A long time coming...

So sorry for not keeping up on this.  After the last post we had a birthday party for Lexi here in Longmont.  Then Lexi took a plane ride to CA with Nana and Papa.  The next week Nathan and I drove to CA and we spent 2 weeks in CA visiting friends and family.  Once we got home, we had a few days before Lexi started Kindergarten.  All the while, I started a home business making baby items (accessories) to keep me even busier.  Things are going well.  Lexi likes school, she is still doing well in karate.  She actually moved up into a core class and is no longer a "Little Dragon".  I haven't signed her back up for swimming and I dread that it is too late now.  Nathan is growing fast.  Last time I weighed him he was 20 lbs. He is now 11 months old, crawls like a speeding bullet, stands on his own ALL the time now but still hasn't walked.  I think it is just a week or so from that though.  He has 6 teeth and another on its way.  Bill's mom and step dad just came for a visit to help us out.  You see, I had Gastric Lap Band surgery on Monday.  It is something that I have been wanting for a long time.  I am going to start posting here about my progress.  That will be in the next post.  While Bill's parents were here, we drove to Estes Park and I fell in love with the adorable little town.  It is in the mountains, has a ton of quaint little shops and lots to do.  I can't wait until Nathan is a little older and we can go for a weekend and hike, shop, and do other fun outdoor things.  Here are some recent pix to keep you up to date:

Lexi's Longmont Birthday Party

Lexi's Birthday Party in CA

More pix from CA (Disneyland, Knott's, etc)

Disneyland (Nathan's first time)

 Knotts Berry Farm

 My adorable niece!

My kids and my niece.

 Our trip back home.

More Knott's

Lexi's first day of Kindergarten

Misc. Pix

 Estes Park with Nana and Papa

 Estes Park

Us in Estes Park

Nathan in his Jeans diapers

It has been a while

So much has been going on.  Nathan is growing like a weed!  He is now almost 9 mos old and is crawling. He eats almost all table foods and self feeds now.  He got his first haircut today too, to get rid of the old man hair that was long around the edge of his head.  LOL  He is so much happier now that he can crawl because when I leave the room, he just follows me, even if it is to the bathroom.  Lexi is good. She will be 5 this week. I can't believe my baby is going to start kindergarten in a month!  Her last day of preschool is on her birthday.  We are having a party here for her, even though it is looking like we will have a poor turnout.  We will make it fun no matter what.  After her party, she will be flying home with Nana and Papa and staying with them for a week.  On Wednesday, Nathan and I will be packing up the Camry and heading to LA ourselves.  We will stay at Nana and Papa's for a few days and then head to LB and stay with my mom for a little over a week. I am sure there are more birthday celebrations to be had in CA!  Lexi doesn't know it yet but I am taking her to Disneyland along with her best friend and her family (who happen to have passes so it works out great)!  She is going to pee her pants with excitement!!!  I can't wait.  It will be Nathan's first time too.

 Nathan after his haircut.

 Lexi posing for her picture on her birthday invite.

 Lexi graduated to a new belt in Karate.

 My 4th of July DIVA!

 Lexi working her first Lemonade Stand.

 Nathan's first 2 teeth.

Little piglet chowing down!

Well, aside from all of this excitement, I am starting a class in Aug. as well.  The local community college is a little tough to figure out but I am sure once it starts I will do ok.  I also started a home business called Crafty Kelli's Baby Accessories (name is NOT final) and have been sewing my little heart out.  I love to do this and can't wait to work my first Farmers Market when we get back to town in mid Aug.

My workshop in the basement.

