Sunday at the Park

Today was nice and relaxing for us all. The Salt Lake City marathon was yesterday and I realized that at this time 2 years ago, after I crawled my way across the finish line (for the half, not the full), I went home and promptly jumped on my bike and rode to the top of City Creek Canyon. As stupid as that was in hindsight, I was reminded that this time two years ago, I was in decent enough riding shape to be riding up and down the local canyons. Fast forward to this year...I haven't been on my bike once yet.

Since Audrey was born, I have had lots of visions of riding around, towing our giggling and smiling daughter in a bike trailer. We were looking at our REI members 20% off coupon that expires today, just about to pull the trigger on a trailer when we finally decided that Audrey is just a little too young this year. The fact that Audrey's head is too small for the smallest of bike helmets should have given us a clue, but it was the giant orange and white "not intended for use with children under 1 year old" warning sticker that finally brought us to our senses.

I was slightly disappointed, so Kelly convinced me to go out for my first ride of the season by myself. Fifteen miles later (on flat ground, no less), I realized that towing an extra 35 pounds of gear plus a baby is something I am going to need to be in a lot better shape for. I still have a few pounds of pregnancy weight left to lose!

With my catalog inspired visions of a family bicycle outing along the base of the picturesque Wasatch mountains torn down, we decided to take the less athletic approach and drive to a small local park for our Sunday family excursion. Exploring the grass is something Audrey hasn't had much of a chance to do but she seemed to enjoy herself:

Six Months

Audrey is growing like a weed. She is now 16 pounds, 2 ounces, 26 inches long, and 6 months old!

To celebrate the big day, Kelly made her half of a birthday cake (using a whole can of frosting, though). Audrey has only eaten sweet potatoes, peas, pears, avocados, and rice cereal thus far, so Kelly and I had to bite the bullet and eat the cake for her. We were sure to tell her how delicious it was after every bite.

She also had her six month trip to the doctor, where she got her six month shots. She was such a big girl, only letting out a few verbal signs of disapproval while the nurse was holding down her legs. I estimate about three seconds of crying, total, before all was right with the world again.

Our seemingly new tradition is to document the bandaids on her growing little legs. They were nice enough to give her Bugs Bunny instead of the very feminine camoflauge bandaids she had last time.

Happy birthday Audrey!

Big Hike

Audrey went on her first "big" hike today. We traveled the massive 0.8 miles round trip to Ensign Peak, which did also include somewhere between 300 and 400 feet elevation gain, thank you very much.

She still has some practice to do on the walking part of hiking, so instead she rode in our baby backpack and whipped me over the head, all the while yelling "Faster, monkey! Faster!". Maybe it was the gale force winds that she was trying to escape from. They did make breathing a little difficult for her.

She learned hiking up and down mountains is quite a strenuous activity, as was apparent when she zonked on the way down. We might have to figure out some sort of "sleeping in the backpack" system, so she doesn't hurt her neck.

Our outdoors girl seemed to have a good time...either smiling or sleeping. You can't argue with that. Today, hiking. Tomorrow, camping? We already have the big family tent and port-a-crib. We just need the night times to be a little warmer.

Solid Foods Part Deux

Kelly and I have been busy in the kitchen, slaving away over a hot stove to make some of Audrey's first food. Actually, we are surprised how simple the process really is.

So far, we have made one batch of sweet potatoes and one batch of peas. The sweet potatoes were just baked in the oven until soft, skinned, then put through a food mill. Spooned into ice trays, frozen, and stored in bags until she is ready to eat it. We then mix in enough of her favorite liquid to help thin things out before serving.

We also made a batch of peas: Boil frozen peas for a few minutes, then food mill, freeze, store. The food mill was critical here, because it really did a good job taking off the skins of the peas.

On Friday we let Audrey have a taste of the sweet potatoes. As the picture shows, her first day was entertaining for us all. There was lots of gagging and "uh, what is this?" faces going on. Afterward, a good night sleep resulted in two things: 1) our first major sweet potato diaper blow out (when we were at the park, no less), and 2) her deciding that she loved them after all. Saturday night she couldn't get enough.

Next up, avocados. After that, we'll see how the peas go.

Video Blog Tuesday

We took not one, not two, but three videos on Sunday that we thought might be worth sharing. Not the most exciting, but they are entertaining to us.

Number 1: Easter egg hunt!



Number 2: First solid foods!



Number 3: First...Uh, it's a surprise! (You might need to turn the volume up for this one)



And a bonus picture from before bath time:

First Solids

We had another one of those "the next thing you know, she is going to be asking for keys to the car" nights tonight. As a special Easter dinner treat, we decided to give Audrey her first bites of "solid" food.

She was soooo excited to be in that high chair and was very eager to grab the spoon and help us feed her. So eager in fact that at times it was difficult to get the spoon back. She was a great eater, gobbling up the entire bowl. She has had 5 1/2 months of watching her mom and dad clean their plates, after all.

Easter Bunny's Utah Visit

I think the pictures tell the whole story!

Signs of Spring (for Utah)

Aahhhh, spring in Utah. While Audrey's cousin Emma is enjoying spring in Kentucky by climbing her first tree, Audrey has been experiencing a different version of this elusive Utah season. We had two full days of snow here this past week and ventured up to Park City today to play in the snow.

...some day we'll get to play in the grass and retire the snow suit - maybe June?