Gavin Turns Two

Our little baby turns two today. Gavin has brought so much joy to our home. He is such a fun kid, so expressive and enthusiastic. He gets along great with his brothers and has become a great climber lately. He loves to read and play with Legos and he is a big Curious George fan. He only has a few words in his vocabulary: Yes! bus, mom, dad, nack (snack), ju (juice)...but he says them VERY enthusiastically.


Gavin got a Lego set for his birthday after begging to play with Daniel's Legos for the past month. All three boys sat here playing for two solid hours. This was a great find too- $3.99 at the thrift store.

Perfect Birthday Picnic

Today is my Mom's birthday. We got to enjoy a beautiful day at the park, having lunch with Grandma, climbing, hunting, running and swinging at the park where I grew up. The sun was shining, the boys were laughing and the leaves are turning beautiful colors or yellow, orange and red. It was a perfect afternoon. We love you Mom, Happy Birthday!

Big Boy Beds

This afternoon, Gavin and Vincent both got to take their first nap in their new big boy beds. It only took a couple hours for them both to fall asleep.
I warned Vincent about not rolling out of his bed while sleeping. I guess he took me seriously and cautiously slept between his mattress and the wall.

This configuration is just for today. The top bunk will go on either tonight or tomorrow. There is one final piece needed for final assembly.

Saying goodbye to the old bed and crib

Playmates

Vincent is beginning to phase out of his nap. He keeps staying awake too long and then waking Gavin up before he finally falls asleep. Then he wakes up super grumpy just before dinner. Also, Daniel requires a lot of attention during his brother's nap time because he has no one to play with.
Today, Vincent stayed up with Daniel and they played together so nicely the whole time. It was awesome. The last few days they have been best buds playing all sorts of things and having so much fun together.
This morning at breakfast I guess they were make believing that Vincent was Grandma and I heard the following conversation at the table.

Daniel: "Grandmother, this will not work."
Vincent: "Well you should use some tape, My Dear."

I don't know where they learned to talk this way, but it was hilarious.

I love these legs.

Daddy read the boys a book about Patience. It had too many words, so he paraphrased...Irony.
These boys LOVE their daddy. Last night they all sat around the dining room table writing and coloring while I dozed off on the couch. George was teaching them how to write their letters.

Bunkbed Project

We got to celebrate Auntie Robyn's birthday at lunch today. She brought over the 3 kids she nanny's and we all had PB&Js and jello with a candle in it. It was lots of fun and we love our Robyn.
My dad and his brother grew up with these bunk beds. My sisters and I also slept on these through our formative years. We got them from my parents basement and we're in the process of refinishing them for the third generation.
There have been names etched into the varnish and more than a few bite marks on these beds. They've held up surprisingly well for 9 kids and 60 years so far.
The boys are pretty excited about getting a new bed. They are still sleeping on the same mattresses as they did when the came home from the hospital.
If you've ever wondered how Google gets all the photos of everyone's house on everyone's street, this is how. This car drove past our house at full speed with this contraption on top. Amazing and a little scary.

Allergy Testing

Gavin has had pretty severe breathing reactions the past few months when he's been at Grandma and Grandpa's house. So we got some allergy tests done and it was what we suspected, the cat. They scratched his back with 15 or 20 different allergens and also gave him a shot as part of the allergy test, then we waited 20 minutes to see what he reacted to. He also has a lot of trouble breathing when we gets a cold, so we've been using a nebulizer with Albuterol and Pulmicort. We've been losing some sleep with this thing, but we're thankful we have access to medicine that can help Gavin breath and sleep once he gets a dose...usually.
Gavin has gotten more time in our bed than either of his brothers combined. It's partly the trouble he has breathing, and a little bit because he's our last and it's fun to snuggle. Not so good for sleeping though...he REALLY likes to snuggle close. He was on top of George's back last week around 3 am.
There is a great deal of parental monitoring done by sound. I listen to hear what the boys are up to, how they're getting along and who is where. As most parents of young ones probably know, the sound of silence is sweet, but if little ones are conscious, it probably means trouble. They get really quiet when they're eating candy behind the couch or coloring on the walls etc.
With Gavin, however, as often as not, he's sitting in another room intently reading a book. He doesn't say much, but he loves to read.

Random Photos

I recently downloaded all the pictures on my phone to my computer, so these are some random shots from the past few months.

Daniel's reaction to being told Auntie Robyn wouldn't be coming to visit today after all.

Vincent & Daniel wrestling on the water slide at "Reiding's" birthday party.

Leaf fight with Grandpa, Darian and Devyn

Vincent and Gavin were being perfect angels at the bookstore

Daniel's with his buddies- Nico, Lily and Isaiah

The home theater set up at Grandma and Grandpa's for holiday entertainment, complete with popcorn.

Gavin swinging Daniel on the hammock

All three boys swaddled

Trick or Treat

Iron man, Sheriff Woody and Batman hit the streets looking for goodies last night. Gavin understood the concept immediately and walked around holding his Christmas bag open and grunting at the neighbors. After awhile, he figured out if he just stayed on the porch, they would give him even more candy. Daniel got this awesome Woody Costume and Cowboy boots for his birthday from Auntie Tracy and Auntie Jessica. He made a really good Cowboy. And although the boys have never seen Iron Man, Vincent was really excited to turn this partial Power Rangers costume into Iron Man. He ran around the neighborhood chanting "Ironman, Ironman, I'm Iron Man."
We walked around with Maggie and Sean and their whole gang too. It was fun visiting with neighbors and being out and about at night. We all had a great time for our first, full-fledged Trick or Treating experience.
Vincent and Daniel both had costume parades at their preschools. They were at the same time and I didn't realize Daniel was having one because we missed school last week and didn't get the memo. So we marched around the block with Batman, Super Why, Tink and a fairy princess.

All ready for preschool

Congratulations Newlyweds!

Megan and Brian were married on October 21st! It was a beautiful wedding and we are so happy for the newlyweds who just returned from their honeymoon in Hawaii.

Dominic watched his Mommy and Grandpa walk down the aisle in his Daddy's arms.

It was a beautiful ceremony in Tilden Park at the Brazilian Room. The weather was perfect and the surrounding gardens were amazing. Megan kept saying that the orange and black color scheme had nothing to do with the Giants, but no one really believed her.





While Brian and Megan were away on their honeymoon, we got to play with Dominic for a day. He gets along with his cousins so well. They had a great time together.