It's A Jungle Out There

In all my discoveries I have found that the world is a big place, a great big jungle out there. Mommy thinks it is funny when I play in our willow tree. It really is like a jungle for me, trying to weave myself through those branches. Enjoy this little clip.


Here's a picture of me just lounging on the patio just like Mommy.
I am learning and discovering new things every day. This past week, the world of communication was opened up to me. I mean I have already been able to get my meaning across somewhat, with pointing and a few words, but now I have started to learn sign language. My first word was "MORE". What a wonderful word. I sign it and I get something in return!! Although Mommy thinks that I started using it whenever I wanted anything, not necessarily more of what I just had. But hey, whatever works right?!
Enjoy your discoveries of your world around you today!

Big Girl

I am officially a big girl now. As of Sunday, I am weaned. I think this is more exciting for Mommy then it is for me. I had a bit of a hard time adjusting Sunday and Monday nights. I was still getting up at least once a night to eat (which is the only time I nursed, since during the day I have whole milk from a cup and real food & a formula bottle right before bed), so when Mommy decided no more nursing, that meant that I didn't get to eat at night. So Sunday night I was up for 2 hours , Monday night for 1 hour and Tuesday night about 40 minutes, although I only fought with Mommy for less than 10 minutes each night. The rest of the time was me wanting to be held and rocked and not put down. I would be sleeping in Mommy's arms and then she had the nerve to try to lay me back in my crib. I would wake up when she put me down, realize that she was trying to leave and sit back up. As soon as she picked me up I would be asleep again. So it was more of a challenge for Mommy trying to trick me into laying me in my crib and make me think she was still holding me, and slowly remove arms and hands from my body until I was sleeping soundly in my crib. Wednesday and Thursday night, I had to have minimally intervention from Mommy. Wednesday I was up 4 times and last night I was up 3 times but each time Mommy just had to pick me up, rock me about 3 times and lay me back down and I would fall right back asleep. So each night is getting better. But I am pretty excited when Mommy offers me a bottle right away in the morning!!! I mean 11 hours is a long time without food.

Picnic in the park

Yesterday M&D took me for a picnic in the park. We met friends there, for sandwiches and some playtime. Since the sky was threatening rain we decided to ride the train instead of swimming at the beach. After the train ride, my friends and I played in the sand. Mommy's favorite part was when Bella was crawling away and I tried to hitch a ride (like a pony!!). Mommy couldn't help laughing as she pulled me off and attempted to discipline me. Bella didn't seem to care too much!!

Also this week, Mommy decided that my hair was long enough to have some pretties in it. Although today when Mommy came to pick me up, I couldn't decide if I wanted it in or out and I was very frustrated. But don't I look cute!!

Family Reunion

Last weekend was Mommy's family reunion at YMCA of the Rockies/Snow Mountain Ranch. So we didn't have very far to go, just up and over through Rocky Mountain National Park (with a stop at the YMCA/Estes Park Center to pick up Aunt R). It was a very fun weekend. There were 15 of us in one cabin and another 11 in a rental home. I was the only child in the cabin, so I was the designated entertainment every morning and evening!!!
It was fun to meet all my relatives. I got reaquainted with G&G even before the reunion since they stayed with us 3 nights and G1 took care of me 2 days that Mommy worked.
The first day we got to the cabin mid-afternoon and hung around the cabin most of the evening, with a evening stroll to the park with my cousins. On Saturday, we went for a short hike to the waterfalls before M&D went white water rafting. (To view their pictures go to http://www.rapidimagephoto.com/ on the Clear Creek River, Adventures in Whitewater, 7/26/08 Intermediate: although I believe they will only be there for about 25 days). M&D are in the 2nd boat in the front (starting with #23) with G2 and Aunt R. Aunt M and Uncle B are in the first boat. The swimmer was Aunt Teri.
Sunday morning we took some group pictures. Then everyone kind of split up for the day. Some went to church, some went hiking again, Daddy got a long ride on his ATV (where he saw 2 bull moose), Mommy took a nap with me, and some took a trip to the medical center (Uncle Bob was diganosed with bronchitis and so spent the rest of the weekend laying low), while the rest just relaxed in the cabin. After lunch I got to go watch the zipline. Even G1 went! But the weather turned bad so G2 didn't get his turn, but I think everyone who went had fun. That evening we had a campfire. Have I told you before how much fun I have outdoors?! Well, again I had a blast getting myself completely filthy. Before bed Mommy made me go back a take a bath. But it was fun while it lasted!!
Monday G2, along with Aunt R and 2 cousins got up at the insane hour of 3 to go watch the sunrise. I mean sometimes I am up at 3, but that's just to eat and then I go right back to sleep!! So 2 more cars went at the more decent hour of 9:30 to meet them in the park. We hiked to the scenic lookout at the Alpine Vistors Center, then drove down towards Estes before driving back up the one-way gravel road. Along Fall River Road we stopped twice to hike to waterfalls and Mommy even let me walk up the hill. We saw quite a few elk and some marmots. Once at the top, Aunt M and Uncle B had to leave to head back to the airport, and the Kellogg's wanted to tour the gift shop some, so it was just M&D, G&G and I heading back to SMR.
Once we got back M&D, along with G2 went for another scenic drive, so I got to play with G1 again. Daddy wanted to show where he had gone 4-wheeling and scout out camping spots for future trips. The road went through Stillwater pass for 20 miles. The beginning and end were fine, but the 2 miles at the top were tight, windy roads. It took 1 1/2 hours to go across, but once reaching the highway it only took 30 minutes to come back around. The highlight was seeing one moose and just seeing the scenic beauty of the mountains and creeks.
When I woke up Tuesday morning, M&D were ready to leave so Mommy could work. It was pretty foggy right away so it was slow going. We dropped Mommy off at work and Daddy and I continued home to unpack. It was a great, fun-filled weekend. See below for a slideshow of photos taken from the weekend.

