Feighny Family Fables

Summer Break has begun!

2010-05-22T08:04:00.005-06:00

Ian has officially finished his first year of school....and we have lots to celebrate and planned. Here Ian is sporting his "after-hockey hair" full of sweat and hard work. He'll be continuing his hockey classes through the summer and is improving and loving it even more (if possible) with each week.

With summer come fun late nights. Here Ian and his good bud Quin are trying to warm up a bit after their first summer run through the sprinklers.

Ian has made so many friends at preschool this year and he loves them all. Here Dylan, Luke, and Ian are toasting with their hot chocolates at a lunch play date.

The last weeks of school are of course filled with lots of fun stuff. A couple weeks ago we went on a field trip to Penguin's Ice Cream and got to see how they make the yummy goodness and then of course all got to taste the results. YUMMY with sprinkles on top!

The last day of school arrived and of course I needed pictures, Ian obliged, even though he had to look straight into the sun! :-)

When asked what he thought about it being summer? "WHOOOO-HOOOOO" But when asked about it being the last day of school..."I'll miss everyone"

We celebrated with what will hopefully be a yearly tradition of bowling with his friends and pizza afterwards...of course with Ian's obsession with balls he made sure to keep track of them all and get them all ready for everyone. He is definitely a strong leader personality who has his own ideas about how things should be...and isn't afraid to share his thoughts (although he is still only 3 and gets frustrated easily which means when others don't see things his way he tends to use his brawn more than his brain...something we're working on! :-) ) He was very sweet though and cheered us all on with cheers of "Let's Go Mama, Let's Go" or "You can rock this mama" HA!

It's all about the style...yep, we all had bumpers and everything, and Ian was beating me until the 8th frame! Sad!

Ian and Kazdyn trying out the tandem bowling style:

Whoo-Hooo celebrating with a shout and dance after he knocked down a couple pins...

...and of course Zachary is following along everywhere we go watching and learning and trying to keep up. He's crawling like a mad man now getting into everything, putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. He's also learned how to say"Hi" (kinda) and wave and wave bye-bye and loves to play with anything he shouldn't such as plugs, wires, and especially doors. His personality is definitely starting to show -- motivated, persistent, rebellious, happy, and particular are just a few traits that are pretty evident. Here he's playing for the first time in the sprinklers and a video of him saying "hi" and a bit of crawling.

Summer fun...camping in Moab! :-)

2010-05-05T17:22:00.000-06:00

Updates on Zachary and Ian....Zachary now has FOUR teeth and decided to try them out on a fake snake, not sure where this one was going. Maybe he heard we were headed to Moab and was afraid I wouldn't feed him properly while there!?

Summer is finally poked its head out a few times (between the snow and wind storms) and we've been able to make it to the park. Z LOVES swinging, and being its really all Z can do right now at the park, Ian has taken to swinging with his brother. Its soooo cute.

We also were able to visit the Martinez park and zoo. We've been having a picnic almost every day for lunch, so we decided to take it on the road and visit the farm while the baby animals were around. Zachary wasn't sure what to make of the goats and others, but Ian loved it and ran from pen to pen so excited to see and talk to each of the animals. When we first showed up I was busy getting the billion pounds of crap out of the car for the small field trip (stroller, diaper bag, wallet....) and Ian was looking at the animals from the sidewalk in the parking lot. He says "Ah, Mom look that cow is a mama, where is the baby?" Without really looking up I asked him, how he knew the cow was a mama and he replied "because she has boobies!" HA! Then I really looked and sure enough she had a big ol' udder.

Ian's bike's wheels were looking pretty slick so before our trip to Moab Dada was going to tune up Ian's bike too...guess Zachary wanted in on the fun! Zachary is also now CRAWLING and pulling himself up, just wanting sooo bad to walk. Scary crazy for us b/c of course EVERYTHING goes in his mouth and he is a little explorer and treasure finder...more pics and videos to come!

Ian has taken to getting up with Mike (at about 6 AM) and hopping in the shower with him, he then wants to put on Mike's robe and watch his morning movie before we are up and out for the days adventures. This is how I've found him many mornings lately:

So finally we were off for Moab. We decided to leave a night early and rolled into Glenwood Springs around midnight to crash at Jim & Mindy's place (thanks guys!!!). Across from their "coolest place to live" was the firestation. Ian watched the guys come and go and just as we were about to leave we walked by and they invited us in to check out the engines etc. Turns out they were doing drills that day for wildland fires. So both the boys got to sit on the truck. Hopefully fireman Shane won't be too upset that they stepped out on him! :-)

Once in Moab we did lots of hiking and playing around while Mike tackled the mountain bike trails with his buddies that were also there that week -- luckily they had rented a house with a shower etc. so we were able to get real good and dirty every day b/c there was a clean hot shower waiting for us. This obviously made camping and dealing with 2 dirt loving boys much more enjoyable for me (and everyone else too I think!) Here was after our 2 hour hike on Negro Bill trail. I carried Zachary in the baby bjorn the whole time and he LOVED it. Especially when we came upon other dogs, he squealed with delight watching Luna and them interact. Ian walked the whole way with his camelback scouting out the best places to get into the water (about every 100 feet!)

Here was a sandstone hole just above our camp site. Ian was a bit afraid as is was a bit steep farther out and he didn't want his brother to fall out. Very protective!

Another hike around our camp area produced a few small puddles to hit and splash with his "light saber" -- because Ian had taken to being "Luke Skywalked with the green light saber, and I will protect you mama."

While looking for lizards near the campsite we found this huge "swimming hole that looks like your swimming in chocolate milk!!!!!" just a few hundred yards from our site. So of course dirt dog Luna and dirt boy Ian couldn't contain themselves and had to jump in (--as I said before this was much easier for me knowing that there were showers soon to come for all the bipeds). Zachary even shared in the fun and had a great time splashing and trying to get every rock he found in his mouth!

Finally, after a great trip it was time to head home. First we stopped at Arched National Park to do a couple quick hikes, check out the scenery and snap a few pics....

Then we were on the road again. Ian watched all 3 star wars movies in between naps on the way home and is even more obsessed now, but he stayed happy as Zachary slept almost the entire way, so it was quite enjoyable. Especially since we were pushing it a bit b/c Mike and I had a sushi making class at our church at 5:30 PM. So since we were on a time schedule, of course we ran into traffic in Denver due to an accident but were able to make it to the house by 5:15. Throw the dirty, tired, hungry cooped up kids at Mike's mom to take care of, shower and get over to the church only 15 min late. --and we're so glad we did, it was soooo yummy and so much fun!

Family Fun

2010-04-05T22:10:00.000-06:00

New pictures found on phone....In Grand Junction in Jan for GG Lillie's funeral. Ian fell asleep on playing computer games waiting for us to get ready to go:

Hanging at the mall:

Zachary showing off his new onsie from the family in Alaska!

and trying out the swings for the first time. He LOVED it!!

Spring snowstorm yielded a day full of sticky snow -- and a no school snow day too, so of course a snowman was needed. Yet, it is Colorado so by the afternoon it was mostly melted and the snowmen had fallen!

Ian at safely village learning the rules of the road.

SPRING BREAK! Lots of fun, including a hike with Luna up Round Mountain...here is Ian on his picture rock today:

...and 2 years ago (~1.5 years old):

...and now as a big brother!

At the Av's game:

Dying Easter eggs:

Giving the Bunny some love:

Trying to figure out all the colored eggs that big brother found at the Easter Egg hunt at Grandma & Grandpa's subdivision's hunt...they both had a blast!

Easter morning...checking out the loot!

Hangin' with grandma at the Bjorland's Easter bash

Ian showing his friend Quin his chicken at the Bjorland's

March Madness

2010-03-20T08:32:00.000-06:00

OK so things always seem crazy and mad around here...but here's a quick post (as usual I am allowing pictures to tell a majority of the stories).

