Aubrey hits the town... so to speak

So little Aubrey has been with us for a little over a month, and in that time we've had a number of outings, so here are just a few.

Today was an amazing winter day, crisp and clear, not a cloud in the sky. This is the front our our humble abode. The beautiful Fleur De Lis built in 1927.



Someone stuck a little Dalai Lama image in our front yard. How cool is that?



Gorditos! Our favorite little Mexican restaurant out in Greenwood. They have ridiculously big burritos. Aubrey slept through it, but I think it will be a favorite when he's older.




Beautiful Green Lake. We fit right in with all the other mothers and nanny's pushing strollers around the lake on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. Having said that most of them had on track suits, headphones and rollerblades. Damn yuppies! (Yes I see the irony, as we push around our über hip Quinny Buzz stroller from Finland, or England or something like that)



A very rare moment. Virginia was awesome and ventured out on her own, with little Aubrey in tow to pick me up from work, and then off to Blue Water Bistro for our favorite, Pork ribs and crispy, frizzled onions. Oh and for dessert the deep dish TollHouse chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream. It is so damn good!



Volunteer Park with our good friend Uncle Dave.




Uncle Dave - FILE PHOTO - "Huggies are the shit, YO!"



And one of our new favorite places, Cafe Presse. Amazing French bistro snackies, and pretty cheap too. Mmm buttery! Once again Aubrey slept through this one, which we appreciate, but I think it will be a favorite for him one day soon.




A new neighborhood fixture. Tougo Coffee house is awesome, and just around the corner. This is where I officially joined the ranks of "Coffee Fiend", after 10 years of avoiding coffee like the plague.



And of course here is my "pusher", coffee proprietor extraordinaire, and our friend Brian. Who has a 1 yr old son, so I've been hitting him up for advice.

Well thats all for now. laterz.

Working from home... ya right!

So this was my first week back to work, but I'd planned to be working from home, and thereby help out Virginia, spend time with Aubrey and ease back into the daily grind or work. Well boy was I wrong. As of 9am Monday morning I was already getting emails and calls about new pitch work that need my attention, and unfortunately it required lots of meetings, and face time with people so hard to do it remotely. So as of Tuesday evening I'd already spent about 10 hours in the office in 2 days. Work has actually been good, I guess being away for 3 weeks really helped me recharge. Having said that it is really tough to be away from Virginia and Aubrey, I was getting used to being with them 24/7. I love my new family even with the stresses and sleepless nights I wouldn't trade it for the world. :-)

Marylou has spoken

Ok it's official, Aunt Marylou has weighed in on the question of whether the name Aubrey is "manly" or not. And I quote, "I've never heard of a female Aubrey; it's a good old fashioned cowboy name — strong and sturdy, out herdin' the cattle and generally doing "manly" things — though after "Brokeback Mountain" the whole cowboy image has shifted somewhat."
Well said Lou, thanks for the chiming in. :-)

Ms. Aubrey Bright please... is she there?

Well it's happened, and it only took 3 weeks. With this one piece of mail, that came from the hospital no less, Aubrey has entered a world I've known my whole life. That being a world that seems to think Ashley and Aubrey must be girls names, even though Ashley is traditionally a boys name, as for Aubrey, well I guess it's a gray area.


There is nothing quite like making a credit card purchase over the phone and having the operator ask for the name on the card, immediately followed by the question, "Is she there?" To which I answer, "well she is me", that usually gets something like, "Oh I'm sorry... I didn't realize... ah... sorry...", sensing their embarrassment I usually let them off the hook by saying "not a problem it happens all the time". Or the other fun thing is when I make a purchase in person and the cashier looks at the card, then at me and says... "geez you don't look like an Ashley" Having heard this before I knowing full well they only said this to be funny at my expense or to seem superior by pointing out my less then "manly" name so I tend to be a little more bitchy and say "well what exactly SHOULD an Ashley look like?" That usually ends the witty cashier/customer banter.

Having said all this I have never been ashamed of my name, and love it's uniqueness (I've only met 1 other male Ashley in my life) so I hope that in time Aubrey will come to feel the same way. I mean come on, Mr. Aubrey Malcolm James Rodriguez Bright... how cool is that?!

Oh ya speaking of Aubrey's name, we got his Social Security card in the mail yesterday and I guess they don't like long names, cause his official name on the card is, and I quote "Aubrey Malcolm James Ro Bright". I'm sure this will come back to bite him in the butt at some point.

Look ma he's a growin' big!

What's new you ask? Well let's see... Aubrey had his second check up at the doctors, and he's doing great and getting bigger everyday! Which makes sense, since that what he's supposed to do right? :-) He's officially gained a full pound in weight and 1 inch in height. I'm surprised it's not more since he's been eating like crazy! As you can see by the picture he wasn't so happy being striped down, placed under the bright lights and poked and prodded, but then again who would.

Aubrey says "Yo what about me?"

After Aubrey saw Haley's video he demanded to have one of his own. So without further adieu.




And of course a few more pix.

Introducing Haley

Aubrey has been capturing the spotlight lately, and rightly so, but I wanted to give Haley her due. So here she is in all her glory performing her patented "rolling stop" in the park the other day. Sorry for the crappy quality, I shot it with my cellphone.



And here are a few other shots.