Pumpkin patch and Halloween 2011

Clydesdale's pulling the hay wagon...just for you, Grandma!

Picking his own pumpkin.

The duck hanging with one of his kind.

Pumpkin carving!

Good view of the cutest little duck butt.

Neighbor boys showing off their costumes.

Cheese face with mom and our pumpkins. I carved the right one, DB carved the left one.

Jumping for the roof. One of his new favorite activities.

We had a fun filled weekend for the last one of October! I think it was the first time in 2 months neither David or I had to work one of the days. What a nice treat! We went to Parker to visit Jake and Kandin and hit up a pumpkin patch. While it was nothing fancy, Abers had fun running over the hay bales, petting some animals, and picking his own pumpkin! Then on Sunday, we painted and carved pumpkins, made a visit to uncle herb so he could see the duck, and passed out candy. Abraham much prefers to GIVE things to people, so he enjoyed handing out the candy. We were going to do boo at the zoo, but on Friday, David came home from school in costume with bloody face and body paint on. This totally scared Abers and we decided not to risk anything scary at his favorite place in town.

We have a couple of more new words: tuc (stuck), aaay (eye and then hands me my glasses). I think thats all for now. Baby #2 is still growing as you can see by the pictures. Only 9 weeks to go! The room has been redecorated with the help of Grandma, so I'll post pictures when I can get them taken!

Love,
the l-bs.

Books, bellies, and bike safety

Hard to believe that we are halfway through October already! Where has the time gone? Abraham has had a great month, with tons of new words and even more fun to be around. Let's see, for the words: uh (up), dow (down), all duh (all done), bu bu (book) oush (ouch), ha (hot), bapa (grandpa), HAALO (hello, yelled for ALL the neighborhood or store to hear), bye bye (with a wave and kiss), nez (nose), bou (lips), allez (go!), le luia (either lion or elephant in french of course). The favorite toy continues to be giraffe, one little one in particular, but the new big ones from Kandin are also AMAZING! There is even one big enough to sit on! The huge mag flashlight is a close runner up, even having to go to bed a few times with Abers. Careful though, that thing could knock some teeth out! Nap time is no longer a struggle. Most days he goes down for 2-3 hours in the morning, meaning mom also gets to lay down for a bit! Eating is still a challenge, but breakfast is always a favorite, especially pancakes, waffles, and hot cereal. He loves "special drink", also known as mom's hot tea. When asked, Abers will get his own cup out, get the tea, and then crawl up in his chair so he doesn't spill all over the house. It's even better when he gets mom's tea mug.

Loves to read, all the time, especially Good night, Gorilla.

Favorite giraffe, Aunt Mindy and another book!

A couple of weeks ago, #2 at 27 weeks. We go tomorrow for a 29 week check. Baby is growing big and strong, kicking all the time. Feeling good, sleeping good, just getting bigger and a little more tired!

Flash lightening in my bike helmet. Have to be ready for anything.

Super cheese face. This is what we get when we ask for a smile.

One of the super cool new giraffes from Kandin. As you can see, he loves it, and knows to always practice safe riding.

Yummy tea on a cold morning!

Mr. Big guy enjoying himself while we wait for our trash guys. He loves Wednesday mornings because most of the street has trash pickup. Our trashmen know to look in the window and wave.

More soon. Grandma helped me paint the nursery last week. Once the border gets here, I'll update with all the pictures.

Enjoy the fall! It is finally here, with beautiful yellow trees and cold mornings! Love it!

jess

Fall Colorado fun

Even though it is still in the 80s at the end of September, we are sure fall must be coming. The aspens are turning, the nights are cold, and we can find canned pumpkin again! Here are some pictures of hikes and such. We were glad that Grandma was able to join us for a stroll last weekend!

Mr. Big Stuff hiking on his own with poles.

Snack time, turn around point.

The 3.5 of us plus Grandma. Really 4.5 of us if you count Toiyabe. Abers was asleep on the back.

River walking and catching those little red fish in the Arkansas...eddied out for safety.

Thinking about diving back in.

Waffle mania

Abraham loves to help in the kitchen. Most mornings, he makes the coffee for David. On the weekends when I'm home, we have GF waffles. This morning in particular, Abraham got to help! He pulls his chair over, tells me where to find the bowls, grabs measuring cups, climbs up on the chair, and then we start the process. He is wanting to crack the eggs, but I didn't think that was a great idea. Then, of course, you have to sample the product. He ate 2 full waffles this time around. Guess he had to fuel up for all the hiking he did later that morning.

Every good cook needs an apron. He likes to pick mine out for me.

Readying the supplies.

Mixing away. That is his job once the griddle it out and hot.

Randomness

After a weekend of mom being gone at work, this is what I find when I get home. David takes me to work most days so he can have the car to take Abraham hiking or wherever. One night this past weekend, he decided to leave Abraham at home with Uncle Bertrand after a failed attempt at bedtime. Aber's is far to smart to fall for that trick. He knows if I've been gone all day that if he stays awake, dad will bring him to come and get me. The man cried most of the time, looked for us everywhere, including the garage to see where the 'burb was, and finally gave in after about 45 minutes. He first laid his upper body down on the couch, and then once asleep, pulled his legs up under him with his butt in the air. This is the final stage of falling off the couch when I got home and put him to bed. Poor guy. He got to come the next night.

Taking his dog and moose for a stroll on the lawn mower.

The cousin's visit!

We have had a busy few days while Aunt Kari and cousins Jack and Ava are visiting from Portland, OR. First day, we went to the North Pole, near Woodland Park, CO. There were lots of fun rides (luckily the scary ones mom didn't have to go on as I could play the preggo card!), a really cool slide, pictures with Santa, and Neil Diamond Christmas music. Who could ask for better!?!?!? The next day was a quick trip to the zoo to ride another chair lift and feed the giraffes. On the way to Denver to take everybody to the airport tomorrow, we'll stop at the science center and see the dinosaurs! Fun filled and busy few days. Aber's LOVES LOVES LOVES having his cousins around to play with. They make him laugh all the time and he gets to chase them around and be like a big guy.

First time riding a chairlift. Pretty tough to get him to look up since there was cool stuff on the ground!

The famous candy cane slide at the North Pole. Hard to see in the picture how big his smile actually is.

Waiting on the reindeer to pull the sled away.

Train station

First train ride with a very sleepy boy.

At the zoo getting ready to feed the giraffes.

Cool giraffe car the big kids wanted their picture with!

Sky ride to the top of the zoo.

The big guys first haircut

So, David finally gave in and let me get Abraham's hair cut. DB did not want to attend the event...I think it might have put him in tears, watching his little baby become a big guy. The poor kiddo is constantly pushing his hair out of his face and ears. Seeing how I can't put barrettes in, a cut was the only option. We found a kid friendly place and he got to sit in a fire truck, watch Thomas the Tank Engine (first time for a movie) and eat as many raisins and snow caps as he wanted. All in all, he did a pretty good job. Here are some before and afters!

Extra curly hair on a humid day.

Moral support from cousin Ava.

Long locks getting ready to be cut. Notice the bangs down to his nose.

Getting ready for the first cut.

Doing okay, as long as the snacks were there.

The clipper made him squirm and giggle.

Pretty much done. 19 months, going on 12.