Brainard Lake Camping Trip: Day 1

This weekend we are camping with the Nickels family at Pawnee campground. We drove up to Brainard Lake yesterday with Grandma and Grandpa (who stayed for the day before heading back to Minnesota) to settle in at the same campsite we had last year. It was fun to come back to the exact spot where we stayed last year, the boys all a bit older, and our newest little camper in tow!

The boys really loved making Emma smile and taking turns holding her. As you can see, she didn't mind the extra love!

The tear-streaked, dirt-smeared face of a boy enjoying the outdoors. Maybe a little too much--here he's just recovered from a fall (and a rock to the head).

These photos of Emma remind me so much of our first camping trip with Isaac. Three years later, we are new parents no longer. These seasoned parents of two were totally prepared for camping with a baby, and we survived not one night in a tent, but three! We've come so far. Yay, us!

Daddy and Em.

RMNP: Trail Ridge Road

We drove to Rocky Mountain National Park with Cheri and Todd today, and climbed Trail Ridge Road. It's so beautiful at the top of the Continental Divide, especially this time of year. So much green and endless wildflowers.

Here Ben is pointing to the elk at the top of the pass.

Rainbow over the divide.

Family.

Grandma Cheri, taking in the view.

"Let's hike!" said Isaac, so he and Grandpa Todd and I climbed the steep trail to the lookout point. 

Posing at the top, with 360 degree mountain views.

Over 12,000 feet at the top. 

On the way back down you see just how steep the trail is.

Emma, Seven Months Old

Emma Noelle is seven months old! She is one crawling, cruising, curious little mama. She made me work up a sweat getting her photos this month! Currently, Emma's favorite things include: dancing, Isaac, eating, baths (water in general, really), crawling around and exploring, eating rocks, swinging her legs, squinting her eyes dramatically and smiling a big, gummy smile, laughing, scrunching her nose and breathing in and out rapidly. She has a good sense of humor!

Emsy, as her brother calls her, takes two two-hour naps during the day and is down for the night between 7-7:30 pm, waking IN THE MORNING between 6-7am. That's right, she sleeps all night long. I don't know what I did to deserve it, but I'm quietly celebrating the full night of sleep. I'm also bracing for when it ends, because this time around I know that nothing lasts forever--everything is just a phase at this age.

Emma's stranger anxiety is pretty much over, but she still has a quiet, almost shy demeanor. She no longer cries when people hold her, but when someone gives her attention, she drops her head and smiles. It's the sweetest.

She doesn't jabber much, but has said "ma-ma-ma," and "ba-ba-ba." Actually, she really only says "ma-ma-ma" when she is upset and wants me. I'm not going to say it is her first word, but it sure does make me wonder!

Emma is a content baby. She is happy watching her brother's silly games and laughing hysterically, to crawl around the house, tasting everything, or sitting in hanging out in arms watching to world--or grabbing any food she can get her hands on. We are all so in love with our little girl. She is, as Isaac puts it, "the bestest baby we know."

Thorne Nature Experience: Critter Search

Today we attended our second Thorne summer camp, this time at Sawhill Ponds. I was able to leave Emma with Grandma and Grandpa today, so Isaac and I could attend the class alone together. The theme today was "Critter Search," and from the get-go Isaac was determined to catch a toad. (He even grabbed his own container for it on the way out of the house this morning.) It was a hot day, so we read stories, made a picture with stamps, glue, grass and dirt, and created story necklaces under the shade of the pavilion before heading out to the ponds in search of the critters.

First Isaac and I caught a damselfly to inspect in our special box with the magnifying glass top. A pretty neat find!

Then it wasn't very long before we spotted a huge toad hopping in the reeds near one of the ponds. Isaac squealed, both with glee for finding the toad and out of fear for letting it get away, before this mama had to come to the rescue and lunge after the toad. Success! Isaac was over the moon; he ran around to all the different families to proudly show them his catch. His was the only toad spotted today.

After some lengthy conversations with Isaac about why we couldn't take the toad home, he reluctantly released it at the end of class, and then panicked and shouted if anyone tried to go near it. That was still his toad, free or not.

We have one more class left together, and I'm wishing we'd signed up for more--Isaac really enjoys the classes, and I love being there with him, watching his love of nature expand as he learns and explores.

Giant Bubbles, Take 2

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I spent my birthday surrounded by family, feeling blessed. A happy birthday indeed!

Giant Bubbles, Take 1