Hello Friends!

My best friend Anthony from back home came to visit us last weekend. It was great to have him up here for a few days of board games and a soak in the Chena Hot Springs. It made me miss a time when we used to hang out with people, throw dinner parties, and have game/Wii nights.

Four of my closest friends from High School have visited me since I moved to Alaska; I have awesome friends. It is not cheap to get up here as you may know (over $800 to get to Seattle), so it is by no means a small matter. Thanks guys.

Speaking of High School, we are going to see High School Musical produced by the Fairbanks Light Opera Theater (FLOT). I have a few students performing in the production, so either way it will be entertaining. I will be joining FLOT in March to play Cello in their production of Sweeny Todd. I hear the music is rather challenging, so I am looking forward to receiving the music and getting to work. It is a wonderful opportunity to get my name out there.



GABE WATCH:
Gabe is trying to copy everything that comes out of our mouth.
New words:

• Hat - Gabe (now that it gets WELL below freezing) allows us to place a hat on his head. He promptly puts both his hands on his head and exclaims "HAT."
• No - He has been saying no for a few weeks now but now he uses it to answer questions. The only problem is that he uses No for Yes as well. Luckily, my deductive reasoning ranks right up there with Sherlock Holmes (I kid), so I have very few issues understanding. "Gabe, do you want some juice?" Gabe then says "No," and sprints to the refrigerator. That No obviously meant Yes. "Gabe do you want to take another bite?" Gabe responds with "No," and shakes his head vigorously while pushing the spoon away and turning bright red. I usually assume this No means No.
• Two - When we start to count, Gabe chimes in with two. It is adorable. "Ready Gabe?" "One," "two," "Three!" He says it perfectly.

Gabe has also become very good at identifying animals. His favorites are dogs, fish, and kitties. Fish still hold the #1 spot with Kitties in a close second. Dogs are last because they are usually smart enough to stay away from incoming toddlers.

Trip to Anchorage and Beyond

Update: Nov. 14th (More Pictures)

They Grow Up So Fast...

Everyone says that, and now I see why. It's crazy to think that Gabe has only been with us for 14mos when I can't even remember what it was like B.G. (before Gabe). I imagine there was less Yo Gabba Gabba! and diapers.

However it is equally crazy that he has grown so big so fast; he is, indeed, a big boy now. He walks, runs, and climbs with the best of them. He is saying new words every day. Most recently he started saying "Pump-o" for pumpkin, "Taco," "No," and "Hah!" for hot. Each "Hah!" is accompanied by an emphatic pointing in the direction of the hot item. He has become a Parrot, which, at all the wrong times, is hilarious and adorable.

Gabe also enjoys...no DEMANDS to feed himself. There are all kinds of fits that are thrown when Mommy or Daddy try to feed him. This is becoming less of a problem since he is getting better at using eating utensils therefore more food is actually reaching his mouth and not just the front of his shirt. Although he still wears a disproportionate amount of his food.

On a Halloween note, Gabe was Darth Vader for Halloween. His move from the Light Side (he was Yoda last year) to the Dark has coincided with much more tantrum throwing; the costume proved appropriate. He loved having candy, although we were very good about how much we gave him (he only has had a few pieces).

Beth has jumped right in as a 1st grade teacher and is doing great. I am preparing for Graduate School Auditions in January, and staying busy teaching cello, band, orchestra, and trying to help our at-risk student population. On Sunday I taught cello for 6 straight hours then had to run to our Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra Concert! It was a long day.

Gabe isn't the only one growing up fast. It was weird to see how much Aaron has grown up since I moved from Washington. I taught him how to drive a stick...where did the time go. Here we are paddling for our lives together.

Update...Updates To Come.

A bit of a hiatus, but some real posts are on the way. Here is an album to hold you over until then. These were taken on Gabe's birthday, July 31st, 2009. Enjoy... (just click the picture to to look at all of the pics in the album).

Gabe's 1st Birthday