We took some time out from packing to go for a hike with the girls today. We drove up to NCAR (5 minutes) and hiked the foothills from there. It was a gorgeous 80 degree day and the girls had so much fun! Robin went in the backpack with Bill and was quietly observing the whole time (very unlike her) and Lilly insisted on ‘climbing the mountains’ all by herself, except for our hike back when I had to carry her uphill the entire way, lol. We’re fairly certain that Lilly ate more on our 1.5 hour hike than she has on any single day this past year :). We plan to make weekend hikes a regular thing, hopefully every weekend. It’s the Boulder way!
Ro Ro is 11 months old, how did this happen!? I am in complete denial that Robin is almost one. I was so excited for L’s first birthday and planned it for months and I can’t even think about Robin being that age, even though it feels like we’ve always known her. It’s just not possible to say enough nice things about Robin. She is the absolute most precious thing and I take every moment with her to heart. Robin is loud and outgoing (entirely unlike myself) and has a tremendous amount of ‘spunk’. She is standing and walking if she holds onto a finger but hasn’t taken the plunge into full blown walking yet. She is signing more and trying out new sounds and words, ‘more’, ‘no’, ‘all done’ (ah-duh). She doesn’t say uh-oh but has the most hilarious facial expression to express it (drops her jaw and tilts her head/eyes down in a dramatic fashion). It seems like she is going to be a true Daddy’s girl as she squeals and smiles for her Da more than anyone else. We <3 her to pieces, every last chubby ounce!
Oops…almost forgot! She sprouted 3 teeth in ONE DAY this week, and also started giving hugs (she puts her head on your chest and wraps her arms around you). So sweet!
All of our stuff is finally in one place, phew! We closed on our home on Monday, March 19th and moved in on Friday after the bedrooms/1 bathroom were painted and a few handyman and craftsman items were addressed. Our moving company (Graebel, very pleased with them) delivered our goods that were in storage on Thursday and we arranged an in-town move for the apartment items on Friday. A million thanks to Aunt Martha who flew out to help us with the move! She arrived on Wednesday and helped with the girls while I checked off hundreds of boxes for the big move. Friday was our first official day/night in the house. I spent most of the day (and the next day, and the next…) on the kitchen, which was the biggest project. I was shocked and thrilled that we fit all of our items in our kitchen for the first time in our (almost) 7 year marriage! This includes 3 sets of china, all kitchen appliances (including the ones we hardly ever use), our good sterling and crystal, and wedding gifts that had never been out of their boxes! HOORAY!!
We had a great time with Aunt Martha, eating out on the back porch for dinners and staying up late chatting while unpacking the house. We could not have made nearly as much progress without all of her help. The weather was perfect and the girls were practically kidnapped by the neighbor girls, Emma and Elsa (both 9), who stopped by multiple times a day to play and take them to the park. It was a fun, ‘mostly’ stress-free week and we already feel at home here.
To see photos from the first few days, click here.
Robin is changing by the minute and she’s no longer content being held or confined to the stroller when we go places. She wants to join in on the fun with her big sister and lately has surprised me with all that she can do. At the park yesterday I put her down and she headed straight for the stairs of the play structure, climbed up them in the blink of an eye and then plunged head first down the slide! She proceeded to do this AT LEAST 20 more times before I stopped her, then she tackled the ‘big kids’ play structure and went down three different, bigger slides with me following close behind. What a little daredevil!
We have been in Colorado for one month now and are completely loving and embracing this change for our family. Bill started his new job several weeks ago and is very enthusiastic about the company and his position there. While Daddy is away at work, us girls have had plenty of time to play! Each day we do two outings which can include anything from a trip to the Butterfly Pavillion, burning energy off at Jumping Jordys, playing with dinosaurs at Flatirons Crossing, a nature walk on the trail behind our apartment, play time at one of Westminster’s 65 parks, or a girls lunch out. Toting two little girls who both need and deserve my full attention around town by myself has been physically and emotionally exhausting (getting them in and out of the car is the hardest part of my day – if you have multiple young children you know what I mean!) but I’m loving every minute of it and am so proud and amazed by both of them. My ‘mommy confidence’ has certainly reached new heights!
Bill has been home for dinner and/or to put the girls to sleep EVERY NIGHT (except one) since we moved here! I feel so relieved and happy to have him home and keep thinking that I’m on vacation! I didn’t realize how much having Bill gone during the week (Monday through Thursday for consulting work) affected the girls and me until we moved – only my closest friends know what a hard time I was having. It has been a very positive change for all of us. I’ve even been able to work out at the gym after putting Robin to sleep!
