The Beistlines

2012 begins

2012-01-16T14:28:00.002-07:00

So what have we been up to for the first two weeks of this new year? We started out the new year with a minor construction project, on the 1st of January we decided we had spent enough time with our duck sleeping right outside our bedroom window at night and conversing amongst themselves instead of sleeping therefore waking us up in the middle of the night so we rebuilt our chicken/duck area.

Isaac is actually pretty good with a hammer and really wanted to help, I am actually using these boards to make some crates for the shoes we keep under our bed, haven't gotten that project done yet.

The chicken area used to take up the entire dirt area to the east of our house in the backyard. A pretty big space for 5 chickens and 2 ducks so we cut down the space they have, cut a small door and a window into their coup and rebuilt the gate, they have less room but a nicer house now and we have a whole new section of the yard to do something with, I am thinking fruit trees or bushes, we will see.

Other than that we haven't been up to too much, lots of playing in the house and the backyard.

Abby had a night with Brian so we could go on a date, they ate popcorn and watched Cars 2 after Isaac went to bed, we went for coffee and pie at Flying Star.

Abby in her superhero stuff from church plus the cape Vanessa made her for Christmas and her pi's, what a combo.

This weekend Jonathan turned 30! Odin kind of blends into the picture but he had a lot of help with his presents. After presents I made chocolate chip waffles.

We went to a pizza place for dinner with a few friends and then came home for cake and coffee. I tried to dress up Jonathan's favorite chocolate cake with peanut butter icing the result was pretty good if I do say so myself. A two layer chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling and peanut butter icing. I think it will now be his yearly cake.

Abby was anxious for cake.

This morning Owen and Autumn came over to play, we did some crafts for part of the time since the weather was bad so my original plan of making them all play outside didn't happen. The big kids painted figurines that Zia Becca sent for Christmas and the little kids finger painted. Thanks for all the art supplies Zia Becca they are helping me stay sane through the winter!

And now you are up to date.

River of Lights

2011-12-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to the River of Lights, it was a bit chilly but we has a great time, the kids loved all the lights and once again Jonathan did a great job with the photography.

Day after Christmas

2011-12-28T13:58:00.001-07:00

The day after Christmas we went to the zoo for the morning, it was a bit chilly but not many people were there and the animals that were out were very busy. We had a great time, Jonathan was in charge of the camera and got some great pictures.

I don't know what kind of little duck/goose this was, it has such big feet and was so friendly, I was seriously tempted to put it in my backpack and take it home.

Christmas!

2011-12-27T16:15:00.002-07:00

Abby opening the last door on the Advent Calendar before diving into her stocking. She was so excited that Santa had eaten his cookies, although he didn't finish them, he will have to try harder this year. The adults actually got to sleep in a bit and were all up with our coffee before Abby showed up. She had opened her stocking by the time Isaac got up which wasn't till almost 8. Thanks for the Christmas present kiddos!

The Winnie the Pooh movie that Santa left.

Isaac's up.

And getting into the swing of things.

After breakfast of bread bundles that our my family's tradition and fruit and more coffee Abby was more than anxious to dive into the pile of presents from her Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles and a few from us too. So many awesome presents.

Abby explaining to Pap Pap about the popcorn popper that she picked out for him.

Daddy was there too!

Jonathan opening his Kindle, we have been reading a lot of electronic books lately and I have been hogging the iPad so I got him a kindle so he can read too.

Abby picked out presents for us, a spiderman spatula for Daddy and Cars cookie cutters for Mommy. We take life very seriously in the Beistline house :)

The Artist hard at work on her new easel, thanks Pap Pap and Gigi.

Such contentment. We got Isaac his own Rody so he didn't have to share, or Abby didn't have to share with him.

Dueling Rodys

Some coloring in the Afternoon.

Christmas dinner was Lasagna, and spinach salad, Jonathan made an amazing ricotta pie that was really more like custard, so good.

After dinner Isaac started drumming on my plate, everyone joined in.

Even the creatures had a good day.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours, we hope it was a wonder celebration at your house. Our Christmas pictures to come soon.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-27T12:05:00.000-07:00

Abby and Pap Pap have a tradition now, when he is here they walk to the gas station, well Pap Pap walks and Abby rides in the wagon, he gets a paper and she gets a ice cream bar, keep in mind it is usually about 10 in the morning. It turns out that this is a chilly tradition to keep in December.

Making cookies with Gigi

Pap Pap is the official hair brusher, at least they let someone do it.

Aww, Odin's getting some love.
We had a quiet Christmas Eve, we hung out a home, I did some baking, we went to the Christmas Eve service at church and then had clam chowder for dinner, we put out milk and cookies for Santa read the Christmas story from Luke and The Night Before Christmas, then the kids headed off to bed so that the elves could put the finishing touches on Christmas.

Pap Pap and Gigi are here

2011-12-27T11:56:00.001-07:00

Pap Pap and Gigi got here on the 22nd, we are so excited to have them here for about a week around Christmas.

Hanging out in the living room watching a movie.

Isaac got his Christmas present from Pap Pap and Gigi a little early so that he could sit in his very own chair and watch the movie too.

Catching up with Christmas

2011-12-27T11:51:00.002-07:00

As often happens I have fallen behind on the blog. So here are some pictures of what we have been up to in the week or so before Christmas. I decided this year to try making a gingerbread house, from scratch of course. I started simple because I wanted it to go well. We has a great time putting it together and Jonathan is excited to make a bigger and better one next year, it may become a family tradition.

We did the initial frosting and Abby added candy when she got up from her nap.

