Sage's Firsts in Life

SAGE’S FIRSTS IN LIFE

thumb sucking 9/28/08 6 wks old

hiking trip up Herd Creek at 2 wks old (outside of Fraser, CO)

slept through the night 10/31/08 Halloween 10 1/2 wks old

airplane trip 11/13/08 from denver to detroit

trip to winter park ski resort 11/28/08

rice cereal 12/22/08 which she liked with water, not breast milk

sweet potatoes on 12/30/08-ate up right away but didn’t eat food again for a while. Stuck with rice cereal only for awhile.

grabbed toes 1/5/09

started eating all kinds of baby food at 4 1/2-5 months old

ate first cheerio and teething biscuit 1/22/09 just over 5 months old

first day with daycare for work Nicole Farrell in Kremmling 2/3/09

formed stool 2/11/09

discovered her thumb and stuck it out constantly week of 2/10/09

Starting sitting up by herself age 6 months

hot springs trip to Hot Sulpher Springs on 2/8/09 right before 6 month birthday

fever of 101 degrees night after getting 6 month shots plus a flu shot

wedding reception Doug and Kelly Heibert’s on 2/22/09

chariot ride at devils thumb 2/28/09 6 1/2months

first tooth 7 months

rolled from back to front 3/24/09 7 months 1 week old

Columbus Zoo 3/28/09

Ice cream cone licking 3/28/09

got earrings on 4/1/09 age 7 1/2 months

backward hand wave 9 1/2 months in may 2009

first word-taught by grandma/grandpa brzak 6/09 almost 10 months old- “uh-oh” and possibly “bailey” as runner up

first couple of steps on own with grandparents brzak on same trip as #25

crawled 6/18/09 1 day after her 10month bday

whole mild 6 ozs from a sippy cup 7/26/09 11 months/1 week old

first steps about 10 of them on 7/26/09 too

crawled up whole stairs 7/20/09 11 months

Stood up and starting walking right after her 1 yr birthday

Turned her bed into a toddler bed age 18months 2/21/10 and she slept great, got out of bed and walked to the door by herself without crying. That ended the toddler bed. Back to crib for at least 6 more months. All she wanted to do was play with toys.

Started eating with a spoon, drinking from a cup around 16-17months old

haircut by mommy 22 months old

Family Florida trip

With the advent of facebook, I have to apologize for the lack of posts on Sage's blog. I deemed our recent family trip to Florida worthy of some recognition. So here goes:

It all started on saturday May 8th. We only had a 30 min drive to the airport, due to our recent move back to the Denver area, so Sage was much happier traveler. We had some time in the airport so we all enjoyed drinks at Chili's to go. The waitress was more than happy to hook Sage up with her own OJ margarita!

We arrived in Pensacola with Mom and Dad Brzak ready and waiting to take us to our San Destin location. The house luckily fit all 11 adults and 2 kids, not perfectly comfortable, but manageable. There was a pond out the door for our viewing pleasure. It made for great pictures, some kayaking and okay fishing.

The beaches are amazing down the in the Florida panhandle. I was amazed at how blue the water was. We were very blessed to be able to see this area before the oil spill hits the shore here. Sage was definitely our little beach girl. She loved playing in the sand and running on the beach. But the most fun, was the surfing. She didn't much like the water so we kept to the sand. It was easier anyways.

We enjoyed some great family times, good food and drinks. Some of the boys and girls got to go deep sea fishing. Although, it was Steve-O that pulled in the 2 grouper for us. So we did get our fresh fish dinner that was wished for. We got to celebrate Erin's 30th and Karen's 60th birthdays with them. Hopefully they enjoyed it. I think the mom's of the group were especially blessed to be able to hug each in person on Mother's Day. We even squeezed in some family pictures on the beach! Take a look at the photo album for more. This is only 1 of many taken our last night of vacation.

It was a relaxing week. We loved being with the Brzak's, Connelly's and Reichert's for a whole week. I wish we could do more! Sage had such a great time. She loved being able to hang with her new cousin, Samuel Gregory. He is such a wonderful addition to the family. Even he turned out to be a great beach bum!

So thank you to all of our wonderful families. I am so happy we all made time to travel to a destination place to celebrate life, family and love. Sage has been a new girl since that trip. She looks forward to seeing you again at different times later this year.

