Estes Park

Yes..... we seem to be traveling fools lately. Every weekend, for the past few months, we've either been on vacation, out running the roads, hanging out with friends, or busy doing something big around the house. THIS past weekend, we got to go to Estes Park, Colorado. We've had this trip planned for quite some time now - it's one of our MOST favorite places to go. It never gets old. We generally go in September/October, but this year, we also wanted to go when it was warm out as well! It was the best weekend get-away. MUCH needed too. Condo by the river in the mountains, eating world-famous hamburgers , being with family, seeing the sights (and the wildlife) at Rocky Mountain National Park, shopping, and just relaxing. Life doesn't get any better than this! =)

Elk everywhere!

Noah's first Elk sighting. =)
ALWAYS look to the left and right before exiting your condo......
Sittin' by the river. (Greg's new favorite picture)
All dressed up and ready to go into the park!
"Trusty."
Noah LOVES his Bjorn..... he also loved to shop and people watch!
Downtown Estes.
Noah loves to look at the cute boy in the mirror. ;) (Himself, not Greg - LOL)
All that walking around wore him out at the end of the day...... he was SO good.

On The Road Again....

This past weekend we found ourselves in Albuquerque, New Mexico again. You're probably thinking, "sheesh, what again for THIS time? Weren't you JUST there LAST month?!?!" =)

We were there for a baby shower! As most of you already know, our friend/"sister" Erynn is pregnant and is due with her baby in July. Of course we couldn't miss out on all the fun! We had such fun meeting and hanging out with the girls on Jon's side of the family too. It was almost like we had become family with them too by the time we left!

Jen had such fun at the shower! There was lots of fun, yummy food, they played a really neat game that involved making baby onesies for Nathan, and Erynn was blessed with lots and lots of good stuff. Nathan is one spoiled and loved little guy already - and he's not even here yet!

Greg had fun hanging out with the guys at home playing ball outside and Rockband downstairs. Of course, Noah and studying for his test occupied a lot of his time too. ;)

Noah got spoiled with lots of hugs and kisses. Everyone loved passing him around and playing with him. His Gammy Mangum even bought him a couple of fun things too. =) He even had his first play date with a couple of kids that the Mangum's watched for a few hours on Saturday! =) He sure loves kids - and Caleb's puppy, Joey, too!

Going through the pregnancy with Jon and Erynn (and when Jen was at the shower), we realized it's amazing how much parenthood itself teaches you. No amount of reading "the rules" in books, can ever fully prepare you for the things that lie ahead when it's your first baby (maybe even for the second one too, who knows). Not that we're pro's or anything, but it's been fun helping Erynn and Jon along the way, answering questions, giving advice, helping them register, and tipping them off to some things that we've learned with Noah that have helped us. We've been SO glad to help them, especially when there were some things that no one had ever told US about! Albeit, their situations will probably be different, but for the most part, they're all the same, and we were glad to be there to help answer any and all questions, and alleviate SOME fears. ;)

Less than 7 weeks until baby Nathan is here! We can't wait! =) =) =)

The Wizard of Oz

Colorado Springs is not in Kansas anymore......

It was SO much fun tonight! We went to see The Wizard of Oz at the Pikes Peak Center! Since that was one of Jen's most favorite movies growing up (she can pretty much quote the whole movie), and the highlight of her trip to Washington D.C. oh so long ago (Dorothy's shoes), Greg surprised her for Valentines Day this year with tickets to see the Broadway musical! =) We definitely enjoyed ourselves and think that we could possibly get into the whole "theater" thing. =)

Next thing on the list to see: Wicked. The next time it's playing in Denver (or hopefully the Springs), we plan to go!

Mother's Day Baby Dedication

(By Jen)

This Mother's Day for me was vastly different than last year.

Last year, only a hand-full of people knew I was pregnant. This year, everyone did, so it was fun to share my first Mother's Day experience and have everyone be excited with me! Last year, I spent Mother's Day feeling sick to my stomach while sitting on the bathroom floor at home most of the day. This year, I felt fine and actually got to go to church! =) Last year, Noah wasn't here yet. This year, he was - and what made Mother's Day extremely special THIS year, was that we had him dedicated to the Lord at church this morning! =) It's a day that we will always treasure and remember, and it was so special to be able to share that moment with our family and close friends.

Four Months Old!

Today Noah turned 4 months old. He also had his 4-month well child check today too! Poor baby had to "celebrate" by getting 2 more shots and an oral "vaccine." He's gonna hate going to the doctor if we're not careful, but for now, he LOVES him! (whew!) Jen didn't have to wait in the waiting room this time since he did so great with his shots. Such a trooper! Anyways.... the good news is, he can now start having some rice cereal introduced into his diet! Yay! We started that tonight. Quite the experience. ;) It wasn't totally what we were hoping for (WE were probably more excited about it than HE was), but like the doctor said, it might take him awhile to get used to it. He can have it one feeding per day for one week. If he likes it and gets the hang of eating from a spoon, we can go to twice a day in a week or two! He weighs 14 lbs 12.5 oz, he is 24 inches long now, and the doctor gave him another clean bill of health. We sure have been blessed with such a happy, healthy, and one good sleeper of a baby!!!! =) Hopefully his baby brother or sister will be like that too.... but we don't EVEN want to go THERE right now.... ;)

His "war wounds" from today. :(

I'm TOO big......

..... to sit in my bouncy chair...... I'll be trying to climb out every chance I get, thank you....



..... for my binky..... I'd rather talk and laugh......



..... for some of my clothes (again!)......



..... to lounge around on my back like a "baby"......

..... to sleep swaddled..... well.... only sometimes...... ;)


..... to just sit around and watch, I like to be up with the big people (and hang out in the Bjorn).....


..... to lay on the floor and play..... I like to sit up and play......


..... to sleep on my back now that I know I can roll over......

He thinks he's a big boy now, and boy does he EVER let us know it sometimes!!!! =) Can't believe he's almost 4 months old already!!!! He's getting more and more mobile too - can't keep him out of our sight for even a second anymore!!!! =)

Houdini

This is one of our MANY nicknames for our little man........ why, you ask?

Well you see....... we swaddle him up nice and tight for all naps and at bedtime every night.........

..........yet somehow he manages to get his little feet out.........

..........and one or both hands..........

Our dilemma: we'd like to be able to NOT have to swaddle him to get him to go to sleep anymore, but that's the ONLY way we can get him to calm down at night (and for naps) and go to sleep (and stay asleep), as well as to keep him from getting his hands in his face and waking himself up constantly (AND pulling binky out of his mouth on accident). Are we going to have to swaddle him until he's in high school, or will he eventually outgrow this? Better yet, is there a trick to get your child to keep his hands out of his face while sleeping and calm down enough to go to sleep on his own to begin with? Anyone who's had this issue and has had success getting swaddle-free, we'd love to hear from you! Jen tried going swaddle-free (yet again!) during nap time today and it did NOT work out so well (yet again!)......