Jumpin' Gabe

Red Ribbon Week

It's Red Ribbon Week at Lydia's school this week, and yesterday was crazy hair day. Even more exciting for Lyd was the poster-drawing contest--she came up with this cute idea 100% on her own. Isn't it darling? I have to give her points for ingenuity, because I had put this precious paper on top of the fridge (you only get one from your teacher and you can't get a new one, she informed me), then forgot about it and put a tray of cookies on the fridge as well. A couple fell off and left some lovely grease stains at the bottom of the poster. But she made the best of things and decided to put the beer bottle right there. I know I'm a partial judge, but I love Lydia's artwork. She has a real talent for drawing animals in particular.

Crazy hair day with her neighborhood friends:

Gabe Tests His Limits

We've been battling with Gabe over bedtime lately; every night he'd convince us that he needed one more toy, one more book, etc., and we would give in without much of a fight, just hoping he would fall asleep. But after seeing all this stuff in bed with him . . . well, we've laid down the law and cleaned out the bed! We've had to leave him crying a few times, but he's gotten the point now. He'll plead, "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy!" as I'm saying, "Good night! I love you," but as soon as the door closes he gives up and goes to sleep. (By the way--this comes from the Christie Doman method of getting your kids to sleep through the night, and each time we forget how wonderfully it works! Thanks Christie!)

The other evening I was in another room and heard Gabe talking to himself, "App-ohs. Mmmm." I came in the room to find him like this . . . now that he can push around a stool, nothing is safe! Each apple had a little bite in it. The little turkey!

We just marvel at the leg positions this kid can get himself into. I think it must be a result of him still having to sleep with his bar. Blocks are the new thing around our house--or rather the old thing--I love it when the kids rediscover old toys they haven't played with in months!

A Walk to the Park

We walked to a park near our house last week--what a beautiful fall day! I love St. George this time of year. The kids were delighted by all the "Halloween Houses" (anything with any sort of pumpkin or halloween decoration qualifies . . .). The only trouble with our neighborhood (aside from the lack of sidewalks) is that anywhere you go from our house is downhill, but it's all uphill coming back. This poor stroller-pushing pregnant gal was quite out of breath! But Eleni & Jacob didn't complain a bit--Jacob rode his bike both ways and Eleni ran almost the whole way.

They spent most of the time climbing up this "twisty slide." Gabe thought it was hilarious. These three sure know how to make their own fun--they can entertain each other all day and usually get along pretty well . . .

. . . but sometimes they get pretty rowdy--and kind of weird. Is that okay to say about your own kids? Some of the stuffy they play is just bizarre! "And then pretend that everything crashed and we died, but we comed back to life. And then we were really sweaty because it was so hot . . ."

A little Family R&R

Conference weekend--one of the best times of the year! Some good friends, the Otts, were kind enough to let us borrow their cabin for the weekend. Seth has been working on a "big huge" paper (to quote Gabe), and we haven't seen him all week, so this was a much-needed getaway for our little family.

We went on a 4-wheeler ride, played games, enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL fall colors, and revelled in the fact that our daddy was home with us. The only flaw in the weekend was the little accident Jacob had . . . he tripped on the steps and split his chin open. We bandaged it like crazy, and I hope it will heal okay!