coming soon.... pictures!

Okay, we've had Gavin's birthday (first his party, including a visit from Gramma Joy, then his real birthday a week later) AND Christmas (with a visit from Grammy). I promise that pictures were taken. I also promise to upload those pictures and post them here with commentary.

A quick recap: Gavin had his birthday party at the Hoppin Hippo on 12/12. He had a blast and loved playing with all his friends. His real birthday occured on 12/19 and he is now officially 4 years old. I continue to feel baffled at that whole situation. Then Christmas came! Santa brought way too much stuff (duh, who didn't see that coming?) and the boys had a blast.

I am off of work for 2 weeks total - I go back January 3 for staff development and my class returns on Jan. 4. Gavin and Colin are loving being at home with me and Scott (who is taking a lot of time off to be with us at home - yay!) but I know they'll be excited to see Kelly and her family when they get back into that routine.

Pictures soon, I promise!!!

reading

Gavin has been learning and understanding more and more every day about letters, sounds and words. It is such a trip to watch him soak it up, process it all, and share it back in his way.

He's been "reading" Blue Hat Green Hat for a while now. Tonight he read it to his brother So cute, for so many reasons - 1) duh, it's so cool to see him as an emergent reader and 2) the boys do such a good job together.

In other news, Scott has gotten on a plane and is currently (I hope!) in the air on his way back to the land of craziness, i.e. our house!!! He left early Monday morning, and we have been missing him all week. This morning especially was r.o.u.g.h. - reason #3 why this video and the boys being cute together is making me so happy! The week has actually been pretty great. I've had a blast with the kids. Last night (hello, vomit, you are so not welcome here) and this morning, though, the strain of being without Scott was really starting to show! SO happy he's on his way back :)

dentist

Gavin loves going to the dentist. So much so, in fact, that when I let him know that I (gasp!) forgot to take him on Thursday - I'd been home all day with Colin, who'd been running a fever the day before - Gavin wailed. Not cried, no, that would not do the spectacle justice. He sobbed, he wailed, he nearly screamed. And he spent the rest of the evening, until he went to bed, angry with me. I felt awesome.

The dentist office is only open M-Th, so I wasn't able to call and reschedule until yesterday. Luckily, they had an opening this afternoon, so Gavin, Colin and I headed over there after I left work. Colin munched on pretzels and played with the water faucet (if you pushed a particular cabinet door it turned the water on, a no-hands thing) while Gavin had his teeth inspected, counted, polished and flossed.

After the hygienist finished with him (Ms. Stacy was great!), Dr. Gaddy came in to check him out as well. After learned what we already know - Gavin and his teeth are awesome! - Dr. Gaddy gave both boys a sugar-free lollipop.

Colin had his when we got home, and now it is somewhere in my house, stuck to something. I'm sure it'll turn up sooner or later..... :)

2K Fun Run/Walk

My first grade team organized a 2K Fun Run/Walk to benefit the Humane Society of Williamson County. Gavin walked/ran in the race - he ran most of it, actually! By the end, he was in need of a banana:


Colin also enjoyed the bananas. You can't see it in the picture, but he's shoving the piece I'm handing him entirely in his mouth:

Gavin was SO proud of himself!!!

favorites

Colin loves shoes. Loves them. As such, he would very VERY much like to be wearing them at all times. He has a specific love of his crocs. His cammo crocs are super stinky (seriously, EW) so I've hidden them from him. If he can't wear those, he wants his Longhorn crocs, even though they are too big.

This morning, he found one of his Longhorn crocs on the floor and had to put it on. He couldn't find the other one, so he walked around for quite a while in his red socks and 1 croc. He calls his shoes "oosh" (like he's saying it backwards).

The motion in the picture is because while wearing his favorite shoes, he was saying his other favorite word: NO.

