An "O"d to Uncle Ian

Aurelia's birth transformed many of us into first-time someones. I became a mother. Jonathan became a father. Jeri Lynn became an aunt. And Ian became an uncle. I believe we have all relished our new roles in life and are grateful that it was Aurelia who gave us new titles and new reasons to be better people.

Like so many wonderful things about Ian, being an uncle just came naturally. Since Aurelia was born he has eyed her with a particular attention, that it seems he has set aside just for her. My favorite thing he does with her, and has always done with her, is that he can immediately make all of her problems disappear. Like magic, Ian comes into a room and if Aurelia is crying or otherwise disturbed, he approaches her and reminds her that "Uncle Ian is here, so no more problems." More often than not, her tears dry up. His smile melts aways her tiny infant angst and she stares at him. It is, hands down, my favorite thing about their uncle-niece relationship. I love his confidence in the mantra. Literally, since the week she was born he decided that he was the answer to her troubles and reassured her that it was so. She has problems, he makes them disappear. I hope it continues for the rest of their lives. One of Ian's many, many talents is making up incredible songs on the spot. Here he is with Aurelia, singing a song about how she is problem free. I love you, Ian. You are an amazing uncle.

Honey came to visit last weekend and we had a ball. Although Aurelia did not make her a grandmother, Honey also has her own magic with her.

We took the girls to a local city water park and Honey took lots of pictures of us playing in the water. What an awesome weekend!

You may be wondering what the "O"d part of the post title refers to. Well, if you have been around an infant learning to feed herself, you likely know that O's (as in Cheerio's, or Organic Whole Grain Cheerio's lookalikes) are an important part of most meals. Here is a video of Reli eating her first O's. She has improved quite a bit since we shot this clip, but it was fun seeing her first foray into the world of tiny food stuffs. (Clearly Whitney and I got a kick out of it).

And last but not least, Aurelia had fun playing with her cousin Koruna and Runa's Mr. Potato Head glasses - a Heald girl favorite.

Someone Turned Over Her Giggle Box

Aurelia is so much fun these days. She laughs and laughs, and we do everything we can to keep those laughs coming. It brings a huge smile to my face to watch her enjoying herself. The other day she really got going and Jonathan got this video of me making her giggle.

Reli has also taken charge of her own bottle. When Whitney feeds her milk, Aurelia sometimes grabs the bottle and feeds herself. I think it is adorable and oh so grown up. Nice work, Reli.

The Ingrams have finally returned from their New Mexico hiatus and we are SO HAPPY to have them back. Here are some pictures of the girls playing together:

The Christensens came over for a play date the other day and

the kids had fun swinging on the back porch.

Aurelia cut her third tooth a couple of weeks ago and she sometimes gets a bit cranky when she is teething. Daddy realized that sometimes she needs to swing with a buddy to make herself feel better. Here she is with the Number 4 Penguin. Poor Reli!

She's Beautiful and Fun

Aurelia really wants to stand and walk. All day long we take turns letting her pull up to standing using our hands and arms. She wants to use both of your hands, one in each of hers. She knows that you have two hands and if you try to hide one from her she grunts and tells you that she knows you are hiding it and she wants it, now please! We have let her pull up using our hands, or one of our arms, or her favorite new toy, the green spatula. No matter how we present her with the opportunity to stand, she takes it. And she has just this week started to take steps in the direction of things she wants once standing. She also lets go of one hand to reach for objects on the floor. I think she is really close to cruising from hand to hand or arm, and soon to furniture and walls, and, well the rest is history. She will likely walk before she crawls. There, I said it. This girl wants to explore the world on her own two feet. Help us all!

So, the last post had no videos, and we all love to see Reli interacting with her world. Here are a couple of videos from this week:

Reli conducting her own orchestra with her scepter and commentary:

And here she is in her kitchen, cooking up some love:

Bon appetite!

Something to Smile About

Here are some photos of Aurelia this past month that make me smile.

We took her to the Austin Botanical Garden last weekend. She wore her first true ponytail (with an added bow, of course)!

The hair she woke up with today - front view and in profile. Rockin'!

We Heart Odessa

Okay, so maybe it is a little strong to say that we heart Odessa. What we really heart is the people who live there, namely, Grumps, Grandma Becky, Becky's daughter Jamie, her husband Quade and their daughter (and Reli's cousin), Jalie. We were really longing to visit our Odessa kin and I know Grumps really (REALLY) wanted us to come stay a while, but something always prevented us from making the journey. Last week, Jonathan took off work early on Thursday and took off all day Friday so we would venture out west for some family fun.

We had such a fabulous time relaxing as a family. We went swimming, we napped, swam some more, ate copious amounts of West Texas fare, got in the hot tub, and just enjoyed each other's company. It was a vacation. Thank you to dad and Becky, who made us feel so welcome in their home and who cooked for us and let us just be ourselves. Spectacular way to spend a weekend, I must say!

Aurelia felt comfortable from the moment we arrived. She cooed, she giggled, she wore bows and a bikini. I think her favorite part of the trip was sitting poolside with her Grumps. In the mornings, Dad would take her outside and let her splash her hands and feet in the water. She even started trying to step up to the water for a dip.

