Half Pint's Page

2011-11-28T14:25:00.001-08:00

Gabriel's 2nd Birthday Party

2011-11-28T14:25:00.000-08:00

I have been a VERY bad blogger, but here are some pictures from Gabriel's birthday party. He turns two on Wednesday, November 30th, but we had a Dr. Seuss themed party while family was in town for Thanksgiving.

Alexander's 4th Birthday - Pirate Party

2011-09-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

Alexander's Pirate Party

2011-09-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

Roasting Marshmallows on Our First Cool Evening of Fall

2011-09-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

Pirates at Bed Time

2011-09-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

Labor Day Weekend - Grant's Farm

2011-09-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-06T14:35:00.000-07:00

If it has a steering wheel...

2011-08-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

These boys are on it!

Bandaids

2011-08-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

Last year at this time, Alexander wouldn't let me come near him with a bandaid. Now, he insists on them for every little scratch. This one was for a teeny tiny scratch on his upper lip.

Water Balloons

2011-08-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

You can see that my boys have a small obession with putting water balloons in their mouths. In fact Gabriel absolutely loves to pop them by biting them. Weirdos ; )

Grant's Farm

2011-07-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

I've definitely been neglecting the blog this summer, but here are a ton of pictures from the boys' first trip to Grant's Farm. We LOVED it and it was a lot more relaxing for me than the zoo : )

Grant's Farm

2011-07-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

Grant's Farm

2011-07-25T06:29:00.000-07:00

Grant's Farm

2011-07-25T06:27:00.000-07:00

Grant's Farm

2011-07-25T06:26:00.000-07:00

Mini-Tim

2011-07-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have severely neglected my blog this past month. Summer has gotten me out of my routine of weekly postings! Hopefully these pictures will help to make up for it.

I always joke that I must have been given the wrong baby at the hospital because Gabriel is my opposite, we call him Mr. Recessive because he has blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. And, well, I look very Italian. I had only seen pictures of Tim from when he was an infant, and when he was a bit older. So, this past weekend I asked my wonderful MIL if I could see some toddler pictures of Tim.

Let's just say, we know who Gabriel is ours!

The sandbox.

2011-05-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks again to the Tuckers for this sandbox! The boys have been enjoying it during our nice weather last week. Alexander loves doing "construction" with the trucks. Gabriel does sometimes try to eat the sand, hence the binky. Let's hope he grows out of this eating anything and everything soon (not just putting it in his mouth, but eating it and going back for more).

Alexander

2011-05-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

Checking out the sand-eating albino alligator.

Inspecting the tent to make sure it is in working order.

Just hanging out.

Getting tickled by Daddy.

Swim Lessons

2011-05-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

Tim took these pictures three weeks ago at our first swim practice. Hopefully, we'll get better ones of both boys in during the next couple of sessions. Alexander was out of the water more than in the first day, but he seems to be catching on to the process now. Gabriel loves being in the water...until he turns blue and starts shivering about 30 minutes in.

Playing together : )

2011-05-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

U. S. A.

2011-05-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

Time for our summer makeover! We're feeling patriotic at the Allen household with Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day all in the next few months, this summer will be about the red, white, and blue in our living room and kitchen area.

The metal "A" on the fireplace is for both Allen and America. How convenient : )

Once again, I lucked out and found the perfect rug to tie together the decor...only $16 at TJ MAXX. Love that place!! That is also where I found the big pillows on the couches. I bought three and made the two small pillows on the big couch out of one of them. The boys already love throwing them on the floor and cuddling up with them.