Speaking of words, here's a list of words Colin says now:

NO!, baby (that's what he calls Gavin!), mommy, daddy, Jakie, Maggie, shoes, toes, nose, eyes, ears, hair, belly, penis (that was a new one this morning!), purple, green, orange, red, eat, milk, juice, doggie, puppy, Woody, hat, baseball, water, hot, more, please, thank you, bath, teeth, vitamin, car, mine, pizza, cheese (both the food and when pretending to take a picture), yogurt, cup, outside, whee! (that's his word for slide), swing, pop, balloon, bubbles, up, Spongebob (he says "bob bob"), knees, bottle, hi, bye-bye, nite-nite, uh-oh, ball, bite (usually it's "more bite" when he's still hungry), ew (that usually means that he pooped - he'll even point to his dirty diaper while saying it), pancake (take take, just like his brother used to say it!) ... and many more that I haven't deciphered yet :)

arrowhead ranch

Kelly took the boys to Arrowhead Ranch today. It sounds like they had a great time!

Here's Gavin feeding a goat:

Kelly said that Colin was trying to pretty much sneak up on the goat, most likely to hug it (like he does with the dogs). It looks like he's doing some rear-sniffing, totally cracks me up!

Doesn't Gavin look proud up on that horse?

Colin looks like he's concentrating on this horse-riding thing:

We'd talked about taking Gavin's cowboy hat over to Kelly's today, and it was forgotten somewhere during the weekend. When I picked the boys up this afternoon Gavin was not pleased with me! He told me that's why I shouldn't go to work, I should just stay home with them. Ouch! As much as I'd love to....

colin likes corn

We went to Chili's for dinner tonight - why, yes, we are fancy people! - and Gavin asked for corn on the cob with his chicken. We never have corn on the cob at home, so I'm not sure where he has had it before, but when our food came Gavin dug right in.

Right before we were ready to go, Scott offered Colin a bite. He started and didn't come up for air for what seemed like forever! I'm sorry the video is so long, feel free to stop watching at any time ... I was just amazed that he kept at it so long :) About 40 seconds in, he says "puppy" around the corn when he sees a picture of a puppy on the wall. You'll notice that he does all his talking with the corn cob still securely in his teeth!

He did finally come up for air, but went right back to the corn to nibble some more.

Poor Gavin. All of my videos lately have been very Colin-centric. I'll have to get some video of Gavin writing his name. He's just recently learned how and I'm SO proud of him!

at the park

Yesterday afternoon the boys and I stopped at the park on our way home to enjoy the gorgeous weather. I haven't been to the park with the boys since the summer, I don't think, so I've missed some fun times it seems. Colin loves the slide!

Gavin had to have his "picture" taken on the slide, too :)

These boys are hilarious and sweet together. Sorry for the lengthy shot of just the slide part way through on this one - I was one-arming Colin to the top of the slide. Gavin just walks right up the slide rather than taking the time to go around to the steps, and monkey-see, monkey-do, so Colin has no patience for the going-around business. Anyway, here you go:

playing with balloons

Yesterday the boys got dressed up in their Halloween costumes (pictures of those to come!) and went to the neighborhood party. They each came home with a balloon, and both balloons were woefully sad looking today - but the boys had a ridiculous amount of fun playing with them!

(my apologies for the quality of the videos - iphones are not ideal for taking video!)

As you can see, it's a clothing-optional kind of day at our house. The boys also love to dance, and it's pretty funny to watch :)

Get yourself a baby kangaroo, you know what a kangaroo will do, they bounce and bounce and bounce and bounce and.......

Vegas baby!

Scott used to travel to Vegas every year, right after Thanksgiving, for a work conference. I was always pregnant or home with a baby or 2 and could never tag along. For his birthday this year we decided to go big and head out to Vegas. Grammy came to stay with the boys and we had a weekend of being grownups. Without children! It was bizarre, but so much fun :)

This picture was one of our attempts to take our own picture in our hotel room. It was after we'd gotten back from seeing the Cirque de Soleil show "O" - which was amazing. I have no idea what it was about, but it was really fun to watch!

