Home again.

Skylar and I took a trip to the Rue Family Farm in Leavenworth last week. We had a great time! There are way too many pictures to post them all, so here are a few. Skylar was enamored with the horses, and while I was taking her picture she was trying to see around me so she could watch them in the pasture:
Gayle decided Skylar needed a swing, so we went shopping for one. When we got back, Bill stopped everything he was doing and hung it in the tree for us so she could start using it right away.

She loved it of course.
While Bill worked on the swing, Gayle washed out a horse trough to use as a swimming pool....
...and she loved that too! She kept one eye on the horses while she swam.
What farm experience would be complete without a ride on the John Deere? When she gets older she can ride on the wagon behind it.
Bill made lots of tasty grilled things for us to eat, and we were able to see Gwen and Mike, and Skylar's Great Aunts Patty and Karen. Skylar has started doing elephant noises, like a bear, monkey and elephant. Here's a shot of her doing a very specialized baby trick called the "double elephant" (apparently it has two trunks, not just one).

We went to Union Station in Kansas City to see the Narnia exhibit, which I thought was really interesting.

Then we had lunch at Fritz's, where the food is brought to you by train.

Skylar thought it was amazing. She hasn't been the best in restraunts lately, so even though the food was nothing to brag about, at least we got to eat in peace!

This was by far Skylar's favorite part of our visit:

When the horses would leave the barn, or when she could see them in the pasture and she wanted to pet them, she would do this fake cry:
Every morning and evening, we would go down to the barn with Gayle and watch her feed the horses, and clean the stalls/paddock. Skylar would point to each horse and we would go say hi before moving on the next one. She would stick her finger in their noses, and she put her whole fist up poor Flash's nostril, which he didn't really appreciate.

She kept trying to jump off this ladder to go see the horses.
We also got to see Marie, Ainsley and Addison while we were there! Of course, that was the day I forgot my camera so I have no pictures to post, but we had a great time. Addison is the sweetest thing, and Ainsley is adorable--I just wish we lived closer!

So after the worst flight of my life (courtesy of Skylar without a nap, extreme turbulence, an untimely poopie diaper that had to be changed in an airplane bathroom, and a very large lady next to us who took up half of our seat too) we're home again.

While we were gone, Nicole moved to her new apartment in an old victorian house downtown. We affectionately refer to it as the "Hobbit Hole" with it's low doorknobs, slanty walls, and a little room off the kitchen that can only be reached by ladder through a minature doorway. It's cute and has character, which is what she was wanting.

After 2 months of anticipation and a harrowing interview process, my parents are the new OCF reps at West Point and are moving to Highland Falls in 6 weeks! They'll be living in the Fellowship House, and 9 bedroom victorian built in the early 1800's, with plenty of room for everyone to stay at once over the holidays. I'm excited for purely selfish reason--I can't wait to drop Skylar off and go to the city or travel around New England.

Meanwhile Skylar is getting her molars, so we are short on sleep these days. Last night I was up with her from 12:00-3:15. Two have broken through, and a third is almost there. I can't wait for it to be over!!! I can't get her to eat much of anything besides frozen peas, which is totally gross but must feel good on her gums. Hey, whatever works.....

Daily ramblings.

The other day I was in Safeway and they were having a charity fund raiser. They do this frequently, selling some sort of fast food item to people for various causes. Usually, there isn't anyone buying. But on this particular day there was a long line of men waiting in line for rootbeer floats. The charity: Prostate cancer research.

So it appears that men are more than willing to eat ice cream on behalf of their prostates. Eager even, judging by the line. All over the store men were pushing their carts with one hand and eating ice cream with the other while they shopped. I've never seen such skilled multi-tasking. I've also never seen so many men in Safeway, so obviously word spread quickly. All those wives thought their husbands were just being helpful by offering to run to the store.

Later that day Skylar and I were on a walk and a man rode by on his motorcycle with a 12 pack of beer bunjeed to the seat behind him. Seeing a man out on on a nice day taking a ride with his beer just warmed my heart. It was a microbrew too. He clearly has great taste.

In other random news, a bear just ran down our street. I didn't get to see it, but Micah and Nicole did. We frequently have deer, foxes and scrabbits (those are evil black squirrels for those of you who don't know), but a bear was a first.

We also had a beautiful rainbow in our backyard yesterday. Put there by God, just for us (and some of our neighbors too).
Skylar has had a busy little social calender lately starting with Ethan. We went to lunch and then for a walk so she could show Ethan her 'hood.

I thought this was the cutest thing:

They had great fun taunting the dogs through the glass door:

Ethan tried out the swings for the first time.
Today Skylar played with Addie. This picture pretty much sums up how they felt about getting a picture taken:Little Bennett enjoyed his first playdate at the ripe old age of 6 days! Of course he was an angel.
The poor little guy endured all kinds of chaos from Skylar and Addie, even cymbals!
So tomorrow Skylar and I fly to Leavenworth for a little while! I'm not looking forward to holding her in my lap for 2 hours on a plane, especially considering all the trail mix with dried fruit she ate tonight. I was trying to fold laundry and to occupy her I was letting her eat a bag of trail mix, until I realized much to late that it will inevitably result in very bad things tomorrow. What was I thinking???? Nicole recommended I pack myself an extra change of clothes too.

