The Haircut!

 

Well, I got my haircut a few weeks ago but never got around to taking pictures of it. My wonderful photographer has been busy or I didn't feel like getting my picture taken but tonight it worked out okay. Here are some pictures of it. So far.....most days I enjoy it. Some mornings I really miss just putting it in a ponytail. It will grow back soon enough though. For now I will enjoy something different!

Massage Time

These pictures show Micali giving Luke a massage after school the other day. She would climb up on his back, walk around a little and then jump up and land on his back (and sometimes the ground.) Good thing she is just a light weight.

 

 

 

 

School is underway....

 

I took this shot of Luke the other night while he was reading. School has been in session for two weeks now. So far so good! He is enjoying his schedule and trying to stay on top of things from the beginning. This is the start of his fifth year teaching but, the first year that his teaching schedule is the same. He is teaching freshman and sophomore English classes and one combined class of world history and English. Another cool part is that he gets to co-teach with his partner in crime 4 hours a day! Watch for insights from his classroom coming soon.

Bonding

 

We decided to brave a cool morning last week and enjoy the fresh air. Micali and Eli love any time they get to spend in the stroller. We were gone from the house for about 20 minutes and I didn't hear a single peep from either of them. When we got home they just had big smiles on their faces.

 

Micali misses her brother when he takes a nap. Today as soon as she woke up she was ready to go get Eli up too. Every morning after his first nap I put her in his bed with him and they watch the mobile go around until the song is over. Eli just lights up as soon as Micali peeks over his bumper pad.

 

A quick picture before bath time. Micali wanted to join in Eli's chubbiness photo shoot.

Chub Check---Yep Still Chubby!!

 

Eli is still healthy and growing bigger everyday. He loves eating pretty much anything that I put in his mouth. He decided bananas weren't all that bad, he loved watermelon and cantalope this week. He is rolling all over the place, he can get where he wants by rolling so he hasn't tried getting up on all fours to attempt crawling. We are working on getting him to sit up too.

Catching up!

 

 

Luke showing one fillet from his king salmon.

 

Eli has been upgraded to a real high chair now. He loves the new view and being out of Micali's reach. We have been experimenting with new foods. He enjoys peaches, carrots, and sweet potatoes. He doesn't really like applesauce, bananas or peas yet but we throw those in every once in awhile still. Coming up on the menu are green beans and squash. He absolutely LOVES taking a bath. He soaked everyone tonight with his kicking just seconds after getting in the bath. I really need to get a video of him in there he is just too funny.

Before and After---Micali's New 'Do

 

Micali and I went and got our haircut about two weeks ago. We both got quite a lot chopped off but the change is nice. She did a great job sitting in the chair all by herself. She liked looking in the mirror at herself and kept saying pretty. We had to bribe her with a sucker the last few snips but I think it turned out cute. She lost a lot of her curls but I think it will look better now that it is all mostly the same length as it grows out. Daddy has missed her curls but they will grow back soon!
I love the picture of her cleaning out the brownie batter bowl. She really didn't want anything to do with it until she watched me enjoy it. The picture of her and Eli is also a classic. She still asks daily to hold him even though he is gaining on her quickly. She is now weighing in at 24lbs and Eli close behind at 22. They really enjoy each other!

I am spoiled!

Well today was an exciting day for a lot of people to finally send their kids back to school after having them home all summer. Some look forward to this day with much anticipation. I on the other hand do not!! I am so spoiled to have my husband home with me and the kiddos for two full months out of the year. We had a lot of fun being together as a family this summer. It was the most relaxed summer we have had since getting married. No summer job, remodeling projects or newborn babies. Now I am trying to adjust to "real" life again. Figuring out how to take two kids to the grocery store, doctor's office or any other place for that matter has made this week interesting to say the least. I will figure it out sooner or later. My main point here is I miss Luke being at home with us. If any of you have ideas on how to become independently wealthy so he doesn't have to go back to school I would love to hear them! ;)

Chickens--Butchering Day.....

I purposely didn't autoplay this slideshow because it shows a lot of details in the butchering of the chickens. If you aren't into looking at that sort of thing you may not want to push play. Believe it or not, A LOT of people said "I want to see that" when they found out Luke was going to be a "Chicken Farmer." So here are pictures to prove that he can do it. (Thanks Leah for taking these) We honestly can't take too much credit for raising these chickens our friends were VERY generous in allowing us to buy chickens with them, and then raising them at their house. Luke did help clean the barn a few times but other then that we weren't too involved. We have eaten a few of these chickens and the meat is quite tasty!



The pictures of Eli were taken during this quite eventful day. He was a great baby and super patient while mommy was busy packaging the chicken. Oh--I forgot to mention that they were able to butcher all 48 chickens in a day. I somehow got the easiest and cleanest job of vacuum packaging the meat in its final stage of preparation. Lucky me!

Catching a King at Last!!

Luke has a great friend, Ryan, who took him out on the Kenai River twice this week to give him a chance to catch a King Salmon. He finally caught one lastnight and here are pictures to prove it!