Ian is slowly accumulating all the necessary hockey gear -- here he is during his first hockey class with his new helmet and shin guards -- as well as his breezers, skates, socks, and elbow pads --sheeeesh! ...and now this week he got new skates (that lace) and a mouth guard. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! ---but now Mama has to figure out how to get all of this on a squirmy 3 year old INCLUDING laced skates, with a 6 month old in tow -- and no he doesn't generally just sit quietly in his carrier! Just a tad stressful each week. It takes me about the length of the class (30 min) just to recuperate. :-) Maybe I should hire someone to take video for America's Funniest Home videos!

Zachary had his first taste of 'real' food -- mmmmmmm good -- pureed pees! He's slowly trying new foods and doing great, although he's not as excited about eating as his brother was. I've actually had to do the airplane trick etc. to get him to open his mouth. It seems that so far carrots have been his favorite.

WHOA -- flavor! :-)

Hanging at the mall play area while big brother squirrels around the rest of the play area...as you can guess, Ian decided this is where Zachary should sit and watch him.

We've finally had some warm weather around here so we decided to take the boys (Ian, Zachary and Ian's friend Quin -- oh yeah and Quin's baby sister Isla) to the zoo to get some fresh air and run around a bit. Here they are hanging with one of the apes.

Zachary wasn't quite sure what to think about this guy!

So after a few years hiatus we finally decided to have another party -- a St. Patricks Day party of course. It was a smaller gatherin than usual with about 30 people, but we had a blast. Here are the boys sporting their St. Patrick's Day shirts.

Zachary had had enough and was happy to pass out in his swing while the party kept on going...

Then the next day we were able to join Dale and Sue in purchasing a few more chickens for their chicken coup. Ian took money out of his piggy bank to buy one chicken for him and one for Zachary (but I'm pretty sure he came up short and Sue took care of the extra -- already a grifter!) Ian chose a brownish chick for himself and a light yellow with black spots chick for Zachary. When we were leaving I was explaining to him that when they got older this summer that HIS chicken she would lay eggs for him. He said "but I want a boy chicken." When I explained that only girl chickens lay eggs, he asked why and what did boy chickens do? --I just left that alone and said not much except make noise and a mess -- he chuckled thinking I was kidding and talking about him. Ha!

Z was pretty interested in the watching the little chicks too (especially from the safety of Dale's arms!)-- very cute!! :-)

Z looking at Ian's chick.

Keeping an eye on the chicks. Here you can see Z's chick.

Ah, yes and then last week Ian had a different 'coach' for the day and she decided to bring out the little kid goalie gear (his normal coach is actually a goalie for the Eagles). Ian jumped in on the chance and 20 minutes later he was up in the net. I had a few comments under my breath about how they should have to have written parental consent before they allow kids to think about being goalie :-) but went with it and we had fun...luckily he said that is was fun to be goalie, but that he liked scoring like Gretsky better than being scored on.

Pretty darn cute though!

Haning out getting ready for a walk in the beautiful weather -- Zachary LOVES going out for walks as long as he is in the baby bjorn, not as keen on the stroller. But he loves to squeal and talk while big brother rides his bike or roller blades (of which I'll post pictures later hopefully).

And FINALLY Z got to go swimming for the first time. We heard the weather was supposed to start turning (and it did, we now have about a foot of snow) so we planned a day to head to the pool. Here they have a sloped floor with a frog slide so Z could sit in the water and play a bit and then I took him out deeper every once in a while too. They keep the water comfortably warm, so he was able to swim for about an hour and then he was ready for a short nap in his carrier while Ian and I had some swim time together.

Update on the boyz...

2010-03-10T21:06:00.001-07:00

So the guys at Best Buy had our camera forever! But I managed to get a few pics in the last week to update things. Here is a pic our friends took of us while snowshoeing near Fish Creek Falls in Steamboat...it looks so posed, but really it wasn't...still like it though!

This time of year there are Bald Eagles all over the Front Range...we found that Windsor Lake in particular generally has a bunch around so we went to check it out. Not too good of a showing with only 8 (we've heard of up to 20+) but they still were quite majestic and awesome. Here is Mike and Ian checking them out. Ian about hit the deck when Mike jokingly, but convincingly, yelled "watch out!!" -- I think Ian thought they were going to dive bomb him and eat him for dinner. So funny. Luckily he has a good sense of humor!

As always there is hockey going on at the Feighny house...here is a pic Ian during our "date" at the Eagles game. We were chaperoned for our first official date by grandma and grandpa and Zachary. But Ian did ask to put on "smell well" (cologne) and brought me a flower (from the bouquet Mike gave me last week) -- very sweet. I kept our date location as a surprise until we showed up at the rink -- he couldn't believe it. He really go into the game this time b/c a bunch of the Eagles guys had been at Wendy's a few weeks back and gave him an AWESOME swag bag including this cool hockey helmet felt hat. While watching the game he noticed the cheerleaders at the end of the rink and said "Grandma! Those girls don't have any pants!" HA! He has also taken to chanting "WE WANT WENDY'S" when he plays hockey in our kitchen every day now b/c that's what everyone was chanting at the game (whenever the Eagles score 6 goals everyone gets free Wendy’s with their ticket stub the next day -- they only got 5 goals).

Another reason he was so excited at the Eagles game is b/c his "coach" (hockey class teacher) is an Eagles goalie. He started hockey class 4 weeks ago and is L-O-V-I-N-G it and doing really great. Working on swizzles, he can skate backwards and can almost stop -- not too bad for a 3 year old! He does great in class listening to his coach and trying to do all the skills. Lately he's been asking "do hockey guys eat this all the time Mama?" which of course my answer depends on the nutritional value of the food. He also learned about Gretsky and Crosby from Grandma and Grandpa and is always saying he is one of them when he plays in the kitchen etc. -- But sometimes he forgets Gretsky's name and just says "the hockey guy who is too old now." HA! Since he is obviously in hockey to stay we've been shelling out the dough for equipment..including his new youth xs (so cute) hockey helmet...he finally fits in one and can leave his bike helmet for the bikes. Here he is modeling it the day he got it...he then was so excited he proceeded to put it on EVERYTHING in the house and show it to me. Crazy kid!

Sporting all his gear on the ice for hockey practice

Here he is playing with one of his friends at hockey class -- Avs vs. Bruins! The Bruins kid is a little over a year older and has had about 4 more skating classes, so he's quite good and Ian loves playing with him.

Otherwise Ian is just busy being a crazy kid. He's doing great in pre-school and is trying to find his place as "big brother." One moment he is sweet as can be talking to Zachary or doing some super kind unprovoked act and the next he is smacking him on the head or yelling loud just to get a reaction from Zachary. It's been interesting. This week was pet week at preschool and we got to bring in Luna to show the class. Ian was super excited and Luna did great. As we were driving there Ian was telling Luna "I will introduce you to Mrs. McCormick so you know who she is and you have to be nice or you'll have to go to the doggie safe chair" (their equivalent of a time out chair). When we got there he formally introduced Luna -- "Luna this is Mrs. McCormick, this is Luna." So cute!

Other than that his only other obsession remains to be

Star Wars, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Lea, Yoda -- he knows and talks about them all!

Here is is being a crazy kid...leave the straws in reach and this is what happens. Hey if one is good, 7 is better, right?

