Somebody's Walking...

I was picking up stuff in the living room, turned around and there was Casey, walking.

She pushed herself up, looked at me, smiled, took a few steps, got really excited, fell, then tried again. She kept trying over and over.

Here's some video. (sorry for the smudge...i cleaned the lens after the video. YAY!!!

Warm Weather has Arrived

This week brought beautiful weather, lots of sun and warmer temps. I took Casey swimming on Thursday. Friday, Casey played with her sand and water table and made a complete mess. She splashes around, then takes a shovel, gets it wet, then leans over and touches Frisco with it. She did this over and over again. Frisco just sat there and took it. It probably felt nice, because it was a warm week! Today we had sand in the table, finally. She was a little unsure at first, but after poking the sand a couple times and taking a couple tastes, she became a pro with the shovel and rake.

Saturday, Tracy started with her half marathon training by running 4 miles, while Stan, Casey and Frisco went for a hike. Later, we had Sarah, Brian and Rowan (Casey's shared bday friend) and Mark over for burgers on the grill and some playtime.

Saturday we went for a 3 1/2 hour hike on the Meadow Creek/Eccles Pass trail. We didn't make it as far as Eccles Pass, because there was still too much snow on the trail as we got to the higher elevation, but we made it high enough for some amazing views. Casey was great. She sang, talked, checked out the scenery, got a nap in, had some lunch, then more singing and talking. The Tiki Bar is now open, so we met Mark over there for happy hour, then headed over to ACafe for Burger Night.

This morning Casey got some sand and water table time in, then after lunch, she went swimming in her Whale pool. This was trial 2...the water was much warmer than trial 1 and she loved it. She eased into...sat there for a little bit, then started splashing, then she felt comfortable enough to crawl around. After her swim, she said goodbye to Daddy, then took a 2 1/2 hour nap...someone was exhausted!

BTW, As I'm writing this blog, I'm watching Casey on the video monitor as she crawls all over her crib throwing her blankeys and stuffed animals around...she's supposed to be sleeping!!!

We head to VA on Thursday. Coca Cola 600 baby...

looks like a big girl in this pic

so excited to be playing with her sand and water table

the hike has REALLY tired her out...check out Frisco sneaking into the pic

eating some lunch at the top of our hike

hiking

Colorado Road Trip

What a weekend! Stan planned a Colorado road trip to celebrate Tracy's birthday. He flew in Thursday night so we could leave on Friday for a trip down to Durango, in Southwest Colorado. It's a 6 hour drive from Dillon.

We drove down through Leadville, Buena Vista, Poncho Springs, Wolf Creek and Pagosa Springs. We got to Durango Friday evening and set up camp at Junction Creek Campground right outside the town of Durango, near the Colorado Trail. It was a huge campsite (C1, if anyone ever goes). Our new tent was perfect! Not too big, not too small.

Saturday morning we dropped Frisco off at a kennel nearby while we went to Mesa Verde National Park. This is where there are Cliff Dwellings from the Pueblo peoople dating back to 600-1300 AD. We got to walk around in the Spruce Tree House dwelling. The views from the park are absolutely amazing...pictures don't do it justice! After picking up Frisco, we headed into Durango. We walked along the Animas River and then down main street. We then met up with a friend of Stan's, who lives in Durango, for dinner. Then back to camp.

Casey slept in her tent inside our tent and she did great. Friday night was a bit chilly and we put Casey in a pretty puffy one piece...think "A Christmas Story" kid. She woke up a couple times because she couldn't move. She was stuck on her back...however, her thumb was free and she could bend her arm enough to get it in her mouth. The third time she woke up, Tracy used a blanket to tilt her on her side...which seemed to help, because she didn't wake again until 6:30 a.m. She then joined Stan in his sleeping bag for another hour of sleep, thank goodness. Saturday night was a little warmer, and we bought a fleece one piece for her earlier that day, which worked out much better!!

