DICKINSONS

Ian's party - the cake

2011-07-20T21:09:00.006-06:00

There are too many photos of Ian eating cake but he just had so many cute expressions and it was such a sweet moment. So here you go!

please don't look to closely to the cake. I do not have decorating skills at all. I made the bunting on the high chair to hopefully distract a little.

At first he wasn't real sure what to do. Poking at it a bit.

Big sister helping him a little bit. Then he got a taste and really got into it.

Ian's party

2011-07-20T19:41:00.007-06:00

THE INVITE:

WE SET UP A PHOTO BOOTH FOR SOME FUN WITH MUSTACHES.

CHOCOLATE MUSTACHES - YUM!

Lots of fun was had by all, especially our little man!

peek- a- boo

2011-02-26T19:55:00.004-07:00

christmas x2

2011-01-20T17:23:00.007-07:00

The whole family
All the kiddos with aunt meme

The chaos of Christmas morning

Story time with Grammie

cousin Amos

Uncle Brent

Fun at the Children's Museum

Sledding Fun

Chloe and Amos

The aquarium

The Dickinson clan all came to Colorado for our new year and Christmas celebration. It was so fun to see all the cousins running around together.

beautiful photos

2010-11-18T18:24:00.003-07:00

Our very talented friend Sara took some photos for us recently. Go check them out here.

Break time is over

2010-11-14T16:45:00.006-07:00

Wow it has been awhile! After our computer virus, hard drive crashing, and me trying to eat our memory card (when you are completely sleep deprived, don't take out your memory card while your munching on wheat thins in the other hand. it hurts a lot!) I decided to take a break. But now I have lots of catching up to do. Not only for you, but I realize how bad my memory is and how nice it is to look back on here. So here it goes. I am going to try and get caught up and stay that way. I pre-dated some posts so you'll have to scroll back to see some.

first swimming trip

2010-09-27T08:11:00.004-06:00

Lots of fun had by all!!

he's happy, mommas happy

2010-09-03T22:31:00.005-06:00

We have a happy baby!! It has been life changing to be able to put Ian down and not have to bounce him constantly. He's enjoying his bouncer and talking to his new best friend (a balloon left over from Chloe's birthday). He just laughs and talks to you.

shoe designer or just shoe obsessed?

2010-08-30T18:30:00.006-06:00

Lately Chloe will turn anything and everything into a shoe. It all started with my bracelet ( a pretty cute look if you ask me) and hasn't stopped from playing cards, wipes, gloves and of course my shoes.

camping

2010-08-27T11:54:00.005-06:00

Jeremy and I were talking about how we missed out on camping and the mountains this summer, when we realized summer is not over and how hard could it be camping with a newborn. They just sleep and eat right? We went to Golden Gate Canyon State Park just an hour away and borrowed Jeremy's parent's pop up camper. It was beautiful and it felt so good to escape to the mountains, but so not a good idea with a colicky newborn. I also didn't take into consideration that both kids got their vaccinations right before we left. Ian was so fussy, screaming the whole time (even when eating) unless he was sleeping. Poor little guy. The second day went much better. Ian enjoyed sitting in his bouncer and watching the aspen leaves.

Unfortunately, these pictures are on the memory card I chopped. They were of some beautiful scenery and blurry ones of Chloe dodging the camera.

2 months and 2 years

2010-08-26T17:40:00.007-06:00

We had a big Dr. visit today for both kiddos. So here are some stats and insights to my life right now with a 2month old and 2year old.

Chloe 25.1 lbs 28%, height 32 in 8%.

Ian 12.5 lbs 77%, height 23 in 61%. He is healthy and growing like crazy.

It has been a hard couple of months, especially this last one. From discovering I can't eat any dairy products, to figuring out how to divide my time/love between two children to bouncing a very fussy baby constantly who refuses to sleep more then a 3 hour stretch at night. It has been exhausting. Part of me can't wait for this stage to pass, but then it also makes me sad he is already 2 months old. It goes by so fast! It is amazing how fast days go by with a newborn, yet not much is getting done. It has been hard for me to learn to overlook the piles of crumbs and dust on the floor, the overflowing laundry basket, and remembering my main job of loving on these two wonderful little kiddos. It is a hard balance to find and I don't have it yet.

It is exhausting but there are plenty of sweet little moments the make my cup runneth over. Ian has really started to laugh and coo. So sweet!! I love it when he looks at me and smiles, his eyes water and he lets out a little laugh.

living with a 2 year old (at least mine)

2010-08-16T19:01:00.015-06:00

Two!!! I can't believe it. I feel so blessed to be her momma. Even though she has her days, I am enjoying this stage so much. It is amazing to hear her putting words together, using her imagination, and mimic things that we do, and to see more of her personality come out. She is so sensitive and empathetic. She can not watch America's funniest home videos, to her people getting hurt just isn't funny. If she's sees a kid crying she has to go over and make sure they are o.k. Such a sweetie! She's been having a hard time sharing us with Ian but she is so sweet to him. She is always concerned when he cries and will sing to him or rock him. Lately she has been calling me Sarah, where do they get this stuff.

This was the sweetest moment ever. I was doing dishes in the kitchen when Ian woke up in his swing. Before I could dry my hands, Chloe had grabbed this small ziploc vaccum and ran to his aide. Such a sweetie! We have used many a things for background noise to calm our little one but not this, she's a smarty.

It has also been interesting to see her sense of style starting to come out. Which is usually pretty amusing, see the monkey around her neck? yes that was part of her outfit that day.

the fair

2010-08-15T15:33:00.006-06:00

More fun pics of the kiddos from when my parents were in town. I can't help myself my Dad always takes so many cute ones it is hard to narrow them down.

I wasn't to happy with this, but Jeremy insisted he had 2 hand on her. She enjoyed it!

strawberries and downpours

2010-08-10T10:40:00.010-06:00

Picking strawberries at a berry farm. Yum!

