parks and the zoo

Well it was overall a very nice week weather wise, so we tried to spend as much time outside as we could. Monday we went to baby time at the library which is tons of fun. We sang songs read stories, played games, and got to play with other babies and toys. Brady really enjoyed it and we will be back. We have realized that he does not have to share very often, so when another baby took his toy he had a temper tantrum. but it was too cute and I laughed. I foresee horrible, terrible twos! Near the library is a park, so we went to enjoy the day outside. Brady likes to swing, but he loves to play in the grass and sand. It was a great day.

Tuesday, I made him run errands with me, but he really enjoys playing throw everything out of the grocery cart and watch mommy pick it up, so it wasn't all bad.

Wednesday we had a lunch date at Nana's which is always fun, and Brady's loves to explore Nana's house. He also had a doctor's appointment and we found out how much he weighs and how he is doing. He is a skinny little guy, 17.12 lbs, which is only in the 10th percentile, but he is healthy. He also got a shot but he is very brave and only cried for a short time. Wednesday night is church and he had a fun time playing with friends.

Thursday we went to another park with my friend Melissa and Brady had his first picnic. We had a nice time and it was a great way to spend the day.

Friday we were looking forward to all week. We were going to the zoo. We join our friends Erin and Mike and their god daughter Mary, and enjoyed a warm gorgeous day. Brady loved looking at all the animals and was very tired by the end of the day. We got a membership to the zoo, so we are looking forward to going often this year.

Feeding the Giraffes

Watching the meercats
Watching the bear swim

Playing in the kids area

Sleep Stander?

So you have heard of sleep walking but have you ever heard of sleep standing?
Today Brady and I had a fun morning at the park and by this afternoon he was tired and ready for a nap. He went down fairly easily for his nap, and I turned on the baby monitor, and got into the shower. I guess something woke him up, and once he is awake he stands up in his crib to try to get out. Well I heard him fussing a little bit, but he stopped before I got out of the shower. I got dressed and went to peek in on him to make sure he was asleep, and at first I thought he was awake. I saw though the crack in the door, he was standing, so I thought he was awake. He wasn't! He had fallen back asleep standing up! Of course I ran down and got my camera, and took a tiny video. My finger slid off the video button so it is really short but you can pause it and see him asleep with his thumb in his mouth, standing! Of course I woke him up with my laughter, but I got him back to sleep, and he took a nice long nap. Maybe that is the secret to a good nap, let them sleep standing up!

We're back!

So get ready to read what we have been up to! Sorry we have been busy, so I haven't really kept up with our blog. But we are back with a vengeance, and we have so much to let you know. So this might be a little long, but we don't mind if you take it in sections.

So to start where we left off. After our ski vaca, we tried to recuperate and get back to normal. We also had to start cleaning and getting ready for my mom to come for a visit. With Brady it takes me at least three days to clean the entire house now, and he was teething at the time, and needed lots of attention so it was even longer! Thursday April 2nd we were so proud, because of the arrival of Brady's very first tooth! We were starting to wonder because most babies get their teeth much sooner, but where he lacks in the teeth department, he makes up in other areas. Also because he is still breastfeeding, you can see why I did not really mind that he didn't have teeth. Since his teeth aren't really grown in yet, teeth pictures will come soon.

So on April 3rd Grandma weekend started. We were so excited to have big chunk of time set aside for her visit. After she arrived we went shopping, and that evening Brady stayed with his Aunt Jennifer while we went to a Easter play at a local church called The Thorn. Though we have been years past, this isn't a typical church play, it is more like Broadway meets a concert, and I think my mom was impressed.

Brady with the Easter basket and toys Grandma got him.

Saturday the 4th was my moms 50th birthday. My stepfather is in Siberia on an extended business trip, and though he was very disappointed to miss her special day we were so happy that my mom decided to spend her birthday with us. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate with us and our plans didn't really work out. Instead we did a little shopping, and we went to a restaurant and had a nice dinner. Overall I think she had a very nice birthday, I mean who wouldn't want to spend it with the best grandbaby in the world?

Brady loved his Grandma reading books to him.

Sunday we went to church and lunch then relaxed and played together.

