DJ Abe Hits Manahattan

It's taken me forever to post pictures from our trip to New York, but here are some. Abel was awesome. He behaved on the plane, dealt well with delays, and was able to motor around the city while we tried to squeeze in as much as we could in 2 days. We met my parents out there and were able to visit with them, see some friends, and show Abel New York for the first time. He took it all in...he's really a great people-watcher. Ryan snapped this picture the day after we returned. Abel was clearly inspired by his weekend in NYC!

Sleeping Everywhere!

Remember how Abel slept through his first two swim lessons? Well, he definitely has an issue with being over-stimulated and choosing to just fall asleep! He slept everywhere in NY. In the cab, the train, the park, Times Square...and many more places! I just started snapping photos so there would be proof one day! The two I posted are him in Times Square and him on the subway. Too cute!

Central Park!

Central Park is by far my favorite place in New York. I spent many many hours there walking, running, and just having quiet time in between different gigs while we lived there. It was a BLAST taking Abel there. We spent a large majority of the day on Saturday walking from about 86th Street down to 59th. We saw all the sites....but the new thing for us was the playground. We didn't spend much time on any of the playgrounds while we lived there, but boy did Abel love playing! He swung and slid all by himself! Good times!

Abel's First New York Pretzel

For whatever reason, I always loved the big thick pretzels the vendors sell on the streets of New York. They're not even that good, but I ate them anyway! I kind of forgot about them until we walked past a vendor and I decided Abel and I were hungry! Here we all are enjoying the pretzel!

Happy Birthday Abel!!!

It's been a whole year...and a VERY fast one at that. Not a day goes by that I'm not so excited to have Abel as a part of our family. He's completely awesome. At this point in his experience, he's eating pretty much anything we put in front of him (although I think he might have gotten a little stressed at all the chocolate icing on his hands!), almost standing totally on his own, and walks with help from us. He motors ALL OVER the place on all fours...and he's very independent. He's all boy....he loves cars, trucks, motorcycles, lawnmowers, balls, and building things. He loves music. He dances whenever he hears music. "Hey There Delilah" by The Plain White T's immediately calms him down in the car, and if you're ever up for some serious jammin', he really rocks to "Stronger" by Kanye West. He'll sit and read with you for a very long time. His favorite author is definitely Eric Carle. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, and From Head to Toe are the favorites. He'll sit and do puzzles for many minutes at a time, and he's the absolute best to cuddle with at the end of a very long day. So happy birthday Abel Bates! Cheers to an incredible second year of life!

Weekend Fun!

My parents came up this past weekend for a visit. We had a blast. We spent Saturday morning at the Farmer's Market where Abel preferred walking over anything else. Saturday afternoon, the four of us went to the Badger football game while Bonnie came over to spend time with Abel. Sunday, we went to a pumpkin farm about 30 minutes away. They had EVERYTHING there! There was a corn maze, turkeys, pigs, goats, horses, a tractor tire playground, a hayride out to the pumpkin patch, and all kinds of fall goodies. The weather was beautiful and it was a wonderful day. Abel LOVED all the parts of it, but seemed pretty amazed at just about everything at the farm! Enjoy the pics....and Halloween pictures are below!

More Weekend Fun!

Sliding with Dad!

The pumpkin farm had a huge slide in one of the barns. Ryan took Abel down it and I have to say, it was quite cute!

Happy Halloween!

Abel was a dog for Halloween. He used his dog costume as his coat all day long with Babysitter Bonnie and he was incredibly cute with the neighbors' new baby, playing in the leaves, and crawling around the yard. He would crawl to the door to say hello to the trick-or-treaters. Next year, we'll actually go trick or treating!

Standing

We are getting thisclose to Abel standing on his own. He really prefers to crawl because it's much easier to move that way, but if we put things in his hands, he'll stand without any problem! While we were at the Terrace with Kerri and the kids, Abel had lots of practice on crawling up the steps and standing!

Hanging with my Cousins

Abel worked very hard to be JUST LIKE Hannah and Henry!

Playing with My Cousins!

Abel loves his cousins. He loves other kids. He laughs and smiles and giggles whenever other kids are around. I think he's starting to recognize Hannah, Henry, and Harper. So, when they came for a quick overnight visit last weekend, they had lots of fun playing on the big chair at the terrace!

More Pictures from the Weekend

Ok, so we've gotten more than one comment on the fact it's been awhile since we posted last.... so here are several updates. We've gotten into a nice routine with the school year and Abel continues to be just awesome!!! I ran out of room on the previous post for pictures. So make sure you read about our weekend in Indy below. :)

Butler Weekend!

We drove back to Indy this past weekend for Butler's Homecoming. It was our ten year reunion (can you believe that!?) and it was a lot of fun. Abel was able to visit with my parents and my brother and his girlfriend. Also, we had a really nice visit with our friends Brad and Elizabeth and their new baby Drew. So here we are, Uncle Kevin, babies and Butler gear...good times!

Playdate!

I have two friends that I work with in Janesville who have two daughters right around Abel's age. He's right in the middle age-wise....and in these pictures! So, here's Abel, legs crossed, sandwiched between the lovely ladies!

A Visit from Lucy!

My cousin, Christiane, was in town for her sister-in-law's baby shower. So, we got a special overnight visit from her and her daughter Lucy! Lucy is growing very fast. It was a lot of fun to watch them play together. Abel likes to reach out, take things, share things...he's kind of all over the place! Lucy liked to just watch him motor around. They make a great pair!

I'm Looking For...

Abel has become very independent. He can play for quite awhile by himself and even finds his own toys! Of course, like most kids all he really wants to do is pull everything out and then needs another project. This particular moment was just too funny to not capture on film!

The First Signs of Fall...

Last weekend, we went apple and raspberry picking with our friends Courtney and Matt. The bees and mosquitos were horrible, so we kind of scurried in and scurried out, but Abel loved picking. He got a couple of things in his mouth while I was reaching for raspberries (I'm not sure what they were, but he seems to be fine now!) and he liked playing with the apples more than actually picking! The leaves are starting to change and fall really is coming...this was a great way to start the season!

Kisses!

Abel loves to give kisses...and it's the best! When either one of us gets home from work, he immediately crawls over, wants up, and gives us a big kiss. It's the best feeling! He even loves to kiss his image...and Ryan caught that on film!