Trick Or Treating at Daddy's Work!

 And this isn't at his work, but at a stop at McDonald's before visiting family...

Halloween with Friends

Mickey did not want to cooperate for the picture:)...

 The best one I got of Mickey, Mickey, Minnie and Minnie...

 Minnie Maddy and Minnie Layla...

 Ella the Monkey, Alden the Fireman, Gibs as Mickey, Layla as Minnie, Maddy as Minnie and Jonathan as Mickey...

Fall So Far

I've been such a terrible blogger and am trying to catch up! Here are some pics from the past month or so.

Playing nicely together...

Still playing nice, but about a second later Layla was not so happy since he pulled a large wad of her hair out. He seriously can grab so many strands out and the poor girl doesn't have very many to begin with!

Buddies...

Once a month we've been going to a moms group at a nearby church. I thought it'd be cute to take a pic of them this fall and then compare the pic to this spring and see how much they've changed--too bad I ran out of time to take the pic before we left (we have to leave the house a little after 9! That's tough for us!) and then Gibs fell asleep on the way home (since he misses his nap when we're there) so he was sleeping in his carseat during the picture. Maybe next time:). The MOMS thing (it used to be MOPS but they changed it this year) has been good. Gibs goes to a baby room and Layla goes to the 2s room where she just plays and snacks and I get to have coffee and breakfast and then listen to a speaker.

Enjoying the nice fall temps (well, until this week)...

Talking to her brother...

I thought this was cute from one morning a few weeks ago. I love his froggy jammies and her frizzy morning hair:)...

We had Auntie Heidi take some pics a couple of Sundays ago to start trying to get a good one for our Christmas card. Sundays work well b/c we normally see family for lunch and we're dressed up, however, they don't work great b/c Gibs is getting hungry and has missed his morning nap.

I need to try harder to get one of the kids where they're both smiling...this was the start of Gibs' cold:(. I sent him to nursery that morning and then noticed his nose was snotty that afternoon. They both seem to pick up colds from nursery everytime they're in there and I normally am good about keeping them home if they're sick at all, but I didn't even notice his snotty nose in the morning. Oops! Hopefully he didn't get anybody sick!

Not into the picture:)...

This was the second best one. We'll probably use the other one b/c we'll probably never get around to trying to get a better one, so in case I use that one, I'll let you be surprised when you get your card what it looks like:). Gibs wasn't smiling on any of them:(.

I thought his hand on her shoulder was precious:)...

Layla enjoys feeding him...most the time it is helpful:)...

Gibs has discovered our pots and pans drawer. That's such a typical baby thing to want to bang pans together, but Layla was really good about never going in cupboards she wasn't allowed in. Gibs knows exactly what things are naughty and goes for them, although he's getting better with some things and does listen to "no", you just need to remind him 1 minute later:).

This was when Gavin was over the other night. Gibs is actually smiling in this pic too, too bad he's blurry:(...

Joe was really enjoying playing princess games with Layla:). She's been really liking the princesses lately and Tinkerbell. I LOVE all things Disney so I hope that this sticks:).

Gibs is so different from what Layla was like in the bathtub when she was a baby. She loved baths too, but she didn't like to be on her tummy or tip over. He could care less if he falls over and is always pulling up on the spout which is dangerous and moving all around on his belly. It's like he tries to swim:). They typically bathe together so Gibs was enjoying all the extra space the other day without his big sis:)...

I've been liking some of the cool fall days we've had--although many have been too hot for my taste and now have been too windy or rainy. I like going for walks, but only when the weather cooperates:)...

Gibs playing with his friend Maddy...

He figured out how to make Elmo play...fun for him, loud for me:)...