Our finished product, complete with a ginger dog (Odin) and ginger men for Mommy, Daddy, Abby and Isaac. Abby wanted to add 8ball the bunny but I didn't have a bunny cookie cutter so she decided that the bunny was inside the house.

We had a couple of lovely snowy days, unfortunately the roof leaked a bit.

Just had to take a picture of this outfit, polka-dot shirt, plaid skirt and striped leggings, all purplish so it sort of worked.

Cookies, snow and Christmas tree

2011-12-06T08:57:00.001-07:00

To kick off the Christmas season we made sugar cookies, we broke out our great cookie cutter collection and the cool sprinkles that I picked up at the Cupboard, my favorite kitchen store in Fort Collins. It was a lot of fun, Abby decorated, Isaac ate sprinkles.

On Saturday we woke up to snow, not much but in Albuquerque you have to appreciate whatever snow you have. We headed out to play in it first thing because there is always a chance it won't last very long.

We made a baby snow man

Abby warming up with her hot Nutella after playing in the snow.

After breakfast we headed out in search of a Christmas tree, then we worked on rearranging a bit so we could fit it in our little house. Then there was a meeting about how to work the tree stand.

I think Isaac is saying what the heck are you crazy people doing.

Abby was very concerned the tree get water.

Isaac liked the strings of lights a lot.

They light up, even better.

It is always so fun to unpack our ornaments, we get an ornament every time we go on vacation, so there are all sorts of memories we get to relive as we decorate our tree, plus first Christmas ornaments and the cute ornaments the kids get from grandparents each year. Our tree is not at all matched or themed it is full of memories, I love it.

The finished product.

Isaac helping with the vacuuming.

My big girl

Our cuties in the snow.

the little man

Thanksgiving

2011-12-06T08:41:00.001-07:00

We had a great little Thanksgiving, it was just us and our good friend Brian who as far as Abby is concerned has been given Uncle status, its kind of like being knighted as far as a 3 year old is concerned. Jonathan made most of dinner and it was spectacular, we ate like kings.

Patting the turkey down after brining over night.

Our fancy glasses.

Hanging out outside for a little while before dinner.

Isaac liked the idea of a holiday based on feasting, he really got anxious for dinner.

Where's the food.

The cook and his girl.

Odin was a little anxious for Isaac to get dinner too.

And there's Brian

Cuddling the next morning.

Helpers

2011-12-06T08:28:00.001-07:00

Just hanging out in the morning, sometimes it takes us awhile to all get out of our pajamas, Abby wanted me to take a picture of her with her dog.

And there's Isaac

Helping me make cookies, or chocolate cake, something.

Something delicious

Super delicious

Yup super delicious

Abby got a hair cut, it is less tangled and easier to brush now, which is good because after a brief period of wanting to get her hair done she is back to don't touch it.

Extra bonus, they got balloons at the hair salon, yippee.

Winston Came Home

2011-11-18T12:00:00.001-07:00

On our way home from Colorado Winston was forgotten in Grammy's car at the airport, by the time we noticed we had already made it through security and I didn't want to risk missing our flight to get him. Grammy put him in the mail right away and we were only without him for two days but it was rough. Abby was worried about him being lonely in the box in the mail and sad because she missed him. The mailman brought him yesterday the the universe was back as it should be.

Our Trip to Colorado

2011-11-17T09:59:00.001-07:00

The kids and I just got back from a little trip to Colorado to visit Grammy and Grandpa. We had a great time. Isaac's favorite past time when in the house was emptying the kitchen cabinets (or any other cabinet and drawer) and moving the contents to another location. I think he dug out stuff that hadn't been seen in awhile, there were napkins in with the pots and pans, tupperware with the small appliances, you get the idea.

One drawer emptied onto the counter, thanks buddy.

"Where would you like this"

Grammy is currently between horses but we got to go to the neighbor's house and ride Doc on one really nice morning. It was important to get a ride in, a trip to Colorado wouldn't be complete without some horse time.

Isaac rode as well but since it takes two people, one to lead the horse and one to keep Isaac on the horse I don't have any pictures of him on the horse by himself. He had a great time, he likes animals as much as his sister.

Isaac's other favorite activity was moving pumpkins, he would stack these on the wall, take them off, push them into the garden bed, and restack them for hours.

We went to the farm to visit the animals and play on the old tractors and stuff.

They both had a great time in the snow left over from the big snow storm a week ago.

More Pumpkins!

Our favorite dog Ellie

Catching up on the Bronco's game with Grammy.

Abby found our old collection of legos (there is only about a fifth of them our in the picture) and that was her evening activity every night. We had a great trip.

Family Pictures

2011-11-16T08:38:00.001-07:00

We are back from our little trip to Colorado to visit Grammy and Grandpa, I will get pictures up of our trip soon. In the meantime our dear friend Katie took family pictures for us at the end of October. I am so spoiled to have such a great photographer as a friend. Here are some of my favorites, enjoy.

Other updates

2011-11-07T15:03:00.001-07:00

We have a new bunny, his name is Eightball, unfortunately Zero got sick but we do actually like our new bunny a bit better, he is nicer so it worked out ok.

This weekend we rearranged Abby's room so she has a lot more space to play with her toys, Isaac got some new stuff in his room too, although he still prefers to raid his sister's room.

Isaac's tractor's fit in nicely with Abby's farm stuff.

Isaac loves Rody too, he may need one of his own soon.

Halloween

2011-11-07T14:53:00.001-07:00

For Halloween this year we had some friends over to our house for dinner. The kids got to wear costumes and we had chili and brownies and passed out candy to trick-or-treaters. We had a great time handing out with some good friends. Isaac was Peter Pan, he had a hat but he didn't like it at all so there are no pictures of him wearing it. He borrowed one of the girl's wands.

