Audrey's Disney Adventure

Yesterday we took off from the blustery north and headed south to the land of sun, pine trees, and Mickey Mouse. I can safely say we were all extremely excited to be getting out of the cold and headed somewhere with warmer temperatures. Even with the rain and 50-60 degree temps in the forecast for Orlando we were happy to take it!

We were also excited to take Audrey on her very first trip including her first flight! She did great on the flight down since luckily it coordinated with a morning nap and with Grandma on board she was asleep before and during take off. She slept for about the first 45 minutes and then did well for the remainder of the flight just playing and getting passed back and forth between Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma. Her ears hurt a bit on the way down into Orlando but she only cried for a few minutes and felt better quick.

Once we got off the plane, we collected our luggage and set off to our rental car and to head towards Disney World! We hadn't eaten lunch so we stopped at one of our favorites, Perkins to get a bite to eat. 

Finally, we got to our hotel, Disney's Coronado Springs Resort and checked it and got settled. Phil and I ran to Super Target to get a few things while Papa went to check out the trade show at the conference. We ate a quick dinner at the conference and settled in for the night after a long day of traveling! 

Day Two.

Rain or shine we were headed to the Magic Kingdom today! The weather was awful as it was pretty chilly and rainy all day so we couldn't enjoy it as much and I didnt get to take many good pictures but we will definitely make it back another day before we go home.

We headed straight for Tomorrowland were Phil and I rode Space Mountain while Papa, Grandma, and Audrey rode the Tomorrowland People Mover. Then we all went on Audrey's first real ride together, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin! 

We then went on It's A Small World and Peter Pan's Flight but somebody slept through both of those!

Since it was so cold and rainy the three of us quickly enjoyed a Dole Whip Pineapple Float and headed back to the hotel to relax while Grandma and Papa stayed behind to ride some more attractions.

This evening, Phil and I got to enjoy a date night while Grandma and Papa babysat Audrey. We went to EPCOT and had a great time in the rain. We rode Spaceship Earth then walked the entire World Showcase stopping in Germany for good beer, then stopping in Morocco for small plates. Phil was in heaven, we each had a sampler platter his with Fried Calamari, Mussels, and Salted Cod Croquettes and mine with a Chicken Roll, Lamb Slider, and Sausage with lamb. He also had some Ouzo which made him very happy. 

We ended the night with coffee and pastries in Great Britain. It was just a perfect and much needed night for both of us and I'm thankful to my parents for watching the babe so we could do it!!

Nana and Papa Visit

We had a great day today spending the day with Nana and Papa LeVasseur since they came down to see us today. It was so nice to be able to visit and I know they enjoyed seeing Audrey and marveling in how quickly she grows and how amazing she is. Since we see her everyday it's fun to see and think about how amazing everything she can do is.

We played a few board games like Big Bang Theory Clue and Scrabble and Phil made some yummy chicken tamales for dinner. It was very nice just to be able to spend time with them and we look forward to them coming to visit again soon.

Outlet Mall Fun

In preparation for our big first vacation with Ms. Audrey in just two weeks my bestest and I took a trip to Birch Run for the day with Audrey. We had a great day but it would have been nicer if it wasn't so cold outside but that's what you come to expect in January!! I love getting to spend time with Rachel and Audrey did really great with all the in and out of the car and baby carrier. I considered in "Baby in training" for all the chaos she is going to have to deal with in a few weeks.

We hit up all of our favorite stores and walked away with some great deals which is always a bonus. I can't believe my main purpose in going was to pick up some shoes for Audrey since she'll need them when we go on vacation and she'll be walking soon. That just boggles my mind!! 

It was a great day and let's be honest Rach and I will come up with any excuse to go shopping for the day!!! 

Ten Months

I can hardly believe we've reached the double digits! Our little girl is already ten months old as of yesterday. We are just two months away from having our very own little one year old lady. We've enjoyed so much fun this past month with all of the exciting things the holidays bring. 

This month Audrey's hair really started to grow like a weed and it's getting this fun little curl in the back as it grows. She's really pulling herself up onto everything and no longer likes to just sit in your lap for any extended period of time because she'd rather be crawling up a storm and getting into everything. She's getting very quick with her crawl and soon enough I'm certain she's just going to take off. As much as she loves to explore she still loves a good cuddle with her Mama or Daddy quite often.

We've learned this month also that this girl likes to eat. As we've started introducing more and more finger foods even with her one little tooth she can really chow down. She loves bananas, avocados, cheerios, and even had some fun with spaghetti! 

We also ventured into fun big girl baths and she did great thanks to all the fun bath toys her Grandma and Papa got her for Christmas. She can be very cranky and you put her in a tubby and it's all better! 

We are still, still waiting for more teeth to arrive and I'm very hopeful they will come in soon as I think we are just going to see a few of them come in at one time.

This is going to be a great month as we are going to take our very first trip with our little lady. We are heading to my favorite place on the planet, Disney World in just three weeks for a business conference and vacation with Grandma and Papa! I'm looking forward to the many memories we will make there and to see what month #11 holds!

