April.

Summers Ugly luke warm cousin, Spring.

The only great thing about spring is that summer is right after it, and i LOVE the feel of summer coming on! I get really happy thinking about all the stuff we can do. I Start working out, I get motivated and think of WAY too many house projects to do.. I get SO excited!
On the love list this year: Back yard fun! including:
dug out trampoline,
deck,
fence,
trees,
flowers
maybe a hammock?
I think Ben is gonna love this idea and maybe Hate the price. No, hate. the price. haha

The last couple days have been full of April showers and a little snow here and there so Gabe and I have been thinking of ways to entertain ourselves inside the house. Yesterday was a particularly brave day for me. I let Gabe practice taking my earrings in and out of my ears. It was a terrifying experience but Gabe loved that it scared me and we laughed a lot. (He also got really good at it!). We play a lot of Hide and seek, his favorite place to hide is behind his bedroom curtains. He always hides there! and now he makes me feel good about my lame hiding spots by saying "Is Mom here? No..... Is Mom here? No......." Even tho he can see me. What a sugar i have.                                      

A first Haircut!

Gabe finally got his first haircut at 22 Months old! I was asking around for good placed to get his hair cut and couldn't make up my mind. The little guys hair was getting pretty long and frizzled. On the day before Easter i was getting Gabe out of the bath and Ready for bed. I combed his hair and told Ben, I'm just gonna do it! Is that ok? ...waiting for his approval and support. I was scared i would wreck him! Ben Luckily knew this fact and said "Ill do it". THANK GOODNESS ! Ben is so good at cutting his own hair i don't know why i didn't think of him cutting it in the first place.

We stood in the bathroom, I held Gabe and Ben went to cut. I let him play with my bracelets to play with something and calm him down. Gabe watched in the mirror with a bewildered face. As Ben picked up the scissors to cut the first bit Gabe yells "No! Don't do it!! Don't do it!!"It was so funny and cute! We still cut it and did decide to let him watch Dora on the I Pad So he could focus on something other that what must have looked like knifes coming at his head! I was nervous about getting the leftover hair Ben cut, so he had to move carefully around us as to not disturb his baby hair on the floor. Gabe looked like a BIG BOY to me after it was all done! I could not believe it! We put him to sleep right after the haircut so i was so excited to go get him in the mourning to see his grown up super cute self for Easter Morning. I love my guy SO much!!

A long tiiiime

seeeeoooo much has happened since i last blogged... Ill fast forward to Now.

October: Benj and I both did the color Run. Although I ran it with friends huffing and puffing and ben cruised it solo.  Ben worked his butt off and did the Tough Mudder Too. It was awesome and I was so proud of his hard work! Gabe was a freakindorable Trick or Treating! He went to all the doors and said "tick o' teet!" Everyone loved him. He was Elmo, but dressed up as a skeleton Most of the night. I also got an over the top amount of Candy and stupidly made a cute sign that told all the kids to just take one candy (I was thinking we would have a HUGE amount of Kids coming). we had a ANNND Ben and I were Marty McFly and his girlfriend for Our couples Halloween Party.

TON of candy left. Suckers....Just kidding. I felt really bad all the kids didn't get more!!

November:Thanksgiving was spent here in Utah with Ben's Family instead of Oregon with My Hensley Family. I missed them bunches but i was happy not to be driving in bad weather with the Gabes. Ben got to play football with his brothers and Gabey and i watched with pleasure!....we Played in the leaves a lot, and looked at the nearby horses. And I was chasing Gabes a lot as he was trying to be in the football Game too. The Kid LOVES sports! So Cute! I think Ben would like me to mention how well he did. He did Very Well!

December: We had a Family Party, A couples Neighborhood Party and a Great Christmas! Santa brought Gabey an awesome slide that Ben and i Wish we could use....and there was a teddy bear sitting at the top of the slide. When Gabe came running in the room he was Thrilled to see his "Teddy Ber!!" He just wanted to love on him! I was So sweet!

January: We played a lot in the snow. the first snow hill we went on was REALLY Big. Too Big really. I went down with Gabe first and it was, not gonna lie a bit scary! i screamed a bit which made Gabey cry and super freaked! Poor guy! it was super sad and funny. We did smaller hills after that and he really enjoyed them

February: My Birthday was Super great! My girlfriends took me out to dinner and then we went Dance bowling after. (we decided to do some activity on our Birthdays instead of simple dinner and movie). Ben surprised me on my Birthday and told me he didn't have to work, FUN! He took me to a family fun center type and it was a total mess. really funny, Lots and TONs of youngers finding love on their Presidents day off of school. It was great, he felt bad but shouldn't have. I love him. He took me out to dinner and we saw Save Haven after. I really tried not to cry during the cheese fest and got a headache because of it. haha oh and yes, i cried...and saw it a second time. Whatever i listened to the book!

