Eliza's 2nd Birthday

Hard to believe that she is two already! The time really does fly. We had a very busy day but we spent a few minutes celebrating with a "party".

Eliza was very afraid of the candles. Here she is wondering what is that thing on her cake...

I made Eliza a few birthday gifts this year. This is a dress I made her for church. I made it a bit big so she has some room to grow. It still needs snaps and ties. I also made her some felt food for her to play kitchen with. She is trying to figure out if she could eat it...LOL!

Here is a video of her refusing to blow out her candles, Enjoy!

Watering the front lawn... err, Daddy!

The many faces of Ben

Eat, Drink, and be Merry!!

Ooooh, Shiney thing!

Say what!!

S.O.S.

Why couldn't I have been an only child!?!

Airshow at Travis AFB

We went to the airshow at Travis AFB and got to watch a bunch of stunt planes and the Thunderbirds and walk through a bunch of giant planes. The weather was really hot and windy, but that wasn't the worst part. We watched the entire Nightmare Before Christmas movie while waiting to get out of the parking lot!! Any who, we had an awsome day at the airshow.

Sarah, Sam, and Adam in front of one of the show planes.

Adam learning about the ejection seat from the pilot.

Sam feels the need, the need for speed!! Highway to the danger zone!!

Sam takes crappy pictures! Laura, Zwieba, Eliza, and Ben (covered from the sun).

The Thunderbirds famous Delta Formation.

Ben's first smiles

I finally was able to catch some sweet baby smiles on camera.

Geocaching at Crane Creek

It has taken me a week to get these up...because Sam started school this week and we have been very busy, but two weekends ago we went geocashing at a place called Crane Creek. We got five finds while we were there and got to hike...it was pretty hot and Ben was done about 300 feet from the car but we had a good time and got some great pics of the kids.

Zwieba and the kids after making a find.

Adam and Sam take a break on the trail.

Cute girls smile for a picture.

Ben peeks out of his carrier and wonders what in the world we are doing.

4 weeks old!

Yep, he's 4 weeks old today...his official month-old birthday is in 3 days but he is growing really fast and his attitude is starting to catch up with his chunky cheeks. Here he is contently sleeping and dreaming if ultimate family distruction - when he becomes mobile!

My Two Babies

Yep I have two babies...again! It has been challenging during the last few weeks. I asked Zwieba why it didn't seem that hard when we did this 10 years ago...he said it was because we were young and too dumb to know it was hard. LOL!

Of course then there are those sweet times that I remember that all the hard work is worth it...

Eliza and Ben during nap time...ok Eliza is napping Ben is in more of a yummy milk-drunk state.

Eliza gives Ben a sweet kiss, just before trying to poke his eyes out.

Sweet surprise!

A treat arrived from our friends , the Hilton's today! It was a box full of cookies and cupcakes - YUMMM! Thanks Mel!

Ben sleeps in a pile of goodies.

Rubio's Visit: part 3

We took the kids to the beach. Once again, it was freezing! But, the kids still wanted to play in the water. Everyone waits for a wave to come in.

Jen and Laura.

We really enjoyed having the Rubio's here. It was a wonderful visit and we always have so much fun with them!

Rubio's Visit: part 2

We took a walk to the park by the pond. It was really cold and overcast and the kids were not really dressed for this kind of weather!

Wendy on the swings, Sam pushing Eliza in the background

Emily and Sarah pose for a picture.

Jen takes Juan down the slide.

The kids all pose for a picture on the climbing rock. It was too cold to take Ben out of the carrier so there are nine here instead of ten.

Rubio's Visit: part 1

The Rubios came to visit us from July 19th through the 21st. They came to visit the baby and see our house in petaluma for the first time. The kids had tons of fun playing and visiting together. We tried to keep busy but still keep things on the calm side since Ben is only 2 weeks old. Here the kids were playing Mario Kart on the Wii...this game was a complete hit and was on about 75% of the time!

ten days old

Here are some pictures of Ben yesterday at 10 days old. He is such a calm and sweet baby. He is nursing well now and sleeps two long 4 hour stretches at night waking in between to eat. He growing well though he is still too small for most of his clothes.

Ben communicates with us in sign language.

My new Babyhawk has come in handy already.

A close up of our sleeping boy comfy in his carrier.

Here he is in a sweet little sleeper that Grandma Gay bought for him. We wanted to bring him home from the hospital in it but it was too big. Now it finally fits!

Our family has grown by 1!

Benjamin Elias Bunnell ~ July 9, 2008 ~ 3:18 pm ~ 7 lbs. 6 oz. ~ 18 in.

Everyone meeting our new little boy!

Eliza is thrilled, Ben - not so much!

Ready to go home.

Happy 4th!

We spent a quiet Fourth of July at home this year. With only 4 days left until my due date and induction, I just wasn't up to going too far from home. We had a nice family BBQ, went swimming at the base pool and did some poppers. Go America!

Eliza impatiently waits for our yummy BBQ.

Zwieba and Eliza in the kiddie pool.

Taking a break by the kiddie pool.

Zwieba and the kids pose with their gun party poppers.

Sarah takes it right in the noggin.

Eliza loves to pop the poppers.

Old Faithful and The Petrified Forest

Last Friday we had a scheduled power outage in housing. It was super hot and so we had to get out. We decided to visit Old Faithful and the Petrified Forest in Calistoga, about an hour from Petaluma. It was sooo hot and I was pretty swollen by the end of the day but it was definately better than sitting around the house and twiddling our thumbs.

Zwieba and the Kids in front of the entrance to Old Faithful.

The kids cool off in the blowing mist of the Geyser.

The kids sit on a petrified tree in the Petrified Forest.

Walking around the woods at 37 weeks pregnant, I felt like I should be wearing this sign.