The Besens

Clive's Birthday

2010-02-21T20:40:00.000-08:00

Clive turned 1 year old today! Here are some photos from his party:

Hanging out in Colorado

2010-02-21T19:23:00.000-08:00

Horseback riding at Ben's birthday party, hanging out around the house, a couple of hikes, etc. More photos of the kids looking as cute as ever.

Christmas 2009 - Pittsburgh

2010-02-21T19:20:00.000-08:00

Pooh bear and pony rides

2009-10-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

Audrey enjoyed some breakfast with her pooh bear before we continued on to the farm for some pony rides.

The Bastille

2009-10-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

I climbed the Bastille in Eldorado canyon with my cousins. My other climbing buddies did a route on the opposite side of the canyon.

Blue lake

2009-10-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

We did a hike up to blue lake. Audrey is becoming quite good at hiking.

It is fun to play in the snow in late July.

Clive

2009-10-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

He's very cute

Pittsburgh

2009-10-25T10:28:00.001-07:00

Still working through the summer backlog...

After Krakow and Toronto, we went back to Pittsburgh and spent some time with Erica's family.

Rabbit Mountain and September Misc.

2009-09-22T17:46:00.000-07:00

Audrey and Clive are starting to get to know each other a little bit better. Audrey is fascinated by Clive eating and recommends we feed Clive food when he is fussy. She is also impressed by the mess he can make when he eats. In addition to eating some pureed foods, Clive is also make swift progress toward being a proficient crawler and he has even been observed pulling up to standing once or twice. Quite a strong little boy, I'd say!

This past weekend we did a short hike up Rabbit Mountain near our house. I am impressed by how well Audrey hikes trails holding dad's hand.

Here are a couple of pictures:

Krakow

2009-09-04T19:56:00.000-07:00

After our week in Switzerland, we spent two weeks in Krakow. Once again, I went to work every day while Erica enjoyed the culture and cuisine. She even learned to speak some polish and made some friends.

We visited Wawel Castle. It is more than 1000 years old, but it has received constant renovations so some of it is quite nice and modern. We took a tour of some of the castle's rooms, climbed to the top of the bell tower, took a tour of the Cathedral which is full of tombs of various kings and other famous figures. We also got to walk through the caves beneath the castle.

We spent a lot of our time walking around the old town. It is full of basilicas, cathedrals, churches and all kinds of old religious structures. Not surprisingly there are also lots of nuns and monks roving the streets like gangs (they all had their own distinct gang colors). Of course, the old town was also full of tourists, gypsies, prostitutes and euro trash. The sidewalks were often too narrow to handle the number of people walking around. The food was good and cheap.
We spent a lot of time in the old Jewish quarter. It had as high a density of Synagogues as the rest of the city had churches. We ate several meals there since the restaurants were quite good. One place was exactly like eating dinner at my grandparents house.

We spent one day at the Wieliczka salt mine. It had an amazing network of underground tunnels and caverns with intricate artwork carved into the walls. They were charging $10 to allow people to take photographs so you'll have to enjoy the Wikipedia photos instead of one of my awesome slideshows.

We visited the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. The scale of Birkenau was really shocking.

Switzerland

2009-09-02T20:08:00.000-07:00

In June, I spent a week working at the Google office in Zurich. Erica couldn't pass up the opportunity to tag along and do some exploring so she and Clive got to spend some time bumming around Switzerland while I slaved away at the office. At least I got some weekends off to take all these nice photos. -Adam

We spent a day in Luzern. We took a boat ride on lake Luzern followed by a cog railway ride up to the top of Mt. Pilatus. Then a cable car ride back down to Luzern.

We took a train to the town of Konstanz where we walked across the border into Germany. The German food we had was incredible.

Of course, we spent lots of time walking around Zurich. We enjoyed seeing the fancy shops on Banhofstrasse.

We got to spend some time with Mike and Alisa in Lausanne

We spent a day in Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald with Mike and Alisa. Sadly the weather was kind of lousy, but the scenery was awesome anyway. We saw a couple (hundreds) of waterfalls, some base jumpers, some glaciers... and then there was the food. I hate to say it, but it kind of made Colorado seem like a dump.

Been busy lately

2009-09-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

Its been a busy summer. We have a huge backlog of photos to post starting in June when we went to Europe. Lots of blog posts will be coming in the near future.

