One Month Portraits...take 2!

We had quite a full day today!  Church in the morning followed by a Senior photography session, a maternity session, and professional drumming portraits!  We were hardly home at all, and Natalie was a trooper (in the Trooper...ha, ha) through it all!  We got home and decided that she was far happier than two days ago and therefore up for trying the one-month portraits again!  And they were much more successful this time!  Check out our favorites...

-L

My parents think I'm so cute!

Yeah, I think they're right about that!

Ummm...is this going to get used in my wedding rehearsal slideshow someday?!

(You bet, Natalie!!)

Who's the cutest?  It's me...it's me!

So ready to be done! (and bed...)

Mom's holding me, so I can handle a couple more pictures...

Lovin' the Cloth!

So...many of you have been asking about the cloth diapers.  They have come quite a long way from what lots of us remember from our own parents' experiences, so many have been curious about them.  Many of you also think we are CRAZY for choosing cloth over disposable, but perhaps when you see the pics and diagram Jon put together for you, you'll have a little change of heart!

I've been so excited to use these, but wasn't because little Natalie is, well, little, and when we had the first try of putting the diaper on her, her butt was literally 2 inches off the changing table, and thus her legs were also 2 inches off the changing table!  So, they seemed so super-huge I went back to the disposables...until I had 3 days IN A ROW of emergency baths due to explosive diaper situations.  After the 3rd time, I had enough of that and went back to cloth.  I LOVE THEM!!  We have had no out-of-diaper explosions and they are so soft on her skin!  Yes, they add some bulk to her behind, but really, she's so small it almost just helps stuff fit a little better!  They are super easy to wash and very easy to use (very much the same as a disposable other than the re-using part).  Check out the diagram below...they are really cool!!

-L

P.S.  If you need to, click on the pic so that you see a larger version and can read all the text.

double vision

today Natalie had a very long day with mom,  with only a few short cat naps!  Today we also did our 1 month pictures and i am not sure it was a good day to do a photo shoot because in almost all the pictures miss Natalie was cross-eyed and made the funniest faces at the camera.  here are some highlights from tonight.  we laughed SO hard when we downloaded these to the computer to post some new photographs,  I suppose these will be fun to see in about 20 years...

We also weighed Natalie this morning and she is officially 7 pounds now and 20.5 inches long!

-J

mom & me

double vision

i have 2 mommies & daddies?

small but growing

this one reminds us of Puss&Boots from Shrek

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!

ok well most of you know that I'm a huge Indiana Jones fan and well, when I heard they (Spielberg)were possibly going to make a new one I was THRILLED from day one!  I have been keeping up to date on all the new sneak peeks and interviews on the web site.  In January I went to Lucasfilms.com and bought a tee-shirt so I would be ready to go for opening night!

Well May 22nd is finally here and Lindsay & I went to the expensive show and splurged a little to get to see it on the big screen!  And boy those seats were pretty close to a Lazy Boy,  all you had to do was sit back and recline and watch the show!  

The movie was AMAZING and I can't wait to see it again and again and then again and after that add it to the dvd collection!  I would for sure go see it at the big screen if I were you and if I were not you, I would still see it at the big screen!  5 star movie and a seamless transition if you were to watch them all in chronological order you would not know this one was made 20 years later! It's an instant classic in my book!

now the first picture I could not resist but yes I took it in the theater but with a phone so that doesn't really count and the last picture where I look really bug-eyed is funny because I forgot the self-timer was set at 2 seconds so I literally had to run to be in the picture...lol

-J

indiana jones!

$8.25

bug eyes!

biz expo

Today we were at the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce Business Expo at the Phil Long Center.  We kinda decided to do the show last minute and said we would pay for the smallest booth they offered and they ended up giving us a fairly large booth when we went to set up for the show (good for us)!  Any way there was hundreds of people and businesses at the show and we felt it was a great time to network with other businesses and hope to see a good return from the show!  

-J 

trooper loaded-up

copper pot

We had a great Saturday this last week and helped friends Shane & Jocelyn move into their new home, well I should say Lindsay and Natalie helped while I had to work all day.  So after the long move day we wanted to treat them to a cookout at the Betz's!  Afterwards we threw together a first season fire in our copper fire bowl!  It was a perfect night!

ps. please excuse the picture, it was taken with my cellphone...and no the flames were not really purple.

-J 

-1st outside fire of the season-

Natalie's Social Debut!!

This past Saturday was the destination wedding for my sorority sister, Lisa Wiens.  How fun that she and her fiance chose Colorado Springs as the destination!  It was so much fun to see college friends that I have not seen in anywhere from 5-10 years!  Crazy how time flies by so quickly!!  We had just a fantastic time at the Broadmoor for the outdoor ceremony and then the reception.  The staff doted all over little Natalie (who was not the only baby there but definitely the youngest at 19 days...) and even brought us a porta-crib to use while we were there.  Little Natalie did fantastic at her first huge social event, sleeping nicely during the ceremony and then happy and awake or sleeping great during the reception.  Thank you Lisa and your family for such a beautiful, fun, and elegant evening!!  Congratulations Lisa & Zach!!

-L

Look at all these beautiful Gamma Phis!

With Mary Helen, Meghan, and Larissa

With my grand-big-sis Dee Dee

Family pic...look at the adorable cross-eyed look from little Natalie!  I just love it!

The happy couple, Lisa & Zach

Well we have had some fun times and some not so fun times the last week.  I suppose we will start on the bright side and say we had a wonderful first Mother's Day, starting off the day with a homemade omelet with Lindsay's favorite spinach & mushroom!  We have also been enjoying our Tucson backyard grapefruits from grandma Bobbie and Papa Ed!   Thank you SO much, they are wonderfully juicy!  

