Happy Holidays to everyone! We have SO enjoyed receiving cards, pictures and letters to catch us up on everyone's lives. Thank you.



Today is New Year's Eve and we are finishing up a marathon 10-days-of-togetherness. We decided to stay put this Christmas and had no guests, so we did our best to fill the days with fun activities. Not that we were always successful! I hate to admit it but the word "bored" crossed my lips a few times. It didn't help that poor Anne Peyton woke up from her Christmas Eve nap with a 102 degree fever. So we missed going to Christmas Eve church service, a party at the Hauhuths, and our trip up to Avon to spend Christmas day with Teri & Casey. Fortunately she had bouts of feverlessness and was well enough to open gifts and revel in the day with us

The best was that it was a WHITE CHRISTMAS! We woke up to the white stuff coming down Christmas morning, and it didn't stop for awhile. Simply beautiful, and the perfect day to stay put.

FYI - if all these words bore you to tears, you can go straight to the photos by clicking on this link: http://www.kodakgallery.com/coloradohofmeisters! :)

We kicked off the holiday season right this year. For Thanksgiving we were in Janesville for our 'Norman Rockwell" Thanksgiving with John's family. We had a grand time. Friday was the kids' traditional visit to Santa Claus at the mall. Anne Peyton's initial hesitance was quickly overpowered by 6-year-old cousin Sarah's enthusiasm. Will post the picture once we can get it scanned in.

John and I even got a night off on Saturday, leaving the kids with Grandma & Grandpa and heading over to Madison for the night with Fuzzy & Monica!

On the way home Tuesday, we had our worst plane travel ever with the kids. Well, with Tommy. Whew! He was a handful. Was either crying or screaming or chirping loudly with happiness and waking up passengers. Or hitting us in the face and laughing hysterically when we put our "mean" faces on and scolded him. Of course we told ourselves we would not be flying with him again for 2 more years or so. AP was an angel, contentedly watching Elmo on daddy's laptop. But, that initial conviction is fading already. We have to see everybody, after all!

Wednesday, November 28 - Becky treated us to "member's night" at the Denver Botanic Gardens holiday light display. It was bitter cold but the kids were bundled up pretty well. What was delightful was Anne Peyton's enthusiasm for it all. She was literally bursting at the seams with excitement about each and every Christmas light. When Sue & Claud loaned their 3-D glasses (which made each light look like a snowman or a snowflake) to her, the smile plastered on her face underneath those silly glasses was just irresistable. Typically she does not like to listen to songs she has never heard before, but in listening to Christmas carols in the car, she took a shining to several of them the first time: Little Drummer Boy, Frosty The Snowman, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Jingle Bells. After each she'd say "Mommy, I want to hear that song again!", or "I wike dat song!". On the way home she politely asked "Daddy, may I have some more Rum Pum Pum Pum, pease?". At one point I suggested to John and Becky about making figgy pudding this Christmas, and AP chimed right in with her great idea:"MOMMY! We can make some pudding for da snowman and da reindeer!!!" (she was referring to the people dressed up as Rudolph & Frosty at the Botanic Gardens. As she puts it, she was "a wittle bit scared" of Rudolph.)

Sorry to gush, but it was really joyful to hear her excitement, and quite contagious. It is restoring some of that childhood magic of Christmas for all of us.

Woke up to snow on the ground this morning. Little Anne Peyton peered out the window thoughtfully, then said excitedly "Mommy! I want to throw snow on Daddy and Tommy!".

Undoubtedly she was remembering the fun of our last snowfall, which occurred on a Sunday. Today was a work day, and a daycare day, so methinks the meltdown that ensued was because the morning wasn't quite living up to her "family fun in the snow" expectation.

At breakfast, when served his banana, Tommy said "nanananana".

