big girl, big world.

i can't believe how much Audrey is growing up right before my eyes! she may not be "big" in terms of other babies her age, but she is growing up and learning new things every day. although she hasn't yet mastered rolling over, she LOVES to sit up! if at all reclined, she will do everything possible to try to sit up and look around. unless she is sleeping, she MUST SEE EVERYTHING!!! she also loves to peek over my shoulder when i'm walking around. tonight, i put her in the crib laying on her boppy pillow and walked into the kitchen to get her bedtime bottle ready...

when i came back, this is how i found her....

of course i panicked, told her not to move (haha, right!), and grabbed the camera. i was crying, laughing, and so proud of my little big girl, determined to sit up (at only 15 weeks old) and see the big world around her. 

up goes the neck

then the shoulders and upper back

ta-dah!

oops, a little too far forward :)

check me out!!

okay, tired. i'm gonna lay back down now!

she has also officially started TEETHING. ugh. so not such a fun thing but she isn't completely miserable....yet. just a little fussy every once in a while. i hadn't even thought that far ahead so i was lucky that my Aunt Becky did and had sent her a teething ring a couple months ago. she loves it! as soon as i got it out, she grabbed onto the handle and started rubbing it on her gums like crazy. she has two tiny little white bumps on her bottom gum. her pediatrician said it could take a couple months before they finally break through.

yum! (and yes, that is me wearing Will's Georgia pajama pants)

another thing that is growing every day is Audrey's hair! it just gets longer and longer. i finally got this lovely shot of our baby girl's super adorable mullet!

she LOVES when i wash her hair during bath time. tonight i decided to have a little fun during bath time and styled her long locks into a mohawk :)

seriously, i'm trying to take a bath here lady!

okay fine, i'll play along! :)

Grandma Hammersley arrived safely on Friday night and we had a fun weekend spending time with her. Dad made a great dinner Saturday evening and worked so hard that he decided to take a little nap with Audrey while Grandma, Will, Michael, Chelsea, and i played a couple games of five kings. we had a great time and Audrey loved her snuggle/snore session with Poppa (pictures to come shortly). On Sunday, Grandma had some snuggle time with Audrey while Will and I took the boat out for my very first post-baby fishing trip. It was so great to be back out on the boat with my hubby, even though it was a little chilly. We came back just before dark and hung out with Grandma some more before meeting friends for dinner. Will left for Indiana this morning so Audrey and I just had a relaxing day at home.

To show just how much Audrey has grown and changed in the last month, here are a few pictures from our trip to Kingsland on Christmas Day... (thank you Uncle Art for taking the pictures, and Aunt Karla for emailing them to me!)

sleepy baby snuggled up with Granny Helen

Poppa Gerald and Audrey

BIG SMILE for Granny Helen

i love my Kingsland family!

love her cheeks!!

Granny Helen was over the moon to see her first great granddaughter!

all together :) such great memories from our trip!

and here are a few candids of my girl in blue, taken a couple nights ago. the blue sleeper was my first baby purchase and i was convinced Audrey was a boy up until i was about 12 weeks pregnant (this theory *might* have had something to do with the fact that WILL was convinced Audrey was a boy up until the ultrasound proved otherwise). Then, all of a sudden at 12 weeks I just knew she was a girl. i even bought a few pink outfits before the ultrasound because i was so sure that she was a girl! so this is her one and only blue outfit -- it says "i love my daddy" down the front, aw. this was the last time she'll wear it because she has finally grown out of all of her newborn sized clothes!

I am off to bed! Have a fun day planned with Grandma and Audrey tomorrow!

P.S. to my aunts, uncles, and grandparents... i realized this week that the cards i had written to go out with the picture frames somehow didn't end up making it in with the packages :( so sorry! just know that we love you and are thankful for all of your support, prayers, and gifts. more on the picture i took next time!

battle of the bottle.