He had a fever the middle of last week and was sleeping tons and grumpy when he was awake. Over the weekend he was still grumpy and would wake up earlier than normal in the morning (around 7) and cry which is very unlike him. Normally he wakes up "talking". So Monday I decided to bring him in to get his ears checked and he had a double ear infection:(. She said one of his ears was getting better--it probably had been worse over the weekend--but his other one was still bad enough that she prescribed an antibiotic. He was already a little better on Monday and by Tuesday was basically back to his usual self. This was his typical face during his sick week...

When I didn't realize he was sick I tried to get a pic of them two of them. He was NOT having it. I seriously got nothing even the least bit cute. We quickly went back inside!

I love his happy face, but sometimes his sad little face is so pitiful it's cute to me:)...

They were playing quite the duet today and Layla was singing along. She sings such funny things. Most of it she makes up about things she did..."I washed my handsssss! I brushed my teeeth" or tonight was "I jumped off my stoooolllllll". It's so funny the things she thinks of:). She also loves to tell Gibson what she is doing as if he can understand her:).

This started as a wave for Gibson and then he got distracted by the ceiling:)...

Typical little bro laughing as he's tormenting his big sis:)...

And Gibs is out...

Cottage 2010

So I am posting this REALLY late, but in early August we went with Joe's family to his aunt and uncle's cottage. We had a great week with great weather! We missed last year b/c Joe was gone for work, but here is Layla two summers ago when we went. She was just over 2 months old here. My how things change!



When we were driving in to the town of Onekama the annual parade had just started so we weren't able to get to the cottage since the cottage is on the main road. We therefore decided to just park and walk to the parade so that Layla could see it.


She got LOTS of candy and fun things!!

The girls...(Joe's mom, me, Layla, Joe's sister, Rachael, and Joe's brother's wife, Heidi)

Daddy and Gibs...

This was Layla's "Mickey Mouse" pancake...pretty sure she didn't eat all of that! And I'm pretty sure that this is a pretty half hazard way of making a Mickey pancake:)...

Layla and Auntie Heidi...

Here's one of the pics Layla took...looks like she was trying to get an artistic view:). She so far (not that I can really tell yet) seems to love artsy things. She notices shapes in all sorts of random things...like saying that her pretzel looks like a kitty or a dog or saying that a spilled puddle of water looks like a tree. And the things that she says actually do look like what she says they do. She also loves coloring and painting. I can feel a crafter emerging in the future:). It's probably just typical things little girls like to do though.

Gibson on the paddle boat with Grandma and Grandpa...

Gibs was not a fan of the water!

Layla on a ride with Grandpa and Grandma...

Gibson getting lunch from Grandma...

Sand time with Grandpa...

Layla looks as enthuised to be playing a game as I was:)...

Layla was excited to find some toys:)...

Gibson enjoying the frisbee on his head that we got from the parade...

Just chillin' in the shade...

One of the nights everyone except Layla, Gibs, Rachael, Mary and me went out fishing, so the rest of us went to a country concert in the park...we did not recognize a single song and I'm pretty sure they were all from the time when they called in "country and western". We were also pretty much the youngest ones there and no one around us seemed to appreciate when my kids talked so we didn't stay very long:)...

Looking at the duckies with Auntie Heidi...

Eating lunch picnic style with Grandma and Grandpa...

There was a playground at the little beach right next to their cottage, but it was almost too hot to play on it!

One morning we decided to head to a nearby beach and pretty much as soon as we got everything unloaded from the car and carried it all to the beach, the dark clouds started to roll in! So we didn't get much time there at all. And as soon as we got there Steidi (Steve and Heidi) came to visit on Tiny Tin...

Gibs missed the whole experience by sleeping...

Joe and I took a quick walk to the end of the pier. Joe's mom told us to enjoy our romantic walk and to take a pic on the pier, so here it is:)...

Layla enjoyed the water...

Layla enjoyed playing lawn darts with Grandpa and Grandma, although "playing" might not exactly be the right word as I'm quite sure she wasn't obeying the rules:)...

We had a relaxing time there and I always enjoy seeing Layla (and soon Gibs) experience traditions like this. Hopefully we can make it again next year!