2013 in review.

in january

... we recovered from the holidays and took lots of trips to barnes and noble to play with legos and trains.

in february

... we celebrated valentines day.

in march

... we found out that we were going to be a family of 4!

...  we had a million snow storms.

... we took avery to the butterfly pavilion and aquarium and bought season passes to the aquarium.  still one of the best purchases of the year!

... we built a firepit in our backyard and then watched the snow pile on top.

in april

... i attempted to survive being pregnant in the first trimester

... we celebrated easter with church and ham.  and i will now never eat baked ham again.

...  we started to do a few more house projects.  we replaced the window in our family room and the backsplash in our kitchen and we painted the soon-to-be nursery.

...  we had a million more snow storms and i began to research moving places like texas and florida.

in may

... it snowed for the last time and the weather slowly started to warm up. 

...  i began to recover from being pregnant and slowly started feeling better.  we took avery to the pool on memorial day weekend and did a lot of work in the yard.

in june 

... we went back to maryland for two weeks!  we visited friends and family, took avery to the beach, and celebrated at a wonderful wedding.

...  we did every summer activity imaginable and enjoyed warm weather, flip flops, popsicles, front porch sitting, the pool, and open windows.  

in july

... we celebrated the fourth on a boat with avery and dunkin

...  we had grandma and alex out for a visit.

...  we made fires in our fire pit, ate ice cream, took the dogs to the reservoir, ate lunch outside, and discovered lamar's donuts, and bought a new car.

... avery started walking!!!

in august

... i told my boss about my decision to be a stay at home mom after baby number two.

... we took avery to heritage square and the county fair.

...  my dad came out for a long weekend.

in september

...  we celebrated my 30th birthday!
... we took our first real family vacation in southern california.  and then we came back to the floods in colorado.  

...  we enjoyed the last of some warm weather.  we took avery to climb on red rocks in boulder and squeezed in a few more evenings with the firepit. 

in october

... we went pumpkin picking 

...  we continued our annual tradition of pumpkin carving and cooking rice balls

...  we also took avery to a halloween party and then celebrated on halloween by dressing up and handing out candy

in november

... i had my last day of work, we finished the last of the preparations before ellie's arrival, and planning a lot of versions and inductions. 

... we counted all of the things we're thankful for right now.

...  my mom came out to visit and take care of avery during ellie's birth.

...  ellie alex was born on the 25th!

...  we celebrated thanksgiving.

in december

... we enjoyed all of our time as a family four.

...  we decorated for christmas and really enjoyed the season.

...  we celebrated charlie's birthday and avery's birthday.

... alex came out to visit and we had a relaxing christmas eve and christmas.  and then we took down our decorations and got ready for 2014!

pre-christmas 2013 and a very special birthday

it's the christmas season! which in our house is also the season of birthdays.  we celebrated charlie's and avery's birthdays last week and somehow i managed to make it through without feeling too stressed.

avery loved dinner!

charlie turned 31 on tuesday and we kept things pretty low-key.  just the way he likes them apparently.  he bought himself his gift a few weeks ago so i didn't have to stress about finding him the perfect present or even something acceptable enough that he wouldn't return.  he actually took the day off and started it off by letting me sleep in with ellie and making french toast for us & his parents who were visiting.  have i mentioned he's a good guy?  we hung out, took avery to the playground, and ate dinner at a japanese steakhouse.  we had plans to do the zoo lights after dinner but it ended up running pretty late and so instead we headed home for cake and presents before avery's bedtime.  every year he asks for a carvel cake, which makes things even easier for me.  i got him the game cards against humanity, which we played for a bit with his parents that night.  definitely not a game to play with anyone who you don't know too well!  

avery's second birthday was also pretty tame.  ellie was pretty fussy that whole day so i had to spend a lot of time just taking care of her.  we took avery to barnes and noble to play with the legos, had macaroni and cheese for dinner, FaceTimed with everyone by the end of the day, and opened a few presents.  when i asked her what kind of cake she wanted she told me chocolate with chocolate icing so that's what she got! the icing was a little stiff but overall the cake was pretty good.

