where did my mojo go?

a quick post to say that we're all alive over here, but life's been kind of hectic. job has been nutty and we've all been battling colds, pink eye, and ear infections.

we're on the mend, though. it's just been hard to keep up with blooging these days.

in fact, i'm feeling a bit at a loss for where the days/weeks are going...i think i've lost my mojo. i hope it returns soon!

i promise a post with pictures and details of miss a's latest tricks soonly.

the house of sicky

hola from la casa del sicky. we've all come down with colds, which is no fun. mine has been particulary bad...i'm thinking it might be evolving into a sinus infection. blerg. i've been so busy with work etc. that it's hard to find down time. hopefully this weekend will be low key.

not much to report on these days...aubrey is her ususal self. saying more words every day. we're getting good at some two word phrases. in addition to "oh boy," we are regularly saying "oh yeah," "all gone," "uh oh" and, on occasion, "love you," "more please" and "more juice." (We have recently introduced aubrey to the joys of watered down juice at breakfast time...she's hooked.)

she's been singing a lot these days, too. she likes to sing a song that goes something like this: "aubreyaubreyaubreyaubrey....aubreeeeeey." : )

will write again when feeling better. and i really do mean to post some pictures. really i do.

"oh booooooy...."

...is aubrey's expression du jour. that and, "let's gooooo!" so cute!

i am AMAZED at how fast aubrey is changing over these past few weeks. her language skills are expanding rapidly. she mimics words and even short phrases. she is getting good at saying a "k" or hard "c" sound now. (she calls my sister kasey "kee kee" now...a big improvement over "tee tee.") and she has graduated from pointing out letters and numbers to starting to say them. if we are reading a story and she recognizes a letter, she points to it and says what the letter is.

she is also becoming quite the little runner and climber. she really is starting to become a toddler and not a baby.

it's happening so fast!!! i am trying to savor these moments of discovery.

its been very cold and snowy up here in the north country. we spent this weekend down at my parent's place. pete left for DC on saturday (he's gone for most of the week...boo) so it's just me, aubrey and the cabmeister. although i'm getting pretty good at managing the routine by myself, it is tough not having pete around. makes me realize how much of a team we are.

i've said this before, but i'll say it again...i am so thankful i'm not a single mother. don't know how they do it day after day.

happy new year!

a quick post to say...happy new year! after work we will join friends for an evening of frolicking with little ones, eating yummy food and drinking yummy drinks. it is going to be chilly over the next few days, but i'm hoping that we will have an opportunity to get outside and play...a snowshoe perhaps? maybe a ski?

see you in 2009....

smarty pants

aubrey is surprising us daily with her amazing baby skills! we already knew that aubrey has taken an interest in learning the alphabet, and that she even has a few letters that seem to be perennial favorites (she gravitates toward the letters T and M, in particular) but what we didn't realize is that she actually can identify most of the letters in the alphabet.

rewind to friday night, when we were hanging out in the living room, playing with a gigantic "puzzle" that has all of the letters on it, and numbers up to 10. just for fun, i said "aubrey, where is the letter B?" aubrey pondered for a moment, then crawled up to the puzzle piece with the letter B on it, and swatted it with her hand. pete and i exchanged surprised looks. "where is the letter L?" aubrey pointed to the L. we continued this little game for a while, and were amazed that four times out of five, she picked the correct letter! (she got a little confused about some letters...for example, when asked to find the letter J, she chose G...i think that's because J and G make similar sounds.)

pretty impressive for a 18 month old! i guess the "fridge phonics"are starting to sink in.

also- aubrey impressed us with her color identification skills this weekend. we were playing with a toy with different colored pieces. we asked her which piece was blue, red, green yellow and so on, and she correctly identified each color! so although she only says yellow and purple ("purpoh") she has a basic grasp of the concept of colors. we haven't graduated to magenta or puce yet. soon though. : )

aside: we got approximately two feet (TWO! FEET!) of snow this weekend. the really light, floaty, fluffy kind. pretty wild.

18 month stats

okay, so aubrey's measurements this go around aren't very accurate (she was squirming and arching her back on the exam table) so she is probably a bit taller than the recorded number, but here's how she sized up during her appointment this week:

height = 31 inches (i'm guessing she's more like 31.5 inches)

weight = 25 lbs. 7 oz.

she got three shots and was a total champ.

we are on the brink of another snow storm, and are expecting at least 6 inches. this weekend we will be wrapping prezzies, making cookies and fudge, visiting with friends and, i hope, romping around in the snow. i am SO ready for the workday to be over!!!

xoxo j

snow snow and more snow

we are in the middle of a snow storm, yes indeed. they seem to be coming with some frequency these days. happily, this storm is mostly snow, not freezing rain.

things have been just beyond busy at this end, which is why i haven't been posting much. between holiday preparations and scrambling to get some house projects done on short notice, we've been out straight. no time to wrap prezzies; no time to bake cookies. wah! i am hoping to fit some of that in this weekend. along with some sledding, or snow-shoeing. mmmmmm....

aubrey has her 18 month check-up today. i think she's getting a few shots, so i expect she will be cranky this evening. i can't believe my little boopers is 18 months old! her vocabulary is growing, and she is becoming a very good mimic. and a dare devil...she is sporting a few bumps and bruises as a result of stunts gone awry. : )

i am hoping to post some picture soon...and take some new ones, since we STILL haven't gotten christmas cards made up/sent out and i need some shots of aubrey playing in the snow. i'll definitely update on aubrey's 18-month stats later, though.