Off to the Farm

Mimi had her first field trip today!

It was to the farm with her preschool class...

She started the morning in her cowgirl boots from Aunt Kate, 

roping her dogs in the living room with an old tie of Ben's.

This little boy got to come too.

Of course we had to look the part:

After these pics then it was off to the farm.

The build up was a little huge in my head...Mimi's FIRST field trip! My first time getting to be mom, not teacher! I wanted to be such an expert. But, as we know, pride comes before the fall...

We may have shown up a few minutes late.

I may have been the only one who thought she could handle and infant and preschooler.

The teacher may have had to help me readjust Bode in the Beco Baby carrier that I put on in a hurry in the parking lot because it may have been cutting off circulation in his leg.

I may have wrongly predicted the weather had may have underdressed myself and the kids (athough we weren't cold at all...I kept checking the kids and I was toasty carrying our little heater Bode, but several moms and teachers may have kept offering me clothes and blankets. A Russian mom in the class may have told me that she was cold just looking at me in her broken english. I may have felt like either crying or smacking her). 

I may have had to endure sideways smirks and side comments from other moms about how they were SO GLAD that they didn't bring their other kids.

Mimi may have been a little unstable in her cute cowgirl boots. 

I may have wished to be anywhere else in the world then on that farm on one or more points in the day...

BUT

 Bode slept the whole time in his carrier (after the circulation fiasco) and Mimi had a great time. We picked LOTS of vegetables and she got to run around with her new friends. She is a happy-go-lucky girl :) And she really liked being a "cowgirl" at the farm. So it was all good. And now we can just remember the trip from these cute pictures.

Remember my post about her "friend" hitting her? This is that friend.

Mimi loves her. Coincidentally, she is being moved to another class. Because of hitting.

But I did feel for her mom. Life and kids are messy. One day your kid's the "hitter" in the class. The next day you're the mom who under-dressed your family on a field trip.  We all have been there or will be there.

Here's my sweet farmer girl...

This is Mimi and her new BFF Prugh ('Pru')

Just another preschool milestone down.

Now off to go make vegetable soup with our bounty.

****

Caldwell Love

JOY!

The Caldwells made our house a stopping point in their sweet babymoon to Sante Fe!!!

(p.s. seriously how shiningly beautiful is this mama!?)

YAY for seeing great friends and getting to see Ang pregnant with little Charlie (coming in December!!!!) and to introduce them to Bode.

Even though our visits are always too short, we loved every minute. (Although our catching up didn't seem to take as long because every time I'd start a story, I'd realize halfway through that Ang had already read it on the blog. Is that a problem? Maybe. Let's just say documenting our life and my thoughts about it is a slight addiction. Or therapy. You choose.)

Anyways...

Thanks for visiting guys. We love you so much xox!

(Isaac, next time, jump in the suitcase!)

(Bode and Charlie:)

 Their first playdate 

We all got to meet up with the Reicherts to have some Efrains that night:

Love you friend! Can't wait to see that newest cute boy! 

Better Than Disney World...

Okay. Really nothing's better than Disney World, but this was a close second.

On Friday Ben took off work and we made a family trip to the Denver Children's Museum. We wanted some fun family day (I actually voted for a trip to Ikea, but I was outnumbered...). But we were definitely sold on the Children's Museum when I saw online that they had a "Be A Veterinarian" exhibit. 

It didn't disappoint.

Mimi walked into that room, popped on a lab coat and was in animal-lover heaven. It was magical. 

Other Vets, busy at work:

Bode Vet:

So fun!

Afterwards I was on a mission to have my very own "$40 a Day" (like the Rachel Ray show...she goes to different cities and tries to eat for $40 a day. She really annoys me, and the episodes are becoming a bit outdated, but I can't stop recording it on my DVR and watching religiously). So, we set off to try to explore a new part of Denver and find lunch. We left the car parked at the museum and walked down towards the Aquarium. It was so fun to walk an area that we normally drive right by. Who knew the spot by the museum is so cool. You're literally in the shadows of the rollercoasters of Elitches, and there's a trolly as well as a sweet little playground.


There was a mexican food restaurant really close by, but Ben thought it looked sketchy (maybe because it shares a building with a medical maryjane dispensary...) so we kept walking. 


In $40 A Day, Rachel Ray is always big on asking people who work or live in the area where to eat. She calls them "locals." I wanted to find a "local" to ask, so I ran into the aquarium to ask the girl working at the ticket counter where we should go for lunch. (Ben laughed at me for finding a local, especially since WE'RE locals! But, really not of that area! ;) She suggested a bar and pizza place down the street. So we took a fun, sunny fall walk down the Platte River trail and enjoyed a new part of Denver.

We ended up at My Brother's Bar. A long-standing establishment with dark wood and a cheaper bar menu. And, in true Rachel Ray fashion, I assaulted a group of older men leaving and asked them if they liked their lunch.. (cue Ben shirking away in embarrassment..). They suggested the burgers, so in we went. And it was a success! 

On the way there and back, we also utilized the free bouncy castle by the aquarium-another great deal to be had in Denver :) 

It was a fun family day out (Rachel Ray inspired )

BODE at Two Months

Things I love about Bode right now:

-the little fuzz on the front of his head (his excuse for hair right now) is getting longer and fuzzier

-his big BLUE eyes (God knows I like surprises... I NEVER would've guessed that color..)

-dressing him (and taking pictures). He literally is wearing an outfit once, and the next time I go to reach for it, it's too small! He is wearing 6-12 month outfits comfortably.

-His coos and smiles.


-His crazy kick-y feet when he is in the bathtub or being changed. He loves the freedom of nakedness (who doesn't?!)


Today we had his TWO MONTH appointment with our favorite Dr. Nancy :)

(see his cute fuzzy head?!)

He is weighing in at OVER 14 lbs...which hurls him into the 95th% of kids his age in weight. He's  in the 75% for height. It was a great appointment. Even dad got to go!

(and we postponed his shots for a later date so we could all enjoy our fun day in Denver at the Children's Museum. You're welcome buddy ;)

xxoxoox

Life of a Second Child

Ah, the life of a second child. 

I knew that he'd have it good.

He gets the less neurotic version of me.

This go round, I'm not worried about his nap schedule, or getting him to fall asleep on his own in his bed. It's amazing to see that he gets on his own schedule and routine, and he is fine falling asleep in the swing. He just goes along with the flow, the preschool drop off, the car trips like any good second child.

You also have to love a second child's tolerance for noise. 

Because let's face it, he has to sleep through Mimi blowing musical instruments right next time him, or racing past him hollering for something of me...it's amazing. He just keeps snoozing. I realized this yesterday when I took him to a coffee shop while Mimi was at school. It was possibly the LOUDEST coffee shop ever. But Bode just snoozed through it all, letting the hum of it all lull him to sleep.

But, what I've realized most about the second child, is how having been through it all once before, I know how fast it will all go. So I find myself enjoying sleeping nose to nose with my little guy (him in his co-sleeper and me in bed) because I know that soon enough he will be in his own crib, in his own room and I will wish that we could "cuddle" in the same bed, just like I did with Mimi (that is until they DO make it into your bed on one particularly rough occassion of teething during a vacation and you spend the whole night getting kicked in the face and clinging to the edge of the bed...but that's a different story ;) But I am trying to appreciate small moments because I know that Bode won't be a little guy for long.

(Hence why we're not lacking in picture of the little man)