Let the Adventures Begin

A and I are excited to now share our adventures with Atticus. It's still a bit cold in the CO high country to go backpacking, but we did get in a good couple days fishing with the Sparrows on the Platte River north of Lake George. The hikes in were a bit more than we expected, but once to the river, we had a great couple of days! There are new challenges bringing a 1 month old on the trails, but we came out just fine. A had to feed on the trail a couple of times, we started with the BOB stroller, but had to carry it back to the car and just carry Atticus due to the conditions of the trails. There is no stroller heading back where we went. Heck there weren't that many people! All in all, it was a very fun weekend.


Caught some nice fish!

Awesome day by the river with the Sparrows!

Just yesterday, Atticus hit up his first baseball game. The Padres were in town, so we decided to make a date night out of it, get some sushi, and see the game. Although the Padres lost, he had a great time!


Atticus just chilled the whole game! Fist bump.

This dude is serious about his baseball!

It is fun watching our little guy grow up. Looking forward to more adventures and to raising Atticus up in love and adventure. Guinness was enjoying Atticus' one month pics.


Here are a few photos from our last shoot with Atticus. He was 7 days old! Amazing how fast he grows up.






Until our next adventure!

~J&A

We Are Blessed

Atticus is almost 3 weeks old, and we have had an amazing time with him! It is amazing how much he has changed over the first three weeks, but it also feels like time has slowed down in a way. It has been great to take pictures every day, enjoy the little changes, the new expressions, watching him develop and become more aware. It has been nothing but a blessing! Also, we got pretty lucky. Since the beginning of his second week, he has slept around 6 hours every night! We go to bed around 10 and he wakes up between 4:30 and 5:30 most mornings. I think this is rare, but you won't find us complaining. We have had a lot of fun learning what babies are all about (since neither of us knew anything more than what we read about). It is unbelievable how natural being a parent is once you have a baby. We hold him and don't worry about a thing. We calm him when he is fussing. Even changing diapers isn't bad. Surprising!!! Some of the highlights of the first few weeks are:

The dog's reactions to Atticus. They love him!

Bath time is entertaining!



Watching him sleep just makes you smile!

Enjoying the new addition!




We just got our first few maternity pics back. We ended up with some great pics from Karen Rubin! It will be a couple weeks before we get some of the newborn pics with Atticus! That will be on the next post. We really could not feel more blessed. We are excited to raise up this little guy and see the man he becomes. Life is good!




If you are in the Denver area, or want to visit the Denver area, come on over and hang out with Atticus! We'll cook you a nice dinner!

~J&A

A Week to Remember

Wow! Last week was by far the best week of our lives. Our 8th anniversary, hosting Denver's first annual Walk4Water for Hands4Others, AND the birth of our baby boy, Atticus!

I will relive the week in order:
Tuesday was our 8th anniversary! We decided to go out to dinner at Luca d'italia and celebrate. We had a great dinner, but also had a wonderful time bringing up memories. We talked about our marriage, how blessed we have been, where we want to go and what we want to do in the near future. About Atticus and his birth, about how we want to raise him and what we want him to stand for. About how we can influence that throughout his life and about how excited we were to meet him. It was an amazing evening with great food and wine.

Next on the agenda was Denver's first annual Walk4Water. We have invested a lot of time into preparing for the walk, getting in front of kids at school assemblies, volunteering at youth events, spreading the word around Denver, and trying to create a base for Hands4Others in Denver. It has been a stressful venture, but the walk went off on Saturday morning and it was great! Some folks that we didn't know came out and are very excited to be part of the movement, some kids came out that have fundraised, and our volunteers were awesome! With previous donations combined with the fundraising from this walk, Denver has funded its first village, providing clean, sustainable water to 1,000 people that have never had the opportunity to have clean, parasite-free water! An amazing accomplishment and strong work from everyone involved. We are excited to keep the momentum rolling and hold our second event in Denver in the early fall!

And now, the culmination of the week. I will keep the story as succinct as possible as it was amazing!
To set the stage. Adrienne went into labor the same day as the walk. We woke up at 5:30am and headed to Starbucks for breakfast. We set up the walk and got everything ready. Adrienne walked the three mile walk, and then helped break down. After, we headed out for some Mexican food and celebrated a successful day (little did we know what we were in for). We headed home and packed up our hospital bags and made sure we were ready for our next adventure. Around 10:00pm, Adrienne said she was feeling some crampy pains that she had not experienced during pregnancy yet.
Side note: A was very blessed throughout her pregnancy. No sickness, no pain, no food aversions, no real cravings. Just normal life with the addition of carrying a baby.
We decided to see what came of the pains and play it all by ear. Around 10:30pm, we realized the pains were contractions and they were coming every 5 minutes and lasting about 1 minute each. For those of you that do not know, that is when the doctor says to leave for the hospital. So instead, we stuck around the house just to make sure. These contractions continued and by 11:30pm they were around 3 minutes apart and getting much more severe. We decided to leave for the hospital then. I brewed a french press of coffee and got the car packed up (the essential things). We left around 12:00am and arrived to the hospital around 12:30am. We were checked in by around 1:00am, A was already dilated to 4cm and labor started getting pretty serious. She got sick a few times and the contractions looked extremely painful. I did my best to coach her through them, focussing on breathing and resting, and giving a lot of positive reinforcement. Adrienne decided to go through labor without the use of medication, so we were in for a workout! She got in the jacuzzi tub and labored there for around 1.5 hours. Once the contractions were too much to stay still, she got out of the tub and moved to the exercise ball. There was no more being comfortable! She dealt with the contractions amazingly! Breathing through them and then resting when they were over. After another hour of laboring, she looked at me with the saddest eyes I have ever seen and said, "I'm so tired. I'm not sure how much longer I can do this." It just breaks your heart as a husband to see that face and hear those words, but this was the time to be strong and continue being positive. I would pray for her each contraction, asking God to give her strength, endurance, perseverance, and to renew her mind! We asked the nurse how much longer until the next measurement. She told us she would measure again in 30 minutes and see where she has progressed to. Knowing it was only 30 more minutes before finding out progress gave A some renewed hope. We got through that next half hour and she was back on the bed getting measured. She had progressed to 9.5cm!! Praise God. She was almost there. The doctor was on her way and once she arrived, she checked the cervix and said it was completely gone and she could start pushing if she wanted to. This again brought new hope and it was time to push! Once the next contraction came around, the pushing started! What an experience! Adrienne pushed for 45 minutes and out came our baby boy, Atticus, at 5:52am. We were taking pictures, I had the GoPro running, and we were celebrating new life! Watching Adrienne hold our baby boy immediately after he was born was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

