Our little family in the great big desert

Random Video

2010-02-10T22:05:00.003-07:00

So this video is four minutes of Alan being Alan - we were sitting on the floor playing and he was dancing to the music, but of course when I brought out the camera he was much more interested in it than anything else. I am going to keep trying to catch him dancing, though - it's the cutest thing ever!

Lazy Saturday

2010-01-30T09:29:00.002-07:00

Unbelievably, my son took a 2 hour nap and my daughter is in her second hour of a nap today (this NEVER happens) so I am using my quiet time to blog while she sleeps and he plays with the back door rug. We've been busy around here - school started and I am taking 4 classes this semester. Plus we are trying to rearrange the house a bit - right now Alan's bedroom is also the office, and I would like for it to just be a bedroom. Ultimately, I want to move Aurora into that room (its bigger), move Alan into her room, and move the computer desk into the master bedroom but I have to take baby steps and do a little bit at a time :) (Okay, ULTIMATELY I want a bigger house but that will have to wait until the market turns around a bit more) Anyway, here are some pics for you!

Grandma E sent a cute little cheerleader outfit from Aurora's favorite school and she couldn't wait to try it on!

Our little man is standing up! He pulls to a stand on just about everything now. We haven't lowered the crib mattress yet, so when I go to get him after his nap he is usually standing there hanging his arms over the side and laughing. Its just a matter of time before he falls out, I know.

And there is nothing like going to bed with a good book :)

(yep, she's sound asleep under there)

My baby is THREE!!!

2010-01-18T10:06:00.002-07:00

I cannot believe how fast time flies! Aurora is officially THREE years old, and Alan is 7 months already! I guess this means I'm getting old too...

We had a wonderful birthday party at the gymnastics center and all the kids (and adults) had a great time jumping and bouncing and running around.. here are some pictures!

Halloween, etc.

2009-11-01T18:23:00.002-07:00

Here are some more pictures from recent days for your viewing pleasure:

All dressed up and ready to go stand in a cold, windy parking lot for 2 hours waiting for the H1N1 shot..

More pictures! Here's one that Mike took the other day after he had taken both kids to the doctor's office (by himself!) to get Aurora's seasonal flu shot. I am so proud of him ;)

Alan had his first official taste of solid food! (Ranch dressing on dad's finger doesn't count) Applesauce was a hit - he couldn't quite get the hang of swallowing but he sure loved smooshing it around in his mouth!

Cute tummy time pictures - please note the ever present drool on his chin! He's discovered how to make raspberries so we've had to make peace with the copious slobbering.

Halloween was fun - we went to an outdoor concert on Friday night and consequently didn't get quite enough sleep, so we skipped the festivities on Saturday and just stayed home and handed out candy. It was fun, quiet, and I didn't have to fight anyone into a costume, so I consider it a win!

Here's the pumpkin Aurora and I carved - she loved eating the guts as they came out (she's weird)

Bringing home a baby bumblebee - I let him wear this costume for about 5 minutes before I took it off of him. He was sweltering and REEKED of chemicals so I quickly gave him a bath. No telling what's in that Chinese polyester! (guess I have to start making his costumes too!)

Here's my little girl all dressed up in her homemade Tinkerbell costume - of course she was unhappy and impossible all day long but she still managed to get her picture in the newspaper!

Fall in Yuma

2009-10-26T10:51:00.007-07:00

Cleaning out the camera again!

This time I have all sorts of random things to show you :)

Aunt Reeny answered the plea for more closed-toe

school shoes - much to Aurora's delight!

Daddy brought home a bunch of tadpoles for us to

grow into frogs - here they are, ready to be released

to our pond! I couldn't get any good pictures of the

tadpole stage.

Grandma Ringler came for a short visit and we had a

wonderful time with her even though Aurora was still

getting over her bout with swine flu.

Aunt Lora sent some beautiful clothes for Aurora, but

she chose to wear the ones meant for Alan instead!

This is a 12 month onesie on my 33 month old kid

(over her clothes!)

We spent a wonderful day at the park, playing and

watching the sailboats while we had a picnic snack.

And the pumpkin patch finally opened on the day Grandma

was to fly back home - so on the way to the airport we stopped

and literally ran in, posed, and snapped as many pics as

possible. Of course since we were in such a hurry, no one

was having a good time - as you can see!

(Sadly, this is just about the best shot I got!)

Aurora got to go to the airport and watch Grandma get on

the plane and fly home - and she's been talking about it

ever since!

And I finally broke down and bought an Ergo - and am I ever

glad I did! Yesterday we were having one of those days -

neither kid would nap, I had a mountain of laundry and ironing

to do, and I was just worn out! So when dear old dad got

home, he strapped Alan to his back and took Aurora out

to the backyard so they could play while I made dinner.

It seemed to be just what Alan needed!

And Miss Aurora is FINALLY feeling well enough for school

again - this morning she woke up and said "I want to go to

school today" for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks! And it's the

time of year where its cool enough in the morning for a

sweater, but warm enough in the afternoon for shorts.

So, shorts and a sweater it is!

Pics for GG

2009-09-27T15:16:00.002-07:00

So I'm pretty sure my grandma might be the only person still reading this blog, so I thought I might stick up a few pictures just for her :) But if anyone else is reading, you can look at them too!

My little thumb sucker - in his natural state - asleep!

There's that curly hair!

Bundle baby - a rare shot of the boy awake

Aurora's new big girl bed! She's growing up so fast -

almost completely potty trained and sleeping in a twin

size bed already.... we might as well just buy her a cell phone and

a car while we're at it!

Flying a kite with dad

Gratuitious Giggling Baby

2009-08-30T21:08:00.005-07:00

Just thought I would share our after bath giggle time with everyone... guaranteed to put a smile on your face! I just can't believe this kid is only 11 weeks old - he seems so big and strong and smart...not that I'm biased or anything ;)

First Day of School!

2009-08-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

Well, the fall is upon us, meaning everyone is heading back to school! This includes little Miss Aurora - by the grace of God I managed to hijack a spot in Yuma's best preschool program which also happens to be on my own school campus! This is great because now she can come to school with me and I can stop in and visit and have lunch with her whenever I want to :) Her first day went pretty well, I think - I stopped in to check on her at nap time and of course she wasn't napping, so to keep her from bugging the other kids I took her on a tour of campus and we had lunch together in the cafeteria. I took her back to her class for the rest of the day, and on the way home at 5 she passed out in the car - maybe next time she'll take the nap! Here is a picture for posterity:

First day of School!

From YEAR TWO

And while going through pictures, I found one I really like from when Grandma Miller was visiting. I didn't mention it here at the time but she was definitely a lifesaver for us while Alan and I were in the hospital! We couldn't have done it without her, and I think Aurora really enjoyed having her around :)

From YEAR TWO

Aurora's second day of preschool is tomorrow so we're getting everything packed up and ready tonight...I'll be back with more stories later this week!

Just trying to win a contest :)

2009-08-17T15:36:00.000-07:00

Fall in love at first “spray” with Kinesys Spray Sunscreen! The simple solution to sun protection for the whole family. Read about the experience mom blogger Kalisha at UV Skinz had with this fast, simple and effective sunscreen. Enter for your chance to win a Kinesys prize package at UV Skinz. Giveaway ends August 23. Open to U.S. only.

Alan's 2 month checkup

2009-08-13T07:41:00.000-07:00

Well I'm a few days late in posting this, but I wanted to mention that Alan had his two month checkup on Monday and weighed in at a whopping 15lbs, 8oz! And he is 24 inches long, so he's a chunky little monkey for sure :) He was a total charmer at the doctor's office, too - smiling and wiggling and just being adorable - until the SHOTS. But even the shots didn't slow him down too much.. he just cried a few minutes and then all was well again. I am really happy with how laid-back and sweet this kid is.. he just goes with the flow and nothing bothers him! We even took both kids to Sea World last week (3 hour car ride, day at Sea World, 3 hour car ride home) and he was just as perfect as can be! No major meltdowns, no traumas, no crises - both kids were amazing. He did get a tiny bit of a sunburn across his nose, but even that didn't bother him. Yep, I'm a lucky mama. Enough bragging - here's pictures!

Yep, I made him wear the same clothes and sit in the pink chair so I could compare them:

From Alan James

Twins two years apart, right?

Waiting in line for the Elmo ride at Sea World-

From Alan James

Sunset from the rest stop on the way home -

From Alan James

An orca snuck into our car to eat our child while she slept-

From Alan James

(just kidding - she has slept with Shamu every night since we got home)

Good view of the suburn -

From Alan James

I would say she's regressing a bit-

From Alan James

Long Overdue Update

2009-07-31T13:04:00.002-07:00

Even more pictures....

