Things to be proud of and things to work on

EK just went back to school today after a 4 day weekend. I loved breaks like that when I was a teacher. :) Now that I'm a parent of a child who NEEDS routine, I don't like them so much.
When I picked her up today, her teacher told me she wasn't going to let me take her because she had a FABULOUS day! Definitely the thing I like to hear! Last Thursday, Ms. Sharla took her on a greeting walk to practice saying "hi". EK did it several times with promptings. Today she again said "hi" to several people and also said "bye" appropriately a couple times too. She also told her teachers no when asked a question. :)
She's been having sleep issues the past week or so. She'll scream for a good 30-45 minutes before she finally falls asleep and she's been coming out of her room again. The last time we dealt with this, it was time to give up naps. I have no where to go this time though. She goes to bed around 8pm and wakes up at 7am. Maybe 8pm is a little early, but this mama is ready for some quiet time at 8pm. I wouldn't even mind if she stayed up for a bit, but stayed in her room. Last night I decided to lay by her until she fell asleep. It took about 15 minutes before she was out. Last night was the first night she slept ALL night (no waking up in the middle of the night) in several nights. I'm hoping tonight will be another GOOD night!
After school this morning, we went to church to see Keith. When we got there, he was in a meeting so we waited. The last time we went up to church, EK was so upset that we didn't stay long enough to see Keith. This time, not only did we wait much longer, but she was happy! She was smiling at several secretaries. Complete turn-around from last time! YEAH!
The biggest deal was for Keith yesterday morning. EK has been babbling a lot more this past week. Yesterday morning she was eating breakfast and we were all in the kitchen talking to her. Keith was getting ready to leave for work and we prompted her to say "Bye, bye Daddy". After several tries, EK said "Ba Ba Dada". I couldn't believe it! She normally just looks at us and grins, as if saying "I can do it, but I don't want to." Keith was still talking about it later that day when he came home! Definitely a sweet moment!

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Aubrey's personality seems to become stronger and stronger each day. As much as it's a challenge to teach and train her to be kind and polite, I'm so thankful that she is talking so much and is independent. She continues to be a great helper, but sometimes tells me no or whines about it. Our new verse that we're working on is Phillippians 2:14 "Do everything without complaining or argueing". We talk about it several times a day and I'm sure it'll continue to be discussed. It's even a good reminder for me! :)

Here are a couple funny things she's said lately:

The other night at dinner
Me:You're a crazy girl, Aubrey.
AC (to Keith): That means you're funny Daddy.

Today while we were driving to the park, Keith stopped at a stop sign and waited for the traffic to clear so we could turn.
AC: Go dude!

AC: I angry!
Me: Why are you angry?
AC: Cuz I mad at Daddy.
Me: Why are you mad at Daddy?
AC: Cuz I angry!