RMNP with Glen

2009-07-31T12:52:00.000-07:00

This July Adam and I beat the heat with the kids and our friend Glen by getting up to Rocky Mountain National Park for a hike along the Fern Lake Trail to Cub Lake and up to Bierstadt Lake and then back down to the Shuttle Parking lot. It was a fun, challenging, and picturesque hike. Here are some photos:

Camping in Fruita, CO - June 2009

2009-06-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

We had this great idea that it would be fun to go camping with the kids; that it would be easy. But it ended up being a little harder than we imagined. The first challenge came when we realized we had a lot less room in our car with 2 car seats, so a lot of things that we normally bring camping with us didn't make the cut.

The second challenge occurred when we tried to get some sleep. Audrey woke up Clive and Clive woke up Audrey. Both of them woke up me and Adam. We got very little sleep.

On Saturday Adam biked the Edge Loop, a long and challenging mountain biking trail on the edge of the Bookcliffs. That left Audrey, Clive and me to do some exploring on our own. We visited the Dinosaur Museum and hiked the Alcove Nature Trail at Colorado National Monument. The Dinosaur museum was surprisingly worth visiting. They had a water table and a sandbox that were perfect for Audrey. The animated dinosaurs were a bit scary for her, but she has been reading her dinosaur books and talking about dinosaurs a lot since, so I suppose they didn't scar her for life.

The Alcove Nature Trail was the perfect hike for Audrey. It was a 1 mile round trip walk that did not overlook any great precipices. I kept her going towards the end of the hike by encouraging her to look for the next numbered nature walk sign post.

After all of that fun, it was nap time, challenge number three. The wind was picking up, and it sure was hot. We tried napping in the tent, but it really didn't work at all. It was way too hot and way too windy and Audrey wouldn't even try to sleep. So we drove. We drove north of Fruita near the Bookcliffs. We drove through Colorado National Monument. We stopped at the Glade Park Store so I could get a soda to keep me going. And then we drove back to camp via Grand Junction. The scenery was beautiful and thank goodness the kids got some sleep, but I was so tired.

We packed up and left the next morning driving straight through to Lyons after stopping for coffee and gas. We made it home in 4.5 hours. The kids slept most of the time. We were really glad to be back at home getting some better sleep and giving us more time to get ready for our next big adventure.

Here are some pictures from our camping trip:

Back East May 2009

2009-05-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

NJ:

Aunt Mary's:

NYC:

Down the Shore:

Some Clive Lovin'

2009-04-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

Clive is 9 weeks 5 days old today and as my sister Jennifer pointed out, it has been a while since we posted any pictures of him. So this afternoon, in fact less than an hour ago, I took some pictures of him which you will see in the slideshow below.

In addition to the recent Clive pictures, I have included a picture of our worm compost bin which we keep on a shelf in the kitchen, some plant pictures, and Audrey in her splint and sling after an ER visit earlier this week. She suffered from a nursemaid's elbow while trying to twist her hand free from my hand. She is doing much better now, though she tells me her arm is 'tender'.

Here is the slideshow:

Busy April

2009-04-26T06:13:00.000-07:00

We have been up to so many things this April. Audrey has been practicing her biking on her new yellow Strider bike and her tricycle. She is impressed by her friend from up the street, Chase, who rides his bike very well.

She has also been having lots of fun making towers. She makes towers out of everything, but especially blocks and books. She builds them until they crumble under their own weight and then build them up again.

And we have been getting to do a bit of hiking again! Yesterday we hiked with some friends at the Sleepy Lion Trail despite the cool temperatures and mist. We saw some pasque flowers that were just budding. There are going to be blooming pasque flowers everywhere up there in no time. We got a new pack for carrying Audrey. Yesterday's hike was the first time she road in it. For the most part she did well. And so did Adam.

Grandma Judy and Aunt Betty are visiting now and we had dinner with them and the Gibsons at the Boulder Besens last night.

Here are some pictures from our busy April:

Audrey is 2 and Easter

2009-04-16T06:48:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we had a gathering of Boulder family, Lyons neighbors and mom friends with their families for Audrey's 2nd birthday. We had a great time celebrating Audrey with everyone.

On Sunday we visited a very pregnant Joanna and her family in Coal Creek Canyon. Even in her advanced pregnancy she was able to organize an easter egg hunt for her son, Ben, Audrey, and some other kids. The weather was a bit wintery, but it didn't stop the kids from playing outside. Audrey is still enjoying the candy and crackers from the eggs.

