Wednesday, September 26, 2012

dooor

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 oh my goodness.  these pictures make me so happy and yet so sad at the same time.  i love how much she loves this cat.  it's ridiculous really.  i cannot how many times a day she looks for him, calls him, and gets so excited when she sees him.  there's no easier way to snap her out of a bad mood than to ask her where the cat is.  but she looks so big in these pictures, with her hands pressed against the door.  tonight right before i put her to bed i sat her next to him while i was picking up some things.  she pet him for a bit and then laid her head down on him.  sleepy love.  the only thing sweeter is when she does it to me.         
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this kid is on the mooove.  and this cat is pretty upset about it.  they went a few rounds around the kitchen island today because toby wasn't smart enough to figure out that she can actually follow him places now.  this is his back off move but she just charges after him saying "ca ca ca" and "t t t".  these animals have no idea what they're in for.  she cracks me up all the time.  tonight when i was feeding her dinner she kept making the fish face and i could not stop laughing, which of course just encouraged her even more and made dinner about twice as long because it's hard to put green beans in your mouth when you're laughing.  and her new favorite game in the bathtub is to throw all of her toys out of the tub and then peer over the edge to make sure they're still there.

9 months!

as much as i'm still getting used to having a mobile baby and there are times i turn my head and she's not there, i'm so happy for her that she's figured out how to get around.  it really seemed to be her 9 month 'birthday' that she really started to move and she's quite proud of herself and much less frustrated than she was before.  charlie keeps saying how proud of her he is.  it's sort of funny.  i have also quickly figured out that dresses do not work on a crawling baby.  

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Monday, September 24, 2012

another hike!

yep, we hiked two weekends in a row.  pretty sure that hasn't happened since 2009.  who knows, maybe we'll get all crazy and do it again this weekend.  i seriously can't explain how nice it is to be able to do these things with a baby again.  especially because of everyone who said when i was pregnant 'oh, just you wait until the baby comes. everything will change'.  that was charlie's least favorite piece of advice from people.  obviously things have changed, but not in the way that we sit in our house all day because we're afraid to mess with avery's nap schedule.  i mean, maybe if my daughter had a nap schedule this might be more true, but regardless, we're getting out of the house.  

anyway we drove up to the indian peaks national forest to do this hike that charlie had done a few years ago with a friend.  i hadn't done it yet and it was definitely a pretty popular location.  we had to park at a different trailhead but it turned out to be just fine because it still linked up with the trail we were planning on hiking.  this time of year is my favorite for hiking because the temperature is perfect and the leaves are changing.  unfortunately there's also a lot of people out driving around and taking pictures of the aspens so things can get pretty crowded.  

i forgot the camera this trip so we had to use our phones.  charlie had avery in the backpack the way there and i had the dogs.  as a general rule i hate hiking when the dogs can't be off leash.  and they couldn't for this trail.  i'm normally not a rule follower but it was crowded enough that it was easier just to keep them with me.  luckily they've gotten much better about being on-leash in their old age.

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this was right in front of long lake.  appropriately named.  we hiked along this lake for a bit until we got to isabelle lake, which was where we stopped.  the trail does continue to the glacier (isabelle glacier), which feeds the lake but to the lake and back was about 6 miles and we decided not to push our luck with avery.  

the lake was actually really low, which meant there was a pretty substaintial beach area.

Isabelle lake.
that's me with the dogs attempting to get henry to stay.

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i took this picture.  and then henry took off.  you can sort of see it here, that he's not going to last too much longer.  he ran over to some sunbathers, jumped over them, shook sand all over them and their stuff and then ran back.

3 minutes before this picture was taken Henry ran down the beach and shook sand all over the sunbathers.
in this picture you can sort of seem them in the distance.  henry was now tied to a rock but you can see he's looking for more trouble.  

the best part was that this was avery's first time in the sand!  we're heading back to maryland in october and i've been telling charlie that we have to take avery to the beach so that she can see the atlantic ocean for the first time.  but it was pretty cool that she got to experience sand here.  she loved it and was content to sit there and pick handfuls up and let it run through her fingers.  we even took her socks off so she could walk around in it but all she wanted to do was sit and play with it.  she wasn't too happy when we finally made her stop playing so she could eat her lunch.  squash!

