Look at what Santa brought!

Santa brought Arwen a "pony." Gabe got a hobby horse. We have had tons of fun at our house!

Ponys From Santa

second baby syndrome

I am a bad mama. I was going to get Gabe's pictures made the weekend after his first birthday, but something came up. I realized earlier this week that I never got them made. BAD MAMA.

Long story short, here are a few. Better late than never, right?

Freedom

This is one of the most awesome pictures I have seen. The men in the picture are my brother Josh, and his crew of soldiers/friends/brothers in Iraq. Please keep them all in your prayers and hope they come home safely.

Shoutout to Sary!

I wanted to give a major shoutout to Sary for the christmas background info, from the cutest blog on the block. And major shoutout to Kelly for getting the info to Sary!

The Office

Oh My GOODNESS! How have I went so long without watching such a wonderfully hilarious show???? I swear, I know I am out of the loop with some things, but I relish watching TV each night. Perry came home the other day talking about how funny the show, "The Office" was. He showed me some shows from this current season he dvr'd and I was COMPLETELY confused. He tried to explain who was who and who loved who and who was mad with who (I think you get the picture). Since I was lost in utter confusion, we borrowed season 1 and season 2 dvd's from my aunt Cheryl.



OMG. I have become an addict in about a week. We have now started season 3 on DVD and I cannot wait until the kids go to bed to see whether or not Jim is going to ditch Karen for Pam. (Okay, since I saw a few episodes of the current season, I know he does...I just want to see HOW!)

By the way...Jim, far left is such a cutie-pie!!!! He's got nothing on Perry :) hehe...but cute nonetheless.

The Wheels on the Bus...

Gabe LOVES the song "The Wheels on the Bus." I sing it now and he acts out the motions! He has the "rolling" motion of the wheels down, he kind of beeps his hand for beep, beep, beep, and he claps his hands for open and shut. Of course, Arwen helps him by singing and dancing with her usual undying and wonderful enthusiasm. :)

CHANGE is GOOD

Well that sucked...I just wrote a wonderfully inspirational blog about change and my computer ate it...go figure. I will try again.

Change - I don't really know what he will be capable of, but we all know that change is necessary and things cannot continue the way they are. I also know that for once, countries around the world embraced - physically, emotionally, and literally the idea and concept of change.

Welcome, Mr. President OBAMA!

Walk Like a Man!

It is official - my juicy boy is walking! He has been walking here and there for about a month now, but the day after his birthday he just took off and never looked back. He is so incredibly cute and unbalanced. I will try and get a video this weekend.

Happy Birthday Gabe!

Well, yesterday was Gabe's first birthday - Happy Birthday Gabe! He had an awesome birthday and it was even more special because his great-grandma also celebrated her birthday. We had good fun, good food and good food (wait, I already said that, didn't I???)

CHEESY-POOF!!!

He LOVED his cupcake.

Grandma ALSO had a cake.

Also very exciting news - Gabe took off walking tonight at grandma's - still not completely efficient at it, but did an excellent job back and forth and back and forth around the living room. Of course, he did fall from time to time (but that is what the big ol' diaper is for, right?)

Yummy Balloon, mwaaaah.

He loves his new tractor from his "hemaw". And yes, that is Joe Biden in the background :).

Political stuffs...

I am sure someone can and will counter all this information with quotes and facts against Obama, but I figured it was still interesting. Heck, I am sure if I was looked at with a microscope I am sure one would find a bunch of junk on me too (well, who am I kidding...I am perfect!)

100 Reasons Not to Vote for McCain - Click below to read it all.

***100 reasons not to vote for McCain. Retrieved October 19, 2008 from www.kskirby.net/mccain.html.

BINKS - minus one...

No sooner than I posted that darn picture of the binks did Arwen drop the "smeller" in the toilet! I told her to NEVER take the binks with her to the potty, and in usual fashion she did not listen to me. Needless to say, I had to trash the "smeller."

Now, we will have our moment of silence....good thing she is spending the night with her "hemaw" tonight, heh.

BINKS!

Arwen loves her binks. In fact, she has at least three with her each night when she goes to sleep. Each bink serves a different purpose and cannot be confused with another bink because all look different. Below is a picture of the three binks...




The one on the left (yellow) is the "smeller" bink. She puts it under her nose and, well, smells it. The one in the middle (purple and pink) is the "sucker" bink. She sucks it...duh. The one on the right (brownish one) is the "rubber" bink. She holds it in her other hand and rubs it with her thumb. She will quickly tell you she does not suck her smeller, she does not rub her sucker and she does not smell her rubber bink. And GOD forbid if we lose one...

walk like a man...almost...

