Playing in the Snow

You didn't think we made our little turkey stay inside when we got such aan enormous amount of snow did you? Hannah and Nick had an awesome time playing outside. I kind of thought she might wimp out because of the cold, but not my tough little turkey. She was outside for over an hour, and only came in because it was time for lunch.



She had fun "helping" daddy shovel the driveway... We don't have a kid sized snow shovel, so she used her little rake instead :) Hey, it worked in a pinch, and she didn't know the difference. :)

Outside my window...

This is the beautiful sight that greeted me this morning when I got up. God is good, and his creation is amazing!

Cheap Entertainment

Who knew it could be so easy to entertain the baby? :) And seriously...why did I not think of this sooner?!!

Daddy and the baby sling... :)

Look at what I made Daddy do... :) My sling has been a life saver for me as far as getting things done around the house when Gabe thinks that he needs held :) I have been after Nick to try it on, just for fun, and I finally talked him into it this morning. So of course I had to take a picture for documented proof. :) And really, he was much more excited than he looks in this picture... :) He actually did wear Gabe in the sling for about 20 min. And can I just say ladies, that it was kind of super attractive :) Yay for baby wearing daddy's! :)

6 month stats

Gabe had his six month well baby visit yesterday. He is 27 3/4 inches long (90th percentile) and weighs 19lbs 13 oz (75th percentile). He is definitely my big strapping boy :) He is also sitting up on his own, army crawling everywhere, and getting up on his hand and knees and rocking pretty much every day. He started eating some solids a couple of weeks ago, and his favorite thing right now is peaches, and he pretty much hates sweet potatoes. He is a happy, laid back baby in most ways, but he will also let you know when he is displeased :) I love you Gabers!

My Mom and Dad

Are pretty much awesome. I just thought you all should know :)

Dancing with a Princess

My sister got Hannah the most adorable princess dress-up dress for Christmas this year. It is seriously so cute!
Hannah loves playing Cinderella in it. The other day she had it on, and she asked her daddy if he could come upstairs and be her prince, and dance with her.

After scraping my melted heart up off the floor, I ran to get the camera. :)

I love that Hannah wants her daddy to be her prince, and I love that her daddy will take time out of his busy work day and spend a few minutes dancing with his little girl. :)

Always remember little one, that you are mommy and daddy's princess and that we love you more than you will ever know. :)

These pictures make me laugh...

While I should have been working on my grocery list/menu for the next two weeks, I instead procrastinated and was looking through Christmas pictures. These pictures of my kids with Aunt Kiki made me grin. Miss you Kiki!!

6 months

These pictures are about a week late, but I guess, better late than never :) Here is my handsome, smiling, almost crawling, six month old little boy!

Merry Christmas!

Forgive the sideways video, but this was to precious not to share :) Wishing you all a very merry and blessed Christmas!

Wedding Pictures

Finally I am getting these made and posted... :) The website I use to make them was giving me fits yesterday...grr... Anyhow, enjoy :)

Baby Food

Someone ate his first baby food today :) Mashed banana's were a big hit. Sweet potatoes, carrots, apples and peaches to come. My boy is growing up way to fast!

My baby sister got married yesterday! It was beautiful, wonderful, sweet, and completely perfect. :) More pictures to come...even though this one is pretty dorky, I still really like it :)

Stressed and Blessed

That is how I have been feeling lately. We have had a lot going on around here as of late, with my sisters wedding this weekend, getting ready for Christmas festivities, and the semester winding down at work. Most days I have felt like I am barely keeping my head above water, and I hate that feeling. I want to be that super mom who never lets anything bother her, who is super organized, and whose house is always spotless and laundry is always clean. And while I know that it is a bit unrealistic to have those expectations for myself, sometimes it is hard to keep those feelings at bay.



But aside from being stressed, I am also incredibly blessed. I was sitting at the computer tonight editing pictures that I took of Gabe while he was sleeping and I just felt so peaceful and blessed. Pictures of my sleeping babe were just what my heart and mind needed to feel peaceful again.

Finally...

