Christmas in Keokuk

We spent the last few days with my family in Keokuk and Quincy. She got to meet a lot of her family for the first time: Great Grandpa Chuck, Great Grandma Elly, Great Grandma Lois, Uncle Seth, Aunt Andrea and Aunt Elisabeth.

While we were there Seth took some cute pictures of Audrey. I'm going to post some of them here. But I have a bunch more that I'm not going to put here, so if you want to see more pics from our time in Keokuk, click here to go to my facebook album.

Christmas at our house

Since we are spending Christmas away from home, we wanted to celebrate our own family Christmas at our house before we left. Friday night we didn't have anything to do and the presents were all bought, so we decided to have Christmas then!

We didn't buy Audrey any presents as I have a feeling she will get plenty of presents from our family. But we had this stocking for her, and I felt like she should have something in it! I wrapped a couple of toys that we had unopened and unused and put them in her stocking so she wouldn't feel left out.

Maggie got a present too--some treats and a rawhide. She was happy.
Daniel got me lots of things--some sweatpants, a sweater, a Wii game, an itunes gift card, and a new pen holder for my desk.

It looks like I didn't get Daniel as much, but we spent equal amounts of money. Daniel got this canvas print of him and Audrey for his office, and he got money to buy new tennis shoes.
(these are his old shoes that I wrapped so he would have something to open)

And now for some more pictures of Audrey. This poor little girl probably feels like she is growing up with the paparazzi as she always has a camera in her face. I can't help myself, she's just too cute!

This morning I put Audrey in this sweatsuit for the first time. It's a little baggy, but she is still wearing it to church this morning, because changing outfits is not a fun process. And plus she needs a warm outfit today, because it is incredibly cold outside this morning...I am really dreading leaving the house. (Good thing the church is only 1 block away and Daniel fixed the remote start on my car, so it will be nice and toasty for our 20 second drive!)

And I caught a smile! It's not a good angle, but her smiles are quick, so there's no time for posing when I am trying to get a picture of one.

Merry Christmas from the Shelton's!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I took these pictures while Daniel was burping Audrey last night. She looks like such a big girl, holding her head up like this!!

6 weeks old

This past week has been a big week for Audrey. She is really changing and is starting to be more active and aware of her surroundings. Here are some pictures of what she has done in the past week.

She has outgrown a few of her newborn outfits and moved up to the 0-3 month clothes. They are long enough for her, but still pretty baggy. Here she is showing off how big she is getting!

One of her favorite things to do now is lay on her back and stare to the side. It doesn't matter which side and it doesn't matter what she is staring at...the couch, the Christmas tree, the wall...she just likes to stare. We have a mirror in her crib and she will sit and stare at herself for quite a while.

Sheis now flailing her arms and kicking her legs, happily. This is a big change for her, because for the first month, all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball. Any arm flailing or leg kicking was not because she was happy...now she seems to like it more.

She is working on lifting her head while on her tummy. If she is on her tummy on your chest, she will lift it up and look around, even make eye contact with you. She doesn't like to be on her tummy on the floor as much, but she will still lift her head briefly.

We set up her play gym on the floor and she really likes it. Again, she likes to stare at the toys, but she will also flail her arms around and hit the ball.


We're still waiting for good, consistent smiles. Occasionally, it seems like she tries to smile and a few times I think she really has...but it is not a regular thing yet.

A Video!

I'm experimenting today with uploading a video. Audrey is starting to be a little more active and is now making some sounds that seem more happy than sad or angry. I think it sounds like she says "Hi" sometimes. She is also starting to pay attention to her rattle if you shake it in front of her.

So, here's a video I took this morning. It's not too exciting, as she still doesn't do a whole lot. But she's cute, and I thought her grandparents especially might want to see her in action.

A New One Month Picture

Audrey and I ventured to Toys R Us yesterday and I found this big Raggedy Anne Doll. I had Raggedy Anne and Andy dolls when I was little and remember them fondly. So I decided to get one for Audrey, and now that's what I'm going to use for her monthly pictures. So we had to come home and take all new pictures.

The sad part about this trip was the injury Audrey incurred on herself while we were shopping. As we were coming into the store, I put her carseat in the cart (not an easy task, our carseat is heavy!) and heard a loud wail from her. When I opened the cover to check on her, she had a huge gash (well it wasn't that huge, but it did draw a little blood) on her left cheek. I'm assuming she startled and scratched herself. It seems like we just cut her nails, but already they were long enough for her to hurt herself. Besides the one cry, she didn't seem to be bothered by it at all. I, on the other hand, was so upset and ready to cry right there in the store. Now she has this scratch on her face, and every time I look at her it makes me sad.

While I had the camera out, I tried to get some more pictures. But as hard as I tried to get her to look at me and the camera, her attention could not be pulled away from the couch. She was intently studying it and refused to look away!

I left Audrey for the 2nd time yesterday to get my haircut (the 1st time was to go see Twilight), so Daniel was in charge. Daniel took this self-portrait of what they did while I was gone...all 3 of them were nice and cozy on the couch!