My big girl!

Danika is getting so big! For awhile now she's been pushing herself up if she grabs my hands and I help her out a bit. BUT... two nights ago she did it by herself! We were on the floor  reading and she reached up to her toybasket and wallah! Standing baby! Im so proud of her! And SHE"S so proud of her, tooO! She concentrates REAL hard and watches her legs the whole time, until she's decided that she's stable, then POPs her head up with a big smile and a wrinkled nose! 

Ive had a harsh realization that my days of lazily watching her babble to Gabby and other toys are soon to be over- this girl is soon to be all over the place! This morning she didnt care about her toys- she just wanted to walk walk walk! She's a cruiser! It's so cute- except... she wont do it unless she has one hand attached to mom and one hand attached to something else. I spent a good hour walking up and down the length of the couch this morning before she fell asleep :) 

First Daddy's Day

We had SUCH a great weekend!!!! It was so much fun to celebrate Nate's first daddy's day and to honor him! I didn't nag at all. Except maybe a little bit. :) 

Nate's first father's day gift was given to him back in APril. We found a really good deal on an almost brand new hiking baby backpack, which was the ONE thing he asked for when we were pregnant with D. I've used iton a few mommy hikes and for the Bolder Boulder but he gets to soon! I think we may start exploring our neighboring city of Boulder and the beautiful hikes in that area. 

For daddy's day Nate wanted to go fishing, so we went on Saturday with friends Ashlee, Bob and Avery. I hadn't been fishing since elementary school and at that time I did not enjoy it at all. I was a bit leary of the whole outting but decided to give it a go for Nate. We had a great time! Nate didn't catch anything. We think it was because he was wearing his skirt. The fish didnt want to be snagged by a girlie man :) It was a beautiful area and a relaxing day- I had fun! I'd go again, just not TOO often ...

Sunday, the official father's day, began with Nate's favorite... donuts and chocolate milk. We ate our breakfast in bed, then headed off to church... what a great sermon! We're so happy to have found a church we both love and that speaks to both of us. We're excited to send Dani to Sunday School when she's old enough. Anyway! On with the day! In the mail earlier that week Ari discovered a coupon to one of her favorite restaurants from California- little did she know there was one sitting smack dab in the middle of Boulder all this time. We had a super cheap lunch at Islands, then we headed down to the Aquarium.... HOW MUCH FUN!!!! 

We went through the aquarium twice- the first time I wore Dani in the bjorn, the second time she sat in the stroller.... she had a blast! Her eyes got SO big at every new tank we went to- all the pretty colors and moving fish! We saw octopi, starfish, seahorses, sharks, eels, and TONS of beautiful freshwater fish. We were in shock, though- this teenager and his MOTHER had their arms in the water up to their armpits trying to catch the fish! AMAZING! Everyone around was just staring at them. I walked up and said "Um, excuse me? I really dont think you should be doing that." They yanked their arms out and ran out! I know I already shared my soapbox but again, I'm absolutely amazed at what parents teach their kids to do. 

We had a great time the whole weekend. When we got home we took the Banjomeister for a walk, then went swimming before bed time. We were whooped! 

Check out the rest of our pictures here !: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125758&id=831739417&l=235a2d9883

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=120738&id=831739417&l=b9d1772a5d

Where Has it Gone????

So, on Thursday I took Danika out n about to get stuff ready for daddy's day. I was so frustrated! Where has common courtesy gone?? Manners? WOrth ethic? Out the window! I've had several talks with my mom about how lazy people are getting with raising their kids (In general) with my own generation and my daughter's. It didnt seem so bad when I was visibly pregnant- nearly everyone offered to carry things, open doors, etc... Now? People stare at me as I try to open a door and push the stroller through at the same time. During my excursion on THursday, TWICE I watched people coming towards my door and then veer off to another one when they saw the stroller... RUDE. I can't remember the last time I saw a gentleman offer a lady his seat on a public bus, or watched someone stop to help a person who dropped their belongings. It makes me sad that it is the exception instead of the norm nowadays. And doing what's best for their kids?? RIGHT. Just the other day I saw a man driving with his daughter (no more than 18 months) STANDING in the FRONT seat of his car as he talked on the cellphone. Sadly I couldn't get his license plate to call the police. I know very well I will make plenty of mistakes with Danika and whoever may follow her, and I definitely know not everyone will agree with my parenting style.... but really? Standing in the front seat? 

