Well this year has been a fun one. Nothing like what I had expected it to be, but it was awesome. So many memories and so much scrapooking to do :) New Year's resolution - make more time to scrapbook (meaning give up sleep...) Another New Year's resolution - blog more than once a month! Holy cow I am behind! So much to catch up on - and again I understand if you skip to the pictures :)
Thanksgiving was fun (see how behind I am!) We spent it in Scottsdale with Aunt Paula, Uncle Keith, Jamie, and Jessie. The food was delicious of course, even though I did end up eating it cold since Aurora was not in the mood to eat at that time. She was very over stimulated by all the exciting people around and decided not to nap, so was pretty unhappy about being put in a high chair. I think maybe she ate a bite of turkey and mashed potatoes and that was it :( Fortunately we did manage to get her to sleep (a few hours later and only if she was being held) and by dessert time she'd had an attitude adjustment and ate almost an entire piece of pumpkin pie. It was fun to spend time with family. I ate WAY too much food as usual.
The next day we celebrated Nick's golden birthday :) with family at Fuddruckers. It was the first time that we've tired getting that many people together somewhere other than our house and I think it worked out OK. It wasn't ideal for getting to visit with everyone since we were all seated at one long table, but I think it was fine... Nick did end up getting embarrassed though - they made him stand on a chair and they annouced to the resturaunt that it was his birthday and everyone sang to him. So I think in the future we will be doing his birthdays at home :)
Nick's actual birthday was on Monday and he took the day off work to spend time with Aurora and I. We went to the Park Mall so Aurora could play in the little kid area. It was pretty crowded! I realize why I try to get there early. Then we went to Peter Piper Pizza for lunch. They have an all you can eat lunch buffet - very tasty. Aurora loves pizza. She really loves anything that we are trying to eat :) She always wants what every else has. Afterwards we went to the Reid Park Zoo to see all the animals. The weather was perfect and it was such a nice day to be outside! Then of course after all the fun we had Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner :) Take out... After Aurora had gone to bed. It's more relaxing to eat dinner after she is asleep :)
The first week of December Aurora and I took a trip to California with my Mom to see Aunt Jan, Uncle Nick, Bryan, and Darryl. We got to celebrate Christmas and Uncle Nick's birthday which we don't usually get to do. We did a lot of shopping (many hours in Pier 1 - it was sooooooooooooooo hard not to spend money!) and we got to help Aunt Jan rearrange and decorate one of the rooms in her house. It was awesome to get to see everyone! I even got to spend time catching up with friends from junior high - fun stuff! It's nice to find out that people you were friends with way back when turned out cool :) Glad to be back in touch. I can actually thank facebook for that one :)
We got back from CA just in time to attend Nick's work Holiday party. I know this is so random, but there I tasted the most amazing peppermint truffles I have ever had and then for the remainder of the holiday season have been addicted to peppermint. Which I never used to like...
December was full of other Christmas time activities. We went to Winter Haven to see the lights and to Zoolights. Both nights were cold, but Aurora was a really good sport. She seemed to enjoy looking at the lights, but really loved the blow up animals/santas. They look like giant stuffed animals :)
Poor little red nose. Brrrrrrr.........
We hosted Christmas this year and honestly it was a blur. There seemed to be a lot going on and the day went really quickly. We were lucky that all of our parents and in town siblings (even one out of town sibling!) was able to make it and the majority of our grandparents were there too. It was special to get to spend it with everyone! Aurora loved opening her presents - of course she did start before Christmas. Once she discovered packages under the tree, it was hard to keep her away. A lot of people got gifts that had been previously attacked by her. So sorry to the people who didn't get to open nicely wrapped things :) We all got way spoiled by everyone this year. I think we are going to have to buy more bins at Target for all of Aurora's new toys :) New favorites are any stuffed animals she got, her Toy Story sippie cup ("oooooooooooooooooo"), and her 2 ride along toys - she doesn't ride on them yet (unless we push), but she will push them and run around the house. She also loves her new animal train - it makes noise and moves - what more could you ask for?
Busted! Unwrapping before Christmas...
Sleeping in her Christmas jammies:
Christmas morning:
Tuesday after Christmas Aurora and I went up to Mt. Lemmon with my family to play in the snow. We had a lot of fun for the first few hours, but then I started feeling really sick :( I guess I caught a stomach bug because the rest of the day I felt awful. It was such a bummer! Nick got sick too and we have been slowly recovering for the last several days. Fortunately Aurora didn't catch it and she had a blast at Mt. Lemmon. We did a little sledding (or saucering - whatever you call it) and then her grandparents and aunt and uncles took good care of her the rest of the day while I felt like I was going to die :( It was beautiful up there and I did enjoy getting to see the snow - getting sick puts such a damper on things :(
As of yesterday, Aurora is 11 months. She got sick on our California trip and I ended up taking her to the doctor, so I know that she is now at 19lbs. 12 oz. She seems really heavy. I don't deal with her carrier thing anymore - now its just a car seat :)
Aurora is not walking yet, but for the past month has been taking steps on her own. She did so hesitantly at first and only when I begged, but the past week she has been trying on her own. She's taken about 6 at a time, but usually its only 2-3. The past week she has also cut 2 teeth. The two on either side of her middle ones on top - it's going to look like she has fangs. She LOVES having her teeth brushed. The second she sees the tooth brush she starts bouncing up and down and getting really excited.
She is definitely saying "ma ma" for me now. But so far that seems to be her only word. She has the "da da" sound down, but I would say she's really only said it for Nick a handful of times - but more recently.
Aurora seems to be catching on to a lot of things really quickly. It's fun watching her learn. She definitely has the clapping down for "If You're Happy and You Know it" and she can do the round and round motion for wheels on the bus. She love peek-a-boo and will play it with anything - her hands, a blanket, or even her shirt. She also immitates us if we say "doh" and put our hand to our head - it's pretty funny.
Aurora is climbing on everything! She likes the dishwasher a lot for some reason. We have tested the weight capacity of the door :)
She is also a full blown temper tantrum thrower now. She knows what she wants and when we don't let her play with something she will scream and cry and throw herself on the ground. Seriously. Throws herself on the ground. Can't wait to go shopping with her as a toddler...
But with the bad comes the good - Aurora is SO expressive. She may express her anger/frustration very well, but she also expresses excitement and joy very well too. She makes grabbing motions and noises for food, stuffed anmials, and just about anything that looks exciting to her. She really likes stuff. It's really funny.
So those are the updates for now. Looking forward to an uneventful New Year's eve celebration with Nick - Buffalo Wild Wing and several episodes of Dexter (we are so behind!)
Happy 2012 everyone!