Gabriel LOVES M&Ms

2011-04-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

Easter Morning

2011-04-25T10:59:00.000-07:00

Transporation Museum

2011-04-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

Transporation Museum

2011-04-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

Transporation Museum

2011-04-25T10:56:00.000-07:00

Transporation Museum

2011-04-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

Transporation Museum

2011-04-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

A Wild Hair

2011-04-03T05:42:00.000-07:00

On Friday afternoon, in between working at Parent's Day Out and a lia sophia party that night, I got a wild hair up my "you know what" and had a burst of energy. Maybe it was the sunshine? This was the launch to my first phase of spring cleaning. I took all of the toys out of the toy section of the basement, and moved the couches and bean bags (the gray "boulders" against the far wall) around to take advantage of more floor space. I also moved Tolkien's bed out of the office area and it is on the other side of the over sized chair (right where I was standing when I took the picture). I didn't take a picture of the office because the first thing you now see is Tim's crazy messy desk. This is not unusual, but mine was also messy since I'd been prepping for Friday's party and Saturday's vendor fair. Then, it was onto the next part of the project. I moved Alexander's bed from the dark blue wall and turn it to put it in the far corner. Gabriel was napping in his room for the first two parts of the project. Once he woke up, the next phase of the afternoon's crazy idea continued on. I moved the desk/bookcase and Gabriel's crib from the nursery to Alexander's room...now called the boys' room. This was an adventure. I realized the crib wouldn't fit out of the door, so I took the door off of the frame. It still wouldn't fit (I should have remembered that there was a reason we built it in the nursery nearly 4 years ago), so I had to take it apart and rebuild it in the boys' room. Whew!

Finally, I brought all the toys out of the serious toy explosion in the living room. The boys had been taking everything apart and mixing all of the pieces together, creating a mother's nightmare. Here's the toy room all set up!

I still can't believe I got all of that done between 1:30 and 5:30. Tim had to help me with getting the crib put together, the door back on it's hinges and the bookcase back on the desk. I think he was a wee bit shocked when he came home to all of the changes.

So far, it is working out great for the boys to share a room. We were planning on doing this eventually and put them in bunk beds, but I really wanted the ease of having all the toys in one location and figured the earlier we got them used to sharing a sleeping space, the better.

The Old Kitchen

2011-03-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

This is really not the best picture of our red kitchen, but it is the best one I could find. It makes me wonder what other pictures I've lost?!? As you can see, it was a deep red and we had a lot of dark accessories, and about a million wine bottles up on top of the cabinets. Quite a difference!

Kitchen Updates

2011-03-06T18:03:00.000-08:00

So, I was excited to finally have the stars align and have a clean kitchen at the same time as I remembered that folks keep asking me for photos of our kitchen, now that we've repainted and restyled some things. It turns out that part was actually easier than finding any pictures of our kitchen before we repainted, which is annoying because I know that I have taken them and posted them before...and I can't find them anywhere!

Basically, I decided to give the red walls a more neutral makeover after nearly four years of loving the Eddie Bauer Cabin Red color. This way I could have more flexibility to decorate with the seasons, and I really wanted to lighten everything up with bright colors after the holidays.

These pictures are in a random order, but I will go through them with some brief explaination. I changed over our four black canisters that held flour, sugar, powdered sugar, and brown sugar for two large canisters to hold flower and sugar. They orignally had red lids that I spray painted white. (One of them has a bit of red showing where Tim rested his phone before the paint was dry.) I also snagged these two teal baskets at Target for $2.50 for both. One holds fruit and the other holds suckers. Seems cruel doesn't it?

Here you can see the new lighting my brother put in when he was visiting in the early fall (love it!), and the no-sew valance I made to brighten up the window. The basket holds our bread above the microwave, and the curtains were switched out from the nursery.

Here's the kitchen command center. It is where we house the things we need to find before heading out the door. Right now it has my keys, iPod, and water all set to go to the gym in the morning. I also have the dry erase board with our weekly events, and my planner (my life!) nice and handy.

We have two benches with our kitchen table, and right now I have the table pushed against the wall to give us more of a kitchen bar set up and more floor space for the boys to play.

This shows you a close up of my bargain $6.48 rug. It ties everything together perfectly and we have a matching one when you come in the front door as well.

Another view of the cabinets, we have white Christmas lights up on top, which give a nice soft glow in the evenings. Next up for the kitchen is deciding on a backsplash.

Another view. The kids have their Melissa and Doug animal magnets on the dishwasher.

So that's the kitchen for now! Hopefully I can get a before picture from somewhere. It feels much more open and airy, but I really enjoyed the warmth of the deep red as well. Its just fun to see what a few small changes in paint and inexpensive accessories can accomplish!!

Mark Your Calendar!

2011-03-03T16:51:00.001-08:00

More Bath Time Photos

2011-02-27T09:14:00.000-08:00

Why do I have so many bathtime photos? Well, that would be due to the fact that it is very hard to contain two toddlers for photos...unless they are in a container filled with water. They were both reading bath books so sweetly that I had to get my camera. Of course, that moment of sweet reading was gone, but I still got some cute shots.

Gabriel playing with his favorite toys. He will play with the trains, but really gravitates to the Rescue Men collection that we inherited from one of Tim's soccer families.

