We got it!

My summer project was to find a swing set for Aurora. I started by asking my facebook friends what they'd recommend, and they kindly lead me to Rainbow Systems and Costco. I checked out the selection online and got a Costco membership just in case. They sell Rainbow sets (among others), and of course they're also great for diapers, milk, and snacks. After some thought and searching, I decided that those sets are just too big, too expensive, and too advanced for us right now. So, I found the perfect alternative - a big plastic swing set made for toddlers and kids through about age 6. As much as I liked it, it was also pretty expensive and hard to find. I started looking on craigslist every weekend - I looked, and looked, and looked. For over a month I've been searching, and this weekend it finally paid off! I got the exact $599 swing set I wanted for only $200!!!

Bailey and Kreuzer brought their pick-up truck and helped us get it home. The boys put it together, and now it's finally ours...

It's got a nice big slide, two swings, and a cool little clubhouse underneath. The whole time we were playing, Aurora just kept clapping and saying "Yay!!" while grinning from ear to ear.

Aurora loves it and I know it'll give her years of fun. Looking out the window, this house really feels like a family lives here - and I really feel like a parent. Not that I didn't before, but wow. We've got a swing set in our yard!

We're so fortunate to have such great friends, willing to spend the whole day helping us out. Thanks guys!!!

Happy Birthday, Chuck!

And Corey, and Kreuzer, and Haley, and JJ... that's right, it's birthday season! But the most important birthday in our household was Chuck's, and I like to think he had a great day. We let him sleep in a little later than usual, then I made breakfast for my two favorite people. After a lazy morning, we headed out to a party to celebrate our friend's son JJ's 2nd birthday! Aurora loves hanging out with JJ, and we all had a great time. The only way it could've been better is if we could've stayed longer!!!

They have the best pool in the world at their housing development, and we headed out before everybody else because we were on a tight schedule - had to be home by 5pm for Chuck's birthday date night! This entire area of the pool is about 2 feet deep and SO warm, so Aurora walked around, floated, and totally enjoyed herself. Seriously, we could've stayed for hours.

I took Chuck out to sushi and ice cream, then we headed to the theater to see a movie called "Moon" with Bailey and Kreuzer. It really was a great night, and Aurora loves her babysitter, Stephenie - she let her run through the sprinkler eating a popsicle, and it sounds like they enjoyed their evening as much as we did. Perfect!

Okay, now I'm just bragging...

I told Bailey that I took another video of Aurora saying different words, but thought if I posted it I'd just be bragging. She said that's what this blog is all about and I HAVE to post it! Besides, you need to hear our new favorite word, "bookabookabookabooka." Yes, that means "book" and yes, it's just as silly every time.



I guess that's all I have for today. I mean, I could tell you about all our appointments with doctors and dentists this week. Nothing's wrong - just more routine visits disrupting our already tight schedules. I should mention that this season of the Bachelorette is over, and I had a great time watching the finale with my friends on Monday and Tuesday nights. We joked that after months of Mondays eating junk food together, we should go to the gym on Monday nights from now on. Uhhhhhm, that's not really going to happen. I could even tell you about our weekend plans - perhaps let you know that Saturday is Chuck's birthday. But really... Aurora's started saying "Hello" in the cutest little voice I've ever heard. Does anything else matter?

15 Months

Yesterday was Aurora's 15-month well-baby check, and I must say it will not go down as our favorite day ever. Not that any doctor's visit ever will!

We arrived bright and early and they saw us right away. You may recall that last time we waited forever and Aurora was pretty wobbly so playing on the little stool was sort of dangerous and drove me crazy. This time she sat patiently like a proper lady.

We saw a different pediatrician (on purpose) who said that she's "growing beautifully." Aurora weighed in at 21.2 lbs, which is maybe 1-2 lbs more than 3-months ago, keeping her squarely in the 25th percentile. Her length was 30-1/2 inches, which puts her in the 50th percentile for height, so she's tall and slender. Or, I suppose I should say average and light. They gave her three vaccinations and she'll get just one more at her next appointment, then no more shots until she's 4 years old. 

They also took blood, and this time they took a LOT. Instead of a little finger prick they took a big vial from her arm. It was fast and they were nice, but that didn't stop it from being unpleasant. I had to hold her tight and keep her hands still while she screamed and cried. She's been anemic the last two times we took blood, so this time they're going to do a few tests to see if it's related to something other than food. We'll see what comes of it. For now, all I can say is shots + blood draw = unhappiness.

Afterwards I took her to work for a quick visit, then off to school where she forgot all her pain. She loves her little friends. She got to daycare just in time for lunch, and we made up for the missed time by heading back to the Children's Center this morning for a free kid's concert! The only kiddo from her class that showed was Seth, who... well, let's just say the other day when I went to pick her up, I found her open-mouth kissing Seth. He is a cutie, but aren't they a little young?! Here she is trying to talk to him while he watches the show. She kept pointing at his shirt and shoes and face, and he just acted cool and ignored her. Such a girl and such a boy.

