Aubree Talking

JD and I had to share this video that we got of Aubree this evening after her bath. We have tried multiple times to catch her talking to us on video but this time was by far the best!!

Decorating Woof Luv!

So I just had to share the funniest gift we (actually our dogs) received this christmas. As most of you know, Bosley and Jessie are outside dogs now that they have a wonderful dog house. This thing is a monster! It is 6 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet tall. It even has insulated walls, a radiant barrier roof, a heat lamp, and a hole for a soon to come AC unit. Crazy, I know but it was the only way that I would allow my first babies to be put outside. Well anyway, GiGi and Leslie thought that the dog house needed a little decoration. Here is what they gave us (them!) to hang in their house.....

Our First Christmas as a Family of 3!

There is nothing like the holidays to make us realize just how truly blessed we all are! Although we were given the most wonderful gifts, there is nothing that is more special that our precious baby girl. She had a wonderful first Christmas (I think) although she slept through most of it! Here are a few pictures of what Aubree did on her first Christmas.

While we did this.........

Aubree did this....

And this......

And this!

It may not look like it, but she really did have a blast! I have a feeling that next year she will be a little more interested!

Aubrees First Christmas Picture

Aubree has officially had her first Christmas picture taken. Angela came over last week and took them for us so that we would not have to take the baby outside in this nasty weather. At first, in true baby fashion, Aubree did not want to cooperate. She didn't want anything to do with the pretty green dress. She decided that while wearing the beautiful dress and laying on the white blanket that Aunt Claudette made for her would be the perfect time to make a present for all of us! Luckily there was no overflow (good thing daddy puts the diapers on nice and snug)! After she was all cleaned up she was in a better mood. Although we didn't get any smiles, at least she wasn't screaming!

Who needs presents when you have already been given the greatest gift of all!

2 Months Old Already!

Monday, Aubree turned 2 months old. I can not believe it! Time is flying by. I am already making myself sick just thinking about the fact that I have to go back to work in less than 3 weeks. On Monday, we took her to the doctor to get her 2 month checkup. All is good and she is growing like a weed. She is now 11lbs 11oz and is 21 3/4 inches long. She is in the 50th percentile in weight and only the 25th in height. Looks like she is going to be short like her mom. She did very well at her appointment until the shots started. She got 3 shots and it was so sad. She screamed when she actually got the shots and then stopped almost immediately. I couldn't even watch. Her daddy had to be the one to stand by the table. I actually covered my face and shed a few tears myself. Once we got home she wasn't fussy but she did sleep the day away. I thought it would mess up her schedule but she has actually began sleeping longer since then. She is such a big girl.....she is sleeping 6 1/2 hours now at night!

2 months old and she already has a terrified look when the doctor comes in!

I had to apologize to her before the shots began :(


See her boo boo's!

Look Who's Smiling Now!!!

Aubree makes us work really hard for these smiles. JD and I have had sounds coming out of us that we didn't know we had. Just plain 'ol talking does not warrant a smile from her! We can usually get 2 or 3 big smiles in the morning after she has eaten and had her morning poopie and she is nice and content. Most of the time she is looking at us like we are crazy but every now and again she gives us the biggest grin and completely melts our hearts!

5 Generations of Girls

Aubree had a wonderful first Thanksgiving. She actually had 2 first Thanksgivings! On Wednesday we had dinner with JD's family and on Thursday we had dinner with my family. Both were great and we ate way too much! Unfortunately, I (the girl who always has a camera) did not take any pictures. I don't know what I was or was not thinking....especially on my baby's first Thanksgiving. One memorable picture that my cousin took was of Aubree, myself, my mom, my granny, and my great grandmother. 5 generations of females! My great grandmother is 97 as was able to come have dinner with us this year and she met Aubree for the first time. How special!

Aubree's Baptism

This Sunday, November 22nd, Aubree was baptized at St. Mary's in Humble (the same place her daddy and I were married). We actually got lucky because when we arrived at the church we were told that Aubree was not on the list to be baptized. Although we had taken all of the necessary steps, it seems there was a paperwork mix up. Finally when the priest arrived he said we were in the clear! The ceremony was nice even though it was literally mass confusion. For Godparents we chose Aubree's Uncle Micheal and Aunt Leslie. Uncle Micheal gave Aubree her first rosary and Aunt Leslie and GiGi gave her the baptism dress and decorated her baptism candle. Funny story about the candle.......At the ceremony, the baptism candle is supposed to be lit from the flame of the Easter candle at the church. Well, the Easter candle is tall and up on a stand so the flame is approximately 7 feet up in the air. Before lighting the candle, Leslie realizes that there is no way she can reach the flame. She asks the lady who was coordinating the event (who acts as though this is the first baptism she has ever attended!) if she can have a taper candle to reach the flame and just use that t0 light Aubree's candle. Well, not only does the lady not give her a candle to use, she then proceeds to tell Leslie to stand on the marble baptismal font and light the candle! I'm not sure how many of you have ever been to St. Mary's or any catholic church but.....you do not stand on the baptismal font!. Leslie never even considered jumping up there but the fact that they even told her that is hysterical! Needless to say, the candle did get lit in the end and all was well.

