Parties

While our life doesn't always feel like a party, photo evidence would certainly suggest that it is. Mondays are Bachelorette viewing parties with my girlfriends, Tuesdays are Tunes-days at the library, and this week the parties didn't stop there! Tuesday we actually got to do pajama story time THEN had a dance party with the East Side Dandies. Yes, at the library, and yes it was the most fun ever.

Friday was our company picnic, which took place on a riverboat cruise this year. Very nice.

Saturday rolled around and Aurora went to a cheerleading themed birthday party at Austin Country Club (which I passed the day before on the boat tour). Of course, this included cheer lessons from a UT cheerleader! Aurora's on the far right in purple, doing her own thing. Way too cute.

Then we passed the rest of the (106 degree) day at a super fun outdoor party with a big inflatable water slide and snow cones.

Thank goodness a little cold front and rain rolled in this morning. Today isn't a party. Today we're doing laundry and dishes and cleaning bathrooms and catching up on all the stuff that gets pushed back when you have two kids and two parents working full-time. We're also starting to think about Clark's first birthday party! Aurora's helping with the planning. At this point, she is an expert on parties.

Siblings

Clark is getting so big and interactive. When Chuck walks in the room, he reaches his arms out and yells "DAAADA!" and when Aurora's around (or when she's not around and he's looking for her) you can hear him repeating "Awawa." She's always been loving to him, but this weekend they actually played together. It was so sweet! I told my dad awhile back that they'd be best friends forever, and he said the best I can hope for is that they don't hate each other. Fair enough. What do you think, blog readers? I can imagine them always being close, but I can't imagine them ever being 12 and 16... I should probably just enjoy (and document) the sweet sibling love while it lasts.

Freedom

Just as Aurora now has the freedom to enjoy regular sleepovers at friend's houses...

Poor Clark is losing his freedom with what Aurora likes to call "the petting zoo." We never needed to do this with Aurora, but there weren't pencils and legos and barbie shoes everywhere when she was a baby. She also seemed to understand rules and limits. I can use a deep voice, distract him, move him, even slap his little hand, and Clark will not stop getting up to touch the TV, grab the remote control, and once he has my iPhone in his grubby little paws forget about it. He's so happy and loving, but the kid likes electronics and tiny toys and won't take no for an answer!

Luckily, I have the freedom to go to work everyday. Seriously, as much as I love these two sweet kiddos and miss them terribly when we're apart, they would make me crazy if I was a SAHM! Lately they've been very clingy when I leave in the mornings, so Chuck's been taking them outside to wave goodbye as I leave, which is pretty much the best thing ever.

Pretty soon they'll most likely be waiving goodbye to Grandma & Grandpa Slane, who are looking at heading back to Florida. Hopefully in the future there will be less moving and more visiting - but honestly, the best any of us can do is accept the things we cannot change, and change the things we cannot accept. We all have the freedom to make certain choices in our lives. Well, unless we're 10-months old...

Love & Hugs

While I can't say she got all the answers right, Aurora was clearly more accurate with this one than the Mother's Day version. I mean, Chuck does like wearing pants, and he's pretty smart about butterflies. He also works hard to take care of Clark, and he certainly loves and hugs his little girl a whole lot. 

Today we took Chuck out for a special Father's Day lunch. Aurora gave hints as to where we were going while we were in the car. She told him the first word starts with T, the second word starts with B, and you can get cinnamon twists there. Ha! While Taco Bell was in the running, we actually took him to the County Line for BBQ and beer. I also got him a membership to the Wine of the Month Club. I figure this will count for Father's Day, his Birthday, Christmas - every gift for the next year, right?

Love and hugs to all the dads out there today, especially Chuck (who doesn't actually like shrimp all that much - I'm not sure where she came up with that one).

Change

This week has been all about change. Change is happening at work, it's happening with our families, and yes, even right here in our own home. The biggest blog-worthy baby change? Now that our sweet, toothy little boy is over 10-months old and enjoying all kinds of solid foods...

I've decided it's time to start the gradual process of weaning. We just cut out the after-work feeding and now he's only getting breastmilk 4 times/day; 6am, 10am, 3pm, and 7:30pm. It's good, and he's eating yogurt and fruit and all sorts of other foods to keep his belly full, but it's kind of sad to think that these are the last 2-months I'll ever have (and nurse) a baby! Several of my co-workers have kids who are about 6-months older than Clark and not long ago we all shared the Mother's Room at work.

