Austin City Limits

I've been lucky enough to get free passes to ACL every year since working for the LAF.  Three years ago we were also offered tickets to Lollapalooza in Chicago if we could arrange our own airfare and hotel, and while that was definitely the most fun we've ever had at a music festival, today's ACL Fest came in a close second.

Of course, one of the biggest differences between then and now is... Aurora!  At first I thought we should get a babysitter, but after checking out the lineup I thought, why not just take her with us?  The weather was nice, the shuttle was totally convenient, and the whole festival was very kid friendly.  We spent the first hour or so at the covered beach area, which reminded us a little of our last vacation...

Then we headed over to the Austin Kiddie Limits stage, where there were activities, snacks, drums, and a couple pretty fun kids bands playing.  Aurora had a great time following along to the music!

Next, we braved the crowds and headed over to see Broken Bells.  We got a great spot, used our umbrella for shade, gave Aurora some stickers and coloring books and enjoyed the show.  Definitely the highlight for us grown-ups.

We wanted to hear one more band, but the acoustics were pretty bad at that stage so we headed home just in time to have a totally normal bedtime routine.  All in all, a very successful day in spite of the crowds, noise, and skipped nap!  We have 3-day passes so we could go back tomorrow, but... maybe one day was just enough.

LIVESTRONG Day

Saturday was LIVESTRONG Day and we spent the afternoon tailgating at my office; eating good food, hanging out with friends, and watching the UT/OU game. We tried to get Aurora to nap beforehand, but she wouldn't - and she should've. 

I have a fun job and a fun life, but without a nap, combining the two was exhausting! Regardless, it was a great event and we had a great time. Here's a picture with Chuck hanging out in the front on a bean bag. Notice Aurora climbing all over him. I don't think she ever stopped moving.

Thank goodness my friends were there to play with our energetic girl. Kinzee colored with her, Laura sidewalk chalked with her, and Bailey...

Potty Training

Here's a topic you knew was coming... hopefully you're prepared to hear a lot about it in the coming weeks. 

I think Aurora's ready to start potty training. Lately when I go to the bathroom she says "Mommy, did you go pee pee in the potty!?" I answer "YES!" and she enthusiastically praises me: "Good job, I'm so proud of you!". When I'm changing her diaper, she'll often get sad and say "I don't like pee pee and poo poo! Pee pee and poo poo go in the potty!" So... she gets it. She's had a little potty for probably a year now, which she has no problem sitting on. What she doesn't understand is how to tell when she has to go. So, tonight we just took the leap to wearing undies. She was SO excited to wear her undies - she clearly thought it was the coolest thing in the world. 

She sat on the potty for a few minutes and said she peed (she didn't), then we put on the undies and I said "Okay Aurora, what are you going to do when you have to go potty?" to which she replied "I'm going to have an accident!!!"... and within 2 minutes, that's exactly what she did. She peed on the floor, and it was very upsetting (to her, not me). She needed new pants and insisted on a new diaper.

I'm usually really organized and educated when it comes to this parenting stuff. I had a sleeping plan, an eating plan, and a schedule for this girl from day one. But potty training... I guess I just figured her friends at school would do it and she'd catch on and ask to do it. I mean, she's a smart kid! Perhaps if I left it alone long enough that's exactly what would happen, but I feel like I need to take the lead and now's the time. Maybe I need a book. 

Okay, maybe not this book. I'm not sure if we're ready yet, but we're going to try! Any advice?

We're back!

As much as this vacation was about relaxing, unplugging, and slowing down - it seems to me that it went by really fast!

It started out a little gloomy, but we ended up with great temperatures and plenty of perfect beach weather. We filled our days searching for sea shells, eating and hanging out with family, relaxing on the beach, playing with doll houses, recreating photos for my parents blog, swimming, reading, and generally spending more time with Aurora - TV and computer free - than we have in a long time.

I have to say, this girl is getting really silly. Right at the beginning of the trip, she decided that she was the mommy and I was her baby, and she pretty much stuck with that the whole time. Honestly, I could go on and on with goofy stories, but instead I think I'll just show you some of my favorite pictures and call it a night...

Ready for a vacation

To say these last few weeks and months have been hectic would be an understatement, and I think we're all feeling like we could use a vacation. As luck would have it, we'll be heading out on our annual birthday-weekend Florida trip TOMORROW! Yes, we'll be leaving all of this behind...

... for, well, potentially more of the same? This week we've just had day after day of torrential downpour, and while my mom swears it's gorgeous in Florida, the 10-day forecast tells me Fort Lauderdale has a 50% chance of rain and t-storms pretty much everyday. I guess the weather is secondary to the lovely beachfront hotel, time with my parents and grandparents, and almost 5 days without a computer. I'm sort of addicted to my laptop, so leaving it behind for a few days will be a very good thing.

While Aurora's been on several flights, this is the first time she's old enough to really understand what's happening. She's SO excited about the airplane, she's happy about the beach and her new "Florida outfits," and she can't wait to see Gramma and Grampa! I guess we'd better start packing.

Too cute for words

Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo

Today we attended our first princess dress-up birthday party. We did go shopping for an appropriate costume, but Aurora wasn't even mildly interested in the dresses. She does love tutus and wings, so we decided she'd be a fairy. Well, at first she was a dragonfly, but it was pretty easy to convince her she was Tinkerbell.

She had a great time playing, eating cupcakes, and playing some more. There were some boys dressed as super heros, so it wasn't ALL princesses...

