A few new firsts for Aura!

I've been a little neglectful about updating lately, trying to unplug a bit during the day now that Aurora is becoming more active and wants to explore and learn. Plus we've been out and about during this super hot weekend which made it much harder to leave the little bean in our nice cozy bed and abandon the AC to come play on the internet. But she's sleeping soundly at the moment and there's a cool breeze coming in the living room (finally!!) so here I am with a few new firsts to report! 

First up: Aurora is getting her first tooth... well teeth technically. I saw the first little bud a few days ago and only two days later there was another one right next to it! 

Pardon the blurry photo, she was intent on grabbing the camera!

She hasn't been too cranky, just a little clingier than usual and she's finding it a little tougher to drift off during nap time because her bink rubs against her new little nubs. We only had one rough day when she seemed bummed. Trying to get her to like frozen washcloths since they were my mother's go-to for me and my younger brother and sister when we were teething. She's not sure about the idea but she has a short attention span these days.

Ok, I'm supposed to do what with this now?

Her first solo attempt at her tiny rocking horse.

We also started swimming lessons which have opened up a whole new way to play! I was excited to get her into a pool as soon as we could. I even thought about it while I was pregnant and swimming at a local hotel pool to cool off and get a little low impact exercise. So far, Aurora LOVES the water. She's a little unsure about being on her back but she's only been in a pool three times, so I'm not going to push it. She kicks her feet to try to get to floating toys, she'll even hold onto a noodle and let me hold it away so we aren't touching, which surprised me. She also tries to drink the whole pool. She laps at the water like a kitten almost the whole time, which worried me a little at first, but she's having so much fun I don't want to discourage it and scare her. I doubt she's really getting much in her mouth. There's no pictures yet, it's a little awkward since we're both in the pool together but I'll figure something out soon. Since starting classes we've already hung out at a friends pool and even though it was colder she still liked it!

Hanging out by the pool.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this new development considering how attached I am to beaches and pools and any body of water. I used to beg to go to the beach when I was little and we practically lived there during the summer, going almost every day even if it was just for a few hours when my dad got out of work.

That's me on the left (I get a little tan during the summer haha)

Seems like I found just another way that this little munchkin is taking after mama. 

More swimming? 

Another huge development has happened too! Aurora has definitely figured out crawling though she seems pretty content to only travel short distances at the moment... a squirm and a few pushes with her knees until she gets to the toy she wants is good enough for now. This is not to say she can't go further! She came barreling at me the other day full speed across a whole room! Guess she thought I wasn't paying enough attention.

Aurora is primarily interested in toys, not transportation.

Here's the thing: I think she's saving her effort for bigger and better (and scarier) things. The other day I had her on her playmat and stepped away because I forgot my coffee, in less than two minutes I came back to this:

How is she learning to stand already!!?

I suppose I sort of saw it coming, she's been trying to scale me like a mountain when we wake up every morning for weeks... but she'd never seemed very interested in climbing other things until all of a sudden she was up. Scared the life out of me! It's been a whole different parenting game since then, let me tell you. She's up every chance she gets, childproofing has begun in earnest and our coffee table will be residing in the basement until she starts walking well. She doesn't want to stay still for too long unless we're going somewhere. This means reading books during the day is out (we still read before bed) and her exersaucer is only entertaining for a few minutes before she decides she wants to be on the floor touching and tasting everything while looking for new ways to get upright...

Let the games begin!

Swimming and standing and teeth, oh my! Where did that teensy helpless bean go?