Olivia's thoughts...

Olivia and I had some girl time yesterday afternoon and while driving home to see our boys this conversation went on:
Olivia- "Somebody colored my eyes brown."
Me- "Haha, yeah that's right.  I can tell you who did it too."
O- "Who?"
Me- "God did it.  He knew that was the perfect color for you."
O- "Oh, I wish he would have colored them PINK!"

This girl is in love with all things pink.

Our little man is growing up!

Gabriel's 1st birthday was last Friday, January 21st!  He is an amazing baby boy and it is crazy that a year has already gone by.  We started our celebration with a quick trip to Abilene to celebrate with both sets of grandparents.  Unfortunately, Gabe had a little stomach bug and wound up being sick so it wasn't all that much fun for him.

The next weekend I made a cake and we had another little celebration on his real birthday.  He was feeling much better and really got the hang of what to do with all that cake!  For the record, that is the messiest my little boy has gotten while eating.  I just don't do messy eating babies!

In case you were curious, I took him to his well visit this morning and he weighed in at 23lbs 9oz and measured 29 1/4" long.  Personally, I don't think the nurse stretched him out right cause he was squirming around...he may be just a bit longer! ;)

Gabe is such a charmer.  He has the sweetest eyes, the most voluptuous lips (I love them), chubby little thighs and he is the BEST hugger/snuggler ever.  He has always given the strongest, tightest hugs.  It melts my heart! Just so I don't forget I'm going to note some things he is up to:

- cruises around and has taken a few steps at a time

- loves the remote control

- will usually try most foods and like them

- nurses 3 times a day

- sleeps for about 10-ish hours a night and takes a nap at some point during the day (poor second-borns don't get the luxury of a set daytime schedule!)

- has 7 teeth

- babbles alot but has only said da-da and momma a few times...not sure if he really "knows" them. 

- wears mostly 18 month clothes and size 4 diapers

- has a little pillow in his crib that he adores

- drinks whole milk from his sippy cup everyday

Here's to another year of our sweet Gabriel Lee! 

Hello 2011!

I really want to begin posting more regularly, it is one of my new year "goals".  So, I'll begin with one that some of you may have already read.  I'm not even sure how many people still read this blog but it's worth a shot.

Our Dogs
Family and Friends,


When Koby and I were newly married about 10 years ago we decided that we missed our pets back home and we needed one of our own. We took the short trip to the Brazos Valley Animal Shelter and found Klowie in October of 2000. They approximated her age to be one year old and she had been at the shelter for a few weeks (read: her time was running out). She wasn't the cutest we saw that day, but there was something special about her. So we signed on the dotted line and welcomed our first "baby".

A couple of years later we decided that Klowie was lonely and she needed a friend. We were driving through a neighborhood in College Station and saw a sign that read "Puppies $5" so we stopped. There was a litter of the cutest little fur balls you've ever seen. The family said that their dogs had accidentally bred...the mom was a lab/rot mix and the dad was full collie. Being the softies we are, we quickly spotted the runt of the litter and brought her home. Isabella joined our family in 2002.

Fast-forward about 8 years. We are a busy family with two real babies that demand an incredible amount of our time and energy. We go for walks to the park and don't have enough hands to juggle kids, strollers, snacks AND leashes. Over the last few years the dogs have taken a permanent spot on the back burner. It is not something we are proud of, or something we expected to happen. It just has. The kicker is that we have learned that my dad is severely allergic to dogs, therefore my parents have rarely been able to come visit us and the kids. If they do, they have to stay at a hotel, which is costly. If they come over for a bit my dad has to sit outside. It has become an emotional burden/dilemma.

If you are still with me, I'm writing all this to say that Koby and I have decided to attempt to find a new home(s) for our dogs. The simple act of typing this e-mail creates a pull in my heart. We want nothing more than for the dogs to be loved and appreciated so we are sending this message out to people we know are capable of those things.

In short, would you or someone you know like a new friend?