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