Waiting...

It's Sunday, 1.19.14, a big day for many reasons. One, it is my father's birthday. Happy Birthday, dad! Two, it is Broncos Sunday. The biggest game of the year, the AFC championship game. I am sitting in a Starbucks, killing time. A lot of time. Lauryn and Alex have ski lessons and Daniel is obviously going to the game. So I sit and wait. Not ideal, but it is what it is. I am extremely thankful for my mom, who is watching Drew at home. That could have been disastrous with him in tow.
So, where do I begin?! I kinda suck at this blog stuff on a regular basis. No, not kinda, I do. So, as mentioned prior, L and A are skiing. They started their lessons at WP last weekend, which should have been a whole entry in itself. Alex is skiing greens and blues with other 6 year olds and Lauryn is a rock star, skiing blues and blacks with 12 and 13 year olds. I'll never ski with her again :(, but I got Drew for a few years ;). WP is new to them and they are still trying to figure out if they like it. I definitely like the traffic, or lack of, better. F the tunnel. Other than skiing, L is going to play in a winter 3v3 soccer league to prep for the upcoming spring season. Alex is playing basketball and is loving it. He got some real basketball shoes and is the stud of the team, but that really isn't saying much considering who is on his team. We'll hope for a different team next year. School is going well for both of them. I couldn't be more proud.
Andrew turned 10 months (WHAT?!) a couple of days ago and went for a regular check up last week. He's growing like crazy (stats to come later) and is progressing through life at his own pace. A very slow, happy pace. As soon as I posted the last update on/around Thanksgiving, complaining that he wasn't sitting up, he started sitting up the next day. Literally. So, maybe I should start a rant about how he's not crawling or pulling up on things, but to be quite honest, I'm in absolutely no hurry for this next step whatsoever. He'll get there when he's ready and when he wants to and I am totally fine with that. Around the beginning of December, he added "puffs" to his palate. Legal and safe crack for babies. Other than that, he eats all puréed foods. In the last few weeks, we've started trying some of the chunkier blends and he's not always so sure about them, but becoming more used to them each time. I just ordered a baby food cookbook, so we will see how that goes. Ha! Around Christmas, he mastered shaking his head "no", especially when you say "yes". He also can say "mama" and "lala" when he wants, but mostly says "dada" and "baba". Teeth. The subject over the last month. Poor baby. He got the bottom two in and soon after that all the others began their journey of becoming visible. When I say all the others, I mean it. He literally has six teeth cutting at the same time. Right now. I guess when we get through this phase we will be good for awhile! I hope! So, as you can imagine, sleep has been easier. Around the beginning of Jan, he was waking 3-5 times per night or every 2-3 hours, every night. Now it is down to a couple of times a night and I blame the teeth. Stupid teeth. I try to enjoy these middle of the night times with him because someday, probably sooner than later, I'll miss our quiet, calm moments when no one else is around or awake. From an activity standpoint, he love picking toys up and either dropping them or flipping them over, like he's performing some kind of magic trick. Pretty funny. If he's not testing how something drops, he's trying to spin it. Yes, he tries to spin everything, including my nose, his fat rolls on his thighs, etc. love him to pieces. It's approaching the lunch hour, which means I've been sitting here for long enough that my a$$ is going numb and game time is near. I must go get a seat at the mountain bar. Go Broncos!

Thanksgiving

Last week/weekend was a bit rough on the sleeping front at night.  Drew was FINALLY cutting his bottom front teeth.  They were both cut by Monday and he's been back to is happy self since.  He's so cute with those two little teeth peeking through!  Soon, we will be able to try some puffs!  Yay!  Along with his first teeth came his first words.  It started out as "bah bah bah bah" to "ba ba ba ba" to "da da da da."  He doesn't connect saying "da da" to Daniel, but he's pretty proud of himself when he says it :).  Way to go pal!
We celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday with some of our friends and family.  It was a beautiful day and we are thankful for so much.  I started the day early by making a second batch of scones to take to our neighborhood friends, the Cartwright's house.  I had made a batch of chocolate chip scones the night before and they didn't really turn out as planned, but tasted ok.  Yesterday morning I made cranberry orange scones and although they looked better, I wasn't crazy about the flavor.  I've got a lot of work to do in perfecting my scone skills.  Anyway, we enjoyed a nice morning with neighbors at the annual Thanksgiving celebration at the Cartwright's.  We are thankful for them and the friendship we have developed.  After that, we walked home to finish prepping for the big dinner.  This year we celebrated at Tom and Beth's.  I think there were 18 or so of us.....Becca, Dave, Libby and Julia came from Texas; Meade, Emily and baby Blythe from Chicago; Matt and Page; Creigh; Jeremy, Sarah and Molly; our family and Tom and Beth.  The afternoon and evening were filled with amazing food and great conversation.  We are so thankful for all of our friends and family.  Blessed.

