1st Hokie Game

Casey is 4 months old yesterday!

Tracy and Casey flew to VA on Wednesday. Casey was so good on the plane. She slept most of the flight and when she wasn't sleeping, she was smiling and drooling. Stan couldn't pick us up, because he had to go enjoy a Nationals game in a suite with his company.

Thursday we spent all day hanging out with Gramma Gail, Aunt Marcy and cousins Lily and Jack. Casey had fun rolling around the floor with Jack, playing with Gramma and loved having Lily hold her and play with her.

She is learning to sit up. She was sitting in the corner of the couch and was able to lift herself forward into a sitting position. She is drooling a lot, though we have not seen or felt any teeth yet. She puts everything into her mouth...and when there is no object to put in there, she is happy to keep her hands in her mouth.

Friday we drove to Roanoke to visit with Gramma Lois, who is recovering from a broken hip. Casey was glad to see that her Gramma Lois got home from the hospital/rehab on Thursday and seems to be recovering nicely.

We woke early Saturday for a day trip to Charlotte, NC for the first Hokie game vs ECU. The game...was not so fun. It was HOT and the Hokies managed to lose in the last few minutes. We took turns hanging with Casey in the shade of the concourse. Being in the stands was way too hot...we were baking! Sweets and MA brought their 17 month little girl, Ellie, so Casey had someone to "play" with.

We left Roanoke Monday morning to drive back to NOVA so Tracy and Casey could board a plane back to CO. Casey was pretty good on this flight (which was empty, so we had lots of room). She slept during take off, had a meltdown halfway into the flight, then passed out for the remainder of the flight. I actually had to wake her up to get her off the plane. She ate a lot on this trip. 8 oz within an hour...another 4 when we got off the plane and another 4 when we got to Kel's an hour and a half later. Growth spurt?? or just famished from the crazy weekend...

We picked up Frisco from Aunt Kel's house in Boulder on our way home so we got to visit with her a little before leaving her to her studies. Thanks to Aunt Kel and Eric (Kel's roommate) for playing with Frisco this weekend!

Good to be back home, even though the house is still a mess and the wood floors aren't quite finished. Hope to get the last coat of oil on this week and then finish the staining this weekend.

Gramma playing with her grandkids...Jack standing around.

Jack showing Casey the do's and don'ts of tummy time.


sitting up

eating some canteloupe on daddy's shoulders

at the game...so hot


hanging with gramma lois

maryann, ellie and casey

Fun with Floors

It's been a busy week for everyone!

Casey had her 4 month doctor appointment today. She weighed in at 13 lbs, 6 oz (50 percentile)and is 24.5 inches long (70 percentile). She got 3 shots, and took them like a big girl. She got her first cold on Saturday and was coughing, sneezing, and snotty all day Sunday. Today she felt better, but still has a little cough and runny nose. She is still a very happy baby. She's eating 3-6 oz 5-6 times a day. She isn't consistently sleeping through the night just yet. She is going to bed at 8:30, then eats about 2 oz at 10:30 (she really does not like to wake up for this last meal). Sometimes she'll sleep until 6:30-7, but lately she has really enjoyed waking up at 4:00 talking away. Sometimes for 15 minutes, sometimes an hour.

Stan worked from home last week. We hiked up to the Old Dillon Reservoir, which is now empty:( We took Casey for a bike ride in her Chariot bike trailer. She loved it!

This weekend we installed hardwood floors on the main level. Walnut, handscraped, 3-6 inch planks. Mark, Steve, Colin and Stan worked all day Saturday and got most of the floors done. Amy and Chris chipped in too. Sunday Colin, Mark, Stan and Tracy finished up the installation. Sunday night we started the oiling process. 3 more coats to go and the hardwooods are done. We have someone else coming to do the stairs and the finishing touches. Needless to say, we are completely exhausted!

Stan headed to VA today. Tracy and Casey head to VA on Wednesday for the first Virginia Tech game!

Enjoy the pix.

Go Wizards!

Getting ready for a bike ride.

Working on the floors.

