Gilles Family Adventures

Irish Adventures

2011-06-20T19:33:00.003-05:00

At the end of May (yes I know, nearly a month ago now) Jesse and I took our longest vacation (kid-free) in over 6 years, a lovely little jaunt across the Atlantic to Ireland.

Accompanying us were Kate and Huck, Carl and Katherin, and Justin who has been stationed there since March. In our 9 days, we saw beautiful scenery, ate delicious food, and had a rollicking good time with some of our best friends... in short, it was an amazing trip. I highly recommend Ireland as a trip destination if you haven't been there...

and if you have, then you know what I'm talking about!

Here's the link to Jesse's Picasa album of our adventures.

Claire's Spring Dance Recital

2011-04-13T09:46:00.007-05:00

Claire has been really into dancing since we started her in fun classes with Ms Jennifer last fall. Last week she had her second-ever recital which was hilarious and adorable to watch. Here's a few cute shots (we're experiencing technical difficulties with uploading the video), which were hard to catch with 20 little girls on the stage all waving to their mamas! Luckily Claire wanted to stand right smack dab in the middle of the stage so she's easy to find in a sea of pink tights and leotards!

Here are the links to the video & photos from the recital day. Gabe was sitting right next to Jesse while he was doing the videography, so you can hear him singing along with the music and offering commentary.

Mini Chefs

2011-03-22T22:05:00.002-05:00

The kids are really into cooking right now (I wonder where they get that from?!?).
They love their play kitchen and Melissa & Doug foodstuffs, but they are starting to take it up a notch -- Gabe has been browsing recipes on the PBS kids website to cook at Grandma's house, and Claire gets out her special kid-knife from pampered chef anytime I'm making dinner because she wants to cut cheese or onions or fruit.
The other day they saw a cartoon snippet where they were making fruit salad, and Gabe asked if we could do that for snack. So he and Claire made a list of the fruits in the recipe, and we did the shopping together, and then after i washed the fruit they did all the prep (other than me cutting the cores out of the apple and pear.) They were so proud of themselves! And it was delicious too - they even shared with me (a little).

Claire's First Snowman

2011-02-23T11:27:00.003-06:00

Claire typically has to be coaxed into doing anything outdoors when it's wintertime. For some reason snow and Claire do not mix. However, it was too beautiful out today to stay inside, so I talked her into her snowpants and we went out to enjoy the 16 inches of new snow. Because it's sunny we were able to build a snowman - her first one without the help of Gabe. We had a minor catastophe during the building when she leaned onto it and the head fell off. She started to cry and said "I was hugging him betauz just love him so much!" Once we fixed the damage and got the adornments on she was all smiles again. Here she is, giving a gentle hug to the snowman while she munches on a carrot (she wanted one because the snowman got to have one.) Then when we came in for lunch, she said "I hope it starts to dance when it's dark outside" (like in the story "The Snowman" by Raymond Briggs)

The Monkey Turns 5!

2011-02-22T14:44:00.006-06:00

Gabe is very proud to be celebrating his fifth (!!) birthday today, and we've done a bunch of fun things to commemorate the milestone. For some reason 5 seems like a bigger deal than being 4 - even though four was a great year for him with lots of wonderful changes, like learning to ride a bike, starting school, and being able to write his letters and numbers. We had a chinese-dragon-themed party with our friends on Sunday, where 55 cupcakes became a long "dragon" down the center of our table.

After the party, we had these left, which became snack for his preschool class today and a few more to enjoy with Nani and Baaa tonight at dinner. He was so excited for his turn to bring in snack at preschool because that means he also gets to be the "leader" in line to go outside for recess, his favorite part of the school day.

This morning we all woke up a bit early to have birthday banana pancakes and for him to open his gifts from us. Don't you wish you woke up this sunny every day? Even Claire was in a good mood, (which is a real rarity in the morning!)

Gabe was really pumped to get a Lego Combine, which we spent more than two hours building this morning. Boy, is it cool. And big! Money well spent. Once it was constructed he put it right to work harvesting the yellow square lego "bales" all through the living room and loading them into the little red Lego tractor he already has. Even more fun is in store when Nani and Baa come to bestow their birthday blessings on him tonight, and later this week we'll celebrate with the Heckers and Gilles's.

I can't wait to see how he continues to evolve as an intelligent, fun, lovable 5-year-old. The last 5 years has been amazing and I know he will continue to blow us away with his magical, infectious personality through the next five.
Gabe, when you someday are able to read this blog (maybe even as early as later this year, the way your computer and language skills are progressing!), I hope you know how much I love you. To the moon and back...

PS - After dinner with Nani and Baaa last night he got to open his gifts from them, including a new scooter "just like Ben's (Enwald)". This pic was too priceless to keep to myself.

Gabe's Self Portrait

2010-10-28T09:00:00.003-05:00

I painted our mudroom door with chalkboard paint, which apparently is a big hit. Gabe took the opportunity to draw a life-size self portrait, which of course makes the artist in me very proud.

Back in the Studio

2010-10-24T22:07:00.003-05:00

Ann's studio, that is... We got our annual pictures taken a week or so ago, this time with Kate and T-bear in tow, but no daddies. The kids were quite squirrely, but luckily Ann is a quick shot and she got some really fun images of the three of them. Check it out if you want to see:
http://gabeclairetrey.photoherald.com/index.php/view_event.php

School and other stuff

2010-09-23T10:03:00.003-05:00

Gabe took another step toward big-kid-dom with the start of preschool Sept 1. He is adjusting well and seems to really love it. Here's a shot of him on the first day -- doesn't he look old?!?!

Since Gabe gets to do something new and fun, I thought Claire should have something special to look forward to as well, so we signed her up for her first dance class. She loves to put on her special "dancy skirt" and twirl around with her friends Sylvia and Phoenix who are also in her class. In this picture she is showing me "passe" while eating a breadstick.

Trey's birthday!

2010-09-15T08:33:00.002-05:00

Little Mister T-Bear turned One this week! The Traynors and Heckers (plus a few other special peeps) got together at Kate and Huck's new house to celebrate the big milestone on Sunday.

I had the honor of making his first cake, which I made as a banana-flavored monkey cake for the littlest monkey in the crew. He got lots of new clothes and a big fun truck that the other kids all wanted to take away from him. I don't think Gabe and Claire or Morgan and Sydney think Trey is big enough to be playing with toys that they themselves like!

It was a lot of fun, even when Trey took a nap in the middle of the party to recharge. You can view more here.

Busier than Bees

2010-08-17T21:02:00.003-05:00

Boy, has the last month flown by. We've been up to all sorts of stuff, which is best described by the photos Jilly has posted of our adventures:

* July brought us on a road trip (no kids) with Ian and Monika to Toronto and Niagara Falls, Canada. More fun than one would think possible in just 4 short days. Photos Here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jesse.gilles/TorontoNiagara2010

* Then two weekends later Erin and Adam were home for a couples' shower, 'Sconnie-style. (Think lots of relatives at an outdoor picnic with yard games, followed by the first 4-wheeler ride for the boy from Cali! (In this photo I think Hucky is giving Adam tips on living with a Traynor...) http://picasaweb.google.com/jesse.gilles/AdamAndErinShower#

* Two weeks after that was the big event of the summer, our trip to Colorado for Erin & Adam's beautiful mountaintop wedding. It was sooo gorgeous and so much fun to be part of! They are truly blessed to be loved by so many amazing people. I already can't wait till their next major life milestone to hang out with all their loved ones again. Our batch of the photos are here, with lots more found elsewhere (like on my facebook page): http://picasaweb.google.com/jesse.gilles/AdamAndErinWedding#

* And just last weekend we had some fun at the County Fair: http://picasaweb.google.com/jesse.gilles/PierceCountyFair2010#

Luckily, we plan to spend the remainder of the summer enjoying some much-needed R&R within our own backyard (or the near vicinity at least!)

Wedding Wardrobe Preview

2010-05-28T14:49:00.002-05:00

Gabe's tux and Claire's sash came in the mail today for their upcoming roles as flowergirl and ringbearer in Erin's wedding in August. I couldn't resist trying them on to see if everything fit, and then of course posting a picture of their adorableness. I think it is cool (and also a little weird) that this is Gabe's third tux in his 4 years of life.Trey will be sporting Gabe's first tux as the second ringbearer. Watch out, Nini! Your little people might steal the show come wedding day!

