The Vielehr's

18 Months Old Already

2009-04-14T18:38:00.003-06:00

Riley is 18 months today. The past 6 months have just flown by!!

This is such a fun age!! Everyday he learns something new and says a new word. He is beginning to put words together which is so cool. He knows "Please" which sounds like "Peas" so he says "up please" a lot. And when ever he says something and he doesn't get it right away he adds "please" to the end. I'll write more soon, ( including Easter and other get togethers) but I just wanted to post something today since it's officially he's b-day.

It's been too long...

2009-02-19T11:53:00.006-07:00

Oh, it's been way too long since I last wrote anything. I thought that after the holiday's, life was supposed to slow down but I've seen no sign of that. I started working part time at Pier 1 before Thanksgiving. They asked me to stay so I'm working about 3-4 days a week (12-16 hours/week). It's a fun job and nice to get out of the house.

As some of you might know, Nate and I are in the process of opening a wine bar/bistro and retail wine store. It's not a sure thing, we've just finished our business plan and are moving into the money stage of the game. If all goes well and we get the $$ we need, we hope to start construction mid June and open mid Sept. Keep your fingers crossed.

Riley is growing like a weed. He learns something new everyday. He is talking a lot and is always on the move. He likes playing with the dog toys more than his own and sometimes Gunner will steal the toys out of his hand. But the dogs are very good with Riley (as long as Bella doesn't feel cornered). Riley loves music and he has learned how to turn the radio on in the guest bedroom. He pushes the "sleep" button and as soon as the radio comes on he starts "dancing". We've also starting watching Blue's Clues and Jack's Music Show in the morning. Thank goodness for Noggin On Demand. Riley loves the music and is so interested in what they are doing. Riley's vocabulary is also growing daily. His word bank includes: Momma, Daddy, doggy, ducky, up, hot, see, outside, nap, ball and kitty. Plus a dozen or so words that he repeats when we say them. Riley also loves to "read" books. By "read' I mean, he loves to flip the pages and look at the pictures. He's not so interested in the store. We read every night and sometimes in the morning. Riley picks out what book he wants to read and hands it to me. All of Riley's books are on his toy chest next to his crib. It's become his route to pull his books into his crib after he's woken up from a nap and before I've gotten him up. The Very Hungry Caterpillar has become one of his favorite books and I often find him sitting in his crib with that book on his lap, open to the page with 4 strawberries and 5 oranges. This is such a fun age and we're excited for all the new discoveries in the future.

Christmas in Reno

2009-01-06T14:43:00.008-07:00

This year we went to Reno for Christmas. We were able to stay a week which was so wonderful. I was able to get together with some high school friends and we spend lots of good, quality time with my family. In addition to celebrating Christmas we also got to celebrating my grandparents 62 wedding anniversary.
Riley had his first (of many, I'm sure) injury. Early in our visit, Riley fell and bit his lip. I was actually having dinner with some friends when it happened but I guess there was a lot of blood involved. He bit his bottom lip between his top and bottom teeth so he had puncture holes on the inside and outside of his lip. But it's amazing how fast his mouth healed. Despite the giant bottom lip, Riley didn't seem bothered by it and by day 5 you could hardly tell it happened.

We were treated to a white Christmas which was so nice and cozy. We didn't have to do much traveling since my grandparents live 5 minutes away so the few inches of snow was a welcome sight and made for a beautiful Christmas day.

I'm so glad that we got to spend so much time with my family. We had such a good time and it was hard to leave. I'm looking forward to our next trip to Reno in August.

8th Annual Girl's Gift Exchange

2008-12-22T23:51:00.004-07:00

I think this is the holiday party I most look forward to (no offense to the other parties we attend). This is the time that us girls get together and eat good food and catch up. For some of us it's the only time we get to see each other. We were lucky enough to have both Simone and Betsy G in town but we missed the rest of the girls who couldn't make it. We started at Ari's for a potluck brunch and some good gift stealing. Everyone always brings such great gifts that you'd be happy to go home with any of them but don't think because we're all friends that there isn't stealing going on. The stealing started late in the game this year but one the ball got rolling, the stealing was in full motion. But everyone went home happy.

Then some of us headed to the theater to see the Girl's Only Show. The show was hilarious and really is for girl's only. The entire audience is full of women only and the 2 women show "is an original comedy that celebrates the honor, truth, humor and silliness of being female". The show runs until Feb. 15th.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-16T20:50:00.002-07:00

We decided to do an electronic holiday card this year.

Giving thanks for our amazing friends and family and hoping the new year brings you good health and good fortune.

Christmas Tree Hunting

2008-12-08T10:24:00.006-07:00

This weekend we went up to Nate's family property up Left Hand Canyon, outside of Boulder, to find our tree. Chris, Tara and Koben came with us. (Riley was up in Estes with Dave and Pauline). We drove in and then took the rest of the road by foot. We walked all the up to Nate's uncle Chuck's cabin. Chuck built the cabin by hand and it has the most amazing view.

We had a great time looking for trees. We chose 2 that were next to others so we could thin out the little grove and give the others more space to grow. Chris, Tara and Koben even found time to make a snow man.

The Holiday Season

2008-12-04T15:35:00.006-07:00

(I love this picture.
Riley and Gunner watching Nate while he put up Christmas lights)

The holiday season is upon us and our weather is finally starting to reflect that. We have most of our outside lights up and are starting to decorate inside. I'm very anxious to decorate this year. Maybe it's because last year I didn't really feel up to decorating since Riley was so young. We didn't even finish decorating our tree and the Department 56 scene never made it out of their boxes last year . But this year is different. I rearranged the living room furniture today in preparation for our tree that we'll be getting on Saturday. I think this year were going to put our tree in a different spot so we'll see how it works. I might start setting up the scene today or tomorrow. I love Christmas time.

(Just checking it all out)

Happy Thanksgiving, a little late

2008-12-04T15:03:00.008-07:00

(Max, Koben, Riley (who wouldn't sit still), Emma, Hailey and Trevor)

Thanksgiving with Friends:
Every year the Keeney's host their friends, potluck Thanksgiving the weekend before. It's always a fun time to get together and catch up with our friends. This year we had 7 little ones running/walking/crawling around with 3 more on the way. Things sure have changed.
Thanks Tracy and Abbey for hosting a get together that we look forward to all year round.

Thanksgiving with Family:

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed a (hopefully) long weekend. We were in Colorado this Thanksgiving which means that Nate had to do some cooking. We hosted Thanksgiving "Dinner" at our house at noon for the Bustamante side of the family (Nate's mom's side). Nate made the turkey, stuffing and gravy and everyone else brought the rest. Everything was wonderful and it was great to spend time with the family.
Once everyone left our house it was time for Thanksgiving "dinner" #2 with the Vielehr side of the family. Although we really didn't eat a full second dinner, because we got there after everyone was already eating, I grazed on leftovers and we had dessert #2. Riley enjoyed having other kids to watch. Pailynn (Nate cousin Derek's youngest daughter who is 2 months older that Riley) was very interested in Riley and kept following him around. They were so cute together and it will be fun to watch their friendship grow as they get older.

Riley and Pailynn

Nate's cousin Ryan and his wife Mona were also in town from San Fransisco with their baby girl Selma, who is 6 months old now. Riley loves to bounce on the couch so getting him to hold still for a picture has become a challenge. He kept bouncing on poor Jack. Riley looks a little out of place, it's a very international family.

