Daddy and Son Hike

Our church had their annual care group hike this past Sunday. I decided it was not in the best interest for me to go. It is a beautiful hike into the foothills with the colors just starting to change, but it does take some effort and I was fearful of the hike down the foothills. So, Kurt took Silas in the backpack and gave me a Sunday afternoon to myself. I had a very relaxing day, as I took a nap and really didn't do anything. I'm not sure I can remember the last time that has happened. Silas did really good on the hike and both Kurt and Silas were pooped last night! Here are some pictures that Kurt took on their hike.

Denver Zoo

We had the opportunity to visit the Denver Zoo on Friday, because Kurt had a conference there, so he got in free. Although we love the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo here in the Springs with the wonderful mountain view and the giraffes, I must admit there are many benefits to the Denver Zoo. It is much bigger, and even though it has more walking, it isn't all uphill, so it was much easier on me. They have a lot of African animals, so we enjoyed seeing all of them. Silas liked the bears best, as they were very active, taking baths, playing and sunbathing. It was a long day for all of us, but much enjoyed.

Silas also got to ride on the carousel for the first time with Kurt. He wasn't so sure about it at first, but of course, once the ride ended, he made sure everyone knew that he liked it and didn't want to go! Here are a few pictures we took.

Miss Sandy

Well, as I prepare to stay at home after our next child, we are sad to say good-bye to our wonderful childcare provider, Miss Sandy. She has been such a blessing to us and I know we will continue to keep in touch.

Miss Sandy started watching Silas a little over a year ago, when our provider at that time could no longer do childcare because of health issues. Our provider at that time basically called us and gave us a one day notice that she could no longer do it. We didn't know what to do and where to turn, but she recommended Miss Sandy. So, Kurt had the opportunity to meet her and then I went the next day and we have been blessed ever since. This was a new endeavor for Miss Sandy, as she wasn't currently watching any children and throughout this whole year, Silas has been the only child that she has watched. However, we have been the ones to benefit from this, as she has given him such great care. I think of all the times that we have dropped him off, I have no concerns and normally he waves good-bye to us and says "bye-bye". Then when we pick him up at the end of the day, the funny thing is is that he also looks far better than when we dropped him off, as he normally has had a bath and a change of clothes. Miss Sandy is also a Christian, so it has been so nice to have a Christian lady to take care of our child and love on him when we are not able to.

Anyways, we are going to miss seeing Miss Sandy so much, as she has become an important part of our life, but I know we will keep in touch. She is still more than happy to watch Silas (and hopefully our new little one), which we might take her up on the offer so that I can have a little break every now and then and also for date nights. Miss Sandy is going to start watching another little boy (9 months old) so we're thankful she is going to continue as I'm sure she will bless this family also.

Here are some pictures of Silas and Miss Sandy.

Our mini golf experience

Kurt and I love to go mini golfing for fun, so the other day we decided to try it. Mini golf sure takes on a new meaning with a toddler! Silas loved to chase around the balls and move them wherever he wanted to. Thankfully the course wasn't busy at all, so we took our time and just enjoyed playing wherever the ball "landed". The best part, was that Silas was more than happy to always get our balls out of the holes, which meant less bending over for mommy! Yeah.

Well, that worked great until the 18th hole when the ball goes "bye-bye" and doesn't come back. So I've attached a few pictures of Silas trying to figure out where the balls went when he tried to retrieve them. It was really funny! We sat there for probably 5 minutes while he kept trying to find the balls.

18 month old update

Hard to believe, but Silas is 18 months now. I thought I'd update on what he's been up to lately. He changes so quickly, it's hard to keep up with him. We just had his dr's appt and he weighs 21 lb 11.5 oz, which is the 7th percentile. Hey, he moved up ever so slightly! He's still such a peanut. His height is 31.5 inches which is 25th percentile, so he did increase on that.

Silas is really into balls, and our living room has now become a soccer field. He will kick the ball from one end of the room and turn around and go right back in the other direction. He is really into books and now he lets you know where to sit and he brings you his favorite book and the next thing you know time has just flown by. He really enjoys his books. Some of his favorite words are "bus", "truck", "car", "ball", "cracker", "haven" and all kinds of animals and noises. His favorite song is "the wheels on the bus" and he is starting to imitate it, so it is really cute to see that. I know I'm missing a lot and I'll think of more, but these were things that just came to my mind.

This weekend we attempted to do our own family pictures and 18 month old pictures to save money. I think they turned out great. Kurt is finishing cropping the ones we like and making them look even nicer, but I'm going to attach a few of the funny ones to show off.

How did we spend our Labor Day weekend?????

I know, this is the 2nd post for the evening, I'm trying to make up for not posting for awhile...... Anyways, Kurt is out of town until Friday, so I have some spare time on my hands. I wanted to share what we did this Labor Day weekend (and every other Labor day weekend!).

This is reason number 5,380+++++ why we live where we do and why we love it! The annual hot air balloon festival in Colorado Springs. It is Sat AM-Monday AM. This was our 4th year attending it and you'd think it would get old, but not for us. We are the diehards that are up at 5:00 AM getting ready to make it to the park to see all 85+ balloons lift off, not only one morning but two (it would be 3, but church is definitely still more important!) And then, back in the evenings to watch the balloon glow (if it occurs based upon weather). Thankfully this is a free event.

This year Sat. AM was definitely the best. The weather was absolutely wonderful and all balloons lifted off and since the weather was so nice, most of them stayed pretty still above the park for a long time. Sunday evening we attempted to go to the balloon glow, but it was a little too windy and there were rain showers in the area, so they didn't have it. Monday AM, only maybe 20 balloons lifted because of a wierd weather pattern in the area, so although it was still fun, Saturday was definitely the day to be there.

Other than that, our weekend was full of tasks around the house as we prepare for baby 2. We definitely did some laboring around the house and yard, but I'm thankful for that, because I'm feeling more at ease about where we are at in preparation this time. I guess you are never truly ready, but we're getting there.

Here are some pictures of some of the hot air balloons that we got to see..........

Camping Revisited...

I wanted to post some more pictures of our camping trip that I didn't get to do before. Yes, it has been over a month, but I thought these pictures were too good not to share. Enjoy!