Colorado Pictures, Finally

First of all, I want to say I am sorely disappointed in myself for my lack of pictures. I was finally able to get them off the camera and these are the best of them. We were there for 5 weeks and this is all I managed to get. I guess we were too busy having fun to take pictur

es. Mom, help! I hope you have some I can add to the collection...and I need some of you.

3 BIG boys. Irby has gotten so skinny and tall, it cracks me up that the little fat-fats look almost as big as he does in this picture! Irby is holding Charlie, Griff on the left. This was taken in our favorite little grove where we would often stop to feed the babies/stretch our le

gs right by the river off the Rio Grande Trail.

Favorite daily activity. Irby is becoming quite the swimmer!

Very dangerous activity for all 3...bathtime.

Ahnie and Papa came to visit. This was us after a walk up Faraway Road, and let me tell you, Faraway is a good description for that road.

Mr. Matt and Mrs. Emily also came to see us with little Becker. Also Norfleet and Will were there but of course I have no pictures to document that. Sad.

Maybe the last time the little guys fit in a swing together, they love it!

On our 8th anniversary. We went on a beautiful gondola ride to a little cafe where we sat outside and had lunch. Later we went out to dinner to celebrate, but this picture is from our actual anniversary. A lot has happened in 8 years!

While most of the people in line to get faces painted ended up being butterflies and fairies, Irby got Lighning McQueen. (He is Lightning if you hadn't heard...)

Me and Charlie at the concert on the bunny slope (Fanny Hill).

Grandoc and Griffin having a little chat.

The Irbies at the concert (it is really one of the most beautiful things to do in Snowmass. You just sit out on the slope and listen to the concert while you're overlooking the valley below. It is pretty awesome.) I really hope we can go back for a long trip next summer!

A Favorite Pastime

This is an old picture I just came across but shows a great rainy day activity or just a good way to cheer everyone up if anyone's fussy. They all three love the music. I'm very thankful to have a husband who is so musically inclined to teach them these things because I'm basically tone-deaf. Notice little Irby flipping through a Fisher-Price catalogue. They reel them in early, don't they?! He looked at it every day (even wanted to read it instead of books at naptime) until I finally put it in the outside trash without him seeing (he had already fished it out of the kitchen trash a few times). There was a purple plastic minivan toy, and he kept telling me "Mommy, I'm going to get you this mini-ban, OK?" If I haven't mentioned, he's in love with our minivan (which is silver, not purple - I imagine the only thing worse than a silver minivan would be a purple minivan), I told him he could have the 2002 Honda Odyssey in 2023 when he turned 16! Needless to say, he's pretty excited about that. Hilarious.

Playing Cowboy

Sorry for the long absence, we've been out in Colorado. We were so thankful to get to go for almost 5 weeks and had a blast, good family time and lots of fun visitors. I hope to get some pictures posted next week, but here's the first one as proof that I haven't been around to update (thanks for the pic, Mom!). This picture was taken at Maroon Bells, one of our favorite places. From there, we hiked up to Crater Lake about an hour each way, steep and rocky, and little Irby hiked (actually he ran!) pretty much the whole way. He was a real trooper. He also completed a 5 mile hike (Government Trail across Buttermilk to Aspen) and a 7 mile hike (both sections of the Rim Trail) before we came home. Charlie and Griffin also win awards for just chilling on our backs for these long hikes. My mom also should get a trophy for carrying our stuff (food, diapers, wipes, you name it, it was in her backpack), since we each had a baby on our backs. I am very thankful to have some pretty laid back babies who will put up with these long hikes and bike rides, and a family who just jump in to help us wherever they can. We had a GREAT time!

