A Four Hour Tour

On Tuesday, I was in the car for about 4 hours...ugh. I went to work in the morning as usual, but I did know that I would potentially be taking Elias to the doctor to check out his eye infection...but only if they could squeeze me in. Turns out they had a spot at 10:30, so I left work at 9:00, drove downtown to get Elias from daycare, and then halfway back to work to the doctor's office. Turned out he had a "cold in his eye", so he could go back to daycare (good news). I also got a prescription for some eye drops to help clear it up (with leftovers for future incidents...even better news). I drove him back to daycare and then headed back to work. I made it back just in time for a 12:30 meeting where I was supposed to brief a few slides. At 3:30, I left work and headed back downtown to pick Elias up from the daycare, and then finally headed home. Phew...I'm tired just typing this.

No Baby Here Anymore

Elias spent the entire day on Thursday in his new toddler class. If he could talk, I think he would have said, "It's about time." He has been spending little bits of time over there for a few weeks now, and they always said he didn't want to go back to the infant class when it was time. Also, when Matt was dropping him off in infants, Elias didn't want him to leave. I think in toddlers this won't be the case.

What toddlers means is Elias (and all of the kids) sleep on a mat at noon. On Wednesday and Thursday he took a 2 hour nap. Go Elias! He drinks his milk out of an open-faced cup. It is pretty impressive. The kids sing songs, have 2 snacks and lunch each day, get read to, do arts and crafts, learn to set the table, pour, cleanup and help get themselves dressed. They also get to play outside a few times a day. This is Elias' favorite. Figures he likes recess the best.

The transition went very well, and I think Elias is really going to like it. No baby here anymore.

The Pool

I invited myself and Elias over to my friend Carissa's apartment again on Friday for some swimming. This time Elias warmed right up. We played for almost an hour (he even got dunked under a few times), and then had a snack. Elias had whole wheat fig newtons, and I got homemade ice cream and sorbet. Sometimes it's good to be the mommy.

Garden

We had our first garden grown tomato this season last week on top of our quesadillas. Yummy. And there are a ton of green tomatoes on the vine. Looks like we may only get a handful of raspberries, but we have already enjoyed some jalapenos and basil. I think it will be a tasty summer!

Odds and Ends

Some observations:

Elias now says "hi" to people when he sees them.
Elias blows kisses when it is time to say goodbye.
Elias can give a high five.
Elias just had his first nightmare that woke him up screaming.
I really can tell a lot of the time what Elias is trying to say.
Elias is a sweaty boy (and no, I don't mean sweet...although I guess he is that too).
Elias wants to know what to call everything.
Elias still loves books.

While Elias is learning all these new things, all I seem to do these days is clean up.

Out of House and Home

He isn't even a teenager yet, and he is already eating us out of house and home. I didn't think it was possible for one 15-month-old boy to eat that much. I'm curious if he has some hidden talent that we are just now realizing or if most kids his age eat tons and tons. We feed him 6 oz. of milk every three hours plus probably about 2 cups of food. I usually cut him off instead of waiting for him to make the "all done" sign. At daycare, he doesn't get that much milk, so right when we get home, he seems starving. Matt mentioned this to one of the teachers, and he thought she looked a little surprised. Luckily we are finding more and more foods that he likes. I'm not sure what we are going to do once he hits 12. I'll let you know once we start needing donations.

Chillin'

At our friend's house, Elias would not stop crawling into the Igloo.

At home, Elias loves to try to crawl into the side of this toy which is really only big enough for one leg. I guess we need to get out the cooler.

Weekend Fun

Yesterday I went climbing outside with Noah and Carissa again. This time Elias and Matt went to music class instead of coming along. We had a great time, and I even finished putting up this climb that Noah started. I hope to get my strength back soon, so I can really start leading again.

Today, we took a bike ride on the Cherry Creek bike path. Elias really doesn't like his helmet, but at least seems to tolerate riding along behind Matt. He seems to find the buckles the most fascinating. Maybe next time we can buckle him in, and then just take a nap on the couch.

My Second Haircut

On Friday I gave Elias a haircut. My second time cutting hair. It looks considerably better than it did long, but if you check out some previous pictures, that isn't saying much. Last haircut (only 2 months ago!), we took him to a kid's place, which none of us enjoyed...not even the lady who got paid. I was hoping that doing it at home would make it better, but alas, no. Elias screamed pretty much the whole time. I seem to go back and forth between doing it at home, and paying the $30 to take him somewhere. Maybe next time I will try cutting it while he is this drawer. He seems to like playing in it...and maybe I could use a bowl to help me out.

