Monday, March 23, 2009

Hiking Into Spring

A few weeks ago we had our first real "Spring" weekend. Having waited for this for three months, I forced everyone outside the entire weekend, slacking on house projects and other productive things. On Saturday, we went to Laumeier Sculpture Park. This is the first time we've been there with kids in tow, and we had a great time! We tend to have the most fun when we go places that have fewer "kid-targeted" things (playgrounds, etc). Reiley and Ainsley had fun "melting my heart" (as Reiley says) with cute sisterhood. Ainsley especially loves to hold Reiley's hand, and that's our bribe to get her to hold hands in parking lots. Sawyer took a little nap during our hike, and then checked out the sculptures with me. He's getting heavier by the day!On Sunday, we explored Castlewood State Park. Hiking as a family has become a favorite pasttime, so we are always on the lookout for new trails. The park's website boasted of trails with river views, so I was really excited about it. As we geared up to go, Kevin informed me that his Google Earth research revealed that the particular trail I had chosen included a 200 ft. ascent to the river view"in question. Kevin somewhat doubted the hiking abilities of the girls, but I (due to the Spring fever/craziness) dismissed his concerns. It was a pleasant surprise that the girls set off excitedly up the trail and didn't complain once. You'll see that they are decked out in their "favorite summer dresses". Kevin and I found it somewhat ridiculous that long, flowing dresses were a requirement for hiking, but their love for dresses is insatiable. Case in point: One morning when some "favorite dresses" were not available, and I informed Reiley that it is not a life requirement to wear a dress, she replied "I need to, Mom; that's just the kind of person I am." Did I really give birth to these girly girls? Here's a shot of our river view from the top of the trail. The girls wanted to be very adventurous, more than Kevin and I were comfortable with. I was a bit surprised there isn't any type of safety barrier between my children and the 200 ft. drop a few feet off of the trail, but maybe that's my slight fear of heights talking. We had a great time, and are looking forward to more hikes at Castlewood. Here is a clip of our hike (with awesome narration by Kevin):
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Friday, March 6, 2009

Beefy King of the Bumbo

Sawyer is 4 months old this week, and keeps getting bigger and bigger! Official measurements are 18lbs, 6 oz (95th percentile) and 25 and 1/2 inches (75th percentile). He's really just a bundle of joy - all smiles and coos. He' s rolled over a few times, but is still pretty content with cuddling, sitting in his bumbo, and pushing himself up and looking around during tummy time. He LOVES being fawned over by the big sister duo, as evidenced in this picture. While I was reading Ainsley a book before nap, Reiley created a throne for him and proclaimed him "King of the Bumbo!"
Ainsley also enjoys creating fashions for him, including this shirt-bonnet, which she vehemently denied was any kind of hat. "It's a blanket for his head, Mom!"
Other highlights from this month include Sawyer's first pair of hearing aids! He has the same type of hearing loss as the girls (bilateral mild-moderate loss). He is tolerating the aids well, but he is growing so fast that we are waiting on the new pair of earmolds to come in so that his hearing aids stop falling out! Here he is getting fitted. We're having lots of fun together and excited for the warm weather to bring us some new adventures.