Trick-or-Treat

hey, who you callin' pumpkin-head?

little airman

snow white

can you guess why she has that cute little grin on her face in the picture above? (check out her hands )

word to the wise- NEVER spray your 2 year-old's hair black! It was a complete mess, all over everything the entire night!

I Love them.

Cool Patch Pumpkins

Last weekend, Michael and I took the kids to Cool Patch Pumpkins in Dixon- only about a 15 minute drive from us. It was a great day, filled with pumpkin picking, pumpkin pie eating, corn baths, hay mazes and lots of smiles!

oh look, Colby found a pumpkin

or maybe he's got his eye on something else
pay close attention to his mouth in this picture
he was so proud of himself

love the teamwork in this one

The Duck Pond

Travis AFB has a beautiful duck pond, surrounded by a running track and a great playground. The kids had so much fun feeding an entire loaf of bread to the ducks. Colby just sat there on the bank the entire time and enjoyed some of the bread himself. A highlight of the duck pond. . . .bathrooms!

Bottoms up!

This was the ugliest duck I had ever seen!
me. . . being a geek.

Random October shots

just playing around with textures. . .

a boy after his mother's heart- Cool whip.  just say no to whipped cream.

Happy Birthday, my baby boy

My baby boy turned 5 on Monday. He thinks it's funny when I call him my baby, but he always has been, and always will be my baby boy. There's something special about your first born. Yes, I know, every child is special. But I feel that there's just something a little different about the bonding experience with your first born.

Everyone always says it, but it's true, they do grow up too fast. Year number 4 was a great one for Kailer. Here are just a few of the more memorable experiences from this past year:

1. becoming a big brother, for the second time
2. Christmas in NYC. . . there's nothing like it
3. learning to ride a bike. . . no help from us
4. learning how to swim, he's quite the little diver
5. seeing Tiger Woods golf at the US Open
6. attending his Daddy's graduation from Dental School
7. Touring the big sites in NYC, The Statue, Empire State, The Little Mermaid on Broadway
8. Saying goodbye to the only home he has ever really know, Brooklyn NY   (I'm still trying to hold back the tears)

Kailer is becoming such a kind, loving, smart, strong, independent little boy. Most of his interests involve a sport or something active, or anything outdoors. He'd much rather be playing baseball, riding his bike, or digging for worms than playing with toys. And his little sister and brother are always right at his toes. He looks out for them and really loves them. I am so proud of him!

Here are a few shots from the birthday party he had with all of his cousins.

Kalyl and Dylan help blow out the candles

Mackenzy & Adelynne- double trouble
Kalyl, Dylan, Kai, Mady

Grammy show Kailer how to jump on his pogostick while the cousins all watch
Camden James

When Michael got to visit us in California in August, we gave Kailer his birthday present a month early. He was so excited when he saw that bike sitting there in the garage. He rode up and down the street telling everyone he saw that is was his birthday and he was 5 years old! 

U-C-L-A, Fight! Fight! Fight!

A couple of weekends ago, I enlisted Grandma and Grammy to watch the littlest ones while Kailer and I headed to the Rose Bowl to watch UCLA beat SDSU! Thank you Grandmas! And thank you to Jan and Grant Benbow for the 2 extra tickets! This was Kailer's first UCLA football game and he had a blast. He's been hearing about these Bruins for the last few years, watching them on TV, performing the 8-clap, wearing all the paraphernalia. But this was his first REAL Bruin Football encounter. I feel awful that Michael wasn't able to come with us- he's still training away at Maxwell AFB in Alabama. We tailgated in the LA heat a couple hours before the game. Kai insisted on playing catch with the football the entire time! Thank you Grant for appeasing him and his endless energy!

I wasn't sure how long Kailer would last. Football games are long and he's barely 5 years old. But when I told him it was time to leave at the end of the 3rd quarter (it was past 7:30 and we still had a 2 1/2 hour drive ahead of us. . . and Colby's still nursing and it had been 9 hours without any relief :) ) he cried. He was so sad and in disbelief that I would make him leave before the end of the game! He was having way too much fun! It was a wonderful day with friends and my biggest boy!

My Little Princess . . . or so I thought . . .

All dressed up for Church, so I thought I'd take some quick pictures of my little princess. This turned out to be more difficult than I thought.

Oh, look, Mommy! A bug!

Climb onto my leaf little bug.

C'mon, crawl onto my leaf . . . you  can do it.

Bug, get on my leaf!

Here, let me help you.

I got it, Mommy! I got it!

Now climb onto my pretty dress, little bug.

Oh my goodness, Mommy! A baby bug!

Let me give you a kiss, sweet, sweet baby bug.

Yes, a kiss!

Oh, my precious, precious, little girl. Oh, how I love you . . . and your recent obsession with cockroaches.

Watch Him Go!

Colby started walking at 9 months and officially stopped crawling by 10. He's constantly running into walls and cracking his head, but we just can't seem to get him to slow down. What do you do when you have 2 crazy siblings to keep up with? Poor guy!

It is my pleasure to present to you. . . (drumroll please). . . 

Dr. Michael E. Bachman, Jr.  DDS

After four long years of a tremendous amount of hard work, Michael has completed Dental school and is now officially a Dentist! I can't even begin to explain how proud I am of him. It has been a long haul and a fantastic adventure for our family, and we are now ready to have some sort of normalcy in our lives. Michael is headed to Commissioned Officer Training in Alabama for the month of September, and then we will all move up North to Travis AFB in Vacaville, CA. We miss New York more than we ever imagined we could, but are looking forward to beginning this next chapter in our lives!

Michael being hooded

We were so blessed to have some of our family there to celebrate his graduation in May. Michael's parents, my parents, his brother and sister, and his grandma were all able to make the trip out. The commencement ceremony was held in Madison Square Garden.

Michael with two of his instructors

After the ceremony, we had dinner at Carmine's, one of our favorite restaurants in the City.

Memorial Day picnic at the park

Michael and Grandma Betty

After the park, we headed back to our place for dessert and a toast to Michael.

Week I, Grampy & Grammy & Aunt Lizzy

Coney Island

Michael and his sister, Liz, rode the Cyclone. It's one of the most famous roller coasters and over 80 years old!

While we were there, we ran into one of Kailer's girlfriends from school, Amelia.

Adelynne was too tired to even finish her ice cream cone.

Sprinkler fun at J.J.Byrne

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge

Kailer trying to catch up with his speed-walking Grammy

My favorite bridge- The Manhattan Bridge

Week II, Grandpa and Grandma

A beautiful evening in the park. . . football, baseball, bubbles

After Church! on Sunday, we headed to Red Hook to get the most delicious Mexican food I've ever had.


Then we headed to IKEA for ice cream on the water.

Brighton Beach

Addie tried her hardest to sneak into Grandma's suitcase for the flight home.

Food, Family, Fireworks. . . .and Grasshoppers

Kalyl and Kailer

Hunter

Kai and Madyson

her smile is infectious

Auntie Stacey and the girls
Aunt Lizzy, soon-to-be Uncle Josh, and Colby






Papa and Camden


Bubba and Addie

Riis Beach

JD
Last Tuesday we took a little trip to Scranton, New Jersey to watch our friend, JD, play baseball. He plays for the Chief's minor league team in Syracuse. Kailer was so excited to see him pitch and earn a win, too!



Before the game, we spent a couple hours at a little Family Fun Center up the road from the stadium. The kids had a blast on the go-carts, bumper boats, miniature golfing. Kailer even got to hit in the batting cages for the first time, and he did an awesome job!