The Maines'

Trick or Treat?!

2011-10-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!!! Ethan paraded down the main street of Steamboat Springs mid-day today with his school - oh, so cute! The kids were stopping traffic - literally! Adam and I were zoo keepers at the "Maines' Zoo" (patched on our arms & backs) and Ethan went as a "gorilla" (not a monkey, says Ethan) and McKenzie went as a cute little monkey. The main street of downtown Steamboat Springs (Lincoln Street) becomes a pedestrian walk and all the downtown businesses give out candy to the kiddos. It's super fun! When we got back home from trick or treating downtown, we went to our neighbors Halloween party. The kids did great and had so much fun.

The Zoo keepers trying to tame their monkeys!

Ethan walking with his teacher during the daytime parade

Ethan with his dragon friend, Garrett

Ethan checking out his "loot"

"Look, mom - see how much candy I have?!"

Our friends, Ben (the gardener), Simone (the adorable snail) and Kelly (the flower)

Rose, Trout and Matt

Update

2011-10-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

Let's start with Ethan. Hmmmm... where do I begin. Ethan has been super super fun lately. He's really good on his Strider bike (no pedals). We go to the BMX track AND the skate park at least 1 or 2ce/week. (even when it's cold / raining / windy, etc..) The skate park is designed for high school kids on bikes / skateboard - but Ethan just loves it there and the high school boys love him too! They are all so impressed with Ethan's skills & ability.

Skate Park

BMX track

Ethan recently got a new PEDAL bike!(used- but new to him). Pedaling is all very new to him and he's just picking up the concept. He doesn't like to practice on his pedal bike because he's not as good, confident or FAST.. We've been using chocolate chips as bribery for him to practice on the pedal bike! Well, it's working and.. he's getting pretty good. I don't think it'll be long until the training wheels come off.

"Look at me, mom - I'M PEDALING!! I'm doing it all by myself!"

This was the view on the bike path one day when Ethan and I went to the skate park.You can see the top of the mountain has some snow on it. Oh.. so pretty!

Dada is showing Ethan how fun it is to play in the leaves!

Ethan likes "helping" mama make dinner and enjoys washing the dishes. (Hmm.. how long will this last?!) As I'm sure you can imagine - preparing dinner with a 2.5 year old is a pretty lengthy process; as is letting him wash all the dishes. We've had many conversations about "wasting water".

Night time has been a bit of challenge for all of us. Ethan gets up 2 or 3 (sometimes 4) times a night. Either he has to go potty, there are monsters "getting him" or he's just crying in bed (still sleeping) but needs Adam to cuddle him back to sleep. Adam gets up with Ethan and I get up with McKenzie. Sometimes, Adam has a better nights sleep - sometimes I do. But.. overall - we're all not sleeping very well.

Ethan has been doing really well in preschool. He loves his teachers and has fun learning. This week, he put his jacket upside down on the floor and then put it on all by himself. I was sooooooo impressed - hugging, kissing & praising him. I said, "Ethan, where did you learn how to do that?" He said, "Mama, my teachers taught me how to put my jacket on!" It was super cute.

As cute, smart, agile and charming as Ethan is... he's been difficult. He sure has been keeping us on our toes and questioning our parenting skills/techniques. He is a very strong willed little boy. Adam and I are being tested all the time. He knows "right" from "wrong" and still makes bad decisions. Recently, Ethan has been spending a lot of time on the stoop of our stairs in.. TIME OUT. Some of the reasons why he's in time out are: biting or hitting McKenzie, not sharing toys, not being nice (talking in a deep/mad voice), having a "melt down" for silly reasons and not using his words but most of all... not listening. If we ask him NOT to do something he'll continue doing it or pretend that he doesn't hear us. He's also in this stage that he only wants help from his Dada. He wants his Dada for everything. If Adam is holding McKenzie and Ethan needs his bum wiped, he'll say... "Dada, I need you to wipe my bum bum- I went poop." I'll say, "Ethan, Dada is holding McKenzie - but I'll wipe your bum bum." Ethan: "NO, I WANT MY DADA!" Adam: "Ethan, I'm holding McKenzie right now but Mama can help you." Ethan: "NO, I WANT MY DADA!" Elisa: "OK, when you're ready for mama to wipe your bum bum - let me know." He then goes into what we call "melt down" state. This is when he starts crying inconsolably and there's pretty much nothing that you can do except pick him up and put him in time out. And.. he doesn't like that very much so he'll start kicking, screaming and hitting his head on the wall/floor. When he puts himself in danger./hurts himself.. etiher Adam or myself has to cradle him tight so he can't hurt himself or anyone/anything else. Yeah... good times! This weekend we instituted a reward chart - I'll keep you posted! When Ethan is being a good boy, he really is such a sweet, polite and very fun kiddo.

Funny quote from Ethan right before nap time yesterday...
Adam: "Ethan, please walk up the stairs and climb into bed for nap time."
Ethan: "Dada, my legs are broken!!"
Ha!! Where does he get this stuff?! Some of the things he says are just hilarious and.. sometimes embarrassing in public.

Ethan is sometimes rough with McKenzie - but he really does love his baby sister. And, she adores him.

Cuddle time on the couch

Now for McKenzie... She is doing super! She's been sick on and off with a cold (runny nose and cough) for about 6 weeks. Last week she got quite sick with a fever and just wanted to cuddle with mama for about 4 days. But.. now she's back to her normal, fun, smiley self! She's been sleeping OK. She still gets up 3 or 4 times a night to eat- which is not horrible, but... it would be better if she only woke up a couple of times. ;) McKenzie is one of the happiest little people I know! She's super super sweet, so happy, very tolerant (of Ethan!), a "go with the flow" kind of babe and just adorable! I keep calling her a baby, but... she's getting big. She's 7 months old already. Wowee!! She got her first tooth mid October and her other bottom tooth is coming very soon. I'm still nursing McKenzie, but she's also been enjoying other baby solid food! And.. she's getting really good at picking up little yogurt bites & cheerios and getting the majority in her mouth! Since she's teething, we've been putting yogurt sticks in the freezer and feeding them to her- they feel really good on her gums.

McKenzie is not yet crawling. Actually, she's showing NO signs of crawling anytime soon as she very much dislikes being on her tummy! And.. I'm OK with it because I've been enjoying her "baby ways" and liking the fact that when I sit her down to play with her toys... she's in the same place I put her when I pick her up. Well, that is if Ethan isn't around!

We're glad that McKenzie is really easy as we've got our hands full with Ethan. I'm sure the tables will turn one day, but for now we're really enjoying McKenzie's laid back demeanor!

Seriously... does it get any cuter?!

On a walk - just hangin out!

She LOVES to swing!

All bundled up on this crisp fall day at the park

Who doesn't love cuddle time with Dada?! Too cute.

Adam and I are really enjoying Ethan and McKenzie and Ethan and McKenzie are enjoying each other too!

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

2011-10-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

On our way home from Moab, UT - we stopped at a pumpkin patch! The kids had soooo much fun. There was a huge orange jumpy "thingy", a corn maze, a hay maze, a huge slide, farm animals and loads of awesome pumpkins to choose from. We told Ethan that he could get any pumpkin that he could carry! We went home with about 7 pumpkins and we all had loads of fun!

The DeCrette Family

Family Bouncy Fun!

Ethan LOVES to Jump!

Finn taking Carsen down the slide

(she looks a bit scared!)

All the kiddos! (Cane, Olsen, Ethan, Elliot, Carsen and Jackie)

The Morris Family

Kenzie -eating hay while dada and big brother jump

(Ethan is getting some air in the background!)

Beautiful pumpkins everywhere!

Mama's pumpkin & Kenzie's pumpkin!

Mountain Biking in Moab, UT

2011-10-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

We drove to Moab, UT mid October for an adult mountain biking adventure. Yes, we took the kiddos and they had loads of fun too - but... we (the adults) had more fun!! We left Friday evening after work and arrived in Moab late Friday evening. We went with 4 other families and there were a total of 8 kiddos. On Saturday the guys had a long ride while the girls stayed home and played with the kids and the girls had a long ride on Sunday while the guys played with the kids. We all were able to ride each day while taking turns with the kids. Oh.. it was sooooooo much fun. Great friends, great food and great mountain biking makes for an awesome long weekend trip to Moab.

The Guys (Finn, Paul & Mike)

The Girls (Nicole, Gillian & Roxanne)

Elisa, Nicole, Gillian & Roxanne on the Merrimack & Monitor Trail

Nicole, Elisa & Gillian on The Sovereign Trail

Nicole and Gillian

Nicole, Gillian & Elisa

Our first snow this season

2011-10-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

It snowed in Steamboat on Oct 8. We went for a family hike (Spring Creek Trail) over the weekend and it was just beautiful. The leaves on the trees were at their peak. All we were missing was... The Sun!

East Coast - Take II

2011-10-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

We made another trip back east for Katie (Adam's cousin and good friend) & Joe's wedding in Portland, ME. The wedding weekend was absolutely beautiful. There was so much love between the both of them and everyone supporting their unity. It was so fun to be a part of it.

The happy couple, Katie & Joe

Grampy Steve and Grammy Chris w/ McKenzie

The ferry over to the island

Ethan, Adam, cousin Lucy and Aunt Kate enjoying the ferry

Had a wonderful time at the wedding while Grammy and Grampy watched the kiddos!

The BOYS

Elisa, Darcy, Kate and Martha

Jeremy & Kate

Marty & Kate

Gerhard, Quaim, Darcy & Adam

On the way home from Portland, we visited Robyn and Matt.

They live a couple of blocks from a really fun playground.

