Beginning the Second Trimester

Wow I cannot hardly believe I am in my second trimester. I am 15 1/2 weeks and loving it. Other than being tired, (but with two kids I hardly think that will change) I feel great. I have felt a few flutters and small kicks a couple of times and its the most wonderful feeling. Zachary cannot wait to be able to feel the baby move and Christopher only sort of understands enough to know there is a baby in mommy's belly. He looks under the bottom of my shirt actually looking for the baby. Steve and I find out what we are having in 2 weeks. Whats great about this pregnancy is that I have half a dozen friends that are also pregnant and we're all due around the same time.

A Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great time during Thanksgiving My parents and sister came over and we ate a very nice meal courtesy of the Hy-Vee Chefs and their ability to make a decent turkey. We all thumbed through the black Friday adds and mentally noted what we wanted. Then we had yummy pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting and pumpkin pie. We watched two really bad football games and played miniature pool. The best part of the night for Zachary was when his Papa spent time with him playing on the computer creating a roller coaster theme park. We had a great time just being together.

CoCo Keys

A few weeks ago, Christopher, Zach, and I went out for an evening of fun at CoCo Keys. They were running a special where if you arrived before 5pm then admission was free. Since we have never tried it before and daddy was out of town we went and had a blast. I only captured a few shots of Christopher because he was too busy splashing me with water and I did not want to ruin my camera. We met up with some friends from church and we barely saw them the whole night. He was too busy playing water basketball and going down the water slides. Needless to say that by the time we got home my boys had just enough energy to shower and crawl into bed.

An evening of fun at CoCo Keys

Christopher actually put his face in the water spouts

And loved every minute of it

Christopher's Birthday Party

Christopher turned two on November 9th and I can hardly believe he is that big. It seems like just yesterday that Steve and I were bringing him home from the hospital. We had a very small informal party for him with only immediate family and grandparents. He got a few toys and some clothes. His favorite toys were the grocery cart and Mickey mouse figurines. He likes to put his brother's hot wheels in the cart and push them around the entire house and he sleeps with Minnie mouse just about every night.

During his party he had the most fun playing with the balloons with grandma and grandpa, and eating his birthday cake. He was not quite sure what to think about the candle. By the end of the night he was very tuckered out and slept like a baby.

November 9th, 2009

I love my aquadoodle..thank you bubba

Hi Daddy!!

Oh my! The gift of all gifts..a grocery basket

My Great Grandma Darlene is helping me with Mickey, Minney, and "Gooky"

Christopher loved Mickey Mouse no doubt due to his addiction to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Happy Birthday my sweet boy

FIRE..hot

This is what a sugar rush looks like

Yummy..Yummy

This is the sugar rush wearing off

Halloween 2009

This was a great Halloween!! Zach dressed up as Michael Jackson and loved every minute of it. What struck me funny was that more parents of trick-or-treaters loved his costume than their kids. They were like Michael who? One house enjoyed his costume so much that she told him to "Beat It" after she gave him his candy. The amazing thing was he actually got the joke and laughed. Christopher on the other hand loved Halloween for all of about 20 minutes. He was a Dalmatian and was okay with the costume until we put the hood on. He does not like to have things on his head so he never left it on. He went to about five houses and was given a few pieces of candy. Once he discovered what was in the bag however, we had to pry the bag away from him. We had a great time and even with all the candy consumed, they both slept like babies.

Michael Jackson and his pet Dalmatian....

who did not like being a Dalmatian at first....

but he came around....

and he is done being a Dalmatian again..toddlers!!

Zachary's beautiful pumpkin he decorated at school

Last but not least...MJ and his successful "BAD" album

Grandparent's Day

At the beginning of October, Zachary invited my mother to Grandparent's day at his school. You would think that because he is in middle school there would be few grandparents, but the parking lot was so full that people were parking on side streets and had to walk at least a block and a half to get to the building. Zachary enjoyed breakfast with his "Nana" and gave her a tour of the building.

Special Olympics Bowling

Zachary participated in special Olympics bowling this year and had a blast. He earned a gold medal at the awards ceremony and proudly showed it to all. He also learned that actual bowling is very different from Wii bowling where in our house he holds the highest score...a perfect 300

My beautiful boy is turning into such a handsome young man

KINGPIN

And the gold medal goes to......

Zachary Abbott

Zach and his good friend Tony had such a good time

Story Time at the Library

I took Chris to the library for story time a few weeks ago and he loved it. He got to dance to everyone singing songs, play with musical instruments, and last but not least play with a large parachute...which was his favorite by far.

Christopher is listening intently as the librarian gives directions about the parachute

Here he goes!!

He is loving it.

A Day At The Zoo

A few weeks ago, Chris and I joined our friends Sarah and Addy for a trip to the Zoo. We had a great time looking at the birds, otters, sea lions, and kangaroos. We had a fantastic time and the weather was outstanding.

Addy and Chris are intently following the river otters

Addy was staking claim over the giant climbing log.

Addy and Chris are getting ready for the Sea Lion Show

Kansas City Air Show

While my husband's parents were visiting we also went to the airshow. It was hot..but awesome. Chris did a lot better than I thought he would with the noise. He was so tired by the end that he actually fell asleep through the loudest planes of all..the fighter jets. Zach faithfully wore his headphones and said "I'm brave". Marie Louise is Steve's niece who visited from Germany and she had a great time seeing the planes and joking around with Zachary. He loved having her here. He actually listened to her when she told him how to behave. Maybe I just need a teenager around more often...

