

Halloween Fun

Halloween couldn't come soon enough for Audrey this year. She bugged me the entire month by asking every day, "Halloween today? We go trick or treating?" Lucky for her, she was able to go trick or treating 3 times last week and I'm pretty sure most of that candy is gone now. In fact, she told Brett last night, "I need more chocwate bars." Like mother, like daughter.

Audrey was so excited about getting a pumpkin this year... until she and Brett carved it open. She kept saying, "Dis smell yucky."

I made Audrey a Halloween outfit this year. Thanks to my very talented mother who showed me how to applique (and make it look nice) and how to sew a bow on a shirt.

My beautiful fairy

I also made her a bucket this year to gather all her treats (using a tutorial found HERE).
Of course, she preferred the traditional pumpkin bucket that her cousin brought. Luckily, he was a good sport and let her carry it around until it was time to trick or treat.

We had a great Halloween filled with lots of good food, good friends, and family. I hope yours was just as wonderful!

When the Treasure Box Goes All Wrong...

So, at the end of each week, Audrey gets to go to the treasure box at Mother's Day Out. As a former Kindergarten teacher, I am very aware of how much a child enjoys this and I always enjoyed seeing how excited the kiddos got every time I pulled the box out. Although, during that time, I never gave one thought to what went into the treasure box. Funny how being a parent changes that. Last week, Audrey chose to bring home this adorable Dora bracelet.

We went home and Audrey played while I finished up some projects I had been working on. Little did I know, because let's be honest, I wasn't paying one bit of attention to her, Audrey was having a great time with her new Dora bracelet LIP GLOSS. Not clear, not FAKE (as it should be for a 2 yr old), but a beautiful shade of pink that now adorned her former beautiful white shirt.

Luckily, after 2 washes and a last minute thought to throw this in-
we have a beautiful white shirt again. I have always loved my little dye grabber, which I use to wash all the fabrics I buy for making clothes and crafts, but now I have an even deeper appreciation for it since I have learned that it helps get major stains out.

I'm just chalking it up to another mommy lesson that I had to learn. And next week, I think I might steal the rest of the bracelets when the teachers aren't looking.

Destin

After Disney World, we headed to Destin to spend the rest of our vacation. I don't know how my parents took us to Disney for a week because after 2 days there, I was so exhausted that I was actually looking forward to the 6 hour drive in the car!

How can waking up to this not be relaxing?
You may remember our visit to Destin last year involved a lot of this... not so much fun.

But a lot can change in a year (thank goodness)!
Although when given the chance, she still preferred to be on dry (non-sandy) land.

This year we took Audrey on a dolphin cruise, which was really fun. She even got to steer the boat.
Some pictures of Audrey outside...

(sorry, lens fogged up on this one)
Audrey torturing her Uncle Craig during dinner.

One of our favorite places to go when we are in Destin is the Baytowne Wharf. Our last night there, they had different bands playing and Audrey had a great time dancing.

Clapping for the musician's.

We had a great vacation, but as you can tell, we were all exhausted at the end. It was the perfect amount of time for us, though. Just long enough to feel relaxed and rejuvenated but happy to be home.

(And I'm happy to add that the paci is completely gone- she threw them in a box of trash- her new toy box- and hasn't asked for them since. 4 days and counting...)

Animal Kingdom

On the second day, we headed to the Animal Kingdom. I had never been there before and was really impressed. The first thing we did was go on a safari ride. We saw lots of animals (that you would see at the zoo) but it was a fun and different way to see them.

Audrey loved sitting in front of the glass watching the fish swim around.

At the far side of the pond, there was a hippo that was sleeping. You can click on the picture to get a better look.

Every couple of minutes, he would lift his head up to breathe. Seems like too much work to me. I would just sleep on the land. :)

We took a train over to Rafiki's Planet Watch...

Audrey met Jiminy Cricket for the first time

and got to brush the goats in the petting zoo.

Each of the characters had their own huts so we went and visited Donald Duck since we didn't see him the day before. Actually, Audrey insisted that we see them ALL (Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy) again.

Eating one of those yummy Mickey Mouse bars.

In DinoLand they had this huge play area that Audrey loved. To get to the top of the slide, she had to climb up all these rope ladders. I was quite impressed with her.
I wasn't sure if she was actually going to slide down this 3 story slide, but she did without any problems. In fact, she went back up several times.
Practicing her gymnastic moves on an "abandoned" jeep.
Such a fun day! We loved the Animal Kingdom!