Busiest weekend ever

This past weekend we had a visit from Steve, Janet, James, and Teagan. It was Teagan's first visit to Denver, and we showed her the sights! I think we're all still exhausted from the activity. It was a fantastic weekend though, and we can't wait to do it again. The weekend started Friday afternoon when they got to town. We grilled out in the backyard, and James showed Teagan and Jack how to climb trees.

Saturday morning was nice and lazy, with Teagan entertaining Jack, and the rest of us laughing along. Teagan was a great baby-sitter for Jack all weekend, and he ate up all of the attention from his "big sister."

 

Around mid-morning, we packed up and headed to Water World, which we think is the biggest water park in the country (or very close)! It was huge. The weather was perfect, and it wasn't very crowded. We had originally planned to bring Jack home early for a nap while the boys stayed with Teagan, but it was so much fun we couldn't bear to leave. Jack was a trooper without a nap and being out in the sun all day. This is Teagan on the "Screaming Mimi" with Jeff:

After sleeping in Sunday, we drove to the top of Mount Evans. It's one of the few 14-ers in Colorado that you can drive all the way to the top. The views were fantastic, but it was COLD! Even with our coats and hats, we couldn't stand to be outside for longer than it took to snap a few pictures. And as you can see, Jack was not very excited about the picture part.

We ended the weekend on Monday with running the Bolder Boulder. It's the biggest road race 10K in the country, with over 50,000 runners. We beat our last time, which Nike was especially proud of because she hadn't run that length since before getting pregnant with Jack.

Thank you to the Roe clan for making the trip out to Denver. We had a wonderful time!

First family vacation (kind of)

This past weekend we got to take a last-minute trip to Taos, New Mexico. We were supposed to have friends in town, but when they had to cancel, we were facing a weekend with no plans. We had heard great things about Taos, and since it was only five hours away, we thought it would be the perfect chance to check it out. As we were driving down there, we realized that although we've taken trips with Jack before, this was the first one we took that wasn't home to Iowa or to another destination where we were meeting other family members. Hence this post's title: our first family vacation (sort of).

We left Denver around 4 on Friday and after hitting some afternoon traffic, we got to Taos around 9:30 or 10. We rented a 1-bedroom vacation home, which was great for lounging around. And that's how we started Saturday morning:

Our rental was within walking distance of Taos Plaza, where we found lots of shops and galleries. We had a good morning of exploring. It wasn't quite as relaxing as Jeff and I had hoped. Jack was good and patient, but it's kind of hard to leisurely walk around an artsy-crafty store with a 2-year-old!

We did find a special treat for Jack though: a toy store with a very big playground out back!

On our way out of town on Sunday we stopped at the Rio Grande Gorge bridge, which was well worth the 20 minutes out of the way. The pictures don't do it justice, of course, but it was pretty cool.

We finished the trip with a five-hour drive home, during which Jack napped for exactly 0 minutes! Needless to say, it was a long drive. We're really glad we went, and we had a great time--if not as carefree as we had hoped for. Jack is really good, but he's testing his two-year-old limits. It's funny because in some ways we're so proud of him for learning to explore, expanding his language, and really learning to be his own person, but it can also make for some challenging parenting moments. Next up: a visit from Steve, Janet, James, and Teagan! Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day weekend to me!! I am celebrating this weekend with lots of Jack and Mama time. Jeff made a trip home to Iowa to visit his parents and to drive Kacie home for the summer. I took yesterday afternoon off to go shopping and pick Jack up early from day care. This morning we went to the rec center where I got a long run in while Jack played with the other kids at the drop-in day care, and then we went swimming! It's been a pretty fantastic weekend so far, if I do say so myself. I wish we were at home with Jeff, but it's easier to be away knowing that we'll be home to visit in just a few weeks. Not much exciting to report around here--Jeff and I have spent the last few weekends working on lots of projects around the house: we finished painting and redecorating our bedroom, doing some spring cleaning, planting flowers, a Rockies game, and several trips to the zoo. Here are some pictures of Jack helping out with the planting:

He insisted on wearing gardening gloves, even though he lost all dexterity by doing so.

We've been working on "faces" the past week or two. This is his "happy" face. Can you tell?

