A couple cute kiddos

Kai rides the saddle in the Dining Hall every meal. Now he "needs" the hat each time he rides as well.

Yes, she gets her scowls from her Mommy. People have commented more lately that she looks more like me.

I faced Addie out in the sling this last week. She LOVES to look around. She hung in there for about an hour before I had to prop her head up with my arm while she slept!

Addie just chillin' with her borrowed shades!

Addie is talking alot. She is so responsive to expression and to certain noises. Seems like I never catch the majority of the talking, but here's a few squeaks for you!

Game Time

GO BRONCOS!

Took some pics of the kiddos in their Broncos gear today! Although it's still preseason, we're getting psyched up for the season. Kai has been chanting "Go Broncos" all evening and Addie charmed everyone at church today with her new cheerleader "git-up."

Kai (24 mo) & Addie (3.5 mo)

Kai being sweet to his sissy!

Addie was really interested in Kai this afternoon!

Daddy is proud to have a little fan!

Family to a close

We have literally spent the last month straight with family. It's been a month jam-packed with fun, adventure, and bonding time. However, this chapter of our summer comes to a close tonight. As they say, "back to the grind!"

We will enjoy 1 more full week of leisurely summer routine before I'm back to work and fall persists. A few more moments from our last month to share before moving on.......

We discovered we LOVE watermelon! Mom is especially happy about it because it has a little fiber and 90% water!! Good summer snacking!

Kai thinks he's a big boy.....or a cowboy!!?!?

It's been awhile since I've had a pic taken with just my hubby. Love him. We spent an amazing day with family in the CO mountains. We remembered Derrick's mom, Leslie who passed away last fall, in a very special place around Red Feather Lakes. We had a picnic atop a beautiful overlook and hunted for mushrooms in the dense trees (something Great Grandpa Ed is teaching the little guys)!

Addie finally joining the family fun after a lengthy nap in the car!

We also got to spend 2 weeks with Uncle Garrett, Aunt Becky, Drew, Issac and Ella at camp. We all enjoyed warm summer nights grilling out, playing bach-ee ball, throwing waterballoons, playing with waterguns, hitting the sandbox, and exploring the surrounding forest. Here's a snapshot of everyone at Uncle Oaf's birthday party!

It was so special getting to know our nephews and niece and seeing the cousins play and bond. Can't wait till next time...... until then family.

Denver Zoo

Papa and MooMoo took all the grandkids to the zoo together. It was quite the circus....7 adults, 5 kids, 2 strollers, sunscreen, water, bottles, diapers, snacks, sweat, and alot of fun!

When we announced that morning we were headed to the zoo, Kai only had one thought, "giraffes?" He knew we'd seen lots of giraffes when we have visited the Cheyenne Mtn. Zoo. We explained over and over "new zoo." I think he got it, but he still answered "giraffe" to almost any animal question......what was your favorite? what should we go see? what is at the zoo? A fun trip through the heat. I was just excited that not all the animals were sleeping!!! We saw lions and bears eating, monkeys fighting, gorillas scoping the audience, and many others. Pictured above: Addie and Ella (cousin 1 wk older) fighting the heat by chillin' in the dbl. stroller together. Papa and Kai checking out the elephants. Aunt Becky, Aunt Mimi, and the boys (Drew, Kai, and Issac) seeing how short they are next to the life size elephant.

Addie 3 months

Our little cutie pie just turned 3 months old on Saturday! We are starting to see some of Addie's little personality by her talk, smiles, and temperment. She has become so fun in the last few weeks, smiling and cooing. She lifts her head up pretty well and always wants to be sitting up so she can see the action. She is starting to be entertained by her brother (I can see where this will be nice in coming months). She tracks his sounds and movements all over the place! She's weighing in somewhere between 10.5-11 pounds. She is such a sweetheart.....pretty mild and a good sleeper.

Addie's 1st visit to Red Feather Lake area (N. CO)

Mom is actually catching my smiles!!

Kai and Addie hangin' in the crib together....now that Addie likes to watch the mobile, so does Kai. Go figure.

