She's 21! (months)

The last few weeks have been pretty fun. Last week, Karmann's school had a fund raiser/book fair at B&N, we all went to Oskar & Ben's dual birthday party, and visited Grandpa. This weekend was a lot less eventful, but fun, none the less. Though both Karmann and I are fighting either a sinus cold or allergies, we've hung in there - mostly tolerated shopping at Millenia Mall and Target.

Karmann has also had a few milestones this week (I won't mention she pooped in the tub for the first time in her life!) Beside that, she is talking a lot more clearly lately. She's frequently playing peak-a-boo and saying it clearly - she loves playing with the curtains as you can see in one of the photos. She also thinks that all colors are purple - which makes me laugh as its my favorite color! She has really started to have a great sense of humor, but is also showing her age and trying our patience! She likes making decisions, and when you ask her what she'd like, she says "ummm" before she tells you. She also expresses disappointment by saying "ohh" like when Sesame Street is over! She's eating really well with a fork and spoon, prefers a regular glass, and is learning her manners saying please and thank you! She can sing the full alphabet and is recognizing letters - anywhere - though she may not say the right one every time, she at least tries! She impresses me everyday! She also loves to count - or try to count - all the way up to 20!

I am hoping for a good week and a healthy week too! Here's a few photos from the last couple of weeks.

Trying out video...

Trying to upload a video...not sure how this will work. If it does, its Karmann sitting in her baby seat eating breakfast at Grandpa's house! Though the baby you hear talking is on the TV - not Karmann :) Enjoy!

Denver for Labor Day

A well deserved vacation was needed for the Stenger family this Labor Day weekend, so we jumped on a plane and flew to see our good friends Mike & Audra and their kids Brook and Ty! All we wanted to do was get a breath of mountain air, drink some beer, and relax with good friends all weekend long, and it was just that and better! The photos are a little out of order, but show the highlights of the trip.

We arrived Saturday afternoon. Karmann was perfect on the flights and slept for most of the long leg from Atlanta to Denver, which was nice! We hung out that evening and had good beer and lots of good food!

On Sunday, we drove about an hour to the top of Mt. Evans, which is the highest paved road in the US - we were at 14,000 feet (+/-) at the peak!! It was 15 degrees wind chill, so you could hardly get out of the car long enough to take a picture before you froze and had to get back in the car and drive back down the mountain! But it was worth the view and pictures! When we got back down, we visited the small town at the bottom for some delicious pizza pie and a bit of the old mining town atmosphere.

Monday we had another fun outing to the world famous Tiny Town!! This is also only a few miles from M&A's house, and a must visit site with small kids. Karmann was a tiny bit interested in the houses, though she took a liking to the Home Depot porch!! (How ironic, eh?) The pictures are priceless. We also rode the train around the site and got to play on the swings. It was a perfect day and fun for all of us, really. That night, we also went to another local landmark - Heritage Square. It was similar to an amusement park and fairgrounds with a main street similar to Disney. Brook had the most fun riding the crazy rides and even got to jump on the super trampoline! After all that, we were worn out!

Tuesday our flight back wasn't scheduled until 5 pm so we were able to meet up with Mike for lunch in Denver. His office is close to Cherry Creek, which was neat to drive through.

We hated to leave the beautiful weather, good friends, and scenery, but had to head home. Karmann was pretty good on the plane (especially compared to the other 15 kids on the flight) but didn't sleep a wink. We had a direct flight back, thank goodness, but didn't get into Orlando until 10:45 pm. Needless to say, we were all a little jet-lagged Wednesday morning!

Thanks again to M&A and Brook and Ty for hosting, and we very much look forward to their future visit to Orlando sometime soon!

K&K in their hats at Tiny Town

Kar eating popcorn for the first time at Heritage Square

M&A and Ty at Tiny Town

Big Ty! He is such a cutie!!!!

K& K at the Tiny Town Home Depot!!! Go figure!

Tiny Town storybook House (like Dr. Seuss)

Watching cartoons after breakfast

Kar & Ty playing together at Tiny Town (he's 10 months, Kar is 20 months!)

Kris and Mike with their girls!!

H & Kar at Tiny Town

Family photo

Waiting for the pizza after the ride up and down Mt. Evans

Idaho Springs (near Mt. Evans) main street

Driving back down the mountain

M&A family photo

H&K family photo

Karmann making friends with Riley Bear

Karmann and Brook having a good old time at breakfast on the deck!!!