March: Bens Birthday! Speaking for Ben, i would have to say it was the Best day of his life...? haha I wooed the crap out of Him. the End. We Started this new tradition this year with his Family. instead of getting Presents from everyone (there's just too many of us now) everyone says something they love about that person. Its REALLY so sweet! Everyone said the MOST amazing things about my Ben and i think it made his Birthday really special. Since they started doing this After my Birthday, i got a turn too. Its wonderful to tell someone how you feel about them and how they feel about you too. Luckily its only good things... haha My friends and i went classic skating for one of their Birthdays too. I was pushed into the middle of a dance of and freaked the kids out with my amazing roller moves....pppffff

And a NOW......First, Sorry future Me, this is really long...

Gabe is too adorable to handle and he is growing and getting SO FAST!! My little guy is on the move in a major keep-your-eyes-on-him-or-you'll-lose-him way. Yesterday at the grocery store for example. I usually never let him ride in the cart cars but i was feeling unusually trusting that day haha. He couldn't decide between the red car or the green car and so i finally just helped him into the green one and he was distraught about not being able to take a half hour deciding between the two... he was fine 6 seconds later and was really good about staying in the cart car! I was thinking "oh i have the cutest best little boy ever...La la Perfect day.." come checkout time as i was about to pay i look at Gabe, no longer in the car but walking toward the exit! He looked at me and then BAM took off running! I also took off running after him and as he raced around the corner. (im freaked he's gonna get hit by a car!) two workers were at the store corner as he raced passed and they yelled at me as i was running toward them, "is he yours!!??" and took of after him too! Luckily he stopped before the street and ended up just trying  to get into the dang red cart car!!

When we take walks..I should say when we go running I have to watch him every second! The one second it takes me to look at a neighbor to say hi, He will disappear! vanish! when this happened just the other day my neighbors told me he ran into a garage that was open. I was looking around the garage and couldn't find him! calling his name etc.. the i see him, facing the wall, head down, shoulders in. I say Gabe! What are you doing buddy!!?? he says crying cause he got caught "Im hiding!" haha this little boy is just so active and sneaky!! I love him so much! Love that he keeps me on my toes.

A Project

My Growth Chart.

Step one.

Buy Lumber, Paint, yard stick.

Step two.
Paint wood. (Sorry this portion was not documented through visual stimulation)
I did white.. and after it dried I wetted down a paper towel, blotted it with brown paint and swiped over the desired areas to make it look a little....Rustic?

Step three.
Measure and Mark! As you can see, I decided to have just 4 inches before I Marked my First foot. This way when you hang it on your wall it can be 8 inches off the ground. Thus...It just looks better. If this doesn't make since...Just look at the picture.
Pencil your measurements first so when you measure wrong...(Well, it happened to me so I'm just assuming it will happen to you too!) anyway, you can fix it easy peasy. 
INCHES drawn on were measured 4 1/2 inches
FEET drawn on were measured at 7 1/2 inches
When all looked good I used a sharpie for the lines as opposed to paint.

Step four
Design my numbers! I drew them to have my desired look and cut out my home made number pattern. (You CAN buy stencils, but where's the fun in that?)

Step five.

Find desired color and pattern for numbers. I used scrap book paper. super cute. not too thin, not too thick.

.

Step Six.
Make your cute as a button Numbers using your pattern or Stencil. I just traced my number pattern over the desired Paper of choice and cut. easy.
I also just Made each number have a border of opposite pattern.

Step Seven.
Decoupage the crap out of those numbers onto the wood.
(You can make the decoupage glue with half Elmer's glue and half Water. Bingo Bango)

Dry.

Step Eight.
Hang. This is a two person Job! You have to measure exactly right from the floor to the first inch on your Growth Chart. I was so close to losing my delicate language to sailor talk. And I was sweating with frustration. Ha ha. So, good luck with this part.
I use command strips (Velcro) to hang this beauty. I put eight on the back. This way it's Flat against the wall so when little kiddos lean up you get the most accurate measurement! and it's not MOVIN. If you move, easy off and easy clean up for the wall.

There it is. My eight step program to a Super Cute Home Made Growth Chart that comes in Under $20

Gabe turned One and I Love Him

Gabe is One. 

He talks.

He walks.

He Runs!

He loves sports.

He LOVES Balls. 

He loves Veggie Tales LIVE concert....

Loves to hear and watch people sing.

He loves to play with musical interments and is really gentle with them.

He Loves to play scare and be startled. 

He loves dirt and being outside.

 He LOVES animals and wants them all to lick his pointer finger.