Ducky Tub Revival

2010-05-28T14:41:00.002-05:00

The ducky tub is making its third go-round as the tub of choice for 6 to 12 month old Traynor cousins. Did you know you can fit 2 kids in it as long as they are not actually in the bathtub with water?

Two-Wheelin'

2010-05-23T22:19:00.002-05:00

Another milestone -- Gabe can ride a bike with no training wheels! I was making dinner, and when I came out to check on them, he was tooling around the garage doing big loops without falling down (or slowing down hardly!) When I asked him how he figured it out, he said "I just thought about it and then I did it." However it happened, we couldn't be prouder of his big accomplishment. Check it out:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jesse.gilles/GabeRidesABikeNoTrainingWheels

Mudcakes (aka Waffles)

2010-05-01T11:17:00.004-05:00

A rainy day doesn't keep our spirits down. Gabe and Claire (who was decked out in her cupcake dress in honor of her birthday) pulled on their rain boots and went outside to enjoy the weather. While I was watching, they were running in and out of the garage to get dripped on. When I went inside to make dinner, they started making mudcakes. Yes, in the cupcake princess dress. When I went back to check on them, Claire was a muddy mess. Oops. She offered me one of her creations and said "Here Mama - it's waffles."

Princess Cupcake Turns 2!

2010-04-25T20:35:00.004-05:00

This morning we celebrated Claire's second birthday in the royal treatment fitting of a Princess Cupcake. Most of the family was on hand to shower Claire with love, presents and cake. The Dora-themed decorations and strawberry-themed food were perfectly complimented by a wide range of gifts relating to Dora, princesses, and other things suitably girly. Check out the festivities on both Jesse's and Katherin's picasa web albums.

Gotta love our sweet Clairey Berry! Can't believe our baby is now 2, though it is so fun to have two "little big kids" that I don't miss their babyhood much. Plus I can get my baby fix through snuggles with Trey and Ruby. :)

Here Comes Peter Cottontail(s)

2010-04-04T21:20:00.003-05:00

...And even more Easter silliness on the Picasa Web Album (click to view)

Luck O' the Irish

2010-03-17T08:14:00.004-05:00

Happy St Patrick's Day from the Gilles Wee Ones!

We got an early start to celebrating our Irishness at dinner last night with Nani & Baa before they head to Milwaukee today to celebrate the next step in the Hecker's future (Kate's residency match is announced tomorrow.) I made potato & leek soup and homemade Soda Bread, with the adults enjoying a Guinness or Smithwicks and the kiddos some frosted shamrock sugar cookies. Glad that we had leftovers to enjoy again today!

The kids still fit in the shirts we got them last year, though they were a bit big last year and a bit small this year. Look how much they've changed since then!

What's for Dinner: something DELICIOUS!

2010-03-10T21:13:00.002-06:00

Good Catholics and Global Citizens that we are, Team Gilles has given up meat (in varying increments - Jesse for dinner only; me for the duration) of Lent. This has challenged us to branch out our menu options a bit and look for some new dishes to add to my cooking repertoire. This one that I made tonight was sooo good I just had to share it, great for veggies and meat-eaters alike. Try it and let me know what you think!

Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad
recipe courtesy Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

2 1/2 c cooked quinoa or other small-kernel grain (or 1 c raw)
1 lg or 2 med (about 1#) sweet potatoes
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, & diced
1/4 c minced red onion or shallot
1 avocado, peeled & diced
1/4 c cilantro
1/4 t cayenne, chili powder, or hot pepper flakes
1/4 c EVOO
1 lime

If your quinoa isn't already cooked, cook it. Drain and rinse. Peel the sweet potato and dice into 1/2 inch or smaller pieces. Cook in boiling salted water to cover until tender, about 15 minutes; drain well.

Toss together the potato, quinoa, bell pepper, avocado, cilantro, and onion; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the cayenne/chili powder and toss with the EVOO. Squeeze lime over salad and toss again to coat well. Serve at room temperature. Serves 4-6, depending on how hungry your eaters are and what sides you eat it with.

We completed the meal with a side of pepper-jack and whole-wheat quesadillas, but it would be equally delicious next to grilled chicken or completely on its own.

Bon Appetit!

The firefighter/Mario fiend turns FOUR!

2010-02-23T14:09:00.003-06:00

This weekend we celebrated Gabe's 4th birthday in a big way. Big as in two parties, 4 cakes, over 20 kids and their parents at Party 1 and 13 loving family members at Party 2. Sledding. New Bikes. And did I mention the cakes were all made from scratch? Yeah. I'm crazy. I make no claims to the contrary. But with a kid this cool, how could I not?
The little firefighters and their folks enjoyed 45 carrot (cup)cakes with brown sugar-cream cheese frosting and orange raw sugar, recipe ala the Whimsical Bakehouse.

And later, for the Super-Mario-themed family party, we had a yellow cake, covered in yellow chocolate ganache, flanked by gluten-and-dairy-free cupcakes that should have been decorated to be mushrooms had we enough time to add the mushroom spots. Oops. Jesse and I collaborated on this one - Jesse finding Mario and Luigi clip art that he printed and we embedded in the cakes. The cakes and ice cream gave Super-Gabe super-energy to tear through his great new gifts.

Thanks to everyone who was able to attend Gabe's big day and make him feel so loved. He is one lucky guy! To view more of the day's fun, view this Picasa Album.

Long December

2010-01-18T08:17:00.005-06:00

The lag in blogging during the month of December happened for many reasons. Mostly, I blame it on the baby -- baby Trey that is! Kate and Trey (and sometimes Huck) lived with us from Thanksgiving through New Year's while Kate did a guest rotation at the U of M, and our days were just too fun-filled (and the nights too short) to get any blogging done. However, I did take a lot of pictures of how much fun the kids had with their cousin - who knew that a 3-month-old could contribute so much to our daily activities? You can view the fun in this picasa web album.

Also during December we were fortunate to be visited by many of our nearest and dearest - family and friends by the dozen were in the area and stopped by to visit for a few hours to a few days. I have a feeling we'll be doing a lot of driving this spring to reciprocate. Thanks to the out-of-towners (the Enwalds, Rozas's, Atkinsons, Richie, Genzs, Traynor-Herrons, and of course, the Heckers), for braving the drive to see us and for making our Christmas season so Merry and Bright. Also thanks to Nani and Baa and Grandpa and Grandma Gilles for spoiling us with gifts and great eating -- We love you!! Here's some images of the fun we had, including the Christmas Festivities and a few glimpses of the New Year's debauchery. (The picture at the right was taken during a peaceful moment Christmas Eve, before the gift-unwrapping frenzy. Can you believe they could both sit still and look that angelic simultaneously? It was a Christmas miracle.)

Birthday Milestone

2009-11-30T22:04:00.003-06:00

The marking of the beginning of a new era, my 30's, began today. I had many well-wishes via cards, phone calls, facebook, and even one wacky e-card.

The highlight of my day was the successful completion of my dream birthday cake: a homemade chocolate concoction with cookies and cream filling and a chocolate ganache icing, dotted with white chocolate. Indulgent is the word, and I am enjoying a second piece as I blog about it, it's so good. It's my birthday and I'll eat what I want to. :) Thank you to all who thought of me and made me feel so special - you rock my world!

Denver Shirt Day

2009-11-21T11:34:00.000-06:00

Auntie Nini, I think Claire needs a new Denver shirt!

After seeing Claire in her shrinking Denver shirt, Gabe decided that he should put his on, too. Amazingly enough, the actually posed together for me (Claire now says "Tsss" (cheese) whenever you get the camera out.)

Then Gabe demonstrated what it looks like when you go down the "waterslide" backwards (our new game to play after our recent Dells outing)...

In Search of Sanity

2009-11-21T11:17:00.003-06:00

This morning, in a moment of weakness, I gave the kids one of their Christmas presents early, hoping to buy myself some sanity. I had a fun outing planned, but Gabe's refusal to get dressed thwarted that, so in desperation I gave them this coloring castle I had ordered a few weeks ago. (I knew I shouldn't have gotten a jump start on Christmas shopping , especially for the two people I spend the most time with and that I love the most.) Hope I can make it the remaining 30+ days till Christmas without pre-gifting the rest of their gifts! But I will say, they had a great time with the castle, and actually quieted down and played together instead of the wrestling they were doing pre-castle. And the best part is, putting it together took awhile too, so now we've got less than an hour to go till naptime...

