House Colors

Earlier in the week we emailed several friends and family a mock-up of color choices for the paint scheme of the house. After getting tons of feedback, it seemed like the popular vote went to a design with various shades of brown (it was Chuck's favorite too, though I think he actually used 5 colors) with second place going to a khaki green and beige combo. After much discussion, some arguing, rumors and speculation, we've come to a decision.... I wanted to stick with just 2 or 3 colors max, and most people (including me) liked the idea of keeping the door red as opposed to painting it black. So, here's our compromise!

Of course, this is just our digital mock up. We're keeping fingers crossed that the real colors will look as good. Thanks so much for all your input. Stay tuned - real life pictures to come!

Construction Zone

Today I worked from home and spent the day letting contractors in and out of the house. Some planned, some not so planned.

We’re having work done to the balcony, as the wood rot at the bottom was making it unstable and the beams and handrails were falling apart. Our neighbor across the street said his house was built at the same time as ours, and his balcony “fell down” years ago. Yikes! Once they’re done, we're having the siding replaced as well (more wood rot). Next we'll be repainting... stay tuned for the color-scheme we choose!

As if this wasn’t disruptive enough, we had an A/C water leak earlier in the week which caused damage to our living room floor and the carpet and contents of our coat closet. We had a claims representative out early this morning. Once she decided this would be covered by our insurance, she sent in a water mediation person to take up the floor and dry it out, and a flooring guy to take measurements and samples of the wood and padding. We have a pretty high deductible, and I want to put in a higher quality floor than we currently have, so it won’t exactly be free to fix. But it’ll be nice to have something better than the cheap laminate the previous owners put in. It's something I've wanted to replace since we moved in.

Not only did we have a pick-up truck, a huge trailer, and a van in our driveway – but a school bus broke down outside our house, which caused a lot of excitement. Well, it was exciting for the teenagers on the bus, but not so fun for the bus driver! Another bus had to come rescue the kids. Good thing we didn't have anywhere we needed to go right then...

Aurora spent much of her day napping and grabbing her feet (that’s new!). She was very happy today, but she spit up on me more than any other day I can remember. Maybe all the commotion made her nervous.

The outside workers will be here for about 2 weeks, and I expect it’ll take as long to get the floor situation worked out. So, for now, our house is a big noisy danger zone with construction workers hammering away outside and industrial grade fans blowing inside. Labor Day weekend may slow progress a little, but that's okay. Our laborers deserve a day off.

Photo Booth Fun

Today we went to lunch to celebrate Bailey's birthday and another semester coming to a close with our intern Brittany. Kim Barnett came along too because... that's what Kim does! And Aurora, well, you already know she can't say no to a working lunch. Luckily, she's cheap.

We went to Chuy's and couldn't resist the photo booth. Instead of getting 4 separate strips of photos, we decided to have everybody alternate through, which was extremely silly, but the result is perfect.

Aurora thought the photo booth was the most fun thing ever. She's going through a phase where flashing lights and mirrors are her favorite. She probably would've smiled in every frame even if we did get 4 separate strips! Rora's also started to reach for things with very deliberate movements, and suddenly she loves toys that make noise. It used to be all we needed to go out was her paci and a burp cloth. Now we have all these crazy toys loaded in the car seat. Hey, it's better than giving her the car keys to play with and gnaw on! I've seen that too many times. Gross.

Kim said that Aurora in person is way better than Aurora on the blog. I like to think that's a true statement. Kim Barnett in real life is better than Kim Barnett on the blog too.

Saturday

We started the day with book club. I failed to even try to obtain a copy of the book, but we were excited to go as it was being held at Gina’s house. She has two adorable 7-1/2 month old babies who are sitting up and scooting around like pros. It turns out Gina also makes a mean pancake.

We went home and Kim Barnett came over. She helped me clean up the house and played with Aurora while I took a shower. That was incredibly nice. We ordered pizza and broke open the largest watermelon I’ve ever seen outside of a county fair.

Then Teresa came over to babysit. It’s only the second time Chuck & I have had an evening out since Aurora was born, the first being on Father’s Day when Katie was visiting. It all started with a conversation that went something like this:

Teresa: Hey Amber, I just played Guitar Hero over the weekend and I’m addicted!
Amber: Then I guess you’ll have to come over more often and play at our house!
Teresa: YOU HAVE GUITAR HERO!?!?
Amber: Of course, and you can play all night long if you come over Saturday and babysit while Chuck & I go see Dark Knight in IMAX.
Teresa: OKAY!

