My three hour staycation!

I have to just say that I have the most wonderful husband!! One of our favorite things to do here is go up into the canyon. We usually do this several times during the spring and summer but this year it just wasn't happening. Jason had gone up quite a few times while he was hunting but I hadn't been yet. Well, one of my favorite things to do is to go up and see the changing colors. Jason tried to get as much of his work done earlier this week so we could go up Friday. He still had to work but he got home a little bit earlier than normal so we went and drove the Alpine Loop. It was just what I needed. This is pretty much the first thing like this we have done since Abby was born so I am calling it my "3 hour staycation". I just love being in the mountains. It is so peaceful and relaxing! Abby must think so too because she pretty much slept the entire time. Hopefully short trips like this will start getting easier. Abby went through this phase where she would get too distracted to eat away from home so I planned all of my outings to fit in between feedings. She is starting to get better though. We really wanted to get out and go for a short nature walk but unfortunately it started raining. On the way home we stopped to get a Maverick Soft Serve ice cream. They are my favorite and in times past when coming home from the canyon, that is where we always stopped.

The view from one of the roadside stops.

A random mama cow and her baby hanging out at the trail head at one of the rest stops.

And in other news......

Prime example of why expensive baby toys are so unnecessary. Abby found this paper towel roll absolutely entertaining, especially when I used it as a telescope or a horn.

This picture truly does not do justice to how messy of an eater Abby is. If you can't tell, Abby has peas on her forehead, eyelids, eyelash as well as up her nose and all over her arms and legs. I even found food in her hair the next day. She loves to try to help feed herself. She will grab the spoon when I am holding it and shove it in her mouth. Unfortunately, she grabs it where the food is so most of the food gets all over hands and smooshed on her face rather than in her mouth. She is getting better at eating solids. So far, plums appear to be her favorite. We are still working with her to try to get her to take a bottle but she now thinks they are chew toys. I have decided to try out a cup with her and she is actually doing pretty well. I decided to try it after she kept grabbing for my cup of water. She can take sips from it and not really spill (while I am holding it of course). She still can't drink large quantities from one yet but we are definitely on the road to success! Hopefully we can just skip sippy cups altogether. (I read that it is best to just go to regular cups because it helps the muscles for speech develop but I have come to the conclusion that no matter what you choose, there is probably an expert out there who agrees and one who disagrees).

So Abby is teething again and she is getting four, count them FOUR teeth. The good news is that it doesn't seem as painful this time. The two front top teeth are poking through and it looks like the ones to the sides of those are close behind. Her bottom two are already all the way in and I can see some white spots next to those as well but they don't really seem as close as the others. At this rate, this kid is going to have all of her teeth before all of her hair grows in. By the way, her hair is getting thicker and longer but it is so light you can still hardly see it. My mom is thinking she may have strawberry blond hair and I think she may be right. In the sunlight her eyelashes have a red tint and her hair doesn't look straight blond. We will see.

Hopefully I will get some more pictures up soon! Love you all!