Sick Twice from Daycare

Not much to show...Summer got sick, AGAIN... But, for the sake of the blog, here are two pics...from after the storm. Took about 3 days to clear most everything up. On Thursday, here is all that was left of the Snowman.


I took this picture on Friday, just before picking Summer up from daycare. We were so looking forward to having a nice day.


After picking Summer up from daycare, we went and took pictures of our new home and just as we started back to the apartment Summer threw up. Not a little spit up as she's always done before. No, this was 2-3 ounces, all over her clothes, her car seat and the back seat. Thank goodness this was in Jessica's car with the leather seats. Easy to clean up. But, not good in any other way. Summer threw up about 5 or 6 times during the course of her stomach flu.

Well, that was only the beginning. 48 hours later before she was starting to feel better. Her fever broke and she hadn't thrown up for 8 hours...so, she was done. The next thing is now to try and get her to eat/drink. She's lost some weight...but understandably so, she isn't too interested in eating/drinking...she must be afraid.

So, our 2nd weekend in a row was messed up due to Summer getting sick at daycare. Let's hope this isn't a trend. Lots of new germs...We kept her home from daycare Monday, but we'll put her in there today...see how she does. I'll let ya'll know, of course.

9 Months

Wow, it's about 8:30PM california time...it's been 9 months to just about the minute since Summer was born.

Has she gone through some changes or what? Here she is from this morning.


This is a cool little toy, it teaches phonics. "C goes 'kah' like in Cat" Every letter it says it's sound and a word that uses it. She loves it. She's pretty smart though, as the bottom of the characters that go inside the bus have rings, which push down a different button on the forward most "seat"...and Summer figured out right away that she can just push the buttons herself. Too cool.


Here we are now, living in Colorado and we are in the middle of a nice little snow storm...So, I made Summer a little month-day gift!


Here are two other pictures of her with the snowman.


Here she is with a snowball. She didn't throw it at anyone.


OK, so that's it. She's sleeping now, and she's feeling much better. Her nose is clearing up, her nose is less red. She's eating better and has slept pretty well the last few nights. Happy 9-Month-Day, Summer.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hey, Summer, Happy St. Patrick's Day!


OK, no, we're not going to be getting Summer drunk anytime soon, but what IS St. Patty's without a little green beer? Right Erika?

And, here's a "safer" picture with just me feeding her. :-) Check out her First St. Patty's Day bib!


OK, and to catch up...I'll post a few more pictures, but first, some news...you, know, from watching the news...what's up in Colorado Springs? Spring is coming...and we hear it may snow...yay! Hmmm...

We move to Colorado and one of the unhappy things for us is the smoking being allowed in bars and restaurants... But, the state Senate finally passed a bill to make the state smoke free!!! YAY!!!! The house already approved a similar bill before, so this bill should pass and then no smoking will be allowed in most public places, except casinos, cigar bars and a few other places...So, when we go to a bowling alley, or a restaurant, we don't have to worry about Summer breathing in any smoke.

OK, you guys don't come here to read about state laws...But, Summer will appreciate the no smoking law. On with the pics!

First up is Summer napping today in her new car seat. She likes sitting forward so she can see and talk with us.


And speaking of cars, we got Summer a push toy...well, she kind of picked it out when we all (including Grandpa Mark) went to Babies R Us. It works great and she LOVES IT! Don't look too close, but you can see she still isn't feeling great...a little drool and a red nose give it away...she isn't well, yet.


And here Summer is, just another day, another cute outfit.


OK, and last, but not least...before I head to sleep...Here is Summer at her best! We love it when she sleeps...she can be SO LOUD!


OK, last night was the first night we decided we were going to try some tough-love, or something like that, and let her cry herself back to sleep instead of feeding her. The theory is (from many people telling us) that is she isn't fed, she'll realize she doesn't need to wake up 1-4 times in the middle of the night. Since she's been sick, she's been BAD! But, last night...that first night we were going to be OH SO TOUGH...well, she slept through the night. She's trying to catch up, I guess...since the last few nights she's gotten up multiple times, or would stay up an hour to an hour and a half. It was very frustrating. Sick kids are no fun.

