Shit, Brad is old!

I apologize for the expletive in the headline. Just thinking about the look on by brother in-law's face when he reads it makes it all worthwhile.

My brother in-law Brad turned forty last week. His lovely wife Kendra planned a big Vegas birthday surprise to mark the occasion. Matthew, me, his parents, a couple of Brad and Kendra's friends and my brother and sister in-law Nate and Annie all flew to Vegas to celebrate.

Kendra's idea was for us all to slip in to Vegas unnoticed and surprise Brad at dinner. However, we had one tiny little hitch -  Matthew and I ended up flying from Denver on the same plane as Brad and Kendra. It was 65 degrees the day we left and Matthew and I sweated it out in our winter coats and hats to hide from Brad. We successfully snuck on to the plane, had three close encounters at the Vegas airport and our hotel without Brad ever noticing. Maybe eye exams should be mandatory at forty.

 Matthew going unnoticed at the airport. 

 Lisa incognito.

 After we successfully snuck past Brad on the plane.

 Brad in line to check-in at the hotel. This photo was taken while we hid behind a pillar in the lobby.

Matthew behind the pillar while I try to check us in to our room.

We gotcha! Brad was completely shocked. 

 Brad with his proud parents.

The band reunited for a three day tour!

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all the best for 2012!

What would you do if Santa brought you an Elmo toothbrush?

Comand your mom to immediately remove it from the package so you can brush your chompers on Christmas morning. Duh.

Pudding paint

A couple of weeks ago one of our friends invited us over for some pudding painting. Emma quickly progressed from painting on a cookie sheet to body art.

Sledding

I love playing in the snow and I am so happy Emma does too! She was such a good sport about sledding in our front yard. Down the hill she'd go and then pop-up and say "again".  As in, "I want to go again!!!" She surprised us with her repeated and eager teetering up the steps in her snow gear. Happily, she'd plop down in the sled ready to go "again"!!

Maya turns 5!

Maya turned five years old on Sunday. I know, hard to believe considering she's no better behaved than a six month old puppy.  Matthew pointed out she's getting a little gray hair below her bottom lip. I am ignoring it and prefer to think it's the mark of something she's recently eaten off the counter. 

(Emma was given a piece of chocolate immediately following the filming of this video. It was 9:30am. Unfortunately, I had not been drinking. Tone deafness is the only explanation for my rendition of "Happy Birthday".)

Potty training

A few weeks ago Emma was asking to sit on our toilet. I decided to get her a little toilet of her own. We made the purchase a family affair. Here are some photos Matthew was able to catch of Emma carrying her toilet through Target. She insisted on carrying it and even gave it a little test.

At this point Emma's toilet is more of a glorified reading chair. If she sits on her toilet, I read her books to try and keep her entertained. She has yet to actually do a number 1 or 2 in it, but I figure she's still in the getting to know you phase. As Emma's pediatrician put it, "you can try potty training at anytime, but if you force it there will only be one girl (Emma) in the room left standing."

Halloween

Matthew, Emma and I walked to Boo at the Zoo to see what it was all about. For Emma it was all about checking out the animals. It was wonderful to see how excited she was to see them and point out the ones she knew.

One of the last times I took Emma to the Zoo she spent the entire time climbing down the stairs to the bathroom. It's so great to have her actually enjoy the animals now.

Snow!

It snowed in Denver last week. I kind of consider it Emma's first snow. It was the first time she could walk around in it, feel it, lick it and really explore.

Bike

Emma has been pretty smitten with bikes since the beginning of the summer. When we play at a park she climbs on any bike she sees and tries as hard as she can to make the pedals move. We went to visit some friends a few weeks ago and they had a tricycle Emma really loved. When we got home I hopped on craigslist in search of bike for Emma. I found the perfect one. I think she'll really use it next summer. For now, she enjoys being pushed around and collecting sticks, leaves, etc.

Emma likes to say ahhh when she drinks from a glass

More landscape fun for Emma

It's always the things that were never meant to be a toy that are the biggest hit with kids. One of the guys working on our landscape project put Emma in a hole he dug for a tree. It's a good thing the tree did not need immediate planting. Emma was pretty sure the hole was dug just for her playing enjoyment.

"Working"

We're having a little landscaping project done in our backyard. Emma is completely intrigued by what is going on in our yard and the guys doing the work are so nice to her and don't mind at all if she gets out her shovel to help or follows them around to investigate what they are doing.

Each morning and after her nap she pushes a chair up to the window to watch the guys "working".

Today she got a little vigorous with her shoveling so I stuck her in the kitchen sink to rinse off.

Hayride

We took a "hayride" around the neighborhood at Emma's preschool this week. I tried telling Emma the horses were just like Maya - she didn't buy it.

The Mayor goes to Safeway

Emma was a great sport riding around in the car last week while I scoped out trees for a little landscaping project. I had to stop at the grocery store for a few things after our little adventure and decided to reward her with a ride in the shopping cart with the car attached to it. She rode around with an enormous grin and waved at anyone who was looking her way.

Mom and dad's little helper

Emma is a climber. This comes in very handy (that's what she thinks) when she is "helping" me or Matthew. Her latest climbing feat involves pushing a chair up to the counter and helping me cook. Last week I turned my back for two seconds and she climbed from the chair on to the counter. Sigh.

Tumbling

I am pretty sure tumbling is the most adorable thing I have signed Emma up for to date. Imagine if you will, a bunch of little 18 month to two year olds running around like maniacs occasionally doing a tumbling activity and then bouncing up to run and squeal. Just about the cutest thing ever!!

Summer's End

Emma (and I) start pre-school today. I keep calling it fake school because I go with her - which I am super excited about!!

I'm sure we'll still have a few more weeks of warm weather, but I do feel like going to school signals the beginning of fall. And the fact that I've had our air conditioner turned off for the last four days and Matthew has not thrown a fit about being too hot.

Anyways, I wanted to share a few photos from summer and I'll try to keep you updated in a more timely fashion as the weather cools and I am not spending my days picking rocks from our yard out of Emma's mouth. At 18 months of age Emma thinks it is hilarious to stick a rock in her mouth, glance my direction and then run cackling through the grass until I catch her.

Emma and Matthew (under water) going down the slide at swimming lessons.

Emma and Rowdy in Connecticut

 Emma in CT

 Rocking out

 Taking the train to NYC

 Swinging at the park

 Family photo

 Dinner in Ridgway, CO

 Enjoying Olathe sweet corn