Botanical Gardens at Chatfield

We went adventuring again today (Augsut 30th) and I have to admit, I think it was a bust.  We've had so much fun on our other adventures that this was bound to happen sometime, so I'm ok with it.  We went to the Denver Botanical Gardens at Chatfield.  The website made it look like a really nice place, and I even ran into a play group about 2 years ago at our local park that told me they frequented the gardens.  I have no idea what they would do there.  There wasn't even a visitor center to glean information.  We wandered around a bit and managed to find the Discovery Center, which was a tree house, a pond (infested with bees), and a rock pit with logs to build teepees.  The kids enjoyed that area for a while before we headed on.  We ran into an old farm house that still had a chicken coop with chickens.  Kai really liked that, but by that time we were about done.  We ambled on a bit more trying to find something, anything, but struck out.  There were various guide signs throughout the area, but they were not overly informative.  One made me laugh out loud.  It stated in large, bold print, "Dead Tree".  Really, like we couldn't tell.

 Kai pushing Madeleine in the stroller.  Yes, she is bigger than him

and just slightly older.  I guess I'm just lucky that Kai has always

preferred to walk instead of ride in the stroller.  It's saved me from

having to buy a double stroller.

Kai in the treehouse.

Finn climbing into the treehouse, too.  I couldn't get a picture of it

because I was too scared to stand back, but he did manage to get

himself up a rung or two!

Kai building teepees with Ethan.

Finn climbing again.  Anyone see a pattern here?

Finn's pit stop.  I really enjoy having him on a bottle.

It makes outings like this so much more manageable.

After our wandering we went to Chick Fil' A for lunch and had a good time visiting.  At least we have some good friends who like to adventure with us.  That always makes our trips a good time!

Creeped Out

This post is for my sister-in-law, Kristi, who I know will be as creeped out as I am, and for all of those who have lived with me, and my arachnophobia, in the past.

On Thursday we went to the park with some friends.  It was a pretty windy day and so I took jackets for everyone.  Kai wanted to take his fuzzy fleece orange jacket.  We had a good time visiting with our friends, and Kai had a great time exploring the drainage ditches, trees, and bushes with their oldest son.  When we got home that afternoon, I took all three of our jackets and placed them together just inside the doorway on the floor of our master bedroom.  They stayed there the rest of the day.

Friday morning I was cleaning up and so I picked up the whole stack of jackets and draped them over the back of the couch in our living room.  I knew we would be going out to play soon and that with the wind, we'd need them again.  Just a few hours later I was getting everyone ready to go out.  I held up Kai's orange jacket and told him to put it on.  He reached out to put his arms in and stopped.

"What's that?" he asked.
"It's your jacket.  Put it on.", I replied.
"What's that?", he asked again.

This time I looked to where he was pointing and without everything completely registering, I began to place the jacket on the counter next to where I stood.  Once the jacket was on the counter I got a very clear look at the large spider that was just relaxing on Kai's jacket.  Now, I have to insert that I've been doing very well this last year or so in controlling my reaction and taking care of things calmly.  Kai has developed a fear of bugs that we attribute to me and so I've been working really hard on managing my reactions and the things that I say.  But this spider was different.  It was big.  It wasn't your normal house spider.  I was afraid and having a hard time controlling it.  I asked Kai to help me find the vacuum.  Turns out it was right behind me in the living room, I was just too freaked out to think clearly.  We wheeled the vacuum in and after extending the extension as far as it could go, I stood three feet back and did my best to suck that darn spider to oblivion.  The thing is, we never saw the spider in the vacuum collector and so I couldn't be 100% sure that it was gone.  I tried talking Kai into wearing a different jacket, but he wouldn't.  So after a few minutes and repeated questioning from Kai ("Is the spider gone, Mom?"), we put the jacket on and went outside.  Crisis averted.

Fast forward 16 hours.  It's 4am and Finn has just woken up.  As the temperature drops significantly at night here, I have a stack of fleece blankets on the floor next to his crib.  After getting his bottle and medication ready, I grab a blanket, wrap it around him, and pick him up.  I give him his meds (all 4 pills!) and his bottle and then move into the recliner.  At this point I suddenly think, "What if there's a spider in this blanket?"  I rationalize with myself that it's 4am, I'm still freaked out from the spider earlier and that I was letting my imagination get away with me.  Finn cuddles and drinks for 15 minutes and then falls back asleep.  So, I quietly place him in the crib and as he rolls over I realize that he's going to need another blanket as the first one is now under him.  I grab another and as I'm doing so, he wakes up and wants me to hold him again.  We go back to the recliner with 2 blankets this time.  After another 15 minutes he's asleep and I place him back in the crib.  He wakes up again, but this time I continue to our room.  He started to cry, but that's not new either.  He normally cries for at most 5 minutes and then goes back to sleep.  So, I laid down and waited.  Fifteen minutes later he's still wailing.  It's nearly 5am now and I'm awake enough to realize that something is wrong.  He doesn't really ever do this.  So, I trudge back to the room pick him up and we snuggle again.  Once again my mind asks, "What if there's a spider in these blankets?"  And once again, I dismiss it.  I leaned back in the recliner, pulled my feet up underneath me and closed my eyes.  Twenty more minutes go by and he's finally in his crib asleep.