Sage's 2nd Halloween

We headed down to Broomfield for Sage's second Halloween so we could actually enjoy it this year. We were excited to have sidewalk's to walk on, a lot of houses right by each other and some good sunny weather! Plus we wanted to enjoy the festivities with other couples with kids. Sage had a great time playing with the Fitzsimmons and Andersons all afternoon! Playing outside in the snow melt run off puddles was her favorite activity. She was soaking wet even before dinner. Even Lilly took to the fun.

After awesome home cooked pizzas by Lance, getting dressed time started. We let daddy have that chore since mommy did it the night before. I think Halloween is more fun for the parents these first couple of years. Sage wasn't too happy about the monkey outfit, although she was so darn cute in it. Daddy went mainly as himself, the grown up soccer player.

We took so many pictures of our beautiful,cute monkey baby that it was hard to pick which one to put on line. I couldn't help resist this one! Especially since the hat only was on her head for a short time.

Here's the crew ready to go. Sage was so tired by this time, that she just hung out in her new cozy coupe car, sucked her thumb and let mommy and daddy push her around. Suffice to say, Sage didn't get much candy collected for us. We had so much fun though and can't wait until next year!

Family Hunting Trip

The Brzak men finally came out for their first Colorado elk hunt October 2009. Sage was so excited to see them all. She wasn't even scared of their camoflage! She greeted them every morning before they left and wished them good luck.

It was cold and snowy out for a lot of the trip, so the hunters returned to our Tabernash home every night to get some home cooked food and hang with Sage and the dogs. Sage really appreciated that. She loves having company.
Sage got to show granddaddy how much she loves to eat-I think she got the Flak gene in her! She even came home from Kindercare with crazy hair just to just impress the family. She learned so many new things this week, like eating on the floor instead of the table. She loves the camera too as she always stares right at it during picture time.

Didn't think a blog entry about a hunting trip would be complete without a picture of the hunters out in the elements! Then to end this post, a great picture of our toddler strutting herself. This is the last picture we have of her with a bottle. They got retired to storage after this trip! Love to all.

Sage strutting herself

Fun summer times with Sage

Summer has been fun but very different for the Connelly's now that we have a kid in the picture. No more meeting at 5 am at the Morrison park-n-ride to go climb a fourteener or heading off into the pristine wildnerness areas for a 3 night backpack trip. Now it's city hanging, tourist attraction doing and car camping! None the less, our little Sage is definitely an outdoors Colorado chick!

We headed to Glenwood springs for some easy biking with the Brzak grandparents. Sage loved chilling in her Burley while mommy pulled her along the Colorado river. Here's proud Grandpa over the river. We only got rained on once, and Sage never even noticed the difference.

We took Sage camping over July 4th with the Anderson's. Lake Granby was the destination(close to home in case anything happened). Suffice to say, camping in the rain with a child learning to crawl and sleeping in a 3 person tent with 2 adults, 1 child, and 2 wet dogs wasn't the most pleasant experience, but we made the most of it. (Thank heavens for people who camp with trailors!)

By making the most of it, I mean we still did our outdoor adventure it was just in a blow up Kayak that I bought at a garage sale for $25.00 Of course we oared in circles since the oars that came with it weren't the best. We lasted for about 30min and without any fighting!

Even hiking was manageable with Sage. She likes to backpack with us but we are limited to 2 hr hikes. So Drew, Emmy and Kei joined up for a hike up Sol Vista. We half cheated by taking the chairlift up. We didn't hike as much as I would like to, but that was Sage's parents' fault, not hers. The summer seemed to fly by and with me starting work again in broomfield, we just didn't seem to have time.

Of course, daddy still golfed a little, and Sage was invited for his first time out. She loved hanging out with mom and G Ma B in the golf cart. We had beautiful weather so Sage got to do what she loves best-walk and talk in the gorgeous outdoors.
All in All, summer was fun, interesting and new presented a new challenge/chapter in the Connelly's lives.

Sage's first crawl

Midwest spring 09 trips

 

This was a long winter for John and Darcy, more so Darcy.  As Bob Dylan once said, "Time passes slowly up here in the mountains..."  So we headed off for the midwest to add some variety and spice to our lives.  Thanks to G Pa C, we showed up in Plain City, Ohio to surprise G Ma C on her 60th birthday.  Boy was she surprised to answer the door in her robe and glasses and see her beautiful bundle of grandchild joy ready to give her a big hug! 