The Hofmeisters at Mom Rardin's house - 10/07

The Highlights

Nov 9-12 - John was a noble father and husband, allowing his grateful wife to fly up to Seattle with Becky to visit Maricris for the weekend. Us girls had a great time. Saturday MC treated us, with her bonus/perk $ from employer Expedia, to a 9-course meal (with perfectly-matched wine pairings) at the famous 5 diamond restaurant, The Herbfarm, in Woodinville, WA (Washington's wine country). It was an amazing experience of "slow food" and we had a blast. Afterwards we walked across the way and settled into our luxurious lodge room at The Willows.

Nov 2-4 - John's dad, Dave was in town to meet his grandson and visit the rest of us. Saturday night, Anne Peyton and I had "girl's night" tickets to see the Jefferson County Westernaires (kind of like 4-H but they provide kids with horses to ride & take care of) horse show at the Stock Show complex. Undaunted by her failure to nap that day, off we went. We settled in the front row with our hot dogs just as the first horse came out. Here's how our conversation went:

Anne Peyton: I want to ride horsie!
Mommy: No, honey, this is a horse SHOW; we're going to have a good time and WATCH the horsies!
Anne Peyton: I want to ride horsie!
Mommy: yadda, yadda
Anne Peyton (escalating): I want to ride horsie!
Mommy: yadda, yadda
Anne Peyton (crying): I want to ride horsie!
Anne Peyton (screaming): I want to ride horsie!

We spent about 15 minutes walking around the upper edge of the coliseum, trying to calm her down and convince her that she'd have to pipe down or we were going home. To no avail. She screamed the entire way back to the car, and the entire 30 minutes home. It was a chorus of "I want to ride horsie" over and over and over and over. Alas.

Oct 31 - we were pretty psyched for Anne Peyton's first "memorable" Halloween; however, just before 5pm we got a call that she had puked at day care. Definite stomach flu going around, so needless to say we skipped trick-or-treating that night. Fortunately it was less than 24 hour thing, and Tommy stayed clear of it (nothing worse than an infant who can't tell you when he's about to puke his guts out!).

Oct 26-29 - Lisa had class (Human Development; interesting stuff) all Friday night and Saturday day. Saturday evening we enjoyed the Itzkowitz family's 2nd annual Halloween bash in Wash Park. Sunday we went for a hike at Three Sisters Park (where AP had her first pee in the woods). Monday John had tix to the Denver v. Green Bay Monday Night Football game with Casey, Fuzzy (who flew in from Chicago), and Jimmy Reitano & Bobby Richardson (who flew in from Virg Beach). It was an AMAZING game - final score 19-13, with the Packers winning in OT!

Oct 19-21 - We were treated by a visit from the Neyman Family - Gary, Nancy, Tim, Sarita and Olivia on Saturday night. John had returned the day before from his successful elk hunting trip to Craig, CO, so of course we had elk burgers. We're so happy to have a 2nd generation of Neyman visits in our life! Then on Sunday, our first big snowfall! We had a blast playing out in the snow with the kids. Anne Peyton didn't whine about it being cold and LOVED her 2 snowmen, and Tommy was a real trooper with his first snowy playtime. We had the "secret Santa" sled out in the back, too.

Oct 10-15 - Flew to Greensboro, GA for a wonderful visit with Nonney and Gammy plus a bonus with Aunt Ellen Stoup in town for a few days. Friday we drove 2 hours north to Columbia, SC - site of cousin Jed Rardin's wedding to bride Erin Spelman. It was a great excuse for a family reunion which included Lisa's mom, dad, brother Tim & his wife Amy, and many of the Rardin & Horr aunties, uncles, and some cousins too! The wedding was something else. With Jed as the organist and choirmaster for Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Columbia, he had the entire choir there to celebrate with their voices, not to mention a who's who list of organists from prominent churches in the US and UK. At the reception, Anne Peyton learned to trip the light fantastic with her Uncle Tim and Aunt Amy. A first!

Oct 14 - Dropped Sydney off at her new home. Long story...but we made a very difficult and emotional decision that all of us, including both dogs, would be better off if Sydney lived with another family with dogs. She now lives with Garry Cook, his dog Sasquatch, and cat Sulley in Roxborough Park, and is doing very well. We stay in touch via email (Sydney's a great typist), and hope to have a date at the dog park one day soon.