Ok, so that catches up with everything. I'll update her home blog tomorrow sometime. The flooring is on! Maybe they'll work tomorrow and have some walls up, too? We'll see...make sure to check that blog soon. G'nite.

Summer is Sick...

So, as you know (if you've been reading up to date) Summer went to Daycare on Thursday. (We decided to go ahead with them, by the way. Pricey, but good school, we feel she'll learn a lot and make good friends.) Anyway, we think she came down with a cold. This was her first major contact with children. So, not that any of them were sick, but they could have been carriers and they'd be carrying Colorado germs...germs Summer didn't have any immunities towards. Well, she'll develop them soon enough. At least she doesn't have a fever.

So, yesterday, even though she had a runny nose, we figured some fresh air would do her good! After her noon-ish nap we bundled her up and took her out.


She stayed warm, until the way back when the wind was more in her face. We took her in the stroller, so we lifted her out of the stroller and carried her against our chests and then she was fine. She had a blast, and we really liked the hike. When we were getting nearly done, there was a hill. We almost turned back, but decided to go up it and see what we could see. You know, see what paths may lead where...


Yeah, there as a nice pond/lake with a lot of geese and some ducks.


The view the other way was also pretty impressive, but the camera on my phone really can't do it justice, even these of the lake aren't that great. See, we should ALWAYS bring our camera with us.

Anyway, Summer just woke from her 20 minute nap...she cannot sleep well at all. She woke up 5, yes FIVE, times last night. Poor Sweetie. Figure will take a few more days to get better. Colds stink!

In Summer's Words

So, Summer went to daycare today for 3 and a half hours. Then she came home to hang out with Daddy. She saw me writing emails and updating my resume etc and wanted to type something herself, so I suggested she write something for the blog....well, this is what she came up with.

yhfhjf 2x/. JZj,km oklllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll111111111111fd]']
dre[3=g ,n ut ';/.gf vccccxjk omkwZ jjkillllllllllllllllllllll,ss;;;/''l

,.;/ 56TTFGGGGT VFFFFFFFCCCCCC J X CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCccccccccC WE,KSXZ XTNBC N N J, XXXXX44D
BBBBBBBBBBB ghn z cx z 6c va aaaaaaaavvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv 65ytt HHH vvvvvvvvvvvvvv BGVzzx

I think she was trying to say she had a good time at daycare and can't wait to go back and get to know the kids better! :-D

Colorado Daycare

Well, Learning Center is more like it...so much for saving money on daycare in Colorado. I'm sure we could have saved money if we found a great home-daycare like we had back in California. CC was the Greatest! And I'm sure a school like this in California would be more expensive than here (or so I would like to believe)...but it is definitely an increase from what we were paying before.

However, since Summer is getting to be so old...haha, 9 months in a week or so. We figured we may as well just find a learning center style of place. We drove to four of them specifically to check them out. Two lost out immediately due to location and the way the building looked, etc. They were in more of the southern end of town and one had gang signs tagged on their garbage dumpster. Too far to drive and they seemed like shady neighborhoods.

The two "good ones" were closer to home. The closer one has a few positive things about it, more versatile for part-time for when we get Jessica to cut back on work hours, etc. However, the bright-white and sharply contrasting blue trim walls seemed kind of industrial/hospital like. The people seemed fine, but the kids seemed a bit quieter, etc. The place we've chosen to check out a little bit more is a place called Primrose.

Tomorrow, Summer will be going to the school for a little bit of a trial run for 4 hours. We got that idea from the place we didn't pick, as they offered a free day to see how Summer would get along. So, with this half-day we'll see how Summer does and how the teachers like her and we'll go from there. If we like it, we'll be starting Summer there on March 20th, when the next spot becomes available.