Doreen's Photo Slideshow

Things are settling down around here... our little boy is just the sweetest, most good natured guy you've ever met. He smiles for EVERYBODY and even for nobody.. he only cries when he's hungry, wet, poopy or gassy..once you fix the problem he's back to smiling and cooing at you! He is a chubby little butterball you just can't help but squeeze and nibble on, he loves his bath and his big sister.... And I know I'm jinxing myself by saying this out loud but I can't help it - he sleeps through the night! He goes to bed around 9:30, wakes up around 1:30 to eat, then goes back to sleep until 6:30!!! I know, right?! I think he is my reward for living through the first year with Aurora...she was much more of a challenge in the sleeping department. Of course now that I've said it, he will stop, but I just had to get it out there that one of my kids actually did sleep through the night at least once :) Anyway, I think we're getting into the swing of things around here... going out alone with both of them is still pretty daunting (I don't want to talk about Wednesday's library debacle) but going out as a family is pretty easy. And Aurora just loves him sooo much... all she wants to do is kiss and hug him and talk about his "cute little nosie and toesies" She sings to him in the car and tells him everything's ok when he cries.. I think she's going to be an awesome big sister!!

Just pictures

2009-07-25T22:25:00.001-07:00

I am too tired to form coherent sentences, so here -----

click the picture to see all of them!

Alan James

2009-06-16T12:41:00.001-07:00

DRUM ROLL PLEASE! After a week vacation in our friendly neighborhood NICU due to aspirated fluid in his lungs, our beautiful son Alan James Ringler is healthy, happy, and HOME! He was born June 8th at 7:41am, weighed 8lbs 4oz, and has red hair and blue eyes! Now feast your eyes upon the pictures!

Gratuitous Belly Shot

2009-04-29T19:11:00.003-07:00

I think the last time I showed off the belly around here, Aurora was *inside* it.... Now she's found the perfect place to hide - *under* it!!

Almost 35 weeks along and about as enormous as I care to be, thank you... But Aurora loves it. Yesterday I was sitting on the couch and she came over, raised my shirt, put one hand on either side of it and yelled "COME ON BROTHER! GET OUTTA MAMA'S BELLY!" Though I have a feeling that once he's here she's going to want him to go back in!

Summertime is upon us!

2009-04-25T18:51:00.004-07:00

I just realized I forgot to put up some pictures from Easter! We went to Jacob's Grandma's house (Grandma Judy) for her annual Easter brunch and egg hunt - we ate wayyy too much delicious food and the kids had a great time! Aurora had an absolute blast chasing the boys around and finding eggs to fill her bucket - here is my favorite picture of her (click to enlarge any of them):

And here is our happy little family - note Aurora's possessive glare at the camera... No one is taking her eggs away!

And now that Easter is behind us, summer is upon us! Last week we had a couple 100+ days and decided to hit the pool. Here is Aurora's new swim outfit I got for her from UVSkinz - it provides chemical free UPF 50+ protection so I love it! I hate smearing sunscreen all over her every day, knowing what kind of toxic chemicals are in them - and at the rate we go through it, I can't afford the fancy organic ones! So this outfit is definitely a godsend for us in the blazing sun down here. And I didn't even get paid to say that :) I even got a hat for myself from them - it's not the most fashionable look, but I don't care as long as it keeps me from roasting!

She seems to like it - it dries very quickly too so she's not freezing when she gets out of the water. I think I'm going to pick up a couple more for her, and maybe some shirts for me too :)

But, we have fallen upon hard times here at the Ringler house... Mike had to leave for a week at camp for work, so we are bereft, lonely, and bored! On top of that, she has decided to completely stop napping at all... so I get a full 12+ hours of toddler time every day. So, she's bored, lonely, tired AND cranky - and with Mike gone she isn't eating very well either. I haven't sold her to the gypsies yet, but if I get a good enough offer.....

She really misses her daddy - even though we had a great time at the park, and the store, and in the backyard today, she still flopped down on the dog bed to pine for his picture on my phone while I folded the laundry. Thank GOD he will be home on Thursday - we are counting down the minutes!

Cleaning out the camera

2009-04-06T17:14:00.004-07:00

Here are a couple of slideshows from our recent Spring Break exploits -

Sea World!!!

Yuma Fair

Aurora got the camera and then Mom caught the bedhead on film

Random flowers in our yard

Some more pictures

2009-03-15T22:14:00.004-07:00

Just some pictures I've taken over the past week or so!

Flying a kite with dad in the backyard

Conspiring with the kids at Bri's birthday party

Climbing this huge ladder BY HERSELF!
She went up it again and again - like it was no problem at all.

Blowing bubbles with Dad

She figured out how to blow bubbles by herself, too!

Watching the turtle eat everything in the flowerbed

Watching the planes at the airshow with dad - one of many!
Actually now we can say that both of our kids have been going to airshows
since before they were born - Her 'real' first one was at Miramar AFB
while I was pregnant with her!

And Mike's birthday is tomorrow, so I made these Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes for him! They are SOOO good - hopefully there will be some left tomorrow :)

Spring has sprung!

2009-03-01T17:04:00.002-07:00

Well, it is fully and undoubtedly spring here - so that means yard work! And considering that we're going to be up in the 90's next week, we have to take the opportunity while we can. So Mike bought 4 new citrus trees and a whole bunch of flowering vines and bushes. He and Aurora have been spending all their free time outside playing in the mud and water getting everything planted. Of course, I've been taking pictures!

At Home Depot looking at plants - I ask her to smile, and this is what I get:

From YEAR TWO

Here are the four new trees around the pool -
lemon, grapefruit, lime and orange.
The lemon already has tons of baby lemons on it!

Sunshine Girl

Helping daddy plant the lemon tree

Lemon tree, very pretty - and the lemon flower is sweet -

Yep, playing in the pool in February!

"Sleeping" with Brianna after brunch this morning -

And the beautiful bouquet Mike picked for me from our own backyard!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-15T09:42:00.002-07:00

We had a bit of a Valentine's Day miracle around these parts - Mike wasn't due to come home from Georgia until around 11pm last night, but due to some quick thinking and fast running on his part, he got home at 3:30!! And then when he got here and was hungry, we decided to brave the Valentine's day crowd at Outback Steakhouse and actually managed to grab a great booth in the bar with a very awesome waitress! We had a delicious meal, Aurora was adorable and got so many compliments - one elderly gentleman even gave her a $5 bill! (I'm a little concerned about what kind of precedent that sets, but hey... we'll take it) And then we came home and had great family time together and everyone got to go to bed early. I managed to get a couple of pictures after dinner:

Yes, I know it's dark outside - she's just too cool to take her shades off!
I just love this dress - courtesy of Aunt Doreen!

And here Aurora was playing with Mommy's camera -
she's finally figured out how to smile on command!

And here she is riding an enormous horse at the Renaissance Festival - she really loved it & made the lady walk her around twice!

A quick birthday slideshow

2009-01-10T22:03:00.002-07:00

From Birthday Party!

We had a wonderful time, and I am still recovering! Here are a few pictures - of course we didn't wipe the pizza off her face before her photo ops, but that's okay :)

Christmas pictures

2009-01-05T09:40:00.006-07:00

So Christmas has come and gone and life is getting back to normal around here - and I finally got around to taking the pictures off my camera. Here are a couple of them - unfortunately I didn't get any still photos of Christmas morning because daddy filmed the whole thing on our (ancient) video camera and I need to find a way to get it onto the PC. Aurora made out like a bandit - she got so much stuff we had to hold some of it back so that her birthday wouldn't be a complete letdown! :) But she loved just about everything she got - especially her monkey shoes from Aunt Doreen and all the awesome books from Aunt Lora!

Snuggling in the blanket GG made (with the dragon and mouse mommy made)

And I don't know why these pics aren't coming across all the way, but if you can't see the whole thing just click on it!

Holding Jenny the Gingerbread baby that GG made - she carried that doll around everywhere! (Side note: How can anyone resist nibbling this kid's cheeks??)

~~Mommy's~~ Aurora's favorite Christmas present

And the family gets a Christmas tree too! Next I plan to make curtains, bedspreads, rugs.....

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

2008-12-24T16:31:00.004-07:00

Well, the house is clean, the gifts are wrapped, the tree is trimmed and we're just doing crafts waiting for Mike to get home. I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas - and if you don't do Christmas, I hope you have a good long weekend!

While the thought of glitter all over my house makes me break out in a cold sweat, I've discovered that Kosher salt looks JUST like snow!!

From 24th Month

Aurora's Hands and Foot Reindeer

Randomness

2008-12-14T08:29:00.002-07:00

So uh...it's been a month since I last posted... I blame holiday stress! (Even though it's been a pretty low key year so far). I also blame pregnancy brain and the desire to use Aurora's naptimes for more productive activities than blogging. (like napping!) Nevertheless, here I am with some random pictures from the past month. Feast your eyes!

We went to the Balloon glow - we had a great time with our friends and the kids loved watching all the hot air balloons lighting up with the music.

From 23rd Month

Here is her friend Noah - how can you resist that face??

From 23rd Month

Wearing Christmas pajamas and playing drums with Brianna

From 23rd Month

Wearing a beautiful dress from Aunt Lora (black leggings and pink crocs Aurora's idea) (Not pictured: Daddy wearing shorts and a t-shirt)

From 23rd Month

Close up of hat I quickly crocheted to match her new sweater from Aunt Lora (not shown)

From 23rd Month

The Very Fuzzy Caterpillar

2008-11-08T08:30:00.002-07:00

So this is what we discovered yesterday - I grabbed the camera and tried to control my cringing while Aurora and Daddy played with the fuzziest caterpillar in the world.

Finally Fall

2008-11-03T18:57:00.004-07:00

**** Edited to add: PLEASE - go vote tomorrow! If you are still undecided or don't know what's on the ballot in your state, you still have time to do a little research! Please - stand in line tomorrow for your voter sticker and make sure your voice is heard. If you don't vote, you can't complain!!****

Well, Halloween has come and gone, so I guess that means it's officially Fall. Not that you could tell around here - we're still in the high 90s every day! But you can feel it cooling off incrementally, and nights are absolutely wonderful in the 60s and 70s so I shouldn't complain. We had a fun but quiet little Halloween here - Like Henry, Aurora had a choice between two costumes and violently refused both of them! Cathy loaned us an adorable handmade monkey costume and a Clifford costume but Aurora screamed bloody murder when we tried to put them on. I think it was because she didn't like the "footies" on the monkey costume, and was convinced the Clifford one would have them too. (It didn't, but try convincing a toddler.) So, I just put her monster t-shirt on and some black pants and called it a day. We went to Hastings' music store where her friend Brianna's dad works for their Halloween costume contest and party. It was lots of fun, complete with a cake walk, bingo, snacks and goodie bags for all the kids. I even won a contest in which the goal was to see how many jumbo marshmallows you could cram into your mouth (for the record, it was 9 - but only because I ran out of marshmallows!) The prize for that was my choice of books, and I chose a nice little lift-the-flap book about Outer Space for Aurora. After that we went to Bri's house for some trick or treating and pizza - but unfortunately only one house in the neighborhood was into the Halloween spirit! So we only got one piece of candy, but that's okay because we still have a huge bowl full at home. Mike was in charge of candy distribution at our house, but we had even fewer trick or treaters than last year! Only about 5 or 6 - sad. But, more candy for us, right? Anyway, on the way home from Brianna's house, Aurora spied a huge hot air balloon at a church on the side of the road - so of course we had to stop and check it out. Turns out, the First Christian Church was having a huge festival complete with balloon rides, bounce houses, sack races, bbq, cotton candy and all kinds of fun! But since we didn't know about it beforehand and it was already pretty late, we just walked around for a minute, snagged a pink 'bloon' and went home. But we definitely know what to do for next year! So I forgot my camera on Halloween night, but I did get some shots at the pumpkin patch last week:

And here is a quick movie from Wednesday night - the college was having a free jazz concert at their amphitheater so we packed some sandwiches and a blanket and went to check it out. It was surprisingly good! The band mostly consisted of select high school students from the area, as well as some older musicians and college students. They were all in costume, too - it was pretty funny to see Darth Vader on drums! Anyway, Aurora absolutely loved it - she danced and ran around and had a wonderful time. At the end of each song, she would clap her hands and yell "YAY MUSIC!!!" It was so cute :)

And in other baby related news, we had our first OB appointment today and Aurora's little brother or sister is truckin' right along at 9.5 weeks!

Nothing to see here...move along...

2008-10-17T23:05:00.005-07:00

Okay so its been a month since I posted - but we've been busy! My Chem class is kicking my butt in the studying department (but I'm pulling an A so far!), and we've had a stretch of some fantastic weather so we've been outside enjoying it and spending time with friends at the park. In fact we spent Wednesday in Phoenix at the AZ State Fair - trust me, it is NO comparison to Big Tex's domain - but it was a fun day nonetheless. They had a petting zoo complete with zebras, camels, itty bitty tiny baby goats and a kangaroo! (Seriously - those goats were so darn small I wanted to pick one up and hide it in the stroller basket and run away.) They also had a ton of terribly unhealthy food, elephant rides and lots of shiny stuff to look at. Here are some pics (click for bigger ones if you want):

This sweet camel just LOVED Mike!

And a video of the Ferris Wheel ride - by this point she was pretty tired:

Oh, and did I mention she's going to be a big sister sometime around June? :)

Brag book

2008-09-15T08:23:00.003-07:00

So it's been a while since I last posted - mostly because I didn't want to sound like I was bragging about my budding young genius. But then I thought, it's my blog - I'm SUPPOSED to brag here!! This is for me to look back on in 40 years and remember the milestones of my kid's life, so here goes. At nearly 20 months old, Aurora can identify and say every capital letter of the alphabet, almost all the numbers, every color & shape, and she correctly identifies her left and right extremities 50% of the time :) She LOVES reading books - that's still her favorite thing to do, by far. She reads by herself, and she also brings books to you and climbs up in your lap saying "Read book! Read book!" And you can't just hold it and look at the pictures, either - "READ!" She tells you all the letters on everything she sees - tv commercials, other peoples' t-shirts, menus, billboards, everything. She talks a blue streak all day long - about anything and everything. She likes to point out ownership of different objects - "mommy's shoe", "daddy's glasses", "baby's yogurt".. she calls herself baby but she knows who Aurora is too. She loves Sesame Street and Curious George and she's getting pretty proficient at eating with utensils (when she chooses to eat AT ALL, which is another blog post entirely) She loves all kinds of music and dances all the time... this morning I was getting her yogurt out of the fridge and sang a little 'yo-gurt yo-gurt' ditty about it, and she said "DANCE!" and started wiggling her little butt so I had to keep making up the yogurt song as I went along. Oh and speaking of her little butt, it's actually a "hiney!" I have no idea where she got that - I'm assuming from her father, but he denies all knowledge of it. We're inching ever closer to potty training, too - yesterday she said "poopoo", "potty", and "RUN RUN!" but when we got there it was a false alarm. Once we get that figured out, my work is done, right?

Yep, she's pretty much grown.

The story of an obsession

2008-09-03T09:00:00.002-07:00

It all started with a simple trip to San Diego's Wild Animal Park.
The baby elephant and all the giraffes roaming the grounds were so cool, a couple days later at the gift shop for the New Children's Museum we added one of each to our family.These figurines are so cute! And so lifelike! And not terribly expensive or anything!
"I'll have to keep my eye out for more!" I said. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long. Ducking into a little toy shop in Sea Port Village the next day, we found a whole display of all different species!
A neigh-neigh and a turtle joined the menagerie. Mike chuckled and noticed the vast differences in scale between the animals - the turtle is as big as a baby horse! The baby horse is bigger than a baby elephant! No matter - he liked them too. So after we got home and he happened to be at Toys R Us with Aurora one day, he decided to get a bunch more to add to the fray.He went in more of a domesticated direction, but that's ok.. at the rate this obsession is going, we'll have the entire animal kingdom in no time. Notice we even have a possum - how many kids do you know with a possum?? Not many. I really do like these animals - they are designed in Germany by Schleich and you can get them at toy stores and gift shops everywhere. They have adult males, adult females and babies of many different species. The best part is they range from $2-$7 each depending on scale, so it doesn't break the bank to pick up one or two every so often. Aurora likes them too - the pig was going around kissing everyone this morning. And just look how detailed they are:Right down to the eyelashes.

If you can't tell, we really haven't been doing anything blogworthy lately - Mike has had some time off so you know what he's been doing: Which leaves the rest of us to our own devices:But, the weather is starting to cool off incrementally, so hopefully soon we'll be able to go outside and do fun stuff more often!

Welcome to blogland!

2008-08-29T08:26:00.003-07:00

I just wanted to post real quick and tell everyone that Jacob's mom Cathy has succumbed to the lure of the blog. You can read about their adventures at Under The Big Top - and if you act fast you could even win a coffeemaker!

More!

2008-08-23T10:57:00.002-07:00

Guess what! Here are EVEN MORE pictures, courtesy of "Reeny and Dari" (translation: Aunt Doreen and Daria)

2008-08-23

These two are my favorites:

Home again!