But it was mostly princesses! She actually didn't seem to be paying much attention to the other girl's outfits, but she loved her party favors and wanted to read (and sleep with) her Cinderella book tonight. I'm sure this won't be her last princess party, but I'm not entirely convinced she'll get sucked into it...

Of course, if she decides her 3rd birthday party needs to be princess themed, we will make it so. And we'll be sure to invite Aly and her sister!

Happy Hour

Last night we were invited to Happy Hour at Lance's house. It was employee + spouse only, so in order to attend we had to get a babysitter, which is not easy to find for 5pm on a Monday. I decided to ask Aurora's teacher Katie if she could just take Aurora home after school, and she said yes! So, we dropped off the car seat and garage clicker and carpooled to work.

By 5pm we were sipping margaritas in Lance's backyard... and at 5:30pm we got a call from Katie saying that the garage clicker wasn't working. It was working when we left the house, but I accidentally dropped it in the parking lot when we were heading in to daycare. Turns out Chuck had removed the spare key from under the mat, so they were indeed locked out. It was pretty hot outside, so Katie asked if she could take Aurora somewhere. I suggested Chick-fil-A, which was a great solution - dinner and a play area that Aurora loves.

They actually stayed there for over an hour and a half, but we still left the party a little early so that we could get Aurora in the house and off to bed at her usual time. We did have enough time to grab some food, chat with friends, and play peek-a-boo with Max Armstrong before taking off, which made for a pretty good evening.

Chuck, Amber, Kim and Kristal

This is potentially the only photo taken the whole time - nobody else was taking pictures, but I had to get one shot in for the blog, right?

Food and Entertainment

Yesterday we went out for breakfast and dinner, and Aurora found ways to be exceedingly silly during both.

First, she bit a little hole in a tortilla started telling us "say cheese!", pretending it was a camera. As soon as she bit the second hole, she was Swiper from Dora. She insisted I say "Swiper no swiping, Swiper no swiping, Swiper NO swiping!" so that she could respond with her best "Oh, Maaaan!"

Here's Aurora:

And here's Swiper:

At dinner she tried to clean my head with the cloth napkin, as if we were in the bathtub. The napkin soon became a head scarf and she said "I'm LISA!!!" I knew at once she was Lisa from Corduroy, as I read that book pretty much everyday.

Here's Aurora:

And here's Lisa:

Not EXACTLY photo recreations like my mom has on her blog, but pretty close! We should probably just make her sit and eat nicely when we go out, but for the most part, I must say I enjoy the entertainment she brings to the table.

eBay

I've been having trouble thinking of things to blog about this week - partly because I've already posted so much about Aurora's school that I figure you might be getting tired of hearing about that, and partly because I've been busy doing other things online - buying and selling on eBay!

I'd been taking a break from eBay pretty much all year, but in the last few weeks I've had co-workers asking me if I could sell their designer jeans, bags, shirts, etc. I wanted to post Aurora's Halloween costume from last year anyway, so I figured why not? Now I'm suddenly going through one of my phases where I just walk around the house digging around in closets looking for more to sell... hey, getting bids on your auction is exciting!

Here's the adorable costume I'm selling from last year. Aurora still can't sit through the Wizard of Oz, but "Over the Rainbow" is absolutely her favorite song.

And here's what I bought her for Halloween this year. The great thing about eBay is that you have tons of selection, and sometimes people throw in extras. I got her a costume and 2 outfits for a great price!

These arrived on our doorstep yesterday and I think the black pants are my favorite. Aurora saw the tiger and got SO excited. She said "Is that my TIGER?!? I want to wear my TIGER!!!"and then gave me some pretty weak little "rawr"s. We'll have to practice her ROAR's between now and Halloween!

A is for...

This week was all about the letter A. Aurora actually learned how to write an A all by herself (thought it looks a little like an H), and on Friday her class had an "A" show and tell day. Of course, we sent her to school dressed accordingly...

A is also for Autumn! Okay, so it won't be autumn for a few more weeks, but it is September and we've had a few days with slightly cooler temps and rain, which is why Aurora's wearing her cool boots in this picture.

A is for Antibiotics and Advil, which I am now taking - thanks to last week's cold becoming a sinus infection. I've had a pretty miserable week and weekend, but hopefully the antibiotics will kick it soon.

And, A is for Activities. Aurora misses her friends and all their school activities over the weekends, so even with my sinus infection, we've been making time to get out for family fun. Here we are enjoying some music at the Hill Country Galleria, after a day of shopping.

As far as long weekends go, this one probably won't make the list as best or most memorable, but that's okay. Friday we snuck a half day from work while Aurora was in school and went to the movies, which was really nice. What will we do with our Monday off... who knows? I'm sure we'll find something Awesome.

Boo boo

Monday I picked up Aurora from school and she had a band aid across her face. I don't think you can tell from this picture, but it was basically covering scratches that covered her whole cheek!

The crazy thing is, Aurora really seemed happy about it. I asked her how she got her boo boo, and she said "Running and jumping and playing!" I guess the big kid playground is just very exciting and has some great sloping areas to run up and down. Her teacher said she didn't cry or tell anybody, they just noticed it, cleaned her up and gave her a band aid.

The funniest thing was the next morning when she first saw her face in the mirror, after the band aid was gone and it had scabbed up, she said "Oh no! My boo boo hurts!" It didn't hurt. Now it's almost gone (if only she'd stop scratching the scabs). Little kids seriously have bionic healing powers.

I wanted to show you her face, but decided I'd just take a picture of her showing off a little art project that they posted on the wall and holding a worksheet. These days when I ask her about her favorite part of the day, she doesn't just say "Friends" anymore - she says "The Zebra Class!"