Truett's First Christmas

It's so fun having a little one around for Christmas, although I think it will be much more fun when Truett realizes he is actually getting gifts.  His favorite thing from the morning was definitely the wrapping paper...he just kept tearing it and trying to eat it. 

Truett with his favorite gift

The new LeapFrog Learn and Groove musical Table that I looked all over for!

He had to make sure everything passed the taste test

Mmmmm....the blocks are good!

So is the orange!

You may think it's wierd that we gave Truett an orange for Christmas.  It is actually a family tradition from Chad's family to always get an orange in the stocking.  His Grandma Bea, growing up on the farm in North Dakota, would always get an orange at Christmas.  Having 10 brothers and sisters, that was all their parents could afford.  In fact, it was the only fruit they got all year, and every kid looked forward to it with great anticipation.  So we here in the Warren home are keeping the tradition alive by remembering to be thankful for even the small pleasures in life.

Here's Truett unwrapping his gift.  We only got a short video, because as you can see, the unwrapping took quite awhile.

Worth it's weight in Gold, to Chad anyway.

Last week we got our first decent snow in our new home (meaning it had to be plowed so we could get out of the driveway). Chad had gotten up early that morning and spent 20 minutes just shoveling his path to the car. I went out a couple hours later and spent an hour just trying to clear the driveway, so I could meet him for lunch.  After that we decided it was definitely time to invest in a snowblower.  We got it just in time....another foot of snow on the ground this morning and the snowblower cut through it like butter.  Chad says it's worth it's weight in gold...I think I would much rather have it's weight in gold, though.

Spotters ready, Climb on!

Truett has entered a new phase of mobility.  He likes to climb until his is standing on just about anything he sees.  He has even started walking himself around the object.  It is great to see him moving right along in his development, but I must say, this stage requires much more supervision from me.  Spotters definitely have to be present at all times, because he loses his balance without warning and there's nothing stopping his head from banging on the ground.  We've had some close calls, but so far I don't think he's sustained brain damage.  

Truett loving the visit

I'm kicking myself for not getting more pictures of our Thanksgiving holidays.  One thing I did capture was Truett having fun with Mamaw Lou.  He loved sitting in her lap, playing with her jewelry and looking at her glasses.  He was definitely a little more fussy the day after she left.

Here's Truett with Aunt Kristi.  He's playing with his favorite thing...the stereo.  I really wish he liked playing with his own toys, or at least some less expensive things.

Search for the Christmas Tree

I apologize for the long absence since my last post.  This past week was super busy for us, but very enjoyable!  My parents, grandparents and sister Kristi came to Colorado last week to spend the holiday with us.  We all met at my Aunt Julie's in Colorado Springs for the day, then Mom, Dad, and Kristi came up to our house for the weekend.  After a long absence of snow, we finally got some snowy weather.  Great for the ski resort...  Not so great for my family who was feeling under the weather.  We did manage to get outside on Saturday and look for our Christmas tree.  It was so beautiful and fun to play in the snow.

Chad standing next to a potential tree (it was nice, but not the winner)
Dad and Kristi
Chad and Dad cutting down the tree.
Kristi making a snow angel
loading up

The Crawl?

Many of you have asked if Truett is crawling yet, and we're just not sure how to respond.  I guess it depends on what you mean by crawling.  If it means methodically alternating arms and knees to propel yourself forward, than the answer is "No."  However if you are satisfied with the fact that he can get himself wherever he wants to go, without textbook coordination, then the answer is "Yes".  You decide and let us know.  

Also notice that Truett crawls right past the toy that was specifically designed for children his age and goes for the only thing on the floor that was not designed for his enjoyment.  I don't think I'm going to invest in too many toys right now. 

Change of the Season

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted something new.  Honestly, I haven't been able to think of anything too exciting to write about.  The season is changing here, entering a time when nothing is as easy as it used to be.  Living in a ski town certainly has its perks, but here are a few things we daily encounter that you may not be familiar with:

-starting the car 20 min. before we go somewhere in the morning

-only entering the back entrance of our home, because the front will soon be blocked by snow.

-wearing layers to go everywhere

-putting studded snowtires on the car

-keeping lots of windshield wiper fluid on hand

I really had to adjust our first winter here, but now I just go with the flow.  Some of the perks are the views of the snow covered mountains (like those seen below from our back yard), and getting to ski!  The resort opens tomorrow, so Chad and I are going to try to make it out for a couple of hours.  

