Chocolate Cake

When we were picking out mom's birthday cake in January, dad and I both thought the pineapple upside-down cake looked awesome and I decided right then and there I'd make it for him for his birthday. The truth is, Aurora (and pretty much everybody else) probably wouldn't have liked it all that much. So, he picked out a chocolate cake instead and it was delicious! 

Happy Birthday, Dad!!! Maybe we'll have pineapple upside-down cake for my birthday...

Cutie

Can you even believe our tiny little newborn Clarkie is turning 7-months old!?

In the last month, Clark outgrew all his 6-month clothes and is wearing 9-month outfits. He's a sweet loving boy who can't get enough snuggles from his mama, naps with his daddy, laughs from his sister, smiles and silly noises from his grandpa, and walks with his grandma. He happily goes with the flow at daycare, even when his regular teachers are out sick and his schedule's off. He's drinking lots of milk and growing bigger every day, but hasn't entirely decided if he likes baby food. He sleeps from 8pm to 6am consistently, grabs anything within site and tries to put it in his mouth, but isn't a big drooler. He's SO close to crawling, but not quite there yet. Sometimes I wonder why I ever questioned if I should have a second baby, but I'm glad we waited as long as we did because we got the best kiddo we could've asked for (and the 4 year spacing is perfect). Happy 7-month birthday to our little cutie!

Blue Skies

This was the kind of weekend that makes me miss having 3-day weekends. Saturday morning we had breakfast with my dad followed by fun at the park. It was a bit cool but such a nice, clear morning.

Afterwards we headed over to our neighbor's house for their son Will's first birthday party! Aurora LOVES Will, and she was not only a guest; she was the entertainment AND she helped Will open presents and blow out candles. We all had a great time.

A few days ago we went to pajama story time at the library with Will, and many evenings after work Aurora will just run over to his house to play. Today she got to spend much of the day playing with her friend Presley. Her family picked Aurora up this morning and they all headed out to the kite festival. They had lunch at the lake (the girls had Shirley Temples), and Aurora actually got to fly a kite!

While she was gone, we dropped Clark with my parents and went out for a quiet brunch and afternoon of walking, talking, and shopping. It was so relaxing, seriously yummy, and just about the most perfect weather anybody could ask for. This evening we enjoyed one last bit of blue skies sitting outside, having dinner with my friend Daniela. If only we could have one more day like this before heading back into the work week...

Duck Feet

If you know Aurora, you know she has a flair for the dramatic. Just about everything she says is funny and every once in awhile she just makes stuff up. So, when she told me her teacher needed her to bring in her Duck Feet book, I just figured she'd been talking about it and Miss Jessica agreed to read it to the class. The next time we read it, she started telling me who was playing which role and saying which line. I laughed out loud, thinking for sure she was making it up in her head! Turns out, Aurora suggested Duck Feet for their pre-K play and all three classes put on a production of it together today. They performed it three times; once for the 2's, once for the 3's, and once for the parents (or in our case, the grandparents). Aurora had been practicing her line for weeks and it sounds like she delivered it flawlessly.

My parents couldn't believe how crowded it was. They sent me a bunch of pictures, including her shining moment, reciting the very well rehearsed line: "No other boy in town could hit a fly so far away."

In the end, the kids jump for joy because they realize they don't need duck feet, long tails or whale spouts to be happy... they are happy just being themselves. What a great play! 

Little Artist

The other day I took the kids to the park and overheard Aurora having the following conversation with a random girl who was about her age.

Aurora: When I grow up, I want to be a animal drawler.

Girl: I wanna be a animal drawler, too.

Aurora: Then we can work together!

She just got a new book which teaches her step-by-step how to draw animals, which she loves - but even before that she's been filling our wall with art. It started above her art table, moved over to this corner, and now there's art pretty much hanging on every spot of wall in the living room and play area!

In addition to animals, she can also draw a pretty awesome likeness of her daddy. I guess her cute little nose isn't the only thing she got from him...

PS: Clark's eye drops worked fast and his pinkeye is already cleared up!

