11 Months...can it be!?

Gabriel didn't have a birthday this month since he was born on the 30th of March but there are only 28 days in Feb :-) But we aren't that picky! So at 11 months he is learning, growing, making us laugh.... He loves the farm animals, especially the horses (to my delight!).

11 Month Portraits..... My little man

He has discovered pushing the tractor this past month and gets more balanced and faster everyday

One of his little things he does is randomly lays his head down on the floor...a couple of seconds later he's up and off again!

Playing with string and entertaining the cat

Helping with laundry

Loves to look out windows!

My little monkey

Some fun videos of Gabriel.... playing and signing!

Happy Valentine's Day from Hannah!

Signing "I Love You"






Breaking out the chocolates!

I wanted to get some pictures with Hannah and Gabriel together but they had other plans :-) Hopefully I'll be able to get some another time and I'll add it to this post. But for now...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Double Digits Already!

Gabriel at 10 months old

He is always on the go and I think he's going to be a climber! One of his favorite things to do now is to crawl under the table and chairs....coming out the other side....

The dishwasher offers great fun as well...

Today he wanted to see what was on the table so he grabbed the edge and did a pull up and is feet were actually off the floor! We're going to have to watch this boy!



He is now tall enough to see out the windows and crawls from window to window to see what's going on in the outside world.

One way to do housework with a 10 month old...

Gabriel's 10 month stats: Weight 50% at 20 pounds 14 oz and Height 60% at 29 1/4 inches :-)

More Snow!

The weather predicted for yesterday and today was ICE, ICE, ICE - with a little snow. So, we prepared for the worst, praying that He would protect our powerlines.... And He did and has! We did get a lot of ice but not as much as predicted. Around 9 this morning it starting snowing and it's still coming down (it's 5:30!). We bundled up and took out our new $11 sled and had the BEST time ever! The hill behind the garage was perfect for it.

Papa and Hannah

Gabriel's first sled ride!!!

James decided to try the steeper hill behind the barn. It wasn't as bad as he was expecting. :-)

The view of the house from the barn

Here are our 12 week old chicks. We moved the coops out of the barn a week ago. They are all cozy under the heat lamps...

Reisling ventured out of his shed to see us but didn't spend much time out - he headed right back in!



This picture shows the ice on the fence that we got before the snow - everything is covered with it.



Porsha peeked but wasn't coming out any farther! Here is CC looking for some attention. Misty was too busy with her hay to grace us with her profile for a picture. :-)



The dogs ran too fast through the snow for us to get any good pictures :-) Coming back in we all had a big mug of hot chocolate - mint, vanilla, and dark chocolate and watched Veggietales with the kids. What a wonderful day and great surprise - thinking the worse weather and ending up with lots of playtime and a warm house to come back to. We are thanking God for all His blessings, especially the unexpected ones. We are continuing to pray for the power to stay on through the rest of the "winter weather". Hope you enjoy the pictures! It's now time to go back out and do evening barn chores!

My new addiction...

I'm not a huge pretzel lover but these are very addicting.

Spicy Pretzels

1 pound bag small twisty pretzels
1/2 cup oil
1 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I only used 1/2 teaspoon and it's enough kick for me)
1 package dry ranch dressing mix

Combine all ingredients except the pretzels and stir.

Put pretzels in a plastic bag that can be closed



Pour the wet mixture over the pretzels and close the bag. Then mix by turning the bag over and over until the pretzels are completed covered.



After about 24 hours the oil becomes more absorbed but you can still eat it right away. Enjoy!!

"Uh oh"

Like I said in an earlier posting, Gabriel doesn't like to perform on demand, however I was able to get this video this afternoon of his newest word - "Uh oh" What a cutie! I will keep trying to get videos of him saying "Up" and "Ball" and signing "more".....