Big Boy

This is the face of a big boy!

A POTTY TRAINED big boy!!!! Woooowhooo!

Last week I bit the bullet and said goodbye to diapers. Honestly, Gabe probably could have been trained a few months earlier but I was expecting it to be awful so kept putting it off. Much to my surprise it was almost effortless, at least on my part. Monday we put on big boys pants and by Thursday Gabe was a full blown potty trained child. 

Gabe was so proud of himself all week. After each successful trip to the bathroom he asked to call someone, "Peepee on the potty Mommy, call Grandma", "Poopy Mommy, call Grandpa". My favorite was when he repeatedly clarified to Grandpa Roosmann 'I pee-peed first, then poopeed!'. 

The most difficult part of the the process, at least for me, was not leaving the house the entire time. By Wednesday night I was running to the car as soon as Andy got home from work. A grocery trip to Wal-Mart never sounded so good. We're still experiencing some false alarms, and novelty with the process, but 5 days in and no accidents...I'm so proud that my little guy can control his bladder and bowels. The trills of being a stay-at-home mom huh.

Call Off The Search Party

We're alive; just BUSY. The end of November and December feels like a blur of one event, errand, project, meeting, and meal after the other. It also included a flu bug that claimed all three of us for a solid week followed by lingering aches and headaches the weeks after. I did manage a few pics, but nothing all that exciting.

We've continued to watch Copper several days a month. The above captures the general feeling each of these boys have; Gabe LOVES Cooper and Cooper's pretty much indifferent. Gabe is too loud and too close for Cooper's liking a lot of the time.

We celebrated our nephew Etienne's 5th birthday. 

The birthday boy is on Grandpa's lap.

The Holz Srs hosted us for two days and one night to celebrate Thanksgiving. They also took Gabe to his first theater movie, 'The Muppets'.

Andy's cousin Randa and her family (Rich, Maddie 3yr & Jenna 6mo) hosted us in Olatha, Kansas over a December weekend. Gabe and Maddie played really well together and our last night there they entertained us with a dance party.

Gabe has continued his love affair with maple syrup. His favorite food is butter, but maple syrup comes in close behind.

My dear friend Sydney gave Gabe his first professional hair cut. Gabe did awesome but I'm glad I brought Woopers with us to keep his attention.

She transformed him from this shaggy haired little boy to...

...this handsome kitchen helper.

In the midst of all the above, Andy and I put our house on the market, and have reached the peak of paperwork for our adoption. Both could really be posts all there own, and I promise more details in the future but I also decided that this was the year I'd hand make the majority of our Christmas gifts and bake fudge for friends and neighbors. Anywhooooo, as Christmas is in four days and we leave for Lincoln on Friday I've got to get moving on some things. Oh, this might be a good time to mention that we didn't pull of Christmas cards this year, sorry folks. Maybe New Year's cards? We'll see. 

Wishing you all a merry and blessed Christmas!

Announcing...

Ella Kate Bearinger

She arrived just after Noon on Wednesday Nov. 2nd. Weighing 8 lbs 3 oz, and measuring 20".

She is a teeny tiny beautiful baby girl. The more I look at her I'm pretty sure she looks like her Mama.

Gabe was very gentle thanks to practice with Baby Cooper. The day of Ella's birth I updated him every time I received texts about the delivery progress. About an hour before she arrived Gabe was chanting 'Go Ella Go!'. 

Proud big sister Gracie Girl. 

Halloween

Our little bug has been around for three years of Halloween, but has yet to actually go trick-or-treating. His first year he was too little, year two we had a doctors appointment at Shriner's Hospital in Minnesota, but this year nothing was going to stop us. 

Back in September my mom and I found an adorable Sock Monkey costume at Cracker Barrel. And, since Gabe has had a sock monkey since he was  teeny tiny we thought it would be perfect. 

The Sunday before Halloween Grandma and Grandpa Holz hosted a spooky party for the cousins. We enjoyed a Halloween themed menu, music and games. 

Clearly the Higgins boys were legos and Molly was an Indian Princess.

Halloween night our church small group gathered for festivities in our neighborhood.

 Thankfully there were some veterans in the group so Gabe was able to figure out the lay of the trick-or-treating land.

Gabe at his first house! 

After just a few stops Gabe was running from one home to the next singing "More Candy, More Candy, More Candy!". It was pretty cute. 

He didn't have it quite mastered but by the end of the night Gabe was attempting to say 'Trick-or-Treat' and 'Thank You' at every door.

In addition to Halloween there are a few other updates:

-About once a week Gabe and I nanny for a good friends baby boy. Gabe is in LOVE with Cooper and as a result has started to learn some new words 'today', 'tomorrow', 'this week', 'next week' and even the days of the week.He always wants to knew when he's coming next. He's not really sure what these words mean, but if Cooper's coming on Thursday he'll be able to tell you. 

-Gabe had another appointment at Shriner's Hospital in Minnesota. It went great and they were very pleased with his feet. We made a little vacation of this trip, stayed in a nice hotel with continental breakfast, a shuttle to Mall of America and IKEA and the wonderful company of Grandma and Grandpa Holz. We were even able to visit Andy's paternal aunt and cousin.

-Gabe had his two and a half year well baby check-up. Dr. Gary thought he looked wonderful as well. He's measuring 35" (20.81%) and weighing 27lbs 2.5oz (19.28%). He's still a peanut.
-Gabe's vocabulary, sentences and verbal skills in general have increased exponentially.
-We had our very first slumber party. Gabe has never slept in bed with Andy and I but a few nights ago he fell out of bed and was pretty upset. Apparently Andy thought he needed some extra snuggling so he brought Gabe into bed with us. I managed to sleep through most of Mr. Wiggles, Andy did not. All I remember was waking up to Gabe's smiling face and a kiss on the nose. 

Labor Day

We had the pleasure of spending Labor Day weekend in Hermann, Missouri. My Uncle Doug and Aunt Margaret have a 'farm' nestled on a bluff just above the Missouri river there and generously opened their house to us for the weekend. 

We were also blessed to share the weekend with Grandpa and Grandma Roosmann, my cousin Megan and her husband Parker. Eight adults and one toddler comfortably under one roof thanks to Doug and Margaret's wonderful space planning and hospitality.

Our time there was filled with rest, reading, good food and conversation, a bonfire, nature walks, fishing, some outdoor games and GREAT company. If it weren't for the all the flooding making the drive there and home a bit of an adventure I could have called it a perfect Labor Day weekend. Thankfully the pleasure of my family's company far outweighed the difficult travel.

Aunt Margaret decorates for every season which always makes a perfect family photo backdrop. The Missouri River doesn't hurt the view either - or that kid! Seriously, look at that smile.

Lunch in town at a local winery/restaurant/gift shop.

Making friends with the catch. Gabe was fine as long as his Daddy had a good grip on that guy. Andy would have cleaned and cooked his catch but my mom and dad had already named the fish and we have a rule against eating things we name - lucky for Gabe.

You can't see Gabe but he's next to his Daddy in the boat.

Trying to outsmart his Grandpa with a blanket disguise. 

Some outdoor entertainment.

Putting the baby to work.

That whitish speck in front of the Missouri and railroad tracks is my little family in a golf cart - out to explore the property.

We had a WONDERFUL time and would highly recommend Hermann as a vacation destination. Thank you Margaret and Doug for your hospitality, generosity and good company.