Blah

Not much to update you on today. I woke up sick Friday morning and have been feeling pretty miserable the last few days. It's basically a cold and I'm getting better, but it was not the most fun weekend of all time. Aurora went to bed sick on Thursday night, and she definitely had her cranky moments this weekend so I don't think she was feeling 100% either. As bad as we felt, I feel the worst for Chuck for having to put up with us all weekend!!!

We had a few plans that just didn't happen, but made the best of it and still enjoyed eating out and spending time together. Here's hoping for less blah tomorrow and a better week to come!

They wear cute hats.

The Splits

Making the split from the Fish room to the Zebras was actually a bigger change than I expected. The kids don't bring sippy cups anymore, they use real cups! We no longer get daily reports telling us what they did, now we get a weekly schedule telling us what they'll be learning. Instead of just doing art projects, Aurora's starting to do worksheets, tracing letters and numbers and matching. And possibly the biggest change is that they're going out to the big playground instead of the baby playground!

She's definitely happy and loves her friends and teachers, but it's been an adjustment. She's been extremely energetic and emotional in the evenings, which I think is a result of being overtired.

Back to school has affected more than just Aurora's schedule. Our light summer traffic is gone and my week has been completely absorbed with getting our new fall interns lined up. Soon the days will be getting shorter, the weather will be getting cooler, and another year will come to an end! But, I'm getting ahead of myself. I called this post the splits, and I meant it...

My Favorite Part

This weekend flew by, which is pretty incredible considering it was 3-day weekend for me and Aurora. It started with some shopping and a trip to a new bouncy house, and just got better from there.

Yesterday evening just as the weather was cooling down, we went to the Hill Country Galleria for some ice cream and live music. There were kids running around everywhere, which meant it really was fun for the whole family. On the way home, we had a conversation that went something like this:

Aurora: We had a fun night! Mommy, what was your favorite part? Was it the music?

Me: Yes!

Aurora: Daddy, what was your favorite part? Was it the ice cream?

Chuck: Yeah.

Me: Definitely - Aurora what was your favorite part?

Aurora: Running around!!!

She sure has us figured out. 

Today we went to a waterfront park for a couple of hours and hung out with friends. We played in the dirt, hula-hooped, and enjoyed the last of our long weekend.

I'm not sure exactly which part of the weekend was actually my favorite part. I guess it was a combination of everything! Spending time with these two does make me happy...

Farewell Fish

After a couple of very busy weeks (and months) at work, things seem to be calming down and it couldn't come at a better time. Today Aurora's class had a 'Farewell Fish' party and parents were invited! I couldn't help it - I just had to leave work early and help her celebrate and say goodbye to her teachers and friends. Not that she's going far, but it's still a big deal - she's moving up from a toddler to a "young pre-school" class. How did that happen!?

When I arrived, they were taking group photos of the Fish and Zebra classes together. I think Aurora noticed me:

The kids got goodie bags, snacks, and some cool party favors:

It turns out Aurora is going to be separated from Seth and Adelina, who are both going to the Dolphin room. She'll still be with her friends Alex and Presley (above) as well as several new friends.

Tomorrow's a teacher workshop day, and I'm actually taking Aurora to work with me to help lead a tour for a group of cancer survivors. We'll also shop at Costco and stop at the library. It should be a nice long weekend with my girl!

The Library

Lately it has been too hot to take walks, too hot to go to the park, and too boring to go straight home after work and school. So, at least once a week we've been going to the library.

To me, the funniest thing is always what Aurora says when we first walk in. I mean, until we get back to the kid's area, we're supposed to be quiet, but as soon as we walk in the door Aurora says something silly like "Ooooh, it's cold in here!". Once she said "The lie-berry is not scary, the lie-berry is FUN!". Everybody whole heartedly agreed with that statement. Anyway, our library has a great kid's area and she just loves it.

I've decided to start borrowing kid's movies from the library, too. Aurora's been asking for Shrek and Buzz & Woody lately, and I think she might be ready for some classics like Mary Poppins and the Wizard of Oz. We also like to check out CD's and do puzzles. But, mostly she's into the books. She loves reading at school, at home, in the car, anywhere really. A few weekends ago I tried taking her to see some live kid's music, and she insisted on reading the whole time...

Ahhh well, I tried! Guess we'll just have to stick with the library.

My Favorite Fish

One of my favorite things to do is to ask Aurora about her favorite part of the day. Of course, I love when she says spending time with her mommy, but when I pick her up from school she almost always answers "FRIENDS!"

It's amazing to think that Aurora's been with the same sweet kids since she was just a few months old. This month they're moving up a class, and it looks like the core group will be staying together. Apparently Seth is sort of obsessed with Aurora right now - all he says all day is "Rora" this and "Rora" that - his mom told me that it continues into the evening and sometimes he even calls HER Rora!

Today I decided to take a couple of pictures of Aurora's best friends in the Fish, soon to be Zebra class. Sometimes when I go to pick her up, I ask if she's ready to go and she says "NO!" and frantically plays as much possible while I gather her things.

My favorite part of the day might be seeing the smile on her face the first time she notices I've walked in the room. Or, it might be getting notes and hearing stories about the day from her teachers. This one really cracked me up... Robin left this on her art project last week. It was written with such pride! If I'm being totally honest, instead of just laughing when I read it, I'm pretty sure I said something like "Yeah, we've been practicing with stickers at home. Aurora's pretty creative."

