I've been meaning to write this post for months now!  I feel like I've neglected to write about so many of the funny Audrey-isms from the past little while that a lot of them are all but gone now.  I've been keeping a list of every time she does something hilarious that I'll always want to remember so that I can blog about it later.  The thing is I can't keep up with that girl.  In more ways than one.  So here are some of our favorite Audrey-isms from the past few months:

playing sleep- this is one of the little habits that has held out the longest.  If ever there is a pillow or blanket (or even an article of clothing) in sight she will lay down on it (no matter where we are, even if it's at a store or something) and say "beep," which in Audrey language means sleep.  Sometimes she's yelling it, "BEEP!  BEEEEEP!" like she's telling us to leave her alone cause she's sleeping.  Other times she's saying it soft and sweet to whatever stuffed animal she has lain down next to herself, "Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep."  It's pretty hilarious most times, other times it's just sweet and adorably endearing.

singing- she sings gibberish songs whenever we tell her to sing.

climbing- she is getting a little too good at climbing things.  It's giving me some anxiety!



asking permission to touch- we've created a 'yes touch'/'no touch' communication with her to help her know what she can't and can't put her hands on.  It's been good most of the time and mainly because she has gotten into the habit of asking for permission when she wants to touch something.  Not all the time, but sometimes.  When she sees something she likes she will hold out her hand in the high-five position in the direction of whatever it is she wants to touch, look at me, and say "Ah?" in the highest pitched voice she can muster.  Then we will tell her 'yes' or 'no touch.'  Describing it is hard...her little voice, the raised eyebrows she gives when she asks, the dainty way she holds up her hand...it's just too hilarious that you'll have to see for yourself to fully appreciate.  It cracks me up.  How well she heeds the answer often depends on her mood though.  Sometimes I'll say no and she'll just look at me and do it anyway.  I guess that's the age we're at.

talking- She is a very advanced talker.  We've gotten so many comments about how well she communicates and understands things.  It's offered me a lot of proud mama moments.  And she loves trying all the new big girl things she possibly can.






taking care of camille mia- this is where I know she is my daughter.  She takes the exact doll that I had growing up and takes care of it just like how I took care of it.



saying hi- to everyone and everything everywhere we go.  To friends at church, creepy old men at Walmart, stuffed animals at home, characters in books, signs on the street, pillows, blankets, chairs, snacks, animals, toys, shoes, and the latest, my belly button.

animal sounds- luckily we've been able to get some good videos of her doing her animals sounds so we will always be able to remember this one.  She also does "Love is an open door" and Santa's ho ho ho as best she can.

starfishing- this is what she does when she gets scared.  All limbs out to the side, suctioned to one of us till the scary thing passes.  And by scary thing I mean anything from the garbage truck outside to Daddy's loud sneezes.

And a random list for me to remember because I don't have time to explain each thing (and I guess they are pretty self explanatory anyway):
kissing- everything
ro ro- frozen
bapa- grandpa
cackle laugh- when she thinks something is funny

I would also like to tell everyone that she loves cold weather as much as I do!!!  She's definitely in her element in the cool fall/winter air and I'm sooooo grateful because that's when I feel my best too.

one particularly bad fall left her with that big bruise and face scratch. she cried a lot after it happened but didn't notice it one  bit after that

big cute marshmallow coat...makes it hard to buckle her!

at the cold buy game!  she LOVED being there! the cold weather didn't even phase her.

she yelled at the players

a lot

The other day I was having quite an emotional moment.  I was sitting on the floor in the our bedroom leaning against our bed having a good cry when my Audrey walks in, puts her hand on my cheek, and leans down to smile at me.  She then gave me kiss after kiss and hug after hug.  This only made me cry more which probably confused her.  She then walked out of the room on her teeny tiny legs and I stayed where I was trying to pull myself together and get on with the day.  Moments later I heard a strange sound from the other room, and looked up to see my sweet girl dragging her box of stuffed animals into our bedroom.  She brought it right near me, reached in and handed me her little stuffed monkey.  Then reached in again and handed me a doll.  Then a bunny.  Minnie Mouse.  Ernie.  Her favorite dog.  She handed me as many stuffed animals as I could hold.  Then just hung out with me in the room until I was ready to keep going. 

