HALLOWEEN!!

Aurora has been OBSESSED with dragons ever since someone gave her one at the Big E a month ago. So, when it came time to decide on Halloween costumes, I already knew what the answer would be...

A purple dragon!!


This was Aurora's first year trick or treating, and even though it was a little rainy outside, she had a blast! Of course mama had to dress in a coordinating purple sorceress costume...


Aurora loved her costume so much, in fact, that she insisted on wearing it the whole next day while she watched Dragon Tails on Netflix. 2013 - Year of the Purple Dragon.

Wordless Wednesday XXXVI - (Our micro stay-cation!!!)

Foo Fest 2013! Aurora is a Rock Star PLUS a Special Announcement!

This was Aurora's third Foo Fest (You can read about the other times HERE and HERE). For the first time she was truly able to appreciate our little family summertime tradition! It's hard to believe that just two years ago she was a little bean who spent most of her time in a carrier just staring at the bright lights. Where has the time gone? This year we went to brunch at a new place called The Grange.
Aurora spent quite a bit of time drawing "funny faces" on the napkins.



Then we headed to Foo Fest!
The first stop was the mini makers market where we found some 3D dinosaur puzzles that Aurora loved!


Next was the musical instrument 'petting zoo' where Aurora tried her hand at guitar and drums and started an impromptu toddler band with another little girl.





Then we went to the face painting area. This was Aurora's first time getting her face painted so she had to stand and check it out for a little while first. After, she was excited to tell us that she had a 'butterfly face'!



Then my former boss treated Aurora to her first giant pretzel. You can tell by her face that she loved it:


After some more walking we ate our dinner from the roof of a double-decker bus restaurant!


Finally, Aurora played with Auntie and a new friend making more dinosaur puzzles and then we headed home. It was a great day as usual.



NOW...
Are you ready for the super exciting announcement?
Aurora is officially POTTY TRAINED!!
After introducing the potty around Christmas time and doing a few stints here and there, Aurora finally decided about a week and a half ago that she was ready! She woke up and asked to go to the potty and she's been going ever since with no daytime accidents and only two nights of waking up wet! We even made it the whole long day away from home at Foo Fest and got back totally dry!
Needless to say I'm pretty proud of my big girl!

Aurora's Summertime Adventures! - HUGE Photo update!

Oh boy have we been busy around here. Trying to enjoy as much of that summer sun as we can! Of course, now that I'm not taking so many classes at a time, it's actually a little chilly here this week. Hopefully it's nice out next week so I can enjoy my first full week off after 17 weeks of non-stop schoolwork! Aurora is growing by leaps and bounds. It's almost overwhelming. At her last appointment even the doctor was amazed by how tall she had gotten and that she was speaking in full sentences. It's like she went from a baby to a big kid overnight. There's very little trace left of that helpless baby I held in my arms just two and a half years ago. Lately, she's been making new friends, playing outside as often as we possibly can and, of course, eating lots of yummy foods! On that note; my new canning hobby has quickly turned into an addiction so I'm sure some canning posts will make their way onto the blog soon, as well. Stay tuned! In the meantime, here's some highlights:










 

Happy Birthday America!! -Our 4th of July!

Sorry! I've been slacking...

For anyone who doesn't know, I've got an unusually heavy courseload this semester and it's been a little tough to make myself sit down and update. Usually I want to get as far away from the computer as possible! The good news is; the semester is halfway over and I've been surviving, with my 4.0 average still intact. Soon it will get easier! The bean and I have been enjoying the warm weather during the day though... here's a quick glimpse of our last few weeks:

Aurora practicing her bike riding skills at Nana Poo's house.

Aurora at her best buddy's 2nd birthday party!

Drawing and eating fruit snacks!

Picnic at the zoo!

Painting with water at the zoo (I really need to make her one of these!)

Meanwhile mama has been canning awesome salsa; running and obsessing over salads!!

What we've been up to lately:

Time just keeps slipping away around here. We're busy busy busy! Aurora's new buddy is still with us three days a week, which seems to be working out well for everyone. I'm still in school full time, taking THREE classes at once right now which is a little stressful. I've also started running for exercise because it's the most (actually, only) convenient option for me. In between all of that, we've been trying to get out and enjoy this new spring sunshine as much as possible! Here's some of our moments from the last few weeks:

Running errands with mama.

Snugglin and watching Sesame Street! (SO CUTE!)

My first 5k - don't laugh at how slow I am please!!

Teaching her buddy how to draw with chalk!

Longest bubble bath ever!

Aurora's first ice cream cone!! (Shhh.... don't tell her it was vegan and all -natural!)

Aurora's new buddy!

After a bit of consideration, I've decided to babysit a friend's son three days a week. She was looking for daycare at a time that perfectly fit our schedule, I was looking to earn a little extra money and I figured this way Aurora could make a new friend. It was a little rough at first. He wasn't used to playing with other kids and she wasn't used to sharing toys. After the first few days though, things settled down and they seem to be getting used to the idea. Here's a few pictures I managed to snag in between the chaos!