Videos from Sunflower Farms

Vacation and Staycation

We had a great trip and had some nice, quality time with family in IL and IA.  We started the trip with a 12 hr drive (including stops) to see Aunt Sue in Des Moines, IL.  We met my cousin Matt and 2 of his kids at All Play (food and arcade).  The kids had a great time.  I have pictures but haven't scanned them yet. They enjoyed the video games, collecting tickets and most of all the Rock Wall.  It was nice to visit over lunch and then have some fun!  The next day Aunt Sue came with us to Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines.  That was fun but half the park was under construction so we made due with what was available and had a GREAT time!  We fed the goats, a llama and a TON of Koi.  Lexi and Aunt Sue even rode a camel!  Nathan had fun watching all the excitement but didn't really understand this time around.  He will enjoy all of this in another 6 months or so.  The afternoon after the zoo, Lexi wanted to spend the night with Aunt Sue so we let her.  Aunt Sue was thrilled!  The next day we all loaded up and headed to the Living History Farms where we learned about farming from the 1800's and 1900's.  We walked around and saw a lot of live exhibits and animals.  That was the end of our visit with Aunt Sue so we had to say good bye!  NEVER EASY!!!

I drove the 3 hrs to Moline, IL where we met my cousin Stephanie for dinner and then went to her house and met her dog and boyfriend.  Then it was bedtime so we headed to the hotel for some much needed rest.  The next morning we picked up my grandmother and went to see my great aunt Mary.  It was so nice to see her again (it had been 13 yrs since I visited last).  It makes me sad to think that this might have been the last time that I get to see her.  After that, we went to Whitey's for some yummy ice cream and let Lexi play at the park for a bit.  Then we headed to my grandma's house where the kids played and we visited while we waited for Aunt Kay to get off work.  When she was home, we headed to her house for pizza and fed the ducks in the lake by her house.  We also got to meet her husband, Kevin.  It was so nice to have a full day to just visit with family.  The next day we woke up and headed to Bettendorf to see my cousin Edson and his family.  When I saw them last it was him and his soon to be wife and they were pregnant with their first child.  They now have 5 children (4 girls and a boy).  The kids played while we visited.  Lexi LOVES that she as so many cousins and that most of them are girls!  After we left there, we headed to dinner at a Hibachi grill with Aunt Kay, my cousin Steph, her brother Jared and his girlfriend Brandi.  We had a nice time and Lexi told Jared he had to come home with her.  He loves CO so we may just see him again this year!  That would be nice!  Then our trip comes to a close and it is Friday.  We head to an old prairie village where we learn about some more olden days and have a picnic lunch that Liz prepared (so nice of her).  After that we head to Buffalo Bill's childhood home and see real buffalo.  The kids loved that!  It was tough saying good bye, especially for Lexi but I will be sure that she keeps in touch with all her cousins!  That night we met Steph and her boyfriend, Marc for dinner and a community carnival.  Lexi rode all the rides that she was allowed to and Bill rode some too.  He learned that Lexi doesn't need him anymore and I think that made him a little sad. I reminded him that Nathan will need him soon!  The next morning we had breakfast and then hit the road.  We were going to stop for the night in Nebraska but decided to push on through and with my help, we made it home about 10:30pm.  It was a long day but so nice to be back in our own beds.

