Going, Going, Gone?

As Lillian wiggles more and more (and more!) the hair on the back of her head seems to suffer the brunt of it!  She still has more hair than I ever had as a baby, but it is noticeably rubbing off. 

Lillian at 10 weeks

Lillian at 13 weeks

Lillian at 16 weeks

Of course, we know, nobody reads our blog to look at pictures of the back of Lillians head!  So here are a couple recent pictures of our smiling, happy little girl.

I love my morning walks with mommy!



Making eyes at Daddy



Mmm....Eggs! They were all they're cracked up to be!

Freckles is a good little layer!  This morning Mike and I enjoyed a delicious poached egg breakfast with our four eggs we've collected the last four days.  They are noticeably better than store bought eggs.  We can't wait till Red and Chicky start laying...perhaps we'll have eggs to share soon! 

Eggs, Glorious Eggs!

I told Mike, weeks ago, that the chickens were waiting for me to go back to work before they laid any eggs.  I was just sure that they wanted to give me something to smile about this week.   I was out back hanging Lillian's diapers on the line Monday afternoon, when all of a sudden, the chicks went nuts. They were making such a commotion I went over to check on them but I was afraid to open their barn door because they were really clucking in there! So when Mike came home I made him go check (yes - I'm still a little afraid of those birds!!!).  And he found our first egg - it was broken - just like we read would happen. Their first eggs are usually pretty weak. But, Tuesday evening, Mike went out to check again and returned with a real bonafide egg!  Then this morning, we heard them clucking again, and....we found another egg! 

Of course, I'm not really psychic at all.  It just so happens that the chicks are 24 weeks old now, the age they are supposed to start laying, and it just happens to coincide with my maternity leave ending.  But I prefer to think of it as a higher power, smiling down on me, telling me, "Go back to work, Baby Girl will be fine".  As if all of god's creations preform as they should.  And this higher power is correct. Lillian is adjusting to daycare just fine.  Miss Christine sends me home with a "progress report" letting me know the highlights of Lillian's day.  Of course, at 3 months old, her highlights include when she ate, slept and had her diaper changed.  But Christine tells me what I already know, that Lillian smiles all day, at everything and everyone.  I love hearing that!  I rush out of work to pick her up and love the big smiles I get when she hears my voice and sees me.  I also love that Mike's been getting home from work early this week in order to get a little baby time too.  The 3 of us are a sight to see, hugging and kissing and cooing together.  It's as if we were separated for weeks not hours!  Tonight, Lillian actually giggled.  Look at that, she had a "first" and I didn't miss it....

Hi Ho, Hi Ho.....

                                                                                                         It's back to work I go!  I miss the "old people" so much, but tomorrow, when I'm sitting at my desk I'm going to miss Lillian even more!  We spent some time at the daycare today visiting the other babies and introducing Lillian to Miss Christine.  Christine has been a child care worker for 19 years and clearly loves her job.  She has Lillian's name on her board already.  It made me smile when I saw her name on the apple, then Christine pointed out the other board with her name and birth date on the owl and it reassured me that she's in good hands. 
   Our good friends, Amy & Bryan are sending their son Zander to Children Are the Future too.  He's 3 months older than Lillian, but they'll be in the same class for a while.  I'm so glad Lillian will have other babies to smile at, interact with and learn from. 

Lillian with Miss Christine

    I am so fortunate that I'm able to return 4 days a week to start.  I will work Wednesday - Saturday for the next 12 weeks.  Lillian will go to daycare Wednesday - Friday then she gets to spend Saturday with Daddy!  Mike is REALLY looking forward to having her all to himself one day a week.  He has big plans to take her places, including taking her to a few job projects (maybe she'll help land him some big jobs!!!).  His Daddy adventures start this weekend with a trip to the zoo with Zane and his two kids.  What a site that will be! 
    Here are a few pictures of Lily-Bird from last weekends camping trip....

Grandpa Kerschen, this one's for you!  Will she follow in your footsteps and be a bowhunter too? 

Hiking with Mama!

The rivers and streams have been so full this summer!

Relaxing after a long hike.



Laying by the river, so Mom and Dad can enjoy their breakfast together.






After camping all weekend, it feels really good to come home and take a bath!

Hoosier Time!

