May 2010: Aurora is speaking more and she is able to express much more complex thoughts and sentences, as you
will be able to hear on some videoes. Physically, she is becoming much more confident on the playground,
even learning how to climb up things designed for older children. Jon takes Aurora to the playground almost
weekly, and other parents are often surprised that she is only two, based on her size and mastery of the
equipment. We love to watch her figure things out for herself - you can almost see her brain putting things
together and drawing on past experiences!
May 2, 2010: A visit to the Natick Community Organic Farm.
Video: Looking at pigs
May 6, 2010: Saint Louis! We headed to the midwest for Owen and Pam's wedding. While there,
we got to see some of the local sights. Aurora went to the zoo for the first time. Camels! Giraffes!
Wallabies!
Video: Hop hops
What to do after the zoo? Check out the playground at the end of Owen and Pam's block! For the
record, Aurora approves of it.
Video: Baby one
Video: Jungle master 1
Video: Whoa!
Video: Jungle gym
Every time Aurora goes to a playground, she learns new ways to make Mama nervous.
Video: Ring around the rosy
After all that playing, time to take a shower! Aurora loved the fluffy bathrobe that
came with the room.
May 7, 2010: Aurora helps with wedding preparations, then has time to create an original piece of
art work and install it in the dining room.
The afternoon was spent at the City Museum, where Aurora got to explore a playground on
the roof of the building. Just about everything in this museum is made from reclaimed or
recycled materials.
We even rode on a rooftop ferris wheel!
Video: Ferris wheel
We got to "drive" a school bus off the roof too!
Video: School bus
Video: Rope swing
Video: Ladder climbing
Aurora walked on a big pencil, got to see stained glass up close, and even tried to
break into a bank vault!
Video: Safe cracking
There were all sorts of kid-sized tunnels in the museum, which made it hard for Mama to
keep up when Aurora nimbly crawled from one floor up to the next.
Outside, there was another playground that went three stories up! Of course, Aurora
was unfazed by being several stories off the ground. Luckily, Jon had already left
to go to the wedding rehearsal because he would have had a hard time keeping up with
Aurora.
There was even a fire truck two stories off the ground!
Video: Fire truck
The rehearsal dinner was at Owen's favorite restaurant, Pi.
May 8, 2010: Wedding day! What better way to prep than to sleep in?
The ceremony was at the World's Fair Pavilion. Unfortunately, it was a bit
chilly and quite windy that day, so Aurora (and Mama) spent most of it hiding behind some columns.
Afterward the ceremony, Supergirl made a brief appearance.
Aurora tried out the rental car. She was a bit startled when she hit the horn.
At the reception site, the biggest attraction was this gate. Aurora was very proud of herself once she
figured out how to open and close it on her own.
The other big attactions were the bugs, including a couple of rollie pollies.
There was a playgroung next door which needed checking out. Aurora did a great job
despite the big dress and slippery shoes.
Video: Swinging
A girl needs her beauty sleep, even if it is in the middle of a wedding! She even slept
through Baba's speech and the fraternity serenade.
She perked back up for the post-dinner socializing and dancing.
Video: Jumping and dancing
Video: It's the end of the world
May 9, 2010: We got up early and headed over to see the Gateway Arch.
After the Arch, we went back to Owen and Pam's place for brunch. Baba was not feeling too good.
Luckily, Ab and the hedgehog were there to help keep Aurora entertained.
May 11, 2010: The new neighbors have two outdoor cats, which Aurora loves to watch. She even
tries to order them around, the way she does Mama and Baba. She hasn't figured out that yelling
"Skitty, come!" does not produce the desired result.
May 16, 2010: A trip to the Public Garden means the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture, a Swan Boat
ride, and a carousel ride. In fact, as soon as Aurora saw that there was a frog on this particular
carousel, she insisted on riding it. She even patiently waited two times so that she could be first on
line for the next ride and get to sit on the frog.
Video: Frog carousel
May 23, 2010: Lindsey finishes grad school, which means a big party!
Video: Jumping queen
May 26, 2010: Jon has always hoped that Aurora will want to play soccer one day. He may just
get his wish, since she loves to take a ball out to the backyard.
Video: Backyard ball 1
Video: Backyard ball 2
May 30, 2010: We went to Davis' Farmland for the first time. It's a toddler wonderland with
a petting zoo, pony rides, hayrides, multiple playgrounds, and a spray park! At first, Aurora was
nervous about feeding or petting the animals, but she became more confident as she watched us
do it and even fed some baby goats and lambs on her own. She had no problem petting a rat or
funky chicken. She LOVED the pony ride.
Video: Pony ride
It also happened to be "construction weekend" while we were there, so Jon and Aurora got to
see several big trucks up close.
The hayride took us to pastures to see animals that were not part of the petting zoo.
Another swing through the petting zoo.
Video: Feeding goats
And then it was off to the spray park. At first, Aurora was not sure if she wanted to
play in the water, but with Baba's encouragement, she became more comfortable running
through the streams of water. There were two splash parks - a small toddler one and a
much larger one.
Video: Splash with Baba
After the spray park, Aurora insisted on checking out the play area nearby.
Video: Jungle master 2
To cap off the day, we all had ice cream.
Video: Who needs a spoon?
Video: What kind of ice cream do you have?
Jon and Aurora get measured.
After filling up with ice cream, Aurora wanted to try out the bouncy cow. Again, she
refused to go alone, but was quite happy to go in the bouncer with Baba.
Video: Bouncing with Baba