Banana and Grape

Nursery Pics :)

2011-12-23T01:14:00.000-09:00

So since we didn't find out the sex of the baby this time, I was pretty stumped for awhile about how I wanted to decorate the nursery. Everything I saw in stores that was neutral was ducks, frogs or tan colored teddy bears. Not that there is anything at all wrong with those themes, but I like color and shapes and I just couldn't find anything I liked all that well. That is where I came up with the idea to make the nursery stuff myself :) I decided to do a Dr. Seuss theme, and I really like how it came out. In my opinion it is pretty gender neutral, and I was able to do it for about $50.00 :)

The crib with a super soft cat in the hat flannel crib sheet. The framed pictures above the crib are just frames that I put some extra bits of the material that I used in :)
I made the curtains and basket liners too :) The baskets have our cloth diapers and wipes in them, although I plan to use disposables until the babies cord falls off.
View of the whole room :)

Gingerbread Houses :)

2011-12-21T07:54:00.004-09:00

Oy vey, I am so far behind in blogging. A few weeks ago we did gingerbread houses with the kids, which is a tradition at our house. Hannah had a blast, and Gave even participated quite a bit. I love having fun family traditions!! :)

Hannah's completed masterpiece.
Hard at work!!
Gabes completed masterpiece! :)
She had so much fun!
Gabey hard at work :)
Cheeser!!

Trimming the Tree

2011-12-21T01:05:00.000-09:00

As per Christmas time tradition, we put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving. The kids absolutely love doing this, and each year as they are a little bit older, it gets to be more and more fun :) Here are some pictures of our tree trimming festivities :)

The four (and a half :)) of us :)

Hannah helping put up ornaments :)Gabey hanging up Thomas. :)
Our nativity :) I love that this year we actually have space to set it out and not have to squish all the figures together :)

For Auntie Krissy :)

2011-11-11T03:17:00.001-09:00

Hey sees :) I finally got around to taking a belly shot for you :) This is me at the beginning of the 29th week. Love you!

Words on a Page

2011-11-09T12:24:00.002-09:00

As most who read my blog know, we are homeschooling Hannah for kindergarden this year. She amazes me at times with her requests for homework, so when she asked me for something to do yesterday I told her to pick any six words that she wanted, and write them down and let me know when she was finished. This is what she did :) Girlfriend definitely got her daddy's smarts :)

Trick or Trunk!

2011-10-31T02:27:00.004-09:00

Last night we had trick or trunk at our church and the kids had so much fun! Gabe thought that it was so cool that he got so much candy (he has a major sweet tooth) and Hannah loved getting to dress up like Rapunzel! I loved that they have a safe place to trick or treat with friend and family :)

Lightening McQueen and Rapunzel ")

Family picture :) We have one from each year at trick or trunk, so we had to keep up the tradition.

She was completely freezing at this point, but didn't want to put her coat on and cover her costume up :)

Also freezing :)

Love this picture! I am so blessed to have these two little monkeys! Love their rotten little butts to pieces!

Museum of Natural History

2011-10-22T02:23:00.006-09:00

Yesterday I took the kids to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. It was SO MUCH FUN!! The reason that we decided to go, was because this past week, the science part of Hannah's school stuff was dinosaurs. She was way more into it than I thought she would have been, so I figured why not reinforce all the stuff that we read and learned about by actually taking her and Gabe to see the dinosaur bones. Hannah was a little nervous at first (I don't think that she actually realized how big the dinosaurs would be) and Gabe thought it was pretty much the coolest thing in the entire world.

One of the things that really cracked me up was that Gabe kept calling the baboons bapoons and the skunks teddy bears. One of the museum workers really got a kick out of the skunks being teddy bears :) It was also so much fun to watch Hannah practically run from one exhibit to the next, because she was so excited and wanted to take everything in all at once. I have to say that even though are days when doing school at home is frustrating and really works on my patience, days like today are so good for my heart and seeing my kids learn and be excited about learning makes it totally worth it. When we got home Gab couldn't stop telling his daddy all about the dinosaurs (dinos) and Hannah kept saying that the best part of the day was the whole thing :) All in all, it was just a really great day :)

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-16T02:33:00.000-09:00

Seeing any connection between the last post and this one? :) The pumpkin that we picked a few weeks ago has now been carved. It was so much fun! Gabe was cracking me up, he kept saying, "Why daddy chopping the pumpkin?" He just couldn't figure out why daddy would want to cut the pumpkin up :) Although when the candle was in and the pumpkin was lit up both kids thought it was really really cool!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-14T02:12:00.000-09:00

Last weekend we had small group and our small group went to the local pumpkin patch/petting zoo for the evening. It was so much fun and some much needed family time for us. We started the night by taking a wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch and picking our pumpkins. It was dark by the time be go there, so the kids got to have flashlights as they looked for pumpkins, which they thought was really cool :) Then we headed back to the petting zoo (we got to ride in a covered wagon which Hannah thought was really cool) and all the kids had a blast seeing and petting the animals. Because it was family night, all the pony and wagon rides were free so each of the kids rode the small ponies twice and then we got brave and decided to ride the draft horses too :) Gabe rode with Nick and Hannah rode all by herself. She was so brave and I was so proud of her!! Gabe wasn't scared at all either, and they are both now convinced that we should get them a pony :) We finished off the night by holding the adorable puppies, which they are both also now convinced they need one of :)

2011-10-12T10:04:00.002-09:00

Two weekends ago we had the annual Swiss Festival in our town. Unfortunately the weather was less than cooperative, and it was cold and rainy all weekend. We didn't do many festival activities because of the weather, but we did manage to make it to the big parade. :)

Hannah had so much fun!

