The Zoo

After a fun and busy week of school, work, running, reading, errands, and selling on eBay, we started our Labor Day weekend with a trip to the zoo.

Three day weekends are great, but for Aurora, well, she's been waiting SO long for first grade to start and she loves it SO much that a long weekend would be pure torture if we didn't find interesting ways to fill the time! Clark was just getting used to the new routine and the weekend's throwing him off a bit, but I'd say feeding the animals and taking a ride on the zoo train was good for both of them. Now, what to do for the next two days...

First Day of First Grade

Today the boys came along to send Aurora off on her first bus ride of first grade. We got there a few minutes early and it was great seeing some familiar faces. Clark got so excited when he saw the bus, he waved and said: "Bye bye Wawa, I yuv you!"

Today's also her first day doing EASY care after school at Valley View - no more CCOA! Of course, she'll be back every day as we go pick up Clark on our way home. Yes, I'll have two separate pick-ups after work now, but I'm ready. Here's hoping my brain doesn't just go on auto-pilot and forget...

Back to School

It's been such a busy week that I haven't had a chance to blog. First (and most importantly), Aurora and Clark are moving on up in school! Earlier in the week we had a Curriculum Night at CCOA and got to see Clark's new classroom. He's moving out of the infant center and into a toddler room. Starting Monday he'll be in the Starfish class with a new teacher, new toys, and a sink he can wash his own hands in. Wow!

Today CCOA was closed and Valley View was OPEN for Meet the Teacher Day. Aurora starts 1st Grade on Monday and her new teacher is Ms. Zaroba. Ms. Zaroba got her undergrad at UT then went to New York for her Master's Degree. She's been teaching both Kindergarten and 1st Grade for 5 years. Her favorite color is black and her favorite book is Harry Potter! She just moved back to Austin last week to start her job at Valley View, and I'd say she's just as sweet as Mrs. Parolini. I know Aurora will love being in her class.

Speaking of UT, I spent some time there myself this week as the LIVESTRONG Foundation announced a partnership with the Dell Medical School in order to create a new model of patient-centered cancer care. It was an exciting day!

The next day I presented at our team meeting, and yesterday was fall intern orientation. It has been a VERY busy week, but in the best possible way. Having a forced day off with the kids before they go back to school on Monday has been a welcome break...

Good Night!

Today I was telling a friend how sweet and silly Clark gets right at bedtime, and she said I had to take a video. So I did! This has been happening for awhile now, and afterwards (like right now as I type this), I can hear him singing songs in his crib...

 

My sweet little guy. I'll miss this when he's a big boy! 

Airplanes

We had a fun weekend celebrating Clark's 2nd Birthday. Yesterday we went to the movies and saw Planes: Fire & Rescue, and today we threw him an airplane themed party.

It was super fun. Well, except for when Aurora fell down and was sure she'd broken her arm. Oh, and that time when Chuck opened the fridge on Clark's head... OTHERWISE, it was a fun party and I think everybody had a good time and enjoyed the pizza and cake!

Clark got some great gifts and clearly loved having everybody sing Happy Birthday (seriously, the death glare he gave when we sang was hilarious). It was a great weekend. We sure love you, sweet little buddy! Enjoy being 2-years old.

Toothless

After weeks of anticipation, Aurora's second front tooth is finally OUT! I never thought I'd be so relieved to have her smile look like this. Saturday I offered to match the Tooth Fairy's payout if she could pull it out before the photo session, but no luck. Last night she really didn't want anybody to touch or pull her tooth, but it was so loose and it got bonked so it was bleeding and she was so upset until finally, it happened. Phew!

As nerve-wracking as it was for her to finally loose that tooth, it was equally stressful for the tooth fairly! Aurora asked for a book (again) and when the tooth fairy did come (with $2 and a note saying she hopes Aurora can buy a wonderful book with her money), she went to get the tooth and Aurora ALMOST woke up. I wonder how different Clark will be when it comes to losing teeth? Ah well. If you run into Aurora in the near future, do not attempt to sing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." She is not amused...

Birthday Boys

Chuck's birthday was Friday and Clarkie's is coming up in a few days, so we've been finding lots of ways to celebrate. I brought home cake and wine for Chuck on Friday, we had a nice family dinner with my parents last night, then the two of us went out for a margarita and movie date night! I figured we could focus this whole weekend on Chuck, but it made sense to get Clark's two year pictures taken before his big party weekend. So, step aside Chuck because Clark is dominating the blog. Sorry!

Clark wasn't quite as cooperative as Aurora has always been with the photo sittings, but I'd say we got a few sweet pictures here. I cannot believe our silly little boy is turning 2...

Oh, and Happy Birthday Chuck!!!

