Aurora Wells

Aurora and I just got home from the grocery store, where out of desperation I did something I hate to do; picked an item off the shelf and opened it before purchasing it. This might be one of those things that is excusable for parents of young children, whereas other people would get dirty looks or worse. You be the judge.

I had been patting myself on the back for leaving the house with Aurora appropriately dressed for the sudden change in weather (from rain to snow), remembering to bring a blanket, rain cover, mittens, and hat for her, as well as a snack for her and hat and gloves for me. I had my shopping list, wallet and a cloth grocery bag, and I was sure that since we only needed a few things at the store, I wouldn’t need the whole diaper bag, with water, extra snacks, diapers, towel, toys, etc.

Unfortunately, there is never a short, uncomplicated trip to the grocery store anymore. This time Aurora wanted out of the stroller the moment we got there, and fussed and complained so much that I ended up getting a tiny shopping cart for her to push around on her own. She loved it. At first. Then the giggles became fewer and the screams became louder, and before you know it, I’m standing there in the dairy department holding an hysterical toddler with a stroller and tiny shopping cart on either side of me, wondering how I’m going to get all three out of the store.

Then Aurora had one of those rare, crystal-clear moments of communication with me. She very clearly made the sign for “drink”, and since we were only one aisle away from the juice boxes, I made a snap decision. I grabbed one of the horribly un-environmental tiny juice box packages, tore one out for her, and gave it to her, right there in the store. Yick. It seemed to work, though, and she was quiet for the rest of the trip.

Looking back on this experience, on the way home, I wondered: When, if ever, am I going to be a Together Mom? A mom who has a change of kid clothes in the back of the car when we go to the beach? A mom who carries enough food with me to adequately feed a child who refuses to eat anything at the restaurant? A mom who can leave the house without an hour of preparation time? A mom who has a “surprise and comfort” bag for every airplane ride or road trip? Please if you’re reading this blog, moms, let me know.

This past Saturday Brian’s wandering cousin Valerie tied the knot with her beau, Ryan. Congratulations! As a gift to the couple, I photographed the ceremony.

Valerie grabbed a quick hug from Erica the flower girl backstage at the church.

Uncle Dave and Auntie Emerald proudly walk their daughter down the aisle.

Catching an unguarded moment, when the groom accidentally spilled some of the sand in the sand-pouring ceremony.

We went out for pizza afterwards with Uncle Jim, Aunt Lori & Cousin Kayden, and Aurora got to practice her big-girl drinking skills.

Then we headed over to Burnaby Lake and watched the model airplane club fly their planes. Kayden was lucky enough to get a chance to fly one for a few minutes (you might be able to see a small dot in the upper 1/4 of the screen – that’s the plane)!

At the reception, Brian, Aurora, Kayden, Jim and Lori got together for a group shot with cousin Andrea, Valerie’s sister.

Aurora was in quite a huggy mood that day, not only hugging Mommy & Daddy,

(Squeeze!)

but also cuddling with Kayden, too!

Our half-dozen pair of custom made training pants arrived in the mail today. Custom, because the smallest I could find in the stores were 2T, and Aurora’s still wearing 12-month pants. Now that Aurora’s telling us when she’s wet or needs to go most of the time, it should make pottying her easier. She really hates lying down for all those cloth diaper changes, and these have no side openings, so they pull up and down. It’ll be a real learning experience, I’m sure.

“How does my butt look in these?”

Today we had to document our yard’s first harbingers of Spring:

If you can’t see the tiny crocuses in the photo above, here’s a closeup:

It gives my heart such a lift every February to see these little purple sweeties poking up along our walkway, just like the first week we moved in, seven years ago.

As for my main sweetie, what could be more fun than pulling Daddy’s ties out of his dresser drawer and trying them all on?

I’m not sure this look works with the Adelaide pinafore, but every gal’s got to have her own sense of style, no?

I took Aurora out for the whole afternoon, first to the pharmacy, then Babytime at the library, then a sushi snack downtown, then finally to my dentist. Our new nap schedule, from 11-1 most days, really rocks, because we have most of the afternoon to do stuff. She looks so grown-up sitting up at the table in the sushi bar, and the benches were high enough for her to have a good people-watching view downtown. Great posture, too, eh? She sure doesn’t get it from Mommy or Daddy!

This morning I took Aurora to Dr. Tam’s office for her first dentist’s appointment. I will admit I have a bit of a lame system for choosing most of our healthcare professionals, and Dr. Tam was no exception: His office, which I pass by on a regular basis, has a really cool playhouse in the lobby, visible through the big window on Broadway. In the aftermath of a really frustrating experience with my own dentist, I was more than happy to book Aurora for an appointment in what looked like a very fun, friendly place.

Loads of toys in the lobby doesn’t necessarily make for a good dentist, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Dr. Tam was very sweet, gentle, and softspoken with Aurora, and she let him examine and clean her teeth with very little fuss. She has 12 teeth now, four of which are molars, and he says they’re all in good condition. Then he gave me some tips on brushing her teeth, which has been something of a challenge thus far. We parted ways with a nice, new balloon, and we’re looking forward to going back in six months, something I wish I could say about my own dentist. All in all, it was a great first experience. I think we’re going to be as happy here as I was with my excellent pediatric dentist in Pasadena.

I don’t always get the best pictures with my fancy-schmancy Nikon. Sometimes Grandma’s little point-and-shoot captures a moment I’d miss while I’m trying to get my camera out and ready, like this one:

Grandma took almost every photo in this post, just so’s ya know.

We enjoy hanging out at Grandma’s condo, with its low windows, which give Aurora (and her cow) a great vantage point on the Cambie Street goings-on.

Aurora loves cuddling with Mommy, and taking off & putting on her new shoes, with my help.

It wasn’t necessary to Aurora to understand how the movable walls affected the water flow in this Science World exhibit – she just liked the feel of the water on her fingers, and watching the boats circling around. Even when she got wet, it was hard to drag her away.

I’m not sure what thrilled Aurora so much about these buckets and balls, but she sure loved ‘em! Her screeches of delight filled the already noisy room. Thanks for taking us to Science World, Grandma, and thanks for coming to visit this week. We really enjoyed your company.