He did not like the people coming to the door at all.

Abby and Kaylee didn't mind though.

Abby was a red princess, she helped pick out the material herself.

There is Ellie the ballerina, we didn't get a picture on Jonah in his cute horse costume.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-11-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

The night before Halloween we carved our pumpkin, we didn't start until about 7pm so Isaac ended up going to bed before we got done. Jonathan had wanted to paint our pumpkin instead of carve it this year but I thought Isaac would be really into scooping out pumpkin innards so I talked him into carving it. As it turns out no one was into the innards at all and next year we will paint our pumpkin instead. The pictures aren't great but you get the idea at least.

A pumpkin patch

2011-11-07T14:36:00.001-07:00

The Saturday before Halloween we finally made it out to McCall's pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin and play in the corn pit and all the other things we have enjoyed doing every year for a couple years now. We had planned to go the weekend before that but the kids got colds and were grumpy and we thought why pay money to take them somewhere to be grumpy when they can do that at home.

Isaac loved the goats, well all the animals really, he is like his sister.

The only thing that really changed this year from last is now that we have a rabbit of our own at home the little bunny village was not at all exciting.

Abby surveying the pumpkin field in search of the right orange pumpkin, we were told it must be an orange one.

Isaac kept trying to pick them up, he thinks he is a bit bigger than he really is.

We will take this one.

Posing with our chosen pumpkin.

Isaac wants to hold it.

Oh the corn pit.

This year we tried the slides, it was the first year we went on them, they were a big hit. We had to take Abby up the hill about a dozen times.

Isaac liked them too, Jonathan even shot him down once all by himself, he looked relieved to get snatched up by mommy at the bottom but them smiled and wanted to go again.

Riding the cow train on the way back to the car. We had a great day. The kids took good naps.

Early Morning Bike Trek - Possible Insanity

2011-10-06T11:04:00.001-06:00

Well we rolled the kids out of bed at 6 am, threw them in the bike
trailer and we struck out to Balloon Fiesta.

Abby jumped right out of bed. Today was special shapes. Unfortunately the weather
did not cooperate. But they did put the balloons on display.

Look at that wide awake group. Isaac was none too happy
about getting out of bed at 6am. He had a general irked demeanor
all morning.

Abby at least got to see balloons but was disappointed that they didn't fly.

1.25 hours to bike there. 2 hours to bike home. The wind was awful. Our legs were jelly
by the time we got home.

Isaac was nice and snuggly this morning in his fleece jump suit. Looks comfy.

Like I said, Irked. Very few smiles. I don't think he got it. I'm not sure I got it. According
to Google Maps the best estimate on our trip today was 28.3 miles.
My butt and legs will feel it tomorrow.

Dinosaurs! Tricycles! Durango and Sharks! Oh My!

2011-10-05T17:03:00.001-06:00

We've been on vacation for the past few days.
We didn't go anywhere exotic. We just hung around town and did some fun stuff.

One of our first stops was the Natural History Museum Downtown.

It's no secret, just how hung up on dinosaurs
Abby really is. If she could have one as a pet, I think she would.

Isaac trying to walk like a dinosaur.

Isaac trying to climb into an exhibit.

Abby attempting to corral Isaac...

And Isaac charging away... Notice a theme of his?

Abby took her first tricycle ride on the street. She wore her helmet
and listened very closely for instructions.

On Monday we loaded up in the truck and struck out for colorful Colorado...
Durango to be exact. It always amazes me, every pass that goes into Colorado whether
it's I-25 or 550... the scenery changes immediately. I think Colorado did that intentionally,
"oh yeah what do we have here? Shrubs, cactus and sand...
yeah NM can have that piece of ground too."

Today we tried to go to the zoo. But thanks to all the tourists and balloonists in town it was literally a zoo.
Pun Intended.
So we headed a few blocks over to the aquarium.

Just more pictures

2011-09-30T14:01:00.001-06:00

Last week we went to a new park to play with Owen, Autumn and Olivia. We had a great time.

I didn't give Isaac ketchup for his corn dog so Abby moved places so she could share hers, she is a sweet big sister.

Sarah comes to visit

2011-09-30T13:58:00.001-06:00

The weekend after Isaac's birthday Aunt Sarah and a friend of hers named Candice came for a visit. We had a great couple days with them and wished they could have stayed longer.

We went hiking on the top of Sandia Peak, unlike the other hike we took at the top a few weeks earlier when it was pretty warm it was actually really chilly and we were very much under dressed, well except for Jonathan. It was very pretty but we didn't stay very long.

On their last day we went to Santa Fe for the morning. We had some great food and wandered around looking at some art. Abby made friends with a very agreeable dog.

Isaac loved the water sculptures and managed to soak himself, he does that on a fairly regular basis, he loves water and mud.

Thanks for coming guys we had a great time.

Rugby anyone?

2011-09-30T13:51:00.000-06:00

Little man got his first big boo boo about 2 weeks ago now, it has all healed up now. He was a trooper about it, his nose and a rock had a collision. He had some pretty big scabs for about a week and really would have looked the part in a rugby uniform. Unlike his full speed ahead sister who was pretty much one big bruise as soon as she started moving, bruises are pretty rare for our little guy.

For Greg and Squid

2011-09-15T12:08:00.001-06:00

I took these pictures and thought of my brother and sister, the squishing starts early.

Little Man turns 1!!!

2011-09-15T08:37:00.001-06:00

Isaac turned 1 this weekend, we had a little party at the house for him, some friends came over and both my parents and Jonathan's parents came into town for the party. It has been awhile since we were all in the same state at the same time. We had a great weekend. The party was loosely truck themed, so here's Jonathan putting out his transformers to help with my decorations.