Lovin' bathtime

Zachary is now 6 months already!!!! He is growing like a weed and doing awesome. He's been a bit cranky lately because he was TEETHING. Yep that's right his first tooth finally popped out on his 6 month birthday with the second tooth a few days behind! He is SO cute when he gives his big ol' gummy smile with 2 little tooth buds now! He is still a super happy baby and is doing great being carted all over for big brother's preschool, hockey etc. and just our active lifestyle. He is a complete "squirmy wormy" and NEVER stops moving until he falls asleep. I can't even really read to him during story time at night b/c he is always squirming all over and grabbing at EVERYTHING. Usually he sits on the floor now while I read to Ian -- at least he's hearing the story and a book is out! Oh yeah, and yep, he's now able to sit up for extended periods of time, which he is really enjoying playing with all his "new" toys and exploring from a more upward position.

Here he is with Sue at Angie's baby shower -- He always has such goofy faces in his pics! Here it looks like he's thinking "what are these people doing to me? What is this 'family' thing? These guys are crazy!" Yep.

Sporting his new skill of sitting up...nothin' to it!

and of course bathtime is so much more fun while sitting up AND teething AND big brother are involved!

Baby Butt!! :-)

Time to get out already??

Steamboat winter adventures

2010-02-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to Steamboat for the Winter Carnival with our good friends the Solleys. Although we didn't get to see much of the festivities we had a great time, funky smells, busy beavers, setting off the fire alarm, someone calling 911 and all -- 2302 ROCKS; 2304 smells!

While mama was packing everyone Zachary spent time 'exercising' in his jump-a-roo which he loves.

Once in the mountains, Zachary and Isla were ready to hit the cold in their snow buntings (so cute!)...

Tim SAID he didn't share his bottle with Zachary, but I'm not so sure about that face...maybe they shouldn't snuggle so much!! :-)

Hey, whatcha talking about mama?

We even had story time before bed for the boys

Here are a couple snapshots of Zachary in the condo. He seemed to have a great time and loved watching everyone. He always has such goofy looks on his face whenever we snap a picture...here are a couple examples. You can see his beautiful big blue eyes in a couple of these though.

Order up!

Downtown on main street right after the parade...Ian is smiling because we were on the way to the candy store!

On our last day we all went snowshoeing...after a bit of an attitude and equipment adjustments everyone had a great time. Ian and Quin were rockstars!

Zachary's first snowshoe trip!

Merry Christmas! ...and Happy New Year!

2010-02-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

OK so you'd think since I'm not working anymore I should be able to update the blog regularly now right? WRONG...I think I have less time now! But I'll try to get caught up to date now and TRY for more regular posts, maybe weekly?

Anyway, we had a great Christmas. Ian was so excited about Santa and learned most of all the kid Christmas songs...and he's still singing them. But he likes to mix things up a bit and sing his own medley that incorporates Christmas songs, songs from preschool and from movies. It's quite interesting! He was super excited this year to be introduced to our new elf on the shelf, whom he named Gobby. Every morning he'd wake up and see where Gobby decided to land after his overnight flight to the North Pole -- which coincidentally is also "where Liam lives," many nights he would say good night to Gobby and then say "say hi to Liam for me, and Shannon and Ken. So cute! For Christmas he got Buzz and Woody, a light saber, rollerblades, bumblebee transformer and a bunch of other cool stuff. QUITE spoiled indeed!

Here is our picture from our Christmas party at church...so corny its cute!

For Christmas this year, Ian made a bear for Zachary at Build a Bear. We named him Bear Bear (original, eh?). Zachary loves him and spent a good chunk of Christmas day gabbing away with Bear Bear filling him in on all that he had learned about the Feighny family in his 3.5 months with us.

Ian and Zachary got to see Santa multiple times....here at preschool:

AND at the Bjorland's annual Christmas party...he was pretty excited and was quite consistent in his requests for a Buzz Lightyear and Bumblebee transformer (which of course he got both):

All this partying was too much for Zachary and he fell asleep in many peoples arms over the holidays. Very well loved and such a great baby. He's growing like a champ, super strong and always happy.

Mike, Clay and Marissa played all of us Christmas carols at the party too!

Ian in his new Bumblebee outfit:

and playing with his super cool new hot wheels set (like I said they are pretty spoiled by many great friends and family!):

We also went to get some family pictures by Solly Photography (Thanks guys!) in the beginning of Dec...here are just a few screen shots of their awesome work!

Ian with 'Blue' his FAV-O-RITE guitar.

After the holidays we headed down to Denver to check out the Nature and Science museum, Ian was so excited about it all but loved the space area and dinosaurs the best.

Last week we were able to go over to UNC with Ian's friend Quin and see all the snakes in the snake room with Dr. Mackessy. The boys LOVED seeing all the snakes and got to hold a hognosed snake, touch the rough-necked lizard and listen to all the rattlesnakes. Ian is still talking about how cool it was!

OK so that is a quick overview of our very very busy past couple of months. I'll try to update more often and maybe even get in some info on Mike and my life -- as well as some of the great stories about the boys. Right now I am loving staying at home, teaching on-line and was also elected as VP of Ian's pre-school (which means I'll be president next year!). I can't express how happy I am to be with my boys and am so grateful for this opportunity. Mike is working hard and enjoying being able to come home to a home cooked meal and clean house! This weekend we are off to Steamboat for the annual Winter Carnival with our friends the Solley's so we should have a bunch of good pics and stories coming soon!

Picture dump post...and MERRY CHRISTMAS

2009-12-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

Luna testing out the boppy as a dog pillow --

Ian skating at Centerra -- he LOVES that he can skate outside, but HATES that he can't bring his hockey stick and pucks etc....

Mama's favorite time:

Ian is fairly obsessed with super heros...here he was trying out a new look for "Super Ian":

Thanksgiving fun:

Zachary visited Grandma and met GG Lillie for the first time

Mandatory after feast nap:

Zachary's first Christmas tree shopping experience:

Ian cutting his own mini-tree -- with his toy saw that he brought with to help Dada.

Tree #1 in Living Room, final product:

Cute stuff, growing fast!!

Ian at Build-A-Bear making a bear for Zachary for Christmas -- he had so much fun, we may have to go back and let him make one for himself someday! They even had a Darth Vader outfit! --Of which he is very excited about since watching all 3 Star Wars movies recently. He walks around making the Darth Vader breathing sound all the time -- soooo funny!! :-)

Christmas Train set up at the Bjorland's during cookie baking night:

Ian's CHEESY Preschool pics! Ha gotta love it!

Our Snugglie boys :-) Ian continues to be the sweetest most attentive and loving big brother ever.

We are so blessed!

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Catch up...

2009-11-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

So much has been going on the past month or so I feel like I should've posted every week, if not every day! Overall recap: Zachary is growing like a champ and doing great. Ian is still enjoying being a big bro and has been rockin' it at swimming and skating classes each week. Mike has been able to get in a few mountain bike rides and has renewed his passion for the sport. Jen started back at work -- but only until Dec. 10! With all the extras of a second baby now, getting out the door has proven to be next to impossible, but we're movin' along. Here are a bunch of pictures (a bit out of chronological order, but deal with it! :-) ) from over the last month or so:

There were some requests to see the cake I made for Mike's birthday celebration camping in the mountains (see previous post) so here it is:

We have all finally gotten our H1NI shots -- Ian was a champ and said it only hurt "maybe a little bit." But he was still game for ice cream afterwards! When I went to get mine Ian was so cute and on his own held my hand and said multiple times "It'll be OK Mama." Sooooo sweet! :-)

Goofin' around with Dada's hat:

Still banging the drums:

Ian's first 3-D movie -- Toy Story in the theatre...he enjoyed it, but only wore the glasses for half the movie

We went to Breckenridge for a weekend get away and had a great time. About 3 inches of snow overnight and Ian had a great time playing in it with us.

Goofing around in Breckenridge:

Ian's first field trip with his preschool (and me and Z) to the pumpkin patch. We had a great time tromping around looking at all the gourds and picking out the perfect pumpkin (--shopping just like a guy already I think he just grabbed the first one he touched!)

Ian's preschool class:

Zachary still doesn't like to sleep on his back and hasn't been spending much time in his bassinet or crib (but we're currently "in training" and doing quite well!). So Missy has decided that if Z isn't going to use it that she would! So cute!

Our growing chunky monkey here at about 6 weeks:

Finally its time to carve the pumpkins. Here they are tackling the ONE pumpkin that grew in Grandma & Grandpa's garden...but it was huge!

Ian finally agreed to help clean it out after first stating he wasn't too interested because it would "get my hands yucky." Yeah right! I don't think his hands -- and entire body for that matter -- are clean for more than 10 min., even after a bath. Such a goofball.

Goofy faces for the camera:

We went to Boo at the Zoo this year and even though it was a bit chilly Ian had a great time. We watched Star Wars for the first time in the condo up in Breckenridge just a week before so he was SOOO impressed (as was I) with seeing Darth Vader and a storm trooper there. But he was too shy to get his picture with them!

trick or treating at the zoo:

Skating classes on Halloween (roaring for the camera):

We went out around the neighborhood and Ian made out like crazy with lots of candy. He finally got it this year and had a BLAST. "another house mama, what's next? another house mama?" = repeat after each house....he LOVED roaring for everyone and of course getting all the candy, but he seemed to have just as much fun giving candy out to the trick or treaters that came to our house. He would partition out just exactly which pieces he was going to give to the next person and then walk out on the driveway and yell "we have candy!!" HA!

Zachary was a hit around the block with everyone cooing and lovin' the baby elephant. Quite cutie if I don't say so myself. He stayed awake for the entire trek around the neighborhood and seemed to take it all in.

The friendly lion:

...and his happy safari partner:

Finally Z had had enough and needed to pass out in the swing

Finally, we went to an Av's game and Ian got to get his picture with their new mascot Bernie. He loved him and was always looking in the crowd for him whenever there was a stop in play. He was SOOOO excited to go to the game this time he talked NON-STOP the whole way down and during the game. But this time he got scared of all the noise when they scored and needed ear plugs. Unfortunately they lost, but it still was a good game, and he had a BLAST.

That's it for now, I'll try to update more soon. So much more going on its hard to keep up! Hopefully once I am done with my job come mid-December I can be more diligent!

Feighny updates -- Zachary's first month!

2009-10-01T22:50:00.002-06:00

As you can imagine we've been quite busy this past month. I can't write much, but here are some pictures to capture a bit of what we've been up to...

Ian started swimming lessons again and is doing great. He's super excited that he can walk around now in the shallow end of the pool, but is much more hesitant than his kamikaze former self when in comes to jumping in the water and floating on his back...now he's afraid of getting water up his nose. He sure does love the hot tub though! :-)

Ian has also (finally!) found another passion in soccer after going and seeing Dada play with some frineds at a local park. Unfortunately after 23 years off the field Mike's body wasn't used to the quick moves his mind was still crafting and he hurt his knee. Guess his revival of a soccer career started about a half hour after it started.... :-(

...and to his super excitement (as you can imagine) Ian has started skating lessons too! "You have to know how to skate to play hockey like the big boys" -- and he is taking to it like a champ. Last week he mastered getting up by himself, and he had LOTS of practice. With a smile on his face the entire time!

We've also had time to relax and visit with the Force's during their visit to Colorado in Estes:

and FINALLY made our last (and first) camping trip of the year for Mike's B-day near Red Feather. We were soooo lucky in that it ended up being the last super nice weekend of the season and we all went away with a bit of sun and lots of great memories. 3 families, 5 kids at/under 4 (including Zach), 4 dogs, 2 campers, 1 van and lots of laughs and so many "He did it" etc. cries and "dog get out of there's" to remember.

We were excited to try our new sleeping arrangements with all FOUR of us in the van and it worked out perfectly. Me, Mike and Zach on the bed (feather bed and down comforter included -- yeah we're really hard core!) and Ian's lightening McQueen tent fit in front of our bed inside the van! He was so excited to cuddle up with all the blankets (and feather bed underneath for him as well, of course). Campin' Feighny style (ghetto? perhaps. Fun, absolutely!)

Here is Zachary relaxing in the fresh mountain air in his travel swing. He seemed to take to the outdoors VERY well and actually slept wonderfully during the night = I did too!

Mike took all the kids on bike rides through the various trails and roads around the area in the Chariot -- and it seems they had a blast. Good thing the trailer has good shocks! Ian was beside himself to have friends ride with him in the trailer (here with Aspen), and I think Mike got quite a workout pulling an extra 80+ pounds up and down the mountain!

Showing his big brother muscles before our hike -- all the while sporting the "colorado hiker" look complete with camelback and cow boots :-)

All the "big" kids before our hike (Oakley, Aspen, Quin & Ian):

Professional picture Quin's parents took of Zachary at 2 weeks -- and he wasn't cooperating or excited about it, but somehow they pulled it off. By the way Solley Photography rocks!

Back at home, Zachary snoozing on the boppy:

Mike has taken to sleeping & cuddling with Ian most nights b/c he gets more sleep and Ian always comes in to our room around 2 AM in his cutest voice saying "snuggie me Dada" -- how could you say no? (Plus Ian lets him "growl in his sleep" (snore) where he gets whacked if he's with me!)

chillin' at home:

Already surfin'

Happy 1 month birthday Zach! Zachary is growing like a champ 10 lbs 1 oz as of yesterday and we've all started to settle in to our new family of 4 life. Ian is the best, kindest, gentlest, proudest and super aware big brother a mom could ever ask for (only exception being the instance where he dropped a puck on Z's head!). Ian loves to help give Zach baths and watch Mama pump her milk -- the questions he asks! He seems to have grown up 3 years in just a few weeks! Zachary is becoming more aware of his surroundings and has proven to be a very pleasent baby. He rarely cries, but makes lots of "baby noises" grunting, slurping and so forth and is sleeping fairly well through the night (until about 2-4 AM).

...until next time!

Introducing Zachary James!

2009-09-09T19:12:00.001-06:00

It's already been a week that Zachary James has been with us, and man what a crazy week. Zachary James Johnson Feighny was born on September 2nd, 2009 at 5:40 pm weighing in at 7 lbs 14 oz (almost 1.5 lbs more than his big brother was) and 20.75 inches. It was a fairly easy and enjoyable delivery (after the epidural kicked in!). We went into the doc’s office on Tuesday and he suggested that 2 weeks overdue was enough so he scheduled us for an induction the next day. On Sept. 2nd we showed up at the hospital a little around 8, by 9 the doc had broken my water and we waited to see "what would happen" until about 12:30. By about 12:30 it was obvious my contractions were not going to come consistently enough so they started pushing the pitocin...that's when the contractions went from "it's OK I can handle it" to OH MY GOD this is killer -- at least 5 times worse than "regular" contractions...so I said call in the epidural dude! Well, of course the hospital was overrun with babies that day (they had 14 that day, and 4 all within a 20 min. period of when Zachary was born!) so we had to wait THE LONGEST 1/2 HOUR EVER until he could visit us. After the drugs kicked in it was quite enjoyable, I could actually feel and move my legs etc. (unlike the epidural I had with Ian) and could just feel and enjoy the pressure as Zachary made his way into the world.

He has been a super easy-going baby, not even throwing a fit when they bathed him, gave him shots or took his blood. Just a few whimpers and that's it. Guess his relaxed beach/surfer room decor fits him just perfectly! ---and big brother Ian has plenty of spunk to go around! We had a few long nights with me maybe getting about 2.5 hours of sleep if you combine all the cat naps together, but for the past couple nights we've kept him up for a few hours using whatever means necessary until I'm ready for bed and that seems to have worked! I've gotten 5+ hours of sleep a night and feel like a queen!

Ian is absolutely enamored with Zachary, and has been as gentle and sweet as can be...it has brought tears to my eyes more than once! He loves to hold, caress and kiss him. Plus he is quite proud of his new "BIG brother" status.

I must say the changes (fueled by preggo hormones) in my heart, head and body have been the most surprising. Ian, my little baby boy, with his tiny fingers, toes, and nose is now SO BIG...it’s like he went from baby to tween overnight. My heart is so full of love I can barely hold it in most days and my body and heart still craves and misses all my snuggle time with Ian, but I've now also got to snuggle and nourish Zach as well.

Anyway, I guess that's all for now...what you are really interested in are pics right? Well here ya go:

On the way to the hospital (at 42 weeks):

At the hospital after the pitocin kicked in:

After the epidural:

Introducing Zachary James:

Diggin' Dada

Grandmas lovin':

Ian meets his new baby brother! ...and can't get enough of him!

The very happy entire Feighny family:

Now its time to talk hockey little brother...

...and more lovin's from big brother:

Zachary started to cry so Ian ran and got the little carrier musical toy he brought for his little brother and the bathroom stool so he could play the music to calm Zachary -- it worked and Ian was SO proud. I cried (of course).

...and more lovin's

hmmm, I think I love this little guy!

My "boys" = warm fuzzies all over :-)

Sue & Dale visit. Sue holds and cooos all over Zachary and they brought Ian (yet another) gift -- tools. So of course he has to have Tool Man Dale show him how they all work...all the while sporting his favorite footwear, his cow boots!

Ooooo, I think I like it here!

Cozy comfy, and sleepy!

Bro Snuggies

More pics to come!! Ian start swimming lessons this weekend and next weekend we go camping as a family to celebrate Mike's Birthday!

Ian's first day of pre-school!

2009-08-28T17:29:00.001-06:00

He was up and ready early and excited to use his Lightening McQueen backpack that he got for his birthday. So much so that he was willing to indulge me in a few "first day" pics:

But then it started to get a little boring posing and looking into the sun, so we were off!

Once we got there we immediately saw one of his best friends, Quin, and they had to take their pictures in front of their new school:

Finally, it was time to go in and get down to business. Because it was the first day, mom's got to stay with them and it was shortened to only one hour. First he played with the monkeys and then blocks:

Then it was time for some dress up play in the kitchen area. First he tried on his "pirate hat" (HA!)...here he is roaring at the camera, because that is what all pirates do, roar, right?

Then he had to pose with his friend, Quin, who was really rockin' the pink and purple tutu -- going full on for that "island" look I think! :-)

He finally settled on a soccer jersey which he wore the rest of the time. Here he is trying out the "Beckham look" with sunglasses and all while cooking carrot, strawberry ice cream. Yum!

Overall it was a huge success; he listened well, had a great time, and is super excited to go back on Monday!

P.S. ....and YES I am still pregnant! 8 days overdue and counting! :-)

Still pregnant!!

2009-08-21T16:10:00.000-06:00

Yep, August 18 & 20th (our two quoted due dates) have come and gone, and I'm still carrying the babe. But hey, he's decided that since I get to enjoy this state of being pregnant longer we'd add in a couple extras such as more pronounced cankles and one that I never had to deal with when pregnant with Ian -- stretch marks! Whooo-hooo! :-) I'm just trying to get around best I can with a 3 year old in tow and trying to enjoy these last few "days of 3" (Mike, Ian & I)...who knows maybe this little guy is listening to my wish for him to be born in Sept instead of Aug. I just hope he doesn't decide to show up next Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday as Tuesday is my birthday and I really really want him to have his own day and not ever feel obligated to "be around" while he is celebrating his day just because my birthday is then as well. But, I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Ian waiting in his brother's bouncy chair -- I think he spent more time in it during this picture then he ever did as a baby!

Pic of the rug I made for the baby's room (latch hook -- remember that girls!! :-) ) I estimated that it took me over 75 hours in 3 months and close to 2000 hooks to finish! I started from scratch and had to cut all the little peices too! ...but Mike drew the turtle outlines on for me, since I can't even draw a circle! :-)

Kick a$% surfboard shelves Mike made and painted from scratch for baby's room (pics don't do them justice):

On a totally different note, while finishing up Ian's video of the year I found this awesome clip of him singing twinkle twinkle little star around Dec. of last year (picture is one of him singing to rock band on new years not related, but apparently you can't just post audio!):

In other news, cousin Liam left us on the 14th to head back to AK. We had a great time and Ian has rediscovered his passion/obsession with hockey since Liam was his hockey pal. Here are a couple shots of our last days....

At the mall photo booth:

On the way to the zoo:

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY IAN!!!

2009-07-29T14:45:00.000-06:00

Ian officially turned 3 on Monday and we celebrated with a trip to the zoo with Quin & his mom, Gma & Gpa and Liam. It was crazy busy, hot & sunny and a good time was had by all. Ian's birthday party was on Sat. and it was a blast. Celebrated with good friends (seen below) -- all of which are trying to show off their nasty "backwoods" teeth here:

Ian just may have a shot at playing hockey in the big leagues after all!

We had lots of fun and games including a hot wheels race track, slip-n-slide, pool, and of course the annual birthday water balloon fight...I think I spent over 1/2 hour filling them up and it took the kids (and Dada) about 5 minutes to deplete the ammo...not sure if more than one or two hit their target! :-)

Then it was time for CAKE!!! Ian has been saying he wanted a blue race car cake for his birthday for about the last 5 months...the boy gets what he wants. Once again I think it took me more time to ice the thing than it took everybody to dig in...I love it!

Here I was trying to tell him "NO laughing!" ...obviously it didn't work! :-)

Finally it was time for presents, as usual the boy was spoiled beyond belief with dinosaurs, trucks, 3D chalk, hockey gear and new Lightening McQueen gear...including a tent, which we promptly put up in his room. Maybe if it will stop raining everyday here we can put it outside and he can have a"camp out" with Liam before he leaves!

His final present was from his CRAZY parents...a drum set! (and of course ear phones from his sound sensitive Mama). Liam being a skilled drummer already helped set it all up and tried to show him some moves, but Ian was quite focused and excited to be able to bang away at will, and was actually able to carry a beat (some of the time). I'm not sure if the guys at Guitar Center will miss his frequent visits to BANG on the drums or not! We're working on a full band it looks like...Dada has the guitar covered, Ian now has his drums--with a cowbell soon to come hopefully :-) --and I've got the triangle! :-) Ha!

Besides Ian's birthday weekend, we've just been trying to spend as much time with cuz Liam, which of course includes playing a little hockey and relaxing/snuggling during movie time. We sure are going to miss him, but Ian has enjoyed having him here, especially for his birthday, more than Liam will ever know.

...until next time...

The boys go fishing for the BIG fish...and Mama's belly keeps on growing!

2009-07-21T10:47:00.001-06:00

Very serious business... My belly keeps getting bigger and bigger :-) ... along with the appearance of cankles and michelin man fingers. I'm lovin' it all though! We had our last ultrasound on Sat. and everything seems to be in order, baby is in the right position and due date is exactly on target. Now I'm even more excited (if that's possible) to meet the little guy!

What a week! Drive-in & cousin Liam arrives sans swine flu!

2009-07-16T09:54:00.000-06:00

Just a few pics to keep everyone at bay...I know I'm not very good about writing much here, but hopefully that will get better as I start to have more free time! Oh wait I'm due in 5 weeks, never mind!!! :-) Maybe towards the end of the year. Ian is doing great, talking up a storm and learning many new words a day. He continually manages to suprise, delight and confuse us with his humor, stories and imaginative play. Right now he's into hockey (of course), dinosaurs and drums!

Last weekend we went to see the new Ice Age movie at the drive in and had a blast. Hot wing picnic before the movie (see pics below) and lots of snuggles during the movie. Ian actually sat still long enough to watch the entire thing!

On Monday we sold "Peeps" and Ian wasn't too sure why the ladies were taking Mama's motorcycle away....but then that night I got my new scooter (I'll have to post pics later) thanks to Mike's dad Jim and he thought that was cool. Then on Tuesday cousin Liam arrived from Fairbanks for a month long visit -- FINALLY! Ian has been talking about it and counting down for FIVE months. He LOVES his cuz, and was so excited that night he could barely contain himself. They both have grown SO much since Liam moved last Oct. you'd think he'd been away a year or more! Thankfully Liam's fight with the swine flu that he caught in Denali on the 4th has ended so he was able to make the trip. I wasn't sure Ian wouldn't disown me if I had to tell him Liam wasn't coming on time!

Enjoying his morning breakfast of "hot cereal" (oatmeal) -- no he doesn't wear his helmet all day, he'd just come in from a bike & motorcycle ride and didn't want to take it off. So funny, now whenever he sees anyone on a bike or motorcycle he announces if they are wearing their helmet or not with either "he's wearing his helmet, Mama, YEAH!" or "he's not wearing his helmet, Mama, naughty naughty!" :-) Ha so cute!!

In the hot tub at the condo in Estes Park a few weeks ago:

So...on to the future we go. Seems like the winds of change are blowing strongly in many different directions these days for the Feighny's. Interested to see what the universe has in store.......

"Peeps" is for sale!

2009-07-02T14:35:00.001-06:00

Make: Kymco
Model: People
Year: 2005
Miles: ~1,500
Engine: 49 cc (you do not need a motorcycle license to drive, nor do you need tags etc.)
Top speed: 40 on flat road, 50 downhill on a windy day

Engine Type: 2-stroke air-cooled oil injected
Displacement: 49cc
Bore/Stroke: 39x41.4mm
Cooling System: Forced Air
Ignition: Electric w/kickstart back up
Gearbox: Automatic CVT
Chassis: Steel
Front Suspension: Telescopic forks
Rear Suspension: Single shock
Front Brake: Disc
Rear Brake: Drum
Front Wheel/Tire: 80/80-16
Rear Wheel/Tire: 100/80-16
Seat Height: 31 in.
Wheelbase: 50 in.
Fuel Capacity/MPG: 1.53 gals./ Estimated 88
Weight: 210.5 lbs.

NEW Pics

2009-06-21T21:42:00.000-06:00

SLACKER! I know it's been a while but finally I have a bit of time to post some new pics. Enjoy!

Belly Pics -- cankles on the way! :-)
24 Weeks:

31 Weeks:

Helping Daddy tune and clean everybodies bikes (shown here Budde's mountain bike): --

Cleaning his motorcycle:

Yes, we have a warpy sense of humor, but this shirt is FUNNY!

Spoiled!!!! ...but still not rotten

2009-04-14T09:05:00.000-06:00

We had a great time this year as Ian really got into the whole Easter bunny and Easter celebrations! …not to mention CANDY! The kid was so spoiled I’m not sure how everyone can possibly keep up in the following years. Friday night we dyed easter eggs for the Easter bunny to hide. Saturday after church we visited Grandma Donna’s and GG Lillie, Bob, David and Linda were visiting from Grand Junction & Boulder…where Ian acquired his first gifts from the Easter bunny. On Sunday, Ian was all “cozy'ed in” his blankets for his morning moooooovie when I came upstairs and told him he better come downstairs, it looks like the Easter bunny had been here! He was off the couch and downstairs in no time flat to find his the mother-load spilling out of his basket. Drum sticks, bubbles, a dinosaur, a recorder, a kaleidoscope and of course more candy candy candy were all part of his loot, which he had a blast playing with for the rest of the morning. Next he was off to find all the eggs the Easter bunny had hidden around the house, he sure got his search image solidified quick and was off! Sunday afternoon we headed down to Denver for the final Avalanche game with Grandma & Grandpa. Ian was so excited “going to the hockey game?” was the first thing out of his mouth after nap and he still hasn’t stopped talking about it! After the game we went to Dale & Sue’s for a bit more Easter celebration, where the Easter bunny had left his 3rd basket of goodies for Ian. Luckily for us Sue & Dale were taking him for the night…so after about 5 handfuls of jelly beans we decided it was time to get home. Not sure when he made it to bed, but I’m sure he totally crashed! Monday Sue and Ian played with the chickens and dug in the dirt finding them worms and other treats --- he can’t wait until they start laying eggs!! Finally, after a 4 hour nap (guess we tuckered the boy out the previous few days!) we headed over to visit Grandma & Grandpa where the Easter bunny had left his 4th and final collection of gifts. This haul included the new “move it” movie (Madagascar 2) – which we then had to promptly go home and watch (and dance with during all the parts with music). Overall, I think it was a pretty successful and fairly low stress Easter weekend. I’m so glad I’m pregnant with all this candy around!! --and it should still all last through the summer!!

The final loot from neighborhood Easter egg hunt in Windsor near Grandma & Grandpa's house:

Candy, candy and more candy! --This kid has never had nor seen so much candy!
One for the bucket...

Two for me! :-)

Trying to open the plastic eggs in the cold wasn't the easiest task, for mama either!

The bunny hop and a visit from the Easter Bunny!!

Hope everyone had a peaceful, relaxing and/or exciting and reflective Easter holiday. On to new adventures….

Ian is going to have a little brother!!

2009-04-09T11:29:00.000-06:00

When I asked Ian what he wanted to get as a present for his baby brother, his response was "A hockey stick!" Of course!

Catch up...

2009-04-03T20:36:00.000-06:00

OK OK so its been a while...
Ian tried out his bicycle for the first time:

Comfy sleeping in his big boy bed!Train at the Denver Zoo...

Cheeeeeese!

Six years...

2009-02-16T15:19:00.001-07:00

Today is the anniversary of a day I will never understand, but because of my love I will never stop trying. While it's hard not to question, I know it does no good. To serve Kev's memeory best, please help me to remember and embody his excitement for life. To honor his life and life lost, my wish is to help those around me to remember how precious each moment is with those we love - to cherish the good and not get tripped up in the negative, each of which is just another opportunity to learn. To honor Kev's life and life lost, my wish is to not waste mine.

Ian at the Avalanche game

2009-01-24T08:56:00.000-07:00

Ian has always been excited at any hockey game, but this time he was REALLY into it. When anyone would get a penalty he'd turn to me and say "that guy time out Mama, he not listening" HA! So funny. Luckily it was a high scoring game and the Avs squashed the Flames so there was lots of high-fives (Ian went down the row and high-fived almost the enitre row!) Here is a quick video of when we first got there and both teams were warming up on the ice. Right before I finally fumbled around and got the camera he was jumping up and down and dancing to the music, then of course when the camera started rolling, he started to settle down (for about 20 sec).

First pictures

2009-01-09T13:46:00.001-07:00

Here are our first pictures of the new Feighny. My new due date according to the measurements from the ultrasounds is Aug 18th.

You can tell they are siblings, doesn't he/she look really similar to Ian (below) at approximately this age?

Various pictures from 2008

2009-01-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pictures from throughout 2008 and some more Christmas pictures, enjoy! Thanks Dale & Sue!!

The big Christmas cookie bake-a-thon at the Bjorlands: Christmas Eve at the Bjorlands:

New Years

2009-01-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

We were very happy to say good-bye to 2008 and welcome in 2009. Although Mike was still recovering from the last bits of the flu we spent New Year's Eve at the Williams' wonderful home. Ian was super happy being able to play with a plethora of balls (pool, fooseball, ping pong...) and he also rocked out with the adults playing rock band. First he tried the drums then singing (he sang twinkle twinkle little star to all the songs :)--so cute!). I think he did as well as everybody else!

As a New Year's tradition we went snowshoeing even though it was super cold, which is more of a factor now that we move at about -2mph with a 2 year old. This doesn't really get the blood pumping! So we went about .5 miles in an hour. Ian liked it all, but he loved throwing snow at us and Luna and sledding down the hill we had climbed up the best...he giggled the whole way.

Happy New Year to all! May 2009 beat 2008 in every way!

...one more Christmas miracle for the Feighnys!

2009-01-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

Christmas Re-cap

2009-01-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

As usual the Christmas season was a whorl-wind of parties, family, friends and food. Here is a quick re-cap of how it all went down:

Dec 23rd: Christmas service at Church and Christmas lights drive
Ian danced in the aisles and had a great time as the band played Christmas songs and then went to a play for the kiddos. Afterwards we asked him what the play was about and he said "baby Jesus Happy Birthday " -- amazing! Then we were off for the annual Christmas lights drive. After driving around 1/4 of Loveland enjoying the displays with a keen eye out for Ian's favorites, "the blue ones," we found the best "blue ones" in town...our next door neighbors and neighbors across the street! HA!

Dec 24th: Presents and Bjorland's bash
We opened our presents early b/c we knew we'd be out too late to open them that night and wanted Ian to get the full "effect" of Santa coming Christmas morning. He LOVED all of his presents, and was soooo excited he helped all of us open our gifts! We loaded up the car while he played with his new loot and then headed over to the Bjorlands. Mike chefed away in Sue's kitchen getting ready for his catering gig that night -- a Chipino soup dinner for 13 while Ian and I helped as we could and played with more toys and FINALLY took a nap. That evening was the annual Bjorland Christmas Eve bash which was loads of fun. Ian dressed in his finest tuxedo was ready for the event and could barely handle himself when Santa (who looked a lot like Mike) made an appearence. Ian took Santa's hand and showed him around to EVERYONE at the party, so cute!! Santa had each of the kids and even some of the adults on his lap for one last request. Then Dada re-appeared and played Christmas songs on his guitar for everyone as we gathered to sing Christmas carols. Good times were had by all. (I will hopefully be getting more photos from others which I'll post later!)

Dec 25th: Santa comes for Ian to 3 houses!
Santa brought Ian loads of wonderful toys (most of them were previously Liam tested and approved) which he played with most of the AM. Then it was time to go snowshoeing and, as luck would have it, Ian got a pair of snowshoes for Christmas from the Forces! We had to search pretty hard to find a good patch of snow, but he did awesome in his "new shoes." We can't wait to go again this weekend! Then it was naptime for all and then off to Grandma & Grandpa's where Santa had visited too! Finally, we went to Grandma Donna's for dinner, and of course, Santa had visited again! By this time Jen was starting to feel the flu coming on strong so we left fairly early ready for bed!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all!

2008-12-17T19:45:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Getting into the Christmas spirit

2008-12-15T10:03:00.001-07:00

Ian is starting to understand the whole Christmas thing (at least the commercial part)...he gets SO excited everytime he sees Santa Claus and has to show us EVERY Christmas tree he sees, especially if the lights are on. As you can imagine, this takes much extra time but its so cute to see his excitement. Next year I'm sure it'll be even better, as he remembers it all. This year he's just livin' in the moment and excited about it all...

Christmas tree hunting:
Sweet dreams. He LOVES his christmas tree in his room. I put the lights on a timer and so he knows when they are on it's time for bed. He won't get out of bed b/c I tell him I'll have to turn them off. Then they go off around 5:30 and he knows that when he wakes up if they are on he has to stay in his big boy bed and if they are off it's time to come into our room for "snuggies." This has worked great at keeping him out of our bed in the middle of the night (when we don't get any sleep b/c of mister wiggle worm). We might have to have a Christmas tree in his room year-round!Waiting and watching for Santa... :-)

Thinking hard....good thoughts for santa!

Knock on wood!

2008-12-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

Ian's got Pottty Power! 5 Days with NO accidents, including naps! ...keep your fingers crossed for us!

Black (& Blue) Friday

2008-12-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

Since we can’t go Christmas Tree hunting until the first weekend in December, it has become a tradition to journey to Flat Iron Mall the weekend after Thanksgiving. Here we mill around, generally buy nothing, Mike stops and drools at the Apple store I at Pottery Barn Kids and Ian at the dinosaur play area, and for the most part just people watch and take in all the hullabaloo. This year Ian was old enough to go skating at their outdoor rink and he did AWESOME! It was his 4th time on the ice and he was skating all by himself for most of the 30 min we were out there with only a few minor slip-n-falls. As long as he had his hockey stick and a “puck” to focus on he forgot he was skating. We had a hard time convincing him it was time to go.

Next week brings our 4th anniversary and Christmas Tree Huntin’! Stay tuned!

Feighny’s Festive Thanksgiving Feast

2008-12-02T15:43:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year hosted at the Bjorland’s – along with around 60 other guests! Our holiday started on Wednesday night when we showed up late afternoon to help with all the preparations…Even Ian was put to work! But, as usual, as the night wore on, more wine and dinner was served we ended up chatting by the fire and really just enjoying the company. It was way past Ian’s bedtime, but he wasn’t going to miss all the fun. In the end, Jennie was playing chase with him and needed to take a quick break, which is when he fell asleep on the kitchen floor waiting for her to return! We all stayed up way too late, but of course the next day Ian was rarin' to go at 7 AM and Thanksgiving began. This year there were even enough kids that were old enough for us to have a "kids table"! I can't believe how much my little butterball has grown up, he's definitely not a baby anymore!

Not QUITE ready for league

2008-11-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

Family fun for the weekend...

A Boy & His Dog

2008-11-11T15:26:00.000-07:00

It's a bit blurry & dark because I had to use our camera...but cute none-the-less!

Halloween

2008-11-02T15:15:00.001-07:00

It was a fun Halloween this year because Ian was really getting into dressing up and watching all the other kids -- not to mention the candy! We made our rounds to the homes of friends and family and finally ended up spending the night (and drinking entirely too much wine) at the Bjorlands...overall it was a great Halloween. Now next year I just have to find a lion costume and he'll have been the whole jungle (1st year = Elephant, 2nd year = giraffe, this year = zebra)!

Pumpkin Huntin'

2008-11-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

After saying good-bye to the family and sending Shannon, Ken and Liam on thier little road-trip to Alaska, and of course a late nap, we FINALLY had a bit of time before the pumpkin patch closed (5 minutes actually) to go find our pumpkins. We found them lickity split and headed on home. A couple days later we were able to carve them and viola: Halloween!

Turkey and Tears

2008-10-26T16:43:00.000-06:00

Well the day has finally come. Today we sent Shannon, Ken and Liam off on their move to Alaska with a full-on 15 head-count family turkey dinner (for lunch). While the tone was anxious and a bit sad and bewildered we had a great lunch and were able to send the crew (Tom & Hannah the dogs too) off with plenty of left overs to tide them throughout the 9 DAY drive up north. They promised to blog whenever possible (Link to the right: "Da Family up Nort") during the trip up so we can follow along. Here are a couple pictures and I'll add more as I get some in from others. Now we all just need to plan when our own Alaska adventures are going to begin to visit them...

Hip 50's Bash a Hit!