Our beautiful baby in her beautiful dress

Aubree's Godparents

Daddy's happy family

Mommy's happy family


Aubree's Baptism cake made by Aunt Leslie. And yes, it was as delicious as it was beautiful!

Of course Aubree had to have some of her own cake! She loved it!

What Hers Doin???

Aubree Michelle is 5 weeks old today. Where has the time gone? She is getting so big and filling out everywhere. Her little cheeks are so cute! Her eyes are still a dark gray in color so we are patiently waiting to see what the final color will be. She loves to be held and talked to. Most of the time she is pretty quiet and only cries when she needs something. Recently she learned to scream at the top of her lungs! She realized she could do this on Saturday and did not think anything of it. Well, Sunday we decided to go to church (you know where this is going). Initially, we sat in the cry room and then decided that she was sleeping so it would be ok if we sat with the rest of the congregation. She did great......up until about 5 minutes until the end of the service. I was holding her so that I could carry her up with me to communion and she was soundly sleeping or so I thought. Just as I sat back down and the music stopped, in the midst of complete silence, I look down because I feel her squirming around. Her face turns a bright red color, she is holding her breath and bearing down, and all of a sudden she lets out a horrific scream! In unison, the entire parish turns to look at us just as JD lets out a "Woooooo" (thats what we do at home when she screams and I guess he forgot where he was). I immediately walked out of the church as everyone sat watching me because, I am sure, they thought I was torturing her! It was memorable to say the least! I can laugh about it now but truthfully I was mortified while it was happening. And FYI....she stopped crying just as soon as I stepped out of the church doors and went back to her adorable sleeping self. Figures!!!!

Mostly Cloudy but Tons of Sunshine!

So another week has gone by and yet another death in the family. 8 days after my grandfathers death, JDs grandfather passed away. Both of them had been sick for quite sometime so we knew time was not on their side. Fortunately, both were able to at least see their new great granddaughter. My grandfather saw her in pictures and PawPaw saw her in person from his hospital bed. Although Aubree met both sides of her family at funerals, it was wonderful that she could be the little ray of sunshine during such hard times. She doesn't have a clue just how helpful she has been to everyone who loves her!

On a lighter note.....Aubree had her first Halloween! We didn't get her a costume because she is still a little too small but we did put her in the cutest little Halloween onsie and hat. We took her to her GiGi's and G-Pa's house and they watched her while JD and I actually went on a date night. Although it was soooooo hard to leave her (we were only gone for 2 hours!) we went to the best dessert place in Houston. It was called The Chocolate Bar on W. Alabama. We highly recommend it! Google it and you will see why. Delicious!!!

Aubree Michelle meets Nathaniel Cruz

Aubree Michelle met her cousin Nathaniel Cruz this week. They are only five days apart in age and super cute. Cruz didn't feel like waking up for the occasion and of course, when Cruz was awake, Aubree was asleep. It was great that the family was able to meet both of the babies but I really wish it would have been under different circumstances. The only reason they met so soon was because we were at my grandfathers funeral. Although it was a sad occasion, it was nice to have 2 bundles of joy to distract everyone.

The Love of My Life

Wow, what a difference a baby makes! Our lives have changed for the better. I have heard people say that you can't imagine loving something so much and it is absolutely true. She melts our hearts every time we look at her!

Well, delivery was easier than I expected thanks to the most wonderful anesthesiologist and OB in the world. The recovery afterwards.......not so fun! After getting the epidural, I was immediately dilated to 7 cm and then 30 min later I was at 10 cm. It was all so crazy fast and chaotic. I pushed for approximately 11 min and before we knew it Aubree graced us with her presence at 1:29 pm on Oct 12th. We were discharged from the hospital on Wednesday the 14th to begin our new normal. Poor baby was a little jaundiced when we left the hospital and it only increased as the days went by. We were constantly taking her to the dr to get blood drawn. We found out today that the bilirubin levels are finally dropping so no more dr visits for a few weeks! I have to say.....she took it like a champ every time they stuck her. She didn't cry a single time!

Every minute we have been home has been a true joy for us. I could just stare at her for hours. I can already tell she is going to be a daddys girl. JD has turned out to be the best daddy ever! To see him with her you would think he was around babies his whole life!

Here are a few pictures of our first few weeks at home

Aubrees first bath. She was not a fan!

She loves being wrapped up in her Pooh towel

Me and my sweet baby girl

This is her most favorite place to be. She will instantly stop crying when JD puts her here.

