Dear Micah (1 month)

We can’t believe how much you have grown this past month! At your 2 month visit, you more than doubled your birth weight and grew 3 inches in length! You are starting to get little fat rolls on your arms and legs along with a cute pudgy tummy. We especially love kissing your little chubby cheeks. Everyone says you are starting to look more like Mommy. Your hair seems to be getting lighter and even has a red tinge to it in the sun. You are becoming more and more interactive each day. You have developed your own repertory of coos, smiles, and unique cries to communicate with us. We love listening to you talk to us in your own special language. You seem to always have something exciting to tell us. You are a pretty serious guy though. You started to smile, but we really have to work for them. You don’t give them out very easily. Daddy usually gets more smiles than Mommy. You also started giggling in your sleep. You must be having some pretty funny dreams! We can’t wait until you start giving us big belly laughs. We introduced you to rock climbing, hiking, and camping this month. You absolutely love the outdoors and especially love sleeping outside. You love all the new sights and sounds and going to new places. We are taking you out to different places all the time because you always behave better when you are not at home. You especially love staring at lights and ceiling fans everywhere we go. We think you are pretty advanced when it comes to your motor skills. You can already hold your head up so well and you love standing up like a big boy. Your legs are getting so strong from all the kicking you do. You love taking baths. They really seem to calm you down after a long day. You still do not like to sleep during the day, but we figured out that you really love to be swaddled like a burrito. When you are all bundled up, then you know it’s time for a nap. You still fight it until you can barely keep your eyes open, then you get cranky and usually whine for a bit before finally falling asleep. We’re still anxiously waiting for you to figure out how to sleep longer at night!

Horseshoe Canyon Ranch Bouldering Video

My First Camping Trip

I'm happy and excited to get on the road!

After Mommy and Daddy's last challenging outdoors adventure, they decided to take me somewhere a little bit more familiar and stick with well maintained trails. So, we headed to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in Arkansas! Before I came along, Mommy and Daddy often went on climbing trips to HCR with their friends. This time, it was just the three of us. It was my first time camping outside and I was so excited to sleep in a tent.

Since I'm still pretty little and require a careful watch at all times, Mommy and Daddy decided to stick with bouldering so that they could keep a close eye on me. I'm a pretty demanding baby sometimes, so they were prepared for the worst. But for some reason, being outside makes me very sleepy. In fact, I think I missed most of the trip because I was snoozing so much.

We arrived at the dude ranch on Monday afternoon. Daddy set up our home for the night while I kept a close eye on him to make sure he was doing everything right. I was so happy to be outside.

After setting up camp, we went to an area called the Idaho boulders. Mommy hiked in with me snuggled close in the carrier, it was so warm and comfy that I fell asleep quickly. Once we got to the boulders, I was pretty mad and cranky because I was so confused about where I was. I tried really hard to go back to sleep but there were so many new exciting sights and sounds all around me. I started getting really upset because I couldn't sleep, so Mommy and Daddy kept me company until I was finally able to doze off. They took turns climbing some warm up problems in the meantime. Then, Daddy had to move me to the next area of bouldering. He was so gentle that I didn't even know that my sleeping location had changed!

I must have slept for a long time because I missed all of Daddy's sends. While I was sleeping, I vaguely remember hearing a loud thump over and over again as Daddy messed up and landed on the crashpads. I was so tired that it didn't even wake me up. As you can see from all of Mommy's pictures and video, he finally finished everything he was working on.

Here are a list of Daddy's sends for the day:
Old English (Onsight), High Five, Memento, and Separate but Equal (Onsight)

Daddy on Old English

Daddy sticking the dyno on High Five

  

After a fun first day, Mommy and Daddy had some dinner in Jasper, then we settled in for the night. It was going to be in the 50s overnight, so they bundled me up in so many layers that I looked like a big marshmallow.

Happy, warm, and full of yummy milk, I fell asleep quickly and dreamt about climbing big boulders all night. Sometime during the night, I must have gotten a little cold because I woke up early in the morning snuggled next to Daddy in his sleeping bag. He was just watching me snooze and keeping me warm. I was so happy in the morning, it was a brand new day with new and exciting adventures ahead.

 

Before setting off on our adventures, I had a little bit of business to take care of. I had been holding it back for the past 2 days, and I couldn't hold it anymore. So when Mommy and Daddy decided to change me that morning, I let it all loose. They had to go through 3 diapers to catch all of it. Even though they are getting better at handling my poopy blowouts, this one really caught them off guard. I made a bit of a mess on my blankets and clothes, but I didn't mean to. It sure felt great and I think I timed it pretty well. At least I didn't wait until we were at the boulders to do my business!

I'm happy to get rid of the poop

Fixing my hair in the morning

Happy and ready to go!

I was pretty happy and felt much better after getting rid of all that poop. I tried so hard to keep my eyes open as long as possible, but after a few hours of chatting with Mommy and Daddy, I fell asleep again. They packed everything up into the car, then waited for me as I slept and slept. Finally, after hours of waiting, I was still sleeping, so Mommy put me in the carrier again and off we went.

When I finally woke up, we were at a new bouldering area. I wanted to stay awake and watch Daddy work this super hard problem, but I just couldn't. I ate and slept, then ate and slept again. Daddy, being the resourceful one, even made me a shelter to keep the critters away.

After a few hours, Daddy sent his big project, a challenging V8 called Orbital Mechanics. I missed all the fun again. I will have to watch the video later. We finished up our fun trip with a family picture. Yes, I slept through that too.

In conclusion, being outdoors is awesome, camping is so much fun, and I can't wait to start climbing rocks with Mommy and Daddy when I get bigger. I just have to figure out a way to stay awake outside. There's something magical about the outdoors...it sure makes me very sleepy :)

Micah's First Adventure!

As Micah approached 6 weeks of age, we started to plan his first outdoor climbing adventure.  It had to be somewhere close, just in case we had to retreat quickly.  Our friend Joe had spilled the beans on a new area he had been developing nearby, which allegedly contained the best bouldering in Missouri.  Anxious to finally get Micah outside, we jumped at the opportunity to explore this mythical rock oasis. Developing a new climbing area is difficult enough as it is, but throw a newborn into the mix and you have the potential for a logistical nightmare.

Last Thursday, we lucked upon a pocket of perfect weather in the middle of an already smoldering spring and decided it was now or never.  After packing up the car with all of our climbing gear and half of the baby's nursery, we headed off on Micah's first climbing adventure with mild optimism.  How good could this place really be?  Missouri, like its sister state Kansas, is plagued with some of the worst rock in the continental United States.

After a short drive, we arrived at our destination and began the arduous hike through a dense forest.  Having no trail to follow, we bushwhacked our way through overgrown vegetation with nothing but a compass and a print out of some vague beta from our friend.  To make matters worse, despite our best attempts to pack efficiently, we still had a large amount of gear for a one day expedition.  I decided to be the baby carrier since I'm typically the more sure footed one.  However, with two crashpads on my back, and an almost 12 pound baby in front, my balance was a little compromised.  While I was sliding and falling on my face, Micah somehow managed to stay snug and peacefully asleep through it all.  Yoli, meanwhile, had a slightly different experience.  Not only did she make the poor decision to bushwhack with sanuks on, she also managed to sprain her ankle, and walk straight  into an ambush of thorny vines.  Stubborn as she is, instead of backing out of the vines, she continued walking forward, getting more and more entangled and cut up.

When we arrived at the first set of boulders we were pleasantly surprised.  Good quality rock abounded and the rock was well featured, with a variety of holds and pockets.  We warmed up on some easy lowball pocket problems that Joe had told us about.  Despite their small size, there were actually some pretty interesting moves on these warm ups.

After warming up, I tried climbing the left arete of Mt. Olympus, but chickened out at the top.  Yoli was nursing Micah and was unable to spot.  There's a tree directly below the crux move and I didn't want to risk getting hurt before seeing the rest of the area.

We continued on and found what we believe to be the Anniversary Boulder, but we could be wrong.  This boulder had two amazing lines on it, a V1 and a V2.  Micah caught a nap while Mommy and Daddy climbed these stellar lines.

After a quick sesh at the Anniversary Boulders we headed on until we reached the Timbo Boulders.  The Timbo Boulders are actually a cluster of maybe fifty boulders so densely packed that no trees grow here, making it easy to get from problem to problem.  It actually took about 2 hours to reach the boulder field, but that is because we were constantly stopping to look at other boulders along the way.  I picked out a nice looking line to climb, but it is doubtful that I got the first ascent, since Joe has already put up around forty problems in the area.  Micah watched and worked out the moves while we climbed the best boulders in Missouri.

After spending only a couple of hours at the Timbo boulders, we decided to head back.  We didn't want to get caught in the dark with a newborn, with no trail, and a couple of dim headlamps.  The trip back to the car only took 40 minutes.  Exhausted from all the hiking, we posed for a quick family portrait before heading home.  If you look closely, you can see Micah saying what he thought of the place.

#1 Bouldering Spot in Missouri!