2nd Week in January...

New This Week: Aurelia now pats her head when asked if the monkey hit his head (5 Little Monkeys). Pretty cute! Her Encore Elmo has a feature that when you pinch it's nose, it says something cute or makes a funny noise. So now she likes to pinch mine and Daddy's noses and see what noise we make! She thinks she's soooo clever! BUT she does know where her nose is when we ask her, and her head! For Christmas, she got a little music-making stand that has a working microphone. We ask her to sing a song and she crawls over to it and "sings" into it and then looks at us, all proud! It looks like walking is on the verge of "new things", Aurelia got a couple of push toys and likes to walk back and forth the family room with them and is getting pretty good at "walking" along the furniture! And we are now working on her #1 finger; we ask her, "How old is Ari?" or "How old are you going to be, Aurelia?" and she holds up her finger...a work in progress!

Here's Aurelia showing me where the monkey bumped his head...
Ari doesn't seem to sit still long these days, but she got distracted with Elmo's World on Tuesday morning...
This is Ari's "cheese!" when we want to take her picture...
On Wednesday night, I got home from work and was just about to fall asleep, when Aurelia woke up screaming. At first I thought she was having a nightmare or had lost her paci (same thing!) until we realized that she was burning up. We tried to calm her and it took a good 30-45 minutes to calm her down. She had a temp of 101.3 and after talking to the nurse line, we gave her some Tylenol and tried to comfort her, but she was just so miserable. There was no cough, runny nose, diarrhea, nothing that would indicate an illness! It was almost 5 in the morning when we all finally fell back asleep. Then she woke up and had a low temp, but seemed to be doing just fine!
And on Friday, she seemed to be back to herself; playing with her toys and Kitty!
Saturday we had a nice relaxing family day. Ari developed a runny nose and a bit of a cough, but was still cheerful and her sweet self! Saturday evening, Yaya and Auntie Chelsea came over to babysit Aurelia while Mommy and Daddy went out for the evening! Mommy had gotten Brad Paisley tickets and a CD from Ari Vail for Christmas/birthday. We had a really fun night! After the concert we enjoyed ourselves at a pub and met up with some friends. It was a great time!
We ended the weekend by Yaya, Auntie Chelsea, and Mommy going to the Wedding Fair and then going to work and Daddy and Ari watched the Vikes win against the Cowboys! Other than Aurelia feeling a little under the weather, it was a nice, relaxing week!

1st Week in 2010

New This Week: got the chicken sound down! Also, when asked if things are hot, she "blows"! Even if its not hot and I tell her she has to wait, she thinks its because its hot and she "blows"...its kinda funny!

On Monday Aurelia got busted feeding Frida! (Obviously, it wasn't too upsetting since I took the time to get it on camera!) She is also working on saying "cheese" when there's a camera around...
Mommy had an 8 day work streak and it must have worn on her...I was out of commission for a couple of days so there was some days that Daddy did hair and did all of the playing!

Our basement looks like ToysRus and Ari Vail chooses the empty container her blocks came in to chew on!
Friday was the start to our "Family Weekend"...we started out with a night at the mall...here is Aurelia all ready to go... If only Daddy would wrap up the work stuff! Finally our little Shopping Diva arrived at the mall!
We had a really nice little weekend, just our little family. Lots of shopping (Mommy loved this!), watching movies (Daddy loved this!), and taking naps together (Frida loved this!). It was perfect!

Ari's 1st New Year's!

New This Week: a new tooth! Aurelia sprouted a new tooth on the bottom...that makes 3 down there and none on top...although there are 2 that seem to be just about to break through on top! Also, since calling Daddy "Babe", we have been working on Dada again and it now seems that her favorite word is "Da-Da". She prounounces it very clearly, as if to prove to us she is saying it correctly! Goofball! The other thing that she has started doing is "throwing" the ball...we'll roll or toss it to her and she picks it up and chucks it, sometimes far other times, not so far, but it is a throw! Frida loves it! Oh and her animal sounds are coming along...she has cow and duck down and is working on chicken! We are starting to work on blowing on things that are hot...getting ready for her 1st birthday candle!!!

Well after our busy weekend in Harmony, she spent the next few days getting to know all her presents. We decided that it was a bit overwhelming for Miss Ari to open all her boxes at once, so every couple of days we take a new toy out of its box and introduce it. Seems to be working so far! She even picks which one we open next...
One of her new toys is a little shopping cart that plays music and tells what the colors and shapes are... I think she was just showing me what an apple was so that it may prompt me to get to the grocery store!!!
Another one of her toys is a little music-making table that sings and talks in both Spanish and English...she takes it very seriously! Ha ha! So she spent part of New Year's Eve making music!!
Our NYE plans were VERY low-key...Mommy had to work and Aurelia was in bed at her regular time. Daddy was watching a movie and may have lost track of time, but all in all, we ended the year on an up note!
On New Year's Day, we opened her little Tea Party set and she liked pretending with it. The best part is that the little tea pot gives prompts for manners, one being, "more please" and Aurelia does her little hand signal for "more please"! Its too cute!
We did some shopping on Saturday to get out of the house for a bit and when we came home, it looked like Ari was still in the shopping mood! She went for her little cart and started loading it up with everything from her camera to groceries, to Frida's toys, and we can't forget Kitty!
We had a lazy day on Sunday, watching the Vikings win! Had plenty of opportunities to practice her "touchdown" signal!! Yay Vikings!!!