Over the past four days, we have had the most amazing time with Atticus. So far, he is sleeping well, feeding nicely, and we are enjoying our new family! What an amazing week celebrating the best experiences of our lives, our wedding day and the birth of our son, Atticus. We could not feel more blessed.

Below is a photo bomb of A's belly before having Atticus, the completed nursery, and our baby boy!

A's Belly at 40 Weeks




Nursery Pics

Atticus Swaddled

Time to go Home!

He's a Charger's Fan!

A Little Retreat to Prioritize What Matters

A and I decided to take a little retreat to the mountains before Atticus is born. We wanted to take some time to pray over him, us, and our future family. What a great time it was! It was Easter weekend and time for some fun spring skiing (A did not ski this time around). We hiked with the dogs, ate awesome food, bought some art, and enjoyed being alone with each other. You can never underestimate how important it is to get away from your day to day and spend time with your spouse. We love being together at home, love hanging out with good friends, but there is something special when we take some time to get away and focus on each other and the things that are most important to us. We sat at the bottom of the mountain and watched people ski down, secretly hoping to see a big crash! We sat by the fire and prayed for each other, our future son, and people that we love. We made breakfast together and enjoyed eating it while listening to music we love. It is hard to put a value on these things, but I rate them amongst the most valuable things in life. These are the things that keep a marriage vibrant and alive.

We went to the mountain top sunrise Easter service on Beaver Creek. It was classic! The worship was led by SNL's church lady's twin. I couldn't stop laughing, but it was great to celebrate Christ's resurrection together while watching the sunrise over the Gore range. What an amazing way to spend Easter morning. Atticus is due in just over three weeks and we are excited. A has had the most amazing pregnancy and we can't wait to meet our little guy. We pray to pass on our understanding of and desire to love.

Enjoying the mountains

Cooking up some good food!

An etching we bought for the nursery!

A little hike with the dogs

The pups had a good time as well!

~J&A

Healthy, Happy, and Adventurous

We really have been blessed throughout this entire experience. A has been able to work out every day, has not experienced morning sickness, has not had any crazy cravings, no mood swings, no change of diet outside of not drinking alcohol, and we've still been able to go out on adventures and create new memories! In reality, not being able to enjoy a nice glass of wine together at the end of the day has been the biggest sacrifice. As it currently dumps snow, we are thinking about bundling up and taking the dogs for a romp in the park! With Atticus's arrival, we are looking forward to the sacrifices and changes that are to come. Some we can foresee and others we cannot. One thing that is important to us is to always keep adventure in the fore of our lives. It wasn't too long ago that I was writing back to a friend in CA and we were talking about the challenges of seeking after the things that are pleasing to God and not to man. About how difficult that can be in our culture, with our drive, and how that balances out with a successful career in business, socially, etc. I stated some of my struggles and said something along the lines of, "Seeking holiness is the greatest of adventures." It truly is an epic adventure and we hope to share "the greatest of adventures" with Atticus.

His arrival is soon approaching with the due date 5 weeks away. This is a very exciting time of life with so many new experiences, surprises, and changes. We have been fortunate enough to be able to embrace them all and look forward with eager anticipation. Now, off to the park to play in the snow!

Guinness is ready for a baby brother!

Haile is excited as well!

The baby bump is getting bigger! Wahoo!

~J&A

Parties and Deer

Atticus's due date is 6 weeks away! It is amazing how time flies right on by. We are excited for his arrival and the whole experience that is to come! We had a wonderful shower hosted by our good friends Erica and Spencer Sparrow. It is rare that baby showers last until 2 in the morning, but it was a wonderful time celebrating the new life to come! Here's a pic of A and I at the end of the night. Also, one of Spencer and I celebrating.



I finally got my deer antlers back and put them up in the nursery. They are over the chair and add a nice touch to the room.


We need to get the pics I took printed on canvas and the nursery will be complete :)



We may change the barn print to a mountain scene with a lake, but need to see how they come out on prints first. Excited to take Atticus on adventures and introduce him to the wilderness that is out our back door. Speaking of, it's time to get out there myself. Time to wrangle up the pups and head to the hills! They are excited as well!



~J&A

Life Lived Through Song

It's funny how your focus changes when you are going to have a kid. This song has been on my mind since we found out we were pregnant, and even more so since we knew we were having a boy. The first time I heard it, when it was released, I thought, "That would be cool someday." Now, it is hard not to get emotional knowing the influence you have and the joy it is going to be to raise this little guy. Enjoy the song. If he's anything like me, we are in for a wild ride!



And here's a nice pic of my hot wife. She's pretty awesome!


Skiing black runs at 7 months pregnant. She pretty much rocks!