(The cousins (sort of): Riley, Jack, Pailynn, Tawanchai and Selma)

Ballet Nouveau's silent auction

2008-11-20T13:26:00.005-07:00

I've taken classes at Ballet Nouveau Colorado for about 6 years now. They are a non-profit that offers community outreach programing (with dance) each year to kids at risk in the Denver area. Tomorrow evening is BNC's Nouveau at Night. This event is a charity dinner and silent auction to help raise donations for their events and outreach programming. This year I decided to donate 3 baskets to the silent auction. I took Shaklee's Get Clean Starter Kit (which makes a great gift by the way) and split it into 3 baskets: Household, Laundry and Dishes. I have always enjoyed creating gift baskets and I had a ton of fun putting these together and I think they turned out really nice. I hope they sell well at the auction.

Shaklee's Get Clean Starter Kit has the cleaning power equivalent of more than $3,400 worth of conventional products and it also protects the planet by:

Eliminating 108 pounds of packaging waste from landfills
Eliminating 248 pounds of greenhouse gas

Click here for more information about Shaklee's Get Clean Starter Kit.

I almost forgot...

2008-11-15T20:20:00.003-07:00

Halloween... I almost forget to post a picture of Riley in his monkey costume. I must say that he was the cutest monkey that I'd ever seen. The weekend before Halloween we went to Jess and Amy's pumpkin carving party. All the little ones were dress up. It was great to catch up with my friends from Grad school that I don't get to see very often. On Halloween night we just stayed home and handed out candy to 60-75 kids.

I'm a blog slacker

2008-11-15T20:06:00.003-07:00

(Riley, Emma and Max playing with Legos)

So I've been a slacker lately and I apologizing for not keeping up. The past few weeks have been full of watching Riley in amazement. I guess we can officially say that he is walking now. He's usually takes 5 to 10 unstable steps and then falls to his knees or butt and cruises on the floor the rest of the way. It's been so fun to watch him go further and further on his feet everyday. Stay tuned for videos of Riley walking.

This past week Riley and I went to the Denver Children's Museum with Abbey and Emma, Deanna and Max and Cassie and Jon and their little one's. It was our first trip to the Denver Children's Museum (I'm sure this will be the first of many) and it was a lot of fun.

Since the residential landscape season is winding down, I decided to get a part time retail job. I'll be starting next week at Pier 1 Imports. I'm actually looking forward to something different and am excited to get started (I just wish the pay was better, but that's retail for you). So that's life in a nutshell.

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-27T16:17:00.004-06:00

I have been wanting to go to the Coal Creek Farm for pumpkins every year for the past 5 years or so. This year, we finally went. We went Saturday morning and it was a beautiful day. Riley enjoyed pointing at everything. We came home with 4 pumpkins.

Happy Birthday Riley!!!

2008-10-14T10:17:00.006-06:00

Oh my gosh! How can Riley be a year old already? He is always on the go: standing, walking along the furniture, crawling. He is also very vocal and is always "talking" about something.
This past year has been more fun than I could have ever imagined. I'm so thankful for the ability to stay home with Riley and watch him grow and learn. I can't wait for all the adventures to come.
Thanks to everyone that was able to celebrate Riley's big day with us. We had a full house of family and friends. Riley had lots of fun playing with the other 8 little ones.

On Tuesday (Riley's actual birthday), we decided it would be fun to go to the aquarium. My mom, Pauline and Dave came with us to see the fishes. It was a lot of fun to see Riley reach to the different things to see.

See all the photos here.

A whole new world

2008-10-06T15:36:00.004-06:00

Riley is now seeing the world facing forward in the car instead of facing backwards. Two weekends ago we decided that it was time to update to a "big boy" car seat. He had just about out grown his infant car seat and I just couldn't carry him around in it anymore. It's so fun to look at the backseat and see him smiling back at you. He also holds on to the little arm rests which is really cute.

Long live Shaklee

2008-09-26T23:33:00.002-06:00

I love this old bumper sticker. I think it speaks for itself. Long live Shaklee.

Girly Day

2008-09-18T16:00:00.003-06:00

This past Saturday was a ton of fun. It was all about dress shopping and then it was off to the Ballet. Saturday morning Betsy, Tara, Sam, Kylene, Jasmine and I met Ari, her mom and her sister, Emily for a day of dress shopping. We started at Emily's house where we started with some fruit and muffins while we waited for our ride. Ari had arranged for a limo to drive us around for the day from store to store. It was so much fun. We all got to chat and catch up and not worry about driving and parking. We found a couple great options for bridesmaid dresses and Ari tried on some beautiful dresses for her. It was such a fun day.
Later that evening Ari and I met for dinner and then we went and say The Colorado Ballet's Triple Crown. They preformed 3 of the most popular pieces. It was a lot of fun and a great way to end the evening.

11 months old, that's crazy

2008-09-16T16:34:00.006-06:00

Again, I've fallen a little behind. I can't believe that Riley is 11 months. I think I say that every month, but time really does fly. It's weird to think that this time last year I was wrapping up my projects at work and getting ready to go on leave (forever). Every day that I'm home with Riley is a blessing. This past month, Riley has gotten really active. He pulls himself up on everything. He still loves the bath. He has learned how to stand at the edge of the tub and drop his toys over the side onto the floor.
He is starting to walk with support and he still talks and babbles up a storm. I don't realize how old he is starting to look until I see a picture of him. He is looking more like a little boy and less like a baby everyday.
We finally baby-proofed the office for real with a permanently installed fence/gate and we also invested in a short fence to keep him confined in the living room so he can't crawl over and put his hands in the dog's water bowl. I love the gate in the office. It's actually looks pretty nice and it works great.

Riley the Monkey

2008-09-03T09:45:00.010-06:00

Riley is officially mobile. Scooting, crawling, climbing, standing and walking while holding on to objects. There is nothing he won't try and pull himself up on. He has also learned how to break through the barricade by knocking the diaper box or suitcase over and crawling right over it. He hasn't been able to crawl over the toy bin yet, but he has been trying. I captured one of yesterday's many break threws on film.

After he knocked the suitcase over. He tried to crawl between the toy bin and the suitcase. When that didn't work then he decided to crawl over the suit case.

It's time to get a really baby fence and baby proof the rest of the house. Oh, we're in trouble.