Mostly Awesome

When life is just you or you and a partner, you can sort of do whatever you want whenever you want, and weekends rule. With one kiddo, you both tend to focus on the needs of the little one. With two children, nothing is ever quite that simple. There are always four separate experiences and emotions running parallel to each other and it's more likely that they just might not sync up. I mean, in general our kids fall into the very happy to slightly cranky range, which is pretty easy to manage. As an example, I'd call this bath time video a slightly happier than usual but fairly typical glimpse at our life:

Today... I guess I'd say today was exhausting, Aurora might call it totally awesome, Chuck would say it was unproductive, and little Clarkie probably had a sad day. We went to breakfast, did some shopping, then I took Aurora to an amazing "Brave" birthday party complete with horse rides and perfectly themed crafts, snacks and super creative activities. Wow!

The party ended with a nice hike down to the park, where Aurora found a friend from school to play with. I let them play while I hiked back to get the car with a group who did not actually know their way back (thank goodness for my phone's GPS!). When we got home, Clark was just waking up from a nap and his poor little eye was swollen and goopy. It was too late to take him to the doctor, but I was able to get an after hours nurse to prescribe eye drops, so it was off to the pharmacy. 

Yup, our sweet little guy has pinkeye. I don't think he was feeling sick otherwise, but it was a struggle for him to remain happy. I made dinner, got the kids to bed, and I am beat. I've been feeling pretty crummy myself lately but you know how it is. When it's just you or you and a partner, it's okay to be sick and you can just sleep and do whatever you want whenever you want. When you have one kid, you both tend to make them the priority but can switch back and forth when needed. With two... mom just can't take a sick day, especially on a weekend. As long as we don't all get pinkeye, it's all good. 

Chicken & Waffles

I wanted to spend a post talking about Chuck's weekend trip to LA. One of his best friends, Curtis, is turning 40 and his wife Brooke surprised him with a trip to LA (where we all used to live). Then she took the surprise a step further by arranging for his best friends to fly out as well, and got tickets for all the boys to see Soundgarden together at the Wiltern. Pretty cool! Here's Mike, Curt, Shane, Zach, and Chuck on concert night:

They spent the weekend staying up all night, sleeping all day, and going out to a few of their favorite restaurants. I was following along on facebook when Curt posted that they were at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, and for some reason, this vegetarian got an intense urge to eat chicken and waffles. Seriously. The truth is, I ate some turkey at Thanksgiving (it was deep fried), I had chicken noodle soup the whole time I had the stomach flu, and suddenly... I'm questioning everything. I was a vegetarian for 14 years, and this weekend, this happened.

I'm not sure what this means for the long-term. I'm not eating meat everyday or anything. I guess I'll just do what made me become a vegetarian to begin with - I'm going to eat whatever I feel like eating, and if that includes chicken every once in awhile, then I guess I'll eat chicken! Weird.

I wondered how Chuck would feel being back in LA. After all, it wasn't his idea to move away. He said the gridlock, poverty, and gas prices were all worse than he remembered, and he was glad to be home. I'm glad he was able to take a weekend off from work and life and spend some time reconnecting with old friends.

3-days

I have tomorrow off for President's Day, which means it's another 3-day weekend! Well, except Friday was sort of a non-work day for me due to Clark's fever. I mean, I did go in to work. Laura Masch came to town and I had to go see her, so I decided to bring the baby with me. Not the best idea ever as far as productivity, but I got a few things done. And this happened:

He may not look like a sick boy here, but he really hasn't been feeling well for the past 3-days. I've been giving him children's tylenol to keep the fever away, but it keeps coming back. We went to Grandma & Grandpa's house after work and of course, Clarkie was promptly placed in a snuggie.

Yesterday we got to spend a bit more time with Laura (and Tom!) at the Nature & Science Center. Aurora loves this place, and I think it's safe to say that Clark will love it, too.

Laura and Tom were in town from LA for 3-days during the Austin LIVESTRONG Marathon & Half Marathon. They weren't actually here to run, they were working as Nike models. WHAT!? I can't wait to see the finished ad campaign.

Chuck switched places with them. He's been in LA for the last 3-days having a great time with a few of his oldest friends. I haven't had the most restful nights considering our sick little guy and all, but it sounds like Chuck slept less than I did. Oh well, he's coming home in an hour and tomorrow he'll go to work, Aurora will go to school, and I'll keep Clark home for one more day of rest and recuperation. Hopefully he'll make a full recovery and the rest of the week will be back to normal.

