Frankly Speaking

1/2 a year

2012-02-02T20:36:00.000-08:00

Henley Grace turned 6 months old. 1/2 a year has gone by since she blessed our family. She is an absolute doll and I can't imagine life without her.

Weight: 20.25 pounds
Height: 20 inches

Rolls everywhere, can sit independently and is starting to get on her hands and knees!! She will be crawling soon! :)

Sweet girl

Always smiling

Always busy

Shake that rattle. It was the only way icould get her to sit long enough for a picture

She has her dad dad's blue eyes

Rub a dub dub

2012-02-02T14:09:00.000-08:00

I started bathing Henley with Gabby now that she can sit. I do have to support her she gets to flapping her arms around so much, but she has a blast. They are so cute together and Gabby loves having Henley in the tub with her. When looking at the pictures its hard to imagine Henley just turned 6 months and Gabby is 2 years old. The size difference isn't that much!

Who ME????

Splish Splash...Gabby was in the target range

Squeaky clean and full of smiles.

I was vacuuming and Gabby has to vacuum along beside me.

She sat in her pack n play and smiled. Thank goodness she loves being in there.

Fashionista Party

2012-01-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

My GLAMOUR GIRL turned 7 and had a FASHIONISTA PARTY!!!!

The party favors, inside were makeup compacts, pens, note pads and other girly items

The table decor

The credit card machine!! :)

Entrance to the house

Her Purse cake. Not the original idea,but it turned out okay...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATALIE

2012-01-24T13:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Natalie #7. This year we put streamers across her door and balloons over her floor so when she woke up she had a surprise. Knowing Natalie's level of enthusiasm, you can only imagine the response we got from this!

The bedroom door

Looking in and a sleeping Natalie unaware. Her top bunk blankets are falling down after she made a fort yesterday

Pancakes made by dad for Breakfast

What?!?!?!?!?!

Breaking free!!!

Happy Birthday Gabrielle

2012-01-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

Her Birthday Lunch Cupcake

Uncertain

Oh She loved the idea of being sung to

Candle!!!

She loved everyone singing to her!!!

opening presents.

Sometimes a girl naps with her shoes on

Stuck

2012-01-13T16:08:00.001-08:00

All my kids keep getting stuck under the couch. I have a picture just like this of Gabby...Oh Henley

Military Family -

2012-01-12T21:18:00.000-08:00

This week on Kelly's Korner, she is doing a SUYL on Military Families. Well here is our ever expanding family. My husband is an Officer in the U.S. Army and we are stationed in South Korea. We have been here 2.5 years and 1.5 years left. That is right 4 years in South Korea. We have yet to return to the states since being abroad, unless you count Hawaii or Guam, which we don't. We have 3 daughters, Natalie who will be 7 the end of January, and 2 baby girls both born in Korea. Gabby turned 2 today and Henley is 5 months old! We are very blessed to have each other and fortunate that its been several years since he deployed. While I miss my job as an Attorney, I am enjoying my time home with our 3 Divas. We miss our family, but we can make it through anything together.

Happy Happy Birthday Gabrielle Elizabeth

2012-01-12T13:23:00.000-08:00

2 years ago today we welcomed our Blonde Hair, Blue/Green eyed tornado into our lives. She has definitely added a spark to our family. She is spunky, boisterous, stubborn, feisty, tempermental, affectionate, sensitive and funny. I guess you could say she is alot like her mom! :) She is potty trained, speaking extremely well (we were worried for a while), and has developed a new knack for climbing on EVERYTHING! :)

So here's to GABBY BETH!! :)

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY PRINCESS!!!

Playtime

2012-01-11T14:10:00.000-08:00

A glimpse into playtime....or naptime whichever :)

What the girls are really like. Natalie is always posing, Henley just wants to eat everything and Gabby is a HOT MESS....This was the best picture we could get. HAA

We babysat Sophia the other night. She has an obsession with Basketball. Here Rick is trying to teach her to shoot while Gabby wants a Princess dress on. TYPICAL.

Gabby in on the action. Look at those little panties! :)

Go Sophia

A little mozart before bed never hurt anyone.

Oops got caught snuggling/napping with a sweet chubby baby girl.

What the play room looks like when these 2 get ahold of it. HRMMMM.

Henny Penny turns 5 months old

2012-01-11T13:59:00.000-08:00

On January 2nd, Henley Grace turned 5 months old. Here is what she can do now:

1. Weighs 20 lbs
2. Height 28 1/2 inches
3. Clothes 9-12 months or 12-18 if buying from old navy or gymboree
4. rolls front to back/back to front
5. Can sit unassisted for a couple minutes before taking the plunge
6. Is trying to crawl. She gets her knees up but hasn't learned how to push her body up, but has mastered rolling all over the living room to get what she wants.
7. Eats like a champ. Takes 8-10 oz of formula every 3 hours and also eats breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is not a food that she doesn't like (except maybe prunes)
8. LOVES to snuggle. I think she might like snuggling more than the other 2.
9. Has a smile that will brighten any day and is so sweet, but once she gets mad (which is rare) it takes an act of Congress to calm her down. We call it pulling a Frank (Her dad is the same) :)

Here are her pictures taken on her 5 months birthday. I think she looks like a little doll.

Snow Tubing take 3!!!

2012-01-10T21:09:00.000-08:00

For the 3rd winter in a row we went snow tubing. The two little girls are not big enough for the big slide, but they had fun on the little slope

Henny in her little tube. She was the snow bunny.

The bigger girls in their tubes.

Snuggle Bunny

Natalie about to go down the slide.

The little girls on the snow slope

Such a sweet poser!!

