Friday, September 24, 2010

Denver Botanic Gardens

I heard that the Denver Botanic Gardens had a new kids garden so Elizabeth, Andrew and I decided to check it out.  Elizabeth just loved it.  Andrew and I let Elizabeth "choose her own adventure" through the gardens and we just followed behind her, Andrew in his stroller and mommy with her camera.  Although Elizabeth doesn't really like getting her picture taken lately, I did manage to "trick" her into a couple of pictures.




It was wonderful to follow Elizabeth through the gardens and see them from her perspective.  She notices things that I would never notice and definitely traversed the gardens in a pattern I would not have chosen but it was fun to see her sense of direction and what seemed interesting to her.





I think that Elizabeth looks just like Avery in this picture.  Her adorable outfit is from the A&M collection.  Elizabeth would wear this skirt every day if we let her!  


Goose Creek Hike

Last Friday we went on a hike at Goose Creek.  We were actually there last year over the 4th of July weekend when I was pregnant with Andrew.  



 The trail head is in what is known as the Hayman fire burn area where a few years back a fire consumed hundreds of square miles of forest. Within about 10 minutes from the parking lot the trail works its way into a nice lush river valley that was spared by the fire.  Elizabeth did a great job hiking the entire way in.  



Jan and Elizabeth caught all kinds of brook trout.  The are little fish but are fun to catch.


By the end of the day (well really by about 45 minutes into the day) Andrew and Elizabeth were a mess.  If you could gauge how much fun kids have by the dirtiness of their clothes, you can see that Andrew and Elizabeth had a blast.  Elizabeth climbed on rocks until she was exhausted and had to ride in the daddy piggy back on the way back to the car.





Thursday, September 16, 2010

Andrew 9 months old

It's hard to believe that my little boy is 9 months old already!  He is such a joy in our lives and continues to amaze us every day.  This month he learned how to wave.  Unlike Elizabeth who waved backwards for the first year of her life, Andrew seems to have the forward wave down already.  I think one of the greatest things about Andrew is his contagious laugh.  He and Elizabeth share so many "inside jokes or moments" together.  They are always making each other giggle about something (this evening it was the splashing wash cloths in the bath tub) and will keep going and going for the longest time!






Andrew can stand on his own pretty well for about 5-8 seconds and loves it when you hold his hands and walk with him.  It won't be long before he is walking on his own.  But for now, he is the zippiest crawler I've ever seen.  This kid is Buzz Lightyear in the house.  


Andrew got to meet his Great Grandpa Jan for the first time at Casey and Jennifer's wedding.  I love this picture as Andrew has his Great Grandpa's kind and gentle eyes.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Casey and Jennifer's Wedding

Its hard to believe my little bro is now a happily married man.  The past week was a whirlwind of family and old friends that I hadn't seen in a long time as well as more than my fair share of great food and of course plenty of drama to keep us all on our toes.

It was a wonderful wedding!  Nice job Casey and Jennifer!  We certainly had a great time and it was an honor to be a part of this momentous occasion.

Kate and I have been dabbling in photography for a while now and since this was my brothers wedding I just had to jump in and try to get some good shots.  Fortunately they did the smart thing and hired a pro but I still had some fun with these shots.  I have a new respect for wedding photographers - the rooms are dark, using a flash is very difficult to do well, and if you mess it up... i don't even want to think about what that might look like.




















Sunday, September 5, 2010

Elizabeth's favorite things


Elizabeth has such an amazing imagination.  She has imaginary friends like friendly alligators that come with her on errands and she loves to imagine that she is a butterfly, fluttering around the house.  Some of her favorite activities right now are head bands, band aids and playing catch with daddy.  I know, you are wondering how head bands and band aids can be activities but to a 3.25 year old, they really can.  I've mentioned head bands before; Elizabeth always has a different head band on and makes sure that everyone else has a head band as well.  If I take mine off, she notices immediately and asks me why I took my head band off, if I need a new head band and where is my head band.  I never knew head bands could be so interesting.
     Elizabeth is a very compassionate little girl and always looking out for Jan and I when we get "owies." If we have a scratch, Elizabeth is there with the box of band aids.  And don't worry, she will be sure to change our band aids 3-4 times a day if we let her.  She brings band aids to school for her teachers and friends, to the doctors office to give to the nurse and pediatrician and to church to give to the priest.  When we go to the park, she tries takes her band aids with her just in case she gets an owie but we say enough at that point.  Elizabeth is always prepared.  Another Elizabeth favorite is drawing/writing with a pen.  She is very interested in letters and learning how to write her name.  She tries really hard and I'm sure she will have it down in no time.  And of course George.  I think she loves George even more now as he reminds her of her brother.  Andrew is so very curious and always getting into something or some kind of mischief.  Silly Andrew, Elizabeth will say.  You are just so silly.


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