Throw Me Something Mister

We got some beads and king cake this past weekend. Aubrey enjoyed them both!

Aubrey's First Trip to Bruster's

Banana ice cream - yum!




She got called a boy twice that day in the grocery store. I know she's wearing a blue shirt and overalls, but she also has earrings, pink socks, and pink shoes!

New Class

January is already half over and I haven't had much time to sit down and post thus far in the new year. So what have we been up to in the Maudlin household in 2009? It's one of my busy times of the year at work, since I'm a CPA. No, I don't do taxes, but we are closing the books on the 5 properties that I am responsible for and with strict reporting deadlines, it's our last chance to get everything right before the auditors come. I had a couple of late nights last week, and Matt was practically a single dad. I'm glad it's only like this a few times a year. Thankfully, it's Matt's free time with his sports with no football and track not starting until next month His 1st semester isn't even over until next week, so his school year's not even halfway over yet.

Miss Aubrey is doing great. Someone at work asked me the other day how my baby was doing, and my response was she's not a baby anymore. It's really exciting to see her growing and learning right now. She moved up to the Toddler Class last week, and Matt and I got to meet with her teacher, Ms. Janshi (pronounced jan-SEE), this week. I think she's going to learn a lot from Ms. Janshi. There are only 4 children in the class. It's a much bigger room than the baby room with different activity centers, small tables and chairs where they eat together, sinks at their levels, and access to their own playground. They are on more of a schedule now and only take 1 nap.

She walked us through a typical day. They start off with play time where they play with different toys and at the different stations. Then at around 9 am they have a morning snack. Then, if it's not too cold, they go outside. Ms. Janshi said they all love outside time and don't usually want to come back in. They wash their hands once they get in and have circle time where they read stories or sing songs. Then lunch usually starts about 11. They all eat together and drink out of small cups with no lids (yikes!), not sippy cups. We haven't been brave enough to test this at home yet. Then after lunch it's nap time, which normally lasts an hour and a half. I asked if Aubrey normally goes down on her own because I still rock her to sleep at home, and she said as soon as they pull out the beds and turn off the lights, she goes to her bed and lays down. After nap time is over, they go outside again and then come in for an afternoon snack and then more playtime until it's time to go home.

Ms. Janshi explained to us that now is the age to start laying the foundation for the skills she will use later in life. Aubrey is a sponge and she is soaking everything up right now. She is teaching her lots of one syllable words such as mine, yours, share, bring, etc. as well as a little bit of sign language to help in their communication skills. Aubrey can do the signs for "more" and "all gone", and she is also learning the signs for "please" and "thank you".

Ms. Janshi told us that she asked one of the other kids in the class to bring her something, and Aubrey heard her request, went over to the other kid, took the item out of his hands, and brought it to Ms. Janshi. Ms. Janshi said she knew what I was asking, so what could I say except "Thank You".

We're very excited for 2009 and look forward to what this year has in store for us! I promise to post some pictures soon.

Christmas 2008

Aubrey's 2nd Christmas was a lot of fun. We woke up early to check out the tree and see what Santa had brought. She really seemed to like her car even though her legs are a little too short to push yet.

After opening all of our presents at home, we headed to Metairie, where lots more fun awaited. Aubrey got lots of Elmo goodies, including a purse, she had her third 1st birthday cake, and she got to spend time with family and friends.

Fear the Hat - Geaux Tigers!

Merry Christmas Eve

Aubrey is sleeping soundly as Santa is on his way. After we see what he brings her in the morning and open the rest of our presents we will be heading to Metairie to spend the rest of our Christmas vacation there. I will post our Christmas adventures when we return.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

Santa!

First Birthday

Aubrey's first birthday was lots of fun. She slept in and had a delicious breakfast of bananas and waffles. After breakfast she opened one present. It was from Nana and Pops and was a beautiful ornament they got for her on their recent trip to Disney World.

I dropped her off at school later in the morning. I took the day off to do some Christmas shopping and run some errands. As soon as we walked in the class, her teacher started to sing Happy Birthday to Aubrey.
The no-fun part of the day was Aubrey's 1 year check-up. She was not happy to see the Dr. She is 28 & 3/4 in. long and 20 lbs. Her head circumference is in the 90th %, her height is in the 50th %, and her weight is in the 40th %. She got 4 shots and her finger pricked. Poor baby. The Dr. said she can eat all table foods (except peanut butter and shellfish) and it's time to ditch the bottles. Yay!

We went and had Mexican food with Mike and Christie and returned home for cake and to open presents. She wasn't sure about the cake at first, but it didn't take long for her to chow down on it.

It was a Disney filled birthday. Nana and Pops got her a beautiful towel and washcloth with Minnie Mouse and her name on them. They also got her Winnie the Pooh that plays Happy Birthday. We got her a Winnie the Pooh cart that she can ride on.

She is about an inch to short to push herself but daddy's a great pusher!