My Heart

I have to say, Aurora makes Valentine's Day fun. She's such a loving girl, and she LOVES arts, crafts, and sweets. Yesterday we went to Krafty Kids at the library and she made a heart for her daddy.

Clark isn't quite big enough for stickers and glue, but he certainly wants to be a big boy. At the library he was putting his bottom in the air and lifting up like the little pre-crawler that he is!

Today was all about Valentine's parties. We had heart-shaped pizza, decorated Valentine's bags, and gave each other Valentine cards at work.

Of course, Aurora's class did the same! They had a little party and traded cards and treats. I especially love her bag... I don't know if you can read it, but it says "AURORA, I-LOVE-MOM." Awwww.

If you're wondering where my ACTUAL Valentine is... well, we had a coffee date this morning, then I dropped Chuck at the airport for a short trip. Just after dropping him off, I got a call that Clark had a fever and not only did I need to go get him, but he can't go to daycare tomorrow. Maybe not the best or most romantic Valentine's Day ever, but boy if my little family doesn't just make my heart happy everyday. And WOW did I eat a lot of chocolate today. Happy Valentine's Day!

Best day ever!

This evening as we were on our way home from dinner with my folks, Aurora proclaimed today was the "best day ever!" It was a little cool and rainy, but we ventured out to Peter Pan mini-golf this morning so Aurora and Presley could play putt-putt golf for the first time. In 18 holes we went from eager to learn, to frustration, to figuring out their own methods, to just plain fun. There was even a hole-in-one and Grandma & Grandpa were there to cheer!

For lunch we took the girls down the street to Phil's Ice House and Amy's Ice Cream for some burgers and fries, outdoor play, photo booth fun, and (of course) dessert.

Afterwards we picked up Clarkie for another outing. This time it was a playdate with a few of my favorite co-workers! Rebecca hosted all the new moms at her house and as you can see, that includes 6 little ones who are all just about to turn one, in addition to mine (the tallest and the smallest). It was so much fun getting our babies together for the first time.

Our next playdate is already planned - the first of the first birthday celebrations. That's right, now our weekends will include 5th birthday parties AND 1st birthday parties - and I'm pretty sure the next few weekends will include a few more "best days ever" as well.

6-Months

This has been a big week for our little boy. Not only did he celebrate his 1/2 birthday, but he also moved up to the Ladybug class at daycare! That's right, Clark graduated from the newborn room into a room full of crawlers. He loves watching all the bigger babies play, and in this new class he also loves drinking up his whole bottles (what!?) and he's going to start eating baby food for lunch!

Today we took him in for his 6-month check-up. He weighed less than I thought (closer to 18 pounds than 20) which puts him in about the 50th percentile for weight. We've already determined that he's in the 100th percentile for cuteness, and that's probably the only measurement that really matters. He did not enjoy getting his shots, but he sure loved tearing up the paper on the examination table...

At 6-months Clark is a happy little charmer with a smile for everybody (especially his mama). He's got chunky legs, lots of fuzzy hair, long eyelashes and eyebrows, a few patches of eczema, and his favorite foods are mashed bananas and applesauce. I'll let daycare feed him carrots and peas.

Wheels

Today was one of those milestone days where it seemed like both kids got just a little bit bigger. We went to breakfast and Clark sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time. He did so well that when we went to Costco I figured we could try sitting him in the shopping cart with his sister. As much as I've been waiting for this day, I can't believe my little newborn baby is already getting so big!

This afternoon my folks came over and dad built Aurora's new bike. I got it free with reward points and it's superhero themed, which Aurora loves and Clark should be pretty happy with a few years down the road. She had a little balance bike (which Clark will surely enjoy as well), but this is her first big kid bike with pedals. My brothers and I rode bikes around our neighborhood constantly. It was how we spent every afternoon, weekend, and summer - and I never even owned a helmet. But I can't help feeling overprotective and a little apprehensive about letting Aurora ride around on our street. Kids just don't play outside like they used to and our street is pretty hilly and gravely, without sidewalks or street lamps. That, and she's still so little! But it's definitely time that she learns to ride. I just can't imagine the day we take off her training wheels...