December and January have been incredibly busy months, so here's a recap to get us up to date!

On December 6, Amanda broke out of the norm and proposed to Ryan.  He said yes, and they're planning a date for sometime this spring!


Anthony and I celebrated our tenth anniversary by going snowshoeing in Estes Park, then spending the next day recovering, going to see The Hobbit in HFR, then out to dinner at Ace Gillette's, a lounge with live jazz in Fort Collins.  We had so much fun and it was wonderful to be able to reconnect without the everyday responsibilities (thanks to Anthony's parents for taking care of the kids)!


Anthony turned 33!  Since his birthday fell on a Sunday and both his teams were playing, we spent the day watching football! :P




We had an incredible Christmas, and Santa and Mommy must have been in cahoots, because most of their gifts were ONE PIECE (I definitely learned my lesson giving them those craft kits last year.  I swear I was vacuuming up googly eyes through July!) and perfect for playing with in THE BASEMENT.  Definitely the right choice, since now we have the fun house where the neighbors like to play and there's very little cleanup, even after hours spent down there!


It was fun to have Harrison enjoying the morning instead of being terrified of the paper like last year!  He was somewhat interested in opening gifts, but since it was so early (up with Connor at 2, Alaina at 3:30, and Harrison at 5:30), he mostly wandered around while drinking his milk.


Can we say, "glassy-eyed"?


It snowed most of Christmas Day, so when we got the kids together on the 26th, we all had lots of fun in the snow!




Poor Harrison was so excited to get out and play in the snow, but I think he assumed it would be soft, squishy, and WARM, like our bed that he's used to diving around in face-first.  Once we were outside, he immediately dove face first into the snow, then understandably couldn't wait to get back inside!


I managed to photoshop the tears and snot out of this pic so we could look back on these pictures and pretend like he had a great time! :)


We all spent the week between Christmas and New Year's passing around a cold, so that wasn't any fun, but at least we didn't have anywhere else to be!


On New Year's Day, we woke up to a beautiful sunrise.  We were saddened to hear the news of my Grandma Broadhead's passing, and are relieved that she no longer has to suffer.


Harrison and I flew out to Utah to be at the funeral, and it was a lovely tribute to her life.  It was so nice to be able to reconnect with family that we probably wouldn't otherwise see.  All of the beautiful touches that she requested reminded me of fond memories of visiting their home that was always beautifully clean, smelled delicious from her home cooking, and had such feminine touches, in spite of being surrounded by her 7 living sons and husband!  I love you, and I'll miss you, Grandma!
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A few days after we got home, Connor had surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoid. 2015 better hold a reprieve from surgery for us...three surgeries in 12 months just shouldn't be a thing.  He's 6 days post-op right now and we're definitely over the hump in terms of pain, so that's good!  I've been helping a friend clean and prepare her house to be rented, so that has filled my nights, and the past few weeks have also been filled with jumping through hoops and taking my first exams in over a decade to try to get an online position as a search engine assessor with Lionbridge (for Google).  I'm also starting to watch a friend's little boy 2-3 times a week beginning next week, so things have been a little hectic around here!  I always beat myself up for not taking enough pictures January-March, so I'll do my best to keep clicking and keep this blog better updated!

November came and went in the blink of an eye!  We had beautiful, warm weather the first week of November, and a 70 degree day before a 70 degree plummet the next.  Mother nature was kind and bid adieu to autumn gently with this beautiful sunset.  This was taken with my phone camera and not edited at all.  Gorgeous!


The biggest news of all this month is that our little H-man is now a walker!  He started to take a few steps while Anthony was in Michigan for a week, so I didn't encourage it at all.  By the time Anthony came home that Friday, he was up to taking 7 unassisted steps.  By the end of the next week, he was walking confidently, and now, he's RUNNING!  AH!  He's such a little Dietrich man, throwing stuff while doing his German grunt/scream to show you how macho he is...


I have to laugh when I open up Connor's doctor bag (where he keeps his most important stuff) and it's like a glimpse into his brain!


Huge flocks of geese fly over our house from the field behind our neighborhood to Long Pond every day.  We love to hear their honking and see buffetting sunshine because there's just so many of them, but we are not fans of the poop.  No, we are not.


I found this detailed "Crismis" list in Alaina's backpack the other day.  It made me excited, because she's definitely getting some "stuf" for Christmas! ;)


I don't know how this is even possible, but Harrison is more and more into things every day.  His capacity for mess-making astounds me!  He's always trying to get into places he knows he's not supposed to go, unsnapping his high-chair tray liner to shake his food all over the ground, throwing his sippy cup, peeing on the bathmat after every shower.  Sometimes I wonder why I even try to do any housework while having a toddler.  If I'm cleaning up one mess, he's making another.  His cuteness and mischievous grins and giggles are his saving grace!  He's a monster, but he sure is funny!  He's starting to say more than Dada and Doddie (Doggie) now, expanding his vocabulary to "hot" (with an accompanying blow on whatever is hot), "bye-bye" (with a wave), and we think he's saying "Please" with "Bee".  He's a busy body and keeps me on my toes, but this stage is so fun...I wouldn't mind it lasting a little longer!
 

This happened while I was in the bathroom for about three minutes.


He has also learned to take advantage of the odd moments when people forget to close doors.  He loves to go into rooms and shut the door behind him because he knows that buys him about 5 minutes of mess-making before I realize he's no longer playing with his toys in the living room.


This is his cute, puppy-dog begging face when he wants something I have.  Here, he's trying to distract me with his cuteness and saying, "Bee bee bee bee" while scootching toward me to get in range of grabbing my camera.


We keep opening our door to find little brown bunnies in our yard, and I absolutely love it!