What better to do after a nice big Colorado downpour?!

These look really awesome as a slide show but I couldn't figure it out quickly, time is not on my side right now, and I wanted to get something up before you all thought we disappeared forever.

pictures courtesy of my Dad

night out

2010-08-09T16:20:00.003-06:00

This weekend Jeremy and I went to a friends wedding while my parents, who were in town for Chloe's' birthday party, watched BOTH kiddos for us. It was so nice and so different leaving this time then it was from the first time we left Chloe. Too bad we were both exhausted and opted to come home before the even cut the cake. Sleep means way more than cake these days!

birthday party

2010-08-09T16:19:00.007-06:00

This Friday we celebrated Chloe's 2nd birthday!! We had a few of her friends over for some swimming and bubble fun in our backyard. It was a good time and so fun to see Chloe enjoy
her party and friends.

she wasn't sure about the singing happy birthday part

Present time

one month

2010-07-29T14:09:00.006-06:00

wow! seriously how is it even possible for Ian to be one month already!? I guess we've been pretty busy keeping up with two kiddos. A lot of adjustments going on. Ian is a good little sleeper. In that he does it a lot, not so much in long stretches. I get at least one 3 hour stretch at night. It has been interesting especially since Jeremy works evenings and he has been back to work for 3 weeks now. Makes me wonder how people do it especially with more then 2!

my prince and princess

2010-07-29T13:59:00.004-06:00

noticed they were both in these clothes after my morning diaper changing fest.

playing around

2010-07-27T07:51:00.002-06:00

So this is what little brothers are for. We caught Chloe playing dolls with Ian yesterday. I'm sure this little boy has many days of doll playing ahead.

big sister

2010-07-21T17:27:00.004-06:00

Chloe is doing great with her little brother. She has had some regression and some major clinginess going on since we brought him home and then around his 2 week mark she started pinching him. She is doing better now and such a good little helper with his diapers,bouncing him in his bouncer, and talking to him to calm him down when he is crying. It is so cute to see!

sorry

2010-07-20T14:45:00.002-06:00

sorry all, more pictures are coming. our computer got a virus so we have been without a computer for a bit. we have a loner computer now so i will try and get you all updated.

2 weeks

2010-07-14T19:09:00.002-06:00

Ian had his 2 week appointment today and he is perfect! He is weighing in at 8lb 14oz (50%), 21 1/4 in tall (68%) and his head at 14 in (20%). He is a big eater and it shows! The dr. we are with sends out a home care nurse after you are home with your baby. on our first visit Ian was down to 6 and something lbs, losing more then 10.5% of his birth weight. I am not sure why seeing how the little guy was pretty much eating every hour. So the nurse had me pumping and giving him bottles on top of nursing. She came back the next day and he had gained .4lbs. Which was awesome she said. She came back 2 days later, which was 1 week after his birth day and he already surpassed his birth weight at 7lbs and 15oz. All that worry for nothing, I think my milk just hadn't come in enough for him. So any how we were just glad at his 2 week appt. that his weight was still increasing.

Our house lately

2010-07-09T13:37:00.002-06:00

lots of sleeping, snuggling, and admiring!!!

HELLO my name is.....

2010-07-08T08:45:00.003-06:00

Ian William Robert! It only took us a week after he was born to decide, but it is official. Why choose between two names we really like ( and have sentimental attachments too) when you can just combine them and give him two middle names! Why didn't we think of it sooner?

mr. no name

2010-07-03T10:00:00.003-06:00

We are all doing well. Adjusting to being home and getting used to the lack of sleep with a toddler around. He is a hungry little man eating almost every hour. Chloe is still so sweet with him but going through some things too.

I know the next question you all are asking is, what is his name. Well we are those people who left the hospital not knowing our child's name. We have 10 days after his birth to decide and we are taking it. Not all 10 I hope. We are down to 2 names but can't decide. We like both names, can picture him as both, but we have different opinions on our top choice. I didn't think it would be this hard to make this decision or we would be here 4days after his birth without a name. Soon!!! We are deciding soon! I'll let you know when we know. More pictures soon, we have to wait for grandparents to give us all of their pictures.

He's here!

2010-06-30T17:50:00.007-06:00

On June 29th at 8:30 pm little boy arrived. Weighing 7.12lbs and 20.5 in long. It was a long day but overall the whole experience went awesome. We are all trying just recovering and trying to get some rest. Thank you all for your prayers, I felt them and know God protected me and baby (more on that later). Chloe is loving her baby brother, she can't give him enough kisses and ways wants to see what he is doing. So here are a few pictures for you.

still waiting

2010-06-28T17:32:00.002-06:00

No baby yet. We went to the zoo this morning for some entertainment for Chloe and a good walk for me. I definitely think things are getting closer, but who wouldn't at this point. Feeling lots of things today with some contractions mixed in. Nothing too regular or strong. Tomorrow is the day we go in to the hospital no matter what, but the more my body does on its own the less of a need for pitocin. We'll see!! I can't believe it is already Monday. I can't believe he is not already here but at the same time I can't believe I will be holding my son tomorrow, assuming I don't have a horrendous long labor that pushes his birthday to Wednesday. Just wanted to let you all know. Thanks for your prayers and please keep it up!

fun times

2010-06-26T15:20:00.006-06:00

Butterfly Pavilions

Grandma and Grandpa are here from new mexico and boy is Chloe having fun!!! New toys, tons of attention, and basically whatever else she wants. Good stuff before her world is shaken up a bit.

dr. appt.

