Eat your heart out, Beckham!

Uncle Ben's Christmas gift is a big hit. Can you see the talent this little one has for soccer? At the very least, she looks cute in her England kit!

January Trip to Arizona

We escaped the January cold for a week and took Audrey to Scottsdale for a vacation. We thought she would love swimming (it was too cold) and playing in the grass (it scared her as is evidenced by some of the pictures below where she is trying to keep her feet from touching it) but she DID love the condo. Her two favorite things about Arizona? The carpet in the living room for maximum crawling opportunities...and, the coffee table that she used as a teething tool! We had a great time and were able to spend a lot of time outside with Audrey. With so many new things to see, she was not interested in naps so the only way we could get her to sleep during the day was to take her for walks in her stroller. She had a fun week with new sights, new foods and mom and dad all to herself all day long! We also discovered a park in the neighborhood with a carousel and a kiddie train. She was not so sure about the carousel but she loved the train ride!

Christmas Pictures

Audrey's first Christmas was wonderful. Granny Jenn and Uncle Ben came from England to Chicago and we all packed into a huge rental SUV and drove up to Fargo for 4 days. The trip was harrowing on the way there, taking almost 14 hours and ending in a white-out blizzard in Minnesota. Audrey slept through the white-knuckle journey but Rudy and the rest of us were on the edge of our seats!

We arrived in Fargo safely and it was like a picture from a fairy tale. The beautiful (clean!) white snow, icicles on the trees and even a horse-drawn carriage up and down the street made it feel even more magical. We had the best Christmas ever and really enjoyed being in Fargo. Best of all, Audrey got to spend the holiday with all of her grandparents and her great-grandma too!

Here are some pictures of her exciting Christmas in Fargo, including her first ride in her new sleigh (thanks, Nana!), pulled by her personal sled-dog!

Apologetic Catch-Up Blog

Since I last posted, we have had many exciting events in the Walker house. Audrey's first Thanksgiving, her first disco, first Christmas, New Year and some big milestones in her development. She has learned to clap, "dance", play piano (or at least look like she is playing in pictures), crawl, stand up, say ba-by, mama and dada (with no idea that they are words, I fear). She and Rudy have become the best of friends for two reasons: 1) Audrey has learned to feed him from her highchair and 2) She has learned that "petting" is different than "pulling Rudy's hair out". I think they will have a temporary estrangement soon, however, as she is learning to crawl pretty quickly so he is not safe from her "love" for long!

Here are some pictures of the last two months (I will post Christmas in the next posting):