Necklace time!

BV celebrating our anniversary with a fashion show.

Fall Fest 2011

Banner as a duck!

Pumpkin Patch.jpg

BV in Jackson Hole.jpg

Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day!

BV had here first foray into biking today! She is still a tad short for her balance bike, but she loved it. We headed over to Valmont for Kristen to demo a bike and for Banner to see other kids riding. This is her getting distracted with the play area, but we took some other pics when Travis and Laura and Mrs. Ramos stopped to say hello right before we left. I will add them later. Anyway, before we know it she will be cruising around

New balance bike!

This is a secret, so do not mention it to Banner, but I just found a new balance bike for BV online. She still might be a bit to little for it and it might actually be a Christmas gift, but I am excited. This is the type without pedals, so that kids can learn to balance and get the idea of riding. Kristen and I ride a lot, so I think she will like it. We will see.

BV on train at Creek Fest

Banner got her first train ride at the Labor Day weekend Boulder Hometown festival. She loved steering and waving at her Dada. Now to listen and dance to some music!

Beach BV

Kristen and BV are at Sunset Beach this week visiting Gma and Gpa Matthews. She seems to be loving it!

New shoes

Apparently, she had to leave Boulder to get her first pair of Crocs.

Lovin' Melon

BV showing her pleasure at discovering watermelon.

Bike to Work Day 2011! My second time.

Woohoo!

B & J & BV Free Cone Day!

BV braved the beautiful if not slightly cool evening to have a taste of Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's. Next up, May 10th Free Cone Day at Haagen Dazs!

She also learned that her Auntie B and Uncle A are coming for Easter!

Banner's First Birthday Party

BV had her first birthday (March 9th) and party. Here is a link to some photos that Amir and Kat took. Below are some of our own.

Studying the cake

Party favor fun

The two new one year olds, Banner and Emory.

The party people.

Welcome Rolo dog

Well, we added a new member to the family. Meet Rolo the dog. A 2 1/2 yr old German Shorthaired Pointer (at least partly) who is extremely, um, enthusiastic.


We had some chilly days here and Rolo needed a little extra insulation, so Jared was kind enough to let her borrow his vest.

Banner and Rolo have become accustomed to one another - Rolo especially appreciates Banner's high chair antics - there's sure to be something that ends up on the ground. Here Banner offers Rolo some hand sanitizer. A thoughtful gift.

Banner is moving all over these days! She loves to hold onto things and scoot around. No solo steps yet, though!

Relaxing in bed. Naps are the best.


Banner took advantage of a warm February day to play outside. She was very interested in the snowmelt coming down the drainpipe, but was dismayed to find that melting snow is pretty cold!

Fun with dad!
Banner's new friend Annika (6 wks). They decided to have a photo shoot in their matching pjs. Poor Annika - Banner was determined to have her pacifier for herself. And if the eye gets in the way, well...

Holiday catch up

After an extended absence from blogging here is my effort to capture the last two months in 10 photos or less:
Thanksgiving was spent in Ellijay with the Matthews, Tierneys, and DeYoungs. Here is Banner with cousin Lina. Sadly, Banner wasn't feeling so hot during this trip, so she wasn't her usual cheerful self. It was a good Thanksgiving though - lots of cousins, aunt, uncles, and grandparents and food!
We prepared for Banner's first Christmas with a Christmas tree (our best so far, I think) as well as the arrival of lots of packages, much to Banner's delight.

Banner shows great regard for boxes of all shapes and sizes but she was especially proud of this big one. Very helpful for her pulling-up skills which she is now very adept at!

Christmas in Chicago! At the last minute Jared and I decided to drive to Chicago to be with Jared's sisters and our nieces and nephews. A great trip! Banner was amazing in the car and it was fun to be with family and have them meet Banner.
Here we are wearing our matching mother-daughter hats.

Amazingly successful family photo!

The kids and Buddy-the-dog.

Once back in Colorado we had yet another Christmas celebration to open all the gifts we hadn't brought on our roadtrip. Banner tripled her toy cache and was pretty hyped up.


Practicing her new drum.New Years weekend we got our first big snow and Banner was subjected to snowsuits. The snowsuit below allowed for a little more flexibility then some other options, and so was fairly well received. Fur collars being all the rage, she was also very fashionable.

A New Years hike and snuggle time with dad.

Sometimes dad's back gets to be a boring sight and so Banner adopts this pose. While I worry about whiplash, she seems to enjoy the perspective.

And there you have it! As for Banner's latest accomplishments: she seems content with a modified crawl - more of an army version. She is pretty proficient at it and so I think she will stick with it and not bother herself with the more traditional hands and knees version. Maybe she thinks she is more stealth this way.
She is pulling up on everything and is very proud of herself. We are also proud.
She will occasionally stand by herself for a few seconds but we are just at the very beginning of that.
She is an excellent waver and clapper and we are working on blowing kisses.
Finally, she is really getting good at verbalizing (some might say yelling) her opinions. She seems to be saying mama and I think she has a version of bye bye. Wishful thinking? Nah, we know she is brilliant.