Independence Pass - May 29th- Opening Weekend

Memorial Day weekend, we hit the trails. Why not? It was beautiful (and windy!) outside and the high country roads were opening for the summer season. So, we packed up and hit up Independence Pass and Aspen on Saturday.

Downtown Aspen
Top of Independence Pass. It was such a crystal clear day! Summer days often get hazy in the afternoon, so it was fun to see so many peaks reaching up into the clear, blue sky.

Yep, it's over 12,000 feet.

This is Weller Lake. It looks like I'm posing in front of one of those JCPenney backdrops, but it's real. Trust me!

Mmmmm. Mountains.

Charlie's first wilderness area! Yay for Collegiate Peaks! One of our favs.

Daddy and Charlie on the trail. Matt carries Charlie and I carry the rest of our stuff. Works pretty well!

misc.

Soooo big!

He's changed quite a bit!

This was taken after the last day of school. My hair is wet because I had to come home and take a shower after being with 300+ germy kiddos all day. Being a working mom is super hard. If you're a working mom, way to go! Especially if you're a working, nursing mom. I spent some quality time those last few days pumping in my storage closet!

Rubber Duckie, you're the one... You make bath time so much fun...

Doesn't Charlie look like he belongs in the Bronx or something?? His sweatsuit cracks me up.

Just playin'.

Just snugglin'.

Yes, your Daddy does rock.

Storytime with Daddy. Tonight's book: Bear Snores On. (Such a cute story!)

Charlie's Two Month Doctor Appointment

On the 20th of May, Charlie got to go back to the doctor for his well baby visit. He weighed 11 lbs. 2 oz.(50%) and was 23 1/4 inches long (75%). His head was 16 inches, but I don't remember what percentage that was. This will probably be the only time our son is considered tall! The only thing I asked Dr. Jenny was what to put on Charlie's head and face rash/acne/super dry skin, and she suggested Cetaphil. Turns out it was eczema! It was gone after about a day and a half. Then came the vaccinations - three shots and one oral. I didn't have to hold his legs, but I was right up by his face holding his paci when they did it. There wasn't a countdown, they just did all the shots at the same time. It was over so quickly and the nurse was handing me my baby in no time at all. Charlie did pretty well! He actually only cried for 7-10 seconds. Not too bad! He ran a low-grade fever the rest of that day and into the next, but it was gone by the afternoon. We just tried to be careful when holding him as to not squeeze his thighs. Here is a few pictures of his skinny legs with the bandages.

Well, Baby, you're well!

Charlie's Sad Lip

Ok, don't think we're bad parents. (Or do. Whatever you want.) However, we both think Charlie's sad lip is both the most adorable and most heart-breaking thing ever! One time, prior to this video, Matt made a really loud roar sound when we were playing with the lion that's attached to the floor gym. I told Matt that the loud roar might scare Charlie, but he wasn't showing any signs of being scared at the time. Fast forward to a few weeks later, and Matt did it again only for the purpose of hopefully triggering the sad lip (which had not happened yet). We both wanted a picture of it so bad! Well, it worked! We got it on video! No, we haven't done this before and we won't be doing it again. I'm not sure it was worth it...

My Last Baby Shower

This was my last baby shower, given by my school. It was May 18th at 5:00 at my friend Kristy's house (she's shown in the picture with me). We had brownies and ice cream and played one game - pass the baby! Everyone there got a chance to hold Charlie and he did really well at being passed around. I wasn't sure how that would go, but he did well. We got a few gift cards, a couple outfits, and this homemade quilt for Charlie. It's flannel and fleece squares and fleece on the back. It's pretty big, too, which is great for when Charlie and I are taking a nap together. So snuggly!

Funny story - this is Charlie, cozy in his carseat. Yep, the same carseat that Mommy forgot to buckle (GULP.) him in to when I put him in the car. Here's how it happened: I brought Charlie out to the car in the carseat and he was buckled in it. I wanted to put his jacket on before we watched Matt run, but his jacket was in the car. Once we got to the car, I unbuckled him and put his jacket on AND DIDN'T BUCKLE HIM BACK IN. We drove a few miles to City Park, I pushed him around in the stroller for close to an hour and a half, and we drove back to the hotel all while Charlie was sitting loose in his carseat. It was only in the parking lot of the hotel, when I went to take Charlie out, did I realize that I didn't buckle him in. Thank the Lord that we didn't get into an accident or anything. (Did I really just admit my "stupid mommy" moment on our blog? Oh well. I'm human. You are too. I'm just willing to put it out there for people to laugh at. :)

Our cutie! His outfit says Cute Thanks to Mom and Dad. What it really should say is Cute Thanks to Dad with the Mom part crossed out. He looks so much like Matt!

Just playin' on the floor gym. It's what we do!

My First Mother's Day!

My first Mother's day was wonderful! We went to Junction to go to church and stopped at a few stores before coming home. Matt made me breakfast (cinnamon rolls!) and dinner (chicken parm!), and we had fun just being together. If I remember right, Charlie's gift to me was 7-8 hours of sleep that night. Matt tried to get Charlie to sign my card by putting his handprint in the card. So cute! (Even if it is a little smudged! He's a baby!)

This picture is SO CUTE. What you can't see is that Daddy's playing without his pants on, too. :) My boys must have gotten warm and pulled a "Grace" ("Mommy, I'm hot. Can I take my pants off??"). We use that phrase often, but rarely follow through. This time, pants were definitely removed. Grace is our almost 5-year-old niece and goddaughter who says the funniest things! She's pretty creative and obviously knows how to regulate her body heat.

Charlie's First Hike

On Saturday, May 8th (day before Mother's Day!), we took Charlie out for his first hike. We didn't go too far - maybe 4 miles - on the Grizzly Creek Trail in Glenwood Canyon. It was super fun! And our little guy just slept through the whole thing. Who wouldn't when you're nestled and cozy on Daddy's chest? :)