Month Twenty-three

Liam,

You turned twenty-three months today! I can't believe it!! Another month has passed us by and now only one more month until you turn TWO! It has been a very busy month but still can't believe you, my baby, is going to be TWO in just a few weeks. But enough about that because I don't want to think about that anymore. This month has been super busy! We've had something going on every weekend. We went to Yellowstone the beginning of the month and camped for four nights, we went to the fair, and we just got back from Glacier. It's a good thing you like the outdoors because that's all we've been doing!

This month I changed my work schedule around so I have Thursdays off instead of Fridays. We did this so you'd only be in daycare three days a week instead of four. So you go to daycare Mon-Wed, stay home with me on Thursdays, and Grandma Terry & Grandpa Dave watch you on Fridays. Though with the weather being so nice, Grandma Terry has been picking you up Thursday nights after she gets off work and taking you out the ranch to spend the night and play all day Friday. You have a blast every time you're down there. You get to see the cows, float boats in the ditch, and blow bubbles with Grandpa Dave. It's funny because the last time you were going to go down I asked you if you wanted to go down to the ranch and see "papa". You said, "yes, papa boats and bubbles". Grandma Terry actually just picked you up tonight and you get to stay the whole weekend with them!

You've been talking a lot more! We play a game in the car both on the way to daycare and on the way home where I ask you "what sound does a (animal) make". I usually ask the sounds of a cow, horse, duck, monkey, bear, and an elk. You know all of them and say them instantly when I ask. Daddy is pretty proud you know what an elk says. He can't wait to take you hunting! We also play a game when daddy and I are on either side of you and we both hold your hands. Then we count all together ...1...2...3.... and swing you into the air. You love this game and will want to do it over and over again until mommy and daddy's arms get tired. You usually skip 2 and just say 1....3! And if we're not paying attention you drop and drag your feet forcing us to lift you or swing you. If we're in a hurry we play this game, because we can move you a lot faster this way!

You used the potty for the first time yesterday! It was more exciting for us than for you but I was clapping and saying "yay" and then you looked up and started clapping too. Your potty plays music when you use it so you started dancing too. We knew you were getting close because this last week you've been asking to use the potty right before bed. Normally you ask as I'm putting pajamas on you and getting you into a new diaper, then I have to strip you down and take you to the potty. Then you just sit on it for a minute and say done. But last night you looked down and just started to go potty! Time for potty training now! So after you get back from the ranch we plan to really focus on potty training even using M&M's as an incentive.

Happy twenty-three month birthday sweet little boy! We love you so much! As the quote on your bedroom wall says, "The laughter of a child is the light of the home". You bring us so much joy!!

Love,
Momma

Glacier Trip 2013

This weekend we went to Glacier and hiked the Highline Trail for the second year in a row. Last year we just went as a family but this year we went with a BIG group. There were 18 of us! We went over Friday night and stayed at the Mintyala/Fortmann residence on Swan Lake. Then early Saturday morning we headed to Glacier. Since there were 18 of us we had to take three cars. When we got into Glacier Park we stopped at Lake McDonald Lodge and had a snack before loading onto the shuttles. Then daddy, Jay, and Monique took our three vehicles up to "the loop" so we'd have vehicles at the end of our hike. This definitely was a must especially when one vehicle had a cooler full of cold drinks in it! The rest of us shuttled up to the top of Logan Pass and met the rest of our group. Then it was off to the Highline Trail, an 11.8 mile hike! Our goal was to make it to "Haystack Pass" and then take a break for lunch. We made it there no problem and it was a good stopping point because it was about 4 miles into the hike.

We had a slight delay just before "Haystack" though, a few of us in the front encountered a grizzly bear on the trail. This was your first Grizzly Encounter! A couple hikers in front of us warned us there was a bear on the trail and that it was only a 100 yards away. So daddy went up the trail just enough to see it to confirm if it was Grizzly or not...it was! We all started walking the other direction yelling bear and making a lot of noise. We caught up to the rest of our group and let them know a bear was on the trail. Daddy was carrying you in the backpack so we switched backpacks so I could carry you. Then daddy got his gun and pepper spray out and Jay & Jesse got their pepper spray out and they headed up the trail. We followed but made a lot of loud noises hoping to scare the bear away. The bear got off the trail but stayed nearby, at one point I saw his head peaking around a tree. He eventually wondered farther up the mountain and we were able to run by and continue on the trail. Daddy, Jay, and Jesse made sure we all made it through before following us. It was cool but definitely a little scary! So it was nice to stop for lunch and let the adrenaline wear off a little bit...

