Monday, October 26, 2009

Camping!



It was another first for Gwen this weekend. We headed out to Pedernales Falls State Park for Gwen's first camping trip. I reserved a campsite in advance because the campsites at Pedernales usually fill up quickly, especially when the weekend forecast calls for perfect fall weather as was the case. On Saturday we packed up our bags and prepared for some ol' fashioned car camping--coolers, comforters, pillows--we didn't want to rough it too hard on Gwen's first night under the stars! But when I called to confirm our site, I learned that I had accidentally made the reservation for the next weekend, and all the campsites were full! All that was available were the primitive sites which required a 2.5-3 mile hike in. OK, so maybe we were going to rough it. We rethought and repacked and ditched the cooler idea, the pillows, and brought our ultra-light stove, and prepared for some backpacking. When we got to the park, the park attendant was kind enough to give us the last car-camping site that they reserve "just in case." So we didn't have to backpack after all. We had a great site, watched a family of deer graze near our tent, ate some tacos, and enjoyed perfect weather. Gwen seemed to really enjoy the trip.

She slept between us in the tent, and at first all she wanted to do was play instead of sleep. Megan and I both closed our eyes, trying to pretend we were asleep, but for about 30 minutes Gwen kept tapping us saying, "Momma? Dadda?" Then pulling our hair, scratching our noses, climbing on us, Gwen persisted. It was hilarious, but we stayed strong, didn't laugh at her, and eventually she fell asleep.
We can't wait to go again!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Zilker Park

Gwen and I went to Zilker Park this morning. Gwen is a beautiful baby, and Austin is a beautiful city.








Thursday, August 20, 2009

Colorado Vacation


We're having a great time here at Pops and Babs' house in SW Colorado. Gwen has hiked on the Blue Lakes Trail and also at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. She seems to really enjoy going for a "ride" in the hiking backpack. She loves to point and say "mountains," and she's enjoyed seeing all of the animals here in the mountains, especially a few close encounters with deer. During her time here she's become a full-fledged, independent walker. Sometimes she doesn't even want to take your hand if you offer it to her. She's also started counting to ten and reading letters. So far she recognizes A, O, and S.



Fish Face



Friday, July 24, 2009

Monday, July 13, 2009

Gwen at 13 months

OK, so she's still not really walking. She stood by herself for more than a minute and took a few steps about 6 weeks ago, and we thought she'd be walking all over the place in a matter of days. She has not shown much interest in walking by herself or standing on her own since then. Everyday she walks from Megan's office all the way to the car while holding my hand (it takes a while.) So she's getting in a lot of practice. She'll walk when she's ready.

She's dang smart for a 13-month old, though. Here's a video. Oh, and in that one verse, Megan was just mixing up the words to "Ol' MacDonald" to see if Gwen was paying attention.