Falling Into Fall

Audrey has been enjoying her fall in Denver. At her doctor visit she weighed 12lbs 4 oz, so she is still on her way to becoming a midget according to dad.

Downtown Denver had a zombie crawl. We were going to participate but didn't have time to dress up. We went down to 16th street mall to check it out. There was some very cleaver costumes. Others your generic tattered clothes and blood. We found this one to suit Audrey.

Took Audrey to the Denver Zoo free day.
Which should be renamed stroller day.
I have never seen so many strollers or kids in one place.

Baby giraffes can stand 1 hour after birth.
Audrey still working on sitting 7 months.

Our sweet little baby was a bunny for Halloween.

Audrey had her first babysitter, while the adults went out to play. We were worried that she would scream the whole time since we have a needy baby. The baby sitter said she was quiet all night. Maybe we should drop her off more often.

Audrey enjoys her bath time so much,
we took her swimming at our complex. Had the camera in the pool and it still works. It held up to its promises of being water tight,unlike Audrey's esophagus.

Three States and Counting!

Hello everyone! It's time for an update. I have completed my internship in Missoula, renovated my townhouse, and am now living in Denver, CO. Shawna decided that Denver would be her portal to a job in dental hygiene so we are living near downtown so that she may begin her job search. I leave for Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, RI on November 13. It will be a monstrous change from being a complete slacker and slob to vice versa. The transition may just kill me. Audrey and Shawna will stay in Denver during the interim so hopefully they are able to make lots of friends.

Our last weekend (late August) in Missoula we visited Glacier National Park and saw the gamut of wildlife, did a 20 mile backpack from Jackson Glacier Overlook through Gunsight Pass to Lake McDonald, and ate a sordid amount of greasy hotdogs over the campfire.


Just finishing up the Ptarmigan Tunnel. Shawna apparently just murdered someone as well.


Ptarmigan Tunnel Overlook, South Side


Iceberg Lake. Shawna wouldnt take my dare to swim out to the larger iceberg.


Swan Dive!


A moosey looking creature


Shawna trying to be a scary troll. FAIL.


Gunsight Pass

In September, the Spirit of Boise balloon rally was graced with the presence of Shawna's dad, a balloon aviator. Incredulously, I was invited to take a ride the first day! Approximately 30 balloons flew each day, and flights last an hour or so. No casualties were reported.


It was damn cold that morning. Fortunately I was well prepared with shorts and a t-shirt.


Takeoff from Ann Morrison Park.


Landing at a Public Charter School in Eagle. Shawna and Audrey pose for the camera.

Audrey has been doing well. She had her 6 month wellness visit and took 5 immunization shots in the legs like a trooper. She is now in the lower 10% class weight wise, and improvement from 3% a couple months ago. Slowly but surely as they say. She survived a 12 hour drive from Boise to Denver, and then another 10 hour drive from Denver to Bozeman shortly after to visit my family one last time before I leave for OCS. Audrey has now lived in Idaho, Montana, and now Colorado. She will probably visit all 50 states before I do!!


Road Trip!!


Walk through the park


Trying to sit

Summer Pics

I guess it's time to update this thing. Missoula has been a great place to live for the summer and Audrey seems to be enjoying it, mostly. Shawna and I have rafted the Lochsa River, saw Tom Petty at the Gorge, went to a Balloon rally in Stevensville, and visited Bozeman twice. Audrey's stomach is still troubling her, so it makes for a dearth of sleep some nights. Her medicine she takes to calm her is a godsend. Hopefully she grows out of it soon! Otherwise, when she's not cranky, she's a joy to be around. She weighs around 10 lbs now and just turned 4 months old. She still has some major catching up to do but Audrey likes challenges.


4th of July dress


Audrey and Shawna on my dad's electric 4 wheeler


Rare moment of happiness


Random video - happy to unhappy

Plans for the Summer

I know that Audrey's adventures are much more exciting than her parents' but irregardless I decided to give an update on us. As many know, I have an internship in Missoula, MT for the summer. It was a tough decision, as I was was offered a summer research position with the NEES doing earthquake and tsunami research in Reno, NV. In retrospect I should have chosen the latter but Missoula will certainly have its perks. I will be driving to Missoula next week while Shawna takes the long way around through Bozeman, MT to visit my family. Everyone there is anxious to see the incredible Audrey. See post below for some new pictures from the weekend!