3 going on 16

We've been getting Irby to play in his room after he wakes up until 8 (usually he's up to go to the bathroom around 7-7:30). If you can't tell we grown-ups in this house really love to sleep! The babies still eat around 5, then go back to sleep till 8-8:30, and during the week, I just stay up, but on the weekends, I love to get back in bed. So, having the babies sleep in is great, but if Irby is up, they might as well all be. So, Irby has been great about playing in his room until the clock says '8.' I just have to share this story because it totally cracked me up and made me realize how fast my boys are growing up, even though they are all under 3.5. So, like usual on a Saturday, I fed the babies around 5, then got back in bed. Irby and I both woke up around 8 and looked at each other totally shocked that the house was still quiet (from the little Irby front that is). Usually we hear a little noise and just kind of doze...anyway, I came down into the playroom only to find little Irby fully dressed, eating a piece of pizza and drinking his milk. He told me he was hungry so decided to get his milk and eat lunch (which meal is which is sometimes confusing, especially if you're eating pizza for breakfast, I guess). He is too big for his own britches! Acting like he doesn't need his Mama to fix his breakfast!

10 Months

Watching airplanes land at Gravelly Point. They literally come about 50 yards over your head by the time they get to you, it's pretty amazing. That little white dot in the distance is Irby chasing the planes and jumping up trying to touch them. He LOVES doing this.

Swinging together. Griffin loving it above and Charlie happy as can be below.

I cannot believe how big my 2 little boys have gotten. They are crawling all over the place, pulling up, and even holding on with one hand and will transfer from table to couch standing. They love to talk. Mama, Dada, and Baba (brother, I think, at least they say it whenever Irby's in the room). Charlie loves to clap and Griffin is very quick to tell you how big he is (How big is Griff? SO BIG! - arms over head). They are such a joy, and I love seeing them interact, although they had their first fight over the weekend. We went on a bike ride, they were in the trailer, Griffin bit Charlie's hand and then Charlie pulled Griffin's hair!

Irby at the building museum in the house we built for him. If you are ever in DC, this is a wonderful place for kids, especially if you don't want to be outside because of heat or cold. Great indoor space to run, run, run and the 'Building Zone' with tons of blocks and cars and legos. Also, usually not crowded as it is not a normal tourist hot-spot.

Costco grocery cart. The only place big enough to fit all the kids AND groceries in the cart. Excuse the food all over the faces. We had an emergency lunch while shopping, and of course this mama forgot wipes and bibs. Can't remember everything, right? We buy produce in bulk these days. Don't know if I said, but we found out the allergic reaction they had last month was due to food allergies. Milk, Egg, Peanut and Tree-nuts. You have got to be kidding me. The Dr. says they will probably outgrow them all, but maybe not peanuts. That is extremely limiting when you are making meals. So, last week the fruits and veggies we went through (all 3 boys, and one nursing mother included) a box of cheerios, 4 pints of cherry tomatoes, 2 lbs of blueberries, 2 lbs of strawberries, and 8 sweet potatoes, and a huge bag frozen of mixed veggies (this is not including other non-produce food or dinner when I cook a normal meal). I am trying to figure out how to incorporate the foods they can have into everyone's diet, because a short order chef is not really on my list of things I have time (or energy!) to do these days. At least now we're all getting our veggies, and they really are doing great with eating food, at least the food they're not allergic to!

Charlie pulls up! Playing like he owns the place at the train table.

And not to be outdone, Griff follows shortly behind him.

Ditch the Pacie, Quick!

Look what Charlie did to his pacie. Those 8 little teeth are pretty sharp, and he was pretty mad! This was about 6 weeks ago....our boys don't use pacies except under the dire circumstance of Irby being out of town and both boys wanting to eat at 5am. Griffin woke up first, so I was feeding him and Charlie had the pacie. Well, when I went to get him to eat, this is what the pacie looked like. The bitten off part was no where to be found, I guess he swallowed it. Danger! So, this and the other pacie went straight in the trashcan. I hope you are all learning from my stupid mistakes!! Maybe I should change the name of this blog to "If You Are a Mom, Don't Do This."

The Beach!

These pictures are from our trip to Perdido in May. I am very late in putting them up! We had a great time, and loved getting to be with Irby's family. The trip was filled with lots of helping hands, good food and fun family time. Below, Uncle Pete showing Irby how to use to super-soaker.

Sandcastles!

Me and my sweet babies, Charlie (L) and Griff (R).

Ahnie and the baby boys.

Lulu and Whitt

Snuggling with my oldest and middle (Charlie) in the hammock.