Wah - Wah - Whitney! Is Amazing

As though there were any doubt as to who the best nanny in the world is for Aurelia and Koruna, Aunt Whitney takes the cake. She is wonderful with the girls every single day, but some days she really just outdoes herself, like today.

First of all, she spent the last two days here with Aurelia (even though we were all pretty sickly) while the Ingrams were in Mexico, so today and tomorrow she gets to spend entirely with Koruna. I had not seen Koruna in WAY too many days and Whitney knew I was missing my soon to be 1 year old niece very badly. This afternoon, Whitney brought that little angel over here for a cousin play date.

It was beautiful. Seeing my sister interact with my daughter and niece with such sincere love just made me fall in love with her all over again. Ah, Whit. You are amazing. Thank you for all that you do.

These girls LOVE their Aunt Nitney. Here she is with both girls.

Here are some pictures of the girls playing together. What big girls!

Aurelia has learned a few new things lately. For one, she discovered her feet! It only took a few more days for her to figure out that she could get them to her mouth. Success!

She is also starting to drink water. Here is a video of her first few sips. She's not sure she likes it yet, but she is really good at using the cup already!

We bought Reli a little swimming pool the other day and she took her first "swim" in the back yard.

Finally, a few pictures of Reli when I dressed her up as Little Bo Peep for her Aunt Nitney.

Long Beach with the Kaplans

Last weekend was Ben Kaplan's bar mitzvah and his 13th birthday so we went to Long Beach to celebrate with him. Aurelia did pretty well on the flights, but the highlight of her trips was meeting her cousins and aunts and uncles for the first time. She was reveling in the attention and I am sure she will want to see everyone again soon. I did not get enough pictures or video, but here is what I got.

The man of the hour and the woman who made the whole weekend come off without a hitch: Ben and Stefanie.

Here is a video of Reli with her cousins Noah, Micheal and Ella (the San Diego Kaplans) and some pictures of her with her Aunt Lyn. It was love at first sight.

"Aunt Lyn, have you seen my belly button? It is really cute."

Because Reli is the youngest baby, we got the guest room of honor at the Long Beach Kaplan's house, which meant we got extra special time with Josh, Stefanie, Kayla and Ben. Thank you all for putting up with a little screaming and a little less sleep. Hope it was worth it! We certainly enjoyed staying with you.

Some morning time with Uncle Josh:

Here is Reli with her cousins Ben and Kayla, and another shot of her with me and Kayla (no, that is not an optical illusion, Kayla is taller than me!). They were both awesome with her. She misses you already!

Ben went with Aurelia, Jonathan and I to the beach on Saturday (his birthday). It was Aurelia's first time to see the ocean! Wow.

Happy birthday Ben!

Song Singin'

Aurelia is quite the vocalist these days. When she wakes up from a nap she will usually lie in her bed singing and talking to herself for several minutes before she wants you to come get her. She sounds so happy and content that you want to rush in and scoop her up and join in the song or at least provide her with an audience. Um, she does not really want you to. Some songs are just for her. Others she shares with us, like these . . .

Happy as a lark

Mother and daughter

Fun with Grumps and Grandma Becky

Last weekend my dad and Becky came to Austin to see Aurelia and Koruna. We all had a wonderful time together after Aurelia got over her stranger anxiety. I know that 4 months old seems way too early for her to be anxious around new people, but it is true. Just ask some of the people who have tried to hold her. Well, it appears that Grumps and Grandma Becky were able to break her of her anxiety and they all had a fantastic time getting to know one another. Grandma Becky had Reli in stitches, which of course puts a smile on everyone's face. Here they are having fun . . .

On Saturday morning we all went over to the Ingram's house for a lovely breakfast in their backyard. Then we took a walk to the park and dad carried Reli, much to her delight.

Reli has a thing for noses. Thanks for being a sport Uncle Ian!

The lovely and amazing Koruna Muse

Runa and Reli "Let's put our heads together"

We all adore the sounds that Aurelia makes. She is really finding her voice. This video captures some of her new sounds. Oh, and she also loves to reach for your face which absolutely makes my heart melt. Sigh.

Bye everybody!

Happy Mother's Day

I have been thinking about the wonderful gift that Aurelia has given me - she made me a mother. But what she could not give me was what it takes to be a good mother. That was a gift I received from my own mother. The best gift she could have given me, besides life itself. I realize now that not everyone has a mother as amazing as I do. How sad.

I cannot imagine a day in this world wondering if my mother loved me, believed in me, or was proud of me. I have known those things every day of my life. I feel them coursing through my veins. They have made me the person I am today. My mother's love, belief and pride are not platitudes. She raised me to be someone that she could be proud of. She taught me to be a person she could believe in. She helped me be someone worthy of her love and the love of my friends and family. Even on days when I don't feel worthy of any of those things, she has let me know that her true feelings about me are unwavering.

I have never known gifts more special or spectacular than the gifts my mother has given me since the day she gave birth to me. I hope that I can do the same for Aurelia. I know that I have the tools and the skills. My mother made sure they are ingrained in the fibers of my being.

Thank you Mom, for being the most amazing mother I could have ever hoped for and for teaching me that I can be like you. You are and will always be my hero.

Happy Mother's Day.

She Cracked Her Smile

Aurelia's big, beautiful, gummy grin finally cracked and thousands of giggles came pouring out. Peals of laughter, squeals of delight and tiny baby guffaws, well, see for yourself . . .

It is easy to see why people say that laughter is the best medicine.

Turning Over A New Leaf

Well friends, our dear little Aurelia is acquiring new skills ever so quickly. Every day brings something new it seems. She has never been a fan of "tummy time" but our efforts to get her acquainted with being on her stomach have paid off in spades. Our girl can turn onto her side!

I think several factors have contributed to her newfound mobility, not the least of which is a change from the strictures of a bulky cloth diaper. She has joined the green revolution in a different way by switching to Gdiapers which are cloth on the outside but have a disposable insert that biodegrades in 50 days! The slimmer diaper has given her legs more room to move. So not only has she perfected the art of turning onto her side, yesterday she rolled onto her stomach and just today she turned over from her stomach to her back under Aunt Whitney's proud gaze. Wow! I will catch it on video soon to share with all of you.

In addition to all of her tossing and turning, Aurelia has begun the beloved baby art of blowing raspberries. And, thanks to the fact that her drooling has ramped up considerably, her raspberries make for slobbery fun!

Here are some fun photos from the past week:

Reli hugging her froggie blanket from the Christensens,

which Aunt Whitney affectionately nicknamed

"Fronket".

Smiling with Becky (and soon to be Baby Wittsche!)

Sitting pretty in her spring clothes:

Hook 'em Horns, Reli style!

To our faithful followers, I realize it has been more than a week since I last posted an update. My apologies. The next video is of Aurelia giving a serious lecture. Perhaps it was directed at me regarding the lack of recent blog posts. Enjoy!