2008-08-18T20:10:00.004-07:00

We are finally home! We had a great time and really loved San Diego, but there is something to be said for your own shower, toilet paper, and mattress! Our days and nights in SD were jam-packed with food, fun and festivities - so much so that I can't even remember all the great places we went! We managed to go to the Wild Animal Park, Coronado Island, the beach, and a million places downtown... we walked so much that by the end of the first week I had to buy pants TWO sizes smaller!!! Not to worry - the second week I made sure to eat as much as possible. Wouldn't want to waste away, right? :) Aurora had such a great time - she really loved seeing all the new sights and meeting all the new people. She made friends everywhere we went! Here is a quick slideshow of some of our fun:

And a short video of bird chasing at the marina park -

If that's not enough for you, find even more photos here!

San Diego 2

Now I'm off to find a recipe to duplicate the fabulous Nutella cream gelato I had on our last day there!

On the road again

2008-08-03T13:53:00.002-07:00

So, we leave for San Diego at 8 am tomorrow. The house is a wreck, the couch is full of laundry to be folded, and I haven't packed a thing yet. So what did we decide to do last night?
Have a Wii party, of course! We do have our priorities. Swimming, burgers, and Wii bowling sounded way more fun than cleaning and packing! But now I need to get off here and get my butt in gear. We'll see you in two weeks, with a bunch more pictures!

Bored bored bored..

2008-07-27T14:43:00.003-07:00

Well, here we are in the dead of summer - with the unrelenting sun, desiccating wind and scorching desert heat of Yuma - so there is little to do during the day. Playdates are few and far between, and the summer movie camp ends this week. We can swim in our pool, but only during the early morning or late evening hours so as to avoid bursting into flame. So, with endless hours of free time and no outdoor options, what's a girl to do with her day?

Answer: Sock Monkey Rodeos.

In all seriousness, we are leaving in one week for two weeks in beautiful San Diego, and I am currently trying to plan our itinerary. We want to hit the beaches and do a lot of shopping and eating, obviously, but I can't decide between Sea World, the Zoo, or the Wild Animal Park. We definitely want to do at least two of these three options, and possibly all three - Mike and I have been to the Zoo before and really enjoyed it, but we haven't been to the other two places yet. I'm trying to decide which would be most adaptable to visiting with a toddler - any suggestions? We'll be staying here which is near Sea Port Village, so we can walk around and shop - Any other ideas for killing time in SD during the day?

Birthdays

2008-07-22T10:35:00.003-07:00

Since we last met, Aurora passed the 18 month milestone - and I think the terrible two's are coming early to our family. She's discovered and perfected the fine and useful skill of whining - she hasn't quite gotten the hang of the tantrum yet, but I know she will. Today the entire gym was treated to her screaming MAMA MAMA MAMA MAMA at the top of her lungs in the playroom and pushing the teacher, so we're going to have to work on that. Is Prozac approved for use in toddlers yet? (JUST KIDDING)

Oh - and I had a milestone of my own -
Here are some of the presents I received for my birthday this year (24, thanks for asking!)

The theme this year was "Monya's a Dork", apparently - but who cares! I got exactly what I wanted and I love it all! (Especially that cute li'l iPod Nano up there) . You should all be thanking me for not including a recording of my family singing Happy Birthday to my answering machine...

Raindrops

2008-07-15T15:05:00.003-07:00

She's almost 18 months old, and she's finally experiencing her first rain "storm". We got about 30 minutes of some gentle rain last Thursday, and of course we had to run outside and play in it!

And we had some friends over on Saturday night to go swimming, and afterwards we decided to whip up a batch of baby soup :)

Random pictures

2008-07-10T14:55:00.003-07:00

Happy Summer!
Nothing going on, just playdates and movie dates and swimming and coloring - here's some random pictures for your enjoyment!

Playing in Noah's playhouse

Mom's sunglasses!

Aurora tries to assert her dominance:

So Chance employs his minion to defend his position

She saw this light on the ceiling and was convinced it was a butterfly!

Her adorable new dress & headband from Aunt Lora - Aurora really loves butterflies!

Summer fun

2008-06-29T10:07:00.002-07:00

We had a little get together at our house last night for Aurora's friends, and I think everyone had a really great time! Of course I completely spaced out on taking pictures until this opportunity presented itself:

Here's Aurora, N, and B, feeding the fish with their daddies.
Too cute!

And this morning we were outside cleaning up, and Chance
found the missing green crayon in the grass! He's so helpful...

She's stolen more than our hearts...

2008-06-25T15:30:00.005-07:00

Well, I debated telling this story here, for fear of tarnishing Aurora's spotless reputation, but in the end I decided that I needed to have it on record as a starting point for her eventual life of crime. My little girl is a thief! We went to the park this morning to play with some friends, and on the way home we stopped at Toys R Us to buy a picnic table for a little get together on Saturday. While we were at the most amazing store she has ever seen, Aurora notices a beautiful baby on the shelf - clearly in need of her affection. So I give her the baby to carry around the store until we check out. In the checkout line, I put the baby on the counter so we can leave with our picnic table in tow. Not until we get to the truck do I realize that we have a stowaway! Yep, she snatched her and carried her right out the door without me even noticing. So I had to do the walk of shame back into the store and admit that I am raising a little criminal. I whip out my credit card for the second time, because surely this little doll won't be too expensive, right? NO. Of course MY daughter has only the finest taste! This doll was TWENTY DOLLARS. Apparently it's all natural and handmade by Tibetan monks out of endangered butterfly wings or something. I hope she likes it - and so far it seems she does. She hasn't let go of it since we got home - she took it to bed for her nap and laid awake for 2 hours just singing to it. Which was cute and all, but I still would have preferred a nap.

Here she is discovering that sadly, the baby has no bellybutton.

And don't worry, I didn't take her out in public dressed like that - she was wearing cute little jean capris from her aunt Lora, but I put her PJ pants back on her for her nap.

Bonus squalor photo! I was in the process of rearranging our office/her playroom, and she just plopped herself right in the middle of all of it and started her Pooh tape. The girl has priorities!

Hmm..

2008-06-18T15:20:00.002-07:00

I think I need to come up with some new material for this blog... Aurora turned 17 months old yesterday and my day is literally filled with chasing her, being chased by her, and looking all over the house for her latest hiding places. We like to spice things up by going to playdates and movies and swimming in the pool, but those aren't really good venues for photographs. (Or, I just forget the camera too often) I will make a conscientious effort to be more diligent in posting in the future , but for now here's all I have for ya - please excuse the bedhead, I promise her hair looked really cute before her nap!

Hiding

Found Ya!!

Oh we did have a bit of a traumatic experience yesterday - I was busy ironing uniforms or folding diapers or scrubbing the bathtub or something important like that, and she was chasing Pepper all over the house and having a grand old time. Suddenly, I notice that the house is dangerously quiet so I know something is afoot. I go hunting and find her just as all heck breaks loose - she had crawled into the kennel with Pepper and was trying to kiss her while Pepper was cornered and trying to get away. Pepper finally snapped and bit her on the lip. She did draw a little bit of blood and scared Aurora and me to death, but luckily no lasting harm was done. I definitely learned my lesson though- it could have been a LOT worse!

Wow.

2008-06-09T08:39:00.002-07:00

So I've been lurking on this blog for a while now, and this chick kicks all kinds of butt! She lost 192 lbs all by herself without crazy crash diets or surgery and her blog is pretty entertaining AND inspirational. She wrote a book, and now she's having a contest to help get the word out about it. I can tell you she inspired me to make some changes around here - and so far I'm down 8 pounds! So anyway, check out this video and then go buy the book! :) More pictures of our little monkey to come soon - we've been spending all of our time in the pool or riding bikes so we haven't really had many photo ops lately!

We're back!

2008-06-02T20:36:00.003-07:00

Sorry about the lack of pictures lately, but we've been hiding out here! We took a few days and ran away to Phoenix for some fun and relaxation. But now we're back to the old grind - playdates and vet appointments and laundry galore! On to the pictures:

The pools - this pool was just 3.5' deep and had wonderful beach entries that Aurora loved!

Our bathing beauty
(please disregard the martinis...they were uh...somebody else's! Yeah!)

Our tender hearted little girl couldn't bear the thought of
blowing up all the innocent townfolk in Rawhide Village.

Her first summer romance - she loved 'em and left 'em.

Getting ready to leave (Not pictured: Mom's woe.)

Picture day!!

2008-05-21T20:30:00.002-07:00

Man, I am really slacking off in the blogging department! I guess its because there really isn't much to say around here... we're still hanging out with our playgroup buddies and doing fun things, and since Mike's been home we've been spending time with him.... And while I am glad we're doing all that, it doesn't make for very interesting blog fodder! So, I decided to just clean out the camera and see what I could find for your viewing enjoyment tonight. Luckily, Mike's on vacation next week so hopefully we'll do something worth blogging about :)

Here she is insuring that daddy doesn't leave without her again-

She is so glad he's home - she got his dirty shirt out of the
laundry and wore it around the house for an hour

Here she is at Little Steps last week - it took her a while to
approach the tunnel, but once she was in she loved it!