and here's just some random pictures of us and the kids as of late.  i can't get over how big ellie is getting!  at her two week appointment she was just about 8 pounds but i'm guessing she's gained at least a pound or two since then based on the fact that she's outgrowing all of her clothes.  avery is slightly obsessed with her sister and is really helpful with taking care of her throughout the day.

happy birthday to the best sunday morning pancake maker, fox in socks reader, 3 am diaper changer, wheels on the bus singer, halloween decorator, baby carrier, house cleaner, dinner partner, grocery shopper, bath giver, hiking partner, ikea furniture assembler, christmas light hanger, dad, and friend.  can't think of anyone i'd rather do life with.  happy 31st.  

last week ...

this last week was so busy and so fun.

we celebrated two birthdays, went to one birthday party, and attempted to get ready for christmas.

we had plans to be at the butterfly pavalion right now thanks to some free passes from one of my co-workers, but both charlie and avery are napping on the couch so it's looking like that may have to happen another day.   

avery got a taste of opening presents by helping charlie on his birthday.  turns out ripping paper is more exciting than the present inside.  christmas morning should be fun.  

we got a very small amount of snow on wednesday, which made everything look nice and christmassy.  i brought some inside for avery to play with while i was working and although she ended up cold and soaking wet she had a blast playing with it.  i'll have to get her a snowsuit so she can play with i outside the next time we get some.  the dogs love snow and were happy to spend a large part of the day outside chasing each other around.  

and on thursday my baby turned one, which meant that i panicked on wednesday night and started baking cupcakes and making pom poms so that she wouldn't think we forgot her birthday.  charlie told me i was crazy, but it turned out that she really did like the pom poms, so i hung them up in her room after her birthday so she could have them year round.  also it make me feel like all of my hard work was justified.  we made her favorite dinner that night (grilled cheese with avocado), gave her a cupcake that afternoon, and let her take a super long bath, which is one of her favorite activities.  i think her favorite present were a bunch of bowls that i got her from target.  she loves to stack and unstack them all day long.  

and now we're (almost) ready for christmas.  and definitely ready for a longer than normal weekend.  

happy 30th!

happy, happy 30th birthday to my favorite person.  

i'll save the mush for your birthday card.  i'm so happy to be celebrating with you & so glad you're in my life.  enjoy your steak and help yourself to two pieces of cake.  

love you.

december birthdays.

i've mentioned that december's kind of a big month in our house. 

we've got dunkin's birthday on december 7th, charlie's on the 17th, and avery's on the 20th.  

my in-laws came out last week and spent a few days hanging out with us, playing with avery, and we also started our birthday celebrating a little early so they could celebrate with us.  

this was avery's first balloon that a very nice checkout lady at sprouts gave to us.  avery liked it a lot and then i tied the balloon to dunkin who wasn't all about it.  

i made a carrot cake since i figured this would be avery's first cake and i convinced myself this would be a healthier option since there were some veggies in it.  pretty sure the sugar and oil cancelled out anything good the carrots may have added.  and let's be honest, her favorite part was the icing, which was cheese and sugar.  she didn't sleep well at all that night but it was fun to see her try something new.  i will say after giving her a small slice of the cake i don't know how people give their kids entire cakes to smash because the cleanup from a tiny piece was messy enough!  

i can't believe my baby is almost one! everyone always says that time really starts to fly once you have kids but it really does!  i feel like it was just a few months ago that she was a teeny infant and now she's a talking, moving, sleep-stealing almost-toddler.  crazy.  

on loving a husband and a baby.

 the other day charlie was (hopefully) joking around with his mom and made a comment about the people that i love in the order that i love them.  he said it goes "avery, me, then the dogs".  and his mom said "well at least you know how it is".  here's the thing that no one tells you when you have a baby:  after all the newness wears off and you settle into routines, there will come a time when your husband feels like your love the baby more than him.

