At 14 months Robin’s playfulness has reached new heights and so has determination! She spent much of this past month with a stethoscope (from L’s ‘doctor set’) around her neck. Not really sure why she is so attached to the thing but it seems like every day she makes a point to find it and she throws a fit if it’s taken from her or doesn’t go on properly. When she puts it on she walks around making the sounds of a heart beat!
Now that Robin is playing more with her sister she’s also reacting more when things don’t go her way or when Lilly takes things from her or excludes her from activities (working on this). Robin throws brief but intense tantrums where she throws herself down on the ground and bangs her legs and arms and even her head against the floor. It’s sad to see her so upset but for now we just ignore the behavior and she’s easily distracted.
Robin has not picked up new words this month but she is extremely expressive and always babbling and yodeling (it genuinely sounds like she’s yodeling, hilarious). My favorite thing that she picked up is that she hums ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ when I’m putting her to sleep. I typically sing the song to her at nap time but she starts right up as soon as we’re in her room and the lights are off, even before I sing to her! And she’s good enough that most people would recognize the song from her humming.
Robin has an absolute love for climbing everything, especially stairs. When we enter or leave the house it’s always a process because she has to go up and down the stairs several times, only to be dragged away kicking and screaming after several minutes when we have to get out the door! There’s a play area we frequent at the 29th street mall where kids of all ages play on the sculptures like they’re ‘supposed’ to and Robin ignores the kids stuff and runs directly for the concrete staircase that’s hidden behind the vending machine in the back corner. I’ve almost given up going there because while all the other moms are sitting with their tea watching their kids play, I spend 98% of my time chasing after Robin, who’s making a run for the stairs over and over and over again. Fortunately she’s so darned cute that it’s worth it. Love you, R!
6/26 at 5pm
6/27 at 10am
Baby Deer
We had quite the scare on Tuesday when our house was under a pre-evacuation notice due to the Flagstaff Fire. Around 2pm a thunderstorm rolled through Boulder with a little bit of rain and a lot of lightening. It started a fire at the back of Bear Peak (the tallest peak of the Flatirons in the background of our neighborhood) and by the time it was reported it was bordering out of control. With the driest season in decades, the fire had a lot of fuel and as it reached the top of the peak our neighborhood was alerted to the danger.
The girls didn’t nap that afternoon so I had put them in the car and decided to drive to Little Monkey Business (an indoor play area for kids) in Westminster, 20 minutes away. When I walked outside I could smell the smoke but we get this on occasion from the ongoing fires in Ft. Collins so I didn’t think much of it. When I was pulling out of the neighborhood I could see smoke at the top of Bear Peak and people out on the street taking photos. Nobody was too alarmed so I did a quick check of the news and continued on to Westminster. Bill then texted me at 5pm saying I had to come home “now” because we were in pre-evacuation and it was so scary because I didn’t even know what that meant for us. Driving home to Boulder you could see thick clouds of smoke and occasional flames. People were pulling to the side of the freeway to watch and get photos.
We’ve never experienced anything like this before and packed several bags (photo albums, wedding dress, important documents, best crystal pieces and jewelry, necessities for the girls), made lists and walked through every room in the house to decide what items we would grab and what we would leave behind in the event of a mandatory evacuation. It was a tough night but fortunately the fire died down a bit overnight. There were several hot spots on the front side on Wednesday and concerns throughout the day but good news came at 5pm when we were taken off the pre-evac list. Boulder County Firefighters along with firefighters from surrounding areas and a Type 1 air team were very proactive in containing the fire and we are very thankful for all the work they did. There is still some danger of a fire because conditions are so dry, but we are hopeful. This was the first rolling fire in Boulder County in over 30 years – we need rain!
Meanwhile the Waldo Canyon Fire in CO Springs continues to burn and our thoughts are with our neighbors to the south!
“We have always been fortunate to be surrounded by beautiful ‘things’, but nothing so beautiful as the mountains and community that surround us today.”
**In the midst of all of this ‘excitement’, a mama deer gave birth to a fawn in our neighbor’s backyard! I spotted them Wednesday morning and spent much of the day spying on them with the girls. At one point the fawn came into our backyard and pushed some of Lilly’s toys around, and they spent the night in our yard as well. Just another thing that reminds us of how much we love to live here. So cute!