Grandpa is getting stuff ready for the hamburgers.

Papap is entertaining the boy.

Abby is napping so she is in a good mood when people show up.

Balloons are up, food is out, we are all ready.

The weather turned out perfect, it is nice when everyone can play outside, the sandbox is easy entertainment.

Poor Isaac was cutting 3 teeth so he wasn't quite his usual smiley self for his party, I think he had fun though.

Dunking, he could have done this all day.

It sort of threw him when everyone started singing.

He got into it though, even tried to sing along.

Jonathan ended up blowing out the candle, he wanted to touch it.

What a great party, can't believe little man is 1.

Labor Day : Sandia Peak

2011-09-14T22:13:00.002-06:00

For Labor Day we took the kiddos up the Tram to Sandia Peak.
It was Jess' first time too!

Up Up and Away!

Isaac had the best seat and time of anyone.

We hiked a little way down on the La Luz trail.

Like I said, Isaac had the best seat...

By the time we were done hiking, Abby said her legs were broke.
We told her they weren't and to keep walking. That's the privilege of being 3.
You walk yourself.

Hold hands in parking lots, when crossing the street and yes...
when looking off a mountain cliff.

Gee I wonder why he's smiley... that's the privilege of being one.
You get carted places, treated like a little king and yes it does irk your
three year old sister who has to walk herself.

Roadrunner Sighting Beep Beep

2011-09-14T22:05:00.002-06:00


We get quite a few critters now in our backyard since things are green. Big trees, garden space, and flower beds not to mention a free buffet courtesy of the chickens makes us a neighborhood hotspot for squirrels, doves, sparrows, hummingbirds and now new to the neighborhood... a Roadrunner. I still love seeing these guys around.

Just a Couple of Shots

2011-09-14T22:01:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure what moment I just captured. Isaac looks so relaxed,
Abby is using a cute face and Jess kinda looks like she's recovering
from something Abby did. That's probably why Abby is so cute and Isaac
is thinking, oh yeah give it to her mom!

A diaper, a fly swatter, chalk and water.
I can't write a caption for this one.

Abby has begun experimenting with mixed media.
Chalk now has to be applied with water. Brings out the color.

You didn't see anything...

Again, I can't write a caption. The picture stands for itself.

In our defense, she did say she needed a sleeping hat and pulled this out of her dresser.

Weekend Train Trip to Santa Fe

2011-09-14T21:46:00.002-06:00

We took the kids to Santa Fe for a Saturday trip.

Abby had story time at the Library and learned all about trains!
She had a great time taking the Rail Runner.

Oops! We're missing a face... got the arms and legs though...

Ah, there it is.

Our little diva... "I'm ready for my close up"

Strike a pose!

Yes little man walks... like Godzilla. I want to build a miniature city for him to destroy.

The band aid saga

2011-08-16T12:07:00.006-06:00

Living with a 3 year old is never dull, I thought I would share the story of Saturday morning with you all, you should get a good chuckle. Abby spent the morning pulling Odin (her pet) around the house on his leash. He was a very cooperative dog, that isn't really part of the story. In the course of dragging the poor dog under her bed, Abby scraped the skin off the knuckle of her thumb. She is a tough kid and usually bounces back, unless there is blood, then she is done, usually for the rest of the day. We spent the next 2 hours or so trying to convince her to put a band aid on her finger instead of wrapping it with a blanket. That's right 2 hours. We put band aids on ourselves and Isaac (he was a very good sport) Jonathan also pulled up a very cheerful band aid commercial on the computer featuring cute kids singing about the joys of band aids and their healing qualities. In the end we held her down and stuck one on. See photos:
She was obviously happy about that. (*note: it is not that Jonathan was laughing because she was crying, but at this point the whole situation was ridiculous) However about an hour later she was in the back yard singing an "I like band aids" song to herself. Oh life with a 3 year old.

New Projects

2011-08-16T11:57:00.005-06:00

I am almost done with my wish list for the backyard. Last week I made a little play house for the kids out of pallets, there are 6 in all, one for the base with some left over plywood over the top, two for the sides that are slightly cut down and a full size one for the back, then I pulled apart two more to use for the roof, this morning Abby and I primed it and now we need to go pick out some purple paint to finish it off. More pictures for the finished product to come.

We also built a bigger sand box for the kids, sharing the little turtle was getting ridiculous. They still manage to be on top of each other in a 6x6 sand box but that I think is unavoidable.

All the project are making someone tired.

Isaac loves to vacuum!

2011-08-16T11:54:00.003-06:00

Its a pretty self explanatory post. Isaac LOVES the vacuum, it is his favorite thing in the house, get it out and he comes shooting from wherever he was in the house to help you out with the floors. It takes about 10 times as long to vacuum with his help but the floors get really, really clean.

A trip to Colorado

2011-08-09T12:49:00.005-06:00

About 2 weeks ago now, Abby, Isaac and I got back from a 9 day visit to see Grammy, Grandpa and Auntie Sarah in Colorado. The kids were both pretty good on the plane, Isaac wiggled A LOT but at least he didn't cry. Abby by now is a super traveler, she informs me of when I need to put my seat belt on and my tray table up. As soon as she hears the announcement that it is ok to use electronic devices she whips out our IPad and watches a movie. She asks the flight attendant for the kind of juice she wants and carries her own backpack through the airport, she is a champ. Isaac wanted so badly to walk, he took his first steps 4 days after we got home.

Oh the bossy older sister.

We set up a totally red-neck swimming pool for the kids in the pack yard, slightly rusty stock tank, awesome! Abby and Sarah really got into the spirit of water fighting. They both have a spirit of escalation, lets just say it got out of hand quickly.