Sickness!!

Mommy has been slow helping me post since she has been so sick the past 2 weeks. It is not fun having a cold in the summer! I was sick the weekend before her with a runny nose and an eye cold, so it's my fault Mommy got sick. And since we were both sick at the same time with runny noses and coughing neither of us slept too well. So once I was a little better I got to go to daycare while Mommy slept all day. She even missed 3 days of work. After almost one week of coughing, sore throat and runny nose, she convinced her doctor to give her antibotics. FINALLY she is starting to feel better, although she had one coughing fit last night.
So sorry I have not been able to tell you about my world, but starting now I will try to catch you up!

40th Wedding Anniversary

P&G have been married 40 years. That's a long time (especially when I consider I only have just been alive 1 year!!). Anyhow the family decided that we should do something special for them, so a wedding was planned. It was a beautiful, very hot day for an outdoor wedding. Many people came to wish P&G well. When the guests started leaving, that's when the party really began!! All the girls (other than Mommy we was miserably sick with a sinus infection/cold) started dancing to a song and I just had to join in.
Here's a cute picture of my family.

Mommy's Week

I have decided that I am much too busy to sit still for pictures. I usually walk right out of them--I mean I have new teeth to push through (I now have 7 teeth--4 top/3 bottom), rooms to explore, music to play, just all sorts of things. Mommy tried all week to get a new picture of me. Finally, while I was occupied with my discovery of Mommy's purse, she got a quick picture of me.

However, Mommy's week as been very exciting. Aunt Rachel came down with 2 of her friends to cook Thai food for supper for Mommy and Daddy. I got a little of the rice before it became fried rice, but Mommy thought the rest too spicy for me. Here's a picture of the cooks.

I told you last time how lucky Mommy is because she sees all sorts of wildlife at work. The twin fawns visited again with their mother, but were too quick for a picture. But later this week a bear came to visit. One of Mommy's co-workers is a bear expert/control for the town of Estes Park. So when he heard a bear was on the Y grounds he got a bunch of the staff to go visit it. Here's just a few pictures before it was scared away.

Then this afternoon, Daddy took Mommy and I to the BBQ fest in downtown Loveland. It was pretty good food. I tried a little bit of Mommy's pulled pork and Daddy's potato salad. What a busy week.

Fourth of July!

Happy 4th of July!! This weekend I got to go camping again. I got really really dirty! I ate dirt, rocks, charcoal and even macroni that fell on the ground!
It was great fun. While Mommy and Daddy were out ATVing, I worked on my stair climbing and figured out (with Gramma's help) to climb down. Watch how good I am at it.
I was the only kid in the camp, so I got lots of attention from everyone. I even made some new friends with some of the other "campers" (although Jas wasn't so sure about me!!).
We came home a little early so that we could take baths (as you can see I really need one!), and do laundry before Mommy and Daddy had to go back to work. They even had time to go out on a date this afternoon, so I got to play with some of my cousins.

Birthday

Tuesday was Daddy's birthday, so we went out to eat with Gramma, Papa, Lance and his family. Here's a picture of the birthday guests. I had lots of fun walking around exploring the restaurant.

