Rule #168: There can be sunshine when it rains

My little Aurora is 10 months old. We had her checkup a few weeks ago, and I'm just barely getting a chance to talk about it. The last month has been...horrific. But that's for another post. If I ever stop being traumatized enough to write it.....

On to happier things!

Rory. I love this little girl.

My heart is so full because of this child. She is so happy and so loving, and just SO fun! She's taking after her brothers in being behind in her gross motor skills. Neither Evan nor Graham crawled until they were 10 months and they didn't roll over until they crawled. Aurora is exactly the same. She scooches backwards all over the room when she's on her belly and can rotate herself completely around. She can also rotate while sitting. But she can't quite grasp the moving forward concept. She can get up on her hands and knees, so she is getting close. Truthfully I don't mind that she's not fully mobile yet. It makes my life easier. Both my boys caught up just fine, she will do the same. Someday. :)

Aurora still doesn't have any teeth. But she likes to try and eat table foods. Cheerios, Ritz crackers, carrots, peas, sometimes watermelon. That kind of stuff. I'm still making her baby food, which she loves. She's starting to drink less from a bottle. I can't remember when my boys moved to a morning bottle/night bottle routine. It seems a little early, but what do I know. I can't believe that I can't remember, this is my third baby and yet I have no idea. :) She seems happy and is growing at her slow but steady pace. I'll just take her cues and go from there.

Speaking of growing, here are here stats.

Weight: a whopping 15 lbs 2 oz. (5%)

Length: 27 3/4 inches (45%)

OFC: 17 1/4 inches (45%)

We went from off the charts (really about 2%) to 5%! hehe, she's so tiny! We've FINALLY moved on from 3 month clothes. Yep she's 10 months old and we just barely put away all of her 3 month old clothes. That's crazy.

She's beginning to be a bit of a mama's girl. It's nice to be loved. :) I do hope that she doesn't get as extreme as Graham did though. That boy wouldn't let anyone else do ANYTHING for him if I was around. Ever. It was very exhausting. But for now, it's nice to know that she likes to spend time with me. And of course she loves Alex too. :)

She loves both of her brothers, but she has a special place in her heart for Evan. He puts forth less effort to get the same grins and giggles as the rest of us. She just adores him. The feeling is very mutual. He thinks she's the best thing that's ever happened to our family. He is always talking about the things he's going to teach her when she gets older. I love to see their relationship. I can't wait to see their friendship in the future.

Rory babbles more than my boys did. Definitely more than Evan, and more than I remember Graham babbling. But I could just have a terrible memory. :) She clicks her tongue and makes elephant noises by blowing her own version of raspberries. She's a doll.

She has started "dancing" recently. It's the cutest thing. She shakes her head when music starts playing. I love it!

The last few weeks have been really difficult for me. Spending time with Aurora would soothe my aching heart. It was hard to be away from her while I spent the week in the hospital, but seeing her again helped me feel whole. She's special. That's all there is to it.

Love you Aurora. Thanks for joining our family. It wouldn't be the same without you!

**For some reason you can't actually play the videos. I'm at work now and can't take the time to fix it. Check back later. It's worth it I promise :)

Rule #167: Wish for Sunshine when it snows

Over Labor Day, you know, LAST YEAR (I'm so behind!) we were invited to the Daly's Cabin in Bear Lake. Candace and Jim had other plans and they were gracious enough to let other families enjoy the fun that is Bear Lake. We went with Kevin, obviously, and his family. My Papa and Emma were also able to come. 

We had a fantastic time. This was the first time my kids had ever been on a boat. Lucky for us Evan was excited about being on a boat. Plus he was with his buddy Sanders, and everything is exciting with Sanders. I was just thrilled that my boys got on the boat at all, but they surprised me and actually rode on some of the awesome toys the Dalys have. 

Evan got on a tube ski with Beckham. It's a big inflated thing that you can either sit on or practice standing up and holding the rope. I wish you could zoom in on some of these pictures. Evan was grinning ear to ear. Thank you Beckham for showing Evan it was safe and fun and encouraging him to be brave. It means a lot to me. 

