So long little blue house

We've just about finished our siding project, just some painting on the trim and the door left to do.  This will probably have to wait until spring since its already below freezing here.  Here are some pics of our progress to date.

The Many Faces of Avery

My New Teeth!

Baby Jake's got a new smile, check it out....

Happy Birthday Baby Jake!

My little baby turned one this last week!  I can hardly believe its been a year already.  It hasn't been the easiest year for us, from housing disasters to medical issues, you name it, it feels like we have experienced it this past year.  This sweet baby of mine really keeps things in perspective for us.  He has a smile on his face 99.9% of the time and this kid's laugh can make your heart melt. He truly has been a gift to our family!

We love you little (big) buddy!  Happy First Birthday!

How Long?

How long does it take two little boys to adjust to the one hour day light savings time change?  For the past week Avery has been waking up at all hours of the morning, sneaky upstairs to our bed demanding to watch his Curious George videos.  Jake has been waking up too, but sometimes if we leave him alone just long enough, he will go back to sleep.  We re-instituted the "6 on your clock" rule by which Avery is not allowed to get out of bed until there is a 6 on his clock.  A few mornings he got up a 5:36 or 5:56 so we had to tell him its the first number, not the last.  So this morning he got up a promptly "six-zero-zero".  I promise you he was sitting there watching his clock just waiting for it to turn.  

One of the unfortunate things I inherited from my parents (besides my big head - from my dad) is a need for sleep - from my mom.  I have since come to the conclusion that my boys, at least Avery, did not get this gene.  

In other news Jake's upper gum looks like a corn cob.  He has about 6 teeth just waiting to bust through.  He continues to be an amazingly sweet and happy baby, but when those gums start hurting he can really scream.  Its just like the night he was born, I will never ever forget the blood curdling scream he let out when they took him out.

Kevin took Avery to the Minnesota/Michigan football game today.  I was going to go, but I'm too cheap to pay the babysitter and after two days straight of a screaming Jake and a bouncing off the walls Avery I opted for some quiet time at home with my sweet baby.  Yesterday Avery broke down crying while we were reading Frosty the Snowman (its snowing here already incase I forgot to add that) because he wanted to know why Frosty had to go away and where he would go.  I'm hoping a little time guy time today will toughen him up a bit.  

Finally, our niece Lindsay came down with an infection this week.  She and her parents are having a tough time this weekend.  Please say a little prayer for them tonight.

More Halloween fun!

Check out the spooky skeleton by the fish pond

Fun with flashlights

Checking out the candy basket

Avery with friends with Reese (aka Ariel) and Brady, our neighborhood Gopher