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.

there's a first time for everything.

we had a few more first time things this week. melissa and aubrey and I went on our first walk this past wednesday. this was a little nerve racking at first... at least until we got across RT 82 (the big road we live on) and onto our back-country fun to walk or run road. another first was... today melissa and i left aubrey with grammy and pappy while we had a quick "date" to the bank, starbucks, and the grocery store. this was a suprisingly stress-free experience... of course although we were only out for about one and a half hours...we still felt the need to call and check in.

seating for friends...

here's aubrey on our new couch... the basement is beginning to look like an actual living room, although it feels like i'll never be finished. so much to do. it's great to be able to have people hang out though. we can't wait till it's really really done... and pretty.

wonderful memories

what a wonderful christmas present we received this year! our new little girl. she has turned our world upside-down...and we are so happy.

it was a whole new experience having little ones around for christmas. having a baby really changes everything.

although aubrey is a little too small to remember this christmas, i will remember every moment.

spending the day with my sisters and their new daughters. watching my daddy hold my baby. exchanging laughs and looks with my mom. running outside with a half dressed little girl, my husband and my grandmother just to wave at santa passing by the house in the fire truck. we were able to go to christmas eve service back at calvary. i got to watch my father-in-law get choked up while holding his 2 week old granddaughter during silent night and the candle lighting. this morning...we put baby jesus in the manger, matt read luke 2, we opened gifts... what an amazing christmas. i will hold it close to my heart forever.

thank you Heavenly Father for the gift of your son Jesus....and now the gift of our daughter aubrey elizabeth. you are a good God.

midnight fussing

melissa is so good with her... tonight around ten we were just getting ready for bed...(by now we have the routine down) feed her..burp her..change her..feed her.. burp her.. rock her.. put her down until the next time. but tonight aubrey had a little too much to eat and the first attempt to burp her ended up... messy. so aubrey gets a bath. mom changes. off come the sheets on the bed. and we instead of going to bed have a very unhappy child. so we try again... feed her a little more...and try to get the kiddo calmed down and back to sleep. this is where melissa is amazing. while i am throwing in laundry, and changing sheets, she is comforting aubrey like only mommy can... melissa even knows her favorite music. so we sit and look at pictures of aubrey and listen to music and think about how if we are so moved by these photos of her now... what is it going to be like at her wedding... or graduation?

i'm a dapper dan man

sunday melissa and i had our first major venture out of the house. (major being somewhere that we went that took longer than one feeding) christmas came a week early for the webster family (my mom's side) and we all dressed for the occasion for dinner and gifts at aunt joanne's house. of course i wore my usual t shirt and jeans. there were 21 of us in all... and sitting there with the family one remark was where did all these little children come from. there are now six kids in all and it definately makes the gift opening more fun... not just socks and gift cards (instead we had baby einstein, robosapien, and monkey pillows).

she will be mortified.

just the other day melissa and i decided to kill two birds with one stone and air out aubrey's diaper rash while giving her some sun for her slight jaundice. actually it was like killing three birds... one stone, because it proved to be very entertaining. before we knew it an hour had gone by and we were still sitting there watching her. it also ended up to be a rather fun photo shoot for some "very tasteful" photos. boy is she gonna be embarrassed when i pull these out for the first boyfriend.

for this i am thankful...

tonight my sister ashley came up to visit. she intended on making it a surprise, but got a bit "misplaced" (not lost) in the king of prussia area and called from the road. after a little coaching on the in's and out's of valley forge road, she arrived unscathed.
although our time together tonight was short it was so nice to be able to spend it with her. we gave the baby a bath, commented on how much aubrey looks like matt and laughed about the "joys" of motherhood.

its the little things...

this week has been full of little milestones. the other night melissa put aubrey down in her cradle and aubrey settled herself to sleep instead of being held until she fell asleep. this morning aubrey's cord fell off (for those of you without children... this is a big deal.) although the loss of the cord can be seen as highly symbolic in nature... we think it's just good because you get to see what kind of belly button you child may have. will she join the ranks of the inny brigade or take up arms with the outy squad. it seems that though the cord is gone it is still to soon to tell. of course, it is quite a joyous occasion but the thing that was strangest to me was that as a new parent i contemplated saving the cord as a memento. gross.

i know i should be in bed...

just put aubrey down to bed...should be in bed myself, but i am sitting here thinking. week one is already gone. i keep wondering how i made it through. i have had so much help from my family and friends...thank you. matthew has been so wonderful, supportive and patient with me... (the hormones are a little out of control right now, but getting better).
my God has given me the strength to get through each moment.
i am excited to see what the coming weeks bring. i am really so blessed.

sleep indeed

aubrey is a really good eater. although normally she has had her full after ten minutes or so. today she ate for like twenty minutes straight. i took this picture right after she fed. she's a little "milk drunk". sittin' there and starin' into space. after this she fell asleep for like four hours... so mis and i were able to get out of the house, go to the bank, grab a bite, and get starbucks. which was completely nerve racking (the"will she wake up" gamble). life is never going to be the same... and we are so happy for it.

home at last

typing with one hand never felt so great. sitting here with Aubrey I am reflecting on the whirlwind that was the last few days... she is so perfect... and i am overwhelmed. not by the things that most people think of with a new baby like endless crying, lack of sleep, exhaustion. instead i am overwhelmed by my God. the incredible grace that He has shown me, the strength He has given me, and this beautiful, beautiful child.

the girl's got jokes

today melissa had to go in to the hospital to have them check her out before the big day. of course when she calls me after the physical is over she says "hey what are you doin?" I said "nothing why"... "oh well they decided to take me today instead of tomorrow.... just kidding."
gee THAT never get's old
HILARIOUS

the bitter struggle

this past saturday greg and glenn came over to help out with the basement. for this i am grateful beyond measure. it was without a doubt a difficult task that we had before us. the three of us toiled away with the goal of having the entire floor scraped free of the old tile and ready for the new flooring. the good news is that same day greg and i were able to start laying the floor. which was a welcome reward to our hard work. THANKS AGAIN GUYS!

Five more days....

You carry this little one inside you for so long, you cannot wait to meet them...to see their precious little face, to hold them for the first time... and then the day comes that they actually arrive. Thursday, December 8th, 2005...sounds like a good birthday right? I actually got to pick it out a big date book at Labor and Delivery. 12/08/05, Aubrey Elizabeth will be making her grand entrance. (Well, that is unless at the last minutes she decides to turn around...which is also ok with me. Either way, I am excited to meet her.)

I don't feel ready for this...for someone to be completely dependent on me for everything. You kind of get thrust into this motherhood thing, even if you have 9 months to think about it. I am sure it's never like you imagined it to be. In some ways it is so much more. You meet this little person and you look into their little face and a feeling washes over you, that you love this little girl so much that your heart could break.

I am scared that I won't do it right (whatever right is)...that I will not know what to do when she cries, that I will make mistakes...I am scared about the first time she and I are all alone.
No nurses, no visitors, just us, staring wide-eyed at eachother wondering how are we going to do this?

Pray hard for us... I have a feeling that parenthood is a long road, with lots of twists and turns...Pray that I can continually go to the Lord for the strength for the next day. Whether she is three days old - or thirteen years old (personally I think I am more scared about thirteen.)