Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Buddy Walk

Two weekends ago was the first of the two Down syndrome walks we do every year.  We've met so  many friends around Colorado Springs that we drive down there every year for the Buddy Walk and to visit them.

This was the first year that Darren was able to join us for the walk so we headed down and day early and went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  Even though I've lived in Colorado my entire life, I'd never been to the zoo, and taking the girls was good excuse to go.  The weather was perfect, and the zoo was fairly empty so we gave in to Claire and let her out of the stroller.  She was pretty much uninterested in the animals, but she had a great time walking around the zoo for over two hours.

Claire did stop and pet the wallabys too, but I couldn't get a good picture.

I loved this big guy.  He sat in the window and hooted.  Claire couldn't get enough of him.

This baby was only a few months old.

This giraffe wasn't nearly that close to Claire's hair.  She was being a bit of a drama queen.

Nursing momma.  :)

Bridget loved our new stroller and I did too!  It fits both girls great and fits through doorways. 

Before we left we went to say goodbye to the giraffes and give them a little treat.  I wasn't sure what Claire would think of them getting so close to her, but she loved it.  Each time we ran out of lettuce she signed more.  After the third bunch of lettuce we called it quits and went to find dinner.

I'd kind of forgotten it was Friday night, and the restaurant was slower than I would have liked.  Claire was hungry, but by the time food came she was so crabby all she would eat was fries.  We piled everybody back into the car and drove to the motel with two very tired girls crying all the way.  Claire took a quick bath, and since I knew she was exhausted I figured she would lay down and go to sleep easily.  I was soooo wrong.  She tossed and turned and talked for over an hour.

The next morning we got up and headed to the Buddy Walk.  We met up with old friends and got to meet some online friends in person for the first time!  The weather was wonderful for the walk.  The last couple of years have been HOT and this time it was warm, but still comfortable.

After the walk we met another friend and her kids at a park to run some of Claire's energy out of her.  Our girls are only about a week apart in age and it had been two years since we seen them last.  The girls had so much fun playing together and I wish we lived closer!

We ended our very busy weekend with a photo shoot with Erin.  I shared some of Bridget's six month photos already, but wanted to include a few more of Claire too!

County Fair

We live in a small town.  A town were many people, ourselves included, farm and ranch.  It isn't just a job, but a way of life.  And because our little town is agriculturally based, county fair is a big deal!

Since Claire is too young to be in 4H our fair week started by watching the kids rodeo.  When we first got into the grandstands Claire was not happy.  The announcer was very loud, and she burrowed into my lap.  Once the performance started she got into clapping for the kids, and seemed much happier.

Saturday morning was the fair parade.  Once again Clairey was a little overwhelmed with all the people and stayed glued to my side.  To try and get her into the action a bit more a friend and I took our shy kids and sat with them in the middle of the street.  Claire was bewildered by the flying candy at first, but by the middle of the parade would yell and clap each time a handful of candy came her way.  She was completely uninterested in picking any of it up, but she had plenty of friends share with her.

I sat crossed legged in the street with Claire on my lap for over an hour.  I didn't know if I would be able to stand up at all after that!

Terrible picture because Claire almost refused to get off my lap, but first...look how long her hair is!  And the boots.  There is nothing cuter than Clairey in boots and a skirt!

After the parade we went back to the fairgrounds to see the animals.  A friend was showing pigs so went into the pens to pet them.  It took quite a bit of convincing to get Claire to even touch one.

She thought the ribbons were much better than the pigs.  :)

The Great Pumpkin Patch

I love fall in Colorado.

The skies are bright blue, and the weather is warm enough (usually) to play outside without too many bulky layers getting in the way.

This weekend was perfect fall weather, and a great day for the pumpkin patch.

When we took Claire last year, she was fairly unimpressed by everything.  The animals didn't catch her interest and getting pumpkins was just an opportunity for us to make her sit in the dirt.

She still wasn't all that interested in the pumpkins this time either, but she loved the lambs.

Dancing the Night Away

Last weekend we went to Kansas for a wedding.  Most of Darren's extended family is there, and we hadn't been back since I was very pregnant with Claire.  This was finally Claire's chance to meet the aunts, uncles, cousins and Darren's Grandma.

She was a trooper through the drive (I think the new car seat really helped!), and did well with all the unfamiliar faces.  She warmed up to the aunts pretty quickly, but the uncles were another story.  I don't think any of them got more than a high 5 all weekend.