Gabe did too...really, I promise :)

Show Us Your Life....Pets

2011-10-07T07:22:00.007-09:00

One of the blogs that I really enjoy reading is Kelly's Korner :) Every Friday she has a SUYL (Show Us Your Life) post that talks about various different things in life that we all have in common. I usually just read, but I could resist joining up this week, because the topic is pets.

Let me introduce to you the best dog in the entire world...Diesel. He is a chocolate lab, and we rescued him last January. He really is the sweetest, cutest, guy in the world and such a perfect fit for our family.

He is great with the kids and LOVES to be outside, chasing a ball, or playing in the kids swimming pool :)

I know it may sound silly to some, but he really is a part of our family and we love him so much!

Swiss girl!

2011-09-30T08:13:00.002-09:00

Every year in our little town we have the Swiss Festival. It is a big deal around here and people like to dress up in traditional Swiss costumes. My mom had saved the outfit that my youngest sister wore when she was little, and this year it fits Hannah (kind of..I had to take in the waist and it is a bit long but she wanted to wear it so badly :)) Anyhow, she originally wanted to be in the parade, but when she realized that she wouldn't get any candy if she was actually in the parade, she decided that she would instead just wear it to the parade. :) Candy is a pretty big motivator when you are 5 years old :)

Ultrasound pictures :)

2011-09-24T11:57:00.002-09:00

We had our ultrasound earlier this week and I am so excited to share pictures of #3! We stayed strong and didn't find out the gender, and are really excited for the surprise in the next couple of months :)

Zoo!

2011-09-19T14:43:00.006-09:00

Potty trained!

2011-09-14T14:00:00.001-09:00

Well, while his fashion sense may be a bit impaired, we are so proud of our POTTY TRAINED little man!

Happy Birthday Hannah!

2011-09-12T13:32:00.004-09:00

My sweet Hannah love,
I can hardly believe it, but you turned 5 this past week! How on earth that happened, I am not sure :) Five years has gone by way to fast for this mama's liking. We had a Hello Kitty birthday party with all your buddies, your very first "friend party." You had so much fun tearing around with your friends and being the center of attention.

I am so proud to be your mommy and your daddy and I love you more than you could ever imagine. I love watching you play with and help your little brother, and I am so impressed by how well you share your toys with him. You are so smart, and learning and growing a little more each day. You love to learn about the world around you, and about Jesus. Your innocent prayers touch my heart more than you will ever know. I love you sweet girl!

Love,
Mommy :)

Just for fun, some pictures from the party!

Hannah's buddies!!

Cake!

Guess who is 5 years old?! (She was so excited to be one whole hand :))

Laura Ingalls sun bonnet :)

Hannah and her cake :)

Make-up Gate 2011 :)

2011-08-16T04:00:00.000-09:00

A certain someone got into his mama's make-up while we were on vacation... That certain someone was supposed to be taking a nap, but instead he decided to paint himself, and the bathroom with my foundation, lip gloss, and mascara.

I was mad for about 30 seconds, but then I had to turn around to keep from laughing. I mean seriously, how can you not laugh at that pouty lip and joker-ish make-up job... :)

I think we should start calling him Mr. Messy!

OBX 2011

2011-08-14T15:41:00.004-09:00

We went on vacation last week with our group of friends from church. It was a blast! The kids had a ton of fun playing together, and the adults had a great time too :) 14 adults and 10 kids in one house for a week and we are all still friends :) What a great group of people we have been blessed with!

The whole group!

Family picture :)

Gabe was not afraid of the water at all!

Hannah loved the waves!

Nick and the guys after the OBX Sandbar 5k!

My awesome hubby finishing his 5k! So proud of him!

Bun in the Oven :)

2011-07-31T16:31:00.003-09:00

Weeeelllll.....now that I am out of the first trimester, I want to post and let everyone know that we are expecting our 3rd little blessing! We are due Feb. 5th and are so excited to be expecting again :)

First look at the bean :)

Getting huge already!

My little shadow :)

I Made a Pie :)

2011-07-22T07:58:00.002-09:00

And I am so proud of it :) Everything was made from scratch, including the crust. I have no idea if it tastes good, but it's pretty, so I think that counts for something ;)

My attempt at organization and creativity :)

2011-07-11T07:46:00.003-09:00

So, creativity is definitely not one of my strong suits. I love to look at other people's blogs and see all the cute and creative things that they come up with, but I have never been much good at it myself. While cleaning and organizing in Hannah's room, I got completely irritated with the mess that was her hair bows. So I got myself motivated and made her a bow board :) I have seen these on a lot of other people's blogs and it looks like such a cute way to keep hair bows organized.