Oct 6 - Cider Days in Lakewood. Perhaps it will become an annual thing; first time was last year when Tommy was just a week old, and stayed home crying with his Nonney.

Sept 28-31 - Grandma Lucy flew in to help us celebrate Tombo's first birthday on the 30th! His party was Sunday morning, and was attended by Aunt Becky, the Angelinos, the Itzkowitzes, the Giolo-Miles, and the Hauhuths. The kids enjoyed the cardboard shantytown we set up in the back 40, and we all enjoyed the gorgeous weather. Can't believe it has been a year since this little man joined us.

Other stuff:

-Tommy is beginning to walk...5,10, 12 steps at a time!

- He loves to point at things and say "da", looking back at you, ever so seriously

-AP is pseudo potty trained...she gets a jelly bean* every time she goes #1 in the toilet & alot of the time she's great about it and stays quite dry. But it's still a roller coaster

*John nicknamed her "jelly bean", to which her response is, "Daddy, I not a jelly bean, I Anne Peyton!"

For more photos, please visit http://www.kodakgallery.com/coloradohofmeisters and click on September 2007 or October 2007.

Q: Anne Peyton, what's your last name?
A: Hah-my-tuh (accent on the first syllable)

Q: What is ...Elaine's last name?
A: Hah-my-tuh

Q: What is...Anthony's last name?
A: Hah-my-tuh

-I sorry, mommy.
-It's otay (said with conviction)
-I dohn WANna go do Meywyn's house. (translation: I don't want to go to Marilyn's house. Marilyn is our "new" day care provider. AP utters this statement practically each morning, but invariably she has a great time there).

- When asked why any given animal or person might happen to look sad: 'cuz....cuz....he wants his mommy"

August/September 2007 Highlights

September 20 - We're getting a new kitchen! After years of generally talking about it, and months of pretending to do something about it, we finally are! It's a low-budget remodel consisting of granite countertops, replacing the ugly fluorescent light/beast on the ceiling with can lighting, knocking out the wall between the kitchen and DR and creating a bartop there, and putting in an over-the-range microwave (freeing up space elsewhere). So exciting! If goes as planned, all should be complete by the time we celebrate Tombo's first birthday here on the 30th.

Highlights:

August 18-20 - Weekend in Arrowhead/Beaver Creek with birthday boy Tim Neyman, Sarita, and their 2-month-old, Olivia. A great weekend, capped off by a bonus visit from Terie & Casey the last night. Monday night 8/20, Lisa started classes again after slacking off all summer. "Career Counseling" Mondays from 4-7pm. Dull professor, but surprisingly interesting class so far!

August 24-26 - Dave & Nadia Roberts from Chicago, and their 5-month-old little man, Gabriel came to visit. It was wonderful to catch up with them and meet their little darling (truly, he is the angel Gabriel). All of us except Gabriel enjoyed the Georgetown Loop Railroad on Saturday (poor guy hated the teeth-rattling train whistle) and then pizza at the old standby, Beaujos in Idaho Springs.

September 1-3 - The kids had a few hours with the Bravo Family while John and I attended Rick & Lata's Indian-American wedding. It was lovely, and the highlight was the bride & groom and a dozen of their friends and family performing the "Bollywood" dance they had been practicing for months! Then, we rushed home to change clothes, and hopped in the car to head down to "Family Camp" at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp, west of Canon City in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Our old Abiding Hope crew was there and we had a lovely weekend, complete with campfire songs, s'mores, a hoe-down, and more. Could become a Labor Day tradition for us! On the way home on Labor Day, we stopped in at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo for a few hours. A highlight, at least for us parents, was watching our daughter wait in a long line and then march up on stage to sit on a stool and milk a cow! She did not want our help, and she was oh-so-serious about it. Kind of surreal, for some reason!

September 7-9 - John turned 37 on the 8th, but we had a mini celebration for him here on the 6th prior to his departure to Vegas! Nothing like spending your birthday with some great friends (Mark Thoni and Olin Burrow in this case), tailgating and sitting in the stands to watch your alma mater play UNLV! He had a great time and even paid for some of his trip with his winnings!

