Leaving the mess a mess.

I firmly believe that during spring time in Wyoming, when a surprisingly beautiful, sunny, calm day appears in between days of (forecasted) wind and snowstorms, it is perfectly OK to leave the house mess a mess, and head outside to the park to play! So that's what we did today :)

Princess in her ride:

Playing with sticks:

On the swing!

Some tongue action:


Wohee!!

(videos here)

Because really, who likes being stuck inside?

(taken last week..cold and windy! And yes, my windows are covered in Sage slobber)

Springtime update

Ahh, spring is in the air, and Ben's weekend of stress (OCS and the PE exam) is behind us, so time for a blog update!
We have been enjoying several gorgeous spring days outside already. Andi loves to be outside, and always starts squealing when we have to go back indoors. We take walks with the stroller, go to the park and sit in the swing, or take her sheep bike or walker out on the driveway and sidewalk in front of our house so she can explore on her own...yay rocks and sticks!

Sunday: who has time to eat lunch (bib around her neck) when there are rocks and sticks to play with!


Monday afternoon: Playing outside with Sage


The girls watch as daddy washes the truck.


I tried to capture some of the fun on video here, but I'm always a little too late :)

Of course it is still spring time in Laramie, so days of sunshine and warmth come in between days of snow, wind and cold, so we still play inside a lot too. Andi still races around the living room in her walker, loves to empty out every drawer she can get to, and is now very good at pulling herself up, and is starting to take steps along furniture and climb the stairs. She also loves music and dancing, and as soon as any type of rythmic tune comes on the tv or radio she starts bopping to it. Last week though I cought her sitting on her knees, with her hands behind her head in her neck, twirling her little hips to the music...though it looked too cute, that sort of dancing seemed a little inappropriate for her age :) (of course you never have a camera on hand when such things happen!)
Some more pictures of this week -
Playing in the tub:


She loves to dip down and eat soap bubbles.

One of her favorite drawers....so much fun all those poker chips, napkins, and mom's chocolate making tins!

I have also gone on a couple of (shorter distance) stroller runs with Andi again, and I'm so glad she enjoys those! I {heart} running outside, and hopefully some day she will run right beside me :) Once a week, usually saturday morning when Ben can stay home to watch Andi I go on a long(er) run all by myself...glorious! I guess I overdid it a little bit this week though, as I'm currently sitting here with a bag of ice on my shin because of shin splints...darn shin splints...even just walking hurts. Guess I'll be taking a few days off :(

Easter 2010

For Easter this year we decided to get away the three of us, and we spent the weekend in a small cabin along the Poudre River in Colorado. Ben and I had spent Easter in that area before, and that year we had a great time in the sunshine along the river, so I was hoping the same for this year, envisioning Andi playing with the rocks by the riverside. Well, so much for living in this part of the country and being in the mountains, because instead we got hammered with wind and snow. I guess we truly got our money's worth out of that cabin, because we spent a lot of time inside it :) We did have a great time though, and I think Andi thought it was the greatest, being in a small space, playing with mom and dad ALL day! We ate lots of yummy food, and just relaxed. The temperature wasn't too cold, so we did go out for a little bit, exploring the area around the cabin. We had been itching to try out this new backpack that we got from good friends the Mortensons after Andi was born, and it rocks! I love it! Can't wait to take Andi out in it on a real hike this summer!

Our cabin:

The happy family. Andi's not too impressed having to smile into the wind :)

By the river.

Awesome backpack!

The cabin we stayed in was a 1 bedroom, so Andi 'slept' in the room with us. Night times didn't go too well as it always takes quite a while before Andi gets used to a new sleeping environment, so by morning time, Ben and I both exhausted, Andi came in bed with us, snuggled lots and finally fell asleep = smiles on our faces.

Easter morning we celebrated Jesus' resurrection together and had a glorious breakfast. After that we hoped to get out for at least one hike that weekend, but instead we got pummeled with lots of snow, and while it felt like we had packed our entire house for just that one weekend, we hadn't actually packed the snowsuits and snowshoes, so we just drove home. I guess Andi was tired from all that not-sleeping, and she took the best nap in the car:

With dolly.

Look at that face :)

Just to throw in some Andi updates: It's been so fun lately as she just loves to cuddle! She'll gently rest her head on your shoulder when you hold her, and will completely melt your heart when she also pats your shoulder, giving a true hug :) Her girly side is coming out as she will also do this with her dolly...she will pick her up, and hug her and pat her back!

She's getting better and better at pushing herself up to a stand, and with help can pull herself up, and is getting eager to learn to walk along furniture.

Sometimes though a little too much personality is coming through and she can get quite upset over not having her way, especially when sweets are involved :) I guess she can't help it with a mom whose babybook is full of things like "Wiesje likes her sweets, and would love to start the day off with a breakfast of lollipops and licorice." Oy.

See also new short videos of Andi here