Surprise Date

Friday night Mike and I got to go on a surprise date..... to the ER. Mike will be coaching club volleyball and left at 7 for a meeting. At 8:30 I got a call saying I needed to come pick him up because he cut his hand setting up metal bleachers and couldn't drive. So I carried sleeping Hazel from her crib to the car to go get Mike. When I got there it was obvious that he would need medical attention that night so we called some wonderful friends who said they would watch Hazel (thank you so much Jason and Katie!) We dropped Hazel off with them and Jason gave Mike a quick blessing before we headed off.

We tried to go to Urgent care, but they had just closed so we had no choice but to go the ER. Let me tell you, the ER is a strange place on a Friday night. It was busy and several ambulances arrived with emergencies so we ended up waiting five hours. Luckily, when we finally saw the doctor, he was very, very nice. He was amused that I wanted to watch him stitch Mike up:) Eight stitches and an antibiotic later Mike is almost as good as new. He was very fortunate that he missed any tendons or nerves because the cut was very deep.

It was an adventure and it made me thankful for several things. One, that it was Mike not Hazel who needed a trip to the ER and that the reason for the trip was fairly minor. Two, that we know amazing people who are willing to take Hazel at a moment's notice without batting an eye. Three, that Heavenly Father was looking out for Mike's hand and that the injury cause any serious harm.

Warning: The pictures are bloody so look at your own risk.....

This picture doesn't do the cut justice, but was was about a centimeter deep and 3 inches long.

Tiny Town

While we were up in Denver this weekend for the Temple, my Dad decided that Hazel needed to experience Tiny Town. It's this adorable miniature town with different kinds of houses and a miniature train that runs through the village. I remember going there as a kid so it was really fun to take Hazel there (Mike had to go to the temple early to help a deaf boy through baptisms so he couldn't come)

Hazel and I relaxing. She loved having everything her size!

Inside the church.

This was her favorite building because there was a little bench in each corner. She had a blast running from one corner to the other getting on and off the benches.

In Jail. Luckily she didn't like it in there and left this building fast:)

The highlight of the day for my Dad was riding the train. My Dad LOVES trains and this on is a real steam locomotive.

Hazel with Gram and Grandpa

Just a side note, the battle of the binkie has been won! Hazel is officially rid weaned off her binkie and doing much better. We had a few rocky patches after the last post, but now that she's figured out how to soothe herself without we're doing well. Yay!

Battle of the Binkie

So I decided to use my four day weekend to take Hazel's pacifier away. I'm such a mean mommy. Haha, I knew it would be much harder once she could ask for it, and with the rate she's learning signing I knew that would be soon.

We've been limiting it to naps and bedtime since her birthday, but I was still really worried. So far though it's been much easier than expected. Friday morning I made her leave it in her crib when I got her up. She kept asking me for milk (but really wanting the paci) but was fine after a few minutes. We spent the morning running errands and she fell asleep in the car about 11:30 so the first nap without it was a breeze:)

When I went to put her down for bed she starting screaming "the scream." The one when she's dropped her binkie or lovie out of the crib. The one I was dreading, because there's no way she'll sleep until you get her stuff when she's screaming "the scream." So, I cut the tip off of one of her binkies and went in and gave it to her. She immediately popped it in her mouth, then pulled it out with the most confused expression:) She tried a few more times before giving up. I left the room and she cried her "falling asleep cry" about 15 minutes before falling asleep! Not nearly as bad as I expected.

This morning she woke up and showed me the "broken binkie" from last night but didn't even try to take it out of the crib with her or put it in her mouth. So far today has been going great! Again we were running errands so she fell asleep in the car. We'll see how tonight goes, but I think she'll do great.

I'm so glad this has been much, much easier than I thought it would be. I'm also very glad we did it now too instead of waiting.

Alpine Golf Tournament

A bit of background info on this post.... The company I work for is a non-profit business and school. A little confusing, I know. Anyways, they host an annual golf tournament fundraiser. It includes a dinner with a silent auction.

On Monday night Mike and I went to the dinner and auction. It was such a nice evening and a real date for us! The event is held at the Country Club of Colorado. It's have the most beautiful location right off a small lake (probably man made, but beautiful none the less). We enjoyed a wonderful dinner catered by PF Changs, socializing with my co-workers and parents of my clients, and rubbing elbows with the upper class:) We even won something from the auction! (In the past the rich people always way out bid me, haha). We won dinner for 2 at the Flying W Ranch here in Colorado Springs. It's a chuck wagon dinner and show that's supposed to be a blast. We've been wanting to go since we moved here. Now we'll actually do it!

Here are some of the pictures of the gorgeous sunset over the lake.

Signing Monster

Hazel is signing so much now! It's amazing how quickly they pick it up. At her first birthday Hazel pretty much only signed "milk" consistently. And then milk meant pretty much anything to eat.

Now she has about 11 signs and she uses them all appropriately. She signs milk, more, dog, all done, bath, phone, please, eat, cracker, diaper, and baby. She also asks to watch "Baby, Signing Time" by signing baby and walking to the TV.

It's so nice to know what she wants. Plus, it's about the cutest thing I've ever seen:) If anyone is thinking about using sign language with their baby I would very highly recommend it.

Here she is signing eat.....