We were on our way to a pumpkin patch, but it started raining.

So.. we ended up at the bowling alley! Who doesn't LOVE candle pin bowling?! Fun, Fun!!

cousin Nicholas, Erica, McKenzie, Jake & Ethan

Grammy Sheila and McKenzie

Ethan and Kenzie at the park!

While we were on the east coast, my Gram passed away (Grammy Olga) at the age of 88. She was a beautiful woman in so many ways. Although very sad, it was really comforting to be with family.

Gram, we'll miss you.

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

We had a fun filled Labor Day Weekend that included dinner at our house with friends, attending the Air Show, judging at the Chili Contest, biking with the kiddos in the trailer (even Kenzie), a girls / guys mountain bike ride, going out to dinner, fun at the pool, and lots of kids & adults enjoying each others company.

Air Show in Steamboat

All the kiddos at the Air Show (I'm wearing Kenzie!) Believe it or not - we traveled with 8 adults and 8 kiddos all weekend!

Nicole & Elisa after our mtn bike climb. Now it's time for the fun part!

Biking to town with the kiddos in tow! What a view!

Ethan and Dad checking out the planes

McKenzie and Ethan in the bike trailer. Getting ready to head out for the day.

I think we may have a pilot on our hands!

Paul and Elliot having fun at the air show

What's New?

2011-09-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

We're still trying to get settled back in from our vacation. As soon as we got home - there were lots of changes and we're still trying to get into a "routine".

1. Ethan started his big boy preschool. He goes 3 days a week and so far seems to be doing very well. It was quite a transition from his daily daycare routine to a more structured day with bigger kids. He's the smallest and youngest kiddo in his school. While out on the playground at preschool, we heard one of the other kids say, "Watch out for the baby" (talking about Ethan). He LOVES his new school and is pretty much fully potty trained (with very few accidents).

With all that's going on, Ethan has been waking up in the middle of the night crying, "Monsters are getting me. Save me". Sometimes he's awake and sometimes he upset in his sleep and we have to completely wake him up (turn lights on) and reassure him that he's OK and there are NO MONSTERS. or.. sometimes he says, "Spiders are getting me". Poor little guy.

2. I am back to work PT and Kenzie started daycare this week. She will be going 3 days a week, but staggered days with Ethan so I can get one day alone with both Ethan and Kenzie. She didn't drink as much as she normally does on her first day but was pretty happy most of the day. Her second day was much better and she's eating a bit more.

3. We just started McKenzie on some solid food. So far she's had sweet potatoes, pees, carrots and beef. And... she loves all food! She's quite the talker too. She just babbles and babbles. She adores her big brother and pretty much anything dangerous that he does, she loves! Ethan also enjoys entertaining her and putting on a show. I bet he wont be as excited about her growing up when she starts taking his toys!

4. Mom and dad have been taking turns watching the kiddos and have gotten out on some mountain biking rides. The only thing about mountain biking in Steamboat is that it's a straight climb UP (which is always quite challenging) and a really fun ride down.

Kenzie gumming an apple. YUM!

"Mom, take a picture of me... CHEESE" (at breakfast)

Big bro and little sis chillin out on the couch

All smiles in the hammock

morning snuggle time

Mountain bike ride w/ Steamboat Mtn in the back - just beautiful.

Nicole, Roxanne & Elisa

Summah Vacation

2011-08-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

Wowee... we're back from a wonderful east coast vacation visiting family and friends. We had loads of fun in Maine blueberry picking, sailing, jumping (at the sand pit), cooking together, beautiful sunsets at beech hill, kayaking/canoeing, making our first trip(s) to the general store (aka - candy store), swimming, celebrating cousin Jo and Jess's wedding, playing tag, throwing rocks in the ocean, playing soccer, relaxing at Cross Pond, visiting the fish hatchery, feeding the ducks, climbing Dunn rock and celebrating Grammy Chris's 60th birthday.

Kenzie with Pop Pop and Nana at Beech Hill

Uncle Mike and Ethan just getting back from a Sail

Yay for COUSINS!! (Delphina, Kenzie, Ethan and Lucy)

Proud Granparents!

Delphi, Kenzie and Dad hanging out on the beach

Jumping at the sand pit (Jeremy, Delphina & Ethan)

Playing around with Aunt Kate

Uncle Jeremy and Kenz

Brothers!

Kim, Elisa & Jane around the campfire

Goofing around with Grammy, Grampy and cousin Lucy

After dinner on the ocean in Belfast, ME

After dancing the night away (Amy, Darcy, Elisa)

Amy... this one's for you!!

In Massachusetts we enjoyed celebrating Uncle Nick and Aunt Jen's wedding and break dancing the night away (until I fell asleep in the corner all night!), swimming, boating, meeting baby Hadley, playing with crazy doggie Roxie, vising Nona, watching the Movie "Cars"- about 5 times, visiting with friends, going to the aquarium, wake boarding, playing at many play grounds, riding bikes and tractors over the ramp, celebrating Grampy Dave's 60th birthday, campfires w/ smores makings, visiting with friends and even had a couple of "date nights".

Cuddle time with Grampy Dave

Grammy Sheila and Ethan - couldn't go anywhere without back pack!

Relaxing on the lake

Visiting with Nona

Hanging out with Aunty Robyn

Going over the ramp on the tractor with Grampy Dave

Uncle Nick and Aunt Jen's wedding - Congratulations!!

Grammy Sheila and Grampy Dave dancing w/ Kenzie

Mom and Ethan being silly

Kenzie enjoying some cuddle time with Aunty Linda

Family photo at the wedding

Mom and adorable little Kenz

Thank you to everyone for making our stay so FUN! As much fun as we had - it's soooooo good to be back in our own home, sleeping in our own beds. For more photos of our vacation, CLICK HERE!

July 4th and Balloon Festival

2011-07-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

We went to the parade in downtown Steamboat on the 4th of July. It was super hot but lots of fun. Ethan's favorite part was sitting on the fire truck to watch the parade!

We watched fire works from the DeCrette's house - PRIME TIME viewing area (near Howelsen Hill where the fireworks were being launched from). Ethan stayed up really late and had lots of fun with Carsen and Jackie!

Last weekend we went to our first Balloon Rodeo in Steamboat. It was sooooo much fun. We woke the kids up at 5am and biked to Bald Eagle Lake in East Steamboat. I rode with Kenzie in the bjorn and Adam took Ethan in the bike trailer.

Biking Kenzie to Balloon Rodeo

The first obstacle of the "rodeo" - all balloons have to touch their basket down on Bald Eagle Lake.

It was pretty muddy - nice work, E. (notice Ethan's sneakers)

Morning nap

The DeCrette's

It's time to go.. we're almost at "Meltdown" stage and we still have to bike home!!

Camp, Camp, Camping!!

2011-06-26T20:58:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went camping with The Vaughan's and their friends, The Shaws, at Granby Lake. We arrived at the campground and it said, "Campground FULL!" We thought - Oh, no... not again... Luckily The Vaughan's got there just in time to get the last campsite and we fit 6 adults and 5 kiddos pretty comfortably. We did a lot of eating, drinking, sleeping, laughing, walking, watching kids ride bikes and throw rocks into the lake! It was REALLY relaxing and fun was had by all.

Our new "shade shelter"! Looks like Kenzie is enjoying it.

Ethan spent all day throwing rocks into the lake! He kept saying (or should I say screaming), "Mama, Dada - WATCH ME!"

Heather and Maddox enjoying the view

Fast asleep

The gang!

Arwen and Maddox resting in the "Little Guy"

Ethan and Dada taking a nap

Soooooooo sweet!

Still sleeping...Ethan sleeps better camping than he does at home!

Does it get any cuter? Her hat is over her eyes!

Ethan enjoying the views while going potty!

Buds

Hanging out in the pack and play

Camping at Grand Mesa .... or not!

2011-06-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

Our first camping trip this summer was w/ The DeCrette Family on McKenzie's 3 month birthday! We left Steamboat at 1:00pm and didn't get to our final destination until 7:00pm. I know, you must be thinking, "Oh, those poor kids - in the car for 6 hours." But.. what you should really be thinking is, "Oh, those poor parents - having to deal with 2 kids in the car for 6 hours!" Well, all things considered - the drive wasn't as bad as it could have been, but.. the adults sure needed a drink as soon as we arrived at the campground! We had planned to go to Grand Mesa (about 3 hours and 15 min) campground. We got there and the campground was closed - due to snow still on the ground!! It was absolutely beautiful, but... I'm glad it was closed because it would have been really cold at night and Kenzie just turned 3 months. We ended up finding another campground 30 minutes away and still had a great time. Kenzie is a wonderful little camper. As usual, she did awesome. Ethan had fun playing with Jackie and Elliot. And.. the adults had fun too!

No trees at the campsite. ( luckily it was windy because it was pretty hot!)

The kiddos hanging out

Cheese!

The guys making breakfast

Ethan has been hard core potty training for 2 weeks now and he's doing great! We even took the potty camping. Not bad views while sitting on the potty! We got him some big boy underpants. His favorite are Diego.

Ethan and Elliot

Ethan takes his bike everywhere and is so good. We took it on our hike and he was riding down stairs and rocks. He's going to be one good mountain biker!

Who's going to win?!

Hanging out in the tent out of the wind and sun

Oh, can you feel the love?!

Family nap time! Well, that's what we had hoped for anyway. Ethan wouldn't fall asleep - ended up waking up Kenzie so we had to go for a drive so Ethan would take a nap!

Ethan in the tent ready for bed.

A Fun Filled Weekend!