Stan measuring and cutting.

the floors are in

First coat of oil

Squealer

We have a squealer on our hands. This weekend, Casey found her high pitched voice. She has been cooing and ahhing for a couple weeks now, but she now likes to throw out the squeals. We've tried to get video of it, but whenever she sees the camera with the flashing red light she freezes. We did get a little of it as you can see below.

Other new stuff this week...We witnessed Casey roll from her belly to her back while playing on her activity mat. She has dropped her late evening feeding, so basically she is sleeping from 8:30-9:00 p.m. until 7:00 - 7:30 a.m. She sometimes still wakes at 3:30 - 4:00 a.m. to talk, but usually falls right back asleep, with the exception of Saturday night, where she got a little louder than usual. She ended up sucking down 4 oz of formula before passing out cold! She is eating 4-6 oz througout the day...usually 6 oz in the morning and at her last meal at 8:30. She is very busy when she eats...looking around, from side to side, smiling, sticking her thumbs in her mouth. It's quite a process! She has also started to notice food. If I have her on my lap while I'm eating something, she watches me put the food in my mouth and seems very interested in it. She is also grabbing at things now, so when she is on my lap at a table, I have to push things back from the edge.

Tuesday we went hiking with Tracy's old hiking buddy, Harriett, who now lives in Chicago. Casey loves to hike...she rides in the backpack and is very attentive, looking at the scenery at the beginning of the hikes and then passes out usually halfway into the hike.

Thursday we took a trip to Aspen to visit Stacy, Ken and their 7 week old boy, Isaac. Casey was an angel the entire trip. She stayed on schedule with her naps and was very interested in everything going on around her as we walked around the town. Both of us were exhausted when we got home that night...she slept through the night without a peep.

The weekend was horrible weather! We got a little hail, snow, some thunder, lightening, lots of rain and cold temperatures. Luckily we had an indoor project to take care of...tearing out our carpets to prepare for the hardwood floor installation happening next weekend. We have pictures below.

She can't get enough of her exersaucer.

She puts anything she can into her mouth.

Chillin'

napping...

Summertime hail storm...

Snow covered the trails at Keystone! Can you believe snow in August?!

Frisco trying to hold onto the carpet as long as possible...

We removed the carpet and baseboards from the living room and hallways!

Crazy in the Crib

This week was pretty relaxing for both Tracy & Casey. We basically hung out at home, while it was rainy and overcast outside. Stan came home Friday night.

Saturday we headed to Boulder. While mom & dad went to an event, Aunt Kelly babysat Casey for a few hours. Kel was a pro. She got Casey to eat all her bottles and even go down for 2 naps while we were gone.

Sunday we met up with friends from VA/DC, Brad & Cyndi who were in town for a wedding. We hiked Peak 9 at Breckenridge Ski Resort. Casey rode in her hiking backpack. She seems to really like it. She looks around for the most part and then when she's had enough she conks out. Our friend Erica, from Breckenridge, also came along. It was a chilly & overcast Sunday. After the hike we had lunch at Rasta Pasta, then headed home to get warm.

Monday, Brad & Cyndi stopped by on their way to the airport. We took a walk up to Lake Dillon, then had lunch at Arapahoe Cafe.

Casey basically spends her days eating about 4 oz of formula 5-6 times a day (depending on if she wakes at 4 a.m. or not). She sleeps anywhere from 1 - 1.5 hours for each naptime. Her bedtime is sometime between 8:00-9:00 p.m. with a last feeding between 8:30 - 10:30 p.m. She loves her exersaucer and still likes to roll around on her activity mat in the morning.

I went up to get her after her morning nap earlier this week and she had turned from her back to her belly and looked like superman. Unfortunately, we have not witnessed her flipping from back to belly yet. It's only happened during her sleeping. This morning, when Stan went up to get her up from her morning nap, she had turned 90 degrees and had her feet resting up on the side of the crib. She is obviously very active in her crib. Sometimes we'll go up to get her and she'll have turned 180 degrees and will be on the other end of the crib. She also loves her afghan blanket (courtesy of Miss Virginia). She puts it over her face, hugs it, rolls around with it and plays with it with her fingers (mostly when she is sucking her thumb).