Here is a slideshow of our latest adventures:

March Snow

2009-03-30T06:52:00.000-07:00

Last week it was 80F and this week it's snowy and cold. So it goes in Colorado. Audrey, Clive and I went outside with our friends in the neighborhood and built a snowman and snowfort. We followed our outdoor fun by some indoor play, snacks, and hot chocolate.

The next day, Daddy, Mommy, Audrey and Clive all took a walk over to the local sledding spot by the high school. Daddy and Audrey went down the hill a couple of times while Mommy and Clive stood on the sidelines snapping pictures.

Old Kiln Trail and Button Rock Preserve

2009-03-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

We had 80F days this past weekend, so Adam and I took the kids out both mornings to do some light hiking (which is the only kind of hiking I CAN do these days.)

On Saturday we went down to North Boulder's Old Kiln Trail. Audrey had so much fun on this trail. Some sections are a bit rocky and loose and she enjoyed the challenge. We also got to see Prairie Dogs popping in and out of their holes!

On Sunday we headed to Button Rock Preserve. We walked the scenic road passing by sport climbers, anglers, and awesome rock formations to reach the dam. We stopped to eat our picnic lunch and even split a chocolate bar on the way back to the car.

Here are some pictures from our most recent adventures:

Some Faces of Clive and Audrey the Artist

2009-03-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

Both babes are finally down for their naps and I have a little time to think about how things have been going lately.

Adam went back to work yesterday, so I had both Clive and Audrey on my own for the first time. We decided to brave the great outdoors and went hiking with some of our friends at Bald Mountain. It is a short, easy hike with excellent views. It is an easy enough trail that our ~2 year olds were able to walk along the trail by themselves for the most part. Overall the hike went ok, though Audrey did have a melt down over some veggie booty. Luckily my friend Liz was kind enough to put Audrey in her pack and carry her down the mountain for me. We never did make it to the top... but it was a nice morning anyway.

Today we decided to stay in to see what that would be like. Hmm, not sure it has been easier than going out. Audrey and Clive spent the morning competing for my attention. Audrey through a HUGE temper tantrum that lasted forever spanning late morning, lunchtime, and the beginning of her nap. Eventually I was able to calm down Audrey so she would nap. And once she was napping it was much easier to get Clive to sleep a bit. So, now here I am with an indeterminate amount of alone time to blog, read, nap or snack on brownies.

I started by snacking on brownies to take the edge off the morning. Next I decided to blog a bit. If I have any time left over I might try to read a chapter in The Fiery Cross which is going much slower now that Clive is born. It is so hard to choose a nap when there are always other things I'd like to do.

Here are some pictures of Clive making some faces. I find his mouth to be most expressive:

Audrey spent the afternoon yesterday painting some pictures. Paint is messy. Luckily it is also washable. Here are a couple of photos of Audrey's painting fun:

Tomorrow we are trying another walk with friends. This one is a stroller walk up near Flagstaff Amphitheater where Adam and I got married. Hopefully Audrey and Clive will both be agreeable and mommy will get a bit of exercise to work off all of the brownies I've been eating.

Lotsa Slideshows

2009-03-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

Sharing
Audrey has been a great sharer since Clive came home. She especially enjoys sharing her bouncer, her monkey, and her blankets. Here is a slideshow of Audrey sharing with Clive:

Wonderland Lake
One of the first hikes we did after Clive was born was at Wonderland Lake. The weather was gorgeous and the ducks were out. Here are some pictures of Audrey playing with the ducks:

Pigtail Day
Audrey in her pigtails is overwhelmingly cute. Here are a bunch of pictures of her in pigtails. And especially for Grampy, in case you need pictures for an upcoming powerpoint presentation, there is a whole series of her brushing her teeth and looking really adorable.

Clive Sleeping with his Dolly
And finally, here are a couple of pictures of Clive:

Bye-Bye Grandma Rene

2009-03-01T07:21:00.000-08:00

Grandma Rene was here this week. She was able to get a flight into town arriving just a couple of hours after Clive was born. Audrey loved having grandma here to play with her. Grandma was also a big help around the house keeping us in clean clothes and healthy meals and reminding me to take my iron supplement.