He Loves playing in the water. 

He Loves Elmo.

He loves Books.

He loves Soft fuzzy blankets and stuffed animals.

 Gabriel is so Happy and sweet, determined, athletic and smart. He Laughs a LOT and when he's not laughing for real we get to enjoy is Fake laugh which he does when we (Benny and Myself or..anyone) are laughing.  He just started to hug and kiss me a lot and He saw Benny looking sad the other day and went over and gave him a kiss on the lips.

He really likes to figure things out. How they work, and how they go together. How to they go on and off. His face gets really stern looking and you can see he is in deep thought about it. He will try and try to do something till it happens (either from him or us helping).

He started to take his first steps at 9Months and couldn't get it to work because he wanted to go too fast.  As soon as he started to walk, he was running. He has really good reflexes and if it looks like he is about to run into the corner of the table or wall (you know just when we are starting to freak out) he quickly moves his body out of the way or drops his body down on the floor so he will miss the painful hit. He really likes to fake people out and act like he is handing them something. He walks over, holding out the toy or whatever and just when it's within their reach he pulls his arm back really quick and runs away snickering. He is such a funny little guy!

He is a talker too. Always trying to say new words and phrases:

Mama, Daddy, pop pop, Jake, Isaac, Emmy, wolverine, Elmo, horse, Piano, book, t-rex, Dinosaur, octopus, crab, bear, owl, duck, Aflac (like the insurance. we have a toy duck that says it...), goat, spoon, num num, milk, bottle, water, cheeto, POP, Hat, truck, rock, dirt, flower, big ball, Oh Yeah, No No, All Done, there ya go, i love you, balloon, happy, hi, Ta Ta and bye bye, turtle, elbow, knee, eyes, nose, cheeks, ears, hair, mouth, teeth, belly button, boo, bop, pee pee, poop, bee, off, hot, basketball, uh oh, pillow and Cool Dude!

I may be bias because I'm his super loving Mama but, i know he is amazing. I love him so, so, so much! He makes everyone happy wherever we go, but especially us. I can't express how amazing it is to be his Mom, to know I Helped make this little sweet man. To know my actions shape him. To know he will always be my Gaby Baby guy Forever. 

Happy (late) Memorial Day

Diaper Genie

Gabe wears diapers. 

So it was odd when i picked him up to sit on my lap and saw just this....

(a Bare Tush!) 

"Gabe! where is your dipper!!!!??" L.O.L!!

we actually Had NO idea? We looked around the house even. low and behold it was here.....

(for how long, we didn't know :)

We were laughing so Hard! Apparently, the diaper's Velcro detached and he just walked the dipper down to his ankle. haha

It was a great Day to be a Mama

*side note...Finally got Gabes ONE tooth Picture.

I REALLY Love him 

A great Day

Sariah is Pregnant. She happens to be my greatest friend and As soon as i saw the commercial for the new movie "What to Expect when you're Expecting" I was like GIRL! (I started to say 'GIRL' to be funny/annoying and now i just say it out of bad habit) We have GOT to see this together When it comes out. So...3 weeks later Her and her hubbs came into town and we made a day out of it! Zoo With the Gabes in the Morning. Car show. Dinner. Then THE movie :)

It was really cute to see Gabe see all these animals for the first time. He really loved the little tiny monkey's  jumping around all over the place and He seemed to love the giraffes too (inherited from me).  he especially loved kids walking by, fences and trees. Such. A cutie pie

Maximum relaxum

His thing right now is Pointing. He loves pointing!

By the end of our Zoo day he was like "Sitting in strollers are for Babies!"
He stroller surfed the last half hour we were there 

The immediately caught his eye. The elephant light up sword!
Must have

Gabe, Me, Sariah

CAR SHOW

 I think when i go to these and see these sweet old vehicles, I imagine myself living in that time. haha I'm a little bit of a loser that way.

Batman? Not old but awesome!

This was actually My FAVORITE!!!! I love love love it!!

ah... tear. look at that yellow!
(Sariah, the perfect little car Model)

I just had Niel Diamond's Voice in my head looking at this...

and then
 there was THIS car. Haha
What the heck were they thinking?? 

DINNER

Texas Road house is not a Sariah and Katie original, But since the Men were with us we decided to give them a break form our usual girlie Olive Garden. Think, they appreciated it.

As for the MOVIE... 

My Husband was wining all weekend about seeing it. How Horrible it was going to be, could we just see something else.. blah blah. Lucky for him, I made him suck it up and go. 

And..thank goodness, the Movie delivered. 

WE were all Laughing so hard and thinking about our babies. It was a really great flick, and i shall be watching it again.

We ALL including Ben, really liked it!