Wednesday, August 17, 2011

11 months

Our little bug is 11 months old. Almost a year!
She's such a big girl these days.
She can wave, clap, stand unassisted for about 8 seconds and walk along edges.
She finally takes a bottle, won't eat baby food, but will eat anything else and likes to feed herself.
Still a mama's girl with some major separation anxiety, but loving her daddy more these days. Loves other kids, dogs and anything that's not a toy.
She's a good sleeper as long as she's at home in her crib, still likes to be swaddled at night and likes climbing out of the bath tub more than sitting in it.
Two bottom teeth, still not much hair to speak of but lots of personality.

We can't get enough of this darling, happy girl. She makes us happy in every way and it breaks my heart that she is almost a year old. She's more fun everyday but I don't want her to grow anymore. Any tips for that?


Pictures to go with the last post












Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Epic Road Trip

We went on a big summer road trip, and had a wonderful time. Unfortunately we majorly failed at taking pictures; I think we took 8 in two and a half weeks. Oops. So here is our big adventure in miles.
Indianapolis to Overland Park, KS: 8 hours 2 mins, 502 miles
-We stayed with Bryce's brother Kyle.
-Daphne played with her cute cousins and loved crawling all over 3 months younger Soren.
-Rested up for the next leg of our journey.
Overland Park, KS to Breckenridge, CO: 10 hours 36 mins, 685 miles
-Caravaned with Kyle and Kristen. Driving across Kansas was the most boring thing that ever happened to me. I was almost glad when my brother-in-law got pulled over because it broke up the monotony.
-Stopped in Highlands Ranch to visit our cute friends Tom and Ashley. They're having a baby soon!
-Stayed in an enormous cabin with the entire Fortner family.
-Went on a few hikes (nature walks)
-Road bikes.
-Survived the stomach flu.
-Played with the cousins.
-Whipped down a mountain on an alpine slide.
-Fell in love with Colorado. It's on the list of places I think I should live some day.
Breckenridge, CO to Yellowstone:9 hours, 17 mins, 506 miles
-Stopped in the charming old west town of Dubois, WY for Daphne's first camping experience.
-met up with my parents, brothers, Aunt and Uncle Geddes and Cousin Elisa and her family.
-Camped in Teton National Park for three nights.
-Saw a moose, elk, bears, pelicans and herons.
-Visited Old Faithful and bunch of the other awesome geysers and hot springs.
-Swam in a glacial lake
-Did a little hiking.
Yellowstone to Lehi, UT: 7 hours 7 mins, 402 miles
- Stayed with My brother Daniel and his family.
-Daphne played with some more fun cousins, and again enjoyed crawling over Beatrix whose 4 months younger.
-Went to 7 peaks
-Rented bikes and road down the Provo River trail.
-Wandered around BYU and relived our college days
-Spent time with my favorite sister!
-Went to a wedding reception for Bryce's old roomie Justin Hale, and hung out with some of Brycee's old friends.
-Ate venison steak, Yum!
-Decided we want to live in Utah. Too bad you can't spit in Utah without hitting a dentist.
Lehi, UT to Omaha, NE: 13 hours, 32 mins, 955 miles
-Stopped at possibly the coolest rest stop ever.
-Experienced humidity again.
-Stayed the Night With Bryce's sister Becky and her family.
Omaha, NE to Indianapolis, IN:9 hours, 37 mins, 608 miles
-Made it home to an air conditioned house and dinner in the fridge thanks to my amazing friend Courtney.
-Never felt quite so happy to be home.

So add in about 300 more miles for trips from place to place in each location and about 8 more hours in the car and that equals about 63 hours and just under 4,000 miles.
Yeah, it was long. Daphne was a stinker and I had to sit in the backseat with her almost the entire time. I was also nauseated the whole duration. But we had a great time. There were so many little good moments on this trip that in spite of everything, I think it was one of my fave vacations ever.

My favorite part of our trip was seeing Daphne and Bryce spend so much time together. Bryce pretty much took over the childcare. He changed diapers, took care of bedtime, managed meals and basically relieved me of parenting duties. He was amazing and besides the obvious enjoyment on my part, Daphne loves him a lot more now. Yay!