2011?

Life has taken us well into 2011! This time period of my life is so special. Although I find myself getting caught up in the daily routine of naps, diapers, snacks, etc., I have to say that I know that this time of our lives is precious. Watching Max grow and sharing him with those we love has been more amazing than I ever would have imagined. When I was pregnant with him, my day dreams were filled with "Pottery Barn Kids" nursery images. Everything was clean and perfect. Reality is that everything is not clean in my house and perfect has a whole new meaning. Perfect can mean making his day by going to the park, Andy bringing him donuts after a long night shift, and Max still telling stories about feeding Papa's horses corn at Christmas. With baby boy number two on the way, I am not day dreaming of the perfect nursery. I'm wondering what personality he is going to add to our family. Here we go!

Top 10 of 2010...not in any particular order!

10. Max's 1st birthday party! We celebrated circus style with our family and friends! Visitors from MI made it extra special.

9. Traveling to Wyoming to surprise Andy's grandmother for her birthday and spending time with the whole family.

8. Learning that I was pregnant again in MI. The night before I spent an evening with two dear friends and we joked about it. :) Visiting family and friends is always so nice, but this made it even more memorable!

7. Spending time on the beach with the Kettlers and the Schalks. Siesta Key was so fun with our families. Love the beach and cute kids. Sure miss the Schalks!

6. Visiting my grandparents in Florida over Spring Break. A trip that I won't forget.

5. Camping during the summer. Loved our trip to the Sand Dune with Andy's sister.

4. Fred and Emily's wedding. What a wonderful weekend. Max danced the night away.

3. Spending time with my friends Nicole and Kate. Couldn't be thriving in motherhood without you! Easter, Halloween, Boulder, SC, zoo trips...

2. Christmas in Michigan with my ENTIRE family. The road trip wasn't even that bad despite being preggo!

1. Having a wonderful job, but also being able to spend time with Max and Andy! So fortunate to be part time.

31? Really?

Where did my twenties go? Seems like yesterday when Andy was taking me on romantic trips to the mountains. How life can change! This year we stayed home and celebrated in Denver with a trip to the aquarium. Couldn't have asked for a better day. Max was in complete awe all day long and added "shark" to his vocabulary. His face was priceless and the time with my family was the perfect start to 31.

Where did summer go?

Summer 2010 went by so fast! With Max more mobile and me feeling back to normal, we hit the road(air) this summer. I calculated about 5000 miles of travel with a one year old. Crazy at times, but a summer I won't soon forget.

After my brother's wedding in Iowa, Max and I went for our annual Michigan visit. We loved our time on the farm with Uncle Brad, Gigi, and Papa. Uncle Fred and Aunt Emily were even able to make it for a horse show. Max loved the freedom of the farm and getting dirty. He rode his horse Prince with his Amish friends. He hosted the 2nd annual Pizza and Pony party with my friends Amber, Janelle, Doni, and their kids. We splashed at the lake with Great Mimi and Papa and spent the 4th of July with our whole family on the boat. The best part was getting pulled over by the local sherrif. We all looked a little suspicous. The hardest part about being in Michigan is leaving.

With a few days of down time with Daddy in Colorado, we then hit the air to Sarasota Florida to meet up with our friends the Schalks and Kettlers. With 6 kids under 6, we had lots of fun. Our house was right on the beach and we were able to take in lots of time in the sun(sun protected of course). Max loved playing with the kids and started to learn how to share. I loved spending time with my friends and enjoying our kids.

Next on the agenda: road trip to Wyoming. Andy's grandmother was turning 70 and we were invited to be a critical part of the surprise. Mission: to get her into the middle of no where to a destination restaurant an hour away. With a few fibs, we were a success. She was so surprised. We enjoyed our stay with ALL of Andy's family in Cody. Andy's family has a very special cabin in between Cody and Yellowstone. He hadn't been there is many years and loved our afternoon with Grandma Vieune. Max played in the loft with the toys that Andy once played with.

In between all of the out of state travel, we went to the North Pole Amusement Park several times. Couldn't believe how much Max loved the rides. We have a dare devil on our hands. We went camping a few times and went on the water slide at Mt. Princeton. We went to the park by our house every day and spent lots of time in the swing. We had lots of playdates with friends. Played in our back yard with our sand box and cabin. We had a special trip to Boulder with the Vergenz and Kettler kids.

The plane rides with a one year old were trying at times. Baby vomit, delays, mean people, and a boy who just learned to walk did not make for some of our best moments, but they were worth it. This summer we also found out we are expecting baby #2. Here we go on another part of life adventure. Looking back on this summer with Max makes me smile and I know it was a special time for us.

Summer Begins

Spring and Summer have started with lots of action. Max celebrated his first birthday at the end of April. Gigi and Diddy Swihart joined in the fun with a trip from Michigan. Our friends Jenn, Nate, and Breck also made the trek to Colorado. We had lots of fun with the two little men and a Circus themed birthday party. At the end of the visit, Max started walking. Over the last few weeks he has worked on perfecting his steps. My brother Fred married Emily at a beautiful wedding in Iowa. We loved being part of their celebration. They have a huge yard and we were impressed by all the green grass. Max enjoyed showing off his moves at the reception. Once the music started, we couldn't get him off the dance floor. He even participated in the dance off circle. We knew it was time to go when he crawled off the floor and layed his head on my lap. Our summer camping kicked off with a family trip to the National Sand Dunes in Southern Colorado. Andy's sister and her family joined us for some water and sand. In the early summer, the mountain snow run off creates a shallow river that runs through the dunes. We had quite the adventure getting to the dunes. We followed the directions of our GPS and ended up on a 3 hour detour in the middle of the mountains on a road/nature trail. The 3 kids handled it well and Andy practiced his manuevering of our camper on the crazy terrain. Grammie and Granpa Gary were also able to join us for a picnic at the dunes. Max loved playing with his cousins in the sand and water. We couldn't keep him clean and he would only stop to eat and have his diaper changed. He loved going into the quickest and deepest part of the river with Andy. We are all looking forward to more summer adventure. Andy is headed to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker. Max and I are headed to Michigan for some family time and Florida with some of our WP friends. We are also planning another trip to Iowa for the big Mississippi Valley fair and horse show.

Spring Break 2010

A trip to Florida with the Great Grandparents was a nice way to spend spring break. Max loved spending time with Great Mimi and Papa. He adjusted well to all the attention. After all, he spent the week in a retirement community. Babies are a hot commodity there! He mastered waving "hi" and "bye" to all the grandmothers in the park.

The mornings started with a quick bike ride around the park in Mimi's tricycle. He had a special seat in her U.S. Mail crate. He also enjoyed site seeing at a little town that specialized in harvesting sponges from the ocean. The beach is always my favorite part about vacation, but this time it really was. Seeing the joy of playing in the water and sand was one I will always remember. Of course, the memories made and time spent with Mimi and Papa are priceless. A trip that I will always remember.

March Madness

Yes, March Madness used to only have one meaning in my life: Michigan State Basketball. These days the phrase refers to our week of state standardized testing. To make the week a little fun our school creates fun "commercials" to show to pump up the student body. As all of you know, I have had baby on the brain the last year. So when I was thinking of commercials, the "E*Trade Baby" came to mind. With baby on my brain, and with the help of a colleague, we were able to create our own version of the commercial: E*CSAP.