A few pics of the kids...

My sister, Brenna and her family have just moved into their brand new house. They built it from the bottom up and moved in last week. My little niece, Lucy felt left out of all the building and decorating, so once that place was hers, she pitched in to make that house a home...



And Addie asking...why does Caleb keep following me around with that camera?!!



Here's Charlie...I mean Xyler(my nephew that looks just like my brother!)...on a motorcycle...


And Max and Abbey on Daddy's motorcycle...


And finally...the summer diva outside NOT catching some rays...she doesn't want to burn!

12:45am...

Ever wonder what a little monster looks like in the middle of the night? After fussing and getting his momma out of bed...and having her bring him into daddy's bed?

This is it...


How could a momma get upset at that at 12:45 in the morning? I can't, so I take a picture and share with the world my sweet little guy.

Red Rocks...

The adults are getting a little stir crazy these past several days. With all the rain, there isn't much opportunity to get out of the house to change the days up a bit.

Yesterday, I told Steve we needed to head for the hills, even if we had to stay in the car from the rain. We started up towards Golden, CO, just about 15 minutes away. But ended up just outside of Golden, in Morrison. Morrison is the home of Red Rocks.

The clouds started to lift on our way out there. And we had a pretty awesome view of this place we call home.



It's a very unique landscape out there.


And the birds were more than happy to find the little insects flying around after the rain.
(I need Aunt Nancy to tell me what this on is...it was one of my favorites)


As we were getting ready to leave I saw this...


Steve snatched the camera to get a better view...


Can you see it yet? Hooooooot hooooooooooooooot...


When I saw it fly up from the crack in the rocks it really startled me. But I tried to be as quiet as I could because seeing an owl is one of Steve's favorite things. He was thrilled to get to see one in person. It was a pretty rare treat. In all of our years here, I've never seen one.

There are over 100 pictures on flickr of our little trip out to Red Rocks...lots of birds, and lots of rocks. :)

Purple flowers...

Abbey picked these flowers for me today after our long run...



Little did she know that, 1. They are my favorite little field flowers of all time. and 2. I used to pick the same flowers for my mom when I was little. My dad called them weeds...but really...they are gorgeous!

I'm just happy she still likes to pick flowers for me!

Father's Day in the mountains...

Today we got up and set out to have some fun in the mountains.



Wouldn't that be a great way to hike? On horseback!!


And we did! We went to one of our favorite places in Coal Creek Canyon to recreate a few pictures from when Abbey was 3.














Once we got the recreated shots, we added in the new guy. It was nothing for us to scramble up the rocks with Abbey, even when she was only 3. But with Max, hiking in our mountains is usually out of the question. But today, Steve picked up our 40+ pound boy and hiked him right to the top.











This one was supposed to be a Max alone shot...his sister couldn't resist sneaking in though!


Max had to take a little snooze after all that excitement. And while we got a few more glamor shots of his sister.






Max was enjoying all of the wildlife in the mountains...and by wildlife I mean the many many motorcycles he got to hear zooming through the twists and turns. His favorites were the Harley's and Ducati's. Both really loud!!! He would squeal and ask for more!

We stopped on our way out of the canyon for Abbey to get down by the water:


And for Max to eat. Not much limits us...check that rig out! We've got his feeding bag hanging on the hanger hook in the car. Hey, it worked, and he was just loving sitting by the rushing water! It's the closest thing to the roar of the ocean we've got here!



We got loaded back into the car to head back to low-land and I saw these guys across the road:


Can you see them? Here's a closer shot that I cropped:


These young guys were just eating...but come fall they will be butting heads!


There are about 120 pictures of the day over on flickr. You can click on any of the photos and peruse them all if you want.

What a day...

It's been a full strange day. It started way too early by little miss still on Virginia time hopping up and down the stairs at 6:00am.

We had a great lunch with our friend, and Max's old occupational therapist. It was great to catch up, and for her to get to see Max. I miss seeing her every week!

