Garrett started school this week. He is going for a full day on Wednesdays, along with Casey. He did great at drop off. I put him down, standing next to a fellow classmate, put a dump truck in front of him and he was good to go. No crying. He didn't eat lunch, kept pushing the bottle away, and his naps were short, only 30 min and 45 min, but he was happy all day long.
At home he is crawling fast everywhere. Pulling up on everything. Starting to understand the word "NO" and "Do Not Touch" but still likes to test us. He is eating more real food and definitely likes it better than baby food. He ate brown rice couscous, watermelon, bread, bananas, green beans, potatoes and carrots this week.
Garrett has 3 new body languages of the week: arching his back when he doesn't want to get into his high chair, stroller or carseat; straightening his arms in the air, losing his shoulders when he doesn't want us to pick him up; and headbanging, sometimes against furniture, sometimes against my head and sometimes just randomly in the air.
Casey is doing great in swimming. They are working on floating on their backs, feeling comfortable in the deep end and this week, they started working on freestyle. Tumbling is going well too. They got to go on the uneven bars last week which was very exciting for Casey. She ran over and jumped up on the low bar immediately and was first to volunteer for the top bar.
We are working on her listening skills and trying to stop the talking back. The talking back is a bit different then it has been.
Me: "Casey it's bathtime"
Casey: "It's NOT bathtime"
Not that she doesn't want to take a bath...she just wants to say something back.
She has started playing more with Garrett this week. She chases him around and then grabs him and tickles him and he just laughs and laughs.
The past 2 weekends we have spent at amusement parks in
Denver with Sean, Kathy, Dillon and Connor.
Sunday, the 16th, we went to Miners Maze at Heritage Square
in Golden, CO. There was a human maze for the kids to run through, trying to
find their way out, a web crawler with a slide, a train, a merry go round and a
candy shop. The kids started in the bouncy house, but that only lasted 30
seconds, before they came out saying it was dirty and that they didn't like
bounce house anymore...hmmm...we'll see what happens next time they see a
bounce house.
This weekend was full of fun. Friday was the last Farmers
Market. Saturday, we went to Frisco for a band and fireworks (there was a fire
ban during July 4th so they were not able to shoot them off Independence Day).
The kids played on the playground, played soccer, cornhole, hide and seek,
chase, danced and then cheered for every firework that went off. Garrett was in
the middle of all the action too, crawling all over the place, playing with the
soccer balls, hamming it up for anyone and everyone who would look at him. And
he loved the fireworks.
Sunday we went to Lakeside Amusement Park, which can be seen
from I-70. They have a bunch of toddler rides and a couple big rides that they
could ride with an adult. The kids had a blast. And Kathy and I even rode the
Cyclone Coaster...the big white roller coaster seen from I-70.
The weekdays consist of swimming on Mondays. Casey is
jumping in by herself now, pushing off the wall and is moving her arms in a
FREESTYLE motion, see video below. Garrett swims and crawls and splashes around
in the 1/2 foot part of the pool. This morning he told me he was done by
crawling up onto me and hugging me. I got him dressed and put him in the stroller...he
crashed immediately. We then have been heading to the library, where Casey picks
her 3 books then heads up to the desk by herself with her library card to
checkout.
Tuesdays, Casey goes to school until 12:30. Wednesdays Casey
goes to school all day. Garrett will start full day Wednesday on October 3rd. Thursdays,
Casey has Tumbling. I don't have to stay for the class...for the first time.
She seems to really enjoy herself...much more than ballet. We head to the
playground afterwards with her friend Rowan. Fridays, Casey is in school until
12:30.
Garrett has been keeping us entertained, check out the
videos below. He is crawling everywhere right now. His favorite place to hide
is behind the fireplace...a nice safe place. He also likes to crawl onto the
first step. He loves the bathtub. He crawls as fast as he can all over the tub
and splashes like crazy. Casey is tolerating him a lot more now. She has been
helping to "discipline" by picking him up and carrying him away from
outlets, electronics, the steps...wherever he is not supposed to be. She even
gave him a hug the other day, on her own.
Casey is a funny 4 year old. She loves playing. Tonight she
had set up her little people around a plate that had a play cookie on it. She
likes to play "family" with her friends, calling them
"honey." "Honey, let's
pack our bags for our trip.” She is still very into princesses and pink and
purple, but has opened her mind a little. She also likes to be a mermaid, and a
mixture of things.
We do have some very sad news...our amazing chocolate lab
that we have had for 12 1/2 years, passed away on Tuesday, Sept. 18. She had a
fantastic Summer visiting with family on the East Coast and had a great life.
Thanks to everyone who walked, watched, fed, played with, or just had fun with
Frisco. She will be GREATLY missed!!!!!!!
Enjoy pix!
