Steamfest 2009

I hope this is the only time I see this image, and never with a moving train. Look how tiny he looks.

Gabe ringing the bell.

Gabe and Pawpaw

We were trying to replicate this picture of Brad with his Dad, but the train setup didn't allow. This was the closest we could get.

I love that Sam has an LSU hat & polo shirt in both pictures and Brad's face has a "what am I doing at a Train Festival/can I go home now" look in both pictures . Things don't change much. And with all these spectacular trains, all Gabe wanted was the Thomas train to himself.

Pumpkin Patch

I am a little behind on posting. This was a few weeks ago. As Papa headed out for the LSU/Florida game, Gabe and I headed for the pumpkin farm. Thanks to cell phone technology and a small moment of brilliance on my part, I decided to double check that the farm would be open on a gameday (you know those Tiger fans) before driving waaaay out of the city. Anyway, the farm was closed...Emergency detour to Whole Foods. 2 year olds have little patience when it comes to pumpkins and promises. The lady in the floral department gave Gabe the "baby" pumpkin and he couldn't be happier. We'll have to get the rustic farm experience next year...I don't want Gabe to get the impression that Whole Foods is the farm, but it might be too late for that.

firsts

These are photos from Gabe's first baseball game. This was a while back, but I thought I would post for documentation purposes. I don't want to miss a thing, and I don't want you to think we spend our entire lives in the kitchen. Although, looking at my waistline might tell a different story.

Some of Gabe's expressions just crack me up! This was a super serious moment of concentration. I just wonder what is going through his head all the time...like what is a Zephyr and why is there a giant Nutria named "Boudreaux" dancing around on the field? I wonder these things too. Or maybe it was an issue related to the enormous hot dog he had just eaten?

ahhhh!

the best book I have read in a long time. Seriously, I think this should be required reading for all parents. I nabbed my copy from my mom's bookshelf in an effort to devour anything that would give me some solid guidance. This is it! I was struggling. How do I get to the often described "rewarding", "beautiful", "wouldn't trade it for anything" motherhood, whithout panic attacks, mood swings, and lots and lots of tears? Not to say that all of that is over, but, hey, its a process. Anyway, I just couldn't keep this one for myself.


I will be reading it again with tabs and highlighter...I don't want to miss a thing.

One Design Flaw

Before I was married in 2003, my future in-laws hosted me for an entire month at their home in Singapore. While there, Mrs. Joyce and I took a trip to Bankok. We had a wonderful time shopping. Since I was soon to be married, it was so much fun finding housewares for the home that Brad was simultaneously searching for. I fell in love with this unpolished stainless steel flatware. However, the handle is hollow with a little hole at the end. I figured it would be pretty tough to get food in there, and I would just load them in the dishwasher stems down to get really clean. That was before this two year old came along and made a great discovery...a pea fits just perfectly in that hole. This is why I call him "Goose", as in "silly goose, don't put that pea in your spoon backwards."


I wonder if Gabe will look back at his pictures when he is older and think "who did my hair?" The poor boy has my half wavy/half straight do that does not work well with humidity...which we surely are not lacking.

moving on

Okay, we have moved on to some real food...cookies and brownies. Don't worry, we are sharing our treats. Gabe loves making them more than eating them. Sophie and Ethan next door are grateful for his talents too. We brought them cookies for an after school snack.

And, pictured below is my very first sewing project. My next project will be an apron/smock for Gabe although his will need full coverage for the messes he makes. I got the tutorial for this one from Darby's blog here. The apron would probably look better in bolder fabrics, but these were scraps that I had. The white was previously Gabe's canopy when we lived in Florida, and the stripe is a shirt that Brad got a bad ink stain on. I think I will make some matching distowels too.