ahhh!!!!

they say that newborns should not have anything in their crib with them...
I guess this is why... killer stuffed animal snakes.
although this snake shown here with aubrey is domesticated and completely tame.
he's just giving her a big hug.
can you blame him

she's the cutest!

aubrey girl

you think that we would get tired of whipping out the ole' camera and sticking it in the face of our precious baby girl. nah! besides...isn't it the first child who has the plethora of photos, the finished baby album, etc. i am just sitting here remembering that my baby book was quite full, my sister ashley's was partially done and poor lauren had a couple of photos stuck into the back of ashley's baby book. i know it is not a reflection on our parent's love for us... but rather the evidence of how much time they had on their hands after having three children. i am sure that our last child will also suffer the same injustice. well, at least they will have aunt lauren to vent their frustrations to.
in any event... just wanted everyone to see how our little aubrey was doing. you have already been informed of her first smile... her personality is really starting to come out. she talks to everything. the lamp, pappy's deer, the rubber ducky (see photo). she recognized mommy and daddy and will kick wildly when you talk to her. she is sleeping well in her crib and only wakes up once during most nights (a blessing for mom and dad). she has started taking a bottle on occasion, making it possible for us to go on a "real" date (lasting more then 2 hours) to a movie.
grammy and pappy got to be the first official babysitters. they listened to us patiently as we gave them too much information about what to do with her.

as you can tell, she is growing like crazy. she was 8 lbs 7 oz at her last doctor's appointment.
speaking of which, mommy didn't do to well when aubrey got her first shot. daddy had to hold aubrey and mommy tried not to faint. this is very bad news seeing as at her next appointment she is getting 4 (yes, four!) shots. i don't think i will be able to handle it. pray for us.

her favorite place to be

nothing in the world feels quite as safe as putting your head down on your daddy's shoulder. trust me, i speak from experience. there are some things i hope never change for my baby girl... and this is one of them.

dad ~ just wanted you to know that i have always appreciated your love, you strength... and your shoulder to lean on. you are an amazing man and i love you. i pray that matt and aubrey's relationship is as open and honest as ours has grown to be. here's to "soy sauce" and you know what i mean. ;o)

smilestones

aah...another first for us. our aubrey girl has started to smile. (and no, it is not gas...) yesterday she started grinning when you would tickle her. today, all you had to do was talk to her and she would light up.
guess we are destined to become the stereotypical parents who's favorite conversation includes the phrase..."you'll never guess what the baby did today."

she prefers the shower...

as cute as bath time was aubrey never seemed to enjoy it (to say the least). of course some things in life are just necessary no matter how uncomfortable. although we tried all sorts of variations on the bath to make it more comfortable for her nothing seemed to tickle her fancy. until the other morning... she had an overly messy diaper and melissa was just getting into the shower so I handed aubrey to her for a quick rinse off. this was altogether different cleansing experience for our little aubrey girl. she loved it. she was with mommy being held... and nice and warm. funny how parenting is often time more about trial an error and you wind up stumbling on something that works.

just hangin around...

melissa and I got one of those baby slings that your "wear" your baby with. as you can see it is very versitile... plus it makes it nice to be able to have both hands free. aubrey likes it too.