I wanted to end with a demonstration of Aurora's verbal skills. She's going through what Chuck has referred to as a "word explosion," and is picking things up left and right. Today she even started saying her own name!

Birthdays and Babysitters

Last weekend we had birthday parties two nights in a row, which meant two yummy dinners and two babysitters!

Friday evening Teresa was nice enough to come over so that Chuck and I could head to Hula Hut to celebrate Amelia’s 25th Birthday.

Saturday night one of Aurora’s teachers babysat while we went to Z-Tejas for Daniela’s 30th Birthday party. We don'’t see Daniela as often as we used to, and it was great to catch up with her and many other friends, including Teresa (above). Okay, so we see her a lot!

Going out is pretty rare for us these days, so going out two nights in a row… unheard of. It was almost like pre-baby times! Thank you to Amelia and Daniela for having birthdays, and happy birthday to Grandma Nancy, who celebrated her 65th birthday today! She should’ve received some flowers at work... so many important birthdays all at once!!!

Last week was also Aurora’s 15 month birthday, and tomorrow morning is her well-baby doctor visit. I know you really come here for the baby updates, and I promise a good one is on its way.

Laura's Library

Today we headed up the street to the grand opening ceremony for our new community library. It was hot and sunny, but Chuck braved the UV to watch as Laura Bush spoke, unveiled her statue, and cut the ribbon along with the mayor, other public officials, and tons of spectators and media.

Truth is we had no idea Mrs. Bush would actually be there. We knew the library was being named after her, and we had wondered if she might show up, but having her really come was a surprise. The sculptor who created her statue also spoke, and you could tell that everybody in attendance loved reading and was excited and proud of this new library.

Aurora did great through most of the ceremony, though she was red, sweaty, and thirsty by the time we actually got inside. We headed straight to the Family Center, and I must say the kid’s room is awesome with tons of books, puppets, fun reading areas, and colorful murals on the walls. I'm sure we’ll be spending a lot of time here in the future!

We were all overheated and fussy by the time we got home, but it was worth it. It was just one small part of what turned out to be a fun, busy, relaxing and exhausting weekend! Much more to come…

Clean and Dirty

Sometimes Aurora likes to run around the house with reckless abandon, flinging her sippy cup and its contents all over the floor. I'm not thrilled when I have to follow her around with a paper towel cleaning up the trail of milk drops, but usually I don't mind. I tell her "hold your sippy up," and she does, for about a millisecond. When it starts dripping again, I usually take it and put it away. Yesterday, after putting it back in the fridge, I decided to hand the paper towel over to her and let her do the cleaning. Believe it or not... she did! She cleaned every drop I pointed to.

Then later yesterday evening Aurora's teacher sent me these pics. It kind of cracked me up... after capturing photos of Aurora cleaning up, I was given evidence of exactly how dirty she can get at daycare. Alice's email read "I'm not sure I understand her love affair with mulch..." HA!

She's never eaten the mulch at home, and she doesn't come home with mulch on her face or clothes... I had no idea!!!

Bachelorette Party

Monday night is officially my favorite night of the week. Why? Because The Bachelorette is on for two full hours and I have some of the best friends a girl could want, all willing to come to my house to watch with me.

It started with Amelia. We both love the show, and coming over was her chance to get some toddler time while avoiding the ever present boyfriend-rolling-his-eyes while she watched at home. Turns out that’s a common phenomenon… come on guys, you know you want to watch! First it was Amelia (check out her blog for the juicy details), then I invited Sarah (the eye-rolling thing was happening at her place too). Then Bailey and Tracey… this week Laura joined in, and now it’s a weekly tradition! We have a few drinks and spend a couple of hilarious hours poking fun at Jillian and her often pathetic suitors. What could be better?

As Amelia says, Aurora provides the “pre-show entertainment.” This week Amelia brought her camera (thank you!), but somehow we just couldn’t get a picture of Aurora trying to mimic the leisurely position she was standing in - leaning against the wall putting one foot across the other. The closest we got is her seriously contemplating the pose…

Once the little one was off to bed, we all worked on preparing a pot-luck style dinner and settled in for the drama. Chuck always pretends he has work to do, but you know he's paying attention the whole time!

Next week is the “Men Tell All” episode, then the following week is the two-night finale. I’m pretty sure we’re all going to take two days off and have a slumber party to watch them both. Who will Jillian choose!? And more importantly, once it’s over… what will I do with my Monday nights!?!

Speaking of bachelorettes, I have officially NOT been a bachelorette for over 12 years now. I’m sure you already know that Chuck & I celebrated our 12 year anniversary on Sunday. You may not know that this week is my 3 year anniversary working for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Some dudes on The Bachelorette may fear commitment, but not me!

Sweet Girl

Aurora's always been a sweet girl, but recently she's been doing some extra sweet stuff and it's pretty adorable. She grabs her stuffies and sways back and forth while squeezing them tight; she gives me and her teachers closed-mouth puckered up kisses, and blows kisses when she's not within range; and now she can say "bye-bye" perfectly. It doesn't really matter who she's waving to - she'll wave and say "bye-bye" to Tater when we're going upstairs. So silly.

