Sleep

Since daylight savings time took affect, our sleep habits have been a little abnormal. Aurora's a 7pm-7am sleeper, and suddenly it's light outside when she goes to bed and dark outside when she wakes up. She's adjusted to the change pretty well, which is good because we like our schedule. But I've definitely been struggling to wake up, especially considering I've been staying up later than usual lately - either hanging out with friends or reading until midnight. I should really go to bed earlier.

Regardless, Aurora's a great sleeper. Every night I go in to check on her, just to make sure that she's comfortable, breathing, safe. Most nights she looks so sweet and peaceful, but every once in awhile I find her tangled up in her blanket, snuggling her stuffies, or laying in the most random positions and I can't help but to go get my camera!

Naps are another story. On weekends I put Aurora in her crib around Noon for a nap, and sometimes she falls right to sleep, but other times she spends an hour or longer talking, jumping, singing, kicking and crying. She usually does sleep for a good hour or two, but on occasion we have places to go and she ends up without a nap, which isn't as tragic as you'd think... it doesn't make her super cranky, but she does get a little tired later in the afternoon. I took this picture a couple weeks ago at Emmie's cancer-free party. Aurora hadn't slept and decided to try napping in the dog bed...

I am exhausted tonight and heading to bed EARLY. I actually have a backlog of cute pics and topics to blog about, but sleep was on my mind, so here you have it... sleep well!

My life is a circus

Or at least it can feel that way some days! Friday and Saturday were two of those days. Friday was a hectic end to a busy week at work, and Saturday I had a lot to accomplish. We dropped my car off at 7am to get its state inspection and oil changed, and ended up also having brake pads replaced and transmission fluid changed, which took all day. So, with one car we headed out to breakfast, went shopping at Target, played at the park, then went to daycare for their circus-themed open house.

It was nice to see Aurora's friends and teachers while getting to play, color, and have fun at school on a weekend.

I'll admit that Aurora was a little confused by the whole situation. I'm pretty sure she thought that if we put her down, we'd leave her there - and she did not want to be left at school on a weekend with a clown in the hallway! But she had a good time.

After about an hour we went home, took a nap, then headed up north to find some computer parts for Chuck at Fry's (after stopping at RadioShack and Best Buy with no luck), then went to Half Price Books before heading back to pick up my car and get Aurora off to bed.

And THEN my evening really started! We couldn't find a babysitter, so I left Chuck at home and headed out to my friend's house for a karaoke party. It was SO much fun, but boy did I stay out past my bedtime, especially considering that my day starts at 6:30am no matter how late I go to bed.

After going going going, today was the first day that actually felt like a real day off in a long time. I may not have been able to sleep in, but we all stayed in our pajamas and did absolutely nothing all morning. Well, we watched a movie and I planned Aurora's 2nd birthday party, but all from the comfort of my couch, in my pj's, with my coffee. Then we took a long nap. It was amazingly relaxing. I think we all need a lazy day off every once in awhile, but once you become a parent those days are few and far between!

Little Baby

Today Mona and I went to visit Jennifer and her sweet 5-week old baby.

Layne is SUCH a beautiful girl, and it was great talking to Jenn about having baby #2. But it didn't make me want another. I mean, I think we'll want another eventually... it was nice holding a baby, and I'd like Aurora to grow up with a sibling!

But I'm not ready to do this again. This afternoon Aurora and I were talking to a mom with a little baby at daycare, and I asked Aurora if she's a big kid. She said "No, Aurora is a little baby." I kind of still feel the same way... except, she is looking (and acting) more and more like a big kid every day!

I'm not sure where she gets it...

Aurora is a very silly girl.

She's creative and loves to draw and paint.

She's incredibly helpful and likes place mats.

Just a sweet girl who loves to laugh and have fun!

The Mall

After a week of lovely sunshine, today was cold and windy - perfect for going to the mall. Aurora and I met up with our friend Laura for some lunch and shopping and had a wonderful time!

As soon as we started up the escalator, Aurora noticed the easter bunny and from then on, all she really wanted to do was see him. So we did! Honestly, I don't even know when easter is, but there wasn't much of a line and the bunny was very friendly...

Aurora gave the easter bunny "five," hugged him, and did a great job sitting for the picture. She waved at the camera and gave a few shy smiles with very little coaxing.

Afterwards she got a coloring book and bunny ears. It kind of looks like she doesn't like the ears here, but in reality she was just concerned about getting them to fit - she really liked having them on.

Here's a picture of our "official" photo. Don't worry Grandma Nancy... we got one for you!!!

