Too cute

Last weekend we went swimming with Rachel, Adam and Brody at their neighborhood pool to cool off from the hot temperatures we have been having (4 days in a row at 100 or above; crazy for Denver). 



Good thing the Dads were there to get in the chilly water



These boys are all smiles



10 Months!



Austin turned 10 months old on June 9.  I can't believe it!  He is almost 1.  It is going by too fast.  It is almost impossible to get a picture of him sitting still by himself.  He just wants to be on the move!  He starts crawling as soon as I put him down to pose.  He is very fast - he be-lines it to Savannah's bowls if they are in his sight.  If not, he heads to one of the shelves where I have picture frames.  I have moved these now.  He just discovered that he can reach into his toy basket in the living room or the book basket in his room.  He still just gets on his knees to reach.  He is not quite pulling up and standing yet.  Most of the furniture in the living room is still too tall.  He did pull up and stand on the edge of the bathtub the other night.  Right after he turned 10 months (while in Tahoe), he started using "N" and "M".  So he can say Ma-ma and Na-na, but doesn't associate Mama with me yet.  He is figuring out how to pet Savannah (or should I say hit and pull hair).  Savannah doesn't seem to mind; she just wants to play.  She gets a little wound up sometimes when Austin is talking and crawling around; she thinks he wants to play with her.  We have to watch this because her paws are a little sharp and she is a big dog. 

Austin is still having milk 5 times a day, 2 6oz bottles and 3 times nursing on the weekdays with more nursing and less bottles on the weekends.  He has solid food 3 times a day.  He still only has 2 bottom teeth so he can't have hard things yet.  He is doing much better with finger foods.  He can pick up puffs really well.  He likes pieces of banana, avocado, pear, watermelon, and peas.  His absolute favorite is shredded cheese!  He is able to put this in his mouth really well.  We discovered his love for cheese while in Tahoe and started to take it to restaurants because we knew it would keep him happy and occupied.  He also drinks water from his sippy cup really well.  He gets so excited when I hand it to him after his dinner.  I wish it would stay like that forever but unfortunately someday I am sure he will say "no" to water and ask for a coke.  We still have not introduced juice and I am not in any hurry to do that. 

He likes swimming and swinging.  His favorite books are "Toes, Ears and Nose" and "Peek-a-who".  He smiles really big when I pull them out of the basket.  We read these as well as his Max Lucado Kids' prayer book each night before bed.  At school his favorite toys are the nesting baskets (little baskets that are different sizes and fit inside each other) and the colored rings (plastic rings of different sizes that stack on a cone).  He can take the rings off and put them back on (not in size order quite yet though).  He is such a happy boy almost all the time.  He is going through a phase right now where he wants to be with me.  If I am in the room and he is not occupied doing something, he looks for me.  When I leave the room or walk away, he notices and fusses a bit.  He doesn't cry or fuss when I say bye-bye at school though; he must feel comfortable and like his teachers.  This makes me feel good that he knows the routine and does fine during the day.  One of the Montessori ways is to not limit the kids' space.  In May, they transitioned all except 4 of the infants in his room to floor beds.  So now Austin naps on a mattress on the floor that has a wooden frame.  I think he is doing well with it but sometimes if he is not really tired, he just wants to get up and crawl around instead of sleeping.  It helps if he is in a sleep sack, but I also want him to get away from the sleep sack and start using a blanket instead. 

Austin - you are growing TOO FAST!  I can't believe I am starting to think about planning your first birthday party.  It will be here before we know it.  Love you, little buddy.

Playing with mommy's "real"camera (taken with iphone camera)

That Savannah dog is looking smaller and smaller (mark on head is from falling off the bed - see Tahoe trip part 2 post)

Trip to Tahoe - Part 2

On Wednesday morning, I ran while the others entertained Austin.  Then we all (except Ed) took another drive over to South Lake Tahoe and Sierra at Tahoe (a ski resort).  It was a very pretty drive (Austin slept the whole time); looked similar to Colorado mountains since it was away from the gigantic lake into the mountains.  The one other time that David and I have been to Lake Tahoe together was in March 2005. We had been dating for 6 months and I agreed to go on a trip with him (and his mom and sister).  I guess that is when I learned he liked to gamble because we stayed at Harvey's in South Lake Tahoe and he was at the casino every night.  I tell him it's fine as long as he wins :).  We also skied at Heavenly and Sierra at Tahoe that trip.  On the way back, we stopped to eat at the Red Hut (a recommendation from my friend in Denver, Veronica, who was born and lived in Lake Tahoe for a while growing up).  On Wednesday afternoon we swam again.  Austin loved the pool each day; I think it really wore him out. He took long afternoon naps so that he could be up at night a little later (like 8 or 8:30), and he slept in (til 6:45 or 7) each morning, which was nice since his pac 'n play was in our bedroom.  That night, Mary and Ed were so nice to put Austin to bed and stay with him while David and I went to a nice dinner at the Lone Eagle Grille (just across the street from the Hyatt hotel).  We sat outside on the patio overlooking the lake at sunset.  Beautiful!