September 15-16 - Weekend at home...birthday parties for the Camargo kids, and neighbor Elaine May. Hired our kitchen contractor and did some good work around the house, thanks to some gardening consulting by Beck!

Anne Peyton is a regular school girl now! Our new daycare's preschool program started a few weeks ago, and it's really cool. She comes home now with all sorts of papers and stories. Last week they made stick horses, and she finally got to bring the finished product home. I was out back, and asked AP to show me her horse. Shortly, she emerged from around the side of the house at a full gallop. It occured to me that she learned to gallop in preschool! She still has a really tough time saying goodbye to us in the mornings, continues to utter "I don't WANT to go to Marilyn's house"...but invariably at the end of the day she is full of smiles & wiggles & pride. We're very pleased with the choice, but we all miss the Bravos too. Definitely AP isn't the center of attention like she was, since age 4 months, with Kathy & her doting children. That would be hard for anyone to get used to!

Tombo isn't walking yet although Becky claims she saw him take his first step the other weekend! He's such an adorable crawler, with those long arms splaying out to either side; we'll miss it when he's done. Just tonight we realized we hadn't heard him scream in awhile. THAT we won't miss. He definitely is a hothead; doesn't take much for his cherubic face to turn all red and ticked-looking, accompanied by the loudest baby voice you ever heard. His favorite thing lately is clapping; he LOVES it especially when you join him.

For photos, please visit http://www.kodakgallery.com/coloradohofmeisters

August 15 -The kids are in bed, John is in LA for a business trip, the thunderstorm just ended and the crickets are chirping outside. I'd love to snuggle up in bed with my book but know that eventually I will appreciate the time I put into this diary (yes, this really is the only place I write stuff down anymore, sadly!).

Lisa's mom just left after a wonderful two-week visit. She filled in some daycare gaps while we were between providers, and oh so much more! The final hurrah of her visit was a trip up to Crested Butte (gorgeous CO mountain town) to visit Uncle Tom (mom's brother) and Aunt Lynn. One-year-anniversary-celebrators Tim & Amy were there too, as a stop on their Westward Ho road trip! The highlight for Anne Peyton might have been the bus ride on CB's free town shuttle - her first since falling in love with the old standard "Wheels on the Bus".

On the daycare front: on July 27 the kids had their last official day with their beloved provider, Kathy Bravo, and her 3 great kids. They truly feel like family so needless to say I was an emotional wreck. Kathy was too! Good thing AP is too young to get it. See photos.

August 7 was their first day with their new providers: Jerry & Marilyn Dean. Marilyn's been in the business for a gazillion years, and recently her husband Jerry retired and now they're a team of two. It works out really well, allowing the older kids to take field trips with Marilyn, and the younger to stay home with Jerry and play. A bonus is that they live about one minute away from us - an easy stroller or wagon ride. That Tuesday was tough: AP SCREAMED and cried and wouldn't let go of my neck when I went to say goodbye. But it's getting easier every day. Today she just got teary-eyed (the first time I've ever seen her trying to control her emotions), requested numerous hugs & kisses, and wanted confirmation: "you come back?". Precious.

Other highlights:
July 14-15 - Overnight at Terie & Casey's in Avon; a wonderful reunion with these two! Also popped in on Nils & Lynette in nearby Arrowhead for lunch

July 15-16 - Lisa & Anne Peyton camped in the backyard to get AP ready for the next weekend. It was fun, despite AP's being so excited about the flashlight that she coudln't fall asleep for hours! Lisa loved it so much she slept out there the next night, sans AP.