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-02T21:16:00.011-06:00

Although we didn't go out of town for Labor Day weekend, we managed to pack it full with activities and get togethers. Tara and I started off the weekend by taking Riley and Koben to the pool on Friday afternoon. This was the last weekend that the pool was going to be open and we had been talking about going to the pool together all summer. Better late than never I guess. Riley and Koben had fun splashing around. Riley loves the water but he hates his hat. Although the coverage is great, as soon as it get's wet it flops in his face and he can't see. Nate also thinks it looks a little girly. Half way through we had to switch to his other hat because it got too wet and floppy.
Saturday evening was Ari and Jared's engagment party. The party was hosted by Ari's parents and was held at her sister Emily and Roger's house. The party was a great time. Great food, good company. It was a perfect night. (Side note: Earlier in the summer I had done a landscape plan for Emily and Roger's yard. They worked all summer to implement the plan and get the yard ready for the party. The night of the party was the first time I had seen their yard since they had begun work. I was very excited and proud of how it all came together. I need to go back during the day and take pictures.)
Sunday morning we meet Nick, Kathy, Chris and Tara for breakfast before Nick and Kathy flew back to Seattle. It was great to spend more time with them. Sunday afternoon we headed to Ari and Jared's for a "Mini Baby Shower" for Kylene and Tony and to watch the CU/CSU game. Ari, Sam and I all missed Kylene's official baby shower so we decided to have a little one of our own. We thought the game would be a perfect excuse to get together. Of course we couldn't get together for the game without making sure that the twins where ready to show their CU spirit.
Monday we finished up the holiday weekend by doing chores around the house and I caught up on some landscape design work that I had been putting off. It's hard to believe that it is already September. Where did this summer go? I'm glad to report that our summer experiment, our garden, is doing well. Just about everything grew and most things did better than imagined. Our tomatoes are thriving and we have jalapenos coming out of our ears. And after more than a month of our zucchini plant blooming like crazy but producing no zucchini, we now have 2 little zucchini growing. Now I need a compost bin and lots of worms. Hope everyone enjoyed their summer and their Labor Day weekend.

You can't help but to smile!

2008-08-29T22:27:00.007-06:00

Riley is so much fun! He is always doing something to make me laugh. He has started crawling the traditional way on his hands and knees although he still army crawls on his belly sometimes. He loves the water. He loves to crawl around in the shallow end of our pool and put his face in the water.
When I come into Riley's room when he has woken up from a nap, he is always sitting up in the corner of the crib closest to the door with his bear in between his legs. I call it "Baby Jail" since he is usually holding on to the vertical slats of the crib.
Riley has learned how to pull himself to his feet and he loves to stand. Although he's not much of a walker, I know it's just a matter of time. My baby barricade is still in use, although he breaks through it at least once or twice a day. He either crawls over Pooh or he empties all his toys out of the small green bid and moves it aside.
I think that it's time to invest in a real safety "fence". Luckily he is still entertained by most of his toys. He loves to pull the bins over and pull all his toys out of the bins. I can tell when he is getting sleepy because he has started to snuggle his face on all his soft stuffed animals. It's pretty darn cute. He says "Mamma" all the time and I'm pretty sure he is saying it on purpose.
Riley loves to eat and he'll keep opening his mouth as long as you have food. We are starting to get more adventurous with the finger foods. He'll eat just about anything. It's been fun to feed him different things that we are eating and see how he likes it. We discovered at Mark and Amy's BBQ that Riley likes corn on the cob.

Matt and Amy's Wedding

2008-08-29T21:18:00.006-06:00

Riley and Deanna

This past weekend we headed up to Estes Park for Matt and Amy's wedding. It was super convenient for us since Nate's mom and step dad live in Estes. We left our house mid afternoon and headed up the mountain. We dropped the dogs off at the house and headed into town to the welcome BBQ. About 12 of Nate's fraternity brothers were there and it was great to see old friends that we haven't seen in a while. We were able to pass Riley off to Grandma and Grandpa and stay out late with everyone. The next day was a nice, mellow day. The wedding was at 4pm and was a very enjoyable ceremony and a beautiful day. The chuppa was hand made by Lee Hoffman (No surprise to all of you who know Lee) and we were treated to Peach Mojitos and bacon wrapped scallops (yum, more please!).
The following morning was a farewell breakfast and another opportunity for all of us to hang out and catch up. It was another beautiful Colorado day and we enjoyed being outside. Thanks Amy and Matt for giving us a great excuse to get together and catch up. Hope you had a great time in Alaska. See all the photos here.

Bunny the baby horse

2008-08-29T21:00:00.004-06:00

So I have some catching up to do... A couple weekends ago we went up to Grand Lake with Pauline and Dave (Nate's mom and step dad). We went to see a Winding River Guest Ranch owned by one of Pauline's friends. The ranch is in a beautiful spot and the Colorado River runs right through the property. The ranch offers horse rides and while we were there we were greeted by the new addition, Bunny. Born on Easter, Bunny was a very friendly, curious foal. Riley got so excited and kept squirming and giggling. Momma and baby were free to roam around the ranch and Bunny checked Riley out several times while we were there.

The Colorado River

Riley's 10 months old

2008-08-14T20:47:00.003-06:00

Wow, 10 months. How is that possible? Riley is so much fun. He still isn't officially crawling but that doesn't stop him from moving everywhere. It's a combination between rolling, army crawling on his belly and pushing up onto his hands and knees and then flopping forward. I've had to create a barricade in the office with luggage and toy bins to stop him from getting into mischief (see picture below). He goes straight under the desk and tries to grab the cords. I've tried moving him and distracting him with something else but he is not fooled. So the barricade became necessary. I'm sure it is only a matter of a day or 2 before he figures out how to break through. But I'm so lucky because he loves to play and entertain himself on the floor with his toys.
Other Riley milestones are that he can pull himself up on to his knees from a seated position and he can also stand by himself (for quite a while) while holding on to something. He has also been sleeping through the night for over a month now which has been great. Although I still wake up in the middle of the night and have to go to the bathroom, at least I get to crawl back in bed. Riley loves to eat and he is a great chewer which makes me feel better since choking is always in the back of my mind. He also manages to find the tiniest rock or whatever on the floor and picks it up. Luckily nothing has made it's way into his mouth but again, it's only a matter of time. I'm also realizing that I need to start cleaning more.He is always babbling and "singing". He also seems to understand a lot of what we say to him which is so cool. I can't wait for him to start talking and tell me what is going on in his little head. He loves to wave and he gets so excited when the dogs come to check him out. He usually starts giggling and squealing. Bella also has him trained at meal time to extend his hand in her direction so she can eat the food out of his hand. We're so excited for the milestones still to come!

Shaklee Independent Distributors Rocks!!!

2008-08-08T00:26:00.008-06:00

Me, Bo Reynolds (yes the DJ), MK (my roommate) and Teresa Anderson

So I've just finished my first full day at the Shaklee Global Conference as an Independent Distributor here in New Orleans. It's 2 am and instead of getting in bed and relaxing from the day, I want to get to work. I'm so proud and excited to be a part of this amazing company. I totally believe that everything happens for a reason and that things happened at the right time. I knew I wanted to be able to stay home with Riley and still earn an income and I knew that Network Marketing companies like this provided the opportunity to do just that, but what I didn't realize is that I would be a part of the biggest scientific break through in cellular aging. We age because our cells get damaged and die off. Well, for the first time, scientific have found a way to protect your cells and slow done the aging process. The new product (I can't actually use the name on my blog) is an all natural plant extract that is so revolutionary, everything about it is patent pending. There has been a lot of press in the past few years about an ingredient in wine called resveratrol that has been proven to have anti-aging benefits. This super grape is 10 more powerful and a single dose equals the benefit power of 100 glasses of red wine. Not only has our company gone to great lengths to protect this product with multiple patents but they have bought the worlds supply of this "super grape" to ensure that no one else can duplicate this amazing product and technology. No other company will be able to come out with a similar product for 7 to 10 years. So if you want to feel 25 years younger and live 25 years longer, you have to get it from me. This product is truly going to revolutionize the anti-aging market. Check out my Shaklee Independent Distributor website to learn all about this amazing scientific break through.