On Thursday, we hung around the resort during the morning.  I ran again along Lakeshore Blvd.  Mary and Ed treated me to an afternoon at the spa for my birthday gift.  I got a massage, pedicure and manicure - so relaxing!  David kept Austin busy by taking him to the pool (all by himself - super dad!) and putting him down for his afternoon nap.  That night Austin, David and I went to a local pizza spot and grabbed a bite to eat.  David and Mary spent time at the casino after Austin went to sleep (as they did every night we were there).  I am not complaining since they both came out on top for the trip.     

Friday was our last full day (sad).  I did a 6 mile run in the morning while the others so kindly played with Austin.  During Austin's morning nap, David and I rented kayaks for 1 hour.  It was so fun (and a good arm work-out), and so pretty!!  It's a good thing we did it in the morning because the winds picked up that afternoon.  We took a drive over to King's Beach (about 15 minutes) to eat lunch at a hamburger spot.  That afternoon we went swimming again.  Austin loves "jumping" off the side.  We would sit him on the side of the pool and he leans forward to "jump" and we catch him, of course.  I think we have a dare devil on our hands.  That evening we drove back to King's Beach to eat at Jason's on the patio.  We enjoyed a view of the lake while eating.  After dinner while I was getting Austin ready for bed, he escaped and crawled to the other side of our king sized bed.  He crawled right off the edge!  I ran around the bed to scoop him up and found him laying on his back.  I am not quite sure how the fall played out, but he ended up on his back.  He cried, which is a good sign.  He had what looked like a carpet burn on his forehead but no other signs of bruising.  He was scared.  He appeared to be okay although David was not sure and quickly got on the internet to research.  I assured him he was okay and not concussed.  Stressful though! 

The next morning we got up and packed up.  We headed to the airport when Austin was ready for his morning nap so he could sleep in the car.  So sad to leave....until next year!

Sorry the pictures are not in chronological order (I couldn't figure out how to rearrange them).



View at Sierra at Tahoe



Beach pic with Mimi and Big Deal




You want me to what? Smile?



Last night - Dinner at Jason's in Kings Beach

He needed to rest

View on kayak

Add caption

Cutie pie




Dad and the buzzer



Hugs with Big Deal

Saying bye-bye to Mimi at the airport

View from dinner at the Lone Eagle Grille (not bad!)

Trip to Tahoe - Part 1

 We left for a week-long trip to Lake Tahoe on Saturday, June 9 (Austin's 10-month birthday). I attempted to capture a 10-month photo with the Savannah dog before we rushed off to the airport, but Austin was not cooperating and just wanted to crawl around.  We are still in Tahoe and the stuffed Savannah did not make the trip (neither did the real Savannah). So, I will post a 10-month update post when we get home.  I also forgot my camera cord to upload pictures to the computer so these pictures are just the ones from my phone.  David's parents just bought a time share last November in Incline Village (North Lake Tahoe) and this is their first time to use it.  We are very fortunate to the be the first guests!  We flew into Reno on Saturday.  Thankfully, Austin was an angel child on the flight!!  It was not full (Southwest) so we had an empty seat in the middle that he was able to sit in like a big boy.  He enjoyed having his own space to play and he did sleep for about 1 hour of the 2-ish hour flight.  We tried to travel as light as possible but with an infant, this is difficult.  The time share luckily had a pac n play and a high chair so we did not bring those.  We still had the BOB stroller, car seat and base, 2 big suitcases, David's golf clubs, and 3 carry-on type bags.  Somehow we managed without a cart or assistance to get through the airports.  We rented a large SUV (a Tahoe) and started off on the 45 minute or less trip from the Reno airport to Incline Village.  David's parents had arrived a couple of hours earlier so we met up with them and walked around a bit while we waited to check in to our condo.  The condos are about a 2 minute walk from the Hyatt hotel, which has a casino, spa, big pool, restaurants, etc.  The residences also have a smaller pool and hot tub basically right outside our back door.  It is on the bottom floor, has 2 bed rooms and 2 baths, and is one-level, thankfully. Stairs and crawling infant without baby gates would not be ideal.  It is beautiful property - large pine trees everywhere, about a quarter mile to the lake-front and beaches.  