2011-02-22T15:21:00.000-08:00

Here are some more cute pictures of Gabriel (14.5 months) playing outside last week. I'm bummed that I was messing around with the camera settings and got some cute pictures that are fuzzy...but still cute!

2011-02-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

Gabriel LOVES my purple styling brush and hair styling tools. The challenge is to make sure he knows that when they are plugged in they are HOT!

We were blessed with a beautiful week last week and the boys loved playing outside when we came home from PDO (aka school).

2011-02-13T15:03:00.000-08:00

2011-02-13T15:02:00.000-08:00

Carving on the big snow ball with a stick.

Rolling the snowball down the hill,

Standing in the nose of the face sculpture and playing the muddy water.

Now his hands are yucky!

2011-02-13T15:00:00.000-08:00

Catching the water flowing off the roof...a "water fall!"

Marking his territory on the trail. He was WAY ahead of us and this is what we saw as we came up on him.

2011-02-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

Splashing in the river of water flowing from the melting snow.

Running off on an adventure.

Running back because he was "scared".

2011-02-13T14:56:00.000-08:00

2011-02-13T14:55:00.000-08:00

Gabriel at 14 Months

2011-02-13T14:53:00.000-08:00

Here are my boys lounging and watching Bubble Guppies. Daddy is really into it.

Tim and Gabriel taking a nap in Alexander's bed when Gabriel was feeling under the weather.

So handsome!

At the sculpture park on a rare 60+ degree day in February.

Heat wave (Part Deux)

2011-01-29T14:47:00.000-08:00

Gabriel was fascinated with the melting snow and loved smushing it under his feet. Who needs trains to have fun?

Heat Wave!

2011-01-29T14:46:00.000-08:00

It was a sunny 43 degrees today, so we got outside for a bit. Alexander played in the sandbox for about 2 seconds before he got in trouble for throwing sand. Ah well, it makes a better train track anyway, right?

Just a typical Saturday afternoon : )

2011-01-29T14:44:00.001-08:00

Making Crayons

2011-01-29T14:44:00.000-08:00

I love my crayon making machine! Mostly because it was free and entertaining. Not because it is slow (the easy bake oven of crayon making) and makes the whole house smell like melted wax. We've been gathering broken crayons from PDO and making shiny new ones that have cool swirly designs. Alexander is my helper when it comes to pouring : )

Alexander's New Attitude

2011-01-29T14:42:00.000-08:00

So, Alexander has stopped hiding from the camera...at least for candid shots. He really want to see what he looks like and is pretty impatient for the pictures. Plus, we are working on his "cheese" face. You know, the one where he scrunches his eyes shut tight when he says cheese.

Here he is showing us his new coat. It's all one piece and I got it on clearance for just over $4. He really liked it for running around in that night, but it is a 5T and too long in the arms for this year.

Play Time

2011-01-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

We've been indoors a lot (obviously because it is freezing out!). Luckily, the boy play well together for the most part, and we have enough different toys between the downstairs and upstairs to switch things around and keep it from becoming too boring. Here Gabriel is showing us his new favorite thing to do with the aircraft carrier we inherited from a family Tim coaches. Lovely.

Bath Time!

2011-01-25T11:33:00.000-08:00

We love our baths : ) Sometimes Gabriel and Alexander bathe together, and sometimes they bathe separately, but they always have a lot of fun splashing around in the tub. This is why we start our bath time routine at 6:30. Alexander, especially, could play in there for 30 minutes!

Favorite Play Place

2011-01-24T12:40:00.000-08:00

This Week (Actually LAST Week)

2011-01-11T14:12:00.000-08:00

Alexander the day after he and Tolkien accidentally collided. He tripped over Tolkien and Tolkien jump up, startled, and caught Alexander's right side of his face with his teeth. Ouch!

Gabriel and Daddy playing on the floor, and giving each other the giggles.

My handy man.

Getting ready to show us his new walking skills...he took off January 3rd. Just after his 13 month birthday, and the day after Grandma and Grandpa Bernard went home!

Sitting like a big boy at the table. Unfortunately, soon after this, the table had to be relegated outside after Gabriel decided to climb on top of it and stand.

Random Gabriel

2011-01-11T14:00:00.000-08:00

Here's some random pictures of Gabriel from December. In this first one, you can see those amazing blue eyes. They are a steel blue, rimmed in navy blue...sure to make the ladies swoon. He's eating a black bean side dish that I made for our chicken enchiladas. MUCH tastier than it looks.