We went for a hike up to a waterfall , Abby walked the whole way (2 miles or so) by the end she was pretty tired and said her legs were broken but she made it.

Nice cold mountain water.

Isaac LOVES water, unless it is a bath, go figure.

This is how she poses for pictures right now, ridiculous.

Me and Isaac, just so you can see that I was actually their too.

Abby loves Ellie, seriously she just informed me as I was typing this that she loves Ellie.

Another hiking picture. Sarah and Grammy had to put their heads under the waterfall.

Grammy and Abby on their morning ride/walk. Abby learned to trot on this trip, she loves the horse.

Using the stool as a walker, he pushed it all over the house. He loves moving big stuff, must make him feel big.

Older Stuff

2011-08-01T13:39:00.004-06:00

Here are some pictures from earlier in June, we went to the park on our bikes one weekend, did some kite flying, swinging and climbing. There was also another trip to the zoo and just some cute stuff from around the house. Tomorrow I will work on pictures from the trip the kids and I took to Colorado about 2 weeks ago and by the end of the week hopefully I will be all up to date.

Papap and Gigi come for a visit

2011-08-01T13:14:00.009-06:00

At the end of June, Papap and Gigi came for a visit, well really Gigi came first then a week later Papap came and then a week after that they both left together. We had a great time with them, the pictures seem to have gotten a bit mixed up at I was loading them but here is an overview of the couple of weeks they were with us.The first weekend Gigi was here was Comic Con in Albuquerque, Jonathan and our friend Brian went for the day on Saturday, they got to meet Stan Lee and had a wonderful time. Sunday was kids day and Jonathan took Abby for the day, she had a great time too although was unsure about R2D2. The highlight was a magic show and balloon animals.

And Spiderman

I love Isaac's after bath hair, thanks Gigi for the great new pj's.

We went to the zoo, Abby enjoyed throwing old bread to the ducks.

Oh there's comic con again.

Even better than ducks, throwing bread to a peacock.

Isaac liked the peacock too.

Hey Gigi look at that.

This kid thinks he is a big guy, only 4 teeth but that's enough to take on an apple.

Spaghetti, need I say more.

Isaac's first time in the sandbox, he loves it.

Abby's posing for a picture.

We have been to the pool a couple times now, everyone loves it.

Back to the zoo.

Gigi got the kids a bigger pool for the backyard which has been wonderful, they both love it.

Reading the paper with Papap.

4th of July in the backyard, we filled water balloons and had a water fight. Then made an amazing dinner.

Sliding into the pool what could be better.

A couple pictures before everyone got really wet.

Isaac's favorite thing is the hose.

Abby went down this big slide all by herself 3 times. Someone caught her at the bottom of course.

Drawing.

We had such a good time with you guys, come back soon.

So much catching up on Summer

2011-08-01T12:57:00.004-06:00

We have so much catching up on summer to do, I blinked and realized that we were about 2 months behind on our blog. We have been having a great summer, it has been hot so we have been trying to do a lot of water activities. Abby has given up her nap time which is a bummer but it does mean that bed time goes better because by the time its time for bed the kid is done. Isaac is getting bigger and growing up so quick, last night he took his fist steps, we got it on video I think so hopefully we will be able to put up a little clip soon.

Fun in the hot tub, we turn off the heat in the summer and it works as a great little soaking pool.

Our one little rain storm, Isaac had a great time in the rain.

Look who's walking behind his little walker, he loves to cruise around the house with this thing. He giggles as he goes.

Snack cups are great.

This is his concentrating face.

Abby loves to paint, and has very recently started to let me do her hair some of the time.

Goof ball.

My attempt at trying to get a photo of the two of them.

Abby is demonstrating our calm down breathing technique. Think yoga breathing.

Abby now occasionally falls asleep around the house since she gave up naps, once we found her under her bed asleep, the other night she fell asleep at dinner.

Projects and some other stuff

2011-05-24T13:48:00.007-06:00

A couple of weekends ago Jonathan snagged tickets to go to a baseball game at work. We had really good seats and it was a beautiful night. We had a really nice time although I think that baseball doesn't have quite enough action for Abby. We told her that people were going to be hitting balls with sticks, I think she may have been hoping for more of a contact sport type of thing.

Isaac likes to be in on the games these days.

Doing his Spiderman crawl.

He is so proud of himself for learning how to crawl.

Odin is such a good spot.

So a month or maybe two now Jonathan blogged about how I was collecting pallets to build outdoor furniture with, I thought I would post a few pictures of what I have gotten done so far.

The table easily seats 10, 6 if you don't really like the person next to you, I think we could squeeze in 12 if everyone gets along.

We haven't hooked up the sink yet but here is my outdoor kitchen in the works.

Abby demonstrating the chair that I have done, there will be one more and a table.

That's it for now.

Last week or so...

2011-05-09T14:01:00.002-06:00

The last almost two weeks since we got home from our trip to Colorado have been eventful to say the least. Isaac is officially mobile and very proud of himself. He has been trying to crawl for awhile now but figures out forward motion this last Thursday. The Sunday previous to that he pulled up on furniture by himself. Now he is crawling all over the place and trying to get up at stuff. He is moving in a more patient and methodical manner than his sister did which is resulting in far fewer bruises which is very nice.

We started officially potty training the talking monkey that lives with us (aka our delightful and lovely 3 year old daughter) about a week and a half ago. So far there have been mixed results but yesterday (mother's day) was the first day she did perfectly so maybe we are getting somewhere. We are crossing our fingers but perhaps not holding our breath. We will have to see how the week goes.

