Long Time Coming

Time has slipped by this last month...or two. Things have been moving at warp speed and there are no pictures to show for it.

The end of October, Gabe had bilateral tubes put into his ears. We were hoping that he would have started to sleep through the night but that STILL hasnt happened yet. He had virus, ear infections, and teeth holding him up and now he has moved into a twin bed and sleeps like a big boy (but not all night). I think that being out of his crib will help but we just might not see it for a while.

We went to Idaho for Thanksgiving and then all hell broke loose....we bought another house. Yes, we are crazy and no remodeling is not our favorite hobby. Everything is been revolving around the two houses and getting our ducks in a row. Then there are holiday festivities and activities with the kids. Idaho was fun, rainy, but a good time to get out of town and see friends. Hope that you all enjoyed the holiday as much as we did.

Now the holidays are here and we are going to keep things simple while we remodel and are in two places at once. We got the ornaments on the tree last night (even though is has been up with lights for two weeks) and found out that it will also need to be simple since Gabe is determined to rip everything off of it, including hte lights. He is like having a bad puppy most of the time. Here is proof, he gave me a black eye by whacking me with his head. ouch!

Day one of black eye from the little guy

I like this one b/c Murf show his presence...he is always watching and protecting

Gabe is almost 1 1/2 and moving fast towards two. He loves to read and build and race cars. Every day it seems like he is saying a new word and runs faster and faster. We all seem to say, "why is he always running?" He doesnt climb a ton but likes to scale a little. His favorite book is, "Go, Dog, GO!" b/c it has his two favorite things in it: Dogs and Cars. He has had a little biting streek and we hope it goes away quickly. Its hard being a little guy some times.

Getting ready to run and terrorize the house (with murfs help)

Frannie takes each day as it comes and is so pleasant to be around (most of the time). She is getting ready to start kindergarten and she wishes it was in January not September. Mostly she is happy to experience life and master what ever comes her way. This year she actually knows what it means to be Christmas time and remembers that it happened last year. She has been pushing to open gifts and get the house festive and do all the fun things and that has been a fun distraction while we move forward on the other house.

So long ago, it seems, I wished for a family of my own. Not knowing that it would ever come and then having a little baby girl. Now that little baby is nothing like she was her first christmas and I hope to hold onto that time with her. She will always be that little baby full of hope as she grows and amazes me daily. Now that I have a little boy of my dreams I cant believe my luck-two children! His first christmas was harried and more subjected to helping foster good memories for sister and now he'll be experiencing a holiday of his own. The subsequent children ride the coat tails of the first but having two will make giving them their own experiences easier than three or four. I am so proud of my children and hope that they feel all the love in my heart this Christmas and New Year.

Enjoy the happiest time of the year and enjoy the Solstice -

Enjoy the Season- Frannie and Gabe Christmas tree cutting

holed up

Life has been a blur lately. rush - rush - rush. This weekend was different. We got a snow storm and below zero temps that would keep any high energy canine and small child inside (or at least outside for a short time). It was good to be able to say that it was not safe to go outside of our house or in a car and just be a family together in our home. Murf might have something different to say but then again nobody can here him anyway. The kids had fun getting christmas projects done and destroying every inch of our home. Nothing that I am aware of was broken but Gabe did take a dry erase marker to the wall while I was in the shower and Frannie was watching him in the play room...We survived otherwise.
Halloween was really fun for the kids and again I only took them to my work building to trick or treat. It is a lot for them to get drug around and put through the paces with the other kids. I have to keep telling myself that Frannie is only 4, not 8, and that she is still sensitive like a little kid to craziness. Gabe really had a great time and got right into the action so he'll be ready to head out with her next year. As long as he has his sister he can do anything.
Other than that, we are trying to find a bigger home with quiet surroundings and are getting things ready to move. More updates next post!

Mummies work is scary!!

Fairgrounds duck pond

crabapple tree in the snow with frannie buried in the background trying to walk around the yard

Hi-ho, Hi-ho

Hot Springs and Falling Leaves

Things around here are starting to slowly slow down (slowly being the key word). Lou is home a little more predictably now and we are starting to feel like a family again. We are taking time to enjoy local hotsprings, do a little work around the house and getting ready for winter, snuggling up and reading books and making time for craft projects and canning. Fall is here!! Fall does mean soccer for frannie so we have had fun taking her to practices and games and watching her feel proud of herself for helping her team and scoring goals. she had a great soccer season. Whats next? No plans that we know of until we decide to stop house hunting or buy a new one. Everything is up in the air for a short while but that is okay-we can deal with anything.

The kids are doing great! Gabe is dancing, talking more, being destructive and learning how to feed himself. He has another ear infection so we are taking him to Missoula to get his ears looked at to see if we need to have tubes put in. Maybe if he gets them he will sleep at night, maybe....

Frannie has been the best 4 1/2 year old ever (so much better than 4) and her language and motor skills are exploding (yes that is possible with her) and she seems to have turned into dr. doolittle. she has been trying to keep ants as pets and has been even naming them and feeding them. mostly she calls her ants Eli. She is doing great with her chickens and wishes she had more. She wants to make her dog cookies and sell them at the farmers market (she loves the farmers market). I have to remind myself that she is only 4 a lot of the time.



Me with my team receiving an award from the Governor-can you find me?



Gabe likes horses too!

...and books

First dip in Boulder HOt Springs

Remember when she was a little thing doing this?

Frannie 'saved" this dragonfly from the water. She is really into bugs right now

Tools!

Mans/families best friend- Murf Buddy

temper....temper



Frannies first picture of me



and then she took a picture of me and sweet Murf

MOVIE - Hope you can get it to play

See ya soon!!

Far Behind

Is summer really over?? can it be? What will it be like now that we arent suffering from heat and smoke? oh wait, we still have the smoke and the afternoons are mid 70s-80's. yes, this is really how our Fall begins.

The summer came and went and will be forever etched in my mind. pictures and happy times were not plentiful but we tried to enjoy the moments of the summer that we did spend together and enjoyed watching our children grow.

Gabriele has turned the corner on his baby days and now is turning into a little dude. He has a budding vocabulary, knows how to flush and pee, throws tantrums and balls and loves to make us all laugh. He was nothing like he was in July and in a way I miss that so much. Things will be fun and we look forward to all the adventures that come along with a little little boy.

Francesca is also turning some corners. It seems that every half way mark in age allows her to be human again. The f-ing fours made us wonder what had happened to our daughter and how we could give her back to the aliens. Now that she is four and a half she can be reasoned with and is agreeable. really...All the changes from this summer have taken a toll on her but she seems to have come around again. She scored her first goal in soccer and has been doing great creating and drawing and writing. I guess that the 4's  can be fun!

Lou was in AK with his father fishing this month and hijacked the camera. no recent pictures but here are a few that got left behind. I'll start taking pictures again this week and get everyone updated!