Winter indoor fun

As I was growing up, each year my mom had us paint ornaments around Christmas time. We decided to make it a tradition of our own this year. We have carpet everywhere except the kitchen and bathrooms, so we painted on the kitchen floor...and it wiped right up! The washable paint didn't wash right out of their clothes, so I'll have to work on that...of course they don't include that little tidbit on the label right next to the "washable" claim. =)



Ian is all over the place!

Papa makes a pretty good jungle gym.

I took a pottery class through a community college here this semester. It was my time away to do something I enjoy and to have a little mental space of my own. It was certainly refreshing, though I was hoping for a little more teaching from the instructor. I'll probably do it again, but I'm going to take a semester off in order to take part in an evening class here at Covenant. Anyhow apart from cups and bowls (many of which were uglified during the glazing process), I made a volcano to explode with the boys...the food coloring completed the experiment by providing red "lava."

Gabe and Drew have taken to wrestling with one another. Right now Gabe can handle Drew pretty well, but those days are numbered. You might have noticed they have different builds. Drew may be a line backer one day.

Ian's belly laugh

Moments like these remind me that the boys are great entertainers for their little brother. I got a good laugh out of Ian laughing as well!

Ian's 10 month pics

Here are Ian's 10 month pics (which are almost a month old). He's pulling up on everything he can reach, and he seems to be fearless as he lets go and flops over backwards nailing his head on the floor. Unfortunately our carpeted floors feel like there is little, if any, padding between the carpet and concrete.

The Boys

Drew is our cuddly guy. He loves to snuggle up to us when he gets up from naps. Who can resist?

Cousin Kaleb and Ian were already battling for toys.

Here is Drew multi-tasking.

Silly boys

During "room time," I went to our room to check on Gabe who was sitting next to our bed with books galore...fast asleep. Apparently he was in need of a nap.

While we have yet to need snow boots, our boys love them. So, here is Drew in little more than his snow boots with his pals "Beer" (his rendition of bear) and "Buster."

Drew made me laugh when he turned to me and said, "I feed Beer." I had just finished nursing Ian.

Another smile from Ian

Gabe loves puzzles. I bought a 100 piece spider man puzzle and within about 4 days he was putting it together all by himself. It certainly is fun to see how his little mind works!

Ian is a sweet little guy with a smile that practically envelops his whole face! He is great at forcing a smile out of me when one of his less than innocent brothers has about sent me over the edge.


Ian also happens to be the center of his brothers' attentions which is both endearing and dangerous. I set Ian down in the hallway while i was doing something and the other two decided to join him on the floor.

One day I'll get all 3 of them to look at the camera and smile...I'm not holding my breath, though.

Gabe found a ponytail holder and thought it was the perfect accessory for his snow boots (minus his pants of course).

Bruiser

Drew was turning around in circles in the living room this morning...inevitably falling down which initially didn't seem like much of a problem. That of course was when he was twirling in the middle of the room. The next thing I knew he was on the floor screaming and the moment I picked him up I saw a purple line across his forehead. As far as I can tell, he nailed his head on the stereo speaker that sits on the floor. This "knot" gave me a new appreciation for the term "goose egg." Here are a couple of pictures I took about 20 minutes after it happened, and it actually got a little bit larger before the swelling started going down.

Preschool and Friends

Gabe has been in preschool this fall and they had a farm party on Halloween. Of course Gabe had an "Incredibles" costume, but that didn't work out so well for a farm animal. So, he chose to be a cow...and I made a costume. He was part of a play the kids put on for the parents--the cow-vampire. Perfect.

Here is Gabe with Conner the rancher-bat. Gabe has so enjoyed preschool, unfortunately it has been a bit stressful to get him there and back. So, I think we may not do preschool in the spring just to simplify life a bit.

Some friends of ours went out on a date and we kept their 3 kiddos. Here's a picture of the oldest 4 enjoying Toy Story 2.

Fun Videos

Gabe in regular form...


Ian is jabbering more and more...I think he feels the need to add to the noise!

Gabe and Drew are playing together a good amount these days...their favorite thing to say to one another is currently, "stop please." We've encouraged them to say that when they don't like what the other one is doing. Problem being it now extends to the other person talking, looking in their direction, playing, and sometimes just existing. Oh my. At any rate, they do fight but they also play well together from time to time as well!

