Playtime and Garden of the Gods

On Sunday, Phil, Mom, and Dad had some stuff to go to, but the rest of us got to play and relax. Here are Ella and Molly together (they have the same hairstylist), and some pics of Nana and Ella cuddling.







That evening, we went to The Garden of the Gods. Here's what we were told, 'It has really cool rock formations.' Dave and I went, certain we would be bored. We were wrong - it was beautiful, and we had a lovely evening walk while the sun set over these red rocks.

Rock by where we parked. See how big it is?


Starting down the path:


Garden of the Gods paths:


Daddies pushing strollers - Jamey and Dave:


Kissing Camels Rock - look at the top of it, two camels:


Part of the Park:


Elliot thought it was all so fascinating, she could hardly contain her excitement:


Jed and Molly ready to roll:


What a view!


Nana and Jed running ahead:


Elliot decides to join us:


Rock climbers:


Jamey and Jed climbing in the rocks:


More Garden of the Gods pics to follow in another post. I didn't realize how many there were!

Room with a View

So the house we stayed at in C-Springs was awesome. It was six bedrooms, 3.5 baths, and had a view worth a thousand words. We stood outside on the porch and watched the Thunderbirds practice with Pikes Peak in the background. Ahhhh-mazing!

Phillip's Squadron Symbol- Squadron 37, The Animalistic Skyraiders


The view from our porch:


If my zoom were better, you'd see the Thunderbirds practicing:


They're there, really...


(Mom - there are some funny grad pics here - http://www2.ljworld.com/photos/2008/may/29/ )

They Don't Live on Long Island...

...so they're not used to the ice cream truck coming around several times a day! Here are Jamey (Steph's brother), Jed and Molly choosing some goodies from the ice cream truck!

Ella's 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th Plane Rides

Elliot rode a plane from LI to Chicago making her 9th plane ride. After a short layover in Chicago, we finished her 10th ride into Denver. Here's a pic of her and Daddy in ISP airport on Long Island.

Elliot and Daddy at the airport (too early in the morning!)




Our rides home were not quite so fun. Heading from Denver (beautiful day there Friday!) was fine, but landing in Chicago was tough! We had a "maximum landing," where the flight attendants came to tell all the parents holding children to hold on tight, because we were going to hit hard and brake fast! That we did! Elliot was not a happy girl on that flight, complaining and crying most of the time. Luckily, our second flight (from Chi-town to LI) she fell asleep immediately and slept about an hour and a half. That flight was the scariest flight I've ever been on...the turbulence was terrible! The entire group of people on the plane screamed several times because of how bumpy the ride was! Happily, Ella slept through it all, and I just held her and prayed. Luckily, we made it home safe and sound, and back into the arms of Daddy. (Daddy returned home early because he had a concert this week!)

The Falcolns Have Landed

We have finally (too soon?) arrived back from Colorado Springs, CO. We were there for the incredible Class of 2008 Graduation at the United States Air Force Academy. (USAFA) There is so much to tell, and so many pictures to share, that I will be breaking my stories up so that I don't post too much at once.

My dad had an interesting experience on the way to the Academy. He drove from Ohio, and when he arrived in Kansas, he hit severe weather. He was at exit 108 on I-70, when the sky turned black enough to make him pull over with some other cars, and the bulletin on the radio announced a tornado which would cross I-70 between exits 98 and 110. Lucky for my father, it crossed two miles ahead of him. When people got back into their cars and drove on two miles, he saw a car mangled up in a field that the tornado had picked up and placed there. Sadly, the next day we saw on the news that the two people in that car had died. I feel so blessed that my dad was okay! We all arrived happy and healthy in C-Springs on Saturday early afternoon. The babies (Jed, Molly, & Elliot) were back together for the first time since Christmas!

Jed, Molly, & Elliot (See Uncle Phil's crutches in the background?)


Together Again!

Bronchitis?!

Elliot finally slept really really well last night. She went to bed around 8, and the first time she got up was 3:30! Yay, Ella!