Henny PennySitting

2012-01-07T20:51:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas a Month in Review

2011-12-25T17:01:00.000-08:00

This Month we:

Built forts under the play table

Decorated Gingerbread Men

Smiled in the Bouncer (that we no longer fit in)

Decorated the Christmas tree,

Put Ornaments way up high,

needed a little assistance,

posed for the camera,

added our own pizazz to the tree,

rolled over like a rolly polly

Made our own ginger bread houses out of graham crackers

they looked like this

and this

We pretended to be a baby again

We grew

we played in baskets of clean clothes

We opened a present early for a special party

We had a polar express party at school

We shared our party time with our sister

We started eating food and loving it

We dressed up like Cinderella

and more cinderella

We wore cute Christmas PJs that were worn by both older sisters at 11 months and we are only 4.5 months old! :)

We napped together

We decorated cookies with friends

We snoozed while the others decorated

We had dozens of cookies

We tried peaches and did not like them even though we love squash, sweet potatoes, peas, beans, bananas and apple sauce

We wore piggies

We bundled up for the first snow of the season

We played in the snow

We had to fix gloves

We had a snow fight with daddy and friends

We wore cute hot pink boots in a size 2.5

We had a visit from Santa bringing a travel barbie house

a play kitchen which Natalie likes more than Gabby

A baby doll

We had some fun presents to open

We got excited about a candy cane with princess ornament

We got even more excited about a RAZOR thanks MomMom and DadDad

We wore no Pants, therefore not a lot of pictures of Gabby.

We looked a little concerned about presents

Though we love to bounce in the saucer and the jumperoo

We love to vacuum in our Princess PJs.

What did you do this month???

iPhone life

2011-12-21T17:07:00.001-08:00

A view of our life through the lens of my iPhone.

A week after her 4 month check up...

2011-12-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

I took Henley in for a follow up on her ear infection 10 days after her 4 month check up (which happened to be the day she turned 4 months), turns out she had a HUGE growth spurt. 10 days earlier her stats were:

weight: 16 lbs 5 oz
height: 25 inches

10 days later they were:

weight: 17 lbs 13 oz (WHOA)
height: 27 inches

She apparently had an abnormal growth spurt. Even the Pedi was dumbfounded at a 1.5 pound increase in 10 days. Not even newborns do that!! :) My little girl isn't so little. I had had a brilliant idea to order Gabby a new seat and let Henley use Gabby's convertible since Gabby was starting to get too big for her current seat. I might have messed that one up a bit since Henley is only 5 inches shorter than Gabby and 5 pounds lighter. At this rate Henley will surpass Gabby in size and Gabby is about to turn 2!! Oh my sweet baby didn't give me the opportunity to have a tiny baby for long!!

Comparisons

2011-12-02T19:00:00.000-08:00

The other 2 girls at Henleys age

Natalie at 4 almost 5 months

Gabby at 4 months old

Henley 4 months

Miss Henny Penny Sitting

2011-12-02T18:33:00.000-08:00

Here is quick video of her sitting and getting attacked by her sisters with kisses.

4 months old

2011-12-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

Henley Grace is 4 months old. Here are her stats:

Weight: 16 lbs 8 oz. (99%)
Height: 25 inches (85%)
Head: 99%

She is size of the average 7 month old! :) Here is what Henley is doing. She can roll from belly to back, back to belly but doesn't roll around the floor yet. That is a good thing. She can sit tri pod style for up to a minute before toppling over and is working on sitting without the tripod. She loves to stand on her legs and look around. Her sisters are the best form on entertainment. She eats 8 oz every 3 hours, but will sleep from 7:30 p.m. to 5:00 am nightly. She just started rice cereal and loves it. She is a SQUEALER. She squeals all day long. She has really gained a voice. She is the happiest baby and even with an ear infection she didn't get too unhappy. Overall she is the sweetest baby and we are so lucky to have her.

Look how big she is. She has an ear infection, but you wouldn't know it!

Smilely baby

Love this one....so stinking cute

Where did November go?

2011-11-24T19:30:00.000-08:00

Apparently I took hardly any pictures this month! There has not been alot going on this month. Henley has worked on her rolling skills. She can roll from Front to Back when she wants to, she can roll from back to her side where she then wiggles around the floor until she gets what she wants. I am sure she will crawl early. She can also sit for short increments when the boppy is supporting her. I am sure she will be sitting independently by the end of her 4th month. She is a mover and a shaker. She is cutting her bottom 2 teeth already and they are all but through. I giver her a few more days and she will have teeth. She is approximately 16 pounds, wears a size 3 diaper and 9 month size clothes. She is a big girl!

Gabby is her usual self. She is boisterous, funny and full of spunk. We love her little attitude. She is FINALLY starting to speak, though mostly unintelligible. She does have a few choice phrases one being "Sissy Boder me" when Natalie is bothering her. Followed by "How cute" when referencing hairbows hanging in the bathroom. Sometimes she throws some others out there that have us rolling. She is definitely our little repeater.

Natalie is the same ole sassy 1st grader. Her class is no longer a split class but a full 1st grade class so we are a little disappointed because she needed the extra challenge. She is no longer in piano as her teacher moved way, but we are looking for other activities for her. She just finished soccer for the season, and I think basketball starts soon so we will look into it.

We had a good Thanksgiving. This year we ate at the Army Cafeteria because the Officers have to serve to the soldiers on Thanksgiving. He had to serve from 11:-00-11:30, so we joined him for lunch after. It was nice not having to cook and just getting to play. We didn't take to many pictures because trying to keep up with Gabby, Natty and Henley we always seem to forget. After lunch the Phillipys came over and we played with their Xbox Kinect and did the Dance game. That was hilarious!! :) Natalie really liked it so we got her the just dance game for her Wii. Its kids songs so Gabby can jump in as well!

Smiley baby doing her tummy time.

Some wall art I made for this wall. I didn't have anything to go on it, so I took an idea I saw on Pinterest and modified it.

Yeah I thought I would try feeding her. It went okay.

Pretty sure the little one will catch up to the bigger one quickly.

I ran the 5k chili cook off run. That was the last race I ran last year before finding out I was pregnant with Henley, so I thought it would be fun to be the 1st race I ran after having her.

Big Rick little Rick.

Sisterly love. They were watching Barbie a Perfect Christmas.

Rick and Gabby eating dinner

Nat and her pumpkin pie.

Me and the girls. Not the greatest picture but hey its a picture.

Rick and Natalie.

Henley did this most of the time.

Rick and Nat doing the dance game. Gabby cheering them on from the sidelines.