We were walking back to our hotel one afternoon when we spotted a Storm Trooper hanging out on the sidewalk. When we told Gavin over the phone he was so excited! I felt bad that I didn't get a picture of the R2D2 we saw, but it was on top of a slot machine and just didn't seem like something I really wanted to show him!

We wandered through the shops next to City Center, and the picture below is a restaurant!

Of the 3 shows we saw, Penn & Teller might have been my favorite. I really like that they stick around after the show for pictures and autographs. Penn called everyone "boss." Ha!

I actually heard Teller talk, which was interesting since he never talks during the live show or when you watch them on TV. He was very nice!

Here's an action shot of Scott while we were at the piano bar:

And my action shot:

We had some seriously great sushi at a fusion restaurant called "Sushi Samba." My favorite was the Maya roll, which was tomato, avocado, and crab, with a tomatillo dipping sauce. Holy freaking delicious sushi!!

I had to take a picture of our hilariously froofy drinks. Mine was a strawberry something, and Scott's was grapefruity (with sugar on the rim). But hey, we had a coupon, so one of them was free!

I threw away some money on slot machines (basically, I paid to push a button over and over with no return), but we didn't really gamble. Scott was wondering today how he made it through a weekend in Vegas without playing a single hand of blackjack.

I missed the boys like crazy while we were gone, but I also can't express how much I enjoyed sleeping in and going out at night and only being in charge of myself. This trip was only my 3rd or 4th night away from Gavin (and some of those were when I was in the hospital having Colin), and I'd never spent the night apart from Colin since he was born. It was definitely time! Plus, it made me that much happier to return home, since I couldn't wait to see my babies.

It's a lot easier for vacations to come to an end when you look forward to what's waiting for you at home.

LOVE

I love them. Adore them, really. Scott posted this picture on facebook yesterday - he spent a while fixing it up, messing with colors and getting rid of some smudge you could see on the wall, but all I could see was how precious and wonderful my babies are. (Ha, how obnoxious is that? Sorry.) Seriously, they are the best thing I have ever done. Ever.

this little piggie

You would think, with the way Colin gobbles down his food these days, that he'd be breaking the scale with his heft. But you'd be wrong.

Tonight he just ate all 4 of his McDonald's chicken nuggets (mom of the year award, here I come!), several french fries, a whole banana, a danimals drink yogurt, and a handful of cheerios. Now he's asking for something, but it sounds like he's calling "Jakie" so I'm not really sure what he's after. No nap today, according to Kelly - we'll be going to bed early tonight!

Gavin ate about 1/2 of his cheeseburger and is munching on fries while drinking his yogurt. He chugged his chocolate milk in record time. Now G is asking me about Halloween costumes - I can't wait to see what Joy has put together! Colin will be Yoda, and Gavin will be Luke Skywalker. Nora across the street will be Princess Leia. G would like me to dress up as someone from Clone Wars, but I'm thinking no. I asked if I could be Chewbacca, but he said no since I'm a girl. Grr. But he said his daddy can be Chewie, and I think that would be just dandy :)

new doggie!!

On Friday, I took the boys to the Williamson County Animal Shelter to browse the beautiful puppies in need of new homes. We saw a pretty girl named Vida, and she stole my heart. I took a picture of her and texted it to Scott, who was about to board a plane in San Francisco to come home to us after being out of town for work all week. On Saturday, we loaded the family into the car to go back to the shelter so that Scott could see the dogs himself. As I was showing Vida to him, a man came to take her out of her kennel to go to an on-site adoption event at PetSmart. He offered to leave her at the shelter, but we told him we'd meet him there to see her - that way, we could see her outside the shelter environment, and if we adopted her there we got a bunch of PetSmart coupons, so why not? We stopped by the "chicken nugget station" (Chick Fil A) for lunch and then went to PetSmart. There she was, looking pretty! They brought her to us on a leash and let us take her on a little walk between the stores, away from the other dogs. She was sweet, totally fine with the boys, and we all fell in love. We left here there to go home and get Jake so that we could see if the 2 dogs got along. When we returned with Jake, we walked the 2 of them together and they seemed almost indifferent to each other. Jake was, I think, nervous and weirded out by the barking of the shelter dogs when he was near them, and so he was more subdued than usual. Anyway, they seemed to get along just fine (no fighting, no problems at all) so we adopted Vida!

