Actual Birthday

Although several of us in these photos did not feel well at all, we still attempted to have some fun on my birthday. We really succeeded in having fun, we really missed Tom though as he didn't dare leave home that day. Mom and Dad came over from Spokane to help us celebrate this year. Our morning was spent in Ballard eating a really yummy breakfast at Portage Bay and then heading to Yulefest at the Nordic Museum. 

 We found a little cove where a small band played the guitar and sang a few songs for us. All of us really enjoyed this break. I believe Charlie will be in a band someday with all the interest he shows in music. He certainly inherited the love of music.

 We ended the evening at a local pizza joint in Tacoma to celebrate with the Rue family. The kids were able to make their own pizzas!

The finished pineapple pizza!

Birthday Adventures at the Museum of Flight

As almost our whole family had been taken ill with a bad stomach bug on my actual birthday, we decided to celebrate the next weekend. We met some friends for breakfast at the Hangar Cafe to begin the theme of airplanes for our day. There was a time when I would have said that I would never celebrate my birthday with such an adventure, but times change when you are outnumbered. Actually, I really enjoyed my time at the Museum of Flight. I was guided by the experts - Tom and Charlie. This was there third or fourth trip. We were looking forward to seeing the space shuttle. This turned out to not be the highlight of the outing, but we really enjoyed much of the museum. 

Randomness in photos

Here are a few random photos from our fall/early winter: 

Out visiting our local pet store. Charlie is still trying to talk us into adopting a pet. Luckily for me, he has never asked for a bird. I have a bit of a phobia. This is about as close as I like to get. 

 About one or two times a week one of us takes Charlie to get breakfast or a steamer or hot chocolate before school. All of us really enjoy the special time together. Charlie loves the attention from his parents as well as the women working at the bakery.

 Tom and Charlie have been both playing hockey in our home as well as attending a few hockey games this fall. This has been a great joy for Charlie. As you can see from this picture, Gabriel attempts to join in the fun as well. I love this smile on Charlie!

 At Charlie's school, they had a Thanksgiving feast and celebration. Charlie had two costumes for the feast. this photo combines his pilgrim and Native American costume. I so loved watching him get so into his music, costumes and learning of Thanksgiving.

 These photos are from an adventure to our local park.

On Black Friday, I took the boys to a local hardware store to purchase lights for our home. This was about as crazy as I was willing to get in terms of Black Friday shopping. We were lucky enough that this store provided lemonade and coffee to its shoppers. Here is the boys crowded into one shopping cart.

Halloween 2012

So, this post is quite late, but I'm finding that is a bit true in life in general this fall/winter. Gabriel is not pictured in these photos of Halloween, which is fitting to his fall. Although he had a cute costume to wear, he had to miss the fun as he was at the doctor. This go round on Halloween, it was double ear infections. Currently, he has had either three or four ear infections, depending on how you count them. He also had hand, foot & mouth disease as well as the flu. No fun at all. However, there was fun to be had by Charlie, Maddy and Ella on Halloween. Here are some pictures of our three getting ready and then trick or treating. 

Baby Wagner's

I recently found that I had a few baby pictures scanned into the computer, which I didn't know were here. So, here is a post with pictures of all four of us for your enjoyment. How do you think our kids take after each of us? 

Anna

 Tom

 Charlie

 Gabe

And since I have heard over and over that the youngest has the least amount of photos, here is a second of Gabriel. 

October 20, 2012

For our wedding anniversary this year, we headed to Snoqualmie Falls for breakfast and visiting the water fall. This was the site of where Tom and I stayed on our return to Seattle after our wedding. What a different experience this time around, but certainly fun. 

 Charlie took this picture of us. He didn't catch Tom with his eyes open, but I decided to put this in anyway as we don't get too many pictures of just the two of us these days.

 The boys sat on their own side of the table for breakfast. It actually worked just great. This is one of the funnier pictures of Charlie from the day. What a funny face!

 Beautiful Snoqalmie Falls.

 Enjoying the mist of the falls.

Tom and his boys on a slippery rock. Charlie would have stayed on that rock all day if we had let him!

Family bonding

As most of you who read this are aware, we were in Buffalo to spend some time with Grandpa Wagner as he was leaving this world. We are so thankful we were able to have this time together. Saying goodbye is extremely difficult. However, Grandpa kept telling all of us that he was okay and that he was ready to go to God. That takes a small portion of the sting out of the heavy loss. I didn't take the camera out too often while with family, but here are a few of the pictures I did manage to get. 

 I'm sure Gabe and Grandma are having some sort of in depth conversation. Maybe he is learning all the secrets of life here.

 Charlie continued his "crush" on uncle Andy. Look at that smile I caught on his face. This is after the hospital bed was all ready for Grandpa to come home the next day.

 Aunt Debbie went crazy on toys for this guy. This is a vibrating grape that Gabe loves. It is a rather amazing invention and one we are thankful to be introduced to. I love the smile on Debbie's face in this picture!

Gabriel and Grandpa enjoyed some time together on the bed. They had a beautiful conversation and cuddle. I'm so, so thankful Gabe and Charlie were able to see Grandpa and he was able to see them.

First fall leaves

While in Buffalo this past October, we hit a beautiful time of year. The leaves were beautiful yellows and reds. In a small spot of land, we stopped to nurse. I then put Gabriel on the ground to explore the fallen leaves. Here are a few pictures I took from that moment. 

Niagara Falls

With Tom's dad coming home from in-patient Hospice, we had more "free" time than we had expected. So, one morning we hopped in the car and headed to Niagra Falls. This was, what I believe to be, Charlie's third trip to Niagra Falls. Apparently, 30 years ago mom came with Liz Lambert to Niagra Falls, but they missed Horseshoe Falls and only saw the American Falls. So, it was pretty exciting for her to see the majesty of this place. Gabriel began laughing and squealing when we got close to the falls. It was a really windy and misty day. We sure had fun. 

 As you can tell from these photos, Charlie was really not into looking at the camera at Niagra Falls.

Spending time in airports in Philadelphia, Rochester and Chicago

Last month we learned that Tom's dads journey with AML was nearing its end. So, Tom left before us to spend some time with him. We left a few days later to visit as well. My mom was gracious enough to join me traveling across the US with two kids. Both were recovering from ear infections, so I was a bit nervous to get on airplanes. Charlie was super excited and was an amazing traveler. For the circumstances, Gabe did exceptionally well. With this said, this still was one of the longest days of my parenting life. Keeping a 9 month occupied and held for over 5 hours isn't easy. Thanks mom for your help!!!

 This was taken in the Philadelphia airport. In an attempt to feed Charlie, I went and bought him a hotdog and chocolate shake. I was tired and gave in on the request for the shake. Really, it wasn't too surprising that he only wanted the shake. What was surprising was to look over and see that my mom had fed Gabriel the hot dog. This was his first hot dog and he ate almost an entire adult sized hotdog. Also on the trip, he ate french fries anywhere he could get his hands on them. I'm quite certain Tom has finally found another meat and potato guy.

 This is also the Philadelphia airport. Charlie went on an exploration here for planes with wings that bend up. I think this is the airport where he found three. If I remember correctly this is him showing us his tongue after a drink of chocolate shake.

 Both in Seattle and Rochester we happily were at gates right next to a kids play area. Both kids loved crawling/walking/running around these spots. I am a huge fan of these in airports!

This is a photo of my mom laughing at Gabriel eating the hot dog.

Clapping and smiling