The best part is that it only cost me $1.86 :) We already had the sign from a Christmas gift two years ago, and I used my 50% off coupon at Joanns for the ribbon. Cute and cheap...can't beat that in my book :)

Family Fun Weekend

2011-07-10T16:05:00.007-09:00

We had a really fun, and really busy weekend! Saturday we went to the inlaws for a cookout and spending time with Nick's Aunt who is visiting from New Zealand. The kids had a blast playing with cousins, and we even managed to take a family picture :)

My little monkey!

Hannah playing in the dirt. She is so girly in some ways, but also a tomboy playing in the dirt :)

Family picture! We were all there at the same time, so this was a definite must :)

Sunday we spent the day with my mom's side of the family. My aunt and uncle have this fantastic cabin that is up on a huge hill and we all try and get together there every summer. It is a great way to spend time with family that we don't get to see very often, and just a relaxing way to spend the day :)

My mom and her sisters. I love this picture of them laughing and being goofy :)

My adorable grandparents :) I seriously don't think they could be any cuter :)

Our little fish. My aunt brilliantly thought to bring a pool for the kids to play in. It was perfect for a super hot day and for keeping the kids busy so the adults could visit :)

Who knew grill tongs could be so fun?!

Overall it was a fabulous weekend! We are so blessed to have most of both sides of our families close and love it when we all get together :)

Birthday Party

2011-07-08T07:57:00.002-09:00

We had Gabes 2nd Birthday Party this past weekend, and it was sooo much fun! I know its a bit dorky, but I love doing the kids parties and coming up with fun themes, and then making a cake to match :) This year we did a farm theme. Here are some pictures of the fun :)

The birthday boy and his big sister. These two are such good buds! They fight of course, but if Hannah isn't around, Gabe is completely lost. The other day I took him to the grocery store and Hannah stayed home with daddy, and we hadn't been in the store 5 minutes when he started telling everyone, "Hannah home." I love that they are so close!

Mommy and the birthday boy :)

His present from Mommy and Daddy. Gabe is completely obsessed with mowers. When Nick mows the lawn he will stand on porch and watch him for the entire 45min-hr it takes. Then he goes on and on about "Daddy mow, daddy mow...." He was so cute opening his presents this year. He would open one thing and then he could have cared less about what else he had to open because he wanted to play with the gift he had just opened. We really had to encourage him to open something new :)

The cake :) I love making these! Unfortunately Gabe was so interested in his mower that he could have cared less about the cake and didn't even want to blow out his candles. That's ok though, I am just glad he was having fun!

2 Year Old Stats

2011-07-08T07:52:00.003-09:00

Height = 34 1/2 inches
Weight =25.8 lbs

Sigh...he is growing up way to fast...

2 years old!

2011-06-23T08:39:00.003-09:00

I can hardly believe that my baby boy is turning two years old today. It seems nearly impossible that two years ago Gabe was born. My sweet and onery little boy :) I love your personality and the way that you challenge me as a mom. You are one of the most determined little boys I know :) If there is something that you want, you don't stop until you figure out how to get it, or make it work. I know that this will serve you well as an adult...but you sure to keep me on my toes. You have the softest heart, and are so sweet to your sister when she is hurt. I love that you two are close! You are the most precious little boy and I love you so much Gabey! Happy birthday sweet heart!

Locks of Love

2011-05-24T13:35:00.003-09:00

Hannah before

Me before

Hannah after...such a cheese ball :)

Me after :)

Us with our hair :)

Hannah and I chopped off all of our hair today to donate to Locks of Love :) I was so very proud of my little girl! She didn't even flinch when she got her ponytail cut off! We had a really fun girls afternoon consisting of haircuts, a trip to Claires for new hair things and milkshakes to top it all off. Love spending time with my little girl!

Who needs toys?

2011-05-20T10:20:00.003-09:00

When you can build forts with blankets and chairs :)

Game Day!

2011-05-13T08:06:00.003-09:00

This year for mothers day, Nick got us family tickets to an Indians game :) It was what I asked for...I love baseball :) We had a blast, and it was fun to have some family time!

Grown up things...

2011-05-06T15:27:00.003-09:00

This is probably going to sound pretty silly, but can anyone else relate to those little things that you do that make you feel like a grown up? I planted flowers in my flower bed today....for the first time since we have lived here...and we have lived here for almost 6 years :) As silly as it sounds, it made me feel like a grown up :) I had so much fun taking the kids to the greenhouse, and picking out what we liked, and then bringing it home and planting. We didn't do anything fancy, and only time will tell if these poor plants will manage to survive, but at least for today, I felt like grown up :)

Here is a little bit of what we did today:
Potted geranium...this is Hannah's plant that she picked out :)

Geranium in a hanging basket...my favorite!

Daisies on the step.

My flower beds...geraniums and impatiens...not much to look at yet, but when the impatiens start to spread, I think they will be really pretty :)

Just because I am love with these flowers. Aren't the colors stunning?!

First Soccer Game

2011-05-02T03:42:00.006-09:00

Saturday was Hannah's first soccer game! She is playing on the Maroon team at our local YMCA, with one of her buddies from church :) It was an interesting day to say the least :) Hannah can be pretty shy and timid in new situations, but usually warms up pretty quickly. She was a bit nervous when we first got there, but she did a good job during practice, and seemed to enjoy kicking the ball into the net with the other kids on her team.

