Happy First Thanksgiving

Today is our first Thanksgiving with Aurora. Last Thanksgiving we spent the day hoping in vain that she would arrive early. This year I'm so thankful for this beautiful little girl who has changed our lives forever. For her twinkling eyes and mischevious smile and for all the love she brings into every day, I look forward to all the memories we'll make with her.

I'm also thankful to all our friends and family who have provided advice and support and who jumped in to lend a hand when we needed it most. I'm very thankful for my co-workers who have tolerated the new crazy that is my work schedule so I can have some time with Aurora every morning.

Most of all I'm thankful for my amazing wife, who will spend the day slaving in the kitchen over an insane feast.  Without her, I'm not sure any of this would be a reality.

Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving.

Holy 11 months!

Pumpkin patch

We are now counting down to less than a month until Aurora's first birthday, which just seems insane.  At 11 months she has almost 10 teeth, and is "talking" up a storm.  The only words that are certain are Mama and Ma! (always said while yelling).  She is in constant motion and wants to explore everything.  We've managed to create a mostly safe space for her to roam (totally safe when we're hyper-vigilant about watching her every move).

October was a fun month, we took Aurora to a pumpkin patch and picked up a small pumpkin (which she promptly put in her mouth), and we spent a couple days at Asilomar - I attended a work meeting and Michelle took Aurora to the beach and aquarium.  We finished off the month with a pumpkin carving party and most importantly, Halloween!!

Hanging with "uncle" Joe at Asilomar

Happy Halloweeeeen!

Our little miracle child

Many of you will recall our devastating loss a little over two years ago when we were going through this crazy process of baby-making. Sorry to bring up sad memories for all, but I wanted to share a little piece of a small true miracle we encountered.

A couple months after we lost "Daisy", we were still very sad and wavering a little in our desire to continue. We went to Monterey for our anniversary, had a lovely recuperative weekend at the beach, and reconfirmed our want to have a child. Basically we found some peace, and a feeling it was all going to turn out.

Before leaving, we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a place I've loved and enjoyed since I was stationed in Monterey in the early 90s. While there, we stopped in the gift shop. A woman was selling otter puppets (so cute), and pushing them hard on our members discount, so we decided quietly to buy one and put it away for the baby we knew we were going to have. When we got home, we pulled it right out of the bag, stuck it up on the bookshelf in the "office", as we were calling the nursery for sanity's sake, and promptly forgot its existence.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. Aurora had noticed the otter up there (its a puppet more in name, its an adorable stuffed otter), and was begging Sarah for it. A few minutes later she came out to the kitchen and showed me the tag inside the otter puppet. The name of the company, proudly stitched on, was Aurora.

We're still a little overwhelmed. Oh, and she loves her otter. Very, very much.

10 months already

If feels like just yesterday we were at the doctor for Aurora's 9 month appointment. Our curious girl is 10 months now, and to say she's into EVERYTHING can not be understated.  As I sit here she's figuring out how to fish things out of my desk drawers even though the are now strapped closed.  No amount of childproofing has proven to be adequate, which is probably not a surprise to our friends with kids.

Despite all of this, we're having a great time watching this little girl grow and change.  Looking at pictures from when she was just born to now is kind of mind blowing.

*My wife informed me I should have put a picture of myself with her for November too, so there's another picture now. A pretty great one at that.

November

November (w/Mama)

December (w/Grandma Sue)

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

9 Months (and a bit, 'cause Mommy and Mama are tuckered)

20 lbs, 5oz, but I'd have sworn she weighed more than that every time I carry her about. 29" long, both of which put her well at the top of the growth charts. She's going to be tall, just like her mama. Two peas in a pod. 

She's crawling at lightning speed, climbing and standing on anything she can, and getting ever closer to that first step without assistance. We have spent much of the last few weeks baby-proofing the house, and every time we think we have managed to get ahead, she figures out something new and delightful to get into.

Where's my bottle?

Eating everything we put in front of her, with a very few exceptions. Bananas are a favorite, but yoghurt might be passing it up in her estimation. Went out for Cuban food recently, she devoured beans, rice, plantains, and pork to the point the staff was delighted to watch her enjoy their food.