2010-06-24T15:37:00.002-06:00

Nothing yet. Went in to visit the Dr today and I am 2cm dilated but nothing real big. Had a stress test and everything is looking good. I don't want anything to be wrong but I was hoping they would find something that would nudge this little guy along. So we still wait. If nothing happens on its own by Tuesday we have an induction appt. at 8am. Praying we won't need that appt. but it is nice to have a end date. My parents arrived today, so hopefully that will keep my mind off things a bit. I will do my best to keep you all updated.

waiting and walking

2010-06-23T15:52:00.004-06:00

Today is my due date. I know things rarely happen on that date but one can hope right. We've been taking long walks the last 3 nights hoping to progress things. Today we went to a nice little lake in the area for a walk. We are all home (Jeremy is officially on his leave of absence right now, huge relief for me since when he would leave for a flight he was gone - no turning around) just keeping busy and waiting. Haven't really felt any contractions again. Hopefully soon and without pitocin this time!!

the house

2010-06-21T15:43:00.006-06:00

Before

So here are some before and after shots of our house painting project. All of our time and money for the last 2 months has been for this project (way too long) and we are still not done. We have to finish painting the gables black, the soffits white and we are thinking of doing a reddish door (maybe, what do you think). Unfortunately this project has taken long then expected so we did the necessities and decided to put a hold on it for a week or so to get the inside of the house more ready for baby boy. There is definitely a sense of accomplishment to take on house projects yourself not to mention the money saved but wheewwww!! And this one was completely on Jeremy and a few friends we hired to spray the main body color, considering my current state.

After

with new gutters and light fixtures

now we need to work on our poor mailbox! It got ran over by a plow last winter.

Dr. Appts and water parks

2010-06-18T07:59:00.004-06:00

Had a dr. appt today and not much to report. Dilated still just 1 cm but also effaced 50%. So who knows.

After we made Chloe sit through that dr. appt we took her to her first water park. I have become very sentimental the last few weeks about creating all of these special experiences as a family of three. I am so looking forward to baby boy and Chloe having a sibling but I just feel like we need to have all these special times/experiences before he comes, before our attention is divided. Call it pregnancy hormones I don't know. The point is Chloe had a great time! She didn't care too much for all the fun slides and spray stuff, but she loves just splashing and walking around in the water. She even spotted a few older kids (first graders) that she latched on to (literally) and they ended spending a good amount of time entertaining her. I didn't bring my camera so here are a few shots from our phone.

Flag day

2010-06-14T18:10:00.004-06:00

Today was my original due date. For whatever reason, maybe because it is flag day(? j/k), people still think it is my due date. I wish! At our ultrasound around 18weeks that added 9 days to my due date, not a very nice thing to do to a pregnant lady. So here we are still waiting, but knowing he will come when he wants.

Last week started off with quite a few contractions, unfortunately accompanied with nausea. I never had contractions on my own with Chloe so it was all new and so not fun with the nausea. Nothing happening the last few days though. Our to do list before baby arrives is still forever long with not much checked off and that is how it will stay. I have got most of necessities ready for him and Jeremy has most of the exterior of our house painted. We'll keep you updated!!

Christmas in June?

2010-06-05T14:16:00.003-06:00

This is what my little girl has been wearing the last few days.

Yes, the santa hat. I have been going through tons and tons of baby boy clothes that people have been so generous to give us and this hat was in one of those bags. Despite the 90 degree weather she wakes up every morning and puts on this fleece, baby's first Christmas, santa hat. She likes the ball on it she says. What are you going to do! Makes me laugh.

4 weeks

2010-05-26T21:48:00.005-06:00

We've got 4 weeks to go till my due date! Totally crazy to me. This pregnancy has gone so fast and not to mention so different. Different in almost all good ways considering I've got a toddler to keep up with. Not much or bad nausea, my chest actually stayed a normal size, so did my feet. I can wear all my shoes (!!!) and my wedding ring still. Not to mention that I really didn't get bigger until recently, so nice when you can bend over easier a little bit longer. This baby is hanging out so much lower then Chloe did. Makes seeing my feet a lot harder and a lot more pains on my lower back and down there.

I am feeling the excitement of his arrival and have been getting all his stuff together. We have be extremely blessed by so many people giving us stuff for our baby boy. Chloe has enjoyed "trying" it all out for baby brother.

We continue to be super busy, Jeremy outside getting our house ready to be painted, Me and Chloe inside cleaning and getting her new room ready.

nobody told me

2010-05-07T08:30:00.004-06:00

snap pajamas are really not a great idea for a toddler! At least with my little girl.

my girl

2010-05-04T17:45:00.007-06:00

My parents recently sent over a bunch of pictures from the last few months, so i have a bit of catching up to do. So be ready for picture overload. Looking through them just made me laugh at my little Chloe! Enjoy.

She just looks like such a big girl. I can't believe how fast it all goes.

trying on grandpa's hat

bath time for her baby - in bailey's water bowl

she just discovered a new way to eat raspberries

Chloe and her best buddy, Christopher

at her gymnastic class

Now these pictures are what really get me laughing, such joy this little one! These are all from my great aunts 50th wedding anniversary party/renewal of their vows back in February.

Chloe greeting guests as they walk down the aisle. I have no idea where she got this idea but she has been "greeting" like this for awhile now . Only if she really likes you though.

She got a stranger to come give her some attention, so why not just help your self to her purse. We all know what fun things are in there! ( I like how it looks like Jeremy and I are just sitting there letting our little one do whatever she wants. We tried a few times any how!)

Gotta love her!!

what I came home to

2010-04-19T21:06:00.004-06:00

I went shopping with a friend yesterday afternoon and this is what I saw when I got home.

mismatched , crazy crazy hair, dirt covered little girl. Which translates to one fun afternoon with Daddy!!

skinny jeans

2010-04-18T11:13:00.004-06:00

on me......no way

on Chloe......................

too cute!!!

cleaning house

2010-04-17T14:14:00.003-06:00

Call it nesting or spring cleaning but it is going down in a big way here at this Dickinson house. From redoing closets, bathrooms, organizing a garage, to getting Chloe's new room ready the projects just don't stop. So in between Jeremy's already busy schedule hes got a honey do list from me. I am not sure if it is a good thing to be cleaning closets and purging when your pregnant - a lot is getting thrown away or ready for our garage sale. Can I also just say how much I love Space Bags!! I mean I would love a bigger house with more storage room, but for now those Space Bags are awesome! So that is what we have been busy doing.

