March 2018

I have a seven year old! Whaaaat? Aurora is such a sweet, spunky, willful, passionate girl. I can’t wait to see how her love of life manifests as she continues to grow and learn what it means to be her own person in the world.

Aurora told us that the one thing she wanted very most for her birthday was tickets to Hamilton. Fortunately, more tickets were released after the initial public sale and we were able to get three for Matt, Aurora and I to go. It was amazing. I am so glad Matt and I got to see it twice because the first time (just Matt and I) there were quite a few understudies including Alexander and Eliza. I just think there was an ease about the entire cast the second time that wasn’t there the first time.

 

We also went to Great Wolf Lodge. This is definitely a trip that is for all the kids but it just so happens that Aurora has two random days off from school right around her birthday so it just makes sense to go then. Great Wolf Lodge on a Thursday/Friday is MUCH better than on the weekend.

Matt’s car got broken into in our driveway... This happened a few times over the years we lived at Grape Street, but this feels totally different. At Grape our cars were parked on the street and it was really a crime of opportunity, this time someone had to come all the way down our driveway. Needless to say we will be installing a driveway gate.

Cooper finally learned how to jump with two feet! He loves to jump off the ottoman in the office into the bean bags. He is also really into puzzles and does them all quiet time since he rarely naps anymore.

Connor is learning to read! We have been working through the same reading book I used with Aurora and he is doing great! He does tend to get frustrated easily, but eventually we always make it through the lesson.

There has been a lot of girl drama in Aurora's class this year. I didn't expect it to start this early, but here it is. And speaking of things I didn't expect yet, her friends at school have already told her what sex is so we missed the boat on being first for that... oops. There are a lot of very strong willed girls in Aurora's class and apparently there are friend fights every day and lots of "you aren't my friend if you are her friend" or "you can't sit with them, if you are friends with us you only sit with us" UGH!! I just hope we can help teach her how to be compassionate and not fall into this habit.

February 2018

We had a pretty eventful February. Right at the beginning of the month we all came down with the flu... so there was that. Aurora got it first, she actually had to be removed from class by her teachers because it was so clear she was sick. For a girl that never misses an opportunity to whine this was pretty amazing, but turns out we were supposed to go to dinner with a friend that night and she knew it wasn’t going to happen if she was sent home. I got it a day or so later and then Cooper the following week. I think it helped Connor and Dad that they left the house to go sking over the weekend so missed a lot of the germs.

We missed Valentine’s Day because I was still dying of the plague but we were mildly recovered by Matt’s birthday. Kids got him some cute presents and I got him the smart watch he has been wanting. Nothing crazy, just lots of love for Dad.

Unfortunately Matt had to be out of town during EXPO so he drove to Logan from the airport the day after and got to see her work before they took it down. Aurora’s unit this year was Traditional Food (mostly breads) and it was so fun to see all her work. A bunch of the kids’ Grandpartners also made an appearance so I got to meet Sandy (she and Aurora adore each other which is amazing). Aurora and I went out to dinner after EXPO and ended up running into her teacher Kim which was also pretty fun.

We took the kids to see Stomp (Connor’s birthday present) which was really neat. I was a little worried about Connor’s attention span because there was no intermission and an hour and a half run time, but he loved it. He was fully engaged the whole time and we talked about it all the way home.

The Schwedels came out to visit again! They spent the last half of winter break with us in Breckenridge. Connor, Aurora and Danny spent every day skiing together and Erica and I even got to do a lesson. I really miss having good friends that are easy to hang out with. Hopefully now that we are settled in our new neighborhood we will start to meet some people.

January 2018

Happy New Year! Didn’t see the ball drop again... I think this is going to be my new New Year’s tradition! We did spend the day with friends however and celebrated the turn of the new year South Africa time. I love that we have finally found some friends that everyone enjoys!

Mimi and Papa and Uncle Matt came to visit at the end of the month. We hadn’t seen them in far far too long so it was really fun to see them reconnect with the kids. They hung with the kids a lot but also explored on their own a little bit because they have finally gone under contract on their house in Massachusetts and will be moving to Denver as soon as they close in March. The kids are so excited!

Speaking of selling houses, we finally sold Grape Street! Yay! I can’t believe we thought we were going to be done in a matter of weeks — in the end it took about seven months. Either way though, its done!

Matt and I have still been enjoying our year subscription to the DCPA. It is such a fun date night to go see a show and I have been pleasantly surprised with how good most of them have been. Unfortunately some aren’t as good as others though. We went to see The King and I and were really disappointed. I had heard it was a true classic... and we stuggled to make it though the entire thing.

Hamilton the musical is coming to Denver in March and we have been listening to it pretty heavily, especially Aurora who is quite literally obsessed. She says the only thing she really wants for her birthday is Hamilton tickets. Unfortunately when I got assigned my place in line for the public sale I was 107,000. Clearly didn’t happen so we shall see if her faith in us as parents is totally shattered or not...

December 2017

Holy Smokes! How on earth did I miss THREE months of updates?? Oh right... we finally moved into our new house at the end of September. It has been amazing but a lot of work and I am just now starting to find my groove. Not only has it been a lot to get unpacked and settled, our new schedule has taken a lot of getting used to. Thankfully Matt drives Aurora to school MWF (its a half hour+ each way) but the down side is that they have to leave by 6:45 if not earlier. Mornings are completely hectic to say the least, but I have learned that doing as much as I can to prep the night before helps tremendously.