Puzzling out her first black bean.

She's still ever the charmer. The last week or so has finally seen a slight shift in how happily she parts from us, she has finally started a little of the clingy. We expected it long before now, so it is a bit of a surprise. But when your kid reaches out to be held by you alone in a roomful of people who love her, well, it melts my heart.

To finish your laughs, here's a video of her first yogurt. Watch the very end for the funniest bit, but its cute all the way through. 

Toddler Alert!!!

Everyone is now on high alert. She's standing on her own, walking with assistance, and just about to make that first step.

She's also very, very tall for her age, and we'll be finding out at her 9 month appointment later this week just how much taller than average. She is growing so fast she surprised the pediatricians in my office last week when we brought her to campus.

A little more clingy to us than she has been in the past, but not any real sort of the expected shyness with new people she should have developed. She knows how to charm anyone, anytime, anywhere. Yep, and now with mobility, we're officially in trouble.

She's crawling

It begins...

Wow, 8 months!

The last month just flew by. I realized on the 30th that, holy cow, Aurora is 8 months old!  It's been mostly a quiet month, but we did take a short (really short!) trip to Los Angeles to see my brother when he was briefly in the US.  Aurora did an amazing job on the long car ride (slept most of the way) and really loved meeting her Uncle Craig.

We don't go back for another check-up until 9 months, but we can see this baby growing like a weed.  She's eating all kinds of stuff, and "talking" up a storm. She's started crawling, sort of.  She goes backwards perfectly and forwards cautiously.  Of course this means we need to break out the cabinet locks, plug protectors, plus move the valuables and electronic above the 3 foot level throughout the house. She's got a mouthful of teeth (2 on the bottom and 4 on the top) and apparently more on their way (if her mood and biting is any indication).

We couldn't be more proud of how our little girl is growing.  Seems like only yesterday she was brand new.

7 months and summer traveling

7 months old already! Of course she's the biggest and healthiest baby of that age I've ever seen. Well, ok, possibly her cousin in Finland was bigger, but certainly there is no competition around here. She's also in that narcissistic phase, and loves nothing better than to take pictures of herself with our smartphones.

I love to take my own photos!

We took a long holiday weekend and flew up to Seattle on Friday the 29th. Aurora had yet to meet any of her cousins on my side of the family (or any on the other side at all yet, trip to Europe soon?) and her Toppa Rolf (grandpa).

Flight up was incredibly easy. Well, once we got our sleepy asses to the airport and got coffee in the grownups. Kept the Duckling in her pajamas for the flight. Quick bottle on takeoff for the ears, then an hour or so of quiet playing, followed by a nap that lasted the rest of the flight, off the plane, and all the way to the rental car facility shuttle. The stewardesses were impressed, to say the least.

Did a little puttering (and Salumi-chomping) in the morning, then drove to Everett to meet Toppa and see Grandma Ellen. Then a quick stop to pick up a porta-crib from an awesome cousin (thanks again Mandy!), and off to supper to meet up with friends. Aurora was happy and charming as ever, and won over every heart at dinner. Then back to Scott and Beth's house for sleep and chillaxing. Aurora was completely won over by the floor length mirror in their room, and it was put to good use for distractions while Mama and Mommy took showers and things.

Saturday saw us out to Vashon Island for an evening supper and birthday party for our friend Corrine at her and Laurie's place. Again, charming baby. First ferry ride was cold and rainy, but a hit. Second got slept right through.

Sunday we took Aurora's 3rd ferry ride to Southworth, then drove over the river and through the woods (and then up the side of the mountain) to my sister's house. AJ met all of her cousins on that side (excluding Michael of course, but he's still her favorite.) Charming again. Back to Vashon Island for the night and more pictures with chickens. This photo is with another adopted auntie, our friend Lori.

Up on Monday for a nice hanging out morning, lunch, afternoon, and supper with Grampa Dave and Grandma Sue, then back to Scott and Beth's for a last night before the mad rush back to the airport.