11 months...and 1st CHRISTMAS!!!

New this week: besides turning 11 months and experiencing her 1st Christmas, Aurelia has decided to start puckering up...sometimes mixing an open-mouthed kiss with a pucker! Also, one of her new words this week is "Papa"...aka Grandpa Jeff! She looked right at him, pointed, and said, "Papa"...very cute! Oh, and she also knows what a duck says, "quack, quack". And when asked if she "has a frog in (her) throat?", she does a little fake cough! What a little ham!
We opened up some more 12 Days of Christmas gifts on Monday...she's really getting good at it!
Then Tio Ramon and Auntie D flew in late in the evening.
On Tuesday, we went shopping with Grandma Bena! It was so much fun to shop with everyone; Daddy, Tio Ramon, Auntie D, Tia Bria, Charlie, and Uncle JonJon!
Aurelia turned 11 months old on Wednesday! We just can't believe how fast this year is flying by! It was a busy day with packing for our trip to Harmony! We did take a break to open gifts from Wuelo and Grandma Texas. We ALL got some great gifts and enjoyed opening them! THANKS Wuelo, Grandma Texas, and Tio Cheech!!! We miss you guys!
We braved the storm by leaving VERY early on Thursday morning...off to Grandmother's house we go...in the snow storm!!! It was a slow ride, but we made it safely and were so happy to be at Grandma's! We attended the church service in our pretties! Aurelia was listening so nicely during the service, that when Father was talking about the manger, every time he said cow (several times!) she said "moo"! It was sooo funny! But at least she was listening! After Church, we had a beautiful and absolutely wonderful meal at Grandma Bena's and then we opened gifts! Ari had sooo much fun!
Tia Bria and Charlie braved the weather on Friday morning and arrived on Christmas morning in Harmony, just in time to open presents! We had so much fun opening presents, so much fun, it just wore Ari out... she was getting so tired that she began to open gifts laying down! So we snuck in a quick nap and then headed to GG and Great Grandpa's for a quick visit! It was so nice to get to see everyone! Then we headed to Yaya and Papa's for more gift opening and a wonderful dinner! Miss Ari Vail got soooo much for Christmas, Santa was really really good to us! It was a challenge to get all the gifts home, and now our house looks like Toys R Us! It has been so much fun watching her get excited about her gifts! Thank you everyone for everything!!
On Saturday, we all got dressed up for our formal pictures that Grandma Bena has been wanting to get done for the last 3 years! We're really excited to see how they turned out! Then we put on our winter gear and headed to the Farm for some outdoor winter pictures that our Whitney took for us! Sooo anxious to see how those turned out too! After all the glam shots, we got our sledding gear on and enjoyed a good ol Minnesota winter day!

On Sunday, we were sad to say our good-bye's to everyone, packed up our presents, and spent the day in Preston with Yaya and Papa! It was very relaxing before our trip back to the Cities.
We had a busy, but wonderful first Christmas as a little family!

Getting ready for our first Christmas...

New This Week: Waving "hi" and "bye" and saying "puppy" very clearly and you can kind of make out "kitty" when she finds Kitty or Piggy. The other funny thing that Aurelia has started doing this week is yelling down the stairs from her highchair to "Babe" aka. Daddy! She has heard me holler down to him and has now began doing the same...kinda funny to hear her yell, "Babe" and then wait for a response from him! Also, Ari has started throwing up her hands when we say "ta-da" and with the season that we are in, she now throws her hands up when we say "touch down"! Very cute!

On Monday, Ari Vail and Mommy joined Auntie Chelsea at the Mall to do some shopping...it was a great Girls' day! We started the day with a nice lunch and continued to have a relaxing shopping day, and ended the day with Aurelia sleeping and Mommy and Auntie Chelsea having a much needed/wanted ice cream!!! It was a great day!
Grandma Bena and Grandpa Steve have started the tradition of the 12 Days of Christmas... It has been so much fun to watch her open her little gifts! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!
On Wednesday, our little family decided to visit "A Day in the Life of an Elf" at the Downtown Macy's and sit on Santa's Lap! For a couple of days before, Mommy had been very excited about Santa and pointing him out EVERYWHERE! The day of, Aurelia was excited to be there and look at the display... BUT when it came time to sit on his lap...she wanted nothing to do with it! We have the classic baby pic with Santa...back arched, dress up around the waste, terrified look on her face, wanting nothing but to be off of his lap! It was quite comical!
Continuing the 12 Days of Christmas...