Our Easter

2010-04-15T15:28:00.005-06:00

Even thought a little bit of time has passed, I thought I would catch you all up a bit on our Easter. We made the drive back to New Mexico. We had a great, busy time. As always lots of good eating and grandparent time with Chloe. On Easter we woke up early and went to sunrise service at the Lobo Stadium (college football). It was beautiful weather and it is always amazing to see the amount of people that gather that early to celebrate the Resurrection! Later that day we went over to my aunt and uncle's house for more good food and an Easter egg hunt. For all the picture takers in my family we all forgot our cameras. So here some Jeremy took with his phone of our cute little Chloe hunting for eggs. It definitely didn't take long for her to figure out what to do, she enjoyed it so much. Good thing she didn't figure out each one was filled with candy!!

hope you all agree that a few sideways pictures are better then none because I have no idea and am way to lazy right now to mess with it. Sorry!

summer?!

2010-03-30T16:04:00.001-06:00

78 degrees today!! That's all I am saying.

new shoes

2010-03-29T19:03:00.004-06:00

This is what happens when Chloe and Daddy go shoe shopping....

I admit they are super cute and she looks so big wearing them, but we are talking about a little girl whose closet is overwhelmed by pink and pastels.

baby moon

2010-03-26T15:55:00.006-06:00

Last weekend Jeremy and I got away for a night in the mountains. Crazy to think it was the first time I have been away from Chloe for a whole night, but only a few tears were shed (from me, she was fine). We went up to Grand Lake Colorado. It was beautiful with amazing weather, good thing too since there is no jacket is sight that zips over my belly. We went on a few walks, enjoyed a yummy dinner, cozied up next to a fire watching movies, and did some snowshoeing. We got to take a little "baby moon" to Florida before Chloe was born and were envisioning the same warm weather type of vacation this time. Funny how priorities change! Instead of the a longer, warmer destination we opted for a new couch and t.v. and a closer destination. Even though those was no beach it was a great relaxing trip. Chloe had a great time with Grammie and Grampy too!!

out on the frozen lake

yesterday

2010-03-25T08:21:00.003-06:00

I just wanted a picture, she just wanted hot chocolate.

One of our crazy spring storms! Hard to believe the days preceding this storm were in the high 60's and low 70's. We had fun in it regardless!!

new potty

2010-03-19T09:13:00.004-06:00

This is what my daughter thinks it is for, a place to hang her pearls. Really though she is doing good and just getting comfortable sitting on her potty. We have yet to really "use" it. We'll see how all that goes. My goal was to be done with potty training before baby boy is here, but now that we are getting into it that might be more of a dream. We'll see.

little momma

2010-03-05T07:39:00.004-07:00

Chloe's absolute favorite toy is her babies. She is always busy feeding them, dressing them, putting them to bed, or pushing them in this stroller. On this occasion she had a pair of pajamas around her neck (for her scarf I'm assuming) and her purse as she pushed her baby around the house. To cute!!

Warm days and a fun suprise

2010-03-04T21:56:00.003-07:00

We have been having amazing weather here the past few days. It is giving us spring fever as we find ourselves outside most of the day realizing/dreaming of everything that needs to be cleaned up. Chloe loves it outside too!! So we also started dreaming of a play structure for her. On a whim we checked craigslist and we actually found a great deal on one. So we picked it up today and during her nap set it up. After her nap we took her outside to her show her her surprise. Her face was priceless when she saw it. It was so much fun watching her play the rest of the afternoon (translation: it was fun but we couldn't get her back inside!).

my to do list

2010-02-26T19:05:00.008-07:00

Today my to do list only has two things on it:

Update blog

Get out of Jury duty

So I am checking off one thing now. I guess I didn't realized what a busy month February was until I looked back at my lack of posting. My parents came to visit at the beginning of the month, then we all got a stomach virus that took us all down for a week, then we made a quick trip to NM for my great aunts 50th wedding anniversary party, and then we got a fun visit from Auntie Sarah and cousin Amos. A busy but fun month!

Chloe and Amos

Now this jury duty thing. I am all about doing my civil duty but this is the third time I have been called in the 7 years I have lived here. Crazy. Jeremy has never been called. Hopefully they feel like making special exceptions for stay at home moms!

a silly post for a sad day

2010-02-03T21:12:00.004-07:00

Today we had to put our sweet cat down. O.k. he wasn't that sweet and he was kind of crazy, but a part of our family none the less. I got Zellmer soon after I moved to Colorado, so we had been through a lot together. This emotional stuff is so much worse when you pregnant!

So to take our minds off of things here is a funny picture of Chloe. She is learning to dress herself, too bad it is with whatever article of clothing just happens to be on the top of the laundry basket.

more please

2010-01-31T20:23:00.007-07:00

Chloe has quickly learned how to ask for more. She does it in the funniest way ever, or maybe we think that because we are her parents. Any how we took a video so you be the judge.

sorry, I can't figure out how to turn the video upright.

and yes she says it like that ever time as she tilts her head.

the results

2010-01-22T14:26:00.003-07:00

Chloe showing off a picture of her Baby BROTHER!!!!!

