Summa time

We're a week into our second Cheyenne summer and it hands down beats out our first summer.  Thank goodness for friends!  And a pool membership!  I have not done a single house project all week and have just been enjoying these little people and right now I am loving it and them!  

 That miss Indie is darling, and so is my new vintage Craigslist marble coffee table!  

 We were snapping a few pictures when they saw dad pull into the driveway and all the excitement commenced.

Colorado Springs

I grew a little tired of constant home improvement projects so told Dave that I was ready for an escape and he said "sure."  A quick look at Airbnb and I found the perfect camper on a farm so I sold the girls are on our last minute adventure and we were off.  

Friday we had beautiful weather so we checked out the farm, pet a million animals, made a quick dinner in the camper, hiked around Garden of the Gods in beautiful light and finished up at Dairy Queen, which is always a favorite!  

Friday night Indie passed our in our bed so I figured I'd just let her sleep with us for the night.  Bad idea, there was a lot of kicking, but not a whole lot of sleeping.  Indie must not have minded because she was up bright and early Saturday morning.  We started off the day by tormenting, I mean petting, the animals.  The girls LOVED it and the older girls excitedly helped out with all the farm chores.  Next, we hiked up to Helen Hunt Falls then headed to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, which is one of my favorite zoos.  We got to feed the giraffes, see the Peacocks try to win over the ladies with their feathers, and watch a couple bears playing around in the water a few feet away (through glass obviously).  A pretty neat day that ended with a bonfire and smores by the fire.  

Sunday morning, I tried to sell the girls on hiking the Manitou Incline, a difficult 2500 steps gaining 2000 feet in less than a mile.  I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to pack Indie's potty around and knew that Eden would be opposed, but in the end, I wasn't able to get anyone on board.  This time.  We did get to spend more time with the farm animals and even got to RIDE the horses we had been petting and feeding all weekend.  I wasn't sure if Indie would actually get on a horse, but she was completely game and everyone loved their riding experience! 

Neigh-Neighs

Our neighbors have a couple of horses and our girls really wish that we had horses too.  I thought about it for a second, but they are so dang expensive.  And need a ton of time.  I'm not sure where we'll end up on the horse decision, but in the meantime, Dave bought the girls a 4-wheeler and motorcycle.  The motorcycle is still under repair (obviously haha), but the 4-wheeler has been a HUGE hit!  They ride around in circles until the gas runs out.  

Just looking at how much Indie loves this pretend horse and insists on eating with it really makes me want to blow thousands of dollars on an animal that we know very little about....

Big Girl

 April was such a big month for Indie:

• She said goodbye to her tonsils.  Surgery day was stressful because of the impending snow storm so we went to Denver a day early, but while we were there, they changed her surgery day/time several times.  We made the best of it with a trip to the Children's Museum and lots of swimming in the hotel pool.  The hardest part was waiting until 2 pm without any food or water.  The whole time Indie kept saying "cookie" and signing "ice cream."  Once we got to the hospital, she kinda gave up on eating and we cruised the halls for a while.  Surgery was pretty breezy and she immediately ate a Popsicle Slushy when it was over.  We stayed overnight in the hospital and she continued to down ice cream and applesauce.  She graduated to real food the next day and ditched the pain meds by day 4 (I probably would have done pain medication for longer,  but she put up such a battle, it didn't seem worth it.)  It went so much better than I could have imagined and we can tell a huge difference with her breathing while she sleeps.    
• She said goodbye to daytime diapers.  I have known that I should potty train Indie for a while, but have been dreading it because potty training sucks and I figured it would suck even more with Down syndrome.  Reality is, it has not been so terrible.  After the first 3 days, I knew that she had more or less figured it out, but I was still helicoptering her big time.  She was holding it for hours, refusing to go while on the potty, and having accidents.  Meanwhile, I was getting more stressed every minute that she didn't go in the potty and refusing to give her any freedom.  By day 5, I had reached my limit so I gave in, handed Indie a diaper, told her that she had won, had a mini breakdown, and backed off.  Do you know what Indie did!?  She held it for 2 more hours, walked over to the potty, sat down, and went.  Well, she showed me!  I took back the diaper, gave Indie some space, trusted her to hold it, and changed my expectations about the timeline.  It has been a month in underwear and it is going pretty well.  Indie usually has 0-1 accidents every day and I am so so proud of her!  
• Girlfriend also got a new big girl bed!  Indie has had a mattress on Milan's floor since we moved here.  I knew it wasn't ideal, but didn't make her bedroom a priority since she just seemed to roll all around the floor anyway.  I finally got around to it, and she's staying in her bed all night long, which has got to be more restful.  

While I have been worried about Indie's safety during surgery and my sanity with these big girl milestones, she was ready before I was.  Looking back, I wish I had done every one of these things sooner and hope that in the future my expectations will be better aligned with her capabilities.  I'm learning, she's learning, and we are figuring this out together.  

Also, did you know that blowing bubbles is a milestone?  It is around here!  Indie has been doing it for a couple months and it makes me proud every time. 

Cora's Golden Birthday

This year was a special birthday for our Cora, turning 7 on May 7th!  I decorated the car and Cora got to fill it with her favorite people so she included Milan, Eden, and Jane, Haley, and Harper.  Together, we hit Chick-Fil-A for dinner, stopped at the pet store to love on some puppies, watched Ugly Dolls in the theater, overdosed on candy, and ended with presents and dipped cones at Dairy Queen.  I am so glad we got to celebrate this smart, spunky, easy-going, imaginative little lady!