Casey was a good little camper. She enjoyed her meals in her travel high chair, which we attached to the top of the picnic table. She was interested in eating the sticks she found on the ground. By the last day she was crawling around the dirt while we packed up the car.

Sunday we headed out of town by way of our friend Mary's house, just north of town. We kept heading north...had lunch in Silverton, then passed through Ouray, where we saw Box Canyon Falls, a dramatic waterfall inside canyon walls. We got up to Montrose, then headed East on 50, through Gunnison. Had dinner in Salida. It was a long ride home, but we saw some beautiful scenery and fantastic views. We went through at least 6 mountain passes on our trip. It was a FUN weekend.

Monday we hung out at the house. We did some yard work, put up Casey's new whale pool (the tail is a slide)...she wasn't a big fan because the water was cold, but we'll get organized and she WILL love it.

Happy Belated Mom's Day to all you fantastic mom's out there.
Happy Belated Birthday to Gramma Gail
Happy Belated Birthday to Aunt Marcy!

Enjoy the pix.

starting the road trip out right!

playing at the campground

first night in her big puffy outfit...stuck on her side

good morning

at mesa verde national park

the cliff dwellings

another view of the cliff dwellings

hanging in the backyard

ONE year old

Casey went to her 1 year old Doctor appt yesterday. She weighed in at 19 lbs 15 oz, is 29 1/4 inches long and her head is 18 inches round. She is in the 40 percentile in everything.

Doctor loved that she smiled the entire time, except of course when she got her shots. She got a Nemo sticker after her shots, which made her smile again:)

You Say It's Your BIRTHDAY...

Casey was officially 1 on May 1st! (oh and Tracy celebrated her 30's again on April 29th)

Gramma Gail, Grampa Tom and Aunt Kel came to town for the celebration. Casey loved her cupcakes...she got to have one with vanilla icing and one with chocolate icing. She dove right in, got it all over her face and up her nose.

Being 1 has brought on a lot of new things...

*First cupcake...(don't mind the background chaos:))



*Casey went down the slide all by herself. On her stomach feet first.



*She rode in her new wagon (compliments of Gramma Gail and Grampa Tom) up to the playground. She loves the ride!

*She's riding face forward in the car now...in her new carseat.

*She is dying to walk!! She took 4 steps on Friday, unfortunately the video camera was not rolling. She continues to stand on her own (even pushing herself up from the floor), squating and taking a step here and there.

While the grandparents were in town, we visited Aunt Kel's CU campus in Boulder, visited Breckenridge for lunch, checked out Keystone at it's dead time, and visited Central City, an old mining town, now occupied by casinos.

Casey wants to thank everyone for the birthday wishes and gifts!

hanging at keystone

3 generations at lake dillon

happy birthday to me

mmmmm...this is good...

daddy, mommy and birthday girl

grampa taking casey for a ride in her new wagon

grampa tom and gramma gail with casey

Baby Steps

Casey is on her way to walking. This weekend she was standing by herself and then moved her foot a little forward, followed by an immediate fall to the ground. She has done this a handful of times now. Very exciting! She has also learned how to sign "more." This is extremely exciting for mom and dad...we have been working on this since she was about 6months. She can also sign "milk." We're still working on "please" and "thank you."

She's gotten very clingy to mom the past week. She'll be playing with dad in the living room, mom will be in the kitchen...she'll realize this, crawl into the kitchen and grab at mom's legs, pull herself up, put her head between mom's legs and whine, wanting to be picked up.

Last week, we went swimming with Dee and her son Jack (21 months old). I brought her sit-in raft, so she could walk around by herself. She also went down the whale slide and when she got to the bottom, she kept trying to crawl off into the rest of the pool. No fear! She loves the water...whether it be the pool or the bathtub!!