Christopher slept somewhat peacefully during the fighter jet fly-bys

Daddy is helping to shade his baby boy

Marie Louise and Zach were having too much fun touring an old TWA aircraft

Zach was brave with all the noise and had a blast

Zach and Marie Louise with one of the air show pilots

Two Beautiful Sleeping Babies

Even when he can wear the same size shoe as me....he will ALWAYS be my baby

Even when he refuses his baby spoons for a real one...he will ALWAYS be my baby

A Day At The "K"...Royals vs Twins

My husband's parents came to visit during the third week of August and we had a blast. They all went to the new Kauffman Stadium and watched the Royals host the Twins. Even though they lost, it was a really good game and they all had a lot of fun.

Zach is trying to hard to be serious

The infamous hot dog derby...I wonder who won..I'm rootin for the pickle

The Royals

The Twins

"I'm Sorry I Pinched You Bubba"

Daddy put Chris in the corner for pinching Zachary..unprovoked

Daddy explains to Chris that it's not nice to pinch

Then tops it off with a great big hug..what a GREAT dad

Zachary Builds A Roller Coaster

Zachary is playing the roller coaster game...his favorite at the moment

Zachary would play this game for hours...if we let him

Adventures in Babysitting

Zachary had a great time helping me babysit my good friends little girls.. Rebeccah, Thalia, and Isabella (not pictured because she napped most the time. We played in the water, ate blueberry muffins, and watched a movie. Zachary had the most fun playing ball with Becca and pretending to be a puppy while they played house.

Sweet..Sweet..Becca

No more paparazzi mom..I am trying to eat my muffin

What a beautiful picture of our friend Thalia

Thalia, Becca, and Chris are having fun in the pool

Zach and Becca were playing with the ball in the sprinkler

Our Trip to St. Louis Visiting Friends

During our trip to St. Louis, we visited lots of friends we had not seen in nearly a year. I got to visit Julie and eat her amazing fruit cake. Her daughter (who used to babysit Zach) came over with her little girl Kiley. Kiley and Chris got along great. We stayed the night with my friend Lori and Zach was very excited to see his friends Matthew and Nathan. Her daughter Hannah and Chris played like they were the best of friends. Hannah would give Chris a hug every time he cried. They went swimming and played at the park for hours. Lastly, Zach got to see his other friend Eric. Those two combined love to play baseball more than any two kids I know. They pretend they are different MLB players and are experts on their stances. We had a great time and cannot wait until next summer to do it again.

Christopher loves cheeks and inched his way closer to Kiley in order to hug her.

Mallorie and her daughter Kiley...I cannot believe she used to babysit Zach

Chris and Kiley are putting are showing their artistic abilities

My beautiful baby boy was tuckered out from too much playing


Eric and Zach show they're baseball stances...they LOVE baseball


Zach and his good friend Eric

Hannah is giving Chris a big kiss...how cute!!!

Hannah is giving her friend Chris a hug

My baby is not a baby any more..he is growing into an amazing young man

Zach and his good friends Nathan and Matthew are having a great time

Matthew and Zach plan to see who can swing the highest

Christopher loves the stairs and had a great time playing on them.

Like Father Like Son

What more can I say..they are two peas in a pod

Hard At Work

Christopher is playing in one of Zach's old carseats and is determined to figure out the buckle

Hard at work!!

Another Great Trip to Deanna Rose

Gotta Love the turtles!!!

We took another trip to Deanna Rose and had a great time. This time we went with my cousins Darlena and Tammy, and their children. We enjoyed feeding the goats, riding horses, and just spending time together.

Kortney and Zach pose for us in front of the waterfall

Its official...Chris hates goats

Zach had a blast bottle feeding the baby goats... he kept begging me for more quarters

Zach enjoyed his time in the saddle

Chandler..aka..Bing..loved his time in the saddle also

Kortney is absolutely taken with Chris and vice versa

The "Fake" Nap Lesson

Zachary is teaching Chris how to take a "fake" nap in order to fool Mommy

Christopher blew their cover


They are offically caught!!

The Infamous "Black Hat"

Accessorizing is really TOUGH and....

really FUN and....

really CUTE!!

Pete and "Re" Pete

Zach is training Chris on how to do his chores for him...later

Daddy & Chris Ride the Carousel

Daddy wanted to take Chris for a ride on the Carousel, but Chris had other plans.

Sitting with Daddy is more his style

Zach's 5th Grade D.A.R.E Graduation

Zachary is a graduate of the D.A.R.E. Program. He worked hard and I am so proud of him.

Christopher's 1st Swim Class

During the latter part of June, Christopher enjoyed a two week swimming course introducing basic water concepts with some friends from his play group.

Kick..Kick..Kick

Christopher is learning how to extend his body in the water

June Playdate

Chris and I had so much fun hosting a water play-date at the end of June. Below are some of Christopher's friends that he loves to play with. Christopher and his friends have been around each other since they were a few weeks old. It so cute to watch them grow an play together.