Oh my goodness, has it really been that long??

Wow, I haven't posted in quite a little while... But as you all know, lots has happened! I know it's not much of an announcement now, but I just have to say it - we live in California now!!! Yay! Claremont actually, it's such a nice little city and there are trails and parks and beautiful weather that we have been enjoying. Our ward is great and so nice. Things couldn't get much better :) Aubrey, of course, is soooo thrilled to get to see family all the time and she is also thrilled to get to go outside all the time. She loves outside. I probably hear "outside" at least 10 times a day... a lot more if I tell her "just a minute" or some other form of not right now. It sounds like a cute little one word question when she says it, with her voice going up at the end of the word, but it really means "look, there is outside on the other side of this glass, take me there, please... now." I think her 3 favorite things in the entire world are "dog," "Daddy," and "outside."

Once we're outside she mostly collects sticks, even at the park, I can get her to play on the toys for a little while and she loves slides, but most of all she loves to just run around in grass and dirt and stop to pick up sticks. Once she has one for each hand she keeps looking, but will weigh the decision carefully as to which stick to give up for the new one, or if the 2 she already has are superior.

Her other favorite current activity is to tell the dog to get in her crate. In the sternest, most commanding voice she can muster she demands "crate." Then once the dog is inside she either says in the sweetest angel voice "come out" or she climbs in there as well and closes the door. I have some pictures and video from just before we moved, but she stills loves to do it every chance she gets :)

And of course it's important to have lots of food when you're locked in a crate.

I'm just amazed that "Bawooo" (Malibu) just sat in there the whole time. I was packing some things in the kitchen and I saw Aubrey getting all the cereal out of the cupboard, but I thought she was helping me pack as she had before. Then I turned around and saw Aubrey loading the last box and Malibu looking helpless in the corner of her crate, what a trooper :)

Ranch Dressing to the Rescue?

Miss picky pants is the toughest nut to crack when it comes to getting an ounce of food in her tummy. There are about 3 things she will eat with any consistency, and only like a little bird. As I was trying in vain to get her to eat pieces of chicken fingers, I thought, hey - maybe ranch dressing would make it more palatable. Well the ranch was a hit! Unfortunately, the chicken finger pieces only served as a vehicle for getting the ranch to her mouth. Once they were licked clean they were promptly discarded. That is, until she found out that apparently sourdough toast tastes good dipped in ranch too and the chicken finger pieces were completely abandoned. *Sigh* I thought babies were supposed to gobble up everything without discretion!

Soccer girl

Aubrey just got a Halloween package from Nana and Papa and they included an Aubrey sized soccer ball. An instant favorite! Way to go Nana & Papa!!!

We spent this morning, and then take 2 this afternoon trying to get some nice family pictures at the park. Aubrey was much more intersted in exploring and pulling up grass and flowers than in sitting still for a family photo. Our first trip this morning was too cold and we didn't last long, nor did we get any good shots. What I did get was a gimpy limp for the rest of the day because I stepped in a hole and my foot bent a way feet shouldn't bend :-S
We did get a couple cute shots though our second time around though :)

Say Cheese

I know I've been a total slacker when it comes to updating here! We're down to 72 days until Jarom's last day - wooo hoooo! And Aubrey and I will be leaving a little before then. And since the munchkin is a 22 hour a day job I've been trying to pack a little each day in those 2 hours I sometimes have. I know, excuses, excuses... Well here is something to make you smile then -

Everything is good over here in Nebraska. The warm weather is slipping away very quickly. Now it's time to bundle up and do all the fun fall things you can do out here in the middle of the country, like... corn mazes, pumpkin patches, hay rides, and .... more corn stuff I guess.

Aubrey is getting so big, and so fast. One second trying to give stuff to the dog, the next second climbing on top of the couch, the next running away from me with a guilty look on her face and probably something in her mouth. She is learning new words all the time and definitely understands us, but that doesn't translate to obeying those words when it doesn't sound fun. "Bring Mommy a book or toy" are always winners, "eat your peas", not so much.

Mommy and Daddy are her favorite toys right now. She figured out that she can grab our fingers and lead us around the house and to whatever fun thing she wants us to do. Like bringing us to her flower toy that plays music and making us dance. The other day Jarom was sitting on the couch counting to 3 then lifting her up in the air from the ground then plopping her on his lap. If he stopped Aubrey would grab his hands and start counting "one, one, eeee" or "two, one, eeee" every once in a while she even got "one, two, eeee" I was rolling. Who needs outside entertainment when you have a toddler?

Aubrey's Birthday Celebration Across the Country

Aubrey had a wonderful long trip to California of which I will be posting much more later, but she has a doctor's appointment today :( so time is short. Enjoy a little scrapblog!

Happy Birthday Aubrey!!

She is a year old today! I can't believe it!! I have some cute pictures to put up, but then it's back to packing and getting ready to visit California!!!!

Children's Museum