As far as the Dr. could tell from the ultrasound he is looking healthy. We decided against the amniocentesis, and without out that test that can not definitely confirm he doesn't have down syndrome. We are just excited to see him and know that right now everything is looking good.

the latest

2010-01-14T14:42:00.005-07:00

Some of you have heard and some have not yet, but we keep getting concerned calls so I figured I will fill everyone in on our latest baby news. So back in December we went in for our 15 week appointment and got the Afp4 blood test (which screens for different birth defects). Unfortunately our test came back that this baby has a greater chance of being born with down syndrome then the average baby. It has been a crazy few weeks filled with different emotions, prayers, and waiting. The more we tell people about these results we are surprised to find how many others have heard these results and have had completely healthy babies. In the middle of all of this we are having to switch Dr.'s because of an insurance change. So we had our first visit with the new Dr. yesterday, and don't really have any new news. She said my results gave me a 1/35 chance of having a baby with down syndrome. Still not sure what all this means, but right now we feel we are in a good place and resting in God's peace. We know this is truly God's baby given to us and He will take care of the baby and us. So for all of you that were waiting and praying for that Wednesday apt. keep praying because we have a Tuesday (1/19) apt with genetic specialist. At that apt we will get some super duper ultrasound that will show more. We will also get to find out the sex of our baby at this visit!!! Thanks again for all of your support and prayers!

the belly

2010-01-07T09:32:00.004-07:00

My belly has officially popped. Which in my pregnancy world also means everything gets bigger, any how that really isn't the point. Chloe has also noticed my belly and it is quite cute. Since we have found out about this baby we have pointed to my tummy and told her there is a baby, still figuring she is too young to get it. But the last few days she will crawl up on my lap lift up my shirt kiss my belly and say baby. It is the cutest thing ever. She'll poke my belly button and try and look in it, maybe to see the baby. Who knows what goes on in her mind, but it is so cute!! She is going to be the best little big sister!

a few more photos

2010-01-07T09:10:00.004-07:00

I Forgot about some cute photos that were on my camera from our New Mexico trip. It was pretty cold the entire time we were there, expect for a few day towards the end of our stay. Those days just happened to be the days we got the most snow, but we still had to get outside and take advantage.

helping daddy plow the driveway

Our trip to New Mexico

2009-12-29T10:26:00.008-07:00

We've returned from our trip to New Mexico. It was a great trip and one of the longest we have stayed there, which I know wasn't long enough for my parents. It was a great trip filled with lots of visiting, good eating, catching up on movies, relaxing, and sleeping in. We were there for Christmas and New Years, so we got to see all of my extended family twice, very nice! So here are some pictures from our trip, maybe too many but my parents just take so many cute photos of Chloe.

Christmas was definitely different with Chloe this year, it was so much fun to see her excitement. She loved opening gifts and looking at all the decorations.

showing off all her stocking loot

her favorite gift

my favorite gift to give. a painting my very talented mother in law did of a photo my dad took.

first carousel ride

We went to the Explora children's museum one day. This place is awesome.

The water and music displays were favorites of Chloe.

We are off

2009-12-23T10:14:00.002-07:00

We are packing the final things and getting ready for the drive to New Mexico. We woke up to snow, so we are counting on a slower drive but praying for safety. Well much love and blessing to you all as we celebrate our dear saviors birth!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-10T18:17:00.007-07:00

All of the Dickinson clan traveled to Colorado for thanksgiving. Our little family has grown quite a bit in the last few years with all the kiddos, but it sure makes it fun. It is fun to see all the cousins together. It was a busy week even though all really did was chase kids around and visit. We went swimming and made it to the zoo for the light show. Such a great week and an awesome thanksgiving.

Dickinson Christmas

All the kiddos got harmonicas. too fun!

polka dot girls

catching up

2009-11-25T19:21:00.011-07:00

I realize I have been MIA for awhile. I have a great excuse though. My normal blogging times have been taken over by extreme tiredness or nausea. I have had to reprioritize a bit, I am lucky if dinner gets made and my kitchen cleaned let alone an update on our blog. So if you haven't guessed, I am pregnant!!! I am currently 12 weeks along and hoping all this lovely stuff will come to an end with the first trimester.

So here are a few thing you've been missing.

pictures from our Iowa day trip:

http://jsdickinson.blogspot.com/2009/10/quick-trip.html

more pictures from our Albuquerque trip including the aquarium and botanical gardens.

helping dad fix the dishwasher

holloween

2009-11-05T17:46:00.002-07:00

Finally, I know! Here are some pictures of our little flower. She really wasn't digging the costume but she loved handing out candy.

Fall in Colorado

2009-10-30T15:22:00.001-06:00

Our first big storm of the year

Which means nice warm fuzzy outfits!

Wish they made these in my size.

thanks Aunt Lena!

pumpkin patch

2009-10-30T08:15:00.007-06:00

Last weekend we took trip to the pumpkin patch. There was so many new things to do and see Chloe was busy running around taking it all in.

met some animals

she loved the sheep

fun in the pumpkins

searching for the perfect pumpkin

these little ones look good and they're easy to carry

we couldn't keep up with her

fun day!

Dancing moves

2009-10-24T13:42:00.005-06:00

hit play to see a video of Chloe's moves

sorry, I couldn't figure out how to get it upright.

Balloon Fiesta

2009-10-14T21:48:00.006-06:00

We went down to Albuquerque for a quick weekend trip. The main event was the Balloon Fiesta. We went to the balloon glow on Saturday. Chloe LOVED the balloons. Unfortunately 15 min after we arrived the wind picked up and most of the balloons came down and packed up, there were a few brave souls who stayed up, thankfully.

They still did a "burn" for us. Would have

looked cool with balloon but still fun times.

fall colors

2009-10-09T22:28:00.005-06:00

We took a drive today to Eldorado Canyon to hopefully see some fall colors. There wasn't much at all. We have had such a cold fall that everything is just turning brown. Anyhow it was a beautiful day to get out and go for a hike.

what to do

2009-10-07T22:20:00.003-06:00

who me?!