Im sitting here getting all teared up as I type this.  Because I just love that girl so much. So so much.  She means everything to me.  She is such an individual, so feisty and spunky, but also so very very kind and loving and sweet.  I want her to know so many things about how I feel about her.  Since then there have been other moments of her comforting me and just showing me such love that only a child can give.

So now this entry will serve as a reminder for me when things are hard and scary and overwhelming when this new baby of ours comes.  Audrey's first year of life was SO hard.  And yet she is the kid who makes me want to have more kids.  Because it was also SO wonderful.  It's like she's always been with us.  That's how it will be with this new baby girl.  I am still nervous about so many things about life with two kids, but I want her so bad.  I want my new little girl, she has always been a part of me, and I long to meet her finally and feel that life is that much more complete, I am that much more fulfilled.  Someday soon we won't even be able to remember her not being here.

a few days old

now

To love and be loved.  By family, by friends.  A parent, a sibling, a significant other, children, cousins, close friends.  There just nothing else in this life that compares.  To me there is nothing more important, or more wonderful.

A lengthy little update about my recent personal hard time post on here.
I have been feeling significantly better lately, emotionally.  Physically, it's all kind of the same, with a few more fun pregnancy things being added all the time.  But recently I've discovered a few things about my emotional state.

The things that seemed to be behind my 'depression' were/are (when I let it get to me):

• dwelling on the state of our messy house
• having a REALLY hard time feeding both me and Audrey consistently (the eating healthy goal has gone out the window for the duration of the pregnancy…which is ironic because this is the time when it's most important.  The doctors reassure me not to worry about that and just focus on keeping food- any food- in my stomach always.  But it hasn't been as easy as it sounds.)
• spending too much time 'not wanting to bother someone.'  Feeling the need to deal with all of this myself, and not 'air my dirty laundry' to people outside my family.  Feeling insecure about asking people to hang out too often in case they're busy or sick of me.

Mind over matter is what I have to remember with many of these things.  Finding ways to cope and function and REMEMBERING them and sticking with them consistently.

The things that have helped most with the possible 'pre-partum depression' issue are:

• weather-  this is kind of a sad one I think because it's not something I can control.  I'm one of those few people in the world who prefers winter over summer.  Yes…OVER summer.  It's not just that I welcome it when I'm sick of the heat…I'm just always sick of the heat.  I don't do well in it at all, I feel much less functional.  It got cold really abruptly here in Provo this year and ever since I have been feeling sooooo happy.  Audrey and I may be getting outside a little too often lately and I really need to pay more attention to her little rudolph red nose.  
• social interaction-  I have friends and I need to remember that.  The way I need to remember it is to put myself out there, plan things, and give myself some company.  One of the main things about this is that it helps me pass the time more easily till Andrew gets home.  If I am spending all day every day trying to keep up on housework and not letting myself do anything 'fun' until the house is spotless…well then I find myself in the sad place I was in those few weeks ago.  I'm very blessed to be surrounded by girls here who are dealing with a lot of the same things I am…but I don't ever realize it until I open up to them about what I'm going through.  There are kindred spirits to be found anywhere.
• exercise- Yoga and walking.  Nothing more than that.  It's not major, but it's taught me that endorphins are definitely a real thing.  It all started when my friend Hillary (who is also pregnant) invited me to go for a longer than I normally would walk with her one day.  That was kind of the big turning point in all this.  Coming home from that walk I had goals I wanted to set because I felt so good.

1. to be outside everyday (when reasonable, weather permitting)- I love being outside, I love nature, and I really miss walking to and from school everyday, having that mandatory outside time.  Audrey enjoys it so much too, so I want to do it for both of us.  Sunlight definitely makes such a difference in how a person feels, so I want to get back to being a family who spends a significant amount of time outside.
2. to build up stamina- regarding dizziness, heart rate, and just being able to handle more exercise little by little.  I have been avoiding long walks since being diagnosed with Menieres because there is a certain point where I get dizzy being outside.  I want to build up my ability to stay out longer and longer, especially so that hopefully post-pregnancy I can have relatively good exercise habits and be able to build from there.  I want my head and my body to be able to handle camping and hiking better- things I know my Andrew loves and has given up a little bit for my sake.

