Happy 4th Birthday!

Time is a funny thing. I remember being pregnant and thinking it was taking FOREVER, now I wish it could just slow down a bit. Short of defying the laws of physics, we'll have to suffice with making the days full and fun.

We started the Birthday weekend off on Friday with a trip to Joseph D Grant Park to stretch our legs and enjoy a gorgeous fall day. On Sunday we had a party at Emma Prusch Farm park, the kids got to see the animals, eat cotton candy, and take a hay ride. Aurora turned 4 on Monday. Her preschool teacher gave her a birthday crown and we wrapped up the day with a piñata and cake Monday night.

Happy Birthday to our sassy little girl.

Checking out the park with Lucille

That sun feels good on this cool morning

Walking with Mommy and Lucille

Birthday girl decked out in her Wonder Woman costume

MMMM cotton candy

Sugar run!

New Darth Vader jammies

Smacking the piñata

Finishing off the day with a face full of frosting

Giving thanks

Thanksgiving always feels like a great day to reflect on the year, before the holiday insanity kicks into full gear and it becomes harder to keep focused. I decided to put my thoughts on our blog rather than a social media post.

The last year has been challenging for more reasons than I care to share, but looking back I reminded about how well my wife and I weather the hard stuff together. I am thankful she is often able to find optimism when I cannot and helps me find the light at the end of the tunnel.

I am so grateful to the family and friends who have reached out and lent a hand, often without realizing how much it's needed. I'm thankful for our friends who have stuck by us even when I imagine it gets hard.

I feel so blessed by our beautiful child who is such a source of humor and light even while she tests the limits of our patience. She is growing into an amazing compassionate little person. On Monday, she'll be 4.

As each year passes, I look back and find little I regret. Life continues to surprise even as it throws up roadblocks.

Wishing everyone a season of hope and peace.
Sarah

P.S. Aurora says this year she's thankful for Halloween :)

Happy Halloween!

Months ago Aurora told us she wanted to dress like Honey Lemon from the movie Big Hero 6 for Halloween. My wife decided she would make her costume and boy did it turn out great! Honey Lemon's Power Purse lights up and has a periodic table with buttons, just like in the movie! We had a great time showing it off at her preschool Halloween parade.

I'm going to get ready for bed myself!

Tonight at bedtime Aurora announced that for the "first time ever" she was going to get herself ready for bed. She went in her room and put on her pajamas (with a short intervention due to a backwards shirt); she brushed her teeth and washed her face; and then she read herself a story (one she has memorized). We were not allowed in her room, but I got a short video peeking through the door of her reciting one of her favorites, "We're going on a bear hunt."

If the video doesn't play, you can watch it here: https://goo.gl/photos/bVSBWCBjnRZVkaFY6

Preschool!!

It's been a busy year and this little girl is growing like a weed. We were very excited to learn a few weeks ago that we had made it off the wait list and into preschool. Wednesday (10/7) was our first day. This begins a new adventure for all of us as it's a parent participation school. One day a week one of us joins the class to help out for the 2 1/2 hour session.

Aurora LOVES going to school!

The teacher's update for our first week said, "I want to again WELCOME Aurora, and her parents to the class.  Aurora fit in very well, and you would never know that she has not been with us since the beginning!"  We couldn't agree more.