Labor Day Weekend

For Labor Day weekend, we drove down over to Torrey, UT (near Capital Reef National Park) to camp with the Butterfield fam (minus Troy and Whitney). It is a beautiful area. We had a lot of fun, and it was so much fun to see all the boy cousins getting to know each other. Corbin hasn't stopped talking about "my cousins" since we got home last week. We went swimming and played wiffle ball and frisbee. The kiddos were loving the playground at the campground. They especially loved the see-saw. We also went to see petroglyphs.

Lindsay spotted me on a back handspring, and I was scared I would kill my wimpy self. I haven't done a back handspring in about 7 years (and that thought makes me feel REALLY old). But I survived. And I actually did better than I thought I would. Didn't even land on my head. Go me!

Corbin and Rex

The nights and mornings were blustery and cold. But as soon as the sun came up the wind would stop and it would get nice and warm.

Tom licking Eli's wide open mouth. Definitely the funniest moment of the weekend.

The group. We had this view from the campground. Pretty, isn't it?

The cousins. Poor Avery was completely tuckered out.

Playing at Trickle Falls. I think the boys could have stayed here all day. Jay dug for buried treasure. Rex pretended that some bowls were boats. Corbin played with his trucks. And Eli was content to just wander around.

Corbin has been getting so much braver in the water. He doesn't freak out when his face gets wet. And this was the first time that he swimming with out his goggles. Totally awesome.

10 months!

It is killing me to see my baby grow so quickly!! Avery is such a joy to our family. I just love her to pieces.

* Avery learned how to clap this month.

* She is cruising around the furniture.

* Avery acquired 3 teeth in the last month, bringing the total to 4 on top, and 3 on the bottom.

* Loves the stairs. She makes a bee-line for them, any time we forget to block them off.

* She thinks that Izzy's dog crate is a really fun place to play.

* Hasn't fallen asleep in church for 4 weeks now. Sigh. I miss that.

Preschool

Yesterday was Corbin's first day of preschool. I am participating in a co-op again this year. Corbin was pretty excited to go to school. I couldn't get him to stand still for a picture, because he just wanted to get going.

And a Corbin quote of the day:

Corbin: "Oh my gosh. Not your gosh, Dad. My gosh."

4 year photo shoot

Four years old is a difficult age to photograph. It was hard to get a natural smile out of Corbin. I had to play the "don't smile. don't you dare smile" game to get him to give me a normal smile. Corbin is so proud that he is four. He tells everyone his age. It's cute.

Edited photos:

And here are a couple of unedited pictures that are fun to look at.

This is the squinty eye smile that Corbin gives me, if I tell him to smile for the picture.

I just love how happy he looks in this picture.

Museum of Nature and Science

I took the kids to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science yesterday. We had never been there before, and I was surprised at just how much fun stuff there was for kids to do there. I really enjoyed the Gems and Minerals exhibit. There were so many beautiful minerals to look at! The dinosaur exhibit was also really cool. Corbin's favorite was probably the large kids Discovery Center. He loved this little table that had a fan blowing air, and the kids could put scarves over the air and watch them fly up to the ceiling.

building a castle

swimming lessons

This summer I put Corbin in swimming lessons, taught by Kelly, a friend from church. She did great job. Corbin freaks out if any water gets on his face, and Kelly was easily able to get him to put his head under water. It was awesome. And Corbin loved going to swimming lessons. He would ask everyday if it was a swimming day. It was fun for me, too, because a lot of my friends had kids in swimming lessons, and I got to visit with them while Corbin swam. Win-win for sure.

doctor appointments

The kiddos have had a bunch of doctor appointments in the last couple of weeks.

First up, Corbin's 4 year check-up

Here are Corbin's 4 year stats:

Weight: 32 lbs-----------20%

Height: 39 1/2 inches---30%

Also, at Corbin's appointment, his blood pressure was a little high, so we have to go back in 3 months to check it again, because blood pressure is related to kidneys.

Next, Corbin had an ultrasound and check-up at the urologist. The ultrasound went great, and Corbin's kidney looks great! The urologist said that Corbin's kidney used to look like a blown up balloon, and now it looks like somebody stuck a pin in the balloon and popped it down to normal size. Awesome. Also, the urologist wasn't concerned about Corbin's blood pressure being on the higher end of the normal range. He said just to keep an eye on it.

The next appointment was an ultrasound on Avery's kidneys. When one sibling has urinary reflux, then there is a 30% chance that another sibling will have it, too. So, of course, we wanted to have Avery checked out. And, we received the really good news that Avery's kidney's both look great.

And the next appointment was an eye exam for Corbin, because he failed his eye screen at his 4 year appointment. The eye doctor said that Corbin is slightly near-sighted. Not enough to need glasses, but he will eventually need glasses. Poor kid must have inherited my eyes. Darn it.

And, that concludes this appointment filled post. Phew. I think we should be done with doctor visits for a while.

Heritage Square

Yesterday we went to the Ernst & Young summer party. It was held at a small amusement park in Golden, called Heritage Square. Corbin loved all the rides, and we all had a lot of fun!

Avery was very patient with being stuck in the stroller for most of the day.

Corbin loves tickling Avery under her neck. Sometimes he gets a little too rough, but it is fun to see them playing together.

Riding the paddle boats. Avery was not a big fan of the life-jacket. I don't blame her.

Avery at 9 months

9 month stats:

weight: 15 lb 12 oz----7%

height: 27 inches------30%

head: 17 inches-------25%

* At 9 months, Avery loves to move around! She is constantly crawling or pulling to a stand. This makes bath time a little tricky because her favorite thing to do in the tub is stand up. She has slipped and bonked her head a couple of times because I wasn't quick enough to grab her and sit her back down.

* Avery can now say "mamamamama"

* Avery got her 2 top teeth this last month, so she has a total of 4 teeth.

* Avery won't eat baby purees, but she loves to eat baby puffs, yogurt melts, yogurt, blueberries, and cheese.

* Avery has learned how to open the kitchen cupboards. She hasn't progressed to dumping out the contents. For now, she is happy simply opening and banging the door shut, over and over again.

* Avery will climb up on the bottom stair, but she hasn't tried to go any further...yet...

* Thinks Corbin is the greatest (and so are his toys, she is constantly trying to steal them from him)

Daddy is so nice. He gives her suckers.

Avery loves the kazoo

Anytime Corbin is outside, Avery goes over to the window to watch him.

blueberry mess

9 month photoshoot

I love Avery's squinty-eye smile.

This baby will put anything in her mouth. Here she is trying to eat a rock.