Christmas is here!

Aubrey's first Christmas has officially come and gone!

It was such a whirlwind!! The three of us came down with a cold a few days prior to Christmas. Unfortunately, since Aubrey is the smallest, it hit her the hardest. Even though she wasn't sleeping well at night, she was still a pretty happy baby during the daytime. This past week, we celebrated four days of Christmas in a row. First we had the Sandberg immediate family Christmas, followed by the Sandberg extended family celebration on Christmas Eve. Then on Christmas morning we drove to Orion for the Harkey extended family Christmas with the Kunert immediate family Christmas the next day. Whew! All of these celebrations meant a lot of gifts for Aubrey. Everyone must have known what a good baby she was this year! Thank you for everything we received!

opening and playing with presents at our house

Christmas with the Sandbergs

Christmas with the Kunerts

Christmas is the time of year to reflect on everything we've been blessed with during the year. This year the obvious blessing in our lives is Aubrey, born May 11. It's hard to believe she is already 7.5 months old! Time sure flies!! She is such a joy and continues to amaze us more and more each day. No matter what our moods may be, her giggle always makes us each smile. This past week, Aubrey has learned out to say "da da." I'm still waiting to hear "ma, ma" but remain patient in the meantime. She is so stinking cute! Also, based on how much she likes to stand and how fearless she is, we have a feeling that she will trying to walk in another month or so. Even though we dread the thought of her completely on the loose, we look forward to that first step.

We are also very thankful for such wonderful family and friends. Thank you for all of your support throughout the year. We look forward to and wish everyone a healthy and happy 2008! (originally posted on Babysites)

Christmas at the Zoo

This year, Jeff's work decided to hold their corporate Christmas party at Brookfield Zoo. We were so excited to go. It would be Aubrey's first time to Brookfield and also her first time to meet Santa! The weather was pretty cold outside and the animals were sparse. We saw the camels (who knew), the polar bears and all of the monkeys at the monkey house. Even though it was snowy, we were properly bundled and had a great time! Thanks Legat!

December photos

A few favorites from December...

bathing beauty

post bath...deer in headlights!

sweet smile

first drink from a sippy cup

all bundled up!

feed me!

Seven months

It's hard to believe our little baby is already seven months old! She is growing so quickly that we can't even remember when she was a little 'blob.' :)

In addition to mastering the ability to crawl everywhere, she can now pull herself to a standing position on the furniture. She is very brave and tries to do it in the tightest of quarters. Today she even did it in the bathtub! She has no fear!

We are heading to Brookfield Zoo this weekend for Jeff's company's holiday party. Aubrey will get to meet Santa for the first time. We are also looking forward to showing her all of the animals again. Now that she is a little older, we think she will enjoy it more than in October. We can't wait. (originally posted on Babysites)

New crawler...

We have some exciting news to share....

Aubrey has officially started crawling! Her determination and focus is amazing. She is so curious about everything in the house now and can get from point A to B very quickly when she wants to. We now need to keep a closer eye on her going forward. The cats also need to be ready because she can pounce on them at any time.

In addition to that, she has mastered the ability to sit from a crawling position. She was so proud of herself the first few days that she even practiced it during the night and then insisted that I come in to see her doing it. With the big smiles on her face when she was sitting up in her crib, it was hard to complain about losing sleep.

We also have begun our preparations for Christmas. She loved watching us put up the tree and lighting the lights in the house. She also wants to help me wrap presents even though she's not much help yet. We look forward to the holiday season and her developments to come. It's hard to believe she will be standing on her own and possibly even walking soon! (originally posted on Babysites)