Gabe took 7 steps tonight by himself! He was after Grandma's scarecrow and just took off! If he would get a bit more self-confidence he could do it all the time...of course he is a bit top-heavy still.

I will try and post a video this weekend!

I've been tagged!

I was tagged by Kelly at http://www.blogger.com/www.lifeaskelly.com! I have never been tagged, so here goes!

Here's the deal:-Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.-Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.-Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.-Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here we go!

1. I am incredibly sleep deprived right now. I don't think I have slept 3 hours in a row in about 2 years...no exaggeration.

2. I have paid more attention to this year's presidential campaign and election than I think I have EVER - Go OBAMA!

3. I wonder what makes a "soccer mom" think she could ever run the country?

4. I find it amazing that I can work with children everyday and help with problem behaviors but I cannot make my own child listen to me.

5. I am in desperate need of a vacation...anywhere...soon...

6. I always wondered how parents could say that they love both their children the same...I always thought there was no way that I could love my next baby (Gabe) like I loved Arwen - I was right...I do not love him like I love Arwen...I love him because he is who he is!

7. I hate hate hate hate hate large groups of people...I guess I am a social recluse. When most people want to socialize and party, I would love to stay home and sleep.

I think I will tag sara and erika. I don't know any other bloggers (except for Kelly, and since she has ALREADY completed it that would defeat the purpose...)

eleven months

Gabe is eleven months now and SO much has happened since last month. He now has 3 teeth! No wonder he has been so ill lately - he got his top left tooth first, a week later his top right tooth and then last week his bottom left tooth with the bottom right on the way! Here are his top two teeth (of course in this picture you will need a magnifying glass to see them...)




He is also trying to walk - he can stand by himself without holding onto anything and will take steps if he thinks you are holding onto him - he does great until he realizes he is on his own! Yesterday at grandma's he took 3 steps before falling on his hiney...maybe he will be walking soon! Here he is trying to walk!






And as usual, Arwen is doing great - she thinks she is still the baby (and face it, she will ALWAYS be my baby!)

Three more toothies...

Gabe has been busy...getting teeth, that is! He has gone 10 1/2 months of his life with no teeth in his head, then all of the sudden he has his two top teeth, one cutting through on the bottom (you can almost see it) and the top left side tooth also about to make an appearance! Poor kid is so uncomfortable at times - he has gotten to where he practically chews on his passy instead of sucks it.

In other news, he stood up all by himself today (without holding onto anything) for about 14 seconds - he even took two steps - maybe he will be walking soon.

Ten Months Old and a TOOTHIE!

Gabe FINALLY has a toothie coming in! It is on his left top side. He has been one ill little monkey for the past week (of course, he went to the Dr. yesterday and also has a DOUBLE ear infection).

I must credit Uncle Junior for the find...if it were up to me, I guess he would have had to bite me for me to notice ;).

Happy Birthday To ME

Happy Birthday to ME
Happy Birthday to ME
Happy Birthday to MEEEEEEEEE
Happy Birthday to ME.

Actually, it is tomorrow, but I just wanted to get the word out. I will be 29 - woowoo. Amazing, my body is getting older, but I still feel like a child. I still have nightmares, I still worry about whether or not people like me, I still talk to my mama everyday and seek her approval above anyone elses, I don't know WHAT in the WORLD I am doing with children, because I am still a child myself, but they look up to me to keep them safe and I would do anything to keep them from harm.

A bit cheesy, I know :).

J-E-L-L-O!

So Gabe had Jello Chocolate Pudding and fed it to himself for the first time.

Arwen also enjoyed some. I do not even need to tell you anymore, as you can IMAGINE the mess we had...

Super Arwen!!!!!!

She's here to protect the world from "bink stealers" and bad guys....She's.......




SUPER ARWEN!!!!!

She is also in LOVE with Steve from Blue's Clues. I don't have the heart to tell her that he is not really as goofy in life as he is on the show. Ohhhh, the honesty of a child.

Pork chops...and applesauce!

Wow - fat boy has really started enjoying all kinds of table foods this past week. I took him for his 9 month check-up and he weighed in at a whopping 26.4 pounds and was 31 3/4 inches tall - 97th and 99th percentile respectively. The doctor actually said he was right on target height for weight because he was so BIG all around.

His daycare called Monday and asked if they could give him table foods. Sure, I said, just make sure you cut it up tiny so he can eat it - yeah, like he ever had any problems with that! In the past week he has eaten the following:

• smoked sausage
• noodles
• hotdogs
• baked beans
• chicken strips
• french fries
• corn
• carrots
• garden peas
• roast beef

I swear, he is completely opposite from Arwen. She never wants to eat anything. I took her to her 3 year old check week before last and she only weighed in at 34 pounds and was 38 inches tall. She is 3 YEARS OLD and her 9 month old brother only has about 8 pounds and 7 inches to go to catch her!!!

