Hurricane Ike

We actually faired pretty well in the Hurricane. We followed the advice of the Houston Mayor and did not evacuate but instead "hunkered down" and rode out the storm. Not sure that was the smartest decision, but after the traffic jams caused during Hurricane Rita in 2005, we definitely did not want to get stuck on the road with Audrey. So we boarded up our windows and prepared by stocking up on non-perishable food and water. Here's our house all boarded up before the storm.



We lost power very early at around 8 pm on Friday night. We had already put Audrey to bed in the Packn'Play in our bedroom. So Wes and I hung out listening to the radio until about 11 pm. It was starting to get pretty windy but nothing more than a typical thunderstorm. So we decided to go to bed. Around 1:30 Wes realized that the storm was getting pretty intense and that the board had blown off our bedroom window. So he suggested we get into our "safe room" which was the downstairs powder bathroom. It was a very uncomfortable night on the floor with Audrey on top of me trying to sleep. Here's our "safe room".

We were glad when the storm finally abated and we could survey the damage. We didn't have very much damage, just a little drywall damage from sideways rain. And in fact, we were very fortunate to get our power back at 8 pm on Saturday. All in all, I'm hoping we don't have to experience this anytime in the near future.

I'm Six Months Old

Sorry for the delay in updating. Not only did we have to contend with Hurricane Ike, I have also returned to work full time which leaves little time during the week for other endeavors. Here are a few pictures from Audrey's 6th month. She had a great doctor's appointment where she weighed in at 16 lbs 6 ounces and is almost 27 inches long. She's meeting all the milestones of sitting up on her own, rolling over, and grabbing at items. Here she is trying peas for the first time... She wasn't a big fan!


Here she is sitting up without any help. Our sweet nanny Gillean is in the background holding Audrey's light-up, musical toy.

We visited BeBe the second weekend in September for BeBe's birthday. Here are some pictures of Audrey and BeBe playing.

Our Little Nittany Lion

Ah, yes... college football started this weekend. Daddy couldn't be happier! The months between March Maddness and kick-off weekend are very long and full of statements like, "There's nothing decent to watch on Saturdays!" So we celebrated this joyous event by putting Audrey in her game day outfit. I think she liked her Penn State bear (thanks, Aunt Kate) more than actually watching the game with dad.

What a cute little fan!

A little cheering, "We Are... Penn State!"

"Oh, Bear, you're so funny!"

"Stop taking my picture, I'm watching the game!"

New Tricks

We've had a busy couple of weeks. Audrey has tried new foods, played with new toys, and is learning new tricks. Recently, we've added carrots to her meals. At first she did not like them, but now she can't get enough of them. Here she is with her beloved carrots. As you can see, they get everywhere. Oviously, we've had to invest in a lot more spray n'wash and Clorox 2 bleach!

Audrey has also finally figured out how to roll from front to back. She easily figured out the rolling from back to front but would then get stuck. Additionally, she is starting to sit up on her own. It's a little tripod like as you can see below.

Due to her new-found trunk control, Mommy decided it was time to put away some of the infant toys like the bouncy chair and get out the bigger baby toys like the exersaucer. I have a new appreciation for my parents. They always tell the story of having to put together the Barbie Dream House on Christmas Eve after I went to sleep and how awful the experience was. So many parts! Well, after having to put together the exersaucer, I now get it. You would have thought my engineering skills would have come in handy... no, it still took hours. But seeing the way Audrey loves to play in it makes it all worth while. Here she is in her exersaucer. And the best part of it is that the toys are attached and thus cannot be thrown off.