Bathtime Play

This Blog is entitled bathtime fun, but let me tell you it should probably be entitled "winter pool time"  since this bath was taken mid afternoon, and there was nothing calming about it, and no cleaning went on except for mommy having to clean up the water disaster in the bathroom when they were done.  Above you see Gabe and Anna having swimming races around the tub, and below you see Gabe winning the who can make the biggest slash game that he and Anna also like to play!

Cups are an absolute neccesity for bathtime at the Garner household.  They serve many purposes such as hair rinsers, bathroom flooders, mommy soakers, and as pictured above chew toys! 

Leaf Play

Anna was trying so hard to take a nice picture with her brother, but he did not want to be interrupted while he was working on raking the leaves.  1 square foot down only ten more acres to go!

Anna was enjoying playing in the leaves with her baby.  She is a very good mommy in training.

As you can see, pinning this kid down for a picture is a challenge, but I finally got him!  He thought it was a really fun game:)

Gabe's 1st Piano Lesson!

It was a beautiful moment for mommy to watch Bob and Gabriel playing the piano together.  Gabe loves music and especially the piano and guitar.  He is very patient and self-controlled, and I think especially enjoyed the best piano teacher in the world, his DADDY!

Are those not just the most handsome pair of faces you have ever seen?!

Gabe moves to a Big Boy Bed!

Gabriel has graduated from the crib to his own big-boy-bed!  And as you can see has made the transition with no problem!  Anna loves the new look of her room, and was even kind enough to pose as if she were taking a nap for the picture.  Those college bunk beds of Auntie Lola and Lynnies have been invaluable!

Cuter than ever

Are these kids not just absolutely adorable!  Anna is all girl wanting to be in dresses all the time and thanks to hand-me-downs from her friend Emma this is possible! And when dresses are not enough she is a little ladybug!


Gabriel is all boy! He is true to the John Deer T-shirt, dirt is his favorite place to be and when he is done playing, he sleeps hard.  In fact he put himself down for a nap in mommy & daddy's bed and this is how I found him!  

Winter is here

Anna loves to help her Daddy, and on this blustery winter day we were moving more rocks from our play area!

Gabriel and Anna were banned from walking along the logs that surround our fire pit, but as you can see that does not stop one determined little boy who now crawls from one to the other!

I just thought Gabriel looked cute here!

Anna and Gabe play together more and more, and they love to run down these planks that have a little bounce to them and see who can knock the other off.  It's a pretty even race at this point since Gabe weighs 32 pounds and Anna weighs 33!

Once again I asked Anna to pose for a picture and this is what I got, she thought it was hilarious.

They continue to grow

Yes, those are bangs you are seeing on Anna, and NO we did not give them to her!  Anna gave herself a new hairstyle, and has been banned from touching scissors until she is 18!  But I must say she looks very cute with bangs and we are thankful she did not cut her hair down to the scalp.

This is Anna doing a jazz slpit.  I asked her to move back a little and she dropped to a jazz split, it was great!  She las a little gymnast in her, as she also loves to flip.

This picture is entitled "Real Italians eat spaghetti for Breakfast!"  Really it is Gabriel's favorite food, even the rice pasta he now has to eat, as long as it is well drowned in sauce.

I just loves that he was wearing footsie pajamas, while feeding himself fist-fulls of spaghetti for breakfast!

Weekend at our Cousins House!

This was so hard to choose just five pictures from this weekend!  We packed so much fun into our short weekend with Auntie Steena, Uncle Craig, and Baby Siah!

How many mommy's does it take to help one active little boy paint a pumpkin?  Well two is not enough apparently because there ended up being paint everywhere!
Uncle Craig and Anna Kate enjoyed smiling for the camera in the scenes next to the pumpkin house when we went to visit the farmers market on Saturday!
Josiah Cale has two very big fans as his cousins peer in fascination at their little bumble bee cousin!
A little bit of caios and a lot of fun and love pictured in this little group of trick or treaters!
Uncle Bob is full of smiles as he holds his two most favorite boys! (No small feat, mind you!)

Anna accolades

I, mommy, wanted to take the opportunity to give our Anna Kathleen her due accolades!  She has been growing into a beautiful, loving, and talented little girl with her heart turned toward the Lord.  She has blossomed, just like the flowers she is holding, despite challenging circumstances.  She has endured a season with a reduction of some of the attention she was use to and learning new family routines with a kind and gentle spirit. She is mommy's best helper with Gabriel, always letting others know that he is learning to talk and always willing to talk for him:)  She still loves doing school at home with mommy and is writing her name everywhere she goes on everything that she can! As you can see above she loves to play on the PBS kids website continuing to learn her letters and numbers with enthusiasm.  She can even dress herself and do her own hair, and has a special style all her own, that mommy and daddy call the punky brewster look.  We are so very proud of our singing, dancing little princess!

Weekend with the O'Neils

We had a wonderful weekend with Josh, Natalie, and Nadia Cate O'Neil.  They are wonderful friends, and a great blessing to our family.  As you can see above Josh was a big help in begining to lay the tile for the industrial kitchen in our barn (which we are trying to turn into a community meeting and worship center).   Meanwhile us ladies and children cheered them on and busied ourselves with nature.  Anna and Gabe took full advantage of the rain,leaf,mud mix that had accumulated in their turtle sandbox, while Nadia Cate relaxed and watched her crazy friends from her momma's papoose.

All Smiles

Anna Kathleen Garner 3years 4 months and 3 days!

Anna Kathleen and Angela Margaret all smiles!

Gabriel Nathaniel Garner 21 months and 3 days!

Gabriel Nathaniel and Robert Raymond, mirror image checking for hazards!

Anna Kathleen, Gabriel Nathaniel, & Liam Patrick!  Happy First Birthday Liam!!!

Fall Arrives!

I had the hardest time choosing pictures from this day of play in the great Autumn weather! They just absolutely loved being outside in the cool weather!  Gabriel spent time running around eating falling acorns, trying to catch the wind with a butterfly net, and taking a walk in the blowing grass in the field!  Anna was Super-Girl-Butterfly for the day, flying around the yard as the wind blew her wings!  It is amazing how a change in the seasons makes all things new, and we were once again exploring the back ten for new discoveries, and then stopped off at Daddy's trailers for a little climbing and running fun.