We really like the place, everyone was nice, the rooms were a bit more subdued in tans and light browns. There was soft wood colored wood cribs instead of starkly white painted wood cribs. The walls had wallpaper borders which gave it a much more homey feel. Also, the windows to the doors are smoked, so you can't see in or out easily, whereas the other place had large plate-glass windows where everyone looked like they were in separate wards, again, of a hospital.

Primrose teachers and staff all go by their names with "Miss" or "Mister" in front of their first names. It is very friendly but respectful. The teachers we met in the infant care section were very sweet, especially Miss Anna. Summer took an immediate liking to her. We also met with the next level up, Miss Teddy, whom also seemed very friendly and Summer liked her, as well. So, with those two primary people Summer seems that she would be in good, LOVING hands.

Oh, and another thing, speaking of hands, a big positive about this place is they teach ASL (American Sign Language) to help the children communicate their needs and desires. That is something I am really keen on, as I want to be able to communicate with Summer as soon as possible to make everyone's life easier. We are already trying to teach her little things like eat/food, bottle/drink, cat... Others she will learn are more, thank you, mom, dad, potty/diaper... This will be very nice, and Primrose was the only place that had teacher trained in all classes to teach the kids.

So, anyway, as first mentioned, all of this comes at a price...yikes! But, we'll be able to work it out. Only the best for our little Sum-Sum! And when she's about a year and moving up to the young-toddler class, there is possibly an option to go to a Mon-Wed-Fri part time schedule, which by then, maybe Jess will be able to adjust her schedule to work just those three days. Then the cost impact won't be so severe.

It this place does not work out, we've driven by a few others just north of us, but haven't looked into them beyond that.

I'll let ya'll know how Summer's half-day goes tomorrow.

Snow Day!

Yay, SNOW!!!!

So, I had a haircut appointment today and just as I was leaving to get the haircut it had finally started snowing. I came back about 40 minutes later and picked up Jess and Summer to go driving out in the snow (and go pay for my haircut...only take cash and checks, so they let me leave to go home and get a check, what a town!).

This is the view of the cars when I went to get my haircut.


It wasn't as bad as the weather service was saying. Maybe it'll start up again, but it was about an hour-1.5 hours of snow with maybe an inch or so of accumulation. So, we headed out to get some pics of Summer's first snow. No, I didn't put her down in it, because she fell asleep in the car seat.


We found a regional park, which has trails and lakes. We are going to have to get some hiking gear and some better clothes for Summer. It is so beautiful up here.


And here is one of the lakes. Note the sign about walking on the ice. Yeah, I can see the holes, no way would I go out on that ice!


So, as said, we just drove around in the back woods area. The forested area is very cool.


And, another shout out to my buddy Gus...this image sure makes it look like the Frozen Tundra...but, really it was above freezing, no snow stuck on the roads and sitting inside, looking out, most snow is already melted if it is exposed to the sun. Only a little bit still remains. It sure doesn't last long. But when it's there, it is awesome looking!

Forecast

This is the first day with a forecast of snow!! Yay! Summer's first snow!

Summer in the Loft

A few people were wondering about the loft and the railings. Well, they are completely up to code and the railings are spaced very tightly. Notice in the pic how her head covers almost three posts.

Also notice the railing across the stairwell, the spun basket in the middle of the post. That is a design choice we are getting, as opposed to plain wood.

Summer's New Home

This post is just to show of a few things about the new home. For more details of the home we're having built, check out this other blog. This other blog will detail the progress of the new home being built.

As you all know, the main reason we're moving to Colorado is to have a nice large home with a roomy yard for Summer.

First up is a picture of a neighboring home, which is close to the house we'll have. Same house design, same orientation, i.e. the door is on the left, garage is on the right. Similar color. Ours will be unique in stone finish and shingles and I believe the main door is a different color, but, basically you can gather the size and shape of the house.