Snoozing on Grandpa Bernard.

Mommy kisses are the best!

On his new car from Papa and Nano Allen. He normally drives it facing backwards, so this is not really accurate!

Alexander

2011-01-11T13:52:00.000-08:00

Here are a few random pictures of Alexander that were too cute to not post : )

Playing with his new Tidmouth Sheds...that boy loves his Thomas and Friends!

He put his baby in the high chair and was feeding it his food.

This was before Christmas, when he had the 24 hour flu bug. We made him a sick bed on the couch and he fell asleep holding his water. Man, THAT was a disgusting day. At least the rest of us made it out pretty much unscathed.

Alexander was Santa's Helper at the Bernard Christmas celebration. He eagerly distributed the presents, and even helped Gabriel open some of his ; )

Gabriel and Uncle Jason

2011-01-11T13:42:00.000-08:00

Again, these popped up in reverse order...I should just remember that when uploading them! So, start at the bottom to see the progression. The photo at the very bottom, shows Gabriel looking at Uncle Jason in a way that expresses doubt in his abilities to repair the plane. Then, the photos follow the process until you get to see Gabriel working on it by himself (directly below). That Uncle Jason is a great instructor!

Magic House

2011-01-11T13:33:00.000-08:00

We had a great trip to the Magic House on New Year's Eve Day...until we decided to leave because of the unbearable crowds, Alexander's impending whopper of a meltdown. Oh, yeah, and the tornado sirens that reminded me of how much I didn't want to be trapped in the Magic House!

Gone Fishin'
This was the piano that shot air bubbles through the water filled tubes attached to it. Alexander LOVED it!

Grandma Bernard helping Alexander get a better view of the trains, until we realized he actually intended to crawl over the wall.

Worm hole.

From Grandma Bernard's Phone

2011-01-11T12:01:00.000-08:00

If you haven't noticed by now, these posts aren't really in order. Here are some cute pictures from my mom's fabulous-new-way-cooler-than-my-phone. They were taken at the Magic House.

Alexander working the cash register in the pretend grocery store.

Gabriel and his reflection in the infant ball pit.

The boys at the water table.

I love how Alexander is looking at Gabriel in this one!

Christmas Morning

2011-01-11T11:41:00.000-08:00

I have been a bad, bad blogger again. This time I can't blame it on coursework...but I can blame it on all of the craziness of spending Christmas in Omaha and then hosting my family for the week between Christmas and New Years! Lets play a little catch-up shall we? Below are some pictures of Christmas morning at Papa and Nano Allens. These are the gifts that Santa Clause brought the boys. They, of course, popped up on Blogger in reverse order. Gabriel got the fire truck and pirate ship and Alexander received the Dinosaur Train, a glowing drawing pad thingy, and Thomas the Train puzzle.

This week...

2010-12-14T18:21:00.000-08:00

This week my boys were so worn out from playing with their friends at PDO that they napped for an hour in the car after we got home. Let's not kid ourselves, it is much easier for me to shut the garage door, open the car door and the door to the basement and let them sleep than it is to rouse two sleepy boys and try to get them back down in their own beds.

The sleeping in the garage was before the first "real snow" of winter arrived. I actually took time out from my insane strategic audit (the last thing to complete my MBA!) to play with the family. We built a snow man and went sledding. The snow was too light and fluffy on it's own, so our snow man is more like an ice man since we had to add some water to make it stick together.

Gabriel and Alexander read this book together. Actually, Gabriel was reading over Alexander's shoulder. I just couldn't get over how big he looked standing there in jeans and a white t-shirt, so I had to snap a pic. Also, you should know that on occasion the boys do wear pants in our house...but most of the time it's still tops and underwear/diapers. We're pretty laid back : )

Whew!

2010-12-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

I have been horrible about pulling photos off of my camera and posting lately, so sorry about that! This is my last semester of my MBA (and this is my last week!), and I picked up some more days working at our church's Parent's Day Out. Along with Tim's soccer schedule, it has just been a bit busy around here. I finally pulled the pictures off my camera, and there were photos from before Halloween! Since I feel like I may be coming down with something (in addition to my cold, thanks to those extra days at PDO), I am not prepared to upload tons of pictures, so we'll just jump in with one post of the most recent event.