I got in on the action too. I whopped that littles girls behind in the game. I am sure I should have let her won, but nope!

Friends playing babies.

Pumpkin Painting

2011-11-09T04:17:00.000-08:00

This year we painted our pumpkins instead of carving them. Its so humid and the air in Korea is not the greatest therefore the pumpkins rot within 1 day. The girls donned old party shirts of their father and went to town on their pumpkins. Quite the artists. Gabby is at a stage where she loves to "coloring". She will "coloring" on everything she can get her hands on. She knows the following colors: white, pink, purple, blue, green, yellow and brown. She is hit or miss on black but Pink and Purple are by far her FAVORITE. She will grab books and start naming the colors. She is doing really well. Today she threw a burp cloth on my face, yanked it down then proceeded to say "I see you" she repeated multiple times laughing her little head off. She also looked at a picture on the computer, pointed to it then said "that funny." HAAA. She is talking more and more daily and cracks me up!!

Gabby concentrating...

Nat loving this project

Go girl go!

The finished projects. Rick painted a Nebraska N on one pumpkin so i wrote Gig'Em on the back! HAA

The candy corn witch and pumpkin

We trick or treated with some kids in the building. I went around with 7 kids including Henley. We only lost 1 that night and it happened to be Gabby. That was a horrible 5 minutes. Worst of my life!

She had this down. She wanted candy bad.

4 of the kids

Look who turned 3 months old!! What a sweet smile

She is soooo cute...

I was bored at home...and yes her shirt says Born to Shop!!!! :)

She ran around with out panties....She is hit or miss when it comes to the potty but we are working with her, just not pushing it since she is so little.

There were four in the bed...

2011-10-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

and the little one said "roll over, roll over", so they all rolled over and one fell out...

Spooky Hallow

2011-10-28T16:46:00.000-07:00

Every year Camp Humphreys does Spooky Hallow. A place where kids can come and trick or treat along with some small haunted tents! :) This was our 3rd and LAST Halloween to attend and the girls had a good time. Natalie was a Candy Korn Witch and Gabby a PUMPKIN!! :) WE didn't get too many pictures, because chasing an almost 2 year old around was not easy. She was none too interested in photo ops!

Gabby loves to sit next to Henley when she is in saucer. Here she was doing the itsy bitsy spider

She also loves to Color!

Natty the Kandy Korn (yes I know that is spelled wrong, but thats the title of the Costume)

Cute little Pumpkin

OHHHHHH "twick o tweat"

The only picture I could get with Gabby....bad photo

What this princess did while the others got candy

Rick and 2 of his girls!

12 weeks old

2011-10-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

Miss Henley Grace is 12 weeks old! Where have the last 12 weeks gone. She is the most precious doll of a baby. She rarely cries, usually thats whens she hungry, smiles all the time and laughs when we talk to her. She is doing good holding her head up, loves to sit up and is almost rolling over. She wiggles all around the floor on tummy time and I feel will be an early crawler once she gets coordination! She is such a little blessing.

Miss Henley is smiley and Gabby looks like she is up to something.

I was sitting with Henley when she fell asleep. She doesn't require much

Gabby loves holding her little sister. Here you can see how big Miss Priss is. She is approximately 13.5 pounds.

The girls hanging out before school. Good Morning everyone!

Guess who is 12 weeks old today!!! :) HENLEY!!!! Such a big girl.

Body For Life 12 week Challenge

2011-10-23T14:34:00.001-07:00

more to come...

Recaro Pro Sport

2011-10-21T15:43:00.001-07:00

Head on over to onelittlemister.com to read the reviews of the awesome Recaro ProSport Car Seat and enter the giveaway for your chance to win!
www.onelittlemister.com

October Happenings

2011-10-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

It seems like time gets away from me lately. I wonder if its the 21 month old, 2 1/2 month old and almost 7 year old that are keeping me busy. I have hardly taken any pictures a complete opposite from the 5,000 we took last year! Sorry Henley!!! Natalie is playing soccer and loving it. Gabby is her normal bouncy loud easily frustrated little girl, and Henley is the doll! She is sooo smiley and happy that its a joy to be around her. She started laughing at 2.5 months and won't stop! She loves the exersaucer (YES SHE IS TALL).

Natalie went to a birthday party where they had to dress up like ROCK STARS...WE went old school 80's! She LOVED it!

The Middle Learned to bounce in a bounce house with her sister.

The baby sat in her seat and ate, because all she does is eat.

Mighty Middle loves my phone.

Who is that cutie

She loves Pink! Or maybe its me

2 months old, tall enough for the saucer...and loving it. This girl is BIG

This fireman picks her hiney!

I sent her off to work to earn her keep. She needs to pay for her clothing habit.

Mini Rick with big blue eyes....

Yup, FUTURE AGGIE

Some cute mess right there!!!

Big girl getting some thighs on her!

Natty vs Gabby vs Henley

2011-10-06T18:03:00.000-07:00

Natalie Mae 2 months old

Gabrielle Elizabeth 2 months

Henley Grace 2 months...

The Start of Fall

2011-10-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

The start of fall is here in Korea and that means SOCCER. Natalie is once again playing soccer after taking a break last year. This year she is taking a break from Tae Kwon Do and participating in Soccer and Piano. I think she misses Tae Kwon Do at times, but she wanted a break to learn piano. I think she will be good when she gets a little bigger! Of course she chose the #7, since she wants to be like Uncle Phil when he played soccer. Her team is the Hornets, but for some reason her colors are orange and blue. I think they should have been Yellow and Black since they are HORNETS, but I didn't pick the colors! :)

Before the game chatting away, hands on hip! Sassy

How Gabby enjoyed the game when I wasn't chasing her off the soccer field. She thought she needed to chase the ball too.

Hello...She looks crooked there.

Enjoying a break together. Monkey see...

monkey do.

Cool shot!

And this little peach turned 2 months on October 2!!!

7 week stats

2011-09-27T22:02:00.001-07:00

Henley's Stats at 7 weeks when i took her in for a reflux appointment:

Weight: 11.7 pounds 90%

Height: 24 inches 99%

Head: 95%! :)

My girl is definitely big!! She is identitical in size to Natalie and Gabby at 4 months! She is already wearing 3-6 month clothes and will be 2 months on October 2!! She is growing like a weed and is still the most placid baby ever! She has truly blessed us.

