Wild Hair (+ a few)

I just had to try to put pigtails in...and then add a third :)

she was being so silly it was hard to get a good pic

oh, what a sweetie!

 It's been awhile now, but she loves 

taking baths in the big girl tub.

I let her stand in the bathroom and

 look out the window at the cows.

Maybe a bit unsafe, but I only stepped 

away to quick snatch a picture.

getting into trouble...good thing we bought 

one with very hard opening doors :)

she found the dryer balls in the basket...

and then proceeded to pull off all the clothes that she could reach

When Grandpa and Grandma Came to Town...

Grandpa and Grandma Van Grouw came down for about four full days to help watch Aubrey since the babysitter was busy with our school's auction and also to catch a couple of Steve's Regional basketball games.  They could come so easily since they aren't tied down with milking.  It was WONDERFUL to have them both here!  Thanks for the great memories!

Dad did a lot of fix-up projects, just like my Grandpa Van Grouw 

would do when they came for a visit from California :) 

Here he bought us and installed a new ceiling fan!

Mom baked, did laundry, and even organized my pantry!

Here is the souvenirs from Aubrey's FIRST TRIP to Mc Donald's!

Grandpa and Grandma VG bought Aubrey 

this old chair from OSCI at the auction!

Aubrey and Daddy checking out the new fan!

After bath time, we discovered a new hair-do; too cute :)

 Aubrey's 2ND TRIP to McDonald's...this time with Mommy, too!

Grandma and Grandpa

Steve's 2nd round Regional Basketball game vs. #1 Benton

Aubrey made a new friend at the game, too

This was the half-time score and we were up! So AWESOME, Indians!

enjoying the game with Mommy in Grandma Char's chair

Unfortunately, the #1 team proved themselves and we lost :(

Coach Kaisand's interview with the radio, KBOE

desperate times call for desperate measures...diaper change on the bleachers

She was a good girl and fell asleep on the way home - a whole 2 hr ride!

Grandpa with Aubrey before church.

Another photo session in the "new" chair.

what a little cheese-ball :)

Unfortunately after Grandpa put up Mommy's new shelf,

it all came tumbling down and made a mess.

Thanks for trying, Grandpa :)

Regional Bball Fiasco

My parents are down visiting for a few days to catch some of Steve's team playing basketball, watch Aubrey for a few days, and just hang out because they don't have the dairy hindering their plans.

On Wednesday, there was a regional basketball game in Fairfield.  Mom, Dad, me, and Aubrey were going to head to the game, which started at 7:00.  It was about an hours drive to the game and none of us had ever been there before, but I looked up the address online and plugged it into the GPS, thinking we would be fine. I didn't want to be late for the game, so we planned to leave at 5:30, giving us an hour and a half before the game would start.  I even made the comment, "I don't want to drive over an hour and miss the game!"

Well, it was dark and rainy and we had a bit of trouble getting to the game on time.  It started with Aubrey throwing a fit in the car so we tried to get the CD player working in the car.  Mom got it going but we didn't know what CD it was so she wanted to eject it, but could NOT find where to do it.  Aubrey was crying, Mom was searching for the eject button, and dad was supposed to be paying attention to where we were going and before we knew it we missed our exit! Now we have three yelling adults and a screaming baby - ugh!!

Now we didn't know where we were and it was several miles before we were able to turn around and Dad kept yelling for a real road map which Mom had left at home. Finally we ended up on the other side of Fairfield and we make it to our destination with ten minutes to spare, BUT it wasn't the right place! I had gotten directions accidentally to the Central Office, not the gym! UGH! Now we have NO IDEA where to go. So we saw a person on the parking lot and tried to get directions from them....

Meanwhile I called Steve's mom and tried to get directions from her; still not successful.  Finally we stopped a man on the side of the road and asked him and we weren't that far off, but still - FRUSTRATING!

FINALLY we get to the game and it had already started and had been playing for about 3 minutes already and the score was 5-5. Dad dropped us off and we quick paid and sat down til a time-out. Then I had to go change Aubrey's diaper and we could not find the bathroom in the dungeon so we just did it in a random hallway when some people followed us and wondered what we were doing, but quickly left us alone when they saw we were changing a diaper!

Meanwhile, Dad had come in on the other side and found Kaisands to sit by and they still didn't see us on the other side. Finally during halftime we were all sitting together (right behind the Coach). In the end, Oskaloosa ended up winning by about 12 so it was a good game, but we ALL would have been mad if they lost and it was their last game.  Now we travel to Benton on Saturday, a 2 hour drive, to play the number one team in the state in our calss...might be our last game of the year :)  BUT we plan to leave VERY EARLY so we do NOT get lost!

Happy 11 Months, Aubrey!

Well, today marks Aubrey's 11 month birthday and here's what she's been up to:

• is talking all the time; mostly a language we don't understand but does say: mama, baba, dada, and "yuck" - we think we and the babysitter use it too much - lol :)
• is becoming a good little waver; loves to wave bye-bye and hi to anyone she meets
• is a master "butt-scooter" - no crawling but can get anywhere
• is getting into EVERYTHING: playing cards, cords, outlets, dead ladybugs...you name it
• is getting her third tooth; this one is on top - not the central but a side one
• is still sleeping great through the nights typically 7:45 p.m.-6:15 a.m.(unfortunately no sleeping in on the weekends either)
• is eating "3 meals" a day along with bottles still
• is learning to give kisses with her mouth wide open...yummy
• is a playing machine; she can dump off all her toys from her shelves and baskets in a matter of minutes
• is STARTING to learn to put things away to help Mommy with the messes she creates

she was really tired one evening and fell asleep in my arms

so I put her in the chair while I made supper and she stayed asleep

I tried to wake her up but she was very hesitant 

FINALLY "wanting" to help hold the bottle by herself

Happy 11 months, baby girl!

"hi mom"

getting ready to "scoot" off the couch 

"hey mom, what's down there?"

holding the bottle totally by herself for 

part of her bottle this morning

Our cutie-pie

Aubrey was eating sweet potatoes and got them all over...right after it was bath time

after church playing on her "bouncer" 

she wanted to grab the camera to say "hi"

a new discovery: finding the playing cards and dumping them out ALL over

she knows she's in trouble with that face ;)

so I brought her to the kitchen and she got into my purse 

and found all my credit cards

all snuggly after a bath...first time using conditioner and 

I could really tell it took out the frizz and static 

her new found play area...under the computer desk

being a cutie-pie eating supper

what a sweet heart