Changes

Making Smores around first campfire!!!
Mom won't let me get any closer:(

Dad really sees how Sam is growing after being gone for 4 days. Today he noticed how big her feet are getting, especially compared to her hands. I guess that is part of getting ready to move around.
A couple other really adorable new moves is that she will look around things to see something. If she wants to see Sadie for example she will look around our head and over our shoulder to look at her. There is more purpose behind the desire to look at something.
I'm not sure when it happened (I'm sure it was a while ago) but she definitely knows her name, and nicknames, now. Sometimes she is just like her sister Sadie and ignores it a couple of times but she does look at whomever is calling her.
The following are some pics from attempting to eat yogurt and strawberry's all by herself. Her skin was silky smooth and smelled wonderful after this fun time. She is a very independent girl and likes to eat things on her own more then have us feed her.

"Exactly why I don't need to go to bed...."

Last night our bedtime routine was interrupted by the door bell. Needless to say it woke Sam up enough that she didn't really want to go to bed, even though I knew she was exhausted. Once I put her in her bed she would cry if I left the room. So, I stood over her bed and we sang and tickled (softly on her face) a little to try and become sleepy. Well, she started up a conversation and I could just tell that she was explaining to me why she didn't need to go to sleep. She used many different sounds and expressed a lot of emotion as she informed me of not being tired. I simply just kept repeating to her that it was bed time and therefore we go to sleep. Eventually she did get tired and spent a little time quietly in bed talking with herself, within minutes she was conked out. It was such a blessing to really feel the bond and interaction with her.

And we're still going...

This morning we woke up only a little sore from the runs yesterday. So, I guess it means we survived. Now it's back to reality, back to work, and back to chores. The is month is so crazy that I'm living by my calender so that nothing is forgotten, and even then I'm sure something will not get done. Today we have our beloved Mommy play group, some shopping, and a little work. So, to help make the week a little easier and the grocery shopping a LOT easier here is the menu's for the week. Check out the other menu's for some great ideas (I did) at Organizing Junkie.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - Mom and Sam on their own.....usually just fresh veggies and pasta.

Thursday - Crusted Telapia, Corn on the cob

Friday - Thai Chicken Fettuccine; Edamame

Saturday - gone to the Triple Crown Horse Event
Sunday - Still at horse event and Dad goes to work

Race Day

It was a gorgeous day in Colorado today. Perfect for our Marathon Relay team to have the best time running through Denver. A group from our birthing class pulled together and ran 26.2 miles together for the Colfax Marathon.

Leah ran the first 10k. She had to be at the race start at 6 am. I hope that Thomas was good last night and left mom rested for the early run!!!

Vanessa (a friend of Leah's and new member to our mommy group) ran the next 5k of the race and seemed to enjoy herself although I know she was kicking herself for not training more:)

I ran the next 10k and felt great about it. I didn't really feel prepared but did it in about 1 hr. The best part was running across the line towards my wonderful husband and fabulous child.

AJ ran the next 5k and sprinted at the end. He had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed his first big running race. I think he is hooked, especially with our new running friends.
AJ at his finish (behind the lady)!!

Colleen and Kelli

Colleen ran the last 12k of the race and what a pace she set. She ran it so fast that we almost didn't see her finish because we were busy navigating through downtown. I got a great picture though and it even shows our total time (probably minus a little because I'm sure Leah was not the first at the starting line).

The best part was that we all set goals to do it and WE DID!!!!! Yeah to all of us for getting out and doing something for ourselves. Thank you for all the support.

The giggles from bouncing on a horse...

PRICELESS!!!!

Another moment in time when we realize how blessed our daughter is to have all the experiences of our life. Grandpa and Grandma Cribley, mom, and Sam went out to the Hewlett's (our horse trainer) to ride with the cattle again this last week. It was so much fun to see the improvements we had all made after just a few sessions with the cows. This time we had some time for Sam to ride Mickey with me for the first time. She LOVED it!!!! As we trotted and cantered around the pen she bounced and laughed and just had a great time. It was so much work that we had to get a snack at the end to fill up and keep going. I'm so glad that she gets to ride horses, and appears to enjoy it. Thanks Grandma for taking the pics and watching Sam while I got to have some fun riding.

