Crayons

As many of you are aware, Audrey has been working on her arts and crafts. Actually drawing typically comes third on her list of priorities when the crayons come out. Number one is holding as many as she can at one time; number two is eating them. She hasn't quite shown the signs of being the next Pablo Picasso yet, but we will give her a little more time to develop her skills before we rule out this as a career choice.

Nature Walk

There are a fair number of parks in Southern Maryland. Kelly and Audrey have been exploring a number of them with her group of moms during the week while I am at work. We decided this long weekend was a perfect excuse for me to witness her new found hiking abilities.

We drove a little north to the Flag Ponds Nature Park. Audrey walked the 0.5 mile hiking trail all by herself, though she probably covered twice that distance with all her zigging and zagging to check out the leaves, rocks, sticks, and various seed pods covering the ground.

We took a brief break from walking to check out the old replica fishing house. Audrey decided that au naturel was the right way to go so she stripped down right on the front porch (for the short time it took to change her diaper). Luckily she covered herself up and was back to checking out leaves by the time I got my camera out.

It was 40 degrees out on the beach and we were a good hike from the car with no change of clothes and no towel. What does that add up to for a water loving baby? A complete meltdown because her parents wouldn't let her play in the water. Yes, we are evil, and she let everyone on the beach know. We hightailed it away from the water so fast that I didn't even get a picture of the bay. Oh well, next time (when it is much warmer)...

I'm looking forward to the day when we can reason more with Audrey. Right now "Mommy and Daddy screwed up and forgot to bring a change of clothes. So sorry!" doesn't mean much to her. But out of sight, out of mind, and Audrey quickly got over the traumatic event of being denied a chance to splash in the Chesapeake.

I've had a few "nature vs. nurture" discussions with people since Audrey was born. I used to be 60/40 on the nature/nurture side of the fence but the more I see neurotic kids coming from neurotic parents, political leanings passed down as if they are genetic, and kids growing up to hate the same perfect strangers their parents do, the more I realize we have to set a good example for our daughter.

On the hike back to the car I was able to grab this shot of Audrey following in the footsteps of her mom. We had a great day and I'm happy we are doing what we can to nurture some nature into our daughter's life.

Dip, Baby, Dip

Audrey already knew that food is delicious but she just learned that food can be made more delicious...by dipping! Did she start with fries and ketchup? No ma'am. Chicken nuggets and barbecue sauce? No way. First up was carrot sticks and blue cheese dressing. Next stop? Chicken wings.

Tripod Fort

We used to be able to keep Audrey entertained by moving from one toy to another for most of the day. For the last few months, Audrey has been wanting to do more things around the house: help with cooking, jump around like a kangaroo, play outside in the leaves, etc. This has required Kelly and I to try and think like a 16 month old and be a little creative. That's not easy for either of us. Often we come up with some great activity that she has zero interest in. It always feels good then, to come up with something she has a blast doing.

Today she wore a sheet of packing foam as her Academy Awards dress. A while back we had a toga party with one of dad's shirts. A few days ago I had the tripod set up and Kelly brought a sheet out to make a fort. She spent upwards of an hour playing under there with her stuffed animals and books. That is an eternity when measured in toddler-attention-span time.

AhhDoo and MahhMahh

Audrey's vocabulary is increasing...

and she is learning how to ham it up...

Superbowl Sunday

Superbowl Sunday started with another trip up to the Prince Fredrick Aquatics Center for a fun dip in the pool. It's a good 45 minute drive, but Audrey says the kiddie pool is worth it. She is becoming more and more comfortable in the water by herself, walking around, playing with the toys, and wondering why the kids twice her size are so scared they are crying. Today we heard "See Jordan, the little baby isn't scared!"

Back at home I went to work on the golden brown greasy goodness that was our Superbowl dinner. We made chicken taquitos, even though I hate frying food (the actual frying of it myself, not the eating of it). They were delicious, though any meal that requires mopping after cooking is too messy.

We allowed Audrey to partake in one more Superbowl tradition--eating in front of the T.V. We wheeled her high chair into the living room and she thoroughly enjoyed the change of scenery.

Towel Dried To Perfection

A warm bath followed by squirming on the changing table with wet hair while she got her PJs on...

Next step, Toddlers in Tiaras.

Toga! Toga! Toga!

We know we've been a little slow on the updates lately. Between trips out to visit Audrey's newest cousin, trips to Orlando for work, being sick 3 times (including her first fever of 103), training for Kelly's triathlon, babysitting a 3 month old, and hosting book club for 12 moms and 15 kids, we haven't had much time to post anything new.

We'll start back up the posts with a picture of Audrey wearing one of Dad's work shirts. It had us all giggling for quite some time.