Happy Birthday Oliver

Oliver turned 4 on April 9 and we celebrated with a backyard party with family and friends that turned out to be a HUGE success!!! First Nana gave him a fun book all about tails that he now has almost memorized.

Next he opened his big present from his momma and daddy!!!
Then we set up for the birthday party and Oliver helped Papa Doc hang up a sign to show people where to go.

The main attraction was the new trampoline!!



Next came the birthday cupcakes

Followed by presents!!


Then more playing. Oliver had a blast at his party!!

Christmas has Arrived

December is upon us and the Christmas season is in full swing. After putting up the decorations we decided our family needed an advent calendar and I thought it would be a good idea to make one. After looking over several different pictures we decided what we wanted. First Rachel sewed it together and then we gathered craft supplies...
 
Then Nathan set to work on decorating every pocket.
And the finished product was absolutely perfect and Oliver approved!!
Next item on our agenda was Christmas baking. First Oliver crushed up peppermint candies that went into chocolate chip cookies....yummmy!!
 Next he helped me shape and bake over 100 candy cane cookies.
Then we decorated chocolate wreath cookies and Oliver did his all by himself and really impressed his mom!!

So far we've had unusually warm weather for December and two days ago we all enjoyed the sunshine playing in the backyard. Cold weather is coming though, it's currently 32 degrees and snow is forecast for this weekend!!

Owen's first steps

As promised here is a clip of Owen's first steps across the kitchen floor. Be prepared for ultimate cuteness!!

Fall Has Arrived

Fall is definitely in full swing here in Colorado and it cools down to the upper 40's at night and during the day it stays between 60's and 70's which has been wonderful. Last weekend we enjoyed a fun trip to a corn maze.



Followed by a trip to the Denver Botanic Gardens.





We've been keeping pretty busy this fall because Oliver attends an in-home preschool Mon and Wed mornings and we go to daycare to work Tue, Thur, and sometimes Fri mornings.




Owen is not old enough yet to come with us to daycare (the above picture was taken on a day when we were just showing him off to the other teachers) but he will be in just a few short weeks. For now he stays with a friend while we go to work.
 Oliver is greatly enjoying his time with other children and is learning his letters and can already trace his name. Here's the link to the blog for his preschool where you can view pictures of Oliver and his classmates.
Little Adventures Preschool


Most mornings we bike everywhere unless it's raining. We purchased a used burley bike trailer for $50 and it has proven to be a great way to commute the kids around and has definitely saved us a lot of money on transportation and gas.




Owen is usually pretty happy in the bike trailer, this is just the only picture that I have of them in it. In other news Owen officially took his first steps last week and I'll be posting a video soon of that accomplishment. Now he still crawls a lot but stands up and walks more and more frequently. Here are some pictures of the boys outside enjoying the fall weather:

Summer Vacation to TX

A couple weeks ago, the boys and I journeyed to East TX for a fun week with my family, which included all of Oliver and Owen's cousins which now total 5 but will be 6 by the end of the year. We enjoyed a couple days of calm with just my parents and brothers before all the cousins arrived. Oliver proudly showed off his new track and train that he earned after good eating for 10 meals.
And Uncle Benj really enjoyed spending time with the boys...
 ...before heading off to ALERT boot camp.
Then the arrival of the cousins:
 That was promptly followed by a foam sword fight!!
 The babies enjoyed each other's company.  
Of course swimming was one of the favorite activities for the week:  
Also, story time with Nana and Papa Doc and Uncle Kevin.
Here's a group shot of all the cousins:
 We sure enjoyed our visit and look forward to seeing everyone again at Christmas.

New Camera

We purchased new cell phones back in March and after determining that my phone could take as good of a picture as my camera, I figured it was about time to start shopping for a new camera. Shortly after this, the LCD screen on my camera stopped showing the preview so that was another hint. After shopping around for a couple months, and trying one out and returning it, we decided on a Sony cybershot that is a bridge between a point n shoot and a DSLR. So far we're loving it and here is a preview of what the camera can do.
 Nature scenes:



  Oliver: 

 

Owen: