July was a busy month, with Grandma Zalesky's visit, the Fourth of July, family outings to Boston, and Jon's patio project. Of course, the biggest news of the month was our Liu family trip Taiwan and China.

Aurora learned how to walk on tippee toes and how to twirl around several times in a circle. Her dance moves keep getting more varied and complex! She loves to help clean the house, often getting a kitchen towel or the mini dustpan and broom Jon bought for her to clean up something she spilled. This is good since she can now pull things off the countertops. She is always excited to help close and start the dishwasher or water the plants, and she enjoys it when I take her down to the basement to help with laundry. She still can't fold yet, though.

Aurora is now able to follow many simple commands, such as "give to Mama" "open/close the door" or "put in the recycling bin". If she wants to go outside, she will bring us our shoes or her shoes on her own! She understands many words, and "knows the drill" for phrases like "go outside" and "change diaper". Aurora's vocabulary is also increasing. In baby sign language, she now knows "frog" and "bunny". We are working on other animals such as "cat" and "dog". In spoken words, she can say "up" "down" "duck" and "did it" along with "Mama" "Baba" "Dada" and "dat" (that). Whenever she sees a dog, she points at it and shouts "dah!" (dog). Bananas are called "nanas". Aurora loves to have books read to her, although her attention span can still be shorter than a board book! We gave her a shelf in the living room bookcase for her books. It is very interesting to see her wander over there and carefully select a book to have us read. She definitely has a few favorites. She realizes when she chooses a book that is too hard and promptly slides off our laps to go find another one (we think she can tell if the print is too small or there are too many words per page).

All in all, Aurora is developing into a very active and inquisitive child. Jon is thrilled that she loves the outdoors and seems to be a bit of a tomboy!

Midmonth tooth count: 11.5, with several more on the way (at least we hope that's why she is so cranky and needy at times).


July 1, 2009: Aurora practices being a big shot, juggling multiple phone calls at once.



July 2, 2009: Aurora digs into a box full of goodies from the Zaleskys (Grandma, Anthony, and Chris and Lisa)



July 3, 2009: That's our girl! Aurora finds some matches to play with!



July 4, 2009: It's Independence Day! Time to play with a box!


At the Newton Kids' Festivities, we all got free Cabot's Ice Cream for breakfast. Aurora really likes her first encounter with a vanilla ice cream cone - good thing she has two parents who shared their cones with her!


What does one do after ice cream for breakfast? Go run around a playground, of course!


Back at home, Aurora cools off in her froggy pool.


Relaxing pool side.


Then it's off to the carnival! Aurora rode the Candy Express train by herself, then went on a ride with Grandma, followed by another train ride (there were only two rides she was big enough to go on, and we bought three ride tickets).


A quick stop at home to drop off Grandma and pick up a picnic dinner, then off to the fireworks!



July 5, 2009: We took advantage of a sunny morning to make a quick trip to the Public Garden and take Aurora on her first Swan Boat ride.


Aurora enjoyed the music provided by this guitarist.


After the Swan Boat ride, we walked around the lagoon. Aurora saw other people riding the Swan Boats and many different kinds of birds (all "ducks" in her mind), including a nesting pair of swans.


Of course we took her to the "Make Way for Ducklings" statues! We don't think she was as enamored with the ducks as all the other kids there.


Enjoying a late lunch on the deck with Grandma.


What's happening to the backyard?


Video: Aurora tries to climb the stairs to the backyard by herself.
Attempt 1
Attempt 2


July 6, 2009: Playing with Grandma in the morning.


Aurora is excited to be eating cherries for her morning snack. (that's why she's topless) She loves her new booster seat so much, she carries it from room to room to use!


There's something wrong with this bowl, Mama! (it's empty)



July 7, 2009: Aurora finds the pile of stuffed animals left by Grandma. She promptly runs over and picks them up and brings them to me, one at a time.

Video: Animal collector


July 8, 2009: Aurora enjoys evening time with Baba.
Video: Catching bubbles


July 10, 2009: We spent most of the afternoon with Amy and Greer. Besides having a picnic lunch in the park, we also did many errands around Coolidge Corner. By the end, we had two very tired babies!



July 11, 2009: Meghan and Ken's wedding! It was a gorgeous day in a beautiful setting (Elm Bank). Here Aurora strikes a pose before the ceremony starts.


The bride and groom (now husband and wife).


Aurora enjoys exploring the grounds at Elm Bank so much, we had a hard time getting her inside for dinner!


Aurora is a bit wary of Baba's lobster dinner.


After dinner, Aurora loved dancing around. It was hard to get her to leave before the party ended! (just like Jon)



July 12, 2009: We went to the Fish Pier in Boston to see the Tall Ships that were in town. While we only saw a few up close, and didn't wait on line to board any of them, they were still quite impressive.


Snack break for Aurora (who plowed through her blueberries) and Baba (who had to prevent Aurora from drinking his iced coffee).


We bought sandwiches and ate them in a small park across the way from the wharf. Aurora had fun checking out the public sculptures.



July 15, 2009: Sharon came to town for a short visit. We met up with Amy, Greer, and Sharon for a walk around Arnold Arboretum one afternoon. Here Aurora is opening up the gift Sharon brought her.



July 16, 2009: I am not sure where the apple-prune puree ends and Aurora begins! She is still trying to master how to use a spoon.




July 17, 2009: We went on a short walk in Brookline with Sharon, Amy, and Greer. This is the first time Kathy noticed that Aurora knows where "toes" are!


Here Aurora simultaneously demonstrates her baby sign language versions of "frog" and "bunny".


This is just an awesome picture of Aurora!