End of the Decade

The end of the oghts. How 10 years of my life went by so fast, I'll never know. Yes, I understand that makes me sound old. So goals for the new year need to be set and the years past must be celebrated. Patti and Lance decided to attend the Grand Hyatt party downtown so we have decided to join them and Treece and Allison too. Open bar, food, three dancing rooms. It should be a good time even if I can't drink. Someone must be the d.d. I guess it will be me for the next few months. I'm taking my camera, armed with my new 8GB card (thanks honey for the christmas present). I'll try to take some fabulous memories. :)

The proof is in the stick

So most of my immediate friends and family know that SURPRISE! I'm pregnant. This announcement is for the rest of my friends and family. While we weren't "trying" we were going to in a few months so we're excited none the less. Due date will probably be late August or early September. I don't know for sure since I wasn't keeping track this time. Stay tuned for updates. :)

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Auburn turned two the day after Christmas. We did a small family get together with Kati, G&G Bohall, G. Woods, Marc, Cody and I. Aaa K (aunt Kati) made the cake and bought the special candles. (thank you!) Patti and Kati made the cake and I just took pictures. Auburn did the open mouth look of wonder when the candles were lit and didn't do a half bad job of blowing them out on her own. Happy Birthday Baby! I can't believe how quickly you got so big!

Merry Christmas!

We had a white Christmas here in Colorado. We decided to leave a bit early to avoid bad roads and ended up leaving on Tuesday afternoon. I had a bit of frantic activity to get laundry and packing done two days earlier than anticipated. Other than fog from Akron to Wray though driving was good and we were happy to be home. Christmas Eve was split between the Pete Wilson home with the traditional soup supper and dinner partner drawing and the Lance Bohall home where Auburn tore through her presents then went to bed. She wasn't ready to be done since there were other wrapped presents under the tree but it was time. After putting her to bed we Skyped Treece and Allison and shared favorite family memories and the adults opened presents themselves.



Stockings were hung and filled and we got some fun stuff on Christmas Day. The wind was obnoxious (50 mph gusts) but we headed over to mom's to open presents there and then over to the Dave Wilson house for lunch. We left Auburn at L&P's to take a nap and enjoyed our free time with food, a nap for me, and a game of Pitch in which the average bid was 8 and going set was more common place than usual. :)



Merry Christmas!

Gampa's Gasses

Auburn is always intrigued by glasses. Lance and Patti keep theirs on the coffee table and Auburn pickes them up and puts them on. Today she was trying on Grandpa's Glasses. Picture taken while she was running straight at me and yelling SMILE!

Hewwwooo!

Auburn really likes to get our cell phones and "talk" on them. She says hello, jabbers and bit and says bye, bye! This afternoon she was "talking" and Cody asked if she wanted to call Grandpa. OK! So we called and she talked and was fairly proud of herself.

the d.d.

Celebrated the big 30 for friend Jennifer last night in Blackhawk. I was the designated driver and as such had a much different perspective on the evening than anyone else. Unfortunatly the birthday girl got car sick on the way up the mountain and missed the first four hours of her own party. The other ladies had no problems getting all of the free beer and shots that they could handle and were well toasty by the end of the evening. After the cover band was done they hung out with us because we were the rowdy ones cheering for one 80s song after the other. I made two of the ladies pack it in with me to head back down the mountain at 1:30am. It only took 45 minutes to make that happen. That you can be that drunk and still win $285 on penny slots tells me just how much luck is involved with those things.

Decorating the Tree

Someone, Patti I think, gave me a table top metal christmas tree that spins when you put lit tea candles under it. It also came with little magnetic ornaments. This is Auburn's new favorite toy. She takes all of the ornaments off and sticks them to the metal on our coffee table. Then she transfers them all back to the tree. Then she sticks them together. And on, and on, and on. Christmas is fun!

Old School

We're cleaning out the basement and I found a box of old pictures. Pictures from high school, from mission trips, from vacations, from a few years ago... I love looking at old pics! Here is one that you NC friends will get a kick out of.

Fries, Fries, Fries

We were on our way back from Wray this past week and stopped in Ft Morgan for food on the go. We pulled into McD's and Auburn said "Fries!". The chant had started. Hmmm, I think we might frequent that restaurant too often. She knows where we are and what she wants!

Christmas Cookies

Aunt Kati wanted to make christmas cookies with Auburn. Last night we headed over to her place and Auburn helped roll the dough, cut out the shapes, transfer them to the cookie sheet, ball up the excess dough and repeat. Flour was also a lot of fun. There were a couple with cute finger prints baked into them but they tasted fantastic with the homemade creamcheese frosting that Kati made to go with. YUMM!

Pictures of the beautiful bakers below.

11 Auburn Socks

I was pawing through the mound of clothes on the guest bed (the holding place for clean clothes before they get folded). I'm a little behind in the folding. Anyway I was looking for a pair of socks to match Auburn's pink outfit today. There were a number of options however I was not finding any matches. I found 11 single socks before I found one that matched any of the rest. Guess it is time to fold. :)

Esta!

We all know that Auburn LOVES Veggie Tales. She has now started identifying which particular veggie that she wants to watch. Last night and this morning it was Esta, Esta! (Esther) A little bit ago she said,

Esta! Cars!
Do you want to watch Cars?
NO!
Do you want to watch Esther?
O-K, cars.
Esther or cars?
Silence.
Cars?
NO!
Esther?
Yeah.

So we are watching Esther. (Geez, interpretation is difficult)

Thanksgiving!

