Ahhh, Colorado

We arrived home today after a quick trip out to Colorado. We went to our favorite place: Snow Mountain Ranch, YMCA of the Rockies. This time we took the Amtrak. What a nice way to travel! Lots of leg room, no stopping to go pee, no driving all night long, and sleeping is possible and somewhat restful on the overnight trip!

In spite of a total lack of motivation and complete feeling of relaxation I managed to go skiing once and OF COURSE it was worth it!


Here are some of the kids we took with us. They were playing "Mafia" outside our rooms and having a good time. We couldn't have had a better group of kids. 24 of us in all - 9 adults and the rest kids ranging in age from 1st grade to 9th grade.


Our good friends from Illinois also joined us... Here Beth is getting Colin ready to ski with some help from a friendly dog named Copper.


Here Chelsea recovers from a crash while her mom looks on.


I fell through the snow crust while snow-shoeing. It's hard to describe but there is just something about breathing in that mountain air when the sun is shining! It is one of my most favorite things in the world to stand in the snow - looking at the mountains - breathing deeply of God's magnificent creation!
As much as I love Colorado and the mountains I did not have the strong longing to live in CO like I have every other time I've been there. I missed my baby, my house, my home.... I guess being settled makes a difference. And Iowa -- it's not too bad!

Wedding Weekend

Dan & Holly were married (by Aaron) this past weekend in Two Harbors, MN. It was a busy, fun, fast weekend!

Grandpa Flatau likes to give Gabe sweets... Here he's enjoying a tootsie pop. Grampa had a lot of fun cleaning Gabe up afterwards!

Gabe & Auntie Emily after he had his hair styled for the wedding!

Auntie Jill showing Gabe her moves at the dance...

The little ones stole the show for a while! The other little boy is Ben Trites and the little girl is Allison Flatau. They are the children of Aaron's cousins Jodie (Ben) and Jason (Allison). Ben could spin endless circles with his arms out and NEVER fall down! It was pretty funny.

Here is Gabe before the ceremony started. Did I mention it was OUTSIDE? Gabe looks kinda cold, doesn't he?

Gabe & his newly married uncle Dan!

All the girls of the family...

Still Celebrating!

Gabe posed today by his birthday banner. Unfortunately he didn't have it for his 1st birthday but it'll be up for every birthday to come!

I HAVE RSV....

Gabe went to the doctor today for what was supposed to be his "WELL BABY" visit. The nurse immediately changed our visit to a "SICK BABY" visit. HMMM. Not surprising.

He was diagnosed with RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).. a yucky virus that affects a lot of little babies. See the following link for more info: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/respiratory/rsvfeat.htm

He was prescribed a nebulized bronchodilator (XOPENEX) and should start to feel better pretty soon. He goes back to the doctor in 1 week for a check-up. Hopefully he'll be ship-shape for uncle Dan's wedding next week!!

My Kitty Kat

The other night Aaron put in our new counter tops... We had to rearrange a few things and the kitchen was a mess...

Jimi enjoyed posing by the kitty cat cookie jar....

And making herself comfortable....

IN Aaron's hat.

I think she was trying to feel 'skinny' by fitting in the little hat. What a cute pook!

Little Rocker

On the recommendation of a friend while I was pregnant we registered for this little rocker called an 'infant to toddler rocker'.

We have used this item almost as much as his swing...

And now that he is getting bigger I'm trying to teach him how to use it as a rocking chair...

He enjoys it once I set him in it.

Of course having your favorite kitty around helps...

This is how he safely exits the seat.... scooting.

And back to the floor!

Italian goodness...

Gabe had some spaghetti on Sunday evening... He gobbled it up and loved it!



First Bite...


Yummm, getting messy!


Still going down...


Mom probably would've stopped feeding it to him if only she knew....

That about 2 hours later he would throw it all up!

Super Sweets

My Grandpa is becoming famous for feeding me sweets whenever he gets a chance....

Here he was feeding me a chocolate muffin from Perkins.

"Oh No! What if mom finds out?"

We're in big trouble Grandpa.....

Wagon Ride

Gabe took a wagon ride through the house today to find his beloved kitty!

Fruit Snacks are Slippery!

Gabe's 1st Birthday Party!

Gabe had his first birthday party on Saturday. His Gma & Gpa Flatau and aunties Jill & Emily all came down from Minnesota for the festivities. We had some friends from church over too!

Here auntie Jill shows Gabe how she decorated his cake.

Here are 2 of Gabe's 4 cakes... not to mention there were cupcakes too!

Here is the 'special' cake Gabe got to dive into....

The final results:

Gabe playing in his NEW wagon with a NEW ball!

A Flatau birthday is not complete without an ice cream cake from the DQ.

Our little family!

He really appreciated the hat and plastic bib.

Here our friend Harold was making him laugh.

Contemplating the cake.

Not very happy with the cake..

One Year Old!!

Today is Gabriel's First Birthday!

Here are a few pictures of him from this morning.

He isn't feeling too well today, but still manages to smile!

Silly Son

CHOPPED!

On Wednesday I had over 9 inches cut off! I will be donating my ponytail to 'Beautiful Lengths' - they make real hair wigs for people with cancer.

It's pretty different to have short hair now. Gabe didn't seem to mind at all - and I like it because he can't pull my hair as easily!