Sometimes I dress them alike.

Went for Henleys first hike. Rick got the little baby I got the big one. Not sure how fair that was.

Cuddles

Long Overdue

2011-09-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

Walking Natalie to her 1st day of School, August 29

Mrs. Websters Class.

1 month old, September 2nd.

practicing the potty

Sleeping with Daddy.

Pitiful.

Good Morning girls!!! Bed head all around

This is what happens after we make the girls hike

Three little love bugs

My poopy face

This was taken this morning...Biggest to Smallest

Its been almost 1 month since I last posted. WOW, I have to admit that is probably the longest break I have had. I just haven't taken the time to sit down and update. Also, I apparently am not good at taking pictures anymore. HAA. Poor Henley will not have very many pictures of her!

Preview of Photo Shoot

2011-08-18T22:02:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we had a photo shoot with Miss Henley Grace. Here are two preview pictures. I can't wait to see the final results from the photographer!

Gabby vs. Henley

2011-08-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

There has been much debate about whether Gabby and Henley look alike. Rick and I see similarities, but we do not think they are spitting image of each other. We see more Natalie in Henley. Here are pictures of Gabby and Henley wearing the same outfit. I have a picture of Natalie in it at the same age, I just need to find it.

Gabby 2 weeks old.

Pretty Gabby

Henley at 2 weeks old

19 months and 2 weeks old

2011-08-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

Henley's second week of life has been just as busy as her first. She has her ultrasound on her Kidneys at 8 days old. She also had to retake her hearing test since she failed it the first time. I am happy to report, she has perfect hearing. While up at the doctors office, we went and applied for her passport, birth certificate and Social Security Card. We should have her passport and birth certificate back in the next 2 weeks. Gabby also had her 18 (at 19) month check up. Her stats are as follows:

Weight: 22 lbs

Height: 32 inches

Henley just had her 2 week check up she checked in at:

Weight: 8 lbs 6 oz.

Height: 21 inches.

She is sitting in the 80% for height weight and head. She is a big girl. I guess she pulls her genes from the Thomas side of the family, as she is just bigger than Natalie and Gabby ever were. As a matter of fact, she is as big as Natalie and Gabby were at 2 months. Height included! HAA

Life with the 2 little girls has been interesting. We have been working with some attitude on Gabby's part, but overall I have adjusted well. I know their schedules and we stick to them. If we are out in public, and one throws a tantrum (gabby) I tend to ignore it and she gets over it. I don't over indulge and play into her attitude. As long as you provide her with an outlet during the day for her energy, then most outings go smoothly. However, she tends to play up more when Dad is around.

Henley is an absolute doll of a baby. After working out some formula issues due to her inability to nurse (recessed jaw), she has settled into a great routine. She eats 3 oz every 3 hours and takes it like a champ. She has to have a Dr. Brown's bottle because the nipple is smaller and she is not the best sucker in the world. She is easy going, placid baby unless its dinner time. Then she gets all crazy and in 5 seconds too. She is Rick when it comes to feeds. She lets Gabby attack her regularly and never makes a peep. Thank goodness for that, because Miss Henley is loved to death by her sister!

Miss Henley on the table waiting for her Ultrasound

Here is the machine

Her first outing to the pool. We have had another 2 weeks of rain, and the one night it was not raining we took Gabby to the pool for an hour to run around and enjoy the "sun". It has rained non stop since then.

Run Gabby Run.

Getting thrown into the air by daddy!

Wanting me to take a picture of her.

Miss Henley is 2 weeks old. I love this outfit Amy gave me. Her butt has ruffles all over it!

Gabby "loving" her sister. Poor Henley looks like she is pushing Gabby off her.

Another "loving" Here Gabby was hugging Henley. More like laying on her.

Hanging out in their PJs before bed together.

1 week young

2011-08-08T21:34:00.000-07:00

Henley Grace is 1 week old today. She has had an eventful week and this second week of life will be busier. We said goodbye to Ricks Mom and Colton today.They were able to be here for the birth of Henley and experience the world of Korea! Tomorrow we are off to Yongsan for Miss Henley's ultrasound, hearing test and to get her passport and birth certificate paperwork completed. Thursday Henley has a check up and Friday Miss Gabby has her 18 month check up. Busy week. I don't think I have rested yet. Rick is also back to work come Thursday therefore I will be learning a new routine with the two little girls! Here are a few pictures of the newest princess to celebrate her 1st week of life!

This girl has some seriously long legs. Pretty sure that is a Thomas trait being passed along.

Being smothered in Kisses from her sister. That is pretty typical for Gabby

Relaxing in the bouncer for a couple minutes before her sister tried to sling shot her out of it. Henley has to be placed high out of Gabby's reach.

Here comes trouble....d

I'm one week old today!!! Mommy thinks I look like a combo of Natalie and Gabby.

Middle Sister/Little Sister Love

2011-08-07T19:02:00.000-07:00

Gabby is enjoying her new "baby" She likes to be wherever Henley is. Here we are exercising Henley. She has torticollis, just like Natalie, and we were working on her neck stretches.

Welcome Henley Grace

2011-08-06T17:20:00.000-07:00

Henley Grace Frank arrived into this world on August 2, 2011 at 1225 pm. She weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs and was 20.3 inches tall. She was by far the BIGGEST of my 3 girls. She has a head of dark hair and seems to be a mixture of her sisters. She was born full term, also a first for my kiddos. Labor was smooth easy and I was able to deliver her naturally with no epidural. Ricks Mom and my mom were in town and were able to take care of the girls while Rick and I were at the hospital. This is opposite from last year when I was laboring alone and Rick walked in right when I had to start pushing. This time he was with me from the start, making the experience so much more enjoyable. Overall, it was a great experience and even better considering she is our LAST BABY!! :)

3rd times the charm :)

BIG GIRL

Not happy

Sisterly love

She couldn't get enough of her.