2011-06-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

The Vaughan's recently came to visit us in Steamboat. We had a great weekend filled with hiking, swimming, soaking, eating, drinking (did someone say... Margarita?!), laughing, lounging on the hammock, napping, cooking, the kayak festival, jumping in the jumpy castle, playing on the playground, picnicking and we even fit some Dora watching in!! What a fun filled weekend.

Ethan and Roan goofing around at the dinner table!

Having a picnic mid-hike! (Fish Creek Falls)

The dads and the boys (Right: Arwen with Maddox / 5 months)

Heather and Roan / Fish Creek Falls

Hmm.. can't seem to rotate this one?!

Strawberry Park Hot Springs

In the Tee Pee getting dressed at the hot springs

Maddox and McKenzie hanging out and holding hands ;)

Waking up from his nap (has to carry ALL his animals downstairs)

Hanging out having fun!

Long Time No Blog...

2011-05-22T15:22:00.000-07:00

I know, I know - I haven't updated the blog in a while. Honestly, I'll be lucky if I update it once a month (or two) now! We are just super busy having fun with the kiddos and there's no time to blog anymore!! (and.. I'm still on maternity leave, hmmmm.) I thought I'd share some quick updates on what we've been up to.

Kenzie and I took a last minute flight to West Palm Beach to surprise my mom for mothers day. We met up with my folks and sister, Danielle. We all had so much fun. This was the first time Kenzie went swimming!!

Bathing Beauty!

At the pool at our resort

At the beach before dinner

Grammy and Grampy enjoying every second w/ Kenzie

Everyone wanted a photo w/ Kenzie- even Aunty Danielle!

I know, I know - the hat, headband, sunglasses and binky were a bit much - but Grammy dressed her and then she got tired when we were taking photos so she needed the binky!

We took Ethan to the Carnival today. He could only go on a few rides as all rides had a height requirement. But.. most of the attendants let us sneak him on the ride (he didn't meet ANY height requirement!) He had NO facial expression the whole time he was on a ride. Every time he went by us - we would wave and shout. He looked at us like, "What are you doing? Why are you acting so crazy?"

Ethan is also in swimming lessons. He LOVES it!! He's the smallest one in his class and his teacher adores him. He jumps off the side and swims underwater to you (with his cute little goggles on). It's pretty cute!

Happy Easter EveryBUNNY!

2011-04-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

Ethan woke up at a reasonable hour this morning. Although we prepped him that if he was a good boy the Easter Bunny would visit our house and leave some presents for him... he didn't quite get it. So.. we went downstairs to have breakfast as we would any other morning and on his way down the stairs he noticed some eggs. He picked one up, opened it and said, "LOOK Mama and Dada!". I said, "I think the Easter Bunny came to our house and left some presents for Ethan and McKenzie". His face lit up. He continued down the stairs and noticed another egg. He said, "ANOTHER one"! He was super excited and continued on his hunt for MORE eggs filled with treats. After opening his Easter basket we had some breakfast and played with some new toys. It's been a pretty relaxing day.

How Sweet!

"I LOVE Easter!"

"Hmmmm.. anything in here?!"

"That carrot looks good!"

What have we been up to?! We'll we've got our hands full with 2 kiddos. There's really no time for the computer or blogging - so forgive me in advance!! I have McKenzie M-W and both Ethan and Kenzie on Thursdays and Fridays. I try to get housework, laundry, excercise and errands done on M-W as Kenzie is pretty easy going and very portable. It's nice to have some quality time with Kenzie on those days because on Th & Fri's it's all about Ethan. We go to gymnastics, have play dates, ride bikes and make sure Ethan gets enough exercise so that he'll nap for me!

It's still sometimes hard for Ethan not to get Mama and Dada's attention ALL the time and when he wants it - but he's doing pretty well. He's still working on being patient. He loves his sister very much and is always so sweet with her. To my surprise, he gave her a binky when she was crying (and didn't even try to take it for himself!) When Kenzie is crying he'll go over to her and say, "Oh, it's OK little one. Don't cry." (in a baby voice) It's pretty cute. His other most used phrase is "Oopsie Daisy". When he drops something or does something by accident. (Not sure where he got that one!)

McKenzie is as sweet as ever. She's pretty low maintenance and just goes with the flow. She's been sleeping 6-8 hours during the night. When it's bath time she just sits there and lets me wash her - no crying. Last week she started smiling!! Oh, it's the sweetest thing and just melts my heart. She's been making lots of grunting noises lately. She's nursing really well and compared to Ethan is bigger than he was when he was 6 weeks. She's getting much stronger and holds her head up quite well. She's had much more "awake" time these last couple of weeks. When Ethan is playing or acting crazy / silly - McKenzie will look at him like, "What the heck are you doing? Do you ever slow down?

Adam has been busy working and I've been busy taking care of the kiddos, cooking and cleaning. Who knew 1 little baby would create double OR MORE laundry?! Last week we met with a few window covering companies to get estimates on some blinds for the house. Yes, I know it's hard to believe we've lived here since November and still don't have any window coverings on any windows. (Except a few random blankets / shower curtains on a few windows- NICE!)

We haven't seen the sun in a week or so. It's been snowing, snowing, snowing! And... the forecast calls for more snow until Wednesday. It's not accumulating much - just snowing. It's been pretty warm this past week. We also saw some bear tracks in our yard yesterday but didn't see him. Although I love the snow and winter months - I'm ready for Spring!

Our new addition

2011-04-04T16:33:00.000-07:00

McKenzie Sage has been a wonderful addition to our family. She's so incredibly sweet and is such a good baby. She only cries when she's hungry or needs her diaper changed. She's a good eater and has taken to nursing like a pro. She sleeps most of the day with the exception of a few hours of awake time. She knows the difference between night and day and allows me to sleep for periods of 4-5 hours at a time before needing to nurse during the evening. Although it's been quite an adjustment for everyone - we are doing great.

Ethan has taken very well to a new baby sister. The first 4-5 days of being a new big brother was a bit rough for Ethan. He was acting out and having more "melt downs" than usual - which I think is pretty normal. He now adores baby sister and is always wanting to either hold or kiss baby "Kenzie". Ethan is always pretty rough with McKenzie and is always quite loud even when she's sleeping. She's definitely going to be one tough chick!

We took some family photos when McKenzie was 8 days old - enjoy! To view more photos CLICK HERE.

A visit from Grammy Sheila, Grampy Dave and Aunt Danielle

2011-04-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

Gammy Sheila, Grampy Dave and Aunty Danielle came to visit after Grammy Chris. We've been so very lucky to have such wonderful guests to help out with everything. And.. we're sad to say that all of our visitors have left. We've been on our own since Friday afternoon and surprisingly have been doing OK. It took some time to get used to cooking our own meals, cleaning up after our meals, not having fresh fruit cut up every morning with coffee/juice made, not waking up to the smell of bacon in the morning, doing our own laundry, making our own beds and not having an extra person to entertain Ethan! So, it's back to reality for us as we've been living in a dream world! Thank you Grammy Sheila, Grampy Dave and Aunt Danielle for all of your help. Ethan misses you already!! (even you, Aunty 'yel) Here are a few photos of all the fun we had during their visit. To see additional photos CLICK HERE.

A fun ski day at Howelsen Hill - we all tried to keep up with Ethan!

Proud Grammy Sheila and Grampy Dave!

Aunty Danielle and Elisa (sisters)

Big Brother holding baby sister

Ethan having a blast at the hot spring pools.

"Ready or not - here I come, Grammy!"

Adam and Dad enjoying some down time in the hot springs

Our hike up Fish Creek Falls

Grampy Dave trying on some cowboy hats downtown

Chilling out on the couch w/ some popcorn

Happy Birthday, Adam!

Apparently, there is a Mexican tradition of whipped cream on your face?!

Grammy and Kenzie

Proud Big Brother holding Kenzie

Grampy Dave getting some cuddle time with Kenzie

The adjustable cubby / book shelves that Grampy Dave made for Kenzie and Ethan! Pretty impressive!!

Ethan LOVES holding baby Kenzie. She just goes with the flow!

Getting in some last minute Kenzie time before Grampy Dave and Aunt Danielle leave

Grammy Sheila stayed for an additional 5 days and got some extra quality time with Ethan and Kenzie

Thanks for my Easter basket, Grammy and Grampy!

(We made the mistake of giving him a piece of chocolate if he finished his lunch - not a good idea before nap time. He didn't go down for his nap for another 2 hours!!)

Precious McKenzie Sage

2011-03-30T11:55:00.000-07:00

We had some photos taken when McKenzie was 8 days old. Here are a few "sneak peak" photos. More to come SOON!

Grammy Kramer's Visit

2011-03-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

Grammy Kramer (Adam's mom) came to Steamboat on Wednesday, March 9th (baby girls due date). We were hoping that baby would wait until mom got here because she was acting as my doula. And.. she did! It was perfect timing - mom got to see what our normal daily routine was like and then baby decided to come Friday morning. I am so very grateful that mom was here to help me through my labor and delivery. I could not have done it without both her or Adam. I was so lucky to have both of them with me in the delivery room as support.

Once McKenzie was born mom certainly had her work cut out for her. She was not only making all meals, cleaning up after all meals, cleaning the house, etc.. She was also making sure Ethan had at least 2-3 activities each day that she was in charge of... whether it was skiing, biking, hiking, snow shoeing, going to the library, sledding, etc.. You name it!! We had so much fun with Grammy Kramer. Grammy also had an over lapping weekend with my mom, dad and sister! Oh, what fun we had. Grammy Kramer / Mom - thanks so much for all of your help!