July 21 - Father/daughter camping trip near Granby, CO...organized by Mikkel and his friends

July 31 - Peyton/Mom/Nonney arrives! :)

August 4 - BBQ at Becky's house

August 7 - Birthday dinner for Becky - a lovely, intimate evening at Gaia Bistro on Old South Pearl Street - private wine tasting & 5 course meal

August 9-12 - Crested Butte trip

August 13 - Peyton/Mom/Nonney leaves :(

AP's vocabulary continues to burgeon, and she amazes us with stuff she just picks up casually. Last night we were talking about how hot it was upstairs, and she piped in enthusiastically: "are you going to turn on the swamp cooler?". Unfortunately, we've also heard her say "dammit" at least twice after dropping something/making a mistake/etc. We won't theorize her role model, but have made a mental note at her ability to pick up on subtleties such as when is appropriate to swear!

We think she may be having bad dreams. One night Lisa was sleeping in the same bed with her and she said, eyes fully closed, "no, I don't WAN to"...."I wan up"...over & over. Hopefully at this point her bad dreams consist of mommy or daddy telling her she has to finish her dinner.

Tombo's latest pasttime is screaming - either in pure joy or pure frustration/anger. It's freakin' ear-piercing. We hope he gets over this soon. He's doing a great job sleeping at night and is a eating machine when you set him in his high chair w/plenty of finger food.

For photos, please visit http://www.kodakgallery.com/coloradohofmeisters and click on "Late July/August 2007".

July 10 -

The past month-plus has been a whirlwind of travel!

May 24-29 - Lisa & Anne Peyton's estrogen visit to Greensboro, GA to visit some of L's family (see prior blog post)
May 31-June 3 - John's testosterone trip to New Orleans with college buddies
June 15-24 - Whole family to Philadelphia for sister-in-law Amy's ordination, then to Outer Banks of NC for some beach and family time, then back to Philly. In the middle of all that J & L got to steal a night away on ferry-accessible-only Ocracoke Island, NC while Tim, Amy, TR & Gigi babysat! We celebrated our 5th anniversary which occurred on the 15th.
June 25-28 - John to Chicago for a last-minute business trip
June 29-July 5 - Whole family to Janesville, WI (via Chicago, poor John!) for visit with John's parents

All the trips were great (some easier than others). Here Tommy is just 9 months old and already has 4 plane trips under his belt. He and AP are both troopers on the airplane, although T is rather unpredictable and our fellow passengers don't appreciate our family as much with him in the picture. His personality is emerging and he is just darling, but he is really a little hothead. You should hear the blood-curdling scream that he produces when something isn't going his way!

AP also had some wonderful proof of being two during some of this time. Lots of "NO!" and "I want..." and fighting over sitting in the carseat and testing us in every way. Not helping matters was the fact that she got croup during the NC/Philly trip: so bad that we had to go in for breathing treatments and steroids. Scary, especially because Lisa was on her own that week with the kids and was trying to juggle her paying job and her mommy job since daycare was not an option with BOTH kids running fevers. Thank goodness that is behind us now!

Annie-isms:
"Know IS" - as best we can ascertain, means "I don't know"
"Daddy doe?" - Where did Daddy go? She asks this about anyone as soon as they leave the room. Or they can be sitting right in front of her, in which case she wants you to say "I don't KNOW, where DID Daddy go?". Her response is "wight DAY-UH!!!"
"I hungey" = I am hungry
"I sick"
"Watch me" - (becoming much more common lately)
"I made dat" - said with pride about any art/craft project she's involved with
"I wuv woo" - I love you
"Heh-wo?" - ...she has even answered the phone a few times
"I whan..." - I want...(sometimes she thinks about it for awhile, but she is certain that she wants SOMETHING!)
"Pay toys" - Play with toys
"I'LL dewt" - I'll do it (said with great emphasis and enunciation, whenever YOU try to do something for her)

Tommy-isms:
-ha-da, ha-da, ha-da, ha-da, ha-da (contented, interested sound)
-na-na-na-na-na-na-na (when said in screamy voice: frustrated)
-mamamamamama (concentrating)
-is crawling very expertly now - is amazingly fast. His long arms swing out and it's priceless to be at the receiving end of his destination, with his eyes intent on you, grinning widely, making little grunting noises
-easy smiler: upon seeing someone else smile at him, or being asked to pose for a picture even
-loves seeing how things work. Is content to sit quietly in your lap (which is amazing) if you are doing something interesting that he can watch.