1 Year Ago

Aubrey Noel entered the world one year ago today. She was born at 5:49 am. She weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz and was 20 in. long.

It all started on Monday, December 1oth. I went to my doctor's appointment Monday afternoon hoping it would be my last. I was 40 weeks and 3 days along, and I was definitely over being pregnant. I was swollen, huge, had a rash across my belly, and was tired of hearing labor stories from everyone at work. There had been no progression since the previous 2 appointments. I was still 2 cm. dilated. Dr. Barcio said if nothing happened before Friday, I would need to come in so they could do a nonstress test and have an ultrasound so they could check my fluid levels. She said the earliest she would be able to medically induce was the following Monday. She then asked if I would be interested in being induced before that if there was any availability at the hospital. I said "Of course", and when she asked if I had any preferences on when my response was "As soon as possible!". She called the hospital and the only availability they had before the following Monday was a stand-by spot the next day. She sent me home with instructions of no food or drink after midnight and to wait for a call from the hospital the next morning to see if they had room.

I left the Dr.'s office feeling excited but not optimistic that I was going to get induced the next day. That evening we made phone calls to family and I sent an email to work, and we actually had a very relaxing night at home, considering how close we were to Aubrey's arrival. Maybe it was better I didn't let myself believe or even imagine the next day was going to be the day because I got a full night's sleep.

Dr. Barcio had told me the hospital would call sometime between 5am and 7am to let me know if they would have a room available that day. She said if I hadn't heard from them by 7am, I could then call the hospital to check. I didn't set my alarm and slept until close to 6am. No phone ever came. 7am came and went and since I hadn't heard anything, I made the call. The nurse told me that they were planning on admitting me that day and they were trying to schedule a nurse to come in. Wow! I couldn't believe it was finally going to happen. She said they would call me back before noon to let me know what time I needed to be there. She also told me I could eat a little something, so I ate a piece of toast. I was too nervous to eat any more. Matt went to work to get his classes ready for a sub for the next week. I sent a few emails to let friends know what was going on, took a shower, and finished packing my hospital bag. The nurse called back shortly thereafter and told me to be at the hospital by 11:00.

Here's me right before we left for the hospital:

On the way to the hospital, we decided on her name. We had 3 names and we hadn't been able to pick one. I thought I would decide when I saw her. For some reason on the way there, it all finally felt real, and I knew our Aubrey was on her way. I told Matt I thought we should name her Aubrey, and he said ok.

We got to the hospital, went right up to labor and delivery, and were shown our room. The nurse quickly hooked me up to the Pitocin and the monitors, and Dr. Barcio came by on her lunch break to check on me. She broke my water and everything seemed to be going fine. The nurse told me I could request the epidural whenever I was ready for it. I waited for awhile and think it was sometime late afternoon that I finally decided I was ready. I seemed to be progressing steadily.

The rest of that day is sort of a blur to me. Our families arrived. My mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, and Matt's parents all got on the road as soon as they learned we were going to the hospital. They spent the night in the waiting room and entertained themselves with cards and movies.

I got the epidural, then it stopped working, then they tried to re-charge it a few times, but that didn't seem to work. They finally decided to give me another one, which worked wonderfully and allowed me to sleep for a few hours. Poor Matt didn't sleep at all. In the middle of all of that, the Dr. decided that Aubrey wasn't centered and was too far on my right side, so they had me get on my hand and knees and stay like that for 30 minutes to try and her her more to the center of my belly.

I think it was sometime after 3:00 am when the nurse came in and said it was time to start pushing. So I pushed, alot, but we weren't getting anywhere. Sometime around 5:00 am, Dr. Barcio asked how I felt about a C-section. I told her whatever it took to get that baby out.

I remember fighting to keep my eyes open during the procedure, them bringing her around to show her to me, and that's it. All I wanted was to see my baby and then I was out. I am so glad we decided on the name before. I woke up an hour later in recovery.

It was all worth it. Every moment of those 18 hours that I was in the hospital waiting for her arrival and every month of my pregnancy and everything that came with it was worth it. I can't really remember what life was like before Aubrey was in it, yet it amazes me she's only been in my life for a year. She truly means the world to me and I am so blessed to have Matt and her as my family. I'm not sure what we did to deserve her, but we are so thankful at how fortunate we have been.

It's Snowing in Houston!

Sorry no Aubrey pictures, but it's snowing in Houston! It was in the 70's yesterday. This morning we woke up to freezing cold weather and an 80% chance of sleet. It was snowing in College Station which is about 90 minutes northwest of here this morning. The weatherman said there was no chance the snow would make it here. It was cloudy, rainy, and cold all day. At about 5 this evening a co-worker said he got a text message from his brother and it was snowing in The Woodlands, which is about 10 minutes north of us. By the time I left work it was snowing downtown. It wasn't sticking but you could see the flakes. When I got home the snow had pretty much stopped. I went out later on to check the mail and it was really coming down. (This is maybe the 3rd time in my whole life I've seen snow. Sorry if it's not as exciting to you!)