It Was Time

 It's no secret that I'm in love with Gavin's hair.  When those dark blonde curls started forming at nine months, it was love at first sight.  But, something has happened to his hair over the past year.  Those curls faded and left me dying for them to come back! Sometimes I'm a little slow on the pick-up, it takes me a little longer to see what others have noticed for a while. Sure, my first clue he needed a haircut should've been when I was questioned if he was a boy or a girl.  My second could've been the rat's nest I've had to tame every morning for months. When I got this picture back, I couldn't believe what I saw!  There is but one lone curl left on the left side of his head. How have I allowed my son's hair to look like this?  And why hasn't anyone stopped me??  He is going to hate me when he sees this picture (and a bazillion others just like it) as a teenager. 

  I finally said goodbye.

With the promise of two Dum-Dum's, he patiently let G-Jo get to work.

New and maybe not-so-improved Gavin!

This is his 'man pose.'  I've tried to tell him men don't put their hands on their hips like that or sashay their other hand, but he doesn't listen.  So, Gavin, when you're older, I'll take the blame for the hair, but the questionable posing?  That's all you, son. 

Pumpkin Patch

 We made our sixth annual trip to the pumpkin patch.  The shirts that Gavin and Cannon have on are the ones that Harrison and Gavin wore in 2008.  Harrison didn't seem to notice he was the only one not festively dressed and I surely didn't bring it up, I would've had to confess I just forgot about getting him a new shirt. We love this place, it really gets you in the spirit of fall.  Bales of hay, a bazillion pumpkins, lots of character cut-outs, bounce houses, carnival food, and hay rides!

 Always a good  time when you're with your friends.  These guys have been playing together for years!

♫ Which one of these is not like the other? ♫

 Gavin has already developed quite an affinity for the ladies.  He spots 'em quick and hooks on like a tick.  Ava kindly allowed him to stay steady on her heels.  

 I'll be honest, Cannon didn't love the pumpkin patch. I guess I'm not surprised, what's a four month old going to enjoy at one of these things?  Not even the hay ride or all the bouncing did much for him.

 He did pass a little time looking at hay.  

These friends have been playing together for years, too.

Spurts of Fun

I've been pretty lame lately with parenting and doing fun stuff with the kids.  I'm working on the guilt I feel trying to convince myself this is temporary and soon we'll be back to the good ol' days of leaving toy rooms messy and endless play time.  As for now, we're making a big deal out of the small things we are doing.  Like, on this day when I took Gavin to eat lunch with Harrison at his school.  Gavin was really excited to walk through the cafeteria and pick his lunch and Harrison was equally excited getting to be the leader showing Gavin what to do.

Gavin slowed down the line a little bit by being a slow chooser, but for his first time he got the gist fairly easy. 

Cheesy boys!

Getting to carry his tray to and fro was Gavin's highlight.  Although, a close second would be the ridiculous amount of attention he received from all the kindergarten girls. 

On another day of excitement we joined Harrison's elementary school in a mile and a half walk-a-thon through the neighborhood.  Making up at least one thousand people, the entire student body, faculty, and many families joined in the fun.

These outings, while small, are helping pass the time and are keeping some level of normalcy for our family while in this awkward transition.  Steve often calls and tells me about another place he can't wait for us to go to when we get to South Carolina.  It's sweet because he wants us to experience it for the first time together as a family so he drives by places or reads about things to do but doesn't stop.  We are going to have a long list of things to visit when we arrive to our new home--I can't wait!


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Godmudder

To My Godmother

Maddison

I want you to know how lucky I feel
to have a Godmother like you.
Someone who always loves me
no matter what I do.

When I think of you I count my blessings,
and thank the Lord above,
that I have you for my Godmother,
because Godmothers are chosen with love.

  Love,

Gavin

Gavin loved his visit from Maddison.  Anytime she ventured out of his sight he would wonder aimlessly around whining, "Godmudder, Godmudder, where are you?"  He was too sad to say goodbye when we took Maddy back to the airport.  He buried his head in his car seat leaving just his quivering chin showing.  While it broke my heart it also filled my heart with happiness seeing that special bond that's created with Godparents.  

Thank you, Maddy, for spending your hard-earned babysitting money to come visit us here in Texas!

School Days

I have so many blogs to write.  Godmother visits, chocolate class lessons,  funny stories from the mouths of babes, and new life plans to discuss--I am, oh, so behind.  And as much as I hate blogging out of turn, I couldn't let the sun set without sharing my big boy's first day of kindergarten!

 Harrison has been making me count down the days until kindergarten since June. Like any child of mine should be, what had him the most excited was lunch and getting to go to the cafeteria.  We looked at the lunch menu online and he had his lunch all picked out: chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, green beans, crunchy bread and chocolate milk.  I could have guessed at least half of what he had by what stains he brought home on his shirt.  

I think they need kindergarten 101 for us first-time parents. We were not prepared for the carpool lane, prepaid cafeteria cards, pick-ups and drop-offs.  We ended up in the bus lane with Steve yelling at me to, "go, go, go!" It was total chaos, dropping off and picking him up. 

 Gavin went back to the same preschool as last year.  It was a familiar calmness we needed after the chaotic elementary school drop-off.  Gavin greeted his teacher, put up his lunch and backpack then went quickly to playing at his designated chair.  Smooth as butter.