We took Sunday to relax and then on Monday and Tuesday, Bill and I had dental appointments.  We have a few other appointments and obligations to take care of.  On Wednesday, it was suppose to rain so we headed to the Denver Children's Museum.  That place is SO fun!  We explored, built things, painted, imagined and went to a few story times.  We can't wait to go back another time.  On Thursday we went to the Sunflower Farm.  It is here in Longmont and is a working farm that is open and built especially for kids.  There is a HUGE tree fort that goes across 4 HUGE trees, tire swings everywhere you turn, an old silo that is now a large sandbox, a zip line made just for the little ones and so much more.  Then there are animals everywhere.  Some in pens and some roaming free.  There are buckets of corn to feed the goats, chickens, and pigs but there are also cows, horses, a donkey, a llama, a pony and sheep.  Lastly, there is a craft barn where the kids that attend the summer camp can create and make believe and a camp fire with a ton of seating so that the entire camp can sit around and reflect on their day. I am seriously considering sending Lexi next year!  (She has to be 6 yrs old to attend.)  After this fun, we headed home to rest a bit and then headed to the zoo for a few hours so that we could beat the traffic downtown to go to the Rockies game.  They played the Arizona D-Backs and unfortunately lost. But not for lack of cheering!  Lexi was cheering just a loud with her #1 Fan FINGER!  She learned "Take me out to the Ballgame" at school and was so proud that she knew all the words at the 7th inning stretch!  After a fun filled day, we headed home to get the kiddos in bed.  It was a tiring and exciting day!  On Friday, we decided to head to Golden to go to the Heritage Square Amusement Park.  We rode the 1 hour drive and stopped for lunch.  While we were driving my phone had rung in the back of the van and so when we finished lunch at Jack in the Crack, I checked for messages.  It was a neighbor that had our dogs.  The gardener had shown up without our knowledge of his coming and let the out.  I called the man back and he had sent the dogs to the pound. I called them and we decided to stay and go to the amusement park afterall, we just had to be back by 5pm.  Well, even though we had a wrench in our plans we were determined to have fun.  BUT it wasn't in the cards.  We get inside and there it is like a desserted ghost town.  I find a lady there that tells me the park doesn't open until the next day!  We walk around Heritage Square for a bit and visit a few shops but at that point we decided that we would just get home and get our dogs out of the pound.  (It cost $60 by the way, on top of a wasted 1 hr each way trip.)  But we had a fresh day on Saturday!  It was the day of Jr. Jam. A community event in Fort Collins where kid bands play and there were several community vendors all having something to do with kids.  Lexi went on the inflated slide 4 times, bounced in the bouncy house, had her hair braided and played some instruments from a local music instructor.  We stopped at Jason's Deli for lunch on the way home and then took it easy the rest of the weekend!

We don't have another vacation planned until the week of Thanksgiving when we will head to California again!  I am very excited to see friends and family, it seems like forever (even though I was just there the beginning of March).  I miss everyone terribly!  Thanks again for reading and hope to see you soon!

May Update

We are having fun now!  The weather is warming up (for the most part) and we are getting out and doing things.  Lexi is still enjoying Karate and we have signed her up for Micro T-Ball too.  We are still waiting to hear when her practices will be.  I need to know because I want to sign her up for swimming too but can't until I know what our other obligations are.  I signed Nathan up for AquaBaby swimming.  We start on June 1st.  I think he is going to love it.  I will post pix when I can. I am in the class too so I will have to get Bill over there on a break one time to take a few pictures.  On top of our regular routine, Bill took 2 weeks off.  We went to IL and IA to visit my dad's side of the family and had a great time.  (A separate post on this to follow shortly.)  We also did a week at home where we had some dental appts, met with an insurance guy, went to the Denver Children's Museum, visited Sunflower Farms, the Zoo, saw a Rockies game and went to a kids concert event in Fort Collins.  We also tried to visit Golden but it wasn't open yet. We will save that and Estes Park for another day.  Lastly, we had our first Tornado Warning on Memorial Day.  Lexi was watching her cartoons and all of a sudden it flashed on the screen and it was in our county.  I about freaked but Bill got on the computer and saw that it was a few towns over about 30 miles from where we are and it was heading east, away from us. I swear if I had been home alone, I would have just headed to the basement!  Thank goodness for my calm hubby!

The kids are great!  After 2 weeks home with mommy and daddy, she was ready to go back to school today!  She has made friends with the kids behind our house.  Finally, some kid friends in the neighborhood.  Before now, her only friends were the couple next door that are grandparents.  They are sweet but she needed kid friends!  Lexi is also a very good Big Sister!  She helps whenever asked and plays with him all the time.  Although, her idea of playing with him is to take his toys away and play with them herself but we are getting there. For now he doesn't mind, he just loves to watch is big sissy!  Nathan is great.  He is eating lots of foods now and loves to try and feed himself too.  He just doesn't have the pincher grasp down yet.  The doctor said that doesn't usually develop until about 9 month and can be later in boys.  He is rolling and sitting up.  He has a new toy that he loves.  It is a race track for babies.  He sits and watches it go and has figured out how to make it spin on his own.  He makes it spin and then tries to stop it with his hand.  It is really cute.  He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks but no movement yet.  He has 2 bottom teeth coming at about the same time.  They are almost there but haven't pushed through just yet. 

