On the evening of June 20, 2006, we went into the hospital so that I could be induced...almost two weeks before Aubrey’s July 3rd due date. When we checked in, our nurse was shocked that I hadn’t eaten anything yet, so she sent us down the road to Wendy’s for a quick bite to eat. Once we got back to the hospital, the nurses hooked me up to a couple of machines. It made it impossible to go to the bathroom alone...and Brad was not happy about having to wake up every hour or so to help me out during the night! At about six o’clock the next morning, the nurse came in and broke my water. I started having contractions right away and it wasn’t long before our little girl...our Aubrey Lynn...was on her way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Around 12:30 p.m., the nurses came in to check on me again and decided to call Dr. Dorsey because Aubrey was just about ready to come out and meet everyone...they weren’t even sure if he would make it to the hospital on time! The nurses had me start pushing while they prepared the room for labor and before we knew it, the doctor had arrived. Everyone kept telling me to push harder...that she was almost here...and even though I was pushing as hard as I could, I didn’t feel much because of the epidural I had had just a few hours before. Finally...Aubrey was here. Dr. Dorsey let Brad cut her umbilical cord and then he handed her to me to hold for a few minutes before they cleaned her off. Born at 12:50 p.m., Aubrey weighed in at seven pounds, twelve ounces and was twenty inches long. She was the most beautiful baby we had ever seen...absolutely perfect...and we fell totally in love with her the minute that we saw her. It was the most incredible feeling to finally have Aubrey here...and we knew that we were the luckiest parents in the world to have been blessed with an angel like her!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our family stayed in the hospital until June 23, 2006. Dr. Dorsey had given us the option to stay for a second night, and though we thought it was a good idea at the time, by the time the next afternoon rolled around, we were anxious to get home. It seemed to take forever for the nurses to get all of our paperwork together and let us check out...but once we were allowed to leave, we were so nervous about driving home with Aubrey in the car. Brad drove so slow...just wanting to make sure Aubrey stayed completely safe. When we finally got home, Charger was ready to meet his new little sister. He had already gotten used to Aubrey’s smell since her Grandma and Grandpa Wilkin had brought one of her blankets home the day she was born, but he was ready to smell the real thing...and then all he wanted to do was lick her all over. We gradually let him get closer and closer to her...and in less than an hour, he was giving her kisses on her cheek.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aubrey’s first bath... what an experience that was for the family! We were so prepared...getting all of her things together before we even undressed her...but when we put her into the water, she was not happy with us at all. I started washing Aubrey up while Brad videotaped everything and then he finished giving her her bath so I could take some pictures. We were both so nervous...afraid that we would hurt her somehow...especially when we were lifting her head to wash her hair. It didn't help that Aubrey was screaming the whole time...even once she was all clean and wrapped up in her special "Daddy's Little Girl" towel, she was still pretty upset. It wasn’t until a little later...when she had gotten comfortable in her warm pajamas and was swaddled in a soft blanket...that she was finally content again. As the days went on, we got much faster at bathing her...and Aubrey started to enjoy bath time much better than at first!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During the first few weeks, Aubrey slept pretty much all of the time. From the beginning, she was sleeping about three to four hours at a time, even during the night. We were so thankful that she was such a great sleeper...it’s what we had worried most about in becoming parents...especially me! Aubrey loved to sleep...and could sleep anywhere that we put her down. It didn't matter if she was in her crib, her bouncer seat, her swing, or just on a blanket... though it was no surprise that our favorite place for Aubrey to sleep was in our arms. As nice as it was to get some extra sleep during the day, we enjoyed watching Aubrey sleep even more...she seemed so content...so peaceful. Aubrey slept so much during the day that we worried at first she wouldn't sleep as good throughout the night...but even then, she usually only woke up twice. Aubrey made being parents so easy and enjoyable for us...and we will always be thankful for that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Though the Fourth of July is a day to celebrate our nation’s birth, we were still celebrating the birth of our daughter. Aubrey had an adorable little outfit to wear that day...given to her by Beth Holtrey, a teacher that I work with...and even though it was made for newborns, it was still way too big. The shorts wouldn’t stay up...even over her diaper...the sandals wouldn’t stay on her feet...even when they were strapped as tight as they could go...and the hat wouldn’t stay out of her eyes. That was the first time that we found out just how much Aubrey hated wearing hats...she would burst into tears every time we put it on her. Even though Aubrey was all dressed up and ready to go, we were a little worried about taking her out to see the fireworks...nervous that the bugs would eat her up...especially knowing how sweet she was...so we ended up just spending a relaxing day at home...watching the fireworks on the television.