Hadley is 3 months old

Time out from our trip blogs to say that Hadley made it to 3 months!  Yippee!  Unofficial stats are 11.6 lbs and 24.5".  So, she's still much longer and lighter than Owen was at that age.

She's very smiley now and tries to chat with you.

She is sleeping in her own room and crib now that she consistently sleeps 9-10 hours straight at night.  It's nice to have our room back, but I do miss waking up to her little toots.  :)

We are starting her in on college football early. She likes to watch with Daddy.  Hook 'em!

Hadley has also been trying to roll over, but can't quite get past her side.  She does like to scoot backwards using her feet and can rotate 270 degrees from how I laid her down.  She can hold her head up pretty well when we are holding her vertically and is making slow progress on picking it up during tummy time.

Colorado Wedding

Well, the good news is that we are all still sane! (I think.)  Actually, the car ride well surpassed expectations!!  The kids turned out to be great travelers - Owen liked to look outside and contemplate while hugging Bo or playing on the iPad, and Hadley just slept the entire time!  

We did a big loop from Idaho through Wyoming down to Breckenridge, and came through Utah on the way back.  We got to see some really pretty fall color up in the mountains (it was more impressive in person).  I'm breaking it up into 2 posts, the second of which will cover Arches NP and the ride home, which was gorgeous scenery, by the way.  Without further ado, on to the pictures.  

We spent the first night in Green River, WY.  Not much there, but our hotel was really nice and had these interesting rock formations, which Owen and Daddy hiked up to before dinner.  The view from our hotel room:

That little speck to the left of the rock is Daddy, to give some perspective of the size and distance of these massive blocks.

At the local Buckaroo's, where we ate dinner, we were seated at the "Moose table".  Wonder why it's called that?  If this guy was alive, his drool would have dripped on my head!

Then we arrived to the condo in Breckenridge by late the next afternoon and met up with family.  The condo was a great set-up with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and housed 12 of us total.  The little balcony overlooked a chair lift; I'd love to stay there in winter!!

Owen really took to Drake (his second cousin) and followed him around happily, calling him "the boy" or "Jake".  :) 

Owen likes to take a bite from his cracker and then determine what animal/car it is shaped like.  :)

Saturday was filled with a hike up the mountain, the wedding rehearsal, and rehearsal dinner.  We took Hadley on the hike in the Bjorn (she slept pretty much the whole time), but Owen had already been on a hike that morning and didn't want to go with the big group (he took a nap at the condo instead).  More beautiful scenery and weather, although it was warmer than I was expecting!

The wedding rehearsal took place at the Sawmill Reservoir, which we had seen on our hike.  Very scenic and too tempting for a toddler to stay put.

The rehearsal dinner was a little crowded and emotionally charged, but Uncky Dan found a quiet spot for Owen. 

Finally, the wedding was an intimate affair on the lake.  Beautiful!  Congrats Aunt Loni and Uncle Lampe!

I especially love that Aunt Loni wore her grandmother's veil.  So special!

Last, but not least, the reception was at a resort restaurant.  The food was great, especially the cake.  So glad we could be there to help celebrate with everyone.

  

Hadley 2-month Portraits

These were taken at the end of August, so she wasn't quite 8 weeks old yet.  I was just impressed that she lasted an hour awake and was not fussy.  And we got some with big bro, too.  :)  Maybe we'll get them to smile next time!

Wedding Toast

2012 has been a busy year for the family.  We are preparing to journey to Aunt Loni's wedding in Colorado.  We decided to drive it (~11 hours) rather than deal with a toddler and an infant in an airport/airplane/rental car situation while hauling all kinds of seats/toys/food/diapers along.  Hopefully, we'll be able to maintain our sanity and find some kind of rhythm on the road, probably breaking it up into two, more manageable travel days.  Wish us luck!

In honor of the upcoming nuptials, I'm posting a picture that I wanted to get from Uncle Dan's wedding:

Cheers to the happy couple(s)!  

See you on the other side. (of a mere car trip, wedded celebrations, or sanity...? We'll see!)

We have a Pre-schooler!

This week, Owen had his first days as a pre-schooler.  We're trying out a Montessori toddler program two mornings a week (W and Th).  So far, he loves it!  He's so excited to roll his backpack into the school every morning, it makes me smile.  And he's had no separation issues, which I guess I can thank MOPS last year for.  I think he's ready for some structure and creative activities, while I enjoy a little break and solo time with Hadley.  Yea! (He was deliberately trying not to smile in this pic.)

Some funny things he's saying these days:
"pun-ioca" - tapioca pudding
"Mommy's 'puter" - breast pump
"Owen's 'puter" - iPad
"butter crackers" - crackers with peanut butter
asking Daddy "how was work today?" when he comes home :)

Hadley's smiling more and making cute little cooing sounds that sound like sighs.  She's also scooting around (on her back) quite a bit when laid on a blanket on the floor.

When she's in the swing, sometimes she has a random hand position for several minutes.  I think she startles and then is slow to go back to resting position...?  This hand was up for about 5 minutes.

And for those keeping track of my garden, we are deep into tomato and raspberry season now!  The cherry tomato plant has been really productive, and my racquetball-sized tomatoes are ripening now, but we've had a few nights with frost, so time's running out on the garden.