What does our place look like? Well, when I visited a few weeks ago, this is all there was.


Yep, nothing but a big hole. A VERY BIG HOLE!

To see where it is today, you'll have to go look at the other blog. But, just so you know, the footers and foundation walls are done. The basement windows are roughed in with the protective climb-outs installed. They are working on the plumbing right now and will be pouring the basement slab shortly.

Just for kicks, here is a picture of Summer's room, as done in the model home. We're thinking of putting a window seat with storage in that cut-out window. We'll see what's up after we move in...in late June, most likely. Should be real close to being a 1-year birthday gift to Summer!


One thing that we really liked about this house plan was the layout and the inclusion of a loft area, for playing and in the future, will hold a TV and internet for Summer (and hopefully her sibling!).


There aren't any vaulted ceilings, but it if pretty open to downstairs and with 9 foot ceilings it seems very spacious, without the added heating costs associated with vaulted ceilings. That's all we'll post here about the new house, unless we get pics of Summer in the place, or on the property. So, if you're interested in Summer, stay here on this blog. If your interested in the new home building process and it's progress, go here!

Colorado Springs aka The Frozen Tundra

OK, that post title is for my buddy Gustavo. That's what he likes to call Colordao Springs. I think Erik O would tend to agree. We've been very lucky with the weather so far, as it's been very warm. But I do have a few pics, which hint at the cool weather/cold nearby.

First, we have to show off Pike's Peak, for, what is Colorado Springs if not the home of this famous mountain?


During our drive to the furnture store we took this detour, as Summer was taking a nap. We got that picture of Pike's Peak and headed up the road which leads to the summit. It's a toll road, 10 bucks per person, or 35 per car, so load up in a mini-van or something to save some money. It's a 19 mile drive, takes about 2 hours and they have picnic areas at the summit. We'll definitely go back and head to the summit some other time. This day it was already closed, as they expect everyone off the summit by 4 or 5PM. It's all about safety...snow/fire/winding road, etc. Will get some nice pictures from that trip someday.

On that same road, there is "The North Pole" and "Santa's Workshop". It is basically a small amusement park with carnival rides and such. We'll definitely be part of the crowd come next Christmas, I'm sure!


Coming back down we took the road to "Garden of the Gods". We had no idea what this was, but we went anyway.

WOW! It is basically a hiking, picnicing, mountainous area for exploring! Jess took this awesome picture!


And here's another one.


And we both took many others, it is just plain old awe inspiring! We are going to have to get hiking passes so we can climb around on the rocks and picnic there. There is also wildlife just wandering around, of course. Jess got a few good pics of some young elk. At least Grandpa thinks they were elk, and there is no reason to think otherwise. They don't have normal deer markings.


The next day we went driving around some more, this time just north of our place, up in Monument, Palmer Lake and Broadmoor. Here we came across two lakes, Monument Lake, or "The Frozen Tundra"!


And we also stopped at Palmer Lake, to let Summer get out of the car to stretch a little, go on the swing.


And to walk on water!!!


This last picture I just like the composition with Grandpa walking along with the hills and Lake Palmer in the background. It was the chilliest day we had, it was only in the mid-50's.


That's all we have for pics from the area for now.

We Made It!

We rolled into our new apartment at 2PM. Grandpa drove the truck up to apartment while we checked in and signed all the paperwork. This picture is actually from when I visited a couple of weeks ago to see the apartment and have a meeting with the new home design center. When we got there, all the snow was basically gone. The city was experiencing record and near record high temperatures for a few days right when we got here.


The place is a luxury complex. There is a gym, a movie room, they provide water and popcorn and coffee and high-speed internet, fax machines, a pool and hot-tub, etc... Very plush. Our apartment is 1008 square feet for 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. This will work well while we wait for the house to be completed.

