Weekend Plans?

I always think it's funny when Friday afternoon rolls around and my coworkers ask me, "Any fun weekend plans?". I mean, they're all heading out to float the river, take off for the weekend, maybe see a concert or go to a party. I just shrug my shoulders and tell them that I'll be hanging out with the fam. Even when I answer "we're going to a bounce house!" it doesn't sound all that exciting in comparison. Sometimes I miss having the freedom to take off and go to a party or have dinner with friends, but for the most part we do end up having a great time.

Yesterday we headed over to Kim Barnett's pool, which was amazingly warm and shady. I wish we had a pool like this in our backyard! Aurora liked it much more than I expected and we stayed out a little later than usual enjoying the evening.

You know you're the parent to a toddler when 8pm = staying out late.

Today we had breakfast and spent some time playing at Chick-fil-A before checking out the new LEGO store in the mall. We do have some other fun plans that you'll have to wait to hear about... they may not include any big parties, but if you like hearing about weekends spent with a toddler, you are in luck!

Anniversaries

Three years ago today, it was our 10-year wedding anniversary and I decided to start a little blog about deciding to start trying for a baby. It occurred to me this weekend that if I'd started this blog 13 years ago... heck, 7 years ago, it would've been a very different story. 400+ posts later, I feel so lucky about where our lives have taken us.

Our anniversary gift for each other was a new mattress and comforter set, which is just one of those big purchases you need to make every 10 years or so. We thought about getting a babysitter, but decided we could have a fun family weekend, and that's what we did! We headed out to Dave & Busters last night for dinner, games, and prizes.

Tonight we just stayed in, ordered pizza and watched TV. Nothing glamorous, but I have no complaints. I did get flowers, but they were from a sweet volunteer - a cancer survivor from Poland who was only in town for a few weeks. Yesterday was also my 4 year anniversary working for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and I can't imagine a better place for me...

All in all, a good day with a lot to celebrate!

Frogs & Mosquitoes

I have to start this post by saying that Aurora is definitely two years old. I wouldn't call her "terrible" (yet), but she's on her way. She's a good communicator, but suddenly the instant we don't understand or do what she wants, she's face down on the ground sobbing. It would be really frustrating if it weren't so cute.

Earlier this week she stepped on her tiny cheap plastic frog toy and its feet broke off. It has to have been the most dramatic response I've ever seen her have to any situation! First she put it in her mouth (???), then begged me to fix it, and then realized she never wanted to see it again and threw it in the trash. No other toy could've possibly remedied the situation, so I told her we could get her a new frog tomorrow, at which point she forced us to put on our shoes and dragged us to the car, insisting we go to the store NOW. We decided it would be more fun to go shopping than stay home mourning the loss of froggy, so off we went.

It turns out they toy store did not carry the kind of frog she had, but instead of telling her that, I searched for ANY frog they carried and when I found one said "Aurora, is this your froggy?" to which she responded "YEAH! THAT'S MY FROGGY!!!" - Whew, what a relief! It's NOTHING like her froggy, but wow does she love it. Seriously, everyday since then she's insisted it go with her everywhere we go. She even sleeps with it.

If only her froggy could eat the mosquitoes in our neighborhood. On the 4th of July Aurora got so many mosquito bites I just couldn't believe it. Normally the mosquitoes go for me, but I didn't get one bite, which is why I didn't even notice it was happening! Look at these sad little legs...

I got some calamine lotion and let me tell you, Aurora LOVES the extra attention this gives her. I'm pretty sure she's going to continue asking for it twice a day even after her bites are completely healed, and the first time I don't put any on her she'll probably have a meltdown. They're almost gone now and I got some mosquito repellant in the hopes that it won't happen again. We don't go out too much in this crazy heat, but perhaps this weekend we'll test it out!

Watching the Tour

While I don't know much about cycling, one of the perks of working for LIVESTRONG is watching the Tour de France with a bunch of friends who do.

Saturday morning we kicked off the Tour with yellow chalk and breakfast tacos. Aurora didn't last long after we went inside to actually watch, but she had fun chalking and even ended up on the news, which was pretty exciting.

This morning we had another fun viewing party at work. We all wore matching shirts and ate crepes. Not a bad way to start the day!

I may not know much about cycling, but I do know that I'm lucky to work for a very cool place with a seriously kick ass founder. Go Lance!!!

Fireworks

Not much is on the agenda this weekend, which is pretty nice. Today we had lunch at the Iguana Grill on Lake Travis and it was just a gorgeous day.

Then we decorated with sidewalk chalk before setting off some pretty tame fireworks in our driveway...

Chuck was nervous that we were going to burn our house down (and rightfully so). Aurora loved it and kept asking for "more fire" and saying cute things like "we making fireworks!!!" Clearly she doesn't take after him COMPLETELY!

Tonight we'll just watch TV and check out the neighborhood fireworks from our balcony before heading off to bed. We just bought a new mattress and it was delivered today, so unless the fireworks keep going all night long, I think we'll all sleep well tonight. Happy 4th of July!!!

At the Movies

This weekend we took Aurora to see Toy Story 3. We went to a 10am showing full of little kids and she LOVED it. We have the first Toy Story on DVD so she's already a fan of Buzz & Woody, which was probably pretty obvious to anybody who was sitting near us. There were at least four times during the movie when she just randomly looked up at me and said (loudly) "We're watching Buzz & Woody, Mommy!" - and whenever the crowd would laugh, Aurora would say "That was funny!!!". I wish I could've gotten a better picture but hey, it was dark.