Gabriel is now 1!! He was sick for his birthday with pink eye, a cold, and an ear infection, and we had to cancel his party, but he still enjoyed his cake. I'll spare you the nasty eye, runny-nose pictures of that event.

The boys spent this weekend in Kansas City. Tim had a soccer tournament, and his parents were kind enough to come into town from Omaha and bring the boys' cousins so that I could work on my schoolwork. The main thing this weekend is to finish up my Finance group project which is due tomorrow night by midnight, with a presentation on Thursday. We're almost done!

Back to the boys : ) Gabriel was going to get to ride facing forward for the first time. I hope he's not too spoiled now because we don't have a DVD playing in the car unless we are going on a trip. He probably thinks that he's really been missing out for the last 12 months!

Bed Time

2010-10-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile we actually pile the whole family into Alexander's (queen size!) bed to read books and brush teeth. About half of the time, Gabriel konks out a bit earlier than when story time starts, but this night I got some cute pictures of the boys reading with Tim and brushing their teeth together. Alexander is really becoming more taken with Gabriel now that he can move around and play more. He often wants me to set "Gabe", "Gabey", "Baby", "Babriel" down right next to him to play. Sometimes he's a bit too rough (of course), but Gabriel handles it really well and is one tough cookie.

2010-10-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

Last week we had some Jesus Time and did a couple of crafts, some reading, and some singing. One of the crafts was making a bird feeder out of string and cheerios. However, Alexander decided that they were too delicious to not try a few. It was funny watching him eat them like a candy necklace, but I didn't get any good pictures of that.

In this picture, he's feeding a Cheerio to his tiger.

Obviously these pictures are in reverse order because Alexander's hair is shorter above. Tim was finally able to get in on the "oh so fun" hair cutting action. The screaming is just delightful : )

2010-10-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here's Gabriel brushing his teeth at bed time...he has three whole teeth now, almost four. He LOVES his tooth brush and does a pretty fantastic job of cleaning the entire inside of his mouth the whole time we read stories.

He was trying to help me put away grroceries the other day, but since he couldn't really reach most of the shelves, he decided to try and drink Buffalo Wild Wings' Jerk Sauce instead.

Uh oh! He's been caught : )

This is how Gabriel woke up earlier this week. Will he actually undress himself before Alexander does?

Now THAT is what tuckered out looks like!

Mommy's Break

2010-10-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

I had a great girl's day with Missy, Ashley, and a ton of other new and old friends at Sugar Creek Winery and then dancing at Big Daddy's. Here we are on the big yellow school bus trip down!

Thanks Ashley and Steve for putting together a fun day!!

Brothers

2010-10-17T09:04:00.000-07:00

Here is Alexander, again trying to show Gabriel how comfortable it is to have every blanket imaginable in his crib. Gabriel was getting a little panicked with all the stuff, but still had a happy face as Alexander demonstrated how to operate the mobile.

This picture is so cute, and you can't even see their faces! Thomas the Train can result in much bonding, unless Gabriel is trying to take Alexander's trains off the track!

Best Seat in the House

2010-10-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

The best seat in our house is at the top of the stairs, where you can see out our glass door and big half circle window to watch the world go by. That means it is the favorite place for Tolkien, and babies, to hang out. It is also a high traffic area between the living room and the downstairs, bedrooms, or bathrooms. Here are some pictures of Tolkien and Gabriel hanging out while I try to do laundry.

Of course...

2010-10-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

While I'm taking pictures of Gabriel, Alexander had to get it on the action...and bring along his queen size comforter and pillows!

Of course...

2010-10-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

Alexander had to get in on the action...and bring along his comforters and pillows!

Alexander hoggin the spot light from Gabriel.

2010-10-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

Do you think I could ever get him to sit still and take a picture when I want him too? I think not!

2010-10-11T17:54:00.000-07:00

Alexander finally had a moment of snuggle time with Shiloh that was gently and non-life threatening. Of course, you can tell by Shiloh's ears in the second photo that she wasn't so sure it was going to last! They were watching Peter Pan together for a bit. After their snuggle fest, Alexander had hair ALL over him. That's what happens when you eat something sticky and then pet the cat!

Alexander has been busy building forts lately. He drags his queen size down comforter, four pillows, and a body pillow out to the living room and drapes it over one of the kitchen benches. Of course, Gabriel gets in on the act too!

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2010-10-11T16:15:00.000-07:00

More cuteness at 10 months old!