So, we un-loaded the truck some that first day, just enough to get some sleep. The next couple of days we completed the un-loading and tried to take it easy. The altitude definitely affected us all. While Jess and I were unpacking and such, Grandpa watched Summer, and with his magic touch was able to get her to sleep. This was one time that we got a picture of, as it was just super cute.


In addition to unloading and unpacking, we traveled around and looked for a new kitchen table. We wanted something for the apartment, which would go into our nook area of the new house. We had sold our glass kitchen table, amongst other things...THANK GOODNESS for that, too! Remember those pictures of the truck, fully loaded? Well, without us selling those bookshelves to Johnny and the other things, we would have had an even harder time loading up that truck. Thanks for helping us out that way Johnny, Lauren and Aaron and Constantine!

So, on our first trip to a warehouse furniture store, we got lucky and found this great table. We decided we would come back and pick it up in the morning, instead of waiting for delivery. It came unassembled in a box, so we had to put it together ourselves. Of course, Summer being the inquisitive girl she is, she came over and wanted to help. So, I handed her the socket wrench.


She took it and played with it, so we decided to see if we could put her to work, and believe or not, she actually tightened up the bolts a little!


Yeah, we had to finish the tightening, but she liked pulling on the wrench. She helped out for a while, it was awesome!

Later the next day (we took two easy days to build the table and finally finish those too difficult to put together chairs) we got this picture of Summer eating at the table.


Other things to note is that she is sitting in one of those hanging chairs. We bought that when we got to CO, too. Her high-chair takes up a lot of space. We used this hanging chair at Macaroni Grill the night before, too. Kind of makes us want to get another one. One for in the car, for when we go out to dinner and leave one on the home table. Also notice we took some of our plants with us and put up some pictures and things to make the place a little homey.

OK, that covers most of the stuff in the apartment for now. We also got her a few new toys. We took a video of her WALKING on her own with the one push toy. She really loves that and looks around for verbal encouragement as she walks. It is awesome and I will try to post that soon. Wish me luck!

The Move - Loading and Traveling

OK, so we got some visitors to help pack up the last of our stuff. Erika, Rick and Barb came as a COMPLETE SURPRISE!!!, Uncle Gabe and Aunt Krissy also showed up. Gabe was a big help with the large items! Thanks to you all! Here are a few shots of the visitors. First is Rick and Barb. Gabe is on the floor, in front of Summer. She's all packed up and ready to go! Haha!


This second pic shows Erika and Grandpa taking a break on the same chairs Jess and I first brought into the condo. Seemed very appropriate, they were the first chairs in there back in Dec 2003, and they are the last chairs to leave. Gabe and Krissy are on the floor, and Summer decided she'd rather ride in the car, not in a box, and she was letting us know!


As a quick aside, Uncle Chris also came to visit, but it was on Monday, earlier in the week. It was nice for him to come say goodbye to all of us. First, Jess' parents leave town, then we leave town, now Gabe and Krissy want to head back up north to the Bay area...all of us leaving Chris in LA...he is also planning on heading back to New York...so, we're all getting out of town. Here Chris is holding Summer as she gets ready for her nap.


Back to the day of the move...With everyone's help, we finished loading the truck, mostly, by about 4 or 5PM. This was about the time people would be coming home from work, so we wanted to get out of the alley. The truck was mostly packed up anyway. What at first seemed to be so easy to load, where I even said we may have been able to get away with a 22 foot truck, became quite a tricky puzzle to get everything inside! We could have used a 28 or 32 foot truck! But, then it wouldn't have been such a tight fit, which helped hold everything into place!


With this loaded up, we moved the truck out front. Parked my car on it and then did some of the last minute loading.


We kept loading up random things until about 8PM. We had earlier decided to just go ahead and leave that night, as it would be a pain to load a mattress and prepare to leave in the morning. Not to mention it would be nearly impossible to sleep...we'd have way too much anxiety. So, we said our final, "See ya later"'s to everyone and headed on out.

