keeping up with the krochaks: January 2012

1.29.2012

2 months old!

Shortly after Christmas and all the fun and adventure it brought, Aubrey hit her two month mark (and is quickly approaching her third month!). Her second month brought much more alertness, with some cooing and smiling, which was much appreciated by mommy and daddy after seemingly thankless hours of caregiving with not much (other than cuteness galore) in return!

In her second month, Aubrey developed an aversion to hats (she immediately screams once one is placed on her head); rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time (at 8 weeks, 7 days); gave us a few half smiles; cooed short and sweet "goat-like" sounds; wore out the hair on the back of her head for quite the obvious bald spot!; started sleeping in her nursery (at 6 weeks) and through the night (we know, we're SPOILED); continued to spit up after pretty much every feeding, and sometimes an hour or two later; started to look at toys dangling in front of her; falls asleep after reading a book or two and singing "star light, star bright." Aubrey has continued to change, looking like daddy sometimes, and mommy others - it depends on the day. She transitioned from newborn to 3 month clothes, and had her 2 month checkup, where she weighed 9lbs, 4oz (although she had this appointment at 6 weeks). Aubrey is our good little girl, always smiley in the morning, yet willing to scream and cry the very instant she feels hungry (or feels a hat being placed on her head).

Here are some photos of Aubrey during her second month!

next to ruff - jason had a puppy named ruff growing up, and it was his favorite toy so naturally, aubrey has one too!

mommy needs to figure out a better angle for these photos

and better lighting - the one lamp in the room makes it too shadowy

too excited by my hands to sit still for a photo!

looking a little scared of the camera!

a silly outfit - and still using the oversized soothies!

Who turned out the lights?! hat from grandma deby

stopped crying during baths, and instead looks a little puzzled

post-bath drying

the rocking chair finally arrived - it makes the nursery complete, and helps make feeding time and nap time much more pleasant (and warmer - our house has bad heating so the second floor is much warmer)

riding in the bjorn and napping at a trip to bed bath & beyond

learning to harness my smile!

1.26.2012

baby's first christmas

Phew! Since we chose, cut, and decorated our Christmas tree, a lot has happened. Aubrey had her first Christmas, which was also the first time she met lots of her family members. She also reached her two month milestone (and, since I started this entry, she's quickly nearing her three month milestone as well!). Throughout the last six weeks or so, Aubrey has been changing a lot, and becoming much less of a little larva/blob, and more of an actual baby/person!

Aubrey accompanied me to the mall for a few Christmas shopping trips, as well as to the grocery store for some cooking/baking ingredients, and Target for wrapping paper, etc. She had a few fussy moments, but overall was a very quiet, very well-behaved shopping partner in crime!

One thing that writing this blog made me realize is that I need to be better about taking pictures. I don't think I made it a point to pull out the camera to get a few photos of Aubrey with her grandparents or aunts and uncles on her first Christmas - bad, bad mommy! Plus, I have taken very few photos with Aubrey (thanks, pregnancy weight!), and I need to be better about documenting her growth with her daddy and me - although the photos of her are much easier to take, and so much cuter!

We even went up to San Francisco to have coffee with our friends Chris and Sara, who were visiting from the LA area. Sara loved holding Aubrey - again, bad mommy neglected to take any photos. :(

So onto the good stuff: here are the photos from Aubrey's first Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve day with the Reina family (Jason's mom's side), eating tons of appetizers, trying to transform a Transformers toy we got for Sean, and watching the niners game. We stopped by Jason's grandpa's house so his dad and Maddie could meet Aubrey (Doug had met her briefly before, but this was more time than the last), and also got to see his cousin Kelly and her two kids (Aubrey's second cousins?), Lukas and Julia. From there, we drove to my parents' house for Christmas Eve gift opening and movie watching. It was Aubrey's cousin Georgia's first Christmas as well, and she had a great time ripping bows and paper off packages. The girls got some great gifts from Santa (of course they were awake at 5 and 6am, respectively), and we enjoyed a Christmas breakfast. Then we went home, got ready, and headed over to Jason's grandpa's again for some pre-dinner socializing. We then headed to Jason's Aunt Bonnie & Uncle Rob's for a fantastic dinner with everyone - what a large, jolly group we had! Aubrey was spoiled beyond belief, with lots of love as well as toys and clothes - what a lucky, lucky girl.