for me, before avery was born, it was sort of impossible to imagine how i would feel about her.  i wasn't one of those people who felt really connected with her when i was pregnant.  maybe this was partially due to not finding out whether she was a he or a she; i couldn't picture her/him before i know who i was picturing.  anyway, when i was pregnant i couldn't imagine loving this baby nearly as much as i loved my husband.  not even close.  and then avery was born.  it wasn't 'love at first sight' for me as i've heard so many people describe, it was more like meeting someone i already knew.  when i saw her for the first time i remember thinking 'well, of course that's you' and i sort of imagine she felt the same way.  it wasn't love at first sight because we already knew each other.  we were just meeting face-to-face for the first time.

and honestly, having a baby has only made me love my husband even more.  even when it's 4 am and she's been up 3 times already that night and we're arguing about how to sleep-train or not sleep-train the baby.  there's no one else in the world i'd want to be in this mess with.  watching him with her makes me so happy.  he does things with her that i don't, plays with her in different ways & teaches her things that i wouldn't think about.  so in no way do i love him less than i ever did.  but the love that i have for that baby?  it's far greater than i ever could have imagined.  it's not more than the love that i have for charlie; it's just different.  the love that i have for avery is more of a protective thing.  i'd do anything for her; give anything for her; and the thought of anything or anyone hurting her -- well, there's nothing i wouldn't do to stop it.  i don't feel that way about charlie.  sure, i've got his back but i'm not about to punch a bear in the face for him.  maybe it's because i know he can take care of himself & she's still so small and helpless.  maybe, it's just a parent thing.  maybe it's a mom thing.  i don't know.  but i do know that having a baby has multiplied the love in my life in a way that i couldn't have imagined.  and charlie?  know this:  when i'm rocking the baby, or feeding the baby, or pacing the halls to get her to fall asleep:  i'm thinking of you.  and missing you.  and when we do get that precious alone time, it means more to me than it ever did. 

thankful.

i'm thankful for so many things this year, both big and little:  all the time i've been able to spend with this lady this year, the fact that we're all feeling better enough to eat turkey today, a husband who is not only my best friend but a great dad, and all the friends and family we couldn't celebrate with this year.  but mostly it's the family thing.  right now we have a turkey in the oven, a baby napping on charlie, and we're already full from riceballs and stuffed mushrooms.  if thanksgiving happened once a month it wouldn't be such a bad thing.  

to my baby's daddy ...

this may be a little late but i think you should know how lucky avery is to have you as a dad.  i know you sometimes think that you're not the best at this, like when avery is crying and refusing to nap.  but you're pretty darn good.  trust me, she loves you.  she breaks out in a huge smile when you come home and when she sees you in the morning and when you do all of those goofy things just to make her laugh.  i love watching her with you.  watching you guys play together and you teach her things.  i can't wait for the next few years as she grows up and you guys can do even more things together.  i love that when i'm at work i know you're taking good care of her and that you guys are spending some time together just the two of you.  she's obviously gotten a lot from you, as she still looks like a mini-you and i love that she has your eyes.  and i hope as time goes on she gets other things from you, too.  like your willingness to help others,  or your enthusiasm and commitment and determination, and your moral compass.  and i really hope she inherits your inability to lie because that would really be helpful during those teenage years.  anyway, don't fool yourself.  you're a great role model and a great dad.  i've loved taking this journey into parenthood with you; it's been by far the best thing we've done.      

i figured i would write this here because we said we weren't doing cards.  or rather i said that and you said 'whatever you want' because i know you've never really seen the point in them.  but i thought you should know this.  and if you're ever having doubts you can come back and read this instead of having to dig up a dusty old card.

happy father's day.  (a week late)

i have this thought maybe like 5 times a day, that i am so in love with my life right now.

i love our little family.  i love watching this girl grow up and experience new things each day.  i love watching charlie with her.  i love how every day there's something new for her and therefore something new for me, too.  i love that she makes me forget about all the things i should be doing and enjoy the very moment that i'm in.  i love when, after playing by herself for a while, she looks up at me and gives me a huge grin.  i love our daily routine, so simple but so satisfying.  i love that right now i can fix just about anything that is wrong in her world.  i love our midnight snuggles and  i love that i wake up to her talking to herself instead of an alarm clock. 

sometimes life gets busy.  but we are so, so lucky because even when we're busy we're still blessed with more time together than most families are.  i love the days when charlie's working at home and my two coworkers are my husband and my daughter.  it's a pretty special thing and although i end up doing work at 8 pm at night, i wouldn't change a thing.  and because i have no illusions that this will last forever, i am so thankful for this phase in our lives.

