Spring has Sprung

Austin in the spring time, before it gets too blazing hot, is absolutely delightful. There is a beautiful greenbelt that winds through the city, and when we get enough rain, water runs through that lovely greenbelt. Jonathan had never seen anything but a dry craggy creekbed on our walks in the greenbelt, until this past weekend. Honey was in town and after a lovely breakfast at the Ingrams' new picnic table we strapped the girls to us in their baby Bjorns (Thanks Seth, Kari & Eliana!) and set off for the water.

Jonathan captured the beauty of the water in a little video (you can see a camouflaged Reli bird and her momma at the very end). Unfortunately, he also caught poison ivy to which he is highly allergic. Poor Yano!

Reli still adores bath time. We can hardly wait to take a dip with her in some of the city's lovely spring water later this summer. Here she is enjoying the more docile waters of her bathtub.

We also had a great time at the Ingrams', playing on a blanket in the yard. The neighbor kids came over and so did the Christensen family. It was an impromptu party on a Sunday morning. Later that same day we went to a birthday party for Henna. Man, I love this town and this life!

We had an awesome time with Honey this weekend and look forward to many more visits - SOON!

We had our first big playgroup over last week. Aurelia's friends Callum, Elijah, Bode and of course, Koruna came over to play. We had a blast watching the older kids crawl all over the place while little Bode slept and Aurelia just hung out. Here are Callum, Elijah and Koruna playing. Aurelia was so jealous of their skills!

Some of you know that Aunt Whitney and I like to dress Aurelia up for each other. I came home one day last week and here was our little sailor girl!

Mirror, Mirror

Cute cousins:

Just plain adorable:

Story Teller

Aurelia finally got to meet her Gramma-V yesterday and boy did Reli have a lot to tell her. I think it is safe to say that it was love at first sight.

Of course we also got to hang out with the Ingrams, which was awesome. We are so lucky to get to be together as often as we like - and we like to be together a lot!

Here is Aurelia doing her Koruna impression. I think these girls look alike. What do you think?

Tummy time:

Hair update: You can see what it looks like from the front (above). Here is what it looks like from the back. Pretty crazy!

Reli with her Dad:

Peek-a-boo!

You are looking at my chins, aren't you?

Springtime Cuteness

Aurelia is getting much more coordinated. She can grab onto her toys and move them around at will.

This morning she had some fun with her rattles.

We have had some gorgeous weather these last couple of weeks. The other day was so warm Aurelia got to wear some adorable spring clothes she got from Grandma Becky and her hat from my mom's friend Nicki. So cute!

Identical Cousins: We had a surprise birthday party for Ian and Jonathan this past weekend. We checked on the girls via monitor and noticed that they were little mirror images of each other. So precious!

Reli in a cute little sun hat:

Sleeping on her way back from Aunt Berry and Uncle Ian's house:

Aunties Are The Best

Aurelia has the sublime pleasure of spending a great deal of time with her Aunties Whitney and Jeri Lynn. She has stolen their hearts and she is enchanted by them as well. It is a glorious sight to see her face light up when they talk to her. What lucky girls!

Grandma Becky gave Aurelia the ruffliest pink outfit I have ever seen and she is finally big enough to wear it. I had to get some photos of her in all of her ruffled glory. Thank you Grandma Becky!

Cousin toes: "They are so TINY!"

Backyard family picnic:

Sitting pretty:

Who's That Girl?

Jonathan loves to sing to Aurelia. Here he is singing her a song he made up on the fly.

I have mentioned Aurelia's tendency to stand and peer over one's shoulder and I captured it on video to share. She is really strong for being only 10 weeks old!

Here are a few photos from the past week.

Fun time with Daddy: Smiling for the camera:

Hanging out with Becky and Henna in the outfit she got from Grandma Becky and Dad:

Ready for bed in her sweet-pea from Gramma-V:

Getting a kiss from her friend Elijah:

Posing with Momma, her Aunties and Yoshimi:

Making faces at Momma:

Time, How She Flies

Time is so precious. And that truth becomes so much more real when you watch time passing in the face of your child. I have been thinking a lot lately about the value of time and how I want to be very aware of how I choose to spend it. Because once it has been spent, I want to be happy with what I bought with it. I have wasted so much time in my life on things and worries that do not matter. I am trying to me more mindful of how I use the minutes allotted to me on this earth. This blog is intended to show the product of time I believe was time well spent.

Time will do the Talking:

Aurelia has found a new way to use her hand and it is lovely to watch.

It is so beautiful when you get an immediate return on your time investment. Jonathan makes Reli smile and she immediately reciprocates. Oh joy!

Dad and his mini-me:

Reli spends time with her toys and they sometimes, but not always, see eye to eye:

Here is Aurelia in a cute outfit from one of Jonathan's former co-workers, along with a precious hat and some snazzy shoes she borrowed from her cousin Koruna.

East Texas

Here are some pictures of our adventures in East Texas over the weekend. Aurelia got to meet so many of her relatives!

Here she is with my Granny and Granddad:

Reli with her Honey and Aunt Marilyn:

Reli with Aunt Valencia:

Here she is with cousins Emily and Amanda:

Playing with Granny and Aunt Marilyn:

Here she is looking precious in her new hat from my mom's friend Nicki.

Her first game of Peep-eye! with Honey:

Goodnight kisses from Aunt Whitney.

She won't be this small for long.

(Sigh)

Aurelia had her 2 month checkup at the doctor yesterday and she is growing like a weed. She is now 23.5 inches long (that means she has grown an inch and a half a month 2 months in a row!) and weighs 10 pounds, six ounces. Dr. Norton thinks she is amazing (especially her l-o-n-g eyelashes) and agrees that our Reli is a strong little girl. She has been holding her head up since day 2 and she can already pretty much bear her own weight on her little legs. She loves to practice both of these things when you sit with her over your shoulder. She looks around while she stands on your lap. Someone forgot to tell her that she's only 2 months old!