The tornado Gabby wouldnt sit still for a picture.

There she goes, but she has to give me kisses first! :)

Natalie was loving this. Gabby looks a little perplexed.

My little bull dog on her way home with the blanket that Grammie made.

Rainy Days

2011-07-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

It is Monsoon season, and this year it is bad. The last two summers it was rainy, but nothing like the last month. We have had more rain than sun. It has rained for the last 2 weeks except for 1 day. Last night it stopped raining in the evening and we took the opportunity to walk to the PX just to let the girls run off some energy. With all this rain, there really isn't any place to go. What I would give for a local mall or a Chuck-E-Cheese just to keep them entertained. Therefore, we are going a little stir crazy and the girls are coming up with new ways to play.

Playing with the Fisher Price House.

Dress up is a norm around here. Who doesn't love a pair of cute princesses.

Mirror Mirror on the wall...

Tae Kwon Do Competition

2011-07-12T01:29:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Rick took Natalie to her Tae Kwon Do competition while I stayed back with a sick Gabby. Last year I had the honor of taking Natalie while Rick worked, so it was time for a trade. She was competing this year as a Black Belt which meant she had to spar. Because they only spar starting at age 8, Natalie had to spar in the age bracket up. My little 6 yr old was fighting 8 yr olds! She did really well though!

Getting ready to spar

Taking a serious hit from the girl in blue. She was fighting in the 8 yr old age bracket.

Tough Girl.

Proud Papa and his princess.

Ready to do her forms.

Go Nat Go

She tied for 3rd with Deacon!!!

Playing with some of the korean kids they met. All these kids are 1st Degree black belts, but in Korea if you are under 14 your belt is red/black striped.

With her certificates and medals.

Proudly showing her medals off!! :

Nursery

2011-07-12T01:20:00.000-07:00

Some quick pictures of the nursery taken a month ago. Everything is finally in its final place.

Looking into the room from the hallway. New Baby's crib is white and Gabby's is brown.

Standing in the closet looking into the room.

Birdcages hanging above the crib

The quilt rack with their initials and quilt along with picture

The diaper cake that my good friend Shauna made for my shower

The changing area. The picture frames now have pictures in them.

More from shoot

2011-07-01T01:44:00.000-07:00

Girls Photo Shoot

2011-07-01T01:36:00.000-07:00

Father Day Sneak Peak

2011-06-17T01:08:00.000-07:00

Kinder Graduate

2011-06-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

The First Day of Kindergarten 2010

Last Day of Kinder 2011. Big Girl! :)

Starfish

2011-06-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

Yup, that little starfish didn't stand a chance once Gabby found it. Poor little guy met his match with her!

Father Daughter Dance

2011-06-11T22:27:00.000-07:00

Rick took the girls to the annual father daughter dance last night. This year he decided to take Gabby with him and Natalie. From the stories Natalie told, it seems the three of them had a wonderful time. Next year, he will be taking all 3 of his princesses!

The best picture we could get of the 3 of them. The girls were wearing matching dresses.

This was what most of the pictures looked like. Miss Sassy didn't want any part of the photo shoot.

The girls in the Princess Castle. She might not have wanted pictures with her father, but she had no problem taking a few with her sister! How cute are those dresses?

Not too sure about Natalie hugging all over her.

One final attempt at a picture of the 3 of them, we surrendered and gave her a paci. She refused to nap all day long and after spend a few hours in the sun at the pool, she was tired come time for the dance. However, once she arrived at the dance she was all party! :) The girls also got a ride in their limo (aka - the green wagon) to the ball!

Bustin a move.

"Let's twist again..."

She never leaves the house without her coach purse. Diva, we know!

Natalie getting her groove on.

They had a red carpet for the girls to walk down.

They are too cute for words

A picture of them before the night was over. Once again, Gabby won't cooperate.

Cuteness x2

2011-06-06T03:13:00.000-07:00

The youngest cutie (or the youngest for now) sporting her cast and broken wrist! :)

The oldest cutie showing me her model smile early in the morning. She has been recruited by a modeling agency and met with them today about a potential shoot the end of the month!! :)

Broken Wrist

2011-06-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

I learned a valuable lesson the other day. I have often seen babies wearing casts on their hands and wondered how in the world they broke their little arms. It was usually followed by some type of snap judgement. As it turns out, Gabby has a broken wrist and is now sporting a soft cast on her sweet little right hand!!

...Pics and more info to come..

ER and CT scan

2011-05-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

Life with Gabby is nothing short of interesting. Life with Natalie was wonderful, easy and pleasant. Natalie was and still is our child who has some caution and reservation with activities. There is no plunging head first into anything. When it comes to bike riding, Natalie was slow and steady to learn. When it came to swimming, she was slow and steady. Walking, climbing, etc., the list goes on and on. Gabby, on the other hand, is the opposite. She is FEARLESS. This lack of fear can lead to SEVERAL accidents on a daily basis. She is far from cautious. She barrels through life at full speed. Never slowing down.

Yesterday, Gabby thought she needed to be a little dare devil and took a substantial fall onto the top of her little head. I was standing right there when it happened and caught her foot as her head smacked the ground. Several minutes of wailing, a big red indent on her head and her sudden lethargy made us more concerned than normal. Typically she falls, hits her head and a goose egg pops up immediately. This time it was opposite. 20 min after the fall we couldn't keep her awake, so off we went to the clinic. They immediately sent us to the Local Korean ER for observation because she is an infant. An ambulance ride later Gabby and I were at the ER. Rick and Natalie were coming in the car. A skull X-ray and a CT scan later we were released. Gabby was PERFECT. We were sent home with instructions to monitor her and off we went. 2-3 hours after the fall, she was back to her old self. She was slightly fussy for most of the day, but hey that was understandable! :)

Here are some pictures of her today before morning nap. We were playing with Bubbles and on the Swings.

Running away from me.

"BUBBLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed that loudly.

Got ahold of the bubble blower.

Popping bubbles.

She makes funny faces at me.

Yes, this is how she likes to slide.

