Burr... Colorado is cold!

So, here we are back in cold Colorado. Dan is working hard in Denver and Raine and I are hanging out with everyone in Alamosa. We will all be so happy to finally have our own home again so we can all be together again. We miss each other terribly.

It sounds like Dan's job is going really well. He is putting in long hours and working a lot, but they are making progress and doing well. It sounds like he is enjoying it, he is such a natural leader that it is perfect for him. Plus he gets to work with his friend and learn a lot about build computers and stuff like that. He was soldering computer parts today when I talked to him.

I think Raine likes getting to play with everyone's toys. It seems to be easier for her to relax and warm up when everywhere we go there are toys for her to play with. We are excited to get to play with Jordan tomorrow at Grandma Trisha's. I think Raine will really like having more kid interaction. Raine has also been playing with Jaiden and Zach. Poor Jaiden gets stressed out because she keeps telling him that his toys are hers. That is one of her new favorites phrases, "My toy, My food, My mommy." She doesn't seem to mind the cold too much and she thinks the snow is, "cool, huh?" Raine also likes seeing all the wild life. We have seen deer wandering around town and cows and horses everywhere.

Since we've been here in Alamosa we have gone to Denver with my mom and Jaiden, to Chuck E. Cheese in Springs (Raine's first trip there), hung out and played with Grandma Trisha and Aunt Roberta, played at Papa & Grandma 'Chele's and decorated the tree with Nana. Nana took Raine and Jaiden to Build A Bear while we were in Denver, which she thought was pretty neat. She is going to be pretty spoiled because Grammy Tami wants to take her to Build A Bear too. It was so hard for her to choose a bear. She loved everything I showed her. :) She had a pretty easy time picking out an outfit and accessories though, she found a skateboard that she liked, but she settled on a baby bear kit. I think she would have been just as happy with just the baby bottle, silly little girl.

Raine has been very silly these last few days. I think she may be having Daddy with drawls. :) Today she was telling me that I was a "Silly Billy Bean", when I asked her if she was a silly billy bean she said yes and giggled. She has informed me that pretty much everyone we know is a silly billy bean. :) That includes you.

We did our limited Christmas shopping last weekend (and some online shopping last week). We are only getting for the kids this year, so we were able to get a few things we hope they will all enjoy. I am excited to be closer so we can spend more time with everyone and have a better idea of what the kids are interested in. We are trying to limit our shopping for Raine until we get settled into the new house, so we will just do a small Christmas and big birthday for her this year. Raine and I are also working on Christmas cards so I will get those sent out eventually. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I am so thankful for my family! I am so thankful to be a mom, especially Raine's mom! She really is the best thing and I am so grateful for her. I am so thankful to have a wonderful, sweet and fun husband who works so hard for us so that I can be home with Raine! I am so thankful that my mom is also my friend! I am thankful for my siblings, who I love to watch grow and learn and become the people they are! I am thankful for my wonderful mother-in-law, I could not have even imagined a better one! I am thankful for all of the family I have inherited from Dan, everyone is so loving and so wonderful, truly a family! I am thankful for the opportunity to move back to Colorado and for the new adventures to come. Happy Thanksgiving!

Raine is such a little sponge and is learning new things so fast, I can hardly keep up!

Raine's favorites: Books, pretend play, talking, playing in the dirt and bubble baths.

Favorite word: BANANA! (she loves to say banana several different ways, she yells it or emphasises a different syllable each time)

Favorite phrase: Cool, huh and Daddy Dunna!

New sentences: You scared me! No, No touch the TV button.

New words: gargartons (cartoons) - she has too many to list, but this one took me a while to figure out. Oh, and goya (yoga).

She is quite the character! I hope next time we see everyone she won't be so shy and will let her little personality shine!

Moving update:

We are pretty much all packed up, Oliver is on his way here with his semi as I type this! We will be leaving Arizona in just a few days.

Colorado here we come!

On December 1st we will be moving to Colorado. Dan got a great new job in Denver as a Project Manager so we are happily moving back to our home state. We are going to miss the friends we have made here in Phoenix, but it will be so nice to be closer to most of our family! We are really excited about Dan's new job. He will be getting great experience and learning so much! He might also get to work from home a bit.