Well, I better get to bed, but when I get home I will have lots more to write about. I can't wait to tell you all about this amazing experience.

Camping

2008-07-28T21:04:00.010-06:00

Every year Betsy and Lee plan a group camping trip for anyone who wants to come. This years location was outside of Buena Vista, Co at the base of Mt. Huron, one of Colorado's 14ers. Nate decided to take Friday off of work so that we could make it to camp before it got dark. He had been working for the past several weeks on the Land Cruiser. He bought a roof rack and customized it to fit the rocket box. He was so excited to pack it up and take it for another ride.

It took us about 2.5 hours to get to camp. Once you turned off the highway, the dirt road lead to an old ghost mining town called Winfield. Then you continued up the road to our camp spot. The last 2.1 miles of the road was pretty rough but it was worth it. The camp site was a beautiful spot.

We set up our tent and got settled for the evening. At this point there were 8 of us (plus Koben and Riley) and 3 dogs. Ari, Jared, Sam and Trapper had planned on leaving Denver after work to head up. At about 11pm, we were all starting to get a little worried that they hadn't showed up yet. We stayed up as long as we could but headed to bed around 11:30pm. They finally made it to camp at about 2am after leaving Sam and Trapper's camper 2 miles back down the road. Luckily, after a good night's rest, Sam and Trapper were in better spirits and decided to stay the weekend. Saturday morning half of the group (now 12 people and 5 dogs) decided to climb Mt Huron while the other half stayed behind and enjoyed some fishing in the creek and relaxed around camp. Later that afternoon Betsy and Lee's friend Brandon arrived adding 4 more people and 3 more dogs. As the evening progressed more people showed up and the final count was 18 people, 2 babies and 10 dogs.
Riley did really well and other than not sleeping much, we had a great time.
The next morning we packet up camp and headed into Buena Vista with Betsy, Lee, Chris and Tara for some lunch. We got home at about 5pm and unpacked the car (Nate and my least favorite part). We put away the necessary things, started a load of laundry, showered and gave Riley a bath. It was so nice to sleep in our own bed and yes, all the camping gear is still sitting in our living room.Thanks Betsy and Lee for finding a beautiful spot and organizing a great trip.
See our pictures here.
Lee and Betsy's pictures.

4-Wheeling with Betsy and Lee

2008-07-25T13:40:00.005-06:00

Last weekend we took our Land Cruiser and met Betsy and Lee outside of Keystone. We took Riley and the dogs and Betsy and Lee brought Siba. Nate was so excited to see how the Land Cruiser would handle with it's new lift and tires. It was a beautiful day and the views were amazing. We were gone all day and Riley did so well. He didn't start to get fussy until the end of the trip when he was getting hungry. Lee also wrote about it in their blog and since he did such a great job of telling the story, I'm going to send you to their blog instead of rewriting it all myself.
See our pictures here.
Lee's Pictures

Riley update

2008-07-17T13:05:00.003-06:00

This morning was Riley's 9 month wellness visit. For some reason, I made his appointment for 8 am which was a little ambitious of me. I arrived about 5 minutes late but luckily all the staff was still trickling in so it wasn't a big deal. Riley is 20.5 lbs and 28.5 inches which is 50 percentage. I'm kind of amazed that I'm still carrying him around in his car seat although I try and keep it to a minimum. No shots are given at 9 months but they still had to prick Riley's toe to test his iron. He was such a trooper and didn't even cry. Now he just has a giant Charlie Brown bandaid on his toe.

Riley is 9 months old

2008-07-15T20:25:00.003-06:00

Wow, I can't believe that in 3 short months, Riley will be a year old. October seems like it should be a lot further away than that. Yesterday, Riley got a little closer to going mobile by using his feet to push himself forward on his tummy towards a desired object. He wants it so bad. If you leave him on the floor he becomes a rolling machine by rolling and scooting on his back where ever he wants to go. Riley is also mastering chewing solids foods and waving his hand at us or the dogs.

Camping (and Paragliding) in Glenwood Springs

2008-07-15T10:51:00.005-06:00

This weekend (well, Sunday and Monday), we headed up to Glenwood Springs. Nate's step dad, Dave has always wanted to go paragliding, so for his birthday that is exactly what Nate's mom got him. The flight was scheduled for Monday morning so on Sunday we headed up the mountain to camp the night before. It was our first time camping with Riley and we considered it our test run before our big group camping trip coming up in a couple weeks. We camped outside of the Dotsero exit just before Glenwood Canyon. We were hoping since we where there on a Sunday that we would luck out and get a camping sites near the stream but they were all taken so we camped a little higher up the road. It ended up working out really well. Although we didn't have the shade of the trees, there was lots of space for the dogs to run and we had a great view of the I-70 valley.
This was actually the first time we had camped with Nate's parents. Pauline made chicken stir-fry for dinner and after we put Riley to bed, the rest of us played cribbage in the van. Riley was sleeping very well in the tent but shortly after we went to bed he woke up. The rest of the night was spent trying to get him to go back to sleep both in his pack-n-play and in the speeping bag with me. Needless to say, I don't think I actually feel asleep until after the sun was starting to come up.
See more camping photos here.
After a sleepless night, the next morning, we got up early and packed up so we could be in Glenwood Springs by 8:30 for Dave's flight. When we arrived at the meeting place (the landing site) we learned that there was an opening for one more so Nate decided to go too. The company is called Adventure Paragliding and the couple who owns it spends part of the year in Glenwood Springs and part in Mexico. It's about a 2,000 feet between the launch site and the landing site. Nate and Dave had a blast, I hope that I'll be able to try it someday. See all the pictures of Dave and Nate's flights here.

(Nate coming in to land)

Leanne's 30th Birthday: A week of celebrating

2008-07-06T16:03:00.004-06:00

It's kind of strange to believe that I'm 30. Not because I've had a hard time accepting that I'm 30 but because it seems so grown up. Other than having more gray hairs and an almost 9 month old son, I don't feel any different than I did 5 years ago. I guess that is a good thing...

... Anyway, because it was such a monumental birthday my entire family came to Colorado to help me celebrate. My mom flew in on Sunday the 29th. On my actual birthday (30th), we went to dinner at a near by sushi restaurant.

Tuesday evening my brother, Brian and his girlfriends Ally along with my brother's dog Denali got to our house. They decided to drive and took advantage of some good climbing on the way out stopping in Utah and Rifle, Co.

On Wednesday, my mom, Brian, Ally, Riley and I went to the pool while we waited for my dad and grandparent's flight to arrive. Wednesday night we went to dinner at Frasca in Boulder. Frasca is a nationally acclaimed restaurant inspired by the cuisine of Friuli, Italy. It is an amazing dining experience and I highly recommend going but you must make a reservation 2 months out.

Thursday was our 3rd annual 3rd of July BBQ. Our neighborhood launches fireworks on the 3rd of July and we have a front row seat. This year we had over 60 friends and family at our house. Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate.

Friday, the 4th, we all went to the theater to see Wall-E, including Riley. It was his first trip to the movie theater. Shortly after the movie began, Riley got really restless and was squealing and squirming all over my lap. I decided to leave the theater so I didn't disturb anyone. I ended up sitting down with him on the floor in the hallway between the door and the seating area. I was still able to see 2/3 of the screen and was able to watch most of the movie while Riley rolled around with his toys on the floor. That evening we all entertained ourselves by playing the Wii. It was fun to get the whole family involved. My grandparents got in on the action with Wii Sports Bowling and Tiger Woods Golf. We grilled up some more burgers and brats for dinner and enjoyed the weather by eating out on our patio.

