Beaver Creek, Day 2

Day 2 of our trip started off with a bang.  We had a rough night (Evie was up crying for 2+ hours in the middle of the night), and then woke up in the morning to her screaming (which isn't normal at all--she usually wakes up happy).  I stumbled out, still groggy, and quickly realized that Charlie wasn't in his crib.  I called to Clint to see if Charlie had somehow ended up in our bed during the nighttime craziness.  He hadn't, and Clint came running out to see what was going on.  Charlie wasn't anywhere to be found in the hotel room and we started panicking.  Luckily, a few seconds later, we heard a happy little voice in the hall.  We ran to the door and found Charlie, laughing and running wild.  I don't think he quite understood what all the fuss was about, but I have never been so relieved to see that happy little face.  The door has stayed tightly latched ever since!

*This is a reenactment of Charlie's great escape (he was only too happy to oblige me :).*

After getting over our initial scare of the day, we headed out for a hike.  Our drive there was LONG, and our rental Impala was not the ideal vehicle for the rough dirt road up the mountain.  But after a few wrong turns, we made it to Piney Lake.  Totally worth it!

Charlie is so predictable.  Beautiful scenery everywhere, and what did he want to be photographed with?  The Ranger.  [It is difficult to describe the level of obsession Charlie has developed with Papa's Ranger.  We talk about it constantly, he tells everyone we meet that he drives a Ranger or that Papa has a Ranger, and he begs for us to tell stories about "Curious Charlie and the Ranger" at least 20 times a day.  Who knew this little vehicle could inspire such fanaticism??]

And the backhoe.

The backhoe was even better because its owner was fixing it (broken vehicles in need of repair are the most exciting right now).  What a nut.

Piney Lake.

The evergreens were so beautiful.  

Me and my escape artist.

Daddy and Evie.  She now waves anytime we ask her to, but always with a very serious face.

Charlie was scouting out a picnic spot for us.  He wanted to eat on a rock or on a log (turns out, we ended up doing both).  We had our first of 3 peanut-butter sandwich picnic lunches on this hike.  I think we are all ready for a more varied menu. :)  As you can see below, Charlie developed a love of rock climbing on this trip and is now obsessed!

The Aspen trees are already starting to turn yellow, and they looked gorgeous!

Family pic!

Charlie's preferred mode of transportation (although he did hike on his own quite a bit) was on Clint's shoulders.  Charlie is singing "Grand Old Flag" (apparently one of his favorite hiking songs) in this picture.  Clint has a worried look on his face because he is scared that we are somehow raising a mini version of my father. :)

Here's Charlie in the woods.  He was dying to be "in the woods" and walk "up a mountain." We did both!

We really wore the kids out on this hike.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

After a short rest, we headed to Vail for dinner.  Unfortunately, we got stuck in a rain storm there and I couldn't get any pictures.  But we liked what we saw, and hope to get back soon!

Beaver Creek, Day 1

Clint had a rare week off work this week, so we took advantage of the chance to get away and headed for cooler temperatures and pretty mountains in Beaver Creek, Colorado.  It has been an incredible week, and reminds me how much fun it is to get away from everything and just spend family time together.  Traveling with a 2-year-old isn't bad, but a 10-month-old is a little trickier, as she doesn't do great without 2 naps and is a little harder to feed on the fly (she has been subsisting on fruit/veggie pouches and puffs :).  Eves has given us a few bad nights, but other than that, it has been awesome.  The kids LOVE the outdoors and the mountains, and Charlie's imagination has just taken off here.  He's seeing so many things that he had previously only read about and he is so excited about it all.  

One of the things that Charlie was most excited about was the flight.  He hadn't been on an airplane since he was Evie's age, so he didn't remember it at all.  The kids were great on the flight, and Charlie has been chattering about it since.  He especially loved seeing the "yittle cars" out the window during take-off and landing and was very interested in all the vehicles at the airport.  We almost missed both our flights on the way here, so we are vowing to get to the airport earlier tomorrow morning before our flight home!

Remember this little guy on his very first flight?

Now there are 2 of them!  Evie liked looking out the window, but was much more interested in the other passengers.  She was hilariously flirtatious during the flight, and although I don't think I agree with her very questionable taste in men, she did make a lot of friends.

 The mouse on her first flight.

We made it to Colorado!  Charlie loved getting to get out on the tarmac at the Eagle/Vail airport.

After a short drive, we arrived in beautiful Beaver Creek.  It is SO pretty here.  Perfectly picturesque views and perfect weather.  If it wasn't for Evie's inability to sleep in a hotel room, I'd stay here forever! :)

 Charlie loves the creek.  According to him, it's just like the one Curious George swims in in the Curious George Goes Camping story.  We haven't swam in it, but we have pretend fished in it every day.  I have gotten my fill of pretend fish this week!