It was just that easy. Aurora goes to sleep at about 7:30pm these days, and we got tickets to the 9:15pm show, so Teresa came over a bit early to get some awake time in with the baby girl. We also had pizza and cookies and kicked off Guitar Hero together. We hope you had as much fun as we did, Teresa - thank you!!!

The movie was intense, and seeing it in IMAX was awesome. The show was sold out but we got there early and got great seats. One thing that really surprised me was that somebody in the audience actually brought their baby! The kid only screamed at the beginning and then I’m sure fell asleep – but really people. Buy Guitar Hero.

My Littlest Volunteer

Today Aurora came to work with me. Daycare was closed for a teacher planning day. I'm not sure how much planning they need in the infant room, but it was a good excuse to bring my baby to work! Rora was very helpful – spreading joy wherever she went. Here we are with my new office-mate, Bailey.

I had an intern interview to conduct in the morning, so Brooke happily babysat for a little while. Thanks Brooke, that was fun!

Then we went to lunch with Daniela and Sarah to talk about the intern program. Aurora can't say no to a working lunch.

In the afternoon, we got to hang out with Amy, and then we looked through some clothes that Ruth’s daughter has outgrown. They won’t fit for awhile, but we got some good stuff for later on. We also danced with Kim Barnett, and she showed Aurora how to post mail. A valuable lesson.

Now we're done working for the day, so it's time to go home. Wait 'til we tell daddy all about our fun adventures at the LAF!

PS: Thanks to Devon, for letting me borrow your camera today!!!

I think I’m losing it

My hair that is. I knew that my hair got thicker during pregnancy and that eventually it would thin out again. I didn’t realize it would coincide with Aurora figuring out that she can pull on it!

Nowadays you can find my hairs in the sink and tub drains, on the floor, all over my baby, on my clothes, and on my pillowcase. I do still have more hair on my head than this daughter of mine.

Tomorrow is Aurora’s 4-month birthday. It’s amazing how fast these past few months have gone by. It’s neat to see her growing and changing and getting smarter and stronger everyday.

Eventually we'll have to teach her better table etiquette.

Aurora is hilarious

This week Aurora and I went to visit one-week old baby Larkin.

First, let me just say that Larkin is beautiful (good job Jennifer & Matt!!). One day Rora & Larkin will be friends.

Second, Aurora has turned into a camera hog!

Jennifer took the camera out to take a picture of Betty & Larkin, and we were standing nearby. Well, Aurora just started smiling and hamming it up like she was sure the camera was on her! So, of course, soon the camera WAS on her. Chuck said that happened to him earlier this week as well. He took out the camera, and suddenly she couldn’t stop smiling. How does she know!?

Aurora also had her first encounter with a dog. Joey gave her kisses all over her face, hands, and feet. He’s a good sweet doggie, but I don’t know if Rora knew quite what to think of him...

Yes sir, that's my baby...

Now that Aurora can roll over, she's been scooting and pulling herself around while making the silliest squealing and gurgling sounds! I think she's going through another growth spurt too - suddenly I've had to double how much milk I bring to daycare for her. After months of wondering if I'd always over-produce milk, suddenly I'm thinking we may need to boost production to keep up. Time to buy some more Guinness!

Anyway, my mom told me after Aurora was born that one thing's for sure, "we don't need to go on Maury to find out who the father is." Indeed. I just gave Chuck a shorter haircut and now they look even MORE alike!!! I don't think these are the greatest of photos of all time, but just look at these features. She has his nose EXACTLY, and his lips, and if his eyes were only open wider... oh dear. Does she look like me at all!?

Oh well. There is something super sweet about a happy little daddy's girl.

Must Love Babies

Today Aurora and I went to my friend Raquel’s baby shower. Her baby boy is due September 3rd and she’s naming him Julian! It was a fun shower – we got to hang out with Daniela and there were a couple other cute babies there as well. Daniela gave Raquel a really cool bathtub, and Rora couldn’t resist trying it out (without the water, of course).

Until I had Aurora, I don’t think I understood the excitement so many people feel towards the arrival of a new baby. I remember being surprised at how genuinely happy people were for us. I figured it was either that babies are small, soft and cute; or perhaps misery loves company and our friends with babies just didn’t want us to have so much freedom when they were stuck at home.

Of course, now I get it. There’s just something beautiful about a new little person who is so innocent. Babies aren’t jaded and don’t know how to be cynical. Their emotions are pure and raw, and everything’s new for them.