Introducing Aubree Michelle Kesner

What a great day October 12th, 2009 has been. Aubree Michelle was born at 1:29pm weighing in at 6 lbs 8 oz and was 19 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing well. I will save all the details for Andee to share with you all, but I knew everyone would want to see pictures. It was truly an awesome day!!
Love,
AngelaAubree~

We are so thankful you are here! We love you so much already!

I thought this day would never come!

Its finally Sunday! We will be leaving for the hospital in about 30 minutes and according to Dr Reeves, we should have a baby by tomorrow. That is so weird!!!! JD is outside putting the car seat in the car and we both have been running around all weekend trying to get the house in order. The floors have all been finished thanks to JD and Micheal. I think we both were "nesting" yesterday so that everything would be perfect for when we bring home our new addition. We cleaned from top to bottom even after the cleaning lady came on Thursday!

The dogs are still inside but come Tuesday night they are officially outside dogs. I feel like a horrible dog mom but you gotta do what you gotta do right!

OK then.........off to have a baby!

Here is the final belly shot! Bye bye belly, hello baby!!

Aubree Update

JD and I went to the doctor today. When we left the appointment we were told to come back in a week to check my progression. We had a few questions and concerns so Dr Reeves said he would call me a little later on my cell phone. Well, by the time we got back home my phone was ringing. I had to potty (for the 5th time that morning) so JD answered it for me. I heard a few "yes sirs," "OK's," and "thank you's" and just figured that JD was on the phone with one of his customers. Well, he hung up and said "We have to be at the hospital Sunday night, we are gonna have a baby by Monday!" OMG! We always knew it was going to be soon but this put a whole new reality to it all. Of course I cried some happy tears then proceeded to scream "We're havin a baby!" You would have thought that we had just found out we were pregnant! I know it sounds weird but it ADM (as George Lopez would say)!

Showered with love......and gifts!

The last 2 weekends in August were extremely busy for JD and I. We had 3 showers! We have the most wonderful friends and family who took time out from all of their hectic schedules to throw us the 3 most wonderful showers we could have ever asked for. We received everything we will need to take care of little miss Aubree. And did I mention.......she is gonna be the best dressed kiddo on the block! She got so many cute outfits. Its going to be a chore to make sure she is able to wear each and every one of them!

This was the first shower given by my side of the family for me and my

cousin Rose. She is due 2 weeks before me! Shes having a boy (yet to

be named)! Hopefully they will be great friends just like

Rose and I!

This was my special order cake. Chocolate with strawberry filling and real icing......not that whipped cream stuff!

This was shower #2! What a creative group of girls! It was a super foo foo girly shower that was absolutely amazing and beautiful. I have the most amazing friends. Cant say thanks enough!

So this cake was red velvet with regular butter cream icing. Yummo!!! I love cake!

This was shower #3 given by JD's side of the family. It was too precious! The colors were a soft pink and brown just like Aubrees room. Everything was just perfect!

This is a close up of the homemade, yes homemade, cake. Can you believe Leslie made this?? It was four layers of chocolate and vanilla cake with homemade buttercream icing. All of the hostesses did a wonderful job but I have to give props to my sister-in-law for making the cake and all of the other sweets too including cake balls!

This is what the living room looked like after the marathon weekend of showers. Who could ask for anything more? We are so blessed. Thanks to each and everyone of you who helped to make both weekends so special.

All for Aubree

JD has been hard at work on the nursery!!! He is too cute. He said he feels like its the only thing he can do since I'm the one carrying the baby. He and my brother did a wonderful job at something neither one of them really even knew how to do. Whats even better is that they actually liked doing it and they were both so pround of the finished room. I can't wait to tell Aubree how much hard work her daddy and Uncle Micheal put into making her room just right! She too is a lucky girl!

Step 1: Paneling on the wall

Step 2: Chair rail

Step 3: Tear out carpet and paint


Step 4: Floors in

Step 5: Put furniture together

Gotta Start Somewhere

Well, all of this blogging stuff is completely new to me but there is already so much that I wanted to share with everyone! We have had so much going on since my birthday about a month ago so I decided to start there.
So.....to start with, I turned 30 this year. As much as I wanted to deny it, JD and Angela made me face reality. JD knew that he would not be able to surprise me so he simply asked where I would like to go. What I thought was going to be a small get together ended up being the greatest gathering of about 50 friends and family. JD was able to recruit Angelas help and the 2 of them threw me the best birthday dinner ever! Thanks guys......you're the best!

JD and Angela arrived first to decorate and I was able to come a little later.

This was the best cake ever. I could have eaten the icing

by the gallon.....even if I wasn't pregnant!

This is the guy who led everyone in "Happy Birthday." He came
out with his real accordion and his best Italian accent and did
a pretty good job. It was actually really funny!
I almost forgot to mention the birthday candelabra that
came out with the accordion....classy!