Life is Better in the Mountains - 1

We traveled to Estes Park, Colorado for our vacation this year! We met my in-laws and Jason's Uncle Dale and Aunt Jana there. We all stayed in a wonderful condo and enjoyed our week together! Here are some pictures of Cody's travels. Watching a video while we got ready. He wasn't feeling great the last couple days we were there. Many naps in the car while we were on drives and looking for "critters". Watching a video on the airplane and experiencing headphones.

Climbing on grandpas suitcase....I think he wanted to go to Oregon instead of Texas!

The best baby travel invention ever! The wheels and handles attach to the carseat and it can be dragged through the airport...and doubles as a stroller. Works amazing and saves from having to carry the carseat! Cody loved it!

Playing with my make-up bag while killing time in the car.

Cody was a great traveler. It took a bit for him to adjust to the altitude but he was a trooper! He loved getting to spend so much time with grandma and grandpa and meeting his great uncle and aunt! Of course he got a lot of attention! We love the mountains and enjoyed getting to experience the Rocky Mountains with Cody! More to come...

What Cody can do at 15 months!

Cody turned 15 months old while we were in Estes Park, Colorado! What Cody is up to these days....

• Likes to play with an old cell phone and puts it to his ear and "talks". If he's holding it and we say "say hello" he puts it to his ear.
• Loves to stack cups. He will stack and un-stack and re-stack over and over.
• Can wave "hi" and "bye" and can say "ba" for "bye".
• He says "momma" and "dada" in the correct references.
• Says "that" as in "I want that" while pointing.
• Shares his toys/food/paci's....anything. He likes to hand us this "stuff" and gets his feelings hurt if we don't take it.
• He can walk pushing his walker (truck)
• Cruises on furniture/Pulls up on our legs
• Loves the game "I'm gonna get you".
• Points, Points, Points....all the time.
• Loves toys that stack, plays with cups that stack
• Loves to put toys in a bucket/basket and take them out...in and out, in and out over and over.
• Knows how to wipe with a napkin or baby wipes. Usually his highchair, hands or face.
• Loves to close doors and then knocks on the door until someone opens it.
• Gives High 5's.
• Sticks out tongue when you ask "where's your tongue?"
• Claps his hands if he hears someone clap, we ask him to clap or we say "yay".
• Learned to climb the stairs on his first birthday and can go up fast! Can't come down yet.
• Knows what these words mean and reacts to them: Bottle, bath, cracker, eat, night night, stairs, animals, ball, home.
• Can feed himself with a fork and spoon (we never taught him...he just did it one day)
• Loves to play at splash parks
• Loves to play in his sand box
• Looks around, gets excited, crawls to door when I say "daddy's home".
• Climbs in cabinets
• Hides face with hands when we say "peek-a-boo".
• Pats our shoulder/back when we hold him.
• Learning how to blow kisses
• Does not hold still while getting his diaper changed or getting dressed.
• Knows the sign for "more".
• Is learning that when we drive up to church we get to see daddy. Church=Daddy's work.
• Drinks from a cup with a straw.
• Had his first ice cream cone.
• Loves the "Old MacDonald" song.
• Weaned from Bottle
• Likes suckers and knows they are a special treat.
• Loves to sit on the counter and watch whatever is happening (cooking, cleaning, etc.)
• Climbs on his little blue chair. Climbs on anything...shoeboxes, laundry baskets, beds, chairs, ladders...
• Takes about 3 to 4 steps at a time
• Enjoys playing in his ball pit and pushes his chair up against it and falls from his chair into the balls
• Claps when watching tv and see or hears someone else clap
• Does not like the word "no" but is learning to obey.

Weight: 21 pounds 4 ounces (10%)

Height: 31 inches (50%)

Head: 19 inches (90%)

Clothes: 12 to 18 months

Diapers: size 5

August Favorites

Cody totally wanted me to cover him up with this blanket while he watched Tigger and Pooh before bed. Usually he sits in our lap to snuggle but this particular night he wanted to sit on the floor.

Cody's new animals! They make his day! (Notice them lined up on the counter.) We are practicing animal sounds. So far he knows the cow and "moo" go together.

Cody can sign "more" and "please" and knows when to use them! Here he is signing "more"!

Nightime snuggles! Drinking milk before bed. (This picture is older because he is now off the bottle) Cody crawled to the guest bathroom and brought out the toilet paper to play with.

Cody definately has walking down! He's still faster crawling so after he walks for a bit he decides to finish his mission crawling. But, he walks a lot!!

This is Great!

We saw this sign while shopping in a store in Estes Park, Colorado!

We have a walker!

Cody has been taking one or two steps and then lunging towards one of us but this weekend he has started taking 4 or 5 steps and not lunging unless he gets tired! He pulls to a standing position with no object to hold and will walk a few steps before deciding to crawl. He will go from one thing to another taking steps! So he's not a full time walker quite yet but definately taking many steps in a row and each day adding more steps. He is so proud of himself and we are so proud of him! Just in time to practice on our vacation in the mountains!

The Ball Pit...Inside fun with its too hot to be outside!

I saw these balls on sale at Target and wanted to do something with them. We have a little tent with a tunnel that I put the balls in but Cody wasn't interested. So, I put them in his little baby pool and he will play for hours! He climbs in and out all day and loves the noise they make inside the pool. He kicks his feet and crawls around with a big smile on his face!

He put his little chair right up against the ball pit and slides off the chair into the balls.

Climbing/Falling out.... His other favorite toy: the ball popper is fun inside the ball pit.

And surprisingly the balls stay in the pool for the most part and are not all over the house!

Sand + Water = Summertime Fun!

Fun at the neighborhood splash park!

Swimming at the neighborhood pool...we like the water and like swimming but the problem is Cody doesn't want to have "help" in the water and therefore it becomes a stressful and short activity....unless I can keep him happy playing on the steps. Swimming lessons are coming for sure!

Off to the pool...

Mary and I (with the help of Sarah) took the kids to Hawaiian Falls water park. We stayed a couple hours and had a good time. Of course, Cody wanted to "go and do" things that he's too small for (like climbing steps to get to big slides and wanting to slide down) but I finally convinced him to be happy just playing in the "safe" area.

Ty, Charlie and Cody playing in the water.

People kept asking us if Joy and Cody were twins.

Charlie and Cody playing in the water.

Cody loves the sandbox and water table that my mom gave him for his birthday.

Swimming in Mary's backyard is always fun!