Aurora Wells

For those of you who don’t live in Vancouver, I must describe a curious phenomenon. Every Spring, when the clouds clear and the sun warms the earth just a little bit on a weekend day, every last Vancouverite heads for the outdoors. Parks, sidewalk cafés, seawalls, all fill with people enjoying just that little bit of sun they’ve been craving all winter. Today was just such a day. With a temperature of 7ºC (that’s 45ºF for you Yanks) and a breeze that made it feel like half that number, we headed to the park for a picnic on a day that would have had us shivering under our duvets in October. At Queen Elizabeth Park we watched a wedding party being photographed near a fountain, had our little picnic on a bench, and walked around looking at daffodils and an unseasonably early rhododendron in bloom. There were people all over the place – it looked like tourist season!

It’s definitely hat weather, or at least Mommy thinks so.

It appears that the technological and marketing developments of the past 15-20 years, evidenced by the design upgrades in cars (SUVs), music devices (iPods), and phones (portable, cellular, you-name-it) that compel consumers to replace their perfectly serviceable items with the new-and-improved version every couple of years, have not passed the stroller market by. What I mean by that horribly convoluted sentence is that you can pay anything you want for a stroller these days, which come with design features to make any hip mama drool. Having been a design student, I may be more susceptible than most to the sexiness of good design (and insensitive to the pricetag which usually accompanies it). It is a great trial to my thrifty, environmentalist husband.

Now that Aurora’s preferring to sit up rather than recline in her stroller, I thought it was time to take her out for a walk in our umbrella (lightweight folding) stroller. I’d been avoiding taking her regular stroller on the bus because it is a royal pain to get on and off with such a large vehicle, but an umbrella stroller can be folded and carried on one arm, so you don’t need the bus driver’s help. I found this particular stroller two years ago, sitting in the general vicinity of our neighbour’s garbage, having been abandoned there when a couple of plastic parts broke. Now that we were trying it out for the first time, I noticed a couple of serious design flaws. One, the handles and back wheels were too close together, causing me to have to bend forward and stretch out my arms to avoid tripping on the wheels with every step. Two, I couldn’t open and close the stroller while holding Aurora, and laying her down on the ground at a bus stop in order to free both hands is not a scenario that appeals to me.

So I went stroller shopping. Having found our regular stroller at a second-hand shop that only had the one, and having not really looked around much at what was available, I was stunned by the technological wizardry (and prices) of some of the strollers out there. Eventually, with much researching (and soul-searching), I found a used one on Craigslist that suited most of my needs. I don’t want to use this blog for capitalist product-placement, so I won’t name any brand names. Here is a shamelessly staged before-and-after comparison of Aurora in the two strollers:

This morning Daddy had a few things to do for work before he left the house, and Aurora saw him working on his computer. Immediately, she had to get involved. Unlike Mommy, Daddy lets Aurora touch the keys of his laptop. Somehow, she managed to shrink the screen to about 2/3 its regular size – we didn’t even know you could do that! Luckily, it wasn’t that hard to fix. Here’s the cutie hard at work:

She already looks like she knows what she’s doing! Must take after Grandpa Larry.

I have a tendency to forget to bring my camera with me when we go places or get together with friends. When I do remember to bring it, I often forget to use it, or I am hesitant to intrude on the magic of the moment by pointing a camera in people’s faces. In this way, years of my life have gone by without the benefit of documentation of the things we’ve done, to help my pitiful memory. I’m trying to remedy this habit, or rather the lack of a habit, now that Aurora’s here.

Last night we went over to Ram’s apartment for a potluck and movie-viewing. Judith and Blair own the 7-Up documentary series on DVD, and we’ve been watching the series since last summer with them, Ram, Andrew-Bruce, and Alex and Selena at Ram’s place. This time we never actually got around to seeing the movie! We ended up watching YouTube videos instead on Ram’s huge wall-projection video system. Below are a few highlights of the evening.

Aurora (held by Judith) either doesn’t realize Barrett’s in there, or has no interest in sleeping babies. Selena’s sling is a hand-me-down from either her mother or grandmother (not sure which) but it’s in absolutely wonderful condition.

I finally got a picture of Barrett with his eyes open. What a cutie! I’m having trouble remembering a time when Aurora slept that much.

Here’s Aurora and Ram winning each other over as easily as they win over everyone else! Plus, Ram has a piano, so Aurora got her first piano lesson; when you press down on the keys, it makes noise!

Today we were thrilled to be able to attend the wedding of our friends Seungsoo & Denise. It was at the terribly posh Vancouver Club, downtown. Here’s the gorgeous couple:

I didn’t realize until this morning that Mommy’s and Aurora’s clothes were too similar in colour scheme, but hey, don’t we look gorgeous?

During the ceremony, Aurora didn’t make a single peep! Actually, there were several babies under 1 year of age there, and only one made any noise at all.

Our friends Chris and Dana came all the way from Japan for the wedding, but hey, who’s the star of this blog anyway?!?

On Tuesday afternoon Aurora and I walked all the way to Granville Street to visit with our Prenatal Pals at Robyn, Brent & Kalan’s lovely condo. Even though she’s teething, Aurora managed a few smiles. Some of the boys (sorry Ryan couldn’t make it) are sitting up, some are rolling around, and all seemed to be having a great time. They’re all getting more and more handsome every time I see them! It’s great for Aurora to have playtime with such a lively bunch of kids, and Mommy loves sharing food, advice and stories with the other moms.

However, it’s not just all fun and games around here; Mommy’s already putting Aurora to work around the house. We cook, clean the kitchen, and pick up some of the mess. Here’s Aurora helping with folding the laundry:

Boy, these diapers sure taste clean!

Of course, working so hard can be exhausting, so we make sure to get some rest, too: