The babe and the 'boat

Since I'll be working full-time again on Monday, Chris and I decided to escape to the mountains for a few days. We chose our favorite mountain town, Steamboat Springs. We've been here since Wednesday, and it's been pretty much like paradise! We've been mountain biking, hanging out with Emmaline, and watching some bike racing. The baby has been pretty good overall. Her sleep schedule is a little messed up, but other than that she has been a trooper.

We are high maintenance coffee drinkers, this is everything we brought for making coffee!Getting dressed on Thursday. It's been sunny so she needs a hat (pants are on the way). She is definitely smiling these days, it is really cute :)
We've mostly enjoyed the trails on Howelson Hill/Emerald Mountain. The singletrack is AMAZING!! Chris hung out in a park with Emmaline while I enjoyed the tight, smooth trails through aspen glades, and the sweeping switchbacks through wide open meadows - heavenly! I've been pretty slow but very very happy to back on the bike.

Emmaline really loves her dad, and even when she's tired she'll get a smile on her face when he's around. This is before the family nap on Thursday (7 miles of mountain biking really wipes you out when you're out of shape!).

Speaking of sleeping, Emmaline was awake 2:30-5 AM Friday morning. So instead of riding that morning, we all hung out in bed a little longer.
Friday we took turns riding at Howelson, and then met up to watch the end of the US Pro Cycling Challenge in downtown Steamboat. Chris bought us oreo-covered doughnuts!! Oh my gosh, what a way to end a ride :)
I painted a onesie to look like the Leopard Trek kit, so Emmaline could cheer on Andy Schleck, her favorite rider!
There were people everywhere to watch the end of the race. The atmosphere was electric! The bikers came by so fast, but it was worth the wait.
After a hot day, we let Emmaline hang out mostly naked, and Chris and I enjoyed a dip in the pool.

Watching the sunset from our patio - a perfect ending to a perfect day!!
Today we drove about a mile up Rabbit Ears pass to watch the bike race. Once again, it was super exciting!! First a breakaway of 5 guys passed us, followed by Cadel Evans (winner of the Tour de France) and another dude chasing them down, and then the peloton came wooshing by.
Chris spent the afternoon riding on the Beall and Ridge trails at Emerald Mountain, and I sat in a park with Emmaline. Tomorrow it's my turn to ride, right before we had back home and to reality :(. This has been a wonderful break. I'm glad we've been able to get out and about with Emmaline. And I've really loved spending time on trails like this ...

Snippets

I started this post almost 2 weeks ago!

The baby
Alright, I know this is the only reason most of you read my blog these days ;), so I'll start with the good stuff. Lately Emmaline is really becoming more aware of her surroundings. It's so much fun to watch her discover the world around her. Last night Chris and I took her on a walk in her stroller. Usually the best we can hope for is for her to fall asleep. But last night she was awake and looking around the whole time. She seemed to be in awe of everything she saw, even if it was just blurry shapes on her periphery.

She's also been growing quite well. In her first month she went from 6lb 12oz, to 8 lb 13oz! Most of her newborn clothes don't fit well, which makes me a little sad, even though I should want my daughter to grow. The funny thing is her newborn diapers don't come all the way up her back, which kind of makes her look like a plumber. Not so good for leak protection, though!!

Work - blah
Chris took on a huge project in early August, which in his words "Nearly killed him". He probably worked 80 hours the 2 weeks he was working on it. Luckily my friend Laurie was out for one weekend during that time, and she was a great help (and fun to be with!). Chris also got sick, so he was either working or quarantined away from Emmaline the whole 2 weeks. It was very hard for both of us. We were grateful for the income, but very glad when he finished the video (which you can see here - he did everything from casting to shooting & editing).

This past week I also went back to the grind. Honestly, in some ways I was looking forward to it. I enjoy what I do, and am anticipating wrapping things up sometime soon(ish?). I also really like the people I work with, and was missing some of the social interactions. So for all those reasons, it was good to be back. I missed Emmaline though! The hardest thing is the mornings. Usually I go back to sleep after her last feeding (anywhere between 5-7 AM), but this week I stayed awake. So I'm operating on about 6 hours total sleep each night, but it's not really enough! At least she doesn't mind when I drink coffee (in moderation), thank the Lord! :)

That's all I have for now. Emmaline is asleep but I bet she will wake up soon (she ate at 6:40 and it's past 11). In other news, the garden is doing pretty well! Although we have very little time to tend to it or fix the veggies that come out of it. But they sure look nice :)

Cuteness Overload

Today was fun. I hardly slept at all the day before, so was very pleased when Emmaline let me sleep until 10:00 (with a few interruptions, of course). Then we rushed over to my friend Kim's house, who had her son Cedar just two days after our new arrival. It was nice to visit with her and laugh about some of the crazy experiences we've had over the past month. Then we had a photo shoot with the two new friends. Cedar was wide awake but Emmaline slept through the encounter - although that didn't stop her from snuggling up with her new friend! It was super adorable.


Next we went to Starbucks to catch up with my Bible study friends, Deanna, Lyndsey, and Jennifer - what a great group! I miss meeting with them regularly, but life is so busy for all of us. After coffee, I came home and decided to play with Emmaline. Kim mentioned playing with Cedar and I thought ... what does it really mean to play with a 4 week old? But it seems like a good idea and a good way to let her know I'm interested in her and help her development.

So today playing consisted of laying on a blanket on the nursery floor, looking at colorful toys, staring at the singing caterpillar, and some tummy time. I also don't quite get tummy time. Emmaline is doing great at holding her head up anyway, and she usually doesn't enjoy being forced onto her stomach. But today she enjoyed it and turned her head from side to side a couple of times. It was actually really fun "playing" with her, and I'm excited about the developmental strides she'll be making soon.

Is that a smile?

Okay, tummy time has officially pooped us out

"What the freak is up with that caterpillar?"

The downside was maybe she was overstimulated, because playtime ended with an hour of cry time. Beginning with this video ...


But eventually she took a nap and I was able to get some work done, something I'll be trying to do a little each day from now on. Chris has been working a ton since last Friday (~30 hours in the past 2 days!). He got home around 7:30 and held Emmaline (she was being fussy again), so I got to eat dinner and relax for a bit. I don't know how single moms do it. Having him around, even just for a few hours a day, is a huge help and relief.

She fell fast asleep in this position - but it didn't last