3 day weekends.

are amazing.  

we certainly didn't get a lot done but we did do a lot of relaxing, something i'm getting quite good at.  

charlie raced in his last tri of the year (this makes it sound like he does dozens, when really he did 2 this year).  this makes both of us happy because i get my husband back on the weekends and he doesn't have to bike flagstaff mountain for at least a few months.  

i may have fallen asleep during the biking portion of his tri, but in my defense it was really nice outside, the grass was so soft, and he was gone for over an hour.  

this was right before my nap.

on sunday i actually cleaned my car for the first time this year probably, i attempted to organize more things in the baby's room because having things without a place drives me insane, and we went out to dinner at the chophouse in denver.  i wouldn't recommend it, although it was nice to go somewhere different since we usually stick to the same 4 restaurants we always eat at.

the animals spent a lot of time doing this,

although don't let them fool you, they still went on some nice walks and dunkin played lots of ball.
lately ollie's been grooming dunkin a lot, which i think is pretty funny.  dunkin loves it and will make himself at still as possible, and then when it's all over he'll chase the cat across the room.

memorial day weekend.

charlie and i spent the weekend in glenwood springs.

we left friday night and came back monday.

there's a ton of touristy things to do in glenwood, although the only one we did was the cave tour.

the rest of the time we spend walking and hiking.

our hotel backed to a trail that hiked up a mountain and a path that wandered along the colorado river. it was perfect.

i think both of us were a little disappointed we weren't going back to telluride this year, but the less than three hour trip was so much nicer than a 6+ hour car ride especially since we both worked full days on friday.

charlie had been wanting to go to the adventure park which is where the cave tours are.

so saturday, after a morning walk, we took the gondola up to the park. honestly, it's a great place if you have kids but if you don't, aside from the cave tours, there's not much to do.

first cave tour.

and the second cave tour.

after the caves we left the park and took the dogs for a hike before dinner.

charlie, the dogs, and his favorite mountain, mt. sopris.

on sunday, the plan was to do a hike in no name and then head to aspen for lunch. we missed the exit for no name and the next place we could pull off was the exit for hanging lake, which we were planning on hiking monday. since we were there, and there were parking spaces we decided just to hike hanging lake. i think charlie was a little skeptical about this hike but after it was over he said it was one of his favorite views in colorado. i knew the view at the top would be beautiful but the views of the canyon were just as pretty.

hiking up.

hanging lake.

and sprouting rock.

definitely worth the mile hike. although, if you go, leave early because it gets really crowded!

also, dogs aren't allowed so we had to leave ours in the car. luckily, it was a pretty windy day so they were fine but i ran into a few people after the hike who had dogs and were leaving once they found out they couldn't bring them.

after hanging lake we went to aspen for lunch.

i'd never been to aspen and was actually surprised at how cute it was. still sort of weird to see prada and gucci and burberry stores in a mountain town. we ate lunch outside with the dogs and then wandered around town before heading back to glenwood for another hike.

it was so nice to get away for the weekend and just spend some time together.

i'm thinking we might have to plan some weekends away for the fourth and labor day.

happy birthday, charlie v.

i find this picture hysterical.

yesterday (yes i am a day late) was charlie's birthday. and guess what? i actually had a present and a card for him to open! i'm slowly redeeming myself.

we went to the avalanche game and then headed out to grab a drink with some friends.

since his dad's in town he and charlie spent the day at the garden of the gods before the hockey game. i'm so glad his dad was here to celebrate with him.

i forgot how awesome hockey is. it is awesome. much more awesome than baseball.

anyway, happy birthday to the hubs. thanks for being so supportive this past year. for dealing with my whining about work, and for calming me down on those few nights when i was a huge ball of stress. i hope you had a great last year and i bet this one will be twice as good (because i'll only be in school for half of it, which means as of may 17th i will start to be fun again).

love you. lots.

