August 2008 Photos

August began with weekend trips to DC and Maine for 2 weddings. Aurora went on her first plane ride! On the way down, she was happy and excited - drinking from her bottle or sucking her thumb during take off and landing. On the way back home, however, our flight was delayed and we spent 2 hours on the packed plane waiting to take off. After tolerating the crowded conditions for 45 minutes (and finishing her bottle), Aurora started to get fussy. And mad. And inconsolable for almost half an hour. As Jon and the flight attendant both said, Aurora was just expressing the frustrations of everyone on the plane! Luckily, she eventually calmed down and fell asleep until we landed in Boston at 9pm.

While in DC for Scott's wedding (August 2), we connected with lots of friends who we hadn't seen in quite a while (such as since our own wedding 2 years ago). Kathy's family also took advantage of our presence in DC to also spend the weekend there. Aurora got to meet her Aunt Amy, Uncle Daryl, Aunt Julie, Uncle Albert, and her cousins Isaac and Elena for the first time. Aurora also met her grandparents' close friends ("Aunt" Futing and "Uncle" Eugene) at dinner one night. She got to try out the hotel pool. The water was colder than we expected, and Aurora was not as excited about "swimming" as we were hoping she'd be.

The next weekend, we drove up to Deer Isle Maine for Lindsey and Justin's wedding. While Scott and Lisa's ceremony and reception were held at a gorgeous manor house with landscaped gardens, Lindsey and Justin opted for a more rustic setting for their nuptuals, on the lawn over looking the bay on Deer Isle (Maine). Both brides were gorgeous and both grooms looked handsome.

At the beginning of the month, it became apparent that Aurora was on the cusp of learning how to crawl. She could locate the source of sounds, turning her head to see who was talking to her or walking into the room. Her grasping ability also improved. Aurora was definitely reaching out towards things (a toy, Kathy's hand, Jon's nose) and grabbing them. This caused her to move around while on her tummy. She could easily use her arms, crossing one hand over the other, to spin herself in a circle to try to get closer to a desired object. She would squiggle her legs too, but didn't have enough control over them to push up onto her knees. She continued to use the sides of her crib as leverage to push her legs off of. Basically, even though we always put her down in the same location, we found her in every position anywhere in her crib. Unfortunately, she still has trouble distinguishing between things that are 2D and 3D. Thus, she gets very frustrated when she cannot pick up the boats on the Boppy cover!

After 6 wonderful months at home with Aurora, Kathy dreaded getting ready to go back to work. And Aurora started day care. As predicited, the adjustment seemed to be easier for Aurora than for Kathy. On the very last day of the month, Aurora once again caused her parents to worry and rush her off to the doctor (on a Sunday too!). She broke out with a rash on Saturday, and it slowly got worse over the next 24 hours, prompting a phone call to the 24 hour hotline at the pediatrician's office. We were lucky enough to see her own doctor, Dr. Brown, who diagnosed her with a viral fever of unknown origin since she never had any symptons like a fever or runny nose during the past week (he said possibly hand-foot-and-mouth disease, but she didn't have the typical blisters in her mouth so it was hard to say for sure). As far we can tell, the rash was most likely not due to an allergy from something Kathy ate or from the rice cereal, sweet potatoes, or bananas Aurora recently enjoyed.

August 1: At BWI airport, Aurora demonstrates that her balance is getting better.

August 2: During breakfast at the Embassy Suites, we ran into Amy and George Howard.

Then Aunt Amy and Uncle Daryl showed up too! Uncle Daryl seemed to pass Aurora's taste test.

At around 10:30, Albert, Julie, Isaac, and Elena arrive in Alexandria. Aurora meets her cousins for the first time.

The wedding took place at Oxon Hill Manor. It was a beautiful ceremony.

Oxon Hill Manor. This is the back of the house.

During lunch, Aurora gets to know Heather...and then tried to steal her silverware!

Getting sleepy, but there's too much going onto take a nap!

Some of the old Boston gang!

Dancing with Daddy is fun!

Amy Pollack Howard and Aurora get reaquainted.

Dave and Kathy

At dinner, Aunt Futing and Elena help take care of Aurora while her parents eat.

August 3: The girls are watching The Weather Channel in the morning...and then Aurora is trying to switch to something more interesting.

At breakfast, Wai Pao and Elena keep watch over Aurora.

A mid-morning cuddle after Aurora has her mid-morning snack.

Trying out the hotel pool. At first Aurora was excited, but once she was in the cool water, she seemed to wonder what her parents were thinking!

Just like Aurora likes to "type" on the keyboard at home, she enjoyed interacting with the touch screen in the hotel lobby. She even found out how a Segway works!

At lunch, we played "pass the baby" again.

Saying goodbye is always hard.

Aurora visits Aunt Amy and Uncle Daryl's house before we head to the airport.

After a mini-meltdown on the plane (we sat on the runway for 2 hours), Aurora finally passes out. Jon, Kathy, and everyone else on the plane was grateful that she slept the whole way to Boston.

Jon, Kathy, and Aurora were all happy to get home that night!

August 5: Aurora is now used to helping Mama fold the laundry. Maybe she can learn to iron next!

August 8: After a 5.5 hour drive up to Deer Isle, we got to the Pilgrim's Inn with just enough time to feed Aurora, change all our outfits, and head out to a lobster dinner. We got to meet baby Oliver for the first time that night! Here is Lindsey's Mom greeting Oliver and Corin.

Corin and Jon do the baby exchange. At 2 months and 10 pounds, Oliver sure was tiny compared to our hefty baby!

Teresa (fitness instructor at Walnut Hill) is checking out Aurora's power thighs.

You don't get power thighs by missing any meals, even if it means eating during the "pop quiz" Lindsey and Justin gave us!

August 9: During breakfast, Aurora's mobile phone is apparently the only one that gets reception on Deer Isle.

Mmmm...cantaloupe!

Checking out the flower garden at the Inn. Notice how Aurora still has hold of her phone!

We met up with Corin, Jared, and Oliver for a walk at the Edgar M. Tennis Preserve.

Standing next to a "tree butt"

Everyone had lunch under a tree. Aurora loves to be outdoors and we hope she turns into a nature girl!

Heading back to the car.

Superbaby is trying to rescue her friends from the Pack-n-Play!

The reason we went to Maine - a wedding!

Aurora distracted Daddy from photographing more of the ceremony.

After the ceremony, Aurora shows off her newest trick.

Corin, Oliver, and Lindsey

Jared, Corin, and Oliver

Aurora discovers and (literally) drools over Jon's shiny shoes! She gave them her special spit shine :)

Family photo

August 10: Aurora really enjoys "eating" fruit salad! She worked really hard to learn how to pick up the slippery melon pieces. Her reward was getting to suck on each piece she could get to her mouth. We had to pick lots of pieces off the floor.

Aurora meets the new Mrs.

Throughout the weekend, Lindsey's mom and Justin's mom were both very generous with helping to take care of Aurora so Jon and Kathy could eat.

Aurora doing pushups as Kathy and Jon pack up to head home. She'll be crawling soon!

Another family photo

Before leaving Deer Isle, we took Aurora to the ocean. In addition to dipping her toes into the chilly water, she got to hold a snail and touch some barnacles and seaweed. She loved it!