For photos, please visit http://www.kodakgallery.com/coloradohofmeisters and click on "June-early July 2007".

June 3, 2007

John is in New Orleans partying with his UW-Madison college buds. The kids & I have had a lovely weekend despite his absence. Last night was a highlight. After attending the Capitol Hill People's Fair in Denver (where we luxuriated in the diversity of the People) with "Aunt Bunky", we came home put the little crawler to bed. AP and I were treated to a gentle thunderstorm, which we appreciated from the rocking chair on the front porch. We snuggled up together and listened to the thunder and the rain on the roof, watched the breeze tickle the cottonwood tree, and exclaimed as the sky lit up occasionally. She was eager to name each thing that happened. When it all ended, the crickets serenaded us. She calls them "tickets". I don't know why I am so amused & charmed by this. Perhaps it's the idea of people marveling at a tiny rectangular-shaped piece of heavy paper.

May, 2007: Mother's Month

First, Mother's Day on 5/13: John surprised me with MD brunch at the Denver Botanic Gardens. It was a lovely day and after the delicious meal the 4 of us roamed around the gardens taking advantage of the lovely backdrop for some photo ops. Thanks to Becky for the use of her passes!


One of my favorite memories will be Anne Peyton presenting me with a card from she & Tommy, and subsequently a violet in a little pot she painted at day care, and proclaiming, "MINE"! :)


Then, Anne Peyton and I jetted off to Greensboro, GA May 24-29, leaving the boys at home to fend for themselves. Greensboro is home of the mothers! Namely, mine (known to AP as "Nonney"), my grandmother (known to grandkids & greatgrandkids as "Gammy") and my Auntie Jane (known to AP as "Aunt Jammie"). AP had been talking about "doe Dorda" (going to Georgia) for months, so she was in great spirits for the longish flight out. It was a simply wonderful weekend, filled with lots of opportunity just to play in mom's gorgeous yard & garden and contemplate life on her front porch. Thanks to some thoughtfully-arranged field trips, AP also got to visit some donkeys, chickens, and goats! She got a great lesson in gardens from Aunt Jammie, a golf cart ride with Jane and Bob (Uncle Boble), and had a grand time swatting flies on the front porch with her Gammy, not to mention some sprinkler & pool time. And, we got a 4-generation photograph taken (still haven't seen the proofs, but have high hopes that at least 1 of the 200+ taken will turn out OK. AP wasn't terribly cooperative in the smile department).


If you care to glance at some photos, visit http://www.kodakgallery.com/coloradohofmeisters

May 9 - Lisa just finished up her last class of the spring semester and has a whole month-and-a-half off! Yippee! Only 5 more years 'til she gets that masters in Counseling Psychology (if she does as she pledged and only takes one class per semester going forward....)

No travels or out-of-town visitors this month, but it was a fun month nonetheless. Of course it started with our trip to Phoenix with the other Hofmeisters (John's brother & his family) - see previous blog/photos.

Tommy turned 6 months on the 30th of March. At his well-baby appointment the nurse made us anxious by asking presumptiously whether he had rolled over both ways or started babbling yet. When the answer was 'no' she furrowed her brow. Much to our relief he accomplished both milestones the following week (babbling=mamamamama, bababababa, dadadadada). He's up on his hands and knees now, rocking back and forth, concentrating soooo hard on that first crawling step!

Anne Peyton had her two year appointment, too. Was very brave for her shot but didn't crack a smile during the exam, despite having a wonderful pediatrician. This seems to be her m.o. - to be utterly serious, cautious and observative whenever she does something for the first time (or at least the first time in her memory!)

John did take a business trip to Bozeman, MT. The highlight was going to be a trip down to Yellowstone (his first) with some of his colleagues, BUT, being the wonderful husband and father he is, he opted to come home early when he learned of the ordeals back at the homestead: Lisa attempting to finish some "urgent" deliverables for work and 3 big assignments for class while caring for two children who had come down with the stomach flu (and therefore not able to go to day care). WOW, what a long couple of nights with AP throwing up constantly...we were SO happy to have John surprise us with an early return!