One of the things that kept her occupied and in her seat was the popcorn. I have to say, we went to an early showing at our cheapest theater, Aurora was free, and thanks to a frequent watcher card that we probably haven't used in 3-years, we also got a free large popcorn and soda! That's $10 total for 2 hours of joy. Amazing.

Tonight Chuck and I went to see an advance showing of "The Last Airbender," which was reserved just for my coworkers at the Alamo Drafthouse. After we'd already RSVP'ed and lined up our babysitter, a friend offered me a ticket to an advance screening of Eclipse, which I really want to see - but I turned it down. It was the right choice. We had a really nice date night with dinner and friends, and I can see Eclipse another time. Now that I know how good Aurora is at the movies, maybe I'll just take her with me!!!

Bounce!

Well, it was another busy week at work, and so far it's been another very nice weekend. Today we had fun at Molly & Abby's 2nd birthday party...

Aurora worked up a sweat bouncing and playing with the McMillan clan, and we would've loved to stay longer, but as soon as the clock hit 1pm it became pretty obvious that it was past nap time.

I must say, I don't remember going to that many birthday parties when I was younger, but I'm not sure I ever stepped foot into a bounce house. I think when I was little skating rinks and slumber parties were the way to go. Of course, I don't exactly have many memories of being two... hopefully when Aurora's a little older, skating rinks and slumber parties will still be cool! For now, bouncing is pretty awesome.

A Happy Father's Day

We really did have a happy day. I guess I'll start from the beginning and say that Chuck's Father's Day sort of came early, when the small start-up video game company he's been working for was acquired by zynga, a very successful and well-known company. It's been an exciting month for him, and I think he was finally able to step back and enjoy a stress-free weekend.

This morning we decided to take Aurora out on the lake in a canoe, which ultimately was probably more fun for us than her! It was a short trip, but so nice.

Tonight I made lobster and salmon with potatoes, asparagus, and red wine. Chuck could've chosen a restaurant or a night out, but he wanted dinner at home, and I don't think it disappointed!

I asked Aurora what her favorite things about her daddy are, and she said that he brings her milk and sings the ABC's. My favorite things about MY daddy are that he's confident, he tells it like it is, and has a great sense of humor. My favorite things about my Grandpa Sandler are his wonderful attitude and outlook on life and his sincere love of our family. I hope each of them, and all the great dads in our lives - Steve, Andrew, Chuck Sr., Julian, our friends and family, all had a happy Father's Day too!

Weekend!

I've had such a busy week that I hardly had time to keep up with reading my favorite blogs, let alone posting one, but I think that's a good thing. I had friends over Monday night, my workload was a little crazy, and all in all it was a good week. No sickness, no sadness, just busy.

So, I thought I'd just check-in and post a couple of pictures that I absolutely love from last weekend. We had breakfast at Kirbey Lane and Aurora was in a great mood, but she didn't want to sit in her seat. She also couldn't resist sinking her teeth into the coffee creamers - as if they were little milk shots made just for her.

And she couldn't stop hugging me!!! Hugging, tackling, tickling, kissing, giggling...

Here's hoping this weekend is just as sweet, and next week isn't QUITE as hectic!

Kiss my nose?

This week we took a sick day for the first time in a long time. Aurora had trouble sleeping on Tuesday and Wednesday nights and I suspected that she might have a sore throat. The first time she woke up coughing and miserable, I asked if mommy could kiss anything to make it feel better and she said "my nose?". I kissed her nose and she said "thanks!" and went back to sleep, no problem.

The next day we had a similar conversation and she asked me to kiss her tongue, which I did. Then she came down with a 101.6 fever and was sent home from school - and her teacher told me that one of her friends was diagnosed with strep throat. Fortunately for all of us, her fever went away quickly, her cough and throat seem to have improved, and I have not caught whatever it was.

We made the best of our time off - slept in, stayed in our pajamas all morning, worked puzzles and played silly games. Chuck and I split up the day, as usual, and I hear they spent the afternoon watching movies.

I was going to say that mommy's kisses are the best medicine, but considering she got sicker after the kisses, that may not be entirely true. Of course, if you asked Aurora she'd tell you they are - so I intend to continue to kiss whatever ails her.

Splash Days

This week they started having splash days at daycare. Splash days are for the groups who are too young for swim because they aren't potty trained yet, and it's basically a chance for the kids to run through the sprinkler and play water games. Aurora's class has the earliest splash time, so they asked that we send her to school already wearing her swimsuit. I bought her a little terry cloth cover up, and it makes me happy that I get to send her off looking like this twice a week:

Here she is playing in the sprinkler in our yard a couple weekends ago. I love this swimsuit and I'm sure she looks just as cute (and happy) during splash days at school. I also think she's like an inch taller since this picture was taken...

New sunglasses

Today Aurora got some new shades so that she could be like mommy. She likes to put them on her head when we're inside, too. So stylish.

I took a picture of Aurora with daddy too. I have a cute family.
And, as requested by Susanna, a picture of the birthday cake AFTER it was cut! I think having her own piece of cake was a little overwhelming...

All in all, another fine weekend at the Wadey house.