Lucky Girl

Today Aurora wore her Lucky 4-leaf clover shirt and had an excellent St. Patrick's Day. When I picked her up from school, her whole class was playing with a bunny, which was very exciting.

I took a few pictures, and once the bunny was gone all the kids wanted to do was look at my pictures and squeal about seeing themselves and each other on the LCD screen. They always get excited when I arrive, greeting me with a sea of "Rora's Mommy! Awowa Mama!" but today with my camera I was seriously popular.

It was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon, so once we got home we headed outside to play with bubbles and sidewalk chalk. Aurora wanted to blow the bubbles herself, but quite honestly the best she could do was make a face like she was blowing bubbles...

She didn't get the concept of "blowing," but she sure had fun trying!

If we're really lucky, the weather will stay this nice for a long time.

School Pictures 4.0

Well, she's not smiling, but she's not crying either! I'm wondering if they may have taken these photos right before nap time. The one on the left really isn't bad if you ignore the one on the right... right?

She looks way more strawberry blonde here than she really is. Aurora is a blondie-blonde girl, as are all of her classmates AND her teachers. Check it out - Aurora's first CLASS PICTURE!

From left to right: Seth, Ella, Rooster, Emily, Presley, Janina, Robin. Front: Sydney and Adelina.

She does have a couple of brunette friends (and there are more boys in her class) who just weren't there that day. Regardless, she's the only one with curly hair - and I do love that Aurora's already had 4 school photos before the age of two!

Emmie's Cancer-Free!

Today we took the short walk over to Ron & Kathy's house to celebrate their dog Emmie being cancer-free. They had hot dogs, dog bone cookies, cake, and some pretty great prizes to raise money for Austin Pets Alive!

We had so much fun eating, drinking, playing with dogs, toys, and friends. We even won a raffle prize! And we're so happy for Emmie...

Taking Care of Business

Last month I was discussing vacations with a coworker, and I mentioned that Chuck and I used to take real vacations - but now the only days I take off are sick days, days when daycare is closed, and the occasional long weekend for a quick family trip. He suggested I take one personal day off per month as a "me" day. I LOVED the idea, and started planning my days off right away.

Of course, the first thing I thought of was our weekend in Houston, which technically doesn't meet the criteria. Today was my personal day off for March, and while I wouldn't call it entirely relaxing, it was just what I needed. A day all to myself to catch up on life. I went to the dentist, got our taxes done, went food shopping (which is SO much easier without the husband and kiddo), got a mani and pedi, and even took a short nap.

Proof that I got a pedicure - Aurora insisted on wearing the disposable flip-flops! I look forward to the day we can go get pedicures together.

I might end up taking two days off next month. Daycare is closed April 2nd (teacher workshop?), and of course Aurora's turning TWO in April and my mom's coming to Austin for the party!!! Perhaps I'll take an actual "me" day in May...

Flooded

This afternoon daycare called to tell us that they had some plumbing issues and the classrooms were flooded, so they had to close. They tried calling me first and left a message, then called Chuck and left a message, and then actually tried calling Daniela (who's still on file as an emergency contact) and left HER a message! They finally got a hold of Chuck, who somehow got a hold of me, and I left work a couple hours early to pick the up the little Rora Rooster. PHEW! Maybe I should keep my cell phone on me at all times. Nah.

We headed out to the mall and stopped at Chick-fil-A for dinner. She was in such a silly mood and we had a fun time shopping and eating!

Here's hoping daycare is cleaned up and open for business tomorrow...

Houston

We had a fun time in Houston! It's a big city with toll roads, traffic, and LOTS to do. We got a great deal on a room at the Four Seasons downtown and bought the Houston City Pass, which gave us access to NASA, the Children's Museum, Natural Science Museum, Aquarium, and the Zoo. We definitely made the most of it. As usual, the photos tell the story better than I could, so here ya go!

Cute and Crazy

This has been a seriously crazy week. The snow left as fast as it came, as did the pink eye. Aurora HATES the eye drops, but the amoxicillin is potentially the best thing she's ever tasted. My coworkers have also been sick and traveling all week, and tomorrow we're off on a mini-vacation ourselves! If Tuesday's weather and health concerns had happened today, I'm pretty sure we'd be canceling our plans, but as it is we should be good to go on all fronts.

We'll be heading out tomorrow morning for Houston. Aurora's traveled quite a bit in her short life... Florida, Arizona, Las Vegas, Seattle, and San Antonio. We really loved staying at the beach on our last visit to Florida, but the road trip to San Antonio was probably the easiest and most relaxing trip we've taken. Here's hoping this one's just as nice!

Before we go, I wanted to leave you with a cute video I took this afternoon.