Fall Fun

2009-11-02T09:22:00.003-06:00

On the few days lately when it hasn't been raining, we've been enjoying all the fun that comes along with Fall -- leaf jumping, pumpkin carving, and of course, trick or treating. Here are few of my favorite moments.

Gabe's idea of shoveling leaves:

After all the hard work dozing the leaves, you gotta get in a celebratory jump, right? If you look closely, you can see it's an action shot -
just before he hit the leaf pile:

And the highlight of the weekend, dressing
up as Thing 1 and Thing 2,
which pretty much sums up how the two of them act all the time. Yes, the costumes were homemade; and yes, I'm ridiculously proud of how they turned out. And they wore the wigs almost all night!

It's Apple Time!

2009-09-22T17:23:00.002-05:00

Our apple trees are in full force right now, so we are enjoying our "Apple a day..." times about ten. Last weekend was Apple Overload - a couple of batches of friends came and picked from our orchard, I made a double batch of applesauce, we learned how to make homemade apple cider from our apples with friends who had access to a press, and we finished off a lovely Sunday Gilles Family Dinner with a delicious apple crisp. Yum. It was so good I might make it again this weekend...

Claire is really glad to have molars so she can enjoy all the goodness this year, straight from the tree.

2009-09-22T17:15:00.004-05:00

Whenever we visit the Enwalds, it is a large amount of fun balanced with a large amount of chaos - namely because we parents are outnumbered 2:1. Over Labor Day weekend we were able to have a sleepover at their house, which was a blast. I'm not sure which I enjoyed more, Sarah's homemade chocolate cake and homemade mint ice cream, or the time we spent hanging out after we successfully got 6 kids to go to bed. Here's the best shot (out of the 5 we took) of the 6 kids together. Isn't it sweet how the big kids like to try to contain the little kids?

New Addition, Number 2

2009-09-15T21:40:00.006-05:00

There is a new baby in the family! Kate and Huck have joined the ranks of new parents with the addition of Trey Michael Hecker, born Sunday, Sept 13 at 6:57 am. Jesse and I left the kids with Grandma and Grandpa Gilles so we could come down once she was in the hospital in labor. I was there in time to witness his arrival, which was amazing to experience (especially being not on the painful end of the delivery!) He is 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 22 inches long, with extremely large hands and feet and a TON of black hair. As you can probably tell, I am quite enamored with him. :) Isn't he a cutie?!?
Proud uncle Jesse welcomed Huck to the Daddy club, and Baa shared his favorite baby-holding position (naptime) with Trey too.

New Additions

2009-09-15T21:33:00.003-05:00

My mom and dad just added a pair of Sheltie puppies to the family. Welcome Sadie and Tucker! They are very cute and mostly good, despite my nickname for them - the "naughty twins". Gabe and Claire can't get enough of them - and they are small enough to be perfect playmates for young children. So glad that they live with Nani and Baa so that we can play with them often - but we don't have to potty train or teach them not to bark so much. :)

Getting Ready for Baby

2009-08-20T20:13:00.003-05:00

When Erin and Kate were home for our party we decided to start showering "Bubbles" (Kate & Aaron's nickname for the baby) with baby gear, so we got his & hers diaper bags for Kate and Huck, complete with the prerequisite fillers like diapers, wipes, nuks, and the like. Kate's favorite part was the "I Heart Mommy" bib that she had registered for just the day before. As you can see from the picture, it already fits! :)

Bye Bye Jackson

2009-07-17T15:26:00.004-05:00

My family's (arguably) most beloved dog, Jackson, died suddenly on Wednesday. He happened to be at my house, and spent a lovely morning outside playing with our two willing playmates and chewing a bone while they played in the sandbox. Then one minute he was sneaking the dropped mac n cheese noodles from under their picnic table as we lunched, and the next minute, he fell over in what looked like a seizure or stroke to me. After about 20 minutes (and much internal panicking on my part), he got back up and seemed fatigued, but fine. Later that afternoon Mom decided she should come get him and watch him overnight, and while she was on her way, he dropped over and had another seizure-like thing, after which he never really regained cognition. He wasn't unconscious, but was unresponsive, to be sure. Mom and Dad took him to a vet who felt a tumor in his belly and heard his lungs full of fluid - and while they were waiting for x-rays to develop, he died on the doctor's table, presumably that the tumor had burst. Quite a shock for all of us, since he never once (even up to the last few hours) had seemed anything other than healthy and happy. As my Uncle Bob put it, Jack woke up every day thinking "Wow! Today is going to be the best day ever!" - and his absence will be acutely noted in our family for quite awhile. I'm not sure if there was ever a more beloved Golden. He was so calm, so fun and easygoing, so gentle - Claire would often pull herself to stand while holding his coat, and Gabe always wanted him to sleep in his room whenever Jack was here overnight. He was the epitome of what you want in a family dog, and we will likely look a long time before we are able to fill his shoes with some new paws.

This was the first time we had to explain death to Gabe - when we put our dog Paddington to sleep a few months ago, we just told him that P's wouldn't be living with us anymore because he bit Daddy. That situation was more complicated, since he wasn't outwardly sick, and we weren't sure where to start and stop with making sense of it for a 3-year-old. This time, though, Jack got sick right in front of his eyes, and as any of you parents know, not much escapes their eyes. He took the news surprisingly well, and was better at comforting me as I tried to comfort him. We read a book together called "I Remember" by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos, which I highly recommend if you need to explain death of a pet and the circle of life to a small child. He gave me a big hug, wiped my eyes, and said, Here Mom, let's sit down and watch Wall-E. That will make you feel better (which is what we often do if he gets hurt, to help take his mind off the pain.) I'm so proud of my compassionate little man.

A pair of jokers

2009-07-17T15:15:00.004-05:00

Yet more monkey-see, monkey do... this time, Gabe was copying Claire. Lately I've been into putting pigtails in Claire's hair, and while they are in, they are adorable. Unfortunately, she enjoys pulling them out, but that's a different story. Gabe asked for them last Saturday, too.

Later on, one of them put on some sunglasses, and the other was quick to copy. Here the were hamming it up for the camera (and each other.) It's getting to be really fun to have two - not all of the time! - but more often than not, it rocks.

Cabin Fun

2009-07-17T15:02:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago we went to the cabin with Mom and Dad when the Heckers were home. Gabe really got into fishing - first he scoped out Hecker's mongo catch o' the day -- at 33", it was nearly as tall as he was!

Then he was helping Huck to reel in a fish that ended up being a big bass! Pretty sweet.

We had a great time that went by (as usual) all too fast.

I heart gDiapers

2009-07-13T16:31:00.002-05:00

Several of you fellow mamas out there have heard me rave about gDiapers. Besides the obvious benefit of them being eco-friendly, I also love how breathable they are so Claire almost never gets diaper rash (or ouchy-butt, as Gabe so often referred to it.) If you are interested in experiencing gDiaper love, there's never been a better time to try it out. You see, they are offering a promotion on what they call "everyday g's", which are 6 pairs of little gpants (the outer cover + liner) for only $40 (instead of the bundled price of $70). All you need to add is one $15 case of gRefills, (or one $30 pack of cloth inserts) and you are set to go. Buying 6 pairs separately would cost you $102. If you are interested, follow this link and use my promo code g1524Gilles when you check out. Voila! $40 not $70! It's also very cool that they just added cloth inserts to their list of products, in addition to the cool biodegradable, flushable ones.

If $40 is out of your 'experiment' budget, then you can also try them out with a gdiapers starter kit, retailing for about $27 bucks. This only comes with 2 pants, not 6, but also comes with 10 gRefills to try it out for a few days. (Sorry, no magic promo code here - though you can also get them on diapers.com which offers $10 off your first order.)

With a baby Claire's size, we go through about 6 gRefills a day, and we own 5 pairs of little gPants. It's been working out really well, and they are so darn cute to boot! For more info, you can email me or visit their website.