(This is what happens when my brother gets a hold of the camera)

Saturday morning my grandparents caught their flight and Brian and Alley left to drive back to Reno. The Hume's invited us to a BBQ at the lake that their family bought last summer. The guys were able to do some fishing and my mom and dad went out on the paddle boat.

Sunday morning my parents headed to the airport to head home. It was so special having all the family here to celebrate and I only wish that it could happen more often.

June 21st, 2008

2008-07-06T14:29:00.007-06:00

So I'm still behind but I plan on getting all caught up in the next couple days...

June 21st was a very busy day for us because we had 3 parties to attend.
11:00 am
The morning started with Riley and I going to Lakewood for Beck's 4th birthday. It was a lot of fun and great to see all my friends from Grad school. It was also the first time that any of them had met Riley.

2:00 pm
Party #2 was Emma's 1st Birthday Party. Emma turned 1 year old on June 24th and she shares her birthday with her mommy Abbey. We enjoyed a fun Elmo pool party at the Keeney's and stuffed our face with yummy food. It was a warm and sunny day and it confirmed that summer has indeed arrived. It also made me realize that Riley is the next one to turn a year. How is that possible?

8:00 pm
The final party of the evening was a get together for Ari and Jared's engagement. We got the leave Riley at home with Nate's mom and enjoy an evening out as adults. Sam, Betsy, Emily and I hosted a "We love Ari and Jared" party. It was a small gathering of close friends and family. We had drinks and appetizers on the patio at Bella Bistro. It was a lot of fun. Congratulations to Ari and Jared.

First Father's Day

2008-06-22T20:46:00.005-06:00

So I'm a little behind...
Father's Day weekend was a busy weekend. Saturday, was the E Print company picnic at Elitch Park. It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun to be in the Park. Sunday we went up to Estes Park and had lunch with Nate's mom and step dad, Dave. It was another gorgeous day and it was nice to get away, even if only for a couple hours. We eat lunch in the gazebo and it was so relaxing. On the drive home, we decided to take the long way and came down the canyon into Loveland. We continued towards home on small, rural back roads. It was fun to explore something new.

Riley is 8 months old

2008-06-19T16:15:00.002-06:00

Another month has come and gone. Riley weighs 19.25 lbs and now has 6 teeth (4 on bottom and 2 on top). He is rolling all over the floor. His baby babble is starting to sound more like actual words, although it is still gibberish.

Rubber Ducky...

2008-06-13T16:02:00.002-06:00

Bath time has become a favorite activity for Riley. He loves to watch the water fill the tub, splash with his hands, grab for his floating friends and kick his feet while floating on his back (with my assistance of course). And now that meals time are getting messy, we are taking more baths.

First trip to the pool

2008-06-12T13:49:00.005-06:00

This past Tuesday, I decided to take Riley to our community pool. The pool is really nice and has a very large kids area. It was a beautiful day in the mid 80's and the pool was packed. We went with our neighbor Amber and her kids, Jack (who was born the same day as Riley) and Ashlynn, who is 3. We sat at around the edge of the pool were the water is only a couple inches deep and Riley splashed around. Then we decided to put him in a baby raft that Amber had. He loved it. He was very content to just float around all day. I think he would have fallen asleep in it if I had let him. I'm sure we'll be spending a lot more time at the pool this summer.

My brother, the photographer

2008-06-04T08:51:00.004-06:00

My brother is an amazing photographer. He is also a rock climber and has found a unique way to merge the two. He will be the featured artist this month at the Backseat Gallery in the Comma Coffee Shop in Carson City, Nevada. The show is called... you guessed it, Transitory Moments. Too bad most of us won't be able to check it out. It opens today and will be up until June 28th.
Read more about his show here. Visit his website nip9.com here.

How does he do that?

Vielehr Designs, LLC.

2008-05-23T11:47:00.005-06:00

Thanks to Ari's help, I now have an official logo and business cards for Vielehr Designs, LLC.
As most of you know, I formed Vielehr Designs, LLC. and have been doing residential landscape designs for Kevin and his company, Collegiate Landscape, since the beginning of the year. It's been a lot of fun and so far Kevin and I have 4 yards installed with 5 or 6 on the way. I have also done 4 independent designs and I'm excited to see how my little business grows.

Before

After

Finger Foods

2008-05-20T17:27:00.005-06:00

Riley has been grabbing at the spoon while i have been feeding him so we decided it was time to introduce finger foods. Knowing that the first attempts would be more about learning how to pick up the food and not necessarily about putting it in his mouth, i bought some sweet potato flavored baby cereal (that are actually quite tasty) and put them on his tray. He was immediately interested and grabbed for the cereal pieces. He managed to pick them up pretty well and they kept getting stuck to his sticky little fingers. Bella and Gunner immediately positioned themselves under his highchair to catch the pieces as they dropped over the edge. It was fun to watch Riley try and pick them all up. He even gave a few to Bella (watch the video). I'm excited for the day when he tries to put them in his mouth and masters the pincher grab.
PS: Riley now has 4 teeth, 2 top and 2 bottom.

Rolling over

2008-05-20T17:21:00.003-06:00

Riley has been able to roll from his stomach to back for about a month now but last night he rolled from his back to his stomach for the first time. Nate and I were getting ready for bed and Riley started fussing so I went in to his room to check on him. Not only was he rolled over on his stomach but his feet were where his head used to be. I'm not quite sure how he managed to get in that position but he did it again this morning.

Happy 1st Birthday Max

2008-05-19T09:49:00.004-06:00

This weekend we had Max's first birthday party. It's amazing how fast a year can go. It was great to see everybody. There were probably a dozen baby/kids there and the focus was of course on them. Oh how our get-togethers have changed...

Our Garden

2008-05-19T09:41:00.005-06:00

We decided to grow a veggie and herb garden this year. Nate built a box that we put along our north fence near the patio and Kevin came and ran a new drip line so we could water it separate from the rest of the yard. We also did separate containers with strawberries and mint since those can become invasive. We are very excited about having fresh veggies and herbs and if all goes well in about 60 days we'll have cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, red and orange bell peppers, jalapenos, zucchini, sugar snap peas, green beans, green onion, basil, oregano, thyme, Italian parsley, and cilantro.

Hickies

2008-05-16T16:03:00.002-06:00

Last night we were at dinner with Nick Godman and Riley was starting to get tired and really fussy. We didn't have a pacifier with us because Gunner had pulled it out of the diaper bag and a new one hadn't made it back in the bag yet. So anyway, because we didn't have a pacifier, I was letting Riley suck on my chin which he often tries to do if he is hungry or sleepy. Needless to say, I ended up with 2 hickies on my chin. Oops, lesson learned.

Riley- 7 months old

2008-05-14T15:36:00.005-06:00

Riley is 7 months old today. He is eating baby food like a pro and he officially has 3 teeth with a 4th on it's way. He has made many discoveries including his fingers, his toes and his tongue. His new milestone is that he can pass an object from one hand to another. He also tries to grab onto the spoon when I'm feeding him so I think it's time to introduce finger food. He is so much fun and I'm so blessed that I've been able to stay home with him.