Happy Mothers Day!

2011-05-07T08:20:00.004-06:00

This post is for the grandmothers! Happy Mothers Day!

Isaac 7 Month Update

Lots of Giggles

I am very slowly working my way through video footage going back to Thanksgiving 2010. So over the next few weeks you'll probably see new stuff posted with old stuff.

Family Pictures

2011-05-02T19:20:00.006-06:00

The weekend before Abby's birthday we took family pictures with our talented friend Katie. She is our official family photographer. Since I am getting all caught up I thought I would share some of my favorites and then I have finally gotten caught up to present time. Enjoy!

Easter

2011-05-02T19:09:00.007-06:00

The end of our very busy week in Colorado was Easter, by this time Abby had gotten presents (birthday, flower girl and Easter) about every other day, missed at least 50% of her naps and all together forgotten that she was really just a normal human child so to say the least Easter was interesting. She has a good time, we had a good time but the meltdowns were often and intense.Easter Baskets!

Isaac liked them too.

All dressed up again for Church this time.

Hanging out with the Barron's and Bednarski's we always love getting to see the extended cousins.

Aunt Linda got the kids really awesome lunch boxes with their names embroidered on them.

Hunting for eggs.

Nolan showed up again, what fun!

Exhaustion has set in.

After Easter dinner Greg and Sarah came over with some of Sarah's family to open their wedding presents. The wrapping paper was very fun.

Grammy's and babies with bunny hats.

Wedding

2011-05-02T15:53:00.004-06:00

I don't have any photos from the ceremony so you will have to wait for those until I get some of the professional photos then you can see us all dressed up and Abby before she took off her tiara and was given blue m&m's. But here are some of my favorite snapshots of the reception. It was a beautiful wedding, Sarah was a beautiful bride, Abby did a great job as the flower girl, both of the kids hung in there till bed time with no naps really.

Like I said blue m&m's. You thought I was kidding.

All dressed up and looking like a big guy eating his puffs.

Doesn't Grammy look fabulous.

Isaac was a big attention getter.

Abby looking out the window as Greg and Sarah make their entrance with our friend Rex.

Cousin Ben and his mommy Nicole.

Jonathan making his toast.

Isaac hung out with Grandpa for a lot of the reception.

Cake cutting, they were cheesecakes, made by my mom, Sarah and Sarah's mom.

Abby and Nolan again, I think Jonathan best keep an eye on those two.

Rehearsal Dinner and other things

2011-05-02T13:27:00.007-06:00

Friday was another big day. I have to take a tangent for a moment and say that Abby really did do well for the week considering that there was so much going on and we really did ignore the poor kids need to take naps, she was a trooper. So anyway Friday Sarah, Abby and I met getting married Sarah at the nail salon in the morning for some mani-pedi action. Sarah (sister) and I just got pedicures, Sarah got the whole deal and even Abby got her nails painted.Sarah sitting in the massage chair, those were nice.

Abby getting her nails done, she was so serious. She picked a very nice purple color although I think deep down she really wanted the bright orange she originally picked out, thanks for compromising kid.

We brought stuff along for Mimosas, and no Abby is not having one, she just felt all grown up sipping her orange juice out of a fancy glass than out of her sippy cup.

Friday was also the day that all of our other relatives arrived in town for the wedding, there is cousin Ben with his daddy.

And our Aunt Linda trying to talk Sarah into moving to California after she is done with School in two weeks.

The rehearsal dinner, it was very nice, the caterers used Dad's pizza oven and we had fantastic pizza, appetizers and drinks, plus Sarah's mousse.

Abby with her friend Nolan (more on that later)

You should know everyone, just about in the pictures above, this one cracks me up, we had such a good time with my Grandpa Carl at dinner, he was cracking us up. It turns out that Sarah got her "leaking" from him.

Abby and Nolan again.

Carl and Joan, so adorable they are.

Abby got a princess dress-up dress from Uncle Greg and Aunt Sarah. Nolan was helping her open her present and threw it aside because he thought it was part of the wrapping and was looking for what was actually the present, clearly it couldn't be a dress.

So girly, puts on the dress they starts jumping on furniture.

Pre-wedding Thursday

2011-05-02T13:20:00.002-06:00

Lets just say that although we had a great time in Colorado it was a busy week. We had something planned or going on pretty much every day we were there and Thursday was no exception. It was the get ready for all the other stuff going on day. Greg and Sarah's rehersal dinner was at Grammy and Grandpa's house on Friday and we had to make dessert for that (Sarah made two kinds of chocolate mousse, amazing), we did some prep work for Easter dinner since there would be no time later, I made two quite lovely angel food cakes. Jonathan did all sorts of chopping.

Isaac was very patient and let everyone do a lot of work.

Abby helped with picking flowers.

Thursday night Sarah made a great Greek dinner.

The other Sarah (it gets confusing) and Greg came over for some good Aunt and Uncle time, they are the best.

Easter Eggs

2011-05-01T10:53:00.003-06:00

On Wednesday (I think) we decorated Easter eggs with Abby for the first time, she was very serious about it but I think she had fun.

Isaac seems to like his new pack that was my birthday present, he outgrew my front pack.

Finished products.

Isaac didn't really nap at all while we were in Colorado so there are pictures of him passed out with just about everyone.

The great outdoors!

2011-05-01T10:38:00.004-06:00

Most mornings by the time we were out of bed Abby and Grammy were already outside and up to something, even in the temperamental Colorado spring weather Abby loves being outside. This morning it was planting flowers.

And watering...

The fish.

Isaac on the other hand didn't usually get up until about 8:30.

Abby adores Grammy's dog Ellie.