Gramma Gail, Grampa Tom and Aunt Kel will be around starting tomorrow. Coming into town for Tracy and Casey's bdays. Should be lots of pix for next weeks blog!

coloring with crayons

chowing down on dad's casey-size homemade pancakes...yummy!!

oh, hi!

relaxing in her raft...

19 lb Tantrums

I forgot to mention that our sweet little girl was 19 lbs at 11 1/2 months and has phased into mini-tantrums.

Just yesterday, when I wouldn't allow her into the bathroom (I had shut the door and she could not open it) she started crying. When she realized I wasn't going to open the door, she let out an even louder cry. When she realized I was ignoring her...she laid on her stomach on the ground in front of the bathroom door and cried for about a minute. She finally pulled herself together and crawled over to her toys.

She has been doing this in her high chair too. If we don't give her something fast enough she starts a whine...then peeks at us to see if we're getting it for her. If we aren't, she belts out a loud cry, etc. She's getting much better as the days go on. We are just hoping that she starts to realize (sooner than later) that she is not going to get her way by whining.

We've been trying to teach her sign language for words like "please," "more," "thank you," and "all done," however, she seems determined not to learn them. Or at least to not show us that she's learning them. When we try and guide her hand through the motion she tries so hard to pull it away.

Keeping our fingers crossed that this stage won't last long.

Missed Powder

A day late, but def worth waiting for....right!?

Our house got finished yesterday! All the trim and ceiling beams are sanded, stained, put up; the painting is done; the deck railing is tightened; new light put up for our rentors. Fantastic and they finished 3 days early. Why, because the weather is beautiful this week and our workers wanted to go fishing.

Last week was very hectic with all the work going on in the house. Thursday Casey, Frisco and I headed to Denver to visit our friends Geoff and Sarah and their new baby boy, Graham. We then went over to Mark and Amy's new house in the heart of Denver for the night. We woke Friday to a wet snowy mess, however Casey and I made it to the Denver Aquarium that morning. Casey loved the aquarium. She would stare and point at the fish and laugh. We had lunch in the aquarium restaurant and got a free coke!! We then cruised over to the mall for a couple hours, and then dinner at a yummy bbq restaurant, where Casey tried bbq pork, corn muffins, cole slaw, spiced apples and pickles and loved all of them, oh, and we got a free milk!

Speaking of milk, Casey is drinking milk and seems to like it. She's getting much better at her sippy cup, now realizing that it actually has stuff to drink in it...and it's not just a toy.

Friday night we picked Stan up from the airport then headed back over to Mark and Amy's because I-70 was closed. Yep, we missed 2 powder days in the mountains!!!

We did finally make it up Saturday afternoon and got to go riding at Breckenridge on Sunday and Abasin on Monday.

where's casey?

here i am!

puttin' on her shoe

White Easter

It was a hectic week for us. The interior of our house is being worked on...sanding and staining trim, ceiling beam and columns, and soon painting the rest of the house...or at least the main level. We have hired someone to do it! So, Casey, Frisco and I were kicked out Wednesday - Friday, and will be again this week. We do get to come back in the evening for dinner and to sleep in our own beds.

Wednesday, Casey got her first real bruise at daycare. She supposedly pulled on a drawer and it came out faster than she expected and nailed her right between the eyes. No broken skin, but it was definitely swollen when I picked her up and there was a slash mark bruise in between her eyes.

We went swimming on Thursday, just Tracy and Casey. Casey is getting very comfortable on her back and swimming on her belly. She got to stand on her own on the steps and hold on to the wall, which she really enjoyed. It gave her a great view of all the other kids in the pool...so she could stare/people watch.

This weekend was a busy one. We were able to "move" back into the house while Stan was home. Saturday Stan made a really yummy spice cake from scratch. We celebrated our hard work in the kitchen by heading to the Breckenridge BeerFest. We met up with Erica to listen to bands and taste the beers from the various breweries. We finished the afternoon with 2 for 1 apps at Bubba Gump. Casey was a trooper. She spent the afternoon smiling at everyone, passed out for an hour while the band was playing really loud, then hammed it up for everyone at Bubba Gump. She slept well that night!