So, this morning Finn sleeps in a little and Kai, Reid and I enjoy our snuggling time on the bed.  After a while, Finn joins us and we all play.  About an hour after we'd all been up and playing, I need to take Finn in for a diaper change.  In the daylight I see something on the recliner.  With a closer look I realize what is there.  A half-squashed spider of what appeared to be the same variety that was on Kai's fleece jacket yesterday.

I'm now officially creeped out.  I seriously sat on a spider last night and squished it!!  I'm not completely sure that the spider was in those blankets, but that's my guess.  It's either that or the spider was a hitch-hiker that came into Finn's room on my pants or socks.  If that's the case, then I wonder if both spiders came out of my bedroom.  Or are the spiders getting cold at night too and finding warmth in our fleece.  No matter what the answer is, I just want to say UGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!

The North Pole

Last year we took Kai to a small local amusement park named The North Pole.  It's a Christmas-themed park nestled in the mountains.  It's a fun place with many kid rides, animals, and shops.  Unfortunately, last year Kai was more than a little afraid of the rides.  We spent several hours at the park and he rode about 4 rides.  Throughout this summer, however, Kai has been telling us that he's not afraid of the rides anymore and he has anxiously looked forward to another trip.  We finally got to take him back on Saturday August 21st.  Within minutes of entering the park we knew that this trip was going to be different.  He had already tackled 3 or 4 rides within the first 5 minutes!  Not only did he ride just about every ride, but he LOVED it.  He rode a few rides twice, and he even got on the faster rides.  It seems that we now have a ride fanatic on our hands.  Finn even got to ride on a few of them.  The train scared him and he clung tight to me, but on the carousel he had a great time.  He was a bit shocked when the horse started to move, but then he warmed up and seemed to enjoy it.  By the end of the day, he was tuckered out.  Of course we took lots of pictures.  Here are just a handful of the good ones.

In total, we spent about 4 hours at the park just riding rides.  Even this late in the summer, the park still wasn't crowded and most lines were only a couple of minutes wait.  After we were all completely exhausted we went to Wendy's on the way home.  It was a very good day.

New Size

Finn has almost completely graduated to 12 month clothing.  I've always said I was bad at buying ahead for my kids, and once again, I have proved myself right.  Last year there was a HUGE clearance at Children's Place (one of my favorite stores!) and I bought Finn a bunch of winter clothing for this year--size 12 months.  Ugghhh--it's a little too hot for his 12 month clothing right now.  But luckily I have some leftover 12 month clothing from Kai, and we have some friends who seemed to know better than me.  I just LOVE these jammies on Finn that we received as a gift last year.  They are just the perfect size and  perfect for the weather.  Here's to hoping that the few pieces we have will last us for the next 6 weeks or so.  And I'm hoping that Finn doesn't outgrow his winter clothes before we get there!

Rolling in the Dough

Kai loves to play pretend these days.  And he's got quite an imagination.  The other day he told me this was a mud puddle.  In actuality it was the change from our change bowl--all $24 and some odd cents.  One day he's going to wish he could roll in money like this.  If he can, I can guarantee it won't be mine!

Saturday Play Day

Our first snow last year was on September 21st.  That means we only have about a month more of consistent good weather and then we will be into the 8 month stretch of winter.  We've been doing our best to take advantage of the weather and enjoying our time together.  Last Saturday (the 14th) we took the kids to Fox Run Park to play after our afternoon naps.  Finn played in the grass and tested out his new shoes.  He wasn't thrilled with the loud dogs and screaming little girls, and he wasn't very good at walking in his shoes, but he had fun anyway.  He even took a turn in the swings.  Kai enjoyed the swings and slides with his daddy.  And then he asked to play hide-n-seek.  It's been so fun to see Kai mature over the past several months.  In this last month I have seen him actually start to play with others.  He interacts, laughs, plays chase, and really enjoys being with others.  It's such a neat phase.  Hide-n-seek is one of his favorite "together" activities.  Reid enjoyed hiding and watching Kai try to find him.  It was a good time.

Of course, after the park we needed dinner.  So we took the kids to Arby's and, after a yummy dinner, we topped it off with Coldstone.  We did it all for Kai--honestly!  :)

Finn's First Shoes

On Friday the 13th we went to buy Finn's first real shoes.  I had bought him a couple of different pairs of shoes over the last month or so, but none of them seemed to be working real well.  The last pair I bought him were these really cute sneakers, but they never stayed on his feet.  And he couldn't walk in them at all, as the sole was just too thick.  So, I decided the trip and the expense of Stride Rite shoes were worth it.  I knew we'd get the right fit and that he would be able to walk in the shoes.

My first trip to Stride Rite (2 1/2 years ago) for Kai's shoes resulted in buying Kai a size 3 extra wide shoe.  Silly kid was 11 months old and had really short and fat feet.  Finn's almost 10 month-old feet, in comparison, seemed normal sized (not pudgy at all).  And I thought the size was pretty comparable to Kai's 11 month feet.  His height and weight are comparable, so the shoes should be too, right??  Wrong!  Finn's foot measured in at a whopping 4 1/2 medium.  At least I was right about the normal width thing.  But I have spent the last week in shock over how long Finn's foot really is.  He really stands a good chance of being taller than his older brother.  Poor Kai.

Here are some pictures showing the difference in their first shoes.  Finn's shoes are the larger, brown ones.  Kai's shoes are the tiny cute white ones.