Yes, above is the view of Winter Park Ski Resort from my back deck.  It gets me so excited for tomorrow!
This is a picture of Perry's Peak, right next to the resort.  I love looking at it!

Happy Reformation Day

Each year our church celebrates Reformation Day, in honor of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Thesis to the door of All Saint's Church on October 31, 1517, giving steam to the reformation of the church.  Every year we take a look at the life of different reformers and this year it was a celebration of John Knox of Scotland.  Chad played a Scottish narrator in a skit tonight...hence the kilt.  Truett and I decided to go as the narrator's family, so we all had on our matching plaids.  At 3:00 today I had no idea what we were going to wear.  Chad went to Alco (a mini wal-mart) and picked up a block of plaid material.  2 hours later we all had kilts and were heading to the church.  Amazingly we took third place in the costume contest and won a scrabble game!

My mom will appreciate this, too...Chad and I both went to the cake walk throughout the evening and won on our first time in the circle!  Yahoo!  I love cake walks!

New Trick that makes all our lives easier

I couldn't figure out how to put this on the sidebar, so here you go.  I have been waiting for this newest trick.  So many times Truett will put himself on his stomach, which he doesn't like, and then have no idea how to get back over.   Now he can be in control of his own situation.  

As far as the rest of the family goes, we don't really have any updates right now.  Chad fought off a cold last week, and now Truett and I are struggling through it.  Chad is staying busy this month.  Our pastor is out of the country and Chad is preaching in his absence, as well as teaching school during the week.  Chad loves having the opportunities to teach, whereas I would be incredibly stressed.  We are enjoying the changing season.  The peaks are covered in snow and we have had a few snows here at our home.  The slopes open in less than a month, so I'm ready for the snow to come and make the skiing great!

Truett's Six Month Birthday

Today Truett is halfway to his one year birthday.  Since I have been eating my birthday goodies all week, I decided not to do the cake and ice cream in celebration.  We did however do the mini photo shoot to share this milestone with you all. (o.k., mostly for the Grandmas).

What Now?

O.k. , those of you who know me know that I'm new at the mom thing, and everyday I'm surprised by something new that Truett does. Yesterday I was doing the dishes and Truett was in the living room playing in his gym. Usually I hear constant movement, but I noticed that there had been silence for several minutes. I peeked around the corner and Truett was no longer in his gym, but right next to it on his hands and knees. This is the first time this has happened. I could tell he was really excited about this new trick, because he continued maneuvering himself around without fussing. So I need to know...are we close to crawling or do we still have several months? Right now my house isn't baby proofed, because he has always politely stayed where I left him, but I need to know if that's about to change. Help moms!

Getting Older Isn't So Bad

O.K.  I think I just had the best birthday I've had in a long time!  I woke up yesterday morning, knowing I was going to Denver for the day for a surprise. I had no idea what the plan was , but I was so excited!  When I rolled out of bed, Chad announced that he wanted to make breakfast...not just the cereal that we usually have.  He made a yummy egg, sausage, and potato skillet thing with some muffins.  Yummm....  Then we dropped off Truett with a friend for the day and headed to Denver.  On the way, Chad let me know we were having a mini shopping spree for winter clothes for me!  Shopping isn't readily available up here in the mountains, so I was so excited to update the wardrobe a little.  If that wasn't enough, the highschool girls in the youth group decided to clean my house and fix a wonderful dinner that was waiting for us when we got home.  It was such a great day!  It kinda took the edge off of getting another year older.   Below is the dinner spread the gals left for us:

Aspen Pictures

Here are the Aspen pictures we promised.  These were taken last weekend at the Solvista Ski Resort.  The colors have been so beautiful this fall.

2 Things I Didn't Read in Baby Wise

Being a new mom, and one who didn't spend much time babysitting before, I read many books to give me an idea of what to expect and what to do in raising a child.  You would think with all the books out there, they would warn you of a couple things:

1.  When you view your child being active enough to kick about 100 times a minute, it may be time to take the baby bath from the sink to the tub.  Truett's previous baths have been calm and peaceful, but yesterday he was so excited about his bath, that water ended up all over me, the kitchen counter, and the floor.  

2.  When you think your child might be teething, it is perfectly fine to pull a teething ring out of the refrigerator to give to him.  However, it is NOT o.k. to pull a popsicle (wrapped in paper, of course) out of the freezer to give to him to suck on.  The poor kid had  little chapped lips and looked like the Joker all day Tuesday, and even some yesterday.