Not too many pix this week.

holding her head up

filling out the swing a little more

close up of the thumbsucker

our little hokie

Exersaucer

Week of New Stuff

This week was very busy with Gramma Gail and Aunt Kel in town.

It seemed Casey wanted to show off a bit. She talked and cooed a lot more than usual. It actually sounded like she was trying to have a conversation. She started grabbing blankets and bringing them up to her face and snuggling with them. One morning she woke up on her belly! We always put her down on her back and she usually turns onto her side throughout the night. But this one morning we found her on her belly...very exciting, though we were a bit bummed that we didn't witness the roll. Sunday we put together her exersaucer, which she seems to absolutely love it. She is very active on her activity mat and in her exersaucer...grabbing anything she can. She has started to grab things and try to put them in her mouth this week too.

During the week, we made it to Breckenridge for shopping and lunch, went for a hike to the Old Dillon Reservoir, which unfortunately will be drained this month:( We enjoyed dinner at the Tiki Bar at the Lake Dillon Marina and BBQ night at Arapahoe Cafe. We hot tubbed most nights and played a little pool and darts.

Tuesday, Mr. Handyman took over our house in order to take up the mortar and cement board in the dining room. It was one man and it took all day...9:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. The hardwood flooring was delivered Thursday. Installation will begin in a couple of weeks.

Friday, Gail and Kel headed to Boulder to meet Kel's moving truck at her new apartment, while Tracy, Stan, Casey and Frisco headed to Denver for a party. Saturday morning we headed to Boulder to see Kel's new crib and have lunch with Terri, who lives 15 minutes from Boulder. We then headed back up the mountain without Kel.

Sunday morning , Kel drove up to Dillon in the morning and we all headed to Breckenridge for a hike up Peak 9 and lunch at Mi Casa. Monday everyone left...Tracy, Casey and Frisco are on their own for the week!

Enjoy the pix...

cute pic of Casey and Gramma Gail at Whale's Tail in Breckenridge

Casey the Rastafarian...

a beautiful rainbow shooting out of Stan's mouth


all dressed up...

the old dillon reservoir...soon to be drained:(

cute pic

hiking in Breckenridge

Breckenridge hike


loving the exersaucer

tile, mortar and cement board removed from dining room

walnut hardwood flooring will be installed on the main level of our house...

Setting Up Camp

Tracy, Casey and Frisco had a week without Stan. We tried to stay busy. Lot's of activity mat, errand running and even got a hike in. Stan got home Thursday to get ready for our first camping trip with Casey.

Friday we drove to Stage Coach State Park near Steamboat Springs for our annual camping trip, planned by Kristi. The weekend consisted of fishing, kayaking, pontooning, eating, and smore's. Casey was great at adjusting to the fresh air. She slept very well in her tent within our tent.

This week Casey has started grabbing things and pulling on them. She is focusing very well on things. She'll follow people as they walk around. She's still all smiles. When she's really happy she smiles with an open mouth. She's been eating formula at her late morning meal and her bedtime meal and seems to enjoy it.

Last night she drank 4 oz and this afternoon, she started an afternoon formula meal and drank 5 oz. She is definitely growing!!

Tracy's mom and sister arrived Sunday night after a 3 day drive from VA. Kel is moving to Boulder for Grad school and Gail was kind enough to accompany her on her drive. They'll be hanging for the week. We'll post an update on all of our activities later. Today wasn't exciting...it rained all day!

Enjoy the pix.

Miss Smiley

Enjoying the view of Old Dillon Reservoir...Tracy, Casey and Frisco hiked.
Tracy & Casey enjoying camping...Stan fishing in the background...

Stan kayaking.

Casey napping in her tent and the fresh air.

close up.

sittin' in Gramma Gail's lap

Formula First

Stan worked from home this week and got to feed Casey formula for the first time! Saturday was her first bottle of formula! She took it down very well, eating about 3 ounces. She took another one tonight, no problem! So her 7:30 p.m. feeding is now formula. Yay!

