Very Happy Birthday (party)

 Oh this has been a wonderiffic day! The weather was great, and the company was stellar! What Generous and Thoughtful friends we have gained along the road of life. We had Aurora's 'official' party today.

 John was such a hard worker today, making the last minute run to the commissary, not once, not twice, but THREE times! So we were able to have cupcakes, icing, and drinks for the party!! He and My dad, Gramps, cooked stellar hot dogs for every one at the party - (and then an even more amazing dinner later on)

 

 Thoughts on our rendition of Happy Birthday.....

 Blowing out the candle for her Third Birthday

What a great day we had together. a big thanks to those that attended, and helped make it a wonderful day. Aurora is loved and adored and it shines as brightly as the quality of our friends and family. 

Grandma is a Man!!

Aurora was telling me the other day, "My grandma is a man."
"What did you say?" I asked her.
She looks at me matter of factly, and repeats herself, "My Grandma is a MAN!"

Aurora and Grandma

I am baffled at that, so i correct her: "No sweetie your grandma is a Lady."

What followed was a few "nu uh" and "Uh huh" exchanges.

Then I tried a different approach. "Your daddy is a man. Your Gramps is a man. Your Granddad is a man. But your Grandma is a Lady."

Next I needed to be corrected..."Noooo mom! Dad is a SIR!! and My Grandma IS A MAN!"

Oh my sweet child. I love her. Grandma is, in fact, a Ma'am.

Aurora's 3rd Birthday celebration a week long affair!

 We began Aurora's Birthday Celebrations on Tuesday the 21st, her actual birthday. We bought cupcakes from The Sweetest Batch (Clarksville's version of GiGi's) Aurora chose Red Velvet Cake for herself, Blueberry for her dad, and Apple Spice for me.

 Next we came home to have a web chat with Grammie and Granddad (they live in Germany). Aurora got to open her presents from them while they talked. She got Legos and Lego Animals, as well as a train track set. After opening her gifts, Aurora built a lego barn for the lego animals.

I bought Aurora a tea set, so she and Grammie can have tea parties when they are together. Actually they had a Webcam Tea Party together. Grammie had her own tea cup, and Aurora poured the tea from her pot into Grammie's cup.

Aurora got to have her cake with Grammie and Grandad as well. YUM.

When John got home we had another Present Opening Party. Aurora opened a new set of tools, and some new books. Aurora is a very loved child!

We even had a silly day and web talk with Grandma and Gramps. Cards and presents have been coming in the mail daily, so our celebration continues!!! The official party is Saturday the 25th (eek! that's tomorrow!!) and we are baking the cake today for that.

Of course I will update and add pictures of the party afterward. 

Beach Bums and Best Friends

Aurora and I went to the beach last week with our good friends Maddie and Katrina. We drove to Southport NC. Let me tell you, that is a LOOONG drive! it took about 13 hours from Clarksville. The company on the road was good though, and we made it alive!

Riding the Ferry to Fort Fisher.

We had a much needed break, and lots of fun playing in the ocean and visiting the aquarium. Aurora had a great time at the touch tanks in the aquarium. she had the volunteer lift each horseshoe crab, and turn them over so she could see and touch their legs. She was even able to touch a starfish, sea snail, and sea anemone. They took turns saving each other from the alligator in the observatory too !!

We went to the beach 2 days in a row, and it was bliss. The beaches were pretty much empty, and the water was still warm enough to swim in. It is the perfect time to go to the beach, right after the official 'tourist season' is over.

Aurora is a beach bum. She tans so fast, and is so blonde, she looks like she is made for beach life!

surfer girls

the day we absolutely were NOT going to get wet!!

We are lucky to have found such great friends as Maddie and Katrina!

Best friends are hard to come by.

3rd Birthday Surprise.

When I took Aurora to the beach last week, I left John home alone. When I returned I find that he has gotten Aurora an early birthday gift.

Ta-Dah!! Her name is Mojo. She was born 15 July 2010, and is a full blood German Shepherd.

Aurora is smitten. I'm stuck. And John is a stinker.

That is what I get for taking a beach trip and leaving him home alone huh?

3 years and 9 months ago, my life became chaos.

It feels so cliche to say this but, it barely seems like 3 years have gone by since Aurora was born.

I vividly remember the ways I felt when I found out I was pregnant (elated, terrified), and how I felt as I morphed into the "pod person" mentally and physically (overwhelmed, lost, excited, hungry). I remember her birth (slow, long awaited) and my feelings about the whole ordeal (terror, relief, happiness)....

I want to remember everything. Like her first smile(no, it wasn't gas!), her first laugh. That moment that all that work, all the emotion, all the tears, all the weight, all the waiting - was all worth it.

I want to remember her milestones... rolling over, sitting up, the not-a-crawl booty scoot, pulling up, walking, teething on the coffee table. First steps - 7 days before John's Deployment to Afghanistan.

I've already forgotten her first words, was it milk? momma? daddy? more? no? I do not remember. I do however remember being pooped on, barfed on, peed on... as well as hugged, kissed, and adored (by John and Aurora both).

These 3 years have melded together into the beautiful mess that I love... and I want to savor every bit of it. I want to share it all with you as well. That is why I'm here blogging my life to you. I hope you enjoy these glimpses into our chaotic life.


Aurora will turn 3 tomorrow, a marker of the third year of my world being turned upside down and inside out... and she is also a testimony and proof that amazing things come from hard work and a little loss of control!

Happy Birthday to my girl-baby Aurora!

no I'm not sleeping!

Tonight at dinner, I sit a bowl full of spaghetti in front of Aurora. and just a minute or so later I look over to ask if she needs anything and get this:

So I ask her, "are you sleeping?"
"NO!" she tells me.


Then I notice she is snoring, so I ask "do you want to go lay down?"
"I'm not Sleeping!!!" she says


I do so love my gal and her stubborn ways.

Daddy Time

I caught a glimpse of a special moment - a rare one - this weekend. Aurora and John time.... I love to catch them together, its always so sweet.

There is a movie too of this time, but I can't figure out how to embed it here, so you'll need to click the link and it will take you to photobucket so you can see it. 
http://s924.photobucket.com/albums/ad90/momomma/august%202010/?action=view&current=MVI_6132.mp4

growing up

Right now Aurora is in her room, across the hall from my crafty space, crying - LOUDLY! She is a determined one, set in her ways, with strong beliefs. Aurora is having this crying fit, because its nap time.

"I don't want to grow up" she says...

"I don't want you to either", I tell her, "I just want you to sleep for a little while."


She is using this defense a lot lately. "I don't want to grow up!" or conversely "But I WANT to grow up" & "If I don't _____, I won't grow up." I'm sure it sprang from an adult telling her that eating her veggies, drinking water, and taking good rests would make her grow up big and strong. Which is true. Those things will make her grow up big and strong. And she is using that same logic against me when I tell her that she cannot take her milk cup to the park (we drink water) or she cannot have a 3rd package of peanut butter crackers or she has to wait until after dinner to eat a cookie.

She's smart. I like how she has figured out that things can work both ways - although, I am sure that this will catch up to me somehow, someday.

Until Next Time... I'm just going to keep smiling, because I love this life.