Coming to get you!

Hi!

And here she is at the park this morning with her playgroup friends -
She reminds me of a little Valley Girl here for some reason..

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T08:36:00.002-07:00

Okay it's been a while since my last post - sorry about that, we've been busy with all of our fun activities and getting ready for Mike to get home. But, upon a request from my sister, here are a few pictures. Oh and we solved the climbing out of the crib problem for now - after much trial and error, including an ill-advised experiment with the 'toddler bed' feature, we discovered that just turning the crib around so that the short side was against the wall prevents her from being able to climb out. So we're safe until she figures out another workaround!

Hanging out after swimming

She's fascinated with babies!

Daddy's home!!! Happy Mother's Day to me :)

Ohhhh Snap

2008-04-26T08:52:00.002-07:00

Guess who greeted me at her bedroom door this morning even though I know for a fact that when I left her last night she was safe and sound in her crib?

Now what am I supposed to do??

Toys!

2008-04-23T08:05:00.003-07:00

Not much to post today - Wouldn't you know that the very day she stopped breastfeeding, she started getting sick? She has some virus that's going around and is spending the majority of her time snuggling with me on the couch or sleeping. To top it off, she had to get her 15 month shots on Monday - so I'm sure that's adding to her misery. We may try going to the park for a little while later this morning to get some fresh air and sunshine, but other than that we're just moping around the house. Which means that I have had lots of time to surf the internet and I came across another great contest I have to enter!

Gymnastics World!

2008-04-16T18:51:00.002-07:00

Oh we had the best time today! Jacob came over and I took him and Aurora for a playgroup at Gymnastics World. Apparently they have "open gym" one morning a week and all the little kids can come play to their hearts' content. I will admit that it was somewhat difficult to wrangle two toddlers at the same time, but we still had a blast and I would definitely do it again. Here's a couple pictures and maybe even a video or two :)

Strapped in and ready to go

The totally awesome foam pit - grownups weren't allowed in, darn it!

Headed for the trampoline

Oh yeah, we're definitely going again!!

And a bonus video from Monday:

And, on the eve of her 15 month birthday, I am proud to announce that my little girl is officially completely weaned! No more boob for her - she gets all her liquids from a cup now. She had a little bit of a tough time going to bed tonight (cried for 15 minutes) but I predict that she will get better at it as time goes on. So, she's sleeping through the night, taking predictable naps, and completely off the boob - now I have to worry about grades, dating, and driver's ed, right?

Springtime fun

2008-04-12T22:31:00.003-07:00

Well, with Mike gone we've taken the opportunity to discover all kinds of fun activities in our town! We've joined a playgroup, joined the YMCA, gone to the fair, signed up for a mommy and me class, and this morning we went to an early childhood festival at the park. And its *almost* hot enough to go swimming! And yet, around 3 or 4 pm everyday (after napping and before dinner), Aurora wanders the house completely awash in boredom. You can see it on her face! She walks around, looking for something to hold her attention (besides the eleventymillion toys, 3 dogs, and Tivo'ed Sesame Street, of course) - and when she can find nothing, she flops to the floor and rolls around kicking her feet listlessly. It would be hilarious if it weren't so pathetic! Okay it's still pretty hilarious - I'll have to get it on video tomorrow. But for now, here is a little snippet I caught at today's festival - be careful, we were right by the speakers so it's pretty loud!

And now some pictures from the past week or so:

I love how studious they both look

Okay, the glasses crack me up!

Next she'll be having him feed her grapes and fan her with a palm leaf.

Of COURSE she has a Dyson - doesn't everyone??

She did it!!!!!

2008-04-05T07:56:00.004-07:00

She finally did it!! For the first time ever, she slept the ENTIRE night through - 8:10pm till 7am - without waking up once! Of course, we only had to spend 7 hours at the fair with Jacob to get her tired enough to crash like that... But I'll take it! We had such a great time there... we got to go to a petting zoo, ride rides, watch a sea lion show, and eat all kinds of fair food, and the fairgrounds are right next to the Marine Corps Air Station so we could watch all the awesome jets and helicopters landing and taking off all day. We had a great view from the top of the ferris wheel, and Aurora loved it!

Checking out the festivities

Look! A baby yak!

Riding the Ferris Wheel

Riding the carousel

Two tuckered toddlers

Now what??

2008-04-01T14:50:00.002-07:00

Well, the Dallas trip, Easter, and Aunt Monya have all come and gone, and Mike is in Kansas for six weeks. How on earth am I going to keep this kid entertained now?? As soon as we dropped Aunt Monya off at the airport, we hightailed it to the YMCA and signed up so she can at least play with the big kids for a little while each day, and we're going to the Fair on Friday.. other than that I guess we're going to take a lot of trips to Wal Mart, the grocery store and the park!

Aunt Monya was her favorite toy!
But swinging is awesome too...

Cruising the playground

Checking out the flowers in the backyard

Happy Easter!

2008-03-25T18:54:00.002-07:00

Jacob invited us to his Grandma's house for a delicious brunch and an Easter egg hunt! Aurora had a great time playing with all the big kids and finding a whole basket full of eggs all by herself. Hope everyone else had a great Easter too!

That's Jacob's big sister Shannon overseeing the festivities!

Pictures!

2008-03-23T23:08:00.004-07:00

Well, I am out of space in my Google image account, so I could only choose a few of the zillions of pictures we took on our trip. These are some of my favorites-

Her new friends Leo and Henry - courtesy of our old friends Todd and Holly!

Playing with Grandma's "diamonds"

When I first met Mike's nephew Stuart, he was a scrawny little kid...

At the Dallas World Aquarium - she was entranced!

Visiting Grandpa Ringler

At the flight museum - airplanes are her FAVORITE!

At the Botanical Garden petting zoo - the baby goats were so adorable!

Except the one that ate her flower.

It was a little chilly to be playing in the fountain, but I let her do it anyway.
Could explain her runny nose....

The coolest kid at the zoo

Hitchin a ride on Grandpa Miller

Looking at all these pictures, it is clear to me that I really need to figure out what to do with my child's hair!!

And I suppose I'll upgrade my Google storage later this week :)

We're back!

2008-03-23T13:17:00.001-07:00

We made it home, safe and sound, but I haven't been able to get all the millions of pictures online yet! I will finish doing so tonight and get them up for you ASAP!

Leavin' on a jet plane 2.0

2008-03-08T16:28:00.002-07:00

Well, we're all packed up and ready to head to Dallas - of course, we have to get up at 3am tomorrow to head to Phoenix for our flight, but it's cool! We'll be kicking it DFW-style for 2 weeks, so blogging will probably take a back seat till we get home. That said, I would never leave you without at least a couple pictures to tide you over!

Stop and smell the hibiscus...

Check out these ~~weeds~~ wildflowers growing off our back porch!

This picture cracks me up, because it appears that Jacob vanquished his rival and was victorious in the battle for the pink chair...when in reality, Aurora was just laying on the floor kicking the chair and he came along and sat down in it - guess he wanted a back massage!

Anyway, hope everyone has a good couple of weeks - we'll be back with a bunch more pictures and stories to tell soon!

Hooray and Hallelujah!

2008-02-27T18:05:00.004-07:00

All is right again - we have a camera. (Now I just need to work on my mad photography skillz...)Mom, the sun is behind you....

Hey! Hold my hat!

Standing up in the tub AND sucking bathwater out of a washcloth...

It's the finest bathwater from the north of Spain!

I took the washcloth away from her and she slurped it directly from the tub.

Figuring she must be absolutely parched, I offer the sippy cup full of clean, cold, filtered water. She chose Pooh instead - she wasn't thirsty anymore!

Hang in there...

2008-02-25T12:06:00.002-07:00

I know!! I am the worst blogmom in the whole entire world. A MONTH has gone by since my last post! Did I die? Was I kidnapped? Did my computer go up in flames? Were my fingers horribly mutilated in a tragic cupcake baking accident? No, none of those things. I was just living my life without a working camera and didn't feel that I could come here and describe all the great things Aurora is doing without pictures. But trust me, she is just as great as ever - if not greater! She's such a little nutjob these days, running around, playing hide and seek, laughing and stopping to smell every single flower in the yard. I can't wait for our next adventure - in two weeks we're all going back to Dallas for 13 days! Mike managed to finagle some training for work in DFW, and I managed to sucker him into taking us with him. Of course, due to government ineptitude we won't be on the same flight or even flying into the same airport, but at least we're leaving the same airport at roughly the same time and staying in the same hotel. It promises to be an experience, I am sure... And never fear, my new camera will be here THIS WEDNESDAY so I will be sure to take thousands of nauseatingly adorable pictures for you immediately. Oh and I came here to post this quick teaser of a note, and realized that today she is 1 year, 1 month, 1 week and 1 day old! Neat, huh?

