Emma's Birthday & Halloween

On Emma's birthday we had dinner and then gathered on the floor to open all of her gifts!

It took a couple presents and help from her big brother before she realized there was a surprise hidden under all that wrapping paper! :o)



On Friday, Oct. 30 we went to Nicholas' school for the annual Halloween Parade. The kids dress up in their costumes and parade around the front of the school. After the parade we went in for his class party. Nicholas dressed as Indiana Jones.

We dressed Emma as a Genie from the old TV show "I Dream of Jeannie".

Then Friday night the school hosted Trunk or Treat. Since we live in a rural area and the houses are so far apart it makes it hard for the kids to go Trick or Treating. So - parents park in a huge circle and decorate their cars and the kids go from car to car - Trunk or Treat! We took the daughters of two friends and bundled Emma up too. Emma dressed as a Ladybug because it was a much warmer costume!


The kids had a great time and then we went to the school gym for a Barn Dance! I don't typically listen to bluegrass music but the band was really good and I think every foot in the place was tapping.


We all had a great time!
Then on Saturday we went out Trick or Treating in our neighborhood. We just went to friends houses so they could see the kids dressed up. Before we went out I heard a rustling and look who found the bag of Halloween candy by the door...

Just look at this 'who me?' face - and she didn't even get into the candy!


This past weekend we went into town to see our friends John and Wendy perform in the Denver Concert Band. They put on a great show both Nicholas and Emma really enjoyed hearing the music. Emma got restless after a couple songs though - she just cannot sit still anymore. She is certainly a toddler - she wants to keep moving.
Love to all...

First Party; First Word

We celebrated Emma's birthday a few days early with a party this past Sunday. We invited a bunch of friends over to the house and we all had a lovely day. Here's Emma waiting for the party to get started

Here's the ladybug cupcakes that Mike and I made

Emma ate a good dinner and we all sang Happy Birthday to her. She was grabbing for the cupcake even before I could blow out the candle - how did she know this was a sweet?! :o)

At first she picked at the cupcake and was very lady-like...

Then she got a taste for the cake and tore into it! :o)


Emma said her first word - she's been saying Da Da and Ma Ma for a while now - but her first word other than that is.... Ro Ro - for Rosie. I guess that counts as her first word... ? She gets so excited when she sees Rosie. Emma seems to think that Rosie is her personal walking toy.

Here's a few photos that we took last weekend.




Love to all...

Going Mobile...Keep Me Moving

Emma is now a professional crawler - going forward! She's got the hang of it and can go at a good speed. She usually crawls for a while then stops and takes a thumb break.


Nicholas has been really active - his Cub Scout troop went on their annual twilight hike. It was a cold evening and they enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies at the end.


Mike and Nicholas went to see the Cirque Du Soleil traveling show called Kooza that was here in Denver. It was a bit overwhelming for Nicholas at first. Sometimes we forget how little he's been exposed to and have to catch ourselves when we realize we've taken him out of his comfort zone. Mike said it was the clowns that freaked him out - and it took a few performances before Nicholas relaxed and enjoyed the show. Nicholas has talked non-stop since the show - so in the end he forgot about the clowns! :o)

Nicholas also went to his first amusement park. He and his good friend spent the day at Elich Gardens in Denver. Nicholas rode a lot more rides than I expected him to - but he did draw the line at any roller coasters. Maybe his cousin Kristen will have to take him on his first roller coaster ride! :o)

Emma now has 4 teeth - two on the top and two on the bottom. And I believe she's got more coming in as she's still chewing on everything. The poor little thing just isn't getting a break. I know these are just baby teeth - but I can foresee braces in her future - she's got the big gaps just like I do in her teeth.

And last but not least - here's Emma and Nicholas cheering for our undefeated Denver Broncos!


Rest in peace Misty... My brother's family lost their beautiful dog. She was such a happy, hairy, loving dog! She had a happy 17 years and she will be greatly missed.

Love to all...

Taekwondo Competition

Last weekend Nicholas had another Taekwondo competition. Mike took him down to town and Emma and I stayed at home. Emma is so wiggly now I didn't think she would put up with many hours in high school stands. Nicholas did really well - he got first place in sparring and 5th place in his poomse.

Nicholas' teacher said he's doing so well that she wants him to test for his solid green belt next time (he's currently a green belt with a white stripe).

Emma and I played while the boys were in town. Then I dressed her in her baptism dress to try and get some nice photos. I'm afraid we didn't take many photos of her in her dress. I had a hard time as she's so wiggly I couldn't focus the camera and get her to look at me and smile! :o) I'm going to try again when Mike is home. Here is one that I liked.


