Shower

Today was the big day - our baby brother, big sister shower! It didn't start out quite as expected, as close to half of our guests (almost all of Aurora's little friends) canceled last minute. I was starting to get a little down, until the decorations went up and my friends started to arrive. The truth is, the smaller group was probably better. We all had a chance to talk and catch up, and Aurora got to play with her good friend Melody, which was so much fun. Carmen baked cupcakes, Amelia brought delicious food, and Aurora still got to open tons of presents - both for her and the baby!

Nicolette, Carmen, Anne & Me

Melody & Aurora

Party games!

Tracey, Amelia, Daniela & Me

The party games included a nursery rhyme quiz, figuring out the names of baby animals, baby present bingo, and a very cute game of guess baby brother's middle name:

If you can enlarge and read this, you'll see that his name has indeed been revealed - it's Clark Wadey! While we do have a middle name picked out, we loved seeing all the names people came up with. I'd totally consider calling him Clark Kent. I mean, we already have a princess, now we'll have a super hero too, right? Also submitted were Jacob and Edward (hmmmm) along with Charles and Steven - all solid choices! If you have a guess, just put it in the comments below.

Along with all the diapers, toys, outfits, swaddlers and other essentials, we had several gifts sent from family who don't live nearby, including the car seat and some books from Grandma Nancy, a bouncy seat from my Aunt Susanna, and this little bather from my Mom. We put them together after the guests left, then Aurora spent the evening letting her babies try them out:

Everyone was so generous and I for one feel very blessed to have so many good friends - even those who couldn't make it. Aurora and Clark are two lucky kiddos!

4th of July

I hope you all had a nice Wednesday off! Ours started out with a neighborhood parade. Aurora told me that they'd had a parade at school and asked if we could go to a real parade to celebrate the 4th of July. I guess every neighborhood has some sort of parade, though I can't recall going to many in my life. Nothing was advertised nearby, but I remembered reading about the Lakeway parade last year, which seemed pretty cool and is only about 15 minutes away. This year their website reported they'd have two F18's and an army helicopter flying overhead, so it was a clear choice - and it did not disappoint. Parking was easy, the route wasn't crowded, and we were able to find a nice shady spot for our picnic breakfast before the festivities began. A girl came by early on and gave Aurora a little backpack for all her candy. Candy? Yes, candy. I swear she got more loot than at Halloween!!!

That evening we let Aurora stay up late to watch fireworks from our balcony. We could see several shows in the distance, including Lake Austin and downtown, and we also got to watch a pretty awesome moonrise. Aurora was in some sort of over-tired, overly-excited stupor and spent about 45 minutes babbling about how crazy it would be if there were fireworks on the moon and aliens on the dark side of the moon, and if the fireworks were "this far" (about one foot) from our balcony they'd be so big and would burn us, but one day she wants to go downtown to watch fireworks, and next year she wants a firecracker gun of her own. Next year our family might look a little different, but I'm pretty sure we'll be viewing fireworks from our balcony again and she probably won't get a firecracker gun.

3D Baby

This morning we went in for our first sonogram in quite some time. They determined that baby boy is head down and the thing that keeps poking out at the top right of my belly is his butt. His heart rate was 139 and he weighs about 5 lbs 15 oz. His position was great and he wasn't squirming around, so she offered to switch to 3D. Parents often opt for 3D sonography earlier on and pay extra for it, which is not something I've ever been too interested in. In fact, I usually think the 3D images are creepy - but it was really cool and we got this neat picture of his adorable little nose and mouth!

I asked Aurora last week if she thought baby brother would look like her, mommy, daddy, or just like himself. She replied "uhhhhm, Uncle Julian." While I suppose that isn't out of the question, I'd say that's a Chuck nose if I've ever seen one. What do you think?!

35 Weeks

Just about 5 weeks to go and this little guy is still moving around all the time, putting pressure on my bladder and sciatic nerve, and even working on opening my hips. People who have known me for years tell me how big I am, while moms I don't know at all keep telling me how little I am. I guess it depends on your perspective whether I'm tiny or huge, but I certainly feel pregnant.

Today was very full with swim lessons, shopping, a play date, and an evening at the Hill Country Galleria where they had music, bounce houses, and a petting zoo to celebrate the 4th of July.

These days just walking around is exhausting. I imagine having 2 kids will be even more exhausting, so I should probably just get used to it. Of course, this sweet little girl is ready to pitch in and help. As you can see, she loves babies! She also loves sticking out her belly and posing... 

Melody

Aurora has two friends named Melody. Both are 4 years old and both recently went to go stay with their grandparents in Houston. One Melody is in her class at school AND in her swim class:

The other Melody is my friend Anne's daughter. We took the girls to see Brave today in 3D:

Aurora was more brave in the movie theatre than she was in swim class, but she certainly had fun playing with both friends this weekend (and clearly enjoyed her first 3D movie experience!). Temps are already in the 100's here so I was happy to have a few good indoor activities on the calendar...

Wordless Wednesday

You Rock, Dad!

On Friday Aurora brought home a gift she'd made for Chuck. When he came home she shouted "Daddy! I made you something at school! It's a..." Me: "Aurora, don't tell him what it is!" Aurora: "Okay, I won't tell you what it is, but (whispering) it will keep your papers from blowing away in the wind." Miss Brittany told me that it was painted yellow because "that's Mommy's favorite color." Obviously, Aurora's got this whole Father's Day thing figured out.

We baked cookies, took Chuck out to a nice lunch, went to the movies (Madagascar 3), and took a long nap. We should've also called our dads and sent cards in the mail. If only we could share the cookies (and hugs) with all the dads in our lives. Happy Father's Day... we love you and you all ROCK!!!

B is for Baby Boy...

And Big Sister! In just a few short weeks my friend Amelia is throwing our family a baby shower to celebrate both. The invite was sent out via facebook but I wanted to post it here as well. If you're a loyal blog follower and would like to come, you're invited! Please just RSVP here.

Grandma Nancy already bought us a new car seat (thank you!!!), and we have tons of clothes thanks to friends with little boys and stuff we saved from when Aurora was a baby, so we've just registered for diapers, wipes, and a few essentials we didn't have or save from our first baby. I'm mostly just looking forward to having everybody over for a party! 

Lessons

This weekend we took Aurora to her first swim lesson at Nitro, a huge new indoor pool facility not far from our house. They have a pretty cool system where kids start at level 1, then depending on skill can move up at their own pace.

In order to pass level 1, kids have to put their heads and ears underwater for 5 seconds. She liked wearing goggles, but in general this was scary and really not so fun for our girl. Her instructor said she was brave and I think next week she'll be at level 2. They just started doing free swim twice a week at her school too, so she'll be getting plenty of pool time.

The more fun and exciting lessons that she learned this weekend happened during our "sibling tour" of St. David's Hospital, where baby brother will be born. It was actually really cool, as we spent the majority of our time in the exact room where Aurora was born!

They showed us all around the maternity ward (including the nursery where we got to see a really cute newborn baby girl), and taught the big siblings how to diaper and swaddle. Aurora got to take home a goodie bag with a baby blanket, cap, diaper, bottle, and more. As soon as we got home she wanted to play doctor and pretended she had just had a baby...

We're 32 weeks along now so this will really be happening before we know it! Well, except for the part about Aurora having the baby. Let's give that another 20-30 years.

Not what you expected...

31 Weeks

It's June, which means baby #2 has just 2-months to go before we hit full term and our little family of three becomes a big hectic family of four. I have to say that this pregnancy has been just a little harder than I remember my first pregnancy being. Maybe it's just my memory? He moves and kicks a ton and my belly feels tighter and heavier. I'm having a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions and pressure as well as low-back pain, which makes doing yoga and even walking pretty uncomfortable. I may try a different yoga class, start using the exercise bike, or just take it easy for a few months.

I'm having a bit of frustration surrounding my bi-weekly OB appointments. Last time I had to wait a full hour before my doctor saw me, and today it took 40 minutes and me telling them that I had to leave. I think it's because we changed my appointments to Mondays, so hopefully changing the day of the week will help. Regardless, baby and I are both doing great. I've passed all my tests, my blood pressure remains low and I have no swelling. His heart rate is always in the 140's, and today my belly measured 31 cm right at 31 weeks pregnant! Perfect.

Chuck's been so helpful and Aurora really is the sweetest thing. She loves talking to my belly and continues to say things like "baby brother, I will always love you!" As much harder as I feel like this has been physically, I don't have much time to stop and take notice. Work is busy and there's never a dull moment when you have a 4-year old. This weekend was the summer reading kick-off at our local library, complete with a clown, magician, games, balloon animals, arts and crafts, and miniature horses. Here's a cute picture of Aurora with our neighbor Sydney wearing masks they decorated:

I'm so used to having a big girl that I feel like it will be a huge adjustment bringing home a newborn baby boy. I've been re-reading all my baby books and am feeling pretty confident. Still, any advice from the other parents out there would be much appreciated! 

Dance Recital

I know I promised a video, but the theater was so dark and the stage was so light that my little camera didn't really take the best video. I'd post it anyway, but it looks like next month we'll be getting a copy of the recital on DVD so I think I might just try to share it then. I will tell you that Aurora had a great time. She loved getting into costume and having Bailey do her hair.

She loved spending time with all her little friends - before, during, and after the performance. While they didn't get all the moves right, they were all so cute, confident and happy on stage.

And she was such a good girl during our special dinner afterwards with Bailey & Laura. She enjoyed spaghetti, bread, and just about all the parmesan cheese she could get out of the shaker.

Aurora kept telling us how gorgeous she felt in her costume and how surprised her dance teacher would be that her hair was in such a good bun. It's true, we don't usually spend much time on her hair! She also picked out our outfits and told Chuck he looked gorgeous (gorgeous man not pictured). All in all, a very fun day. I'm sure she'll miss dance now that the season is over, but next week we start SWIM! Two months of swim lessons before her next big extra-curricular activity begins...