i'm trying to get better at blogging and taking pictures.

i swear.

i do it for me, really, so that when i look back i can remember what the heck was going on in my life, as in, the every day stuff. i mean we all remember to bring the camera when we go on vacation or celebrate the holidays, but sometimes the regular stuff doesn't get quite the same attention. and although life has been busy lately, i don't want it to fly by too quickly.

especially since it's fall now. at least it's trying to be fall now.

last weekend charlie ran the boulder sunset triathlon.

it was 90 freaking degrees and it was his first race.

i was pretty proud of him.

here he is before the swim, super nervous.

i didn't get a lot of pictures and i will say that i should have brought the zoom lens.

in other news, i cut my hours back at work which has allowed me to have a bit of a life, be a good student, and occasionally grocery shop and vacuum the floor.

it's also given me enough time to actually walk the dogs again, which is good for my thighs, my sanity, and the dogs of course.

we also said goodbye to some of our friends this weekend. :(

they moved out to colorado around the same time we did but decided to move back to be closer to friends and family.

as much as i totally understand the friends and family part, we're going to miss them.

there was lots of pumpkin beer and jack daniel's involved in their sendoff.

i also bought henry a halloween costume.

he's a rabid squirrel.

he's not that crazy about dressing up as an animal he usually is in pursuit of.

(i realize this may throw me into the category of "crazy dog lady", however i still believe that "crazy dog lady" is better than "crazy cat lady")

for some reason this picture reminds me of the wolf in little red riding hood.

"my grandma, what big teeth you have".

except henry doesn't eat kids. i promise.

"i'm not the silly romantic you think.
i don't want the heavens or the shooting stars.
i don't want gemstones or gold.
i have those things already.
i want... a steady hand.
a kind soul.
i want to fall asleep, and wake,
knowing my heart is safe.
i want to love and be loved."
~shana ab

early birthday present.

my birthday's next week.

i've been staring at wrapped birthday presents for over a week.

both charlie and i are terrible at giving each other gifts. we always get too excited and force the other person to open their presents early.

last year at christmas we had nothing under the tree.

yesterday charlie brought me one of my presents.

he didn't have to convince me too hard.

he got me a new lens for the camera.

and then i stopped studying and starting taking pictures all around the house.

summer love: part 6

this dude. all summer long.

ps. obviously i love him in the winter, too.

love.

dear charlie,

remember friday night, when i convinced you that beers on the patio were a much better plan than a movie in the theater? well, i do. in fact it's nights like those that i love more than anything. you + me + some good music + a drink or two + henry sleeping next to us = good times. it's so nice to take a break from tv, computers, and phones for a bit.

lets have more nights like that.

love you, dan

ps. remember when i told you that i seriously loved our life? i wasn't kidding. it's awesome & i wouldn't trade it for anything. we're lucky, lucky people.

it got hot ...

and then i shaved my cat.

the former vet tech in me knew it wasn't the best idea.

but i was sick of vacuuming the couch every day.

every. single. day.

charlie called me when i was in the middle of it.

i said, "please don't be mad but i have to tell you something".

he said, "oh my god, you shaved the cat".

but then he got home and decided he didn't look as ugly as he was expecting.

i'm glad i shaved him.

the shedding is almost nonexistent.

hopefully it will grow back by winter.

or october when i'm sure we'll get our first blizzard.

the opposite of lazy...

is hiking a 14er.

it took me until thursday to get over my laziness from last weekend.

pathetic.

thursday night we went to see OAR at red rocks with some friends.

we didn't bring a camera because i had read that they were "prohibited".

and then i saw about a million people with them. whatever.

red rocks was awesome and so was OAR.

saturday we decided to hike quandary peak.

we were up at 3:30 am.

i'm definitely glad we started early because when we were coming down everyone was coming up and i hate crowds.

we started hiking at about 6:30 am.

this is us about 3/4 of the way up with the peak in the background.

up, up, up ...

we even love each other at 14,000 feet.

henry @ the summit.

usgs marker. 14,271 feet.

requisite family picture at the top.

love this picture.

henry looks like he's falling off the edge of the world.