I love fall.  I love fall.  I LOVE FALL.  It has drastically altered my mood, I think in part because of how much more Audrey and I go outside during the week.  It's made such a big difference for me, Andrew's even surprised.  We've had a lot of fun things going on, too much to describe in detail.  That, plus the fact that I'm tired (as usual), means we're going to let a million pictures do the talking.  With captions of course.  Just to sum up really quick, some of the things we've had going on include a talent show, Primary/nursery activity for church, trick or treating, visits from Mariah and Ross, library going, old scary movie watching, leaf crunching, cute comfy fall clothes wearing, pumpkin bread making, hot chocolate drinking, walk taking, pumpkin carving, park going, and plenty of other fun fall things as well!  A big thank you to Auntie Maya and Uncle Matt for Audrey's awesome giraffe costume she got last year!!  So with that, here are pictures of Fall 2014 so far for your viewing pleasure:

an old summer pic of audrey with her little friend tenley!

watching the leaves start to fall

the trees here in the fall are like nothing i've ever seen with their bright, vibrant colors

some days we meet daddy half way as  he's walking home from school.  the leaves this day were particularly crunchy and amazing, as was the beautiful foggy weather!

trying out audrey's outfit for  the ward talent show!  she did a hula  with mommy and some friends, and she  basically stole the whole show (which everyone seemed totally fine with!)

the stake primary activity was so great!  it was the first time she officially got to wear her costume.

ghost bowling!

she didn't have very good aim...

a giraffe and a chicken

the cookie decorating was a little advanced for her but she still enjoyed it.  once i had put the frosting and sprinkles on this one she grabbed the one off the plate next  to her before i could stop her and plopped it right on top of the one in her hand and started laughing.

here is audrey with her cookie sandwich  after we got home.  she's creative, that one.

pumpkin carving on the lawn with  our fabulous neighbors!  we really love living  here.  audrey was roaming around pointing at leaves and things.  sadly we didn't get a  good picture of our mike wazowski inspired pumpkin.

at the duck pond with daddy

one of my favorite places at BYU- the duck pond.  just look at that. how could you not love it?

ending our duck pond day with a Frozen sleepover party

Halloween Toddler Time at the Provo Library!  i don't think i can say enough how much  i love this library.  i've done posts about it before, but i'll say it again- i love this place.

there's my little giraffe.  trying to get closer and closer to the puppet show

i just thought this picture was funny because you can't see anything of audrey except her hands.  my little giraffe's got some junk in the trunk!

first real trick or treating!

and this is what happened after trick or treating

auntie mariah and uncle ross are some of audrey's favorite people.  she gets excited even at the mention of their names!

and now we are getting ready for winter! we just bought her some tiny gloves and mittens, a winter hat, and a big marshmallow-y winter coat.  this is her trying on uncle luke's old winnie the pooh  hat that she wore last year as a 2 month old… it still fits of course.

Audrey and I have watched some of my old favorite Halloween cartoons, like the one with Donald Duck and his nephews with the witch named Witch Hazel.  The way Andrew and I have celebrated Halloween the last few years has been to watch a few old scary movies.  Not horror…we don't get into stuff like that…we mostly watch black and white murder mystery movies or things similar to that.  Some of our favorites are: The Ghost and Mister Chicken with Don Knotts, Spellbound with Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman, Dial M For Murder with Grace Kelly, Arsenic and Old Lace with Carey Grant, The Thin Man #2 with William Powell, Myrna Loye, and Jimmy Stewart.  Some others that deserve honorable mention are: The Snake Pit, Leave Her To Heaven, Strangers on a Train, Rope, and Rebecca (mostly the very end of this one).  Ooohh just thinking of some of these gives me shivers!

Hanaike/Dobbins Granddaughter Number 4 will be joining the very girly group of cousins in late March!!  Yup this is grandchild number four and grandDAUGHTER number four for both sides of our families, without a boy in sight.

(We don't have ultrasound pictures to upload because they didn't give us a disc like they did with Audrey.  So for now pictures of this baby can be found on our fridge…feel free to stop by if you want to see them :).)

We are very happy and grateful that she is who she is and that she is coming!  With Audrey's favorite movie being Frozen, I guess we should've known that she's been wanting a sister.  Our little Elsa is getting her very own Anna!  She's going to be such a great big sister.  It's funny because when we were looking around for a 'big sister' shirt for Audrey months before knowing the gender, the only one we could find was a Frozen shirt that said "Sisters Forever."  I almost bought it absentmindedly (like seriously I was walking up the register with it) because it just never occurred to me that it wouldn't be a girl!  She's just so meant to be.


