Toddler Time

Audrey turned 1 last Saturday despite my efforts to keep her a baby forever. Although the days of babyhood are in the past, I was still under the impression that the tantrums, stubbornness, and everything else that comes with living with a toddler were still far off. Apparently, Audrey got the memo that her days of baby living are gone because this week we have seen a whole new side to our little one.

Yesterday while we were getting ready to hit Audrey's new pool to beat the heat, I decided to preemptively hit the bathroom (lets be honest, pregnancy and trying to stay hydrated means lots of trips to the bathroom, sorry if T.M.I but total truth). I returned less than a minute later and found her with the bottle of sunscreen in hand. Not only had she managed to get it from the top of the table but had also figured out how to undo the cap and squeeze the bottle to get the sunscreen out.  She had a funny look on her face and her lips were covered in white lotion. Oh crap! Thus my first ever call to poison control was made...FYI poison control knows their stuff! Who knew sunscreen can act as a laxative when ingested?! Audrey showed no symptoms from ingesting the sunscreen but screamed bloody murder when I took it away from her.

Then today at the gym marked the 1st time I was paged overhead to the daycare center to come pick up my child. Apparently the lady at the daycare had tried to trace her hand to add it to a tree they were making of all the kids handprints and names (cute!) and Audrey was not having it. The nerve!

Still sweet as ever when she wants to be, Audrey is very liberal with her hugs, kisses and back rubs (yes, my 1 year old gives back rubs now!) but now she has whole new ways of letting you know she is not happy. Cue the crying with the flailing arms, throwing her dinner on the floor when she's done, hitting her sippy cup out of your hand if it's offered to her etc etc. I know this isn't a sign of anything more than her hitting a new developmental stage and these are just her new ways of communicating but good grief! The best one has been whenever we say "no" to something, she literally giggles at us and then continues to do whatever she was doing. There's some major testing going on right now and with this last one it is so difficult not to laugh right along with her because she is so dang cute.

Drinking from her hippo pool...

I think my mom said it best on Audrey's birthday when she told me and Zack, "Now it really begins, you guys!"

European Vacay

We made it! 17 days, 4 countries, and countless train rides later. I really could write for hours and hours about our trip and all our adventures but I will spare everyone and just hit some small highlights.

I was SO nervous about flying for the first time with an 11 month old, not to mention the fact that every flight we took was over 6 hours long. Audrey however, never ceases to amaze us...and apparently is a baby with a passion for travel?? What the heck?! She never cried during take off and landing (although I wish I would have taken a picture of her face when we took off for the first time...her eyes were as big as dinner plates!). Plus, every plane or train we were on was like a new stage for her. Audrey waved and smiled at EVERYONE we saw (seriously, everyone!) and loved every bit of attention she got in return. Good grief!

Out like a light! Ignore my exhausted travel face..

England was a blast seeing my family and having Audrey meet everyone. She was such a little ham and loved all the attention she got being the baby of the family. From England we went to Germany and stayed with a friend of the hubby for a couple days. Side note: speed limits in Germany are apparently non existent, scary! If you want to see where Disney princesses would live if they were real, go to Germany! It looks like a fairy tale land! Then it was off to Switzerland to visit one of Zack's groomsmen, Martin and his wife, Kate from Home Schwiiz Home. We loved Zurich and had a blast exploring the city and catching up with great friends. I fell in love with every building in the city. The architecture and style of buildings throughout Europe but especially in Switzerland and Italy is just so beautiful. Our final destination was Rome where we met up with Zack's cousin, Eric and his girlfriend, Sarah. Rome is amazing on so many levels and I know we only scratched the surface on the all things to see and do in the city.

Making calls in England!

Feeding goats in Germany

Hanging with Martin and Kate in Zurich!

Eating gelato in Rome. The shop owner kept giving her free samples!

Trevi Fountain

Trevi Fountain

Taking a rest in Rome

The Colosseum 

Yes this happened...our sweet girl got to meet and got kissed by the Pope himself.  Proud moment for mom and dad for sure!

Possibly my favorite picture ever. Audrey posing inside the Colosseum.

It was truly the trip of a lifetime! A HUGE thank you to all our wonderful hosts! The people we got to see along the way made our travels more than just an ordinary vacation. An added bonus...pretty sure the hubs has been bitten by the travel bug! Yay! His next travel idea (which of course will have to wait for now) is for us to travel around Tuscany and spend some more time in different parts of Italy, just the two of us. Can we fast forward time now please?!

Stay tuned for my personal highlights of our trip, tips and tricks on how to travel with a little one, plus our little sweet pea turned 1 year old last Saturday (*tear*) so I'll share how we celebrated this milestone which I am still in denial about!