#5

A much needed update - celebrating our 5th anniversary together in the month of November. We were lucky enough that my parents were in Colorado over Thanksgiving weekend so we were able to sneak away to the mountains while Amelia stayed with Nana. I can't believe 5 years have flown by so fast, and my have we packed a lot into our first 5 years of marriage. I can only hope that we have are able to enjoy the next 5 years as much as we have enjoyed the first 5. 

Dinner with Chad & Michelle at the Melting Pot - Celebrating #5 for both of us. This date night at the Melting Pot has become an annual tradition!

Weekend in the mountains, at a little bed and breakfast in a quaint town. Shopping, delicious dinner, and lots of great wine... We've been saving this bottle of Ptarmigan Cab Sauv for several years so we were pretty excited to finally get to pop it open, and it was delicious!

Indoor Skydiving

To celebrate our friend Dave's 30th birthday, Chris and Dave went indoor skydiving. They had a great time and from what we could tell from the outside, it looked like fun! We also had a delicious dinner at a Western Trail steakhouse out in rural Colorado, southeast of Denver. The man cooking the steaks was wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat - which has to be a sign the steak is going to be good, right? 

Photo Update for Month 6

She has discovered swinging at the park and LOVES it!

Amelia can't hardly stand to be on her back anymore, she LOVES to be on her stomach. She'll even roll over to her stomach with her bottle, it's pretty funny to watch, not a very efficient way to drink a bottle!

Again, has to be on her stomach! Begs the question, "how do you change a baby diaper when they are on their stomach?" Get creative!

She has discovered how to pull the sun shade down so she can peak at you driving the car, very sneaky little one!

She loves to put anything and everything in her mouth, coffee cups included!

She sits in a high chair when we go out to eat, like a big girl!

Amelia's First Halloween

Here are photos from Amelia's first Halloween, dressed as none other than the Halloween favorite, a pumpkin. She is our little pumpkin after all. She had a parade at school, and a party afterward, complete with orange jello and lots of sucking on the outside of a pumpkin. Sounds like a great time, huh? We had so much fun, and loved spending the morning with our little one.

This was our favorite costume in the parade, an "old" woman with a walker.

They lined up all the babies that couldn't sit, in one crib. And then all the babies that could sit were in the other crib, and they wheeled them around in the parade. So funny - they look like sardines!

Amelia was a little shocked by the crowds!

Amelia's teachers at school made this scrapbook page for us, isn't that so sweet?

Cruising at the Farmer's Market on the Sunday before Halloween - all of the kids dress up and get candy from the vendors. The last 3 years of participating in the Farmer's Market every Sunday, I have looked forward to this weekend when we had a munchkin to dress up and enjoy the day with! It was so much fun, not just for her, but for us too!

Great-Grandma Powers

Chris' great-grandmother Alberta Powers passed away on October 17th, at the age of 92. She lived a very full, long life and was able to live to see the 5 generation legacy of her family and life well lived. Amelia met Grandma Powers in May when she was 2 months old, and we are so thankful to have had that special memory of Amelia and her great, great grandmother together. We made a quick trip to Missouri for the funeral and to celebrate the rich, full life of Grandma Powers.

4 Generation Photo

Amelia Leigh, Christopher Lee, Stuart Lee and Robert Lee Gilstrap

Amelia and her Poppi

With Aunt Kim and her new boots

Fancy new "boots with the fur" from her aunts

Traveling on the airplane, such a great traveler!

Aunt Kim's Visit to Denver

We were so lucky to have Chris' sister Kim come to Denver over her fall break! We enjoyed lots of fun memories with Amelia and showing off our Denver favorites - Duffey Roll, Park Burger - you know, all the great eats!

Aunt Kim came to swim lessons!

We went to visit Amelia's 2nd cousin Noah - Chris' cousin Andrew and wife Melissa had baby Noah in September. We're looking forward to being together again at Christmas in Kansas City!

Swim Lessons

Spending my years growing up in the swimming pool, I was quick to sign Amelia up for swim lessons. We had a great time playing and singing with other babies and parents, and Amelia is a big fan of splashing and drinking pool water. 

This was dad teaching how to blow bubbles - Amelia decided she would drink the pool water instead.

Intently listening to directions from the teacher - they both look very concerned with getting the directions correct.

Quick Trip to Western Colorado

I was working a conference in western Colorado, so we made a quick trip to our favorite part of Colorado, Montrose and Ridgway. Amelia stayed in Denver with my parents, and it was a nice little overnight get away for Chris and I - and of course, my parents loved grandbaby time as well. The San Juan range was beautiful, as always, and the aspens were beginning to turn yellow. The photos don't do the beauty of the landscape justice, but I promise you, it's one of the most beautiful places you have ever seen.