Out on the Farm

A friend recently moved out to Bennett, a small rural town in Colorado, to a place with 39 acres. He had a housewarming party last weekend, and Elias and I went. We had a great time checking out his new digs. He has a great house he has fixed up, a playhouse, a garage/dog kennel, a pond, lots of open space, and tons of mosquitoes. Elias had a great time in this little car. They talked about having a big camp out on their land next summer. I can't wait!

Mattress

When Matt's parents came for a visit, we opted to sleep in the guest room and gave them our room, to make it easier with Elias. What we discovered is we liked the harder, older mattress in the guest room better...or we at least liked the change of pace. We switched mattresses (so now is the time to visit because you get the double pillow top), and I think it has helped my back. Now I would say that I only ask Matt to rub my shoulders twice a day instead of every hour.

Swimming

Lucky for us, Noah and Carissa moved back to Denver AND into an apartment complex with a pool. Elias, Carissa and I went swimming last Friday. I haven't taken Elias since our class at the indoor pool when he was 6-months-old, so I wasn't sure how it would go. He was slow to warm up to the idea, but eventually he started really enjoying himself. He seems to love water at all other times (knocking over the dog's water bowl, taking baths, climbing into the wet shower fully clothed), so I thought it would be a hit. By the end, he was asking for more of sitting on the edge of the pool and "jumping" in on the count of three. I think a small backyard pool is in order.

The Terrible 15 Months?

So I have heard it called the terrible twos and even the terrible threes, but can it really start as early as 15 months? Just recently Elias has figured out walking and now walks all around the house. This means he doesn't want to sit on the potty, he doesn't want his diaper changed, he doesn't want to get his shoes and socks put on, he doesn't want to sit in the stroller...all he wants to do is walk around. And when you do something he doesn't want he squirms, throws toys, screams and cries. If he is on the floor, he even kicks and bangs his fists...a mini tantrum. I thought they were supposed to like doing what their parents wanted at this age? Sigh...I hope this phase doesn't last long.

1st Cousin Once Removed

We were very lucky last week. Elias' 1st Cousin once removed, Andy, happened to be in town for work, so we all got together for a nice dinner at the Wynkoop Brewery after his seminar. Matt's cousin and his wife just had their second baby so we got to find out what it is really like to have two. Andy treated us, so I like I said, we were very lucky last week. Thanks Andy!

Grandma and Grandpa K

Matt's parents came for a wonderful visit last weekend.

Elias had great fun playing with Marjie and Paul. He got a new wooden bug puzzle that he loves, and Paul read him some of his books (Elias' favorite thing to do).


For Matt's birthday (and the 4th of July), we celebrated with breakfast in bed and presents. Matt got clothes and some wooden toy making books (get to work Matt)...plus some really funny cards from Serena and Justin, Mom and Jim, and John and Sharon. Thanks everybody! Then we had a great afternoon at Wash park for some 4th of July fun. They had free ice cream (Elias liked that...and so did I), a great brass band and a kids' bike parade. Check out Elias' cool hat. Never thought they would get this much use did you Mom?

On Sunday we went to the Butterfly Pavillion. We got to see lots of bugs, Paul held Rosie the tarantula, and they released the butterflies just as we went into the pavillion. Can you find the blurry black and yellow butterfly in the picture?

On Monday, Matt, Elias and his parents went on a tour of a candy factory while I went to work. They got the better end of that deal. Marjie was nice enough to get me a few pieces of tasty candy from the gift shop.

Guests always have a great time, so Elias wants YOU to be the next visitor!

Old Friends

A few weeks ago we got a surprise visit from a great friend we met in Berea, Kentucky at Christmas Country Dance School, Wendy Graham. We missed seeing Wendy this year since we couldn't make it, but it turns out she is a caller (in her spare time) in Southern Colorado and sometimes comes up to the Denver area to call dances. Now that we have hooked up, we will certainly see her more often at some Colorado contras. Elias will be swinging in no time.

Ahhhhh....

to be climbing again. While when most people think of climbing they don't think of it as relaxing, it has been a kind of soothing to get back into it. I quit quite a while before Elias was born and am just now finding the time (and energy) to get back on the rock...mostly thanks to my friends Noah and Carissa who just moved back into town (Hey, those friends that have moved away, did you get that...they moved BACK). I have been to the gym twice and feel like I still remember how to climb, but I just need to get my strength back. Hopefully it won't take long.

A few weekends ago, we all went climbing outside.


When I say all, I mean all. Elias sat on a blanket most of the time, but did his fair share of eating the rocks.


Lucky for us Noah was feeling up to leading some climbs for us.


I've definitely gotten the itch again, so maybe I can put up a few climbs by the end of the season. Time to start those fingertip pull ups.