You are here: Home / Archives for littlehippie

Boy Or Girl?

July 19, 2012 by 7 Comments

The answer to everyone’s mid-pregnancy question…..

For both pregnancies with Ezra and Liam, we didn’t find out gender until they were born. Reasons for that decision have previously been discussed here on the blog, but as we had control over one of life’s great surprises, we enjoyed the moment. But things change, and mindsets change. No better or no worse, just different; and for this pregnancy, we have settled on the ‘no-surprises’ theorem. And you know what? It’s been good. Not only for the blood pressure, but it has allowed this pregnancy to be a change from the other two. It has allowed this pregnancy to stand on it’s own, and it has allowed us to enjoy it in ways that we previously had not experienced. In that sense, it has been exactly what we needed.

So we ventured to the doctor’s office for the 20 week ultrasound, and toured the baby’s body through the images. Legs look good. Arms look good. Head size looks good. Stomach looks good. Heart looks good. Brain development looks good. Then, as matter-of-factly as the rest of the ultrasound went, the doctor told us the news. It’s time to trade in gender parts….We. Are. Having. A. GIRL!

We have been asked several times if we are ready to have a girl, and the answer is a resounding “yes!” In all honesty, we would have been thrilled to have had a girl or boy each of the previous times too, but after our experiences, the cliche became hard fact, and we only wanted a baby that was healthy. We have a lot to look forward to, and we have a lot to learn about (we may be more on the hook now for a larger share of wedding costs in the future, but at least for the next couple of years, pee is no longer a projectile event). Ezra is loving his little sister, and talks to her quite regularly; and he even asked Ahna the other day why the baby isn’t out yet. We are excited to enjoy the remainder of this pregnancy differently, and we are thrilled to be able to walk through life with this baby in a unique way that will be in her own image.

16-ish weeks to go.

Filed Under: Elia!

The Resiliency Of The Garden

July 18, 2012 by 2 Comments

So a few weeks ago a wicked storm rolled through Castle Rock, bringing with it large hail, tons of rain, lightning like we have never seen, tornado warnings, and storm chasers. And it did some work on the house. A few flower pots were destroyed, a storage box was swiss cheesed, gutters were damaged, paint was damaged, the roof will need replacing, and the garden was beat up. The storm came just a short week or two after we planted it, and we thought it was completely destroyed. As it turns out, a couple of the vegetables did not survive, but the vast majority of the plants took the abuse and have come back very, very strong. It was a pleasant surprise when a week after the storm came we started to see new stems and leaves and the vegetables made there way back. Since then, they have continued to grow fast and furious – and they are checked upon quite regularly by Ezra, each time with a grand excitement in his voice about how big they have become. We are starting to see some very early tomatoes, the beginnings of some red peppers, the massive growth of spaghetti squash, and are close to being able to harvest some summer squash…and we are still awaiting the arrival of some other peppers and jalapenos. We are hoping to have some required vegetables-in-the-pan photos within the next few weeks!

Filed Under: Life in General, Photos Included

Birthday Party Part 2: The Train Ride

June 20, 2012 by 2 Comments

(I think that this actually makes four different birthday related posts for this fourth birthday. Maybe too many, but who cares.)

On Ezra’s actual birthday, we had a chance to spend the day hanging out together. You know, there is something to be said for having the party at a park (minimizing clean up and activity planning) and doing it on a day that can be strictly centered on that party (ie: not the actual birthday). It allows for a rather relaxing and enjoyable celebration in a nuclear family sort of way.

We headed up to the mountains and into Georgetown to ride the railroad. They have a train there – The Georgetown Loop Railroad – that runs on an old mining track, which gives you a steam powered 1.5 hour ride through the mountains and up from Georgetown to Silver Plume. We were able to escape the summer of the front range, and enjoy some of the coolness provided by the mountains, while riding in an open-air car both directions (should you decide to go sometime, go as early as possible, as the train was full of school/camp kids on the return trip). It took a little while for Ezra to warm up to the motion, to the noise, and to the experience; but once he did, he had a blast.

He’s growing so damn fast.

Filed Under: Ezra!, Photos Included

Birthday Party Part 1: The Friends

June 19, 2012 by 2 Comments

Hot. Castle Rock. New, awesome, park. Friends. Fire truck. Cake. Fun.

Oh, and balloons.

Filed Under: Ezra!, Photos Included

Ezra’s Fourth Slideshow

June 18, 2012 by 1 Comment

Change the video quality if your connection allows (it’s the star looking button on the bottom right of the video, and you can change it all of the way up to 720).