Grandma Rene even babysat Audrey and Clive Friday evening so Adam and I could go out on a date. It was the first date we've been on since Grandma Lynne was here and we went to see the Benjamin Button movie (which both Adam and I thought was crap.) On this date went to Praha Restaurant where we feasted on escargot, squash soup, filet and red wine. Mmm.

Grandma Rene took a redeye back east last night. She should be arriving in Pittsburgh today. We all want to thank her for taking such good care of us during Clive's first week. You made the transition much easier than it might have been.

Here is a slideshow of some pictures of grandma Rene with Audrey and Clive. The pictures of Grandma with Audrey in pigtails turned out especially well:

Super Adorable Audrey and Clive Pictures

2009-02-28T08:05:00.000-08:00

Everything is going really well with new baby Clive and Audrey. Here is a slideshow of pictures from the last week. The pictures start out with Audrey getting dropped off with cousin Carol before I was induced and they end with some pictures of Audrey watching her sleeping baby brother in mommy and daddy's bed. Enjoy!

A couple more clive pictures

2009-02-24T15:29:00.000-08:00

Clive is three days old in these pictures:

New Audrey and Clive pictures

2009-02-24T15:10:00.001-08:00

We have been making a great effort to take advantage of these beautiful February days and get out as much as possible. We were able to get to the park yesterday and went out to the grocery store. This morning we made it to storytime at the Longmont Library.

Audrey is loving having a little brother. She likes to give him kisses on his head when he is upset. And she likes to share her stuffed animals and her bouncer with him. Here is a slideshow of some random pictures of Audrey and Clive:

The Birth Story of Clive

2009-02-23T06:46:00.000-08:00

Leading up to his birth:(I am very pregnant and very hormonal. Tuesday night I was up in the middle of the night with contractions in addition to my normal breaks in sleep due to frequent peeing. Then, while sleep-deprived at yesterday's midwife appointment, we had a bit of a scare. Up until now, everything has been very normal with this pregnancy. So, when the midwife told me the fundal height measurement was lower than expected I was very surprised. I was sent in for an ultrasound to help determine the cause. They concluded I have low amniotic fluid due to dehydration. (I've had a bad cold for a couple of days now.)

After receiving some IV fluids and fetal monitoring (the baby sounds great), my midwives released me to home bedrest with an oral hydration regiment. I have to drink 6 liters of water! I broke out my good old Boulder Community Hospital water bottle that we got when Audrey was born so I know how much I am drinking. So far I have only been able to pack away 3 liters, but I'm working on it.

I have also learned about the benefits of coconut water for hydrating. Naturally fat-free and low calorie, it contains many electrolytes and is an especially good source of potassium. It is much tastier than Gatorade and doesn't contain high-fructose corn syrup like many sports drinks. Unfortunately, we don't grow coconuts anywhere nearby, so coconut water will have to be a luxury that I allow myself only occasionally.

Adam took the day off to help with Audrey. He braved the mommy playgroup scene with Audrey this morning.

On Friday I am getting another ultrasound to recheck my amniotic fluid levels. We think all will be well, but I was very freaked out yesterday.

Prior to yesterdays scare, I thought I would go into labor sooner rather than later. Now, I'm not so sure that the contractions I was experiencing weren't being brought on by my low fluid levels. Perhaps we will have to wait 2 more weeks to meet this little one after all. )

The birth: I went back in to have an ultrasound on Friday morning to recheck my fluid levels. Even after the day of bedrest and drinking all that water my amniotic fluid was only measuring the same as Wednesday. This made me worried, but I was told to go home and continue resting and drinking water; that my midwife would get in touch with me after looking over the results.

While I was driving back home, I got the phone call. The midwives consulted with an OB doc and the consensus was induction. They told me to go home, pack my bags, get Audrey situated, have some lunch and come back to the hospital later that afternoon for induction. At this point, I was scared, but okay with this decision. I wasn't looking forward to spending the weekend worrying about the baby, especially when I was already 38 weeks and his estimated birth weight was nearly 7 pounds.

Adam came home from work, we got everything together, dropped Audrey off at Carol and Herb's and stopped off at Great Harvest for our last meal.

We got to the hospital at about 3pm Friday afternoon. Deirdre Thompson, my midwife, came over soon after and we discussed the plan. After checking my cervix, she discovered that I was 1-2 cm dilated and 40% effaced and concluded I would be a good candidate for starting with a Foley catheter to help further ripen my cervix. She told me to leave it in overnight and that we would start the Pitocin in the morning to really get things moving. She put the Foley bulb in at approximately 4:30pm. My midwife went home. At 8pm, the Foley bulb fell out. I was already 3.5 cm dilated.

