Laundry Day

Yes...so exciting. :) (There hasn't been too much going on lately, hence the lack of posts on my blog.) However, I wanted to post these cute pics of Gabe in the fresh-out-of-the-dryer clothes waiting to be folded. He looked so cute peering up out of the pile! Gabe is such a sweet little guy-so easily entertained. He just keeps me company as I go about my chores. Since he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to crawl and get into mischief, our days are peaceful and fun!

Happy Valentine's Day

Hopefully everyone had a great Valentine's Day! Gabe and I spent the afternoon at Mel's making goodies for this special day. It's always so much fun to hang out over there. Cannon and Gabe don't actually play together yet but Gabe sure enjoys Cannons toys! Mel and I always love to get together and cook up a storm. Unfortunately there isn't much time since we usually cram these cooking sessions inbetween nap times and even if we didn't, Mel is one busy girl with five boys to take care of (make that six, right Brad?!) Anyway, the real fun came later that evening after Daddy (aka Eric) came home from work! (Luckily it didn't take him 3 1/2 hrs to get home like the night before in that horrendous blizzard.) Gabe and I had a special surprise in store for him...balloons with little love notes hanging on the strings! Yes, I know, very very cheesey but I don't care! That is what Valentine's Day is for!! And I even got a single red rose out of it - very romantic. :)

Now I had to post the funniest picture of Gabe and Denali staring at the balloons. They stared and stared until I finally got the camera - I was cracking up the whole time! When I brought the balloons home from the store, Gabe was absolutely fascinated. He and Denali were both transfixed by this bunch of strange and slightly scary things hanging out by the ceiling. I think Gabe liked them but Denali was very suspicious and watched those balloons with something like terror in her eye. If I bumped one or something, she would scramble up like it was about to attack her! It was so funny. Eventually they both got used to them and in the way of babies and dogs, the balloons were old, boring news. :)

sisterscafe.blogspot.com

Here are all my sweet sisters! Mindy and I(with Gabe), Melanie and I, Amy and Erin (with Gabe again), and the last picture is Mindy, Mom, Amy, Mel, and I. Sorry girls, most of these pics are of one or all of us pregnant!! :) Luckily every one of you is darling pregnant.

Anyway, the bunch of us decided to start our own cooking blog. We all love to cook and experiment with new recipes. This way we get to share with each other and all our friends our favorite recipes as well as any new and exciting ones we've tried. Best of all, everyone gets to witness my amateur attempts at culinary photography! If something doesn't look too appetizing, ignore the photo and try it anyway...it's delicious! Of course Mel and Erin's pictures look professional but I'll get there someday. :) And the photos are a must...who likes to make something new without seeing it? It makes it a lot more fun anyway. So check it out if you get the bug to cook something new!

Best buddies...

...ok, maybe not yet but if each of them had anything to do about it, they would be! Eric and I are just starting to let Denali (our American Bulldog) get close to Gabe. From the time we took him home from the hospital, Nali has been trained to keep a respectful distance from him and all his stuff. Over the months we have allowed her to come closer and closer...and now she just loves to join him on the floor when he plays with his toys. She even tries to join him literally on his blanket...the closer the better! Gabe loves her! His little face lights up when she plops herself down next to him and he immediately goes in for the grab. Denali's ears hold endless appeal for Gabe. He absolutely loves to pull and twist and flap them back and forth with is hands. For some reason she doesn't seem to mind at all - in fact I wonder if she likes it since she always lays down within reach of his grabby little hands! Once in a while, when she thinks I'm not looking and she just can't resist anymore, she will lean over and give him a long lick across the head! ICK! She is not allowed to do that but she LOVES to lick and has a really hard time controlling herself for long! :) Although it really grosses me out, Gabe doesn't seem to mind - which is probably good since he is in for a lot more licks as the years go by and they really do turn into pals!

Gabe feeding himself?!

I'm not sure if he really is feeding himself or just enthusiastically playing with a new toy...food! Either way, some is getting into his mouth - a larger portion than you would assume seeing how much is spread around! I can definitely say he loves to eat and always has - this is just a new way of doing it and it's so much more fun! Gabe loves "feeding" himself banana, Gerber puffs, cheerios, avacado, sweet potato and oranges. I love watching him as he discovers each new food and the look on his face as he grasps it, examines it, then stuffs it in his mouth. Usually it's after he has had a taste that he takes the time to experiment with it (a period of mashing, throwing, and spreading it around) before taking the next bite! He is such a funny, happy little man. I spend a lot of my time with him laughing!

Cousins!!

Lucky Gabe has two little boy cousins his age, Cannon and Wesley, as well as new baby Eliza. We are going to have to watch out as those 3 boys grow up together! They are going to be a pack of mischevious fun someday, I'm sure. For now, mostly it's the Moms that have the fun getting them together and taking lots of cute pictures! Melanie and Brad's Cannon is just 2 months younger than Gabe and Matt and Amy's Wesley is 3 months younger. I've put up some of my favorite pictures of these cute little guys.

Visiting the Walkers

It was so hard to believe we had a baby GIRL in the family, Gabe and I decided to go see for ourselves! So we went to Detroit with Mom to visit Erin's little family...and we had a great time!! Baby Eliza is absolutely darling - it was so fun holding such a sweet little newborn. In fact she rarely got put down! Benjamin was hilarious...Gabe certainly thought he was the best entertainment around! Mom and I had so much fun playing with the boys and holding the baby...but most of all it was fun to have so much girl-time together with Erin. We had lots of time to play games, cook, and talk, talk, talk! :) I miss my little sister! And of course it was wonderful to see Jed again...whenever he could break away from the grind of medical school, poor guy!

Snow, snow, and more snow!!

Would you look at all the snow we've gotten! Eric and I both love the snow but this is getting ridiculous! This past Sunday, Eric was out shoveling for hours (at least it felt like, right Eric?!) - he just couldn't keep up with the snow falling. Church was even canceled for us...and that's a big deal here in Utah! Other than the shoveling (and driving) challenge, we both actually love it. It is beautiful up here on the mountain after a blizzard - like a winter wonderland.