vacation

I write today's post from our little cabin in Glenwood Springs. Coranelle is taking her afternoon nap (hopefully) and Ryan and I are enjoying some down time. We are both reading Harry Potter and love the chance to read and relax a little. Ryan took the whole week off for Thanksgiving, and I am very thankful for that. I think it has been awesome that Coranelle is spending a decent amount of time with someone other than me. Ryan hung out with her Saturday morning while I went to Body Pump. He's been getting her out of her crib and dressed every morning. I turly hope that this will help her be more willing to go to other people. Last week, I had two friends, as well as Rachael, Stefan, Bruce and Heido try to hold her. To my dismay, she cried for all of them, within a few short minutes. Sigh. The only person she would go to without a fuss was her uncle Josh. For some reason, she never gets upset with Josh. At the church nursery on Saturday night, we didn't get called out of the service- which was great. It was a wonderful sermon and I enjoyed the chance to listen to it and sit by my husband. But, the saint of a worker that was spending time with Coranelle said that she cried off and on the entire time. Thankfully, she stuck with it. Did anyone else have these issues with their little one? How long did it last? What else should I try?

On to more positive things... We are on vacation! Our first vacation as a little family! We booked a cabin in Glenwood for three nights. It has been very cold here, but beautiful. I am thankful for a chance to be away and spend quality time with my hubby and daughter. The snow and frigid temperatures have not prevented us from bundling up and going on nice walks through the canyon and in town. We went and got coffee in town yesterday and wandered around the sports store. I told Ryan, I think I have come to Glenwood Springs more than 20 times in my life. It holds lots of great memories with many different people. It was a perfect length of drive so that Coranelle slept a good way, and then I went back and entertained her for the last 45 minutes of the drive. The first night, she slept horribly, as did we. I don't know if was strange sounds, lights, or her pack n' play, but she was up every hour from 9pm-2am. Whew! I hope that she can learn to sleep in different places, thought. Last night, she did much better, only waking up once. We put a dark green blanket over her pack n' play to shut out the light. We also turned off the noisy furnace and we all slept better.

Later today, after her nap, we will head into town and go to the hotsprings. I LOVE the Glenwood hotsprings and cannot wait to introduce them to Coranelle. Hopefully, the cold outside temperatures don't take away the fun!

Since being away, Coranelle has really improved her ability to sit up alone. She can do it for about 30 seconds before she reaches over for something and tumbles. She also did well in another restaurant on Sunday morning. We met one of Ryan's friends who just had a baby and enjoyed breakfast at the Huckleberry. Coranelle did a great job! She really is so much easier to take places and so much more enjoyable these days. She still is a mess if she gets over tired, which leaves me to planning my days around her naps and nursing. But, if it means that she is not melting down, it's worth it. I don't think I ever knew how much of this first year would be spent organizing my life around her need to nap after having been awake 2 hours and having to nurse every 3.

Regardless, her naps while on vacation have given us an opportunity to relax and rest and enjoy some down time. I am so glad that Ryan took the week off. It will be really hard to have him back to work full-time next week. But, I will soak up this time while I have it. On Thursday, we are celebrating Thanksgiving with my Mom and Steve. Ryan's whole family will be joining us, as well as Claire's. It should be a fun day! It is also Coranelle's 6 month birthday. I cannot belive a half of a year has gone by!

I will post pictures of our vacation when we return. I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and feel that you have lots to smile about and be thankful for.