I think my favorite thing about pregnancy (and it's a short list) is feeling the baby moving inside me.  Right now she is still really down low so that it's almost like butterflies fluttering in my stomach.  I'm finally showing and Audrey always lifts up my shirt and pats my tummy!  I don't think she has any idea that she's getting a sibling…maybe she just thinks I'm being funny making my tummy bigger.  But it's nice now that we are able to use the word 'sister' instead of 'baby' when we refer to my tummy.  She knows what a baby is and she knows what a tummy is so I think she was getting pretty confused why we were suddenly calling my tummy 'baby' when it sure doesn't look like a baby to her.

Honestly, we're also very excited about not having to buy too much stuff for this new arrival!  Our apartment is small and getting smaller as Audrey gets bigger, so any space we can save is good news.  We have all the baby girl clothes we will need for up to about 2 years old and we will only get more as Audrey gets older. I hope this new little sweetheart won't mind hand-me-downs…cause she will be living much of her life in them for awhile.  Being a younger sister myself, I have to say that I never really did mind hand-me-downs.  When I'd see Julia get something new that I particularly liked I don't think I very often felt jealous because I knew that I'd probably get a chance to wear it anyway!  Although that all changed as we became teenagers…we stopped growing pretty early in life and so it got to the point that when Julia got something new she was keeping it until she got sick of it.  So I think we're pretty safe for at least the next ten years or so.  After that….well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!  With every baby I want to buy a special little outfit just for them so I'm very excited for that in the next few days!!

Ever since we found out we've been saying "our girls" this and "our girls" that.  I love saying "our girls."  Andrew doesn't mind being outnumbered and I don't think he ever will….until the teenage years perhaps.  Another bridge we'll cross, uh, later.  I'll blog again sometime about how I'm feeling emotionally…for now I just want to say that it has gotten a lot better.

I'm a complainer.  I feel the need to address that before diving into this post.  There.  It has been addressed.

(My cousin Rocio used to jump up at the sound of one of her kids crying and say, "Mybabymybabymy baby!" as she ran out of the room.  Ever since then that's the phrase that comes to my mind when I think about my kids…my baby, my baby!  And now another one of my babies is coming!)

We are excited to announce that our second baby will be making his or her debut this March!!!  Lets be real, though…we might as well say HER debut.  With the track record on both the Dobbins and Hanaike sides we are pretty sure it's going to be a girl.  We'll find out the gender early November, I think.  Whichever it is though, we couldn't be happier!  

• went through a very short very adorable peekaboo phase (as seen in a video we posted on Facebook recently)

  playing peekaboo with mommy through the window

• is very good at pointing.  She has been nicknamed 'the pointer' (among other things) by Grandpa Hanaike

• seems to be an early talker!  I'm so excited about this because it' one of the few things she is advanced in.  She can clearly say and understand what she's saying with these words- baby, daddy, dog, more, Jesus, nana (banana), ball, cheese, shoe, fish.  She understands plenty more than she can say and I love seeing how smart she is.

• is also suddenly very good at climbing- especially slides and strollers.  Oftentimes she wants to get out of the stroller just to turn around and climb in and out of it herself several times.  She is fearless.  Always sticking her leg over the side of the slide like she's going to walk right off of it into the air.  

• is constantly perfecting her dance moves

• has begun a temper fit phase.  She throws herself on the floor when she is upset and cries and cries.  Beyond this, I am not prepared to comment…we're still figuring out the discipline thing!

• signs the words outside and milk.  She's starting to do more but it kind of depends on how much of teaching mood I'm in during the day.

• enjoys putting things in things and taking them out.  She gets very proud of herself each and every time.

• has a ghetto streak

• is starting to be a picky eater

• loves blueberries and other fruits, pasta, goldfish, sweets.  For dinner she almost always prefers Italian food.

• still enjoys books, but mostly wants to look at them herself now, or 'read' them to us

audrey and her little partner in crime, miss tenley

• loves elmo and ernie and celebrity sesame street songs, particularly Usher's ABC's and many others.