Audrey has never been a great eater. from the beginning her feeding reflex was underdeveloped and she had a poor latch. for the first couple days in the NICU the doctors had her on a feeding tube because she wouldn't take a bottle, much less nurse. once we got the hang of nursing, everything was better for a while but condistently not so great. she does much better with a bottle than nursing so we've adjusted and found a good balance. well lately she's reverted back to being the most distracted baby ever when it comes time for her bottle. last night was probably the worst case ever. don't get me wrong, it's hilarious, but when it takes almost 30-40 minutes for her to eat 4 oz. it can be a bit frustrating. i have come up with several nicknames to describe her eating tendencies. i'm hoping to get pictures or video of each of these in the future as well :)

the sleeper: she falls asleep, so i take the bottle out of her mouth and she starts making the sucking motions with her lips and tongue, while still asleep. then she realizes that it's not there anymore and cries. wakes up. falls back asleep a few minutes later. repeat. repeat. repeat. i try everything, evvvverything to keep her awake. this usually only happens during her bedtime bottle.

spazzy hands: every once in a while she holds the bottle with her hands for a few seconds before allowing me to resume my position. then comes the spazzy hands. she flings her hands around everywhere and knocks the bottle away, in which milk goes flying everywhere and usually sprays her face.

the grunter: i swear she is the loudest eater. when i was getting up with her in the middle of the night i would have to take her into a different room to feed or nurse because she is so stinkin loud, i was afraid she would wake Will up. she coos, she grunts, she makes strange noises. sometimes the grunting is accommodated by a large poop so then i have to sit there in the stink while she happily sucks away. try to interrupt her meal to do a diaper change and she cries and kicks her legs making said diaper change almost impossible. lovely.

the smile n spill: this has only happened a few times recently and it's probably my favorite one. she will stop at any point in time, look at me, and smile. when this happens whatever milk that was in her mouth spills out and runs all down her face and bib. hilarious.

the smile n sneeze: this is probably my least favorite one. well, the smile n spill is still adorable but not when it's followed by a huge sneeze in which any remaining milk that was left in her mouth from the smile n spill gets sneezed out everywhere. on her, on me, on anything remotely near us.

the lollipop: i think this just happens when she gets bored and needs something new to do. it's also usually accompanied by excessive babbling. the bottle is still in her mouth but instead of sucking on the nipple, she licks it like a lollipop. she wiggles her tongue around and babbles some more, then more licking.

the distraction: sometimes there's a noise or a sound that she must check out mid-bottle, and sometimes there is nothing. either way, she all of a sudden turns her head or launches her body to one side or even forward. all the while expecting me to keep up with her need for a change of scenery. she cries if she doesn't have the bottle still in her mouth when she reaches her new position.

the hum: this has always been the case so nothing new. she hums when she eats. sometimes it's constant and sometimes it's broken up into hmm (pause) hmm (pause, pause) hmm (pause) hmm. and sometimes it's just hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. either way, it makes it difficult to keep a straight face if i'm trying to carry on a conversation while feeding her.

i'm sure there will be more eating tendencies that will develop along the way, but for now...these are the challenges that i face every 3-4 hours during the day.


i also wanted to share the recipe i made this weekend in my crockpot because it turned out amazing and i was so proud of myself. Will ended up having to eat it as leftovers and it was still amazing so that says something. due to problems at the terminal in Green Bay on friday, Will wasn't able to fly out until saturday morning. i found all of this out AFTER i had started dinner, gotten dressed up, set the dinner table, and done another once over on the house. it was frustrating but he was really sweet about it and i tried not to be too disappointed.

4-5 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 packets italian seasoning (near the salad dressing at the grocery store, not the spices haha)
3 cans cream of chicken soup
2 blocks cream cheese

put everything in the crockpot and cook on low for 5 hours. stir about once every hour so that the sauce doesn't brown on the edges. serve over rotini pasta. since i made more than enough for one meal, i refrigerated the sauce and chicken separately and only made enough pasta for what i needed at the time. then, when i reheated it for Will, i made another batch of fresh pasta, heated the sauce for 3-4 minutes, and the chicken 2 minutes in the microwave. then combined everything together in a large bowl to serve.