 All the pretty sights, and what does Charlie get most excited about?  A big fire hydrant.  As you will see in the next few blog posts, Charlie probably would have been just as happy going to a large vehicle convention, but oh well...we've had fun. :)

 "Yook, yook!  I found a wock in the cweek!  The fish want this wock SO bad.  They are cwying."  Hmmmm...

 Charlie made a friend.  Luckily, this is the closest we got to a bear!

Fall = Football!

Now that the weather is finally turning a bit cooler, it is starting to feel a little like fall here, and that means...football!  I love football season, and have been wanting to go to a game.  We've been driving past SMU football stadium a lot and that (combined with watching a fair amount of football on TV) has gotten Charlie so excited about the game.  Every time we drive by the stadium he tells me, "I'm going to play football there!" (the first time, he actually said he was going to play baseball there, but you get the point :).  He has been itching to go to a game, so Clint and I bought tickets for an SMU game last weekend (at $2 a pop, they were hard to resist).  We went to dinner and then to the game and it made for a really great evening.  The weather was nice and cool, so that helped a lot.  Charlie was absolutely fascinated by the game.  He loved watching the players, the SMU mustang, and the fireworks they shot off after each SMU touchdown.  He was particularly interested in where the football was--at the beginning of each play, he wanted us to point out exactly where it was so he could watch it. :)

Charlie wanted to get as close to the field as possible.  He really wanted to play, but finally settled for watching.

 Charlie was entranced for an astounding period of time (in toddler time).

 Evie cheered for SMU as well.  She wasn't quite as thrilled with the whole experience as Charlie was, but she was a great sport!

We almost made it through the first half, but not quite.  Even so, we considered our outing quite successful.  Charlie cracked us up on the way out--we were watching the fireworks shot off after an SMU touchdown and when we told him they were called "fireworks," he asked us to "tell those firemen to bang their drums again!"  Not sure he completely understands the concept... :)

Evie: 10 Months Old!

I can't believe that we have only two months left in Evie's first year.  How could it be flying by so fast?  Evie has been changing so fast, and this past month was full of more exciting firsts.

Monday, August 27 was an especially big day: Miss E took her first steps!  She was standing in the middle of the playroom and took two little steps (not at the same time) and was quite proud of her accomplishment.  She has gotten really steady on her feet in the last week or two and walks pretty well beside me now if I hold one of her hands.  She also loves to walk behind her wagon--she powers across the playroom surprisingly quickly that way!  She has continued to take 1-2 steps a day since then, but hasn't exactly "taken off" yet.  She was really working on it today, so I don't think it will be too much longer before she's really walking.

Evie's top 2 teeth also broke through on 8/27, and although I am going to miss that gummy smile, those little pegs are pretty hilarious.

Evie also said "Mama" for the first time!!  (really more like "mamamama," but still exciting, right?)  At least I don't have to hear Charlie say, "Evie only says 'Dada,' NOT 'Mama'" anymore. :)

Finally, Evie also started clapping.  She did it for the first time while we were playing peek-a-boo (her very favorite game).  C and E were taking turns hiding under a blanket and finding each other, and I was cheering every time one of their little heads popped out.  Evie got very excited and started clapping with me every time we found her (or Charlie).  It was so cute to see her so excited!  Apparently she enjoyed her new trick, as she's been pulling it out again every time I say "yay" (or any time she's especially proud of herself).

Evie and Charlie have continued to enjoy each other this month.  He is her very favorite person, and they play together so well.  Charlie has been playing an active role in Evie's discipline, which makes my job easier.  Evie has been getting into EVERYTHING, but luckily, he helps me keep tabs on her.  I frequently hear Charlie exclaim: "EVES!  Don't get into trouble!  [Insert whatever she is getting into here] is just for gwown-ups--and me!"  For some reason, he always calls her "Eves" when she is in trouble. :)

Evie has spent a large portion of this month perfecting her stair-climbing skills.  We had to put our stair gates back up because she was escaping every chance she got and flying up the stairs.  After a few frightening escapes (and a very pleased baby at the top of the stairs), the gates were back in place.  This has frustrated her a bit, but I still let her climb when I'm right there with her.  

Music continues to be Evie's favorite thing.  She loves to dance, and has gotten such strong opinions about it.  She laughs and smiles while we dance, but gets furious when the music stops.  It's been funny to see her strong opinions developing!

Here's my favorite little girl on her 10-month birthday.