Unfortunately, that seemed to be where the fun ended. When it came time to actually play, she didn't want to have anything to do with it. This picture pretty much sums it up....

There was also some sitting on the field and crying involved :( She kept saying that she was afraid that someone would kick her in the eye. Poor kid, I felt bad for her, but just kept encouraging her not to be scared, and to try and play. We want her to have fun, but at the same time, she needs to know that you at least have to try. So we'll be back at it next week, hopefully with smiles instead of tears :)

Happy Birthday Honey

2011-04-28T01:58:00.004-09:00

Happy Birthday to my incredible husband :) You are my best friend, and I couldn't imagine doing life with anyone else! I love you honey!

Easter

2011-04-24T14:58:00.002-09:00

Happy Easter...from our family to yours :)

Frustration

2011-04-23T03:23:00.003-09:00

Sometimes I feel so bad for my little Gabey. He so badly wants to be just like his big sister, and to be able to do everything that she does. And when he can't, boy oh boy does he ever get frustrated. This picture was taken right after he tried to get the Brita out of the fridge, and he dumped it all over the kitchen floor. Poor guy. I know that his determination and drive will serve him well when he gets older, and for now, I will just continue to give him lots of love and hugs and snuggles from mommmy...while I still can :)

Bella Bean

2011-04-20T09:41:00.003-09:00

Bella bean...that is what I always called my sisters sweet new baby, while she was pregnant with her. Last Monday, at 12:03 in the afternoon, I became an aunt again :) Arabella Mae was born and was 7 lbs 9oz and was 19.5 inches long. We weren't able to head out to visit until Saturday, but we headed out Saturday and came back on Tuesday. And oh the squishy newborn goodness! Love love love my sweet littlest niece. Hannah and Gabe had a ton of fun playing with Sera and Hannah was completely smitten with her new little cousin. She loved holding little Bella! Here are some fun pictures from the long weekend.

Remodel :)

2011-04-17T16:38:00.003-09:00

We have lived in our home for going on six years, and during that time the list of things that we really want to fix just seems to get longer and longer :) I am sure that most people can relate to this phenomenon. You cross one thing off the list and add five more. We are big fans of Dave Ramsey, so we made it a rule that we wouldn't do any projects around the house until we could pay for them with cash. Sooooo...we have finally started being able to get some things done! Woo-hooo! First on the list was our lovely master bath. If you had seen our old bathroom, you know that I am using the term "lovely" very sarcastically!!! It was a true 70's bathroom, complete with a teal sink and toilet, a cirle shower (very star trek) and sparkly teal linoleum :) After our remodel, I think it looks like a sophisticated grown ups bathroom. Here are some before and afters, so you can see for yourself.

Before:

And after:

Next project...the kitchen :)

Family Fun Run

2011-04-12T13:34:00.005-09:00

Last Saturday Hannah and I participated in a Family Fun Run. Hannah did the kids Fun Run, and I ran the 5K. I ran track in college, but this was my first race since my last race of my senior year...9 years ago... Kind of pathetic, but hey, 9 years can get away from you fast. :) It was a super fun family day, and my awesome hubby did kid patrol so that I could run the 5k. It wasn't very fast, but I was kind of proud of myself :)

The four of us before Hannah's run.

Hannah running! I look like a total goob in this picture, but she looks so cute I posted it anyhow :)

So proud of my little girly! She told me that she was really excited for her first "track running." :) She also told me that when she grows up she wants to do track running and be a mommy....yeah, I totally melted :)

I ran with one of my friends, who I also went to college with, and did track with in college, and I have to say, that was the best part of the whole thing! Dawn...you are an awesome running buddy, and you helped the 3 miles go by really fast!

Me and Dawn, finishing up :)

Finished!

Snow Days :)

2011-02-05T07:52:00.003-09:00

Snowy Days :)

2011-01-24T09:33:00.003-09:00

We love playing in the snow! Luckily we have had a good amount around here lately :)

Family Picture

2010-12-22T05:31:00.002-09:00

I know that all you mom's out there can sympathize with me about how hard it is to get a decent family picture. We took this one before church on Sunday morning, and it (miraculously) only took three tries to get. :) Victory!

My babies :)

2010-10-22T12:08:00.003-09:00

Love these little monkeys :)

Rotten boy :)

2010-10-16T06:59:00.003-09:00

Gabe, you certainly do keep your momma on her toes! Thursday morning I got Hannah out of her bath and went into her room to help her get her clothes picked out. Her room is right accross from the bathroom, so when I heard a splash, I went to investigate :) This is what I found...

Silly, rotten boy :)

Hannah and the book :)

2010-10-12T07:39:00.003-09:00

Part of what we are working on in "school" right now with Hannah is sounding out words. She does pretty well, and last week we started working on these little books that are part of our cirriculum. The super nerdy part of me was really excited for this week to come, and I have to say, it was not a let down. Hannah did really well, and can now officially read her first book!! It may only have 5 words in it, but I still think it counts :)

Page 1

Page 2-3

Page 4

I am super proud of my little girl, and I truly hope that she grows to enjoy reading as much as her daddy and I do!