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North Carolina Trip Days 4 and 5

On Sunday we met Logan's parents and the newly married couple for breakfast before heading out. I had a DELICIOUS egg, cheese and tomato biscuit.... mmmm ... I sure miss southern style cooking. For those of you who know me, this part cracked me up... here's me in my red capri's and black tank top with the rest of my family... make up thrown on, hair in a ponytail... and I felt like I was dressed up. I really felt fancy!!! Boy howdy we were being stared at as we paraded through the restaurant to the patio... definitely tourists :) Afterwards we headed back to grandma's house. I slept most of the way to avoid having an aneurism due to my dad's driving on windy mountain roads in the rain. 

We hung out at Grandma's house for a bit and then went to visit Danika's great, great, great aunt mary lou. What a sweetheart!! Danika got her first teddy bear from her aunt, but sadly it was too big to bring home on the plane. After another one of grandma's delicious meals we hung out for a bit. Just as I thought I had Danika asleep, I put her down and she woke up, ready to play! I brought her in the living room to converse with the adults.... my dad held her as my mom played a game of peekaboo which got her ROLLING! She was in hysterics from this silly game. Just as things were calming down and the game was over ... what happens?? She yaks all over my dad :) WHy? Because he never learns not to hold her by the tummy after she's eaten. One day he will figure it out...

We headed out bright and early on Monday. Of course, we had to stop just one more time at the infamous Bojangles. Danika did OKAY on the trip home- I think it was just long for everyone- we were ready to be home. She was a bit fussy but we made it. She kept trying to grab the airplane wings from the window, but dangit for that glass!!! 

It was sad to say bye to grandma and grandpa, but we will see them again soon! 

Generations

We're on to day three!!! We awoke  early Saturday morning and let TOri's friend, Sarah, sleep in a bit after very long 2 day journey to NC. Jaime, mom, dad, and the grandparents (along with D) took a drive into the Banks family history. Wowzas. Awhile back I watched a Dateline special on the Appalachian residents and all that goes on there. Our drive was truly like a trip into the past. Many of my dad's great, great (fill in the blanks) still had houses standing from the 1800s... one had been abandoned for so long there were flowers and vines growing out of the chimney! It was really neat to see the types of homes people used to live in back then and imagining what life must have been like. I didnt have my camera with me but when my sister downloads hers I'll post 'em. It's a different kind of life up there in the beautiful NC mountains... we thought we saw someone standing on the porch of one of our relatives homes but by the time we got there, they were gone! Apparently "outsiders" are not exactly welcomed and shotguns are at the ready.... 

So, from there we readied ourselves for TOri and Logan's reception... what a great time we had! Tons of delicious food, Logan's family and friends and many of our extended relatives. In fact, we got a five generation picture from the Banks family (Danika, Me, my dad, my grandpa and his uncle pug) .... Later on in the day we traveled a few blocks over to the Hot Springs Bluegrass Festival ... Danika had a blast! She kept staring at the speaker wondering how in the world it was singing! When we put her on her feet she started bouncing to the music, and when grandma held her on her shoulders she started strumming grandmas face in beat:) Grandpa Banks (Poppy) had to play tourist as always and get himself a tshirt. They had some wonderful bands and an outstanding group of cloggers. It reminded me of our old family reunions with the fiddles and banjos and us banks kids "clogging" with grandpa in his bibbers! I would love to do that just one more time....

We had such a good time that day... everyone just HAD to hold Danika and insert their opinions on how she's turning out... it was great :) I learned a big lesson on how to let comments roll off my back. I loved spending the day in the beautiful mountains by the river and seeing all my aunts, great great aunts/uncles, and cousins... though I dont know that I would ever move back to NC it sure motivates me to visit my grandma and grandpa as much as I can in the future... they are good, good people and little Danika would be very blessed to know them. 

5 Days!!!

So, we left Nate on Thursday morning and came back on Monday afternoon. In a total of 5 days I believe I brought home a completely different baby! In the course of our little vacation, my dear daughter learned how to...

- started lunging forward while on her hands and knees
- grew her second tooth
- started waving bye bye
- danced
- very clearly started saying dada and mama
- developed a serious case of spoiledness
- reached out to me while being held by others

My goodness! I knew the time went by fast, but really??? Almost a completely new baby lives in our house! We'll see where she goes from here!!! 

