June Happenings

I'm super behind...again.

Here's what we've been up to.

Happy Summer!  It is finally feeling like summer here in Denver…hello 90 degree days!  I kinda love this type of heat.  Out of all the bad weather type of elements out here (extreme snow, wind, rain, cold) the heat for me is the one that is the easiest to deal with.  I’ve always favored summer when I was growing up…probably my love for swimming and always begging my mom to take me to the pool.  And I know how short our summers are so I soak them up, enjoy them, and try to get to the pool as many times as possible.  We’ve been a few times and once to an indoor pool.  Helena is getting better and better in the water.  I learned with our experience from Florida that she does much better when slowly being introduced to the water!  On Father's Day she even had her first ever splash pad experience.  It was a huge success and she had a great time.  I knew she was happy by how she was walking all over the place talking up a storm!  It was such a sight to see.  Speaking of walking…we have a full on walker on our hands!  Last week she was crawling less and less, especially once she got the strength to go from sitting to standing on her own.  I think it was last Tuesday when I last saw her crawl.  She’s still definitely in the “drunk” walking phase as she isn’t super sturdy and still falls on her little bum quite a bit, but she’s getting better and better, and it is just crazy!  And she’s wearing shoes!  I’m so thankful, last year my cousin Charlene sent us these adorable little sandals, and for the past week they’ve been the only thing she’s been wearing, especially since we’ve been going out a lot lately.

climbing up on the couch!

I feel like we’ve had a super busy month with a lot of firsts for Helena. 

So let’s go to the beginning. 

Helena is a climber.  She can climb up onto the couch.  As cute as this is, it is also terrifying.  She seems cautious when she is near the edge, but still terrifying. 

Helena is a kisser.  For me this was one of the milestones that took my breath away.  When you ask her for “kisses” she smooth her lips and make the “muah” sound while leaning toward your face.  It’s pretty much the cutest thing ever on the face of planet earth.

giving Kisses!

She had her first stay at a hotel.  The first weekend of the month we traveled to Scottsbluff, NE for a potential job for Chris.  We stayed two nights, and the first night was brutal.  She didn’t fall asleep until 11pm, and got up at 12:30pm.  I just cuddled her and had her sleep with Chris and I.  This was the first time Helena has ever slept with us.  Needless to say, I didn’t sleep.  I was so anxious about her being in bed with us.  My senses were heightened with every single move from either Chris or Helena.  It was horrible.  She thankfully slept great the second night.

Scottsbluff, Nebraska

An afternoon at the pool will do that to ya!

 Helena loves to dance.  The following weekend there was a free concert at a nearby library.  She loved it.

The attempt of a family photo!

YUMMY corn!

 She loves corn on the cob.  Feeding Helena is sometimes a challenge, you know she’s hungry, she’s whining because she is hungry, you offer her food, yet she will not eat.  It is beyond frustrating.  We’ll have a perfectly good dinner with food she can eat but she won’t take it, bring out a food pouch or pureed baby food?  And she’s all over it!  Why won’t she just eat her FOOD?!  Ugh!  I have found that I usually have to offer something at least 3 times, majority of the time she’ll take it on that third offer, if she doesn’t take it she is truly done, or I try something else.  Does she want to feed herself?  Do I need to entertain her with a napkin (this is a new win in the eating challenges) or with an extra spoon for her to play with?  It’s all a guessing game and we are just flying by the seat of our pants (or however that saying goes).  I digress, my point is she loves corn on the cob.  I think she loves how she has to bite it off. 

Too.Much.Spaghetti.

Playing at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science!

She has 8  teeth now (3 all came in at once while she was sick).  The teeth help with the corn, obviously.

She is exhausted.  There have been two instances where she is fallen asleep from such a fulfilled afternoon.  

We also traveled to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for a morning with Andrea and Grayson.  They have an amazing kids “Discovery Zone” area.  Helena loved it.  We went when she became a true “walker” and loved walking all over the place.  She usually always has to have a toy (or two) in her hand.  It was so much fun seeing her explore and able to get into anything and everything she wanted.  Afterwards we went outside and had a lovely picnic lunch.  It is so cute because Grayson and Helena share everything. Helena had some of Grayson’s carrots and he had some of her blueberries.  They even partnered up when Helena was pushing her stroller all over the place and I put on the breaks so she could no longer push it.  Well Helena was trying to push it by herself, which she couldn't.  But with Grayson's help they pushed it all over the place...who needs breaks?, when you have a friend!!!

PUSH!

 We met up with Grayson again for a Rockies game!  I found out Helena's new favorite fruit: cherries!  After the game we went to dinner, and the kiddos had a great time walking around and making friends with everyone!

Rockies game!

Splash pad!

Just walking around.

It's been such a fun month and great start to the summer!  Seeing Helena discover new things brings such light and appreciation into my eyes its as if I get to discover for the first time too!