The Oatmeal Hypothesis

2010-10-08T03:32:00.002-09:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, this past week has been a bit on the "poopy" side :) So in order to cope I resorted to chocolate :) Hannah and I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to help mommy destress :) Which brings me to my oatmeal hypothesis...cookies made with oatmeal are only half as bad for you as regular chocolate chip cookies. And because they are only half as unhealthy, then you can eat twice as many :) What do you think?

I did use raw sugar and wheat flour when baking these, so maybe that means I can eat 3 times as many... :) *

This guy...

2010-10-07T02:55:00.002-09:00

Is coming home today, and I am so glad! The hubby has been traveling for work all week, and it has been a rough week. Normally when he is gone, things carry on in the normal manner, but this week...not so much. The kids slept like poo all week. Gabe and Hannah each pooped in the tub at one point. The dog pooped in the house twice. Gabe pooped on the floor and the dog ate it. (Anyone sensing a theme here... :) ) Gabe threw my wallet in the tub and ruined. And those were just the big things :) There were more temper tantrums than normal, and a lot less sleep than normal. So in light of all the poo, I am so glad that Nick will be home this evening. It's not that I can't do this mommy thing without him, I just really really don't want to :) Love you honey!

Parade :)

2010-10-04T04:15:00.001-09:00

Flying

2010-09-29T08:48:00.004-09:00

Lately Hannah has been super into jumping off of things, or "flying." Her lastest trick is running and jumping off the coffee table, and seeing how far she can go. :) And I let her, because we only paid $15.00 for our coffee table, and it's just a silly old coffe table. I hope that when she is all grown up someday she remembers the fun she had jumping off of our old coffee table :)

Caught in the Act

2010-09-22T14:50:00.002-09:00

Love the expression on his face :)

The many faces of Hannah :)

2010-09-21T08:44:00.003-09:00

Silly/Gross

Cute :)

Rotten!

Hannah's Birthday Party

2010-09-13T06:15:00.004-09:00

We had Hannah's birthday party this past weekend! It was so much fun! The theme was pink and brown hearts :) Nick and I got her a big girl bike (with training wheels). She was so suprised and excited, it was by far my favorite moment form the party. :) My sister and neice came in for PA, which was so nice! Overall it was a really fun party celebrating our little girl with family!

Pictures in no particular order :)

Look of shock/surprise on her hace when she saw the bike :)

Modeling her birthday outfit!

Blowing out her candle.

Cheesy face!

Loving her new bike!

Birthday cake!!

In my fridge this morning....

2010-09-10T03:36:00.004-09:00

Heeheehee :) Thought you all might get a kick out of this :)

Happy Birthday Hannah-Lou!!

2010-09-09T01:00:00.001-09:00

My sweet little Hannah,

I can hardly beleive that you are turning four years old today! You are getting so big! I am so proud you my sweet girl :) You are such a smart little stinker...sometimes a little to smart for your own good. I love that you love to learn, and I cherish our one on one times during school each morning. I can't believe you have already memorized six verses, can write and spell your name all by yourself, and are starting to work on learning words! I love your sweet spirit and that you genuinely care about others. It makes mommy so happy when you share with your brother without being asked, or give me hugs and kisses just because :) You are such a precious gift my little monkey and your mommy loves you more than you could ever know! Thank you for being the best girl that you mommy could ever ask for. Love you always and forever,

Mommy :)

My little bookworm

2010-08-25T02:10:00.003-09:00

Hannah is my little book worm. This girl LOVES to look at books and "read" books. She can littlerally sit for hours and be entertained by a pile of books. She is like both her daddy and her mommy that way :) I love that she enjoys books and I am looking forward to the day when she is able to read on her own! What a wonderful world will be opened up to her when she is able to read....I can't wait!

Gabe and the spoon

2010-08-23T04:48:00.004-09:00

Lately Gabe had become mr. independent when it comes to his meals. Most of the time he does NOT want to be fed, but wants to do it himself. He is starting to learn how to use a spoon and it is soo funny :) I snapped a couple of pictures the other day so you could all enjoy the cuteness :)

Good try buddy, but you have got the wrong end :)

Such focus!

Open wide!!

Success! :)

My kids...from far away :)

2010-08-17T04:23:00.007-09:00

One of my favorite things about our house is that we have a really nice back yard. We have wonderful neighbors on three sides, and in the back of the house there is a huge field behind our yard. We have several tall trees that provide fantastic shade and are perfect for little girls and boys to play under on sunny summer days.

Sometimes when we go outside to play I like to let the kids do their own thing. I sit on the deck and supervise, but I think it is fun to see what they like to do when I am not actively playing with them. Yesterday I snuck out with the camera to take some pictures when they weren't looking. (I didn't have my zoom lense on the camera, so that is why they look so far away.)

Gabe had trotted off to sit under one of the big trees and was busy throwing rocks and sticks and crumpling leaves, when his big sister decided to join him :)

Then she decided to smother him..

Then they caught my laughing :)

Silly kidders :)

Hannah at Indian Bear

2010-08-08T09:28:00.004-09:00

Hannah is my little fish. She loves the water and loves to swim. At Indian Bear, even when we were in the pond, she was not afraid at all...she would swim away from Nick and wanted him to take her out to the raft in the middle of the pond. She wasn't even bothered by the fish in the pond (I am a bit traumatized by them :)) No fear for this little girl!