Spender or Saver?

While Aurora has yet to lose that next front tooth, it occurred to me when she lost the last one that she was starting to understand the concept of money. The tooth fairy left her two $1 bills and she was super bummed because she thought that last time the tooth fairly left her two $100 bills. I assured her that the tooth fairy only deals in ones but she would have none of it. So, we went to the piggy bank and counted her loot. Aurora had $11 in bills and quite a bit of change, which is a good thing because this week she lost a necklace that she loved (she wore it to daycare when I warned her not to wear it to daycare), and I told her I would not buy her another one. BUT, she certainly had enough money to buy one for herself! So, this weekend we raided the piggy bank and went shopping. She bought her very own "A" necklace and had just enough left for a sno-cone.

I suggested that she didn't have to spend it all - she could save the rest! I'm a saver. She decided then and there that she's a spender. We saw a few other things she wanted and I told her she didn't have enough, but we could start giving her allowance for doing extra chores if she wants to start saving up. I remember getting $2 a week for cleaning my room and doing chores around the house, but Aurora already does a pretty good job of helping out on her own! We'd have to think of special new chores. She seemed open to the idea but ultimately decided said she would rather just wait and ask for things for Christmas or her birthday. She's a patient child and while I certainly don't spoil her, she wants for nothing. I just hope I'm teaching her smart lessons about money. I know my parents and my brother had different approaches and I wonder... blog readers, did you get/give allowance? How did your family divide chores? What made the biggest impact on you when it came to learning about saving and spending wisely?

Sweet Faces

I snapped this adorable picture of Clarkie over the weekend and Aurora & Presley decided they wanted in on the action. Aurora's front top tooth is going to fall out any day. She's actually been kind of emotional about it and I know it's bothering her, but she says she's glad to be growing up because she wants to be a mommy like me some day... sweet girl.

Good Deal

Now that I've been back at work for a few weeks, things are picking up and life is feeling busy again. Aurora's enjoying summer camp at daycare, going on field trips and playing with old buddies, but she's definitely counting down to first grade. Clark's getting taller, throwing more tantrums and doing more complicated puzzles. We stopped at a garage sale this afternoon and got a big bin of big legos (and a baby doll) for $5. Good deal! Presley's spending the night and it kept the kiddos happy for hours.

Our summer is certainly less carefree now than it was a few weeks ago, but I'd still say we've got a pretty good deal going.

17 Years

If you count the years we lived together before getting married, I can now officially say that Chuck and I have been together for over half of our lives. I may have forgotten our anniversary if my mom hadn't offered to watch the kids so we could go out and celebrate. Tonight we went to a fancy restaurant downtown then took a sunset bat watching cruise on Lady Bird Lake. It was warm and breezy and the full moon was lovely.

Yesterday was also my 8-year anniversary at work, so last night I went back to look for a picture from my first day at the Foundation. I realized that thanks to digital cameras and social media, the last 7 years have been very well documented and we have clearly lived a very stable and predictable life here in Austin. I mean, the past 7 years have also been the most interesting and eventful in terms of these sweet little kiddos. Seeing them grown and change is worthy of documentation!

I don't have as many photos and don't often think about or tell the story of the 10 years prior. We were working minimum wage jobs, living in a tiny apartment near Seattle, eating hamburger helper for dinner. Chuck joined the military, we got married really young, moved to California so he could go to art school, and I worked at an art supply store to support him. Once he graduated, I went to college and he was diagnosed with cancer my senior year. He finished treatment, we started our careers, I learned how to cook, we traveled all around the US, went to Mexico and Europe and China (you know, not all at once, but we did a bit of traveling there for a few years!) before moving to Austin completely out of nowhere, without jobs or friends or family. Even when we had no money and few prospects, we were happy and hopeful and knew it would all work out. I could dig up some old photos and make this a completely retrospective blog post, but instead let me just say that it keeps getting better and better. So, here's to 17 years of marriage! And yes, typing that makes me feel really old. 

Puzzling

This weekend was pretty low key. Other than the parade, we didn't have much on the calendar. We went to a Home Depot kid's workshop and did a few home improvements, had a great time at a neighbor's birthday party, went on walks and baked cookies with Grandma and Grandpa, food shopped, washed the car, did laundry... the usual stuff.

When we weren't running errands, doing chores or playing outside, you could find Clarkie working puzzles. Over and over. It's his new hobby. No, it's his new addiction! I didn't think a picture would sufficiently convey the intensity and skill involved:

As you can see, we have a variety of puzzles and both kids enjoy them. Aurora will be going to CCOA full-time for the rest of the summer, and while her favorite parts are field trips and friends, they also spend a lot of time working puzzles together. Lucky her!