After lunch, we hiked another 4 miles and made it to the Granite Park Chalet. It's another great resting spot which actually has some lodging and a really nice lodge area where you can buy water, pop, and other snacks. We bought a couple snickers! A few people went up the Garden Wall trail just before Granite Park Chalet. This is something we want to do but we decided not to do it this trip. We had a great time relaxing at the Chalet. It gave you time to run around and all of us to get rested up and have some snacks. It was a good thing to because you hadn't taken a nap yet and were getting restless so it was perfect timing!

After we were all rested up, we only had 4 more miles to go and then we were DONE! But I remember these last 4 miles and they are the longest 4 miles of the whole trip. It's all downhill but switchbacks all the way down. We were one of the first to arrive at the Chalet so we decided to leave the Chalet a little earlier than the rest of the group. We knew you were getting tired so we wanted to get a head start so we could take our time. Kody and his friend Riley came with us too. You did really well but we had to stop a couple times. You wanted to walk for a little bit and even rode on Riley's shoulders for a while. But then you wanted to just play in the dirt so back in the backpack you went and we pushed it the rest of the way out.

It was a great feeling to see the cars and know we were done! We had hiked the 11.8 miles again!! It is such a beautiful hike and so worth it! We were just a little sore and tired afterwards!

Thanks Jay and Sandi for inviting us to hike with you guys this year! We had a blast!!

Lunch break at "Haystack"

Flying!

"Granite Park Chalet"

Fair Fun

Last week the fair was in town and we took you the very first night it opened. We met Grandpa Mike and Nana B there and you walked hand in hand with them all the way to the entrance. Once inside, you were on Daddy or Grandpa Mike's shoulders so you could see everything. When we first got there, we just walked around checking everything out. The big barn full of animals was closed so we went to the other nearby barns. You got to go into a little fenced in area called the "petting zoo" and pet/play with barn animals that included a pig, pony, cow, goats, and a lamb. But you didn't really want to get close to them. You didn't even want to get down and walk around with them. I had to coax you to get down and touch one of the animals. You were fine walking around with them as long as they didn't get to close. A goat almost ran you over and I had to deflect him away. There were a few that didn't really move (the pig and cow) so you liked them a little more and would squat in from of the them just staring at them. Down from the "petting zoo" was the pony rides. We couldn't pass that up...not with Grandpa Mike and Nana B with us. Daddy walked with you while you rode the pony. You had a lot fun and didn't want to get off when your turn was done. But that didn't last long because there was so much more to do!

We took you on some rides but only a couple because you're just under the height to ride most of the rides. So we took you on the carousel and the teddy bear merry-go-round. You had a blast on both and I was bummed I couldn't take you on more. Next year...definitely next year!

On our way in!

Big Cat!

Loving the pony ride!

Big daddy chair!

Around and around we go!

Grandpa Mike's turn!

  

Yellowstone Trip

We took you on your first big family road trip - we went to Yellowstone National Park! Not going to lie, we were a little nervous about the drive over and didn't know how well you'd do. But you surprised us and did extremely well. We also had lots of distractions to make it a little easier; a DVD player playing non-stop movies, books, and snacks. But the drive went pretty quick - we made it to Yellowstone in 4 1/2 hours!

Day 1: Stopped at Old Faithful on the way to our campsite at Grant Village. When we got there we had just missed it going off so we had an hour and a half to waste. We went into the lodge and had some ice cream and walked into a couple of the nearby buildings. When its started to get close to the predicted eruption we found a seat up front on the benches. Well we weren't there for more than 5 minutes and a storm blew through with rain down pouring on us. We all sprinted to the nearby lodge and it passed after about another 5 minutes. We found a good spot on the benches again and waited for Old Faithful to erupt. It was worth the wait and even better after seeing your reaction.

Taking a break!

Old Faithful Erupts!

Afterwards, we drove to our campsite to get checked in and get everything setup. We had a little visitor not to soon after we got there, a cow elk came through to say hi. We also got to listen to coyotes howl most of the night. 