Gabe at Indian Bear

2010-08-05T07:57:00.003-09:00

Every year Nick's side of the family does four day weekend at a lodge close to where we live. It is a really nice place with a big air-conditioned lodge that we all stay in, and a nice pond for fishing and swimming in :) It can be a bit crazy at times, there are 38 of us now, but it is also lots of fun! Here are some pictures of Gabe from the weekend!

Being cute wearing daddy's hat :)
Pweeeeese pick me up mommy!!!
Seriously mom, I cannot beleive you have that camera in my face AGAIN!

First Day of School

2010-08-02T11:33:00.004-09:00

Something that Nick and I have been talking about/praying about/thinking about over the past 6 months to year is how we want our kids to be educated. Hannah is going to be four and September (YIKES!!) and the inevitable school decision is right around the corner. A lot of Hannah's buddies are going to be starting pre-school this year, and while we know that pre-school is not something that is right for our family, Hannah has show a lot of interest in learning and has on several occasions over the summer asked me to teach her to read. :) Nick and I are both avid readers, so this made me really excited :) So after much talking/thinking/praying we have decided to home school for pre-school. I am really really excited about it, and Hannah is too! :)

I did a good bit of research over the past month or so and we settled on using the Sonlight P4/5 cirriculum. I really liked the emphasis on reading, as well as the emphasis on other cultures. I spent a couple of day looking on home school re-sale board, ebay, and half.com, and was able to piece together the cirriculum for about half of what it costs to buy it from Sonlight. (Besides being an avid reader, I am also quite cheap...hee hee :)) Hannah was so excited to get her books in the mail! Every time one would come, she would would say it was the best book ever :)

Here is a picture of our school book shelf :)

Today was our first day, and we worked on the letter F. We also practiced writing our name, read about baby animals, starting learning about seasons and months, and practiced our bible verse for the week. I had a ton of fun, and I am pretty sure Hannah did too :)

In which I show off my accomplishments...

2010-07-28T12:17:00.005-09:00

Feeble as they may be :) For some reason, I have been bitten by the organizational bug these past few days. Rather than try and figure out why, I have just gone with it... I've learned in the past not to question these things, rather to simply take advantage of them on the rare occasion that they do happen.

So first in line...the junk closet. You know that space in your house where you just throw things that you aren't sure what to do with, and you tell yourself that you will take care of it later when you have more "time." But then you never have the time/motivation to take care of it, so it ends up being a big, gigantic disaster. Well, that is pretty much the story of our junk closet :) It has been bugging me lately so I decided to tackle it today while Gabe was taking his morning nap. I didn't take a before picture, so you will just have to trust me when I say it was a huge freaking MESS!! However, after two hours of sorting and pitching, two trash bags full of junk and two big boxes of junk, our closet now looks like this....and I must say, I am quite proud of myself :)

My second big accomplishment for today falls into the decorating category. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am NOT gifted in this area...at all... :) Well my mom got me these picture frames a couple of months ago, and I finally decided what to do with them. These are pictures of Hannah, Gabe, my niece Sera, and one of the three of them together. I really like how it turned out :)

All in all I would say it was a pretty accomplished day. :) I also scrubbed out the fridge today, but I will spare you the torture of looking at my fridge :)

Sisterly visit :)

2010-07-24T15:07:00.003-09:00

I went to see my sister for a couple of days this week. So much fun! Nothing like a little sister time :) Lots more pictures to come, but here is my favorite of our three little monkeys :)

I can't resist...

2010-07-20T08:22:00.002-09:00

...this sweet little face :) Can you?

$5.50

2010-07-16T01:09:00.000-09:00

$5.50...that is how much this little swimming pool cost. And I didn't actually even buy it for the kids, my mom did :) I would say though, that it should be valued at least $55,000 worth of fun! :)

Wouldn't you agree... ;)

Me and my kids :)

2010-07-14T03:19:00.000-09:00

I am sure that there are lots of other mom's out there with the same problem that I have noticed that I have. As I look through our pictures from the summer, I noticed I have a ton of the kids, plenty of Nick and the kids, and practically none of myself and the kids. I always seem to be the one taking the pictures, so I am never actually in any of them :) And since I want my children to be able to look back and see that their mother actually was a part of their life...I tried to have Nick take some pictures of me and the kids the other evening while we were playing outside. Well...it was less than successful... :) So I now present to you...me and my kids :)

Summertime baby :)

2010-07-12T05:06:00.002-09:00

Can I just say, that I am loving summer time :) Being able to get outside with the kids, get sweaty and dirty, and just have fun! Good times! :)

Jumping...