The day was beautiful so we headed to the Columbus Zoo for Sage's first zoo trip.  She wasn't too interested in the majority of the animals, but loved the aquarium part.  She was amazed when looking at the tank with the manatees and sting rays.  We can't wait to take her to the Denver Aquarium next month. 

At the end of the day, she was rewarded with her first ice cream cone-butternut mint and deep chocolate.

After the end of the ski resort, Darcy decided to take Sage to the Brzak grandparents for a short visit.  Of course, they were excited to see happy go lucky Sage too.  We were anticipating 80 degree weather but instead got hurricane force rains for 2 days.  But none the less, G Ma B threw her typical BBQ for Sage so lots of friends and family visited.

Sage loved having fun in Lansing.  We couldn't resist the "western" pic with the hat and rifle.  G Pa B was so proud.

 One of Sage's favorite things to do is hang with her namesake, Great Grandma Dorothy Flak.  Boy they both were so pretty the day the rain stopped and the sun shone!

The Brzak clan introduced Sage to so many new foods that she needed a bath almost daily.  And let me tell you-that was the favorite part of her trip, Grandma and Grandpa playing with her in the tub!  We can't wait to see all of you this summer out in Colorado.  We all love our families so much.

Sage's first camping trip to Moab Utah

The Connelly's were getting sick of snow so we headed off to Moab Utah 3/20/09 for some fun in the sun!  We were supposed to meet the Anderson's by 5 am but ended up being 15 minutes late.  So we met them along with the Fitzsimmons in Glenwood Springs for a Village Inn breakfast.  Then off to Moab.  Sage did well on her first long road trip.  We had to stop just outside of Moab to feed her and let her relax her legs.  

We arrived to our campsite at the Sand Flats recreation area around 1 pm.  Setting up camp was fun with 8 adults and 10 kids running around.  Sage loved sitting on her blanket in playing in the sand.  I think she's going to love the beach-too bad were millions of miles away from one.  

The weekend was filled with small walks, some moutain biking, hanging by the fire and a trip to Arches National Park.  It was a great get a way for us all.  Check out the photo album with more pictures.

Sage's first swim

Meeting Great Grandma

Pontoon on Lake Granby

Halloween 08

Sage's first Halloween was pretty fun, at least for us adults.  We went over to Ed's house on October 30th to trick or treat.  Sage was a pea in the pod.  She basically slept the whole time so we were only able to get 3 pieces of candy for her.   Ed had made some delicious Elk chili for dinner which was the best part of the evening.  Sage enjoyed hanging out with Mackenzie(girl on the couch).  

 On Halloween, we went to Traci's house in Fraser to hand out candy.  Sage cried for 1 hour before finally falling asleep, so mom wasn't able to party like she had hoped.  But we still managed to have a good time.  I can't wait when she's able to actually dress up and trick or treat!  It will be so much fun.

The Connelly Grandparents first visit

The Connelly's arrived on 9/20/08 to a beautiful fall here in Colorado.  They got to see the Aspen at their finest.

G Ma C loved holding Sage, feeding her, babysitting-basically doing all the wonderful 'grandma things' one can do.  

We got out and enjoyed the gorgeous weather as much as we could.  This picture is from Monarch Lake hike at the south end of Lake Granby.  We showed up to hear that a bull moose was just seen by the water.  Of course, we ran to that area but no bull moose was to be found. G Ma C carried Sage on the whole hike!  I think she loved it!  I know Sage did.

G Pa C also took to holding Sage.  I think she loved it too, as you can see from this photo!

  

Darcy's been wanting to rent a pontoon boat on Lake Granby for awhile.  So thanks to her loving husband, she got her wish.  The lake was so calm and peaceful.  We were the only ones on the lake!  Sage loved being the captain although she didn't quite reach the steering wheel.  The dogs were able to join us which really made it all worthwhile.

G Pa C didn't get to relax the whole trip.  He had to help John with the log cabin building. So far, they  got about 4 ft of walls!  It may be ready for sleeping in by the next time the Connelly grandparents visit.  Ha!  We had a great time visiting and look forward to so many memories with Sage and the family.

 

The Brzak Grandparents first visit

Grandma and Grandpa Brzak finally arrived on 9/11/08.  Sage was waiting anxiously and was given to Grandma Brzak right away.  This is the first picture of them together.  I don't think Grandma Brzak (nicknamed G Ma B) ever put her down during the whole visit!

