Kyle's first swimming experience!

Our birth class had its reunion this afternoon at a local pool. We decided it was a good time to let Kyle have his first non-bath water experience. Let's say we gave it the old college try, but it was definitely a fail. I think the water was colder than he liked, although the little girl from our class took to it like a fish kicking her legs, going under the water, and floating on her back. Oh well, we'll keep trying! Dave's bound to get him interested in the triathlete sports, so he'll grow gills soon enough!

You've gotta admit that his suit is pretty cute? It reminded us of our proposal location in Hawaii (Turtle Bay).

The before - unaware of what's about to come!

This is not fun dad!

Really not enjoying this cold water! Get me out!!

The after photo (should've done this first huh?)

Comforting him after a traumatic first pool experience

The mommies from our birth class with our children -- Jameson (May'11), Addison (Mar'11), Kyle (Apr'11)

First Daddy's Day

Dave was finally feeling as though he was getting better and come Father's Day, we felt he had been on antibiotics long enough and showing fewer severe symptoms such that it was okay for him to return to daddy duties.

Although Dave got a homemade card from Kyle, a mousepad for his office, and new aero-bars for his road bike, daddy's favorite present was getting to hold Kyle. After a week in quarantine, it was so nice to see the two of them reunited.

Kyle was a great kid for daddy on his first Father's Day. He spent much of the day napping (I still think he's recovering from the little cold he and I had). I think this might be his favorite nap spot:

Isn't he just precious on daddy's chest?

We went out to dinner for dad's day at Texas Roadhouse. Because of the long wait, we ended up having to nurse in the car. Kyle also got a turn at the drivers seat. He was pretty intrigued!

Kyle was a great kid at dinner UNTIL our food arrived. Always seems to be the case. Luckily, it was extremely loud in the restaurant and you could barely hear him throwing a fit. We turned to our silver bullet-- the white noise app on our iPhone -- and all was better. He even fell asleep.... just as the bill arrived. :)

All in all, it was a great first Father's Day for Dave. I look forward to watching the two grow up together over the coming years!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there, especially the three in my life:

My wonderful father and friend,

My father-in-law Bob,

and my wonderful husband and father to my son, Dave!

Great News!

I can officially announce that everyone's prayers have been answered -- my parents house has sold! After two long years of desiring to move out to Colorado to be closer to us, their wish has been granted! They will be making their way to beautiful Colorado at the end of this month.

Their hopes are to find a place on this active-adult golf community about 45 minutes from us. We can't wait for them to be out here and to be able to spend more time with Kyle. We have ZERO family in Colorado so we are thrilled to have grandparents so nearby!

Nothing as sweet as baby's tiny feet

It turns out its not easy to take feet pictures on your own with a squirmy baby, but I tried. There really is nothing as sweet as baby's tiny feet, enjoy!

Health Update

Many of you know that David has been REALLY sick this past week. Turns out he tested positive for HIB. You may not have ever heard of this (I hadn't!) unless you have young children as you may know that this is one of their vaccines. It's a pretty serious infection particularly for infants and children. The mortality rate is 1 in 20 in babies, although with the introduction of the vaccine, the odds of a baby getting it are extremely low. Kyle received his first of the HIB series (a set of 3) last Wednesday. We aren't sure when Dave became exposed to HIB so we took Kyle in to get tested just to be sure. Kyle is NOT showing any symptoms and neither is mom. My body should be providing all the antibodies he needs through my milk, but we pray that Kyle continues to remain well. We'll get his test results immediately if its' positive -- no news is good news. We'll keep you posted, but please continue to pray that this nasty infection stays far far from Kyle and that Dave gets better real soon. Kyle and mommy miss having daddy around!

On a more positive note, here are some more pictures of our all American boy!

Chatfield

So this is actually a blog post that is a week delinquent (it's what happens when you forget to dump pics off your cell phone). Anyway, we didn't get our weekly hike in this past weekend since Dave was under the weather and Kyle had developed a cough. Plus, Dave somehow severely injured his knee last week such that it's very difficult for him to even climb stairs. Drats!

Here's pictures from our hike the week before. We did the back-woods trails that leave from outside our neighborhood. I look forward to the time when we can do some hikes farther from home but in the meantime, I'm so thankful that our 'backyard' is as beautiful and fun as it is!

Dave carried Kyle in the Beco this time. Does it get any cuter than this?

And I was in charge of the dogs...

It was pretty warm out so Sequoia enjoyed a dip in the Platte on the way back. We thought it was so hilarious how she just decided to lie down in the water. Those of you that know huskies know how much they (usually) hate water. Not this one!

Kyle Rolls Over!

First let me say that today was Kyle's best day! He not only slept really well last night (7 hour stint), he took down two bottles like a champ, and he successfully napped IN his crib today. I tried something different for his nap-- I swaddled him. I normally reserve that for bed-time but gave it a whirl and it worked! He napped for two hours (which is longer than he usually goes between feedings during the day, so this is a great nap!). He wasn't overly fussy today and quite alert for a good chunk of the day. He did lots of tummy time and it paid off-- he rolled over tonight! We caught him rolling over a month ago but it was on accident and it was because he was wailing. Tonight, he did it repeatedly and with purpose. I knew he was getting oh-so-close because he had been getting his head up so high and wobbling it from side to side. We didn't catch the first time on video, but we caught one of his later rolls. Enjoy!