We got a decent Christmas picture! And yes, Hannah and Gabe are wearing matching Christmas PJ's...I am soo that mom :)

My Baby Boy

I made an attempt at Christmas pictures of the kids last week. It did not go well. I took 121 photo's and this is the only one I really like. At least I got one though :) And he really is ridiculously cute :)

Wordless Wednesday

Just because she is cute :)

Busy, Busy, Busy

Oh me, oh my have we ever been busy lately. I keep thinking of things that I want to sit down and blog about, but by the time I have the kids in bed and actually have time to blog, I am too worn out to actually do it. However, I had some Coke Zero at my mom's house tonight, so I am all caffeinated up and ready to blog. Be forewarned, this will probably be a long post :)

The first, and biggest thing that has been keeping us so busy around here is that my husband has changed jobs. Anyone who knows my husband knows that he is very adverse to change, so this has been a really big thing for us. After working for his old company for almost 10 years, we made the decision as a family that it was time for him to move on. Things fell into place ridiculously quickly, and one week after resigning from his old job, he started working at his new job. The biggest difference is that he is now working from home. Since what used to be our office is now Gabe's room, and the computer is in the playroom/basement/family room, we have have been busy transforming part of the laundry side of the basement into a home office for Nick. Its not done yet, but here are some pictures of the progress we have made so far.

This is the before shot. As you can see it was fairly gross and a bit of a disaster.
Hannah and Grandpa working on painting. Hannah really thought the painting was fun, and for being only three, she did a decent job :)
Number one painter :)

Framing the new wall and doorway.
We now have drywall! Since this last picture we also have insulation in the drywall, a new phone line and new electrical wiring...and it all works :) Still some things to do, but we are getting there. :)

We also had family Thanksgiving with Nick's family this past week. We did Thanksgiving with my side when my sister from PA was up two weeks ago. One of the big traditions that Nick's family does is shooting trap on Thanksgiving. While I was a loser and didn't take many pictures at Thanksgiving, I did take some of my studly husband shooting things :)



We also put up our Christmas tree this past Sunday. I have to say that it was by far the most fun I have ever had putting the tree up. Hannah had an absolute blast doing it. She kept saying that the lights were sooo, beautiful, and I think that since Sunday she has rearranged the Christmas ornaments on the tree about 16,000 times. :) Christmas through the eyes of a three year old is a ridiculous amount of fun!

Daddy thinks he is funny :)
Hannah hanging up ornaments.
She wouldn't look at me so this was the best I could do. :)
Gabe hung out on the boppy and enjoyed the lights :)
He is so stinking cute!
I love my kids...and they love each other :)

And the final thing that has been keeping us busy is that my little sister is getting married in just a little over two weeks. It is such an exciting time! But did I mention that she will be moving to Northern Ireland (where her soon to be hubby is from) after they get back from the honeymoon...SOB...we already have our skype camera, so hopefully that will help...:(
Krissy and Geoff...aren't they cute :)

This girl....

Has been cracking me up lately! She is just full of funny things to say. Here are that latest, for your reading pleasure:

Hannah: "Mommy, I want to have really long hair like Kiki" (My sister in law has really long hair)
Me: "That would be nice Hannah."
Hannah: "But mommy, how will I poop with really long hair?"
Me: "Ummmm...."

Hannah: "Mommy, did you know that God got a camel, and rode it to the stable to see the baby Jesus?"
Me: "No, I didn't know that. Are you sure it wasn't the wise men who rode the camel to see baby Jesus?
Hannah: "No, it was God. Mommy, is Gabe the baby Jesus?"
Me: "No honey, he is just our baby Gabe."

*For this last one to make sense, I need to explain that we were at the Dr.'s office. I had taken Gabe in because he kept fussing and pulling his ear, but it turned out that he did not have an ear infection, and the NP thought that he was probably just teething.*
Nurse Practitioner: "Well, it looks like his ears are fine, sometimes kids will pull their ears when they are teething. You can go ahead and get him bundled back up, and head out."
Hannah (to the NP): "But aren't you going to check his nutter-butters?"
NP: "His what?"
Me: (Red faced and trying not to laugh, because being a nurse, I always call everything by the correct anatomical name....) "Do you mean his boy parts honey?"
Hannah: "Yeah mom, his nutter-butters."

*She has gone to all of his well baby checks with me, and they always check the diaper area, so I am thinking she just assumed they would check again this time....Oh me oh my.... :)*

Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did!!

5 months

I can't beleive that my baby is five months old today. Gabe you are already turning into such a big boy! You are rolling from your belly to back and your back to your belly. You love being in your exersaucer, and playing with your activity gym. You still have your blue eyes, and your smile and giggle melt your mommy's heart. You think that your big sister is sooo funny, she can make you laugh better than just about anyone. You love to snuggle with your daddy, and when you end up sleeping in our bed at night, you always wiggle your way over to his side. I love you very much precious boy, you bring your mommy so much joy! Happy five months little man :)