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That's right, Maggie's got wheels. On her 9 month birthday, and Mom and Dad's 9 year anniversary, Maggie decided to crawl! She's worked so hard, and now it's time to find all those dangerous nooks and crannies in our house. Her crawl is so cute, her legs kind of point inward and it's more like she's rolling along. It kind of reminds me of how you'd roll your arms to a silly camp song. She also popped her top front tooth this week, and is now eating like she's got a full set. Apricots, she just eats them like an apple. She wants no baby food, and she BARELY wants to nurse. Will she be the baby that weans herself before a year, or is she just taking a little break to explore all the other textures and tastes out there?? Time will tell. She's almost pulling herself up on things, and can, she just doesn't know it yet. She is just too funny. Such a sweet and happy baby, that is of course until you tick her off- then she lets you know. This week was vacation bible school at Westview, and she just rolled with it. She played, rode around in the Ergo, hung out in the stroller, or went for tours of the church with Grammy or Pops, and smiled at anyone who smiled at her. She's started waving and handing you things this week too, which makes it hard for anyone to pass her by without an "awww, how sweet!" and a few moments of playing the "Oh, for me?? Now it's for Maggie" game. She has only the slightest hint of the separation anxiety that usually marks this age, and that only if she's hungry or tired. We had our first real dinner out, away from the kids, last Friday night. We had no doubt that Ian and Nora would be fine playing on Pearl Street with Grammy and Pops... well, it turns out that Maggie does just fine as long as you keep the caramel crepes rolling her way.

We're trying to decide what to call the new "play structure" that Daddy (with a little help from the boys) has built for the kids. The fort?? The 5th Flatiron?? It will find a name I'm sure. Ian LOVES it of course, and that's before it's even done. There's a climbing wall, sand for the sandbox, and a swing set yet to come. Get busy Daddy! He's already hanging on the slide, belly down, yelling "No, no, no NOOOOOOOOOO!" as he slides down, pretending he's falling off a cliff or something. Tonight he was climbing up the slide in his Lightning McQueen underwear (we're just dabbling...) with a two foot long two by four... um, what were you going to do with that Buddy?? He's full of imagination, and just about ready for preschool. At VBS all week he was such a big boy- I would spy on him occasionally and loved seeing him just playing with the bigger kids, singing songs, participating in whatever activity they had going on. He even did crafts! He was SO proud of this paper plate and crepe paper parrot that he made... it's now hanging on the wall over his bed, over his pillow specifically, so that he can see it as he goes to bed. Who knew we had a little crafter... he won't even draw with crayons for me! He and Nora went cuckoo for the "banana song" in church every day. We'll perform for you someday if you ask;-) Our little boy is growing up... off to college soon at this rate. Nothing gets by him, either. We've started enforcing a little more vegetable eating, as he's now old enough to understand that we sometimes have to do things we don't necessarily enjoy yet... but we try go "Popeye" on him and tell him that they will make him big and strong. So the other day (after like two peas, mind you) he says "No more peas- I'll be too strong". That's kind of like "It's your turn, Mommy" when he's done with whatever task is at hand, like cleaning his room. Too smart for me.

Mary

A Royal (pain in the) Arch

Chalk this one up in the "it seemed like a good idea at the time" category, but we decided to haul over 60 lb (Ian and Maggie) on a hike up to the Royal Arch. This gem of a trail that begins at Chautauqua Park, scales 1450 ft in just 1.5 miles. On the way up, 1450 feet felt every bit as tall as the Empire State Building (1453 ft) and now I know why I took the elevator the last time I visited NYC. Okay, okay, so it wasn't so bad. In fact, it was a lot of fun. It was a perfect day full of sunshine and cool mountain temperatures. Ian climbed a good distance all on his own - often to the amazement of fellow hikers and his mom and dad. His favorites are climbing the big rocks and walking (running) across the wooden bridges. When he gets tired, he just hops in the pack with his water bottle and a bag of cheddar bunnies to recharge. He was very proud when we reached the Arch - proclaiming, "we made it to the top of the mountain!". Maggie took a couple of naps, tried to eat a pine cone and had no idea where she was. She definitely won the "youngest and most popular" award at the Arch that day. Mom had her doubts... questioning our parental judgment at times, but we all rallied and made it to the top. Once at the Arch, we refueled with water, trail mix and energy bars and then scampered back down the trail.

That same day, we also had our neighborhood block party. Ian didn't stand (or sit) still for 3 hours (this is after the Royal Arch hike!), pushing the speed limit of the plasma car, washing rocks with a garden hose, racing the other kids in his tricycle. He then biked back to our end of the street on his tricycle with his neighborhood buddy Ollie (another 2 year old boy on the block) - both boys had to be dragged into their respective houses kicking and screaming. Life just isn't fair sometimes... Time for another Advil and a cold beer to cap off this fantastic, albeit strenuous, weekend.

Signed... Matt

Yay for Christie!

Christie is, of course, our neighbor and friend who loaned us (and ultimately sold!) her heavy-duty kid-carrier backpack that has allowed us to rediscover the joy of hiking in and around Boulder. That, and the fact that I'm not pregnant and overheated, we're not moving, and our kids are of ages that really, truly enjoy hiking. That backpack has changed our summer outlook for the better. I'm already feeling healthier for it! Check out the new photo album to the right- May 2008- it has some pictures of recent hikes and Grammy's retirement party. Those are only part of May's activities... the parts we managed to capture pictures of.

Well all this hiking has me worn out... goodnight!