For more photos of Grammy Kramer's visit, CLICK HERE!

Grammy and Ethan in the back yard

My first outing with McKenzie.

We went to the library and biking on the bike path downtown.

Dad and Ethan sledding

Having a french fry snack after sledding at the mountain

I have my hands full. Hmm.. I'd better get used to this!

Dada, Ethan and Grammy went skiing while mom and Kenzie took photos

Celebrating Adam's birthday!!

Too cute!

All the kiddos having fun at the kid table!

Dada and Ethan. This was the first time that mom was able to ski with Ethan.

Oh, this was so much fun!

What a great day! Everyone went skiing (even Aunty Danielle and Grampy Dave) while Grammy Sheila and Kenzie watched us! So much fun!! What a special day.

After skiing, we all went to the hot springs. Oh, it felt so good!

Please welcome.... McKenzie Sage Maines

2011-03-11T21:46:00.000-08:00

"Kenzie" was born on 3.11.11 at 9:19am weighing 6 lbs 14 oz and 18.5 inches long. She's just perfect - in every way! I started feeling contractions on 3.11.11 at 1:00am but they weren't strong enough for me to get out of bed until 3:00am. I then got out of bed and started laboring / walking around the house and packed some last minute items for the hospital. I thought to myself, "This is it! We're going to have a baby girl soon - Yahoo!" Adam and I arrived at the hospital at 6:00am and Grammy Kramer took Ethan to The DeCrette's house and joined us at the hospital. With the help of Adam and Grammy Kramer I labored in the hospital for another 3 hours (with no medication). Believe it or not - the most comfortable place to labor was on the toilet!! Who knew?!?! When I felt like I wanted to push I quickly got to the hospital bed, the doctor came in and asked me to not push until he got his scrubs on. I said, "I'll try my best to breathe through this next contraction.. but I REALLY feel like I need to push!" And.. with one push - beautiful baby McKenzie was born. She immediately started breast feeding and since then has been a fantastic eater! After about an hour and a half I walked to my post postpartum room and felt great! Oh, what a different labor experience from when I had an epidural with Ethan. Again, I couldn't have done it without Adam and Grammy Kramer. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

Ethan came to meet McKenzie at the hospital later that day. He loves baby sister, "Kenzie". He made her a card, brought her a present and was sharing his stickers with her. And.. that's a BIG deal. He LOVES his stickers! But.. after we had birthday cake to celebrate the birth of McKenzie - he was on to the next best thing. So, Grammy Kramer took Ethan back home and Adam and I spent a relaxing night at the hospital with McKenzie. We left the hospital at 10:00am the next day. And.. we've been enjoying our time as a family. Oh, we are so very lucky.

Ethan meets McKenzie

Leaving the hospital. On our way HOME!

I think I can handle this big brother thing. I'm already calling people to tell them I'm such a big boy! I can't seem to rotate this image the correct way - sorry.

Proud Big Brother

Baby Maines' Due Date (3.9.11) - I baked a cake and we celebrated her due date hoping she would want to join us!

40 Weeks

2011-03-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday (Wednesday, March 9th) was baby girl's due date and... I'm still prego! Ethan was 10 days late and I'm hoping since it's my second pregnancy that she'll come sooner than Ethan did. Yesterday Grammy Kramer arrived in Steamboat and we had such a fun day. Adam and I went to our 40 week dr.'s appointment and I'm almost 5 cm dilated and 80% effaced. The baby's head is still still floating (at position -2) meaning she was not in the right position for me to start laboring but that could change at any time. We had a non stress test that went great - she's healthy & moving, I had some contractions and she's measuring perfectly. We also had an ultrasound to measure the amniotic fluid and that was great too. Then.. it was off to my pre-natal massage - OH that was SO nice and much needed! I'm feeling quite good but my lower back is always pretty sore. Then.. I picked up Grammy Kramer from the airport and we went out to lunch and then had a pedicure. Oh, the pampering!! We then picked up Ethan from daycare, made dinner and baked a cake for baby girl (to entice her to join us in this world!). We even sang happy birthday - it was TOO CUTE... Ethan sang..."Happy Birthday dear BABY SISTER!" It just melted my heart and pretty much made me cry. Today was an absolute beautiful sunshiny day. We went for a nice walk while Ethan rode his bike, came home and had a snack, reviewed different laboring positions, played more, ate lunch, took a nap (while Grammy went grocery shopping), Ethan rode his bike more and then went to the mountain and went skiing (not me - I just watched!), Grammy made dinner and then we had some fun & games time before bed time. Last night I had quite a few contractions - enough to wake me up but today only a few contractions. Maybe they'll be some action tonight! Hope to share some baby news with you soon!

39 weeks

2011-03-02T13:15:00.000-08:00

Our 39 week appointment went very well today. I'm pretty much in the same place I was last week (which is great) - 4cm dilated and 80% effaced. If I were anymore dilated I'd be in labor! There hasn't been any signs of baby girl wanting to join us quite yet. So, until the time comes we're all just anxiously awaiting her arrival. I'm hoping that she waits until March 9th (my due date) so that Grammy Kramer will be here for the labor / delivery.

This past week I've been pretty uncomfortable - especially when it comes to sleeping. Thank goodness for Adam taking such good care of Ethan (AND ME!) these last few weeks of my pregnancy. I'm not sure what I would do without him. Thanks for being such a wonderful husband, Ad - I love you!

The "Gee" removal has been great. Ethan hasn't been asking for his Gee at nap / bedtime anymore. He's getting to be such a big boy. The other day we were playing on the couch and he accidentally elbowed me pretty hard in the belly. He looked at me with a surprised face, rubbed my belly and said, "I'm sorry baby sister"! Oh, it was the cutest damn thing. Just melted my heart. I can't wait for Ethan to meet his baby sister. He's going to be a great big brother!

Stay tuned...

Family Photos @ 37.5 weeks

2011-02-28T10:26:00.000-08:00

Last week we took some family photos. It was really fun. For more photos CLICK HERE.

Home Stretch

2011-02-28T09:19:00.000-08:00

Our good friend, Susie, visited us from San Francisco this weekend. We had a great weekend! Ethan, Susie and Adam went skiing, we met up with some Denver friends that were in town for lunch at the mountain, we went out to a nice dinner to celebrate my birthday and also hit the Strawberry Park hot springs.

Susie, Ethan and Dada getting ready for their first run!
Ethan was SO excited to be skiing with Susie "Snow Boarder"!

"Look at me, mom! I'm skiing all by myself - I'm such a big boy!"

Strawberry Park Hot Springs. It was a beautiful day!

38 Weeks

2011-02-23T11:45:00.000-08:00

We had our 38 week appointment today and it went great. Doc says I'm almost 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced -which is fantastic progress already! I've been having some contractions here and there but nothing serious / consistent. Baby girl seems pretty cozy in there so until she's ready to come out - we'll be anxiously awaiting her arrival!

On another note - This week is a big week for Ethan. He gave up his "gee" (aka. binky) on Friday evening - no, not voluntarily - but with some explaining and reasoning he was completely understanding. We told him that he was such a big boy now that he didn't need "gee" anymore and that we had to save them for baby sister. Adam and I are super proud of him because he REALLY LOVES his "gee". He sometimes asks for it at nap / bedtime - but we just say that we said bye bye to gee and he's such a big boy that he doesn't need it anymore. Ethan was so excited to go to daycare with Mr. Elephant (stuffed animal) and tell Miss Kristen (day care provider) that he was a big boy and didn't need gee anymore. So far so good. We'll see what happens if baby sister needs gee!

37 weeks

2011-02-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

We had our 37 week appointment last Wednesday. Oh, I feel so relieved that baby girl is full term. Appointment went really well - I'm 3 cm dilated and 60% effaced. I could have baby girl tomorrow or in another 3 weeks. Either way... we're ready and very anxious to meet her!

Yesterday we had 37.5 week photos taken of the family and my belly. Our photographer already sent a few "sneak peek" photos. Enjoy!

Winter Fun, Fun, Fun!

2011-02-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

Our friends, Nick and ilana, visited us from Denver this past weekend. We had lots of fun skiing, shopping, sledding, eating out / cooking in, hiking and even made it to the hot springs in Strawberry Park.

Nick & ilana at the mountain

Ethan, Dada & Nick all went for a ski

ilana, Elisa and Ethan (sleeping in the backpack) went for a hike

still sleeping!

Adam crawled into this igloo outside of a bar we were at

pretty cool!

36 Weeks

2011-02-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

I was 36 weeks on Wednesday, Feb 9th. We had a Dr.'s appointment and baby girls heartbeat is very healthy and she's measuring perfectly! Doc says she's head down and I'm 2 cm dilated. Besides feeling a bit big and uncomfortable, I'm doing great. Here are a few pictures of my belly. We're certainly enjoying all this snow! I'll try to post weekly updates until baby girl's arrival. (Due March 09) Stay tuned!

Winter Carnival

2011-02-07T13:45:00.000-08:00

Our good friends Melissa and Jason visited us from Denver this weekend. We had loads of fun skiing, eating out, shopping, watching movies and went to the 98th annual Steamboat Springs Winter Carnival. Saturday Melissa, Jason, Adam and Ethan had an amazing powder day on the mountain and it continued to snow all day. The Winter Carnival was a weekend full of events. We went to the events on Saturday night that the winter sports club put on. All events took place after 6:30pm and was in the. Some of the events included a torch light parade (skiers, snowboarders, cross country skiers and telemark skiers), jumps (big & small), "The lighted Man" skied down the mountain, folks jumping through a huge ring of fire and lots of fireworks. It was crazy to see how many talented young men/women are here in Steamboat. There were even kids from 5-8 in the events Sat. evening - pretty hard core if you ask me!