She's also been extra super drooly, so much that they've started putting bibs on her again. The funniest thing is that she seems proud to wear them! It looks to me like all the rest of her teeth are on the way in. The gaps in the front are swollen, and the upper molars are almost all the way through. Such a big girl! Miss Alice told me this week that she thinks Aurora's looking more and more like a little girl, and Chuck said he likes this picture because you can really tell how big she's getting. It's true - she just gets bigger and sweeter everyday!

Gifties

I have to tell you, I’ve gotten more gifts in the past 2-years than the rest of my life combined. From pregnancy, welcoming our new addition, and all the way up through her first birthday – everybody loves a baby girl! These days, the best kinds of gifts are hand-me-downs from other friends with kids, and this was a good week for hand-me-downs!

Our friend Sue brought us some Elmo DVD’s, including one called “Babies, Dogs and More.” Whoever created this DVD really knew their audience… honestly, there’s nothing Aurora likes more these days than babies and doggies. And our friend Amy brought us swim diapers and a hat, which Aurora tried out and modeled this afternoon (no poop in our pool!).

Aside from hand-me-downs, ‘tis the season for Lance Armstrong and Tour de France goodies! My boss Mona just returned from a trip to Monaco and France, and brought me back an official “I love le Tour de France” t-shirt and cool yellow TdF logo hat. Then today the whole staff got these great new TEAM LIVESTRONG bags. No, Julian… you can’t have one!

It’s pretty cool working for the LAF during the TdF. We had a viewing party on Tuesday for the TTT (team time trial), and this Friday we’re holding another big party and watching on the big screen in our office. Not only am I learning a lot about competitive cycling, but retail sales and visibility worldwide for the organization have been huge. Oh, and Lance is doing great!

Communication

Anybody who’s spent time with Aurora lately knows that she has become a fantastic little communicator. She can only say a few things, but she can sign, and she can certainly understand what you’re saying and demonstrates that ability quite clearly. In fact, she seems to understand everything we say, and will even do what we ask her to do (I’ll enjoy that while it lasts). If I say “Aurora, are you ready to go upstairs and take a bath?” she’ll go to the baby gate at the stairs and wait for me to let her up, then head to the bathtub. If I say “Aurora, can you pick up your shirt and put it into the basket?” she’ll go grab her shirt and will place it in the basket. And if I say “Aurora, did you just poop? Do you need a new diaper?” she’ll go over to the changing table and ask to go up.

Chuck said he’s been waiting for the day when she can really communicate with us, yet this has been a surprisingly difficult transition for him. Why? Because Chuck is NOT a communicator!!! When he can see that she just pooped, he automatically scoops her up and hauls her off to the changing table, and now she just fights and screams! She has no idea why he just plucked her up from her playtime and is moving her, when she’s perfectly mobile and can make her own decisions! I try to tell Chuck that he needs to talk to her – at least tell her what he’s doing, but better yet, ask if she needs a diaper change and give her the chance to go to the changing table on her own. I have to give it to him – he’s trying – but it does not come naturally to him.

So, this weekend I apologized to Aurora and let her know that this may be the best he can do, from now through the rest of her life. But just as he tries to understand her, she’ll learn to understand him. I just happen to understand them both, and I’m confident it’ll work out fine!

Now, for the info you were hoping I’d communicate to you… how was our 4th of July!? I must say, three day weekends aren’t what they used to be. We can’t sleep in or stay out late, and we have to think of ways to keep Aurora entertained and fed. That being said, we did hang out with friends, go to a BBQ with Chuck’s coworkers and all their kids, and have lots of fun – in fact, we had so much fun that Monday morning Aurora was certain that our life was that of a stay-at-home family, and she was more upset than ever when it was time to go to school. Her teacher said she was fussy all the way until nap time, and afterwards she perked up.

We had friends over last night to watch the Bachelorette at our house, which is why I haven’t blogged sooner (well, that and I haven’t had any good photo ops – sorry!). Aurora really liked having everybody over – perhaps too much, because she refused to go to bed! She cried and screamed for a long time and fought all our attempts to get her to sleep until finally I let her come down and watch with us. By “watch,” I mean run around trying to get us to read books to her. She’s a good cute girl, but certainly does have a mind of her own!

Hamilton Pool Hike

Today's the first day of a 3-day weekend for the whole family. We headed out early for breakfast, but really didn't have anything planned. Chuck just decided to drive a direction we don't normally go, and we found ourselves headed to Hamilton Pool. Honestly, we were weren't really prepared for a nature hike, but it was too hot to play most places outdoors and kind of a perfect morning for a shady hike.

By not prepared, I mean Aurora and I were wearing sandals, and I hadn't brough the camera! Luckily, Chuck's iPhone made sure we didn't get lost and doubled as a camera. It actually took some pretty nice pics...

No big plans for the rest of the weekend, but who knows where we may end up!