July Happenings

Before we get too far into August, I thought I'd dump a few of our random (but fun) photos from the month of July.

I've been spending lots of time with my adorable niece and nephew, and I love it.  Being an Auntie is the best!  And guess what--I am going to get another niece or nephew in late December when Ryan's sister, Ashley, has a baby.  Hooray!

We love our new apartment, and despite all of the hassle of moving, we are so glad that we buckled down and did it.  It is much quieter and calmer here.  Some of the perks of the new place are a huge storage closet on the porch, a second bathroom, no one getting shot at the community mailboxes, a much bigger kitchen, and a nice swimming pool next door.  My favorite thing of all, however, is the balcony.  It faces the west, and I get to enjoy the sunset every night.  Is there anything better than Colorado sunsets?  I don't think so.

Ryan did a painting for me, and I am kind of obsessed with it.  This picture doesn't do it justice.  Galatians 5 about the "fruit of the Spirit" is one of my favorite passages of scripture, and when I saw this design on Pinterest, I knew I wanted it for our home.  Thank goodness I have an artistic husband!

Noah is stinkin' cute as can be.  I love all of the new things I find him doing on a daily basis.  In the first picture, you will see that he loves Cafe Rio black beans (like his mama).  In the second picture, you will see that he likes climbing onto and sitting on any boxes (or cases of water bottles) that he finds around the apartment.  I think this photo is hilarious because it looks like he put himself in time out.  And the third picture is just sweet.  I love my blue eyed boy.

Noah got a real haircut.  He has had several hair cuts since his birth (including one shearing back in December), but this was his first real haircut by someone who knows what she is doing.  My friend Alisha cuts hair at a fancy salon in town, and she was kind enough to cut Noah's hair on her day off.  We brought Baby Einstein, and he was so entranced by the movie that he actually held still while she trimmed.  If you care to see how the experience went down, you can watch this video (but I know it will probably be boring for anyone other than Grandma).

He's not so sure about the new style, apparently.  

On a sad note, Noah has a wicked case of eczema.  You may have noticed in his birthday pictures that his cheeks were looking red and dry.  That was actually a good day for his skin.  He has had the red, awful-looking cheeks on and off for about five months now, and his pediatrician kept prescribing stronger and stronger creams.  Ryan and I tried everything to make it go away, but to no avail.   After a particularly terrible outbreak a few weeks ago (see picture below), my pediatrician finally referred me to a dermatologist.   They were booking six weeks out, but when I told them Noah's symptoms and everything we had already tried for him, they gave him an emergency appointment for that same week. I am so happy to report that the new cream that the dermatologist prescribed has worked wonders, and our boy's face has almost totally cleared up in the week that we've been using the medicine.  Hallelujah!

This makes me want to cry.  I am so glad it's gone and so grateful for modern medicine.

Finally, we've been climbing/driving up 14,000 foot mountains lately.  Ryan and my brother-in-law Logan climbed two 14ers a few weekends ago, and Laura and I drove up one.  I know that sounds lame, but it is the highest paved road in North America, and it was actually really fun and really beautiful.  (By the way, my sister Laura is living here in Denver for the summer because her husband is in Afghanistan.  It is incredibly fun to have her here.)

And that about sums up July.  I have been doing lots of blog posts these past few days, trying to get caught up.  I'm not quite done yet but getting close.  Tomorrow--Ryan's 30th birthday!  Stay tuned.