Viva Las Vegas

2009-07-08T08:12:00.002-05:00

Our first non-kids adventure in 4 years began on Sunday as we departed for Las Vegas with the Atkinson's. In the 10 years we've known them, many zany adventures have happened with Ian and Monika, such as a road trip to Disney World as college kids where we deliberately detoured in Georgia in search of the World's Largest Peanut. This trip did not disappoint - plenty of fun and adventures were had. We did it all: stayed at the Bellagio with fountain-view rooms (scored with the slip of a $20); won (and lost) a bit of money gambling in many of the major casinos along the strip; clowned our way through Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum after a round of tequila shots ($38 for 4!); spent an evening at a Dueling Piano Bar; saw Penn & Teller's amazing magic show; drank like we were still college students; and stayed out till 2am (yes, that's 4am CST!) It was just the R&R that this group of former-funseekers-turned-parents needed. The kids did not seem to miss us too much -- Gabe told Grandpa Rod "Call my parents and tell them I'm having fun!" so the va-cay was good for all of us. Highlights of the trip can be seen in this Picasa Web Album (Ian, I spared the most incriminating ones...)

Road Trip

2009-07-01T08:34:00.004-05:00

In case you were wondering what it would be like to "day trip" to Appleton with two kids in tow, here is a replay of our recent adventure to see Mel, Mel, and Amy and their 5 (!!) kids. Thanks to Amy, Drew, and Andy for hosting us! (Left to Right: Audrey, Carter, and Mel Aprahamian; Drew and Amy Gaerthofner; Amelia, Mel, and Maelle Bunkelman; Me, Claire, and Gabe.)

8:47 am: Hit the Road for our 260-mile adventure (one way).
8:50: Gabe complains about a tummy-ache (meaning carsickness has already set in.)
9:08: Get to north side of River Falls, not quite to 94 yet; pull over for some fresh air; turn off DVD player as probable cause for the carsickness.
10:04: Have been on 94 for nearly an hour; get to exits for Eau Claire and realize I've missed the exit for Hwy 29. Call Jesse for a re-route (luckily, I didn't have to backtrack).
10:14: Back on track - reach Hwy 29, which we'll be on for the next 120 miles.
10:20: Pull over on side of 29 (a 4-lane highway) for fresh air and to get out (puking seemed imminent). Gabe is hysterical, which causes Claire to scream through the whole stop as well. Get Gabe calmed down, and we get back in.
10:36: Decide to stop in Cadott for a walk, potty break, etc to put the carsickness behind us once and for all. Stop at the gas station that all 500 post-Country-fest hungover drunks are also at. As we get out of the car, Gabe notices a bear - the first time I've seen one not in a zoo!
11:03: Back on the road; kids fall asleep and the drive becomes enjoyable.
12:47: Gabe wakes up and asks to watch his movie again. Since we're almost there, and he seems to be doing well, I turn it back on.
1:15pm: We are 10 minutes from the restaurant we are meeting everyone at when Gabe feels sick again. End up pulling over a third time.
1:45pm: We made it to Mom & Pop Place!!
3:45pm: Head over to Amy's, where the kids open gifts and play with all of Drew's toys.
6:00pm: Get some dinner. I decide that driving back tonight will probably be easier on me since they will probably sleep most of the way, and I'd be just as tired tomorrow, but they will be awake, and either fighting or carsick. While we wait for our food, Claire has a diaper blowout on my lap.
7:30pm: Hug the Gaerthofner's goodbye and head for home.
8:00pm: After stopping for gas and Starbucks, we are now on Hwy 10, going back to Stevens Point.
8:08pm: Gabe gets carsick - already. As we're pulled over on the side of Hwy 10, a sheriff deputy pulls up behind us to check out the action. Quickly leaves when I mention the possibility of puking. As I hold Gabe in the ditch, Claire once again screams at the injustice of being strapped in while Gabe gets to be outside with Mama.
8:38pm: Back to driving. Gabe falls asleep from all the drama. Claire tries to get her socks off.
9:10pm: Kids are both finally quiet and I pray that it lasts. "You do it to yourself" taunts the Radiohead song I'm listening to.
11:57pm: We make it into the driveway. As I get Claire out of her seat, I feel the start of another blowout. Gabe informs me, "I don't want to go anywhere ever ever again." I second his motion -- at least for tomorrow.

I won't lie, it was a rough journey. But seeing my girls once a year and how much are kids are growing and changing made it worth it. Next time, we're bringing Daddy. :)

Role Model

2009-06-17T10:57:00.002-05:00

Gabe adores his Uncle Huck (as we all do, really.) And as you can see from the picture, the feeling is mutual. Despite the fact that one of Gabe's first complete sentences last summer was "Huck drinks beer", I think it's great for a boy to have an uncle as cool as Huck. Last night before Gabe went to sleep, we had a cute conversation about him.

G: Mama, Huck is my friend.
M: Yep - Huck is my friend too.
G: I like him - He's really crazy.
M: He sure is.
G: He's awesome.

Looks like you have an admirer, Huck... But wait to teach him how to drink 23 beers at a wedding till he's at least in his 20's, ok?

Heiser-Turner Wedding

2009-06-11T10:25:00.007-05:00

Last weekend we had all of our family and extended family visiting because my cousin Courtney was getting married to one of our dear family friends, Josh. They have such a sweet story - Courtney had a crush on Josh ever since meeting him at age 4, and after re-connecting at our wedding 18 years later, they were able to grow first a friendship and then a partnership, culminating in the wedding we had a blast at last Saturday. Here are some fun shots from the action-packed weekend:

Gabe and Claire had a blast sharing our playset with Nick and Ashley, our cousins from Boston. (Kate and Erin helped make the picture happen!)

Kate (22 weeks prego) poses with cutie Claire.

You can view about 100 more in our web album.

Skills

2009-06-11T10:22:00.002-05:00

Claire is getting pretty adept as using a spoon... Except when she gets tired of it and just picks up the bowl instead.

Accessorizing Nakedness

2009-06-11T10:19:00.003-05:00

All kids love to be naked, and ours are no exception. While Claire looks pretty cute sporting her newest gDiaper, Gabe showing off the new accessories we bought on a recent shopping trip with Nani is a bit concerning. I'm a little worried I have the next Mick Jagger living with us.

Tent crazy

2009-06-11T10:09:00.003-05:00

Gabe is super excited about tents lately -- so much so that we pitched our backpacking one in our living room. He talked Grandma and Grandpa Gilles into hanging out with him in there, too.

Garden Fever

2009-05-28T22:40:00.002-05:00

Gabe got really into putting in the garden this past weekend... Really into it, as in, up to his elbows and knees. Why did God make boys again?!? He was quite proud of himself, yet did not enjoy me hosing him off afterward. Go figure.

Second Photo Shoot

2009-05-28T22:37:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, we met our good friends Abby and Reese at the photographer's studio to capture the joy of our two one-year-old girls (with a few big brother shots for good measure.) Unfortunately, the BFF's decided not to get along that day, so our grand idea was mostly a flop. And while Reese seemed to be all smiles for the camera, our kids were too far past their nap and less than cooperative. But Ann worked a miracle, and somehow still found some adorable shots of our kids, naughty's and all. Check it out at Timepiece Studio.com

Monkey See, Monkey Do

2009-05-28T22:30:00.003-05:00

Claire is getting so cool that Gabe will now imitate her, not just the other way around. This is her trick - holding her cup "no-handed" and drinking (or showing off)... So since I was taking her picture, Gabe wanted a picture of him doing it, too. Who looks more ridiculous??

"Mommy, Claire Looks Like Baa"

2009-05-28T22:15:00.003-05:00

The other night we were eating pudding -- a first for Claire since we've learned she can eat dairy foods now - and predictably, she greatly enjoyed it...so much that she stopped being fed via spoon and fed herself. As you can imagine, it got everywhere, mainly around her mouth. Gabe stopped eating his pudding and said "Look Mommy - Claire looks like Baa" since she had a pudding mustache and goatee. I think Jilly almost choked on his pudding he was laughing so hard.

Claire's Birthday, Part 2

2009-05-01T16:26:00.005-05:00

The babygirl is officially 1! We celebrated the milestone yesterday with all 4 grandparents, plus Collin, Nicole, & Halle. While her cupcakes for the Milwaukee birthday were "Claire Bear" cakes, these were inspired by her other nickname, "Princess Cupcake". Thus the strawberry "crowns" on funfetti cupcakes. I got some great recipe ideas from a really fun book called Hello Cupcake! (can't wait to try out more of these for a future event!) so the frosting was divine, and while it's hard to top Funfetti cake, it was taken up a notch in richness by using buttermilk instead of water and adding an extra egg. Divinely delicious cupcakes, befitting a princess. Now that she is taking between 5 and 20 steps at a time, she was not only the guest of honor, but also the party entertainment. My favorite was watching her repeatedly give kisses to the baby doll Jesse and I picked out for her.

