Saturday, March 26, 2011

Benjamin's First Haircut

Not off to a good start. Check out how long his hair was on the top (and it had gotten equally long on the back of his neck...oops!).

A little smile from Benjamin after we were done. It only took about 15 minutes and cost $5--that was my probably my favorite part!


Benjamin giggling at lunch that day made up for all the tears he shed during the haircut.

Who me?

Benjamin did a sneak-attack on Gabrielle one night while she was laying on the floor...I'm sure that was only the first time for some hair pulling in our family.

Who me? :)

Taking off with the ceiling fan/light remote.

Beautiful azalea bush...

...and my beautiful daughter too!

My handsome boys

After church last weekend...isn't our azalea bush beautiful?!

Who-hoo...daddy's letting me play!!!

My two dudes...rockin' it on the guitar together.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Our rainbow cookies that we made for her friends at school.

Having a great time swinging.

Wheeeee!!!!!

Friday, March 18, 2011

New car seats

Gabrielle in her new booster seat.
Doesn't she look like she's 12? My pretty girl!

Which means that Benjamin gets to move from the carrier to Gabrielle's old car seat. There was a little crack in the styrofoam a few months ago (from carelessly taking it in and out of the car), and I'm glad I just called Graco and they sent a new one for only $10...awesome! Just goes to prove that it's always worth it to take a chance. You never know until you ask! :)

And, of course, we had to get some crazy face-pictures!

Nederland Heritage Festival

Gabrielle on her first ride Thursday afternoon.

Riding the carousel with Nick.

Having a great time...

This was pretty much the look on Benjamin's face for the whole afternoon/evening. I'm just glad that he was content to watch and not want to be on the rides too...next year!

The ferris wheel lit up at night.

I was jealous because Gabrielle picked Nick to go on the ferris wheel with her for her first time. I got to head home with Benjamin because the wait line was about 30 minutes before they even got on the ride. At least they brought home some cotton candy! :)

The view of the carnival from "up in the sky".


Nick and Gabrielle enjoying the ferris wheel ride.

Gabrielle with some girl friends waiting for the parade to start.

Check out ALL that candy!!!

Who needs toys?

Helping daddy sweep the leaves after he mowed.

The kiddos playing in our empty laundry baskets.

Getting a twirly-ride on the wood floor.

Could he be any happier just standing in a basket?

Really...a diaper box is all he needs!

Bounce Zone fun.

Gabrielle with her friends in one of the bounce houses.

Benjamin even enjoyed walking around!

Skipping


Personally, I think Gabrielle does a really good job at skipping for a 3-year old. I taught some Kindergarteners who couldn't skip if their life depended on it. :)

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Another first for Benjamin

Last Friday we headed to Chick Fil-A for "Mommy & Me" time. Gabrielle and some of her friends were there creating paper-sack-lion-puppets. While they were on the floor doing that, I let Benjamin check out the slide for the first time.

Wondering whether he should get in the slide or go after some of the crayons and paper on the floor.

Standing up in the slide...and loving it!

My happy little guy is growing up!

Wrestling fun

It's been fun watching our kiddos play together more lately. Of course, a lot of their interactions have ended in wrestling with each other...cute!

Benjamin "joining" Gabrielle on the floor.

Don't know why Gabrielle was covering her mouth. Either Benjamin was checking out her teeth, or she was laughing so hard that she was trying to "hide" it.

Love this picture because they are both genuinely laughing.

Aren't they just too cute? And, they're mine! :)

Monday, March 07, 2011

Galveston day-trip

We had a great time when my parents came for a visit in February. We decided it would be fun to take a day-trip to Galveston, and had originally planned to go to Moody Gardens while we were there, but it took a lot longer to get there than we had figured. So, we ate lunch and just played on the beach...we still had lots of fun!

Getting a ride on the ferry across Galveston Bay...first time on a ferry for everyone but me. Great experience!

Trying to get a good picture with Benjamin.

Another try...

And, another try.

Final try...oh well.

Gabrielle was a little nervous about our car being on a "boat", so she initially wanted to stay in the car in her carseat.

Eventually she got out and enjoyed the foggy view.

Couldn't see much until we got a lot closer.

This lady was cracking me up...I wonder if she stands up through her moon roof often because she did it several times in the short time we were behind them.

Finally a clear view of part of the shore.

For lunch we headed to Gaido's (per recommendation from Jeremy Davis). We enjoyed some delicious seafood. And, my parents got to try some new things (not much fresh seafood in Nebraska!).

Mom trying oysters for the first time...I got these two pictures mixed up when I was loading them onto blogger and if you look at the picture above, I don't think she was very fond of them.

Dad trying oysters...

I don't think they were his favorite either. Better get this dairy farmer a steak! :)

Nick getting ready to eat some oysters...

He actually enjoys them...so he got to eat the rest of them.

I don't know what we were laughing about, but I love this picture because it shows how much fun we were having. AND, this is one of the most delicious foods I've ever eaten...their Lobster Bisque. Awesome!!!

In the front after lunch...it was too bright for Gabrielle.

Heading down to the beach...you can see how foggy it still was at that point (which I understand isn't a typical day for that area...bummer that it didn't clear off!).

Gabrielle had a blast picking up seashells!

I've always wanted to write our initials in the sand...just like in the movies!

Awe...

Walking out one of the rock-piers.

I was impressed with how well this picture came out...especially since it was super windy AND humid (guess I shouldn't have gone to all that work to straighten my hair that morning!).

Daddy and Benjamin enjoying some beach time.

I think he was tired. And honestly, I think the sound of the waves lulled him to sleep (it's the same sound we have on his sound machine in his bedroom). I'll take cuddle-time when I can get it...I'm sure he'll be "too big for that kind of stuff" sooner than I'm ready for!