Sadly, Davey and I didn't sleep as well. We have bronchitis, but at least we'll both be on antibiotics now, and on the road to recovery. We're so busy getting ready for our big trip, anyway!

What a Wonderful Life

I was actually getting on here to write about what a wonderful weekend we had. We had tons of time with Daddy this weekend, only one of his 4 Saturday students came and we just really had some great family time this weekend. We got tons of work done around the house, but we also goofed off and had a nice relaxing time.

I actually forgot for a moment that I was at a wedding shower which made me miserable, and that I was sicker than anything for most of the day Saturday. Dave was a saint and let me go back to bed for two and a half hours on Saturday morning. I went to bed at 7 Saturday night, was interrupted by Ella a couple of times, but got up at 7 this morning. Evidently I need sleep?

Off to bed for now, but pics and videos of this weekend's silliness to come...

Count Your Blessings

Today's blog is brought to you by the number 4.

I never thought I'd be so happy that Elliot got up four times during the night, but after a night of 13, I'll take 4! Counting my blessings!

We've had a great day today, too. She got up at 7:15, we played til 9:30 and went to the library for our playgroup. We got home around 11:45. Ella took a nap around 12:09, and a private student that I forgot was coming came at 12:15. Monkey, a.k.a. Elliot, had her lunch, but seems to be on strike against purees these days. Too bad since I just made TONS of them this week. I tried to feed her peach applesauce for lunch (yum!) but she wanted nothing to do with it. Now we're watching Baby Einstein Baby Signs, which we rarely do, but I do like this video for reviewing some of the signs we're trying to teach her. She's in a really good mood, a total monkey, and was even singing through most of our playgroup.

Well, I'm off to play!

Lucky #13/Poor GodFather

"Why the title?" you ask.

"That's how many times, I kid you not, that Elliot was up last night," I reply.

"Then why 'lucky'? Lucky for whom?" you question.

"No one. Not me, not Elliot, not David. Two times it was Monty's fault for barking." I complain. "She must be hitting a growth spurt. Or getting more teeth. She better be hitting a growth spurt or getting more teeth. Thank goodness I have a coffee maker now."

BTW - New video of Ella trying to crawl on YouTube (see bar on right)

I found a little marketplace near our home yesterday that sells local organic produce for the cost of non-organic produce in the grocery stores. Yay!!! I'll be frequenting there!

Oh, and Uncle Phil? (The Godfather) Hope you feel better! Keep that broken ankle elevated! We want to see you WALK at USAFA graduation!!!

Busy Season

We're now entering our busy season. Every time I think things are about to slow down, they seem to pick up speed! Almost every evening lately has taken us to a concert, a rehearsal, (or in last night's case a concert AND a rehearsal), a social event, private lessons, etc. Dave had his concert last night for his 7/8 graders, and it was phenomenal. I was so proud of him. I thought it was his best concert that I have attended.

We are getting ready for our big trip, too! Yay, Colorado! I'm so excited for my little brother, and super proud of him, too. Nana has instructed us to begin drinking "copius" amounts of water to prepare for the thinner air. I should begin a list of what to pack...

Mommy's First Mother's Day

What a wonderful Mother's Day I had! I woke up, and my darling husband let me sleep in. Then when I got up, he made breakfast (eggs with cheese and peppers, bacon, and fruit tartlets from Costco). He gave me a coffee maker, which I have been in need of for almost three weeks now. Elliot got me a beautiful pendant necklace shaped like a heart with a Mommy and Baby in it. Then Dave baked a quiche, my favorite recipe which I make often for us, so that we'd have it for breakfast this week. We relaxed a bit, and then Dave helped me get some work done around the house. While, perhaps, I shouldn't have done any work that day, it was nice to feel like I was finally catching up on some things.

Later that day we went to Bill and Betsy's (Dave's parents), who got me a lovely handbag, and then we all headed off to dinner at the Irish Coffee Pub.

