1st Annual Bagna Dinner

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.