Drew is at a fun stage of language learning, so every day we here something new from him. This little interaction made us laugh...

As did this one...

Ian's 9 month pics

Hard to believe it has already been 9 months. I suppose he still seems so little to me because Gabe and Drew have gotten so big. Ian has mastered sitting up and going from sitting to his tummy which will come in handy once he figures out how to crawl. He is lacking in the teeth department but has more cute than he knows what to do with. He is a joy and a sweet reminder of God's goodness.

A Typical Day

I can't say the average day at our house is all that exciting...nothing to be written up in a book per say, but certainly full of sweet moments to remember (as well as ones I'd like to forget). Here are a couple that made me smile.

I was trying to figure out how to keep the boys occupied while I made bread the other day without having them "help" as my time was short before Ian would awake. I settled on having them sit at the counter and be taste-testers. They love dough. What I didn't anticipate is that they would want to taste the flour I ground up or the flax seed I pulverized in the blender...seemed a bit gross to me, but certainly not dangerous so I went with it. I managed to get the dough into the pans right as Ian was stirring, so I suppose that wasn't the last time they'll be eating flour.

Here's Gabe singing The Monster Boogie. I remember watching him dance to this song in our living room in Greeley. It was awhile ago, but I noticed that as the chorus came on he was dancing with his finger in his nose--the monster "boogie." We got a good laugh out of it! He no longer gives the visual while dancing, but he has learned the words.

Fall Festival

We went up to Evansville, IN the first weekend in October to see Andy's parents and go to the fall festival. It is apparently the second biggest outdoor festival in the US (next to Marti Gra). There are some carnival type rides for the kids and 3 blocks worth of food vendors. I've never seen so many fried foods--fried pickles and snicker bars were up there with things I would not have thought to fry. Anyhow, here are some pics of the rides the boys enjoyed.

Incredibles

The boys are "Mr. Incredible" and "Dash"...Drew has taken to running down the hallway in his costume. They absolutely LOVE costumes.

Ian's 8 Month Pics

With each boy I've enjoyed the baby phase more and more...I guess I'm realizing how quickly it passes, as evidenced by these pictures. Ian is 8 months, about 19 lbs, and 27 inches long. His favorite activity is being held by his mom and pulling her hair. We continue to be grateful for this little gift of life...he is a joy.


The silliest things make kids giggle...

Sick, Sick, Sick

Three weeks ago on the eve of my birthday, Drew woke up with a snotty yellow nose that quickly turned into a nasty cold. The next morning Ian and I woke up with the same thing. Gabe escaped with a slightly runny nose, but otherwise was feeling pretty good. My cold turned into a sinus infection and a round of antibiotics, so I've been feeling a whole lot better for the past several days. Ten days after that nasty cold began we finally had it beat...only that morning Drew woke up with a high fever.

We headed to the doctor, but it was merely a nasty virus. So after 6 days of fever (up to 104.5) we headed back to the doctor only to find a secondary ear infection. Drew started antibiotics on Monday, the same day Gabe woke up with a fever. Yesterday I noticed my eye was swollen and painful, so I headed to the doctor to find I have pink eye (most likely from the virus/bacteria the kids have been fighting). Today we headed back to the pediatrician to find Gabe has an ear infection and pink eye in both eyes. Ian has been mostly unscathed by all of this, but did fall victim to pink eye in one eye this morning. Now everyone except Andy is on one or two forms of antibiotics. Sheesh! We're hanging in there and hoping to be well soon!!!!!

We've spent a good amount of time on the couch looking pitiful...

and more pitiful...

but these two are looking pretty good!

Around the House

Drew has taken great joy in placing canned vegetables on coasters around the living room.

They were keeping an eye (or 4) on the bread in the oven.

Drew found a way to fit in the laundry basket...along with his blanket and puppy, "Buster."

This was a few weeks ago, but it made me laugh to watch him smacking his lips.

Splash Fun

Gabe and Drew have reached the age where they pick on each other without end, but they also play together on occasion...sometimes we catch a picture of it!

Ian loves splashing in the tub...granted he's getting a bit large for the baby bath, but he still isn't sitting up well enough to warrant graduating him to the big tub.