There hasn’t been a whole lot going on besides getting settled at the house, but we did head to Scottsdale for Thanksgiving with Matt’s whole family—from Grandma Minnie all the way down to Evie! It was nice to get a way and such fun to watch the cousins interact. The best was watching Mason and Connor wrestling each other into the ground and enjoying every second of it.

This is Connor’s second year of ski school and Aurora’s fourth. They are both loving it and have requested we do lessons both Saturday and Sunday next year.

The kids’ school break was fabulous. It was a very much needed break from the commute to school and was Matt’s first time really being off work for this week. We dug our dining room table out from underneath all the piles and got pictures and art up on the walls. It is really starting to feel like home now.

Christmas was lovely and very similar to the kids’ break — quiet and spent at home. We didn’t host anyone or go anywhere and I loved every second of being home with my family. We tried again this year to minimize the number of presents (honestly our kids get bored of opening too many gifts as crazy as that sounds!) But even at one-ish present from each extended family it was still too much. Regardless, we had a great day willed with laughter, love, green chile pie and cinnamon rolls!

Aurora is still loving school, reading, and most recently legos. She also has a full blown Hamilton obsession. She wants to listen to the soundtrack every chance she gets and is currently trying to memorize the entire play — unfortunately much of the language isn’t age appropriate...

Connor is now FOUR. Happy Birthday Connor! He is really starting to look like a big kid, and has been taking on more responsibility at home. He is such a help to everyone — Mom, Dad, and siblings alike. He is really in to legos, drawing, and throwing things ;) Connor has completely given up his nap now. He was napping on school days for the first few weeks of school, but that didn’t last long.

Cooper is now TWO. Happy Birthday Cooper! He loves having dance parties, riding his “car” around the drive way and pretty much anything outside. He isn’t really napping anymore unless someone sits in his room with him so he can slow down and fall asleep. He has also been struggling with babysitters since the beginning of the year but I am hopeful that we are starting to come out of it. I will absolutely not miss those tears.

August 2017

Aurora and Connor both started school. Aurora is in Kim and AJ's class and adores her teachers. She has made a bunch of new friends and as always is excited everyday to go to school. 

Connor is a Puddleduck this year with Molly and Jennie. He goes T/Th full days and seems to be transitioning very well. His first day he was more interested in the play dough than me leaving so I’d say he’s happy!

Cooper started a parent tot class at Paddington on Tuesday mornings that should be really fun for him. Playground, playdough, water table, finger paint... what could be better for this mess-loving kid?

Before school started back up we went to Jackson Hole for a week. We stayed in Teton Village and it was amazing. They did such a great job of designing that place — the residences are all surrounding this main grassy commons with picnic tables, events, a playground and splash pad. We did head up the mountain for a short “hike” one day as a family and then Aurora and Dad went for a longer hike another morning, but otherwise we pretty much stayed in the commons. On the one hand Matt and I said we felt like we should have done more, but this kept the kids entertained without being too many melt downs.

I took Aurora to the opening night of Frozen right before school started too. We won the tickets at the Logan auction last year. It was really special getting to share that just her and I, and it didn’t hurt that we were in the third row and sat next to Elsa’s husband :)

We are packing our final boxes at Grape Street to prepare for the big move. It has been in the works for a long time and I couldn’t be more excited to finally get there!

July 2017

We spent the 4th of July in Breckinridge this year. We haven't been up there much in the summer, and it is so much fun! The kids loved the parade and we spent a lot of time at thee playgrounds. We only did one small hike but it was perfect. The boys and I stayed close tot he base and just played in the fields and explored. Matt and Aurora went a bit farther up and also had a good time.

Our house contract fell though, so its back to showings! They pulled the contract a few hours before objections were due... for absolutely no reason. Super frustrating!

On a more positive note we are wrapping up decisions at new house! The new island cabinets are in, the floors are stained and the painters have started prepping the walls. The kids adore playing at the new house, and it is getting so hard to wait.

On one of Madeleine's last days with us this summer the kids got to go back to her house for the afternoon. They had such a blast -- Aurora adores Madeleine's brother Henri and Connor couldn't get enough of helping Suzie in the barn. Cooper had a blast visiting the mini horses and the chickens. It's a house that is hard to beat!

We had a bunch of camps this month that the kids loved (Avid, Learn to Bike, DCPA) Connor learned how to ride a pedal bike and Aurora put on an original 10 minute mini musical with her class. So super proud of both of them!

-- Cooper at 21 months --

This boy is constantly amazing me with his exploding vocabulary and understanding of what is going on. He picks up new words effortlessly.

His new favorite words are "Nothing" "no way" "why" and when he wants to do something we have told him not to he has started saying "Be right back" and holding up his pointer finger. It is hysterical.

He loves Tacky the Penguin and wants us to read it constantly

He has a Beatles Yellow Submarine shirt that he likes to wear while he sings the song, but the song has morphed into "We all live in a Cooper submarine"

He loves singing and being sung to. He watches us intently when we sing trying to get a better understanding of the words. His favorites are twinkle twinkle, abc, baa baa, and patty cake.

He loves being outside. He is always asking to go "outside back" or "outside front" and he cried all the way home from the new house last night because he wanted to be outside playing.