Eggstravaganza

2011-04-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

On Saturday before Easter, the post hosts the annual Eggstravagana for the little kids. Natalie and Gabby got to "hunt" for their easter eggs. Afterwards there was free hotdogs, chips and drinks. We split photo time with Shuana since we couldn't be on two fields at the same time. I took photos of Gabby and Jae while she took the photos of Daisy and Natalie. I will get those soon.

Rick and his Mini

The 0-3 field.

Gabby and Jae planted themselves in a middle of a pile of stuff and sat there picking up items around them.

Thats what she looked like most of the "hunt"

Screamer

Going in for the kill

Dancing maybe?

Natalie checking out what she got!

The Easter Bunny with the girls and Rick.

Posers!!

Black Belt

2011-04-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

Natalie finally received her black belt this week. She passed the National Test and is now a 1st Degree black belt. Her belt is Red and Black because in Korea if you are under 14 you have to have a red/black belt, not the solid black belt. She will make 2nd degree black belt before we leave Korea and will keep the belt, but when we return Stateside she will be awarded a solid black belt. The belt has her Name on it and says International Korean Takewondo Association in the Native language. Its quite an Honor!

A picture of the girls belts with with Names in English and Hongul.

Grand Master Kim about to present Natalie with her belt.

Tying the new belt on.

Congratulations are in order for our little black belt!! Such a proud day!

They are tough stuff!

Hiking Yet Again

2011-04-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

6 1/2 months preggo, hiking up a mountain with Gabby on my back. I got the raw end of the deal.

On the decent.

Finally got to a place where she could get down and run around.

Trying to teach Natalie the fine art of tree climbing.

She wanted to learn the fine art of climbing stairs or rocks.

Happy easter

2011-04-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

Nat at 15 months

2011-04-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

I was looking at some pictures of my precious princess Natalie the other day. I found these from her at 15 months. Taken April 20, 2006. Its fun to see the two girls at the same age in pictures. The post from the park below is Gabby at the same age. They both that curls but other similarities are few and far between! Nat was one cute cute little girl!

*interesting is that Gabby is the exact height Natalie was at 15 months; however, Natalie was 2 pounds heavier. Odd because Natalie looks so much smaller in these pictures*

Park Play

2011-04-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

She loves to slide, but prefers to go down head first.

She recovers well at the bottom and jumps off the slide.

Off to go terrorize something else.

Yes, her face is dirty. She just had a snack!

National Tae Kwon Do Black Belt Test

2011-03-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

The girl before her big test! She wasn't nervous at all.

She is the little one on the second row second little girl.

Good thing they know Korean Tae Kwon Do Commands. You wouldn't know they were american.

Punches

Getting ready to start their first form

They are all in different stages of the same form!

Finished!!

Time for the second form

Getting ready for her jump kick

Finished with the form!

Time to Spar with her BFF Daisy.

Natalie is wearing the red helmet

A view of the National Tae Kwon Do Gym. The olypmics were here as well as all major Tae Kwon Do Events.

The ceiling was covered in Flags of different Nations.

This is what Gabby thought of it all!

Let me down!!!!!

Rick teaching gabby to punch

But she would rather kiss Jae!

The Life of Gabby

2011-03-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

RUGabby is one busy busy girl. I love her to death, but she can make a mess quicker than a blink of an eye.

This is what happens when Gabby is done eating. All her food winds up on the floor. Makes mopping a daily chore.

She likes to find herself in awkward positions. Here she was stuck under Natalie's desk and desk chair. She eventually got out.

Running round naked after bathtime throwing her toys all about.

She builds forts under her little table in the play room

Getting into the pantry and spilling hot chocolate all over my freshly mopped floor and her clean clothes

Helping her sister and friend destroy the playroom

Loves carrying around purses. Here she is toting 3 bags with her. She does have good taste because one is a Coach.

She stole a bag of grapes and I found her sitting near the patio eating grapes!

You will never know what she will get into next! :)

20.5 weeks

2011-03-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

20.5 weeks with Baby "M"

Full Moon

2011-03-17T05:57:00.000-07:00

A little full moon cooking! :)

Bruce Lee anyone?

2011-03-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

We are in full prep mode for the National Black Belt test for Natalie this March 20! Here she is practicing her kicks!

How do you...

2011-03-01T18:40:00.001-08:00

eat carrots?

Here She Is

2011-02-24T15:26:00.000-08:00

This makes Little Princess #3 for our Family, and what a sweet little face it is! :)

It's a .....

2011-02-22T02:47:00.000-08:00

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!. That makes 3 girls for our family!!!!

Guam

2011-02-15T22:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a recap of our amazing week in Guam!

Me and the girls on the first night after a long day of flying.

The view of the pool and the beach

Flip Flops on little feet. She eventually lost one after pulling it off her feet and throwing it.

How Rick travelled the mall.

Getting her ears pierced

All DONE! Upset and happy simultaneously.

How Natalie spent most of her trip, digging in the sand

Me and the girls

Jumping for joy

This is how Gabby crawled through the sand. It was too funny.

Trying to drink the ocean water.

The view of the pool

The family on the beach at sunset.

It is sad that her feet are darker than mine and she is only 1. Goes to show she didn't inherit my skin coloring.

Me and the girls one night before dinner.

The trolley we rode on daily

We were great parents and took the girls to their first Bar. The hamburgers were FABULOUS

The first carousel ride with Daddy

Nat is an old pro and loves the carousel.

They were swimming in the rain. Mom was napping and ran down to take the picture!

Sand Angels

Me on the long board 4 months preggo. Yes, I rocked the bikini one day!

My model

Now she thinks she is surfing

The man

She was flying high

They Love each other!

Sleep Success at 12.5 months!

2011-01-31T16:06:00.001-08:00

Why didn't I try this earlier? Was it my lack of desire to persevere with her, or just not wanting to rock the boat, but for whatever reason I never let her cry for more than 5 min. I think I accidentally took to attachment parenting without realizing it. Well after 3 long nights of fussing, I can safely say that Gabby has been sleeping thru the night for 5 nights in a row! I might come to regret this tonight as she might prove me wrong, but for now I have enjoyed several nights sleep.