The First Road Trip

All babies hit milestones during their development. Audrey, at two months, secured her first 5.10 climbing ascent at the City of Rocks in Southern Idaho. Instead of tending to finals as I should have, Shawna and I traveled with the Keller family down the the climbing mecca for some R&R. It was also Audrey's first venture out of the Boise area. The weather was fickle, almost as much so as Audrey's mood. We were battered by rain, gusted by wind, and forced to layer on the winter clothes to evade the cold. It may sound like misery, but each stage was followed by delightful sunny weather capable of sustaining T shirts and shorts. What did Audrey think about all this? She was wrapped up comfortably in her wool blankets and fed milk warmed to perfection by a jet boil stove. Ahh, the life of a baby. And now, since many are complaining about lack of updates, we present to you our little Sherpa!


Audrey's focused concentration on the climb is insurmountable


Enter the Keller family, where the two females can out climb the male. The male
can certainly gripe more that his counterparts however.


Rocks, rocks, everywhere


Cliffhanger theatrics


Stripe wall paints the background


Approach to the Castle Rocks


Our schmoo


Audrey's famous popeye impression


Daddy.


Mantle Dynamics, a 5.10a led courageously by Cindy Keller.
I would have led, but you know, i had baby duties... :)


En route to the next climbing wall


Someone's having fun


Nice overview of a fraction of climbing options in the park

Easter Sunday

We celebrated Jesus's pet rabbit's birthday today by eating quiche and searching for Easter eggs. Audrey did well by finding four eggs as evidenced by the picture to the right. Kessler and Caulder went on multiple Easter egg hunts last week and today so they gave Audrey a little competition. Notice Caulder is seriously considering absconding with Kessler's unguarded Easter egg basket.

As of last Thursday, Audrey weighs 4 lbs, 1 oz which means she should reach her nominal weight in about 50 years. She gets the hiccups almost every time after she eats which doesn't seem to upset her too much. She also inconveniently sleeps much better during the day than at night. However, Mat noted a relieving trend with babies-each week gets a little better.


cheesiest grin ever

Audrey's First Steps Into a Bigger World

Well maybe not steps but she can lay there with the best of them. By popular request, pictures of Audrey with her eyes actually open are posted. This is a rare moment, so feast your eyes on this marvel:


Every so often she takes a peak at the world.


She's usually good about eating. She hasn't showed much
weight gain yet, maybe some day.


First bath at home. She's so thrilled she punches herself in the chin.

Homecoming!

The day has come. Audrey is on tour, unplugged and acoustic! No monitoring chords, no IV, no blood pressure cuff, it's all baby. Of course this means that I am officially a full time dad. The timing worked out well, I spent late nights this week working on a senior design project and am now off for spring break. Audrey has been good-as long as she is fed she sleeps like a...well..baby. She does make weird snorting noises which makes me wonder if she's not part piggy. Must be from her mom's side. She's still trying to reach the 4 lb mark and as you can see by the size of her hat that she's still a peanut. But what she lacks in size she makes up for in sweetness. Her first wellness visit is on Monday and other than that, her life is on the open road.

One more step towards normal

Today Audrey weighs 3lbs 11oz.

Yesterday they removed Audrey's feeding tube. She has to fend for herself now. The new transition of eating 45ml by breast or bottle has led to many outfit changes due to her exorcist style of spitting up. Including many laughs and washings. Mom had the privilege of giving her a real bath.

This is our new travel bug for Geo caching that we are sending out into the world. His mission is to see the sights and dabble in mischief for Audrey, Since she is stuck to her Isolette. Hopefully the troll will get sent abroad.

Here is a pic of the Isolette/plastic cage that Audrey has to sleep in for the time being, until she hits a certain mark in her weight gain to keep her sufficiently warm. I will be very happy when she is out of there. It will make changing her so much easier. Having a plastic barrier and limited space can be very challenging when changing diapers.


All tuckered out. She gives into slumber so easily, very peaceful. I figure she will become more photogenic in the next couple of weeks. Perhaps at least last long enough to have more eyes open photos, but then she squirms around to the point photos are blurry. Have to work on my photography skills.

A life in a plastic cage

Well Audrey is a whole week old now. I'm sure she's wondering why some disgruntled doctor ripped her from the womb so prematurely. It's probably akin to someone yanking you out of a comfortable warm bed and disrupting a really great dream. Dont get me wrong, she really enjoys her sleep. She sleeps almost as much as Eric. She fusses a little bit when she's placed into a new position but then slumps straight back into a peaceful nap.

Audrey has lost ~5 oz in the first 5 days but has managed to gain an oz back, weighing in at 3 lb 6 oz on Fri. night. The nurses have started fortifying the breast milk with extra calories so she can bulk up faster. It's like creatine for babies. She started feeding 8x / day at 4 ml and now she's up to 31! No wonder babies develop Buddha bellies. She has a feeding tube impaled up a nostril which is a bit unsightly but I guess that's better than having, say, a third eyeball. Shawna and I visit her 1-2x a day, and each visit Audrey seems to be getting stronger.