We went to the taste of the Cambers last night, it was fun with tons of good food, but the night left me wondering about my little Chloe's manners. It was super crowded there so I just carried Chloe, as she is waving at everybody like she is miss America. Most people smile and wave back and you better, because one gentleman didn't and she slapped his shoulder. He thought it was funny and came back and said hello to her. Then we took her to a quieter corner so she could walk around. There where two little boys doing the same thing. Well I guess she decided she liked these boys. She started dancing and when they still didn't notice her she pulled her shirt up to show them her....um... tummy. My crazy girl!! Attention hog you think!

Avalanche

2009-10-03T21:07:00.004-06:00

Today we were lucky enough to get a hold of some tickets for Colorado's hockey team, the avalanche. We had awesome seats and $40 bucks to spend - all for free, thanks to a awesome friend. Chloe seemed to really enjoy it all too, at least more then the Rockies game. She would stand up and clap when everyone else did and dance around for the songs, she was a big hit with everyone around us. It was also the debut of Bernie the teams new mascot. So Chloe got a stuffed Bernie the St. Bernard dog to remember her first game. Exciting stuff!

quick trip

2009-10-01T11:02:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Chloe and I, along with Jeremy's parents, flew to Iowa to visit with my brother and sister in law and my adorable nieces. We had a great time and Chloe was so taken with her cousins, just watching them run around being big girls. It was so good to see you guys! Thanks for everything. Pictures coming soon!

Birthdays

2009-09-26T15:14:00.004-06:00

Jeremy's 29th birthday has come and gone. It was a nice relaxing day celebrating the wonderful man, husband and father he is. Then Jeremy's parents came over for dinner for a joint birthday celebration (it was Jeremy's moms birthday too).

Chloe update

2009-09-26T14:11:00.004-06:00

Chloe is still growing by leaps and bounds but I haven't been keeping you all updated. I have been trying with no avail to get pictures of Chloe's new tooth filled smile, so you'll just have to believe me. But in the last month and a half she has gotten 6 teeth in. It has been a bit of a sleepless month for us. She is also a little walker now! Despite our coaxing she wouldn't take more then 2 steps. Last week she just decided to walk across the kitchen. She's still mostly crawling but everyday she's working on walking more and more. I am working on getting some video, so stayed tuned.

family photos

2009-09-18T08:34:00.002-06:00

I keep forgetting to post this, but we got Chloe's 1 year photos and some family photos taken last month. So here is a slide show of some of them. Enjoy. click here to check them out.

raspberries

2009-09-17T22:44:00.004-06:00

And speaking of raspberries, we have a raspberry freak on our hands!! Now that Chloe has figured out that she can get raspberries from our garden she keeps making a break for it to grab some. She innocently starts at the sliding glass door, which she figured out how to open. Then she crawls her way across the deck, down the step, up the little retaining wall, and pulls the raspberries off the branch. She has already done this twice today! This girl has got to have her berries!!

jam

2009-09-17T22:40:00.004-06:00

Well I guess our canning experience wasn't too bad because we were at it again today. We made some triple berry jam, using raspberries from our garden. No skinning involved so I was happy.

It turned out pretty good! We got Chloe's approval any how.

tomatoes, tomatoes, and more tomatoes

2009-09-12T19:00:00.005-06:00

Our tomato plants have finally exploded with red tomatoes. So we had a busy day making and canning spaghetti sauce. Wow, I can not imagine doing this every year and making enough to last all winter! After picking 20lbs from our garden and 4 hours of nothing but tomatoes we got 6 jars of spaghetti sauce. After I finished skinning and squishing the seeds and water out of 1/4 of the tomatoes, I was done. Once we got through that part it was fun and will be fun when we open the first jar to go with our pasta! And we have a ton of tomatoes left to pick but I don't think we'll me doing more sauce, so let us know if you want some!

the farmer himself

Chloe can't wait to eat them

Camping

2009-09-09T09:15:00.005-06:00

We returned safely from our Labor day camping trip. We met my parents, aunt and uncle, and my cousin and her family in Antonito Colorado for some outdoor fun in the Rio Grande national Forrest. We had a great time, though camping is very different with a toddler in the mix. Chloe and I lucked out and enjoyed the cold nights in my parents camper while Jeremy snuggled next to Bailey (our dog) in our tent. There was lots of eating, dominoes, fishing and sightseeing. Good times!

see what happens.....

2009-09-03T22:36:00.003-06:00

......when I turn my back for a second.

last day

2009-08-31T17:11:00.002-06:00

It is official, I am done with Starbucks! I was still doing two days a week at Starbucks but today was my last day. It is a little bitter sweet, but I was pretty excited know it was my last day. So yeah!!

poor baby

2009-08-25T20:21:00.003-06:00

So last Friday we were out running errands and I noticed some red marks around the edge of Chloe's diaper. Later there were a few more on her arm. By the evening they turned into hives and were all over. all over. We spent a few hours in urgent care before a very puzzled Dr. saw us and figured it might be a reaction to the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccination she got the week before. The hives got lighter and lighter as the weekend went on. Some looked like little bruises, turning purple to brown. We saw our pediatrician on Monday. He's not convinced it was a reaction to the vaccination, but he to was a bit puzzled. So the search is on. We are just thankful our little girl is o.k. and now we pray it is nothing serious.

This is two days after the initial breakout. Looking better!

my mornings

2009-08-20T21:26:00.003-06:00

Ever since Chloe got this new pink car for her birthday she insists on a morning ride around the house. It was cute at first especially when my parents were here and they could push her around, but it still continues. Every morning she crawls over to it, gets inside, and grunts for a ride. O.K. it is still cute!

