Botanic Gardens

It's been a long time since we've been to Denver's Botanic Gardens, and they are really spectacular! We got there early to beat the heat, and the kids loved playing in the children's garden and watching the koi. There was a lot of "Get out of the bushes! Don't pick the flowers!" with the 1.5 yr. olds, but it's always so fun to watch them explore and really develop their relationships with each other. We spent the afternoon playing at the pool, we have the coolest neighbors here, and are really enjoying hanging out with them and all of the kids. We love this neighborhood, it's such a wonderful setting and lifestyle!

Tiny Town

I never realized this, but Tiny Town is actually a tiny town! Totally bizarre, but the kids think it's great since everything is their size. We had a wonderful morning with friends hiking & checking this crazy place out, Evan especially loved riding the train. This week we also had a fun day at the "beach" following a bike ride, and of course, lots more hiking! Our yard is now quickly turning into the oasis we'd like it to be, and we're looking forward to long summer nights enjoying the cool mountain air. Evan is chattering away, inunciating words and stringing them together better, and being a typical toddler boy. He is so full of energy, and wears me out daily - but he says and does the funniest things, it keeps me excited every day for more! He's now sort of a test model for a bunch of Kelty backpacks (a benefit of mom's "job"), and we're enjoying having yet another excuse to get out on those trails. He adores "ah-poo" (the pool), and we go over on most days for some wet play time. Some photos of the funny little town:

4th of July Fun

What a busy week for Evan! We kept him up really late for a party early in the week and he did great, and we all had a fun time on the 4th BBQ'ing with friends. Magnus, Audrey & Evan are already great buds, and it's so cute to see them all together. Our friends were gracious hosts, considering they don't have kids and they let ours play with the Rock Band "toys" and jump all over their furniture! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLNesszSZcw

Crazy?

7 couples, 7 babies under 2, and 7 dogs camping. What? We had a tiring, but great, 1st camping trip with Evan. We went up to Leadville with our group of friends and braved tent-sleeping with 1.5 yr olds. We can't really say it went perfectly, but it was a lot of fun, and great to see all of the (very dirty) babies playing and enjoying the new experience...for the most part. The hike we went on was gorgeous, Colorado-living at it's finest! As if that weren't enough activity, we came home and went right to Red Rocks with the Knight's for Evan's 2nd Widespread Panic show (check out the slideshow for more pix). Good friends & good times - can't really beat that!

Summer Fun

We've been having a fun visit with Gm. & Gp. Lundgren - this week we went to see some music in the park, hiking, swimming, biking, playing with friends... Evan just loves having the extra attention and playmates!

Happy Father's Day

To all of the great dad's out there! We had a nice day, lunching at "the club" and BBQ'ing dinner later that night. Evan was just really happy to have spent the whole day on Sat. with daddy. So happy, he pulled a special treat out of his diaper early Sun. morning and smeared it all over himself to wish dad a Happy Day first thing in the morning!

Swimming

I think we're going to be doing a LOT of hanging out at the pool this summer! Seriously...here's a picture of Evan & Katelynn hanging out with just a bit of the surrounding view, and this is just a 2 block walk from our house. Also a pic of him eating watermelon, post swimming and nap - he's getting a pretty sweet fro!

Dreamy

I need to take some more pix of us out and about - it's so beautiful here in CO right now with the hills all green and the flowers coming out. We continue to hike a lot, but also just got a bike trailer and have done 2 rides in it with Evan. I think he likes it ok, but after a couple of hours he's pretty fed up with being strapped in! It was great to go out with our friends, The Watkins, in the gorgeous weather on Sat. & ride with the kiddies. Yesterday we went to our pool for the first time (we just joined "the club"). Living here is like being on perpetual vacation - the view from the pool is of the hills & Red Rocks, we can hardly believe we get to live here!

Animal Fun

Today we went to a really cool Children's Farm with Heather & Audrey - it was a riot watching the kids chase around and pet all of the animals. They also have a small train to ride, and great open spaces for picnics & play, we had so much fun!

Mixing Old & New

Well, it turns out we're not totally biased, even our Doc says that Evan is advanced in his communication - he's 26 lbs. and nearly 34" tall! Which just serves as a reminder of how much weight I carry on my back many times a week. Funny E. moment from this morning...he took a chip clip out of the drawer and held it to his ear like he was talking on a Bluetooth! Last night he was rockin' out to dad's "new" turntable while playing with his (very) old Match Box cars. I'm not exactly sure why we have this thing, I'm solidly in The Joy of iPod camp - but Pete seems very happy & nostalgic blaring old school Beastie Boys on 45...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVowvKF6Gzg

Oh, And Happy Memorial Day

Happy Half Birthday, Little E

Evan is 18 months old today!! We had a great day - he "graduated" from The Little Gym, we had lunch with friends complete with a sprinkle-covered ice cream cone, and played with new toys. He loves the new Dr. Seuss animals from Grandma, but he calls the fox "Elmo"! He continues to impress us daily with his communication skills, we think he's very advanced for his age...although it's possible we're biased. He's becoming really affectionate and much more daring physically - once he's figured something out (like scaling the raised planters in the yard), he goes at it with gusto. Seeing the world through a child's eyes is truly a gift, their natural joy is contagious!

Little Mimic

Check out Evan "saying" the alphabet!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yciF4RjyTo4

BFF's

These are too cute not to post... Evan adores his friends, and is especially drawn to girls and older kids - he should have been a younger sibling! Here he is helping Laven get up on the deck.

Happy Mom's Day

I've decided there should be a mother's day at least once a month! We had a lovely day together, Evan took a super long nap, mom got spoiled with tons of good food all day long (and no dishes!). We took a hike up the hill in our neighborhood and had a scrumptous picnic, the weather was wonderful - ahhh!

Evan in Action

How can you not love this kid? Here he is discovering water, rocks and boats during our trip in Austin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW48MuEcKdQ

Every day is a plethora of new discoveries, and it's so fun to be on this journey with him! We're loving his new word, "dude", and how he cracks himself up all the time. He loves to pick flowers and smell them, and exclaims "Oh, BUG!" while stomping his feet when he sees one. Indoors, he likes to pull all of the cushions off the couch and jump on them, and he's been riding his scooter all over!

Baby Happy Hour

Evan loves to hang out with Jevan and Casey - I think mostly because they're teaching him all about happy hour...
He's such a cool little boy, and has such a funny personality. It's really great for us to have wonderful friends that love him so much!