Then of course a stellar plane ride back while all the other babies squalled. Our happy little teether even got 2 more teeth in over this whole trip, and didn't care! Just nom nom nommed on anything in sight (once including my nose), and kept right on charming the heck out of everyone. It is truly a blessing to have such a happy, healthy, and smart kid.

Back for Independence Day at home, and dressed her up in her red, white, and blue finest. Here's a happy 4th of July hug for everyone to close out the weekend.

Teeth!

Yup, there's two of them there on the bottom. Not so easy to get a picture though.

6 months!

Aurora turned 6 months old yesterday. Over Memorial Day weekend we had a little half-birthday BBQ for her with a few friends.  I'm not sure she noticed because she was so grumpy from all her 6 month shots.  She's feeling much better now and is becoming quite the personality.  She LOVES to give hugs and big wet baby kisses.  She also loves to laugh and look at pictures of herself (oh dear!).

Here's what happens when you show her herself on your camera phone:

Growing girl!

We took Aurora for her 6 month check-up this morning.  Boy is she growing fast.  In two months she's grown  3 1/4" and gained almost 3 lbs.  Any day now she'll be crawling!

Mother's Day Weekend

Instead of trying to buy each other presents, we decided to have a Mother's Day adventure.  M planned a surprise trip for the three of us to Santa Cruz.  We got to stay in a hotel overlooking the beach and the pier and woke up to the sound of the ocean.  It was glorious.

On Mother's Day we took Aurora to the beach.  Unfortunately as is often the case in Santa Cruz (especially first thing in the morning) it was only 55 degrees so we had to wrap her up.  That didn't stop M from plopping her down in the sand.  Suffice to say, she LOVED it.  We'll have to go back when it's warmer so she can really get her toes in it too.

5 months

It's hard to believe, but Aurora is 5 months old.  She started daycare just over a week ago, and is showing how much of a social butterfly she is.  She loves kids and dogs, and just lights up when she sees anyone she knows.  She's almost able to sit up totally unsupported and we suspect it will just be a matter of time before she figures out how to crawl.  She loves jumping in her jumperoo and will totally wear herself out if we don't keep an eye out for signs of fatigue.  We're still trying out food, but she's still not too sure about eating just yet.  I expect the next month will bring lots of change.

Airplanes, aunties, and other adventures

The last couple of weeks have been quite an adventure. We took Aurora on a plane to Georgia to visit her  godmoms, she did a couple 1/2 days with her sitter, and then there was the new jumparoo.  Watch the video and decide for yourself how that went over.

Eventful Week!

Quite an eventful week, or at least a rather intense ending to it. First I took the lil' bit on her first road-trip. 

I drove up little one to meet her great-grandma Florence in Sacramento on Thursday. Tried to time it so I missed the bulk of traffic, and I confess, I enjoyed my tiny little carpool lane buddy. She slept almost all the way there, had a quick diaper change in Vacaville, then waited patiently for a fresh bottle until we got to Sac. 

Grandma has been in an assisted-care facility for a few years now. She still thinks she just got there, but enjoys it. I had called the day before to tell her we were coming, but our arrival was a surprise and a delight (as surprising as the new great-granddaughter!)

If you ever want to feel like the most popular person on the block, take a happy baby to a nursing home or assisted care facility. My baby girl was a rock-star up in there. We sat with Grandma while she had her lunch, and the little bit just stood on my lap and alternately waved and laughed to every delighted person in the cafeteria trying to catch her eye. Grandma loved the attention, before and after lunch she made sure we strolled very slowly down the hallway, chatting up everyone and showing off. I couldn't stop laughing at what a little charmer this girl was being, at 4 months old. 

My favorite photo from the trip. 

I did wonder during the road trip why she was sleeping so much, but chalked it up to just the known effect of cars on babies. She'd been drooling on and off for a few days, and was munching pretty hard on her Sophie chew toy. So on Friday, she would NOT nap at all in the morning, every time I tried to put her down she wailed. Not like my normal happy baby at all. By 2:30 I was frantic, and begged my wife to take an earlier train home. She suggested the possibility of teething. Again, not normal at 4 months, but given this child's precociousness in all other things, a lightbulb suddenly went off in my head. 