The crew at the base of Howelsen Hill watching the events / fireworks

It's COLD out!

Elisa & Melissa (Winter Carnival)

Jason & Melissa

Sunday, we went to some street events downtown where they shut down the Lincoln St (main street) to vehicles and hosted all types of events. Some of which included: horses pulling kiddos on skis, the doggie dash (where kids are being pulled in sleds by their dogs), the daddy dash (where dads get on their hands and knees and pull their kiddos behind them in sleds) and a fun parade.

Dad and Jason carrying Ethan for the "no snow" sidewalk section.

He got lots of comments from all the "lookers".

Good times at the street events / parade

The Marching Band - ON SKIS!

Everyone in the parade was on skis.

A Steamboat gondola from 1970

Ah... this is the life!

2011-02-07T12:59:00.001-08:00

Snow Days with Grammy Kramer

2011-02-01T10:11:00.000-08:00

We had a great visit with Grammy Kramer last week! We went skiing, sledding, hiking/walking, swimming, bike riding, pulled 2 sleds at once, read lots of books and even got some knitting and violin playing in! Here are some photos and videos! Enjoy!

"I carry my skis myself!"

Grammy & Ethan getting ready for their first ski together!

Here we go!

Resting after some skiing w/ hot chocolate and fruit snacks!

"Grammy is helping me get my skis on - for a 2nd go"

Dad and EQ on the chair lift!

I'm a big boy now- I'm too big for the magic carpet!

We all went for a hike/sled with Ethan's friend, Elliot! It was COLD!

Ethan is skiing w/ dad, Jackie (3 yrs. old) and Mr. Paul

Ethan saw his buddy, Jackson (3 yrs old), from school at the mountain!

This is the view from mom and dads bedroom balcony - look at all of this snow!

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Ethan's 2 already!

2011-01-21T10:38:00.000-08:00

Happy Happy Birthday to our awesome son, Ethan! We can't believe that we're celebrating 2 whole years with him already. Wowee - time flies when you're having fun! We had a birthday party for him last weekend and he had loads of fun playing with all the kiddos! Here are some photos from the party.

Dada and Ethan having breakfast together before the big b-day party!
(Adam may kill me for posting this one. But... it's just so cute!)

Sean and Cade having fun

Ethan - still at the table eating!

"Wow - look at all these cupcakes!"

Happy Birthday, EQ!

mmmm, mmmmm, good!

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Magic Carpet

2011-01-04T12:45:00.000-08:00

We took Ethan skiing this weekend. He loved riding the magic carpet (people mover) BUT... he wanted to do it himself! He wants to get on the magic carpet himself, get off the magic carpet himself and ski himself. He did not want any help. And.. if you attempted to help him, he would say, "NO Mama - NO! I DO IT! GO..." motioning for you to "go away". Well, he didn't want any help until he started going at a pretty good clip down the hill and realized that he didn't know how to slow down. ;) Ethan has incredible balance. We tried working on slowing down (pizza, pizza, pizza) - but he didn't get it 100%. We still have to work on "the pizza wedge". He's really comfortable on his skis - but the only problem is that he just points them straight down the hill! We unfortunately left our ski adventure while having a major meltdown. That was quite an experience! I guess he was working pretty hard and it was only 10 degrees out! He fell fast asleep on the car ride home. Until next time...

2011-01-04T12:33:00.003-08:00

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Ho! Ho! Ho!

2010-12-26T20:34:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful first Christmas in our new home in Steamboat. Friday night we ordered Chinese food and had a relaxing evening by the Christmas tree. Ethan was in bed by 8:00pm which left time for mom and dad to stuff stockings, do some last minute wrapping and put presents under the tree. We all had a good night sleep and Ethan got up around 7:30pm. We went downstairs to see that Santa came!! We all had some breakfast and then opened stockings / presents. That pretty much took all day! He opened one present and wanted to play with it for at least a half hour before he was interested in opening another present. By 1:30 we decided that we would save some of the presents for his birthday. He had present OVERLOAD. Although we weren't with family this Christmas we felt really close to them. Besides "Skyping" on Christmas Eve, we had loads of gifts sent to us in the mail. Thanks to all of our family for making our first Christmas in Steamboat so special.

After lunch Ethan took a nap while mom and dad prepared for our guests, The DeCrette's, to arrive. We had an appetizer dinner with The DeCrette's while the kiddos ran around and played with all the new toys. We put the kids to bed and watched a movie on our new TV. It was so nice and relaxing. What a great Christmas we had. It was so much fun watching Ethan get so excited about opening presents and playing with them. Oh.. it's so much more fun on Christmas with kids!

Ethan just LOVED his new doll stroller.
He strolled around "moosie" all day!

"Look at my new mittens! - I have 3 on!"

Dada is showing Ethan how to use his new tool set

Check out my new polarized sunglasses I got from Uncle Mike!

Ethan cheers Dada on while he puts together his
new tricycle he got from cousin Chrissy and Artie

"Look at me on my sharp new tricycle!"
I can't touch the pedals yet. Maybe I'll be ready to ride it by Spring.

My last present of the day was a train set from mom and dad. He just loves it!

Sunday we went for a cross country ski on Rabbit Ears pass. It was a beautiful sun shinny day. I probably shouldn't have been out there (on new nordic equipment) with my pulled ab and hurt shoulder - but was feeling good at the time and decided to go for it. Probably not the best idea. My skis were more "slippery" than I anticipated and felt really unstable on them. I fell several times and it was really hard to get back up with my big belly, a backpack, pulled ab and hurt shoulder! So, I probably did more damage - but it felt really good to get out. Ethan was in the backpack for most of the time. When we got back to the trail head we got his skis and he took a few runs on the trails. He had a great time and is feeling more confident on his skis. He fell asleep on the car ride home. Skiing really tuckers him out - I love it!

29 weeks - I'm sorry I haven't been very good at taking belly shots.
I certainly feel bigger than I look!

My FAVORITE part of skiing is the Hot Chocolate!

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A Dream Come True

2010-12-20T08:20:00.000-08:00

We took Ethan skiing for the first time last Thursday morning - it was a powder day. We were all geared up and ready to go - it sure does take a long time to get a toddler ready for a ski day (or should I say.. a ski couple of hours)!! We packed his skis (oh, they are just too cute), boots, helmet, a hat, a couple pairs of socks & mittens, diapers / wipes, tissues, loads of snacks and didn't forget the hot chocolate! We stepped outside to get in the car and realized it was really COLD! The car temperature gauge read 4 degrees. The whole event was quite a process (especially with a very independent almost 2 year old). Just walking from the car to the base in ski boots! We tried to carry Ethan and got.... "No, I DO IT!" So, what should have been a 10 minute walk turned into a 30 min. walk. While walking, we were stopped by random people 2 times to be in a photo shoot. Well, I should say Ethan was in the photo shoot. Everyone thought he was just so cute. I can't count the number of times we were asked how old he was.

Ethan found it a bit more challenging to walk in ski boots than in his snow boots - but he was very determined to do it himself! We finally got to the base and he saw lots of little boys and girls skiing. He was very excited to put on his skis - especially because he saw Dada with them on too. Ethan was a rock star - a little ripper already! He had a great first day on skis. However, he does not like it when we put the ski pole between his legs to pull him nor does he like holding onto the ski pole for balance.

He took about 5 runs in the kiddie area and then was ready to go inside, warm up and have some hot chocolate! After about 30 min. of warming up - I thought we were going to go outside, play in the snow and watch all the skiers come down while we waited for Adam to take a few runs, but I was wrong. Once we got outside he shouted, "More skiing, MaMa - More Skiing!" I was shocked but very excited he was up for round 2 of skiing. We put on his skis again and went down another 5 or so times. Oh, my back was killing me from bending over - but it was such a dream come true. What a great day!!

Walking from the car to the ski area.

He wanted to carry his own skis! (but he kept dropping them)

Skiing with Dada

The first AND LAST time he held onto the ski pole for balance

"No, Dada - I DO IT!"

(Note: one red mitten, one black mitten!)

Warming up inside with some hot chocolate.

Goofing around with Mama during our hot chocolate break!

Our friends, Pete and Edy, were in town from Boulder this weekend. We went skiing again on Saturday. It was dumping - another powder day. Ethan was very excited to go skiing again. This time we went on the MAGIC CARPET! The magic carpet is a kiddie lift that you step on and it carries you to the top of the ski area instead of hiking back up. The first time we went on the magic carpet - he was very intrigued and excited. When we got to the top he said, "Mama, pick me up!" Fortunately, there were lots of other little kids skiing and taking lessons in the area and he saw them go down the "Big Hill" so he wanted to go down the big hill too - and he did! He went right down. There were other little kids watching Ethan ski that said, "Look at the baby skiing"! He was quite a hit. And.. we are the proudest parents ever. Here are a few photos and videos.

Saturday - dumping snow! (2nd day on skis)

When he was all geared up, he had NO facial expression
(Well, besides the occasional tongue out!)

Licking off the left over hot chocolate all over his mouth!

Riding the Magic Carpet w/ Mama

Ethan's first ski pass!
(Free with the purchase of an adult pass)

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Look what we woke up to in our back yard...

2010-12-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

MOOSIE!
You can't really tell from the photo - but it was a really big moose!

Moosie hung out in our back yard for a couple of hours - just laying in the snow, relaxing.