We’ve been watching the Olympics, and I actually found myself saying “Maybe one day Aurora will be in the Olympics!” WHAT!? It is true that her future’s wide open, and we want our kids to be the best at everything they do. But I just realized how silly it is to say that. I mean, she COULD be an Olympian, she COULD become the president, and I DO want her to have every opportunity in the world. But that doesn’t mean she needs to be ultra-competitive or involved in expensive high-level sports prone to injuries. I want her to be well-rounded, healthy, happy, and successful. If that means she becomes a manager at McDonald’s and marries at the age of 20, so be it (it worked for me!). I do hope she is active and always enjoys watching the Olympics…

Girls Girls Girls

Congratulations to Jennifer, who gave birth to a beautiful girl this morning. She came a few weeks earlier than expected, but is just about the same size as Aurora, Abby, Molly, and Riley. All five LAF babies born in the last few months are girls who weighed between 6 lbs 10 oz and 6 lbs 12 oz at birth. I can’t wait to meet baby Larkin!

The last two nights Aurora was up every 1-2 hours. It is going to be hard for her to get used to the freedom of no sleep positioner. Chuck suggested we swaddle her again tonight in hopes that it will help keep her in one place and allow us all a much needed night of uninterrupted sleep, but she's too big and strong to swaddle now. This morning at about 4:30am I put her back in the positioner to see if it would help, but by 5:30 she’d actually rolled out of it! I'm just not sure what to try next… she’s starting her journey toward mobility and it seems like crawling, sitting up, and cruising will be happening before we know it. So how do we get her back to sleeping through the night at this stage? Maybe we just need to let her cry it out. I wish she could suck her thumb - she's addicted to the paci, but it won't stay in her mouth when she's rolling around.

Anyway, today was half-day Thursday, which meant an afternoon of daddy-daughter time. While I was at work I actually FORGOT to pump! I guess I was just that busy. I got lucky in that Chuck said she was still hungry after her 3pm bottle, so I went ahead and fed her when I got home, and she still took her nighttime feeding. I do prefer Aurora to the pump any day. Awhile ago we were talking about pumping, and Chuck held her up and said "I got your breastpump right here!"



My favorite Chuck Wadey quote from today would have to be: “I think Aurora asked for Gardasil. I told her she’s too young to worry about cervical cancer.”

Sleep

Once we started daycare, I slowly began to feel like I was losing control of the schedule I’d worked so hard to create. A month ago she was sleeping from 9pm-6am without waking up once. Of course, at the time we were swaddling her and putting her in the sleep positioner.

A couple weeks ago she insisted her bedtime move up to 8pm, which was fine – but then she shifted her wake time to 4am. Not so fine. At around the same time our feeding schedule changed, and she got big enough that I decided we didn’t need to swaddle her anymore. Tonight we also took away the sleep positioner. She’s rolling around now, and the sleep positioner just seemed to be constricting her too much.

Now I’m trying to think of ways to extend her sleep again. From what I’ve read, if I consistently respond to her at 4am, feeding and snuggling her (which I do), it will become a habit. At this point, I’m not sure if daycare simply made our schedule change and I should just accept it, if it’s because we stopped swaddling her, or if it’s just become a habit. Regardless, I sure would like to sleep until 6am again like I used to!!! Either that or I just have to start going to bed at 8pm like she does.

Caught on tape

This morning I got Aurora rolling over on video! She had just rolled over effortlessly, when I grabbed the camera and put her back on her back. Of course, once I started filming, she got a little distracted. But she does roll over successfully at the end, and it’s an all around super cute video of my super cutie being, well, super cute! She'll be crawling before we know it...


Another aspect of Rora’s recent growth spurt is that I’ve had to retire all of her 0-3 month clothes. She’s wearing 3-6 month stuff now, and I’m shopping around for 6-9 month outfits so that we’re ready when she gets even bigger. I haven’t decided yet what to do with the clothes she outgrows. Right now I’m putting them in a big plastic bin, and a lot of it is gender neutral so I think it's a good idea to save it. But I feel a little selfish just storing it – should I be giving some away, or lending it out?? Maybe just keeping my favorite pieces? It’s crazy to think that only 3 months ago her little newborn pants were way too big on her!!!

I should also mention that Friday was Chuck’s 31st birthday! We’ve had a fun and relaxing weekend, going out to eat, splurging on the desserts, and doing a little shopping. Thanks to our parents and my grandparents, who remembered his day and sent him cards. Happy Birthday Charlie!!!