Elliot got up only twice the entire night, ending a beautiful first ever Mother's Day. Thanks family for making it so special!

Mommy and Elli on Mother's Day:


Hey, Mom! Hey, Mom!


I'm trying to crawl!

Two Mile-Stoner

Wow! I wanted to make sure we got some milestones down here. Monday (May 5) Elliot started to pull herself forward in an "army crawl." Today, she really got moving more - certainly the most I've seen her accomplish! Plus, while Grandpa was here tonight, she stood for a good five seconds unassisted, and stood up holding onto the couch for about 10 minutes before starting to give up. While holding onto the couch, she kept trying to let go and stand on her own, but she didn't really have the confidence to let go with both hands at the same time much. She was also exhausted, as it was past her bedtime, but we kept her going for about an hour...Very proud of my strong girl!

Streaking

Elliot is finally on a decent streak of good sleep!!! Last night she was only up once, and in the last five days or so, she's gotten up no more than 3 times in one evening! Yay! Sleep!

Ella is working on 2 teeth right. The first began popping through on April 23, the second on April 30. Neither is all the way through yet, but the first is about halfway up, I'd say. She keeps putting her pointer finger in her mouth now to feel them. Its like she's making sure they're still there. She certainly doesn't need teeth to eat, though! She's a great eater and enjoys:

Pureed: Pears, Apples, Carrots, Peas, Green Beans, Chicken, Mango, Avacado, Potatoes, Yams, Peaches, Apricot, and Broccoli

Diced: Pears, Peaches, Grapes, Cheese

Bite-sized: Scrambled Egg Yolk, Wheat Tortilla, Cheerios, Gerber Puffs, Peas, Cooked Carrots

Elliot is also starting to get on her knees and rock back and forth. She's getting around okay by scooting backwards and rolling, too! She tries desperately to climb up Mommy to "cuddle." She's quite active!

We have frequent playgroups, too! On Tuesdays we head to the library for the Mothers' Center; Fridays we go for Open Play. This past Monday we went to Christopher's House for playtime with kids in the neighborhood. Elliot bonked heads with Christopher and Julianna - her sign of true love.

Gotta go, delightful kid is whining again. Naptime!

Finally, one good night!

Elliot finally had another good night last night. She went down to bed at 8:15 and got up only once at 4:00 to nurse. We're up for the day at 7:00, but I can deal with that. Yay, Elliot! And thanks!

Mommy has been busy lately working on the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt, thinking about opening her own business, and playing with Ella. Daddy has been busy working and teaching lessons, as always. He's super happy to have his new game, MarioKart for Wii, to help him destress. The puppies were groomed yesterday and look good and smell much better now!

Why risk it?

So, I'm at a loss with all the "good plastic, bad plastic" debates, but I've decided to boycott the bad plastics. For example, Gerber baby food comes in plastic #7, which Canada is considering banning. If an entire country is going to ban something for health reasons, then why are we using it to store baby food in? The problem is that those little plastic containers that Gerber uses are so darn convenient!!! But, I'm recycling them all, and I'll find another means of storing the food I make for her. Since I make most of the food she eats, it wasn't that big of a deal to me; but the problem is that they say that heating up #7 allows the chemicals to leach out faster, and when I defrost the food I make for her - duh! - that's what I'm doing! Now Gerber has other plastic products that are a #5, considered safe. I'll continue to use those, but as far as buying baby food, I'm sticking to glass or "safe plastics."

Dr. Brown's bottles follow this same principle. Some folks are not bothered by this, so I'm going to sell my bottles. I have several different brands/types of bottles and sippies, and I'm just going to go through them and keep what is "safe," and recycle what is not.

I like to think I'm doing my part for the environment, too. I cloth diaper now (5 more in the mail!), compost, and recycle. My husband says that's why I'm landscaping, but let's be honest, I want a prettier outside of my house! I know some of you are looking at me like I'm crazy or losing my mind, but the way I see it, why not? Its not hurting my family or hurting anyone else (except the products I boycott), and if anything it's helping, right?