Graham didn't get on the tube ski, but on the following Monday, when we went out on the boat again, he did get on the couch. I wish I had pictures of it. It's an inflatable couch that seats four people. It's so neat! Graham and Evan both rode on that without adults, it was very exciting.

Rory was two months old at the time. She slept the entire time we were on the boat, nestled into this giant baby life jacket. She was perfect as always.

I didn't take as many pictures as I should have. But believe you me, fun was had. We played in the sand and cooked yummy food. Games were played by all ages. Memories were made all around. 

Thanks for letting us come with you! We had the best time! My boys still talk about Bear Lake and how much fun they had! 

Rule #166: Pixies are precious

My little Rory is 6 months old now! What's that you say? She couldn't possibly be six months? Yeah, I think so too. :)

Technically she turned six months in December, but December being the busiest month of the year, we didn't get into the pediatrician until today. Aurora has always been petite. Like a little pixie. We've taken her in for weight checks every month, because she is just THAT petite. :)

Lets recap shall we?

At birth: 6lbs 14 oz

2.5 months: 9lbs 5 oz

4 months: 10lbs 5 oz

5 months: 11 lbs 10 oz

6 months: 13 lbs 1oz

That's right. My six month old weighs a whopping 13 lbs! (Being completely sarcastic) Dr Burnett at first muttered under her breath, "She only weighs 13 pounds?" but then she looked at Rory's growth chart. She's still completely off the chart, but she seems to be growing at a consistent-for-her rate. So, growth charts be damned. :) Dr Burnett was pleased with how much baby food she is eating, but still suggested that we come in next month for another weight check. Just to keep an eye on it. Can do. :)

The rest of her stats are as follows. Length: 25.25cms (25%) OFC: 16.4cms (20%) Look at that nice normal head size. It's a thing of beauty! Also, if you note her length she used to be quite tall for her age...not so much anymore. Which is probably why even though she hardly weighs anything at all, she's starting to rock some thunder thighs! I find them adorable. Let's be honest, I find everything about her adorable!

Around 5 months old we started some baby food. I've been making it all for her. It's super easy and probably cheaper. Who knows. That girl is starting to eat a lot. She LOVES butternut squash, but will eat anything I make for her. Alex can't get her to eat peas to save his life and she eats them just fine for me. I recently put cinnamon in her apples and she thinks that is pretty tasty. As much as I don't LOVE to feed baby food, she makes it worth it.

We are still breastfeeding. Shocking I know! I've never made it this long, not even close. It's because of the medication, no question. It's been nice to be able to nurse as long as I have, but I think we might be done soon. I'm starting to produce less, even with the medication. But mostly, I'm TIRED! Not getting sleep after a night shift is really difficult. I am sleeping, but I'm frequently interrupted to nurse Aurora. (per my request) so that I can keep my supply up. It's really starting to take it's toll on me. I go through waves of guilt because I have worked so hard to make it this long. But I'm also really grateful that I've even been able to make it this long in the first place. My other two kids did just fine with formula, and she will too when the time comes. Whenever that may be.

Aurora is right on track to be just like my two boys. She still won't roll over. She has rolled over, but not really with purpose. She can change her direction by kicking and just generally being excited, but she doesn't seem to mind her tummy, so she sees no need to get off of it. :) And just like the boys she can sit up at 6 months old. It seems to be the only milestone that my kids meet "on time" It's a relatively new skill, just the last few days. But she hasn't turned 7 months old yet, so it counts. :)

She has started sleeping through the night. Not every night but it's a start. And we'll take what we can get. The boys continue to wake frequently as well. I think for Graham is has become a learned behavior and Evan, well, Evan has Autism. It just is what it is. Because they boys are waking up as well it is guaranteed that at LEAST one of our children will wake up Evey. Single. Night. Alex and I both are so tired. It's particularly rough for Alex on  the nights that I am working, because he has to deal with everyone that wakes up. Having Rory start to sleep though the night makes a BIG difference to us!

She continues to be extraordinarily mellow and happy. I love this little girl of mine. She has such a great laugh and her smile could change the world. I dare anyone to be grumpy around her. It's just not possible. She's like a ray of light and warmth!