Audrey and i had a fun time going to the store and getting all the ingredients the morning of...

and here are a few randoms from tonight, showing off her new outfit from Poppa (STILL in newborn size, but slowly starting to transition to 0-3 size...i've been layering her sleepers with a white t-shirt at night since our bedroom gets really cold and it makes the 0-3 size fit a lot better)

a father's love.

even though Will doesn't get to see Audrey as often as he would like to, he definitely makes up for it on the weekends when he's home. i love seeing them together :) he works so hard to provide for our family, which is the greatest gift to us. he travels halfway across the country and puts in long hours five (sometimes six) days a week. i'm so proud of him and wonder how he does it sometimes. a few weeks ago he said, "don't get mad but i miss Audrey more than you" :) my feelings were hurt for 2.2 seconds until i put myself in his place and thought about how much i would miss my daughter if i were away from her five days in a row. he is so sweet to her and i just wanted to share this picture...

i love my family <3

12 weeks.

at 12 weeks Audrey weighs 10 lbs. 2 oz. and is 22 inches long! she's in the 15th percentile for weight and 20th percentile for length so pretty much staying on track from her last weigh-in (was in the 20th for both last time so a little slip in weight but her pediatrician is happy with her growth, all things considered).

life has been hectic with getting ready for the holidays and then making the big drive to and from Georgia. it's taken us a couple weeks to recover (and fully unpack!). we had a great time over Christmas and got to see the newest member of Will's family -- baby Charlie! Pattyann, Will's cousin, had her son on December 6 and he is so adorable and so tiny! I can't believe Audrey was ever that small!

Audrey did great on the drive down. she is a wonderful traveler and it was relaxing being able to sit up front with Will and have adult time while she slept in the back, never once making a peep! to make things easier and because we love Will's family in Augusta so much, we stayed with his aunt (Nanny) and uncle before heading to Bran Hill Plantation for the annual quail hunt. as usual, the boys had a great time on the hunt and Will enjoyed "getting to kill something" as he so eloquently words it :) i put Audrey in the moby wrap (LOVE) and rode around on the fancy new four-wheeler with Ann and her friend Megan. it was so much fun. Audrey slept through the entire event haha. we then spent a few days in Waycross and Audrey had a great time being loved on and snuggled by her aunt, grandma, grandpa, uncle, and all of her other great big family. everyone commented what a content and sweet little baby she was and i was so proud of her for making all of the traveling transitions so well. i was nervous hopping around from place to place but she seemed to be happy wherever we were.

one of my favorite parts of traveling south is going to Kingsland to see Will's dad's side of the family. we all get together at Granny Helen and Poppa Gerald's to eat and talk and catch up and this trip was no exception. Audrey was such a little doll for everyone; smiling and being super adorable! she gave Granny Helen the biggest smile and it luckily it was caught on camera. As soon as i can uncover (find) my printer, will scan those pictures in for you. it was so nice to see everyone and be surrounded by such an amazing family (Turner family, im thinking of you and your awesome TV when i add pictures in at the end of this haha).

unfortunately, the day we left Waycross i was running a mid-grade fever and not feeling well. and as soon as we got home, Audrey also was running a low fever and all of a sudden very fussy and clingy. we were planning on doing Christmas with my family that weekend, but unfortunately it had to be postponed since both of us were sick and didn't want to risk getting my sister sick since she is pregnant! i'm going to be an aunt again sometime mid July! Audrey and her new cousin will be almost exactly 9 months apart.

so needless to say, in traditional Hammersley fashion we did Christmas last weekend :) thank you to everyone who sent love our way. i was ecstatic at all of the Michigan gear Audrey received!! we also received a gift card to one of our favorite restaurants, Village Tavern, so it looks like a date night for us and a sleepover for Audrey at Poppa's is in the near future - hooray! not that i'm not sleeping through the night every night though....a little brag: my dear daughter has been sleeping like a teenager as of lately. i keep waiting for the other shoe to drop but the child has been sleeping through the night since she was five weeks old. as of the last few weeks she goes to bed around 10-10:30 and wakes up anywhere between 9:30-10:30. coming from two people who love to sleep, i guess i shouldn't be that surprised. i remember the days when i used to watch the sun come up and suffered through watching weird 3 am TV shows to try and keep me awake for our middle of the night nursing sessions and wondered when it would ever end. i guess Audrey got pretty sick of it too because all of a sudden one morning i woke up, looked at the clock and was shocked that she had been sleeping for almost 7 hours straight. and it just got better from there. so this is the face i wake up to every morning...