Busy Week

It has been a busy week. Being one is hard work. I now have 6 teeth, four on top, two on bottom. Last night Daddy took Mommy and me to the Greeley Stampede for fair food. I had my first corn dog. It was ok. Then we walked around the fairgrounds looking at the games and rides. We even watched the rodeo horses being herded into the arena. Mommy didn't get any pictures of that, but she got a few others this week. Here's one of me from this afternoon. All that shopping wears me out!! Starting tomorrow I get to sit in a new carseat. I'm not quite heavy enough to be forward facing, but I am almost too long (I have a 1/4 inch to go) before I am too tall for this one. So Mommy decided that I needed a new seat, one that can convert from rear to forward facing once I reach 20 pounds.
When I woke up from my nap, I went swimming in my new pool! It was very fun. I like being outside and I especially love water!
I learned how to TaDa this week. I throw up my arms and say "Da". However, in the video, Mommy forgot that I had picked up my pacifer and so when I finally get around to throwing my hands up my mouth is full so I don't "DA". But it's still cute so Mommy wanted you to see!Mommy is lucky. She has such a wonderful place to work. This week a doe and her twin fawns came to visit. Mommy got a picture of one of the little fawns. I just get to "torture" a kitty everyday!
I also learned how to really climb this week. So now the couch is not safe from me.

Birthday Surprise

Daddy surprised Mommy and I for my birthday. I was busy playing, starting to get ready for my morning nap, when I look up and Daddy is there. He came early to pick me up so that we could go take Mommy out to lunch. When we get up to Estes, Mommy was busy at her computer when I walk into her office. She was very surprised to see us. Daddy is always full of suprises!! Mommy thought it was a wonderful birthday surprise, both for me and also for her birthday (which is on Wednesday).

I am now officially one year old! Daddy says my birthday celebration is the longest he's seen. We had my party Saturday, at church people sang Happy Birthday to me and then today Mommy came into my room this morning to say Happy Birthday first thing!! But it has been a good weekend. Yesterday after church we had our annual mountain picnic. Mommy was miserable because the pine pollen was very thick in the air and she couldn't stop sneezing or blowing her nose. So we only went on a very short hike, whereas Daddy did the whole hike. I also got watermelon straight from the rind--very fun and very messy! Notice that I have to have one for each hand!!

Growing Up!

Here's just a few pictures to show how much I've grown in the last year. The first picture is from Father's Day last year (6 days before I was born). Notice Daddy's beard!! The 2nd picture is my Baptism Day, when I was 2 weeks old. The last two pictures are from my birthday party! Not only have I grown, but the oak tree behind us as also grown this past year. It's taller than Mommy and Daddy now.

Let's Party

Yesterday, I had my birthday party. I wasn't quite sure all day whether I would have fun or not. Mommy and Daddy were busy with things, and I was in misery breaking through a new tooth (my 5th one!). All I wanted was to be held, but Mommy kept saying that she had to get things done. Finally she realized I was in pain and gave me some medicine. That helped a little, but things really looked up when people started arriving and I finally got ALL the attention! Most of Daddy's family was able to come, Aunt Rachel, Pastor and Irene, and friends from down the street. It was fun to have so many friends to play with. Daddy grilled hot dogs and Mommy had bought watermelon, so supper was excellent. After we ate, Mommy cleaned me up so that I could open presents. The box was pretty fun to play with!!

Then came the fun part--cake!! The frosting was the best part of the whole thing.

Well, all in all I had a very Happy Birthday party. I imagine my actual birthday will be just as good.

Random pictures!

Here are some cute pictures of me!! I have decided that the closer I am to my toys the better.
You should hear me play piano, I'm pretty good. Notice my cute ponytail.

Blueberries

Mommy made waffles last week and had blueberries with it. Once Mommy put the blueberries on my tray, I ignored everything else. Here's just a few pictures of my excitement and the mess I made.

Family Time

We just got back from a vacation, just a short weekend getaway. G&G gave Mommy and Daddy a timeshare week more than a year ago. They finally got around to using it and decided that they just couldn't be away from me that long, so they took me with. We had lots of fun. We took our time getting to the condo on Saturday, stopping to let Daddy get a hair cut and to eat lunch. Once we settled in Mommy and I explored the resort and decided to go swimming before supper. I found another thing I love about the outdoors--pools!!! The best thing about our room was that it was on the ground level and had a fenced in patio. Mommy and Daddy would leave the screen door open and I could walk in and out, in and out--loads of fun I tell you!

Sunday morning when Mommy and I got up we decided to go for a walk and explore the town of Avon where we were staying, while Daddy was still relaxing. When we got back to the hotel, Daddy decided since it was Father's Day he got to decide what to do for the day. Mommy and I discussed it and agreed that was a good plan. Daddy chose to go for a drive. So we headed out of Avon and started towards Leadville on the scenic byway. It was an absolute gorgeous drive, although I slept through most of it!!! But Mommy and Daddy enjoyed it! Once we got to Leadville we tried to find a spot to have a picnic lunch. While looking Daddy saw a sign saying that Independence Pass was open. So after consulting a map (to see where Independence Pass led) Daddy decided we should continue on. So we headed to Aspen, driving past Mt. Elbert (highest point in Colorado). I started getting a little hungry by this time, since we weren't finding a picnic area. We finally go to the top of the pass and stopped to eat, with all the snow still on the ground! There were tons of snowboarders, skiers and snowmobilers all having fun. Without consulting me, Daddy decided it was too windy to have a picnic, so we started back down. But at least Daddy jumped in the backseat with me so that I could eat some cheese and have some apple juice. Almost at the bottom we finally found a picnic area. After eating we went on a short hike to go see some ice caves and cascading waterfalls. Mommy even let me hike some. I'm getting pretty good at this whole walking thing. Just watch!!