Our first month or so will be pretty crazy because we will be staying in different places. Dan will pretty much immediately go to Denver and start work while Raine and I will stay in Alamosa with family until we find a great place to live in Denver. Raine and I are going to miss Dan so much! But we will hopefully get to see him on weekends and such.

I am pretty excited about the move (not the actual moving part - I hate that part) but the new experiences it will bring. We get to start a new little life. I am hoping we can find a rental house with room for an office for Dan and a yoga room for me so that I can start teaching more classes again. I truly feel that this is the right thing at the right time, this is what we are supposed to be doing.

In Raine news:
This little girl is the silliest, smartest, cutest little thing. She said her first full sentence earlier this week: "No, no, touch the TV button." Adorable, right? I wish I could report that it was "I love you mommy" or something. We are just in awe of how smart she is, I know every parent feels that way but it is still amazing. I was packing up some stuff last night and I wrote "Bathroom" on the box, as it was full of bathroom related items, as I was writing Raine was pointing out the letters to me. She correctly identified "h", "o", and "m". I was very impressed! She is also a good little counter, she can count to 5. I was counting with her the other night and she started saying the number that came after whatever I just said. Dan and I were surprised because we didn't realize she knew all that. Her vocabulary is pretty expansive now, she knows and can say just about everything she comes into contact with. One of her favorite games is identifing things and tellling me where they are or where they go. Being a mom is so fun!

I am so excited that many of you will get to spend more time with Raine now that we will be in Colorado! We really miss everyone and want Raine to be able to know her family. I am so glad we have the opportunity to give her that gift.

Halloween Fun

Hello All,

We went to Boo Fest yesterday and had so much fun! Boo Fest is just a little event at a local park that had bounce houses, hay rides, a pumpkin patch and other activities for kids. We got Raine all dressed up in her costume and had some Halloween fun! Raine really likes Halloween already, she calls it "Spooky" - whenever she sees any Halloween stuff she says "spoooky". It's pretty cute stuff. Last night we did see a big monster guy (pretty realistic as far as monsters go) and that freaked her out. She wanted to watch him but she was climbing up Dan and I or trying to hide behind us. She got to go in the pumpkin patch and pick out a pumpkin to color, I think she spent most of the time at Boo Fest in the pumpkin patch. :) I think she really likes her costume. She kept every piece of it on the whole night. I was so surprised she kept the wings and the headband on, but she didn't even fidget with them! Dan made her an adorable wand, I was pretty impressed! He worked on it while I did her hair and make up (which she wiped off pretty quick). I also painted her nails and she thought that was fantastic! She loved seeing the other kids dressed up. She saw a baby chicken, and dragon, and lots of spooky stuff. All that fun and it's not even Halloween yet! We think we are going to go hang out at Dan's friends house for Halloween, they live on a cul de sac and have tons of kids trick or treating. Oh, I almost forgot, we have been teaching Raine to say "trick or treat" and she said it this afternoon to me because she wanted some m's (M&Ms).

Fun with Raine

Raine is going to be a cute little fairy for Halloween this year. We are lucky enough to have a wonderful crafty Grammy who made her costume. The costume came in the mail today and we couldn't wait to try it on. I think Raine's favorite part were the shoes and the flower on the skirt. She had me put the shoes back on her after I took the rest off. She LOVES shoes!

Dan had me shave his hair down to a mohawk last week and he finally spiked it up yesterday. So, I got some pictures of it before he has me shave it all off.

Last night was too fun. As you probably know Raine is into dragons/dunnas right now. She got the giggles last night and was playing with Daddy. He started growling at her and said he was a dunna, she thought that was the best thing. When we talk about big animals she always says "bup, bup" (she wants up to ride them), so she got to ride the Daddy Dunna last night and didn't want to stop. It was too cute, she was so giggly saying "again, again". Poor Daddy Dunna was tired after that. It is hard work flying with a baby knight on your back. That was her first really pretend play, pretty neat little milestone.

It's almost Halloween!

Raine and I are excited for Halloween ... Ok, maybe it's just me that's excited, she doesn't really know much about Halloween yet. Dan is all bah humbuggy this year. I thought I'd add some Halloween music to the blog to get everyone in the Halloween mood.