I think she's getting the hang of it!
Aurelia and Mommy went out for the last of the shopping, here she is ready to go and waving to Daddy!

Saturday was the Wand Christmas...again, it was nice to see everyone. G-Grandma Wand's presence was missed, but it was nice to see some of her traditions have been carried on. Ari got some wonderful gifts and we were glad she's had some practice opening already! Thank you all for a wonderful time!
Our plans for Sunday changed at the last minute, but it all worked out. It ended up being a very relaxed day, getting the last of our cards out and wrapping the gifts. Mommy and Daddy were up until 3, watching movies and wraping gifts! It was a late night, but a lot of fun!
Here is this year's Christmas card! We really waited until the deadline, but we got them done!
And here is a scene from our home...Frida enjoying our tree, being cozy and warm near the fire...

G-Grandpa's 75th birthday!

New this week: When asked, "what does the cow say?" Aurelia answers, "moo"! It is so cute! Also new this week...waffles! Ari has decided that she loves waffles, so in the morning, she, Mommy, and Frida all have waffles!

Monday, was the aftermath of our Texas trip...She was so excited to be able to relax and play with her toys and watch her Sesame Street!
Ari Vail is on the go...ALL the time...our daily pictures are getting harder and harder!
On Tuesday, Yaya came up to the Cities to do some shopping and then stayed over for a fun night with us!
We had quite a bit of snow on Wednesday and there was no way we were going to be going anywhere (except work :-( ha ha!), so we had a PJ day!
She really enjoys her breakfast! Especially when it's blueberry waffles!
Friday was a very busy day...we went for our Stroller Strides workout and shopped some with Jaime and Aston, dropped off some items with some friends, and then packed for our weekend in Harmony! Here she is watching Mommy running around, trying to get everything organized and ready to go! On the way to Harmony, we stopped in Preston and visited with Yaya and Papa!
We spent Saturday, baking cookies and getting ready for Sunday. Saturday night, we went to Decorah to celebrate G-Grandpa Cremer's 75th birthday! It was a really nice dinner with great company!
On Sunday, we spent the morning at GG's for our Annual Cookie Bake! It was so much fun! We even got to meet our newest cousin, Dreigh...What a happy little cutie!
It was a great weekend!

Texas...Wuela Julia's 90th!

New This Week: Aurelia is loving noodles, especially with cheese! Making the "ba-ba" sound with her hand and mouth is also pretty new. And her NEW favorite thing is to tell us "no, no" by shaking her head (very similar to her dance move!).

We started out our week with a good workout at Stroller Strides, followed by finishing up our Christmas shopping...it was a bit much for Miss Ari...
Here is Aurelia eating her cheesy noodles...
On Wednesday, we were very busy packing for our trip to see Wuela Julia for her 90th birthday celebration! Here is Ari checking out her suitcase, making sure everything she needs is packed...
while she watched Sesame Street...
We left for Texas, bright and early on Thursday morning...this was Aurelia's 2nd plane ride and 3rd time to Texas. She was an old pro! Here she is looking at her Auntie D on the flight...
And keeping herself entertained with all her toys... We got to Harlingen around 11 and had a great lunch at the Country Club with Grandma Bena, Tia Lena, Tia Fina, and some of our cousins! Then we picked up the Renya girls at the airport and made our way back to Wuela Julia's, so that Aurelia could meet her Great Grandmother! At first, she wasn't quite sure what to do, but I think she knew that Wuela was important...she let her hold her and even leaned in slowly to give her a nice little kiss. It was really sweet! Then Wuela gave her a little Dora blanket that she had made and Ari LOVED it! She just kept patting it and pointing at the little cartoons on it.
We were fortunate to be able to stay with our cousins, Leo and Kathy, the ammenities were wonderful! We all had our own room/bathroom and great food!!!
On Friday, we spent the day with Wuelo, Grandma Texas, and Tio Cheech. We went over to G-Grandma Stephanie's and had some playtime over there. We gave Grandma Texas her chocolates that Ari had picked out for her birthday. In the afternoon we visited more family and Aurelia got to meet some more cousins that all she wanted to do was squeeze their cheeks and kiss them! It was really cute!
Auntie D and Tio Ramon arrived in the Valley on Saturday morning, in time for Wuela's party to start. Grandma Bena, Nuno, and Jesse really did a wonderful job getting the party organized! Everything looked beautiful and tasted wonderful! It was soooo much fun to see most of the family; which was around the 100 mark! We got to see family that most of us hadn't seen in over 10 years! Along with Wuela turning 90, it was also our cousin Lori's (from Cali) 27th birthday! Tio Ramon and Auntie D announced that they were going to have a baby. AND Vanessa announced that she and Demarcus were engaged! So it was a wonderful day to celebrate!!!
Unfortunately, Sunday we had to jet out bright and early. We were fortunate to see Wuelo, Tio Ramon and Auntie D before we left...all in all, it was a fantastic trip, short, but fantastic!!