We drove for about 3 hours until we reached Barstow, where we stayed in a nice Holiday Inn Express. It took nearly an hour to unloaded the car with us, Summer's playpen/crib for the night, the FOUR cats, including the food and water bowls and litter box. I took this picture in the morning of the Penske Pacer, parked and waiting. It always looks like it wants to move, it doesn't like sitting still.


The next day we started driving out of California. When I made that quick post from my cell phone. Sorry I never took the time to post again until tonight. We drove for a solid 12+ hours Saturday. It ended up being a great idea to stop in Barstow to get a decent nights sleep in a warm/soft bed! Summer didn't like her playpen as much, and had some trouble sleeping, but that was to be expected. We finally ended up finding a nice Comfort Inn for the second night's rest, in Sante Fe, New Mexico. The place had exterior entrances, so it was easier to un-load and load back up the kitties and everything in the morning.


This was the last day of driving. We drove for about 6 hours and got into Colorado Springs around 2PM.

Two last notes about the packing and moving, before moving on to a Colorado post.

First, the cats...yikes...we almost lost Cheeto. We've let him out on our patio for over a year, and not once did we ever feel all that worried that he'd try to run away. None of them really made us feel that way. But the day of the move, both Tilly and Cheeto made us nervous. We put them all out on the patio while everyone was in and out, moving boxes, etc. And Cheeto looked like he was about to flee. Not only did I get scratched up pretty badly just getting him outside, I had to catch him, JUST BARELY, as he jumped up and almost over the fence. His front claws were outside the patio. We got him and put both he and Tilly into a car carrier out on the patio. So, he's still with us, thank goodness, but it was pretty scary. I only mention this because he's Summer's favorite kitty, and we think they'll be best friends growing up. Cheeto isn't liking the small apartment right now, but I'm sure he'll love the new house.

Second, the driving...We paid for two drivers on the truck, but only Grandpa drove. That let me drive the car most of the way and Jess watched/hung out with Summer. Basically we were able to stay hanging out with you, Summer! Grandpa and I kept in touch with some great walkie-talkies. Most of the time we let Grandpa lead, so we wouldn't lose track and get too far ahead. This is how the name "Penske Pacer" came about. Grandpa did most of the leading/pacing. He says he felt in his element, and it sure made it a lot easier on us being able to be in the car with Summer. So, there is no way we can thank you enough, Dad!

The Move - Loading

OK, so Grandpa Mark showed up Thursday night and we finished last minute packing and loaded the truck Friday.

I got some help from Tom, Kyle and Cindi. Without them, I think we'd still be in California! Thanks a million for the help!

So, the day started around 8AM, getting up and ready. We went to get the truck (what we ended up calling "The Penske Pacer") and went to the storage facility. Where Grandpa and I met up with Tom. Kyle and Cindi showed up after just one load, so pretty quickly.

Everyone worked swiftly and that storage unit was quickly emptied. We then headed to the Condo. Kyle and them got lunch from our nearby Burger King and we ate before the BIG WORK began!

We parked the truck out in the alley and started loading. Here is the truck, right in the beginning. That's Grandpa working on the primary back wall.


The loading process went on without a hitch for the next 2.5-3 hours. It was like clockwork! Here are two helpers...sorry Tom, missed getting a picture of you. :-(

First up is Cindi, here you can see the house had a lot of boxes and the kitchen chairs are wrapped in saran wrap. Also, the couch is still just sitting there. In the few hours my co-workers were there helping all that was loaded up!


Next up is Kyle. Here he is standing in the truck and showing off our progress. The 26 foot truck took in everything pretty easily, everything seemed great!


Well, after that bit of loading it was time for my buds to move along. They had other things to do, and it was about 1:40. Grandpa and I took a little break and waited for re-enforcements. (Yeah, we kept loading a little here and there, but we could only do so much.) Like Summer's room, we hadn't broken down her furniture yet, as we were letting her sleep. My doesn't her room look empty?