Zoo and Splash with Friends

Hello Everyone!! :)

Just a few updates on Mari! She is getting more and more confident in standing with no hands and yesterday she stood up by herself with no help from me or any objects. I was shocked to see it and so excited. I have a feeling she will be walking before I know it. It is so great to watch her progress.

We have a bunch of friends that all got married around the same time and all have kids with in a year of each other. With these great friends we get together and have dinner twice a month. So every summer we try and do a little retreat, which before kids was a camping trip. This year it was a day trip to the Denver zoo.

Having lunch before we start the day.

Daddy and Mari by the giraffes.

All the moms and kids in front of the huge polar bear.

Look how big Mari is getting.

This was one of our favorites. We got to watch them feed the elephants and it was fun to see Mari react to them.

There is a water park down in Denver that is small enough for little ones called Splash. So last minute Mari and I decided to go, because Greg wasn't going to be home until late. I thought why not go soak up some sun before the snow begins to come here in the high country.

Here are some of our friends that invited us to go. They had so much fun playing together.

Bridger, Mari, and Jude

Erika and Jude, Heather and Bridger, Me and Mari

What a great day we only wish that Daddy could have been with us. Mari and I did go down the blue slide behind us and she didn't seem to mind it.

Birthday, Bearly Big, and Baseball

I can't believe how big Mari is getting and how much she has changed. It is crazy to think that she is almost 9 months old. We have had to officially baby proof the house. She loves the kitchen cabinets and ripping the covers off of any magazine she can get her hands on. She is getting faster at crawling and a pro at pulling up on anything. One of her new tricks is to stand all by herself for a bit. She did this for the first time about a week ago in the bath tub. Everyday she gets better and better at it. We have also been working with her to take a few steps while holding her hands and that is getting better as well. Today at work she actually used a pushing walking toy thing and did quite well. I was impressed and I know walking is right around the corner.

Jude, Mari, and Jesse (the birthday boy)

Last weekend was our friend Jesse's 1st birthday party. They had a pool party. The kids loved swimming around and playing together in the whale. Of course Mari was the only girl, but she held her own.

Cain, Mari, and Jesse

I have been working about once a week at the rec center in the Bearly Big room. This is just a couple of hours in the morning and I get to take Mari with me. We have been doing this since she was about 31/2 months old. Now that she is on the move she loves going.

The older kids that come on a regular basis love playing with her. It is cute to watch her think that she is a big girl and needs to be a part of everything. When we walk in she gets so excited, the only downfall is now she will not nap because there is just to much to do.

At one of the parks we take the dogs to run and just hang out in the sun for awhile. She loves watching Bogey fetch his tennis ball.

The park is right by the golf course, so we get to see Daddy sometimes while he is at work. That is always a treat.

On Monday nights Greg and I play softball and Greg also plays on Wednesday nights on a mens league. So this week Mari and I were watching, but she decided that playing in the dirt and rocks would be much more fun.

Trying to eat the rocks. By the end of the night she looked like she had a beard, but she had the best time.

My beautiful dirty girl.