Monday we went to Boulder, Co. We were going to go on Saturday but because of the weather we pushed our trip to Monday. Boulder is the home to the University of Colorado, it is a very interesting, liberal, but a beautiful city. We went to a park that looked over Boulder and saw the beautiful scenery and got some great pictures. We then went to the Doshanbe tea house, a landmark in boulder, and had lunch. http://www.boulderteahouse.com/ Finally we went shopping, and enjoyed the fun city.

In Boulder

Brady and Grandma

Tuesday we went to go hiking at a local place called Glen Eyrie. http://www.gleneyrie.org/ They have gorgeous grounds and a huge castle. We even saw big horn sheep, I thought one might ram the car! Because we did not make reservations we didn't get to tour the castle but hiking was just as much fun. The hike was certainly a HIKE. We must have crossed over the stream on rocks and logs 20 times, and with a 7 lb pack and almost 20 lb baby it was a workout. It was so worth it, the trail lead though a canyon to a waterfall. From there you could hike a 1/4 mile straight up to three cool ponds that are right next to one another. We weren't able to do that part, Brady and I would have tumbled down the mountain, but the waterfall was enough. After our hike, my mom was nice enough to watch Brady while Jeremy and I went on a date to a nice dinner and a movie.

Brady in his pack

At the Waterfall

With Grandma

This is an easier part of the trail!

Wednesday it was time for my mom to go back home. So after a little more shopping, of course, we were off to the airport. We all had a sad goodbye, but we are already looking forward to the next time we see each other.


Thursday we rested and prepared for Jeremy's birthday. Friday Jeremy had the day off so we had a fun day spending time together as a family. Saturday was Jeremy's 29th birthday, and we had a great dinner with family. Brady was really teething and had a fever all day, but he pulled through and enjoyed celebrating his Daddy's birthday. Sunday was not a typical sunny Easter, it was a very snowy day here. We still had a wonderful time at church and a yummy dinner with family. The kids enjoyed an inside Easter egg hunt, but still had fun.

The is the best picture that I got of the cute Easter outfit courtsey of Grandma

With the Easter basket the Easter bunny got him

Brady eating the candy duck Nana and Gramps got him for Easter

Brady cut his 2nd tooth for Easter, so now he has 2 teeth in less than 2 weeks. He hasn't really been sleeping very well during nap time, so he was really sleepy this evening. While we were eating dinner, he was so tired he fell asleep in his highchair. It was too cute. The other day he was so tired he feel asleep on Jeremy in a very busy Walmart. He is such a busy boy now. Earlier this evening while putting away dishes, I looked away for 2 seconds and he had climbed into the dishwasher! We are going to have our hands full! What an exciting time, we can't wait to see what is next!

Ski Trip

So for my birthday the only thing I, Melissa, wanted was to go skiing. So we planned a ski weekend with our family. Even though my birthday was at the beginning of March, this past weekend worked better for us so that is when we decided to go. On Thursday, the day before we planned to leave a big blizzard hit Colorado. We have had a very mild winter, so it seemed we got all of our snow in one day. Because of the storm, we got a late start but it didn't put us too far behind. We have heard about the lodging at the YMCA at Estes Park and Winter Park from many friends and family so that is where we decided to stay. http://www.ymcarockies.org/home/our-locations/snow-mountain-ranch

We got a 4 bedroom vacation home that is supposed to sleep 10, we made it sleep 9 adults and 4 kids. It was nice and cosy. It had the most amazing view and you could definitely see the beauty God blessed Colorado with.

We first had a sleigh ride planned. It was a sleigh ride though the forest with a stop in the middle for hot cocoa and to roast marshmallows. Lady and Sadie were the huge gorgeous horses that pulled our sleigh. We were all really cold but it was fun. Brady was very annoyed because we had him very bundled and he could barely move. He started to fall asleep toward the end of the ride, but he had a good time.

Here we are with our niece and nephew, Chelsey and Shawn. Meeting the horses.

Chelsey got a marshmallow stuck to her chin.

Petting one of our horses, Lady.