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first time that our family went out to eat together was on my birthday. Aubrey was already the best birthday gift that I could have had. What more could I have asked for? The three of us went to Friday’s...where I could order my favorite dinner...fried shrimp...and a strawberry daiquiri. We were so worried about taking her out...it was the first real outing we had since our trip home from the hospital. We packed the diaper bag extra full...with plenty of bottles, diapers, and spare outfits... just in case. When the hostess walked us to our table, we became even more worried...next to us was a group of about twenty young girls... celebrating a birthday as well...and they were very, very loud. Although we jumped at every little sound, waiting for Aubrey to wake up and start screaming, Aubrey never seemed to notice. She slept the entire time...never needing any of the bottles, diapers, or spare outfits that we had so carefully packed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Aubrey was just a few weeks old, our family attended Jon and Lindsay Guinther’s wedding...two of my coworkers. It was the first time that most of the people I worked with got to see Aubrey. Everyone thought that she was the cutest baby they had ever seen...even if she slept almost the entire time. After a few hours at the reception, Brad took her back home. Andrea and Jesse...Brad's sister and her boyfriend...had driven down to babysit so that we could enjoy an evening out with our friends. It was the first time that we had left Aubrey alone...and we were pretty nervous about being away from her. By the time we got home, Aubrey was already in her pajamas...curled up in her bouncer seat...asleep...obviously worn out from her big day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aubrey was baptized on Sunday, August 6, 2006 at Perry United Methodist Church in Lima, Ohio by Pastor Kim (Kiracofe) Miller, a close friend of the family...and someone who I had grown up with my entire life. The ceremony took place at 2:00 p.m., so only family members were in the church. It was such a personal ceremony...one that we will treasure forever. Aubrey’s Aunt Andrea, Uncle Chris, and Uncle AJ stood up front as her sponsors, and each of Aubrey’s grandmothers read a poem they had found to commemorate the occasion. Her Grandma Klausing read a poem entitled "For Your Baptism," her Grandma Sherrick's poem was called "God's Masterpiece," and her Grandma Wilkin read the poem, "Children are Angels Who Walk the Earth." We had even picked out a special song to play at the end of the ceremony called "Find Your Wings" by Mark Harris. Aubrey looked so beautiful for her special day. Though we had decided not to put Aubrey's dress on her until we arrived at the church, it didn’t take long for her to become completely uncomfortable. The church was hot...her dress was itchy... and to make matters worse, she had to wear a hat. After the baptism, everyone went over to Aubrey’s Grandma and Grandpa Wilkin’s house to enjoy the afternoon together as a family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first time Aubrey smiled...really and truly smiled...was on July 29, 2006...though it wasn’t until about a week later when we were lucky enough to capture her smile on camera. When Aubrey smiled, the first thing people noticed was the little dimple on her left cheek...it was just so adorable! Her blue eyes sparkled even more than usual...her little eyebrows rose up...and sometimes... especially when she first learned to smile...she would stick out her tongue. Once Aubrey figured out how to smile, she almost never stopped. She loved smiling at us...at Charger...at strangers when we took her out...even at herself in the mirror. It didn’t matter who she was looking at...or where she was...Aubrey just loved to smile. Of course, people couldn’t help but smile back when they looked at her...her smile was so contagious. Aubrey had so many different smiles. Sometimes she would stick her tongue out when she smiled...other times she would just open up her mouth really wide...as if she was ready to talk about something really important...and there were moments when she just had this really sneaky look to her. It always made our day to see her smile...no matter what kind of smile it was. Aubrey’s smile was definitely one of our favorite things about her...and is something that will continue to brighten our days even now that she is gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our family spent Labor Day weekend at Aubrey’s Grandma and Grandpa Sherrick’s house. It was the last weekend we were able to spend with her before I started back to work, so we loved just being able to relax with her. Though the weather was beautiful, Aubrey was just too little to go for a boat ride. It's too bad though, because Brad's mom had already bought a baby lifejacket for Aubrey to use when she was old enough. Instead of going out on the boat, she spent most of the weekend being held by her grandma and grandpa...showing them her gorgeous smile and giving them reason after reason to spoil her rotten. Of course, Aubrey was dressed in full fashion for the weekend...including her stylish sunglasses. Though they were a little big for her...and they were constantly sliding off her nose...she never complained...she was just happy that she didn’t have to wear a hat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aubrey’s first day at the babysitter’s house was on September 5, 2006. We had met with Cindy and her family a couple of times before Aubrey was born and I had taken her over to visit their family during the summer... but we still didn’t want to be away from her for so many hours during the day...even though we knew that Cindy’s entire family was looking forward to having Aubrey in their home. On the first day at the sitter’s, Brad woke up early to feed Aubrey and then I got her dressed...and to make sure that she wouldn’t forget about me in the hours that we were apart, I put her in a little onesie that said, "I love Mommy." We called Cindy to check on Aubrey a few times throughout the day...and even though we were worried, it was a relief to find out that Aubrey was having such a wonderful time...and it was very obvious from the big smile on her face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nap time was one of my favorite times of the day because I was able to cuddle with Aubrey. During the summer, when Aubrey was only a couple of months old, I would get up to feed Aubrey in the morning and then take her back into my bedroom to go back to sleep together for a few hours. After the summer ended and I went back to work, I was afraid that I wouldn’t get my daily nap with Aubrey anymore. Luckily, Aubrey was on the perfect schedule...and almost every day after I picked her up from the sitter’s house, got home, and gave her a bottle, we took a nap together on the couch. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world...Aubrey snuggled in so closely...a simple reminder that all she really needed was her mommy’s arms...holding her tight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was so excited the day that the first home football game finally rolled around...it meant being able to show Aubrey off to all of my students. After dinner that evening, I dressed Aubrey up in a warm, hooded sweater and a cute pair of jeans...and of course, little pink tennis shoes. The weather had been a little chilly all afternoon and it had looked like it could rain at any minute...so it was no surprise that as soon as we were getting ready to walk out the door, it started to sprinkle. It stopped after only a few minutes, so we decided to finish loading up the car and go to the game anyway. We spent the first half of the game talking to my students...mostly those that I had had the previous year...the ones who knew that I was pregnant and were anxiously awaiting for Aubrey to arrive as much as we were. Because we were so busy visiting, we didn’t even get to sit down until after halftime was over...and as soon as we sat down, it started to rain, so we had to head back home. Go figure!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just down the road from our family’s house is a huge pumpkin patch...so for almost the entire month of October, I had been telling Brad that we just had to take Aubrey there sometime to pick out her very first pumpkin and get her picture taken. Because he worked late a couple of nights a week, and we seemed to be out of town several weekends that month, we didn't have much time...and every time that we planned to make our visit, the weather was not very nice. Finally, just a few days before Halloween, we made the trip to the pumpkin patch one evening after Brad came home from work. It was so cute watching Aubrey just take everything in. Aubrey had so much fun...there were animals to look at and lots of pumpkins to feel. There was even a pumpkin that weighed over fifty pounds! It was so big that I decided to put Aubrey on top of it to pose for a quick picture...of course, with her daddy’s hand on her for support. Since Aubrey was going to be a pumpkin for Halloween, it was a meaningful way to start the holiday!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aubrey’s Grandma Wilkin had bought Aubrey her first Halloween costume before Aubrey was even born. It was so fitting that Aubrey dressed up as a little pumpkin! Since Brad had to work late that evening, I took lots of pictures of Aubrey all dressed up in her costume...even one on my phone so that I could send it to him at work. Aubrey welcomed all the trick-or-treaters with her big smile...but I also wanted to make sure that all of our neighbors saw Aubrey as well, so after Brad got home from work, I took her around to some of their houses. Some of them even gave her candy...which, of course, she had to share with her mommy and daddy! Everyone thought Aubrey looked so adorable dressed up as a little pumpkin...though we all knew she was always a little pumpkin...even without the costume!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The weekend before Thanksgiving is always the annual "Christmas in Springboro" celebration. We couldn't wait to take Aubrey uptown...not only to show her off to all of my students and their families...but just to let her see all of the Christmas decorations and activities. We went to the Christmas parade...a first for Aubrey. She was such a people watcher...just like her daddy...and wanted to sit up in her stroller the entire time so that she could see everything that was going on around her. She seemed to love all of the floats...all of the people...and especially the music as the band marched by. As we were walking around the town, we noticed our own Springboro Panther posing for pictures with people, so we took Aubrey over to meet him and get a quick picture. Anyone dressed up in a costume can be scary for infants...especially a big panther...but it seemed that he was more nervous to hold Aubrey than she was to let him...and while she doesn't look too thrilled in the picture, she never cried or fussed at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our family packed our bags and headed up north to Delphos for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Since it had been quite a while since most of our family had seen Aubrey...and even the first time that some of our extended family could meet her...we made an effort to stop in at most of our family get-togethers. Aubrey saw so many people on Thanksgiving Day... family on the Daulbaugh side, the Sherrick side, the Fortener side, and the Klausing side. It was no surprise that everyone wanted to hold her...and she was passed around by all of her relatives throughout the day. Even though her schedule was totally off, she managed to stay pretty happy most of the day...and she even had some left-over energy to play with her daddy before she went to bed that evening. It was a completely chaotic day...running around to so many different places...seeing so many different people...but it meant so much to spend Thanksgiving Day with our family...all of our families.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We had planned to stay in Delphos over the entire Thanksgiving weekend...but we were pretty worn out from all the visiting we had to do while we were there. Both of Aubrey’s uncles had basketball scrimmages that weekend that we wanted to watch...especially since Aubrey’s Grandma Wilkin had a special onesie made for her to wear. The front said, "Littlest Wildcat Fan" and the back said, "I Love My Uncle Chris." It was so adorable! Aubrey loved watching the games. She seemed to have so much fun...watching the players run back and forth...looking at the lights...and listening to all the different sounds. I couldn't wait to take her to the Springboro basketball games...not only would she love watching the cheerleaders, it was apparent that she would enjoy the games too. After the games were over, we decided to head back home...though we made a quick stop at Aubrey's Grandma and Grandpa Sherrick’s house. Aubrey played with her grandparents...and though she had a good time, she couldn’t stop chewing on her gums...causing that oh-so-cute pouty face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The last night that we had with Aubrey was special for each of us. I had picked Aubrey up from the sitter’s after school just like normal...and like most other days, we took a nap together on the couch once we were home. On this day, though, we ended up cuddling together until Brad came home from work. Once he was home, I had to leave for a cheerleading meeting...so Aubrey’s daddy got to feed her and spend some time playing with her all alone. He kept Aubrey up a little late that evening so that I could feed her when I got home...and then we had some fun playing with Charger before she went to bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~