Colorado Week 1

Elise & Patrick,
We just got home from three wonderful weeks in Colorado. We are so lucky to be able to go away on a big family trip each summer. Here is a long list of things we loved about our trip.
You both loved the hotels and I am pretty sure you loved the car rides too. You liked having treats, coloring, reading and watching movies in the car. You liked swimming in the hotel pools. The hotels were the toughest on mommy and daddy because Elise was a wild maniac jumping around from bed to bed and exploring. I'm pretty sure you got hurt in each hotel we stayed at on the way there and back. You just loved that we were all having a sleepover in the same room. So much so that falling asleep was really difficult for you. It was hard to get too angry. You were just so excited and happy.

We loved celebrating the 4th of July at Aunt Kelley's and that Grandma was there. It was the first day we were able to see all of the Denver cousins. Elise, you were so excited to have so many buddies to play with. Because of the Colorado fires there was not any "firecracks" but Aunt Kelley was nice enough to buy all the kiddos glow sticks.

We loved spending time with Auntie Em and Dave and meeting their new baby Sofia. She is such a cutie! She changed alot in the 3 weeks we were there. By the last night, she was full of smiles and sharing some giggles. Em and I had so much fun hanging out with our little ones and venturing out to different places together. We hung out pretty much every day that they were in town which was a great treat. Dave and Greg on a nice road ride while the rest hung out at the condo all day. Emilie, Kate and I were able to get out for dinner and a movie. Kate also had us over for a delicious BBQ!

We loved it when Jordan, Bobby, RJ and MacKynlee came to stay with us for a night. We had a great time at the parks, splashpad and hanging out in our backyard. Ellie, you and RJ really play well together. We have so much fun watching the two of you.

We loved the Children's Garden at the Denver Botanical Gardens. Emilie and Sofia joined us on this adventure. Elise, you were really into all of the bees that were on the flowers. I was amazed at how close you would get to the bees. You kept saying you wanted to find more bees. This garden is so neat because there is a lot of hands on activities for you guys. You loved the creek that ran through part of the garden. Patrick, you were in heaven crawling around the water and rocks.

Elise decided to break out in her own little dance in this part of the garden:

9 months

Patrick, you are nine months old! You spent much of your ninth month discovering Colorado. I think you enjoyed all of our outdoor activities, especially splashing around in the creeks, crawling in the grass, playing at the playgrounds and meeting your newest little girlfriend, Sofia. You are pulling yourself up everywhere. You are pretty happy when you are standing and can hang out for long amounts of time. You are just starting to cruise around a little by holding on to the furniture. Sometimes you get brave and let go but you fall right away. You are a pretty tough cookie as sometimes it looks like you take a tough spill but you just look up and smile at us like it was a fun trip down. You like to grunt, grown and yell. You are super playful. If Daddy is playing and says he is going to get you, you let out a high squeal, give a big smile and try to crawl away. You are quite the little foodie. You have tried way more foods that any 9 month old should have tried (shrimp, cherry pie, pizza, pbj). You love to eat anything and it definitely seems that meal times are your favorite time of day. You like to take a break from crawling by stopping and sticking your butt in the air and looking between your legs. You mastered climbing the stairs at Uncle Pat's house. You love to point at things, especially your Daddy. Whenever he walks in the room you smile a big smile and point at him. You are working on waving and high fives. When you are sleepy you start to smack yourself on the face and ears. I don't like that one too much. You will also pull at your hair, but you do this gently while I am feeding you.

First teeth

Patrick,Your first 2 teeth popped out at the exact same time! You poor little guy...you had twice the pain. You had some rough nights, some fevers and a lot of cuddle time. We could feel them much sooner than we could see them because your gums were all red and puffy. You can kind of see them in the pictures below. I just love the second picture beause you are always scrunching up your nose now when you smile. It makes us laugh.

June Moments