The family with the horses

Our Sleigh

After our sleigh ride we got settled into our cabin and started dinner. We had a nice dinner and celebrated my birthday with cake, which was wonderful. We had a fireplace with real wood and took advantage by roasting marshmallows and making smores. That night we stayed up late talking and having fun together, but we had a big day of skiing planned the following day, so we were ready for bed. Early risers, Brady and cousin Zack, playing together in their Pj's.

We went skiing at sol vista ski resort and it was a great place, perfect for families. http://www.solvista.com/ski/index_ski.asp We were so blessed, because Jeremy's parents offered to watch Brady while we skied and it made our day nice and relaxing. My friends, Melissa, Erin, and Mike were awesome and drove up from Colorado Springs for the day to ski with us. We had a great time and we were all tired and sore. Some of the highlights from skiing were dropping my cell phone off of the ski lift (it still works), Chelsey's cute circle sunburn on her face, my friend Melissa's bruises that every first time skier gets, and my crash into a table of unsuspecting spectators after not being able to stop at the bottom of the hill.

Erin and Melissa (in the background) Skiing

Julie and I on the ski lift

Brady's mean Mom made him pose for a picture. Poor thing was so bundled up, he could barely sit.

Jennifer and Shawn

Melissa, Erin, and I

After a long day of skiing, some of us went tubing, while Brady, my friends, and I watched. We all went out for dinner and headed back to the cabin. We played some games and and we were all so exhausted that we happily went to bed.

Sunday we had to head home, but we had a great time. I think we will all remember this trip for a long time, and hopefully we can make these trips a yearly occurrence.

On the porch at our cabin, with the gorgeous views.

Bath Time

Brady loves to try to do everything himself. He always wants to feed himself, and if you are eating something then he should be eating that also. He is such a big boy! One of the fun things about having a boy is the fact that he can be messy. I would feel like I left something important out of his childhood if he didn't. So every once in awhile we get messy! The best thing about getting messy is Bath Time! We love Bath time. He only gets a bath every other night, otherwise his skin would get way too dry here. So on bath nights he loves it. He loves to splash and play and have tons of fun.

We are really looking forward to the next few weekends. Tomorrow we are expecting a Blizzard! So we will most likely stay home to enjoy one last good snow for the winter. Friday we are headed to Winter Park to have a fun ski weekend with family. Next weekend Grandma is coming! We are excited to play and celebrate with her on her Birthday. The weekend after is Jeremy's birthday and Easter. So we are anticipating the upcoming weeks. We will keep you updated with lots of pics.

Happy St. Patricks Day

Happy St. Patricks Day! We don't really celebrate the day but we are definately Irish so we have to wish you all a happy day. Hope your day was great and you didn't get pinched! Thanks to Grandma for the cute bib, Love Brady.

Dog Park

On Sunday it was a beautiful day, so after church we decided to take the dogs to the dog park. This is a favorite place for the dogs. We have to spell out the words d-o-g p-a-r-k, otherwise they know what we are saying and they get very excited. They start running around the house like crazy and crying. So we got ready and finally let the dogs know where we were going and they went crazy. After we all piled into the car and were on our way, the dogs were whining with excitement, and Brady was laughing the whole way. Brady isn't used to having the dogs to look at on his car rides so he thought it was wonderful. Here is a picture of the dogs in the very back of the car.

We decided to go to the dog park that is a little farther away because it is so awesome. There are quite a few around the city, Coloradans love their dogs, but this one is the best. It 25 acres, that has a stream running though it, and a whole separate area just for small dogs. http://www.dogparkusa.com/colorado/colorado-springs-area/bear-creek-dog-park It is one of the top 10 dog parks in the country. Brady loved watching all the dogs and he always loves little hikes. Here we are, with Brady in the baby Bjorn.

The dogs favorite part of the park is the water, they love to run and play and splash. Here they are playing. Coco does have one problem when we go to the dog park, she becomes rabid. Not in a aggressive way, but in a foaming at the mouth way. We are not sure if she gets nervous or what, but as soon as we get to the park she immediately starts foaming. It is pretty gross and a little scary. We heard a little girl say to her mom, "What is wrong with that dog?" Here she is foaming. So foam or no foam, we had a great time as family and enjoyed another beautiful, Colorado day.