Showing off those fancy new pegs.

Just in case you weren't sure how old she is.

This nervous expression is SO Evie.  She gets very uneasy around new people or big crowds, so I see this face every time we go out.  Evie likes to be out and about, but she prefers being at home (especially in our playroom) with a small group of people she knows and loves.  I know the feeling, Miss E! :)

Charlie and Evie were playing with Clint the other day and were having SO much fun.  I think Evie is the most ticklish baby I've ever seen, and Charlie is a close second.  I don't know if anything is more rewarding than these sweet laughs. :)

This little scamp always seems to have his eyebrows raised lately... :)

A "hug."

Wildness!

Here's the mouse with her wagon.  She has the cutest, daintiest little walk.  I just love it!

She is seriously into EVERYTHING.  Having to rethink some of my childproofing...

Happy 10 months Miss Mouse!  We love you so!

First Day of School

Charlie and Evie had their first day of school today (Charlie is going on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Evie is going on Tuesdays) and it went surprisingly well!  Charlie has been nervous about the start of school, but has tried to be brave.  Every time we've talked about school in the last few weeks, he's quickly told me, "I'm not going to cry."  But he's also been excited--after a party celebrating the start of school at the great park across the street from the school, Charlie told me that he thought he would just live at school with his friends.  So I really had no idea what today would be like.

After a busy night/morning filling out forms, preparing lunches (train-shaped sandwich and all :) and packing backpacks, we were ready to go.  Drop off was much better than expected.  Charlie helped me drop off Evie first.  She looked very worried, but was so interested in all the activity in her classroom that she didn't even notice when Charlie and I left.  Next we headed over to Charlie's room.  He looked VERY nervous until we pulled out his "All About Me" page. [We had so much fun putting this together, btw.  I learned that Charlie's favorite food is toast, his favorite color is red, his favorite place is La Vernia, his best friend is Papa, his favorite things to do (in order) are: (1) drive a ranger, (2) drive a jeep, (3) drive any other vehicle (pronounced "BEhicle").  And if he had one wish, he would drive a fire engine.  Do you detect a theme here?]  After pulling out his All About Me page, Charlie turned back into the boy I know and love, shouting "yook, yook," and pointing excitedly to the photo of him driving a trencher in the middle of the page (he was a little thrown off when Miss Debbie referred to the trencher as a "truck," but he didn't let it get him too flustered).  I gave him a hug and told him goodbye, but he was too busy showing off his page to notice me leaving.  I hung around the hall for a few minutes after I dropped them off.  Evie stayed quiet.  I heard some familiar-sounding crying from the Toddler room, but since I couldn't really tell if it was Charlie, I'm going with not and saying we had a tear-free morning.  Miracle!

I had a fun, busy, relaxing morning, but could not wait to get back to school to pick up my two little ones.  They were both happy when I arrived, which made me so happy.  Miss Vicki and Miss Debbie reported that Charlie had a great day.  They said he got very sad only one time--when walking by Evie's classroom.  Sweet boy. :)  On his Daily Observation Form, they said he enjoyed "playing with the cars."  Big surprise. :)  Charlie reported that he liked school, and that his favorite things were (1) playing with an airplane, (2) playing on the playground and riding tricycles, (3) eating lunch, and (4) eating snacks.  Charlie also liked doing music with Miss Rose.  He spent the entire afternoon singing "the ants go marching five by five, a rock, a rock, the ants go marching five by five, a rock, a rock, the ants go marching five by five, the little stops blah blah blah, and they all go fall down around, BOOM BOOM BOOM!" over and over and over.  When I gently suggested that "a rock" might be "hurrah," he strongly disagreed, explaining that that's how they sang it at school. :)  Charlie only slept for 45 minutes at school and it was very evident this afternoon.  I don't know if it was the lack of sleep or a result of trying to be good all morning, but he was FEISTY this afternoon.  Hopefully that will get better once we get settled in!

Here is the feisty little man on his first morning of school.

 Evie was such a trooper all morning.  Despite having her routine and naps completely thrown off all day, she was wonderful all day.  She looked quite perplexed when I dropped her off, but was playing SO happily when I picked her up.  I loved seeing her happy little face when I picked her up--I couldn't believe how much I had missed her!  Her Daily Observation Form indicated that she was "happy" and "playful" at school, so apparently she was great there as well. :)

 Hiding in the bushes...a little unsure about leaving. :)

 We made it to school!  Didn't manage to get a picture with eyes open, but I was proud of myself for getting one at all.

 Good example of Evie's shocked and perplexed face, below. :)

Hope the rest of the year goes this smoothly!