Hope you enjoy a few shots of the grand event. :)

Memory Lane

2009-04-26T15:02:00.007-05:00

Something about this rainy Sunday put an Indigo Girls' song in my head, so I've been listening to a playlist of their music on my ipod most of the day. The Indigo Girls never fail to remind me of my former college roommate (and still great friend) Mel. When we first moved in together, we discovered that we were both fans, and we decided we would be the "Lavender Girls", an Indigo Girls cover band. We also took 2 semesters of group guitar lessons together, where neither of us really got it, and probably neither of us could play a G chord these days if we tried. But back in the day, before we were Gabe and Claire and Carter and Audrey's mama's, we had big dreams and a lot of fun. :)

Mom and Dad are leaving for Maui this Friday, so I also took a moment to look through the pictures on our computer from our two trips there in 2002 and 2004 to see if it sparked any memories of stuff they should be sure not to miss. Can you believe these two kids are us on our honeymoon? I can't believe we felt old enough to be married at that point. Boy, how time flies. And boy, would I love to go back to Hawaii - or anywhere where I can find more than 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep for 2 consecutive nights....

Greening Up

2009-04-22T11:07:00.004-05:00

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I'd blog about a new way we are trying to "go Green" in our house. About a month ago, I switched Claire to gDiapers. They are a disposable-cloth hybrid, with a cloth cover and a flushable/disposable liner. The liner that catches the #1 and #2's can be flushed, composted, or tossed in the garbage, where it will break down in about 100 DAYS instead of 500 YEARS. When both kids were wearing diapers, it really got to me to see how quickly our garbage would fill up with nothing but diapers, so once Gabe was into underwear, I decided to apply the savings of having only one kid in diapers towards buying something more friendly to the environment. So far they are working out really well - and they are super cute to boot. If you want to know more about the "g revolution" (as they call it), check out their website: www.gdiapers.com

Easter, Part 2 and Claire's Birthday, Part 1

2009-04-22T10:38:00.004-05:00

We spent last weekend in Milwaukee to celebrate a belated Easter with the Traynor family. Erin and Adam flew in from Denver, too, so we had a great time all together. Gabe enjoyed dyeing Easter Eggs - this was the first year that he really did it well.

Somehow we managed to get an amazing family picture where everyone was looking at the camera - I'm still not sure how we got this to work but I like it. :)

We also threw Claire an early birthday party while we were there. As you can see from the picture, she greatly enjoyed her birthday cupcakes. Everyone got completely carried away buying stuff for the kids for their birthdays and Easter, so we brought home a trunkful of new toys, ranging from a soccer ball for Gabe to a pink car for Claire to cruise around in.

Here are more pictures from that weekend on Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/jesse.gilles/EasterPart2AndClaireSBirthdayPart1

Easter, Part 1

2009-04-22T10:25:00.004-05:00

We celebrated Easter on a beautiful spring day with the extended Reischel family (Jesse's Mom's side) at Grandma Ada's new home. It was fun for the kids and grownups alike to run around outside. Claire took her first steps earlier that week, so she enjoyed practicing outside in her sweet spring coat and new shoes. Gabe was excited to play "soccer" with anyone who would join him, mainly Halle. Here are more pictures from that day: http://picasaweb.google.com/jesse.gilles

Babies, Babies, and more Babies

2009-04-04T08:01:00.002-05:00

For the last 9 months I have been reliving pregnancy vicariously through my good friends Sarah and Mel. Well, last weekend the wait was over - both mamas delivered their babies on the same day! I am excited to welcome Carter into the Big Brother Club with the birth of his baby sister, Audrey Stella, born Saturday morning. From all reports, Carter is infatuated with his baby sister - something I'm deeply jealous that Mel gets to experience - since the most contact my kids seem to have is when Gabe pushes Claire down so she doesn't touch his stuff. (Ironically, as I type this Gabe just reported "Mom, I push Claire down..") Grrrr.

Anyway, also newly initiated in the Big Brother Club (joining his big sibs Ben and Grace) is Max, with the birth of baby William Herbert. It scares me to think that when we get together with the Enwalds next, the adults will be outnumbered 2:1 ! But my heart melts when looking at this adorable shot of all 4 Enwalds - what a beautiful bunch of monkeys (and what courageous parents!)

Now that these babies are out, I'm excited to be viciariously pregnant through two more very good friends, Katherin and Kate - due in late September/early October! Luckily I have enough maternity clothes to go around...

Reading for Fun

2009-03-19T12:35:00.007-05:00

I was lamenting to my neighbor that I don't get to do any reading for fun anymore - that all of my recent "reads" are picture books (which don't get me wrong, is often quite enjoyable, but still...) I could probably write a daily feature about what kids' books I/we love and which I would rather live without, but since my blogging time is shorter and shorter these days, I'd rather write about what I have been reading that's adult-oriented. I realized that I have been reading, just not the type of books I think of when I think of reading for pleasure. I've been into reading cookbooks (go figure!) and two of them warrant special mention because they are not just collections of recipes, but eating philosophies that I find intriguing. (If you are bored by food talk, go back to the last blog with cute pics of the wee ones.)

Food Matters by Mark Bittman is part cookbook, part diet plan, part social message. My #1 favorite cookbook, How to Cook Everything, is written by Bittman, so when I saw him on the Today show talking about this new book, I knew I should check it out. He decided to drastically cut his meat and animal-product consumption in order to fix some health problems and to help reduce greenhouse gases caused by factory farming, which emit dramatically more toxins to the environment than car pollution does. If reducing your carbon footprint appeals to you, this is yet another way you can work on that. If you are conscious of it, but more interested in getting "back to basics" with cooking - relying less on prepackaged food and more on simple, delicious dishes, you should also check it out. Bittman's personal approach is to be "vegan till 6" - which means he eats vegan all day, but eats (and drinks) anything he wants for dinner and dessert. I've been giving it a whirl, while also trying to meet the nutritional needs of 2 small children (one of which has both an allergy and a shortage of teeth), so it's been a little challenging, but I think reading the book has been valuable "food for thought". Ha Ha.

The second book I want to blog about is called Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. This mom and wife of Jerry Seinfeld is on a quest to get more vegetables into her kids' diets, namely by sneaking veggie purees into dishes that they like. The kids and I have gotten into the habit of having a weekly "baking day" where we make some sort of baked good that tastes great but we shouldn't be eating on a weekly basis. So I got this cookbook to see if I could "health-ify" our sweet tooths and thus feel less guilty about enjoying my love of all things chocolate with my kids. There is a recipe for chocolate-chocolate chip cookies that have spinach puree in them, and you know what? They were completely divine. In terms of mealtimes, my kids are actually pretty good about eating their veggies, but it seems that there is no such thing as too many vegetables in a day, so I'm digging the recipes in here. Plus it's a very down-to-earth approach to promoting good eating habits in general, which I'm all about.

So there you go! My two cents on how reading cookbooks is fun. And to end this blog, here's a link to one fun kids' book that we have been reading over and over and over and over again since Gabe is in the throes of potty-training: Even Firefighters Go to the Potty by Wendy Wax and Naomi Wax. Good fun on a not-fun-but-fascinating-to-toddlers topic.

Happy St Patrick's Day from the Wee Ones

2009-03-17T19:15:00.005-05:00

The O'Gilles' woke early one morn to snap a shot of the wee little leprechauns. (Gabe is half-watching Curious George while he smiles for the camera).

Then the silly Mama lass forgot to post the pictures before we went to work... :(

So we took a few more during dinner - Reuben Hash (ala Rachael Ray), Guinness, and Shamrock cookies for dessert. Gabe is showing off both his "Baa!" shirt that Nani and Baa brought back from Ireland and his yummy cookie.

As for the obligatory cute Claire pic - does this face look like "When Irish Eyes are Smiling, They're Usually Up to Something!" or what!