Colorado is absolutely beautiful. We’ve always heard about how much sunshine they get here (more than anywhere else in the US – who knew!?) but wearing sunglasses and sunscreen in the dead of Winter continues to surprise me! While the girls are napping I have been busy preparing for our new home and scheduling the move. We close on the 19th and move in the following Friday or Saturday, after the bedrooms and bathrooms are painted and a few minor handyman fixes. We are waiting to paint the rest of the interior (currently in good condition and neutral but we’d like some changes) and the exterior later in the Spring after we get a better feel for the house. Very excited about closing the back porch in a bit for extra play space and creating a play house under the stairs for the girls!
We are busy planning classes and activities for the Spring. Here is what we have so far:
After touring 9 preschools, Lilly has decided to attend Sunflower Preschool in April. She will be there from 8:30-12:30 on M/W/F. We are loving their montessori-based classrooms and the staff is exceptional.
Tuesdays – Lilly and Robin have a Gymboree class together at 11am
Wednesdays – we plan to visit the Boulder Farmers Market every Wednesday night for dinner
Thursdays – we continue Music Together with our 6th session at 10:45am
Saturdays – ‘Jelly Monkeys’ swim class for both girls at the East Boulder Rec Center
After babbling and saying ‘Mama’ and ‘Dada’ for months now, Robin’s first official word is: “Hi”. She started saying this about one week ago and now it’s to the point where she waves and says hi to everyone she sees. When we walk in her room in the morning after she wakes up, she says “hi” repeatedly for several minutes (all the while with a huge grin on her face). Beyond cute!
Happy 10 Months, Ro Ro! Robin is a cruising, dancing, babbling, laughing, eating, attention-getting machine. She says “hi”, “mama”, and “dada” and adores Roary (especially her tail) and her sister more than anyone else. When we are out in public Robin does whatever she can to get the attention of those around her. Her love of food comes second to her love for attention – when we eat in public she flaps her arms and squeals at the people around her and refuses to eat. It’s hard to believe how different she is from her big sister, who was not so outgoing. She keeps us pretty busy but I have a feeling that she’s going to be a real handful when she gets older. 🙂
After a long negotiation process we finally have confirmation that the house we’ve been considering for weeks now will be ours! We heard about the house before it was even on the market (our realtor’s ‘office mate’ was listing it) and accepted a counter-offer the day it was listed. That same day they had 17 showings and several ‘seriously interested’ buyers, which just shows you how sought after this area is. The house is in Table Mesa neighborhood on the south side of Boulder (SoBo). It has easy access to Denver and Bill’s work in Broomfield, but is also less than 10 minutes from downtown Boulder (Pearl St) and a short walk from the Boulder trail network. Right across the street from us is Harlow Platts Park with children’s play structures and great running, walking, and biking trails for us and the girls, as well as Viele Lake. The South Boulder Recreation Center is just two blocks away and the schools (elementary, middle, and high school all top 10 in the state) are a short walk away.
The house is a completely renovated 1960’s bi-level home. In the debate of ‘big in the suburbs or a little tight in Boulder’ the best choice for us hands down was Boulder. It is more expensive than the surrounding areas (less house for your dollar), but Boulder has everything we want for our family. We already feel at home there.
I am happy to say that our move went very smoothly, even more so than expected. We had lots of help from family and friends the week before we left and much to our surprise the packers said we were in the 99th percentile for ‘preparedness’ for the move (if you had seen the house 48 hours before they showed up you would have been nervous). The flight to Denver was uneventful and the corporate apartment we are staying in (Westminster) is very for the time being. Lilly had a rough first day and asked to go home several times, but once my parent’s arrived that afternoon things settled down.
My mom and dad were here for a week while we finalized all things ‘house’. We spent hours driving around different areas and looking at schools and after considering everything from new construction to large suburban houses with walkouts, we ultimately narrowed our search down to a single neighborhood in South Boulder for it’s community feel, access to Bill’s job, Whole Foods (#2 top grossing store in the nation for a good reason), recreation, and excellent schools.
In the meantime we’re keeping Lilly out of preschool until our move is finalized and I am busy showing the girls around and exploring the area.
We miss our friends and family back home and look forward to visitors soon!
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