Aubrey Updates

Aubrey had a great Easter. Grandma LaVaun bought her some peeps and she enjoyed them quite a bit. But I'm pretty sure they made her barf that night. Oh, well. Some things are worth it!

Yes, that's a patch on her eye. We're not training her for a life of piracy. She has exotropia in her right eye, which means that it turns out and doesn't focus very well with her left eye. She has been wearing a patch for several weeks on her left eye so the right eye has to work harder and get stronger. Sadly, the patching didn't fix it. But she will have surgery at the end of June to adjust the muscle in her right eye and, hopefully, that will be the end of it. She's still doing great with her glasses, even with a stronger prescription. She also wears the patch like a champ and only gets upset when I have to pull it off. But I think it hurts Mommy more than it hurts her!

Even though I've strayed from the Easter report, I still want to share these darling photos of Aubrey's Easter Dress. This was given to her by my dear friend Chelsea and I have been waiting and waiting for it to fit. It still didn't really fit, but she wore it anyway. 

Isn't that the most adorable girl you've ever seen in your life? 

The problems with her eyes seem to be affecting her walking. She cruises all around the furniture, but seems pretty scared to let go. But her eyes certainly don't affect her mischief-making skills. 

So that's Aubrey. We have lots more updates to come. The baby is growing and the pregnancy is going great. We have a new house that we have been working like crazy on. That will comprise many posts to come.

12 weeks

The baby is coming right along. I went to the doctor yesterday and everything is right on schedule. And it is almost time to get out the maternity clothes.

Aubrey's 1st Birthday

Aubrey turned one on March 5th. Since we don't have a lot of family close by we decided to just do a small celebration. We gave Aubrey her very own cake and I think she liked it. We filmed it so all of you can judge for yourselves. The video is about 7 minutes. I posted it in its entirety for those who might be interested. But if that is just too much Harrison Offspring Goodness, start at about 4 minutes. That's where it gets funny.

Already?

So I mentioned that I have some really good excuses for not posting. One is, of course, our move halfway across the country. The second was a big surprise we found out about right after we unpacked all of our stuff in our new one-bedroom apartment. We are having another baby.

That's right, I am pregnant. No shots, no drugs. I'm almost 11 weeks, so the baby will come in September (fingers crossed).

We were very shocked and overwhelmed when we found out. It definitely took a few days to process. We feel so blessed to have another baby. We can't wait to meet this new little addition to our family. We are just thanking God every day for this blessing and pleading for the baby (and mommy) to be healthy.

I had my first visit with the doctor and everything is going well so far. I talked them into doing an ultrasound and saw the heartbeat. The baby was measuring exactly the right size (and there's just one). Aubrey and Rachel were both already measuring small at the 12-week screening so this is very encouraging. The doctor is going to watch us very closely, which is great.

We're not quite sure where we're going to put the new baby, but stay tuned for updates on that. We have lots of plans to make and lots of settling into our new life to do before the baby comes.

* "Already?" is what my little brother said when we told him the news.

Hearts Knit Together

So, John got a job in San Antonio, TX. Which was awesome, because our alternate plan involved parents' basements and selling all of our stuff. It was a pretty rough year, so we were really looking forward to a fresh start. But it was really sad leaving all of our good friends. As the time came for us to leave Alexandria, I realized how many dear friends we had and how much they had helped us over our time in Alexandria and especially the last year.

It reminded me of a verse in the Book of Mormon. In Mosiah 18 Alma is teaching people in secret and they are getting ready to be baptized. In verse 21, he commands them to have "their hearts knit together in unity and in love towards one another." That is exactly how I have felt for the past year with our ward and with my girlfriends.

When I first moved to Alexandria I was in a book club with a bunch of really cool girls. Over the years people came and went, but we always supported each other. When Aubrey was still in the hospital, these amazing girls had a party for me, which was exactly the thing that I needed. I had so many visits and calls and favors from these friends. I often felt alone, but these friends would remind me how loved I am.

We had a good group of friends in our ward before the babies came. In our time of need they went above and beyond. We had more food than we knew what to do with. For the first couple of weeks after I came home from the hospital, I wasn't allowed to drive. I had a ride to the hospital every day I needed it. Our dear home teachers took our second crib back to Ikea...IKEA! No one likes going to Ikea. One dear friend made sure that we had a meaningful way to remember Baby Rachel, which meant everything to us. I could never list all of the kindnesses that came to us here. But I will never forget the love that I felt. I wondered many times if God had forgotten us. But after all of those people that opened their hearts to our family, I could never doubt that God was taking care of us.

We know that San Antonio is where we are meant to be right now. We really like our new ward and are starting to make some new friends. But we still miss all of our friends in Alexandria.

Aubrey Updates

In December, we found out that Aubrey needed glasses. It was a bit of an ordeal finding some frames that would work for her, but we did. I even decided to get pink, so people would stop thinking she's a boy. It's kind of working. 

 

Aubrey also got a high chair for Christmas and eats all her meals in it. She has started working on drinking from a cup.

She watched her first Super Bowl.

She had her first Valentine cookie.

She finally wore the sweet sweater Aunt Jamie made her.

She learned how to giggle.

And she learned how to crawl and climb.

Aubrey is keeping us busy and we are all looking forward to her 1st birthday!

Merry Christmas

I know this is really late, but I have a lot of good excuses. We had a great Christmas with Aubrey this year. We went to Calgary and stayed with my parents for a week. Here we are in front of their tree.

Aubs didn't really get the presents, but she really loves paper, so that worked out. 

I got a super cool Kindle for Christmas (Thanks, parents!) so please give me your book suggestions. I've actually been reading! John got a lot of cool camera stuff. Aubrey got a lot of good Uncle time. 

Which she really did like, though it's not really showing in the picture.