Don't worry - I'll be back Thursday with pictures :)

Oh no!

2008-01-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

My camera is broken! I don't know how I am going to live until I get a new one... and of course it had to break on the very day we had Aurora's little birthday party :( Jacob's family came over and we had tacos and birthday cake and opened all of her great presents and everyone stayed up way past their bedtimes but it was worth it, I think. Anyway, not much else to report here - I'm taking donations for the Camera Fund, if anyone wants to contribute! ;-)

Happy Birthday Little One

2008-01-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

Wow - has it really been over 2 weeks since my last post?? Lest you think I'm just a lazy slacker, let me assure you that I have had quite a few good reasons not to be online. Let's see... there's the master bed/bath painting debacle, which turned into the master shower and toilet replacement adventure; then there was the wrecking of my car (not by me) and subsequent 2 week absence of it; then there was the guest toilet tank repair; then there was the truck heater core repair.... Let's just say we're getting all the trials of 2008 over with as quickly as possible and the rest of the year is going to be a piece of cake.

Before:

After:

Yes, she climbed up there herself:

I'm not saying who did it, but it wasn't me!

Speaking of (birthday) cake - one year ago today, a 9 pound, 9 ounce, wiggly pink bundle was brought forth into the glaring lights of a hospital room to meet her anxious and fully unprepared parents. She opened her blue eyes and looked around almost immediately, as if sizing up the situation and determining her plan of action for the year to come. I don't know what plans she had in mind, but the past year has brought so much adventure and excitement to our little home. She's gone from just watching and learning about the world from the comfort of our arms to being a full fledged little toddler - independently careening about the house, laughing and talking to everything she sees. She loves to read books to herself, in fact its the only way I can keep her still long enough to change her diaper - just hand her a book to read while I do it. She still likes to play with socks - anyone's will do, including the ones on her feet. And her new favorite thing is to chase Pepper around the house, squealing and giggling all the way. When she catches her, they take turns licking each other (I know, gross) until Pepper gets tired of it and runs off to be chased some more. She's quite the little mimic - monkeys go AH MM AH AH, cows go MMMMM, dogs go AGH AGH (with tongue sticking out), and tigers go AAARRRRR! And she can 'cough', 'sneeze', 'laugh' and 'fart' (pbbttt) just as well as any grownup around. She's finally sleeping like a little person - 11-13 hours in her crib at night, with just one wakeup to eat, and at least one decent nap during the day. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can maintain that progress during the weaning process that is now imminent. Just one year has brought about changes in her parents, too - we started out as just sleep deprived zombies trying to figure it all out and do it all right, and now we're slightly less sleep deprived but we're still trying to do it all right. Hopefully the year to come will be as great as the first one was. Happy Birthday, my little monkey!

Three videos in one post - Jackpot!

2007-12-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

Well, she almost managed to escape her first year without getting sick - the poor baby is currently feeling miserable with a runny nose, red, watery eyes and annoying sneeze attacks. I'm hoping it's just allergies from the big dust storm we had a couple nights ago, but it may be a full fledged cold. She's not running a fever yet, she's still eating and she seems to be in pretty good spirits, considering, so we'll wait and see. Now as promised, here is video of the big girl walking! Please ignore my disastrous house - we're also in the middle of "renovating the master suite" (painting the bedroom) so all of our furniture is crammed into the living room along with all of the fallout from Christmas. So just look at Aurora, not her surroundings :)

Little Drummer Girl
Completely gratuitous inclusion of the cutest thing I've seen all year:

Uh oh...

2007-12-30T08:25:00.000-07:00

We now officially have a walker in our family! She's been tentatively walking for a couple of weeks, but as of yesterday she now walks more than she crawls - but it's still pretty freaky to see her come walking around the corner. She even tries to run on the carpet when she gets excited about one of her new Christmas toys! I think the motivation behind her walking was the fact that when she walks she can carry things in both her hands - so now I have books and shoes and balls all over the house! I have a bunch of pictures and video that I will try to get online tonight.

Merry Christmas, Baby

2007-12-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

Our friends Chris and Kelley had to go and trump everyone's Christmas presents this year:

	Isabelle
Birthdate	12/24/2007
Birthtime	01:32 PM
Weight (lbs,oz)	8lbs, 6.8oz
Length (in)	20.5
Parents	Kelley and Christopher

Isabelle didn't want to miss out on a white Christmas in North Dakota with her parents and big sister Keira, so she decided to make her entry on Christmas Eve!

How I spent my winter vacation

2007-12-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, so a few days got by me, but here's my report on How to Vacation On Your Own With an 11 Month Old:

Day 1: Wake up at 2am, shower, load up the car, and pack a formerly soundly sleeping infant into her carseat, praying that she won't notice the interruption and will soon fall back asleep for the upcoming 3 hour car ride. Arrive at Phoenix airport 3 hours later, ears ringing from the incessant screaming and conspicuous lack of sleeping by said infant. Shuffle like a pack mule through security with baby, backpack and carseat, and board the plane. Enjoy an amazingly peaceful plane ride as infant discovers the joys of a window seat and a luxurious free row! Arrive in Dallas to much rejoicing.

Day 2 thru 12: Watch as infant is smothered in attention, affection, hugs, kisses, and more presents than you can fit into your house. Eat a ton of great food, go shopping, play cards, and sleep when you can. If you're feeling particularly brave, fit a car trip down to Houston into your schedule! The food is great there and everyone knows how much the kid loves a car ride! If it happens to rain the entire way there and back, turning a four hour trip into six, just look at it as valuable driving experience. Try to maintain constant vigilance as the infant discovers that everyone elses' home is full of beautiful treasures and fun climbing activities. Wish you had more time to spend with everybody.

Day 13: Enjoy another surprisingly great plane ride (another free row?! Truly a Christmas miracle). Eat lunch with your husband in Phoenix and brace yourselves for the agonizing 3 hours of screaming in the car until you get home. Get home and feel your anxiety melt away as the infant recognizes all her familiar toys and furniture with happy yells and dancing. :)

In all seriousness, we really had a great time. It was so nice to see everyone and finally get to eat at some great restaurants for a change! Aurora did better than I expected with all the new sights, sounds and people - the worst parts were the car trips. But that was because I was alone and trying to drive the car, thus unable to supply her with the nonstop attention she had become accustomed to at her grandparents' house. So all in all, we lived through it and may even do it again on day - maybe when she's 9 or 10.

Here's all the pictures but I have to say that I was a terrible photographer the whole time. So my apologies in advance! If you got any pictures of us while we were there, please email me!


Texas Trip

Home Again!

2007-12-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

Didja miss me??

We made it home! We had a wonderful time in Texas seeing all our friends and family, but we are definitely glad to be home. I have a ton of pictures and videos to come, so check back tomorrow!

Over the river and through the woods

2007-12-04T03:30:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning Aurora and I will embark on a journey to adventure...we'll be flying by the seat of our pants for 2 weeks, but I'll try to get the occasional picture posted up here. But no yelling at me if I forget to!

To tide you over until we meet again, here are two pictures from JoAnn's birthday party on Saturday - it was cold outside!

Random happenings

2007-11-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to get our Christmas pictures made, and while we were waiting for the appointment in front of us to finish up, we ran around the store taking pictures of our own! And on Monday we went to the Promotions Ceremony at sector headquarters to celebrate Mike's promotion to supervisor! It was very nice, they had the spouses pin the new badges onto the agents' uniforms and they took pictures and everything. I had quite a time trying to keep Aurora quiet through the whole thing, but she did okay. Of course it looked like a goldfish cracker bomb went off around our chair by the end of the day, but oh well!! Here's a picture of me pinning his badge on:Not much else is going on around here - for more pictures go here!

11th Month

Happy Turkey Day!

2007-11-22T19:24:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated Aurora's first Thanksgiving, and she really enjoyed it! I went way overboard with the cooking as usual, but at least we'll have plenty of leftovers. Her favorites were the stuffing and the pumpkin pie - everything else on her tray became a bountiful feast on the floor for the dogs. I hope all of you had a great day off with friends and family - now on to the pictures!!

Yay! Turkey! Dad, come eat!!!
Quit bothering me - can't you see I'm eating pumpkin pie??
Special bonus video for her fans!

Some babies have a favorite blanket, or a stuffed bear, or a doll for a lovey. MY kid has none of those. Instead, she carries Jacob's sock everywhere she goes. Make of that what you will.