We got back into the car and continued to Aspen, which was pretty busy with a wine festival and skiing. That's right--skiing in June. Aspen got so much snow earlier this week that they decided to open the very top runs for Father's Day weekend! So in the town of Aspen it was 70+ degrees and people are skiing! Anyhow, I fell asleep again on the way back to the interstate. When we got to Glenwood Springs Mommy and Daddy checked out the hot springs and decided that might be the thing to do the next day.

So Monday morning after sleeping in some (almost 8 am!!) eating breakfast, and packing a lunch, off we went to the "stinky" pools. But I didn't let the sulfur smell stand in my way of having fun. Since I slept in the car on the way to the pool, I just needed to eat and then I was ready to go. I swam up and down the length of the pool. I tried out the kiddie pool, but Mommy wouldn't let me walk in it without her holding on to my hand and I wasn't too keen on the fountain in the middle so we went back to the "big" pool pretty quickly. I learned how to "jump" off the side into Daddy's waiting arms. We stayed and played for almost 4 hours. I was pretty tired when we got back in the car, so I slept all the way back to Avon.

Tuesday morning our time was up at the condo. However, we still had time to go for a quick swim in the hotel pool, where I perfected my "jump" off the side and the steps. Well, now we are home and I have to go make sure all my toys are still in order. Plus I need to help Mommy fold laundry.

Pictures

Yesterday Mommy took me to get my pictures taken. I can't believe I am almost a year old. This year has been so busy and so filled with all sorts of learning. I was a little unsure at first about the whole picture thing, but I got comfortable near the end. Mommy kept laughing at my response to the flash; my facial expressions and eye blinks!! But hey it was bright. This is just a sample of pictures that we didn't purchase. Mommy was even trying to get into the picture!!!

Walking

I took 6 steps yesterday evening. Watch my video, Mommy caught it on camera!! I have walked a few times, but usually just a step or two, but last night I was on a roll. I walked at least 5 times in the course of the evening.
Another exciting event in my life was that on Sunday Mommy took me on a hike using the backpack. Here is a pretty good picture of my family. Mommy really thinks I look like Daddy in this picture. Mommy also had to take a picture of me sleeping. Appartently I look pretty cute. I usually end up in the corner of my crib, on my belly with my feet under me and my butt in the air. But this time I twisted myself around and am grabbing the side post.

Well, that is the excitement in my life. I will keep exploring and get back to you soon.

Sunday Mornings

I have decided that Sunday mornings are my favorite time. Like every morning it is just Mommy and I awake (we let Daddy sleep in on Sundays since usually he is always the first one up and gone!), but Mommy is not in a rush to get to work so she actually spends time playing with me rather than just a quick tickle or two like weekday mornings. Besides its bath day and what is more fun than baths?! This morning I decided to sit and read my books while Mommy laid on the couch trying to wake up. It's like she thinks 6:30 is early or something. Anyhow, enjoy this picture of me sitting in my Elmo chair reading.

I've had a busy week. Early Wednesday morning my aunt Rachel came into town to work at the YMCA all summer. She played my favorite game with me that night. She's pretty good at "Going to Get Brileigh" game! Although she was attempting to change the rules by trying to get me to chase her. I only play those rules when playing with Daddy (or so he told Mommy)! Last night Mommy's cousin Zach came into town. He's going to go to church with us this morning. Two visitors in one week, how lucky can a girl get!!

I also had a few big accomplishments this week. Thursday morning I cut my fourth tooth. I'm still working on one more, but I can only handle one at a time. I also climbed the whole staircase this week. See the video below for that excitement.
Mommy also finally got around to putting my seat on the back of her bike. Once we did that then Mommy and I went for a bike ride while Daddy was working. It was pretty fun. I got to see a lot more of the neighborhood then when we go for a walk in the stroller.

The only down thing about this week is that I got a cold from all my playing outside last weekend. So my nose as been runny all week. I have learned though when Mommy comes and "attacks" me with those Kleenexes she is just trying to help, so I don't fight as much as I used to. I just let her do her thing and then its over and I can go back to playing!

While I better get back to exploring my world so I will have something to update you with next time.