Day 2: We had to pack up camp at Grant Village and head to our next campsite at Bridge Bay. Thankfully, this would be the last time we packed up camp until it was time to go home. By the time we got packed up and checked in to the next campsite it was lunchtime. So we had a quick lunch and decided to go check out the Mud Volcano and the Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We also did some site seeing along the way as we were told Hayden Valley was the best place to spot wildlife.  It was - we pulled over in a pullout, scanned the area with our binoculars, and found a herd of elk bedded down in the grass. The mud volcano's were pretty cool, a little stinky, but neat to look at. Buffalo were everywhere in the park and one happened to be right off the boardwalk at the mud volcano. It just sat in the dirt looking at all of us. 

Next, we went to the Lower Falls. The only way to get to the Lower Falls is taking a trail down the mountain to a series of steps, 328 steps to be exact. This is something daddy has always wanted to do so we had to do it! We all did really well down the trail and even the start of the decent down the stairs. But then I looked up and saw how high we were and had some second thoughts. Heights are not my cup of tea! It didn't help that the stairs were see through either. But I knew I'd regret it if I didn't do it so I powered through it and we all made it to the bottom. It was an awesome view and so glad we all made it together and could experience it as a family. The 328 steps back up wasn't that bad either...we just took it one step at a time and before we knew it we were back at the top!

Slowly making the descent down

We made it!

Beautiful view!

Back at camp, we had a couple more a visitors! A buck that wondered right through our camp and a buffalo that went through our campground. A ranger followed the buffalo making sure people didn't get to close. You loved our new campsite and especially loved the dirt mounds all around our site!

Dirty boy!

Day 3: We had a full day planned since we didn't have to do anything but eat breakfast and get on the road. We went to the brink of the Lower Falls, stopped and had a picnic, then went into West Yellowstone to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. The brink of the lower falls was amazing!! It was such a spectacular view! Though the whole heights thing made me a little uncomfortable as we looked over the edge of the platform. But it was so beautiful, I enjoyed it just as much a few feet back from the edge! You really enjoyed it and just wanted to run around on the platform. We were fenced in but it still made me really nervous so I stayed right by your side the whole time!

The brink

The 328 steps we did the day before!

After lunch, we went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone. You had a little bit of a rough start as you fell asleep on the way there. You maybe slept for a half an hour and we had to wake you up to go inside. You weren't very happy with us and wouldn't stop crying. We had to divert your attention to something else to get you to stop crying. There were a few bear statues outside and they were great distractions! Once we got inside, you had a blast! You loved all the bear displays especially ones with cubs. You'd point and say "babies". You had so much fun exploring but had no idea what was in store next. We took you outside to where the LIVE wolves and bears were. We got a good look at one of the wolves as we walked by their enclosure. We didn't realize it at the time but we had just missed a scheduled feeding where you could watch the wolves being fed through the glass. So while most of people were watching that, the rest of the enclosures were empty. Two bears, brothers, Grant and Roosevelt, were in the bear enclosure and they were having a ball wrestling in the water. It was quite entertaining to watch! We timed it perfectly where the two brothers we just about done in the enclosure and they brought out two new bears. But before they did that, they hid food all around the enclosure. The next two bears were their biggest bears, a twin brother and sister from Alaska, Sam and Illie. It was fun watching them search out the food that was put in all sorts of places. From tree stumps on the ground to up in the trees. One of the bears pushed on the tree a couple times to make the food fall. They were beautiful and it was great being able to show them to you. Though I hope we never run into a grizzly in the woods!

The wolf enclosure

Watching Grant & Roosevelt play in the water

Close-up!

Illie (I think) looking for food

Afterwards, we stopped at an ice cream shop and had yummy homemade ice cream! This you thoroughly enjoyed!! Just look at your face!

Back at camp, you were Mr. Helper and wanted to do everything daddy was doing. That included helping build a fire!

Day 4: It was time to pack up and go home but before we did that we stopped at a few geysers on the way out. We also went to Biscuit Basin which had some absolutely beautiful, clear blue, pools!

Biscuit Basin

Sapphire Pool

We can now check off Yellowstone as one of the places we wanted to take you. It was a great trip and so glad we decided to do it! You did extremely well and actually surprised us with how well you did. We'll definitely be doing more family road trips!