The highlight of the weekend for Claire?  The reception.  Missy has always loved music.  It's doesn't matter whether its a catchy commercial or the song from Monday Night Football.  Her arms come out and the dancing wiggle starts.  That night she danced to everything from Elvis to Lady Gaga. Clairey just wanted to be moving, so we danced!

The day after the wedding we stopped by Grandma's farm to check the cows and get a 4 generation picture before heading home.

We had a great time, and it was nice to get away from home for a little while!

Signing Time, Wheat Harvest and Lots of Appts

First of all, fellow bloggy peeps...I miss you!  I've gotten behind on both reading and commenting and I feel so out of touch. 

*****

This past weekend we got to meet Rachel Coleman of Signing Time fame.  We are all huge fans and when we found out she was going to be in Denver, we knew we wanted to be there.  The show was held in a beautiful park.  The park had tons of water for the kids to play in, and if we'd known, we would have come better prepared.  There were both fountains and a lazy river type water feature.

It was HOT.  We covered Claire in sunscreen and fed her (and let her spill all over herself) tons of water.  I felt so bad for Rachel in her sweater though.  The poor girl had to be just miserable.

During Turtle Rock Rachel accidentally invited everyone up on stage.  She went with it and everybody had a great time dancing around.

After the show we got to meet Rachel and Hopkins.  Claire was not a fan of Hopkins and kept glaring at him over my shoulder.  My camera was on some strange setting and this was the best of the pictures.  Some of the ones with Rachel, Claire and I would have been cute, but they ended up totally blurry.

*****
After the Signing Time show we headed to the farm to "help" with wheat harvest.  This year harvest was very late due to all the rain we've had this spring.  Claire got to climb into the combine with her uncle, but was pretty unimpressed with the whole process. 

Claire preferred the mower to the combine.  Daddy let her drive, and she was happy to practice her car noises.

*****

Claire turned 18 months last week, and our calendar is full of all of her appointments.  Today was her well baby and she weighed at a whopping 21 lbs 5 oz.  Next week is her blood work and eye appointment.  We were supposed to go back to her ENT too and have her tube checked, but her dr was able to see that it is clear and open, so we're going to skip that one.  After we get all those appointments completed we'll head back to the Sie Center to make sure everything checks out.

Even though Claire isn't toddling, she feels like a kid, not a baby anymore.  She is such a little sponge.  And she is constantly on the move.  The only time she will settle down and snuggle is when she is very tired.  These quiet times are the best.  She tucks her arms in and just melts into your side. 

This handful of grass didn't end up in Claire's mouth.  Which may sound silly, but I keep hoping we are reaching the end of that stage.  And then she finds paper, or cardboard, or anything resembling paper, and she can't get it into her mouth fast enough.  Maybe I need to feed her more fiber...

Claire's new favorite sign is cracker.  She signs cracker from the moment she wakes up until she falls asleep.  While I know she loves her goldfish crackers, I think part of the appeal is that the signing actually does something.  She was like that when she learned to sign milk too.  She didn't really want  a drink, but loved that she got something from us.  So, I keep telling her she's doing a great job signing cracker, but unfortunately, that's not what we're having for breakfast.

Other than that, things are good.  Just busy and good.

Projects

Claire and Darren left bright and early for the farm today.  Which means I'm on my own...all weekend!

And today I've learned that my attention span is now as brief as my daughters.

This morning I had big plans.  I was going to clean out the kitchen drawers.  They are dirty from the new cabinets going in.  I was going to clean out the hutch in the dining room.  I was going to have all the laundry folded and put away, and have the grocery shopping done.  And once all of the projects were done, I was going to have a little ME time.  Catch up on blog posts, check in on facebook, maybe watch some TV and of course, read.

So far, I've done one load of laundry and one load of dishes.  I have one kitchen cabinet, no drawers, cleaned out.  I did manage to clean out the spice cabinet.  Some of those bottles haven't been used since we moved in to this house and it was time for a purge.  I ran a few errands.  And in between all those small projects I went to some garage sales, watched the House season finale, finished a book and started another one, and worked on getting some Uppercase Living projects put up in the house.

All in all, a fairly unproductive day.  If I'd been able to stay focused on one thing for more than thirty minutes I think I would have gotten a lot more done.... 

Oh well, there's always tomorrow for all my big plans!

Suited Up

This weekend was hot and muggy and Claire needed to cool off a bit.  The new water table is (mostly) set up, but even without all the attachments attached Claire was happy.

Distracted by the box...

This face means it's time to head in...