Memorial Day Camping

Every year, the Hillers go camping at Mt. Charleston. This year we were at Kyle Canyon. It used to feel way out of town, going north out of Las Vegas. But now there are so many houses built out that way, that the turn off is just about 5 minutes past the last housing development. Our campsite was only 25 minutes from a Cafe Rio (I timed it), but it was about 15 degrees cooler during the day, and got to under 30 degrees at night.

Matt and Claire went and set up our campsite Friday night, while Miles and I enjoyed some quiet time at home. It was really one of the few times I have been alone with just Miles for more than a few hours, and it was really nice to just cuddle with him and have nothing else going on. We joined the group Saturday morning and stayed until after dinner. Then we came back up Sunday morning too - the weather was so nice, and the food was good too! We had our requisite items - foil dinners, bacon and eggs, s'mores, grilled hamburgers, and pineapple brown sugar doughnuts (yes, I'm still doing the Biggest Loser)...


Claire was in heaven and loved hiking around the campground, playing with her cousins, and playing in the tent. A few times we started to panic because we couldn't find her, and after calling for her we heard her answer from the tent, sometimes hiding in another family members tent.



Miles was a happy camper, except when it came to nap time. I guess I should have just let him hang out as long as he was being good, but I wanted him to sleep so I walked up and down the campsite roads with him in the stroller for a good hour or so. With the hills and the stroller, I got in a decent workout.

Splash Park - We're Baaaack!

Maybe it will be Summer in Vegas soon, it has been lovely though and I don't want to complan. It had been awhile since we've been, so we thought the weather was warm enough for the splash park, but it turned windy on us. Claire didn't care though, she went right out into the water and had a great time! And Miles was content with his apple to suck on.

 

 

A Pirate's Life for Me

I guess we miss Disneyland already - Claire and Matt were singing the song from Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and Miles got in a few "arghs" as well. He is starting to copy our sounds more and more - so fun to see him learning.

Meet Ruby

Claire's little monster, who we promptly named Ruby. Miles has a camoflauge boy monster named Norbert. Their names just came to me, don't ask :)

Thanks Aunt Becky!

Bday Pics

A few pics from my birthday - we had dinner with the Hillers, and my special order was taco salad and a cookie pizza instead of a cake. If I could pick one meal to eat every day, it would probably be taco salad. And my cookie addiction continues... Delicious!

Lucky Kids - Disneyland Trip

Yes, we are spoiled and got to go to Disneyland again! We went as the personal guests of Ms. Becky Baird, the star of the Monsters Inc show at Disney World. She was in LA for some training and we met her for one fun-filled day of Disney. Jen and Janel Wagner also joined us for the day-long Disneyland blitz. It is hard to do everything in one day, especially if you try to squeeze in California Adventure, but we were up to the challenge.

We went down Thursday night, and then went on Friday, driving home Friday night. We got home at 3 am Saturday, but the kids slept the whole way and we managed to stay awake.

On our last trip, Claire had a quick glimpse of the princess Tiana from Princess and the Frog, but she had just ended her show and it was too short of a visit for Claire. So, this time we made sure we went to hear her sing. Claire was very lucky this time - she got to dance and even play the tamborine with Tiana. Her luck would continue, as you'll see later on. Here is a video of her swinging her hips to "Dig a Little Deeper."


Claire and Princess Tiana


Claire kept calling everything an adventure - we went on a pirates adventure, and then the map of Disneyland was her adventure map - it was an insight into how excited she was to be there.

Eating at the Blue Bayou


Taking a Break


Mapping Our Adventures

Tarzan's Treehouse with Becky


We waited in the hot sun until the parade came to our section - we were ready to keep walking over to CA Adventure but Claire was very upset to leave all of the characters - Mary Poppins alone sent her into hysteria. So, once the parade reached us, it was worth it. Claire went out and danced with Jessie and Woody - and I noticed that during the song Jessie pointed at Claire, which I thought was weird. Then the guy on the float singing came down and talked to Claire. It must have been Jessie's job to find the girl with the best dance moves!



Pictures on the Steps - It's Tradition!



CA Adventure Carousel

In Training for the Best Sport Ever!

New Favorite Breakfast Place

We recently went to the Black Bear Diner with the Hillers - Leah took us all out to celebrate our wedding anniversaries, which are within a few months of each other. It was so good! For all of you in Vegas, it is at Tropicana and Jones, a place I drive by at least 3 times a week and have somehow never noticed - it's kind of tucked back in the parking lot on the corner. I guess they are all over the west coast too.

