Month by Month of Boaz

I thought it would be fun to show the month to month countdown of Boaz in his first year!

Doesn't he look soooo big now???

He's One

It's hard to believe that it has been a full year since this little man joined our family!  He is vastly different in personality, looks,  and his set of skills from his siblings - nobody told me the fourth could be that different!

Here's the rundown on this guy at 1:

He loves to eat and will eat almost anything.  Bananas he spits out - but we are pretty sure he is allergic to them so that is okay!  He also had allergic reactions to sweet potatoes, green beans, plums, carrots, and watermelon.  He also had allergic reactions to amoxicillin and sulpha antibiotics.  First child of mine to be allergic to anything!  Probably his favorite thing to eat is small veggies like peas and corn but he also really loves meat of any kind.  He does well with whole milk and drinks from a sippy cup like a pro.  I am still nursing him on a limited basis.  Without a doubt he will be the hardest one to wean...this boy is attached to me.

He prefers to be with me to any other person, but tolerates his dad pretty well too. As for anyone else, it's hit and miss.  He does like his siblings a lot and loves to interact with them.  

He has several words that he says consistently: mama, dada, yeah, God, wazowski, ball, and his number one favorite GO!  He loves our prayer that we sing before dinner, so when you put him in his high chair he automatically throws a hand in the hair and says "Gah."  He talks like a "monster" constantly and loves the characters from Monsters Inc.  It's very cute to hear him talk in a growly voice and I have taken to calling him "Bozowski."  He continues to use the word Go more than anything.  When he wakes up, I am always greeted with "Go." It is cute, except in the middle of the night.

He sits and plays with toys better than any of my kids ever have.  He especially likes to play with cars, balls, and all Little People toys.  He also loves music and will bounce along to it.  He could walk, if he ever tried.  He is such a fast crawler and can keep up that way so he doesn't seem interested in walking.  

We have lots of nicknames for him:

Big Bad Bo

Bozastic

Bozer

Bozaz

Bozes

What can I say, we are a nickname family?

Colorado Moments

We crammed a lot into a few days in Colorado so this is picture heavy!

We made a day trip out to Lyons and Estes Park.  While there we ate good barbeque, walked along the river, and enjoyed some cousin time.  When we found a good spot along the river to get in and play in the rocks we did.  The three oldest kids and I made the trek all the way out to a big rock in the middle.  I used to do that a lot in the Sierra Nevadas growing up, so it was fun to introduce my kids to the fun you can have in a river with rocks.  Timmy especially enjoyed it!

When we found another slow moving spot in Estes Park, Timmy had to make his way all the way across :)  We enjoyed our time with family and getting to know their part of Colorado.

Next up we went to Colorado Springs:

 We had time to kill before we could check in so we started off our time there at the US Olympic Training Center.  How much fun is this picture?

Lucy had to strike a pose everywhere she saw gymnastics or swimming stuff.  

 The grounds there are just beautiful and I had to snap some pretty flower pictures of my girl!

They all fit in a bobsled...not that I think there will ever be a need for that!

Strong boy

Getting stronger girl :)

Timmy struck some poses too...mostly by basketball and swimming people.

In the Hall of Fame part of the building.  Of course there has to be a picture of Lucy and Mary Lou!

This may become my motto...sports, school, paper crafting....

We could not go in the aquatics building so this is a view from the window - both Timmy and Lucy were amazed!

We did a lot on our second day in Colorado Springs - which is good because today we are just sitting in a car!

First up was Garden of the Gods.  Very beautiful place, Ben was in his element.  Cooper was being a pill....so that made it less enjoyable than it probably could have been!

He refused a group picture and just wanted one of him and a stick. Okay.

Why does it feel weird to take a picture with just two kids?

Horrible lighting!  We ate lunch at a chain favorite of mine On the Border.  I may or may not have enjoyed a margarita slightly before noon (you go on vacation with four kids and then we'll talk :))  Timmy loved this place and requested just a bowl of queso for his meal the next time we go there.

Next stop was Focus on the Family.  They have an amazing playground area for kids that includes a 3 Story Slide.  We killed a lot of time there!

They had a great toddler room to play in too.  Poor Boaz has been such a trooper being dragged all over.

Bo enjoys head butting other kids....he doesn't do it hard.  This little boy followed him everywhere.  I like how it looks like he is intimidating him here.  I'm surprised by how social Boaz  has gotten!

The playground area

 Ourl last stop of the day was at the Cheyenne Canon park where we hiked at the Helen Hunt Falls.

 The kids really wanted to see a waterfall so we were glad to find one

We found a hiking trail that was short but marked moderate to high in difficulty because it was all up hill.  I went about half way with Cooper.  He was continuing to test boundaries and I was nervous he was going to fall off a cliff.  The altitude and I weren't getting along great...so we bailed and let them finish while we made our way back down.  Ben continued to be in his element....he loves mountains, hiking, just being outside.

 Here they are finishing the hike

 We made our way over to more water.  

Our hotel was awesome!  We had a two room suite that allowed us to spread out and relax a bit more than we would crammed into one room!  It also had an indoor/outdoor pool and jacuzzi.

And best of all a huge water slide that offered hours of entertainment!

Finishing out California

It is crazy that we only left California three days ago.  Vacation time always feels long but goes fast (lol that makes sense in my head...)  I figured I'd better blog the rest of our special California memories before we move on to yet another state!

Timmy went on a date with Grandma and Grandpa to the Museum of Science and Industry where he got to see the shuttle Endeavor!

He also got to check out the Coliseum

 We went out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants "Claim Jumper." Here Cooper is enjoying a part of a giant piece of chocolate cake

Lucy enjoyed Claim Jumper too!

While Timmy was at the museum, we headed to Travel Town.  They have a bunch of old trains there that the kids can climb in and check out.  Cooper especially enjoyed this!

Boaz has spent much of his vacation chilling in this backpack!

We swam a lot in grandpa's pool

Cooper got really good at swimming with just floaties

And this little fish just wanted to swim for hours on end

I have never let the kids use my Ipad.  They have plenty to play with and I don't want it to get broken.  But I knew for our flights it would be helpful to let them play.  They loved it and each found different apps that they liked best.