2010-07-08T05:41:00.002-09:00

Hannah has been in a serious jumping phase lately :) So of course I took some pictures :)

A wee Irish Lad

2010-07-06T15:00:00.000-09:00

About 2 weeks ago my parents went to visit my sister who lives in Northern Ireland with her husband Geoff. (Yes...I was VERY jealous!) They brought back this adorable shirt for Gabe from Krissy and Geoff, so even though these pictures are a little fuzzy, I thought it would be fun to post pictures of Gabe sporting his authentic Irish shirt :)

My cousins wedding :)

2010-07-04T15:23:00.002-09:00

I took pictures for my cousins wedding 2 weeks ago, and just now finished going through and editing all of them. This is my favorite one, so I thought I would share :)

Gabe B-day Party

2010-06-30T07:17:00.005-09:00

We had Gabes first birthday party on Sunday :) I decided to do a sock monkey theme, because I think sock monkey's are super cute. And I really get a kick out of doing the kids parties, and making everything coordinate, etc. We had a really great time celebrating out little guy's first year with our wonderful family. I have to give a special shout out to my sister Steph and her husband Lance, who drove 6+ hours on Saturday, stayed for the party on Sunday and then made the long drive home again on Sunday evening/night. And they did all of this with a 15 month old who didn't feel well. Thanks you guys! It really meant a lot to have you there and we really appreciate it!

Me and my little Monkey :)

Yummy....cake...yummy! He was so funny with the cake, he started slowly, but as you can tell, he didn't hold back in the end :)

Monkey Butt!!! I love these!!!

Awesome banner my sister made!

Sock Monkey cake :) I am no professional, but I was happy with how it came out :)

Birthday Boy :)

2010-06-23T15:27:00.002-09:00

Today is Gabe's first birthday. It seems crazy to think that a year ago today, my sweet little boy was born. When we first found out that we were having a boy, I was a little nervous. I felt like I wouldn't really know what to do with a boy, but that I did know how to raise a little girl. :) And while I would definitley say that boys and girls are different, I wouldn't trade my little man for anything!

Gabe, my little man, my little choo-choo (my silly nickname for him that makes absolutley no sense), you are such a wonderful blessing to me. I love your fearless attitude, and how when you decide that you want something, nothing is going to stop you from getting it. I love that you are walking and almost running, and that you will try eating just about anything that we give you. You don't always take more than one bite, but you will always give it a try :) I love that you say mama, and that when you need comforted you want your mommy first. I love holding you when you are sleepy (about the only time you are still :)) and snuggling with you. I love you always and forever sweetheart!

Anyone else seeing a pattern here?

2010-05-30T11:19:00.006-09:00

Little stinker :)

Caught in the act...

2010-05-27T17:53:00.003-09:00

Playing in the fridge, and taking all the silverware out of the dishwasher are two of this guys favorite activities...he's a rotten one folks :) Lucky for him, he is cute enough to get away with it!

Captain Droolie Pants...

2010-05-15T12:27:00.006-09:00

Someone is teething. Which means someone is chewing..

and drooling...

a lot...

Mothers Day!

2010-05-09T11:49:00.003-09:00

Look what my awesome hubby got me for Mother's day :) A kid seat for my bike!! Woo hoo!

*please disregard my scrubby looking appearance, Gabe has been sick since Friday, and not sleeping, which means mommy isn't sleeping :) *

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

2010-05-06T14:23:00.003-09:00

Today is my dad's 55th birthday. Hannah and I thought it would be fun to make him a cake, so after seeing another bloggers pictures of a rainbow cake, we decided that would be the way to go. As we were making the cake I realized that I actually only had two colors of food coloring on hand, but I still think it turned out pretty good. Hannah had lots of fun, and was the official sprinkle master :) Happy Birthday Dad!

Hannah and Grandpa posing with the cake.
Hannah's fabulous decorating skills :)

The inside of the cake. Not exactly a rainbow, but still kind of fun!

10 months and 10 days

2010-05-03T10:34:00.002-09:00

That's how old Gabe was when he took his first step. In typical Gabe fearless fashion, he took not one, but two steps today. My little man is getting so big :) And no, I am not even the slightest bit jealous that he did it for his dad, and not me...ok, well maybe a tiny bit jealous :)

Cousins :)

2010-04-21T06:25:00.002-09:00

We went to visit my sister and her family about a month ago, for my neices first birthday party, and while we were there, we did the obligatory put the kids in the tub together routine. Can you tell that they are related?

9 months...a little late

2010-04-17T15:52:00.002-09:00

Not the best picture taking day, as you can see by this picture. Gabe was not impressed! I actually think he may not have liked the way the roughness of the wall felt. I know it's probably wrong, but I thought this was kind of cute, even though he was mad :)

I like this one, because it is so "Gabe" to me. It looks like he is just trying to decide what to get into next :)

At nine months my little guy is not so little anymore. He is crawling everywhere, almost walking, and literally into almost EVERYTHING! Nick and I have been saying lately, that absolutely nothing is safe from this ones little grabby fingers :) Gabe you are so inquisitive, and not afraid of anything. You are all boy! :) You won't eat baby food any more, and you love to feed yourself. You take a sippy like a champ. You are sort of sleeping through the night, which is really nice :) I love you little man, mommy is so proud of you and so lucky to have you as her son!

