I can help: August

My father generously replaced our garbage disposal when it went kaput. Thank you Dad!

Looks like he has an apprentice-in-waiting.

Mapping Milestones

August, which marked Sydney's 19-month mark, seemed liked a good time to shoot some pretty portraits of our little girl. I scanned the Weather channel for a pleasant forecast. We picked a colorful place - the White River Gardens in Indy. Of course, I had the perfect dress saved for such an occasion.

Here is what we came up with.

This is the front-runner for our 2008 family Christmas card.

This one will make a nice 12 X 16 for the family room.

If she had a driver's license, she probably would want this photo retaken.

Pretty picture.

Colorado: Boulder

The remnants of Tropical Storm Ike kept us girls indoors today, so I completed our Colorado Chronicles. (More photos posted below this post).

Schreiber and Sydney (I love this photo!). On our way to Title IX -- one of my favorite stores.

Colorado: Elk Meadow Hike

After the Sydney combustion of 2008 (see blog below), she slept as we drove from Breckenridge to Evergreen. Good ol' Jefferson Co. Open Space. We found a new place to hike.

She was still a bit fussy. I tried entertaining her with stickers, which she just stuck on Brian's back, and rocks. You can guess what she did with the rocks ... Poor Brian.

Colorado Hiking: Lilly Pad Lake

Lilly Pad Lake hike: The abbreviated version. Sydney finally hit her 'peak' on this hike. After poor Brian hiked uphill (according to our trail book about 700 feet) with Sydney screaming and crying, we conceded that we could not continue. We had been shortchanging her on naps and we think it finally caught up to her ... and us. We turned around and went back. I bookmarked this hike for a future trip.

This is Brian and Sydney on the way down.

Aspen view.

Chipmunk.

Pine cone.

Colorado Hiking: Lake Dillon

The Lake Dillon "hike" was more like a walk. Then it turned into a sprint when a mountain thunderstorm moved in. Notice the drenched baby below.

Colorado Hiking: Cucumber Gulch

The view.


Sydney was well-behaved and Brian was a trooper hauling Sydney on his back. Brian carted her around while we hiked, and I carried here through DIA when we arrived. Transporting her in the hiker through the airport was worth the hiker's cost alone.

Sydney wants a look.


The trail.

Oh deer!

We even saw a beaver.

Taking a break.

Breckenridge, Colorado

Sydney wailed through our first night in Colorado. Amazing to us, Sydney expressed her feelings through her beloved Gossie books. We tried many things to soothe her as she cried, and one of those was reading her Gossie books. When I finished reading the story, which is about a gosling who looses her beloved red boots, Sydney took the book from me, then flipped backwards to the page where Gossie is crying and the text says "Gossie was heartbroken." Sydney whimpered the word "heartbroken," while touching her tear-stained cheeks. Heartbreaking for us parents, too.

She was fine after that, and after a few days visiting our friends, we headed west into the mountains. Our new homebase was Breckenridge.


Sydney was sluggish the morning of our departure.

Snow-capped peaks.

Colorado Friends

The highlight of our Colorado journey was introducing Sydney to our family friends The Schreibers.



Girl group.


Rump-a-nick-a, Pump-a-nick-a ...


Rich helps Syd reach an apple. Rich baby-sat me when I was about that age.


It's hard to see Theresa and Sydney in the distance, but I love this photo because it reminds me of the many summer evenings when Theresa and my Mom walked around each other's yards. With a cup of coffee in hand, they would survey and take note of the plants/flowers they were growing. I'm not sure how much Sydney contributed to the conversation above, but I'm pretty sure she was not carrying coffee :)


Master Gardner?

Sydney and "Baby." Actually that's almost-8-year-old Kristina. She was quite polite and tolerated Sydney's nickname. Sydney calls anyone too young for driver's license a "Baby." Of course, Syd is always a "Big girl."


Water works.

Frog/toad watch.


Chair aerobics.


Chair stretch.


Smother mother.


Sweet girl.


Colorado finch.

Pining for pine cones.

Sydney rocks the patio.


Rock relocation.

Mountain sunset.


****
In the present: Sydney was getting impatient this morning as Brian and I hustled to get ready for the Purdue football game. I was upstairs when the cries for "Mommy" evolved into a pip squeak voice calling out "Amy." Brian quickly suggested that Sydney try that request again ...