Bill’s parents just purchased a condo in Boulder! Their new place is in our neighborhood just over a mile ‘up the hill’, off Bear Mountain Drive. The condo has 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, a basement, beautiful patio, views of the Flatirons and excellent trail access. Michigan will remain their home base for awhile but we are thrilled that they will have a place near us as well. Welcome to Boulder, Nana and Boppa!
Lilly had a special visit from the Pacifier Fairy on Thursday night. After talking casually about it for a few days Lilly decided she was ready to leave her paci outside for the Pacifier Fairy to pick up and deliver to a young child who needs it. In return, the Pacifier Fairy left gifts for Lilly, including a coloring book, glitter crayons, Olivia DVD, Cinderella book, and sprinkled donut. We were caught off guard with how quickly Lilly (who seemingly had a strong emotional attachment to her paci, which was confined to her bedroom and visited frequently throughout the day if she got upset, etc) was sold on the idea and how enthusiastic she was about the process.
Thursday night, after leaving her pacifier in an envelope and placing it outside, she was extremely aggitated at bedtime and stalling every moment of her bedtime routine. She finally fell asleep at 10:30 after a small meltdown and woke up twice in the night briefly. She was happy as can be in the morning (helped by her first ever sprinkle donut), exhausted after school but wouldn’t take a nap, and fell asleep once her head hit the pillow at bedtime. Since then she had one major meltdown (bad enought that I called Bill home early from work) but has been sleeping well and refers to her paci very infrequently, about once a day. Our pediatrician recommended that we wait until she is 3 (just a few more weeks!) to wean her from the paci and after considering various approaches we decided to give this a try. We are very proud of how well she is doing!
Since deciding on this approach we heard of kids taking their pacifiers to Build a Bear Workshop and putting them inside a bear that they choose. I think this is a great idea (!!), although Lilly would surely rip the bear open to retrieve her paci. My parent’s are still laughing about L’s visit from the Pacifier Fairy, lol.
To read a time article about the Pacifier Fairy, click here.
We are so proud of Bill for completing his first Triathlon! We had an early start on Father’s Day as I rushed the girls out the door to see Daddy’s start at the 5430 Sprint Triathlon (1/2 mile swim, 17.2 mile bike, 3.1 mile run), the first event in this Summer’s Boulder Triathlon Series – including Olympic and Half Ironman distances later this Summer. Bill had a strong finish in the event even though he was suffering from a fever and sinus infection! The girls had fun cheering him on and watching all of the activity. Bill was pretty wiped out at the finish due to the fever but after some rest in the afternoon we went out for yogurt and had a nice evening together. Happy Father’s Day, B! And Happy Father’s Day to my wonderful Dad and Dad-in-law!!
For the complete set of photos, click here.
Why we think Bill is such a great Daddy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billandkristy/sets/72157630067097921/
We had a blast entertaining Mark, Pinata, Leela, Tevin, and my parents this past weekend. Mark and Pinata flew in with the kids on Thursday evening for a 5 day weekend. On Friday we drove to the Flagstaff summit for a picnic lunch and hike and we met up with some of M & P’s friends from Duke for dinner. That evening Lilly and Leela had a sleepover in L’s bedroom and stayed until almost 11pm talking! We spent Saturday morning on Pearl Street and played at home in the backyard with the kids in the afternoon while Mark and Pinata headed out for the night for a friends wedding. My parents arrived that afternoon and the kids had fun making strawberry ice cream and watching a movie (A Turtle Tale). We biked around on Sunday and snacked at Pearl Street while the kids played in the fountains. My mom took the girls to the Jack & Jill Salon and Spa for pedicures and hair cuts Monday morning – so cute! Mark, Pinata, Bill and I went to the Avery Brewing Company and spent some time together without kids in the afternoon, followed by our obligatory visit to Southern Sun with everyone in the evening. Pinata and I visited the WOW Children’s Museum Tuesday morning before they headed home in the afternoon. Sad to see them go because spending time with the cousins is always a highlight in our year!
For the complete set of photos, click here.
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