Happy Kyle

Kyle started smiling a few weeks ago but it has recently become fairly reliable. We get several morning smiles of joy out of him and these last few days, we consistently get them during playtime, too. I just love the toothless grins! So rewarding! Enjoy the video:

Happy Graduation Charity!

Happy Graduation Day to my dear friend Charity! She did the crazy thing of working full-time and getting her MS from Stanford (on-line). It was several years of very hard work for her and long, stressful nights. She can now relax and enjoy this moment!

It's a sign of our times that her first time on Stanford's campus is to attend her graduation ceremony. I hope you are enjoying your weekend in the bay area! And now that school is done, I can't wait to spend more time with you when you are back! Say hi to all of Dave and I's Stanford peeps while you are out there!

10 Years - Mayo Class of '01

It's crazy to think that it has already been 10 years since we graduated high school. A lot has sure changed in my life in those 10 years. The highlights include meeting and marrying my best friend, graduating with my Aerospace Engineering degree, getting a wonderful job, living in sunny CA and now in beautiful Colorado, and having our first little boy. Life is pretty wonderful. If we didn't live 1000 miles away with a newborn, we may have ventured back to MN for our 10 year reunion today. I hope everyone in the class of 2001 finds their lives as fulfilled as mine-- enjoy a night of celebration!

And for a trip down memory lane (and some small embarrassment...):

Graduation night!

My senior open house

The entire Mayo class of 2001!

I'm kind of sad I don't have more pictures from high school, but we didn't have digital cameras back then. I don't even have a picture of our school and it looks completely different now! Many of you will find it crazy to know that our school was shaped like a circle. It was impossible to get lost going to your next class!

Happy 2 Months Kyle!

So hard to believe my little baby is already two months old! Time has just flown by already!

Kyle had his two month check-up and shots today. His development is ahead of schedule-- his neck muscles are extraordinary strong and he follows sights and sounds really well. He's now sleeping til 3 or 4 am each night without waking to feed and he's gaining weight extremely fast. He's a great little feeder and makes up for his night time stint by eating every 1.5 hours during the day. He is still refusing bottles, but can you blame him for liking mom best? He gained 1.5 pounds in the last 2 weeks (they like to see 1-2 lbs a month at this point). He's just shy of 12 pounds today. His head is still measuring above average too-- doc says to make room for that huge brain of his! :)

He handled his vaccines (3 by thigh injection and 1 by mouth) like a trooper. I think it's harder on mom than it is on him! He's been a bit fussy and extremely tired since the shots but I'm hoping that's all the worse it gets!

We'll take some 2-month pictures later.
Happy 2 months little man! We love you so much!

A Baby Changes Everything...

Besides the obvious changes a newborn brings, Kyle's brought about a whole new Beth as well. I find myself trying out new dinner recipes and even breaking out the sewing machine to make some of Kyle's "gear." I've seriously become a suburban, domesticated, mom!

Now that I'm learning to manage with little sleep, I'm finding it easier to make some dinners while Kyle naps. Dave and I used to be simple dinner people-- either doing carryout or throwing in a pizza, grilling burgers, or making pasta. Since going out is MUCH harder with Kyle, I have found myself on the Food Network alot lately trying out new recipes. Dave's turned a new leaf and will even eat some leftovers, so it's been nice making huge dishes that we can enjoy a couple of times. And if you can believe it-- we've been integrating a lot more vegetables into our meals. Gotta start setting an example (even if Kyle's many months from eating solids!).

My friend Charity had taught me to make receiving blankets last year and I really enjoyed sewing these for Kyle and my friends. My sewing machine broke while sewing a blanket for my cousin's little boy, so I invested in a nice new computerized one. Thanks to Dave's coworker's wife Anna, I got the idea to make some burp clothes for Kyle. We really enjoy the ones she made for us. It was a fun Sunday afternoon project to make these. They are super easy and much quicker than the blankets. I hope Kyle enjoys them!

A Quick Update

Kyle's been awake and so much more active during the day that it has been hard to find time to upload and blog pictures. Here are a few from the past few days though:

Kyle enjoys play-time trying to kick and rollover as well as reaching for rattles on his exercise mat. He's great at tummy time!

This is Kyle's frown face. It's the "something is upsetting me but I'm too lazy to vocalize it with a cry" face. We can't help but laugh!

I think Kyle's tongue is sticking out in more of our pictures than not. Such a silly boy!

Daddy enjoying some QT (quality time) with his CUTIE. I LOVE LOVE LOVE these moments.

Baby's are known for having very near-sighted vision early on, but Kyle's eyes are developing very well. He can easily follow us from long distances. Here's Kyle following Daddy from up on the loft.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Shoemaker!

Kyle wanted to wish his Grandpa a very Happy Birthday. He's exploring Europe right now but Kyle says he misses him a lot!

Hope you had a great celebration!

The Many Faces of Kyle

Kyle's definitely an expressive little punkin. Here's a series of shots of his goofy faces: