End of Summer

August and the first part of September has been a busy time for us! This IS the longest blog yet! It always seems like we try to squeeze the last part of summer out even though the kids have started back to school. It's our own little case of denial, I guess.

I won't post much here about Joseph. He's crawling, pulling up and into everything! He's starting to play with/explore his toys rather than just chew on them. He's dancing when he hears music, imitating sounds we make (dude, uh oh, motor noises) and giving kisses. He picks out his bedtime book every night before bed. He's snugly and very attached to his momma right now (which I love, love, love). He was sleeping through the night, but we've hit a period of wakening again. He's eating more regular foods. He loves sandwiches, tuna on celery and spaghetti. If you want to see his album I keep updated on facebook you can visit it here (whether you belong to facebook or not): JT (Part 2)

Jud had his 14th birthday on Aug 18th. He got his first testosterone shot at the Endocrine Dr's office (he's due for his second one this week), attended band practice, attended the band ice cream social with Ruggs and Syd and then had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings with Ruggs, Syd, Grandma Shirley, Darren and Julia. It was also Julia's 20th birthday so we celebrate a little with her as well. (I stayed home with Joseph as he was very sick and I felt it was asking too much of him to stay up late.) They did come back to the house for cake and presents and then Jud had to call it an early night since he had his first day of 9th grade the next morning.

Jud has also had a lot of fun in band so far! He's marched in a parade and marched in a couple of games. He will be marching in the Broomfield Days parade this coming Saturday (9/17) at 10am if you want to come see him!

We took another impromptu trip to the mountains and ended up at Estes Park. The kids had never been inside the Standley Hotel so we took a little self-guided tour.

We also went through a small petting zoo in the park in Estes.

We walked up the riverwalk. JT got to touch the water. It was still VERY cold even though it was late August!

We went up to Boyd Lake in Loveland a few times and tried our hand at Stand Up Paddleboarding. The kids and I found it to be really fun!

Amy shows Syd how to get up.

Jud is a natural!

JT sleeps at the lake!

Leslie Paddling Jud

Sydney & cousin Zach

He also really loves watermelon!

Dad gets to have a little swim and hang time with Baby Joe.

We were lucky enough to have a little picnic this summer with the Kochevars! :)

Our view at the park.

Ruggs and I took Joe to a little evening picnic at El Dorado. We love it there. It's easy to just get away for a couple of hours.

Sydney had her senior pictures done. We met our friend, Jeff Weber, who took our wedding and family photos at Cherry Creek State Park. We took some cute ones, some fun ones and some experimental ones. I even got to shoot the camera a little. ;)

We took a family "Camping" trip to Colorado Springs and stayed in a nice cabin at Mountaindale Campground.

We went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo where we saw lots of great animals and got to feed giraffes and pet a joey.

JT really liked the birds!

Great view from the top of the zoo!

We visited a couple of waterfalls. Both were gorgeous in their own way.

Seven Falls

Seven Falls gets lit up in different colors at night. It's really pretty!

Helen Hunt Falls

Helen Hunt Falls

We toured Cave of the Winds.

We visited the Manitou Cliff Dwellings.

We also stopped in on Garden of the Gods.

We had JT's baptism on 9.10.11. It was a blessed day!

We were happy to have Ruggs' brother, Mark and his wife, Kim as the Godparents.

Ruggs, Leslie, JT & Godparents Mark & Kim

Deacon Jim, Ruggs, Leslie, Grandma Bev, JT and Great Grandma Muriel.

Phew! We crammed a lot into 6 weeks! We were sad to see summer go, but we're looking forward to upcoming football games, parades, homecomings, birthdays (Joe will be 1 year old in 5 weeks!), vacations and the holidays. 

I start RCIA classes next week so that I may join Immaculate Conception Church in Lafayette. It's 2 hours a week until Easter. It's a big commitment, but we have been talking about it too long and I felt it was time. I'm also considering my first 5k run in October. I figured starting small was a good idea! We have lots to keep us busy and look forward to this fall!

Joseph's Baptism Invitation

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

July

July brought big news in the Kochevar house for Sydney! ... Judson has been enjoying his last few weeks of summer since he starts daily band practice August 2. ...Meanwhile, Joseph is everywhere and it's a good thing he's cute 'cause he can be a stinker! We're having 9 month photos taken tomorrow so look for those this weekend at the picnic/next week in the mail. 

Sydney got her car last month! It's a 2009 Ford Focus and she loves it!!

Joseph is such a boy! He's constantly in motion. He likes to bang, throw, wrangle, jiggle and manever everything. He's particularly partial to thing that aren't toys (like cords, spoons, keys, cell phones and anything else he can find that's not actually a toy). This kitchen spoon is a favorite and provides me with an easy way to keep him busy while I make dinner. He likes to hit things with it (like the cat and a ball). He also likes to push it along the ground.

Shhh! I'm hunting wascally wabbits (I mean, kitties)...

