Baby's First Fourteener

Cannon and I attempted "Baby's First Fourteener" a couple of weekends ago with our friends Amanda and Keith. We hiked up Mt. Elbert, the highest peak in Colorado, which is right down the road from where we live. You can tell this was hard-core because Cannon is wearing his skull and crossbones sun hat in a couple of the pictures. :) Unfortunately, it started hailing around noon--about an hour above tree line and an hour from the summit. We had to turn back (which was probably a great idea--I could hardly walk down stairs for three days from my sore quads--who's hard-core now? :) .... somebody's been sitting at a desk all summer). It was a fun adventure.

Another fun adventure was the 12-hour car trip we decided to take with sweet baby the following weekend (who thought that would be a good idea?!). I know he looks tranquil in his carseat in the photo, but that was only for the first 9 hours. All three of us got to go to the Montana Outward Bound Program's 25th Anniversary Celebration in Red Lodge. It was a wonderful time--although somewhat bittersweet as Outward Bound has decided to close that base (a tragic decision, in our opinion). It was so fun to see former instructors from all over--New York, Texas, California. There were over 65 amazing people at our final "chow circle".

A Few Fun Photos

These days Cannon loves to stand up (ALL the time!), suck on his fingers (and other people's), roll over, chat, and smile. He's super fun and funny.

And he does smile, by the way--big, fun, gummy grins. He just stops as soon as he sees the camera. Then it's just wide eyes and shock at that weird red light on the front of the camera....

Little Man, Big Belly

Cannon is growing so fast! He's starting to enjoy baths (rather than solely being stunned) and smiles lots. He's also discovering his hands--he stares at them curling and uncurling into fists all the time, and he grabs his blanket and puts it on his face... and then can't seem to figure out how that thing got on his face. :) We took a quick trip to Montana last weekend, so a few of these photos were taken there. Timothy also recently put him in his new swing. It's a little big, but it quiets him down (is this because he loves it or because he's too shocked to scream?!!). Fun times. :)

Still Cool After 8 Weeks

A couple of pictures of our growing babe... He is entranced by his mobile these days. :) And he gets very red when he's mad (or hot) and chews on his arm when he's starving. And the doctor gave us the go-ahead to start weaning him off the oxygen--yay!

Styley New Ride

We splurged on a very exciting new vehicle for Cannon--one that can go jogging, biking, or skiing. It has sweet shocks so he has slept down some very rocky trails already. :) We thought about putting the skiis on it since it won't stop snowing--we got 16 inches last week! There is a photo here of our "backyard"--the beaver pond with a snow-covered Mt. Massive in the background.

Our sweet baby gained 2 1/2 pounds in the first month of his life. His belly is huge and his fingers, toes, and cheeks are pudged out. :) He weighs a whopping 8 1/2 pounds these days, and he's doing all sorts of amazing things like looking at us, grabbing our fingers, and fending off his hungry father. :)

Don't be alarmed by the oxygen tank--we live at over 10,000 feet and almost all babies here are on oxygen for a couple of months. It's very annoying to drag that tank around, but it could be worse. :)

Happy Birthday!

Cannon is two weeks old today! Time has flown by and he seems enormous compared to his birth weight. We think his facial expressions and the things he does with his arms are absolutely hilarious. Who knew a person who sleeps this much could be this entertaining? We've had lots of visitors, including both sets of Grandparents and Uncle Matt and Aunt Megan, who all came from multiple states away.

If you're an Outward Boundie, we know it's the migration season, so please make Leadville a stop between where you are and where you're going. Our futon is always open! :)

Ten Fingers, Ten Toes

Cannon was born this morning, 20 April 2008, at 3:51 a.m. (We tried to get the doctor to change the date, but he's a bit of a hippie and thought it was cool that this mellow kid was born on 4/20). The name "Cannon" was Timothy's Grandma Million's maiden name. He was three weeks early, weighs 5 pounds, 15 ounces, and is 19 inches long. As you can see in the photos, he's pretty much perfect. :) He does have a bit of jaundice and spent some time in the bili bed while we were in the hospital. We're also taking a portable bili blanket home so we can chase those bilirubins away and make sure he's nice and healthy. By the way, if you're in the market for a great place to birth a child, could I suggest the Vail Valley Medical Center? It has slopeside views, great staff, and all sorts of amenities (including all the juice you can drink!). We felt like we were on vacation. :)

The Carriage House

At the beginning of February, my mom got a new job and we moved to the Outward Bound base in Leadville, Colorado. We live in a cabin called The Carriage House. It has one bedroom, a bathroom, and a main room, with a storage/sleeping loft above the bath. The best thing is that it has a big shed outside so all of my parents' outdoor gear is no longer in the living room. And it's one of two houses on the 220 acre base, so the stars at night are spectacular and the view from our living room is of the second highest peak in Colorado. We feel very blessed.