Finding The Perfect Christmas Tree

2010-12-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we drove to a National Forest (with our permit, of course) with the DeCrette Family in search of the perfect Christmas tree! It was quite an adventure with 3 kiddos. We all snow shoed into the Forest and eventually made a "base camp". This is where the moms played with kiddos in the snow and the dads went on a search for a viable tree. All kids did great- Especially after some cookies and hot chocolate. We did find a couple of trees, cut them down, tied them to a sled to get out of the Forest, tied them to the roof of the car and they are now sitting in our homes nicely decorated!

Ethan and Jackie eating snow

Nicole with Jackie and Elliot

Adam heated the milk and water for some yummy hot chocolate!

The DeCrette Family

The whole gang

Paul and Adam got the trees on the sleds and lugged them out of the Forrest.

My Adorable boys with our freshly cut Christmas Tree!

Nicole and I on our hike out

Paul and Adam tying the trees to the cars

Yay - can't wait to get home and decorate our new tree!

Here she is! A bit skinny and a little "Charlie Brown" like - but she's just perfect!!Happy Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving Visit Back East

2010-12-06T15:17:00.000-08:00

After being in our new home for almost a week, we flew back east to visit family & friends for Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful visit.

Ethan and Nona spending some quality time together!

Aunty Robyn and Huffman playing with Ethan

Aunty Danielle cutting Ethan's hair

Ethan just loves that little 4 wheeler

Ethan and his cousin Nicholas, Jr. having fun

Nicholas Jr. had fun playing with the leaf blower! Is it hunting season?

Grampy Dave and EQ at the park on the swings

EQ, Erica and Nicholas Jr. coming down the slide

Ethan and DaDa. Don't they look like twins?!

My parents took all of us to Edaville Railroad one evening. We had loads of fun on all the rides, rode the chu chu train and saw all the pretty lights decorated for Christmas. This was Ethan's first "ride" - he hated it. He screamed the whole time for Da Da!

Aunty Danielle and Ethan on the train. He sure loves trains.

Ethan and mom switched hats. Ethan thought it was hilarious!

Grammy Sheila, Ethan and Grampy Dave at Edaville

Look DaDa, NO HANDS! This was the only ride that Ethan enjoyed (besides being on the real chu chu train). This ride went so very painfully slow! But.. he loved it!
(Mom, Ethan and Aunty Dani)

Although it wasn't Thanksgiving Day - we had our own Thanksgiving at my folks house. Great food, good company and lots of play time with the kiddos.
(Grammy and Grampy with their grandsons)

Only one of the many tables - celebrating Thanksgiving

On our way from Boston to Maine, we stopped at Adam's cousins house and spent time with Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and their kiddos. We had so much fun!
(Ethan is giving Anson a hug - too cute)

Cousin Darcy with Anson and Aunt Linda with baby Rhys.

A great photo of the Rollins'

We made it to Abbot, Maine where Adam's dad's family lives. When we arrived (at midnight) we came across a few trees that were down across the driveway (yeah.. it's a very long driveway). We left the car there and his dad came to pick us up. They cut the trees down in the morning and everyone made it for Thanksgiving dinner.

Nana Martha is making a special gift for baby girl Maines. She had everyone at the Thanksgiving table hand print their hands on what will soon become a baby blanket for baby girl. What a great idea! Ethan is making his mark!

Grammy Chris and Nana Martha preparing for the big Turkey Dinner!
Family photo on Thanksgiving!

We were able to meet sweet baby Lucy! (or as Ethan says, "Baby Juicy".
Here are all of her very proud grandparents. So sweet!

Marty, Kate and baby Lucy all bundled up for a walk after loads of Turkey!

Ethan and Uncle Jeremy and Kate built a snowman
Ethan had lots of fun pulling the sled AND being pulled in the sled!

Uncle Mike and EQ

"Look - I have a stick in my mouth too!" (just like Adri- the dog)

A very talented musical family playing songs after turkey dinner

Ethan giving baby Lucy kisses! Every time he saw "baby juicy" he wanted to give her kisses. Uncle Marty and Grammy Chris sledding with Ethan

Uncle Mike, Grammy Chris & Ethan, Uncle Marty and Grampy Steve hiking, sledding and having fun at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine.

We were able to spend a few days with Heather & Jamin and their 2 kiddos
(L: Emerson, Ethan and Avery).

Ethan and Emerson on a ride at the Wrentham Outlets!

Aunt Danielle got a new puppy towards the end of our trip. Here's Roxy and Ethan being silly.

Thank you to everyone for a great visit. We had loads of fun.

We moved!!

2010-12-06T14:38:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while since our last post - we've been busy, busy, busy!! We purchased a beautiful home in Steamboat Springs, CO. (4 bedroom/ 3.5 bath) Although we just recently moved in, it already feels like home.

We couldn't have done it without the help of Grampy Steve (Adams step dad) and Grampy Dave (Elisa's dad). Both grampy's flew into Denver and drove to Steamboat to help us move for a few days. What a great big help they were. We can't thank you enough for all of your love, support and muscles! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

Front of house

Common Area - walking into the front door, the common area is on your left.

Different Angle from the Common Area (Front Door on right / Adam's office is to the right of the front door)

Common Area opens up to the Kitchen

Awesome walk-in pantry off the kitchen

Laundry Room - also off of the kitchen area (on the way to the 2 car garage)

View of Steamboat Mountain!!

"The boys" having some fun!

We took "the grampy's" to the Strawberry Park Hot Springs where they where they were able to relax a bit after all that hard work!

For more pictures of the house click here!

Although we are still unpacking,re-arranging and putting holiday decorations up, we are getting settled in quite nicely and are super excited to be spending our first Christmas in our new home.

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

We had such an awesome Halloween day. We all slept in (well, as much as you can with a toddler!), made spicy pumpkin soup, carved a pumpkin, baked yummy pumpkin seeds got dressed in our Halloween costumes and went trick or treating.

Ethan and dad carving a pumpkin! Ethan says, "Ewwwww, I don't want to get my hands dirty!" We had to have a damp paper towel close by. He did like using the mini pumpkin carving knife (in picture).
Ethan was a Giraffe. The cutest little Giraffe! Although, we did bribe him (with some candy) to get on his costume, but once he saw mom and dad dress up too - he was much more willing to keep on the hat part of his costume (which kinda makes the whole costume!)

Trick or Treating at the neighbors (Lulu's house - Ethan's favorite little poodle)

After we hit our neighbors house, we went downtown to Trick Or Treat. All of Lincoln Street (the Main Street) is closed to cars and all the downtown businesses hand out candy to the Trick Or Treaters. Oh, it was great fun. At first, Ethan was a bit overwhelmed by the whole scene: the costumes, all the people / music, candy, and big kids pushing to get to the candy first! But.. he had a great time and was wondering why mom and dad were allowing him to have all this sugary yummy stuff!

Cow and Giraffe holding hands to cross the street

Ethan with his friends (our neighbors) Maggie (middle) and Jack (right)

You can't see it in the picture, but there was a fire truck in the middle of the road with the ladder extended way high into the sky! And.. a fire fighter climbed to the top and waved to all the kiddos."Hmm, let's see what else I can find in this pumpkin of mine!" Here, Ethan is sitting on the side of the road looking to see what other treats he wants to have - after he's finished his first lollipop!

There were lots of doggies dressed up too! He was very intrigued with the "hot dog" dog!

Mom and one tired little Giraffe! (notice the ski mountain in the background)

Ethan's friends, Jackie (Robot -middle) and Elliot (Alien -right)

What a night! We "Trick Or Treated" all of Lincoln Street and all needed to sit down and take a break! I think Ethan was on his 3rd lollipop of the night.

On our way home we told Ethan that once we got home we weren't going to have any more candy and it was time to get some milk, brush our teeth and go night night. He said OK. When we pulled in the driveway, Ethan said, "We're Home!" We were getting him out of his car seat and he was still sucking on a lollipop. We said, "Remember what we said about having candy when we got home?" Ethan said, "Bye Bye candy" and handed us the rest of his lollipop. Adam and I looked at each other in shock! We all had a great Halloween!

This is a random picture that I thought was cute to post! Ethan's getting ready for the snow to fly!

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To our surprise, IT'S A ....

2010-10-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

GIRL!!

Surprised?? WE SURE ARE!!! We had a 21 week ultrasound appointment today. The babe is doing great. She was a very busy little girl today during the ultrasound. She measured perfectly - a bit small, but that's just fine with me! We asked our doctor to write the sex of the baby on a piece of paper. She printed out an ultrasound photo and put it in an envelope. We told her that we were going on a special dinner date to celebrate the sex of our baby. Sounds like a great idea - but we were so excited / anxious that we couldn't wait until dinner. So... we went on a special "lunch" date instead! We opened the envelope and there was the ultrasound photo that read, "I'M A GIRL"! We were absolutely shocked! We thought for sure that we were having another boy. We're still in shock. But.. super excited!

We can not tell anything from this photo. Thank goodness its reads, "I'M A GIRL" - otherwise we would have no idea what the sex is!

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Grammy Kramer Visits Steamboat

2010-10-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

Grammy Kramer came to visit us from Maine last week. We all had a great visit. Ethan and Grammy got some good bonding time in while Adam and I worked. They did lots of biking, went to the library, went to the pool, to the playground and did lots of other fun things. Ethan has joined a dance class with his daycare. He was a bit distracted because mom and grammy went too.

All the kids are in a big circle - except Ethan.

Ethan is at the window- train and bird watching
(with his girl friend, Davis!)

The next day, Ethan had gymnastics! He LOVES going to the gym. He enjoys hanging from the rings, jumping on the trampoline, jumping into the "pit" of foam squares, riding the horsie and jumping off of anything!