Here she is, sitting at my feet:

And here she is sleeping at my feet:

She is the same height as Jake (or maybe a smidge taller) but 53 lbs to his 70 lbs. But Jake is a Fatty McFattysaurus these days, and she's been at a shelter (before that, a stray).

Scott ran out to WalMart to get a crate for the new doggie. She'll go in it when there is a treat inside and no people close, but Colin seems to enjoy it more :) So does Jake, actually. Last night, when she cried to go out, she didn't want to go back in the crate. Jake went in instead, and she slept in Jake's dog bed.

The new dog does not yet have a name. We're looking at several names, and as soon as we've found the perfect one to fit her we will share :)

getting scared....

On Friday, we are getting on a plane with 2 crazy cute monsters. I am so very worried about how that will go. Naps are a fight. Snacks work as bribery, but once they're no longer hungry they cease to be very helpful. They like to move around. Colin will not have his own seat on the plane and will share with me, and he will wiggle the entire time.

Deep breaths. I think I can, I think I can.....

summer

You'd think that, now that summer is in full swing, I would actually update the blog. Or, maybe, just take a few pictures. But no, I have not updated the blog, and I haven't even taken pictures of the kids. (Or of anything else, just to be clear.) Wow. I'm fairly ashamed of myself.

Facebook has been my downfall. It's really easy to post a one-liner update of what's going on, or snap a quick picture on my phone and post it, and so I don't think about getting online to blog about anything. I am a very lazy blogger. I'm sorry.

We leave on Friday for Tucson, and I am certain that either Scott or I will take pictures of all the goings-on with the family. In the event that an epic picture-fail occurs, other family members will hopefully have cameras and snap away, sharing the fruits of their labors with us after we beg and plead. There WILL be pictures.

So, a quick update:

Gavin is 3 1/2 and he is amazing. He is taking swimming lessons at Nitro Swimming every Saturday, and he's *thisclose* to moving from station 1 to station 2 - to do so, he has to hold his breath for 5 seconds with his face fully submerged in the water. He got to 3 or 4 seconds this past Saturday, and then in the pool with Scott on Sunday did a full 10 seconds! This is a big deal, since getting him to even put on goggles (he calls them "gobbles") was an ordeal, and he's really not been a big fan of putting any part of his head underwater. Progress!! He loves to pretend, and he's a loving and fabulous big brother. He loves broccoli. He is so proud that he's finally learned to pee standing up. He can't get himself moving on the swing yet so he still demands to be pushed. He is an adept negotiator. Oh, and he gives the BEST hugs on the planet.

Colin is 16 months and walking (and running now too!) up a storm. He loves to be outside. He is talking more and more each day (I have GOT to post a video of him yelling "Da-EEEE" to get Scott's attention!). Today he figured out how to unhook the cabinet locks in the kitchen, and then he spent the rest of the afternoon/evening happily digging around and banging on my metal mixing bowls. He loves to close doors, so he'll go into Gavin's room, close the door, and then play with whatever is at hand. Or he'll notice that the pantry is partly open, go inside, and pull the door closed. I'll open the door and he's standing inside (in the dark), just grinning at me. He is learning to throw one heck of a tantrum. If he's mad, he'll lay down on the floor and start scooting (in whatever direction his head is pointed) until he hits a wall. If I leave the room, he'll scoot until he reaches an obstacle, stand up, find me, and lay back down to scoot some more. Of course, he screams the entire time. Hellooooooo terrible twos! You are early! When he's not channeling a demon, though, he is the sweetest, snuggliest little man. And he's got the beginnings of a mullet, since his hair's finally growing in. We're watching it, don't worry, it'll get cut before things get too crazy.