What a week! Thanksgiving has come and gone and I'm incredibly grateful for the family that I married into. They are loving, fun, and it is a joy to be called one of them. Thanksgiving day was spent at the Walker home (thanks Sharen and Jerry) eating and eating and then we went to the movies and then we ate some more. Friday was a VERY good time. We watched our Alma Mater take home a last minute football victory over rival CSU. We got the BOOT! Westen Johnson was the hometown hero to root for, thanks Jill for procuring the tickets. Auburn fought the good fight but her eyelids slammed shut with about 5 minutes left to go in the 4th quarter. How she slept through all of that screaming I'll never know. Today we got together one last time to take family pictures and eat some more. We ate at Joe's Crab Shack. May I just say that crab legs are my Nirvana? They are; I love them. In between all of that Cody figured out a way to continue finishing the basement project. As of now it is textured, painted, baseboard is down and he has meticulously cleaned. Tomorrow we'll move all of the junk back down and I'll have my house back. Anyway enough talk, here are the photos.

Auburn isms

We counted last night an Auburn has about 150ish words that she uses herself. Below are the more distorted ones. :)

Fewwa, Come Om! (to be yelled at Fella)
Bwess you mommydaddy! (for sneezes or coughs)
In-de-pen-dent (repeated after daddy)
Granmamommy (to name grandmas)
beets (blanket)
moos (more)
nilk (milk)
Pinin (Panda from Kung Fu Panda)
Taya (friend Mateah)
sisen (friend Tristan)
ewwa (friend Gabrella)
punch (crystal light fruit punch)
rice (french fries) confusing I know
beeps (grapes)
beep-beep (sound that the key fob makes or an emergency vehicle)
Shrek! (it is what it is)
sing (turn on the birdy music box)
di dit go?! (missing where...)
holdju (pick me up)
wap! (I want to sit in your lap)

I'm sure there are more but that seems enough.

Disaster Area

The house is a disaster area. No lie. Junk upon junk piled up about my house. In theory it will be worth it. Cody is finishing the basement, finishing the ceiling, retexturing the walls, and painting it all. The only thing we aren't doing right now is new carpet. Studio 8.18 has been in the office for almost 3 years now. Thought it was time to make it look like an office. Cody is covered in white drywall dust, Fella has drywall mud on his paws and Auburn turned over the bucket full of wash water. A nice large puddle on the carpet. Joy. To illustrate the chaos I should tell you that we ate in our bedroom on the floor. McDonald's of course because I'm not cooking in that mess. Allie asked why we didn't eat on the bed. I asked if he would let a 2 year old eat McD's on his bed. Nope. Me either. We had to put up a baby gate so Fella wouldn't eat everything while we were on his level.

Pictures to come when the work is done!

Fish in the Car

Someone (me I think) gave Cody a model of a 1957 Chevrolet for his 18th ish birthday. We found it a few weeks ago and it has become a source of much fun for Auburn. The doors open and close as does the hood and trunk. The wheels turn too when you turn the steering wheel. All in all a good time. Auburn has taken to putting her goldfish crackers (pronounced "poosh" although we are now getting closer to the correct pronounciation)in the trunk and in the seats. Fella likes to steal them out of the car when she isn't looking. This causes distress at times. :)

Pictures below.

Munch = Lunch

I took Auburn to the mall after our chiropracter appointment to play on the dinosaurs. She ran around, climbed, slid and twirled to her heart's content. When we were done we were puting shoes and coat on and I asked if she wanted lunch.

"Yeah, munch, munch."
"Is macaroni & cheese ok?"
"Yeah, munch."

So we had mac & cheese in the food court for "munch". Mmmm good.

We are there already...

I was at a mission team meeting last night when Cody put Auburn to bed but here is what he told me this morning while we were making breakfast. He took Auburn up to put her to bed and was going to read her a book.

Auburn sit down please.
Why?
Daddy wants to read you a book.
Why?
Sit down.
Why?
Because I asked you to.
Why?

Yes, we are there already.

The Morning Routine

Our day every day starts at 6am sharp. This is when Auburn's internal clock decides to go off. She starts with a wall kick, a soft cry, and then waits. If we don't respond right away the crys get louder. I walk into her room where she is sitting up in her big girl bed (yes she could get out by herself if she really wanted) and she says "Hi Mommydaddy!". About half of the time Cody and I both are called Mommydaddy. I pick her up, grab a diaper, a beets (blaket), and haul everything down to the couch or beanbag chair to watch Shrek 1,2 or 3. It must be Shrek though. I get her milk and some ohs and settle her down for the morning routine. I go back up to bed for 30-45 minutes. About 6:30 or 6:45 she and Fella climb the stairs to wake us up for good. I love her!

Goggly Eyes

Last night Auburn and Cody were working on putting together the puzzels that Dad made us back in the 80s. One of the puzzels is an owl with BIG eyes. Auburn decided to put them over her eyes and over Cody's eyes too. After that it was pretty much just running around and jumping on and off stuff. :)

Halloween in Wray

We took Auburn back to Wray for Halloween so that the Grandmas could visit with her and take her trick-or-treating. We had to change the Auntie Kati costume as it only makes sense when Kati is standing right next to her. With the addition of a bandana and Cody's childhood gunbelt she was a right cute cowgirl!

Broncos Halloween

For the Broncos Halloween event Auburn was dressed as Auntie Kati. Flannel shirt, requisite black leggings, boots, purse and pony tail. Kati and Grandma Patti took the punkin to Invesco. They even got to tour the Broncos locker room. Apparently it is BIG.