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Playing in sand for the first time. She loved it!

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we headed back to the car and stopped in nederland for lunch on the way back.  we've driven through the town a few times but never stopped.  it's definitely an interesting place.

Lunch in Nederland. Weird town.

during lunch one of the guys who worked at the restaurant came up to us and started talking about avery.  
dude: cute baby, what is she four months?
me: nope she's 9, just really tiny.
dude: wow no kidding. my baby was a premie too.  was she a premie?
me: nope, she was 2 weeks late.  we're just small people.   
dude: no kidding.  

sometimes i really don't know why people talk to me.  another woman there asked me if she eats food.  like literally, 'does she eat food?'.  no lady, we don't believe that humans should eat food.  that's probably why she's so tiny, we make her hunt for her own meals.  

Thursday, September 20, 2012

cookin' with my favorites.


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tonight my favorite people kept me company in the kitchen while i cooked dinner.  
i really, really love our kitchen.  it's homey, and big, and the island is fabulous.  if i'm in here dunkin is always here too, laying on the floor.  sometimes it's a little hard to step over him each time or carefully open the oven so i don't hit him, but i love his company.  and the cute baby, too.  :)  

9 months!

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i can't believe this little girl is 9 whole months today.  
the fact that she's (almost) been out as long as she was in completely boggles my mind.  
it's amazing to me how quickly these past 9 months have flown be considering how slowly the previous 9 months seemed to take.

love you little girl.  can't wait for the next 9 ...

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

an avery update.

crawl

this week's been pretty warm still, in the eighties, but i can feel that it's not going to last long.  the nights are getting cooler, we're closing all the windows at night, and the sun is now setting before avery's bedtime.  we're taking advantage of the warm weather while it lasts which means avery's been running around in a diaper in the afternoons.  
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she's working really hard on crawling lately and when i'm done work in the afternoon we hang out downstairs on the hardwood floors so she can scoot around as much as she wants.  it's a bit more forgiving than carpet and we play and read books downstairs until we go for a walk or cook some dinner.

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she's trying so hard to crawl and can definitely scoot her way around but it isn't too efficient yet.  i have a feeling it won't be too long before she figures it all out.  i cannot get over how fast it seems like she's growing up lately.  today she grabbed charlie's locked iphone and within a few minutes figured out how to activate siri.  crazy.  she's still really into ollie and tries to say cat every time she seems him.  she's got the "ca" and the "t" sounds but can't quite get them together at the same time.

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she's also been sleeping much better at night which makes everything a thousand times easier.  i really do love all the time that i get to spend with her and i love it even more when we're both well rested.  naps are still a different story but honestly as long as she's sleeping at night i can deal with an inconsistent nap schedule.

it's the little things ...

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watching these two together is probably one of my favorite things.

...  changing leaves.
...  a lazy sunday full of football (or playing with the baby and talking to friends while football is on).
... fresh flowers.
...  a walk in cool weather.
...  applesauce in the crockpot.
...  a fun saturday with my little family.
...  avery napping in the car.
...  a baby who only wakes up once in the middle of the night.  
...  clean diapers. 
...  a movie on a saturday night.
...  flannel sheets.
...  sleeping with the windows open.
...  when henry comes in the bed to cuddle in the middle of the night because he gets scared of the wind.
...  when charlie get's avery when she wakes up.
...  listening to charlie and avery play while i cook dinner.
...  how excited avery gets whenever she gets her hands on a phone.
...  a clean house.
...  mondays.  lovely, relaxing mondays.
...  when charlie doesn't travel.
...  reading books with avery.
...  how our entertainment comes from the baby instead of the tv these days.
...  hiking.  i've really missed it.
...  a full tank of gas.
... sunday morning coffee with charlie.
...  watching avery try and say cat.
...  how the stroller and the car and the ergo will put her to sleep every time.
...  grilling our dinner.  i'm going to miss this in the winter.
...  snow in the mountains.  i'm not ready for it here yet.