Several firsts this month for Anne Peyton: first real vomit (!), first haircut, first circus, first bath with a boy other than her brother! See link to photos for 2 out of 4 of those...

She seems to be the light of her little brother's life. He is riveted to her the moment she enters the room, and most of the time she gets him belly-laughing just by being her goofy self. Which is great to see because he still has a little temper on him; he lets you know when he's ticked at you for waiting two extra seconds to give him his bottle, or when he's annoyed at his inability to crawl, or tired of being in his crib...you name it. We admire his assertiveness...

Last weekend we attended a baby shower for Tim & Sarita Neyman, whose babe (their first) is due early next month! Tim & Lisa grew up together in Marysville so this son or daughter will be an in-town cousin for Anne Peyton & Tommy! We were lucky to have Brian, Ellen & Brady Itzkowitz watch the kids while we were out. AP apparently ate a whole box of mac-and-cheese and ran around like a crazy person with her fellow 2-year-old, Brady. She even got a bath. We were just thrilled that she didn't break down when we left her... that she and Tommy seemed to have a great time was just icing on the cake!

In other exciting baby news, our friends Betsy & Paul gave birth to Eliana Angelino on 4/14. Is that a wonderful name, or what? Anthony, at 2 years, is the proud big bro.

AP-isms:
toe-cheese = cookies (her word for this has morphed over the months; this is the best!)
Monkey = Aunt Becky
Bee-bess = Aunt Elizabeth
*Sah-la = (cousin) Sarah
*Oh-leo = Oreo (the cocker spaniel next door)
* - note when she says these words, her tongue pops out like a frog's when she tries to say the "R" sound
I hungry = (pretty good, huh?)


For a full collection of photos, please visit http://www.kodakgallery.com/coloradohofmeisters and click on "April 2007".

Just back from a 5-day trip to Scottsdale, AZ. We vacationed with John's brother, Eric & his family: wife Elizabeth & 6-year-old daughter Sarah. Grandma Lucy was scheduled to join us but had to cancel at the last minute due to some emergency health issues with Grandpa George. We were all soooo disappointed but are thankful that George is doing better now.

"Vacationing" with 2 young children doesn't have quite the same relaxing, stress-free connotation that it used to! True to her age (2 on 4/1), Anne Peyton displayed some delightful terrible two moments during the trip. By the time it was time to pack up and go home, we finally figured out what did & didn't work; eg, restaurants didn't work; ordering dinner poolside and having plenty of room to spread out did.

-Our adjoining-room suites overlooked a nice pool, so we were down there every day. Sarah is an excellent little swimmer and her enthusiasm for the water rubbed off on Anne Peyton, much to our pleasure. By the end of the trip she was willingly getting her head underwater and tentatively jumping off the side of the pool into our arms.

- We tried to climb Camelback Mountain with the kids. What a mistake! This is not a terribly challenging mountain, but it is rocky & sandy and it wouldn't be at all difficult to slip and fall. With kids in backpacks/bjoerns, NOT a good idea! Not to mention the blazing hot sun. Fortunately we remained upright but any hikes from now on will be relatively flat!

- Thanks to Elizabeth's organizational and creative prowess we enjoyed a homemade undersea-themed birthday cake for Anne Peyton, as well as Easter egg decorating and a hunt in a nearby park.

- Met up with John & Eric's cousins - Cindy & Judy, Judy's new husband Todd, and the younger 2 of Cindy's boys - Cameron and Conner at "The Sugar Bowl" in Scottsdale for ice cream sundaes (featured in many "The Family Circus" comic strips, as the author is a frequent guest there). They happened to be vacationing there at the same time!

- On the flight to Phoenix Tommy demonstrated his latest "skill": upon achieving utter happiness, he screeches like a teradactyl at an ear-shattering pitch, smiling all the while. It was painful, but funny as hell. The poor passengers probably didn't know whether to wish for a crying miserable baby!