They drove all the way from Michigan bringing Sage her toys from the baby shower.  Mommy and Daddy were very happy to finally have some things to do with her when she's bored or fussy.  Of course, G Ma B and G Pa B loved playing with her!  Sage took to staring at herself in the mirror a lot, but why not when you're so GORGEOUS!

Grandma dressed Sage, bathed her, changed her diaper, played with her and carried her almost 100 % of the time.  

 

The fall weather was great, so we took Sage up to Grand Lake for the first time.  G Ma B loved pushing Sage in the stroller especially when she slept the whole time! 

Afterwards, we went elk/moose hunting in Rocky Mountain National Park.  We saw lots of elk, but no moose.  Sorry G Ma B.  G Pa B was of course very happy!

 

Grandma, Grandpa, Darcy and Sage took a 2 day trip through the park and stayed in Estes Park.  We ran into a lot of retirees vacationing and they all commented on Sage being so young and being out in the elements.   She even got to experience her first snow on the top of trail ridge road.  We did a 4 mile hike together with Sage lasting until about 2 miles in before she needed a feeding.  Mom(Darcy) also survived which was the important part.  I even think Linda could have ran circles around me!

The trip was short-only 10 days.  It was sad to see them leave, but Sage enjoyed her time with the Brzak's.  Luckily, she will get to see them again in November.  

  

 

                     

GO OHIO BOBCATS!

       

                  

Sage On the News  

Thanks to Grandma Connelly who submitted Sage's picture to the local Columbus news. Sage and the Family were rooting hard for the Bobcats, but didn't quite have the depth that the Buckeyes did.  However,  the Bobcats did drop the Bucks down to 5th in the polls.  Final Score Buckeyes 26 Bobcats 14.  Unlucky, maybe we'll get them next time when we are a little older.                                                  

Labor Day Hang

We decided to take Sage out for her first picnic on September 1st, labor day.  We headed up toward Lake Granby but decided to go to Willow Creek Reservoir across the street to avoid crowds.  (For those of you who don't know, this area is near the west entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park).

The dogs joined us on this outing.  Now we know that to have a RELAXING picnic, we should bring Sage without the dogs! Ha!  I guess we'll have to decide when to bring the dogs and when to leave them at home. We've had a hard time not bringing our first "children" with us on outings though. 

Those new parents who say you'll completely forget about your pets after having a child were wrong!  They still get the luxury of sleeping with us!

It was a gorgeous day out and as you can see the family is doing well. We await the arrival of Sage's grandparents, Linda and Gary Brzak on 9/11/08 and Pat and Judy Connelly on 9/20/2008. Then there will be more outdoors adventures to report!

Introducing Sage to the outdoors

It was Saturday August 30th and it was labor day weekend.  John and I had laid around the house all day with Sage.  Suffice to say, we got bored very quickly.   We knew friends were going camping but no one called us to join them.  Then at 6 PM, friends called to say they were hiking to some cliffs up Hurd Creek Road to rock climb and wanted to know if we would join them. David and Katie Lady had said that it was only about a 10 minute hike to the cliffs.  Well we packed very quickly to be able to meet them.  Wasn't sure what we should bring since it was evening, getting chillier and darker outside, and since we didn't know the type of trail/hike we'd be doing.  So we got Sage packed in the carrier, brought the diaper bag, camp chairs, cooler with beer and some food and were ready to go in 10 minutes!

So the drive took about 1/2 hour since it was a 4 wheel drive road.  Yes, the mitshubishi made it, and Sage, believe it or not, slept the whole way.  The hike was straight up the mountain side, through the forest, across a creek and ended up at some cool cliffs.  It took about 30 minutes and was a great introduction back into exercise for me.   We had to do some bouldering towards the top.  There was a point that we had to take Sage out of the carrier and lift her up to the next person around rocks.  Very exciting!

When we arrived, the group was quite surprised to see us bringing a 2 wk old baby on the hike. Sage did so well in her carrier, not a peep from her the whole hike.  Once we got to the top, she demanded food!  There were about 12 of us hanging out.  Literally!

I would have loved to rock climb, but I think 2 wks after delivery was a bit too soon.  We hung out until after sunset, which by the way was unbelievable!

Then we hiked back in the dark with headlamps of course.  And yes, Sage slept the whole way out and on the drive back home.  I think she likes this outdoors thing!