Putting Up the Tree

Gage has to help Daddy and be right next to him!

I think he had just as much fun going through the boxes of decorations as he did opening presents!

Freya, one of our very understanding dogs...

The Christmas Parade

This was the Christmas parade in Milwaukee. It was actually in November, so I'm a little behind. Luckily, the weather wasn't too bad (for Wisconsin in November, that is).

Gage loves the Grinch, as you might guess from these pics. Don't tell Santa....

My Little Boy, the Elf

This is so cute. The website lets you put your kid (or anyone's) face on an elf, and he dances around.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1193807201

I can't wait to show Gage this. He loves elves (or 'effs' as he calls them!)

What a Difference a Year Makes

This year's photo with Santa and last year..... He's grown so much, and got so much hair!

Cowboy Gage Goes Trick-or-Treating

I'm not sure who had more fun - Gage or me and Ryan - going trick-or-treating. It was so fun to watch his excitement. When he got that first piece of candy is his bucket, his eyes got so wide! After that he wasn't shy at all about saying trick-or-treat. The next day he said, 'Mommy let's go trick-or-treat!'. Sorry, Bud, only once a year :)

My Big Boy

Here's Gage's 2-yr pictures and his annual pictures taken with best buddy and Guatemalan cuz Omri. Aren't they gorgeous?






We're so lucky to have a little Guatemalan buddy for Gage. He just lives a few towns over, so the boys can grow up together.

Our Boy is Two!

Everyone tells you the time will fly, but this is crazy! Didn't we just bring this boy home a couple of months ago?? Sigh...I guess not, because he just had his 2nd birthday!

It fell on a Thursday, so we spent that evening with just the three of us. We gave him this pedal tractor and "Cowboy Woody" from Toy Story. Then we went to A&W for supper, and brought our own cupcakes.


I found the perfect card. It plays the theme song from Toy Story (You've got a friend in me......)


The party was on Saturday. The cake and all the decorations were from Toy Story.



A present from Grandpa.

The M&M dispenser was a bit hit. You press it's foot, and candy shoots out into the sidecar. I took this picture just as he realized he could take the hat off and get the candy that way!

After the party, he got a chance to play with the balloons, and had a ball.

He likes to nap with Woody :)

Only My Kid.......

This is Gage watching TV. Yes, that's a skull on top of his head. (He's into skeletons these days). About 2 minutes before this he had his foot in the skull, and was wearing it like a shoe, but I missed that one!

Did I mention he sometimes sleeps with the skull??

My Funny Boy

Gage is obsessed with "Toy Story", especially Woody. The other day he wanted me to put the movie on for him, so I said "OK, I'll put Cowboy Woody on". So he gets all happy and excited, and says, "Good boy, Mommy!!".

This picture doesn't have anything to do with the story, I just liked it.

Gage's First Camping Trip!

Neither Ryan nor I has been camping in probably 20 years. But since little boys usually love campinng, we decided to start again. Our Church had an outing planned, so that was the perfect way to get going on it.

Here's Gage trying to do his part, but I'm afraid that cooler weighed twice as much as does!

They had a tot playground with lots of cool things to do. This "digger" couldn't have been more perfect for a boy who loves trucks, tractors, construction equipment........."


Campfires and smores were as much fun as I remembered. Gage loved the light stick, of course. All the kids had them, so I'm glad Ryan thought to get some.



Gage had no trouble sleeping. He woke up once, sat up, said, 'Mommy?'. I said, "I'm here...", and he went right back to sleep. My big boy :)


They had karaoke night at the lodge, and guess who was a dancing fool? No, it wasn't me.....


Just chillin'



Here's our group cookout. Why does food taste better outside?


We got some rain, but overall still had a very good time.

Little Boy Blue

We bought blue sand for Gage's sand box. Take a look at the picture, and let me know if you think he likes it :)

The County Fair

We went to our County Fair this past weekend. It was really nice - I hadn't been in years. We usually go to the State Fair, but it seemed like it might be too much with the little guy. Blazing hot that day......

It came as no surprise that Gage's favorite was the tractors and big trucks. Maybe next year we can see the tractor pull. This year it was going on after his bedtime!




He had his first merry-go-round ride - first with Ryan then with me. He was laughing and scared at the same time.


When we got off he was looking at another BIG ride next to the merry-go-round and pointing to it and muttering, "No ride, mommy, no ride."

The petting zoo was a big hit...for Gage and for us!