And on the dark side of things we just never know what kind of weather we will be getting here in Colorado and well we had a few cold nights and the sprinkler system didn't quite like that!  I didn't like it either, because I had to go buy a shovel and dig up my broken pipes and have the pipes replaced due to some late freezes!  Ahhh !  Gotta roll with the punches when being a homeowner I guess!

-J

Digg'n ditches is not fun!

especially at night!

Our 1st Mother's Day

Enjoying Home Grown Grapefruits!

Tucson's Finest!

100% Organic!

Our First Walk!

Finally...our first walk!  Sarah Walters and little Isaac accompanied Natalie and me.  The first challenge was figuring out how the carrier clips into the stroller, but I actually figured that one out quicker than I expected!  The next challenge was getting these "first walk" pictures taken...little Natalie is such a snugglebug, she cries when she realizes she's not being held (or when we aren't moving).  You can tell she wasn't in the greatest of moods for the photos, but of course we had to capture this first walk and first use of the stroller!  It was a truly eventful walk as well with Natalie's occasional crying and then RAIN!  The kiddos stayed nice and dry in the strollers with the covers over them...Sarah and I did not fare quite as well!  But, the fresh air was wonderful along with the exercise and the company!  We hung out with Sarah and Isaac for a little while after too!  Friends are so much fun!

-L

Isaac is so patient with little Natalie who's crying quite loudly next to him!

Pretty in pink hat and onesie from Aunt Julie...but not so happy since we aren't moving!

Coors Field !

I got to go see the Cards play the Rockies at Coors Field tonight and sure enough we got "Izzyed" and lost the game 4-3 but we still had a lot of fun!  Natalie and Lindsay were at home watching on tv cheering us on!  Megan caught a foul ball and it was off the bat of Albert Pujols! I also bought a Coke for 5 and a half bucks!   Gotta love it!

-J

28 rows back!

me, Jeremiah, Brittany and Megan 

We just had a great time with all our family this weekend!  Great Aunt Jane came in town on Sunday from Fort Collins Colorado for a few hours to meet Natalie and visit for a while. Aunt Julie came all the way from Richmond Virginia and Papa Mike and Grammy Pam and Great Grandma Bobbie drove up from Tucson Arizona for a few days to hold little Natalie (who by the way is weighing in at 6 pounds and 7 ounces!)  and get to see our new home!  

It was a quick trip but it was great to visit for a few days and show off our great city and of course our Newest!  I gave the Nickel Tour for a dime and we were off!  We started our day with a pecan waffle from the Waffle House followed by visiting Manitou Springs and Old Colorado City.  After that we went to the infamous Broadmoor Hotel and a quick swing though downtown Colorado Springs and then of course to Garden of the Gods to see the amazing Balanced Rock!  And NO trip would be complete with out stopping by the local Wal-Mart!  Our Nickel Tour really needs to be raised to a 5 dollar bill tour because gas prices are getting a little out of hand!  Luckily...Dad drove to save the day!

We ended the day having a Cinco de' Mayo dinner at one of our favorites, Texas Roadhouse for some good eat'n steak dinner!  We had a great time with everyone who came in to see Natalie this weekend!  Thank you VERY much!

-J

 

We started our day with a Waffle!

Natalie's take'n a nap (what's new?)

Garden of the Gods brought us smiles, oohs, and ahhs!

"Cool Aunt Julie"

Natalie's First Time to the Garden!

Glen Erie Castle

Glen Erie Castle

our newest friends...Punky, Wallace, and George! 

Great Grandma Bobbie enjoying  our Snuggle Bug!

Great Grandma Bobbie holding Natalie with  Pikes Peak in reflection!

Great Aunt Jane taking care of Natalie...

Garden of the Gods

Crazy Visitor Days...

Hey all!  So, we've been hearing about needed updates to the blog...a big one with new pics is coming...but just be patient since we've been enjoying face time with family these past few days!  Aunt Julie arrived this past Friday; Papaw Mike, Grammy Pam, and Great Grandma Bobbie embraced spontaneity and drove up from Tucson, AZ Saturday and leave tomorrow morning; and Great Aunt Jane drove down from Ft. Collins for a few hours yesterday to meet Natalie.  So...now you know why you've had a little more waiting...so just wait a little more and know that if YOU were here, you'd want our full attention too!

-L

Yesterday and Today "Firsts"

Yesterday...4/30/08:  We tried out our first outfit with pants!  This is one I bought for her, and she looked cute!  We also attended Dad's roller hockey game last night.  I guess the loud buzzer was a very familiar sound from in the womb because she slept the whole time and didn't even flinch to that buzzer!  We did flinch and jump a bit when the puck hit the boards, though!  Dad had 2 goals, but his team couldn't quite pull off the win...maybe next week we'll be awake to cheer!

-L

The tears are not the pants...we can't believe someone 

put us down when we obviously want to be held!!

This is MUCH better!

Today, 5/1/08:  So, snow is falling, and after my bath (#3 for me and the first one Mom did all by herself...I could have cut her a little slack, but I cried the whole time anyway...) Mom thought today was the perfect day for a very cuddly, new outfit from Grandma Nancy.  My hair is so soft and fluffy after a bath!  Mom must have thought I looked super cute 'cause she took a bunch of pictures of me!

-L

Fluffy, clean hair and my snuggly sheep outfit!

I'm not sure what Mom's doing, but my hand is pretty good...