Filed Under: Ezra!, Video Included

4 Years Old!

June 5, 2012 by 4 Comments

Birthday celebration photos coming soon, but here is the month-by-month progression of Ezra for the last 48 months.

Filed Under: Ezra!, Photos Included

A Claw Foot Garden

June 2, 2012 by 4 Comments

A couple of years in the thought bank and a few months in the making, we finally have our claw foot tub garden doing it’s thing. With the smaller backyard, the potential for rabbits (many, many of them in our old neighborhood, but not too many here yet), and an aging set of backs (I know we are only mid-30s, but that’s super old, right?), we set out in the design process of the backyard to incorporate an elevated garden set up of some sort. We made the space for it, but idea after idea slipped through the cracks of reality, until we kept coming back to one of the first ones we thought of: get a bath tub.

It turns out that finding a claw foot tub isn’t difficult at all – see Craigslist, rather getting it, moving it, and placing it are the challenging components of the operation. Thankfully there is a Dad with a pick-up truck and a few hours of help close by. The tub was found as a leftover piece of a rental remodel in Littleton, and is straight from 1914 – as stamped on the bottom. We brought it home, set it in place, and filled it with rock, then sand, then the most expensive bags of organic potting soil you can find on this side of the rocky mountains. Oh, top that off with a trip to the garden center to get some summer squash, spaghetti squash, red bell pepper, Japanese cucumber, jalapeno, basil, and zucchini. It’s admitingly a shotgun approach to such a small space to plant, but this is a trial year to see what grows in our backyard tub. Next year might be a little more focused based on the successes of this growing season. Now, we dump water and time into the garden, and somewhere between 60-100 days, we get some goods.

Outside of our hopeful dinner plate returns on the project, we are using it as an opportunity to begin to teach Ezra about gardening, growing, sustainability, and local resource (yea, Japanese versions of vegetables make a hard connection to the local component). His buy in has been simple as he is very interested in what is going to happen…just an opportunity to help plant, to help water, and a set of Go, Diego, Go gardening gloves. His concern and interest are currently measured daily, with the once-a-day inquiry about watering. I think that this is also going to be a good lesson in time and patience, as he is already making connections that 100 days isn’t immediate.

Updates including inception, growth, and use will be posted here…stay tuned.

Filed Under: Ezra!, Life in General, Photos Included

Pre-school Graduation (?)

May 31, 2012 by 2 Comments

Wow….a whole school year done? Why was it that when we were waiting on Ahna’s year to finish up, it never went this quickly (still doesn’t even though she is on roughly the same calendar as Ezra). Ok, so it wasn’t a whole school year by the traditional definition, but it was the completion of a two-day a week, Aug-May, learning environment that occurred at a school.

Ezra made some awesome friends in his class, really enjoyed his teachers, brought home lots and lots of fun things to share with us, and most importantly – loved going to school. His year wrapped up with a nice little graduation-style ceremony and a party (captured very nicely by Ahna since I had to work). Next year will feature a pre-school program that he will attend three days a week, although it won’t be at the same school (but it will be nearby).

As we prepare for a summer off together (Ahna still has some days left), we are thankful for good school friends, committed teachers, and great opportunities to learn.

Filed Under: Ezra!, Photos Included

47 Months!

May 30, 2012 by 2 Comments

Late, I know. But I figured I had better put it up before the 4 year pictures started rolling in….

Filed Under: Ezra!, Photos Included

Fruits

May 27, 2012 by 9 Comments

It’s a blog post that I have been both extremely excited and very nervous to write. It’s a blog post that comes with a tremendous amount of mixed emotion. And it’s a blog post that simultaneously brings tears of sadness with tears of happiness.

we are pregnant. WE are pregnant. WE ARE pregnant! WE ARE PREGNANT!

Yup, Ezra and Liam become older brothers! It is news that we have sat on for a while as we sorted through our own emotions before sharing with you; but we are finally at a place that we want to bring to you the thrill of what is next. Before I go any further, know that everything is just fine with the baby.

It would seem that every turn of life brings with it a new experience with grieving, and this one is certainly no different. The wrestling of loss and gain has been a scary battle at times, but a necessary process. Each turn of excitement is tempered with memory, but don’t worry, it’s not dampened…just put into perspective.

This new addition to our family will arrive in October, and we are really looking forward to celebrating the story with you all.

Did I mention…WE ARE PREGNANT!

Filed Under: Life in General
«Previous Page
Next Page»