Polka Dot Party

2009-08-16T15:07:00.013-06:00

Saturday was Chloe's first birthday party. We ended up having 37 of our friends and family with us to celebrate. I defiantly got into planning this party and really had fun finding thrifty decorations. The theme was pink and green polka dots so we had a few round tables throughout the yard with pink and green table cloths. I had a happy birthday banner I made with a few pictures of Chloe at different stages of her first year. The food table had polka dots cut outs on the table cloth. The party favors were leftover baby food jars filled with candy. Too much fun! I have no idea why I didn't get a picture of everything set up so you'll just have to picture it in your head. The food turned out pretty good too. My mom and I made ham/swiss and turkey/provolone sliders, blue cheese mini corn dogs, an awesome pasta salad, a fruit salad, and Jeremy made a sun dried tomato/cream cheese dip. And of course we had a birthday cake, that was made by a local bakery. Two to be exact, Chloe got her very own cake. I tried to make these cute little ice cream pops decorated with pink and green sprinkles, didn't happen though. We ran out of time and it didn't go as smooth as the directions made it seem. Chloe did pretty good considering she's been teething. She didn't go crazy for her cake, but she did tear into some of her presents. She really liked watching the other kids open them. That is the recap of her first birthday party. Thank you to all who were apart of our sweet little girls first year!!

*some of you were asking for recipes, if your interested just click the word and it will take you to link with recipe.

Rockies

2009-08-16T14:59:00.006-06:00

We took Chloe to her first Rockies game on Thursday. She lasted way longer then we expected and made it to the 8th inning. It was a pretty good game the Rockies won and we only got rained on for a bit. We are bad parents and bloggers and forgot our camera so here is a picture from our phone.

12 MONTHS!!!!

2009-08-12T11:59:00.006-06:00

Happy Birthday my little Chloe!! We are incredibly blessed to be the parents of this very special little girl! This first year was filled with so much joy and excitement, but I can't wait to see what is ahead.

Today Jeremy's parents came over in the morning to visit with the birthday girl. They also brought her a cupcake so we did the whole happy birthday thing #1.

My parents arrived later that day. So we got to do the birthday thing #2. Chloe got to open a few presents, then we took her to her first big park then we enjoyed some cupcakes I made earlier. Lots of sugar in one day that is for sure.

The night before

2009-08-11T07:31:00.006-06:00

A year ago today was the night before Chloe was born was an interesting one to say the least. Now I can laugh about it but that night I was really upset. My parents arrived around my due date and spent the week waiting with us for Chloe to arrive. Well the night before I was to be induced my dad took some belly pictures for me. I wanted my wedding ring on for the photos, mind you I hadn't put my ring on in months as my finger were so swollen. I guess there is no reasoning with a very pregnant and overdue woman because I am not sure how I was thinking I was going to get the ring off as I had to shove it on. After many hours of trying to get the ring off we ended up in the emergency room. As Jeremy and I walked into the emergency room every one kept pointing me upstairs to delivery. I just cried and held out my hand. The were able to cut my ring off, but weren't too gentle so I left crying harder with a small bag in hand containing my ring in 3 pieces and many of the small diamonds from the band that had fallen off. I was an emotional mess convinced they would not be able to fix my ring. And that was how I spent the night before Chloe was born. Here are some of the shots and after it all you barely notice my ring.

And of course they fixed my ring, there is a little flaw but it is a sweet reminder of what was about to happen in our life!

so much fun

2009-08-07T15:02:00.003-06:00

The last few day our walks have turned into bike rides! Some friends of ours lent us this bike trailer and it has been so much fun.

watching Bailey swim in the creek

worn out from all the excitement, Chloe couldn't even wait to get home to take her nap.

yard work

2009-08-02T17:59:00.005-06:00

We have been busy busy working on our backyard this summer in preparation for Chloe's 1st birthday party. That means lots of Popsicles!!

finally

2009-08-02T17:57:00.004-06:00

Chloe finally has a tooth!! After what seems like months of teething it finally popped through.

not the easiest thing to get a picture of, but it's there right in the middle on the bottom.

11 months

2009-07-13T15:19:00.005-06:00

Another month has flown by!! Chloe continues to grow and change. It feels like this last month had the most changes. She is truly becoming a toddler! She is constantly moving and getting into everything, she has to feed herself and with a spoon (which makes for the most amazing messes), and she continues to work on standing up and holding her balance. We see so much more of her personality. She is a little stinker, but there is no way we could be more in love with her. It has been a fun summer month with lots of swimming,lots of playing, and lots of outdoor work.

heading to the pool with her buddy Christopher

swimming with another buddy

ATTITUDE, check out the hand on the hip

almost forgot

2009-07-11T17:25:00.003-06:00

We took these pictures on our cell phone when we were in New Mexico, so I almost forgot this very significant moment in Chloe's life.

Her first taste on New Mexican food at our favorite restaurant ever, La Salita!

a girls best friend

2009-07-09T07:40:00.003-06:00

Chloe and Bailey are so cute together now. I don't know how much Bailey really likes it when Chloe "plays" with her but she at least tolerates it. Chloe loves to lay on her, play ball with her, feed her, and pet her ears. It is too cute! We bought Chloe a walker a while back and she will just follow Bailey around the house, unfortunately Bailey has gotten run over a few time I think the food scraps that Chloe leaves behind make up for all the bumps she gives Bailey.

they are both begging for daddy's sandwich

Bailey's favorite part

The 4th

2009-07-05T17:25:00.012-06:00

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July! We made it to New Mexico to spend the holiday weekend with my family. It goes way to fast! But there was some good visiting with my parents and then on the 4th we went to my Uncle and Aunts house for a BBQ and swimming. As always there was so much good food, lots of visiting, and lots of laughs! After the sun went down we sat in their front yard and did some fireworks. Chloe wasn't too sure about all the noise at first but she warmed up to them and enjoyed it after a bit.