The first night she woke up at 2 a.m. in her predictable fashion and it took 2 hours to get her to go back to sleep! I would enter her room every 5-10 min to calm her down and comfort her, but never offered her a bottle. 2 hours later she gave up and went back to sleep.
Day two was even shorter. She cried for 1.5 hours off and on. I went in her room every 10-12 min to comfort her and let her know I was still there. She eventually went back to sleep.
Day three was the shortest at 30 min of on again off again fussing. It was never crying that uncontrollable and there were never any tears. She just fussed. After 30 min and me going in there twice she fell asleep. Every night since then she has slept like a little angel. 7 pm to 7 am. I couldn't ask for a better sleeper! She even takes longer naps during the day now! I am completely amazed!

Why didn't I do this earlier????? Lesson learned for baby #3!!! (though I am sure it will throw me a curve ball and I will have to learn something new!)

Operation Sleep Through the Night

2011-01-24T10:04:00.001-08:00

We are currently on day 3 of operation sleep through the night with Gabby. By 12 months of age it is not necessary for them to eat in the middle of the night, but they do so more out of habit. Well, that habit needs to be broken and that means several nights of hard work by mom. Where is dad in all this?? Sleeping of course! So here I am at 3:00 am after 1.5 hours of off and on fussing by baby and hopefully she will fall back asleep. We took the advice of the Pediatrician and let her fuss for 5-10 min then go in and console her. After a few min of reassurance that I have not “abandoned” her, I leave and let her fuss some more. Her fussing has become intermittent, quiet for 10 min, fussing for a few. I know that these few days of sleeplessness for me will be well rewarded when she finally sleeps through the night!!! However, by that time the new baby will be here! HAA. Actually, it takes 3-5 days to break a habit in a baby, so here is to hoping!!! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY x2

2011-01-22T19:15:00.000-08:00

The Family at the Girls Birthday Party. Natalie is 6 Gabrielle is 1.

PINKALICOUS!! :)

Gabbers in her Traditional Korean Outfit!

Playing Games

Who is ready for Cake?!?!?!?!

Blowing out her candles.

First taste a hit

Lets keep going!

YUM!!!

All Done!

Gabby got a baby! :)

Natalie read her friends Pinkalicous! :)

Gabby cheering her on!

Gabby feeding her baby a bottle

All done Baby

Big Sisters

2011-01-09T15:33:00.000-08:00

This can only mean one thing!!!!

Holiday 2010 recap

2011-01-05T17:24:00.000-08:00

Gabbers reading her book. This was several hours before the dreaded stomach bug!

Nat making her gingerbread house while Mom was away for the day having a spa day!

This is what she was up to while Natalie got to play with icing and sugar

The little Chef!

The chef and the tornado meet in the kitchen

She loves to cook!

Gabby likes to make messes.

The walker/stroller her MomMom and DadDad gave her

Checking on Baby

Yes, Barbie can go in there too!

Gabby is a girl, but Santa confused her!

She Loves her rocking horse.

A KIT DOLL!

Gabby opening her Bitty Baby

Awww Baby

Eyeing her sister's doll up

Got it!!!!!

Our friend got Natalie a Nebraska outfit! Rick was so happy!

NOTE: Do not do this to your child!!!

Brown Belt

2011-01-02T20:29:00.000-08:00

Doing the Form for Brown Belt

Kicking the Board

Yay The new Brown Belt!

Gabby's Antics

2011-01-02T19:04:00.000-08:00

Gabby will keep you on your toes and the past couple of days have been full of surprises!!! Here are a few snapshots of Gabby's Antics!

Gabby learned to open the fridge and tupperware. Apparently she needed a snack as she got into the meat and potatoes! Fridge lock will be arriving shortly!

She also learned to take her diaper off. A little feces on the face and aparty in the crib makes for a happy Gabby. Not so happy Mom and Dad!!

Yay for poopy bedding!!

I am horrible at taking pictures. Enough said!

2010-12-23T23:31:00.001-08:00

Is feeling

2010-12-16T00:51:00.001-08:00

Cluttered.... I guess a good house cleaning and getting my laundry back in order after a week of the stomach bug is in order!!! So much work to do before Christmas!!!!

2010-12-06T17:05:00.000-08:00

Such cute girls

wondering who that man was

My beautiful beautiful girl!!!

Oreo Magic

2010-12-06T17:01:00.000-08:00

Uh Oh It's Magic You know.... OREO. Gabby enjoyed her first Oreo at a visit with Santa!

First Snow

2010-11-29T20:49:00.000-08:00

Natalie holding Gabby up. Poor Gabby looks as uncomfortable as they come!!

Gabby is a cute little Eskimo

Natalie was enjoying the swings at 7:45 a.m. We had to catch the snow before it all melted! :)

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-29T20:43:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving was spent very similarly to last year. We started the morning by playing in our PJs. Natalie and Gabby played on the Aquadoodle for a good solid hour. Gabby absolutely loves it.

After aquadoodle got boring for Natalie she had a Dance party. You can look behind Natalie and see the destruction Gabby can do in about 5 min flat.

After a morning of playing we went to our friends "The Phillipy's" just like we did last year!!! We had a great feast of Fried Turkey, Carrot Souffle, Stuffing, Potatoes, Green Beans and of course Dessert!!

Natalie had her own little table

Gabby enjoyed eating her food! She was very thankful to be eating real food!

Almost a month with no pictures

2010-11-17T02:16:00.000-08:00

It is amazing but I have gone almost a full month without taking hardly any pictures. For almost 2 weeks Gabby was sick but other than that I have no excuse but for the fact that we have not really done anything. I need to get better at documenting because Gabby is getting so much bigger. Natalie tested for Senior Blue Belt today and did amazing. Not much longer and she will be a black belt!

This is what I found one morning while cleaning up breakfast. She got the tissues and tore them up along with eating some in the process. She was sick here and you can see it in her little face.

Look how big I am. Terrorizing Natalie who was playing dress up and school.

This is what Gabby does to the Kitchen. Fun for Mommy.

My mother loves this shirt.

Gabby wanted some of her Fathers Pita Sandwich today. I think she really enjoyed it.