More firsts for Claire

2009-03-17T19:04:00.003-05:00

Claire, being on the cusp of toddlerhood, has been trying out some new things - like wearing rainboots outside:

"horsey" rides on Daddy:

And coloring pictures with crayons like her big brother. Fun stuff, to be sure. :)

Gabe's 3rd Birthday Party

2009-03-01T21:44:00.002-06:00

We celebrated Gabe's 3rd birthday with a big train bonanza Saturday night. The big birthday boy was lavished with all sorts of awesome gifts catering to his every interest -- a car-shaped laptop, firefighter helmet and boots, a Thomas game and trains, a tool kit and construction hat, and even a nearly-lifesize backhoe loader. What a lucky kid to have so many people that love him. I can't wait for the snow to thaw so the backhoe can start living outside - it is nearly as big as our couch! :) My big birthday contribution was making not 1 but 3 birthday cakes, hooked together to make a train. You can view all of the birthday highlights in our picasa web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/htgilles/GabeS3rdBirthday

Happy Birthday Big Boy!

2009-02-25T20:49:00.002-06:00

Saturday (the day before Gabe's birthday) we embarked on the delightful journey into potty-training, so our plans to take Gabe on a fun outing to celebrate turning 3 were slightly derailed as we were not brave enough to venture long with a newly-underweared birthday boy and his busy baby sister. Unknowingly, Uncle Collin came to the rescue by suggesting an visit to 'his' fire station to look at the fire trucks.

Since we were headed to Elmwood for Sunday dinner anyway, we stopped by the station. Gabe was in heaven. In case you can't tell, he was literally jumping up and down with excitement at being able to be so close to (and even inside) the real fire trucks. Collin even let him turn on the lights, which was pretty cool, even for a mama who isn't into trucks. :)

Stay tuned for more pictures from the upcoming Train birthday party on Saturday.

Also, this picture was from a few weeks ago, but it is still fun and completely captures the essence of Gabe. The only thing you can't tell is missing from the photo is the barking dog sound effects that went along with him wearing my boots on his hands. He hasn't lost any of his toddler silliness by turning 3, that's for sure!

Me Too!

2009-02-25T20:38:00.004-06:00

It seems like Claire's first words are going to be "Me Too!" since she wants to do everything that Gabe can do. If you give him a snack, she wants to eat it. If he is playing dump trucks, she wants to play. I captured this shot when they were having a shout-fest at each other after Gabe took away his cards that Claire was trying to play with. Normally this sort of thing makes me crazy as I spend the greater part of every day breaking up fights; but part of parenthood is remembering the good and the bad, so I took a picture instead of taking a side, and thereby found humor in the situation. I never would have guessed that sibling rivalry would take root so young.

Only a few minutes later, they were able to play peacefully together, which is how I got this shot. I love the random moment during any given day when they will do this and look forward to the time when they spend less time shouting and more time cooperating. (Please tell me that this time will come!)

However, one surefire way to get them to cooperate is for one of the parents to lay on the floor and have a "baby attack" - both kids
go crazy for this game. As you can see,
I was the victim this time. As I write this, I am noticing how more and more alike they are starting to look!

Cutie Patooty

2009-02-25T20:05:00.003-06:00

Before Claire was born, I was concerned that Baby G2 would have a hard act to follow being Gabe's younger sibling. Now that Claire is getting further from being an infant and closer to being a toddler, I am no longer worried. She can definitely hold her own in the charm department. Here are a few of my favorites from the past month.

She loves to stand up and practice walking - on anything and everything.

This one is a particular favorite - I feel like I'm getting a glimpse of "Claire the little kid" instead of my baby girl.

More Snow Fun

2009-02-25T20:01:00.003-06:00

One beautiful winter day a few weekends ago Daddy helped us to make snowman 2.0 - as you can see, a vast improvement over snowman 1.0. We gave Claire a ride in the baby sled, which she did not enjoy. Then Gabe wanted a turn, which Daddy did not enjoy since he has outgrown it.

He got more thrills out of riding on his swingset instead. Mama is counting the days till the spring thaw so we can once again enjoy the swingset daily.

First Snowman

2009-01-22T16:52:00.002-06:00

We did it!! Sure, it's a little height-challenged, but what do you expect when you get an overtired infant, an over-eager toddler, and a meddlesome dog as your fellow sculptors? We had fun outside on one of the last "nice" snow days we'll have in awhile - tomorrow's forecast is back to single-digit highs... :(

Far Too Much Fun to be Contained in 1 Blog

2009-01-05T22:16:00.005-06:00

Pictures from our Christmas Festivities and New Year's Frolicking are now available through our web albums: Christmas is here and New Year's Rockin' Eve is here. Katherin & Carl also captured some prize moments, available here.

We had a fantastic Christmas with the kids and both of our families. All of us were sufficiently spoiled. Now that Claire is crawling (a skill she mastered the day after Christmas), there is some competition for toys. I frequently find Gabe playing "juggy-balls" (thanks Carl) with Claire's pop-up ball toy or stacking up her new soft blocks to crash int with his dump trucks. However, Claire is also keen on chewing the wheels of Gabe's remote control bounce-back race car. I guess all's fair in love & war.

New Year's Rockin' Eve was another wild time. As usual, it started out civilized with games of Rock Band and Pictionary, yet somehow ended with a 1am sled ride into the ravine. The next morning, when aches and pains had yet to subside (namely Jesse's bruised/cracked rib), it was decided that drunken sledding should not be done at future New Year's Parties, or at least a new location should be found. Silly boys. Not even I escaped unscathed, spending much of New Year's Day nursing my first hangover in over 2 years. I guess it's safe to say a good time was had by all. I am sad to report that there was no MVP this year -- without the Enwalds or Atkinsons present, no one qualified. ;)

Thanks to all you party people who make the pilgrimage to RF to show us how to ring in the New Year right!

Playing with our Food

2008-12-18T12:41:00.004-06:00

The magic "I love to eat" switch has gone on in Claire, and now mealtimes are the highlights of her day. In the span of two weeks, she's gone from reluctantly accepting a spoon in her mouth to gobbling up anything you put in front of her. Her pincer grasp is developed enough that now she loves to work on feeding herself. Today I tried diced pears, sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs so they'd be less slippery. It was messy, but worth it!

While I was shooting Claire's new feat, Gabe asked for a turn in front of the camera. Here he's sporting his "big-boy" muscles and new big-boy haircut.

Like Father, Like Son

2008-12-18T12:39:00.001-06:00

Getting Ready for Christmas

2008-12-09T16:48:00.006-06:00

Two days before it snowed, we took the kids to the tree farm nearby and Jesse (with Gabe's help) cut down our tree.
Now it's up and Claire is VERY interested in it. Even though she's not quite crawling, she somehow finds a way to scoot or roll over to the tree and play with the "tattle bells" that I always hang at the bottom of the tree to let me know when a kid or cat is messing with the tree.

Then, last Friday Abby and Reese Vivoda and Claire and I almost finished all of our Christmas shopping. The girls were troopers until the last 1/2 hour before going home, so we got very lucky with getting through our lists. The next morning I started wrapping up our gifts, and Gabe swiped my "stickers". What a great helper. :)

Snow Fun

2008-12-09T16:34:00.007-06:00

Now that the snow is here to stay, Gabe and Paddington have been having a blast being outside. Mama and Claire, not so much... Although after watching P's and Gabe wrestle in the snow on such a beautiful sunny day, I couldn't resist donning the Sorel's and Baby Bjorn (even though Claire is almost too big for it) to be able to capture these fun moments on camera.

The cats used to love being outside, but they, too, are fair-weather fans now the ground is snow covered.

New Games

2008-12-09T16:24:00.005-06:00

Over Thanksgiving weekend Claire tried out her first spin in the walker. Gabe was quite excited to drive her around in it, and even more excited when we took her out so he could ride it himself. :) Claire didn't seem to mind being steered around the house - anything that Gabe does is awesome in her book.

Gabe has also taken a liking to playing games on the computer. It's scary how quickly he picked up using the mouse and how well he can play "Thomas Game" (on Sproutonline.com) or "Trucks" (on Crayola.com).

Peek-a-Blue Eyes!

2008-12-09T16:19:00.005-06:00

Denver Trip

2008-12-09T15:58:00.004-06:00

Several weeks ago my whole family went out to Denver to see Erni's new digs: her boyfriend Adam's house (where she currently resides), her hospital where she works, basically everything that she now calls "home". Over the weekend we ventured up into the mountains and shared an early Thanksgiving before the Hecks and Jilly went back to WI. Mom, Dad, the kids and I stayed till Thursday, and had some fun. Here are a few of my favorite moments - can't wait till Erni and Heck get around to posting their pictures too that I can link to.... ;)

Jilly and I posed for a photo while the kids slept in the car.

