Crib Perspectives

Sometimes Aurora plays in our bedroom.

The foam alphabet and number blocks are soft for her feet and knees.

There is plenty of opportunity for toys to hide but Aurora always finds them.






Here is one of Aurora's numerous ducks. She has eight or ten in her collection so far.

Aurora enjoys sitting down and pulling herself up, time after time. She is a very determined practicer of this sort of activity.

She has so much fun with her crib when she's not actually IN it.

And as always, she likes to know what I'm up to. Hello, baby!

This Key Opens Your Mouth

Aurora and my mom and I went to the zoo yesterday. I hoped that since it was overcast we would be the only ones there, but alas, many other families showed up to ogle animals with us.

My mom sprang for a zoo key, which is a little key that you put into a hole at various exhibits to play special recorded information about what's going on in front of you.

Here is Aurora enjoying a fresh, clean(ish) zoo key in her piehole as we walked along the path to the first exhibit.

More Food on Father's Day

Here is another shot from Father's Day, after our strenuous hike, perusal of the gift shop and snack of strawberries and clif bars.

Aurora has the strictest dietary needs in the family so unfortunately for this meal she made do with french fries and bun. I gave her a bite of Gary's strawberry sundae, too, free for fathers at Burgerville (father's day only, of course).

Sorry for the fuzzy photo.

Father's Day

Gary and Arlo started a tradition a couple of years ago of visiting the Audubon Society on Father's day.

This year the weather was nice and sunny but not too hot, perfect, really, for a short stroll in the woods and a look at some birds.

And for eating, of course.

Vrooooom

Aurora, Demitri and Sarah have been going to Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden a lot lately.

If you haven't been, it's a delightfully water-filled park with all sorts of water fowl, squirrels, big green lawns and, of course, rhododendrons.

And don't forget the crazy baby drivers!
I didn't know Aurora would be such a natural driver. Watch out, Portland roads!

Thanks to Sarah for the photo. :)

You Look Hungry

Aurora is such a good sharer nowadays!


Here she is, sharing her cheez-it with me as I dig into the tupperware for more chex-mix.

(That's healthy, right? Whole grain cereals with butter? Babies need fat in order to survive. So do adults, for that matter. Thank goodness we're so Healthy, eating plenty of fat and whole grains in the form of ice cream and crackers.)


Most of the time Aurora holds out her prize to someone, then pulls it back when they reach for it. She already knows how to trick us!

Dairy Queen 2

Here is another photo of Aurora enjoying her ice cream cone the other night.


Due to trying to hide my hoggish nature, I didn't mention that Aurora needed a little help with her cone.


Forgetting to model How to Eat an Ice Cream Cone, I stuck it up to her face and she gamely stuck her tongue out and planted her mouth on the ice cream. She didn't really get much, so I started spooning the ice cream into her mouth. She promptly spit out each bite, unused to the cold.



Even after showing her how to lick it with several licks, she didn't want to lick it (or maybe I just got going too fast and ate a bit too much. Ahem.) so I gave her the cone which was really only eaten down to the top of the cone. There was still plenty of ice cream, people!

She chewed on the cone and stuck her fingers into the ice cream, dribbling it all over her leg and down her wrists. She seemed to enjoy it until she decided she was done and dropped it on the floor, then cried when I threw it away.