April 28th, 2010

It's been a very fun week here in Colorado. Last weekend, Nevi and I went to our friend (Jen's) baby shower. She's expecting a girl so, of course, I'm already thinking of all the fun the girls will have together. The picture also features my very good friend, Carri.

The UPSIDE picture is not upside down in my computer picture file but for some reason appears this way in the blog. I had to include it anyway because this is Nevi's newest favorite activity. Robb has a few large tupperware/rubbermaid containers stowed away under our bakers rack that he uses to ice his hands after long days of giving deep tissue massage to prevent inflammation in his aching arms. Nevi has discovered them and thinks they are the best seats in the house. She has even initiated 'independent play' with them by bringing over little animals from her farm set and balls from other toys and playing with them on top of these containers. It is darling to watch. She also pushes these containers around the 'circle' main floor of our house, like she's racing cars. Up until pretty recently, Nevi has relied on us to initiate most of her play so it's really neat to see her trying it out on her own.

Just today, Robb and Nevi went to their first Rockies games of the season! They were both unbelievably happy and full of excited energy when they got home, fuming of sunscreen and sweat. Ahhhh, the glorious smells of summer. Wish I could've been there. Apparently Nevi had little interest in sitting down to watch the game (not surprising or unusual for a curious toddler), but they had a great time walking around, exploring, and playing in the children's playground. It was a perfect spring day here in Colorado, perfect for a ball game.

LASTLY, it is hard to believe but today is the day, 4/28 4 years ago, that Nevi's Grandpa Bob passed away... it also happened to be his birthday so a powerful day it will always be. The funeral home made a video for us featuring our favorite photographs of dad/grandpa and I played it for Nevi tonight, hoping that if I show her pictures often enough, she will at least recognize Grandpa Bob, even though she never had the chance to meet him. I'm sure he would have adored her adventurous spirit and her love for the outdoors.

Diaper Dash clip

Mom/Dad Group

Below are some photos from the '50 foot Diaper Dash', Nevi's first running race. She sure made Daddy-o proud.

Another new fun thing.... I just started a local Mommy/Daddy Group that will most likely meet weekly. Some families from our birth class join us, but also neighbors and local friends. There are 13 families interested so far. Last week was the start of this new social outlet and it looks like there are more takers for this week. As of now, we meet every Wednesday at 4pm at our place. If we actually get a group established, we may take turns hosting these gatherings, which I will like very much. I love being around other mommies right now but more importantly, I'm wanting to give Nevi the opportunity to play with other munchkins. Since we don't do daycare, I really want her to be around other little ones regularly so she can build relationships and have fun! We'll see where this goes.....

13 months old...

We're all pretty pleased with the warmth and rebirth this Spring. Nevi enjoys outside time more than any other time, a woman after my heart. She is almost always content when we're outside playing in 'our' space or meandering through the neighborhood and community playground. She is easily intrigued by rocks and mulch and always has some earth element in her hand when reentering the home. A collection is being built just outside the front door, where we place her favorites for next time. We practice scooping up dirt from one pot and putting it into another pot quite frequently. Little does she know that these pots will soon be filled with plants and flowers come Mother Day. Robb has been running one race each month and Nevi and I actually made this last one, in Broomfield. They usually take place during naptime, but Nevi's naptime seems to be altering...from two naps to one nap a day most days now. At this recent race, there was a 'Diaper Dash' for kiddos under 2 yrs. old so Nevi got to run her very first race. 50 feet of cuteness. Those pictures next....

Quick close up clip

Nevi's Birthday celebration in Colorado, one week later

We decided to celebrate one year of Nevi, not just once, but twice. When we returned from Indiana, my mom and aunt Lynn flew out to Colorado to spend some time with us and see Nevi at one year old. They stayed with us from Thursday (the 11th) through Tuesday (the 16th) and we had an awesome visit. Additionally, we invited some close friends over last Saturday from 4p-7p where we continued our Nevi celebration, enjoyed some great cake and had lots of good munchkin playtime. The house was packed and we couldn't have been happier. Our family and our friends constantly remind us of how truly blessed and supported we are. We had Nevi's one year doctor checkup on 3/10 and, again, they told us nothing we didn't already know.... she's a healthy and hearty chick. She weighed in at 20 pounds 8 ounces, only one pound more than she was at 9 months but doc says she's leveling out and obviously very active. She's in the 25% in weight and 95% in height for a 'typical' one year old. Right on track to take after her daddy-o. She's got 6 teeth, 2 on the bottom and 4 on top, and doc said her molars are starting to come in, too. She also just started whole cow milk, which she seems to really like. She's a good drinker and good eater, loves any vegetables and fruits you offer her. Right on track to take after her mommy-o in this regard. She usually sleeps around 12 hours each night and still takes 2 naps a day so far. She's a light sleeper but is good at going down and following the sleep routine. She LOVES to dance and hug and play outside. She loves dogs and pants every time she sees one. We're really having fun now! Her personality continues to shine and is quite amazing to watch.

This one's for you, GrammaMom...