Our last day in town was an awesome lazy day just with my family. It involved lots of reading and staying in PJ's till the afternoon. Then we went on a nice 4wheel drive to the national forest, and Jeremy almost flipped us, lots of swinging, and it ended with lots of laughing over some games. Couldn't have been a better day! Thanks Mom and Dad!

playing the piano with grandma

Chloe on her first 4 wheel drive, just around the drive way.

Anniversary

2009-07-02T09:05:00.004-06:00

Today is our 4 year anniversary!!

Rasberries

2009-06-30T17:12:00.004-06:00

Picking raspberries this morning. There are a big favorite of Chloe's.

opps

2009-06-30T07:48:00.005-06:00

Well so much for waiting till Chloe's first birthday for her first bite of chocolate. I made a chocolate cake the other day and as Jeremy was about to like the spatula Chloe grabbed it and stuck it in her mouth. What do I expect, that spatula is one of her favorite toys. She went crazy for the chocolate though!!

movie time

2009-06-27T08:34:00.004-06:00

We love having Grammy so close!!! Sorry Travis and Brent. This week the rain forced inside and away from our scheduled day of yard work. So now what. We joked about the days when we would just pick up and go see a movie. Jeremy's wheels got a turning (in his head) and he calls his mom to see what she is doing. Before I know it we are dropping off Chloe at Grammy and Grampy's house and we head to see the Transformers movie. I realize more and more how fortunate we are to have Grandparents that live so close. So thanks so much Grammy and Grampy!!! We appreciate it so much!

Fathers Day

2009-06-26T15:47:00.007-06:00

Jeremy doesn't wear normal socks, only biking socks for him, so his daughter has got to have some too.

Fathers day wasn't forgotten in our house, I just forgot to post about it. I think Jeremy would say it was a nice day. He got to sleep in!! Chloe woke up supper early so I took her and Bailey for a nice long walk. Even though I did not like getting out of bed that early it was amazing once I was outside. So quiet outside and a nice chill in the air from all the rain we've been getting. Then it was off to church. We attended the first service and taught the K/1st graders for the second service. Later in the day we went over to Jeremy's parents house for a BBQ. A very relaxing day to celebrate the most generous and loving man I know, who takes great care of his family. We love you Jeremy!! Hope everyone enjoyed their fathers day! And how could I forget, Jeremy got enjoy some delicious layered peanut butter bars I made for him, he is a sucker for all things peanut butter.

Riley

2009-06-26T15:36:00.005-06:00

It has been a busy busy week, all good though. We got to help welcome Riley Gosa into the world this week. He threw everyone for a bit of a surprise because he wasn't due for another 3 weeks. So we were able to clean house and make some meals to help his parents out a bit.

I think Chloe liked him!!

10 months

2009-06-18T11:42:00.006-06:00

10 months already!!!? Things are moving right along, maybe too fast for mommy, but everything is awesome. She has been there done that with crawling and prefers to stand, holding on of course. Though she is getting braver and letting go and is getting better at standing on her own. She continues to be a good little eater, but has discovered how fun food is to play with. The area around her high chair is always a fun little mess when she is done. Good thing Bailey is good at cleaning it up for us!! Bailey has also figured out what a messy eater Chloe is an sits expectantly right next to her. Still no teeth, I know right?! Maybe next month.

watching daddy do some yard work

Zellmer

2009-06-15T14:04:00.006-06:00

We are still waiting for things to slow back down. Our cat issues started about a week before our vacation with what we thought was a bladder infection, then it intensified to him peeing blood the day we were supposed to leave on vacation. On our vacation Zellmer, our cat, was passed between our vet and an emergency vet hospital, getting various surgeries and being observed. The culprit of all of this was some kidney stones. They had to make his urethra bigger so this wouldn't happen again. So from the outside appearance my boy cat now looks like a girl. Poor thing. Sounds horrible and expensive, it is! But it hasn't stopped. Zellmer is a master at getting the plastic cone off his head, so he opened up the wound. We took him back and they restitched him and put two collars on him. But wouldn't you know it, last night he jumped on our bed and split the stitches. So back to the vet. Our vet is INCREDIBLE and has kept the price down for us, but we are stilling at around $1600 right now (animals, why do we have them?!) and 5 trips to the vet so far and we haven't even been home a week. Hopefully this will all be over soon and Zellmer will be healthy and I can clean my house thoroughly(he hasn't quite learned how to pee

with all of these new things, or lack there of more like it)!

Edisto Island

2009-06-13T09:12:00.008-06:00

We are back! We had an amazing time in South Carolina but it feels good to be home. We got off to a rocky start, which included waking up at 5 am to catch our flight only to find our cat peeing blood. So we didn't make our flight. A few adjustments to our schedule and we were still off. We made it, we just arrived a bit late. We even got first class on the way there. That was amazing! We got a nice steak dinner, sure beat our sandwiches we made. There was even enough room at my feet so that Chloe could get on the floor and play. What a blessing after the morning we had.

enjoying a movie in first class.

Sunday was a nice relaxing day at the ocean with Jeremy's brother, sister-in-law, and our cute little nephew.

First ocean experience

lots of swimming and lots of naps

Then the fun began. The rest of the family arrived and we got to move into this beautiful beach house (Thanks Aunt Brenda and Aunt Judy!!). Lots of swimming, visiting, and good eating.

The beach house! What an experience.

cutie little nieces!

a walk along the beach, searching for seashells.

then a nap. It was hot out there.

Our last night we enjoyed a low country boil ( I think that is what it was called) out on the deck. Yum!!

Then a walk on the ocean. Bye bye beach, ocean, beautiful beach house, and sweet family. We had an awesome time!

we're off

2009-06-05T18:12:00.002-06:00

Well it is vacation time. Tomorrow we leave for South Carolina. My sister-in-laws parents have a condo on Edisto Island that they have so generously let the whole Dickinson clan use for the week. As long as we survive the flight I am sure it will be an amazing week.