Jumping on the trampoline. He's getting really good at it! (butt drop)

Riding the "horsie"Going through the tunnel. He's really concentrating - notice his tongue!

Ready... Set....

JUMP!! (as Ethan would say it - ONE, TWO, JUMP!!)

Jumping in the foam pit with Grammy!

After gymnastics, we went to the library and on a LONG bike ride downtown on the bike path - alongside the Yampa River. It was a gorgeous sunshiny Colorado day.

He's getting really good on his bike! Again, notice the concentration - tongue!

"I don't need any help - I do it by myself. YAY, I DID IT!!"

"OK, I've been riding my bike for over an hour now - grammy, can you help me on this bumpy grassy area?"

We went for a hike one evening. It started raining and the sun was about to set. This was the view!! A beautiful bright double rainbow - absolutely amazing!

It seems we can't drive anywhere without Ethan getting in the drivers seat and driving a bit himself. We can't just stand over him in the drivers seat - he points to the passengers seat and says, "Sit over there". We pretty much have to plan on an extra 10 minutes after we leave the house so Ethan can have some "driving time". He likes to get in the front seat and push ALL the buttons - he also just discovered how to beep the horn. And.. now he asks for the keys so he can blare the radio. Hm.. what are we in for in his teenage years??

The local ski shop was having their annual sale. Not only did mom and dad get some nordic equipment, but Ethan got his first pair of skis! For about $70 he got a rental set for the season that includes boots and skis. When we approached the salesman, he said - who are the skis for?? We pointed to Ethan and he said.. "Well, I think he may be a bit too young - maybe next year." We were a bit sad but talked to him for a while longer. He ended up bringing out the smallest ski boots he had and Ethan pretty much took them out of his hand and wanted to try them on. He was so excited to get the boots on his feet (initially, we thought this would be our biggest challenge!) Then.. he started walking around the store with a big smile on his face - super excited. Honestly, I think we were more excited than he was - just seeing him have so much fun with those damn boots on! Then.. he found some nearby stairs and started jumping off of them (with his ski boots on)!! The salesman said - well, maybe he IS ready! We ended up getting the season rental and while we were leaving the salesman said to Ethan, "Well, kid - see you in the X GAMES in another 5 years!"

Well, we got them home and he wanted to put both his ski boots and skis on. They are in his play area in the living room and he puts his boots on everyday. I think he's already praying for snow - even though he doesn't know how much fun the snow will be quite yet!!

Grammy - thanks so much for a fun visit!

2010-10-11T16:42:00.001-07:00

We're Pregnant!

2010-09-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right - we are pregnant with baby #2 and are super excited! I am 16 weeks along and our due date is March 9th, 2011. The reason why I haven't been very diligent with updating the blog is because it's quite challenging being pregnant and chasing around a toddler while not feeling so hot! I am now in my 2nd trimester and am feeling great! We've told Ethan that there is a baby in mommy's tummy and he's been very gentle and kisses my belly everyday. He's been super sweet and I think he'll be a fantastic big brother! We know that baby is doing great, has 4 limbs and a fast heartbeat. We'll know more at my 21 week appointment (i.e. sex of baby). Stay tuned!! Here are some ultrasound photos at my 10 week appointment.

Side Profile

3D ViewLaid back!

Remember When...

2010-09-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been 5 years since Adam and I were married in beautiful Stowe, VT. Here are some of my favorite photos to remember when...

The great groomsmen!
(L Mikhail, Nick, Marty, Adam, Jeff & Jeremy trying to hold bride!)
The amazing bridesmaids
(L: Heather, Danyel, Robyn, Adam, Danielle, Lisa)
My girls!

The DIP! Nice work, Maines!Adam, thanks for an amazingly wonderful 5 years! You're the best and I love you so much. Happy Happy Anniversary!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-09-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

While in Boulder, we went to a Pumpkin Patch! There was a corn maze, a hay maize, a small petting zoo area(including a mini horse that bites) and loads of pumpkins. The only thing that Ethan wanted to do was pull / push the wagon that we was supplied to put our pumpkins in!

Ethan started off IN the wagon and enjoyed being pulled for about 10 seconds. Then.. saw another little kid pulling their wagon and quickly jumped out and wanted to pull our wagon.

Nice work, buddy!

MAMA, DADA - I found one just my size!Yeah.. I like this pumpkin. I can carry it."This place is really fun. Can we take this wagon home?"

This is a photo taken from our back porch. There's lots of construction going on in all of Steamboat - even in our backyard! They are putting in a new water main and have had to work in our backyard for about 3 weeks - starting at 7am and finishing at 7pm. There's lots of noise that comes with it and at least 4 days that our water has been completely shut off! But.. of course, Ethan is very excited for all of the "Big Trucks" in our backyard. He points to the big truck and says, "Bulldozer"!

Weddings, Weddings!!

2010-09-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

We had 2 weddings in Boulder 2 weekends in a row! Wowee!! We were so fortunate that our good friends, Pete and Edy, took such good care of Ethan for both weddings. I know, I know - they're great!

Both weddings were just perfect. The brides were absolutely beautiful (and grooms were very handsome!) and there was loads of fun had including lots of dancing!! Both weekends were filled with great families and friends, fun and lots of love. We had so much fun.

Melissa and Jason had their ceremony on Flagstaff

Their reception was held in Longmont on Melissa's parents farm. Absolutely beautiful.They had a "ceremonial" planting of a tree! So sweet!

The following weekend we went to Nick and ilana's wedding held at Chautauqua. The ceremony was held on the Chautaqua greens. The reception was held in the dining hall on site. Believe it or not - this is the only photo of the bride and groom I have. We must have been having too much fun!

Beautiful bride and the girls! (Amy T., Elisa, ilana, Janeen & Becky)

Alexei made a toast and opened this bottle of champagne with a machete! It was very impressive!

Girls & Kiddos weekend in Denver

2010-09-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

The boys (Scott, Arwen, Doug & Adam) ran Imogene Pass a few weeks ago. It's a 17 mile (10 uphill, 7 down) race from Ouray to Telluride. They all did great! While they were running, the girls & kiddos had a weekend slumber party at Molly's! We kept very busy taking care of the kiddos - but we had loads of fun too! We went to the Sunnyside Music Festival where the kiddos jumped in jumpy castles, had their faces painted, had rainbow slushies, picnicked and played on the playground. What a great weekend.

Roan was pulling Ethan and Audry in the Wagon!

Bath time!! After the festival- they all needed a bath.

Air Show

2010-09-26T20:03:00.000-07:00

We went to an air show in Steamboat Springs with our friends, The Decrettes. We met downtown and rode our bikes to the show. Ethan was really excited about all the different airplanes and helicopters! Since the air show he always notices any type of aircraft - points up in the sky and says, "AIRPLANE"! Adam was excited about the remote control helicopters!

Jackie, Elliot and Ethan having a snack while watching the airshow.

What's New?

2010-08-31T15:17:00.000-07:00

What have we been up to? We've been potty training and just recently transitioned Ethan to a big boy bed! Yup, lots of exciting things going on. Ethan is pretty inconsistent with going potty IN the potty. I think he's doing great for his age - but still needs some work. It's still quite new. He's very interested in the potty and HATES having his diaper changed. The only problem is - he tells us that he needs to go potty right AFTER he's already gone poopy in his diaper! So.. it's good that we can change him right away, but... wish he was able to tell us prior to going in his diaper. We're still working on it!

Dad is reading a book to Ethan while on the potty. It's really the only way his little bum bum stays ON the potty for more than 2 seconds! (Note the book Adam is reading!)

Two days ago we made Ethan's crib into a big boy bed - by simply taking off the front of the crib and putting on another attachment. So far so good! We've been spending lots of time in his room, reading books, playing, etc. The first night we read about 7-8 books in his bed (it's a tight squeeze with 2 of us in there!)and then I rubbed his back and he fell fast asleep. He didn't wake up until 7am the next morning. BIG BOY BED - Success! Of course, we didn't get any sleep because we were in there every hour making sure he was OK and not scared! The next night we cut down to 6-7 books! He didn't go down as easily and honestly didn't want to sleep in his big boy bed because he knows he's alone. But.. after about 20-30 min. of squirming, getting out of bed, getting back in bed, talking us into reading more books - he finally fell asleep. But, he got up at 5am and didn't want to go back to bed so he slept with us until 7.

Ethan's new big boy bed (The corner of the bed is quite sharp so we put some padding on the corner. He likes jumping on his bed!)

We've also been doing much more fun things too! A few weeks ago, we went to the top of Rabbit Ears pass and hiked around Dumont Lake. The wild flowers were absolutely beautiful.
A couple of weekends ago our friends, Melissa and Jason, came to visit us from Denver. It was a fun filled weekend. Friday night we went to a free concert at Howelsen Hill (downtown), Sat. we went for a nice hike on Buffalo Mountain then rode our bikes to town and went to the Arts Festival, had drinks at a local bar on the Yampa River, then went to the Rodeo and had awesome BBQ! Sunday we went rafting down the Yampa River!! Yes, Ethan came with us. There wasn't a ton of white water - but some. And.. he did have his arm floaties on! He spent time in mom's float and time in dad's float. He did great most of the way but there were some points when I looked at his face while he was in Adam's float and his face read, "HOLY SHIT - do you see that drop off coming up? And.. there's white water too - YIKES!" Overall, he did great and it wasn't very scary at all. The river is pretty tame.

At the highest peak on Buffalo Mtn. It was really pretty

Melissa and Jason - enjoying some time in the mountains before their wedding day Sept. 18.

I think we may have a rock climber on our hands!!