Monday, September 17, 2012

a little saturday hike.

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this saturday we headed to breckenridge for a quick hike.  fall is my favorite time of year in the mountains and we always try and get up there to see the aspens changing colors.  last year we were lucky and spent a weekend in steamboat springs when the leaves were at their peak and it was such a nice relaxing trip.  this year we're headed back to maryland in october so we knew we wouldn't be taking a weekend trip anywhere but breckenridge is one of our favorite quick day trips.  a few years ago we did the mccullough gulch hike and then had lunch in town and i was thinking we could do the same thing again this year.  i heard that the aspens were already changing and i wanted to make it up to see them before it was too late.  

the hike is pretty short, only 2.8 miles but pretty steep in parts, and ends at a beautiful lake.  since avery's still not really into the backpack and is getting to the age where being in a carrier for hours at a time isn't the most fun, i've been looking for some shorter hikes that we can do.  since we don't get to hike nearly as often as we used to i like to make sure our hikes are either really pretty during or worth it at the end.  this one is definitely worth it at the end and was a perfect distance to do with a baby.

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for the first time aver actually made it up the entire hike in the backpack.  this is pretty huge progress, especially considering we didn't even have to stop to take her out once on the way up.  

charlie carried the backpack and i carried a regular daypack and the ergo because after our hike up royal arch i knew i wasn't going anywhere without it.  this was a pain on the way down because i had avery in the ergo on my front and the backpack on my back, until charlie took the backpack form me about halfway down after complaining that i was taking too long.  


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a little windy at the top

it was pretty chilly and windy once we got to the lake but at this point avery was just happy to be out of the backpack and ready to explore.  her little socks got pretty dirty from walking around (not on her own, people!) and i'm pretty sure she ate a rock at some point, but she was happy to be free.  this was also her first hike above treeline.  the lake is at about 12,000 feet and right below quandary peak, which we hiked before baby.

my two favorite people

we let her play for a bit and then headed back down to find some food.

where's my nose?'

since there weren't really any aspens on the hike we had to take some pictures that proved the leaves really were changing.  this is avery grabbing my nose.  if you ask her 'where's my nose' she'll grab and and then clap for herself.  we're raising a child who must cheer for herself after she accomplishes anything.  she's going to have a hard time in school where they don't give breaks for cheering every time you sharpen your pencil.  (yes, there is a leaf in my hair).

a happy baby at the end of a hike?  that's a first!

a happy baby = a successful hike.  my how times have changed.  :)

Friday, September 14, 2012

lately, around the house ...

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pizza on a friday night.  


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wine on a friday (and monday) night.

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spinach and cottage cheese pie.  avery was a fan.

Let's hold hands.
kitty torturing loving.

Ollie can't miss out on the opportunity to sleep.
naps are happening anywhere we can make them.

Digging for toys and finding nothing good.
still no crawling but lots of flopping on her stomach and getting really frustrated.

A serious case of bed head
a serious case of bed head. 

Avery's favorite book: "where is your nose?"
we've been reading lots of books ...

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... and doing lot's of puzzles.

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baby food making.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

fall's here.


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i had this perfect little moment this evening as i was cooking dinner.  i had a freshly baked loaf of bread on the counter, dinner in the dutch oven for the first time this year, and these two people to keep me company in the kitchen.  as much as avery fights sleep for me she'll fall asleep in her daddy's lap every time.  and he doesn't even have to do anything.  if it wasn't so sweet i'd be jealous.

 today was our first real fall day.  it was in the 50s and rainy.  rain hasn't happened around here since april.  i remember because we had just closed on our house.  anyway the first fallish day of the season always makes me want to cook something warm, so i broke out the dutch oven for the first time this year and made some bread and chili.  it was perfect for a cold, rainy day.

bread

this bread was the famous dutch oven bread that circulated pinterest and actually the first bread i've ever made.  it was so worth it.  4 ingredients and impossible to mess up.

fall

and then avery woke up and we played a bit after dinner. it's crazy how fast she's learning things these days.  yesterday she learned how to go from laying down to sitting and today she learned how to give kisses.  i've got to start getting this stuff on video before she moves on to walking and talking.