Grand Lake, CO

Gabe konked out through much of the drive to the mountains. I guess playing with his new basketball wore the poor guy out.

Gotta Brag - We are gorgeous!

2008-11-21T13:57:00.002-06:00

We had our portraits professionally done a few weeks ago by a fantastic local photographer, and I am over the moon at how great they turned out. You can view the images here.

Seeing ourselves through the eyes of a photographer helped solidify in Jesse and my minds that Wow - we are now a family of FOUR. Quite a force to be reckoned with... :)

More Double Trouble

2008-11-10T20:47:00.004-06:00

One of Gabe's favorite phrases these days is "Mommy, I want two babies" - which means that he wants me to carry him while I carry Claire. And I think if Claire could talk, she would say "Me too!" a lot. They both want to be doing what the other one is, almost all the time. It's so fun to watch them start to play together, and even more fun when they both enjoy the same activity, like laundry-basket races. The other night Claire laughed the hardest I've ever heard when she watched Gabe (who was in the buff after bathtime) throwing balls out of his inflatable ball house. Never a dull moment around here, that's for sure.

Halloween

2008-11-10T20:10:00.005-06:00

The Enwalds came up to teach Gabe how to trick-or-treat his first time as a "big kid". Nani and Baa stayed in with the babies while we parents took Ben, Grace, and Gabe (aka the Dark Knight, Princess, and Dragon) to trick-or-treat in the UWRF dorms and a few surrounding blocks. I think it's safe to say that fun was had by all - and that you should never trust a dragon with a knight's sword. Claire seemed to really enjoy having someone "her size" to play with, too. Auntie Kate and Uncle Huck were waiting for us when we got home - Huck gave Ben a good scare in his gorilla suit.

Cuddlebear & Crazy Climber

2008-11-10T20:08:00.001-06:00

The colder weather isn't keeping these kids down! we just add more layers & keep right on playing...

Double Trouble

2008-11-10T20:00:00.005-06:00

Here are more examples of the two kids becoming siblings and learning to do stuff together. A few weeks ago we discovered Claire was big enough to share in the wagon action, and we've also discovered that baby food must taste better when delivered by Big Brother Gabe.

Return of the Ducky Tub

2008-11-10T19:56:00.002-06:00

Claire loves to kick her legs so much that the infant tub seemed like it might capsize under her, so we've upgraded to the ducky tub in the big-kid bath. Fortunately, I can often kill two birds with one stone this way and get both kids bathed at the same time. Unfortunately, to do so usually requires both parents in the room at once. It's really fun though because they are starting to interact as siblings, not just two kids with the same set of parents. Gabe will get annoyed if Claire splashes water and it hits him, yet he has no qualms about dumping water on her to "help wash the baby".

Return to being Milwaukee-ans

2008-10-23T20:02:00.002-05:00

...At least for a week. After a fun-filled weekend of exceptional hospitality in Madison with the Rozas duo, the kids and I headed to Milwaukee with Kate and 'Huck' to catch up with all the folks we've been missing from that neck of the woods. It was awesome to see the Posnanskis, Steinmeyers, Peggy, Wielebskis, Wootens, Enwalds, and especially to have extended quality time with the Heckers. The icing on the cake came when Erin & Adam, Mom & Dad, and Jilly all joined us at Casa de Hecker the following weekend. I only took a couple of blurry photos with my camera-phone, but Heck and Carl got some sweet shots that you can view - (click on their names and it will take you to their photo galleries.)

Vote!

2008-10-21T09:09:00.002-05:00

I am so glad that there are only 2 weeks left till Election Day. I, for one, am tired of the campaign ads that reduce my enjoyment of the little TV time I get between episodes of Curious George and Thomas the Train. However, I think it is not only our right, but our duty, to get out and vote, so last week I completed my voter registration for our new address. Today I sat down to finalize my voting decisions, and I found a great website to help make sure that I had chosen the best candidate for my personal views. Maybe it will help you out too: http://www.speakout.com/VoteMatch/Pres2008.asp You answer a quiz and based on your responses, it tells you which candidate best matches your values. It also describes what some of the buzzwords floating around mean, which I found useful. Check it out, or not, but whatever you do, get out and VOTE!

Heartbreakers and Monkeys

2008-09-28T22:33:00.003-05:00

These two are going to be huge trouble for us when they get old enough to plot against us! Who could resist these charms?!? Not me, and certainly not Jilly. :)

First Family Vacation

2008-09-28T22:21:00.003-05:00

Recently, Team Gilles took its first family vacation as a foursome... A flight to Boston to attend my cousin KP's wedding. We had 'Nani and Baa' as backup on the flights with us, but didn't require their assistance nearly as much as I feared -- our kids were great travelers! Once we were there, we stayed with the Baglieris (our parent-partners-in-crime in the family) where we were treated to fabulous hospitality and lots of fun moments, especially since their son Nick and Gabe are only a few weeks apart in age. Big sister Ashley was a mini-mom to baby sister Claire too.... And that was only with one of the families we were priveleged to hang out with for 4 too-short days. I think Gabe's highlight was cutting a rug on the dance floor - check out this and other fun here: http://picasaweb.google.com/jesse.gilles

What's For Dinner

2008-09-09T08:38:00.002-05:00

We recently tried an extremely easy dish from Rachael Ray - "Chicken Noodle Hold the Soup". There were very few ingredients, so I expected it to be a little bland, but it was actually quite delicious. Check it out if you are in the mood for cozy, comfort foods.

Also, if you are looking for an easy, impress-your-guests dinner, try "Flank Steak Pinwheels" - they were divine, and easy enough for a mom to do during the 20 minutes the kids sleep at the same time!

Rollover

2008-09-09T08:25:00.003-05:00

Claire was hanging out on a towel right after a bath last Friday morning, enjoying the baby gym, when all of a sudden she decided to roll over for the first time! Even though I was only an arm length away from her changing Gabe's diaper, I missed it. I looked over and saw her cute butt in the air, with a big triumphant smile on her face. Little stinker. At least I had time to grab the camera to snap this photo!

Beauties

2008-09-09T08:23:00.004-05:00

Claire and Auntie Kate had a lot of fun hanging out Labor Day weekend. They took a break from watching Gabe cruise the yard in his Tonka Truck for me to snap this photo.

Digger

2008-09-09T08:20:00.002-05:00

During Labor Day weekend, we picked up a load of pea gravel to complete the playset. We put this in the sandbox area instead of sand (more fun with trucks and less mess to track into the house!) As you would imagine, this is now Gabe's favorite part of being outside, and he will spend hours hanging out at the "rock pile". I think this may have been the first activity he did for more than an hour completely by himself!

Claire Tries Solids

2008-09-08T12:07:00.005-05:00

During Labor Day weekend, we gave Claire her first taste of solid foods. As you would expect from a 17-pounder, she took to it like a duck to water.

However, I think she preferred the taste of Uncle Huck's fingers to the rice cereal. The whole weekend, if she got fussy, we just had to stick Huck's thumb in her mouth and she would calm down. Hey Huck, can we borrow your hand until Claire is done teething?

What's For Dinner

2008-09-01T21:13:00.003-05:00

By popular request... another one of my recent favorite creations.

Hilly's Chili Dogs in Blankets
o 1 pkg (n=8) beef wieners
o 2 pkg reduced-fat crescent rolls
o 1 can bush’s chili beans in sauce (note: this is beans only, not canned "Hormel Chili" or the like – you want the flavor of chili but not the added fat)
o shredded cheese
o onions (opt)
Preheat oven to 375 (the temp on the crescent rolls). Roll out the crescent rolls into rectangles, so that 2 triangles make 1 whole piece. (A normal-sized can will make 4 dogs). Squish the triangles’ seam together so it stays together. Lay the hot dog lengthwise on the crescent roll. On one side, spread some chili beans next to the hot dog and top with cheese and onions. Be careful not to overfill! Roll the crescent roll so the seams touch and pinch together, then lay seam-side down on a baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle top with a little extra shredded cheese. Bake for about 15 min or till the crescent rolls are nicely browned. Delicious, fast, and little cleanup - What more can you ask for?!?

Blondies

2008-08-28T14:56:00.001-05:00

Another entry in the "baked goods are bliss" category: my recipe for Blondies.