i love, love, looove her morning smiles. she just kinda slowly wakes up and starts babbling away. the rest of our day is kinda play by ear, as she demand feeds and naps whenever she wants. i am not the type of person to try and put my baby on any kind of a schedule with the exception of bedtime, as i think it just sets everyone up for frustration and disappointment. so, we kinda do whatever. she plays, we have some pretty funny conversations (she says "hi" every once in a while, which is hilarious), she eats, she poops, she naps. we go to the grocery store, which is always fun. and when it's nice outside we go for a walk. one of Audrey's favorite things in the entire world right now is a little mermaid doll that my Aunt Susie got her for Christmas. the girl loves her mermaid. she squeals and gets sooo excited whenever she sees it....

and then she gets very focused....

we actually disassembled her bouncer so that it fit in the truck and we could bring it with us to Georgia because her beloved mermaid hangs from the bar across the bouncer and i didn't know if she could go without it while we were away from home :)
another activity Audrey loves is bath time. she has learned that it is very funny to kick her feet and splash water all over me. she also loves when i pour a cup of water over her head while washing all that hair! i love her hair so much. now that it's grown out a little bit, the front lays down more but the back sticks up still. i think it's so adorable. this is Audrey after a bath with her hair completely flat all over....

 

she doesn't even look like the same baby! more fuzzy please....

i took both of the above pictures one afternoon during an impromptu photo shoot on our bed. it was so much fun and i loved how they turned out. there's one more but i can't post just yet because late Christmas presents went out in the mail this week and i don't want to spoil the surprise. plus the sentimental value of the mystery picture is probably best shared on its own separate post :)

i look forward to Audrey's doctor appointments to see how much she's grown and also because i love her pediatrician so much. the downside to these appointments is seeing her go through the pain of getting her vaccination shots. the oral one, she loved. the needles, eh, not so much. the first time around she did great, but this time she had to get two - one on each leg and she was not a happy camper afterward. about halfway home she started screaming and crying so as soon as i got her inside we had a major snuggle session in bed....

after work, Will brought her some infant tylenol to help ease the pain and bring down her slight fever. i heard on the news tonight that there is an outbreak of whooping cough (pertussis) in Alamance county, which is not too far from here. it's scary when it hits close to home but i'm glad that she's had at least one of her dTap shots.

Will is in Wisconsin this week and it's been rainy and gloomy while he's been gone. i've been doing a lot of cleaning and organizing to keep busy. when we moved into our house it seemed very spacious, but since having a baby and moving in all the things that come with having a baby our spacious house is now full so even a small clutter or mess throws everything off. i'm lucky that Audrey is a very independent baby and most days will play happily on her play mat and in her swing, bouncer, or pack n play while mama keeps up with the housework. i've also started cooking more which was one of my new years resolutions. i have never, ever been a great cook but i made a promise to myself and Will that i would try harder to cook more often, especially when he's home on the weekends. so far i have made BBQ chicken in the crockpot, Ritz chicken (which is one of Will's mom's recipes), and a few other dishes. i have decided that the crockpot is the greatest thing ever. it's perfect for the days that Audrey is feeling not so independent and needs to be held a lot, or when i have other things to do around the house.

i found out this weekend that my Grandma Hammersley is coming for a visit at the end of January and i'm soo excited!! Audrey met my Grandma and Grandpa Gertz at the end of November when they stopped by on their way to Florida and it was such a fun visit. Hopefully they will stop by on their way back and see how much Audrey has grown since then. We're hoping to make a trip up to Michigan sometime when it thaws out a little maybe in the late spring or early summer. Will has some vacation time saved so i really hope i can take him back to MY old stomping grounds and see lots of family and friends. Yes, that means you Allyson :)

I also made another resolution to update this more often and post as many pictures as possible. Hopefully this will happen more often once we invest in a good digital camera. i did have a disc of pictures from Thanksgiving but haven't been able to find it anywhere so when I go back to Augusta to spend some time with Nanny i will be able to post those as well.

Hope everyone had a great holiday and all is well in the new year. xoxo