Noah's First Camping Trip and The US Pro Challenge

We decided we wanted to see the race again this year even though they were not riding through the Springs. So, we headed out towards Aspen to see the first two stages. I have always wanted to see them ride over Independence Pass and Mikey wanted to see a sprint finish so he could see Peter Sagan trying to win. We decided we would try to go camping with the kiddo and headed out on Sunday to try to find a camping spot. We thought for sure we wouldn't be able to find one, but we drove into the first campground on the Aspen side of Independence Pass and pulled right into a spot. We checked the altitude to see if it were too high up for Noah, and we were above 10,000 feet but decided we would give it a try. And Noah did great! The first night was pretty cold, so the little guy took turns in our sleeping bags with us and he slept through the night. Then we were up and at 'em Monday morning to head down the pass into Aspen. 

Noah and Mom at the top of the pass

Family shot at the top of the pass

He was comfortable in the tent from the start

We did a quick hike to a reservoir, Noah seemed to like it

We showed up about two hours before the race started and we walked around and grabbed some lunch. We found some shade and had a little picnic. Then we were off to see the race. They rode through town three times and you could only see them for five seconds before they were gone. On the last lap, we were close to the finish and Noah did not approve of all the loud cheering so he screamed his little head off for the whole five seconds. After that I decided we could just let Mikey see the sprint finish and Noah and I would go find a shady spot to see the riders before they finished.

The winner of the race, Tejay Van Garderen

Blast from the past van

Julie got a shot of them as they rode through on one of the laps

Noah enjoyed a nice shady spot after lunch

The winner of the Tour de France, Chris Froome

After the race we hit up the grocery store for some hot cocoa and then headed back to the campsite. Noah feel asleep around 8, so we made our dinner and drank hot cocoa in the dark without him. That night was much warmer, so we just made him a little bed with lots of blankets between us and I don't think he moved all night after we woke him up for a bottle before we called it a night around 10:30.

Then Tuesday morning we made our way to the road to claim our race watching spot. The road was ten feet away and we decided that we didn't want to take the kiddo to the top of the pass, it might have been too long for him to be above 12,000 feet. The Cannondale team gave away green chalk in Aspen, so I wrote on the road for Peter Sagan.

Julie and her handiwork on the pass

Noah was having a great time waiting for the riders

We had a great time camping and Noah was such a great little trooper! We can't wait to go camping again with him, although it will probably be next summer before we upack the tent again.

Noah's five and half months update

 I needed to get this posted before he is six months old! So, here are a few pictures of our not so little, little guy! His big news for the month is that he is completely off his acid reflux medication and is doing great. We are very glad that he no longer has a prescription!  He has been rolling over and moves himself around by his squirming. We think he will probably start crawling any day, he has started to pull his legs up underneath him so it won't be long. I think he started the month off around 14 1/2 pounds and now he is about a pound bigger than that. We go to the Doctor next week for his 6 month check-up so we will have a new official weight and growth report in just a few days.

Here are his growth comparison pictures from the beginning of this month.

Here is one of him playing superman with dad!

One from a picnic!

This is not how he was put down to sleep!

He is getting so big!

It is crazy how big our little guy is getting, he just grows and grows and is learning new things every day.  He can roll from his stomach to his back like a pro and he is learning how to roll from his back to his stomach too.  He loves walking around (with one of us holding up), he'll walk from his room to the living room to see what is going on.  He also loves watching traffic come down the road, he gets mesmerized by the cars!  

He is one happy baby

Getting so big!

Rolls over onto his side

But he isn't too big to pass out in Dad's lap

This Sunday we celebrated Julie's birthday with my Mom at the Broadmoor hotel by getting their Sunday brunch.  Because it was such a fancy occasion he had to wear his fanciest outfit!  Thanks for brunch Nana!  

Showing off his outfit 

The family picture

Noah laughing at Grandpa

A beautiful view this evening

Roxborough State Park

Julie and I have been wanting to get Noah out hiking and into nature as much as possible, and we had a free Saturday this weekend so found a nice State Park just outside of Castle Rock to head up to.  A post on the internet had told me that the wildflowers were still in bloom because of the rain we have been having.  Turns out this person on the internet lied to me.  Despite the low number of wildflowers, the park was still really neat and Noah had a great time hiking.

