the human drama

Doctor Vu

Sara and I went hiking after Maggie's one year check-up and vaccination. She weighed in at 25lbs 8ounces and measured 38" long. It was a gorgeous day. Maggie and I showed Sara all the cool places we have been exploring.

Security Breach

Life will never be the same. Today I woke up to my ordinary life being followed by Maggie. Shortly after walking out of her room she accidentally shut the door. I waited for her to start crying... but instead there was silence... then suddenly I heard an unfamiliar sound... I saw the knob wiggling and within a few seconds the door swings open. Maggie walks out. There is no turning back and life has changed without even a warning label or anything. My little girl is now super mobile.

Shout-Out

Taya just celebrated her 17th Birthday! She loves to tease me about my age but with every passing year we grow closer in age. Yes, I calculated it out and in three years Taya will be half my age. Every passing year means we are growing closer in age. When I turn a hundred she will be eighty years old... ya, think about that!

Anyway, we love it when she visits. Taya is super optimistic. Since she was young, she has been cooking and helping around the house. She is genuinely kind to others and makes friends quickly. I can't believe some of the things we did when she was young. Most of them relate to camping. It seems like she was always hiking long distances with me, camping under the stars without a tent, sometimes hiking through the night. Once we swam across a glacier lake in Glacier National Park, that was her idea! Anyway, I have a million fabulous memories with her.

Taya didn't start growing hair until she was almost four... Maggie seems to have the same peach fuss cut. Hopefully when Maggie's hair comes in, it will be curly also, and I will never learn how to do girls hair. Anyway, we just wanted to send her a shout-out and happy birthday wishes!

Bibliophile

Did I tell you how much Maggie loves to thumb through books. It doesn't matter if they are picture books, magazines or dictionaries, she just loves to turn pages. She doesn't have the patience to be read the words either, she just wants to get to the next page. When she gets to the back cover she thumbs backwards to the beginning again and again, back and forth. Sometimes she will pretend like she is reading the words as she flips the pages. The sight of it brings laughter tears!

Sara thinks I am crazy but every morning I put Maggie on her potty for a few minutes and hand her a book to flip through. She will sit there contently with her book in hand for five to ten minutes. It works to because every morning since we have been doing this she has been tinkling in the potty. It is a funny thing, the things you get excited about as a parent.

Celebration

Thanks for making it to the big celebration! Brian, Tasha and the boys got up at 5:30 AM, just so they could be here for Maggie's first birthday party. Grandma and Grandpa came out the night before. Here are pictures for everyone who wanted but couldn't be here.

We celebrated Tasha's Birthday too!

Sara's handy-work

Polka dot party banner (how-to)

Birthday hat provide by Tasha.
Polka dot dress provided by Grandma.

Birthday party minus Chase who was sleeping.

Grandma and Brayden

Presents galore

Cake from scratch to zero in two seconds!

Still eating the scrapes!

Testing scientific properties of Cake!

Tasha's boys.

We finally got Maggie a phone.

Hijacked!

Have you noticed that Sara's blog has been hijacked? Yes, originally this was her idea and I was only going to help out with the technical stuff. But the reality is Sara doesn't write blogs, she reads them. She reads about her friends, family, my friends and even strangers. Then she tells me what is going on in the world. I really like this way of seeing the world. Our cyber roles have emerged. She comments. I post. Occasionally we might break the rules but that is just the way it is.

Even though Maggie is already one, she is still our chubby baby.

A few weeks ago Maggie walked across the room while we both were daydreaming.
She has been walking steadily ever since.

Maggie's First

Maggie was a little bemused by the fuss this morning. It has been a year. It is hard to imagine that last year we were sitting in the hospital and by evening, a group of nurses would be gathered around Sara: one to pat her forehead with cool rags, one to coach her through the ordeal and one to give a last acrobatic push. Finally she was here and the doctor handed me the scissors to cut the cord. What a day!

Iconic Candle

A quick breakfast celebration!

Anthem East Trail

I went hiking with Maggie to celebrate Jonny V's birthday. It is great discovering something only ten minutes away with an awesome elevation gain and an assortment of trails. I am sure it wasn't the best thing for Maggie's little cold but it was worth it... she babbled the whole way down.

There was this huge power pole we stopped at.

Maggie didn't put a single rock in her mouth.

The round base was like a race track,
Maggie crawled around it a dozen times.

Sara just washed those!

PS. Happy Birthday Jonathan!

Be Mine

It doesn't make sense how some holidays start... to celebrate St. Valentine. hu? Well I guess it doesn't matter... I enjoy it, especially with Sara.

Maggie loved her Mom's card; she wouldn't put it down.

Grandma engineers her cards to perfection.

Sara's family is gift givers.
Any holiday is a good excuse to wrap a present. We love it.

Our Valentines Cards.

Ever wonder what is like being married to Martha Stewart?

The best part, it taste good!

Redrocks, Lost Creek

A few weeks ago, the weather was perfect so Maggie and I biked the Redrock loop. I packed everything I could think of, except extra water. Near the top of the first hill I gave Maggie her bottle and decided to bike up to a better resting spot a hundred yards up. By the time I got there Maggie was drench in leaking milk and freezing. The weather was nice but not that nice. I stripped all her clothes off only to discover the extra clothes I thought I packed were missing. So I wrapped her in the only warm thing I had, my hoodie. It was the perfect little blanket and she stayed toasty inside her trailer. I however was freezing and I thought I might die at the twelve mile marker because for some reason I thought the loop was twenty-one miles, fortunately it is only thirteen. I was so so happy to see the exit. No pictures though... I was in survival mode while Maggie dosed into a pleasant sleep.

Last week we returned with my cousin Jenna to go hiking. It was the perfect hike for kids. Two-year-old Cooper ran up the trail without any major problems. Maggie loved climbing around and eating lots of rocks. It was fun to get out the house. Muchas gracias cousin!