My midwife came back to the hospital and we talked about what to do next, she said she really didn't want to start Pitocin so late in the evening. That she would recommend further cervical ripening still with Cytotec and starting the Pitocin in the morning after everyone got some sleep. That sounded good to us. Adam went home with orders to be back for a 7am start. I took 2 Ambien and tried to get some sleep at the hospital.

Before I took the Ambien though, they decided they wanted to get a buff cap started for an IV. I had the worst luck. It took 4 nurses 5 attempts over 2 hours to find a vein that would accept the needle. I am eternally grateful to nurse Jannette who I never saw before this and never saw again. On the fifth attempt, she found a vein with no digging, no vein bursting.

With the help of the sleeping pills I was able to get some sleep from about 11:30pm to 2am. Sometime around 2am, I realized I wasn't asleep anymore and that I was having some cramping. I got up and hung out on the internet for a while to distract myself. By 3:30, I was sure I was having contractions, but they were still mild and not regular. By 5, I was worried about Adam getting back to the hospital in time. My contractions were still managable alone, but I was having a harder time ignoring them. I called Adam at 5:20 and asked him to come back to the hospital, pronto.

My mom was en route to Boulder via O'Hare. I called my mom at 6:00am to see if she was in between flights. At this point I was no longer able to talk through contractions. I was happy to hear that my mom's flights were on time. You never know, especially if you are flying through O'Hare. She was expecting to arrive in Denver at 10:00am and in Boulder at 11am.

Adam arrived at the hospital at 6:30am Saturday morning. I was in the jet tub and was having regular contractions every 2 minutes. They checked my cervix at change of shift so sometime around 7am and I was only 4 cm dilated. This scared me because I was already in quite a lot of pain. At this point things get fuzzy for me. I'm not sure what happened and when. At some point the nurse told me they weren't going to start me on Pitocin if I'm having contractions like this.

I quickly went from having contractions every 2 minutes to every minute to having no break in between contractions. At some point someone checked and said I was 8 cm dilated. And then I was back in the jet tub, for about 1 minute, when I announced that I had a lot of pressure, that I had to push. They told me I had to get out of the tub.

I REALLY have no idea what was going on except that I wanted to push and everyone kept telling me not to because they had to check to see if I was 10 cm dilated and I was having serious contractions. I was very thirsty and the ice chips tasted so good, but it was hard to tell anyone that I wanted them. I saw that Adam was fiddling with the video camera trying to get ready to film the birth. I yelled that I did not care about the camera so we have no video of this birth.

When it came to the actual pushing, I couldn't feel anything except pain and that I HAD to push. I couldn't tell when I was having contractions. (I was only supposed to push during contractions.) Luckily, it took just 10 minutes for me to push him out.

Clive Lysander was born at 8:44am, on Saturday, February 21, 2009.

Clive Lysander Besen

2009-02-21T12:11:00.000-08:00

Born on: Saturday February 21 at 8:45 AM MST
Location: Boulder Community Hospital - Foothills
Weight: 6 lbs. 8 oz.
Length: 19.5 inches
Health: Excellent - both baby & mom
Hair: Lots
Relative he resembles most: Audrey

38 weeks pregnant

2009-02-19T11:22:00.000-08:00

I am very pregnant and very hormonal. Tuesday night I was up in the middle of the night with contractions in addition to my normal breaks in sleep due to frequent peeing. Then, while sleep-deprived at yesterday's midwife appointment, we had a bit of a scare. Up until now, everything has been very normal with this pregnancy. So, when the midwife told me the fundal height measurement was lower than expected I was very surprised. I was sent in for an ultrasound to help determine the cause. They concluded I have low amniotic fluid due to dehydration. (I've had a bad cold for a couple of days now.)

After receiving some IV fluids and fetal monitoring (the baby sounds great), my midwives released me to home bedrest with an oral hydration regiment. I have to drink 6 liters of water! I broke out my good old Boulder Community Hospital water bottle that we got when Audrey was born so I know how much I am drinking. So far I have only been able to pack away 3 liters, but I'm working on it.