Well, we will see what June has in store for us.  For now, we have the Taste of Fort Collins and the Boulder Jewish Festival in June.  And I am starting to make some homemade baby gear.  I am going to make blankets, quilts, taggy lovies, burp clothes, bibs, and more...  More to follow when I have my first thing made.

April 2011 update on us

I can't believe Nathan is going to be 6 mos old already!  He is getting so big. I don't know exact measurments but I believe he is close to 28" long and 18 lbs.  He is eating like a champ.  I started making his baby food today and he loves it!  His favorites are green beans and sweet potatoes.  So much better than the store bought, watered down foods.  He is such a happy baby and loves to talk (coo and screech that is).  He can sit up for a few min on is own, he rolls from back to tummy and use to tummy to back but seems to have forgotten this trick.  He also loves to stand up (with help).  So strong that one!    

 

 

Lexi is doing great.  She talks about her friends and family in Lake Forest all the time.  By the way, anyone in CA is from Lake Forest to her, so don't feel left out!  :)  She started Karate last week and will begin Tball in May.  She loves Karate and looks forward to Mondays.  I also plan to start her in swimming in the summer (don't have to wait out here as the rec center has a fabulous indoor pool) but we have enough on our plate for now.  I am going to pick her up earlier in the summer so that we can do fun things before she starts Kindergarten in August.  She is going to do full day Kindergarten which is from like 8:50a to about 3p so we can continue with our extracurricular activities in the fall.  She is very happy but I think she missed having friends her own age.  She has befriended our next door neighbor and his wife.  An older couple with a dog named Annie.  She always has to go say hi to Don!  LOL  Poor kid needs to start school so her friends are in the neighborhood.  Her preschool is out by Bill's work so the friends she has made there are at least 15 miles away.  She makes friends easily at the park but I keep forgetting to take something that I can write down our number so we can meet up again some other time.  She is excelling in school and the teachers all say she is very bright and the biggest helper in the class.  I love hearing that!

 

 

I think Bill likes having the office closer to home.  He stays busy and works hard as usual.  Living in CO so far has been great.  We are so happy out here.  The open spaces are beautiful, the views of the mountains are gorgeous and the weather so far has been pretty mild.  It has only snowed a few times and no more than 2 inches and has been warm enough the next day to melt it.  The craziest weather we have had was last weekend when it was mid 80's on Sat and snowed on Sun.  That was NUTS!  Our house is nice. We have a 2100 sf rental in Firestone, a suburb of Longmont which is a suburb of Boulder.  We are considered a farm community which is interesting. The hardest adjustment is driving at least 20 min. to get anywhere (except grocery and drug store which is down the street).  I love that we have goats, horses, chickens, cows and yes, even donkeys just a block away from us.  LOL  I remember teaching the kids in my daycare about animals from books and I will be able to take Nathan on a walk and teach him about these animals.  Very cool!

 

 

I have joined a MOMs club out here and met a few women.  I also take Nathan to a tot storytime at the library.  So I am keeping busy during the day.  I finally finished unpacking the last box last week.  It took me so long because the house we are in right now, is smaller and much less storage space so it was hard to find room for my office stuff.

 

This month we have gone to the zoo, the wild animal preserve, walked around a local lake and been able to play outside.  LOVE IT!

 

 

I think that is about it.  Barb and Lee are coming to visit again on the 21st.  Then we have a very busy May!  We have Bill's uncle and his wife coming for a visit.  They have family here in CO, close by other than us.  The middle of May we are driving to Des Moines, IA to visit my aunt Sue and and my cousin Matt and his kids.  Then we will travel onto Moline, IL to see my other aunt Kay, my grandma (on my dad's side), my great aunt Mary and several other cousins.  We will come home the week before Memorial Day and have a week here in town doing a Staycation.  We will see the sites here in CO and have some fun!  I am looking forward to it!