6ft Tall Rats

Six foot tall rats are not what I think of when I picture my Disney friends Mickey & Minnie. However, a friend told me about a comedian that says that must be the way children see them. Not all children have a horrified reaction when meeting Mickey and Minnie for the first time...but mine did!

My sweet friend, Molly, works for Radio Disney and she gave us, and Janelle & Ella, tickets to go see Disney on Ice last week. As if that wasn't great enough, she also gave us tickets to the special Radio Disney pre-show where a character from the show would make an appearance. There was a room full of kids and parents, waiting in anticipation to see which characters would come. Lucky for us, it was Mickey & Minnie! Janelle somehow got at the front of the line for our kids to take pictures. Apparently that wasn't enough time for Joshua & Gabe to get adjusted to the idea of seeing them up close, because they both burst out in tears. Joshua wouldn't go closer than 10 feet from them. All this momma wanted was a picture! As Ella and Maison took a cute, smiley picture, we headed back to our table. A few minutes after we sat down, Joshua told me that he wanted to take a picture with Mickey. We headed back over to see them again. Joshua began showing resistance again, so I decided to pick him up so he would feel more comfortable. As we got closer to Mickey & Minnie, Joshua literally climbed over my shoulder to get away and I had ahold of his knees. Janelle snapped a few pictures and I got what I wanted...just no smiles!

I love Mickey & Minnie's reaction to Joshua's exit strategy!

Maison & Ella's cute picture...

The show did not disappoint! It kept all of the kids' attention the entire time (except for Gabe's 40 minute nap). The Stitch (from Lilo & Stitch) snow cone also helped!

The car ride to the show...

After the show...

Thanks, Molly, for a fun night! They loved it!

Gabe's First March

Gabriel has been toying with the idea of walking for several weeks now, taking a step one day, and then another one a week later. Sunday night was the first time that he took several steps together...right across our living room! He still does not seem very interested in using walking as his main mode of transportation, but at least he now knows that he can do it.

Our friend, Becky, was over at our apartment on Sunday night, and she was helping to entice Gabe to walk. Here is the video of the momentous occasion...

Happy 1st Birthday, Gabe!

***Note: I started this post on Gabe's actual birthday, January 18th, but could not seem to finish it. I have come back to it a dozen times...so here it is, finally!

Happy birthday to my baby boy! I can't believe that Gabe is a year old today. Gabriel's birth was such a different experience than Joshua's, since we had a scheduled time to go into the hospital and get prepped for a c-section. I must admit that it was very convenient and nice to go in at 6am and have a baby in my arms at 8:33am!

He has brought so much joy to our lives this last year and it has been amazing to watch him grow from a newborn to a baby that crawls, babbles, and has a contagious smile and laugh! He is really the happiest baby...it does not take much prodding to get him to smile at you. If you haven't been around Gabe in a while, this is what he is up to:

-Speed demon while crawling

-Pulls up on anything that is around him and takes steps while holding on

-Loves to wave at anyone who waves at him first

-Claps along with others

-Babbles alot...says the sounds of the letters "G", "B", and "dada" and "mama". He says "B" for ball, balloons, and especially bottle!

-He loves his big brother and wants to be involved in everything Joshua is doing.

We had his birthday party in Houston the weekend of his birthday. It was fun to celebrate with all of our family. Here are a few pictures from the Baby Einstein celebration. (Note: We decided on the theme because Gabe has grown to love his Baby Einstein videos, Baby Noah in particular. This is the movie he watches EVERY time he gets a breathing treatment because it holds his attention.)

My mom and sister did a fabulous job on the cake. It was very special and super cute!

The table of cakes...

Gabe was not too sure about digging into the cake at first...

...but that changed pretty quickly. Joshua helped him with his cake by picking all the stars off the top!

Gabe received tons of cute gifts! Joshua was also interested in helping him open the presents.

Our families were so sweet to give Joshua "big brother" gifts.

Party guests were Uncle Phil & Great Aunt B:

Papa & Grannie:

Cousin Elizabeth & her fiance, Joe:

Great Uncle Numa:

Grandpa & Auntie Alicia:

Daddy & Mommy with our birthday boy!

Somehow we did not get pictures of Pop (Peter's dad) or Grandma (my mom)...but they were there celebrating with us! Thanks to our families for making it a special 1st birthday for Gabe!

Bumps, oh no!

Yesterday, I received a call from my sweet friend, Michelle, who watches my boys on Wednesdays. She said that she had just noticed a rash on Gabe with a few red bumps. She kept me posted throughout the afternoon about the spreading of the rash and that he was still happy, with no fever or difficulty breathing. Michelle brought the kids to church, and the consensus of people that looked at Gabe was that it was probably chicken pox. Immediately I started getting sad that he was going to have pox on his birthday (this Sunday).

When we woke up this morning, none of the bumps had white heads and had mostly turned into blotches. We went to the doctor around 11am this morning and the nurse determined that it was a reaction to an antibiotic he has been on for 9 days already. Bless, his heart! In the last 2 1/2 weeks we have been to the doctor three times for him...difficulty breathing and coughing (diagnosed with early signs of asthma), still not better (had double ear infection), and rash all over body (caused by antibiotic). He has gone through the ringer lately!!! He is such a good baby...the itching has not changed his happy demeanor at all. Well, here are the pictures that I took to document his first major rash!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy anniversary (and 30th birthday, yesterday) to my love! It has been 8 years since we said "I do" and we are more in love today than that warm January day in Houston. In looking back it seems like we were just kids, but what an adventure God has led us on together. Together we have matured, ministered, laughed, become parents, and enjoyed life. I love you and am so blessed to call you my husband!

Family Pics

I have really been wanting to get family pictures taken for a while now, and our sweet friend, Amber agreed to take them...she did a really great job! I am just amazed at her talent and patience...taking pictures of two boys going in opposite directions most of the time. Thank you, Amber for some great pictures that we will enjoy for a long time! Here is our Christmas card...I was so excited to be able to use the pictures that she took.

























































These are some of my favorites, but with over 200 to choose from, it is hard to narrow them down...

...and finally, we hope you had a "Merry Christmas"!

Cuteness!

I have too much to post that it is overwhelming, so here are just a few cute pics of Gabe from this week and a video of Joshua.

Gabe has mostly been eating baby food, but is starting to branch out into some solids...gnawing on bread, diced fruit, and his favorite below...Gerber's version of spaghetti-o's.


















Here is the aftermath...


















Josh is not to be outdown with the messy-ness! This was the damage done after Joshua devoured a piece of pumpkin bread with chocolate chips.























And an old picture of Gabe from his Kid's Day Out "Imagination Day". This was Oct. 31st, but his costume as a tandem parachuter didn't quite work out without his Daddy, so we improvised with this "costume" as a biker. Watch out, he is a tough dude!























I wish I would remember that I have to take videos from my camera going a certain direction...I did not remember this time, so you will have to crane your neck to see this. I took this video on Wednesday night at church. One of out good friends, Chantz, is always so sweet to play with our boys. He found the way to Joshua's heart by helping him swing in a creative way!