Evan and Graham are completely smitten by her. Graham will walk up to Aurora and say "I Love you! I love you so much!" It melts my heart. But then he tries to squish her and I have to intervene on the love fest. :)

But with a face like that, who wouldn't want to give her a squishy hug?!

Rule #165: Time flies when you're having fun

I shared some of the picture highlights from June in an earlier post. Here are more picture highlights. I think these date back to maybe even April. I've been such a slacker in blogging, but some of these pictures are too cute not to post. :)

One day the boys, my mom and I took a walk to the Fireman Park. Which, as implied, is by the fire station. The big firehouse doors were open and they were using their trucks to reach the roof. We waved at them and they called to us to come over and see what they were doing. My boys were pretty shy. Per usual. But the firemen were very kind, and gave my boys badges and hats to take home. It took a while for them to warm up to the idea of wearing the hats. 

 Evan has never been into arts and crafts. He never really colored. Apparently that's not all that uncommon with autism. (They'll either obsess over it, or not be interested AT ALL) One day, while at my mom's Evan was at the big white board. He would usually just write his name, or other random letters. I came downstairs to find this. He was drawing a picture, of himself! And it was actually pretty good/recognizable. I was so proud of him. (I think this was back in April)

 Look at this happy version of himself! Super cute! He has continued to draw himself at random times. He hasn't really ventured out to draw other things, but I'll take what I get.

 One Summer day Evan was jumping on the Daly's tramp. He was getting all sweaty and I joked that we could use his sweat to style his hair. He thought that was a great idea. His face cracks me up. :)

 Our sweet dog. She's been through a lot in the past year. It was a year ago in Sept that she was jumped on by deer, lost her eye and almost died. But she survived. While her sight is poor, and her hearing isn't that great either, she's still kicking. Last month we thought we were going to lose her. :( She couldn't walk, and she wouldn't eat and she barked all. the. time. We took her to the vet a few times, unsure of how extreme of measures we would take for our old dog. Luckily a round of heavy duty antibiotics has returned her to her former/post deer attack state. And we'll take it. We know she won't be around forever, but we're in no hurry for her to go either.

 During the summer we go on a lot of walks as a family. It's a great way for the boys to get some exercise before bedtime. We walk to the Bountiful Tabernacle where they have these two awesome, gnarly, knotty trees. We call them the Gnome Tree and the Fairy Tree. They look enchanted. Both the boys wanted their picture taken by the magical trees. 

 They also loved to "hide" in these plants during our walks.

 Aurora with Grandma Emma. She's just a few weeks old in the picture. Emma has a magic touch with babies. They all snuggle in and sleep when she holds them.

 We went to Lagoon with the boys again at the end of Summer. Here is a cute picture of them enjoying the car ride.

 Before the weather turned cold and we had those glorious indian summer days we were raking the leaves into piles. Naturally, Graham had to jump into every pile I raked. That's what leaf piles are for. :)

 I love this picture of Rory. That same beautiful fall day she came out the hang out with the family. She's such a doll!

Rule #164: Six is better than one.

We definitely got our moneys worth on our Halloween costumes this year. Evan and Graham dressed up six different times! The first time they wore their Jedi costumes was for Washington Elementary's Halloween Carnival. They also dressed up for Boo at the Zoo, Sunday diner at Nana's house, Ufit, our wards Trunk or Treat, and of course actual Halloween. I was worried they wouldn't want to dress up anymore come Halloween. Luckily they didn't seem to mind all of the costume changes for the past two weeks.

Graham was being defiant at the beginning of October, and refused to consent to be anything. Evan was being just as fickle. FINALLY Evan decided he wanted to be a Jedi. Obi-Wan Kenobi to be exact. When we asked Graham if he wanted to be a Jedi, he of course said no. Then we asked if he wanted a green sword or a blue sword. He chose green, and that was that. :) Graham was Qui-Gon Jinn

Alex got into the spirit of Halloween as well. He is the Emperor. (when he was younger) I think he looks awesome.

The boys had such a great time fighting the sith lord, over and over again.

Aurora wore the tiger costume that Evan wore for his first Halloween. The bow lets you know that she is a girl tiger. :)

Happy Halloween Everyone!

May the Force be with you.