Epic Fort

I came home recently to a very quiet house and a room-sized fort with three children playing quietly inside. But I was told to keep out. "No gorrups allowed," Miles told me. "No what?" I asked. "Grown ups!" Grant corrected. So I left them alone to play quietly for hours. 

Charlie at 9 Months

At 9 months, Charlie is a happy, active baby who loves music, being outside and observing his brothers. His favorite things are doors, Teddy and swings.

New this past month, Charlie:

• Is fully crawling, at light speed.
• Can climb up the stairs, also at light speed.
• Is regularly sleeping 12-hour stretches through the night.
• Took his first airplane ride.
• Has tried some new foods, including mangoes, peaches and barley. He eats just about anything we put in front of him.
• Is able to sit up in shopping carts.
• Pulls himself up to standing whenever he can.
• Claps his hands.
• Plays peek-a-boo.
• Gives high-fives.
• Babbles what sounds like "ma-ma" and "da-da."
• Is obsessed with opening and closing doors. 
• Is fearful of anyone who is not me, Kent, his brothers or Jamie.
• Weighs 16 pounds, 11 ounces (7th percentile) and is 28.25 inches long (46 percentile).

Previous monthly photos.

Miles' monthly baby photos.

Telluride 2016

Our trip to Telluride this year was restful, fun and too short. It was our fifth year visiting this beautiful mountain town and Charlie's first. We spent the week throwing rocks in mountain streams, hiking, riding the gondola and eating ice cream. 

For the second year in a row, Kent drove with Grant and Miles—16 hours! And Charlie and I flew, which was definitely the right decision. Charlie was much happier on the airplane than he would have been on a two-day car ride. We timed it so that Kent, Grant and Miles could pick up Charlie and me at the Montrose airport and ride the last 1.5 hours together to Telluride. 

Our first stop was a ride on the gondola and lunch at a favorite local spot.

Our first few days were cool and rainy, but the rest of the week was gorgeous—sunny and mid-70s. It was probably the best weather we've had yet. 

Our fifth year in Telluride, and we finally figured out how to get a front row seat at the 4th of July parade—set up chairs at 4:30 a.m. Kent secured our spot while the rest of us slept. He came back to bed, and then we almost overslept, getting to the parade just as it was starting. But our seats were pretty great, and the boys had a lot of fun catching candy and dodging water fights. 

This year we tried a new hiking trail, which ended up being nearly 6 miles and a pretty steep climb. But the boys did remarkably well, and the views were worth it. 

We promised Miles we would climb a "snow mountain," and when we did find a little patch of snow, he was ecstatic. 

We made it to 11,500 feet! That's Telluride down below the boys. This picture shows just how steep it was, considering we started climbing from well below the tree line. 

Did I mention that I was also carrying a 17-pound baby? He was a good little hiking buddy.

We went in search of a waterfall another day. The boys found a log to cross the stream and lots of rocks to throw in. Charlie fell asleep the moment he heard the rushing waterfall. 

But the elusive search of the week was for a single red gondola. Of about 40 gondolas, there was only one red one, painted in honor of the 20th anniversary of Telluride's gondola system. One day we happened to walk in to the station just as it was coming down the mountain. Grant and Miles felt so lucky, they grinned the entire ride down the mountain. 

Other days we wandered or biked around town, enjoying the beauty of Colorado in the summertime. 

Until next year!