North Carolina Trip Day 2

We woke up early Friday morning and enjoyed some Grandma Nila cooking. Since little D woke up so early, mom and grandpa had quite the time with Danika as she is SUCH a morning person, while I went up and took another nap.. Danika discovered her love for grandpa's hats, in particular one that had "THE BOSS" embroidered on... how fitting. Later that day Victoria and Logan exchanged their vows and rings and are officially hitched! Congrats Tori and Logan- best wishes!!! Afterwards we mingled with Logan's family who we met for the first time that day and lemme tell ya- what great people!!! We snacked and talked until dinner time at the Magnolia Inn- a cute, quaint and quite expensive restaurant in the town of Hot Springs... delicious!!! We finally came home and crashed... only to begin again the next day! 

Fireflies

Well, we're back!!!! I had nothing to worry about- the trip went wonderfully!!!! I don't know that I could live in North Carolina again, but it brought back many wonderful childhood memories I wouldn't mind passing along to Danika. I think that I'll follow the idea of Kira and give you daily blogs about the different days of our trip.... lots to tell!! I must say, though, I had no idea how much can happen in 4 days in the life of an infant. Every night I was calling Nate with an update, each night (almost) telling him something new about Danika, which of course I will share with you, too!!! It was almost like bringing home a brand new baby!!!! 

North Carolina Trip- Day 1

We had to get up nice and early to meet the rest of my family at Cracker Barrel at 5:50. We were 2 minutes late and dad was a bit perturbed :) I thought it was funny to delay the supervisor. We got to the airport around 6:45 and Danika did great- charming everyone she saw along the way. Nate walked with us all the way to security and we said our goodbyes :( Off we went!!!!! I was really, really, really nervous as I had not flown since Sept 2001... which was definitely not a good memory. Luckily I had a lot of helpers to get me through the day! A perk of bringing a baby on a plane?? Preboarding :) We got all settled in and Danika settled herself down for a nice nap. She slept for the first 45 minutes or so of the trip. When she woke up, she was as happy as can be! She told us all kinds of stories, and shared them with the RESt of the plane, too... we got lots of compliments on what a good baby she was. 

We arrived in Charlotte, NC at about 2:00 EST and headed to our destination. But FIRST we had to make a visit to the almighty Bojangles!!!MMMMMMMM!!!! Even I had to have a chicken sandwich. Being the uber healthy vegetarian, the grease as well as the MSG laden seasoned french fries was pretty nasty, but there is still nothing like Bojangles. We headed on our way, a three hour adventure in a North Carolina rain storm :) 

We arrived in Hot Springs, NC around 6:30pm just in time  for Grandma's lasagna, blackberry cobbler AND black walnut chocolate pound cake :) Grandma and grandpa visited with Danika and the rest of us (defintieyl not as important!) before bed... 

The cabin we stayed in was BEAUTIFUL! It reminded me of our family reunion camping cabins in the Smoky Mountains in Cherokee, NC. There were big, beautiful trees and the sound of the rushing river just down the way. The best part of it all? As I was falling asleep on Thursday night, I turned to look out the window just in time to see fireflies dancing in the night. It brought back memories of the big red barn we had our family reunions at, and us kids chasing fireflies, trying to trap them in jars, and swinging on the tire swing at night. Life was so carefree and easy!!!! 

Danika did great the whole day- she was a bit crabby at bed time but she had a LONG day, so I give her a freebie! 

Found It!

It was in the bottom of the laundry basket ...

 

I'm getting soooo close to crawling! 

I want that dog! 

These teeth suck. 

         

But mommy sure is funny! 

My cute giraffe bottom. 

How I love to sleep! 

Cheers Tori! Here's to a very long and happy marriage! 

A Clean Home

Ya know what my problem is? The reason why I'm so unorganized? Because that's how I know where everything is! Nate and I did a summer cleaning of our home last week and I cannot find ANYTHING now. Anything! Including my camera which holds some super cute pics of Danika OR the connector cord, go figure. I need a label maker. Not only would that give Danika a print rich environment to become a super reader before age 2, but also direct both Nate and I as to where to put things and where to find them. Maybe. 

SO. Whats new other than a clean house??? We're pretty exciting people. I took Danika to a couple playgroups last week and we had fun fun fun! We discovered that Danika LOVES to play the pretend pianos, so of course we had to rush out and buy her one... toys come out of our grocery budget :) And by we, I really mean me. Although, I have to give myself credit. I did try to make maracas out of an old container which once held dishwasher soap nuggets, some pennies and super glue. And my next project involves an empty can of chai to be used as a drum. I'm pretty thrifty. But I'm also a quick learner... amazingly enough, the "toys" around the house tend to be quite more amusing than expensive purchases made at my favorite place of all time, Babies R Us. Though its expensive, I love it slightly more than Ross. 

