Saturday, August 28, 2010

Good Sport

I wonder what percentage of her life Mary has spent watching her brothers do something athletic~
She is always such a happy camper!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Hau`oli

Today at Scott's company picnic~

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Rocky Mountain High

Daddy and the boys took a road trip to Memphis this past weekend, so Mary and I flew out to Colorado to visit Jennifer and Tom. Grandma drove us to the airport. We knew we'd miss our boys~
Mary settled right in to our upgraded seats (thanks, Grandma!) ~
We were so happy to finally arrive. Jen met us at the gate (did I mention before I was nervous?). Mary received a lot of comments walking through the airport with her rolling suitcase~
After such a long day of travel, Mary fell asleep on the way to lunch~
We had some delicious mexican food at Cantina Laredo, and then walked a bit on the 29th Street Mall in boulder~
Saturday we headed over to the Boulder Farmers Market. The selection of produce and cheeses (including some raw milk) was wonderful. Mary really enjoyed the Noosa yogurt Jennifer turned us on to, and the popcorn (and ice cream)~
We then went over to Pearl Street, where we enjoyed the street performers, checked out the funky shops, and people watched. Mary had a blast playing in the fountains~
At one point, Mary ended up naked because she didn't want to wear her wet clothes. I was a little worried about what the crowd might think, but Jennifer reminded me we were in Boulder, after all~
We had a great lunch at Dish. We sat outside and near the end of our meal a cat hacked up what looked like a placenta. Yum :)

Boulder is really kid-friendly~
One cool thing is everywhere we went, the disposable cutlery was compostable. Boulder has really embraced sustainability.
My little bear cub~
Before we left downtown we stopped at Tee and Cakes, where Jen had a coconut cupcake, Mary had strawberry milkshake, and I had something I'd only previously dreamed of - a chocolate bacon cupcake (it tasted better than it photographed) ~
Jennifer and Tom have a pick-up truck (comfortable and easy to get in and out of) and a Jeep (embarrassing to get in, but fun once we're settled - except when we're on the highway - Mary did not like the wind). "Nothing to see here, folks" became my mantra every time I climbed into the Jeep. On Sunday we drove over to Eldorado Springs~
It's a really cool artists community at the base of the Rocky Mountains (the original is in Jamestown, NY) ~
Mary loved hiking, and checking out all the information kiosks. I love her "reading" here~

Mary trying to get a look at the people climbing the rock across from us~

Jennifer was very worried about Mary being near the edge - Tom was happy to keep a close eye on her~
Mary was pretty funny - every time I called Jen "Jen", she would say "her not Jen, her Jennifer". Eventually I would catch myself and say Jen, and then quickly add the "ifer" just to keep Mary from correcting me. She's kind of bossy, but she wraps everyone around her little finger~
We hiked a good distance, only giving up and turning back after the path narrowed too much for the stroller. It was really beautiful~
Monday Mary and I walked to the park in the morning, while Jennifer worked~
Mary loved "taking my order" ~

For my birthday, Jen took me to a really lovely restaurant, "Colterra" in nearby Niwot. The food was divine~
Then we walked over to Jennifer's favorite consignment shop, "Rockin Robin's", where Jen channeled Helen Roper~

Monday night we were supposed to head back to Chautauqua for a music festival. But that afternoon, when Mary felt warm, I started thinking about how clinging/whiny she had been all day, and the fact that she didn't eat anything for lunch, and began to worry that maybe she had an ear infection. Concerned that we would be flying the next day, I wanted to be sure her ears were okay. So, we headed over to urgent care, where we found out she "just" had a virus. About 10 minutes after we left urgent care, Mary coughed a little and then puked all over herself, and the car seat :( We were just about to stop at Whole Foods to pick up something for dinner, so we ran in with Mary and cleaned her up as best we could. Jen (ifer) was so gracious about the whole thing. And when we got back to their house, Tom cleaned up the carseat and the car. Thankfully, Mary seemed okay the next day, and actually ate a "burger fries" (as she calls the Golden Arches) at the airport. Jen (ifer) was able to get a gate pass, and help me get through the airport. We had so much fun, and it was sad to say good-bye.
My little seasoned traveler, before she fell asleep~
Monica and Chandler at 30,000 feet~

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Bo

When Charlie was a baby, someone gave us a little gift set that included a onesie with the Minnesota Vikings logo, and also a matching pacifier. For some reason we've kept that pacifier around, even though I never actually used it with a baby. Mary has used it with her dolls lately. And even though she had a pacifier in her mouth a couple of times in the NICU, she never really took one once at home. But this is what she would look like if she were me at that age, with a "bo" as I called it~
I am really glad none of my children ever really used pacifiers.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Playing Doctor

Mary has spent a lot of time in doctors' offices and labs. She's picked up a lot of useful skills, such as the belly button temperature check~
Sometimes you have to really push hard~
Best of all, though, is she knows to comfort the patient after a particularly trying procedure~