Final Preparations

The moment I've been waiting for for 2 months is finally closing in! I'm going south - with both boys - all by myself.

Now to say the excitement overrides the anxiety of traveling alone with 2 small children, would be a mis-statement. I keep playing the scenarios over in my mind: airport security, waiting to get on the plane, having to nurse and keep track of a 2 1/2 year old, the plane ride, potty on the plane and every where else, meltdowns when they get tired....you get the point. Managing all this with 2 hands might be a little challenging, but I know it will all be worth it once I arrive at my destinations.

First stop will be Las Vegas. I am flying into Vegas (from Bozeman) on Monday and will be picked up at the airport by my grandparents who winter in Laughlin. I fly in at 2pm and from there we will head out to Henderson to see my cousin Shelly and her husband Pat, have dinner with them and see their new home. I haven't seen them since their wedding in June (I was 7 months pregnant) and they haven't yet met Jaxon so it will be a good visit.

From there we will trek further south to Laughlin, or Fort Mohave, which is where my grandparents have their 5th wheel parked. The boys and I will spend 3 days with my grandparents, probably mostly at the pool, and then head back to Las Vegas on Thursday. We'll catch a quick flight to Tucson, AZ and land in AZ around 12:30pm. Greeting us will be my dad Garry and his wife Bonnie. Off to their new home we will be whisked to spend the remaining 8 days.

This will be my third vacation to Tucson and I'm growing quite fond of the place. I love the weather this time of year, the cactus in bloom, the pool, all there is to do in the area, the shopping and the company. My brother Kevin also resides in Tucson and will get to see him and go on our annual Mexican food date. YUM

I'm looking forward to the memories we'll make and just an overall great vacation, even though we'll be missing Eric terribly.

Snapshots

Bath Time! The bath is not complete without the cup. Can't get it away from him without a fight.

Jaxon was smitten with my scarf so I wrapped it around him and he was delighted with himself!




Bottle time! Just recently I gave Jaxon a bottle (with Mama's milk) and he loved just being able to hold his bottle and chill on the floor. Kaleb was very curious and was right there to oversee that things went okay.

Kaleb enjoys a cupcake at his friend's birthday party.

Kaleb and Sawyer (the birthday boy) at the party.

Farm Boys

The boys going to explore the farm with daddy

Maybe that lamb is okay....

Both boys not really sure what to make of that wiggly, noisy lamb

Saturday was full of sunshine and farm animals. We took a drive to my great-uncle's place to show Kaleb and Jaxon the chickens, roosters and lambs. It was fun to show Kaleb the world of baby animals and see his eyes light up when the baby lamb would baaaaaaa at him. He was very timid at first but as soon as dad was holding one it all seemed to be okay with him. Jaxon pretty much just soaked in all that was happening around him and was very entertained by it all.
I love this time of year with all the baby animals. It makes it seem like spring is here and that is a really good feeling.

NEW HOME FOR SALE

** New Construction **

SINGLE LEVEL HOME
FOR SALE IN DILLON

-1,400+/- SF
-528 SF attached garage
-3 bed, 2 full bath
-Conveniently located between schools and Safeway
on the east part of town
-Covered front porch
-Projected finish date is August 1st
-Still time to choose interior finishes, etc. if purchased
prior to June 1, 2010
-$175,000

Call 406.683.3441 for further information.

My Baby's Got Blue Eyes

I took this great photo by mistake. I was just playing around with my new camera and Jaxon was my subject. I think what appeals to me is the perspective.
I gray-scaled the photo in Photoshop and picked up the color of his eyes from the color version but only applied the color to his eyes at about 45% opacity. I think I managed to turn a very average photo into something I might consider blowing up and hanging on the wall. Children make such great art!

Ski-tastic

Going into this adventure I was a skeptic. I thought he might be too young. I thought he might be too timid. I thought he would whine about it being too cold, or too snowy. I just wasn't sure what the reaction to this new adventure would be.

Eric and I figured it would be best to go into this skiing experience with little expectation. We agreed that if Kaleb just wanted to play in the snow bank once we got there, that would be okay. If he didn't want to even put the boots on, that would be okay. So off to the ski hill we went with our only goal being to make the day a fun, positive experience.

He got his boots on and thought those were pretty cool. Once outside we clipped him into his skis and Eric led him down to the area we were going to practice in. He glided and seemed to think it was pretty fun. We played for about an hour and just let him take it all in. Soon he was asking to ride the lift. So we rode the lift up and then back down. Then more skiing on the kiddie run. During a quick break in the lodge Eric convinced me to go get a couple turns in by myself. It had been 3 years since I've had skis on. So I went.

When I came down from my first run Eric and Kaleb were back outside heading for the lift again at which time Eric informed me he was going to ski down with Kaleb. This made me a little nervous, but not wanting to be the spoiler of fun, I went with it.

We got off a midway and there's a long catwalk. As you'll see in the video, Kaleb excelled on this flat area and he took off on his own. I was really amazed at his confidence and his balance! I was equally amazed at Eric's teaching ability. He made it so much fun for Kaleb and was so patient with him. Kaleb absolutely LOVED this new adventure and it was so much fun to watch the innocence of a new little skier! I know one thing; I better get on skis a lot more in the next few winters to come because I'm going to soon be trying to keep up with Kaleb! And then.....Jaxon!

The day was such a thrill. The fresh air was an added bonus. These are the days I long for more of and I have a feeling there will be many more!

Getting ready to put skis on.

Quick photo with mom


Gliding around isn't so bad!


Riding up the lift

Being silly in the snow.

Little skier boy

Jaxon, sweet Jaxon

Jaxon's 6 month birthday is here and gone. My baby is growing so quickly. He is figuring out that he wants to be mobile, but hasn't figured out how to make that happen, yet. It will be here before I blink and then I'll be baby-proofing the house all over again. I'm not ready for this mobility, but it's coming, so I better prepare myself.

I shared a graham cracker with Jaxon today and he LOVED it. I also snapped this photo and can't help but smile when I look at it. He is so delighted with himself.


Found the toes and loves to put them in his mouth. I love this stage!!