Raine's new thing lately is "come on", she holds her hand out to Dan and I and says "Come on" when she wants us to go play with her. She is too funny. We got her some cloth "g" diapers yesterday. I figured they might be a good transition from diaper to underwear for when we are out and about. I think they need worn in. The waist band is pretty stiff and the disposable/biodegradable lining bunches up a bit. I think we need to use them a bit more before I know if I like them. Raine is still doing pretty well at potty training, she only has an accident if she gets to involved in something.


Dan and I cleaned and rearranged today. We took off all the coverings to our couch and washed everything (which is quite an ordeal because we have to take the couch apart to get the cover off). So, while the covers were washing I played around with the couch layout. I think we like the couch layout but now we have a spot where the smallest part of the couch used to be that we don't know what to do with. Right now Raine's little table and chair is there, so she has a little nook.

Last weekend we went to Oktoberfest, I don't remember if I blogged about that yet. Anyway, it was pretty fun, we spent the whole time in "Kinderfest" playing with Raine. It gave me an idea for her birthday party theme which I am excited about. They had a Hansel and Gretel fort made out of cardboard boxes and let the kids paint all over everything. So, I think for Raine's birthday party we will do something similar.

It is the beginning of the best time of year here. This weekend was nice and cool. I am hoping we can get a zoo membership soon and we can start going to the zoo regularly. They are really reasonably priced if you plan on going frequently.

Potty Training, Ear Infections, and other fun things

We bought Raine a potty chair shortly after we moved to the new house because she wouldn't let me go to the bathroom by myself, so I figured she might as well sit on the potty too. So, lately she has been doing really well about telling us when she has to go. She usually wears her "undies" at home and a diaper when we go out and at night. She has not had an accident all day today! Unless you are a parent - you will think this is not note worthy but I assure you it is very exciting stuff.

Raine went to the doctor last Thursday for a cold and it turns out she has her very first ear infection. I guess we are lucky that she is nearly 2 and hasn't had one yet. (Can you believe she is almost 2!?!?!?!) Ear infections are scary! We are totally freaking out because she has now decided that she HATES medicine. She used to take it so well, then she would put up a bit of a fight but we would offer a reward if she took it and that worked for a while but now she absolutely refuses to take it. It is the worst thing in the world to have to force your sweet little baby to take medicine! Dan and I have both been heart broken every time we have to do it. She kicks, screams, locks her jaw, squirms away, shakes her head, and if you happen to get a little in she spits it right back out. Which makes the ear infection all the scarier. Quite a traumatic event for all involved!

On the up side she learns more everyday! She loves to talk, "read" and sign. She has also been taking lots of pictures lately with her plushy camera. She walks around and says "cheese" pointing at us. Too cute! One of her new favorite words is "Dragon" although it sounds more like "Dunna". Raine loves to wear hats, she gets very excited and is very particular about which one she wants to wear! She is starting to get better at playing on her own and she is now interested in letters. She still absolutely loves her Signing Time DVDs, she could literally watch them ALL day! She loves to find things to sign, she will look all around her room (or anywhere we are) and point to things and say and sign what it is. She also likes to know where things belong. When we read about animals she sings them and them points outside to tell me they live outside, when we get in the car she tells me where I sit, where Dan and Mo sit.

Kids are so fun. Raine is such a neat little person.

What's new?

Raine has been learning like crazy! I can't believe all the new stuff she does. She knows a ton of words and signs. She will repeat any word or letter. She absolutely loves her Signing Time DVDs and will go get one and come to me saying and signing "Signing, Signing". She has also decided that TV is pretty neat. Now if the TV is on she will sit and watch it for a while and when I turn it off she says/signs "More". So, I have been limiting TV time. We have a few shows that we watch and she enjoys. Our favorite kid approved shows are: Jane and the Dragon, Signing Time, Charlie and Lola, Sid the Science Kid, Jakers, and Super Why. It is so neat that she is learning from these shows. Super Why is all about reading and letters and she knows a few letters now. Her favorite letter is "E" - there is a song by They Might Be Giants called "E Eats Everything" she loved the video for the song. She loves to know about everything, she wants to know what and where it is. She knows pretty much everyone we saw in Colorado, she love to look at the pictures and ask who everyone is. She has also discovered the joys of the dreaded "NO". I have been testing her to see if she is answering no to everything but she says yes too sometimes. She is even more opinionated now! It's a good thing she is so cute. She is also starting to play a little more on her own, which is nice. Now I can do things a little easier and not have to try to do everything during nap time. She is also getting better about listening, so it is less messy when she "helps" me with things (like the dishes, she used to dump water all over the place).

