Pumpkin Picking

We headed out to the pumpkin patch over the weekend for Liv's first taste of the season. The weather was perfect and the pumpkins were plentiful– such a delightful combination.

One of the best parts about being a mom is seeing the world through my child's eyes. It's so important to me that Liv looks back fondly on her childhood with a memory full of tradition with her family. 

The holiday season has officially begun and so many wonderful experiences await us! My heart is bursting at the seams with these two. 

Lately, according to my iPhone

I know I'm not alone when I say that this season holds a such special place in my heart. I love everything about fall: the crunch of leaves beneath my feet, the vibrant colors that line each street, the brisk air and warm sun, my birthday, and pumpkin everything. I mentioned on Instagram (@Raysyoursights) that I dream of having a huge property peppered with these gorgeous red trees someday. A wrap-around front porch and some rocking chairs complete my vision. Basically, I want to live in a Tim McGraw song. 

From the 14th floor of a downtown building where we got our flu shots

The last three weeks have brought with them yucky bugs and two teeth for this little one, so needless to say we've all been extra tired and irritable lately. Her stuffy, red nose has made it so much harder to nurse and nearly impossible to sleep since mouth breathing is not intuitive in babies. I think we're finally on the tail end of it all so things are looking up. 

I always look forward to decorating for the holidays but this year I was extra excited to bust out the Halloween decorations and display my spooky, homemade wreath. 

This weekend we are heading to the pumpkin patch to hunt for Liv's first pumpkin and take the obligatory fall photos in a field of orange. I have dreamed about moments like this for so long!

Also, I found the most adorable costume for Liv at a consignment store last week (seriously, you might die). I already had two others I was deciding between but now I'll be returning them both because this one takes.the.cake. I can't wait to post pictures.

Ever heard of Baby Led Weaning? The whole concept was new to me and frankly, a bit terrifying. The idea is to introduce a myriad of wholesome foods in their natural state to little ones when they are ready to start solids. Provide large chunks of foods with a "handle" so they can explore it on their own. In doing this, babies form the coordination between their lips, tongue and cheeks which improves language development, and they feed themselves until they are satisfied rather than being force-fed liquified foods by their parents. That's right, they bypass the pureed foods entirely.

We attended a BLW class in our area to learn more about it and really for me to become more comfortable with the idea since I'm terrified of choking. It was definitely worth it, if only to see a group of diapered babies rolling around in zucchini. So stinkin precious.

The weather in our parts has been getting pretty chilly but that hasn't stopped us from bundling up and getting out of the house. These two slay me with all their cute.

the stache is finally tamed BTW

 

 Wishing everyone a great week, from our little cowpoke to yours. 

Babble's Top 20 Picks!

Thank you for all the concerned comments regarding the terrible flooding that's taken place in Colorado over the past few days. While our state is drying out a bit, there are still hundreds of people unaccounted for and more damage to property and infrastructure than we know what to do with. Please continue to keep the victims and their families in your thoughts and prayers as we begin to rebuild.

In some lighters news, I was contacted by Babble last week and told that they wanted to feature this little blog in their list of the Top 20 Baby Photo Blogs on the web. Ummm, I know. What an honor! You can click the banner to the left to see us featured along side some other super sweet baby blogs of 2013.

One more thing. It's that time again. Top Baby Blogs has reset their numbers so I need votes! Pretty please with this little sugar on top...click the flashing banner on the left and then the owl on the left? I peaked at number 14 last time and I'm trying to see how close I can get to the top. You can vote once per day. I really appreciate all your support!

Feelin Crafty: Toddler Chalkboard

Our niece Lily celebrated her 2nd birthday at the end of January. Keane and I spent the month brainstorming gift ideas that would not only be useful, but also meaningful. 

After going back and forth between books, clothes and toys, we decided to build her a giant chalkboard so she could let her creativity run free. 

Our original plan was to buy a piece of plywood and paint it with chalkboard paint, but once we were at the hardware store, we found a much more convenient solution. They actually sold precut boards with chalkboard texture on one side. We picked that up for under $10, along with some molding and finishing nails. 

The project was very simple and only took about an hour to complete. Keane cut 4 pieces of wood and screwed them around the border on the backside of the chalkboard. This provided a frame for the board. 

He then measured, cut and nailed the molding along the front side for a finished look. We filled the nail holes with spackle and painted the trim white. 

We gave Lily sidewalk chalk to use with her new chalkboard since it's easier than regular chalk for small two-year-old hands to grasp. 

Lily loved her gift and immediately went to town drawing "pictures" of everyone in the room. She would say, "I love mama!" and draw her mom; "I love Kelly!" and draw me. Oh and she has called Keane "Uncle Papa" from the time she could talk which breaks my heart into tiny pieces. So cute!

If you are looking for a cheap, easy gift idea for little ones, this is a winner. For older children, you could screw it to the wall but for toddlers, it's the perfect size to prop against the wall with an anchor for support. Also, it turns out that chalk is super fun to break into tiny pieces and carry around in your big girl purse. 

Happy crafting!

Stuck in the mud

A couple weeks ago, I babysat for my sister's kids while she was at work. It was a nice cool day so we decided to walk to the nearby park to let some energy out. Caleb (5) and Corynn (3) rode their bikes while I pushed their younger brother Cavan (1.5) in the stroller.