I am convinced, like many other moms, that Danika is a super child and will be walk, talking and potty trained by the age of 10 months. She'll probably be reading, too:) Naw, I'm not that ridiculous. But once I have a project in my head, its hard to let go of until its done, the exception being Danika's nursery which never seems to make any progress. The latest? I finally accepted facial hair shavings and invited Nate to share my master bathroom :) The motive behind? Well, Danika needs her own bathroom to bathe in, dontcha know? I had a real dilemna deciding which motif to base her bathroom around UNTIL I watched her have a rather long and dramatic conversation with her favorite toy, Gabby the Giraffe. SO... there we have it... the gentle giraffe bathroom. It'll be cute! I'm being resourceful and painting/decoupaging unfinished wood trash cans and qtip holders among other things. We'll see how it goes...

Here's a piece of big news! I've had my FIRST margarita since before I was pregnant and married- wowzas! I cant remember the last time I had one (but I can remember the last time I wanted one). Tori's coworkers together to celebrate her upcoming nuptials with a "Margs for Marriage" night. We met for drinks and apps at the Rio in Fort Collins ... okay, THEY had drinks... IIIIII had ONE MINIATURE mango marg... and I felt it, too:) It was delicious. I might just have to go back. Is there anything better? Yes. Tori, Brady and I went to the Melting Pot (aka the pot) for some cheese, chocolate and salad... whew. what a night. 

Biggest Loser update!!! Um, yeah... Nate has fallen below the yellow line. I lost 2 pounds this week! Nate has stayed stagnant, which is better than the alternative! I give him credit, though- he does have a rather messed up foot, so that can impede his running, which he is rocking at! 

Danika has officially decided to stop nursing, so maybe, just maybe, I'll get even closer to my goal here pretty soon! 

Well... Danika and I are off in 2 days. Aunt/Sister Victoria marrying Mr. Logan Flynn in a private ceremony in Hot Springs, NC. I'm a bit apprehensive about the trip, in particular the flying part of it, but i'm sure all will be fine. THere will definitely be pictures to share! It's Danika's first time meeting her greatgrandparent and other extended family... this is a good thing because it ensures that one day Nate and I will HAVE to have another child in order to teach Danika to share the spotlight :) hahahaha. Love you, Nacho. 

Well, I got on quite a roll. Hopefully the camera and connector cord will appear tomorrow, most likely in the silverware drawer. Pictures coming soon! 

Summer Fun

Mama and Danika's favorite spot

Hi guys! I'm 7 months old today! 

My new ladybug float

My new cherry bathing suit! 

I am a HAPPY baby! 

Wow! I cannot believe Danika is 7 months old... I have NO Idea where my little bug that couldnt lift her head off my shoulder went! She's so big now! In fact, the swimsuit I bought her for Easter has already been outgrown and we're on to an 18month swim suit with just a little room to grow. 

Nate insisted on purchasing a floating ladybug for Danika so she could hang her feet in the water and kick and be pushed around in the water- the pool was a bit cool so I think that kept her from truly enjoying her new toy, but it was fun for us! 

Danika is truly getting to be one mobile kid. I set her next to the boppy and heat some water in the microwave- i turn around and she's 5 feet from where she started! She's rolling and rotating and pushing and wiggling to where she wants to be. SHe's SUCH a happy baby and truly a blessing. I'm getting a bit camera happy being home with her all day. 

We have so much fun- okay, MOM has so much fun hanging out with Danika. We play and sing and dance and cook and shop and nap and start all over again! We went to Sprouts to grab some veggies yesterday... Mom is learning her lessons... Danika was sitting in the cart, and before i knew it, she had definitely grabbed a tomato from the bottom row! WOOOPS! I fixed them before we had tomato sauce every, but just as I had started pushing the cart agan I realized Danika had grabbed the produce bags and was happily pulling a trail of them as we walked. 

SHe's quite the character :) 

We have our first mommies play group from church tomorrow, so we'll update you soon! An Ari and Nate update- Nate had an interview with Vail Mountain Resorts today- he was one of three candidates- say a prayer this one comes through, and if its not "the one" that something better will be here soon! Ari and Nate are holding the biggest loser competition- Ari has lost a total of ONE pound, Nate has lost 7- yeah! More importantly, Ari's muscle memory is coming back and she's running 2-3 miles daily now- I'm getting back into the groove! Anyone up for running a marathon with me?! Ari and Danika are heading to North Carolina to see her big sister, Victoria, get married! YEAH tori!