I just can't believe it

We've got a sweet new ride...

Most of you know that from Frank thinking "I'd kinda like to get a Volvo" to it being parked in our garage literally took years.
I'm so happy that it all worked out.

Project 365: Week 6

Seven more highlights of our ordinary life.

Monday, February 1
I'm sure Monkey has appeared in numerous photos up to this point, but if you haven't met him, this is Monkey, Zach's beloved companion. He's always cuddled him at naptime and bedtime, but now he is accompanying him just about everywhere. We're considering picking up one or two more Monkeys on Amazon.


Tuesday, February 2
Did I mention how none of us are getting enough sleep?


Wednesday, February 3
I watched the season 6 premiere of LOST. Except for Gabe's birth, this was my most anticipated event since the end of season 5 last May. I am very excited to see the rest of this final season.

Thursday, February 4

We welcomed Shaun and Peggy to Brussels and had a wonderful dinner at "our" restaurant (pretty much the only one we ever go to for dinner).

Friday, February 5

It's been nice for Frank to have a gaming buddy...who is older than 2 years old, that is.

Saturday, February 6

Exploring the Grand Place and surroundings led us to some places we'd not seen before.

Sunday, February 7

After-bath, cute chubby baby photo op. Who can resist?

Project 365: Week 5

The boys were sick (runny noses persist...) and no one has gotten enough sleep lately. I was lucky to have time or energy to take photos at all!

Monday, January 25
The baby's got all manner of fun seating options: papasan, bumbo, boppy pillow, exersaucer, swing...I guess Zach decided to take matters into his own hands. He really cracks me up sometimes.


Tuesday, January 26
This was the first day I was like "Oh, no, it's 10:30, I'm brushing my teeth, and I haven't taken one photo today!" So I ran back downstairs and got the camera. This pile of clothes was staring at me, and was an obvious choice, considering I wanted to go to bed soon. Usually, dumping the laundry on the bed is to encourage me to put it away that day, but that night it went right back in the basket...


Wednesday, January 27
Zach is 26 months old. He and Gabe are starting to interact more and more every day.


Thursday, January 28
The past few days had been a little draining...I spent all my free time this day catching up on the newest season of "The Bachelor."


Friday, January 29
Gabe rolled from his stomach to his back for the first time.

Saturday, January 30

Our big exciting outing was to shop at the new commissary. Much larger than the old one, though not knowing where everything is yet made for a chaotic and crabby trip. Still, Frank was thrilled to see that they carry a particular Hungry Man meal that the old store didn't have.

Sunday, January 31

One month down, 11 to go.

Project 365: Week 4

This week I was thankful to have some creative time and for it being a little less gloomy outside.

Monday, January 18
Ay! Here we go again... I think we just got to the point with Zach where he doesn't immediately bang on the keyboard when it's within reach.


Tuesday, January 19
This is the stack of Christmas cards and letters we received. I've had plans to do something creative with the cards each year (kept from the last 10 years in a box somewhere), and I decided to just do it.


Wednesday, January 20
The little bit of snow we'd gotten seemed like it stuck around forever. I'm relieved to see green again.


Thursday, January 21
I started making scrapbook pages out of the cards.


Friday, January 22
I was happy to have a sunny day and opened the curtains to take advantage of it. Our Sony cyber-shot takes panoramic photos, so I used it to capture the brightness of the living room. You can click on the photo to see it larger.


Saturday, January 23
The finished pages. I cut out the best part of each card...way better than keeping a whole stack of them. I'm also keeping the letters and a few of the musical and special cards.


Sunday, January 24
I got a chance to sit down with our family videos and start working on the next disc...I'm hoping to finish and send them out soon.

Project 365: Week 3

Monday, January 11
Documenting part of Zach's bedtime routine. He watches a couple of his favorite shows during "The Bedtime Hour," then they sing the goodnight song. You can listen to a version of it HERE.


Tuesday, January 12
Frank in his natural habitat :) He'll complete his masters program in about 6 weeks and will be happy to spend more time playing games and less time writing papers.


Wednesday, January 13
I decided that his wardrobe change called for a mini photo shoot. Gabriel is always really smiley when I'm changing him.


Thursday, January 14
Finding Zach in this position at the end of naptime had me cracking up...I had to run back downstairs to get the camera.


Friday, January 15
Gabe is always keeping an eye on what's going on.


Saturday, January 16
The boys in their carseats--Zach with his haircut and his Burger King toy, and Gabe happy to be back home.


Sunday, January 17
After seeing how it is made on an episode of Dirty Jobs, I convinced Frank that we should try tofu. Here it is marinating in soy sauce, before we added it to our stir-fry. Pretty good, but next time I'd like to be a bit more creative.

Goodnight Moon

This is Zachary's book of choice the last few days. He finds parts of it absolutely hysterical, and I just love all the giggles.

Project 365: Week 2

Last week we didn't do much, but sometimes that's just perfect. With highs below freezing and snow on the ground, I was more than happy to not leave the house.

Monday, January 4
More than I weighed a couple years ago, but less than I'll probably weigh in the future. You won't hear me complaining :)


Tuesday, January 5
Zach was in a good mood this afternoon, which allowed me not only the time to make a stew, but also some yummy herb bread in the breadmaker. It is unusual for me to have so much time to spend in the kitchen.


Wednesday, January 6
Zach's latest love. Unfortunately he pronounces "fish" starting with a "b" sound, and it's almost a curse word.


Thursday, January 7
Can you tell they are brothers? Gabe, then Zach, at about 12 weeks old.


Friday, January 8
I should not have been so surprised. I guess I should be glad it lasted as long as it did. When we put up the tree I knew that it was going to be risky, but Zach had left it alone for weeks. Neither Frank nor I were in the room at the time, but I think he must have been pulling on the bead strand. We quickly took everything apart and put all the ornaments in a box--we haven't really looked at exactly which ones broke (kind of disappointing), but I think it was only a few. Luckily there were a lot of ornaments we hadn't used this year.

Saturday, January 9

There had been snow on the ground for a week, and Saturday it looked like a lot more was coming down. But it only amounted to another inch or two.

Sunday, January 10

Books I want to read or re-read this year. Ideally it wouldn't take me a year to get through them, but you never know...