She has been sick the past few days. I hate it when she is sick because she is so pitiful. I hope she gets over it soon.

I leave you with a picture of me and my "big girl-baby" goofing off. I love our time together.

Look out, Hannah Montana!

Here comes Arwen!!!!!

Look out Hanah-Here comes Arwen

my little jumping beans...

Arwen got this trampoline for her birthday from her He-maw. They BOTH love it!

Arwen&Gabe

puff daddy....or, baby, that is...

Check out this video: puff boy

I can't believe Gabe is already 9 months old. As usual, here is an update...

• He is now "talking" all the time

• He wakes up about 7:00 and plays in his crib (I put toys at the head of the crib so when he wakes up he can just sit there and play. He does well, until he throws them out and gets mad because he can't reach them!)

• He could win a medal in the "baby crawl olympics"

• He pulls up almost as fast

• He pulled up last night, let go and tried to walk (haha...I guess he forgot he couldn't)

• He is completely fascinated by Arwen - can you blame him? They just sit and play with each other

• His hair is growing out now and he looks like a chia-pet....hehehe....

sick, sick, sicko

I signed on tonight to do my school work and decided to do a shout out for sympathy. I think I have the flu...and yes, I am a huge baby. My mom kept Arwen and fat boy is asleep, so I too am getting ready to go to bed.

My warm, cozy, soft bed........good thing tomorrow is my day off.

Dada Attack!

Gabe just loves waking daddy up from his naps!
Check out this video: dada attack!

I'm voting republican???

I got this in an email from Sara and I thought she was going to try and pursued me to vote republican...as if! This is the funniest video I have seen in a while and really puts things into perspective. Haha.

Old friends, new friends

I have found so many friends over the past year via the Internet. I have found friends that I have not spoken to in 5 or even 10 years. Just yesterday, I found a friend that I haven't seen since a trip to Florida back in 2002. We did not have a falling out or anything - in fact she was one of my best friends, but she moved away. We had such a great time visiting, but when we left I never spoke to her again (partly because I am HORRIBLE when it comes to calling someone or even writing letters). Well, I decided to look her up and I found her! It is amazing that I can go that long without speaking with someone and then suddenly I find them, and I remember what a wonderful person they are and how much fun we had. I guess I am a bit addicted to the Internet, but it does have its good points from time to time.

I am getting a bit nostalgic, but I hate to think that good friendships are ruined by distance.

Pulling on up!

Gabe has perfected pulling up now. And boy is he quick at it. I used to go on and on about how I could not wait for him to roll over, then I could not wait for him to crawl, then I could not wait for him to pull up and walk - well, I can definitely wait for him to walk! I know it won't be too much longer.

Arwen turned three last weekend, and I don't want to brag too much (I could go on and on) but man, she is so smart. She has known all of her colors since she was 18 months, she can spell her name, she can almost write her name, she knows her birthday, address (almost), about 19 letters (as she relates them to her friends' names) AND the sound of those letters, and even a few numbers. WOW. And this isn't just over night, she has been doing this since she was about 2 1/2. Okay, I guess I have caught you up enough for now. Here is a movie of Gabe pulling up - enjoy! By the way, I just heard it for the first time...man, who is the "hick" talking in the background??? I sound horrible!

back to school

I am back in school, currently working on my master's degree in early childhood education. I completing this degree online, and I can tell you I was the first one to downplay anyones completing their degree online. I thought, "ha - they couldn't get into a "real" school..." Well, yeah, I was a MORON.

I had NO IDEA how difficult online learning is. If anything, it is harder than sitting in a class and listening to a professor. Online learning is completely self-motivated, so basically, I complete classwork when I want to, so long as it is before the deadline. This coming from a self-proclaimed procrastinator.

And what is the deal with financial aid??? I have no money, I have to borrow money, I already owe money, but all this so I will be able to make a bit more money when I FINALLY finish my degree and then I get to pay it all back (and probably more). Man, what a endless cycle...

At least I am doing it because I love children and love my job. I am happy that I can say that as I know there are many people who cannot.

Also, brief update on Gabe - he is pulling up all over the place now and crawling in a fast-paced sprint now. WOW....he is growing up so fast. And Arwen is now 3 years old - where did THAT time go?

blogging virgin

Well, it is my first time - blogging, that is (get your mind out of the gutter!) I have admired Kelly's blog for some time now, so three years later I decided to start my own. I really have alot to say about nothing, so this should be mildly interesting from time to time. Mostly, my posts will be about my children, husband, family and school (try and control your excitement!)