Herds of elk have been in our neighborhood lately. The other night we all went outside to listen to the bull elks bugle. It's quite a sound. Nicholas was a little scared of the noise but when we explained it was a boy elk looking for a girlfriend - he then thought it was cool. :o) This is a video of a bugle if you've never heard it before (we did not take this video).


Love to all...

Green Belt and Crawling

Nicholas tested for his green belt in Taekwondo two weeks ago. His confidence really amazes us! I think Mike and I were more nervous for Nicholas than he was - and all we had to do was stand on the sidelines and watch! :o) Nicholas marched right in and did his warm-ups and poomses and he was crisp and sharp and I don't think I've seen anyone do the poomse better. We were impressed and apparently so were the 30 black belts who were watching him - he got his green belt!

We went to the world-famous....ok...Colorado-famous :o) Casa Bonita Restaurant! My blogging friend, Tami, took her kids there and it finally dawned on me that Nicholas would get a kick out of this restaurant. It's been described as a strange combination of Disney World and a Mexican restaurant. Nicholas had an absolute blast and Emma had fun people watching.


Emma still isn't crawling - well - she is crawling backwards but not forwards yet. She can actually go at a good clip backwards so we're quickly realizing how dangerous this crawling thing is going to be! :o) Mike has the baby gate at the top of the stairs installed and we're trying to remember to keep it closed. Just when I fuss at Nicholas for forgetting to latch the gate - then I forget to latch the gate... Mike also installed some padding around the fireplace as the slate hearth edge is so sharp. We've got plastic plugs in all the outlets and we're practicing making sure the floor is clear of anything she could put in her mouth.

This is a photo that I probably won't keep on the web site - because once Emma is old enough to be embarrassed about it then I'll pull it off. But in the mean time - this photo makes me laugh out loud! She loves Cheerios - if she had her way - her food groups would be: Cheerios, yogurt, and occasionally peas or bananas. Anyway - here's my little Sweet Pea gobbling up Cheerios so fast she misses her mouth!

And last but not least - here's my two kiddos dressed in their Sunday finest...


Emma's third tooth has broken through today. She already had two on the bottom and this is her first tooth on top.
Love to all...

Back to School !

Monday was Nicholas' first day back to school! He was beyond excited! Although I'm not sure if it was the actual going-to-school part or the I-get-to-finally-wear-my-new-shoes part! :o) We did get him some way cool sneakers - they look like a police car and have "headlights" and the red, white, and blue siren lights - which all light up when he takes a step. Here he is with his 3rd grade teacher at the opening ceremony:


And here he is walking the red carpet into school. The theme this year was Happy Birthday - Nicholas' school is 20 years old.

We're really happy with the teacher - she has a positive attitude and she told us she specifically requested Nicholas. Nicholas is equally excited with her!
Here's Emma chomping at the bit - wanting to start school! :o)

Emma loves peas...

...and what goes better with peas - than a nice big helping of THUMB!

Emma is so close to beginning to crawl. She holds herself up on her hands but she just can't get her legs going forward. Right now she's pushing herself backwards. I think she'll be crawling in the next couple weeks...High Five, Emma!

And here is how we started the morning of the first day of school - with an uninvited visitor... He helped himself to a nice breakfast (corn cobs)

Mike scared the bear off - and it looked like the bear was trying to hide from Mike behind this tiny aspen tree....we see you Mr. Bear! :o)

The trash truck arrived just a couple minutes later and the bear ran off. What a way to start the day!

Renaissance Man

Mike, Nicholas, John and Wendy went to the CO Renaissance Festival two weeks ago (Emma and I couldn't go as we were sick). The Renaissance Festival is held every year in Larkspur, CO and features jousting, various shows like sword swallowing, and the entire area is decorated with a renaissance feel. Most people dress up in period costume and just have a really good time! :o)


Nicholas and John dressed as pirates!

Nicholas did a couple activities:


When they stopped for lunch, apparently Nicholas was watching a guy dressed up as Capt. Jack Sparrow. Mike had just paid for lunch and Nicholas went up to the guy and challenged him to a duel! The guy dueled with Nicholas for quite a while and a crowd gathered to watch. :o) It constantly amazes us how outgoing Nicholas is! We both come from introverted families and it still shocks us to watch Nicholas be so extroverted! :o)

Nicholas had such a great time that when he got home he immediately wanted to write a thank you note to John and Wendy! Here's more photos from the day...