Sunday, we awoke to new snow on the ground, hence the "White Easter" title. Aunt Kel came over for Brunch, an egg hunt, and some riding at Keystone. Keystone is now closed for the season:(

Monday we were kicked out of the house again, so we went to ABasin so Stan could snowboard in the morning. We then took a scenic route to Denver. We ate lunch at Beaujous in Idaho Spring (famous for their Mountain Pies/pizza's); backtracked to Empire's Diary King for yummy milkshakes; drove "Oh My God" road a very narrow, mostly dirt road going over the mountain from Idaho Springs to Central City (known for their Casino's); took a detour off I-70 to Echo Mountain, basically a terrain park ski resort; dinner at Wahoo Fish Tacos; then dropped Stan off at the airport.

Casey hopes everyone had a Happy Easter!
And she wants to with Grampa Tom a very Happy Birthday on Tuesday!!! See you soon!

chillin' in her chair

bundled up for the beerfest

our easter "bunny"

the other easter "bunny"

showing off her easter dress

last day of riding at keystone

she jumped on that buffalo and rode it...just like her grandma gail

1 down 3 to go

The chandelier is up!

Frisco turned 9 years old!!
Casey has dropped her lunch bottle!

Casey's new schedule:

7:30 - wakes up

8:00 - breakfast & 4-6 oz bottle

10:00 - nap (1 to 1 1/2 hours)

Noon - lunch w/sippy cup of water

2:00 - nap (1 to 1 1/2 hours)

4:00 - snack & 6 oz bottle

6:15 - dinner w/sippy cup of water

8:00 - 8 oz bottle then BED

She's a really good eater. She eats waffles, bananas, vege sausage links, cheerios, puffs, watermelon (her fav), bread/toast, chix nuggets, meatballs, ravioli, green beans (fav), broccoli, corn, pasta, and really anything we give her.

We've been on a bunch of walks this week and a couple times we've been able to stop at the playground for some swinging...which Casey thinks swinging is so funny, she literally cracks up. She's not a huge fan of the slide yet...she's not afraid of it, just doesn't really get it.

Casey and Frisco are becoming better housemates lately. I wouldn't call them friends just yet, but it's coming. Frisco now just stays put when Casey is poking her, patting her, climbing on her or touching her feet. Casey is definitely more interested in Frisco now too. She enjoys handing Frisco a bone and then watching her chew it. She gets excited when she comes downstairs in the morning...she always looks around for Frisco, then points at her and smiles when she sees her. She's petting her now, and she's learning to brace herself for Frisco kisses and Frisco's tail.

Thursday, Tracy and Casey volunteered at Casey's daycare for a couple hours. We helped out in the 3-4 year old room. The kids LOVED having a baby in the room. They would bring her toys, then take them away. They had all kinds of questions about her. But mostly, they just stood really close and stared at Casey.

Saturday we ventured out into the cold, snowy day for the Breckenridge 150 Party, which ended up being pretty lame, so we ducked into Whale's Tail Restaurant and Bar to watch the Final Four. Casey had a field day hamming it up for the nearby tables.

Sunday, our neighbor babysat Casey for a couple hours so Stan and Tracy could go snowboarding together. The night was finished off with hot tubbing, then a mean game of FooDaPoo...just like the old days...BC (before Casey).

"ok, enough smiles...where's my food?!"

let me get closer

daddy and casey playing in our new tent, yes we set it up in the living room

side view of our new tent

Personality

It's been a funny week with little Miss Casey. She is getting a big time personality!

When we used to put her down for a nap or bedtime, we would lay her in her crib, cover her with her blankey and she would put her thumb in her mouth and just lay there and go to sleep. Now when we lay her in the crib, she immediately rolls over then sits up like she's ready to play. She still takes good naps and goes to bed once we leave, but it's pretty funny to watch...kind of like a wind up toy.

