Monday, March 23, 2009

Airplanes, Weddings and fun

This past weekend we went to Betsy and Adam's wedding in Boulder, Co. We stayed at the historic Hotel Bouldero, the wedding also took place there, and loved it. The hotel had beautiful stain glass and the room they gave us was so comfortable. Orson slept in a port-a-crib provided by the hotel and he did so well that we were inspired to try him out in his crib at home....I can happily report that he slept for over 8 hours in it last night.
Of course taking a trip to Colorado meant that Orson also had his first airplane flight to and from. He did amazingly and his favorite part was the turbulence that we hit on the way home. Everyone else on the plane was terrified and he thought it was the funniest thing in the whole world. He smiled and giggled the entire time.
He also attened his first wedding and reception, he was the center of attention with all the ladies but the music was a little too loud so he and his Dad ducked out just after the first dance. Matt and I were really looking forward to dancing together but it just wasn't meant to be, hopefully next time :) The wedding was beautiful and tons of fun. Betsy was on my first Americorps team, so a few of my team mates made it out for it. We had fun catching up and goofing around. My two favorite things that Betsy had for her reception were pie instead of cake and a photo booth for all of her guests to take pictures in. We got to keep a copy and the other copy was put in a photo book that served as their guest book as well. We actually got some good family pictures from it!
Matt and I had fun driving and walking around the Boulder area. We went up to Eldora ski resort (the altitude killed all three of us so we didn't stay way too long) and out to Red Rocks (we climbed the stairs up and down while watching crazy people run and jump them as a work out). Boulder was great to walk around and we were blessed with wonderful weather for the entire weekend. It was so fun and low-key that I think Matt and I would go back at the drop of a hat.

Two months!

I can't believe it, Orson is two months and a week! Time is just flying and everyday I swear he is bigger. When we came back from Denver two Sundays ago and laid him in the co-sleeper while we unpacked he looked like he had grown another few inches and turns out he has he is now (officially from the doctor) 24 and 3/4 inches and 12 lbs 15 oz. He is starting to get hair and is turning into a handsome little boy.

Speaking of the doctor Orson had his first immunizations at this visit. My moms group all reassured me that he would scream for about 15 seconds and then forget all about it....not my Orson, he screamed and cried for about 30 minutes (refused even to eat) and then whimpered in his sleep the entire 45 minute drive home :( I am sure glad Matt was able to come along.

In other news, this lent, instead of giving something up I took our priest's advice and decided to overcome something that was holding me back from being the person God wanted me to be. Most of you know that I had a hard time going out, doing stuff on my own, even leaving the house after I stopped working Katrina and after all the losses of 2007 in my family. This lent I decided that I would stop that and join a moms group and try to get more involved outside of the house. The moms group is now going strong and I pushed myself even harder yesterday and spent a few hours outside in my garden (yes even leaving the house for the backyard was hard for me). I feel back in love with outside and planting yesterday and I hope that the post-Katrina me is gone for good! God works in mysterious ways and I think all the visitors and Orson has given me some of my old self back.


Last but not least here are some favorite pictures and video from the last few weeks:


Ever since Denver, Orson has been in love with the moby wrap and he really loves to wear it with Daddy.

He has also decided that the bumbo is lots of fun, especially combined with the ball that my Aunt Cindy sent him.


While Aunt Dani and Uncle Jon were in town we went to Nappa to taste wine, Berkley to look around and hiking...it was a fun filled weekend for all.


We left the back door open a lot when Jon and Dani were here, apparently this little guy decided to see if he could come live with us. Matt found him after we all went to bed in the kitchen (it looks big here but not when you realize that it is sitting in the dust pan for the broom, no more then 4 inches tops)




Orson loves to fly and sing and I think his little toothless mouth is adorable from this angle.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Moms group and wedding prep

Orson and I have been attending a moms group the last two Wednesdays and it has been great to get out and meet other moms and babies. I will say that he looks to be as tall as most of the five month-olds but, thank goodness, not as advanced. They are all starting to crawl and move around (I will take a few more months of being able to put Orson down and knowing that he will still be there when I get back). The best part has been learning from and sharing with other moms my age.

Orson keeps on growing and growing so we tried on some more great outfits this weekend from our family and friends. When I hold them up without him in them they look way too big but then I put them on and they fit! Orson has also recovered almost completely from his acne and is all smiles, I've read that they stay super smiley for the next few months....there will be lots of pictures if that is the case!

Matt picked out the outfit below and had a great time showing it off on Sunday at church and around town.

And of course I couldn't resit a St Patty's day shirt for him (it was in the dollar section of Target). As you can see, Orson is also now sitting propped up on his own.

He and Daddy cooked me breakfast this past Sunday....Orson feel asleep playing and watching.

We have also discovered flying over the past few weeks. We will try and get a movie of it but his face is so funny when you look up at him and he never wants to touch back down.

We've also been getting ready for our trip to Denver this weekend. The dogs are ending up in a kennel for the first time in their lives. I am terrified of leaving them (it gave me insomnia one night this week) but the people at the kennel reassured me that they will let everyone know that its the girls first time at a kennel and that if they are too upset that they will move them into their own wing away from the big loud dogs. The also said to bring as much of the girls stuff as we wanted to make the dogs feel more at home which will go a long way to making the girls feel better.


The flowers here are blooming and the weather is wonderful, I will try to take some pictures and post them next week.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Orson week 6

Well, this has been an eventful week so far! This weekend was full of many firsts for Orson and the fun has continued into the week.


Saturday was a big day. Matt bathed and dressed Orson for the first time by himself while I got ready. Not surprisingly, Orson ended up in his "O" for Orson outfit. They also seemed to have a blast in the bath judging by the amount of water splashed all over the counter tops.


That afternoon we went for our first hike with Orson, the stroller and the dogs at Auburn State Rec Area. There were some burly off-roading sections and tons of mud but Orson seemed to love it and the stroller did great. We all had tons of fun.
Later that evening, Matt and I were playing with Orson on the guest bed and he decided that the best game was rolling over from his belly (facing Daddy) onto his back to "find" mommy!

On Sunday we invited some friends over for dinner and therefore spent the day cleaning the house before they came. We tried out the baby carrier and found that while Orson enjoyed sleeping all curled up and cradled...


... he really preferred facing out and helping Mommy vacuum. I can't believe he is big enough to hold his head up and face out!

The real surprise was that night. I put Orson in bed after his 9pm feed and we didn't hear a peep out of him again until 6 am the next morning! Then to top it off he feel back asleep after that feeding and didn't wake up again until after 10 am. I felt like a new woman!

On Monday, after all of the great stuff that Orson had been up to over the weekend, I thought that he may be big enough to start using his bumbo. He loved being able to sit up (with the added help of a pillow) in the red chair surveying his kingdom.

That evening, after all of the phone calls for the day were for Orson, we decided that we should just convert the computer area into one that Orson could navigate on his own :)

The movie this week is of Orson singing along to the ABCs (his new favorite song). He loves to "sing" with me




And of course, this weeks funny Orson faces (the first one is for my dad)