Austin took a late afternoon nap on David's chest while Mary and I made a big grocery store trip to get things for the week.  Right across the street from the condo is a restaurant called Austin's (named after Austin, TX).  Of course, we had to go there.  We walked over for a dinner of salads, chicken fried steak, mac 'n cheese and yummy cornbread.  Austin went to sleep and David and I went for a walk down to the beach.  So pretty!

Hungry big boy

Namesake

Sunset view from Lake Tahoe beach

On Sunday, I went for a morning run along the Lakeshore Blvd jogging/walking path.  It is a 3-mile path that runs along the lake and next to the multi-million dollar private homes.  After that we all loaded up in the car to go on a beautiful, scenic drive around the lake down to south lake Tahoe and over to Emerald Bay.  We timed the drive so that Austin would nap during the drive and he did - for 1.5 hours. We took some beautiful pictures but unfortunately Austin was not in any since he was snoozing.  We did pass through the Renaissance festival.  David begged us to let him stop and join in, but we convinced him to keep driving (bribing him with a burger stop).  :)  On the way back, we stopped at a hamburger joint for a short lunch.  On Sunday night, Mary and Ed kept Austin and put him to sleep while David and I went to eat at a Mexican restaurant around the corner called Lupitas.  It was supposedly authentic Mexican food, but we were unimpressed.  I guess it's not the Tex-Mex we are accustomed to.

Emerald Bay

On Monday morning, we went on a drive to Truckee, CA, Tahoe City, and Kings Beach.  Austin snoozed again.  That afternoon, David played golf and his dad rode with him.   I went on a 6.5 mile run in the afternoon while Mary watched Austin.  After that, Mary and I took Austin swimming.  This boy loves the water! Austin took a long, late afternoon nap; swimming wears him out.  During his nap I went to the grocery store to shop for our dinner supplies.  We ate grilled steaks and chicken, baked potatoes, salad and broccoli.  

Getting used to that water

Floating

On Tuesday morning, David, Austin and I went on a short hike.  It was at the very nearby Diamond Peak ski area.  We hiked up one of the service roads to a restaurant picnic area that overlooked the Lake.  It was about 1.25 miles each way.  We didn't bring the hiking backpack on this trip but Austin can still use the Bjorn (not for long though).  He loved facing forward and being able to look out.  We got home in time for his morning nap.  I went to check out the gym in the hotel while David so kindly stayed with Austin while he napped.  Mary and Ed had gone for a drive.  That afternoon, we went to the big pool and baby pool down by the hotel.  Austin had his first go at crawling around in the baby pool.  That was NOT nice on his knees so it didn't last long.  He also sat in grass for the first time.  I can't believe he hasn't sat in our yard yet; I guess I am just an overprotective, sheltering mother.  I thought the grass pictures were adorable so sorry for the abundance of them.  We went to eat at Austin's again for dinner and then walked the .25 miles to the beach for some pictures.  I have more beach pictures on my camera (as opposed to these from my iphone) and will post them when we get back to Denver. 

Happy hiker!

View from top

Baby pool

What is this stuff?

It's softer than the baby pool floor, that's for sure. 

Are you leaving me here?

that's ok

I am sick of this silly frog hat

Got it

Beach with Daddy

More to come.....

Happy Birthday Ma-Ma!

I tried and tried to get Austin to say Ma-Ma for the first time on my birthday, which was this past Tuesday the 29th of May.  My last year in my 20's....sigh.  Instead, he was just cute as can be at the park while we enjoyed a family picnic after work.  Picnic to us means picking up Chipotle (as opposed to packing a basket with sandwiches, etc) and following with ice cream at Bonnie Brae ice cream shop (my favorite- yummy!).  I can't wait until Austin can actually eat and enjoy ice cream because then I have another excuse to go get it (not just for me, ha).  I am sure he will bust out with "Ma-Ma" soon. :)

Sorry for the plethora of swing pictures but the swing brings out the most wonderful, cutest facial expressions.

Not quite sure about this

Ok this is fun

REALLY fun

Woah!

Cuteness

 

First hike

On Memorial Day, David, Austin, Savannah and I went hiking in the foothills.  One of the closest trails to our house is Mt Falcon park.  Austin got to try the hiking backpack for the first time (thanks to Aunt Ellen  & family who gave it to us after Summi outgrew it).  He liked it and it is actually pretty comfortable.  The hike was not quite as intense as I am used to since carrying a 19 lb baby plus backpack is more difficult than not.  We were not the only ones with this idea as parking at the trailhead was hard to come by, but we got lucky and found a spot.  We stopped on a bench to feed Austin his solid food lunch.  The weather was quite nice - 70's and sunny.  I am sure there will be plenty more hiking this summer for this little dude.