Best Blondies Ever

Adapted from Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything” and the Blondies episode on “Throwdown with Bobby Flay”

1 stick unsalted butter, plus a little to grease pan
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
pinch salt
1 c flour
Add-ins: use as many or as few as you like:
½ c each butterscotch and/or chocolate chips
½ c coconut
½ c toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Melt butter over low heat. Transfer to a bowl and use an electric mixer to beat in the sugar until very smooth, then beat in the egg and vanilla, stirring down the sides of the bowl periodically.
Add the salt, then gently stir in the flour. When batter is uniform, add the “add-ins and stir in by hand till combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake 20 -25 minutes or until just barely set in the middle. (If in doubt, it’s better to underbake than overbake). Cool on a rack before cutting. Store, covered and at room temperature, no more than a day.

Bathing Beauties

2008-08-28T13:38:00.002-05:00

My mom showed me two photos she had found of Kate and I when we were the same ages as Gabe and Claire, and we were noticing the similarities between the kids and us girls. This got me to thinking about whether Claire looks like Gabe did at this age, so I dug through our photo achive and found two to compare. What do you think? Are they twins or just siblings? I'd love to hear what anyone else thinks...

Claire Likes To Play

2008-08-28T13:24:00.003-05:00

Claire is now big enough to hang out in the exersaucer. While she has the body strength for it, she lacks the attention span (unless Gabe is playing with it too.) It's crazy to see her enjoying herself upright and makes her look like a mini kid instead of a baby. I can't believe she'll be 4 months already this weekend! We are getting excited to introduce her to the world of solid foods soon too - which will be very sweet, for both her and me.

Color Fun

2008-08-27T22:20:00.002-05:00

In honor of school starting.... I found a fun color quiz honoring the best part of going back to school, a new box of Crayola 64 crayons with the sharpener in the back. In the quiz, you pick crayons out of a box and choose the "real" name. So much fun - it brought me back to the days of road trips in Grandpa's motorhome and art class once a week. I even remembered what used to be one of my favorites,"Tickle Me Pink".
Check it out: http://www.crayola.com/promos/64boxBirthday/colorQuizzer.cfm

PS -- I got only 9 mistakes - can you beat that Kate?!?

What's For Dinner

2008-08-19T20:50:00.002-05:00

When Gabe actually lets me watch the TV instead of watching Diego or Cheech, I love to watch shows on the Food Network or pull them from magazines and then experiment with the recipes in my home "test kitchen". I'm going to try to feature some of my favorite recipes I've found/created/tweaked in blogs called "What's For Dinner". So here goes:

Monday night's dinner: BBQ-Spiced Chicken (ala Rachael Ray) with Black Bean-Mango Salad (invented by me)

BBQ Chicken Rub
1 T Grill Seasoning
2 T chili powder
½ T cumin
1 T. coriander (ok to omit if needed)
3 T brown sugar

Combine above in a Ziploc bag. Add 4-6 chicken breasts and drizzle with EVOO. Close bag and massage chicken to coat well. Marinate in refrigerator at least an hour, up to 24. Fantastic when grilled!

Black Bean and Mango Salad
2-3 c rice, cooked and COOLED
1 can black beans
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 red pepper, diced
¼ red onion, finely diced (about 1/3 c)
3-4 T cilantro (about ½ handful)
juice of ½ lime
3 T EVOO
1 t chili powder
1 t cumin
½ t seasoning salt
pinch of ginger
2-3 dashes of tobasco, if spiciness is desired

Combine all – great as a side dish or even wrapped in a tortilla, burrito-style.

The Cutest Story

2008-08-17T22:20:00.003-05:00

Gabe did the cutest thing today. We were trying to convince Gabe that it was naptime, and Jesse tried to entice him by taking his cup to his bed and lying down in it. Gabe called his bluff though, and instead gave him a kiss and said "Night-night Dads", just like we do for him at bedtime. ('Dads' is what Gabe calls Jesse - because he randomly puts an S on certain words.) To top it off, he then asked "Fan Dads?" and "Cheech Dads?" and turned on his fan, his music, and shut the door to his room. Talk about monkey-see, monkey-do!

Adventure in Our Own Backyard

2008-08-17T21:06:00.005-05:00

We are the proud new owners of a cool jungle gym, thanks to Jesse's generous boss (whose kids had outgrown it) and my Dad's sweet truck (and tools, and enthusiastic help with both disassembly and assembly).

I'm amazed that we got it deconstructed at Dale's and reconstructed at our house so quickly -- Gabe was already playing on the slide part before dark yesterday, and we got the swing side up in only a few hours today.

I tried to teach Gabe how to "pump" on the glider swing, but he figured out the rest all on his own.

Seeing how much Gabe is enjoying it makes Jesse and I jealous for an adult sized playset!

My Other Passion

2008-08-15T21:54:00.002-05:00

Lest you think the only thing I do is care for our kids, let me let you in on my other favorite thing to do: bake. While I don't have the time lately for multi-day home decorating projects, or even an afternoon to throw pottery on the wheel gathering dust in the shop, I seem to always be able to sneak in an hour or so to bake a pie, cookies, brownies... I'm getting hungry just thinking about what I could make.

Anyway, I want to share some of my favorite goodies with you; here's a fabulous pie recipe that I made this week. (Thanks Becky for sharing it with me!)

Apple-Raspberry Pie
Step 1: Put crust into pan, or use a premade pie crust
Step 2: Combine 1 T lemon juice with 5 cups apples, peeled and sliced
Step 3: Add to apples 1 (10 oz) container frozen raspberries in syrup, drained (reserve 1/2 c liquid for sauce)
Step 4: Heat in a pan on stovetop the reserved 1/2 c raspberry syrup, 1/4 c sugar, 2 T corn starch, 1/2 t cinnamon. Stir until thick; pour over apples and raspberries and put into crust
Step 5: Make streusel topping from 3/4 c flour, 1/2 c brown sugar, 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/3 c butter (softened). Cut together till crumbly. Put on top of apple mixture.
Step 6: Put pie plate on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
Sooooo Good!

2008-08-13T09:49:00.003-05:00

Jesse and I have a new fave pastime when the kids are both asleep. Several friends turned us on to the TV show "Flight of the Conchords" which we are viewing via our Netflix subscription. If you don't already know about it, seriously check it out - it's so hilarious. (I find the experience is enhanced if viewed with an alcoholic beverage in hand - my favorite is a margarita on the rocks.) :)

Smiles and Belly Laughs

2008-08-13T08:16:00.005-05:00

Claire is such a smiley baby, which is so much fun. Yesterday Jesse was tickling her when he got home from work and she actually belly laughed for the first time! Figures that Jesse was the one to get her to do it... She's also decided that sucking her thumb is an acceptable substitute for sucking on mama -- hooray for that. She does it all backwards though -- with her palm open and her fingers on her face. As long as it gets her to fall asleep on her own (and she doesn't do it till Kindergarten), I'm all for it.

Claire's BFF

2008-08-11T17:53:00.003-05:00

Claire got to have a playdate with her BFF, Reese Vivoda. It's really fun to think about our girls starting a friendship so early, when a good number of my childhood and teen years were spent in the joyful company of Reese's mom, Abby. Reese is even starting to catch up to Claire's size, even though she was half Claire's birthweight when she was only born a week later. Aren't they cute checking each other out?

At the Fair

2008-08-11T17:41:00.004-05:00

Thursday night Nani and Baa met us at the Pierce County Fair. While I can't tell you what Gabe's favorite was - the rides, sitting on the tractors and mowers, or petting the animals in the barns and petting zoo - for the adults, it was all about the food. It's tough to beat Carol Ann's "Bite-sized Delights" - especially since we somehow missed the deep-fried cheese curds. I think it's safe to say a good time was had by all.

Weekend with the Rozas's

2008-08-11T14:39:00.003-05:00

We had a blast when Kath and Carl came to visit us last weekend. Highlights included a trip to the beach, Gabe's first bowling excursion, frozen mojitos, and a silly family photo session complete with fake mustaches. Check out Carl's photo album for more: http://picasaweb.google.com/carozas/GilleiSHouseAugust2008

New and Improved Site!

2008-07-30T10:10:00.000-05:00

Now that we've started another chapter of our lives with the addition of Claire, it seemed like refining our site and making it easier to post would be a good thing. It was easier to start over here than overhaul the old site, so ta-da! Here is the new home of Gilles Family Adventures.