Tuesday, November 29, 2011

taking TIME



This last week, we packed it all up and went to Idaho to visit our friends Pam and Ed in Sandpoint. I don't know why we decided to do this, but I just knew that I needed to get out of Helena and see a little bit of the land we love so dear. Its a long trip with two young kids (5 hours) but I was not thinking of that. What I thought of the most was that we needed to have a family trip and that the time in the car would be fine, just like it is when we take Francesca to Idaho. wrong. I can't believe that I blocked that memories of traveling with a baby in a carseat. It is hard on me, the screaming baby helplessly trapped in a carseat with me precariously perched overhead as I attempt to nurse while Lou is driving. My three year old is yelling, "I cant see mom-you blocking the movie" and the baby is still crying. Murf is slowly (and I say slowly) becoming the saint in our house. I didnt hear one lick or snort or whine from him while he was packed away from us in the cargo area of the car. thanks murf.

We didnt snap that many pictures this trip because I forgot to empty the memory card. Here are a few that I did manage to fit in.

above with the Selkirk Mountains and on the shores of lake pend oreille

Pam and Gabe getting to know each other

Frannie scored the claw from the toy box

Monday, November 21, 2011

four months and more

Seems like change is a constant around here. We went from the land of falling leaves to uggs and hot chocolate. Winter is fully engages and fall days are just a memory. We actually changed so quickly that the leaves still lay in piles under a blanket of snow and the a shrub is dormant in a pot that never got planted. I would like to say that it surprised us, but we knew that the snow was on its way...we just were in denial. We had a beautiful Fall.

Gabe is a full steam ahead kind of four month old and is really enjoying being busy and sitting, rolling, standing with help and putting everything in his mouth. plus, the smiles are non-stop. We are lucky parents. Life is so hectic now with Lou going on hunting trips, managing a day-to-day routine aroung the house and fielding various autumnal germs that we are looking forward to a holiday in Idaho with friends. It will be our first roadtrip as a family and we are excited to see what is out there. for now, i'll leave you with some photos from the last two weeks to enjoy. 


































Monday, November 7, 2011

Falling Back

It has happened...we've entered into the no longer fall not yet winter mode around here. We turned the clocks back and have the dark nights again. What happened to summer? It seems like last week we were running around without jackets with the sun on our faces (we'll we were) and now it seems like we live in a different place at a different pace (we'll we do). Winter is almost here...

and to mark this, we woke up saturday morning to snow-how about that? When Frannie saw it, she asked if there was enough to go skiing. I know what we'll be doing this winter!
First snow (it stayed on the ground)
Frannie and Gabe spent some good hours snoozing away and resting like little bear cubs snug in their beds. I, like a hybernating mother, took ever opportunity to gather and prepare for the winter ahead. So excited and so not looking forward to the cold dark months to come.  There are holidays and celebrations, winter trips and skiing, spending time together without competing agendas or the ability to rush off somewhere at a moments notice. It is time to hunker down and rest-finally!I made bread this weekend and cleaned the home and did mountains of laundry. Lou was out trying to track down some deer to pack into our freezer and I tried to keep the kiddos healthy. There is nothing worse than a sick child if you ask me, but we have been really lucky with Frannie and I hope Gabe plots the same course.


Big kids still need their beauty sleep

Exhausted


Gabe is sweet and happy and loves sitting and taking it all in. He can grab, roll over, smile and communicate and sometimes, I think he can say mama...Gabe is adjusting to going from being a July baby born in the warmest month of the year to a bundled baby out and about. He loves looking at the sky and taking in all the time he can while he is outside. We'll try to get him out this winter (if it doesnt get too cold).

All bundled

Happy and Warm


sitting pretty with sophie (aka his new best friend)

So happy watching us have dinner
Oh, almost forgot...Halloween!! Frannie has figured out what it is all about and enjoyed the one place we took her to trick-or-treat (my work). She got so much booty that we called it a night and went home. In the end, she only ate one fun-sized snickers bar and decided it was more fun to collect the candy than eat it. She has fun carving pumpkins (first drawing a cat, a face and making the baby pumpkin into a baby bat) and digging deep to get the seeds out for the chickens. She got into her costume and was one fierce baby dragon (no wings, b/c baby dragons don't fly and a fire wand to protect herself from baddies). Gabe stayed awake most of the day at daycare with all the commotion and goings-on and crashed once he got into his car seat after trick or treating. He never got into his bear cub costume but that was okay with me b/c I didn't like how it came out (so glad I was able to pull of Frannies costume). He wore frannies 1st halloween costume to school that day so at least he looked like someone loved him (black cat onesie).

Dragon Costume



Good or Evil?


From Left to Right: Scary guy, baby dragon, daddy pumpkin, and cat pumpkin
Pumpkin Carving-scooping out the seeds for the girls a la snowpants...