A Happy Halloween

We hope you all had a fun halloween! Here are a few pictures of Maya and Gabi in their costumes. Gabi was a giraffe and Maya was an octopus.

The cutest part of the costume!

Trick or Treat, Angie!

Hopefully we got the correct legs buckled in!

Carving a pumpkin!

We trick or treated at Joe's office and the rest of downtown Golden on Friday night. On Saturday, we just visited a few neighbors and friends that were close by.

We're looking forward to my mom coming to visit this weekend. She is even going to watch the girls on Saturday so Joe & I can head up to the Wyoming vs. BYU game in Laramie.

Check back later this week for a link to family pictures that we had taken last Sunday!

Love to you all,

Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Snow Day!

We are getting our first storm of the winter and it is a big one! Meteorologists are saying that Golden has received 30" so far and it is still snowing! Maybe I will get a 3rd snow day from school tomorrow!

Gabi & I ventured out this morning after putting Maya down for a nap. I was hoping to be able to build a snowman, but the snow wasn't wet enough!

Have a great day!

Happy Fall!

Fall has always been our favorite season -- I think it comes from the fond memories that we have from running cross country -- the briskness of the air, the smell of fallen leaves, and the extra motivation to get outside before it gets too cold!

We headed out to Anderson Farms, a little east of Boulder, to celebrate the harvest and pick out some pumpkins. They had all kinds of animals to see (Papa's are better according to Gabi) and we took a hay ride on a tractor ("like Papa's") out to the pumpkin patch. Gabi had a blast and as usual, Maya was just along for the ride, happy as a clam to be out and about.

I think she wants this one. :-)

Riding the barrel train:

Family picture time:

Here are some pictures from the past week or so. We're staying healthy and busy.

Loving my girls:

Take care and happy fall!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Hall Happenings

We hope this finds you all happy and healthy! Here are some pics and updates from the past couple of weeks. Enjoy!
Gabi & Maya are both doing great. I took them to see Dr. Julia for their 2 year and 4 month old appointments a few weeks ago...here are the stats:



Maya: 24in (50%), 13lbs 12.5oz (50%), 17in head (90%)


Gabi: 35.5in (>90%), 29.2 lbs (80%), ?head(a lot to remember with 2 kids at once!)



Both passed the developmental questions/tests with flying colors. The 3 of us left with a total of 6 shots amongst us -- Maya got the worst of it...poor girl!




We started feeding Maya rice cereal a few weeks ago as well. She is finally getting the hang of it and doesn't make quite as big of a mess as she did in the picture below.



Last week, my friend Char hosted a scrapbooking baby shower for Maya. Everyone made scrapbooking pages for Maya's album. They turned out wonderful and will make putting the album together so easy! I was especially glad that everyone signed the pages that they made, so we will always remember who contributed to the album. Thank you to all that came! Here are some pictures from the party.

Marisol & Maya the drooler!

Morgan, Marisol, Maya, & Danielle playing Ring Around the Rosy

Gabi & her beloved Elmo

Good friends, Donna & Kristine, with Maya

Last Saturday, Joe & I went to the Booklover's Ball, a black tie event benefiting the Denver Public Library. It isn't very often that we get dressed up, so I thought I would put a picture of us that was taken for Black Tie Colorado. Even though we were definitely out of our element and didn't know anyone (except Mayor Hickenlooper & Governor Ritter!), we made the most of it and had a good time. We've decided that our next Saturday night out will be dressed in jeans, joined by good friends, with cold beers in our hands! ;-)

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of Maya. She is such a happy baby -- we have really been blessed. Gabi & Maya have been sleeping in the same room for about a month now and it has gone really well. Both are hard sleepers, so that helps. Maya sleeps from about 8pm - 8am, waking up once around 4/5 to eat and then goes back to sleep. Gabi is just zonked from 8-8. Even our extremely creeky floors don't wake her very often.

We're headed to a pumpkin festival tomorrow and to Marisol's 2nd birthday Sunday. Should be fun!

Love to you all,

Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

The Party Was A Hit!

A picture is worth a thousand words...this one pretty much sums up how much fun Gabi had with 14 of her little buddies at her 2 year old birthday party last night. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for lots of playing and eating in our backyard!

We went with a bug theme for the party...Amanda made the ladybug cake (isn't it cute!?) and I made the bumblebee cupcakes. We also served dirt (oreas, chocolate pudding, and gummy worms)!

Just about ready to blow out the candle! So excited...

Enjoying some watermelon with a few of her best buds...Octavia, Peyton, & Lathyn...

Here are some more party attendees hard at work making their bug jars...they turned out really cute!

When the bug jars were assembled, we went on a "bug hunt!" I spread ~200 plastic bugs all over our lawn and the kids searched and searched to fill up their jars. We think they got them all, but I'm sure Joe will snag a few with the lawnmower! ;-)

Gabi's favorite part of not only her birthday, but her "birthday weekend," was opening presents. She loves her new umbrella, raincoat, and golashes from the Monterastelli clan. She wants to wear her purple boots with EVERTHING! She puts them on first thing in the morning over her pajamas. They really are quite cute.

She also received a Mr. Potato Head family -- she really likes them, but...

...Maya isn't too sure about them yet!

Gabi is growing up so fast. Her vocabulary expands everyday! She can identify all of her colors, animals, shapes, letters, and numbers. She loves dancing to music in her CD player and is constantly giving us some good laughs. The "terrible twos" have made their appearance every now and then, but she is still a very happy little girl.

Thanks for checking in on us,

Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya

Happy 2nd Birthday, Gabriela!

We celebrated Gabi's 2nd birthday today! Can you believe she is two already?! How time flies when you're having fun! Gabi took cupcakes to Tracy's house this morning to share with the other kids and we took her out to eat at The Outback tonight because they have the best mac & cheese around (she pretty much inhales it!) We'll celebrate more on Sunday during her party and I'm sure we'll have lots more pictures then, but in the meantime, here are a few from this evening!

All our love,

Joe, Tara, big girl Gabi, & baby Maya!

Happy Maya Giggles!

We hope this video of Maya giggling brings you smiles -- it sure did for us!

Love to you all,
Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya