6 Years Of Wedded Bliss

 The 28th of July was our 6th year anniversary. We didn't have anything big planned, but we still wanted to do something fun.

We started the day by heading to the fairgrounds for a balloon launch. We wandered around the grounds for quite a while just waiting... and waiting... and waiting.

The balloon behind Pierscen here is the only one that made it partially up. They sent several small balloons up into the air to see how much the wind was going to mess with the launch. Apparently too much. No hot air balloons made it into the air. I am still not sure why they even attempt hot air balloons in Wyoming. It's kind of known for it's wind...

Since we were already up, we decided to run a few errands - like to Wal-mart to get a new tire for the jogger stroller.  

Early afternoon we went to Pottery By You. It's like Color Me Mine in the Utah Valley area. You pick out your pottery and paint it. Then they fire it up for you and you get to take it home. I have never done it before, and naturally neither has Ryan, but it was a lot of fun. Ryan painted a small leaf piece that we could easily turn into a magnet and I painted (or started to paint) one of those spoons you keep on the stove when you need a place to put your cooking spoon... I am so not describing that right.

I didn't finish mine before Pierscen decided he was super tired and we headed home. I went back a week or two later to finish it. So obviously these pictures are out of order, but since I have no description abilities today:

When Pierscen woke up, we went to a place called Lai Thai for dinner. We were the only ones when we first got there. Sure made it feel nice and romantic. :) It is a beautiful place and the food was delicious! 

That evening we went for a walk with our neighbors downstairs, Lauriel and Casey. Ryan helped them move in a while back. They have two dogs so we decided to all go on a walk around the North Platte River.

The sunsets here are amazing. I really do like it here. It's gorgeous.

Pierscen was happy to have some new friends - both human and canine. 

Lauriel, Casey, Pepper and Daisy

  
It was a very peaceful evening. We ended at the Wyoming Burger Company where we had a smores dessert. It was basically a chocolate ice cream with melted marshmallows on top with a graham cracker served on the side. Fun idea. I love smores. I think the only thing that would have been better is if the marshmallows weren't burnt. 

 We were bummed the hot air balloon thing didn't work out (especially since we got up super early for it) but other than that it was a great day. 

 Ryan is my very best friend. I am so lucky to have him. These last 6 years have flown by. I love him more and more every day. I can't wait for many, many more years to come. Thank goodness for eternity.

7 Months

 We finally found a pediatrician for Pierscen and they scheduled his "six" month appointment one day before he turned 7 months old.

The little guy loved the paper on the table. It made a great crinkling noise and was lots of fun to tear apart. Easy entertainment. 

He was getting pretty tired, so I was a little worried how well he was going to cope while waiting for the doctor. He was the champ though. (The crinkly paper really helped.)

His 7 month stats include:

Weight: 14th percentile - 16.5 lbs. Still a little guy... but that's 4% up from last time. And now I really don't care. He is eating well and he is growing. That's all that matters. No more stress about reaching the limit for surgery. 

Height: 23rd percentile - 26(ish) inches. (He didn't give me the printout, so I am trying to remember for sure. I know it was somewhere in there.)

Head: 44th percentile. 

The doctor was very impressed with his head shape. He praised and praised his surgeons and said Pierscen looked awesome. The nurse that took care of him said her daughter had the same thing. Granted it was 20+ years ago, but she too was very impressed with how good his head looks.

Unfortunately it was shot day. But the good news is that he doesn't have to have any more until 12 months. Shots are always so sad. But they are for the best. I promise!

As soon as I got him dressed he had stopped crying. We went home and put him right to bed. But just to prove that he did indeed recover and that he is just as dandy as ever:

 
Between 6 and 7 months he has roughly doubled the foods he has tried. He is insanely mobile. No crawling yet, but he can get anywhere he wants by rolling and scooting. Hands are a huge fascination of his. He loves it if you wiggle your fingers in front of him. His little hands and feet will start going crazy. It's way cute. He loves Dodger. Anything Dodger does makes him smile and laugh. Especially is he manages to grab a hold of him. He is still wearing 3-6 month size clothes and they fit just fine. A few of the outfits are starting to look a little small, but for the most part, they all work. Once we move into our new place I will move him into the next size. I just don't want to dig through those boxes and switch things out now when we will be doing that again soon anyway.

We love our little guy!

Here And There And In Between

 In between trips here and there... there is this thing called life. Here are some clips of our crazy day to day existence.

1. Little man learning to steal things off the nearby box.

2. Learning to sit up. This came very suddenly. We didn't "work" much on this. Just one day we put him down and he sat there on his own. He still topples over now and again but he is doing great!

3. Further evidence this little guy is my guy. I bought a bag of chocolate mint marshmallows and handed the bag to Pierscen. (I have a weakness for marshmallows.) Little P decided that little bag was like a Christmas gift! He was super excited. (Probably cause the bag made a fun noise). 

4. We go on lots and lots of walks. We had to use the umbrella stroller a number of times because our apartment complex is surrounded by those horrible puncture weeds. We lost four tires in 2 weeks. Urg! We have replaced both back tires and put in that extra layer of protection made of that slime stuff, but it's hard. We have since put lots and lots of slime in the tire and pumped it up too. Much better. Anyway, walking with the umbrella stroller helped Pierscen notice the leash for Dodger and he wanted to help. It was pretty cute.

 (Apparently I was picture happy that day.)

 5. Our stake had a Pioneer Day Picnic at the Stake Center. It was supposed to be at a near by park, but it had been raining. It was a little chaotic with the move to the building, but it turned out. We waited in line for food for close to an hour, but at least we finally got to eat!

We know so few people in our ward, let alone the stake. We sat down at a table with only a couple people remaining. The man across from us was speaking with a younger gal and I heard her call him "Bishop." When she walked away, I asked if he was still a Bishop. He said he was not currently. I told him we were moving into a new ward and we were curious if he might be the new bishop. He asked where we were from and Ryan replied, "Utah." The man looked at him, cocked his head, and asked,

"Orem?"

Surprised, Ryan said, "Yes."

"Ryan?" he asked. 

So before we moved out here, we were given a number to Ryan's neighbor's cousin who lives here in Casper and might have some connections for housing. Unfortunately when Ryan called him, all he had available were houses costing $1300 a month or more. And who were we talking to at the dinner? None other than Brother Madsen. What are the odds? The one person we talked to! Haha. He was able to point out the Bishop of our new ward and I went to introduce myself. He came and sat at our table and chit chatted for a while. I don't expect him to remember us when we show up, but it was good to at least meet him.

6. Now that the little man is sitting up so well, he loves playing his little piano. He is a little rough on the keys, but he loves it. Once the tunes start, he dances away. It is super cute!

Life is simple, but busy. We love it.