Family

Last weekend, Monica, Chad, Otto and little Ryan came to Colorado to visit, and we had a GREAT time. Ryan, who is now just over 4 months old, is a totally adorable addition to the family. He's so cute! Our friend Charlotte, over at Trystan Photography, took some wonderful pictures. If you'd like to take a look, feel free to visit the gallery.

Anna really enjoyed spending time with her Opa (as we call Otto). He's one of the few guys out there that she took to immediately. Here they are, bonding over breakfast one morning.

She was also fascinated by her cousin Ryan, though she seemed to pay the most attention to him when he was in things; Ryan in the baby swing, Ryan in the bouncy seat, Ryan in the infant car seat. Whenever she could, she'd try to "help" him by swinging him or bouncing him with extra vigor. After everyone left last Monday, she spent a good portion of the day looking in all the baby things that were left, trying to find Ryan, saying, "Baby?" and looking around as she would swing the seat on the baby swing with her hands.

The next day after they left, Anna had a terrible tantrum day and in the end, the only way I could get her to stop crying was... put her in the swing like baby Ryan! She sat happily for over an hour, clapping her hands to the music and watch TV while I attempted to regain my patience and perspective.
I checked, the weight limit on this swing is 25 pounds, so she'd be okay for another 4 pounds or so. Still, I didn't want to start a new addiction, so after the Tantrum Day, I put the swing back in the closet to wait for it's next tiny friend.

It was so nice having Monica and her family here, I really miss having them nearby, especially now that Anna has her little cousin to look after. Hopefully we'll be able to get several more visits in soon, though I imagine that the next time we see Ryan he's going to be twice the size he is now and probably running all around, raising a ruckus.

I'll post an album with more pictures of the visit soon! Until then, don't forget to check out the pictures at Trystan Photography's gallery.

I love blueberries!

 

Boppy- the ultimate in comfort

 

Friends

Anna is totally in awe of Kira, my friend Lisa's 5 year old daughter. I mean TOTALLY in awe. With family in town this weekend, we had a BBQ on Saturday for everyone to come and visit, and Anna spent the afternoon chasing after Kira and doing everything that Kira did. It was truly beautiful to watch, they were adorable! Kira got into the game, too, kissing and hugging Anna and also scooting around on the floor as Anna scooted after her as fast as she could.



Though they are 4 years apart, it's really fun for Lisa and me to see them playing and laughing together. They'll grow up like cousins or sisters, it's very surreal for me. The next generation, in action!

Adventurous Spirit

Anna gave us a horrible scare this weekend in Breckenridge, where we were visiting with friends. In the span of a few moments, she managed to slip under our radar and out the front door of the 3rd floor condo and halfway down the old open-air stairs before a neighbor saw her and grabbed her. Kurt and I were so worried, it was a truly horrible moment, and it all happened in the blink of an eye. She's fine, though, and her parents, while a little bit older and a little less naive, are okay, too. Nothing like a scary moment to make you appreciate your child even more! She has a truly adventurous spirit, which will be keeping us on our guard for the next several decades, I'm sure. Live and learn, right?