Catching up

2011-05-01T10:29:00.003-06:00

In the effort to get everyone caught up on the events since Abby's birthday I will dive in with the beginning of our trip to Colorado. We left for Colorado on the 16th of April, the 18th was my birthday. We went to the Denver Zoo for the day with Grammy and Auntie Sarah.

They had some animals that we don't get to see at the Albuquerque Zoo.

It was a big day and everyone got pretty tired out.

But we had a lot of fun.

Meet Zero

2011-04-27T15:47:00.002-06:00

Well we have ourselves a bunny now. Abby named her Zero, she is about 4 months old. Thought I would start off with the catching everyone up on our big trip and the last two weeks with a really easy post. Meet Zero.

cute toes

2011-04-13T08:41:00.003-06:00

Last night was the first time I trimmed Abby's toe nails without having to sit on her and having her scream at me the whole time, yes she was bribed with ice cream but I still think it was progress. We also painted her toes and she wanted to make sure her pretty toes were featured on the blog for Papap and Gigi and everyone else to see.

Thanks for the cute outfit Zia Becca, she was over posing.

Birthday Dinner

2011-04-12T19:23:00.005-06:00

Abby requested birthday hats for her birthday this year, it was fun that this year she understood what was going on and made requests.

For dinner she wanted pizza, so she got home-made white pizza (Alfredo sauce and 2 kinds of cheese) the rest of us got chicken Alfredo pizza.

Odin I have to say was not thrilled about the everyone wears party hats to my party policy.

Isaac had squash, he wanted the pizza though, soon buddy.

This is the kind of reaction you hope for from a present huh. We got her some new animals for her collection.

Papap and Gigi got her the coolest big red barn ever.

The animals moved right in.

Abby requested chocolate cake.

So she got a 4 layer german chocolate cake with raspberry filling and chocolate fudge frosting.

She picked raspberry ice cream to go with it, possibly because the container was a very pretty pink and all the rest of the ice cream flavors were in white and brown containers, but for whatever reason it was chosen it went really well with her cake.

Before you feel bad for the little guy getting stuck with squash he did get a little ice cream.

We had a great night.

Papap and Gigi's Visit

2011-04-12T19:13:00.004-06:00

We had a great weekend with Papap and Gigi, it was so nice that they got to come for Abby's birthday.

Isaac has moved on to yummy food like yogurt and butternut squash and mango in his apple sauce.

Odin is doing really well adjusting to being yet another notch lower in the family pecking order.

Papap makes a great assistant chef.

Right after we got home from her party at the zoo Abby had to try on the tutu that Vanessa made her, she has also been wearing a new bow every day for at least a little while, sometimes to bed, thanks for the awesome present Vanessa and Owen of course.

It was windy at the park so she couldn't blow our her candle so we had another go after dinner.

The morning of Abby's actual birthday we spent at the park. Isaac is a big fan of swinging.

After our morning at the park we went to lunch and had french fries with ketchup, that's what Abby had the rest of us had hamburgers too.

Catching up

2011-04-12T12:39:00.004-06:00

Well in the last two weeks that I didn't get to blogging we were pretty busy. We repainted the movie room and did some repairs to the ceiling. We had a leak in the roof last winter that created the need for some patching. It is now a nice "chocolate" color as Abby tells people. I have been working on outdoor furniture made from reclaimed pallet wood, they are turning out well I will take pictures soon. We took a break from doing projects two weekends ago on Saturday for a nice family bike ride to the park. It was Isaac's first time in the bike trailer and considering he fell right to sleep I think he liked it fine.At almost 3 Abby finally decided to like swinging.

Chasing the soccer ball.

Isaac is starting to think about forward motion, maybe crawling is in the near future, in the mean time he has gotten his first two teeth and is working on the third.

Isaac and his buddy Jonah playing bubbles on the IPad during small group.

Birthday Party!!

2011-04-12T11:14:00.003-06:00

Well we have a bit of catching up to do on the blog but I will start with Abby's 3rd birthday party. Abby turned 3 on Monday, we had her birthday party on Saturday. We invited 4 of her friends to the zoo for the morning. The kids ran around the zoo for a bit and then we had a picnic and opened presents. It was small and quiet and just perfect. Abby had a great time and has such great friends.Monkey and lion cupcakes, keeping with the zoo theme.

Abby and Owen, they have grown so much.

Asia is leading the charge.

Isaac had a great time hanging out in the backpack.

She got such great presents from her friends.

There's everyone, Asia, Ellie, Owen and Olivia plus their families and Gigi and Papap.

More to come, we still have the rest of the weekend with Papap and Gigi and Abby's actual birthday and all the projects we have been up to, I will keep working on it.

Isaac is 6 months old!

2011-03-23T11:21:00.005-06:00

Our little man keeps getting bigger. We had his 6 month appointment a couple of days ago, the doctor said he looks perfect but we already knew that. He is a lot bigger than his sister at the same age:

17 pounds 10 ounces and 28 inches long

He is 50th percentile for weight and 93rd percentile for height. Abby on the other hand finally got to 16 pounds at about 9 months. No wonder my back hurts.

He is sitting up well, rolling over when he feels like it, eating all sorts of solid food and just started on some beginner finger food. He is still the sweetest little guy although has unfortunately given up napping.

Last Weekend

2011-03-23T11:06:00.004-06:00

Well I think we are just going to start doing weekly what we did this weekend posts now that it has gotten warmer and we are all into projects.

This weekend was a gardening weekend, we started off with a run to get a truck-load of compost to fill the raspberry bed that I finished last week and top off our gardening boxes. Then we went to the hardware store to get more screws and a couple of 2 by 4's that I needed to finish up the table I am building (pictures soon I hope). We finished up our run for supplies with a stop by the plant nursery where we ended up with a couple of new bare root raspberries, lavender, rosemary, thyme, ice plant and two new fruit trees, a fuji apple and a stella cherry.