Here's a picture of my happy, chapped face boy after his bathtime:

Fall Fun

This fall has turned out to be very beautiful so far.  I'm comparing this to the first year we were here when it snowed a foot on Sept. 15th.  Our friends, Emily and Ryan Roberts came to visit on Friday and Saturday.  The weather was beautiful and we were able to enjoy some burgers on the grill and some late night smores (well, late for people who have a 5 month and a 3 month old).  We love having visits from dear friends!  Our friends also wrote about the visit on their blogs The Roberts Portal and Cole Addict.

On Sunday we made our annual trip out to Rocky Mountain National Park to see the elk.  On the way we saw 3 moose on the side of the road.  I just love the wildlife here.  All the aspen leaves are changing, which provided a perfect backdrop for the viewing.

Also, on our weekend of fun, we went to the Solvista Ski Resort and took pictures of the aspen from the top of the mountain.  Those photos will be uploaded soon!

We Found His Tickle Spot

You learn something new everyday.  Today we learned that Truett doesn't react to tickling like his mother.  As I know from experience, Shanon doesn't take kindly to an innocent tickle.  She comes out with legs kicking and arms punching.  She goes into a pure animalistic survival mode where one second I am her beloved husband and the next second I am enemy #1.  Truett, as you can see, responds quite differently with giggling and laughter.  I wonder what we'll learn about our little man next? 

Our Home Away From Home

Earlier this summer we were talking about how great it would be to have a little camper trailer to use in the summers with our family.  Tent camping has its charms, but with a new little guy, something with a heater and a few more amenities was very appealing.  We figured it would have to be an incredible deal for us to be able to get one, so we thought we'd keep our eye out for the next few years until something came up.  Well, Chad saw this old camper parked where he had his high school retreat last month.  On a whim last week he decided to call them and see if it was for sale.  When he told them he was interested, they said they would just like to bless us with it, for FREE.  Chad responded, "Free, like I don't pay anything?".  And they said yes and sent us the title and keys in the mail the same day.  We went and picked it up yesterday...so fun!  With a little TLC this thing will be our little home away from home.

The Gym...Our Friend and Enemy

Truett spends much of his time in the gym.  He loves to kick the ball with his feet and play with the little fishies dangling down.  Sometimes he gets a little too excited, though and  winds up in the most unusual and uncomfortable positions.  

Jury Duty

For most people a summons to Jury duty is something we want to try to get out of...it just doesn't fit well in our everyday schedules.  Well, for Chad, it was the highlight of his week.  He just couldn't wait to get up this morning, drive to Hot Sulpher Springs, and fulfill one of his duties as an American citizen.  We checked the internet last night and the case wasn't cancelled.  How exciting!  His goal was to make it past the screening process and into the chosen few who got to view the case.  Disappointment was high when he realized he knew the key witness in the trial.  He couldn't tell a lie, and the next thing he knew he was making the drive back to town.  So sad!

Meanwhile, I'm at home with a sick baby.  Truett is experiencing his first cold, and not having a good time.  His nose is so stuffy and runny at the same time.  Maybe he and dad can drown their sorrows in dairy products tonight.  (that is, ice cream for Chad and mommy milk for Truett)

Saturday was Truett's 5 month birthday.  It's crazy how much he has changed just in this month.  He now loves to roll over from his back to front.  The only problem is that he doesn't like tummy time, and he only rolls back over by accident, so we always have to be around to roll him onto his back after a few minutes of struggle.  He is also laughing more, which I love!

Other than the photo shoot, not much celebrating was done for this memorable occasion.  I think next time daddy and I should celebrate with some cake and ice cream :)  

And fun was had by all

Living here in the mountains, we haven't gotten to see many of you, so I though I'd show a video of our little guy in action.  Truett is such a fun kid.  He smiles often, except from 7:30-9:00 every evening...those are his high maintenance minutes of the day.  The rest of the time he is either exploring his own world, or being loved on by whoever he can find.  

Back online!

After 2 years of waiting, we finally have internet at our home.  Living without all the distractions has it's perks (like getting the house clean and going for walks) but I must say I have missed keeping in touch with people and hearing what's going on in their lives.  I have become satisfied with the occasional phone call, but now that a whole wealth of info is now streaming out of my guest room, I have been glued to the computer, checking out everyone's blogs for the first time. I love it!  Soon I will be uploading pictures of our family....or should I say, pictures of our son Truett, with mommy and daddy showing up every once in a while.  Thank you for your patience with us as we try to catch up with the times.  More updates are soon to follow.