We found out we were expecting in July of 2008 with a due date in late March of 2009. The pregnancy went fairly well with just a few minor complications here and there. Having been diagnosed with chronic hip dysplasia several years ago, our doctor decided it would be best to schedule a c-section a week before my due date. Kyle was working for CATCO on the North Slope at the time and scheduled his hitch in order to be home for the procedure. Unfortunately, it didn't work out as planned. A week before the scheduled c-section, and two weeks before our actual due date, the baby decided it was time. Aubrey Lynn was born on March 11th, missing Kyle's birthday by one day. She was healthy at 7 lbs 13 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Kyle made the trip back to Anchorage the next day to meet his baby girl for the first time.
Time seems to have flown since then. I was laid off from my job at Pepsi while on the maternity leave and have been enjoying my time home with the baby. Kyle went back to work over the summer with Granite Construction here in town. He was happy to be home with us every night. This fall i returned to my position as the head coach for the Service High gymnastics team. My girls did really well this season and placed 4th in the team standings at the Region meet. I hope to continue building the team next year.
Over the summer we did a lot of camping. My parents bought a toyhauler and Aubrey and i tagged along with them on several trips including Valdez and fishing in Kasilof. In November Aubrey and i also travelled to Virginia to visit my brother and his family. Aubrey did incredibly well on the plane and had a blast hanging out with her cousins. We also made several trips out to the Palmer Speedway. Since completing his rebuild of the F350 we rolled back in 2006, which has now become a rather large off-road rig, Kyle's attention has now turned to my 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8. After some tweaks, he has gotten it down to running a 12.03 second 1/4 mile. He hopes to be running even faster next summer. We also decided to trade in our single cab truck for a more family-oriented 4 door Toyota Tacoma.
Since her arrival Aubrey has grown into quite a monster and i am not talking about her size. She continues to be on the petite side for her age, but is very mobile and full of mischief. She has been crawling since 5 1/2 months and is just about ready to walk at 9 months. She has even mastered going up the stairs, but hasn't quite gotten the hang of coming back down. She tends to approach it head on which doesn't work out too well. She has developed a new habit of shaking her head no and seems to find it very amusing. Her smile is enough to melt any heart though. Kyle and i love our new roles as parents and feel very blessed to have her in our lives.
With Aubrey's arrival also came the end of my hobby breeding of Cocker Spaniels. I got my female, Hailey, spayed and decided it would be best to place our male, Hunter, with a new family who could give him more time and attention. Since then Quila, my Rottweiler/American Staffordshire/Mastiff mix, moved in with us. She loves Aubrey and tolerates her crawling and tugging on her.Well, that about sums up our year.