I have also learned about the benefits of coconut water for hydrating. Naturally fat-free and low calorie, it contains many electrolytes and is an especially good source of potassium. It is much tastier than Gatorade and doesn't contain high-fructose corn syrup like many sports drinks. Unfortunately, we don't grow coconuts anywhere nearby, so coconut water will have to be a luxury that I allow myself only occasionally.

Adam took the day off to help with Audrey. He braved the mommy playgroup scene with Audrey this morning.

On Friday I am getting another ultrasound to recheck my amniotic fluid levels. We think all will be well, but I was very freaked out yesterday.

Prior to yesterdays scare, I thought I would go into labor sooner rather than later. Now, I'm not so sure that the contractions I was experiencing weren't being brought on by my low fluid levels. Perhaps we will have to wait 2 more weeks to meet this little one after all.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T16:57:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago, Audrey went to Kangaroo Kingdom with some of her friends. She had fun playing at the indoor playground. She especially enjoyed bubble time when they turn on an overhead bubble machine. She was so excited about the bubbles that her mouth was wide open in awe.

On Valentine's Day Daddy, Audrey and I took a trip down to nearby Butterfly Pavilion. Audrey got to see lots of creatures like African Giant Millipedes, Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, and many very pretty butterflies. We also celebrated Valentine's Day by making 3 dozen delicious heart shaped sugar cookies. We've already eaten way too many!

See the slideshow here:

Sanitas Valley in February

2009-02-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

Adam, Audrey and I strolled along Sanitas Valley Trail this morning. Audrey *loves* jumping off of rocks and stopping to pet dogs and throw rocks. I waddle and take a *really* long time to get anywhere. Adam is very patient with us slowpokes. Here is a slideshow:

Getting Out and Pregger Pics

2009-02-01T10:31:00.001-08:00

We had some cold days and some warm days in the last couple of weeks. Either way, we try to get outside. A friend told me there isn't bad weather, just bad clothes. So here are some pictures of Audrey getting ready to go outside.

And for a bonus, here are the 2 and only pictures we have of me looking pregnant taken just today at 35 weeks 6 days in. I've been feeling well, though I am excited to be done with the pregnancy and meet my little guy.

old Audrey movies

2009-01-26T07:13:00.000-08:00

Audrey's Birth Movie:

Audrey's First Bath at Home:

Audrey Waking Up:

Butterflies
6.10.07:

Monkey Business
6.13.07:

Great Grandparents
7.2.07:

New Years 2009

2009-01-04T09:47:00.000-08:00

We spent New Years with some friends at their cabin in Fraser, CO. Audrey had a lot of fun playing in the snow, especially sledding, and visiting the nearby farm animals at Devil's Thumb Lodge. No one made it to midnight on New Years Eve and most everyone was up by 7am on New Years Day.

Happy New Years to everyone!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T07:18:00.001-08:00

We had a very nice time on Christmas day. Audrey enjoyed opening gifts and playing with her new toys. She especially liked her Russian nesting dolls and her tea set. Here are some pictures from our Christmas.

Chugga Choo-Choo

2008-12-22T09:58:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of pictures from Audrey's playroom. She has been loving her train table. We took an old coffee table and used masking tape to hold down the track. At this point we only have enough track to make a figure eight, but it seems to be enough to entertain Audrey.

First Night of Hanukkah

2008-12-22T09:54:00.000-08:00

We celebrated the first night of Hanukkah last night. Audrey wanted to test our claim that the candle flames were hot, but we were able to keep her from burning herself.

Trimming the Tree

2008-12-22T09:49:00.000-08:00

We put up our Christmas Tree last night. Audrey loved the lights and ornaments. She especially liked her Grinch ornament since she recognized the characters from the cartoon special.

A Snowy Day

2008-11-30T09:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the first snow of the season. We got about 2 inches, just enough to cover the grass and walk. Audrey really didn't like her snowsuit, but a lollipop convinced her to give it a try. Unfortunately we couldn't get her to wear one of her mittens and her hand got cold, but some hot cider made it all better.

Also, I am getting started on a baby blanket for Audrey's new baby brother. Here is the first square:

Audrey cute as pie

2008-11-23T13:01:00.000-08:00

We've been laying low getting ready for Thanksgiving. This year we invited some friends over to our house to celebrate with us. We made some cranberry sauce and cranberry scones yesterday. I am attempting to cook a big stuffed turkey by myself for the first time. Between my mom on the phone and Martha Stewart on the web, I think we have everything covered. Now if I could figure out where the (probably still packed) iron is hiding I might get around to pressing my table linens.