Here are some photos of our trip.

Aurelia loved being in the water, showing off with her daddy in her bikini from Ella and her hat from Jake and Pam. (Grumps is blowing up a floatie in the background).

She had fun in the shaded floatie she borrowed from Koruna.

Reli got to meet her cousin Jalie for the first time, and man, does Reli have some things to learn from Jalie. She is so fast on her feet it is unbelievable that she is only 1 year old!

The girls, in Becky and Jamie's arms, meeting for the first time.

Here is Jalie riding her Rody horse.

Jamie with Reli and her bowed pigtails

All smiles and pretty in pink with Grumps and Momma

And, last but not least, Reli got to meet her great-grandmother, my Mimi, in Crane, Texas. Unfortunately, she slept through their first encounter.

Hopefully she will be awake next time!

Life - Using It Up, Wearing It Out

We spent this past weekend at Honey's house in Cooper, and it was just fabulous. Cooper (sounds like cooker, not ku-per) is one of those small towns where everybody knows your name. Whenever we visit and bump into people at Ronnie and Marylin's store, Red Door Antiques, or Miller's old fashioned soda fountain, the first question we get is "Who do you belong to?" I say, Leo and Dorothy Millard are my grandparents, and their daughter, Melissa, is my mom. This question might seem strange to people who have no connection to a small town, but Cooper is just one of those towns you are unlikely to visit if you aren't related to a resident. That fact bothers Poppa Leo. He has always wanted Cooper to attract more tourists.

Leo Millard knows everything there is to know about Cooper. He is the President of the Cooper Museum and he is devoted to his town. I got to tour the museum with him this weekend, just the two of us. He took me there in his golf cart, opened the museum on Sunday, when it is usually closed, and gave me the grand tour. He pointed out the things he thinks are the most interesting and told me the story behind them. I have written here before about the value of time and how we choose to spend it. Well, hearing my granddad's stories, learning a tiny fraction of what he knows and what is important to him, was probably the most precious thing I could have purchased with my time.

One little quote he passed on to me as we honored history together was something his Momma used to say to him when he was growing up - "Use it up. Wear it out. Make do, or do without." Turns out, that simple saying was something people of her, and then his, generations lived by. As I look for a full time job in a tough economy, I think it will serve me well to "make do" with what I have - which, I am very grateful, is A LOT.

Aurelia got to spend some priceless time this weekend with her Honey, her great-grandparents, Poppa Leo and Granny and my Aunt Marylin and Uncle Ronnie. She also got to see my cousins Amanda and her brother Brad and Brad's daughter Lily. We had so much fun. Let's do it again! (But not before we go to Odessa to visit Grumps and Grandma Becky. That is our next trip, I promise!) Here are some pictures from our visit to Cooper.

Four generations:

Reli with Poppa Leo and Granny:

"I just love being the center of attention!"

Here is Reli enjoying her teething "popsicle" and showing off her smacking skills for cousin Amanda and Aunt Marylin.

Hanging out with Momma and Dadda:

Trying on hats with Uncle Ronnie at the Red Door:

Looking up to her cousin Lily

Here is a video of Aurelia at home making her pterodactyl sounds in the "Day Spa". Music to my ears . . .

And last, but not least, to all of you Koruna fans out there who are in desperate need of a fix, here are the cousins and their daddies playing with the beloved birdies on the toy from Grandma Marcia.

Bye-Bye!

Wow

In the 10 days since my last post Aurelia has done so much. On Father's Day she cut her second tooth. Now she has two tiny teeth peeking out from her gorgeous grin.

A couple of days later she started to sit up on her own. Now she is sitting up like a big girl! Here is a video of her playing with her birdies on the toy she got from her Grandma Marcia. She loves those little birdies!

We went to visit Brant, Joanie and their little boy, Oliver, in Northern California over the weekend and Reli had her first swimming pool experience. She loved being in the water and we all enjoyed the respite from the already very hot days here in Texas. It was wonderful being with our friends and spending some much needed down time as a family. Here is a video of Aurelia swimming and some photos of our time in Cotati.

Poolside Family Time

Her most recent "accomplishment" started happening just last night. Several times throughout the night she turned over onto her stomach. As some of you know, Reli has not historically been a big fan of tummy time. As a result, she has ALWAYS slept on her back or her side. When she turned herself onto her tummy last night she strenuously objected and requested immediate assistance to rectify the unpleasant situation, to which I responded with swift action. Although she learned many weeks ago how to turn herself from her stomach to her back, with all of her recent developments, she seems to have forgotten that skill. Well, when she went down to sleep tonight she again turned herself to her stomach and after a few minutes of objection, she actually fell asleep. That was 2 and a half hours ago! (Yes, she is still breathing). I think that this is all part of her body telling her it is time to prepare to crawl. Wow. And Yikes! On that note here are some photos of our girl from the past 10 days.

Here she is playing in the ball pool her friend Elijah has at home, lucky boy!

And here she is "swimming in our backyard where we had a little fun with her hair. Her swim mohawk is awesome.

In addition, here is a video of Koruna on her first birthday, saying "Hi" to her cousin Reli - Melts my heart.

Love to you all,

Momma.