Month to Month

Seeing is I did a horrible, horrible job keeping up with my blog until I learned of the blogger app from my wonderful sister I feel as though I just need to update the progression of little A from month to month seeing as though tomorrow we hit double digits. Yes that's right I can hardly believe it myself my little girl will be ten months old tomorrow! 

I love looking at these pictures and let's be honest this is also just another reason for me to be able to look at them in awe as to how big she's gotten and marvel at the little person she is becoming.

I just love the progression from month to month and can't wait to add in ten months tomorrow! I better stop blogging and get to birthday party planning!!

Snowed In

On Sunday we experienced what is probably the biggest snow storm of my life that I can remember by far. It's even being hailed by some as the Snowpocalypse! We ended up getting about 12-18 inches of snow in around a 36 hour period. Schools are going on being off for the third day in a row starting tomorrow because the roads are pretty frozen thanks to two straight days of below zero temperatures combined with a wind chill ranging between 25 and 35 below! I have certainly never seen this temperature before when I looked up the weather!

Needless to say Audrey and I haven't left the house since Saturday morning and we quickly developed cabin fever! We have been entertaining ourselves though by watching lots of TV and trying new fun things like figuring out how the walker actually works

It was proped up against the bookshelf so no steps have been taken yet but this is the first time she's pulled herself up to standing at it from the back instead of the front.

Even more exciting we put her hair in her first baby ponytail!!

She actually didn't mind it and kept it in until I took it out for her. I was for sure she would hate it but I was wrong! It was so fun to do as her hair just all of a sudden seems to be taking off and I'm excited because it seems to have a little baby curl in the back as it grows out! I can't wait to see what happens as it continues to grow.

Thankfully today Josh brought me lunch and then my Mom came and got A and I this afternoon and took us to her house for a change of scenery since Phil had the Jeep with the car seat in it.

Thankfully I feel we are through the worst of it as the high is actually 1 degree tomorrow so it is going to continue to warm up throughout the week so we can venture out of the house! We are very excited because swimming is back in session tomorrow and nothing makes A happier plus it will make Mommy happy since it's so warm in the swim school!!!

Stuffing Day

For the few time in a few years we were able to take part in a true Stuffing Day including all of its traditions! This year was supposed to be at the Fulton cabin in the Irish Hills but thanks to the biggest winter storm we've seen in years we had to quickly improvise and change the location to our house! 

It was really fun to celebrate Audrey and Cora's first Stuffing Day with the Fultons and Mike and Leslie. On Saturday night, we enjoyed some yummy snacks and played lots of fun games including Apples to Apples and Celebrity. 

On Sunday, we enjoyed a lazy day as required by Stuffing Day while Phil made a great meal as the snow just came down and down and down. This year Phil made pulled pork tamales with mole and salsa verde. He also made traditional rice and beans to go along with it. It was really yummy and so fun to have a different dynamic during Stuffing Day with having Ella (4 years), Audrey (9.5 months), and Cora (5 months). Instead of watching movies like The Big Lebowski, Fear and Loathing, and Chinatown this year we watched Dumbo, Mulan, and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer :)

The girls did have lots of fun playing together and I look forward to them growing up together and continuing these great traditions.

Happy 2014 and Happy Birthday Grandma!

Its hard to believe 2013 has come and gone. It was just one year ago that I was getting nervous because I knew that Baby A would be here in just a few short months. Neither Phil or I could have imagined how great a year it would be and how incredible these first 9 months as parents would be. 

Welcoming Audrey in March proved to be the start of a very chaotic year filled with moving, moving again, and moving once more until we finally landed in the home we were meant to be in and will stay in for a very, very long time. This year also brought about a change in career for Phil and one that so far seems like a great fit for him and our family as it gets him home every night in time for bedtime no matter what. We have gotten to spend so much great time together as a family and we are both here to see every little milestone that A reaches together which is what is most important. 

We both feel so extremely blessed for all we have this year. We now have a beautiful little family with one healthy little girl and two crazy pups who we love dearly. We have a beautiful home that our kids can grow up in that is in the same town as my family which is right where we want to be. We both have jobs which allow us to live very comfortably and allow me to stay at home with A. We seriously couldn't be more blessed and we truly know it.

After a great 2013 I'm only looking forward to what 2014 has to offer. I'm sure it will bring many great memories as we have many fun adventures planned already! Who knows maybe 2014 could possibly bring another little LeVasseur on the way :) only time and fate will tell!

As is with tradition we've brought in the first day of 2014 celebrating Grandma's birthday with our family. We spent the day at Grandma and Papa's house on a very snowy day complete with the Rose Bowl Parade and watching a very cold Winter Classic game on TV. We played with some toys and the boys got all bundled up and played in the snow! It was really a lovely day and a great way to start off a new year as always. 

Here's to a great, healthy, and happy 2014!!