Bye Bye Sandy

Well, we made it through Sandy in one piece after all.  We were very worried last night about our power going off, but luckily it managed not to.  I have seen some hurricanes in my lifetime, but this has got to be one of the BIGGEST and worse that I can remember.  My thoughts and prayers really go out to those in Jersey and NY that seem to have gotten hit the hardest. 

Things have been a bit crazy around here not having school/work for the last 2 days.  Poor Gage hasn't gone to school in a week.  I kept him home Friday and he hasn't been back since.  This weekend was pretty chill after our last few busy weekends.  Gage had soccer Sat. morning and then took a 3 hour nap.  We played outside a bit on Sunday and another LONG nap followed that.  We took a trip to the toy store Sun. night because we knew we probably wouldn't get out of the house for a few days.  Gage enjoyed picking out some gifts for his birthday that he is sooo excited is in 2 weeks!  Yesterday we spent the entire day indoors of course and it was quite the chore to entertain Gage.  We broke our TV limit by watching quite a few movies and cartoons. We also managed to dig out some toys from the bottom of Gage's toy box he hadn't seen in quite a while.  Today was a little better.  Luke took Gage to the mall this morning to burn off some energy since the weather still was not nice enough to play outside.  But tomorrow is Halloween and it's back to work and school they go!  Gage's school will have trick or treating tomorrow afternoon before the real deal tomorrow night.  It is going to be colder than usual here so we'll see how Gage does.  And unfortunately, although Ezra has a costume, we'll be staying in tomorrow night to hand out candy while Gage goes trick or treating with Daddy.

Here are just a few pictures we took in the last few days while hanging out at home. 

Ezra is finally digging his swing

The 1 month shot

The ever amusing crying-because-you've-taken-my-picture-48-times shot

Next to Teddy- now I need to go back and compare, b/c Luke and I are convinced he's grown a ton!



Oh, how could I forget!  We also carved pumpkins this weekend.  We did it last year as well, but it was way cooler this year for Gage to dig in and get all messy!  Luke carved two pumpkins for Gage- Spiderman and Daredevil, which we think both came out pretty nice.  I am not skilled enough so I opted to make the ever Pinterest popular milk jug ghosts.  Gage liked them though and they are super easy and cheap, so they're definitely a hit in my book and hopefully will look pretty cute tomorrow night on our porch.

Ewww....guts!



It's Spidey, do you see him?



This one is easier to distinguish- Daredevil

And these were just for fun and because we were stuck inside for so long and because I STILL have not gotten a cute shot of both my boys together.

I love a yawning baby

This one's kinda cute because it looks like Ezra's laughing, too.

Look at this kid's fat belly and look how curly his hair is when its wet

Gage got a cake pop while we were at Target, apparently this is how you eat one.

Story behind the above spider.  I took Gage to Target to allow him to pick out one Halloween decoration for our house.  He fell in love with this spider and just kept saying, I love her, I want to take her home with me.  She is my best friend, etc. etc.  He named her Sally.....which coincidentally he named his pumpkin last week, too.

This one might be the winner for the birth announcement

Now, people, do you still think they look alike?

Happy 3rd Blogiversary to Me!

Three years ago I started this blog to document the life of our little addition, Gage.  It's come a long way, it's funny to even look at the posts from that long ago.  In any case, I'm so glad that I started it and that I can go back and read about everything we've done as a family in these last years.  I've also met some really cool Internet friends, that would be true friends if we only lived closer.  Regardless it's awesome to get advice from people going through the same trials as parents as you are and always fun to read what their family is up to as well.  So here's to 3 years of my blog and hopefully many more!  Happy Blogiversary to Me!

Pumpkin Pickin' and What Else We've Been Up To

Last Friday we took Gage out of school to visit one of our favorite places, Ticonderoga Farms. We discovered Ticonderoga one Easter when they had a Spring festival and then visited this year for their Fall Festival. There is so much to do aside from pumpkin pickin'- slides down hills, playground equipment, a hayride, a bounce pillow, etc. We thought Friday would be a nice day to go and not have to worry about excessive crowds with Ezra. There was hardly anyone there so Gage got to play as he pleased, I found somewhere quiet to feed Ezra and we got to pretty much have the place to ourselves. We didn't get too many pictures this time around, but did take a few of the boys in their Halloween garb, since Gage would finally sit with Ezra (yay!).

Kind of a bad  picture of E, but at least his outfit is cute!

1st time Gage was really interested

Love this one.

Birth announcement worthy? 

Me and my boys

Not bad for a self portrait

ha...I LOVE this one

Gage's favorite slide

Apparently Mommy going down the slide is the funny thing in the world to Gage.  You gotta click on this one to see his face!

Daddy didn't tell me that Ezra was barely in the picture.