• still loves Frozen (ahem LOVES Frozen), but has branched out to Tangled and Beauty and the Beast

• loves to play with balls and other toys

she got in the toy bin with the toys...

• recognizes pictures of things and people.  If I say we're going to see Mariah, she immediately looks over at the fridge where Mariah and Ross's wedding announcement is

• claps after every song, no matter where we are or whats going on.  In the car, at a restaurant, in sacrament meeting, even just when I'm singing to her during the day.  The other night Andrew was singing to her as he rocked her for bedtime and she was snuggled into him completely still.  He assumed she was asleep so he made his way to put her in the crib.  As soon as he finished the song, she suddenly leaned back, looked at him, and gave him a round of applause! 

• plays with pots and pans

• enjoys opening and closing doors

• occasionally feels a great need to play by herself- sometimes if we're in a group of kids she will drag a toy away from everybody to play by herself.  She also loves to play in carseats, strollers and baby swings…activities that don't require a playmate.

• likes to watch other kids though, and sometimes will try and join a group game…such as knocking down a block tower an older kid has been painstakingly building.

• enjoys being goofy with mommy

i had a little too much fun with hair bows one day…the funny thing is that she thought it was really fun too!  she kept looking in the mirror and smiling

• is usually very good at bedtime.  Reading stories and singing songs to her is a very cozy part of the day.

• loves and adores her pacifiers.  

• hugs and kisses her dolls and stuffed animals.  She is so loving and sweet to them, particularly with this dog stuffed animal we have that is about as big as her.  She has also started to 'rock' baby dolls in her arms while saying "baby, baaaby, baaaaaaby."

after our little ' ALS stuffed animal challenge' she just stood there hugging a teddy bear

• has been sleeping really well, up until the appearance of her first tooth.  Now it's anyone's guess how each night is going to go.

• is ansty and active- doesn't want to be in someones arms for too long

we went out to look at the rain and she immediately pried herself out of our arms to sit on the step by herself to look at it

• is still easily scared, although she doesn't freak out screaming and crying like she used to.  Her latest tendency when a big scary sound happens (like the garbage truck coming by, for example) is to drop whatever she's doing and frantically crawl to me lightening fast, clammer into my arms, wrap every limb around me like a starfish and hold on for dear life.  The other day she was playing with a toy on my lap when she unexpectedly let out a very big deep man-burp that startled her so much she dropped the toy and suctioned herself to me looking around for the sound!  As I type this I can't stop laughing at the memory of it.  It will definitely be a story for future boyfriends.  (Okay maybe not boyfriend, but at least her husband….and children.)  

this is my favorite face she makes

• tries SO hard to put shoes on her feet.  Doesn't matter what shoes.  Most of the time their daddy's shoes because they're bigger and easier I guess.  She concentrates SO hard and is so silent as she does it.  She doesn't get frustrated with it, just stays determined.  She very rarely gets them all the way on…she's tried putting both feet into daddy's.  Sometimes with flip flops she will give up and instead wear it as a bracelet.
•   
• is a little bit of a troublemaker.

• thrives on praise- I guess this is is normal for any kid, but I LOVE seeing her light up when we praise her.  She knows the phrases 'good job' and 'yay' and she claps for herself whenever we say them, cause she knows what clapping means too.  The proud little look on her face when I freak out about her standing on her own or walking is just priceless and indescribable!  It makes her do it over and over again, every time looking at me expectantly and excitedly.

• is working hard on walking!  Everyday she gets a little braver about it.  

I think back to those days of midnight feedings, swaddling her, putting on a show so I wouldn't be trying to hurry her through a feeding.  I'd have Gilmore Girls on and a big bowl of muddy buddies by my side on our ugly pink couch.  Our apartment was still a little makeshift.  Now we feel really settled here with all of our things set up nicely and each room looking like the room it's supposed to be- living room, bedroom, and baby room.  So much has changed in a year…Audrey has grown into an almost toddler, we've grown into our role as parents, and we have grown as a family.

Throughout this year when she's been in a particularly happy mood, when she looks like she's just loving life, I've heard myself saying, "Are you just so happy to be Audrey?  Are you happy to be you?"  I hope she always will be happy to be Audrey, because I am so happy she is Audrey and I'm so happy she is ours.