Our Vacation

We went to Hawaii in September and we were very nervous about 8 hour plane ride.

It was Aubreys first time on a plane and she did GREAT!!

She enjoyed playing with everything on the plane! She loved the magazines, the tray, and the remote to the television.

We arrived and were greeted by a good friend with beautiful flowers.

We had an amazing room with a wonderful view.

Aubrey was ready to unpack the moment we arrived.

She HATED the sand... but LOVED the lagoon!

SNORKELING!

We went snorkeling one day and saw AMAZING waves!

The picture above is of Evan riding in on a wave and it was so powerful it took his flipper off and out to sea.

A not so new trick!

Aubrey thought her Aunt Bethany would like this picture.

We saw a double rainbow one afternoon!

We went to a Luau and Aubrey wore her new dress.

She was mesmerized by the dancers.

This is what Aubrey looked like every afternoon!

Vacation was very hard for her! :)

Aubrey tried Puffs and gave this face each time, but eventually learned to LOVE them and eat them on her own.

Aubrey tried a smoothie for the first time and LOVED it!

Where's Evan?

The waterfall at the pool was FANTASTIC!

Evan learned to hang ten.

This was my parents favorite place to eat and Aubrey chewed on everything around

while we ate because she was cutting teeth.

We visited the Punchbowl Cemetery which has amazing views of Honolulu

and GORGEOUS flowers!

We stopped by a road side fruit stand for the best coconuts!

We looked forward to getting them before leaving Chicago!

It was a very relaxing week and it was a wonderful end to my summer. I am back at work; part time and am loving my schedule. I teach a morning class and am home by noon to enjoy our little one as she grows and changes.

Aubrey's First Bow

Well it is sad, but true. On Sunday morning I put the first bow in Aubrey's hair. When she was still an infant I would use headbands with bows. Aubrey now has a thick enough head of hair for a bow. This was a very exciting event and I can already picture the pigtails. She is growing quickly and simple things like bows get me weepy eyed.

How cute can one girl be!

I have really enjoyed going with Aubrey to the zoo this summer. It has been great to see the stages of development as she tries to interact with the things around her. During our first few trips she slept, during the next few trips she looked about her surroundings contently, and during these last few trips of the summer she has begun to really enjoy watching the animals move. She talks while we walk and stares in amazement as the fish swim or she hears the animals make sounds. I am filled with joy each time I see her connecting with, amazed at, and loving yet another piece of God's creation.

This Polar Bear was laying around after being sprayed down with a fire hose

Aubrey was watching one of the dinosaurs, in a special exhibit, move around and roar

LOVE the signs :D

Evan was very excited to look at the dinos

Our little girl after seeing the sights. It is great to see her truly tuckered out. Aubrey is a baby that could go all day of you let her. When she crashes, we have done our job as her parents.

The Lake

We went to Gull Lake a few weeks ago and Aubrey was introduced to her Aunt Bethany and Uncle Brennan again. She loved them!! We enjoyed spending time together and doing various water activities. A few monstrous storms came through towards the end of the weekend, but it was a much needed and wonderful getaway! Here are some snapshots from our trip:

Dad enjoying the drive

Aubrey loved the hammock!! Especially when it swung fast!!

She screamed and laughed during the ride.

This is what 2 happy people look like after thoroughly enjoying their smores.

A bath at the lake... oh what fun

Dad getting air on the tube

Aubrey with Grandpa after her 6am wake up

Aubrey and Great Grandma Gordon

The cutest little life jacket EVER!

Brennan and Bethany tubing; the goal was to get them off... unsuccessful

Aubrey being a water baby

Uncle Brennan on skis...

Aunt Bethany on skis...

My Daddy on skis!

SUMMER

I have truly enjoyed and been blessed with having the summer off! I can not thank Evan enough for giving me this opportunity with or daughter. Aubrey has grown so much in the past 2 months. I can't help but "give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done". Being able to stay home and make countless memories has been an indescribable joy.  We have shared moments with friends, taken Thursdays to enjoy lunch with Pop Pop and Aubrey's cousins, had adventurous dinners with NaNa and Grandpa, enjoyed Story Time on Tuesday mornings, journeyed to the zoo, explored the Shedd Aquarium, played at the pool, experienced life with MiMi :D, laughed together, cried together, and learned a few new "tricks". We still have more summer time moments ahead of us and I can not wait to engrave each of them on my heart! 

A friend we have spent a lot of time with, is Micah. He has truly come out of his shell with Aubrey and it is great to see the two of them enjoying childhood together. We went and purchased an AMAZING LIPSTICK PINK stroller today with Micah and his mom, Marybeth!!! Aubrey has had her eye on this particular stroller for a while and her dreams came true today...

Doesn't she look AMAZING!

When we went out, Micah really enjoyed my phone. He played with it for a while and soon figured out how to open it and tried dialing dad at work...

As we have journeyed through the summer together Micah and Aubrey have begun talking more and more with one another. They were carrying on quite the conversation today; before the camera went on (go figure). If only we knew what they were saying.