My First Mother's Day

2008-05-14T15:10:00.004-06:00

It was so nice to be home for Mother's Day. My uncle Ron flew up from LA and we had the whole family together. My Dad and Nate were in charge of dinner and we all enjoyed an overdue family evening together.

Becoming a mother has been the most amazing experience and I credit my calmness and confidence in being a mother to my mom and grandmother. They are amazing examples of how to be a great mom. My brother Brian and my mom playing with Riley

Keri and Chris are Hitched

2008-05-14T13:39:00.008-06:00

This past weekend we flew to Reno for Keri and Chris's wedding. It was not a full flight so Nate and I were able to spread out and use the entire row. Riley did great on the flight. He was awake the entire flight but decided to fall asleep on our descent and landing into Reno. On Friday afternoon we drove up to Squaw Valley for Keri and Chris's wedding. They got married at the PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn. It was the last weekend that Squaw Valley Ski Resort was open and it was a little strange to see people heading up the Cable Car to the top of the mountain in May to ski. The weather was absolutely beautiful. The rehearsal was out by the pool where the ceremony would be held and the rehearsal dinner was held steps away in the Village at Mamasake where we were treated to a wonderful sushi dinner. Nate and I were in heaven and completely stuffed by the end of the night.
On Saturday, since the wedding wasn't until 4:30, I got up and had breakfast with the girls (Keri, Jen and Kelley) and then we went to Starbucks (which I desperately needed because Riley had woken up every hour and a half the night before). Since it was such a beautiful day, we took a walk across the valley, along the golf course before we needed to be back to get ready for the wedding.
The wedding was beautiful. The wedding colors were green, black and white and the dining room was simple and elegant. We had such a great time and it was especially nice to hang out with my girls Keri and Jen who I don't get to see as often as I'd like. Thanks Keri and Chris for hosting a great wedding. See all the pictures here.

Adventures in Sweet Potatoes

2008-05-06T20:23:00.005-06:00

Riley is starting to get the hang of eating. He opens his mouth and gets food all of his face like a pro. He loves to try and grab the spoon and his best trick is wiping his messy face all over his sleeve. Today we managed to get winter squash all over his eye brow and in his eye lashes. Thanks to Uncle Brian, he's styling in this fire engine bib. Just don't tell dad that he was eating off the pink spoon.

Smile !!

2008-05-06T19:54:00.003-06:00

There is a photographer in our neighborhood who has her studio in the basement. See was offering special photo sessions for Vista Ridge residents so we decided to take advantage of it. We had a 15 minute photo session and got surprisingly a lot of great shots. It was a lot of fun.
Thanks Kerry. Kara Photography

Happy Birthday Nate

2008-05-06T19:47:00.004-06:00

So we've gotten a little behind on our blogging so I need to catch us up. Nate turned 31 on April 27th. We decided to have a small group of friends over for a last minute BBQ. It was pretty low key. Jumin brought over the Wii game Guitar Hero which was, of course, a big hit with Nate.

Riley is 6 months old

2008-04-14T23:08:00.003-06:00

Wow, 6 months. How our lives have changed... Riley is almost 18 pounds and 26 inches. He has reached some big milestones in the past couple days. On Saturday he rolled over from his belly to his back and he is also sitting up unassisted (for the most part). He has been eating baby cereal and oatmeal for about 2 weeks now but tonight he had his first taste of baby sweet potatoes. He loves watching the dogs and he gets very excited when one of them comes over to check him out. Bella is also more interested in Riley now that he is starting to eat "real" food. He will be her best friend as soon as he starts throwing Cheerios on the floor.

Nate and Leanne as babies

2008-04-08T19:33:00.007-06:00

We had our mom's pull together our baby pictures to compare to Riley's. It was pretty fun looking through all the old photos. Riley is a pretty good combo baby. Who do you think he looks like? Compare for yourself...

Nate at 4 mos

Nate at 8 months

Leanne at 5 months

Leanne at 7 months

1st Annual Bagna Dinner

2008-03-30T12:05:00.004-06:00

Nate and the Garlic

We have been talking about making Bagna Calda, Bagna for short (pronounced Bon-ya) for years. It means "Hot Bath" in Italian and it is a garlic, butter, tomato and anchovie fondue that my family has every Christmas Eve. Since my mom was coming into town, we thought it would be the perfect time to try making it ourselves since she would be here to help ensure that it was done right. We decided to start small with our more "food adventurous" friends and to minimize that amount of shucking of garlic and chopping of veggies for the first attempt. It was a big hit and a lot of fun. We plan on making it an annual thing and inviting more people.

Farwell to Friends

2008-03-30T11:58:00.002-06:00

We had to say goodbye to a couple good friends this weekend. Simone and Troy are moving to Brussels for Troy's work and Betsy and Jason are moving to San Antonio, TX for Jason's work. Our going away get together was at Betsy and Lee's house and it was a great time. Thanks to Betsy, Ari and Sarah for all their coordination. In a few months we'll have to say good-bye to Sarah and Matt too...

Bath Time

2008-03-30T11:51:00.003-06:00

Riley hasn't been a big bath fan, so we tried a new approach last weekend. In stead of just filling up his little baby bathtub, Nate filled our large bathtub with water and Nate got in the water too. At first Riley was still a little unsure but having Dad there holding him helped and pretty soon he was smiling and enjoying the water.

5 months old

2008-03-16T15:17:00.003-06:00

I can't believe that Riley is already 5 months old. His second bottom front tooth has come in and he is squirming all over the place. I'm sure he'll be rolling over and sitting up on his own before we know it.

Land Cruiser Surgery

2008-03-14T23:38:00.008-06:00

A couple weeks ago I bought the lovely red Land Cruiser that you see above from a guy in Laramie, WY. It had been rolled so the guy cut the top off with the intention of putting a roll cage on it, but he ran out of time and money. It had the suspension kit (shocks and leaf springs) that I wanted for my Land Cruiser to give it about a 3" lift, as well as several other parts that I wanted/needed. I got a really good deal for all the parts I was getting. Anyway Kirk and Lee came over last Saturday and Sunday to help me take them apart and swap out the suspension.

It took us about 15 hours total to completely take the suspension of both trucks swap them and put it back together, it was a lot of work, but worth it in the end. My springs were so flat that I probably got a 4-5" lift in the rear and about a 3" lift in the front. Now I just need to get 33" tires (which will raise the truck another 2") and I will be all set for camping, hunting, fishing and off-roading. Of course there is a long list of other things I want to do to my truck, but after the tires the major functional things will be done.

Thanks Kirk and Lee for your help.

Spitting

2008-03-08T14:45:00.004-07:00

Riley is always learning something new and this time he has discovered his tongue and how to make spitting noises. Check out the video.

First Saturday Brunch Bunch (FSBB)

2008-03-08T14:39:00.003-07:00

This past Saturday was the first get together of our newly formed First Saturday Brunch Bunch or FSBB. It is an excuse for us to get together and have a "play date". This was also the first opportunity most of us had to meet Rachel, one of the newest additions to the Sigma Pi family. It seems that we always get a photo of the moms and the babies so this time it was the dad's turn.

