Colorado Photos {Part 2}

And here are the phone photos from our Colorado trip, which tell a lot more of the story of our time there.

I drove with my parents and we left after I picked Sutton up from school that Thursday. My dad was having a little too much fun texting me about it. :)

My parents rented a mini van from a friend so the boys and I could drive with them (Adam drove up separately so he didn't have to miss as much work). Sutton got the very back seat all to himself and his toys. Luckily, he took a nap on the drive.

Ren and I sat in the middle seats. He kept leaning his head forward to look at me, and smiling. Little flirt.

We stopped in Limon, CO for dinner that evening at Denny's. It was Ren's first time in a high chair at a restaurant!

We got to the house that evening and got all set up in our massive bedroom. I didn't take a picture of it, but it had a queen size bed, a futon for Sutton, a closet and dresser waaaaay bigger than anything we have at home, and there was still more open floor space than the entire upper floor of our house! We had our own bathroom in our bedroom too.

The next morning, we did a little exploring. Sutton went up to the loft that was above the living room to look down on us.

Mom, Sutton, and I played a rousing game of twister.

Adam drove through the night and got there mid-morning. Once he arrived, we opened presents. Carson's birthday was on Thanksgiving, so we celebrated a little early.

We had lots of meals around this table. You can't really see the kitchen in the background very well, but it was stocked and we cooked all of our meals there.

Adam isn't a big fan of doing "nothing" so he and the boys and I found a bowling alley and took Sutton bowling for the first time.

Ren would jump every time he heard the ball hit the pins when it was Adam's turn. Not when I did it though...I guess Adam throws harder.

Sutton didn't really like using this ramp thing. He was a bigger fan of pushing it down the lane. Good thing we had bumpers. :)

We shared a basket of fries and some Dr Pepper and Mt Dew. Bowling that day was a fun memory, and we had the whole alley to ourselves. The staff treated us great, and the main guy who helped us was named Adam! We should've known he'd be cool. :)

After bowling, we met up with my parents in downtown Estes. Michael and Sara had gone for a hike. We went in several shops along the main drag. I almost bought a sweatshirt but had to think about it and then didn't have time to go back. I tried to buy a Baby's 1st Christmas ornament in a Christmas shop, but they didn't have any cute ones, OR any ones that said Colorado on them.

Mom and Dad strolling through downtown.

My parents left and we walked around a bit more. I had Renny in the carrier on my front, wrapped in a blanket and he fell asleep. He's such a sweetie.

That night back at the cabin, we had a little dance party.

It's so fun to see these two cousins together. I hope they are buddies, despite the distance!

Ren doesn't move yet, but Carson crawls AND walks. So he was doing circles and Ren would just stare. Haha.

The next morning, we had cute babies in jammies. Ren is actually taller than Carson!

Sutton gets in sad moods for no reason quite often, especially after waking up in the morning or from nap. Grandma tried to distract him from his moodiness by reading him a book.

That day was Saturday, and it snowed like crazy all day long. This is the same tree as the one in my last post. I took this standing in the front doorway.

And looking out the back from our balcony. There are mountains out there, but you can't see them!

Ren did a really good job about falling asleep wherever he was, which was nice since we all got lots of cuddle time.

Love my boys.

That afternoon, we bundled everyone up and went sledding down a road right next to our house. Carson wasn't a fan.

This is the back/side of our house. The closest part is the garage. That upper balcony is where we took all of Michael and Sara's outdoor photos. The lower balcony connected to the downstairs living room and our bedroom.

Everyone was able to take a turn sledding, except me. I had to take my two kids back to the house after Sutton started complaining about being cold. :)

That night, Adam hung a white sheet from the upstairs loft and projected the movie Elf on it. So much fun!!

The next day was Sunday, and Adam left to drive home (so he wouldn't miss any work, once again). He got about an hour away and realized he still had Ren's car seat in his car. So he had to drive all the way back. I felt so bad. My dad and I jumped in Michael's Xterra and met him in town so he wouldn't have to drive all the way back up the mountain. On the way back, we saw this herd of elk lying down.

We got back and Ren was napping with Grandma.

Ren tried a sippy cup with water for the first time. He didn't really get much, or know what to do with it.

When I put Ren down for his nap that day, I told Sutton that when I was done, I would put him down for a nap too. While I was downstairs, Sutton hid behind the couch so I wouldn't be able to find him for his nap, and...fell asleep.

Sutton discovered the iPad this trip. Lots of monster truck and ninja games.

The day we shopped in downtown Estes, Sutton found this ninja sword with a case, ninja stars, and a bow and arrow set. He sat down on the floor of the store and just stared at it the entire time we were shopping in there. He wanted it so bad. He said he wouldn't ask for anything else on the trip. It was $12, so Adam caved. Here he is, posing with his sword.

And a quick and blurry photo of the three boys together before we left on Monday morning.

Our trip was great, and we made lots of memories. My dad had bought Nerf guns for all the adult males and they were a hit. We had lots of Nerf gun wars. We also played a lot of ping pong, and Carson kept stealing our ping pong balls. He even got up on the table to be an obstacle at one point. So much fun with the family. Hopefully we can do it again!

