birthday butterfly

 my sweet baby girl turned one last weekend! I can't even believe a year has passed. it is definitely quicker the second time around. we hosted a fall festival costume party to celebrate. Aliza dressed up as a monarch butterfly, and Jacob was Thomas the Tank Engine. Shane, Darci and their kids all had great costumes too: super heroes for the kids and Shane dressed as Jeremy. Hilarious. Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Tam made the trip down from Topeka too.

 Aliza can say hi, dada, cat, and nom nom nom. Hilarious words, right? Noticeably absent from the list is mama, but I'm trying to come to terms with that. She pulls to standing and cruises around on furniture, but absolutely refuses to stand by herself or take steps unassisted. She claps and waves and is just generally so sweet natured and happy (except when Jakey is picking on her).

I tried to have all fall themed food. Ghost bananas were a hit at a previous party we went to, so they made a reappearance. I made her applesauce muffins instead of a cake and spider web pizzas. It was fun and tasty!

 She mostly loves to eat anything and everything, often two fisting it. Ever since her lip and tongue tie revision surgery in August, she has been chewing and swallowing much better and without choking all the time. I have yet to find a food she refuses. I know its a matter of time before she gets a little pickier, but for now I am just enjoying it.

Kris was in town from LA with her kidlets, so the whole Gibson crew was together at the party. I love them!

Spring Camping Trip

 We went with some families from our small group on a camping trip in May. Yes, I know it is October and this post is a little overdue. The kids had fun and did surprisingly well sleeping outside. It was hot and there were a lot of bugs, but it was still a good time. We are looking forward to the next trip in a few weeks!

Florida Trip

 My mom and I took the kids to Florida last month. She was having her 40th reunion, and I wanted to introduce Aliza to her Florida family. We spent a couple of days in St. Augustine, where we got to see Grandma (Great-Grandma) and Aunt Laura, Uncle Greg, Kristin, Anna and Alex. It was great to see them and spend time there.

 On the way down to St. Pete, we stopped in Orlando for lunch with my oldest friend. We have been friends since third grade at Deep Creek Elementary. We haven't seen each other in over 15 years, but it was like we have spent time together everyday. We are so much alike and have many similar interests. Our kids are about the same age, so she brought her oldest down to St. Pete so he and Jakey could play at the beach together. It was great. I'm proud to say I introduced her to the Outlander series, just in time for the Starz series. :)

While in St. Pete, we spent time with even more family and friends. swam in the pool for hours every morning and spent every afternoon at the beach. The kids loved soaking up the sun and hanging out and I enjoyed relaxing. Although we had a heck of a time getting home (American Airlines is the worst customer service EVER), overall, it was a great trip.

 

p.s. three year old travel trip - find a car seat that can go on the airplane! A lot of them can (but not all). I had no trouble with Jacob squirming or getting anxious or anything, since is he used to being buckled up in the car already. It made the air travel portion of the trip just a little easier. :)

i can't believe he is 3!

Jacob turned three a couple weeks ago. He is growing and learning so much.

He likes:
diggers (we have to drive out of our way if we know of a construction site, especially if they are moving)
building with his blocks
playing outside (tee-ball, digging in the dirt with his diggers, picking up rocks and sticks)
singing (he can sing ABCs, rock a bye baby, twinkle twinkle, zaccheus, itsy bitsy spider, if you're happy and you know it, and others)

He speaks very clearly and with a great vocabulary. The doctor said at his three year appt that he had the verbal skills of a four year old. the only funny thing he does is to reverse all his blends that start with an s (sk, st, sp etc) so spider becomes puhsider, screws are kuhsrews, etc.) its actually pretty adorable. i'm sure he will eventually grow out of it so i'm just enjoying this little idiosyncrasy for now it makes singing itsy bitsy spider that much more fun (spider! spout! over and over) 

he has started to make a weird face when posing for pictures. knucklehead!

  

he has an active imagination and is very physical. he loves running, jumping, stomping, etc. very much all boy.

he can be very sweet and kind. he helps me around the house by unloading the silverware from the dishwasher, helping sort and change laundry from washer to dryer and dryer to couch (the folding zone), sweep (give the kid a Swiffer and he WILL get all the cat hair up), entertaining Aliza when I am cooking or otherwise occupied, and helping me cook by stirring and measuring.

he is a pretty great kid. i'm so lucky to be his mommy!

happy easter!

Jacob turned three and Aliza six months right around Easter time. They are growing up so quickly - I can't even handle it. We spent Easter Sunday in Topeka with Jeremy's family, all 75 of them. Jacob had way too much fun playing with his cousins, looking at Grandpa's tractors, and watching the cows. My sweet Easter bunny Zee basically spent the whole day being too cute for words and charming everyone.

We celebrated on Saturday with my family. Jacob got to hunt eggs with tasty (and healthy!) snacks in them and we had a delicious brunch. He enjoyed hunting the eggs so much he keeps asking if he can do it again. Hilarious. The weekend sped by but it was so wonderful to spend time with friends and family and celebrate the Resurrection!

new kitchen!

ok there is actually still a lot to do in order to properly classify this as a new kitchen, but check out the results of jeremy's hard work last weekend!

being without a stove or access to our dishes and cups for three days was hard (who would have thought i would get tired of eating out???) but boy was it worth it. next up, new cabinets and countertops... ok i'm dreaming. those are pretty far down the priority list. but they are on the list!!!

spring time (finally!)

we live about a half mile from a park and pond. it is finally warm enough (and light enough in the evenings) to take family walks after dinner. last time, jeremy brought his fishing pole. jacob acted interested for all of thirty seconds, then amused himself by throwing sticks in the water.

aliza and i sat and watched our boys and enjoyed some sunshine and fresh air.  then we all walked to the park for some time on the swing set and slides. aliza is still a little small for these activities, but as long as she can watch jacob run around, she is a happy camper. she sure does love her big brother!

so its been a while...

 we've been busy! Aliza is almost five months. growing like a weed (99+% in height, 85% in weight) and smiling all the time. working on rolling over, but seconds away from sitting. everyone says it because its true: time goes so much faster with number 2!

we've also been working hard on the house. Jeremy (with a little bit (ok a LOT) of help from ryan and shane) installed new wood laminate in all of our bedrooms and living room/dining room. the whole upstairs has been refreshed. add in our redone bathroom (merry Christmas to us!) and our new living room furniture (turning 30 has a way of making a person need grown up couches) and we feel like we are living in a whole new house!

jakey is getting big fast. he starts "short sports" at the bel aire rec center in a few weeks - his first, but probably not last, organized sports "team." he talks about everything, loves playing his drum kit and guitar, and playing with his diggers. he helps me cook, helps Jeremy work in the garage, and Aliza adores him.

I hope to post more often, but I thought that at the beginning of the year and here we are march and its my first post of the year. :) life has a tendency to get in the way...