I love my brother...and don't comment on my bangs...
being goofy
Daddy caught a fish...not quite big enough to eat
being cute
GO HOKIES!
in the web
sliding out of the web...a little sweaty
merry go round was a hit
Garrett is chasing Dillon with the soccer ball over to the left. he did finally get the ball and got the biggest grin on his face when he did
Rowan and Casey rockin' and rollin'
Casey, Dillon, Rowan and Lucas enjoying the fireworks over Lake Dillon
Last Friday, we drove to Basalt and stayed with our friends, Ken, Stacy and their son, Isaac. They watched our kids Friday night while we went into Snowmass to see Steve Miller Band, American Idol Season 10 runner up, Lauren Alaina and Sugarland. The kids had fun...Garrett got to stay up until 10:30 partying!!
Saturday, we did some shopping, had breakfast, then we followed Ken & Isaac and their new pop-up camper to Chapman Reservoir, about an hour East of Basalt, past Ruidi Reservoir. We took a hike down to the Frying Pan River then had some sausages for dinner. While putting Garrett to bed, an 8th grade girl, Lindsey, who was camping across the way, came over to play catch with Casey. Casey looked out for Lindsey, "her best friend," the rest of the weekend. As the sun went down, we roasted marshmellows, made up "scary" ghost stories, then went to sleep in the pop-up.
Sunday, after a yummy breakfast of eggs and bacon, we piled into Ken's Durango and took a 4-wheel drive over Hagerman Pass to Leadville. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get to Leadville. The top was a bit bumpy, but everyone had a good time. We ate lunch in Leadville at Wild Bill Burgers, then headed back to the campground via Hagerman Pass again. Stacy was at the campground when we got back from our drive. The kids road their bikes, played some street hockey, practiced casting the fishing pole, and played in the dirt. We had kebobs for dinner and smores for dessert.
Monday morning we had pancakes for breakfast, said goodbye to Casey's "best friend" Lindsey, then took the canoe and fishing poles to Chapman Reservoir. After no fish and a few rides in the canoe, we headed home to watch the Hokies beat Georgia Tech. While camping, we saw and heard Marmots, had 3 foxes and 2 deer run through our campground and saw a small brown bear on our way out of the campground. Nature at it's best.
This weekend we went to the last Friday night concert at the Ampitheater, had Sean, Kathy, Dillon, Connor and Kathy's parents, Dave and Nancy for dinner Saturday night and went for a bike ride and picnic lunch along the Snake River on Sunday.
We are enjoying the nice weather as long as we can before the snow starts falling!!
Casey is becoming a pro on her bike. She still needs to learn to start, but she figured out how to brake on hills in order to slow down. Sometimes she looks like she is just going to lose it, then miraculously she straightens up and keeps going.
Garrett is all over the place. He is chowing down on 4 8-ounce bottles of Enfamil formula a day. Still not that interested in baby food. He loves puffs though. We try and get him to eat pieces of banana, carrots, avocado, applesauce and french fries (when we go out), whatever we can find. He also loves gnawing on apple slices. We also gave him some baby yogurt this week. His 4th bottom tooth is starting to come in. Since we got back, and now that he's crawling around like crazy, we are trying to teach him not to touch certain things, like the remote, the carbon monoxide plug in, the fireplace and Frisco's food and water bowls. He will crawl over to these things, look back us, smile and then touch it...troublemaker. He really loves splashing in Frisco's water!! When we discipline him or take something away from him he is not supposed to have, he cries likes it's the end of the world, for a second, and then is back on his way...such a faker! He has a slew of facial expressions. His best one is the sniffer (Casey used to do this too). He scrunches up his nose and make sniffing noises. It's funny too, if he sees/hears me blow my nose, he will copy by doing his sniffer face.
Update of Frisco...we now have to help her up the front steps by lifting her back legs. She doesn't eat much. We started mixing wet food in with her dry food. She eats all the wet food and leaves whatever dry food that didn't stick to the wet food. She is still on her hypothyroid meds and her pain meds.
Casey and Garrett would like to wish their cousin Lily a very Happy Birthday (Sept 10)!
Enjoy pix.
Casey's new bling...
Chapman Reservoir campsite
Chow time!
Hagerman Pass
action shot...
the many faces of Garrett...
...
...
Isaac and Casey enjoying a yummy dinner
mesmerized by the fire during smores
Dillon, Casey and Connor enjoying their dinner SO MUCH!!
Garrett had his 9 month appt. He is 85% percentile in height at 29 3/4 inches. He's 50% in weight at 19 lbs 12 ounces. He didn't have to have any shots so it was a nice visit.
Frisco had her check up and her thyroid has gotten better, though it is still a little high. She also got a "legend" shot to try and help arthritis in her back legs. So far we have not seen that it has helped, but we are told we have to be patient and go through 3 months of shots.