Easter Egg Hunt...Take One

2010-04-06T09:40:00.008-09:00

Yup, Hannah got to enjoy not one, but two Easter egg hunts this year. We went to my side of the family on Saturday evening. Luckily, the weather held, and we had a fun time watching Hannah hunt Easter eggs. She was an absolute riot :) She was bouncing from place to place, and giggling the whole time. Oh the innocence of being three...I love it

Gabe wasn't terribly interested in the eggs, but he did have a good time chewing on his tamborine from Grandma and Grandpa :)

9 month stats

2010-04-05T17:03:00.004-09:00

20lbs 10 ounces
28 inches
50th percentile

That's my boy :)

Clearly....

2010-04-04T17:07:00.008-09:00

I stink at blogging. I want blog, I really really do, but most of the time, I am so pooped that it just doesn't happen. I need to just suck it up and do it :) My big girl panties are officially on, and I am now back on the blogging band wagon. :)

Ok, now that that is taken care of, I thought I would show you some pictures of something else I stink at. At least for today. I wanted to get some cute pictures of the kids in their Easter outfits today after church. IT DID NOT HAPPEN. But that's ok...I will just post all the attempts instead. Because my kids are cute (clearly), and I want to show you them in their Easter clothes :)

Even when they are not cooperative, they are still super cute!

Cookies...yumm yumm!

2010-03-14T03:00:00.000-09:00

80's Chick

2010-03-12T03:00:00.000-09:00

Playdate

2010-03-10T03:00:00.000-09:00

Heaven is doing a happy dance today...

2010-03-09T12:23:00.002-09:00

...because today my little Hannah asked Jesus to come and live in her heart! Happy tears! :)

Making Bread

2010-03-08T17:46:00.003-09:00

I think I may be in trouble...

2010-03-01T17:03:00.003-09:00

Why you ask? Well...someone...

thinks that this...

should lead to this...

which naturally leads to this!!!

Barely eight months old and pulling up on things...yup, I am in trouble! :)

*sidenote* Yes, Gabe is wearing rainbow striped baby legs, yes I think they are really cute, and yes Nick thinks they are ridiculous :)

Tonight...

2010-02-21T16:53:00.002-09:00

...after bath time I sat Hannah on the potty to pee before going to bed. She told me that there was no pee in her belly, and that her pee couldn't come out. Here is how the rest of the conversation went:

Me: "So where did your pee go?"
Hannah: "It's busy eating supper."
Me : (Thinking I am so smart and changing tactics) "Oh, I see. Well what about your tinkle? Can it come out before bed?"
Hannah: "No, it's busy playing with it's Daddy."
Me: "Uh huh.... :)"

She makes me laugh... :)

Little Miss Creative

2010-02-19T02:40:00.000-09:00

Hannah's creativity sometimes really amazes me. Her little three year old mind comes up with some of the silliest and funniest ideas. I suppose that I shouldn't have been suprised when she told me that she was going to take a nap in the towel closet, but when she said that I just kind of let it go in one ear and out the other..."uh-huh, ok honey..." Well you will never guess what I found after I was done running the vaccum. That right...Hannah in the towel closet :)

Here she is, playing in the towel closet :)

Here she is pretending to sleep.

Silly silly girl:)

Uh-oh...

2010-02-17T10:35:00.002-09:00

So, we have a lot of snow here lately. And I do mean a lot. Last night it started snowing pretty hard, and when I got home from running some errands I couldn't get the van up the driveway. So my dear husband came out to try and help me. He was able to make it about 3/4 of the way up. He really thought he could make it all the way up, so her decided to try one more time. Well.....as we started backing out to try again, the van started to slide and we ended up parallel to the direction that we wanted to go in, stuck in giant snow drifts on both sides. Thankfully my brother-in-law came over to help us dig the van out, and we were eventually able to get the van into the garage. Grrrrr.....I am tired of snow!!

Num, Num, Nummy

2010-02-16T03:13:00.000-09:00

Cool mom, you are giving me some real food...no more of that silly pureed stuff!

Lets try and out!

Hmmm...feels a little funny on my tongue...

But I LIKE IT!! Thanks mom :)

Gabe likes to eat. Alot. So I decided to try giving him some graham crackers to munch on. I figured that since he has two teeth, and graham crackers are pretty soggy/melty when wet, that it would be ok to give it a go. And of course, he loved it :) Yay for momma's big boy!

Cheeseball

2010-02-13T03:38:00.000-09:00

That's my Hannah. An utter, total, and complete cheeseball. And I wouldn't have her any other way! Love you little girl!

Toofers

2010-02-12T02:53:00.000-09:00

Enough said :)

Geometric George

2010-02-10T03:47:00.000-09:00

This is our snowman. Due to his rather odd body shape, I have named him Geometric George.

This is Hannah, her daddy, and her Grandpa Steve, posing with Geometric George. Should I be worried that my daughters first snowman is most definitely not round? Nah...and besides, one can never starting learning geometry too soon...right... :)

Playing in the Snow

2010-02-08T03:30:00.000-09:00

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...

2010-02-06T08:24:00.003-09:00

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

Cheap Entertainment

2010-01-31T12:29:00.003-09:00

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... :)

2010-01-16T05:49:00.003-09:00

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

2010-01-14T03:16:00.004-09:00

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

2010-01-09T02:00:00.001-09:00

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

Dancing with a Princess

2010-01-07T16:50:00.003-09:00

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...

2010-01-02T04:56:00.002-09:00

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!!