After getting home on Monday night, Casey transitioned to Mountain time pretty well. She did need a couple of days to adjust to the altitude. She didn't eat much on Tuesday or Wednesday and woke on Wednesday with a runny nose and scratchy throat, so we decided to have her checked by the Doc Wed afternoon. She was sent home with a clean bill of health. Thursday, her appetite was back!

She has been having a great time on her activity mat...it keeps her busy sometimes up to 30 minutes. She loves to swat at the hanging toys. She is not a huge fan of "tummy time," but she is getting better at it. She lifts her head much higher than before and uses her arms to push herself up a little. Stan brought out the Bumbo seat for Casey to try and she seems to enjoy it. She hangs out in it and just watches us.

Right now Casey's bedtime is about 8:30 p.m. (with a "dreamfeed" at 10:30 p.m...kind of like sleep walking, but instead sleep eating). Since being home, she has been waking up anytime between 3:30 - 4:30 a.m. for a quick crying session, while scooting around her crib, then falls right back to sleep until 7:30 a.m. We're hoping this middle of the night party ends soon.

In other news...Stan spent Saturday demolishing the dining room floor. We're putting hardwood floors in on the main level.

That's about all for now...Enjoy the very few pix.

Enjoying being eye level with the hanging toys...

Enjoying the Bumbo Seat!

Tiles are gone...now just need to get rid of the mortar and cement board.

On the Road Again...

Another social week for Casey. Tuesday, Tracy and Casey drove into DC to have lunch with Sashia and Ketsia, then got to visit with Matt and Kelly. Wednesday we met up with Grams Gail & Linda for lunch at Sweetwater...yummy! Wednesday night Stan, Tracy and Casey had dinner with Tracy's old roommates, Dianna and Carrie. Thursday, Tracy and Casey met up with Tracy's old Long & Foster co-workers, Dayna & Jim in Arlington for lunch.

We all hit the road on Thursday. Our first stop was Roanoke to visit Stan's family. Gramma Lois got some quality time with her granddaughter and got to show her off to the rest the family and friends. Great Aunt Joyce came over Friday morning to feed Casey her breakfast out of a bottle. Karen visited next, then Great Aunt Donnie and finally Great Aunt Linda and Great Uncle Marvin joined us for dinner. Casey behaved for the most part and showed off all of her cuteness to everyone.

Casey enjoyed Gramma Lois' activity mat. She started swinging her hands around hitting the toys that were hanging and actually realized when she would hit things. She was trying to grab things (though it was most likely accidentally, she did keep grabbing one of the toys). She has also found her hands and is VERY interested in them and how they taste. They are always in her mouth. She stares at them when they are in the air. She has noticed her feet too, staring at them, especially when she's moving them. We've also noticed Casey is a bit vain...When she is in front of a mirror, she stares at herself, then smiles and does her flirty giggle. Very funny.

We left Roanoke on Saturday after lunch to head back home. We made it to Lexington, KY, where we stayed the night. Sunday we stopped in at Wes & Tricia's house in Brandenburg, KY to visit with them, their 2 kids, Colin and Leah and Great Uncle Chris, Imelda and Sarah. Frisco got to run around with Wes & Tricia's dog, Maxine and Chris & Imelda's new dog, Ana. After a delicious lunch, we were on the road again. Stayed in Topeka, KS Sunday night. Monday morning we hit the road again and made it to Dillon, CO by 7:00 p.m. Great to be home!

Stan is working from home this week! Enjoy the pix.

she loves to pull herself up into a standing position

hanging with Carrie

... Dianna

...Dayna

...Jim

saying "cheese"

Great Aunt Joyce feeding Casey breakfast

chillin' with Great Aunt Donnie

showing Karen her hands

playing with Frisco

"you're so vain..."

Great Aunt Linda and Great Uncle Marvin

Gramma Lois is so comfy

The Kentucky crew, minus Tricia (who is taking the pic)

Chris, Sarah, Colin, Wes, Leah and Imelda