Hiking with Gwen

Gwen had the day off from school so I took the day off and we went hiking.  We went to Roxborough National Park and hiked about 1.5 miles.  Gwen was quite obsessed with the poison ivy that was everywhere. We had so much fun!

Go Broncos!

We took the kiddos to the Broncos game yesterday (they won).  We tailgated with some friends first.  The kiddos played in the dirt and also played corn-hole.  We stayed for most of the game even though it was extremely hot in the sun.  If we get tix again next year we won't be taking them :-). I seriously carried Leo up and down the many steps at least 5 times.  Good thing I do boot camp as he is one heavy little man!!

Gwen's First Day of Kindergarten!

Today was Gwen's First Day of Kindergarten.  I want to say it went well, but it didn't...........I was a complete mess!  Gwen was so excited and did great.  Her mother, not so much. Gwen had to bring me tissues.  Watching her today, in her uniform, brave and beautiful, I realized that this is the first big step in her walking her own path.  I say it all the time, but it's true.......I am so proud of my little girl.  She is growing up to be an amazing, challenging, and wonderful little person.

Summer Fun!

Yes, that is Gwen riding a bike without training wheels!!

Highlights of my Amazing Kiddos

With summer winding down, I thought I would give some highlights of my amazing kiddos:

1.  Gwen swims like a fish.  She has never needed any kind of floatation device to help her.  She passed the swim test at our rec center so can now go in the deep end and ride all the big water slides.  She jumps off the diving board with no fear.  Friends are in awe of how she swims.  She's not even 6 yet!!  Starting in September, when she goes back to swim lessons, she will be going up to Intermediate 2!!

2.  Gwen rode a 2 wheel bike with no training wheels.  Took her less than a week before she was hurdling down hills at speeds that made me scared!!  The pedal-less bike worked wonders on her.  We got Leo one, if he ever gets off his tricycle!!

3.  Gwen passed Intro to Tumbling in 1.5 sessions.  She is now moving up to Beginner Tumbling where she will learn back handsprings.

4.  Leo started Pr-school today!!  He was a bit uneasy at first, but it was the first time that he and Gwen got to eat breakfast together at school.  He sat right down and started eating after being a bit clingy.  When we left and looked in the window, Gwen was sitting right next to him.  She is such a great big sister!!

5.  Leo finally likes the water.  He goes down the little slides about 50+ times and will put his face in the water.  He will start swimming lessons in September.

6.  Leo is potty trained!!  He still wears pull ups at night.  He does enjoy peeing outside and will unfortunately do it at school on the playground.  Just drops his drawers to his ankles and pees!!

7.  Gwen walks around with a constant echo.  That would be Leo.  I'm not so sure he has a mind of his own yet as he copies everything she says and does.  I guess there are worse role models!!

8.  One of my proudest moments as a mother happened after my July 4th race.  I was walking through the crowd to get my bracelet for beer.  The kids were behind me.  I look back and they were nowhere to be seen.  I finally spotted them.  Gwen was looking frantically for me.  She then grabbed Leo's hand to make sure he was okay and so that she wouldn't lose him.  I almost cried.  

I probably should have labeled this post.........my amazing daughter!  In all honesty, she is becoming such a lovely little girl.  I am so proud of her.  She's so good at everything she does and so smart.  Unfortunately she is a lot like me in that her mind always races.  This will be a curse for her as she gets older.  I am the same way and my mind never shuts off.  Luckily though she has me to help her through it!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Leo!

The day Leo turned 3 was the day he became a total a-hole.  I wish I could say I was joking.  The "Train-Wreck Threes" really show up on Day 1!!

With that said, I could never imagine my days without that little boy.  His smile lights up my heart and he has completed my soul.  When he says "I Love You Mama" my heart melts and the stress of my days fade away. His laugh is contagious (although if he laughs too much he barfs).

We celebrated his birthday with breakfast at his favorite "oatmeal" spot.  We then went to the park where he unfortunately lost his favorite hat.  Let's be honest here, it was my favorite hat for him.  He had been wearing it for 2 years.  I was going to save it forever!!  Anyway, he tried out his new pedal-less bike.  Not loving it as much as he loves his tricycle.

After breakfast, the park, and a nap, we went to Civic Green where he got to celebrate with his friends.  The rain held off which was fantastic.  It has seriously rained every afternoon this entire summer so we got lucky. He got some amazing gifts and had so much fun.  It was really low key with Pirates Booty, fruit snacks, and a cake.  Everyone had a great time!

Wish us luck that we survive the next 365 days!!

Happy 4th of July!

We celebrated the 4th of July (and Mike's birthday) at home this year.  The past few years we have gone to the mountains, but decided to stay local.  I ran in the Independence Day 5K.  I killed that race and finished in 8:48 minute miles.  I have decided that wasn't the best idea as I was not feeling the best after the race.  It was hot and it took it all out of me (I even had to walk 30 seconds during the race).

We then went to the parade.  The kids LOVED the parade.  Leo was wearing a Superman shirt and Superman came over and high fived him.  Batman then came over and said "next year wear your Batman shirt.".  You'd think he saw royalty when in reality it was middle-aged/chubby men dressed as super-heroes.

After the parade and festivities we celebrated with friends and watched fireworks.  It was a fantastic day!