My sweet pumpkin

Saturday morning we skipped soccer to go to one of Gage's classmates' bounce house birthday party.  It definitely was a hit and a valid replacement, being that Gage could really care less about soccer anyway.  I went with Gage to bounce while Luke stayed home with Ezra.  Whew....2 and 3 year olds wear me out!  I didn't really get any pictures since I was bouncing with Gage the whole time.  I was tired, I can't imagine how tired the kids were, but we definitely had a great time.....which is why Gage will have a bounce house birthday as well in just a few weeks.

I also got to have lunch with a good friend  who was in town this week and kept Gage home yet again yesterday so we could play with her boys.  (Sorry, no pictures)  It's a shame to pay so much for daycare and to have to pay even if he's not there, but every once in a while, we have to do something special, right? Good to see you, Bonnie!

No Wordless Wednesday for me

Hey big surprise everyone! My computer is officially not working for the 354th time this year and i just downloaded 200+ pictures from the weekend. I haven't been able to edit any since the computer will only work for about 10 mins at a time. I would give you a post w/ iPhone pics but I really only have pics of Ezra and don't want to leave Gage out. Eh, maybe better luck next week!

Happy Anniversary!

Just want to take a moment to wish my parents a Happy 41st Anniversary!  Last year was the big one that we helped them celebrate, unfortunately, we don't have any big surprises this year!  AND I don't have any pictures of them, I don't think....that's pretty bad.  Anyway, Happy Anniversary guys, we love you and we'll see you soon!

Happy 4th Birthday Jacob!

Today I want to wish a very Happy  Birthday to Jacob over at the Kubeczka Family.  Jacob is turning 4 today and I'm sure he is having the best party a 4 year old can have.  His Mom is quite crafty and the kids' birthday parties are always planned and decorated to a tee.  She is also a great photographer so she captures every moment of their parties and their lives in general.  And I'm always jealous of her perfectly manicured nails.  Jacob and his sister Katelyn are also about to be a big brother and big sister so head on over to offer your congratulations, as well.

Dear Ezra- One Month

Dear Ezra

I cannot believe it's been a month since you've come into our lives.  And boy, did you make an entrance!  You have had quite the personality in the last month and have kept us on our toes.  You've had your 1st and hopefully last hospital visit and gained over 2lbs and 3 inches!  Although you haven't christened us quite as much as your brother, you have peed on yourself twice now, enough to get your hair soaking wet!  Speaking of hair, it is your most popular attribute.  I'm not sure I've met one person that hasn't commented on it.  It's Mommy's favorite, too!  You're currently not a big fan of sleeping and you're one of 'those' babies who think we should hold them all the time.  You loathe the swaddle that your brother was a fan of and instead we wrap the bottom half of you up for warmth- it's quite the sight.  You've only had a few visitors and we haven't taken you very many places.  We attempted to be cautious, but as you can see, that got us nowhere.  It definitely has been an exhausting 4 weeks,  having 2 kids is hard work!  We haven't worked on tummy time as much as I have wanted and we've got to get the activity mat out so you can start to play with that.  Just like your big brother, your favorite place to sleep is in your hammock on your pack n play.  You don't dig the swing very much and your very favorite place to be is in someone's arms.

Oh Ezra, we are so blessed to have you in our lives and for you to be Gage's little brother.  Although he's not super fond of you right now, we know you'll grow to be the best of friends.  He will teach you all kinds of things and you will look up to him always.  I can't wait for you to notice him and to see the smile you'll give him when he walks into a room.  Heck, I can't wait for you to even smile at me....I guess I have a couple more weeks, though.  He'll probably even be mad one day that I have started these letters with you right away and he didn't even get one until 7-8 months.  We haven't even gotten a picture of the 2 of you together, although we have several matching outfits to take pictures in.  Although Mommy and Daddy have had a very tiring month, we love you soo soo much and can't wait to see you grow! We know how blessed we are to have two healthy and happy little boys! 

By next month, you'll have had your 1st Halloween, 1st pumpkin patch trip, 1st OBX trip and your brother's 3rd birthday party!  Happy One month, Grunt, we love you!

Hospital Follow Up and Halloween Preview

I won't actually show you Gage and Ezra's costumes yet, but here is a hint.

Yesterday we went back to the pediatrician to follow up on Ezra's hospital stay.  They didn't report much more than we already knew, told us not to be overly cautious with where we would take him/what we would do with him.  We talked a little about his not sleeping very much and the doctor basically said there was nothing wrong other than he was a pain in the butt baby.  ha...basically if he'll sleep when we hold him or can be consoled when we hold him, there's nothing wrong- he's just high maintenance.  So I suppose all is well and I will keep my fingers crossed we can be fever free for another month!  Ezra and Gage both have appointments on the 17th of November, should be extra fun for me!

Wordless Wednesday: Random

We attempted to wake Ezra up to eat with tummy time.....not so much.

The closest Gage will get....playing piggie toes with E



Gage's new sweatshirt that he LOVES.



Love these stickers, never had them with Gage and this picture's pretty funny, too.

Can't believe my little man is already 4 weeks old today.