Catching up....

...or trying to, anyway.  I'm not sure how the last two months have gotten away from me, but they have.  The older kids are in the full swing of school (and loving it) and Drew is growing like crazy!  At his 6 month check-up, he was 26.38" (38%) and 15lbs 4.3oz (12%).  He's certainly proving to not be our chunkiest baby.  Right after his 6 month appt. (9/19/13), we started rice cereal.  He wasn't a big fan at first and over the course of a month or so, he started eating it better.  It helped when we added some fruit.  Now, he's eating all pureed veggies and fruits.  We haven't found anything that he doesn't like.  Again, is this my child?!  Drew got his first cold on 9/28/13 :(.  Probably something sister or brother blessed him with from school.  It didn't really go away and 2 weeks later we landed in the ED with croup.  This wasn't our first rodeo.  Alex was a "crouper" from a very young age and Lauryn became one as a toddler.  I am always very thankful for decadron and hate it at the same time.  It works within hours but turns your child into a bipolar mess.  I stayed home with Drew for 3 days and did nothing but hold him, otherwise he wasn't happy.  Looking back, I cherish the moments I am forced to slow down and hold my babies.  Precious time.  His little cold lasted a few more weeks before he finally kicked it.  All is good now.  A few things he has developed and likes doing over the last several weeks: chews on his tongue like it's gum, smacks his list, especially after he's got a tummy full of milk, he rolls over to his tummy and is reaching for things (doesn't get mad as often/fast), is growing some hair, and will respond to his name if you say "Drew" not "Andrew."  We tease him that he's the laziest baby in the world, but why wouldn't he be??  He's got 4 people waiting on him like it's their job.  He's getting closer and closer every day to sitting up on his own.  I know, he's 8 months and should be, but he just doesn't care.  I say that I'm excited and ready for him to "do something", however I know as soon as he starts sitting, the next thing I know, he'll be crawling, and I'm pretty sure I'm NOT ready for that. :)  Updated pics to come soon....

Rollin, Rollin, Rollin....

Saturday, September 14th
This past week has been a bit challenging on the sleeping front.  Andrew was back to waking up frequently after midnight.  I'm pretty sure it is because of his teeth, but it also may be that he is getting smart.  "When I cry, mommy comes."  We'll figure that out and deal in time.  On Saturday, when I went into his room at 2:17am, he was on his tummy.  Yep, he finally figured out how to rollover from his back to tummy.  I was fortunate to be able to go out for breakfast with a bestie, and while I was getting ready, Andrew was playing on his floor gym.  Daniel said he rolled from back to tummy to back to tummy, all in a matter of minutes.  I guess he was saving all of his rolling tricks for one moment.  Now, he doesn't really care to roll over so much, and when he does roll to his tummy, it doesn't take him long to figure out he doesn't like it all that much.

1st Day of School 2013

On Monday, we started another school year.  Lauryn is in 2nd grade with Mrs. Hamzeh and Alex is in Kindergarten with Mrs. Peterson.  They are both excited about a new year (so is mommy), new teachers and new friends.  It's hard to believe that Alex is starting "real" school this year, although he was in preschool for what seemed like forever.  On the first day, he was definitely nervous, a side of him we rarely see.  Just 3 days in and he already has it all figured out.  On the first day, parents escort their children to their classrooms.  I was excited and nervous for both of them, but knew they would do great.  The second day is the first full day and drop off is normal, on the south playground.  As I drove away, after making sure Alex knew where to lineup, it dawned on me that the 2nd time around is a whole different story.  With Lauryn, I'm pretty sure I waited with her on the playground until the bell rang for at least half of the year, quite possibly the entire Kindergarten year.  When we pulled up this year, Lauryn reassured me in the car that "she could walk Alex up."  At first, I said "ok", but after a few seconds of thought, decided that I should see him on his way at least the first day.  What a difference from our first born.  This morning, the third day of school, I took Lauryn up on her offer.  They did great.  She walked him to his line to put his backpack down and they skipped off together to play before the first bell.  I've always thought that independence is one of the most important things you can teach your children.  With that alone, they will go far.  Here are a few pics of their first day.  Cheers to another school year.