In her short little life, Lillian has made "the rounds".  We just returned from a trip to Indiana.  Mike had taken off some time when his mom and niece were in Colorado last week, so this trip was all about me and Lillian. I'd like to boast that flying alone with a 3 month old really wasn't all that hard! She was wonderful, despite the 2 - yes 2 - explosive poopy diapers she had on the plane. I am a light packer, and did not anticipate 2 "blowouts" so when we met my mom at baggage claim, she was greeted with a naked little baby girl all wrapped up in a blanket - but at least she had on a fresh diaper!

Lillian is quite the attention getter. I now have new facebook friends that I've met in the airport!  Strangers want to watch her grow via my facebook page.  Lillian makes perfectly normal grown adults turn mushy and ga - ga over her.  I love watching her flash her smile generously to all she meets. 

Severin and Colleen timed their summer trip to Indy to overlap with our visit.  It was so great to see them again!  We now have several pictures of them holding Lillian....to which Colleen's mom commented, "If you didn't know, people would think she's your daughter"....hint hint!

We also have several pictures of a very happy grandma giving Lillian a bottle, seriously - I have 5 or 6 pictures from this trip alone!

Lucky for us, Severin and I timed our visits during the Indiana State Fair!  We haven't been since we were kids and it brought back so many memories of my Grandma and Great-Aunt Mary Ellen.  Who doesn't love looking at farm animals, including the world's largest pig, award winning vegetables, cheese carvings, and tent after tent of artery clogging food.  This year's specialty was deep-fried Kool-Aid.  We searched and searched but couldn't find the tent, I'm still wondering, how do you deep fry Kool-Aid?



Lillian can nap anywhere! The fair didn't hold her attention!




The Woman's Pavilion was handing out crocheted bracelets, Lillian's 1st jewelry!



Testing out the porch swings - they met her approval!

 Some other highlights of our trip include:

Lillian taking a bath in Grandma Hanou's kitchen sink.




"Concert on the Canal" a Thursday night tradition.  Opa and Grandma packed delicious snacks and we enjoyed music with our friend Sue. 



Lillian taking another cat-nap - this time in her scivvies! 



We had such an enjoyable 3-4 days in Indiana, but it was great to come home to Daddy today!  He missed his girls terribly and we were anxious to hug him as well.  The camper is already loaded on the truck and we're ready to take off this weekend, just the three of us, for some much needed family time. 

Lillian at 3 Months

Moo!

While my husband does dream of someday owning a few more farm animals, we did NOT get a cow!  This blog entry gets it's name from our very special house guest who just left, Amanda Moo. 

Mike and his mom have a fun family tradition.  Each of his nieces get to visit Uncle Mike, with Grandma, the summer after their 8th grade year before they start high school for a Colorado Adventure.  I was not part of the family 6 years ago when this tradition began with Ashley.  Mike & I had just started dating 4 years ago when Grandma brought Emily and I shared in some of the fun then.  But, this year, I got to partake in all the festivities with Amanda! 

We started the week off with a real test of Amanda's adventurous spirit.....rock climbing!

 We are so grateful that our talented friend Matt Crowley was not only willing but eager to take Amanda out rock climbing.  She fit my harness and climbing shoes perfectly, but without Matt, his ropes, and his vast knowledge of the sport we would have been indoors at a climbing gym (not the same experience!). 

The Kerschen Crew atop Lookout Mountain following a fried chicken picnic!  Yum!



Grandma Kerschen and Amanda on the 16th Street Mall



Night #2 - A little big city fun - a MLB Rockies Baseball game!

Next we headed to Breckenridge and joined Bill & Vicky Hughes where they graciously shared their mountain cabin with us.  It was really nice to catch up with them.

Girl's night out - Amanda and I ice skating at the Breckenridge Ice Rink

Festival Fever - Lillian's 1st beer festival!  The Keystone Bluegrass & Beer Festival

Amanda about to cowgirl up on "Whiskey"

The 3 amigos riding high on Rusty Spurr Ranch



Who doesn't enjoy a hot dog - especially out of a hot dog shaped restaurant!



Amidst all the fun, Amanda still found time to make her new baby cousin smile, smile, smile!  Thanks for making memories with us, we had a blast!

Lillian's Other Side

Enough said

Summertimes....

My handknit hat from Kristen comes in handy on cool mountain mornings!

This hiking thing sure is easy, not sure why mom's huffing & puffing!

Campfires are almost as cool as ceiling fans, not quite, but almost...

Mountain air helps me wake up happy!

The Botanic Gardens with Kay sure wears me out!

Look at me sitting up by myself!