diy picture ledges.

on thursday i talked about how i had contemplated scrapping the board and batten idea in our family room for a wall of picture ledges.  and then i talked myself down from that because i thought picture ledges with small children would be a disaster.  but on friday i started thinking more about it and on saturday charlie went to the gym and came back to this:

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they're crooked and i didn't even attempt to center them but at this point i was convinced that building some ledges would be a lot easier than board and batten and still satisfy my need for something substantial on that wall.  i should mention that charlie was never on board with the board and batten (ha!) idea, so he was pretty open to any alternative.  at first he wasn't thrilled about building these.  we're really not diy people, but when i told him we could buy something similar at ikea he said 'no, that would make us really lazy'.  so apparently in an effort not to be lazy we decided to build these.  

i looked at a few tutorials and sort of followed a mixture of the ones i read.  we used (2) 1x4 boards and (1) 1x2.  the bottom shelf is 8 feet long and the top shelf is 6 feet long.  we used wood glue to glue the 1x4s together and then drilled holes a foot apart along the board, and then drilled the screws in.  we then used the wood glue for the 1x2 (the lip) and used finishing nails to secure that to rest of the boards.  i put three coats of white, semi-gloss on the shelves.  i didn't prime (i know, i know) but the paint i used was paint and primer in one so i figure that sort of counts.  when we mounted them in the wall we just made sure we drilled directly into the studs so we could avoid drywall anchors.  i hate drywall anchors.  


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here's a close-up of the shelves.  i'd be lying if i said i wasn't impressed that we successfully built something.  i just threw some pictures up there and i'm sure they'll change as we figure out what we really want on them.  i'd actually really like to use them for family pictures.

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and here's what is looks like from a distance.  if we stay in this house long enough i can see a desk under those shelves for a computer.  one day i'll actually get a picture of the whole room, but until i switch the lens out on the camera that won't happen.  avery actually really likes them and it's nice to have pictures on the wall where i can point people out to her.  

and now, i'm ready for fall.  we still have a lot to do but for some reason those shelves make this room feel so much more like 'home'.  probably because we've lived here for 4 months and had yet to hang anything on them.  i also like that nothing's actually permanent so i can move things around as much as i want.  

Monday, September 10, 2012

cloth diapering v.2

i figured i should do another post about cloth diapering since we started avery on solid foods and things have changed ever so slightly.  first i should say that i still love, love, love cloth diapering.  despite our late start and small stash i still think that for us this has been a great solution and i will definitely continue with our setup until it doesn't work for us for one reason on the other.

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so a little bit of background.  we started avery on solids around 6 months.  before that she was exclusively breastfed, which meant that cloth diapering was super easy as i could just throw all the diapers in the wetbag and wash when it was full.  when we started solids, it took a few weeks for things to change but when they did i had no choice but to dunk the diapers in the toilet to wash off the poop before throwing them in the wetbag.  this was the time when i started looking at both liners and sprayers as an option to toilet dunking.  i had always thought that we would go the liner route and i did purchase some g diaper liners from babies r us.  but when i got them home i didn't even end up using them because i found them to be really rough (like a public restroom paper towel) and i couldn't imagine that would be comfortable for avery.  so i continued to dunk while i looked at diaper sprayers.  i looked all over amazon and other diaper websites looking for something that wasn't $60 because it just didn't seem like it would be worth the money.  and then i realized that i was actually fine with just dunking the diapers.  most of the time it's not that dirty and honestly i've dealt with much grosser things AND it's free.  i think cloth diapers are amazing, and the fact that there are so many options these days makes it even better.  they're cute, they work better than disposables, but they can be pretty expensive.  and i think if you're in it to save money you have to be pretty careful with the options that you choose.  so far i'm still really happy with our two dozen prefolds and they keep getting softer and more absorbent each time i wash them.  since avery's pretty small we're still on the middle rise for the flip covers and using small prefolds.  when she eventually moves up (probably soon) to the highest rise we may end up investing in some medium size ones.