Oh and I just found this site - I'm at level 46 and have donated 810 grains of rice so far! It's pretty addictive and it feeds hungry people so go check it out.

Jeez!

2007-11-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

So my darling aunt sent me a very demanding email requesting more pictures, so I must comply! Unfortunately, things haven't been terribly photogenic around here this past week. I got a couple, but she's had a runny nose the past couple of days that just doesn't inspire me to bust out the camera and commemorate it. We even went to the photographer today to try and get some Christmas pictures made, and it was a total bust - between her drippy nose and terrible attitude, we couldn't get even one decent picture. So, we'll try again next week! Not only all that, but I also let her ten month birthday pass without so much as a word here! I am so negligent. Here are the few pics I've gotten lately:

JoAnn's baby shower

Daddy's hiding

Daddy attacks!

Would you let your kid take the date rape drug?

2007-11-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is charged with testing the toys that our children play with every day, has only ONE toy tester on staff. How many billions of toys come into our country every year? And how can ONE tester possibly verify the safety of all those toys? This site is teaming up with Consumers Union (the folks who bring us Consumer Reports) to organize parents to take action against unsafe toys.

"They’ve put together a fantastic campaign for the holiday season called “Get the Lead Out This Holiday Season!” Sadly, it’s not just lead anymore. It’s small magnets that kids are choking on and it’s chemicals that can put our kids into comas.

And do not think that wood toys and plush toys are safe!"

Besides buying toys you KNOW are safe, what else can you do? Go to Consumer Union at http://cu.convio.net/FixTheCPSC, fill in your contact information, add a sentence or two to the beginning of their prewritten letter, and click to send it to your congressperson. And if you're shopping for any little ones this holiday season, might I recommend this site? (So much cute stuff!!) And if you're crafty yourself, handmade toys are always welcome around here!

Also, I'm joining in on the Christmas giveaways here!

By popular demand

2007-11-08T07:20:00.001-07:00

No time to talk, but y'all only want pictures anyway!!

New toy

Jacob getting fresh on their lunch date

Couch potato!

Pumpkin Patch Photos!

2007-10-29T20:27:00.001-07:00

Okay, so it was 97 degrees, the place was empty, and most of the pumpkins were in various stages of decomposition, but we had a good time anyway! There are a few more pictures here... she did NOT like sitting on the pokey hay!

Cute videos

2007-10-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

I took these videos about a week ago and just now got around to uploading them. They are both of her playing with her shakers, but the first one is the super long extended version! Please ignore her raging case of bedhead :)

5 minutes of shaker fun:

The abridged version (30 seconds):

My little punkin

2007-10-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

Uh oh...

2007-10-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

Look who was sitting on our roof, eyeing our fish pond...He's been here a couple of days, and hasn't managed to catch dinner yet...hopefully he'll lose interest soon!

9 Months today!

2007-10-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

Our little monkey is nine months old today! It's amazing how fast time flies... and amazing how much she's learned to do in just nine months! Yesterday we were sitting in the backyard, and she just stood up! I mean, she got up from a sitting position with no help and no 'props' to pull up or lean on - and she stood there for a little while before she sat back down. That's pretty amazing! She's gotten to be so much fun to play with, too.. she likes to hide behind the couch or the coffee table and pop out to play peekaboo, and she loves to jump and sing the 5 Little Monkeys song. And she has such a great sense of humor - she's developing her own personality and it's pretty cool. We've also discovered something else she really likes to do - too bad the park is a 40 minute drive away so we can't go every day!

Happy Anniversary!

2007-10-14T07:48:00.001-07:00

Just for Grandma and Grandpa Miller:

We're here!

2007-10-10T22:16:00.000-07:00

Did ya miss me??

So its been a while since my last post! I haven't been taking quite as many pictures these days, mainly because she won't sit still long enough to be captured on film! But we're still having a good old time.. she's not quite walking but she can stand on her own for almost a full minute. As long as she isn't thinking about it, that is - as soon as she realizes what she's doing, PLOP to the floor she goes! And she's introducing us to the joy of teething + separation anxiety...I must say that whining is not her most endearing trait. But, this too shall pass, I'm sure! Here are a couple pictures I've taken over the past week or so:

Beating dad with a stick:

"I said I wanted a PONY!!!"

Having vanquished Dad and Chance, now she's coming for me:
No paparazzi!

Talking on the phone in a bubble bath:

"It's for you!"

More photos here!

Two more pictures

2007-10-02T11:02:00.001-07:00

I found these two pics on the camera from the last time Jacob came over - they really are inseparable!

Playdate!

2007-09-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

Aurora's friend Jacob came over yesterday to play! She loved it...he's older than she is so she just followed him everywhere. Everything he played with, she wanted to play with too because he made it look so cool! And he's walking like a big kid so I'm betting she'll start any day now, just to keep up with him :) Here are some pictures:

Bill who?

2007-09-21T11:53:00.000-07:00

So the latest news in the mommy blogosphere is all about Bill Maher's rant against breastfeeding in public. When I heard about it, frankly, I was shocked. Bill Maher is still around?? He even has a show? Unbelievable. So I clicked over and watched the rant in question. Sure, it's obnoxious and ridiculous:

"Look, there's no principle at work here other than being too lazy to either plan ahead or cover up. It's not fighting for a right it's fighting for the spotlight you surely will get when you go all Janet Jackson on everyone and get to drink in the oohs and ahs of the other customers because you made a baby. Something a dog can do."

Chicky Chicky Baby has a much better post about this subject than I do today, but I wanted to throw my two cents in too. Honestly, I am not offended by his stupid comments, as he is so far off my radar that it truly doesn't affect me one way or the other. I just rolled my eyes when he started going on about it, but I'm lucky to have never had any problems nursing in public the few times I've had to. I do try to avoid it though, simply because I don't want the possibility of dealing with A-holes like Maher. The thing that really bothers me about his rant is knowing that his opinion is shared by lots of people - mostly men - people who have never been in a situation where their child is starving, won't take a bottle, and screaming at the top of their lungs in a crowded restaurant/grocery store/mall/movie theater. And it is so hypocritical to me that this society - one that glorifies porn, violence, and celebrities minus their underwear - would be up in arms against seeing half a boob. Really, which would you prefer to be subjected to? A) The possibility of accidentally seeing the top part of my boob if you happen to glance in my direction, or B) Listening to my child scream and flail about in hunger? One would think A would win in a landslide. But, Bill Maher is an idiot who panders to other idiots, and shouldn't expect to drink in the oohs and ahhs of America just because he gets to be on TV. Something a monkey can do.

8 Months

2007-09-18T17:11:00.000-07:00

I didn't post yesterday, but the little monkey is now 8 months old!! To celebrate, I put her down in the living room to play with her toys and went to the garage to get another pack of Diet Cokes for the fridge. I came back in the house, only to find that she was nowhere in sight! Of course, I freak out slightly and start checking all the usual hiding places - under my nightstand, in the bathroom, on the bottom shelf of the changing table - no baby! So I go back to the laundry room, and lo and behold, there she is!What?!

In other news, this blogging stuff is really paying off! First I won a t-shirt for me and Aurora, and now I've won these!! And the weather is finally cooling down here, so now I have no excuse not to get out and start pounding the pavement.

Too cool :)

Laughing at Cucumbers, Parts I and II

2007-09-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

Some random pictures

2007-09-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

Checking the brakes on her spaceship:Oh no! Daddy's got me!

I guess it's okay - he's not so bad!

Got some insanely cute videos coming up tomorrow!

Advice

2007-09-14T05:18:00.000-07:00

If your baby is eating solid foods and just not pooping like she used to, might I recommend curried lentils and rice? Aurora loves it, and it works like a (disgusting, messy) charm!

I just realized I've posted almost no pictures of her this month, and she turns 8 months old on Monday! I'll try to get some pics up later today after the camera charges.

Welcome home, honey

2007-09-07T20:59:00.000-07:00

Meet the newest member of our family, the DiaperSanitizatron 2000:

I hope the dryer doesn't get an inferiority complex - we can only replace one ridiculously expensive appliance at a time!

What a day

2007-09-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

So I put the camera on the dock to see what pictures might be on it, and all I had was this:
It's been a very boring week - we've been working on the ceiling in the office, trying to keep the rest of the house picked up, and doing laundry... and today, the washing machine broke! So the repairman is coming this afternoon. We'll see how that goes - mama might be getting a new washer!

We also tried Kindermusik on Wednesday with Cathy and Jacob - it was fun but she was the only girl in the whole class, and by far the youngest. Everyone else was a year or older so she couldn't really keep up with their shenanigans. Plus it really disrupted her morning nap. I think we might hold off until she's walking and down to one nap a day before we join. But I might re-join the YMCA down the street - $39 a month, and free childcare! We'll see how it goes.

