Gabriel Plays the Piano

Every evening I play worship songs on the piano and we all sing along. This time, when we were done, Richard and Gabriel wanted a turn to play on the piano.

Wading Party

Gabriel was invited to a swimming (aka wading) party. He's only been in the water during bath time, so we thought this would be a fun experience. Gabriel, however, didn't agree. I think the water was too cold for him. He cried the second his feet touched it. So I'm posting pictures of the other babies that actually played in the water. They are his buddies, Evelyn and Liam.

Evelyn was the first to jump in. She liked to drink the water.

After seeing his buddy Evelyn play in the water, Liam decided to try. He wasn't sure about it at first, but a little support from his mommy helped him get up the courage.

It wasn't long until they were both splashing around and having fun.

Bridal Shower and Leopard Print Cake

My friend's JET and Erin are getting married! I recently attended Erin's bridal shower and made her a cake true to her unique "Erin style". This girl has good taste in fashion, that's for sure! I have to admit that when I first heard about her wedding theme, I wasn't so sure how it would all go together. She is having red roses, sunflowers and leopard print! Quite the combination, I know. My challenge, was to put this all together in a cake for her shower. I think it came together really well. Who knew leopard print looked so amazing next to red roses and sunflowers?

Here I am with the beautiful bride to be.

And I couldn't leave out this photo. These are some of the girls in my bible study. We call ourselves the Bible Babes! Love you guys!

Happily Married for 2 Years

Richard and I just celebrated our 2 year anniversary. We got dressed up, dropped off the baby at a friend's house, then went to a nice sea food restaurant. It was a romantic night.

During dinner we talked about what we remember most from the last year. We loved our Europe vacation, although we both agreed that nothing will ever beat the Hawaii honeymoon. We remember holidays spent with family. Most of all, of course, is the birth of our baby boy. Now that he's 5 months, we continue to be amazed at how much love we have for this little guy. It's a different kind of love than we've ever had before. Someone once told me that when you have a child, it gives you just a glimpse of how much God loves you. I think having Gabriel definitely tops the chart for our second year of marriage.

We like to follow the traditional anniversary gifts. This year, it was cotton. I gave Richard a nice dress shirt, and he gave me a gift certificate for a massage (where they will have cotton robes). I have to say, I think the massage was an excellent choice! This isn't just any massage. I'll be going to Burke Williams. Aaaahhhh Burke Williams! I love this place. When you go there, you MUST either go early or stay late... or both! Why? Because before and after your appointment, you can enjoy an array of spa luxuries. They have a sauna, pool, hot tub, dark/reading room (for naps or quiet relaxing), shower with everything you may need, etc. I will definitely enjoy all these things along with their cucumber mint water! Aaaahhhhh....

In case you want to know more about the traditional anniversary gifts, here are the first 5 years:
Year 1 - Paper (this was our airline tickets to Europe)
Year 2 - Cotton (A dress shirt for him, a massage, with cotton robes, for me)
Year 3 - Leather
Year 4 - Fruit/Flowers
Year 5 - Wood
Click here to see the rest.

After dinner, we picked up Gabriel and headed home. It was late, and Gabe fell asleep in the back seat. He was holding his teddy bear and sucking his fingers.

What a great year of marriage!

2011 Reading List

I always get excited about reading lists. I saw a reading list on a blog that I follow, and it inspired me to make my own. I love to read, but I don't feel like I'm a very fast reader. My brother, on the other hand, can pick up a 900 page book in the afternoon and finish it around midnight. I wish I could read like that! I suppose even if I could, I wouldn't have time anymore. Baby time takes up most of my day. Anyway, I thought I would post all the books I've read so far this year, followed by the books I would still like to read before the year is over.

Books I've Finished
Bringing Up Boys (Currently Reading)
Live A Praying Life (Currently Reading)
The New Testament (Currently Reading) Figured I would lump these together
On Becoming Baby Wise
On Becoming Baby Wise 2
The Nursing Mother's Companion
Super Baby Food
The Power of a Praying Wife
When You Rise Up
Family Driven Faith
Daniel: Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophesy
The Phantom of the Opera


Books I Would Like To Read Before 2012
On Becoming Pre-Toddler Wise
People of the Book
One Thousand Gifts
The Universe Next Door

It looks like I may have space to add a couple books to my list. Have a suggestion? I would love to hear your recommendations.

Gabriel Laughs - Part 2

One evening, Gabriel was getting a little fussy so I tried to make him laugh. I was swinging my head back and forth, which made my hair fly around, and making a "whoosh" noise. I was also trying to hold the camera, so it's a little shaky. But you'll still be able to see the star of the show.

Gabriel Laughs - Part 1

I caught this video of Richard and Gabriel the other night. Check back in tomorrow for Part 2 of this video series.

Fresh From the Garden

Aahhhh. I love picking fresh produce from my garden.

Beach Baby

Gabriel's first day at the beach over 4th of July weekend.

Insanity

On July 5, Richard and I started the Insanity work out. It's one of many workout programs from Beach Body. The program takes you through 60 days of intense workouts, and includes a meal plan. The first "work out" was actually the fit test, where you write down how much you can do in order to track your progress later on. Well, even the fit test was hard. We took a LOT of breaks during the workout and we still feel like it kicked our butts. Since we haven't worked out consistently since I got pregnant, we are definitely out of shape.

Before I got pregnant, we were in the middle of the P90X work out. That was a 90 day program, but I think we stopped around day ~70 since it was a bit too intense for a pregnant woman :0).

Now I'm trying to adjust our diet slightly to align with the Insanity meal plan. I think we'll do an 80/20 approach. The plan says to eat 5 meals each day, and each of the meals are about the same size. Each meal consists of 40% protein, 40% carbs (whole wheat and whole grain) and 20% fat. Now that's all fine and dandy, but I LOVE sweets, and the plan doesn't have any desserts listed. So I am going to allow myself 2 servings of something sweet each week.

Hopefully we can get through all 60 days of Insanity without killing ourselves!

Gabe and Tabe

We often refer to Gabriel and Tabor as "Gabe and Tabe". They're such good friends. Now that Tabor has moved to Texas, I thought I would post some happy memories they had together...

They used to do a lot of belly bumps

Here Gabriel is waiting for Tabor to join him

When Tabor was born

So sleepy

Hanging out

Going on a car ride together

Playing together

Tummy time

Staring at something... maybe their mommies making funny faces

Posing together

Being held by their friend Craig and wearing matching pajamas

And now that Tabor is gone, Gabriel wants to send him a message. Here you go Tabor...

First Harvest

I love veggies! I especially love veggies from my garden! I picked three zucchini, one cucumber and one bell pepper. Woo hoo!

All American Boy

Happy 4th of July everyone! From the All American Boy.

"Duh. What are you doing mom?"

"Oh, you want me to smile?"

"How about if I kick the camera? That sounds fun!"