Yes, she really liked it!

Miss Priss during her Senior Blue Belt test.

Focus

Getting ready to spar. She has the pads on and everything.

She was happy!!!

She had to kick break the board today. Unfortunately she was not able to break it. I think we need to practice some more.

Yes another level higher.

Trying to show the curls that are starting to appear at the back of her head.

Me for a change??

2010-11-15T21:07:00.001-08:00

I'm rarely in pictures, but mom snapped this one of Gabby and me while she was in Korea. Unfortunately, Gabby does not look like me :)

Tutu Young

2010-11-14T18:07:00.000-08:00

I guess dressing up in tutus starts early! Looks like Gabby is having a blast in her dress up clothes

Fancy Natty

2010-11-14T18:05:00.001-08:00

Natalie's school had a storybook character parade the end of October. The children dressed up as their favorite storybook character and paraded around the school. It was no surprise that Natalie wanted to be Fancy Nancy!!! :) Last year she was Pinkalicious, I wonder what she will be next year!

Angel Wings

2010-11-08T04:29:00.000-08:00

Gabby has earned her angel wings, or at least Carter's thought so!!

How to watch T.V.

2010-11-08T04:28:00.000-08:00

This is how Gabby likes to watch t.v. when something catches her attention. I think I need to try harder to break of her of this little habit. Soon after the last picture was taken, Gabby found a red stamp that belonged to her sister. She tried to eat it. I found her covered in red ink from head to toe and with the stamp in her mouth. I immediately took her to the bathroom to wash her mouth out fearful that it might make her sick, and didn't take a picture. She is going to keep me on my toes!

Masquerade Ball

2010-11-08T04:24:00.000-08:00

Natalie went to a Masquerade Ball with her father a few weeks ago. They had the time of their lives and Natalie really loves these special moments. As you can see they were coordinating. Natalie had a blue and purple mask and was wearing silver so Rick made sure he wore a grey suit and blue shirt to match her. So cute!

The formal pose

Posing!

Twirling around

She will be a great waitress with that pose

Not liking the fact that I wanted a picture of this cute outfit we got here in Korea!

The Cowgirl shows her calf

2010-10-31T16:32:00.000-07:00

This little cowgirl is a pro at showing calves. She has even won a belt buckle at the ripe ole age of 3. This year was no different, except her calf was not nearly as big and was a little more human than bovine. This country pair was quite the hit at trick or treating. I love nothing more than to have them coordinating.

Cowgirl Natty striking a pose

The little calf was sick and in need of cuddles.

About to go get her goodies

Annie, Daisy and Natty

This little calf may be sick, but she is cute.

Her prize.

Showing off her calf

Petting the calf

Oh Chocolate! Cows don't eat chocolate?

I think I will try and eat this 3 musketeers

All the excitement wore me out

Hiking with Mom

2010-10-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

While Mom was visiting South Korea, we took her to our favorite hiking spot in Asan. Here are the pictures that we took.

MIA

2010-10-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

Park Play

2010-10-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

While waiting for Natalie to be finished with school, Mom and I took Gabby to the little park.

She wants to ride the horse.

Crawling through a tunnel.

Swinging away

You can't catch me.

McDonalds Indoctrination

2010-10-02T23:21:00.000-07:00

It is a right of passage during childhood, and one little girl was indoctrinated into the fine cuisine of McDonald's this past week. Yes, she may be 8 months old, but with a mouth of teeth she can chew beef nicely. Therefore, this little girl got some hamburger, french fries and finished the meal with some ice cream. It was a huge success. On a side note, I do not feed my children McDonald's regularly. It occurs approximately once a year.

The Korean McDonalds

G eating her hamburger and fries

Natalie is all smiles of course

MMMMMM Ice Cream

The aftermath.

MomMom's First Week

2010-09-26T05:25:00.000-07:00

Gabby is a little excited about MomMom coming to visit. This is her first morning at the hotel!!

Going to kiss the Baby in the Mirror!

Gabby and Natalie helping MomMom with the dishes.

Cuddles from her favorite person

Cuddles with grandma!

MomMom visits

2010-09-26T01:37:00.000-07:00

MomMom visits South Korea!!

My Girls

2010-09-12T02:59:00.000-07:00

My girls are adventerous

My Girls are spunky with little attitudes

My girls love to explore the world around them

My girls love reaching new heights

My girls love to eat

My girls love to dream the day away

My girls love to stop and smell the roses

My girls are Princesses

They scream alike...

2010-09-09T02:35:00.001-07:00

Sneak Peek

2010-09-09T02:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the wonderful Anamarie Photography, I got the pictures I have been dying to have of my girls. I love the "natural" lifestyle pictures that show the true essence of the kids. She was able to capture some amazing shots, and I can't wait to decorate my walls with their adorable faces.

Sisterly Love at its finest.

She loves her sister.

Ruffle Bottom

Her eyes are gorgeous

I love little feet.

Some more gorgeous eyes

Just Dance

2010-09-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

Stepping Stones

2010-09-08T21:20:00.001-07:00

Life is like stepping stones. You hope from one to another. Gabby is learning this lesson young. Here she is stepping from one skill to another. Crawling to climbing :)

Hide and Go Seek

2010-09-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

Kindergarten

2010-09-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

Does the battle sport a such contour?

2010-09-04T17:36:00.001-07:00

Does the battle sport a such contour?

Apples and Oranges

2010-08-31T03:27:00.000-07:00

Once again I have succombed to comparing my daughters. This morning (before Gabby decided to crawl), I decided it was a great idea to give her a metal bowl and wooden spoon. She absolutely loved the new toy and started hitting immediately. Suddenly I had a flashback about a similar time with Natalie at the exact same age. I hurried to my comptuer and sure enough there were pictures documenting Natalie banging a bowl with her spoon. So see for your self, here is Natalie and Gabby at the same age doing the exact same thing! :)

Gabby

Natty

She looks a little possessed in this shot. She was screaming her head off!!

Looky Looky

2010-08-31T03:14:00.000-07:00

Some little girl is on the move!! At only 7 months old, she has decided its time to crawl. Please help me now! :)