"You guys are so silly!"
"I'd rather do a serious pose."
"Ha ha ha!"
"Well, hello there."
"Getting late, Mom. Isn't it jammie time?"
First museum visit (Frasier History Museum) and using the stroller without the infant seat. We went to see the Da Vinci exhibit with Grandma and Grandpa Hardacre.
Sitting up and playing...
First Fourth of July!
First pool party at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
First time in floatie.
And first time wearing sunglasses. When in the sun, he seemed to understand their purpose!
First time he met my great-uncle Jim Hobbs, who's been like a grandfather to me since my dad's dad died when I was 2 yrs old.
Abram with his great great Uncle Jim and his second cousin, K eagan (11 months old).
Abrams first "haircut". Technically I just removed that little ear-lock so that he wouldn't be lopsided anymore. I like symmetry.
Abram's first use of a restaurant high chair and first lunch out with his friend, Lewis (5 months).
First taste of carrots! We'd been "practicing" with rice cereal and started oatmeal right before carrot. Solid foods, here we come!
Not the first picture in this walker, but this is something new he likes to do. Crane his head back to see what's going on in the rest of the room. Cute, although a bit frustrating when he should be nursing. I also just really like these jammies!
Our garden has gone crazy this year. We ended up pulling up every other row of beans because they were way too crowded.
We tried planting sugar snap peas this year. They are doing well and taste so good!
Gladiolus are one of my favorite flowers.
Curtis has done quite a bit of canning already.
Before
July 2010 - New landing and steps - thanks Chris!
August 2010 - Demo and the start of excavating....all by hand, through clay and a nice surprise of a layer of gravel!
November 2010 - a big hole ready for the 8 ton of gravel
The pile - thanks Dean for helping move this pile into the hole! I was also lucky enough to be able to borrow multiple tools from work, including a plate compactor, which saved me a ton on tool rental fees. Thanks Tom and the Bats! You can also see my dad's truck that I stole for a couple months - thanks dad!
November 2010 - first course down (Redi-Scapes wall block). Each block was about 40 pounds each. By the end of everything I'm guessing I moved a small freight train in combined weight.
November 2010 - as far as I could get before the first freeze and subsequent snow. Note the drawing pad on the wall. I was basically going off of a sketch of Rachel's - not a to scale technical drawing but I guess I figured things out!
January 2011 - this little guy arrives and I don't think about decking, walkways, walls, work, anything for a while.
April 2011 - steps and caps are finished. Will pay someone else to do something like this next time - I am no good at angles, rise, run, etc.
May 2011 - Rachel and Abram went home to visit family while I had a long weekend of work. First, edging went down, then sand, then the paving stones (Mega Arbel from Belgardwhich weigh about 53 pounds each). I was beyond tired by the end of it. Word to the wise - go with a simple pattern, it will save you a lot of time and headache!
May 2011 - end day 1. It would take another two days to get all the cut pieces in.
May 2011 - all pieces in. Nice sunburn, constant ringing in my ears from the concrete saw and ready to clean up.
AfterJuly 2011 - most recent picture. The grass is starting to grow back where I had to "re-slope" the yard and put in drainage tile. The first big rain we had after putting in the joint compound sand (and compacting again) deposited mud over a good portion of the walkway. The walkway was sloped correctly, but the yard wasn't.
Rachel writes:
...until we have enough money saved up to start on the front of the house! It's already been sketched!
Today is the first day of summer and it is also Abram's 5 month "birthday"! Amazing how it seems like he just arrived yesterday and yet it also feels like we've never been without him. We captured quite a few more smiles at this month's session with "Beary."
You would think with a grin like this that there would be a giggle to go along with it...but no, not yet. This is the reaction to Daddy tickling him! The outfit in this picture was given to him by Judy Barcus, a dear friend of mine who volunteered at the Cabbage Patch. She passed away earlier this spring before she could meet Abram.
This month he started using Aunt Kimberly's walker from when she was a baby. He likes to play with his toys on the tray and push himself backwards on the tile.
Curtis' first Father's Day!
This face cracks me up..."Where's the food?"
The dreaded "belly time" is becoming a bit more pleasant. He is still not so fond of it and therefore will only roll from belly to back. He will still get frustrated and just face plant into the ground and cry if he doesn't succeed in rolling over quickly.
The final group of pictures is mostly Abram, of course, with a few animals thrown in there too! Funny how the subject matter of our photographs has shifted quite suddenly :)
Abram is growing by leaps and bounds. He is so long he has to wear the 6-9 month sleepers at night and many of his onesies are that size too. The outfit in this picture has been outgrown! Doesn't he look so comfortable there on Mammaw Jill's lap?
This little chair is only tolerated for short periods of time before he arches his back and gets frustrated. This was the best he'd done so far...no listing to the side and he held on to the "saddle horn" in the middle, which of course helped prevent the listing.
This is one of the only smiles I've seen when he's on his belly. He HATES belly time! He sleeps on his side most of the time, so he'll roll to his side on his own, but he won't go all the way over. When I put him on his belly he buries his face on the ground and grunts and complains until I push him back over. Oh well. He'll get it eventually. I'm in no hurry:)
He loves to sit up or stand when he's held and has started pulling his head forward when he's in his bouncy seat to see things. He'll also crane his neck and look up and behind him now to see what's going on up/back there.
Hobo gets way closer to this child than I ever thought he would...but just wait. When Abram starts moving, I don't think we'll see much of Hobo for a while. But then again, maybe he'll surprise me!
Tyson doesn't mind getting close! We took this picture because Abram's wearing the "I love my Dog" onesie that I got to tell Curtis I was pregnant. I had that onesie hidden in a drawer for almost 2 years since it took us so long to get pregnant!
He can't get enough of his fingers and toes right now. He is starting to favor his left hand I'm afraid....if he ends up a leftie, Aunt Leslie's going to have to teach him how to write!
Mammaw Jill keeps trying to make his hair curl. I don't think it's going to happen...at least not til he hits puberty. But go on and keep trying! He looks like a Kewpie Doll! haha
I'll finish this 4 act May with this almost perfect picture of our cats, Hobo, Gypsy and Joan (left to right). They have been extremely happy that I've been filling the bird feeders again. Joan seems convinced that she will be able to get out there and catch one if she just stalks hard enough.