After some time on the playground, we headed to the neighboring lake to say hi to the ducks and throw rocks in the water.

Here's what happened next.



Caleb ventured a bit too far and sank into some very sticky mud. I was tickled by the situation and caught a few seconds of it on tape before going to his rescue. What you don't see however, is how quickly the tables turned.

After just a few steps I too was up to my knees in thick, swampy mud. It was like quick sand mud and each time I struggled, its grip tightened.

The realization quickly set in that I had three kids under the age of 6 in my care and I couldn't move. Luckily, they are great listeners and when I asked the younger two to stay put, they did. But judging by the confusion on their faces, I'm quite certain they were too amused by the train wreck unfolding in front of them to have missed the action.

I leaned forward enough to reach Caleb, tugged him free, then began working on myself. Tossing aside any remaining dignity I had, I feverishly dug out my own legs. After freeing my limbs, I fished out our shoes and made my way back to solid ground.

As it turned out, the joke was on me. Coated from my elbows to my hands, from my knees to my feet, I herded the kids up the hill toward the boathouse bathroom to get cleaned up. Many adults were staring, yet not one person offered their help. Gotta love humanity.

I washed the clay mud off my body in the sink of the public restroom, made a mess and clogged the sink. There was no soap so I spent the remainder of the day smelling like a swamp monster until I was able to take a shower.

Lessons learned:
1) Mud is usually fun to play in, except when it's not.
2) Never, ever laugh at a 5 year old. Karma is thick and smells like sludge.

Dancing queen

Well hello! Happy Sunday Funday to all of you. We've been doing a fair amount of sunbathing and moving watching, reading and catnapping these past couple of days. After quite a few busy weekends, we are reveling in some downtime together. 

Keane's sister recently posted these pictures on Facebook and I wasted no time snatching them up. It turns out little Lily has some serious dance moves that rival her Uncle Keane's.

This last picture had my ovaries twitching all week. Good gravy, that little chikie is cute!

xoxo

Thursday Throwback

Welp, there it goes again. Another week just flew by without any consideration for my feelings. In the words of Stephanie Tanner, How Rude!

We're leaving after work today to head back to Colorado for the long weekend. Sunday marks the beginning of a busy wedding season ahead, as one of my best friends from high school gets married in Boulder. I am SO excited to see her walk down that aisle! I have pictures from my own wedding where she was doing the ugly cry in the background as I slow danced with my Dad. I fully expect to be doing the same when I first see her walking toward her JoeJoe. 

We'll also be packing these next couple of days full of family time, happy hours and hikes with friends, and hopefully some relaxation. I can't wait!

And, now for a Thursday Throwback. This picture was taken last month at Keane's Mom's house before we left for Hawaii. (Jeanne, it might be time to take down those Christmas lights...just sayin). 

Keane, his sister Kyla, our niece Lily, and the dogs- April 2012

I love how Lily's hand is resting on Daphne. Ooooh, my heart strings!

Little Easter Bunnies

Happy Easter! 

What a difference a year makes! These photos were taken last Easter when I was still living in Boulder and Keane had just moved to Wyoming. I was so grateful to spend time with my family before moving to join my husband just a few weeks later. 

We didn't make the trip home this weekend because we're driving down Tuesday to fly out of Denver for our Hawaii trip, but I miss everyone so much and really wish we could give our nieces and nephews a big squeeze today. 

Yesterday was the first day in several months that I have struggled with homesickness. I am SO ready to move back to Colorado to be near everyone we love so much! And get out of this godforsaken Wyoming wind. 

Today, we're headed out for a hike on Casper Mountain and plan to relax with a movie later. 

Do us a favor? Give your families extra hugs today. For us. 

xoxo

One.

This little lady had her first birthday party over the weekend and we dropped everything to be there. Keane's Nana and her new husband, Jim, came in from Tucson for the event. They were married on New Years Eve and because we weren't able to be at the wedding, this was our first chance to meet the man we've heard so much about. Nana and Jim met in their retirement community after their respective spouses of over 50 years had passed away. Their love story is wonderful and sweet and we are so happy for them to spend the remainder of their lives together. 

Most of Colorado was hit with a huge snowstorm that began late Thursday and lasted through Friday evening. We changed our original plan and decided to leave Thursday after work in hopes of missing the storm. We ended up driving most of the way in whiteout conditions with blowing snow and minimal visibility. Husband was our white-knuckled driver and said he normally wouldn't have been so concerned about the road conditions but because he was responsible for the lives of his family, he was under a lot more pressure to keep us safe. How sweet is he?! Very.
We passed the time by singing along to country songs, making up raps about our dogs and using the snowflakes and headlights to pretend we were flying through space at the speed of light. 

The normally 3.5 hour drive took 5.5. 

Schools and businesses were closed Friday because of the snow so we used the weather as an excuse to stay in our pjs until noon and take frequent naps throughout the day. We also decorated cupcakes for Lily's ladybug-themed party and got creative with pipe cleaners.

While Keane was enjoying some much needed family time, I snuck away for a couple coffee dates with some of my besties. It's always hard trying to fit everything into just a few days but we did our best!  

Happy first birthday Miss Lilybug. If it wasn't clear from the masses fawning over you all weekend, you are one loved little girl. 

xoxo