I think we have officially entered into the toddler stage of parenting and this is by far my favorite stage yet. This morning I was thinking about some of the things that Aubrey does that I so love and I thought I'd write them down.
I LOVE:
1. how Aubrey puts my hair bands on her arm like bracelets and how she puts her beads on first thing in the morning and wears them until she goes to bed...yes, even to stores. (she is ALL girl)
2. watching her give slobbery kisses to Daddy...he is really the only one she kisses. We'll keep it that way for a while. :)
3. when she dances, claps her hands, and sings to music.
4. that she sucks her thumb when she is tired.
5. that she drags her silky blanket around the house like Linus from Peanuts. (her favorite is the pink one GG gave her when she was first born!)
6. that when she wakes up in the morning we can hear her talking and laughing in her crib until we come and get her.
7. that her first order of business in the mornings is to get a book out of her book bin and bring it to us to read.
8. watching her walk Daddy out to the car every morning, give him a kiss & stand in the driveway waving bye-bye when he goes to work.
9. how she "helps" me water the flowers. When I point the nozzle of the hose to the flower bed, she stands under it...and consequently gets dripping wet. Then she helps me pick off the dead petals and throw them away in the garbage.
10. how she helps me with laundry. Once it's folded I will give her a stack of towels and she will put them in the right drawer (as long as she is reminded where they go). She truly loves helping.
11. how she "jumps" by squatting down and standing up as fast as she can.
12. watching her twirl like a ballerina.
13. watching her talk on her pink phone, and if she doesn't have that with her she just uses her hand. Her conversation usually goes something like this: "Oh...Daddy?...Oh..."
14. And one of the most fun things for me to see is Aubrey's expanding vocabulary. Okay, she isn't really saying much. She understands much but doesn't say words. However, she has her own "Aubrey" vocabulary:
Flower: "Ff-ff"
Dog: "Wooh-Wooh"
Cow: "Mmmmm"
Sheep: "Aaaaaaa"
Daddy: "DADDY!"
Mommy: "Mom-ma"
Anything new or interesting: "Oh."
Here are a couple of videos of our girl.
And we had a fun Memorial Day Weekend. Aubrey & John went to the Milton Memorial here where they spent some time honoring those who have gone before. John said yesterday that he doesn't understand why anyone in America would not be patriotic. Can't we be proud to live in a country that gives us the opportunity to change it? Even when we don't always agree with the way it is run, shouldn't we be thankful to be living somewhere that gives us so many options on how to live? We both have gotten tired of listening to people who speak out against their own country (big, bad America), rather than being thankful for what they have and moving forward to make it better. I could probably go on but that is not what this post is about. SO, all that to say, I am a very proud American. And I am proud to stand behind those who have given their all to make this country free. A bumper sticker around here says, "Home of the free, because of the brave." So thank you to those brave few who make America free for the many. Lord, please help us to remember where we have come from so we can remain a nation that is truly UNDER GOD. 
Bazaar
16 years ago