Weekend in Winter Park

This past weekend we got away to Winter Park with just our happy family of five.  We stayed in one of my co-worker's condos, which was beautiful and spacious.  There really is nothing like spending carefree time in the mountains.  I love the mountains in the Summer.  I think there is as much to do and beauty, maybe more, than the Winter season.  We enjoyed dinner on a restaurant patio Friday night.  Although the food wasn't great, the beer was, of course.  I had a pomegranate wheat and a blueberry wheat beer.  Delish!  On Saturday, we went to the resort, where the kids and Daniel got Adventure Passes for the day.  This gave them unlimited access to the longest alpine slide, trampolines with bungee cords, mini golf, a human maze, zip line, rock wall, etc.  There was also a huge bike race/event going on all week.  Their favorites were the alpine slide and the trampolines.  Andrew did awesome....he sat in his stroller like a big boy (without being in the carseat).  He took a nap, then just cruised around until about 1300, then we went back to the condo so he could take a real nap.  Daniel and the kids stayed until almost 1700 and they were wiped when we picked them up.  We enjoyed a nice family dinner of spaghetti that evening, the kids watched a movie and D and I enjoyed cocktails on the patio while rain poured down around us.  Beautiful.  The only thing that wasn't beautiful about the weekend experience was the traffic on our way back.  It can almost ruin your entire weekend.  Luckily, it wasn't that bad and Andrew was a champ.  If I could get away to somewhere in the mountains every weekend, life would be grand.  Maybe someday.

Kids Say the Darndest Things.
A couple of nights ago at the dinner table, Alex says to Lauryn "Lauryn, when you are a mom, you are going to drink A LOT of wime (wine)!"  I have no idea where he might have gotten that thought ;).  Of course, I was laughing out loud.  Alex saying this triggered me to think of all the things the kids say that you tell yourself you don't want to forget.  Here is a stab at remembering some those....

Lauryn

• becept (except)
• ith (if)
• I lo (I love you)
• neighbor (neighborhood) 
• "I've got something ridiculous in my butt!" (Lauryn telling Daniel she needs to go poop, 1st thing in the morning)
• Me: Lauryn, can you get me a diaper for Alex?  Lauryn: I'd be happy to help you mommy if you said PLEASE!

Alex

• LaLa (Lauryn)
• pees (please)
• Bubba and Booper (Cooper)
• fff (giraffey)
• pss (grapes)
• convertibert (convertible)
• exposed (supposed)
• wime (wine)
• "My dad drinks whikskey (whiskey).  My mom drinks wime." (to Miss Shelly, our in-home daycare)

•  My favorite....Alex had developed a really bad habit of using the word "tooter" in excess.  He said it all the time and it drove me crazy.  We were in Kansas at my grandmother's house, Alex was saying tooter this, tooter that, so I told him if I heard it one more time, I was going to wash his mouth out with soap when we got to grandma's house.  We left, Alex chose to ride in "Doctor's race car" with my mom.  As soon as they got in the car and started pulling out of the driveway, Alex, in his most serious voice asks "Grandma T, do you have soap at your house?"  My mom had heard what was on the table if he said the word "tooter" again and lost it laughing.  He's always thinking about his next move.
• "Dad!  Did you see the Eiffel Tower when you were in NYC?!  Or maybe the Statue of Liberty." (Alex to Daniel upon D's return from a business trip to NYC.  He was SO excited about knowing the "Eiffel Tower", then quickly realized he said the wrong thing.)

Andrew

• Ahgoo
• hiiii 

8/1/13: I found the journel Daniel gave me for Mother's Day 2009.  There was one entry dated "July 1, 2009".  Pretty much all it contained were "a place to write and remember all of the moments that make me smile", starting with "favorite quotes or words from the recent past."  I updated my blog post with the ones that were missing.  Funny how journals are a thing of the past, replaced by blogs.  At least I'm actually doing it...for now :).