Colorado 2013- Denver

We made it to Colorado!

We had one happy girl at the Austin airport- Iyla loved watching all of the people around us:

'Where is my plane?' 

We had a one hour delay and hoped that would mean a good nap for Iyla on the plane.

We took the opportunity during the delay to practice 'fetch' with Iyla, who is really getting this crawling thing down!

When we finally boarded, Iyla passed out within moments of takeoff. Success!

She slept around 40 minutes, and was happily all smiles once she awoke:

Upon arrival to Denver and two hours past her bedtime, this little lady was a trooper staying up to meet her Denver family. It was instant love with her cousin Cohen- who couldn't stop kissing her! So cute.

Eventually Iyla very sweetly and deliberately told me how "done" she was:

Late night Boo-boo right before bed:

The next morning, Iyla greeted her new city:

Good morning Denver!

She hadn't slept very well the night before, which is par for the course when we travel. She usually takes 1-2 days to adjust to sleeping in her Pack n Play in new environments. I had purchased a special mattress for the trip, hoping it would help make the flimsy PnP more comfortable. 

I had morning duty, so I packed Iyla into the baby Beco and headed down to the hotel breakfast buffet:

I was pleased to discover these great high chairs at breakfast! Iyla and I were both fans:

The hotel eggs were molded into cube form. Kind of gross to see, but Iyla loved them and kept signing 'more!'

'Egg cubes? More, more, MORE!'

Our hotel had complimentary duck families available for kids, and since Iyla LOVES ducks, this was perfect! Check out the names.... in real life, my sweet BC is named "Lance." Ha!

'Papa, is that you?'

Little tree hugger during play time in the lobby

She kept saying "quack, quack, quack!" 

This is the first word she has repeatedly said in its correct context.

After breakfast, we set off to the absolutely gorgeous Denver Botanical Gardens with Iyla's Aunt Amy & cousin Cohen:

We made a few attempts at a family photo:

Cohen's little brother- our new nephew- will be making his debut in January:

Roo rockin' her pregnancy! She is adorable.

After the gardens, we had some down time back at the hotel. Iyla somehow figured out how to play movie previews on my phone. I have no idea where that app is or how she did it!

'Yes, I am a baby genius.'

After Iyla's afternoon nap, we packed up and strolled the downtown Denver area before meeting up with my cousin for dinner:

My long legged loves

Iyla was so overtired here but still such a trooper!

Dinner with my cousin Chris. Iyla was no longer hiding how tired she was.

Happily, Iyla slept super well that night- 6:45pm-5:30am straight. She awoke a few times wimpering, but put herself quickly back to sleep. When she awoke to nurse at 5:30am, she decided it was time to get up for the day (it was 6:30 Austin time, which is her normal wake up time). 

We had been hoping to leave for Vail at her morning nap time, around 9am. I set off for breakfast at 8:15 (BC had morning duty)- and when I returned, I saw my loves like this:

Iyla was not down with waiting to nap. 

She had some serious sleep to catch up on from the previous day!

Stay tuned for updates from the Vail leg of our journey....

Colorado Bound

I am realizing how much stuff goes into a week long vacation with a 10 month old, and how much strategic planning of exactly what stuff to bring is necessary.

Iyla's list goes something like this:

Pack n Play (plus pack n play additional mattress, pack n play mattress pad, & 2 sheets)

Beco carrier

Car seat

Sound machine

Diapers, bibs for drooling, bibs for food, wipes, diaper cream, sunscreen, sun hat, warm hat, socks, onsies, pajamas, jacket, sweater, socks, shoes

Nail clippers, snot sucker, books (God forbid we not have any of these!), toys, formula, bottles, dish soap to wash bottles with, baby food, baby spoons, baby shampoo

You get the idea. And this is a fraction of the actual list I've made.

Then there's me. My list was surprisingly short compared to Iyla's:

Black nursing tank, regular black tank, black short sleeved shirt, long sleeve black shirt, black and grey striped sweater, black puffy vest (can you say MOM CLOTHES?!)

I'll be crazy and throw in a couple of my purple shirts and a turquoise cardigan.

Toiletries, computer, phone, power cords, gum.

We tried on the last of our warm weather clothes yesterday, and Iyla seemed quite pleased with this little jacket:

Check. Bring it, Mama!

She wants to be sure I remember to pack some Puffs.....

\

I might even share some with you

I am still debating on bringing the baby potty vs. just sitting her on the regular toilet once in Colorado. Here is what Iyla has to say about that:

Quack?

Bon Voyage Dear Readers.... hopefully we'll be updating from the Rockies soon!

Caught!

Iyla is what I've termed a 'secret crawler.' I've seen her crawl several steps at a time, usually to tackle the cat or to get an object that has rolled away. It isn't her preferred means of transportation- as she only reserves it for special circumstances. She is so careful in all of her movements that it doesn't surprise me this new skill is coming on slowly & cautiously.

I finally caught her on video doing her secret crawl this morning:

This loot was enticing enough to elicit the elusive secret crawl!

A later attempt to get her to crawl led to another amazing surprise. I had gotten Iyla some of her absolutely favorite little music shakers- and having been delivered last night- she hadn't seen them yet. She was standing against her wooden Zany Zoo toy when I unveiled the new treasures, setting them down about 3 feet from where she was. She shrieked in excited recognition- and then instead of dropping down to crawl, LET GO OF THE ZANY ZOO, TURNED, AND STOOD THERE TOTALLY UNASSISTED. Two times, folks- for at least 5 seconds each. My jaw was on the ground as I wondered if she was just going to walk to those new shakers. Quickly realizing that walking was a wee bit beyond her, Iyla did drop down and secret crawled to claim her treasures. 

This morning I also caught Iyla tackling the cat:

And digging in the fridge for breakfast:

I also finally caught some photos of Iyla with her beloved nanny Veronica. You can see the love!

In closing, a little tribute to adorable baby overalls. 'Tis the season to wear them, and I can't.get.enough!

Fall Weekend Weather

The weather has FINALLY cooled off here in Austin! And by cooled off, I mean highs in the upper 70's to mid 80's... which- after a LONG summer of 100+ degree weather- feels chilly to us Austinites.

We took advantage this past weekend and partook in a lot of outdoor activities. Iyla is unaccustomed to so much time outside and was exhausted at the end of each day (and yet still decided to wake for night feedings... boo!).

Cooler weather means....

Adorable fall clothing:

Baby vests! Too much.

Lots of walks:

Eating playing with leaves:

Finding surprises in porch planters:

Going to local fall festivals:

Visiting petting zoos:

Outdoor dining with neighbor friends:

And super sound naps:

You know she is out when the booty is in the air!

Other weekend updates include....

New skills emerging, like surprising Mama with a spontaneous pull-to-stand in the bathroom (I'd literally turned my head for 15 seconds and found her like this):

"Nothing to see here, Mama"

Trying to lift her little leg up on any object she stands against:

Who needs to crawl or walk when you can CLIMB?

Practicing for her future soccer career:

She could chase & kick this ball for hours if we let her

Playing dress up:

Tackling the cat:

Playing with a new-to-us toy a friend dropped off:

Watching Baby Einstein videos (also dropped off by a friend):

And catching up on tabloid news:

I am soooo excited that the worst of the summer weather appears to be behind us. We will kick start our fall with a trip to Colorado later this week, then return to almost 8 months of idyllic Austin weather. Yee-ha!