Ethan is having a great time with his friends at the park - Elliot and Jackie. Miss Nicole is helping him on the monkey bars - he sure is a monkey!

18 month check up

2010-08-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

We went for Ethan's 18 month appointment last week. It went great. Although he's still a peanut for his age, his height and weight are right on track. (currently weighs in at 21.3) It was Ethan's first time visiting our new family practice doctor, Dr. Iverson. She was very excited to have Ethan join her practice and we were impressed with her and her philosophy. Since Ethan is getting to be such a big boy now we've decided to make a few changes around the house.

1. Removal of the Binky (A.K.A. "Gee")
We've instituted the "Gee only in bed" rule. If you know Ethan, you know that he finds lots of comfort in his Gee. Sometimes when he's really upset, he'll cry out, "GEEEEEE, GEEEEEEE, GEEEEEEEEEEE!!". Honestly, we were a bit scared to institute this rule as he LOVES his geeeeeeeeeeeeee. The first few days were a bit tough(as expected), but not too bad. By the 3rd day, he wasn't even asking for Gee anymore. He understands that he only gets Gee when he's in Bed.... which brings us to our next change. Well, before the next change, here's a funny story.

We went to the park (25 min. walk from our house) one morning. On our walk back home from the park, he fell asleep. (approx. 11:00am) His normal nap time is anywhere from 1-2pm. When we got home I tried to transfer him from his stroller to his bed (pack and play). But.. it didn't work out so well. He woke up and decided he did not need to rest anymore. He started crying with his gee in his mouth standing in his pack n play. It went something like this...

Mommy: Are you sleepy?
Ethan: (crying) NO
Mommy: Do you want to get up?
Ethan: (still crying w/ gee in mouth) nods his head, YES
Mommy: OK, well you can't have gee if we get out of bed
Ethan: (Quickly threw his gee down) Bye Bye, Gee!
Mommy: (cracking up to herself) Good boy, Ethan - let's go read a book.

2. Sleeping / Napping Habits
Until a little over a week ago, Ethan was still co-sleeping with Adam and I. It was really sweet and we all enjoyed it for a long time, but recently no one has been getting a good nights sleep. Ethan's been tossing/turning/kicking/flailing all night. It wasn't a good situation for anyone. So.... we set up a pack and play next to our bed. (baby steps!!) We still do our normal bedtime routine: bathtime (most nights), jammies, brush teeth and read a few books to him on our bed. Then we tell him that it's "nite nite" time and we put him in his own bed (while still awake) where he's able to have gee. He quickly finds gee and lays down. Mom or dad rubs his back for a minute or two. Within about 2-3 minutes, he's fast asleep and gee has already fallen out of his mouth!

His normal bedtime is around 8:30 - 9:00pm and he'll sleep until 7:00 - 7:30am. The first few nights, he woke up in the middle of the night crying. We quickly got up, tended to him (rubbing his back) and letting him know that mommy and daddy were right there beside him. He quickly lays back down and goes to sleep. The other morning, he got up around 6:45am and I said, "Ethan, it's still sleepy time, rest your head." He went back down until 8:00am!! Pretty amazing.

3. Potty Time
We purchased a potty and introduced it to him last Friday. We thought that he may still be a bit too young, but wanted to try it out and see what happened. He has started pointing to his diaper when he's wet or poopy. We'll say, "Do you need to go potty?" Ethan will shake his head, Yes. So.. we'll quickly take his diaper off and he'll sit on the potty. He's gone pee pee in the potty 2 times since Friday and yesterday he did his first poopy. It was the smallest poopy ever - but it WAS in the potty!! How exciting! Yes, we've had a few accidents (on the carpet), but overall it's been fun so far. We've moved the potty from the bathroom to his play area and have started to read books on the potty. It seems to be one of the only ways to keep his little bottom ON the potty. He likes to quickly sit on the potty, get back up and run around a bit, sit back on the potty, put his feet in the potty, etc... Oh, the joys of potty training!!

The Doctor asked us about how many words he knows. We said around 20, but weren't sure. In the last few days, here's a list of the words we came up with that Ethan says on a regular basis.

1. Gee (binky)

2. Dip

3. Shoe (sounds like guew)

4. Owie

5. More

6. Milk

7. Book

8. Truck

9. Rock

10. Yuckie

11. Doggie

12. Birdie

13. Go!

14. Big Bite

15. Balloon

16. Strawberry

17. Blueberry

18. Pie

19. Banana

20. Mama

21. Dada

22. Woah!

23. Baby

24. Please

25. Weee (while swinging)

26. Up

27. Down

28. Bubbles

29. Jump

30. Where

31. Bye Bye

32. Monkey

33. Mine

34. Pretty

Well, that's probably more than you ever wanted to know about Ethan's 18 month update, but... that's where we're at and we're enjoying every second of it!!

Here are a few photos of dad & Ethan's camping gettaway with a few other families a couple of weeks ago. I was in Denver for a bridal shower for the weekend.

The Camping Crew

Most of the kiddos playing in a 2 person tent! (It WAS raining)

East Coast Vacation (Cape Cod / Maine)

2010-08-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing trip back east and enjoyed quality time with family and friends. Our first stop was Brookline, MA where we stayed with our good friends, Robyn and Matt. We went to the Franklin Park Zoo and Ethan had loads of fun checking out all the animals. We compared his toy Giraffe to the real stuff! Not very comparable in size but they looked a lot alike!

Checking out the camels w/ Aunty Robyn

Next stop was my parents house in Wareham. They had a huge 4th of July party and we were able to catch up with all of our family and some friends. We spent most of our time in the lake-- What a treat. Ethan LOVES the water and has no fear - a bit scary in itself! He really liked being able to run into the water from shore line. We (HE) spent most days swimming in the nude! Swimming takes a lot out of ya - so he started taking 2 naps again (morning / afternoon). As I'm sure you can imagine, he got lots of attention and was always very busy! Ethan spent some time with his cousin, Nicholas Jr., and really enjoyed playing with him. We also went to the beach where the water was a bit colder - but that didn't stop Ethan! He built sand castles with grammy on the beach and loved swimming in the ocean. He also went fishing with grampy and thought it was really cool when they caught a fish.

Having soooooooo much fun w/ cousin Nicholas in the jeep! "Faster, Faster!"

Building sand castles with Grammy at the beach

Chillin w/ Nona at the beach "We both have our shades on - we're cool!" Ethan sure does like having sun glasses on!

You can't really tell because he's all tuckered out - but Ethan was having a blast on Aunty Danielle's boat! Just relaxing with Grampy now.

Eating blueberries with grammy and Aunty Linda

We took advantage of having family babysit while we were home! Mom and dad watched Ethan while Adam and I went out to our favorite Thai restaurant in Boston with Robyn, Huff and Susie!

Mom and Ethan joking around

Next stop - OTIS, Maine. We joined Pop pop and Nana (Adam's dads family) at camp. Again, on a beautiful lake. We spent most of our time swimming, relaxing, cooking, singing/dancing, eating and blueberry picking! It was certainly a party - and a full house. My parents and Adams' moms family were invited to join in the fun at camp for the weekend. We had such a wonderful time. There was lots of kayaking, canoeing, swimming, windsurfing, and plain old fun being had. We also had a surprise baby shower for Adam's brother, Marty, and his wife, Kate.

We spent a couple days in Belfast, ME with Adam's moms family. Yet again - spoiled by a beautiful/peaceful lake. We went canoeing and swimming. Ethan really enjoyed jumping off of their dock. Sometimes he would jump without anyone ready to catch him. We thought.. well, guess it's not too bad if we get him on the 2nd or 3rd bob! He's a good sport and always comes up smiling (well, most of the time if he's not coughing up water!) We were also able to get to the small town of Unity, ME where we checked out Marty & Kate's land and were able to see all the progress they've made with their garden, foundation, frog pond, etc... What fun!

Check out my new boots that grammy and grampy gave me! I LOVE em! (and... I make mom and dad take me everywhere in these things.. and... I get lots of compliments on them!)

Just getting in from an early morning kayak ride w/ Nana!
Pop Pop is teaching Ethan about the potty!
Having fun w/ dad and Uncle Mike

Tuckered out from playing on the playground with Uncle Marty and Aunty Kate (Marty and Kate are due mid September! YAHOO)

Blueberry picking (in my new hat that grammy and grampy got me- Go RED SOX!)

Having lunch with Grampy on the beach - what a tough day!

Grammy tired me out with all that swimming!

We then went back to camp for a fun filled "cousins weekend". We had so much fun catching up with Adam's cousins. We are all very similar in age and for the most part are in the same stages of life. It was super fun to see the next generation of kiddos playing together and was nice to catch up with everyone.

It was a challenge to get Ethan to wear his water wings in the water! He always wanted to wear them out of the water and yes.. as you can see, it's quite a fashion statement! Here he is (with his water wings on) eating lunch with cousin Isaac - too cute!

Ethan, dad, cousin Isaac and Gerhard fishing off the dock
The cousins that were able to join us for "Cousins Weekend" at camp!
(Left top: Marty, Kate Gerhard and Isaac, Darcy and Ansen, Amy, John and Ryan
Left bottom: Elisa, Adam and Ethan, Katie, Joe)

We had such a wonderful vacation back east - thank you to everyone for making our trip so very special and memorable. I apologize that the blog update is probably not as long as you would expect from being on vacation for 3 weeks - but honestly, it was a bit overwhelming to post all of the photos we took and impossible to talk about all the fun we had! I've included a link if you're interested in viewing more photos! Enjoy! CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE PHOTOS OF OUR VACATION

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