While we were cleaning off the front porch last weekend, Jack found his snow boots. So obviously, he put them on. They were the perfect match for his Hawkeye basketball outfit that he also insisted on wearing. I'm sure they improved his shot.

Next up for the Flemings: a visit from the Burgarts (Jason, Melissa, and Emma) and Katie! I went to law school with Melissa and Katie, and we're trying to make more regular trips to see each other every six months or so. Emma will be about 11 months old, and it's the first time she and Jack have met. It will be fun to watch the babies play together and, of course, spend lots of time catching up. Happy Mother's Day weekend to my mom Janet, Jeff's mom Jane, my grandma Sophia, Jeff's grandma Shirley, and all of our other mom friends and family. Sending you all lots of loves and hugs!

Happy Easter!

We got all dressed up for church last Sunday, battled the crowds, and then, as my Grandma Sophia says, Jack tried to leave all of his devil behind at church. He was awful! There was a pregnant woman and her husband behind us, and I guarantee she was thinking, "I will never let my child behave that way in church." It's funny now, of course, but it wasn't so much at the time. We couldn't get out of there fast enough.

After church, Jack was an angel. He had a great time running around the yard finding the few eggs we hid for him. We were even able to snap a few family pictures.

What, Mom? I don't have any candy in my mouth.

As most two-year-olds, Jack is FULL of energy. Luckily, sometimes all it takes to burn off that energy is some good old fashioned tickling and wrestling.

And finally, we might have an athlete on our hands.

Spring Fever (and lots of videos)

Happy Spring! I hope you all have had as beautiful weather as we have in Denver. It's actually cold today (and will be tomorrow), but we've had several weeks of sunny 75-degree days that have led to lots of playing outside. Jack loves spending time doing yardwork with Jeff. He keeps himself entertained while Jeff works, and it gives Nike time to herself in a quiet house. We live close to the Denver Zoo (about a 10-15 minute walk), and Jack loves going now more than he ever has. The downside is that we also drive by the zoo on our way to and from work and school, so sometimes we have crying when he doesn't understand that we can't go at 7:30 on a Tuesday morning or 5:30 on a Thursday night! But usually it's just a good opportunity to practice naming our animals.

Jack has moved up to the older toddler room at day care--his last stop before preschool next year. He's doing really well with the older kids, and even feeling some peer pressure to sit on the potty. We haven't pushed the issue much at home, but he's starting to show some interest. We had his two-year check-up a couple of weeks ago. He's in the 65th percentile for height and 45th for weight. He can be kind of a picky eater, so it was reassuring to know that he's growing right on schedule.

We have lots of videos to post this time. This first one is of Jack playing with his water table (thanks Grandma Jane and Grandpa Randy!). For a few days he was very focused on watering "Daddy's leaves." He didn't want to play with any of his toys--he just wanted to dump water.



This next video was a couple of weeks ago at breakfast. Jack began combining his yogurt with his applesauce, and at first took a couple of bites. He quickly realized it didn't taste very good but that it was fun to mix them.



There have been several birthdays in Jack's class in the last few weeks, so he's been singing "Happy Birthday" on his own. I caught him playing with his stacking toys and singing to himself the other day.

Finally, this is Jack on his new bike! A HUGE thank you to the Mitchells for his new Stryder bike. These next two videos are from the first time he tried to ride it.

Happy birthday, Jack!!

We have a two-year-old! I can't believe our little man is two already. How fast these two years have gone! We are so blessed with such a happy little guy. He is definitely feeling his way around how much he can push his limits and what he can get away with. As frustrating as it can be, it's also fascinating to watch his mind work as he tests us. He's talking like crazy, learning new words every day. He can be pretty serious--he gets very focused when he's playing and learning--but is also quick to laugh and giggle. We were blessed with a beautiful weather weekend, and Jeff and Jack spent most of Sunday outside in the yard. We had him open presents right after his nap on Saturday, so you can see from the pictures below he was a little skeptical at first. On Sunday, though, he was so excited to play with his new lawn mower and water table.

A few more snow pics

The snow is already melting--yet another reason we love Denver. Jeff and Jack spent some time outside today to enjoy it while it lasts and to build a snowman. Looks pretty good to me!