I had their granola almond pancakes, which weren't heavy and thick like other whole grain pancakes I have had before. Matt had linguiza sausage and eggs, Ethan had cinnamon roll french toast, and the omelettes looked fabulous. I love eating out for breakfast, so just wanted to share our latest morning splurge.

Just Watching TV

I came downstairs after getting Miles up from his nap to find Claire wearing these safety glasses while watching TV. She told me they were her tricycle glasses.

Why do we have insurance again?

Miles just had his 9 month check up - after two kids, I am finally getting smart about checking what my insurance covers and what it doesn't. I highly recommend finding out how much they will pay for immunizations. I got curious after his 6 month check up invoice came for almost $300, AFTER insurance.

I have United Health Care, and each person gets $500 in preventative coverage per year on our plan. For a baby that goes to 6+ doctor appointments in one year, that $500 doesn't go very far. As of March, Miles had already used over $300. So, after a bit of research I found out that if you have insurance, a vaccine will cost on average $200 that is then billed to your insurance, who will only pay a percentage and the rest comes out of your pocket. However, I asked what they charge if you pay cash and don't have insurance. I was shocked to find out that each shot is only $16. My pediatrician was quick to say that by law they must bill my insurance if they know I have coverage. Well, then I will switch pediatricians and say I don't have insurance. How sad that by having insurance I am actually spending more money. Makes me wonder...

I also checked out our local health district for options. They have several locations across the valley and if you are willing to brave the masses and stand in line, one immunization is $16, and two or more is only $25. Miles is due for four shots at his one year well check, so I am seriously considering changing doctors and just doing the check up, then going to the health district for the immunizations. Anyone have a recommendation?

Miles - 9 months

Here are the stats for Miles' 9 month check up:

Weight - 21 lbs
Length - I'm not sure, I think maybe 29 inches...we thought the dr said 21 inches which can't be right...
Head - 45.0 cm
Teeth - 2 on the bottom
Tricks - he can wave hello and shakes back and forth when you tell him to shake it, as in "your groove thing"

Miles crawls quickly now and has all but abandoned the army crawl. He will go up on his legs so his knees don't touch the floor, yoga style, especially when crawling on tile or a wood floor. He is also pulling up on the couch and anything else he can reach, to try to stand up. He will laugh at anything Claire does - and he laughs hard. Matt and I can't make him do more than a courtesy laugh half the time. Though he is Claire's biggest fan, he also suffers at her hand - she doesn't try to be malicious but she has definitely earned her "don't touch Miles" rule. No touching Miles' head especially - she pushes his head down, knocks him so he falls on his face while he is crawling, and just doesn't know how to show affection without bonking him somehow. He rarely cries, but she makes me crazy. I guess that's how it is with kids born close together. All in all, Miles is great!

Biggest Loser - Round 2

For my Las Vegas friends: If anyone wants to participate in our next round of a Biggest Loser competition from May 15 to June 13 (4 weeks), please email me at hillershannon at yahoo.com. Then I will send you the details - we plan to do a walking/running group at night on Mondays and Wednesdays, plus a blog to help us keep track of our success, share recipes, find work out buddies, etc. Join us even if you just want to exercise and keep up your routine. Thanks!

Bounce-U

Fun times at Bounce-U in Henderson for Ethan's birthday - Matt and Claire went to the party while Miles and I had birthday dinner for my friend Janel.

Harry Potter

Yesterday Claire went over to our bookshelf and started pulling out a Harry Potter book - after watching the first movie many times, she knew it was Harry Potter by the writing on the front.

One of my favorite things is to listen to her "read" books, especially chapter books like this with very few pictures. Of course once I got the camera, she didn't do it the same, but this shows the general idea. I have two videos - the first is a quick version, the second is for those who are willing to watch a 2 minute video to see it in more detail. Miles makes a guest appearance or two - he is crawling and is pretty fast now. He also waves when you say hello to him - he will even do it if you don't wave to him first, but just say "hello."

So, without further ado, a Harry Potter reading. And sorry if it looks like this week's episode of Hoarders - our room is very crowded now that the home office is combined with our bedroom to make room for Miles.

Claire and Her Dad

Just too cute not to post - love these two, and I hope Claire will always be close to her dad.