Grabbed the frozen teething ring I'd been stashing for a few days. I'll let you watch the video and decide if this is the smoking gun evidence:

As soon as I finished filming this, I ran and got a dose of Tylenol on board (Dad, tell Mom I know and didn't wait!) By the time we picked up Mama at the train station 45 minutes later, all was happy and smiles. Then a 4 hour crash/nap. Woke up just in time to go to bed--then slept (mostly) until 5:30am. We've been figuring out the all-new teething routine all day today. Poor little girl is just not her happy-go-lucky self today. Well, during doses of Tylenol she is, but once it wears off...

Cereal

When we had our 4 month appointment the doctor said to try giving her some cereal. Once she recovered from the belly ache she got from her immunizations, we made up a little rice cereal. M put together her highchair the other day, so this was the perfect chance to try it out. I can't say for sure she liked it, but she didn't hate it. She wasn't quite sure what to think. She ate about a 1/2 teaspoon of cereal that was just slightly thicker than milk. I got a few photos of the experience:

I've got my bib on, lets get going!

First bite

Hmm, that's some interesting stuff.









Yup, this is my spoon.

4 month appointment!

Yesterday afternoon the little bit had her 4 month doctors appointment. A week early, but she was so very ready for it.

She has shot up in size and percentiles over the last two months. She came out pretty average size, right in the 50th percentile for everything, but has really started sprouting out since the two month appointment.

Officially she's at 24 3/4" long (I swear it was actually 25", but the nurse stole a quarter inch), and a whopping 15 lbs, 7 oz, which puts her in the 80th+ percentile. Head circumference is up there too where it should be. She's growing like a weed.

She's been watching us eat for at least two weeks now. Like obsessively watching us eat, even to the point of opening/closing her mouth repeatedly while she drools a little. I mean, knowing my cooking, I can't really blame her. So we asked her doc if she could start in on rice cereal early, and we got the go-ahead. We're going to wait until tonight, as she had a number of vaccinations yesterday (thankfully not feeling too bad this time) and we want to make sure her guts are ok before we introduce something new. A week or two of rice, then we get to start in on fruits and veggies. By the time most babies are just starting on rice, she'll be able to do more than stare longingly at the many amazing concoctions I put on a plate.

I know I'm supposed to brag about my child, but she's so smart and ahead it really is scary. During tummy time for doc yesterday, she showed off how close she is to crawling--as soon as she realizes those knees can get traction under her, we're doomed. Then her doc wanted to see if she was sitting at all, but the little doodlebug was having none of just plain old sitting, and wanted to show her how well she could stand with a little assistance. Sitting is old hat, she's been doing that for weeks, now she can pull herself up and stand with just a bit of help.

Talking up a storm, at least to her stuffed animals and us. Not quite intelligible yet, but periodically she'll pop out a word that you're pretty sure you understand, even if its not quite right.

All in all, at 4 months, its amazing to see her progress. After all the headaches and heartaches getting this child, we really got a winner. Smart, happy (laughs all day long), and generally a very good kid. Jackpot.

Mommy time

Wow, two whole weeks into my bonding leave, and S back to work. We're figuring out good schedules between Aurora and I.

For those that have this weird idea that its relaxing to be home with your newborn, please go find a wall to beat your head into. It isn't. Enter into evidence the fact I've been home two weeks, and am just now posting this, and it took me 3 days to complete it. My life has been divided up into the 20 minute increments it takes the music mobile in her gym to run through its rotation of songs. (yes, every one is seared in my brain.)

Since I've had many, many requests for more pictures, I'm doing a big batch here. This page will take forever to load. Sorry.

First up are several of my favorites from birth on up to the last two weeks at home:

First smile for Mommy

Hi there!

Tasting this new world.

Hello world!

Oooh, hungry!

Is Mommy doing something over there?

The dog and I are going to take over the world!

Going to see Mama at work.

Enjoy a little dappled sun on the front porch.

I have dinosaur feet!

I LOVE the orange tree and outside!

Milk-drunk and passed out.

Peace, yo.

Watching the dogs chase squirrels.