The afternoon was when the day really went berzerk! Abbey was watching some awful kid movie...Spy School. Egads it was hard to get through. So she's comatose watching that, and Max just throws up. Not a little, no warning...just blaaaaaaaaaagh all over the place. I got him cleaned up as best as I could, then started his second bath for the day. I got him all cleaned up, and changed. Then he starts sneezing. Some of the vomit, was stuck in his nose. Only one way out...

He sneezes like his father. Like every muscle in their body has to get behind the sneeze to make it worth the effort. And he sneezed so hard trying to clear the gunk, he got a bloody nose! So, now I'm cleaning up a bloody nose!

It's about 5:00 at this point and Abbey wants to know when we're having dinner. I put Max down after a bit and start chopping onions for Chicken Curry. She came in the kitchen to "help" by way of eating anything brought to the counter top. When she started eating the onions I had to ask her to leave the kitchen for a bit while I got things cooking.

I got on a roll and had it almost ready when Max was saying Momma over and over. He says Momma with a long stretch of the short "o" sound, followed by UH. Like Aaaaaaaahhhh-uh. So, I'm in the kitchen cooking up a storm, with Max in the living room, Aaaaah-uh, Aaaah-uh over and over. I had just chopped the pepper so I told him to wait just a minute. He was insistent though.

When I finally got my hands clean and the stove top to a calm pace I went to check on him in the living room. And found he was making his own mess! His diaper had exploded. All I could do was exclaim..ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!??????

Abbey came running up from Steve's office to see what was so exciting that she was missing. Nice surprise for her! So once again...clean Max up...get him all set...then try to finish dinner.

When I sat down to eat I was so exhausted. I didn't even care to eat at that point. All I wanted was the promise of chocolate after the dinner. ;)

When bedtime came, I put Max in bed and asked him to have a calmer day tomorrow. That's when he smiled his crooked smile and chuckled as he started to doze off to sleep. And that's when I got choked up. He has so much going on. He has so much ability. But his body and the functions of it are just so limiting some days. But still, he ends his day with a smile and a chuckle. He's such a sweet boy. And so happy. And once again, he won me over. Got me on his side to give it my all again tomorrow. Just for that smile.

Wild Kingdom...

Today was an eventful day. Not big events, just a lot of noteworthy events.

We started by going to get some new running shoes. We went and had an analysis done of our feet, how we ran, etc.. After trying on several pair I found the right fit...and on sale BONUS!

After our shoe shopping, we went to have lunch at our usual place. While we were sitting there, an angry storm started to blow in. I tried to get a picture with my phone, but it's pretty sorry.

Right above the "pizza" is a funnel cloud. If you can't see it here, click on this picture and blow up the size.


Several people in the restaurant were hoping to see a twister. I was not. I have lived through enough of them to not at all want to see one. I don't understand this weather this summer...funnel clouds...rain every day. Very strange!

After pizza we headed back home, and I saw from the highway a coyote in the open space. We drove by to get a closer look, and again, I got a sorry picture with my phone camera. I really should have brought the big camera today!

Again, click on the picture and blow it up to try to get a look at it.


(For those of you who know the geography, this is right behind the Butterfly Pavilion.)

And finally, after getting Max into bed tonight, I went out to water my hanging plants. Even with all the rain, they are not getting much of the moisture.

This is my petunia plant:


The other day we saw a bird fly in there with a piece of twig...
It was making this:


I got an action shot of it flying away...


So...back to the story. Steve got the petunias down to water them, and the bird flew out! Oops! It was sitting on a nest of 2 little eggs. We didn't touch the nest, and hopefully it will come back. I feel so bad that it might abandon the nest. (Listen to me...being all caring for birds and stuff.)

Hopefully they will be around tomorrow. Then I'll try to only water during the day when I know they aren't in there! And I won't take it down anymore! But, if we don't water it, it will die and not have any covering for the nest.

Oh what a dilemma. I guess I'll go to bed.

Just a swingin'...