Two weeks ago, Kelly was in town and we all decided to go down to the Christkindl Market, a German street market in the heart of Denver.  I love the unobstructed mountain views from the highway.  I know, it's not Utah, but it's still pretty!






After meeting up with Anthony's cousin Alex (far left), we indulged in pretzels, brats, pastries, and beautiful German ornaments and decorations.  When we had finished with that fun, we walked around Larimer Square.  While I wouldn't want to raise my kids in Denver, this area is still near and dear to our hearts.  Anthony and I loved to go downtown before we had kids, and even though it was only for a year or so of our lives, we made the best of living in that crappy Aurora apartment only 20 minutes from the heart of the bustling city.  I miss the people watching and cool architecture, but that's about it.




We had dinner at the Ted's Montana Grill where Ryan used to work.  I have pretty vivid memories of that place, so it was weird to walk into the bathroom that I'd used many times before we moved to Castle Rock, but this time to change a baby while Anthony took care of our two older kids.  When did I become a grown up?




Harrison entertained us throughout dinner.  Lately, he's been making an "OH" shaped mouth, then inhaling audibly to sound amazed.  He points at stuff with his middle finger, while making that sound (he especially likes unique ceiling lights) to make sure we're all seeing how awesome the stuff around us is.




I can't believe the holidays are already here!  December is the busiest and most fun month of the year, so we're ready (just keep the caffeine flowing!)

Halloween 2014

This year's Halloween extravaganza began on Thursday night, when we had the fam over to carve pumpkins.  It's days like this that I feel simultaneously grown up and completely overwhelmed.  Connor wanted to do all of his carving independently, Alaina was excited about it for about 30 seconds before she was distracted by something (squirrel!), and Harrison did his best to locate all of the carving blades whenever I took my eyes off him.


Daynarae is most definitely still the queen of photobombs, while Alaina maintains the title of messiest eater!


Last year, I was a little embarrassed when a golf cart showed up unexpectedly at our house.  Anthony had told me stories of how his Dad used to rent one when they lived in Texas and the houses were too far apart to effectively trick or treat.  I didn't understand why, in this neighborhood where you can reach your arms out and touch three neighbors, we would need such a thing.  By the end of that night, I was sold on the golf cart idea, if only to serve as a shuttle to the house and back for potty breaks and such.  Consider me surprised when TWO golf carts showed up this year!  The more, the merrier!


Picking the kids up from the bus stop was such a thrill for them.  They felt like total celebrities.




Driving home from the bus stop.  Seriously might top Christmas for Connor.


After a quick wardrobe change, we headed over to a neighbor's house to make sure her Vader-obsessed 4 year old could see him in the flesh.  When I first met this neighbor, the subject of Halloween came up in discussion, and she said, "There was some guy roaming around the neighborhood as Darth Vader last year!"  I said, "Yeah, that's my husband."  She breathed a huge sigh of relief, put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Oh, thank goodness.  I thought he was just some pervert!"  Apparently Anthony needs to hang with the group a little more when out and about! :)


Simon, the neighbor, was pretty excited to see Vader, and after offering a "May the Force Be With You" as we pulled away, ran inside to change costumes.


My spooky crew (minus the Yoda costume that Harrison hated).




There's our Yoda!  The reviews of this costume said the hat ran small, so to buy a size up.  We knew we definitely wanted to do that, since Harrison's got a big noggin.  I think we overshot it...




I ditched the healthy-eating idea from last year and instead served the kids these disgusting severed finger hot dogs.  I knew all those years in art classes would come in handy for something!


After everyone arrived, we started trick or treating.  We were pleased to be joined by the Nakanos (Mady's family), the Jones' (friends that Ray, Ryan, and Anthony met randomly at a music festival years ago in Steamboat Springs , then randomly ran into Ray a year and a half ago and the rest is history), and the Duces (neighbors and Alaina's best-friend-du-jour, McCall).




Riding in style!


Even Darth Vader has Daddy duties.


I love this picture that McCall's dad took.  Three good friends, and not a single front tooth between them.


Checking out the loot!  (I love how Emi is sneaking Alaina's candy while her back is turned!)


Passing out candy is almost as fun as getting it!


Connor was thrilled that he got a soda in his bag.  Somehow that soda ended up in the trash, I guess because I'm a mean mom and nobody likes grape soda anyway.  I have no regrets, though, because somehow I missed an orange soda that was poured into a sippy cup before I got up the next morning, and without the valve that keeps it from leaking, and was spilled all down the hallway.  Keep your dang sodas to yourself, people!


The downside of the golf cart is getting so much candy that our holiday routine has gone out the window.  In the past, we've just let the kids binge for a day or two and it was always gone in that time span.  Three gallons of candy per kid is another story...  (Look at the number that Alaina's tiger hood did on her hair!!)


You know the kids have had a good day when they're asking to go to bed while their friends are still hanging out!  Connor passed out first, and Alaina wasn't long behind!




Anthony and I have always looked forward to Halloweens like this with "older" kids, and I think this was our most fun year yet!  The real party for Harrison started the next day, when we woke up to candy littering the floor - PARADISE!


He's literally squealing in delight here.


He gets so mad at me when I have to fish the Smarties or Milk Duds out of his mouth that he's spent all day looking for, that I gave in and gave him a sucker.  Of course he LOVED it.


Uh oh!  Sugar's kicking in!


We've all heard that sugar is addictive, but I guess I didn't realize just how quickly he'd turn into a junkie!  Look at his hair, unwashed and full of saccharin, the dilated pupils, the wringing hands, the smirk at the idea of getting his next fix!  What have I done?!


Despite fulfilling Mike's prophecy of losing one of three children to drugs, we had a wonderful Halloween.  It was the perfect kickoff to the 2014 holiday season!