2010-10-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

My boys are getting bigger and bigger! The fun part is that they like to play together more each day. The stressful part is that they like to play together each day, which means some squabbling, of course! Anything Gabriel has, Alexander wants. And vice versa.

Movin' and Shakin'

2010-10-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

Gabriel is just a few days shy of 10 months in these pictures. He finally figured out how to use an army crawl to pull himself around the house, grunting the whole way. He tried to get out on the deck, but the screen door was shut. Then he crawled back over to the stairway and banged his head on the gate a couple of times...no tears, but that is why his head has splotchy red spots in the third picture.

Being 10 Months Old is Exhausting!

2010-10-03T14:07:00.000-07:00

Gabriel is zonked out during my Tastefully Simple party. My guess is that he was rocking on his knees, since he's been attempting to figure out how to crawl without dragging his whole body with just his arms.

Blue Steel

2010-10-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

I love that I have a camera that can capture those blue eyes!

My Punkin' and the Pumpkins

2010-10-03T14:04:00.000-07:00

The sun was not in an ideal place for these pictures, but my model was super sweet!

Gabriel at the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

Before you wonder if you will see a title that says "Gabriel and Alexander Together at the Pumpkin Patch", let me tell you that you will not. I took advantage of the opportunity to take pictures of Gabriel with the pumpkins while Alexander was playing on the playground and in a blow-up dragon. So, there are no pictures of that activity because this is Gabriel's first October and first visit to the pumkin patch. Enjoy the cuteness!

And then Alexander turned into a pumpkin.

2010-10-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

We found that it was too difficult to maneuver a double stroller, cart, and Alexander through the pumpkin patch. Since Alexander was more interested that exploring than sitting (not shocking), we strapped our pumpkin of choice in for the ride to the cashier's stand.

One Cool Dude.

2010-10-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

Gabriel is really just happy to chill out and watch the world go by. He actually sat there with Tim's glasses on for several photos without trying to grab them off and eat them! Notice he is drinking out of a sippy cup already. This is a nice way to feed him since he is able to use it a bit better that the bottle and mommy often needs her hands for other events, like taking pictures at the pumpkin patch.

Alexander at the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

Alexander was excited about seeing so many pumpkins in one place. He was telling us all about them and trying to help other people fill their carts. That is, until he saw the play area and the horses. Then, the excitement really began!

The Best Part

2010-10-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

Alexander's favorite part of the pumpkin patch was definitely his first pony ride. I got a great video of the experience too. I thought he would just want to pet the horse and be too scared to get on it, but he must have felt comfortable after practicing with the one Joe and Bev sent us : ) He jumped right up on it and was ready to go. I'm glad he got to ride the one that wasn't attached to the circle of four horses that just went around and around...he got the full riding experience! Also, there are no pictures of the screaming, snotty-nosed child that had to walk away from the horses. Those wouldn't have been nearly as cute as the pictures below.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

Finally! I got a picture of Alexander holding a pumpkin and looking at the camera...sort of.

Rombach Farm

2010-10-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

Alexander is running around the fort at the Rombach Farm Pumpkin Patch. Of course, he is doing so with a red sucker in hand : )

13 more years.

2010-10-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

Alexander is smiling and playing with Gabriel : )

He said "C'mon mom, let's gooooo!" Only 13 more years before I have to be terrified about him being behind the wheel for real.

Tent Time!

2010-09-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

It is a beautiful day, so I pulled out the tent and tunnel. Gabriel hadn't experience them yet and, even though he can't crawl yet, he loved watching Alexander (and mommy) go up through the tunnel. Of course, you have to go "up" because I placed the tent on the flatest spot in the yard, and everything else is down hill. Check out how you can just see Alexander's feet decending through the tunnel in the last pic!

So close!

2010-09-24T21:19:00.001-07:00

Gabriel used the tent time to practice his latest skill...getting into the plank position and up on his knees. He REALLY wanted to follow Alexander through the tunnel.

Shipping him off.

2010-09-24T21:19:00.000-07:00

We've had enough of the attitude and lack of manners (see the third pic), and are signing Alexander up for the service : ) How could we not when I found this awesome Army costume for less than $5.00 brand new?!? It has patches and zippers and is a great quality fabric. I got a 4T hoping that we could get some use out of it for dress up and maybe even Halloween next year, but it fits him pretty perfectly right now.