I have been on the look-out since we moved from our 20ft. ceiling house for a swing for Max. It's his favorite motion...outside of spinning. And he's just too big for us to do it holding him in a sheet anymore.

Swing frames on special-needs equipment sights run anywhere from $400-$1500. I was looking on Craigslist the other day for a swing to hang from the doorway swing bar I finally decided on ($80)...for a stinking bar. Anyway...I was looking for a swing, and found this instead...



Oh...he likes it alright!


It's his favorite new place to be! He's always asking for more more more!!!


Steve showed him a few times how to extend his legs to get it going. Now all we have to say is "legs out...legs in" and he gets it going!

Oh...and the best part about this whole get up, besides it fits in the house, can be taken down to take outside, and it can calm him down immediately? It was only $20. That's one 2 and one 0. The people had it left in their house by someone who had lived with them, and she didn't want to move it. They stand alone is selling for $150 at Target!

We're still looking for the best swing for him to sit in. One that allows him to sit more upright. And one that will allow him to lay on his belly and swing. (They make them both, they are just two different kinds, and cost plenty!)

He's in it now...just chilling out. Listening to the neighbor's big wind-chimes. And if it's warm...or hot where you are? Come to Denver...I think we're at about 60 degrees this afternoon. I think I'll make some eggplant parmigian tonight!

Baby Huey ...

It's been almost a year since Max got his g-tube to feed him straight into his belly, rather than by mouth. In that time, he's gained weight, and had incredible stomach trouble (due to the feeding pump), and lost his ability to eat by mouth. But, he's been strong and healthy all year. No hospital stays...in nearly a year. That's a huge accomplishment.

One of the downsides of him gaining so much weight, is that he has stopped rolling over on his own. We've been trying in his physical therapy to get him back on track and start the roll on his own. He will go for it if we get him to his side, but just can't throw that extra weight around like he used to.

Today while I was drying my hair, I put him on his pallet on the floor so he didn't scoot out of his chair out of my listening range, and reach. When I came back, I saw this...



I asked him how he got like that, and he flashed a big smile. He knew what he had done. He rolled over by himself. Quite an accomplishment!

It was extra special to see that this morning, after the night we had last night. I as ready for bed at about 8:00. I had an incredible headache due to the strange weather we're having lately. The pressure holds right up against the mountains, and once it blows over the headaches go away. So I was a grump and had a monster headache, but still had "Max work" to do. Steve is in California for the day, so he had an early wake-up, and a long day today. Needless to say, we were just ready for bed. But Max was not. We tried to get him to sleep from 9:00 on. I think at 12:30am I finally got in his bed and held him. He fell asleep on me. A nearly 4 ft tall, 40 pound baby. It was a pretty exhausting night. Steve got up early to go to the airport, and I got in bed with Max.

I was woken again by a phone call from our insurance company. We had called earlier in the week because we had received a denial stating that Max didn't need physical therapy. So I argued with them for an hour, and got it settled out.

I guess you can see why a single little roll can be so exciting. This is why we argue with the insurance companies day in and out for services. It's why we spend hours a week manually rolling him across the floor. It's why when he's having a restless night I climb up in his bed and hold him like a baby so he can sleep. Because all together, we get an accomplishment. And when you have a special child with special needs, you see the little things as the biggest accomplishments...because you know all the BIG THINGS that had to happen for it to happen.

I'll leave you with one other picture today. Before Abbey left for Grammy and Grampy's she wanted to hold Max. Max sure likes to snuggle into his sister, but this time was especially sweet. It's pretty blurry, but I didn't want the flash to startle him out of that position.

If this doesn't make you smile...

I don't know what will!

Xyler...man this little guy is happy!



My sister, Emily, sent me this text today of little gizmo with his bomb-pop. Have you ever seen such a happy face? I've seen him just the once, when he was just about a week old. I'm thankful for my family sending photos like this one though! He may not know me when we meet again, but I'll feel like I know him!

And one of those bomb pops sounds pretty good too!