We put the kid in the Baby Bjorn (thanks Amanda!), covered him with a thin white blanket to keep him cool and put his little hat on him.  He did great, didn't overheat at all, and even passed out halfway through!  

Julie got a fancy pants picnic basket for her birthday from her wonderful husband, so we packed it up and she found a spot underneath a tree for us to have a picnic.  Julie and I ate then Noah got to eat some carrots and some milk.  Can't complain!

Noah and I by some of the rocks

Julie and the rock formations

Action shot!

The flowers weren't completely gone

But did look a little ragged

The ones in the shade were doing a bit better

In the Spring this is apparently a prime wildflower location

He really seemed to enjoy the hike

Looking North from the overlook

Family shot!

Enjoying our picnic

Julie caught these flowers on the way out

Jan!

Jan, one of Julie's friends from college, came to Colorado in early July to visit us and play with our baby!  We had a full schedule planned, and my mom agreed to take the kid so the three of us could have a fun day doing fun adult things.

We took Noah to his first ever baseball game, and it was even more fun because it was Jan's first AAA baseball game.  She was excited that we could sit so close to the action, and we even got the cheap seats.  After the game we went to a restaurant that Julie has been wanting to try for a while now, called the Wines of Colorado.  It is up Highway 24, just a little bit up Ute Pass, and they let you try all sorts of wines for free, then get some dinner afterwards.  Julie and Jan enjoyed tasting all kinds of wines, and afterwards we all had buffalo burgers and enjoyed the cool mountain air.

The girls and the kid

Noah isn't great at pictures yet

Ready for dinner!

The next day we dropped the kid off at my mom's house (thanks Nana!) and made our way up to Golden, CO so we could check out the Coors brewery tour.  Normally we drive right up, get on the shuttle, take our tour and drink our samples and that's the end of it.  Unfortunately this is their busy season, so we had an hour wait for the shuttle, so we let Jan do the tour (which is self-guided in the summer, lame!) and and we met her down in the tasting room.  We had to hurry a bit because we had an appointment to make...an appointment with whiskey!

At Coors enjoying our samples

That's right, Colorado whiskey made by Stranahan's in Denver.  They are a fairly new distillery and they make their own whiskey right in the factory and they give tours a few days a week.  You need reservations to go on the tour, fortunately Julie signed us up weeks in advance, because it filled up completely.  The tour is pretty standard, you see the facility, check out the barrels they age it in, and talk about whiskey. The tasting was really nice, the guide gave us a shot, and we sipped it once straight, then added some water and tasted it again, the flavor completely changed.  We bought some souvenirs and went to find some dinner.

The girls at Stranahan's.

The tasting room, the whiskey is all set up for us

The three of us in front of the huge tanks

This won't be ready to drink for a few years

Julie checking out all the barrels

The bottling room and an empty

Out front

Fortunately Breckenridge Brewery is right down the road in Denver.  Even though they are named Breckenridge, most of their beer is brewed in Denver, and even better they have a BBQ restaurant attached to the facility.  We ate some great BBQ, picked up our kid and went to sleep.  It was a great day!

Getting ready for the BBQ

Jan unfortunately left the next day so Julie and her hung around the town while I went back to work.  We had a great time, and hope we get to hang out with Jan again soon!

He's 4 months old!

Our little guy sure is changing everyday!  He turned 4 months old yesterday, and we headed to the Doctor for his check-up.  His appointment included getting 5 vaccinations, 4 of which were shots in his little thighs.  He did so good until the shots, and then he screamed and screamed and screamed.  The assistant apologized and apologized that she made him so upset, but really it wasn't too horrible and he settled down after a few minutes.  He did look pretty pitiful for a few minutes, but was doing good again when we walked out.  The whole office did hear him and when we checked out the receptionist asked if he was okay! 

His 4 month stats!
Weight : 12 lbs 10 oz
Height : 24 inches
Head circumference : 15 1/2 inches
Latest developments : Rolling from his stomach to his back, sucking on his hands, drooling all over the place, cooing and talking a ton, giggling and smiling all the time, eating real food (apples and peas so far) and holding on to everything he can fit his little hand around.
Nicknames : Pumpkin, Pumpernickel, Bucket, Pail, Noah Pants, Pants, Noah No-pants, Little Dude, Kiddo and Drooler

Getting weighed at the doctor's office

4 month teddy bear comparison picture

Birthday party with all of his stuffed friends! 

Looking at Dad!