The Roly Poly's Come to Visit

Aubrey collected about 13 roly poly bugs in the garden at school yesterday to take home. Poor little roly poly's must have been terrified in the little dixie cup! As much as I would have liked to just set them free, I knew Aubrey wanted to take care of her new little friends so I delighted in her discovery. Not knowing how to care for the little creatures, I immediately went online when we got home and learned a little bit about the infamous Pill Bug aka Roly Poly. They are not insects, they are isopods, related to shrimp, crab, and lobster so they need moisture. Interesting huh? Anyway, so there's more to it than that but I thought that fact was surprising. We put the roly poly's into a plastic dish and put in a few pieces of lettuce for them to eat and/or hide under. We also put a little drop of water in the corner which we later learned was too much because a few of them seemed to have gotten stuck in the water and died...oops. We let them stay overnight in the kitchen. Today we told Aubrey she would have to set her little friends free because we could not provide them the home that they really needed. She understood. So we took a walk and she let each of them go one at a time as we walked along...gently placing them on the ground, naming them, and then saying good-bye. It was very cute to watch.

I Got My Baby Back, Baby Back, Baby Back...and I'm not talking about Chili's!

Taylor has been a happy baby for as long as she has been in our lives. That was until she got REALLY sick for the first time on Easter Sunday. Our baby girl apparently caught a stomach virus. She threw up, had diarrhea, wanted to sleep all the time, cried whenever she was awake, and was completely miserable. It was the roughest 5 DAYS of my life! I kept taking her to the doctor and they kept sending me away, saying she was fine, just recovering from whatever she had. I was worn out, frustrated, and upset that my baby was suffering and I couldn't seem to fix it. THANK GOD, on the 6th day she woke up cooing and was the same happy baby I had been missing. I could hardly do anything that day except watch her, smile at her, and see her smile back at me! Who knows where she caught her sickness from but we are now even more careful than ever about touching her and hand washing before handling her. I do not want to go through that again anytime soon.

I Love My Aubrey

Sometimes I look into Aubrey's big blue eyes and I'm just overtaken with love. She's got these eyes that can break anyone, especially her daddy. :) Even when she's showcasing a major attitude and I'm beside myself, I can't help but want to smile at how smart she is for even knowing what she's doing! She is growing up so fast and sometimes the things that come out of her mouth just blow me away. When did my little baby girl lose the baby part? I guess since Taylor has been born it automatically made Aubrey seem more grown up. She's an amazing little person and as much as she can drive me up and down the wall, she's still as much of a miracle to me as the day she was born.

Riding Belle

Today Aubrey, Taylor, and I made a visit to see my aunt and uncle's horses at the stables. My aunt and uncle own 3 gorgeous horses...Hurley, Rio, and Austin. Aubrey wanted to go for a little ride on a horse so we gave her the three options. Turned out she wanted to ride none of them...she had her eye on another horse that was already out and walking around. She was white with brown markings, her name was Belle, and she belonged to my aunt's friend who was there. What little girl wouldn't want to ride the white horse?? Her wish was granted and she got to ride Belle. She had zero fear of the large horse and comfortably sat on her and went for a walk as my aunt guided them. She loved every minute of it and now wants a horse, of course! :) Next time she said she wants to ride Rio.

Taylor ~ 4 Months Old

Our little angel, baby Taylor, is 4 months old! Wow, does the time fly! She is growing and developing perfectly. Her cradle cap is gone (hallelujah!) and the eczema that she's had on her cheeks is almost under control. She is 12lb 4oz (20%) and 24 inches long (40%). She's on the lighter side, both in weight and skin color!! Aubrey was 2 pounds heavier when she was 4 months old...wow! Taylor has captured our hearts for good with her little laugh and endless smiles. She's rolling over and can hold a toy or stuffed animal in her hands. She is a very curious little thing, always watching intently to what is going on around her which is usually Aubrey bouncing off the walls. Aubrey has endless love for Taylor and Taylor seems to stare at Aubrey like they already have a deep bond...it's very sweet. I wish the time would slow down a little bit, she grows everyday and soon she won't be so helpless. My baby girl...you are so loved.

Happy 5th Birthday Aubrey!

We went to the happiest place on earth for Aubrey's birthday, DISNEYLAND...it only made sense!! We were joined by our friends Damian, Kristen, Kaylin, Taryn, and Holly! We started our day at California Adventure and went on all the Bug's Life Rides. Even Taylor rode on Heimlich's Chew Chew Train! Aubrey loved watching the High School Musical 3 performance! She watched so intently I don't think she blinked once! After that we headed over to Disneyland. There's just nothing like Disneyland. We saw Goofy and Cruela Devile! We got to meet Tinkerbell and another one of her fairy friends in Pixie Hollow...after a long 45 minute wait. :) She went on Snow White's Scary Adventure (freaked her out a little), It's a Small World, Buzz Lightyear, and Pirates of the Caribbean. There were so many rides she still wanted to go on, but the day got away so fast! We ended the day at the Carnation Ice Cream Parlor with a hot fudge chocolate cookie sundae and sang "Happy Birthday" to the birthday girl! What a fun day we had and Aubrey can't wait to go back! Hopefully next time we'll go during the week when the entire world isn't there as well! Happy Birthday baby girl...mommy and daddy love you so much!

Aubrey's 5th Birthday Celebration at Grandma & Grandpa's

Tonight we went to my parents' house for a special birthday celebration with just them. We do this every year and Aubrey LOVES it! She always loves seeing her grandma, grandpa, and their 3 cats. But when presents and cake are involved it's all the better! They always make everything look so fun with balloons everywhere and each gift wrapped so pretty. Well...she tore through her gifts so fast we could hardly see what she was opening! She got a really cool art easel with all the accessories, roller skates, a kaleidoscope, a ton of amazing seashells, and lots of other goodies. My dad made her a special heart cake...I was quite impressed. And it was delicious! We enjoyed Chinese food (yum!!) and Aubrey played with all her new stuff while we visited. My parents are the sweetest and always make these occasions so special.

A Day at the Park

Today Aubrey had a playdate at the park with her two buddies from school...Maddy and Allison. Before we got to the park we drove through MacDonald's and got her a Happy Meal...special treat! Maddy and Allison had MacDonald's too, so they all sat and ate their food together. It was super windy so we had a few bags flying around, but the food survived. The girls played on the "pirate ship" that they have there, played in the sand box, and went on the swings. This lasted for almost 2 hours!! Us moms did as much visiting as we could. Amber was trying to keep track of her 3 kids and Jodi was keeping tabs on the girls while I had Taylor sleeping in my arms. Somehow we actually got to visit with each other...a little. One of these days I think we might have to get together without the kids to truly catch up! Anyways, here are some pictures...