That's pretty much all I got today - I'll try to get more pics this weekend!

Edited to add: Another contest entry! A beautiful sling from Rockin' Baby!

yum yum cheerios!

2007-09-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

Neat!

2007-08-28T09:04:00.001-07:00

I got a comment from busy mom (of SEVEN!) Qtpies7 saying I might be interested in this contest! She's giving away a 1 lb pail of cloth diaper detergent, made by a WAHM named Becki. The contest is here, and the detergent is here! I'm not sure which scent I would like better...Tangerine or Tea Tree??

Updated to add another contest entry - this one for FREE SHOES! How could I not enter?! Go here or here to win a pair of shoes from Ryka! Their running shoes are really cute, too!

Miscellaneous

2007-08-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

I took this video a couple days ago and it makes me laugh.. She's playing with her penguin who has a mirror on his belly, and she's watching the light reflecting all over the room:

And her new favorite food is.....

Refried beans! She took one taste and just started shoveling them in.. it was pretty funny! But she's also been eating applesauce, pasta, chicken, and (ahem) cupcake frosting.... I know, I'm a bad mom - but I was rude enough to eat a cupcake in front of her! And she really loved that frosting, but I've learned my lesson and she's never going to have sugar before bed again! And just look at that Buddha belly - we could probably all lay off the cupcakes around here!

And today I was bored and trying to think of something to do with some fabric I bought on sale months ago, so I made this!
It's called a pouch sling - I found the directions here. It was very easy to sew - the hardest part was keeping a little monkey out from under the sewing machine! Please disregard the yellow plastic toy ring on it - I'm making a fabric tie to go there. So far I like it, I wore her in it to the grocery store today and it went okay - I may need to hem it just a little bit shorter so she rides higher up because I'm pretty sure it will hurt my back after a while. But it's definitely cooler than the wrap!

The secret..

2007-08-19T20:56:00.001-07:00

So Cathy has discovered the secret to keeping me motivated on this blog:

New clothes! Her son Jacob took Aurora out for a lunch date at Olive Garden the other day, and she surprised us with this cute new dress! It's a bit big on her, and when she tries to crawl she gets all tangled up and angry with it, but I think it's cute and she got complimented on it at the grocery store today!

Oh, she has a couple new foods to add to her repertoire - stinky feta cheese, toasted whole wheat bagel, and her new favorite - peaches! She squished a peach slice in her fist, took a few bites, and then spent about 15 minutes slurping every bit of peach juice off her fingers, wrist, and arm - so I made sure to slice up a couple of the very ripe ones and put them in the freezer for her teething enjoyment later on.

PS to Mom - trying to keep her from standing up is like trying to keep the sun from shining or the dog from shedding....its just not possible!

PPS to Grandma Eileen - I would say she weighs about 21 lbs now, and she does walk along the furniture but she crawls to get wherever she wants to go. I'll try and get some more videos with sound up soon!

7 Months Old

2007-08-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

Well, the little monkey is officially seven months old now! Here are some of the things she likes to do:

Crawl (lightning fast!)
Pull up and cruise along the furniture
Eat anything BUT pureed food, including avocados, bananas, grilled red bell peppers, chicken, toast, cucumbers, broccoli, ice cream and breadsticks from Olive Garden (she's her mama's girl!)
Chase the dogs all over the house, while yelling at the top of her lungs ("AHHH! AHHH!!! BYAHHH!!" while the poor dog just tries to find shelter anywhere she can't reach)
Play with her stacking rings and her counting tower, while babbling and singing to herself
Make 'pbbbtttttt' and 'ttthhhhhh' sounds while crawling around like a little motorboat
Scrunch up her nose and make piggy snorts
Look at the world sideways and upside down
Laugh at all the funny faces and noises mommy makes to amuse her during the day
Play Space Ranger with daddy
Read books and play peekaboo with mommy
Take baths and swim in the pool

Never fear, there are things she definitely does NOT like to do:

Nap longer than 30 minutes at any given time during the day
Sleep longer than 2.5 hours at any given time during the night
Sit still in her booster seat (or highchair in restaurants) longer than 15 minutes

Notice a theme? Even as I type this she is playing by herself in her crib, having just woken up from a whopping 13 minute nap! Luckily, she seems pretty content playing with Snoopy and her blanket, but still I would really appreciate a good 90 minute nap once in a while. Oh well, I guess I just have to resign myself to the notion that she is just too darn BUSY to sleep.. and I can sleep when she goes to school :) Here are some pictures I took on her 7 month birthday yesterday:

Edited to add: Okay, the very day I posted this she went down for a nap at 12:50 and didn't wake up until 2:48!! My child. She is a mystery to me...

Yes Ma'am!

2007-08-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

In response to Cathy's last comment, I decided to do something about the lack of new material around here. So, after a diaper change that necessitated not only a full removal of her clothing, but also a hazmat suit and a gas mask for me, I set to work getting new footage of our little rugrat. The following pictures tell the tale of why said footage has been so lacking lately -

Every time I tried to get her to sit still so I could take a picture, she would chase me down and try to put the camera in her mouth. Finally I had to stand over her and get a Godzilla-eye view of her:She's quite the little character - her 7 month birthday is coming up Friday, so I'll have more to post then!

Videos!

2007-08-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

Crawling and talking - she's a busy girl! Of course, it ended abruptly when she bonked her head on my chair...

Saying good morning to the dogs - Pepper's just jealous that she can't be in the house too!

You can see all the videos I've uploaded at Google Video

Two new pictures

2007-08-03T12:18:00.001-07:00

I'm uploading some great videos right now, but in the meantime
here's a couple photos from the past few days!

Carrots? Poison!
Standing in the laundry basket - right before it tumps over and drops her on her head!

Okay, CATHY - here are some pictures!!

2007-07-29T14:41:00.001-07:00

Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Amber and her Majesty:

Thinking of what she wants to chew on next:

Grandpa Miller:

Enough said!

Nothing to see here..

2007-07-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

More pictures and updates coming soon, I promise - I just had to get in on this contest sponsored by Best Buy!

Yikes!

2007-07-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

What a strange week it has been! We woke up Saturday morning to see this in our office:

You can't tell, but our A/C (which is on the roof) had overflowed and leaked through the ceiling. So we had to rip it all out and move all the furniture out of there, and now it looks like this:

And after all that, I checked my email to find a message from my parents saying they were on their way!! So we've been having a good time this week visiting and hanging out. Here's Aurora showing everyone how she can stand up:

Here she is telling me to stop reading Harry Potter already!!

And I'm glad they are visiting, because it gave me an excuse to make my favorite dessert - Strawberry Chocolate Mousse Cake!

We can worry about the ceiling next week!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2007-07-20T20:15:00.001-07:00

Well, today is my birthday - Hard to believe I'm already 24! Okay, okay.... 27. ;) For my birthday, my friend Dolores came over and watched the kid crawl all over the house, while Mike took me out to dinner at Hunter's. It was great! We had a nice, leisurely, grownup dinner (complete with drinks and dessert!) and didn't have to worry about a squirmy little monkey in the booth with us. He also surprised me by coming home early from work with these:

And Aurora decided her birthday present to me would be to show me how she can pull up on the couch and get the remote! She doesn't seem to realize that she really doesn't have to be running by 7 months...

SIX MONTHS!

2007-07-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

Incredibly, our itty bitty baby girl is six months old! How can this be? How could she possibly be crawling already!? Alas, she is:

Not only that, how on earth did she manage to pull herself up to a stand and get a hairbrush off the coffee table today? And when are the babyproofing fairies going to come to my house?? We've already had to lower her crib mattress, because every time I go get her after her nap, she's sitting up, blanket in hand, gazing at the door waiting for me. I know its just a matter of time before she's actively trying to escape!

Baby's first food!

2007-07-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

So she's not technically six months old till tomorrow, but I just couldn't hold off feeding her real food any longer! (Rice cereal doesn't count) So here she is, playing Linda Blair...

Strained Peas! Yum! (not)

Froglegs

2007-07-06T23:22:00.000-07:00

And I forgot to mention it, but if you look very closely, you might be able to see what's been happening over the past week or so....

TEETH!

Grandma Ringler and Aunt Lora

2007-07-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

Grandma Ringler and Aunt Lora came to visit this week, and Aurora has been having such a great time! Every day she gets new toys and cute new outfits from Aunt Lora, and she is enjoying it so much that she doesn't want to miss any of the fun by napping! But that's okay - she can nap next week :) I'm just worried that after they leave, I won't be nearly exciting enough for her! She's come to expect a certain level of adoration at all times, and I just can't live up to it by myself. I predict that she's going to have a hard time coming back down to reality after they're gone!