Earlier in the month we were treated to a visit by Lisa's mom (whose new name is "Nonni"). We also hosted a birthday party here for the 5 kids born to fellow childbirth class participants, all within about a month of each other. We stay in close touch with that group and feel really lucky to be able to share child-raising experiences with them.

- Anne Peyton's current vocabulary:
* humum, humum = seems to mean "give me some" (with a sense of urgency) - usually referring to sweets - she has a distressingly HUGE sweet tooth
* otay = okay
* Dorda = Georgia (where her "nonni" lives)
* yay-es = yes
* Hommy = Tommy
* MY (mommy, daddy, blanket, applesauce, pacifier, toothbrush, you name it)
* Back (with index finger pointed up) = I'll be right back
* Hey-net = blanket
* Boke = broken
* boo-boo (she is obsessed with these)
* boe-die = birdie

For a full collection of photos, please visit http://www.kodakgallery.com/coloradohofmeisters and click on "February-Mar-Early April 2007".

February 24, 2007 -- I'm thrilled to report that all 4 humans and all 3 four-leggeds slept through the night last night! It has been a rough couple of weeks, with Tombo waking up multiple times during the night in a pretty bad mood. Pretty sure he's got some teeth coming in, plus he's growing, plus he had outgrown his swaddling blanket (we remedied that yesterday with a larger size, which undoubtedly helped!).

Tommy had his 4 month checkup earlier this month and weighed in at about 15 lb (98%) and measured 27.5 inches (56%). He's doing well - a very social little guy who seems to love music and movement. He digs all the attention from the ladies he gets at day care. He's ticklish already, especially under his chin (the laughter just gurgles out), and has rolled over exactly one time.

Anne Peyton is turning into quite the little young lady - just a month shy of two. She still dotes on her little brother and has a certain sweetness and sensitivity about her, despite an increasing number of tantrums (we're preparing ourselves for the roller coaster ride!). She is distressingly, hopelessly addicted to her paci ("ba") and we're debating when to pull the plug on that. She cooperates when we ask her to drop it before she leaves the crib, but it's the funniest thing to see her take a few more "drags" on it before she does. She's also addicted to the "ABCs"; it's become a fantastic diversionary tactic lately!

Lisa started back to work on Jan 2, four days/week. She has Mondays off as a special day with the kids. School started, as well, in mid-January after a 6-month "sabbatical" so that's a 4-10pm commitment on Wednesday nights. Abnormal Psych and Group Counseling are the subjects - both very interesting and she feels amazingly wide awake at the close of those days.

John's been doing a fair amount of travelling these past months - to various United Airlines hubs - San Francisco, LA, Chicago...his job as a Project Manager is going really well; he's gotten alot of positive feedback and his manager looks at him as her successor. Very exciting! Still hoping for an international assignment one of these days...

We had some great visits with grandparents: Lisa's dad & his girlfriend Jill (Papa TR & Gigi) in January, and then Lisa's mom (Grammie) just last week. Dianna & Bradley Zabinski (Dianna was one of Lisa's roommates back in Michigan) were in town with their THREE (!) kiddos last week as well, visiting Bradley's parents.

We also took our first airplane trip as a family of 4, to TX to visit the Niezgoda family (John's freshman-year-roommate) during Super Bowl weekend. It was a wonderful time, but we're missing pictures from the weekend because they're all on Fuzzy's camera!

We're looking forward to a few days in sunny Scottsdale, AZ at the end of March, with John's brother Eric & his family, Elizabeth & Sarah.

Lots of babies have been born these past months! Michael (Fuzzy) and his wife Monica Niezgoda gave birth to Stosh Anthony in Fort Worth, TX in December. Denver friends Ken & Jeanne Johns welcomed their first child, daughter Amelie Marie, in New Zealand (where they're living for a few years) on February 10. Then Kjirsten & Scott Wallace had Olivia Cate, their 2nd, on February 15. Congratulations to all!

For a full collection of photos, please visit http://www.kodakgallery.com/coloradohofmeisters
and click on "January, February 2007". Spring is almost upon us!!!