A week of firsts in the Diamond house....

We got the green light to start Delaney on rice cereal, so away we went. She isn't quite sure yet what to do with a bowl and a spoon, but we'll keep working on it. Her weight remains an issue but she is otherwise achieving all of her developmental milestones with both her physical and cognitive abilities. When she becomes mobile we are in big, big trouble.

Earlier in the week, Meredith had her first ballet/tap dance class at the Gunnison Arts Center. She is pretty hot stuff in her dance clothes and tap shoes. She really likes dance and it was nice to introduce some variety. She always looks forward to dance class and we're glad she can get back into it after missing out on a lot of dance last winter and spring. We also got word from friends about a Gymkahna event that was taking place over this weekend and decided to sign Meredith up with her horse Sky (it was all new to us). Meredith started off a little nervous but as the day went on she began to enjoy it all and ended up the reserve champion in the 8 and under division (Dad helped with all events on the lead line). It was fun to watch all of the kids ride and we hope it gave Meredith something to work towards in the future.

Enjoy some recent pictures from the beautiful fall woods of Colorado. We had a nice several-day camping trip over the weekend and were lucky enough to experience some peak fall colors. The weather has been very nice lately with warm days and cool nights

Brandon spent a few days backpacking in search of elk, while Jennifer stayed back to watch the two little blonde girls. It was their first night alone in the camper and they managed to have a fun time together. Delaney is starting to become a busy-body and is wanting to grab and explore everything she sees. We let her taste an apple chunk and she attacked it with gusto. She really is interested in our food, so it won't be long before we start introducing her to more variety.

****We have gone camping! (and won't be back until late Monday evening) We'll post again once we are home.***

September is the greatest month of the year in Gunnison, and we started it off in style. Jennifer's brother Rick, and her mom and step dad made the journey to Gunnison (from Pennsylvania and Washington, respectively) to visit our little Delaney. As always, it was fun to have her meet new family and let them see what all the "hype" was about. We had a nice time and hope that it gave them a chance to relax for a few days. Hopefully they had pleasant journeys back to opposite ends of the country.

Meredith took the opportunity to introduce her family to Sky the horse, and show off her riding skills. We also spent some time south of Gunnison searching for brown trout, which gave Rick a chance to practice his fly casting on a windy Colorado day. We were happy to see Rick catch some fish on this trip because the guide on his previous Blue Mesa trip (Brandon) couldn't catch a cold. We also have to specially thank our neighbor Stacia for the wonderful accomodations for our family. Jennifer's mom is terribly allergic to cats, but Stacia came through with her southern hospitality!

Delaney is doing well, but still won't eat from a bottle very well. We continue to work on it, but haven't made a lot of progress. We try not to worry about her weight, and actually haven't had her weighed in several weeks. She seems to be growing, and today rolled from her back to her belly on her own. She's a remarkable little girl.

Meredith went to school for the first day this fall and is now officially a "Coyote" at Stepping Stones. We wish she could go for more than one day but with Delaney and everything else we have going on it probably won't work. Hard to believe next year will be kindergarten for our number one. She's had a good summer nonetheless and we continue to work on her horseback riding skills. We had a little set back the other night, but she's come a long way in the last month.

Delaney is supposed to be getting fortified bottles each day, but she's decided that bottles are no longer of interest to her. We are going to have a conversation with her GI doctor this week to see if we can start with rice cereal now that she is four months old. Cereal mixed with fortified breast milk would boost her caloric intake considerably. Regardless, she is a happy go-lucky little girl that seems to be doing very well. Our Ray-cat enjoys his naps in Delaney's furniture...