Meet Fievel

Well, after much deliberation, and quite a bit of convincing on my part, Chris and I finally decided to introduce a furry critter back into our family. While anyone who knew me in my youth would swear up and down that I am a dog person (I was OBSESSED!), and while I still do enjoy dogs quite a bit, my journey down the path that is adulthood has faded the 'dog person' label and placed a fresh, clean 'cat person' label on top of it.

Dogs are a lot more responsibility than I am willing to accept in addition to my beloved title of 'Mommy.' Cats, on the other hand, are pretty independent, and yet still fulfill that deep-seated need, in my heart of hearts, to have a furry friend to lounge and play with.

Fievel, as it turns out, is the perfect fit for our family. We went to the Humane Society and looked at a few different kittens. I was a little worried at first that while he was the best choice of the kittens we looked at, he wasn't obviously a lap kitty in the way that my previous cat, Sparrow, was. But he proved himself to be just that. Within a couple hours of bringing him home, he climbed right into my lap, curled up, and slept. He is also amazingly patient with Audia, letting her hug and pet him. He will even follow her into her bedroom and sit on her bed while she flips through pages in her books.Just yesterday, Audia said "Fievel Audia's best friend forever and ever!" And I believe that is the truth!

New Apartment

As many IRL readers already know, we have been living with my parents for the past year+. Well, just last week, we finally moved out and into our own apartment! It feels a little odd to be moving back into an apartment....Chris and I always rented houses in Phoenix, so this is actually our first apartment together! Feels kind of funny to say considering we've been living together for 6 years now.

We are really happy with our complex. It is a newer build, so it is all concrete construction, which makes for very quiet living. A must for me. I am super sensitive to sound, especially whilst sleeping.

The best part of our new apartment, though, is that Audia finally has her own room!! When we were still in AZ, she had her own room but was so young that she was still sleeping in ours. So this is her first real experience with having her own room, and man does she love it! She has an awesome view of the wooded area just outside, and across the street from, our side of the building. Check out photos below.

I think her favorite part of her room is the mirrored, sliding closet doors. She frequently opens the door, steps in, closes it and says "Going on the elegator!" (her word for elevator) She also loves dancing in front of, and talking to herself in, the mirror.

2 Years

TWO!

Two years ago, our beautiful little girl started amazing us on day one. Lifting her own head just hours after she was born was the beginning of what I am sure will be a lifetime of flabbergasting, mind-blowing, heart-melting achievements.

Here is our munchkin on her first day in the world.

And here she is today.

Her 2 year appointment went really well. Dr. S. was amazed at her speaking in full sentences. Audia greeted her by saying "Hi, Dr. S!" and promptly reciting her ABC's. At 26 lbs and 36.5 inches, she is in the 25-50th percentile for weight and off the charts for height! No big suprise there, but fun to hear, nontheless :-)

These days, these are the things our little sprite is doing:

• She can recite her entire ABC's and count to 15
  
• She loves (and is very good at) puzzles
  
• She is speaking in full sentences, and says the funniest things! Just the other day she said "Audia's havin' a rough time today." Seriously?? What 2 year old do you know that says things like that??
  
• She is figuring out the difference between first and third tense, though she still uses them interchangebly
  
• She loves Yo Gabba Gabba and Elmo
  
• She takes such good care of her baby dolls, regularly giving them hugs and kisses and telling them that she loves them
  
• She asks for a kitty cat every 3 or 4 days. I am still trying to decide if we should give in and get one.
  
• She cleans everything. She loves taking tissues, napkins, or wet wipes and wiping off every surface in sight. (I really hope this trait sticks...as long as it doesn't become compulsive, of course!)

There are, of course, many other things she's doing but these are the things that stand out to me.

Audia Suzanne, your mommy and daddy couldn't be more proud, more happy, more in love, more thankful. All because of you. You are the sweetest, funniest, smartest, most adventurous, curious, and beautiful girl ever to exist. Little girls do not come in more perfect packages than you! Happy Birthday!

August

August came and went without a single blog entry?! Where the heck have I been?? LOL. With an almost 2-year old (next week, to be exact!), time really manages to get away from me.

Let's see if I can do a semi-quick recap of the end of summer (which it really feels like, as today it is quite cool, cloudy, and extremely windy! No slow transition into fall. Just BAM! Here it is!):

We had a couple of playdates with our BFFs, N and A.

My first friend from college, Janice (aka Mommy On The Move) was out here visiting family for a little while at the beginning of the month, so we had the benefit of seeing her and her family. Audia absolutely loved playing with so many kids around her age, and weeks later still says "Mommy, see Abby see Jake!" One time, when I told her that we cant, she cocked her head to the side with a disappointed look on her face and said "Yeah, Texas." (where Abby and Jake live) She cracks me up!

We spent a lot of time outdoors, though less time than we'd have liked. It got super hot mid-August (90's with 70% humidity), and the mosquitos are especially bad this year. Poor Munchkin got her mommy's mosquito magnetism...they flock to us and pretty much leave Chris totally alone.

We went to the cottage for a three day weekend to see Nana, Grandpa Mustache, Uncle Brent, and Cooper. Audia loves it up there so much. She asks to go to the cottage at least once a week, and always throws in "see Bana, Grampa Nash, and Cooper!" when she asks about it. I feel so lucky that she (we) has such a special place to go and spend time with family in the warmer months. And that she will grow up knowing the same excitement, exploration, and relaxation that her daddy grew up knowing :-)

Last, but certainly not least, we of course went to the Minnesota State Fair! We went twice this year; once with my parents, and once with D, N, and A. We couldn't have asked for better weather, and Audia loved it so much that both times when we left, she got upset and said that she wanted to "stay at fair!" All the people watching, great food, and animals.....who could blame her?? Nothing beats the Great Minnesota Get Together!