Now I'm the only one left and I have the place to myself. Pretty soon it'll be empty (well, until the next wave of babies hits). I realize we've firmly entered what Julian considers the TMI-zone, but I did this with Aurora and I'm doing it with Clark too - posting a picture of my frozen milk! I have a good supply to begin with, but for awhile Clark wasn't taking bottles very well and I froze anything he wouldn't take. Pretty soon I'll be cutting out a midday feeding and we've got it covered (no formula for our little guy!). This is just under 50 bags averaging 5oz each. I actually bought a deep freezer off Craigslist during maternity leave anticipating that this might happen. When this stash is gone and Clark is a year old, he'll start drinking whole milk and the freezer will just be for trips to Costco.

Clark wasn't adjusting well when I first cut that feeding out, but he's getting used to it and Aurora loves it. She's much happier that we can go out, make dinner right away, or play together instead of needing to come home and feed him directly after school. It definitely gives us more freedom, so I'm not saying the change is bad. I like change, I can roll with change, and I initiated this change. Time goes by, kids grow up, and we continue to laugh and learn and love, but I'm sure I'll always look back at these last 10-months with baby Clark as being some of the happiest of my life.

Summer Fun

Big Boy

Our little Clarkie turned 10-months old today, and he decided that means it's time to stop acting like a baby and start acting like a big boy. These little guys really do grow and change overnight, which is just amazing. Yesterday he started eating all kinds of big kid foods, at home and at school. Today he started pulling up on everything and grabbing for any books, pens, scissors, or items that we've moved out of his reach on purpose that he can possibly get his tiny little hands on, then screaming when we say no or try to move or take away said item (joy). He's also trying his hardest to roll over, crawl, stand, and turn around during diaper changes and feedings, which can get interesting. All the while, he's giving toothy smiles, laughing, and learning about the world, and we just love him to pieces. 

I've been saying for so long that I just want to freeze him and keep him this little forever. But alas, the toddler phase is beginning and before we know it he really is going to be a big boy! Sigh...

Grandparents

We were able to catch up with Grandma Nancy this morning, and I wanted to send some extra good thoughts her way. Hospice is helping keep Steve comfortable and he has a few doctor appointments this week that might help, but he's not doing so well right now and I know this is a hard time for them. While we can't be there, at least we have FaceTime!

We were also able to have some face time with my mom and dad today. They watched Clark while we took Aurora out to the movies, followed by pizza on the deck and a walk through the neighborhood.

Joey was on the walk too. He's been having allergy attacks lately, and I must say that pollen, dust, mold, cedar, and probably a bunch of other allergens are high here in Austin. It's also really hot here in Austin, and the real estate market is hot, too - which isn't great for my folks, as they're on the lookout for a more traditional home with a fenced in yard and garage. We'll see what happens. Regardless, our sweet happy kids are so lucky to have their grandparents in their lives. Nancy is already planning her next trip out (for Clark's first birthday!) and we will be glad to see her.

Live Music

Austin has been the self-proclaimed live music capital of the world for quite some time, but honestly, when we first moved here I'd say the music scene was just... well, bar music. Now that we have 2 kids, we also have a bunch of great new music venues and it seems like every night my facebook feed is full of Paul McCartney, Soundgarden, Dave Matthews Band, Hall and Oats, Blues on the Green, ACL, and tons of shows that we would've bought tickets to in an instant, before kids. I know what you're thinking; get a babysitter, have your parents watch the kids, live a little! But it's more than that. I'm breast feeding right now, and working full time, and waking up at 6am every morning, and it's a sweet time. I'm not bitter or upset or jealous - I'm trying to enjoy it! So, today we went to the summer reading kick-off at the library and saw a band called the Que Pastas. Yup, nowadays it's all about the kid's music, which happens during the day, for free, without crowds, with my kiddos. We brought Aurora's friend Presley with us and the girl's had a great time! The band noted that they had stiff competition with the miniature horses outside, and thanked us for listening. They were actually pretty funny.

Of course, the most fun show we get to watch these days is the Clarkie show! He's standing up, waving, smiling, crawling really fast, full-body laughing, babbling, and generally being adorable nonstop. Is it better than seeing Paul McCartney in concert? Eh, I can listen to the Beatles anytime... of course, if Sir Paul happens to come back, we may just need to make it happen.