Notice the legs bouncing up high!!!

Going Fast!!!!

Busy and beyond

This month is going by so fast because we haven't stopped once. It has just been one activity after another. I don't know where I'm going next and actually have been forced to use a calender.....YES you heard correctly I'm using a calender. Today I'm organizing the meals for the week and posting them over at Organizing Junkie. Ironically she has a gift that I could win just by posting my menu, a rotating weekly dry erase calender for the fridge!!!!!

I am starting to do more menu planning for baby girl as well because I really need to get in the habit of feeding her 3 regular meals wherever we may be at the time. So, I may start writing those down as well. Plus, mom and I are cook today for frozen meals again!!! It is such a great savings and very convenient.

Dad off flying!!!!!
Monday - leftovers

Tuesday - Pasta w/ veggies or maybe eat with the Grands because we are going riding all afternoon!!!

Wednesday - Pineapple Fried Rice

Thursday - Turkey Burgers, Asparagus, Quiona

Friday - Beef & Potato Crock Pot Curry w/ rice

Saturday - Albert's Graduation Dinner!!!!! Now he just needs to find a job, Good Luck!!

Sunday - Crusted Telapia, w/ roasted veggies

Mother's Day All Around

Robin's Nest in Our Pine Tree

Still Catching up - I can't believe I'm a MOM!!!

I'm a Mommy!!!! 3 generations enjoy the day together.
Mom, Amie, Sam and I enjoyed high tea with a group of grandmothers, mothers and daughters.
Mom and I spent the afternoon and evening together with Sam.
The conversations ran deep,
and the moments were sweet!!
I LOVE YOU MOMMY:)

Ok, so to continue at Sharon's visit....... She delivered a disaster that turned into a blessing because she noticed some bubbling in our basement ceiling that looked like potential water damage. Well it is. So we called out the plumber and he looked everywhere externally to find the source of a leak and couldn't find anything. Then he cut into the drywall in the basement and the paper came off all moldy. This led to calling the insurance, having an inspector come out, and hiring a cleanup crew. The blessing is that we caught it early because we could not find any moisture beyond the 1 in. hole where the leak is located. So, we are currently waiting on insurance to approve the estimate and then we will demo the ceiling, find the leak, and repair everything. Thank you to friends who are observant.

Later this month we have our first horse event so we went out to the Hewlett's to play with the cows. So, Dad, Amie, and I rode the horses while Grandma watched the baby Sam. The two girls sat in the corner of the arena while we brought the cows in to work. The cows found Sam and her stroller interesting and would walk up to sniff her. I love that she is getting all these experiences that most children don't. It really came to my attention when we had some friends down to my mom's house for a swim date that Sam is exposed to numerous adventures from the horses and chickens to the pool and car races. It is so fun that she will learn so much from just living our life with us.

We met with some friends last weekend from our birthing class. We have been trying to get together with Jason, Melinda, and Ethan for the last couple of months. We felt very comfortable with them and bonded with them from the very first class together. Unfortunately they are moving to Texas later this spring but we will try to stay in touch and always cherish the time we have had to get to know them. We had a wonderful lunch, it is so nice to feel so comfortable with people immediately. We also had some wonderful conversations about God, church and how we are striving to be with our beliefs in order to provide the best foundation for Sam. They seem to be in a similar place in life as we are but possibly a little more grounded in their biblical beliefs. Of course it helps that Jason just graduated from Seminary. We look forward to many more loving discussions about the Lord.

Ok, I think I'm coming to the end of catching up.......

We have decided to sell the Chevelle instead of the Camaro. AJ is a 69 Camaro lover and it just doesn't make sense to change what he loves. Plus the Camaro is a wonderful car and can be turned into a stock race car. He is definitely more comfortable with this decision.

All The Pieces

It seems so fitting that the commercialized "Mother's Day" is tomorrow because I have really been enjoying the tiniest details of taking care of Sam lately and really noticing the small things that are piecing together as she learns and grows. I must admit that I understand now how even Hallmark can't stop me from wanting to have a day where I can be celebrated and reflect on my incredible family. I have always said that we should not need society to remind us to appreciate one another but it doesn't hurt.

