Dancing

For 3 seasons I've taken Audra to a mommy-and-me Music Together class in a nearby town.  She loves music and has grown very fond of our classes, the teacher and the songs that we learn together.  There are many nights when she asks us to turn on her cd's and this song (Jim-Along Josie) is a favorite!  

Expressions

Last week Audra and I took a road trip to Upstate NY.  It was a whirlwind trip of seeing many friends over the course of 4 days, and I didn't take 1 picture.  (Very unlike me!)  However, when we were staying with Dave and Suzanne Loucks (my sisters in laws), Suzanne got out her camera and got some shots of Audra.  She was being her typical, expressive self and Suzanne was able to capture some classic Audra looks.

(Almost) 17 Weeks

Shortly after Audra turned 18 months old we discovered that Baby #2 will be joining our family next April!  We're delighted by this new addition!

Pool Time

While we were in North Myrtle Beach we tried using arm floaties and a water ring on Audra, but she didn't enjoy the fact that an adult still had to hold onto her.  She kept insisting "Aww-da, Aww-da, Aww-da" which is her way of saying her name and letting us know that she wanted to do it all by herself.  We saw some other kids at the pool who were wearing Puddle Jumpers, and on Tuesday night my sweet in laws drove to a Target to buy one for Audra.

Our pool time for the remaining 3 days of vacation went much smoother, as Audra could swim all by herself!  What a great invention!

Sand Creations

A few years ago, during the Crosby family reunion at Sandbridge Beach, VA, I was able to see my husbands talent for sculpting sand.  The race car that he designed and helped build was pretty incredible (and it was a huge hit with my nephews, who were 3 1/2 at the time).

During our beach vacation I was able to see more of David's talent and discover that this talent was passed on from his father, Bruce.

On our 4th day at the beach they started with a small project, a turtle.

Audra thought it was a great place to sit.

Day 5 saw the creation of a sand shark.  (My only contribution to the sculpture was help in gathering some broken shells for the teeth.  In this picture I was trying to keep Audra from wrecking it.)

Day 6 was our last full day at the beach, so David and Dad Cundey spent about 3 hours on their artwork.  First they created the sea serpent, but that wasn't enough.  So they added an alligator, who was attacking from the serpents left side.

Next came the shark, who was trying to pull the serpent back into the water.

And then a squid attacked the sea serpent, too.  Three against one... it really was quite unfair!  But it brought a lot of attention from those passing by.

Exfoliating

We were all very amused when Audra used the sand to exfoliate her legs (and feet and arms) when we were at the beach a couple weeks ago.  

Beach Baby

I'm finally getting around to posting about our trip to North Myrtle Beach, which happened between September 26 and October 5.  

We left our house on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 26, but stopped for the night near Richmond, VA and didn't get to our destination until about 2pm on Friday afternoon.  Audra rarely sleeps in the car (and if she does wind up falling asleep in the car it's usually for less than 45 minutes), so we were glad we spread the trip over 2 days.

We got settled into the Wyndham Resort, had a late lunch and then Audra went down for a nap.  After she woke we decided to take a quick walk on the beach before dinner.  My mother in law suggested changing Audra into her swimsuit, but I didn't think it was necessary.  Silly me!!  After about 15 minutes Audra was tired of walking in the sand and found the water too enticing to avoid.  We tried to keep her dry but she didn't want any of us to hold onto her so pretty soon she had fallen into the water.

Audra was giving Mimi a difficult time by trying to plunge headfirst into the water.

We eventually gave up on trying to keep Audra out of the water and just let her sit in the waves with her clothes on.  I learned my lesson about trying to keep a child dry while they're next to the ocean!

For the next 7 days we were blessed with warm and sunshiny weather... perfect beach weather!  Audra loved playing in the sand, rolling in the sand and going into the ocean.  She is definitely a beach baby!

I enjoyed watching Audra learn to love the beach!  Thanks, Mom and Dad Cundey, for inviting us to South Carolina and sharing this vacation with us!

Buddies

We got home tonight from a wonderful vacation to North Myrtle Beach, SC!  I'm sure I'll be posting more about that sometime soon.  But for now I need to post this video of Audra and her buddy, Sophie.  

Our nickname for Sophie is Doodle, so that's what Audra is trying to say.  I should also mention that tonight was the first time that Audra called Sophie by name.  Usually she just signs "dog"when she's talking to/about Sophie.

I love watching these two together!  They are such great friends!

Fall Leaves

Days like today, when Audra takes a short nap and wakes up very cranky, make me thankful for a yard where Audra can safely play.  This girl LOVES being outside... bring her outdoors to the fresh air and the grumpiness disappears! 

I raked up a child-size pile of leaves for Audra to play in, but she was mostly interested in rake.  So after a little bit of instruction I let Audra rake some leaves herself.  She took her work seriously, and seemed to enjoy being able to do what Mama did.

I loved watching how hard she would concentrate on picking the leaves out of the rake.  I've been told that her expression of intense focus (and especially sticking out her tongue!) is exactly how David looked when he played as a toddler.

After a lot of raking, Audra decided to play in the leaves.  She enjoyed throwing the leaves at Sophie (which Sophie enjoyed, too!), trying to put them on her head and sitting in the big pile.

Labor Day Weekend

We were able to spend some time at the community pool this weekend (thanks to our friends who are members!), and it was a perfect activity for the Labor Day weekend. 

At 19 months we weren't sure how Audra would do with supporting herself inside a water ring, but she caught on quickly and seemed to enjoy her independence in the pool.  She's growing up so quickly!