OK, so this picture is from the beginning of August, but it is Cynthia's screensaver at work. Opa Tom took the pic and it is so precious it has to be shared!
Wow, it's been a while since the last post - so much has happened. The primary reason for the lapse is that Cynthia went back to work at the end of August. Needless to say, we don't have many free moments around here anymore.
Things are going well for Cynthia at work. She's working 4 ten-hour days and taking the vanpool. It means leaving the house at 4:20am and returning at 6pm, with lots of napping in the van on the way to and from Seattle. She's enjoying the quiet time at work before everyone else shows up at 9am. This actually enables her to get some work done before the frenzy of the day's meetings and phone calls begins. She's exhausted, but that's par for the course working full time with an infant.
First train ride with Grandma Cathy on Grandparent's Day. We took the train in Snoqualmie out to Snoqualmie Falls, it was quite an adventure.
Anthony is doing 4 ten-hour days as well. Each of us is spending a day at home with Leopold. Grandma Cathy is doing a day as well and we've hired our neighbor Denee (who has a 2 year old daughter) to take care of Leopold the remaining 2 days per week. Leopold took several weeks to adapt to eating from the bottle, but seems to be more or less adjusted now.
We've had a few glitches - Cynthia broke her foot on her 3rd day back to work and Leopold's got a cold from the neighbor girl. All in all we're handling it pretty well. Cynthia had to wear a walking boot for 6 weeks and was pretty bummed about missing much of the fall hiking season. But she's been able to hobble around fairly functionally and continues to heal.
Hunting season is in full swing. Uncles David and Quinton came to visit for the beginning of elk archery season and helped up with Leopold in the mornings when Anthony had a training in Spokane.
"Ahh, it's like being in a hot tub," says Uncle David.
We took a trip to Colorado - Anthony had a conference there on Human Dimensions of Wildlife and Cynthia came a long with Leopold. Cynthia got to see a few talks, but was pretty much on baby duty for those 3 days. The conference was at the YMCA in Estes Park - adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was beautiful! We saw elk in the fields right in front of where we parked to check in. Interesting elk-human conflicts in the town of Estes Park - here's a picture we took from the car.
On the way to Estes Park, we stopped in to see grad school buds Suzy and Darrin in Boulder. It was wonderful to catch up and for Leopold to meet these friends.
We did make it into the National Park - check out these photos of the elk. It was the rut and the males were buggling and trying to keep the females in sight. As you can see, they are quite the attraction. We also drove further up into the park and saw the beautiful yellow colors of the fall aspen.
Leopold enjoying tummy time in Colorado.
OK, which one next? 
Love these buttons!
Leopold is getting bigger - check out this picture of him in his high chair. He's not eating solids yet, but the chair is a great way for him to hang out on his own while we eat. Soon, he'll be eating too. He's in the full throws of teething - no teeth yet, but lots of drool and fussy times. We're getting through it pretty well, though, all and all. Grandpa Duane got him an exersaucer (pics above) which he LOVEs because he loves to stand up and is having so much fun engaging with toys these days, especially when he can do it all by himself! He particularly loves to hear the sound of the duck and the buttons that play songs.
Happy Boy in his High Chair
When we got back from Colorado, we saw Callie for lunch - she was in town for a conference in downtown Seattle and we were all so happy that it worked out to meet up and for her to meet Leopold. She was missing little 2 year old Nora who was home with daddy Greg in Arizona.
Callie and Leopold
Elisa also came to town for a visit and we spent the day with her and the evening with Dad and Kathryn. Lots of good baby time as well as yummy cheese, wine, and other treats (lamb for the meat-eaters).
We'll try to keep things more up-to-date in the future, but with so little time, it's more likely to be about once a month or so.
Video of Daddy singing and Dancing with Leopold on the Yoga Ball:
Leopold and Grandma in the Pumpkin Patch