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i should also mention that we're still using a disposable at night and if we're going to be out of the house for a long period of time.  we had friends in town the other weekend and because we were running all over the place, hiking, etc. i just used disposables the entire weekend.  i'm not about to carry a bunch of cloth diapers up a mountain, as carrying a crying baby is heavy enough.  so, while i can't claim to be a hardcore cloth diaperer, i still love it.  especially the pink ones.    

Friday, September 7, 2012

it's the little things ...

This kid wants to walk.

...  the way avery reads books now.  like really reads them.
...  watching the two people i love snuggling on the couch watching baseball.  this is otherwise known as the 30 seconds that avery sat still for once in her life.
...  a baby in cute baby pajamas.  
...  avery's messy hair in the morning.  
...  watching the kid walk/stomp her way around the house while gripping tightly to someone's hands.
...  a cold dog nose shoved in my face in the morning.  i love you too, henry.
...  taking a shower without avery in the bathroom.  
...  starbucks in the morning.  this happens so infrequently but is so good.
... that first day with fall-like temperatures in september.
...  september.  one of my favorite months.  
...  clean sheets and a really old but really soft quilt.
...  a baby who may crawl one day.  the jury's still out on this one.
...  a clean house on a friday night.  so we may not be exciting but we do have a clean house for the weekend.
...  watching avery try new foods.  
...  watching an entire movie without falling asleep.
...  visiting friends.
... a happy hour drink and a long walk through boulder.
...  having charlie as my co-worker.
...  a nap with the baby.
... going grocery shopping after those last few days of 'we really have no food in this house, not even an egg to boil'.
...  chocolate covered pretzels.
...  a freezer full of baby food.
...  tickets booked for our trip to md.
...  when all the diapers in our house are clean.
...  when charlie cooks breakfast.  

Thursday, September 6, 2012

fall's coming and our house isn't quite ready.

even though the temperature's still in the 90s lately i can feel that fall is coming.  it's getting cooler at night, darker earlier, and well, it's september.  after moving into this house charlie and i knew that there were a few things we wanted to get done to the house before winter came.  we wanted to get the deck professionally sanded and painted this year, since it was a mess, we wanted to replace the concrete patio in the back (yes, we have a patio and a deck, which personally i think is a waste) since it was cracked and sloping towards the house, and we wanted to get the driveway mud jacked.  so far we haven't done anything although the deck is getting done tomorrow and we've been getting estimates for the concrete and mud jacking.  why didn't anyone tell me that owning a house isn't fun?  oh wait, they did but i didn't believe them.  one thing that i really, really want to do is finish our family room before fall really happens.  i know that we'll be spending a lot of time in here come cooler weather and the room still feels so empty since we have nothing on the walls.  i really want board and batten in that room, with a pretty thick shelf on top to prop pictures and other things but i haven't had the motivation to start measuring and figuring out how much wood we need, in what quantities, and what measurements.  math and being precise have never been my strength.  i'm more of a 'round to the nearest number that's easy to remember', which is why i've been trying to convince charlie to take over the board and batten with little success.  i was tempted to scratch the board and batten idea for a wall of picture shelves but this seems like it might be a small disaster with small children in the house.

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this is our family room that has nothing on the walls.  the wall on the right and the one you can't see are the two walls that i was thinking of doing the board and batten, although i'm sure it would look better if i actually did the whole room.

i also want to finish our living room, which at this point just means getting some pictures on the walls and some curtains.  the curtains need to happen asap because our neighbor kids love to peer through the window on our front porch into the house while they ring the doorbell repeatedly.  i'm sure you can imagine how awesome this is when you have a baby who boycotts naps.  let's just say that i'm not the most friendly neighbor right now.  
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this is our living room.  i've moved a few things around so that plant and and the air purifier aren't in the corner.  curtains are a must and once we get those the bench will make it's way into the basement.  eventually we'll get a rug in here but i'm fine without one for right now especially because it's easier to keep clean and avery loves to scoot around on the hardwood floors.  also, i love these floors.  i could stare at them all day long.  we read a lot of books in this room and that love seat is surprisingly comfortable.  gotta love ikea.