Dan recently went to Las Vegas for work - a video game convention. It sounded like fun and he made some important contacts. He did an awesome job while he was there and everyone was impressed! I think it was really refreshing for him to get out of the office and office politics.

I am still babysitting (just 2 days a week now) and trying to get my observations hours done for my yoga training so I can be finished. Soon I will be a "Master Yoga Teacher".

Here are Raine's favorite sites:

http://pbskids.org/sid/

http://pbskids.org/jakers/

http://pbskids.org/superwhy/

http://www.charlieandlola.com/

http://www.janeandthedragon.co.nz/

My sweet, adorable, wonderful Raine

We had such a good time with everyone in Colorado. I think Raine loved being able to play outside so much. I am so grateful for my Raine Bug, she is the cutest, most wonderful thing ever. Dan and I are just so head over heels for her it's ridiculous.

Aahh, Family

Sand Dunes

For Aunt Cyndi

When you loose someone it seems you find them in many aspects of your life. I have been finding Cyndi a lot lately. At first I am a little sad, then I realize this is only the begining, she is where we are all striving to be and I am happy for the time I did have to get to know her and share a family with her. I see her emails in my inbox, gifts that she sent to Raine (Raine's book d'jour is one that Aunt Cyndi sent for her birthday), and even when I do my blog or sign with Raine (Cyndi gave us a baby sign language book for our baby shower). I know how much she enjoyed seeing Raine and reading about her adventures, she seemed to always be the first to see a new post and I loved getting to talk to her about it. I loved getting her emails to read a story about Dan or Trey. Raine has started babbling like crazy recently, the other day she was going through her animal book that Cyndi sent her and telling me an hour long story (in a very animated fashion) - very little of which did I understand - and it reminded me of a story about Dan speaking in his own language that Cyndi told me. I am greatful for getting to hear such wonderful stories about his childhood. I am just so thankful for having her in my life. Please enjoy this slide show in her memory and know that she is loved, happy and peaceful.

Summer Fun

This slide is a compilation of all the fun we had when my family was visiting us. We went to the Flagstaff Highland games - which was pretty fun and a little cooler than Phoenix. We hung out in the kiddie corner most of the time, but Diana Gabaldon and the Wicked Tinkers were there. They had an oatmeal toss (too cute) and a yummy smelling archaeological dig (I think little bones and rocks were buried in cocoa shells). We also took some pictures at the Chinese cultural center in the garden and went to a few different libraries, pools and museums. The other "main event" was Mighty Mud Mania. It was not as laid back and fun as last year, but everyone still got pretty muddy and had a good time. Raine thought there were entirely too many people there and there were big muddy holes in the ground that she did not appreciate. Jaiden as you can see was swimming and wallering in the mud, I think he had a good time. Poor Kieran was stuck watching the strollers - we tried to get him muddy. I also got a chance to do some yoga with the kids and Raine showed off a few of her moves for the camera.

Snow in Phoenix?!?!

This slide is from Winter in July at the Phoenix Zoo. The zoo had tons of snow delivered for the enjoyment of the animals and visitors. The snow was not really as fun as I thought it would be. It was sooooo hot outside and the snow was soooo cold. Raine and I tried to walk around in the snow, but it was just too cold and she didn't like it much. She did love playing in the water and at the splash pad they have. We also got a chance to see some little monkeys (lemurs I think) playing and jumping through the trees right over our heads. The monkeys were pretty exciting, usually it is so hot they just sleep the whole time so it was really neat to see them playing. Raine was so excited she just kept giggling and signing "monkey" at them.

Happy 4th of July!

And so it begins ...

My sweet little baby is calling me VERNA! What is this about? Where did my cute "Mom mom mom" go?!?! Apparently kids go through this call the parents by first name thing - however I was not aware this happened at the age of 1! I think the kids I nanny for taught it to her, since they call me by name. It is so heartbreaking to her Raine call me Verna, she says it in such a cute way, but it is still sad. I only hope she decides to call me mom again some day.
I got my camera last night so poor Raine got a camera stuffed in her face as soon as she woke up this morning. She got so sick of me following her around with the camera that she wouldn't smile anymore, not even when I tickled her or made funny noises!