Two little Lovebugs

There has been a lot of affection and sweetness going on in the house lately. Avery and Callum have developed the sweetest little personalities by telling mommy and daddy how much they love them. Avery frequently comes up and says "I love you." Callum also says "I love you", followed by the biggest hug ever. It really is the sweetest thing ever, I just had to share. Just little things like that bring such a big smile to my face and makes me realize how lucky I am to have two of the most special little lovebugs ever.

Fun in Denver

We recently took a trip to Denver this past week to see my sister. Although I haven't actually been there in the winter time, I hear it can be pretty brutal, which still doesn't change my mind about wanting to live there. I absolutely love Colorado everytime I go to visit! I love how all the houses are so old and have so much character to them. Denver has the neatest little restaurants and shops along the streets and it's pretty inexpensive. Philip and I had lunch at the Izakaya Den which was a great little sushi place! The town has such a friendly, unique ambience to it, which I love.

We managed to head over to the Denver zoo the second day we were there, which was well worth it. Avery and Callum were excited to see all the animals and get up close and personal with the monkeys. Apparently one of the monkeys was feeling extra friendly that day and decided to jump in front of the glass about two inches away from Avery and just stared at her. She thought it was the funniest thing ever! My personal favorite animal was the bear. I think it's amazing to be able to get that close to an animal of that size and nature. After three fun filled hours of walking and seeing half the zoo, riding the carousel and train, the kids were on the verge of exhaustion, as were Phil and I, we said our goodbyes to the animals.

One of the last days we were there, Philip and I were able to visit the Butterfly Pavilion, which was about 20 min. away from Denver. Unfortunately I had forgotten my camera, just my luck. It's a giant display room set up to resemble the rainforest and has butterflies flying all around the room. It was so neat to watch the butterflies fly by us and watch them actually landing on people. Not to mention, their colors were so pretty. Who knew there were so many different varieties of butterflies!? It was quite breathtaking and well worth the trip.

 Lotsa elephants to see

A closer look at the penquins

Up close with the monkeys

Ooooohhhhh....a closer look into the gorilla den!

I loved this pic of the bear, I think they're so neat to watch!

Of course Avery couldn't leave the zoo without her favorite ride, the carousel!

Callum is 18 mos old

 Callum is growing up so quickly and getting so big. I took him to the doctor today for his 18 mo check up and he did great, considering it's not one of his favorite things to do in the world. His height was 32 1/4 and his weigh in was at 24.2 lbs. His least favorite part was the 4 shots in his arms, which by the way doesn't get any easier for me. He got a sticker and a new book from his doctor, which made him happy.

Callum has developed quite the loving and mellow little personality. He has his funny little quarks, liking doing his potty dance and pushing around his sister's dolly stroller. (He'll make a great daddy one day) He's learning to speak more words and learning colors, letters, and shapes. He likes to imitate everything his sister does and isn't scared to try new things, as most boys aren't. Some of his favorite things are Tobey bear, elmo, his blankie, the park, cartoons, fishy crackers, cars, climbing on furniture, animals, swimming, yummy bananas, brushing his teeth, chocolate chip cookies, storytime, being outdoors, Yo Gabba Gabba, and giving hugs.