Friends in Warm Places

One of the best parts of going to Cali was introducing Ryder to Grandma Shirley! They had a great connection right off the bat and had some wonderful conversations... lots of 'ooooh's' and 'aaaah's'. He can't wait to see her when she is back in Colorado in May and he also enjoyed meeting April (who is helping Great Gma Shirls a lot!). As soon as April picked him up he was smiling, but I managed to miss that shot!

Sun-lovin, fun-lovin Dude

The weather was fantastic when we were in Palm Springs and Ryder got his first taste of warm air and sun on his skin (thru spf 55 of course!) He also went swimming for the first time~ he honestly seemed to enjoy the bath a little more but I am sure there is a lot more to come with him and the pool. Also, check out the cool shades!

The trip this last week was Ryder's first real travel time and we were VERY pleasantly surprised with how well he did on the car rides and the flights. It was a 'breakthrough' time for him and on the flight to Palm Springs he really opened up to us and was very interactive, smiling, smiling, smiling and truly responding to our coos and ooohs and aaaahs. It was so fun and I think the people sitting near us on the flight enjoyed it as much as we did.

We're baaaaaaaack

Hello Ryder fan club! We are back from our trip to Palm Springs to visit Grandma Shirley and what a change!! We woke up to sun and warmth and came back to more new snow than we have seen all winter long. We have a lot of great photos to post and will keep them coming all week! The trip went great and Ryder was a fantastic traveler (much to our relief!) and we were so happy to have such great weather after they have had such a wet and cool winter.

Before and After

I was putting Ryder into the carseat on Valentines day and was struck by the change in his size! Check these out~ First is the first walk I took him on at about 2 weeks old, the next is this weekend, the next is 6days old in the carseat, the last one is 8 weeks later.

All Smiles

One of Ryder's newer tricks is smiling~ he has been giving us one every now and then, but it seems to be picking up in the late few days. Of course, this morning he was smiling ear to ear for a few minutes straight, then I picked up the video camera and was only able to get a couple out of him... Still! I thought you all would enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIu5-mFc1Yw

Hikin' Fool

Even though it is February in the Rockies we have a lot of sunny and warm days. I try to get Ryder out to hike a few times a week and it is a wonderful way to get the blood flowing, keep the doggies happy and ensure some sleep time for the baby. He loves the front carrier we have and stays nice and warm in his down snowsuit... he normally looks like this when we are done hiking...

2 month update!! Vital stats below...

Wednesday morning we had our two month appointment at the pediatrician's office. Several milestones to reoprt on...
weight: 10lbs, 14 oz!! (that is about double his birthweight!)
length: 23 3/4 inches

Ryder is in the 75% for height and in the 25% for weight= a beanpole!! (Just one more thing he got from his dad, haha) He handled the immunizations well despite the aftermath (see above photo)
Also! The doctor informed us that Ryder's eye color is officially set and they are BLUE! Since Andy and I are both hazel we were very surprised by this~ my entire family has dark eyes, but Andy's father and brother both have blue eyes so we have the Poole side to thank for this sweet little trait!

Happy Birthday to Lauren!

Just one more thing.... Happy Happy Happy 3rd Birthday to Lauren! We can't believe how sweet, smart, adorable and grown up she is~ when did she make the transition from baby to kiddo?!

Denver, take deux!

After an unsuccessful 8 hour Denver attempt two weeks ago, we re-grouped, re-organized and re-packed and finally made it down this last weekend! It was wonderful to get a change of scenery for a few days and see family. Everyone was blown away at how big Ryder is getting~ in a matter of a few weeks he really looks like a different baby. For some reason it doesn't seems to come accross in the photos, but he is really getting big and strong! The weekend was full: cousin Lauren's birthday (3!), the Super Bowl, errands and lots of snow. It was wonderful to see everyone love on him and he did great in the car and in a new environment (we even got a 5 hours stretch of sleep one night!)

Chillin' Like a Villan

It was a big weekend here in Aspen with the XGames in town! Unfortunately Ryder was 'under the weather' and we never made it out to get a photo with the airborn skiers/snowboarders/snowmobiles we were hoping to but we DO have a pic of Ryder dressed in his XGames best! It was fun watching the action on ESPN and thinking, not only about the upcoming winter Olympics, but about how cool it is that little man will be exposed to this stuff from such an early age. It is wild that he will be on skis before we know it, but for this week we will focus on his signature move, the 'inverted double burp to full diaper'!!