The Stairs

This is what Evelyn learned the other week:

Nathan installed gates over the weekend. :)

Silly Evie! :)

Pink Baby :)

Nathan and I bought this dress the day we found out that Evie was going to be a girl. She felt so lovely in it with her little black leather shoes. She was also pleased that Grandma and Grandpa got out a few duplos for her. :)

On a different note, we used to put Evie in this red basket because she loved it and it kept her in one place out of trouble.

But then she realized that she could stand up...

AND climb out!

So it is no longer a safe containment place and Evie doesn't play in it any longer. :) It was nice while it lasted! :)

Peas

I wasn't in a huge rush to jump into solid foods so we had a bit of a slow start. Evie and I were both determined though when we got back from Colorado and it's been great and so easy. My friends were right - don't rush it and when she's ready, she'll let you know. She doesn't love puréed foods, she prefers pieces of fruits or cooked veggies. Fruits of all types are her favorite. Avocado is her least favorite. :) Here are some pics of her eating peas the other day (pureed too, so not as much a favorite as, say, strawberries or cantaloupe.)

Squinchy face!!

Sometimes she is very focused.

And other times she gets very distracted.

Sometimes she's a little confused.

Sometimes she likes to chew on a bagel.

And sometimes she gets sad when I take the bagel away because she's taking too big of bites.
Sometimes the spoon goes to her nose instead of her mouth.
BUT most of the time, she's just our happy baby girl.

Colorado: Breckenridge

Our last full day in Colorado we drove from CO Springs out to Breckenridge. We wanted to really get into the mountains before we flew back to Virginia. It was one of the most beautiful drives ever. These pictures really do not do it justice. We drove through some beautiful mountains and aspen forests around Pikes Peak and then we hit this wide plain with THE mountains in the distance. You can see the mountains in this picture if you look really hard. You can at least see the expansive plains between the mountains.

Driving across the plain.
 
We even crossed the continental divide!
After Evie stretched her legs a bit and practiced a bit behind the wheel...
We took the gondola up to the resort and park at Breckenridge. It was a beautiful ride up. Evelyn was not sure at first.. the loud clank as our gondola attached to the rope and subsequent rocking was a bit scary to her at first. But then she relaxed enough to enjoy it. :)
At the top!


There is a fancy summer park on the mountain with a sweet alpine slide. Nathan and I took turns riding. Not only was it super fast and twisty, there was a beautiful view the whole way:
Take a look at that board! Next time we come we'll have to come in the winter. :)
We had lunch downtown Breckenridge - it's such a cute little ski town.
After Breckinridge we drove back to Denver in our little trusty red car (that was a bit more like a go cart than a car)...

And Evie had a few last plays with David...

And then we flew back home to Virginia!

Colorado: Colorado Springs

While in Colorado Springs we stayed with my good friend, Dawn, and her husband David. Dawn and I have been friends for as long as we can remember. It was sooo good to see her again, meet David, introduce her to Evie and to catch up! Thanks for hosting us, Dawn and David.
Dawn's friend Jessica and her husband Jesse were also in town. It was quite the house full! :) Here we all are at David's parents house for dinner.
David's dad shot a panther a looong time ago (before it was illegal) and he still has the skin! It was pretty crazy! Evie wasn't scared and thought it was actually quite fascinating. She had to be careful with it though because it's getting a little fragile.
Dawn works at Focus on the Family and so we stopped by while we were there for lunch and to tour the place. Our favorite part was the baby play land in Whit's End. Everything is padded and safe for babies to explore. With all the driving and sightseeing, Evelyn loved having a place to crawl and climb. :)

The last thing we did on our day in CO Springs was visiting the Air Force Academy. The chapel at the Academy is very fascinating. I don't know that I would call it beautiful (like the Naval's Academy's), but it definitely looks Air Force-ish. :)  
The ceiling

We got caught in a big thunderstorm though and were drenched by the time we got back to the car. I tried to keep Evie dry under my coat, but she was too interested in the rain to stay underneath it. :)