Riley has a tooth

2008-02-24T20:45:00.003-07:00

We discovered last night while Riley was sucking on my hand that he has a tooth. His bottom front left tooth has broken though to reveal it's self. This was an unexpected find since baby's don't typically start getting teeth for several more months.

Riley turns 4 months old

2008-02-14T14:33:00.004-07:00

I guess it's fitting that Riley turns 4 months old on the "Day of Love". We think Riley is over 17 pounds now which means that when he is in his car seat, I'm carrying around 28 plus pounds. No wonder my arm gets tired so fast. We will have his next wellness visit to the doctor on Monday for an official weigh in and length measurement.
He is at such a fun age right now. He is really beginning to discover the world. He's more aware of the different noises that he hears and he is so interested in everything. He has learned that he can reach and touch different toys thanks to his play mat and activity center. But the funniest thing that he has discovered is his voice and that he can be loud. He has learned to grunt, squeal, scream and screech. Check out this video to hear him screaming in his crib.

Riley's New Toy

2008-02-12T19:30:00.002-07:00

Our neighbor has an activity center that bounces and Riley loved it, so we decided that we needed it too. In addition to all the moving parts, it plays music and has lights too. (Check out the video in the "Riley Videos" link on the left) He loves being in it and has spent up to an hour bouncing around and squealing while Nate and I have been in the kitchen cooking or doing dishes. He has started to reach for the different elements and he likes to hold on to the rainbow. He can't quite reach the ground so we have a pillow under him so he can use his legs to bounce.
Saturday morning, Riley was bouncing around and making all sorts of noises while I was in the kitchen doing dishes. He was talking up a storm and then I realized that he had been quiet for a couple minutes. I looked over and found him sound asleep. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. Gunner even came over and stuck his noise in Riley's face and he didn't wake up.

Visit to Great Grandma and Grandpa's

2008-02-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend we made a visit to the Bustamante's, Riley's great grandparents. We were joined by Pauline and Dave and enjoyed a nice lunch and some good Riley time. Nate was too the rescue for his Grandpa's computer and had a great time visiting. See all the photos and videos here.

Koben's 1st Birthday

2008-02-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend was Koben's 1st Birthday. Lots of friends and family help celebrate this special day. Koben got his first taste of sugar and everyone had a great time. See more pictures here.

Three Months Old

2008-01-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

Well Riley is 3 months old now and he is weighing in close to 16 pounds. He is smiling a lot and is a lot more interactive. He is also officially sleeping in his own room, and last night he slept for 7 straight hours.

Check out some videos.

And as usual more photos.

Back to work, in a new way

2008-01-10T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well I couldn't stay home forever so I have officially gone back to work. I'm working part time for a promotional product, apparel and printing company called E Print Solutions. I am specializing in the social stationery side. It's funny how things come back around; I never thought I would be selling invitations again. Ari and I attending the Rocky Mountain Bridal Show on Sunday as a vendor. It's a big show and between Ari and I, we spoke with over 250 brides.
I will also be doing residential landscape design for a guy I know. I am so lucky that I have found 2 things that allow me to work from home on a flexible schedule.

Baby's First Christmas

2007-12-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

This year was our turn to be in Colorado for Christmas. We went up to Estes Park on Saturday, Dec. 22 for a little pre-Chirstmas relaxation. Nate got to open one of this presents early, the Wii, which kept everyone entertained for the next couple days with bowling and golf. Christmas Day was our typical commute to see all the family. We started in Estes Park, drove to our house to drop off the dogs and then headed to Nate's grandparents house in Lakewood for Christmas lunch with the Bustamante side of the family. Then we headed up to Berthoud via our house for Christmas dinner with the Vielehr side of the family. It's always a long day but it's great to see the entire family. It was great to have a white Christmas and luckily it didn't affect our travels too much. We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.

7th Annual Girl's Gift Exchange

2007-12-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend was our 7th Annual Girl's Gift Exchange. It was the biggest group yet, 16. We had it at Betsy's parents house since ours numbers exceeded the capacity of Betsy and Lee's living room. There was lots of good food, great gifts, lots of stealing and great company. We were also joined by Koben, Riley and Chester. View more photos here.

2 Months Old and 12 lbs. 2 oz.

2007-12-18T20:06:00.001-07:00

We had Riley's 2 month doctor's visit on Friday. Riley was 12 pounds, 2 ounces and almost 23 " long. He also received his first round of shots. They gave him 3 shots in his thighs. He screamed, as you would imagine, but he quickly quited down once they were done. I can't believe how fast he is growing. He has almost grown out of a few of his outfits. He is smiling a ton and "talking" lots too. He has discovered his reflection in the mirror of the swing and enjoys smiling at himself. We are looking forward to all his changes to come.

Tree Hunting

2007-12-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the Vielehr family annual Xmas tree hunt, Chris and I met my family and other friends at our property West of Boulder. There were about 20 people with us and we ended up cutting about 10-12 trees total. It might sound like a lot of trees to cut, but on the 10 acre parcel there are a lot of trees growing into each other, so our cutting actually helps some of the other trees grow as well as with fire mitigation. Chris ended up getting a tree about 8-9 feet tall, mine was closer to 12-14 feet. We got them loaded on the Land Cruiser and headed home. My tree was so heavy that Chris had to help me carry it in to the house, luckily it fit. Next is the hard part, decorating it.

Thanksgiving in Reno

2007-11-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

We embarked on another adventure... flying with an infant. Riley was such a trooper. We checked the car seat and I carried him in the front carrier. He started to fuss a little on the shuttle and we couldn't get to the pacifier so I gave him my thumb to suck on. Because he was in the carrier, his face was against my chest so getting my thumb in his mouth required some odd positioning of my arm. Riley sucked on my thumb from the shuttle, through security and all the way until we got to our gate. He fell asleep shortly after take off and slept the entire flight.

It was so wonderful to introduce Riley to my family and friends. We are very lucky to now have four generations on both Nate and my sides of the family. My uncle Ron and his partner Dan came up from LA and we had 11 people at the table for Thanksgiving. Like most, we spent a lot of time eating and relaxing over the weekend.

Riley turns 1 month old

2007-11-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Riley has been a part of our life for a month now. What an amazing blessing he is. He is such a great baby and I'm loving being a mom. We (well Nate) introduced a bottle to Riley a couple days ago and he took it without hesitation. Now that Nate and others are able to feed him, I better start pumping more so we have a surplus.
I've gotten use to my new sleeping schedule and I'm starting to get the hang of outings with the Baby. I went to the grocery store yesterday for the first time. Luckily I only had a short list because Riley started crying half way through my shopping. I ended up getting everything I needed and made it out of the store with only a few concerned looks from other shoppers.

Babies, Babies everywhere...

2007-11-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

It has been the year of the baby and it's bleeding into 2008. This past weekend we had two baby showers to attend. Our friends Rick and Allena and Jon and Cassie are both due in January. Allena's shower was the first get together since Riley arrived, completing the 2007 babies. We had to take a picture.

More adventures for Riley!