She has been mimicking words like crazy. She says hi, hello, bye and dada. This week she has been crawling all over the living, playing with everything in sight and saying, "ewwwwww" to everything. Her coordination is moving right along. She can now put her shapes into the box through the shape sorter and she likes putting things into cups and taking them out. When she gets excited...which is a lot lately...she lets out a high pitched squeal. She's still walking with support, but has started standing without support for a few more seconds and more often.

She's got her first major diaper rash this week...probably due to all the new foods she's been trying out and really enjoying. She basically will try anything! Her favs this week were broccoli, eggo and watermelon.

In other news...we got LOTS of snow last week so Tracy got in a couple days of snowboarding during the week, while Stan hit up Vail on Saturday. We also got a new chandelier for the dining room, so we (mainly Stan) worked on installing it Sunday and Monday.

Happy April Fools Day to everyone...let's hope I don't get fooled by tomorrow's Summit Daily...they've fooled me every year since I've been here!!!

if you look closely, you'll see she is wearing her first barrette

she now feeds herself her bottle

she can now crawl on and off the car,
but can't really get anywhere yet...she has pushed herself backwards a little bit.

sniffy face

Let Me Play

Sorry for not blogging last week. We traveled to VA for the week and we were busy!

The trip included a weekend in Roanoke visiting Gramma Lois. Casey had tons of fun playing and showing off for Gramma, Aunt Donnie, Aunt Linda and Uncle Marvin.

While in VA we also hung out with Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom, Aunt Marcy, Uncle Stuart, Lily and Jack, who was home from a week long stay at the hospital, diagnosed with bacterial meningitis...he's all recovered and back to his old self!!. Casey could not have been happier playing with all of Lily and Jack's toys. She was frantic trying to get from one toy to the next. She can now crawl into the ball pit through the tunnel (shown below), pulls herself up on everything, pushes around the cars, pushes buttons to turn toys on, and was very intrigued by the ball blower toy.

Casey also got to visit some newborns...We visited Dyani and her 5 week old boy, Harper. She showed Harper how much fun his toys will be when he gets a little older. She was also fascinated by Dyani's cat, who was also fascinated with Casey. The two of them would just stare at each other. We also visited with Kris & Brian's crew of Emilia, Erin, Ellie and 3 week old Evan. Casey had so much fun with all of their toys and watching the 3 older kids run around.

Thursday night, Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom had Casey over for a sleepover, giving mom and dad a break. We got to enjoy a nice, stress free dinner out with Jessica and Craig...who were also out enjoying a night out without their 2 boys.

The plane ride home was especially nice, because Stan was with us. Casey slept the first half of the flight, so mom and dad could actually watch a movie!!

Casey is getting better and better at walking. She has even stood on her own for a couple seconds here and there. She has also figured out that if you hold something up to your ear, you're supposed to say, "hello" (or hawo...in her language). She has started mimicing words (Ka for Cat, Ba for Ball). She is in a snuggle stage, mostly when she is tired. She'll lay her head on you and put her arms straight down at her side and snuggle. Her last new trick happened yesterday, after a long time of working with her...she blew kisses to daddy...actually putting her hand to her mouth and making the kissing noise.

We had tons of fun visiting with everyone and very glad cousin Jack is back home.
Thanks to Geoff, Sarah, Kaelin and Otto for watching Frisco all week.
Casey wants to wish Auntie Cousin Blair a Happy Birthday!
Enjoy the pix.

all dressed up and no place to go

Gramma Lois and Casey wearing a coaster on her head

rockin' with Grandma Gail

crawling out of the ball pit

hanging with cousins Lily and Jack

showing Harper the in's and out's of the activity mat

Grandma Gail, Grandpa Tom and Casey

zoning out

snowmobiling with mommy