The last week or so Sam has really become a bit cuddlier at night when we are winding down for bed. It seems that she is actively giving hugs and kisses (some of the time). The reward of feeling reciprocation for a love that we (AJ and I) feel so deeply towards her is incredibly fulfilling. Wow, no-one can even come close to describing the emotions involved!!

On a side note we were taking a bath last night, which of course Sam loves because she splashes and plays. Last night she did something new, she purposely lowered her mouth into the water and took a few drinks. She even looked at me as if she felt guilty or something. It was very grown up. She also is talking a lot more and adding sounds like 'Ba'. Sharon tried to teach her Chimichanga, and I'm rooting for Chi-Chi's!!!

Aunt Sharon comes to visit

Last weekend we had the wonderful pleasure of my BFF* Sharon visiting. She came up to visit her BFF in training, Samantha. She wanted to relax in the beautiful mountain air....and we did a little relaxing but stayed very busy. We rode horses, went for a 40 minute run, hiked in the mountains, watched movies( or really slept through the movies), had lunch with her friend in Cherry Creek and all this in just 2 1/2 days!!! Then Sharon had the pleasure of flying home via Houston, and then driving to Austin because of storms in Dallas. It all sounds a little confusing, just imagine being the person trying to get home. Plus not I'm exhausting and need a nap:)


*For those who don't know BFF = Best Friend Forever

That Saturday we had our annual Vet clinic get together. We catered fresh mexican from Yolanda's, Grandpa Cribley made Margarita's (very strong) and we played poker and blackjack. It was a ton of fun and I really appreciate and enjoy our entire staff:) It is so nice to have a great group of people.

Eating bananas by ourself!!

Trip to Albuquerque

Ok, I'm going to catch up with events and pictures so I think the place to start is with the stomach virus that Sam passed to the family. Sam got her 6 month shots the last week in April. 4 days post shots she ran a slight fever for 24 hours. She didn't have any other obvious problems so we just thought it was the vaccines that did it to her. At least until Mom got really ill with a stomach virus including fever and something crawling up her b*** and dying for 2 days. Then looking back it did seem like Sam had an upset stomach because she stopped eating solid foods and was extra fussy. We don't know where she got it but it put a damper on us visiting Gramsi and Popop O'B.

Well, we fought through it and by Friday I felt well enough to try and travel for the weekend so we jumped on an afternoon flight and headed down. Plus Dad had to get his teeth cleaned at the dentist and I mean REALLY needed to get them cleaned for all our sakes (just kidding)!!!









We had a wonderful time and spent wonderful days with the entire family. We visited Great-Gramsi G, took lots of walks, and celebrated Eduardo's 60th:) Also, Uncle Tim treated us to breakfast at the restaurant where he is the pastry chef, thanks Uncle Time.
Of course the weekend wasn't over with that. Monday morning early Dad (Aj) became ill with, you guessed it, a stomach virus. He was able to fly home but spent the rest of that day and the next not feeling so hot. Plus Grandma Cribley stopped eating for a couple days because we gave it to her as well. Thank goodness it didn't go any further.

Cuddles

I just had the best cuddle session with Sam tonight while putting her to sleep. We just sat in the rocker and snuggled up close for a long while, at least until we both were sweating because it is sooooo hot today!!!

Water Leaks and catching up

I have a lot to write today because we have been so busy the last week. We visited the family in Albuquerque and had a wonderful trip despite having a stomach virus pass through the entire family pre and post trip. Then our bestest friend Sharon came to visit for a few days and relax with us....or stay busy as it turned out. Of course it all culminated today with having the city turn on our irrigation water and blow out our sprinkler backflow at the same time that a plumber was here because we found a bubble in the basement ceiling above the bed. Good news....he couldn't find a leak, bad news.....he couldn't find a leak and WE HAVE MOLD. I'm waiting to hear from the insurance adjuster as I write. So......I will put up some pictures from all the excitment but for now I just want to get everything safe around here.