I've heard older kids can regress somewhat with new infants in the house, but this far, really? HEHEHE

Addie being happy on a LONG car ride. Good girl.

Great Cousins

We are having great opportunities to hang with my nephews and niece who we don't see nearly enough of. Their vacation overlapped us in SD so we were able to hit Storybook Island together one morning. The boys had a blast running together from one ride or slide to another and riding the tire swing together.

They also hit the pool at our house AFTER naptime when the shade took over our front lawn. Pretty cold. They were all troopers though. Holding off the teeth chatters as long as possible. Here they are warming up together in the sun.

SoDak

Two weeks at Grandma and Grandpa's house and the fun was never-ending.......

Some of my family in SD planned an open house baby shower for Addie during our visit. She was truly showered with gifts and love once again. Thanks to everyone! She will be VERY well dressed until I have to start shopping for her again! It was a really fun way to catch up with friends that I might not see otherwise. Above is a little photo shoot we took of Addie in one of her new dresses! My parent's house never had a dull moment the 1st week we were there. My aunt and her 3 girls stayed as well as us and all the other family dropping in to see the "out-of-towners." My cousins were a huge help holding Addie and entertaining Kai. This is Julia and Kai sculpting clay.

My parents borrowed a bike trailer for Kai so we could take some bike rides on the amazing bike path Rapid. It brought back so many good memories of when I took family bike rides as a kid. Addie wasn't able to ride in the bike trailer yet which was a bummer, but Kai loved it. He mostly sang along the way. One day he napped the entire trip! Here he is intriqued with spinning the pedals.

We spent an afternoon in Silver City at the cabin. Daddy and Kai hit the creek to wade around and skip rocks! Kai was diggin' it. I was NOT diggin' the mosquitos! Although as you can see, it was so beautiful and green!

The kids and I stayed an extra week and a half to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa. They had a list of fun stuff to do with Kai throughout the week.......you couldn't tell they were excited for their time with him!!!! This is at a huge petting zoo. Grandpa and Kai are petting the cows and Grandma taught Kai how to hang on the rings! Kai now hangs on everything he can reach at the playground....a little scary for mom. But his record is over 10 seconds. Gutsy for a 1 yr. old if you ask me!

We had other quality time with family who also lives in Rapid. Great Grandpa Ernie enjoyed holding Addie while Kai and Henry (my cousin's little guy) entertained with some music!!!

Kai has been amazing us lately with his language skills. You could say he's a "talker." He noticed the huge green dinosaur on the hill as we drove around town throughout the week. He put together as many words as "dinosaur up on hill." So we figured we needed to take a trip to see the dinos. Grandma chased him as he explored all the different sizes and shapes of the dinosaurs.

Kai is very "into" trains right now. We go to a nearby park at home just to "train spot" while we play on the playground or walk. He watches Thomas the Train almost daily now and points out trains as we drive at great distances! In the Hills there's a 1880 Train you can ride between 2 little tourist towns. Kai wasn't quite ready for the hour ride, but we drove along the rode where we could see the train pass and then stopped to tour the depot. We got there just in time for the engine to pull in to the station and even meet the conductor. It was a pretty big thrill.

Kai also loves to watch for firetrucks and make the siren noises (which sound like a whiny toddler, so I always have to do a double-take to see if he's playing or starting a tantrum)! My cousin in Rapid is a fireman and gave us an awesome tour of his firetrucks and equipment! He let Kai touch the tools on the trucks, sit in his seat, and turn the lights on and off. Kai was bug-eyed and literally speechless for most of the time there.

Cute story: My cousin gave Kai the fireman hat he's wearing. He wore it all the way home and wanted to wear it to bed. He started crying when I told him he couldn't sleep with it on. I had to explain how the firemen set their hats by their beds until they wake up to the fire bell and jump on their firetrucks. He thought about it.......I explained that's what my cousin did. He took it off...... he thought it was okay to set it right beside his bed until he woke up. Just like a fireman.

Lots of pics and even more stories. Thanks for hangin' with me. All in all we had a great visit.