Colorado Photos {Part 1}

I have finally had the chance to edit some of the photos we took while we were in Colorado. We stayed in this amazing 5 bedroom 6 bathroom house that Sara's boss owns. This fireplace was in the main living room where we spent most of our time, so we took a few family photos by it. (Sutton was upset...)

These were taken from our back deck. The Saturday we were there, it was snowing so much that we couldn't see any of this. Sunday was so clear.

My dad shoveling the driveway.

My mom and Sutton coming back from a walk.

Since Carson's 1st birthday was on Thanksgiving, we decided to take some photos to mark the occasion. It was cold out, so we kept the outdoor portion brief. We took advantage of Carson's cuteness while he was getting dressed.

Carson just started walking the week before we were at the cabin.

He was a little cold...

And here were some deer we saw outside our window.

Snowy Estes Park

Last weekend, we went up to Colorado with my family to spend a weekend all together. Adam made this awesome video. The house where you see two people (Adam and my dad) standing on the balcony/porch is where we stayed. The people walking are my mom, brother, sister-in-law, and Sutton. I stayed in the house with the babies. :)

Estes from Adam Dreher on Vimeo.

More photos to come...at some point!!

Ren {9 Months Old}

Ren, you are 9 months old today!

                         

You've officially been on the outside as long as you were on the inside. Crazy to think it's gone this fast, but also I realized I can barely remember life without you.

You've been busy this month! Ren, at 9 months:

*Edited: We had a doctor's appointment today (Friday, Nov. 21) and you weigh 19 pounds, 11 ounces. You went down in weight which we're a little concerned about so you're going back for a weight check in a couple of weeks. You are 28 inches long. Head circumference is in the 98th percentile.

*You mostly wear 12 month size clothes. 6-12 month size socks are too small for you, but I haven't found Sutton's old 18 month size ones so we squeeze your feet in the small ones. You wear size 3 diapers.

*You cut two teeth this month! You don't like us to look in your mouth, so I didn't see the first one until it was already all the way through your gums. And about a week later, you had a second one. They're the middle two on the bottom and they're so darn cute.

*You've started waving. It's so fun and cute. You wave when people go bye bye. It's the whole arm going up and down.

*You mostly just say dada, though we're still not sure if you say it TO dada or if it's just something to say. You've also started saying mama and baba. You smile every time I ask if you can say a word, but you never repeat them. We're still working on saying dada, mama, and Sutton on cue.

*You are a pro with your pacifier. You grab it and put it in your mouth and if it's upside down, you twist it around either with your hand or your tongue to make it go the right way.

*You've become very momma-obsessed. You whine a lot more when I'm around, you always want me to hold you, you perk up whenever you hear my voice.

*You have started eating food a lot better! Lately, the foods you've been eating are applesauce, spinach & potato, banana, broccoli, chicken, and puffs. We've finally in the last week gotten you to eat enough that you don't have to still nurse every 3 hours. You're still not too great at putting food in your own mouth, but you sure try. I always find a lap full of food when I take you out of your high chair.

*You always hum or whine when you eat.

*You USUALLY still nurse every 3 hours, but if we've gotten you to eat a good meal you can go longer.

*You had been sleeping 8:15-7:15ish (with 2 feedings during the night), but we went to Colorado this weekend and something about it completely messed up your schedule. You were getting up 7 times per night and then waking up for the day at 5:30am. I was exhausted. Since we've been home, you've only been waking up twice again during the night to eat and then getting up for the day around 6:30. I'm hoping we will get back to our norm soon.

*You have outgrown your swing. You've pretty much outgrown your bouncy seat, but we still make you use it. That's how I get a shower.

*You've figured out how to get out of the Bumbo. :/

*You still aren't crawling, but you get up on all fours and rock a lot. You can roll around to get nearby toys sometimes.

*You've done this for awhile, but I feel like you've been doing it a lot more lately. If I pick you up, you bury your face in my chest or shoulder and kind of try to curl into a ball. You also do this when we see someone you like. You'll flash them a big Ren-smile and then bury your face in my chest like you're being shy. Sometimes you growl along with it.

*You've had a cold that has just hung around for the past few weeks. I took you to the doctor and they said it was an upper respiratory infection so we had to go on antibiotics. You seem to be doing much better, though your nose is still runny a lot and you blow some fantastic snot bubbles.

(We put up the Christmas tree last night so I thought it would be fun to use some of the extra ornaments in your photos.)

*Your hair is getting redder and is a lot thicker around the sides and back, so you look like you have old man hair.

*You absolutely love bath time. You go crazy with the kicking and splashing and you like to sit up instead of lay in your sling now. When the water is running, you're fascinated by the bubbles it makes and lean so far forward to look at them that you sometimes get your head in the running water.

*You are always so interested in new things, I just cannot wait to do Christmas with you!

*You definitely have your Daddy's personality and demeanor. I am a high stress person who has to remind myself to chill out and go with the flow. Sutton is that way too. You are just a chill, laid back little guy.

*You love your brother. You light up when you see him. He rough-houses with you and it makes me nervous but you love it. I put you two in the bath together last night (hadn't done that in awhile) and you kept laughing at him for no reason.

*You are 3 months younger than your cousin Carson but are bigger than he is. I think you're going to be tall!

*You are the sweets little thing and I am so blessed to be your momma!