Here are a bunch of pictures of Audrey looking cute! (Sorry, no pictures of pregnant me. Maybe next time.)

19 Months

2008-11-11T07:53:00.000-08:00

Audrey is now 19 months. Mama is 24 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty good. Here are some pictures of us hanging out at home and walking near our neighborhood:

Halloween Costume

2008-11-06T06:30:00.000-08:00

On Halloween Audrey dressed up as a dragonfly. Erica and Audrey came to my office for some trick-or-treating in the cubes. In the evening, we did a little bit of trick-or-treating on our street and went to a party at a neighbor's house where Audrey got to play with her friends.

Preparing for Halloween and other fun!

2008-10-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying some fall weather and getting ready for Halloween. We have been to a couple of farms and fall festivals this month. And we finally picked up some pumpkins yesterday. Now if I could find some time to sew Audrey's costume by friday... Here are some recent pictures, mostly of Audrey. She turned 18 months on October 10th and she is as busy as ever.

2008-10-01T13:00:00.001-07:00

It looks like we are having a boy!

Pittsburgh

2008-09-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

Adam, Audrey and I went to Pittsburgh for a wedding earlier this month. Adam worked from the Google Pittsburgh office for a week while we stayed with my family.

Adam's camping trip in Canyonlands

2008-09-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Back in early August, Adam and his friend Glen went camping at Canyonlands National Park for a couple of days. Here are some photos of the spectacular scenery:

Doctor's Appointment and some pictures

2008-08-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

Audrey had her doctor's appointment this past week. The doctor has no worries about her and actually suggested we skip the next appointment since she has already met her 18 month milestones and come back when she is two! She is 31 3/4 inches tall and weighs 19lbs 12oz, long and lean. I wonder who she gets that from.

Yesterday we drove to the top of Mt. Evans, one of Colorado's 14,000ft+ mountains. At the summit it was a total blizzard (in August) with horizontal snow and no view, but all the way up and down, we had great views: the surrounding mountains, a huge rainbow, some deer and marmots, and the city of Denver on the horizon.

Is that what I think it is?

2008-08-01T10:36:00.000-07:00

If you think it is a weird knitting project or the surface of the moon you are wrong. But if you think it is an ultrasound image of the latest Besen, you are right! We are due to have a new baby on March 2nd. I am a weekend shy of 10 weeks and feeling pretty blah, just as I should, but better than I did last week or the week before. I am really looking forward to the 2nd trimester.

California and Home Again

2008-07-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

We spent a week in Mountain View, CA in July. Unfortunately, Adam had to work a lot, but we were able to go to the beach and visit with some friends and family while we were out there. Here are some of the pictures from our trip. And then one or two more recent ones from home

July 4th, 2008

2008-07-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

We went up to Rocky Mountain National Park with some friends for the 4th of July where we did some hiking and camping.

Mills Lake

2008-07-01T10:57:00.000-07:00

We went to RMNP with Jen and Ryan where we did a hike to Mills Lake. Some claim Mills Lake is the most beautiful lake in the park though the author of our guide book tends to put it at number 4. Regardless of rank you can see from these pictures just how beautiful the views are.

Father's Day - June 15, 2008

2008-06-16T05:17:00.000-07:00

We had such a nice weekend. Here are some pictures of our hike to Ouzel Falls and some closer to home.

Sand Dunes Camping

2008-06-09T12:28:00.000-07:00

We went camping with 3 other families at Great Sand Dunes National Park in South Central Colorado. The wind was really blowing so the sand was also blowing, but we had a great time playing in Medano Creek at the base of the dunes. I wish we took some pictures of Audrey in between us while we swung her over and into the water surges. Everyone was having such a good time.

Audrey is a Busy Girl

2008-06-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

Audrey has been having a lot of fun exploring our new house and neighborhood.

May Was Mustache Month

2008-05-31T11:13:00.000-07:00

Adam won Best Overall Mustache with the Franz-Josef.

Grandma Judy's visit

2008-05-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

Grandma Judy came to Colorado in May. Here are some pictures from her visit.

Audrey's First Birthday

2008-04-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Audrey's birthday with friends and family at our new house on Saturday, April 12th. Audrey was too tired to make a mess with her cupcake.

Eating

2008-03-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

Monkey

2008-03-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

Audrey loves, loves, loves her monkey!