Birthday Blogger

This weekend we celebrated two more Birthdays. Aurora gets so excited just knowing that we're going to a birthday party - whether we're picking out presents or getting dressed up, she couldn't be happier. She starts singing happy birthday in the car, and talks about how she wants to wear a birthday hat on her head and eat birthday cake in her mouth (while pointing to her head and mouth). She always knows whose birthday it is and is thrilled when she sees them.

It occurred to me that all the birthdays we've celebrated have been our friends and their kids... we haven't even started going to Aurora's school friend's parties! If I wanted I'm pretty sure I could eventually just become a children's birthday blogger, as every party is so much fun and has something special that stands out.

Here's one of my favorite pictures from Larkin's Mickey Mouse party (yes, Mickey even made an appearance, and no, there are no photos of Aurora and Mickey together):

Atticus had a relaxing party in the park:

Happy 2nd Birthday Larkin & Atticus! Thanks for inviting us to your fun parties!

Eat your vegetables

Last year we decided to buy a Costco membership, and it's been pretty great. We do spend a lot when we shop there, but I have to tell you, the savings on diapers and wipes alone makes it worth it! We also buy all our paper products, detergent, milk, fish, eggs, snacks, and all sorts of frozen foods there, all for pretty good deals.

The main thing I struggle with buying at Costco are vegetables. I mean, I can go through the huge box of spinach pretty easy when I'm using it in recipes, but we like variety and I can't get all my veggies in bulk. This week we had the opportunity to sign up to have local, organic, farm fresh vegetables delivered directly to work. Today was our first delivery, and I was not disappointed. The coolest thing about it is that I don't choose what I get - they just fill a box with whatever's in season. Look at these beautiful veggies!

Combine this with all the staples I picked up last weekend and it'll be easy to come up with interesting and healthy meals.

Our last trip to Costco was actually pretty silly. We checked out and were getting ready to leave, but instead of walking out with us, Aurora just sat right down at a table and said "I want pizza!" I guess after a full year of membership, she has this placed figured out.

Here's hoping she'll like the vegetables as much as she liked that pizza. (not likely).

33 and 3

This weekend was filled with birthday fun as we celebrated Chuck turning 33, and our friend's son JJ turning 3. Yesterday was a hot day and we spent the entire afternoon in a swimming pool. Aurora had a great time trying out various floaties, pouring water on my head, eating cake and ice cream, and playing with friends.

For daddy's birthday we baked and decorated a cake together, shopped for presents, and painted wrapping paper too! Aurora got him Avatar on Blu-ray, I got him a graphic novel, and he got cards from his mom, my mom, Bernice & Grandpa. And in case you can't see it, there are 6 candles here... 3 and 3 for 33.

He also got some free time in the morning and sushi for dinner. Not bad!

Last weekend was Grandma Nancy's birthday - I wish we could've been there to celebrate. Hopefully we'll be able to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas in Arizona this year. I did just book our tickets to Florida, which will happen next month on my birthday. Until then, I'll just enjoy my last couple of months being 33 with my 33 year old husband and our sweet girl (who will be 3 before we know it).

Hanging out with Aurora

It was a nice, relaxing weekend here at the Wadey house. Friday was awesome, Saturday was fun, and Sunday I hung out with Aurora in the morning before heading out for a date night with Chuck. To top it off, Monday we had my girlfriends over to watch the Bachelorette, and I think it's the most funny and involved Aurora has been yet.

There are so many highlights that I'd love to share, but two that are especially noteworthy from last night are 1) the fake laugh that Aurora would use every time the group started to laugh at humor that was clearly over her head, and 2) the way she very politely asked me for more ice cream, and when I told her it was all gone, she immediately turned to her daddy and politely asked him for more ice cream! I was shocked!!!

I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that every single day she says or does something that surprises me. Her language skills are growing by leaps and bounds and it's amazing to watch her little personality develop. She has very specific ways to behave and interact at school, with us, with a babysitter, and with friends around. She's understanding relationships, expressing emotions, and turning into such a fun big girl. Pretty soon my friends will only want to hang out with me if Aurora can come too!

Business & Silliness

It has been hectic around here. We're refinancing our home, which takes a lot of time and energy. It's been busy at work, and with Chuck's job transition, outside projects, and an active toddler, some days I'm amazed we get dinner on the table! But, somehow we do, and we manage to have a pretty silly life throughout it all.

As much fun as we have, some days I am exhausted! So, tomorrow I'm taking a day off from everything. Well, until bath time rolls around again... who would want to miss this???

Bumper Bowling

This morning we did something I've wanted to do with Aurora for awhile now... we went bowling!!! Chuck wasn't sure she was ready for bowling yet, but he didn't know that you could use bumpers AND rails! Truthfully, I didn't know either. Our friends Bethany & Matt live near this great bowling alley and invited us to join them and their two boys for breakfast and bowling. How fun and easy could it be?

It was SO easy that Aurora almost won! She came in second place and nearly broke 100. On the 7th frame she got a strike by pushing the ball down the rails sideways with her eyes closed. Bragger!

She was also a great cheerleader, clapping for everybody and jumping around with Orion, who was amazingly happy and fun to bowl with. When it was Aurora's turn, she'd pick up the ball and say "oh, this is heavy!" in a silly deep voice. Another fun family activity for a hot summer weekend.