2007-11-11T22:40:00.000-07:00

Leanne's parents left on Tuesday the 30th, it was sad to see them go, but we also knew it was time for us to establish our new routine with just the three of us. I decided to take Monday and Tuesday off to spend some more time with Leanne's family, but Wednesday it was finally time to go back to work for real, no more time off to hang out with the kid. Leanne was a rockstar spending her first day alone with the baby without any help. It was a little tough to go from having three helpers to none, but she handled it like a pro. On Friday, November 2nd, we had another doctors appointment to recheck Riley's weight. This time he weighed 7 lbs 14.5 oz, a 9.5 oz gain in 7 days!! Everything was now on track in regards to his feeding. We can expect for him to gain about 1 oz per day for a while. He has to start packing on the baby fat!

Friday night we had our first big group dinner since having Riley, it was a lot of fun to be social with all of our friends again. There were 8 of us, well 10 including the little ones. Chris, Tara & Koben, Betsy & Lee, Ari & Jared, and Leanne, Riley and me. We better take advantage of being social while Riley still sleeps all the time, as we have seen with many of our friends, the social time seems to dwindle as the kid gets older and more active.

Saturday it was time for Riley's biggest adventure yet, we got in the car and drove up to Estes Park to visit my Mom and Stepdad. Riley handled the hour long car ride great, he didn't even seem to be bothered by the elevation changes. My Grandparents came up as well. It was really neat to have 4 generations all in one room. We went and had a quick lunch before heading back down the mountain. All in all a good trip.

More Photos

World Series 2007

2007-11-11T22:28:00.000-07:00

With Leanne's good computer luck we kept 3 tickets to Game 4 of the World Series so that I could take my Grandparents. They are both big baseball fans and have never been to a game of this magnitude. It took a lot of planning to get there early for special parking and time to get to our seats. It was a great game even though the Rockies got swept, it was fun to see the Champions celebrating on the field. The whole evening went really smooth other than briefly losing my Grandparents as we were heading back to the car, luckily they knew where they were going and we caught up to them quickly. More photos here.

Halloween Party

2007-11-11T22:14:00.001-07:00

Our friend Laney had a "Texas Bling" Halloween Party on Saturday the 27th, so we thought this would be a good first adventure for Riley's first real outing (other than the doctor). We dressed Riley up as a burrito wrapped in foil, and put on the closest things we could for western wear. Laney had her Wii set up so we got some good video game time in as well. We had a good time and Riley cooperated nicely. I even won the "Git-R-Done" prize which included a bottle of bourbon with two glasses and a flask.

Check out the photos here.

Blog Slackers!

2007-11-11T21:34:00.000-07:00

So I realize that we have been slacking on updating the blog the last few weeks, but that is the beauty of the internet, in a few minutes I can bring everyone up to date. On Sunday, October 21st, I took my Stepdad, Dave, to the Broncos-Steelers game. He is a HUGE Steelers fan and we both just hoped it would be a good game, it turned out to be a great game with Elam saving the day again for the Denver Donkeys. I made sure to rub it in a little even though Denver wasn't really having a good season.

Riley celebrated is 1st week of life by doing the same old thing, eating, sleeping, peeing and pooping. We also got to enjoy another week with Leanne's Mom in town. With the extra help still around I decided I should go back to work for a few days, so I went in on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I have to admit I didn't get a whole lot accomplished on Tuesday since World Series tickets were going on sale. Everyone in my office was trying to get in to buy tickets without any success so I called Leanne at home to see if she could try as well. It turns out we had some amazing luck getting in to the screwed up online system. Leanne was able to get in to the system 8 separate times and successfully purchased 18 tickets including 8 tickets to one game which theoretically wasn't possible. We kept a few tickets for ourselves and sold the rest to various friends that wanted to go.

On Friday the 26th we had another pediatrician appointment to check Riley's weight. He weighed in at a whopping 7 pounds 5 ounces, that was a 7 oz gain from our discharge weight! Straight from the pediatrician we went to the airport to pick up Leanne's dad, Tim, who was flying in for a long weekend.

As usual check out more photos here

Getting Settled at Home

2007-10-19T10:07:00.000-06:00

Well, we have finally gotten settled enough at home for another update. We had many visitors at the hospital, including many of our close friends, my mom, step-dad, dad and grandparents. Leanne's mom, Kathy, flew into town Monday afternoon and came straight to the hospital to see her new grandson. There is a really nice photo of the two new Grandmothers at the link below.
We got to come home Tuesday morning from the hospital. No issues getting packed up, but Riley didn't really like his car seat at first. Once we got in the car and started driving he settled right down. The only thing we were at all worried about was introducing the two dogs to the new family addition. For all of you that don't know our dogs, calling them high energy would be an understatement. I came home for a visit the night before so that Bella and Gunner could see me briefly and so I could let them smell a blanket with Riley's scent. We let Leanne come in first without the baby so the dogs could get out some of their excitement in seeing her after a few days. After they settled a little bit I came in with Riley. They were very curious at first, then seemed to lose interest until Riley started making some noise and crying. They immediately seemed to show some sense of concern for the crying baby. We have some great photos of Gunner getting up close and personal.
Leanne's milk came in early Wednesday morning and since then Riley has been feeding great. We have been getting a good routine down with me on diaper duty, and of course Leanne on feeding duty. We are still trying to figure out how to maximize our sleeping, which of course will be a long process. Kathy has been a great help around the house, so we don't have to worry about things like dishes, etc.
On Thursday we made our first outing to take Riley to his first Pediatrician's appointment. They said everything was great and he has gained 2 ounces after being born. He should continue to gain an ounce a day.
It has been a strange and exciting adjustment but we are getting used to being parents. Keep checking back for more updates, and check out some more photos here and here.

Announcing William Riley Vielehr (aka Riley)

2007-10-14T19:25:00.000-06:00

So it turns out that our doctors had our due date as October 14th, not the 12th. We were misinformed. At Leanne's appointment on Friday (the 12th) we found out we were already 3-4cm dilated and 75% effaced. We were excited, this meant Leanne's body had been doing some good work preparing for labor. Knowing our due date was two whole days a way, we thought we should drive to Conifer to hang out with Betsy and Lee. We had a wonderful dinner of Green Curry (spicy food helps promote labor after all). Saturday we slept in until 9am thinking this could be the last opportunity for a while, did some last minute errands, then spent the evening with Chris & Tara watching the Buffs lose to Kansas State, oh well. We ended up making it to bed around 11pm thinking we could squeeze in one more day of sleeping in, but Riley wouldn't have it that way. Leanne was woken up to contractions around 4am. We monitored the length and separation hoping to hit the magic 5-1-1 rule. At about 6am we spoke with our Doula and Doctor and decided it was time to head in to the hospital. We arrived at about 6:45am and after getting situated the nurse did an exam on Leanne and we were at 7 cm!!! After about 4 hours of "transition labor" we moved to the pushing phase....and Leanne's water broke. After about 45-60 minutes of actual pushing Riley was born at 11:26 am, 7 lbs 6 oz, and 21" long. Leanne was a ROCKSTAR and had natural birth and didn't use any pain medication. We are extremely excited, and everyone is in good health. Keep checking here as we will be adding pictures and updates as our new adventure begins.
More photos here

When's That Baby Due?

2007-10-11T08:40:00.000-06:00

So today is October 11th and the due date for the birth of our first child is tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!
It is a little surreal still, how do you anticipate the addition of a new life to your daily responsibilities? Anyway, Leanne is still doing well, she is getting a little uncomfortable. Check back here for baby news.

Nate

Our First Blog!

2007-07-09T21:43:00.000-06:00

Everyone else is doing it, why not us.