2008-10-26T16:16:00.000-06:00

Mom & Dad's 50's theme 60th Birthday bash was a Hit. We all dressed up 50's style. Ian and Mike in their white shirts, dark jeans and slicked hair. Mike even sported a black leather jacket and traded his motorcycle for a 50's style one! I wore a 50's style dress with cateye glasses and a neck scarf. FUN! But of course, Ian took the cutest prize and even sported a pack rolled in his sleeve (of organic raisins of course!:-) ).

>

I decorated the place in all black, red and white with jukebox and record-like balloons and ice cream sundae flower decorations. Of course we had 50s music playing and hula hoops for fun. For dinner we had burgers and hot dogs in baskets and ice cream floats, and libations all around. For dessert we had ice cream sundaes and I made 2 cakes both looking like records with black frosting -- which made all our mouths turn purple! Yum Yum.

But the guests we of course the most important ingredient. Almost everybody dressed up and it was a hoot. Here are a couple pictures. I'll post more when I get back some from others that were clicking away....

By the end of the night Ian was still running strong and sleepy at the same time. I snagged this hilarious picture when he laid down on the couch and the static electricity made his hair stand straight up!

...and the OBSESSION gets deeper

2008-10-16T08:46:00.000-06:00

The boy is obsessed, possessed and definitely has a bit of the ol’ North Dakota in him. As most of you know the only thing Ian can focus on for longer than 2 minutes is “Go-Go”. Well, he has now been to multiple games of his cousin Liam this year, and still can’t get enough. Some kids have a blanket or stuffed toy as a lovey, not this kid he has a hockey stick. He has just started to say “hockey” instead of “go-go,” but has been saying puck, face off, stick, net and goal for quite a while…what’s more he knows what they are and how they all work together! Daily I hear “No goal Mama” and “in the net” and “Face off!” – where he requires someone to drop the puck/ball in a predetermined spot on the kitchen floor. Crazy kid :-) So we decided to finally take him skating….with skates that were 2 sizes too big he immediately jumped off the bench and started walking (not knowing that it should be a bit hard I guess). We hit the ice, and he was in heaven. We still had to hold him up because he couldn’t keep his weight in front of him and kept falling back off his heels, but he did AWESOME! Of course he couldn’t give up his lovely hockey stick so we had to hold him on one side under his arm, not so good on the back! While I was trying to make sure he didn’t fall we went pass the face off hash marks, and he said “Face off Mama!” When it was time to go it was as if the world was coming to an end, I think all of Windsor knew he wasn’t happy. Such a goofy kid…where does he get it all from???

A New Adventure Begins....

2008-09-18T08:05:00.002-06:00

Buglin' with the boys

2008-09-18T08:05:00.001-06:00

Mid-week family camping trip to hear the elk bugling in Rocky Mountain National Park...wonderful! Ian learned to say elk, got all excited about seeing babies and kept holding out grass (even though the elk were >.5 miles away!) as "num nums." Fireside he got all excited everytime we heard more bugling....SO cute!!

Harvesting at Miller's Farm

2008-09-18T08:05:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we had the opportunity to visit Miller's Farm during their fall harvesting celebration. We had a GREAT time. They took us out into the fields on a tractor pulled hayride -- which Ian LOVED the tractor of course. We harvested our own cabbage, beans, corn, beets, tomatoes, peppers of all kinds, potatoes, pumpkins, carrots, eggplant.....Then Ian got to pet goats and see a lama at the petting zoo and go play on an old fire truck and the cars painted to look like the characters from one of his favorite movies "Cars," as well as an old airplane!

Labor Day camping trip

2008-09-02T07:37:00.000-06:00

We were invited to join the Williams' crew camping and fishing up Poudre canyon, so we packed the van and headed up for Friday night (unfortunately Mike was on call all weekend so we could only stay one night). Good fun was had by all, smores, campfire, stars galore, fishing for both Dada and Ian and plenty of converstations about how we are soooo lucky to live in Colorado! ...especially with winter approaching we are realizing even more with a kiddo how lucky we are to live so close to the mountains, but not have to deal with all the snow either (which Jen did PLENTY of in ND!).

Ian took this picture!

Roasting marshmellows

Ian wasn't sure how to eat his s'more, but it didn't take long before he was covered in it!

This kid LOVES fruit, and especially watermelon...I think this was the only time the whole trip he slowed down and sat for a while!

Fishin' on the river, and watching Luna swim...a great way to end the morning.

Ian plants his first tree

2008-08-31T22:55:00.001-06:00

Ian helped Dada dig a hole and plant a shade tree in our backyard...thanks to Grandma Hattie. Doesn't he look THRILLED! :-)

Jen's Birthday Celebration

2008-08-31T22:48:00.001-06:00

It was fun (even though the laser tag scoring and everything else at Ft. Fun was out of order!) Thanks for all who joined us! Here are some pictures:

Ian's first fishing lesson

2008-08-23T13:01:00.001-06:00

Ian got his first fishing lesson this week up at Pinewood Reservoir. First he and Mama took a hike around the lake -- and he walked almost the entire 1+ miles himself, with a couple breaks to throw rocks into the lake:

and watch a couple kyakers go by (he remembered being in our kayak a few weeks ago!)

Then it was time for some serious fishing with Dada. He did really well with his Lightning McQueen fishing rod and seemed to have a great time.

Farewell to the Mighty Mercury

2008-08-23T12:54:00.001-06:00

Mike finally said farewell to grandma's 'Mighty Mercury' and has moved on to the 'Cushy Commuter.' Hopefully the Mighty Mercury will serve it's new owner (Tim Normandin's son) just as well as it did us. However, Mike has thouroughly enjoyed the consistent cruise control, XM radio, and smooth ride of his new commuter (2008 consumer report car of the year for small sedan)! Here are a couple pics:

Fun family weekend

2008-08-11T08:28:00.000-06:00

We had a great time with Brad, Yvette and crew up in Evergeen at Yvette's friends house. Mike got to go mtn biking with a bunch of "real riders," and Luna's good friend Kenya introduced her to the 'other black lab friend' Lila. They all hit it off immediately. Here are a few pictures.

Luna, Lila & Kenya (non-canine: Brad)

Ian with his new friend Stephen

Ian and Theo playing hockey

Mike playing guitar for all the boys during the rain storm.

Ian decided he needed to take some pics too...not too bad for a first try!

Don't miss Jen's Bday Party

2008-08-08T15:11:00.000-06:00

Its time to strap on the laser tag vest and show everybody what you're REALLY made of ... friendly competition, of course!

We'll be celebrating Jen's 33rd Birthday on Aug 23rd. Starting at Ft. Fun for a couple hours of pretending like we're still kids (laser tag, arcade, mini-bowling, air hockey, go karts, mini-golf....), then we'll be off to Coopersmith's for more fun, pool, pizza and drinks. Please join us at both or either places! Hope to see you there!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAN!

2008-07-28T13:56:00.000-06:00

Ian had a spectacular time at his birthday party yesterday and we thouroughly tuckered out and still smiling as he went to bed. Thanks so much to everyone who could join us -- and for all the wonderful presents and cards. He has been hilarious running from one new toy to the next playing playing playing! It was great to see everyone as well. Here are a few pics. If anyone has any others, please send them to me so I can include them in his annual picture book (going to the presses sometime this week or next!)

2 years already?

2008-07-20T12:30:00.001-06:00

Amazing, and true our little baby is now a boy...and his 2 year birthday is next weekend! I'll be posting new birthday pics up after his party, so keep checking in!

New Pictures of Ian

2008-07-15T15:15:00.001-06:00

Fable Definition

2008-07-15T15:10:00.000-06:00

A feigned story or tale, intended to instruct or amuse; a fictitious narration intended to enforce some useful truth or precept; an apologue.

The plot, story, or connected series of events, forming the subject of an epic or dramatic poem.

Any story told to excite wonder; common talk; the theme of talk.