Scott has been traveling for work (Germany, Germany again, California, soon California again) more frequently these days. We all like it best when he's home! I had a couple of training days for school earlier in the month, and I go back the first week in August for 3 more training days. School stuff officially begins for me August 16 with staff development on my campus. Until then, I'm enjoying every second I have on vacation!

for your viewing pleasure...

We sing the ABCs at home all the time, and we have for a long while - the song has even become part of Gavin's handwashing routine, a way for him to make sure he scrubs his hands long enough before rinsing. This video is take 2 - the first time, he was putting his hands in front of the camera [until I told him I'd let him watch it when we were done, that prompted full cooperation]. You may notice that he skips J, and of course lmnop is all one letter. We're working on it :)



"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" is a newer favorite at home. I don't know if he learned it with Kelly or at school, but he's just recently starting singing "twinkle." I'm sad that I didn't get it on camera when he was still singing "crinkle crinkle little star." Oh well. Still cute.



By the time we got around to singing "Wheels on the Bus," Gavin was really into it. My favorite part is when he gets to the driver on the bus.



Colin's not singing yet, but he is starting to sign! I'll try to get video of that soon. He's been signing when he's finished [at the table usually, though the other day he signed he was finished after some bath tub water swallowing/sputtering, which was cool - the signing, not the sputtering!]. His wave [hello or goodbye] is starting to look more and more like a real wave, too - it started as him clenching his fists and opening them again, at his sides or wherever his hands were, and now he's starting to point his hand in the direction of whatever/whoever he's waving at. Most recently he's starting signing "more." Today he had barely put a bit of marshmallow in his mouth and was already signing for more. The kid has a sweet tooth, what can I say?

a day in the life...

Gavin spent the better part of the morning in his Shrek underwear (that are too big, and he was falling out of them in one way or another quite frequently, ha). He called it his "wrestling outfit." Then he had buffalo wings and banana yogurt for lunch - only Gavin would find that combo even remotely appetizing! - and dripped buffalo sauce and ranch on his undies so he decided it was finally time to get dressed. He came out of his room dressed in a rhino shirt and light-up fire truck jeans and carrying a sword, declaring himself "Captain Hook." Two guesses as to who saw "Peter Pan" for the first time today?

Colin has been (mostly) all smiles this morning. He woke up, nursed, and then just grinned at me. I love that! Then he played on the floor with the kitchen set (he likes to pull everything out and throw it on the floor - thank goodness he does it with the play kitchen and not the real one!) and with his new blocks. The blocks are very tasty, apparently, and he chewed on them contentedly. He napped early, then had some sweet potato and yogurt for lunch, and now he's happy in his jumper. It's been a while since he's used it, and I think we're getting close to time to retire it. It is definitely nice to be able to put him someplace and know he won't be across the room in 1/2 a second. I'll miss the jumper when it's gone!

Now Gavin is talking on the phone from his kitchen: "Hello? .... I know ... hmmm ... (hands phone to daddy) it's my friends. (takes phone back) Hello? ... oh my gosh! ... wanna talk to mommy? (hands phone to me, then takes it back) Yeah. ... I'm tired. I'll take a nap, in a little while. I'm watching football ... with my daddy. Bye!"

He has such an imagination. Yesterday, he told me he was the daddy and I was the kid. And he was going to the "hamburger station" to get me a hamburger and chocolate milk and apples and a toy. He got a soda, because he was the grown-up. Every place we go is the "___ Station" - the hamburger station, the coffee station, airplane station.

Now Colin is chewing on his fingers and looking around. It's almost time for his nap, but for now he's happy to chill out and talk to us. Just a day in the life of us...