Guess what?

I'm going to be Aunt!!!

Jennifer and Russell are expecting a baby around Jan. 21st, so it looks like Skylar will have to start sharing the grandbaby limelight. We are really excited!!

This past weekend Kristy and Micah did the 32 mile Elephant Rock Ride in Castle Rock. Johnny Haynes (who gets credit for all action photography pictured below) rode up with us and then his wife Michelle joined us later. Here are Johnny and Andy hanging out while the duo gets ready:
Andy taking a group shot....or a self portrait, not sure which.We aren't sure if there's an actual "elephant rock" or where it is....but there was a real elephant, which was way cooler than a rock anyway. Skylar wanted to touch it so badly, but it didn't give her the time of day because she couldn't hang on to the grass long enough to feed it.
Skylar wrestles with Kristy like she does with Micah. She doesn't do that with me....

Even though it was a "fun ride" and not a race, Kristy and Micah just couldn't squelch their competitive natures. They passed everyone else and tried to beat each other the whole time.Can you see the focus?
And determination?
Don't let these smiles fool you, they were out for blood.

Meanwhile Skylar was pretty worn out. She had to have a wardrobe change after messy snacks, lunch and way too many cliff bar samples that she chewed up and spit back out. She made it into a third outfit after her blow-out diaper in the car on the way home. (We'll blame that on the cliff bars too.)
Skylar has barely seen Nicole for two weeks since she was in South Carolina, and then working pretty much everyday since returning. They finally got to spend a litle quality time. Nicole knows how to speak Skylar's love language: reading books ... naked ... with a giraffe hat on. Gayle got the giraffe hat for Skylar and she always asks to wear it.
Except when she can't because Kristy is wearing it:

Welcome Bennett!

My friend Amy had her second baby yesterday, Bennett Hilton. He weighed 7 1lbs, 9 oz, and was 21 1/4 in long! I am so excited for the Hilton's, and he's a cutie!

And so it goes.

Here for your viewing pleasure is Micah enjoying our pool. I hope this haunts your dreams.

Skylar and I have had a rough week.

I have not been enjoying her company lately, and I'm sure the feeling is mutual. She has started waking up an hour earlier every morning. She's also gone on a nap strike and is taking a little cat nap, instead of her usual 2-3 hours. Then she started fighting her 7:00 bedtime even though she was clearly exhausted. I was gone Tuesday night and it took Micah 1 1/2 hours to get her to bed.

All of this makes for a crabby, whiny little girl. The incessant whining paired with my inability to do anything to make her happy or entertain her, was dangerously close to making me lose. my. mind. And my patience. Everyday this week I've watch her dissolve into a hot little mess before my eyes and wondered, who is this child????

The rainy, cold weather (40 degrees in June, people!!!) just made it worse. Will it ever be summer here in Narnia??????

Then this morning when I heard her wailing over the monitor at 6 am, I decided to put her in bed with me to cuddle in hopes that I could get just a little more sleep....and she slept for 2 more hours with me. It was glorious. Even better, I woke up to a little hand patting my face and big sloppy kiss on my cheek. Of course she melted my heart, and she was in such a good mood from all that sleep. And so was I.

So life is good again.

And it's warm and sunny today. Coincidence? I think not.

You know I have a thing for little shoes, but I'm also a sucker for baby swimwear. I just think there's something so sweet about teeny tiny baby bathing suits.
I also think that a little baby bum is one of the cutest things in the world.......

But a daddy who adores his little girl tops them all! And let me tell you, this one does. ..........And she completely adores him back.

Important Life Lesson #384

When life hands you a mullet....

.....make it into pigtails.

The cheering section

If there's one thing Skylar loves to do it's clap and cheer. And she got to do a lot of that this weekend. Micah did his first triathlon with Andy on Ft. Carson.
Micah taught himself to swim about 3 months ago and has been getting up at 4:30 every morning for months spinning and swimming at the Y before he goes to regular PT. The hard worked paid off, he did great! Here they are by the pool waiting to start:

Waiting by the pool was kind of like being at a spandex convention. There were all shapes and sizes of shorts (some were WAY too small). There was one old guy in particular wearing a pair that were dangerously billowy in the front and teeny tiny.

It wasn't very well organized and Micah was completely finished before Andy even got to start!

Micah transitioning to the bike portion:
We ran with them as they transitioned to the different events, and Skylar thought running with Aunt Kristy was pretty much the coolest thing ever.
Walking is okay, but not nearly as fun as getting carried around.

Andy glowed in green neon that made my eyeballs tingle.

Skylar wore a spirit shirt for daddy on front, and Uncle Andy on back. I completely forgot to make it until late friday night and I got to Micheal's 15 minutes before it closed.
Here they are post-race!
That afternoon/evening we went to Denver to catch a Rockies game that Kristy had gotten us all free tickets for! Thanks Kristy! Skylar got to try lemonade for the first time, and she was hooked. Andy wanted Micah to feed him lemonade too:As long as we kept feeding her she was blissfully happy.
Kristy compared going to a Rockies game on a summer evening with hanging out on the beach relaxing. Um, I don't think so.....the roar of the crowd is not the same thing as lapping waves.
Skylar also tried her first taste of cotton candy and was completely strung out on sugar.