He can also throw a ball. Sydney taught him how to say "whoo hoo!" after he throws it. (Please try to ignore me in this video. I really struggled with even posting it, but this is what I look like when we stay home for the day.)

Joe has started to pull up. He pulls up on the stairs. He's not quite strong enough to pull all the way up on tables, but he's really working on it.

 Joseph does not really like grass. He's starting to tolerate it, but he'll go to extrodanary lengths to keep from touching it....

He's starting to really love finger food! His favorites are spaghetti, mac and cheese, chicken fries, Cheerios, Kix, waffles (with and without Sunbutter) and whole or sliced fruit. He's a really good eater! We've only met 2 foods he won't eat: peaches and tomatoes. I also have to keep him busy with filler foods so he can have something to feed himself while I spoon baby food in between bites. I buy organic puffs, yogurt melts and (what I call) baby cheetos. He only eats organic baby food: Happy Baby, Yo Baby and Earth's Best. I'm very much realizing how much we eat as a family I'm unwilling to give to Joseph. We need to make some changes fast!

We still have play dates once or twice a week. He has a group of friends he sees on a fairly regular basis. We went to story time at the library last week. It was a lot of fun. We sing and play games with the babies as a group. They read 3 books to the babies - one was read in Spanish to expose them to another language. They have story time once a week and we're looking forward to going again soon!

Joseph and his friend, Jack, love sharing toys and swimming together.

Coming Next Month and Beyond:
The kids will start school in August. Jud will be a freshman and Sydney will be a senior at Legacy. Sydney will be getting her senior pictures taken so look for those in the next entry. Jud will also turn 14 years old next month! Jud will continue band practice everyday until school starts. He got a position in the section and he really seems to love being in band! He still has LOTS of fundraising to do for the Macy's Day Parade in NY this fall!

Ruggs and I have decided to have Joseph's baptism this fall. I'm meeting with Deacon Jim @ Immaculate Conception in Lafayette this week. More details to follow.

I'm also already thinking about JT's first birthday - it's only 2 1/2 months away! Ruggs will be out of town on his actual birthday so I will probably have a small (friends) party for him here at home. We will likely have a bigger (family) party the following Saturday, 10/22, so pencil us in! :)

Father's Day, 5-Year Anniversary & the 4th

I decided to get quick entry in since the past few weeks have been packed full of exciting holidays, fun happenings and new developments for J.T.

Jud played the National Anthem at a Rockies game in June. They did a great job! (They have the Applebee's Pancake Breakfast coming up in July - let us know if you'd like to attend!)

It was also J.T.'s first baseball game. He did pretty well for being out until 10pm!

Joseph's grumpy face! (SO funny!)

Ruggs had a great Father's Day weekend. Each of the kids did something fun with him and we all got together to grill dinner and play games. (Joseph went to bed so he didn't get to be in the pictures.)

Ruggs and I also celebrated our 5 year anniversary. We had a great date night of dinner and putt-putt! (Much needed since we haven't been out without the kidlets in several months!) We also exchanged gifts. The 5th anniversary is wood. I got Ruggs a set of little bongos (which J.T. really likes!) and Ruggs got me several thoughtful gifts (he spoils me). My wood gift was an engraved photo of the two of us on our wedding day on a cedar plaque.

We took a spontaneous day-trip to Aspen with the kids! It was a lot of fun and a lot of driving. Had we had overnight bags we probably would've stayed in Glenwood Springs.

We visited the John Denver Sanctuary.

@ the John Denver Sanctuary.

@ the John Denver Sanctuary.

Last weekend we went to Boyd Lake and tried our hand at Stand Up Paddleboarding. It was nice to hang out for the day and enjoy the nice beach/park area. I had a pretty easy time getting and staying up, but it does require some balance and leg strength!

Ruggs and I had a low key 4th and spent it at a friend's house and watched Westminster's fireworks from our friend's backyard. Joseph really liked the fireworks! His attention span wasn't very long, but he wasn't scared. He quickly went to sleep after the show was over.

Joseph is growing in leaps and bounds this month. (I think I say that every month, but they change so fast at this age!)

He had a messy snack, so he got a quick rinse in the sink!

Joseph likes to be outside, but does not like to touch the grass. He has a play mat we like to use in the backyard.

He's no longer confined to carpet since he can sit and scoot without falling over and hitting his head.

He likes to stick his legs up in the air (and he's VERY flexible!)

Cutest baby ever! (okay, so we're a little bias.)

This is breakfast with Joseph on the 4th. It's a long 5 min video, but there's lots in it! Over the weekend he's started babbling. He's saying "mom" and "momma". It's indiscriminate, but it's music to my ears! He's also started forcing a fake laugh. It's hilarious. In the high quality version of this video you can see his top 2 teeth that has pushed through. He's currently working on tooth #5!

Joseph is also mobile! He's not "crawling", but he scoots on his belly! Occasionally he tries to get up on his hands and feet and crawl on all fours. He's into EVERYTHING and I'm in the process of getting the house baby-proofed. (As he gets into it and I find a way to keep him safe from it.)