So the rest of the weekend consisted of digging holes for our new trees and hauling dirt to fill up the beds and planting things and digging and transplanting raspberries into they new home.

Isaac likes being outside with everyone and of course Abby likes helping, everyone got really dirty but we had a great weekend, you will have to check in next week to see what we get into this weekend.

What we did this weekend...

2011-03-13T18:30:00.002-06:00

So it was a beautiful weekend and it got us into the projecting mood. Quite insanely really... I spent most of Saturday tiling. We're in the process of adding a second shower in our second bathroom. I've been slowly tiling for the last two weeks. Yesterday was a full on push to finish. I finished my last cuts by flashlight last night. Now I'll be grouting for the next weekend or two.

Jess got busy outside ripping out some old flower beds. She decided she wanted more buffalo grass and that we are moving the raspberries. So tearing some stuff out, cleaning it up and pulling drip lines is how Jess spent the morning.

Isaac got to play outside in his bouncer where he could see everybody. Abby was the floating free agent. Help a little here, Help a little there and go off and do her thing for the rest of the time.

While the kids slept Jess and I dismantled pallets. Yes we pulled apart shipping pallets. Pulled nails and made a pile of lumber. Why? A few months ago, Sunset or ReadyMade ran an article about building outdoor chairs and tables from reclaimed pallets. Jess thought it was a great idea. I'm a little on the fence about the whole thing, but I am the one who answered the Craigs List post and brought home our first truckload of pallets. What's first? Jess plans to build a raised box for the raspberries and then start an outdoor dining table.

We did takeout last night. Yes. Takeout. Sometimes that's just easiest.

Now onto today, well we redid some more flower beds and re-ran drip lines to get better water coverage this year. Transplanted some plants from the raspberry bed we're removing. Then while the kids napped, Jess and I crawled up on the roof and did our round of spring tar on our flat roof and cleaned up the stick and leaf piles that had accumulated up there. Jess finished out the afternoon by laying some brick pavers.

Well now the kids are up. Jess is putting together dinner, which is cherry pie. I just finished cleaning up the house which had fallen into a state of disarray by working outside all weekend. I think we're gonna sit back and relax tonight. Maybe a family movie night. No harm in that is there?

Alright so we all know why you're here. It's not to listen to me ramble on with the list of house projects we did. So enjoy!

It's getting warmer!

2011-03-01T15:57:00.006-07:00

Now that Isaac is eating all sorts of solid food (he eats lunch and dinner and so far has had banana, pear, sweet potato and zucchini) Winston is eating food at the table too.

Smiley Boy

He couldn't quite hang in there for lunch.

The other day Abby let me do her hair, I even braided it, it was really cute and she pulled it out after about 20 minutes.

Two weekends ago it started really warming up and we went to the zoo on Saturday morning.

Isaac seemed to enjoy his first trip to the zoo.

Grammy and Grandpa came for a quick visit this weekend, we had a great time with them.

Abby and Grammy cooking in the kitchen.

He isn't really trying to crawl yet or really roll over much but he is getting good at sitting up.

Isaac loves it when Abby blows bubbles for him.

Just another week

2011-02-11T15:34:00.006-07:00

We didn't do all that much this week, just hung out around the house mostly, both the kids had a sniffle. That doesn't mean that they took a break from being adorable thought.Abby loves reading, especially with Daddy

"Cute and Clever" yes we agree.

Watching cartoons before bedtime, Abby isn't crying, she watches so intently that she forgets to blink.

Someone found his toes this week, and he loves them.

He also loves these two toys. The blue one is an ugly doll named Ox, isn't he hideous, Isaac lights up when you hand him Ox.

Building towers is very serious business.

Oh the smiles.

Isaac started eating bananas this week, he really likes them.

maybe

sort of

ok he does.

Making valentines for some very important people, watch those mailboxes.

I realize I am amazingly bias but is this not the cutest little man you have ever seen, I mean seriously he kills me.

What is this on our front porch? If you guessed a rabbit hutch you are right. Bunny to come soon... ish.

And the equally adorable Abby.

The Beistlines

2012 begins

River of Lights

Day after Christmas

Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Pap Pap and Gigi are here

Catching up with Christmas

Cookies, snow and Christmas tree

Thanksgiving

Helpers

Winston Came Home

Our Trip to Colorado

Family Pictures

Other updates

Halloween

Pumpkin Carving

A pumpkin patch

Early Morning Bike Trek - Possible Insanity

Dinosaurs! Tricycles! Durango and Sharks! Oh My!

Just more pictures

Sarah comes to visit

Rugby anyone?

For Greg and Squid

Little Man turns 1!!!

Labor Day : Sandia Peak

Roadrunner Sighting *Beep* *Beep*

Just a Couple of Shots

Weekend Train Trip to Santa Fe

The band aid saga

New Projects

Isaac loves to vacuum!

A trip to Colorado

Older Stuff

Papap and Gigi come for a visit

So much catching up on Summer

Projects and some other stuff

Last week or so...

Happy Mothers Day!

Family Pictures

Easter

Wedding

Rehearsal Dinner and other things

Pre-wedding Thursday

Easter Eggs

The great outdoors!

Catching up

Meet Zero

cute toes

Birthday Dinner

Papap and Gigi's Visit

Catching up

Birthday Party!!

Isaac is 6 months old!

Last Weekend

What we did this weekend...

It's getting warmer!

Just another week

Roadrunner Sighting Beep Beep