Monday, June 23, 2008

Summer's Talent + Cute Boys = Great Pictures!




My friend Summer came over a few weeks ago and took some pictures of my boys. As you can see, she did a great job! Thank you Summer for your willingness to spend so much time with us that day and thank you also for the time you spent editing, etc. We appreciate it and we love the pictures!

Friday, June 20, 2008

Our Baker's Apprentice







Last weekend Aden got to help Daniel make bread. He had so much fun adding the ingredients (yes, some flour actually did make it's way to the mixing bowl) and he loved spending time with his Daddy.

Daddy's Helpers

The boys enjoyed helping Daddy investigate a leak behind the fridge. They were so curious.

This one's for Saylor . . .

From one toy liner-upper to another


A few days ago I turned to walked into the bathroom and this is what I encountered.
A welcome from Aden's Little People.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Carpinteria Camping Trip

I love these guys!
Our first morning there we bundled up and headed out for a walk to the beach.

We put socks on Jon Jon's hands to try to keep them warm but within minutes the socks were soaking wet (and cold) from him sucking on them.
Oh well, it was a nice thought, right?

Aden was enthralled by the ocean and its waves.
He kept saying, "I see a ocean Mommy?"
(Can we go see the ocean Mommy?)

Jonathan found all kinds of neat things on the beach (feathers, rocks, seaweed, and sand) all of which went straight into his mouth...lovely.

These two had SO much fun playing in the sand together. It was adorable!


Best Buds

How does that sand taste Jonathan?


Skipping rocks with Daddy





Aden's first experience with climbing a tree. He did pretty well! The train tracks that you see in the background and the trains that passed by on them every hour or so provided much entertainment for the children. Aden would stop whatever he was doing whenever he heard the train whistle and he'd shout, "Train a comin', train a comin!"

Our last day was absolutely beautiful...clear blue sky, lots of sun, and a nice ocean breeze.

On Monday we went camping in Carpinteria (just south of Santa Barbara) and we had a great time! For the first night we were joined by our friends the Drollingers and the Pages and the second night we enjoyed time together with just us four Moores. The first day and a half was cool and cloudy but we still managed to enjoy time at the beach. As you can see from the pictures, the boys loved playing in the sand and I enjoyed watching them and listening to their squeals of excitement. Seeing the ocean, listening to the waves and the seagulls, and breathing the sea air was very relaxing. Carpinteria proved to be a very nice place to camp and we hope to return soon.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Garden Goodness



As you can see our zucchini plant is doing very well! We get new zucchini daily. So far we've made grilled zucchini, steamed zucchini, and stuffed zucchini, and zucchini bread is in the plans. If you have any yummy recipes that call for zucchini, please pass them along.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

"Jonathan's Psycho!"

Jonathan can be a very loud baby. His screeches and screams are ear-piercing...whether they are happy screeches or angry screeches. Anyway, whenever he makes his lovely screech noise Aden (in a very animated way) says, "Jonathan's psycho!" Well, that's what it sounds like he's saying anyway. What he is actually trying to say (using his ever developing articulation skills) is "Jonathan's a tiger!" (You know, like he's roaring.) Aden pronounces tiger "tsygo" and it sounds a lot like "psycho." It's pretty funny because given the context in which Aden says it, "psycho" seems quite appropriate!

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Copper Repipe and Then Some

This past week and a half has been a bit crazy in the Moore household. We decided that our 50-year-old house was due for a new set of pipes. If you have no experience with repiping a house, believe me when I say that it thoroughly disrupts any sense of routine or normalcy that you (or your small children) usually find comforting. We had a trench dug up the entire length of our front yard, a corner of our driveway was jack-hammered to pieces, exterior walls were drilled through, interior walls were cut and/or smashed, entire contents of closets, cabinets, and drawers were emptied and temporarily relocated, water was turned off every day for almost a week, a team of men (anywhere from 3 to 7) were scattered throughout the house everyday for six days, and just when we thought the madness was over (ie. the plumber's truck pulled away) we turned around and realized that our job (of cleaning up after the whole ordeal) was just beginning. Fortunately my mom and her husband, Jesse, drove down here from Roseville to help us get things in order. The original plan was to have Jesse simply repair, texture, and paint the damaged portion of each wall. However, when the time came to do the texture it just seemed to make more sense to texture and paint the whole bathroom. Well, that led to the decision to put in a new sink/cabinet combo, which meant that new flooring would need to be laid too. Then of course, since everything else was new, why not replace the toilet while we were at it. So it goes with home repair and upgrading...one thing inevitably leads to another. Anyway, we are so thankful to have the copper repipe behind us. It is a home improvement that we have been wanting to do for quite some time. We are also thrilled to have two beautiful new bathrooms. I've posted a few pictures to show you the process. I'll post pictures of the master bath once we finish it. There's still a bit more work to be done in there.



The trench they dug for the new water main.

Aden loved watching the jack hammer and all morning said, "Mommy, I see a man?" (Mom, can I go watch the man?) Since I couldn't spend all day on the driveway with Aden I brought his high chair out to the driveway and strapped him in so he could safely watch the action. He had a blast!

One of three cut outs in the master bathroom. As you can see, they demolished the wood of the cabinet along with the wall =(

Another cut out in the master bathroom (with the new copper pipes in place.)

The cut out in the hall bathroom before Jesse's repair work.

The cut out in the hall bathroom after Jesse's repair work.

Pictures of the hall bathroom...

Before


During

After







Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Brothers?

I thought I'd post a couple of pictures for comparison's sake. It is amazing to me just how different these two sweet boys look! In fact, their personalities are quite different too! Of course, I think they're both absolutely adorable =)

Aden Thomas - 8 1/2 Months

Jonathan Asher - 8 1/2 months