Casey has learned how to ride a pedal bike, no training wheels. She still has to figure out starting, but she has the balance, pedaling and braking down. We also got a tag-a-long bike (attaches to our bike) for her for the long rides to Keystone and Frisco and wherever else we want to go. We went for a ride to Keystone and she did great.
Speaking of biking, Garrett and I went to Hoosier Pass to watch the USA Pro Challenge Stage 5 which started in Breckenridge and rode over Hoosier Pass, 11,500 feet then to Colorado Springs. I can't believe how close we were to the cyclists. I could have pushed them over if I wanted to. Thank goodness I didn't want to. The whole craziness lasted only about 10 minutes, but it was awesome!
We went swimming at Broomfield Bay with Sarah, Kaelin and Graham. Casey is a fish and Garrett loved moving himself around the shallow baby pool while in his float. We went swimming today at Amy and Mark's new Keystone condo pool. Casey can swim around even where she can't reach. She can tread water. Amazing!
Good to be back.
Enjoy the pix.
sand and water table
ready to go biking
ready for our after dinner walk
taken at 6:45 p.m. obviously he had an exhausting day
Friday, August 24, the Pro Cycle Tour started in Breckenridge and rode over Hoosier Pass...this is the top of Hoosier Pass
Casey riding Stormy, a Shetland Pony at Keystone Stables
then she had to pet all the horses...this is one of the biggest
We made it back to Dillon, Colorado on Tuesday evening after 3 days on the road. Now we are trying to unpack and get back into the swing of things. We went to the rec center today, where Casey was so excited to go to Kids Korner with her baby brother. She even played with him while in there, which is a big step these days. Garrett is crawling fast everywhere, pulling up on everything and getting into everything. He is interested in everything that Casey is doing. Which frustrates Casey a little bit. However, she is getting better at giving him his own toys to distract him, or moving her stuff either on a table or to another part of the room so he can't see her.
To wrap up our vacation to the East Coast...
Week 5 we spent at Grandma Gail and Grampa Tom's house in Burke, VA.
Tuesday, we went to the DC Zoo and got to pet cows, see the pandas and watch the orangutans swing across the zoo (I again did not get to see this, so I don't fully believe it, but supposedly Casey and Grandma saw them).
We spent time in the pool on the back deck, rode bikes, scooters, push cars and big wheels out front and played some tee-ball and basketball.
Thursday we headed to the lake for the last week. My dad flew me down to Cape Hatteras on Friday, while my mom watched the kids and Stan worked. We landed at Hatteras landing strip, trekked (most likely illegally) through the dunes and enjoyed a quick swim and a nice lunch on the beach!! It was about an hour and a half flight from Mecklenburg, VA airport where my dad keeps his plane. He flew us to Corolla and then we flew down the coast over my old shack on the beach in Kill Devil Hills, which is amazingly still standing.
Aunt Kelly and her friend Lindsey and of course Bodie came to the lake Friday to play for the weekend. We had great weather and Casey is quite the swimmer. She got hesitant about riding the hot dog and jumping of the dock, but she was into swimming and fishing. And we took a bunch of sea doo, pontoon and jet ski boat rides.
Garrett really enjoys being in the water too and is into playing with anything and everything he can find. He's eating okay...not that interested in baby food, unless he is absolutely starving, but he loves puffs. I think it's more of the experience of finding the puff, trying to pick it up, and trying to get it into his mouth or just throwing it and seeing where it lands.
We left the kids at the lake with Grandma and Grampa and we headed to Bald Head Island for our friend Jay's wedding. Thursday night we enjoyed dinner on the water at Yacht Basin Eatery. Friday, while Stan worked, I went to Oak Island for a quick trip to the beach. Friday night, we took the Ferry to Bald Head Island where we rented bikes and toured the island then had dinner at Mojo's at the Harbour. The wedding was on Saturday, so Mary Ann and I walked around Southport in the morning. We then took a trolley to the Ferry for the afternoon/evening festivities. Congrats Jay and Erin!
Sunday, we left Southport, drove to the lake for lunch and packing, the were off on our road trip home.
Thank you to everyone we got to see, mooched places to stay from, watched our kids, fed us and played with us. It was a fun trip!!
Enjoy pix.
Casey and Grandma Gail hanging out with large prairie dogs...nice of them to sit so still for the pic
Casey with bear hands...ARRRRR
Grandma, Grampa, Casey, Garrett and their new Pandas at the DC Zoo
Casey picked out the pandas
Frisco is doing okay for being 12
Getting ready to fly
a picnic on the beach
oregon inlet, where we used to camp and drive out on the beach
happy in the water
having fun swimming and floating
pontooning...wonder what they are looking at
perfect night for a pontoon ride and a good paci
self portrait
garrett is sleeping...we went on a nice long sea doo ride to pet the goats on goat island
standing is no problem
they are now taking baths together...and casey is finally sharing the toys