The Tunnel

2010-09-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

My camera makes the tunnel look REALLY long. I love how Gabriel is cheesing for the camera, even when he sees me 6 feet away through a blue tunnel.

Blanket-aholics.

2010-09-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

My boys LOVE their blankets. Yes, that is with an "s". Multiple blankets are apparently the key to a great nap or good night's sleep. Alexander finally picked a favorite "Green" (thanks Missy!), but he still requires four others when it comes time to go to bed. It will be interesting to see what Gabriel decides is the best blanket of the bunch!

That's the "life".

2010-09-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

Here's Alexander enjoying a sucker while he watches his movie of choice lately, "Bug's Life". I like his choice of seats. Very creative. Thanks to Stephen and Kara for one of the best garage sale purchases yet!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

2010-09-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

I decided that I'd better start putting Gabriel in some things that he might grow out of before too long. Good thing, because these striped pj pants are super cute! He also loves sitting in the blue chair and turning the lamp on and off. Such a big boy!

Warning! There is some nudity in this post.

2010-09-16T13:31:00.000-07:00

This is what Gabriel looks like as I type this. He played himself to sleep on the basement floor. I think he must be going through a growth spurt because he slept in until 6:00 (gasp!) and fell asleep last night around 7:30. He is not as predictable of a napper as Alexander, but I'm enjoying that this is his second snooze of the day and the house is quiet for a few minutes. When they nap at different times, I feel like I've been pulled in different directions for hours...because I have! I really need to take advantage of this time to put on some makeup and change clothes for class tonight. And pack. And study. And put the pizza in the oven. However, I'm enjoying a few minutes to veg out on the internet. Good thing because I learned that I had some forms due to fill out for graduation that I never received and realized that I still have an outstanding balance of $126 for my student parking pass. Never a dull moment.

Here is Gabriel's first nap. In both of these pictures, he's sleeping on his side which is kind of a new thing for him. I think that now that he is becoming an expert roller (to combat the fact that he's not even a novice crawler), he flips over on his stomache before falling asleep. Don't you love how the binkie just falls out when he's fully out of commission?

Gabriel spends most of his time exploring his environment. He's getting bored of the living room, so I sat him up in his room during the middle of a diaper change. It's always good to air out a bit anyway, and he liked the change of view. In about a month, he'll be able to change his surroundings on his own...and he is becoming increasingly frustrated that he is stuck in one place (hence the rolling...and fussing). Look at that precious grin : )

We're Almost There!

2010-09-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

We are so close to having Gabriel hold his own bottle! For those mommies out there, you know this is a mixed blessing. It is another reminder of how fast they grow, but it is also nice to have the time you hold them for cuddles and not for feeding a bottle. I think that if the boys had taken to breast feeding better, this would be a different narrative, as feeding can certainly be a great bonding time for mother and child. However, bottle feeding can often feel like another chore that has you tied to the couch while your other child is having a catastrophe and needs your assistance!

Not my baby!

2010-09-12T06:16:00.000-07:00

The baby on this monitor belongs to some other lovely family. I went to check on Gabriel shortly after laying him down and the monitor had been switched to another frequency (thanks to Alexander, I'm sure). I could only get a picture standing in front of the fridge, and in the three years we've had a video monitor, this is the first time it's happened. The weather must have been just right to carry the image because I can hardly get video footage if I'm too far out the yard. I saw this that night and the next morning and haven't seen it since. I was going to change our frequency, but am thinking maybe they saw Gabriel and freaked out and changed theirs? Either way, we know all of the neighbors and this beautiful baby doesn't live on our street, so I'm thinking they are behind us in the neighborhood we butt up against.

Backyard Playground

2010-09-12T06:12:00.000-07:00

Although we don't have the ideal background for an infant, it is the perfect place for those 3 and above to entertain themselves. These rocks are just off of our deck and our property extends up the steep hill behind them and is wooded. We have started on a long-term yard beautification project, which is why it is so muddy below the rocks. One day there will be a paving stone pathway that leads off the deck and around it to the other half of our backyard. Alexander has started a rock collection as Daddy finds more and more rocks every time he digs. I thought for sure we were going to the hospital after the second picture, but he recovered his balance pretty quickly.

Family photos are so hard right now!

2010-09-07T05:53:00.000-07:00

Gabriel - 9 Months

2010-09-07T05:52:00.000-07:00

Alexander - 3

2010-09-07T05:49:00.000-07:00

2010-09-07T05:48:00.000-07:00