Funny "B" Moments

Great Aunt Karlie sent a Michigan State sweat suit for his birthday - Go Spartans!

"What? Isn't this what YOU look like when you eat pasta????"

Here are a few seconds of Brogan "driving" the laundry basket around the house. He is just days away from walking, as he's taking more and more independent steps each day.

Brogan turns 1!

Where does the time go? Our little guy had his first birthday on Saturday and we were blessed to celebrate with family and close friends. My parents and sister flew in from CA and all the local family from both sides joined us, too. And of course, it wouldn't have been a complete party without my college roomies and families (we missed you Anna!)

We visited the Children's Museum with my folks and everyone had a great time. Maddie is at the perfect age and Brogan managed to enjoy some of the exhibits, too.

Maddie, Brogan, and both sets of grandparents (Lynn and Sue Lasswell on the left; Pat and Bill Meyers on the right)

All bundled up as we explored the CSU campus while visiting my cousins, Kaylee and Patrick

Fun at the museum!

Maddie wants to be a vet when she grows up, so this exhibit was perfect for her!

Madeline stayed very busy serving Grandma and Grandpa at the lunch counter in the museum

Nirvana for Brogan - a wall of balls!

The bumblebee cake Maddie and I made for the birthday party

The Lasswell ladies - Meg, Sue, and Erin

Maddie, Grace Wallace, cousins Amy and Emily

The birthday boy - he didn't make a huge mess of the cupcake, much to my disappointment!
Meyers family photo on Little B's big day

Sister Weekend in San Francisco

I got to spend a fabulous weekend with my sister in San Francisco 2 weeks ago. We had such a great time! We explored the wineries in Sonoma on Saturday and then spent our second day riding bikes around the city. The weather was perfect and it was wonderful to spend so much time with Erin.

Jordan Winery - built to look like a French chateau. We did a tour and tasting with food pairings and it was awesome! The best chardonnay I've ever had.
Inside the tasting room at Jordan Winery - note the delicious spread of cheeses. There's not much better then good cheese and good wine!

The sea lion insanity at Pier 39

View of the Golden Gate Bridge as we rode our bikes - we actually rode across the bridge and back as part of our self-guided tour!
Lookin' fine!
Alcatraz


Some of the vines at Stryker Winery - I had no idea the vines turned color in the fall - it was beautiful!

A nice, quiet September

This month has been such a nice change of pace for us! We are usually going at the speed of light and for whatever reason, didn't find ourselves overly busy during the last few weeks. We've enjoyed some fun family outings on the weekends since the weather here has been absolutely perfect for weeks. We took a bike ride along the Platte River trail, from Littleton to Downtown Denver (15 miles). We checked out Oktoberfest on Larimer Street and then had lunch on the 16th Street Mall before taking the light rail train home. The kids did great in the bike trailer for the 1.5 hour ride and Jon and I were thrilled to get the exercise!

Jon took a quick trip to CA for work last week so I took the kids to the fun fall event that our church sponsors - the Amazing Togathering. It took place at the Chatfield Corn Maze and we had a blast! Maddie rode the barrel train 5 times, we ate WAAAAY too many fresh donuts, we explored the mini-maze, and had a yummy BBQ dinner. I don't have any photos as Jon had the camera with him, but trust me, the kids were cute. :)

Last weekend Jon and I were able to celebrate the 11th anniversary of our first date. The kids had a slumber party at Nana and Grandpa's house, so everyone made the most of the evening. It was so nice to have a grown-up dinner out and then sleep at home without any interruptions!

Below are just some random photos of us over the last few weeks - enjoy!



Brogan Lee - 11 months

Self-portrait on our date night!

Ms. Maddie dressed for school

Celebrating Grace Wallace's 3rd birthday

Final Summer Flings

Hard to believe, but summer is drawing to a close here in Colorado. The weather has been wonderful and we're enjoying all sorts of outdoor activities while we can! We're also back to the usual "school" routine - pre-school 3 days a week, AWANA on Tuesday nights, and Maddie's newest hobby - ballet. She's only been once, but seemed to enjoy it. She actually did more observing than participating, but was quite content. There is a video below of her "dancing" - pretty funny, really!

In the petting zoo at Highlands Ranch Days - she also pet a bunny, a donkey, and a camel!

On the Zoo Train with Ethan Crawford

In the hammock with little B

Ethan and Maddie had the best time with this sled at Ethan's house. It was an airplane and a school bus, among other things.

Our pretty ballerina

He's on the move...

Brogan has been a very relaxed, laid back baby from the very beginning. Sometimes this is incredibly frustrating, but most of the time, it is a huge blessing! He's been in no hurry to reach his milestones; however, he seems to have been on a mission to "catch up" these last couple of weeks! He's used the Butt-Scoot as his method of transportation for 4 months - see the video below for actual footage. No crawling at all for this kid - way to much effort involved, I guess. But now he's realizing that he can't scoot up hill or up stairs, so he's figured out how to crawl in those situations. He is also pulling himself to standing anywhere he can and I'm sure he'll be cruising before we know it! He'll be 11 months tomorrow and he already seems like such a big boy.

First (and hopefully annual!) Roomie Camping Trip

It seems that we are gluttons for punishment as we decided (back in April when summer was just a glimmer in the future) that camping at 10,600 feet in late August would be a great idea, especially with kids! Turns out we were right based on the memories we made, but VERY wrong based on the weather we endured, which pretty much covered all 4 seasons within each 24 hour period. But all in all, the weekend was a blast and we'll definitely do it again next year (in July, at a lower elevation!)

Brogan and Kaitlyn enjoy a romantic dinner for 2

Are they playing a game, or is Maddie running for her life from a scary monster?!?!?

"hiking" with the toddlers and Brogan

Sweet friends - Maddie and Grace

The big kids roasted marshmallows at 10:30 am!

Joshua, Maddie, and Grace

Story time with Carrie - I think Christine is more engrossed than the kids!

All 6 kids in varying stages of contentment - Brogan, Madeline, Kaitlyn, Josh, Grace, and Nora

Brogan's happy face would never tell that Daddy had to take him for a drive at 2:30 a.m. to settle him down the night before!

Nora and Phil - this little 10 week old was probably the best kid camper of all!