Gavin summed up his entire summer to his teacher by telling her he had a baby brother, his name is baby Cannon and he cries a lot.  After school when I asked how his morning went he excitedly said, "Mom, I didn't say poop or butt!"  Does it make me a bad mom that the bar I place for my kids is low enough that a successful preschool day is measured by not saying inappropriate words? Quite possibly, but I was pleased nonetheless. 

After school Harrison showed me how he learned to hold his backpack only with one strap on one shoulder, like the big kids.  He also told me as I got out the car this morning that I didn't need to walk him in because he was big enough to do it by himself.  He reluctantly agreed to at least one week of me walking him in so I can make sure he knows where to go.  After I helped show him where to put his backpack and how to find his seat he turned and said, "you can go now."  This boy has been ready to start school for quite some time.  I'm just not sure he realizes it's going to be everyday for the next sixteen years.  No need to squash that excitement just yet.

Another Addition?

For the nine months I was pregnant Gavin said he was pregnant, too.  Whenever my baby kicked, also did Gavin's.  So, it would only be fitting that when Cannon was born, Gavin's baby leopard was born, too.  This is a stuffed animal he's had for a couple years, it wasn't until recently that leopard became a very helpless baby. 

All of a sudden leopard needs a diaper, because, like his little brother, Cannon, leopard doesn't know how to 'hold it' until he gets to the potty. I indulge this a little, but I draw the line when Gavin says leopard needs to be changed as often as Cannon.  Leopard is a one diaper kinda animal. 

Leopard needs to be soothed in the swing just like Cannon.  Gavin is very protective of his baby and even thinks Cannon should get kicked out of his swing if his leopard is upset and needs soothing. 

Cannon even kindly shares his wardrobe with leopard. 

Oh, this is the best part!  Gavin uses a toy screwdriver to, um, 'get the milk' from his boobies.  He even makes sound effects that sound kinda like soda coming from a soda fountain.  This is the funniest and yet strangest part of him caring for his baby.  I would assume that he's going to feed his leopard the way he sees me feeding Cannon, but this isn't how I feed Cannon.  I'm breastfeeding, not pumping or bottle feeding.  But, who am I to judge with the way a mother provides for her baby??

The screwdriver is then full of milk and given to leopard....on the nursing pillow, no less. 

I don't know how long baby leopard will be sticking around, although, he seems like a pretty good baby.  He sleeps through the night, never poops up his backside or pees on the front of his shirt, is okay being ignored for hours and hours, and is always where you left him. 

My Little Man G

My soon-to-be middle child has turned three.  I want to write down all that makes Gavin Gavin before it gets lost in my Mommy memory.

Gavin wakes every morning, and without fail, the first words out of his mouth are, "I want milky."  Followed quickly with "my tummy hurts..needs milk.  Needs milk, Mommy."  This is often how our days end also.  Don't ever try to come between this boy and his milk! 


Favorite color: Blue

Favorite superhero: Batman, Robin, Spider man, and Cat woman.  And, no, he can't narrow the list, they are all his favorites so, please, don't ask.

Favorite cartoon: Spider man and his amazing friends


Favorite book: My First Animal Picture Book.  Gavin will point to every animal and ask if they can bite.

Favorite snack: Cool Ranch Doritos (or the blue chippies as he calls them) and it's best served with cold chocolate milk.


What he wants to do when he grows up: Beat bad guys.  He answers this while simultaneously giving me a visual of beating up those bad guys.

Favorite sport: soccer

Favorite pastime:  snuggling with Mom while she scratches his back.

What Gavin can't go to bed without:  his favorite blue blankie.

Dad's Favorite thing about Gavin:  His dynamic personality.  He's full of character.

 Mom's Favorite thing about Gavin:  Hands down, our snuggle time together!  It's the best!!

Harrison's Favorite thing about Gavin:  That he's my best friend...and he wrestles with me!

We had a small family birthday celebration for Gavin.  It was small but perfect with pizza, cake and presents!

Gavin loved hearing everyone sing 'happy birthday' just for him.

It was a family effort to make Gavin his Batman cake.  He wanted a pink (strawberry) cake with blue icing.  Grammy kindly let me use the same cake pan and Batman face that Steve had as a child.  Gavin loved the cake just as much as Steve did when he was little. 

Hoppy Easter

 As always, holidays are best celebrated with family and friends. 

 The kids were very excited to wake up and find their hidden Easter baskets.  We did a fun game of 'warmer-colder' to help lead them in the right direction.  Gavin found his in the shower while that sneaky Easter bunny hid Harrison's on top the arcade games inside of a small tent.  

 No Easter is complete without an Easter egg hunt...

 .....or a boy dressed head-to-toe in a Batman costume....

 ....or friends to make the hunt that much more exciting!

Two Days of Fun

 G-Jo attended a conference in Grapevine and decided to make a mini vacation of it, she offered for us to join her and we happily accepted!  It was just a couple weeks before Gavin's birthday so we made it an early birthday celebration for him also.  Harrison was soo excited he was finally tall enough to ride the slides at Great Wolf Lodge.  He had G-Jo going down the slides until she wanted to puke!  Thank goodness Dad stepped in to finish the rides.  Gavin and I loved the wave pool and kiddie slides.  

 The next day we took the kids to Lego Land.  They loved this place!  Look at the picture of Gavin--he was like Noah collecting the animals two-by-two for the Ark.  He would have played here for hours if we let him.

 

Two full days of fun for the kids and exhaustion for Steve and me.  When the kids go to bed each night I ask them what their favorite part of the the day was.  It's always entertaining to hear the answers they come up with and I think it's good going to sleep thinking about what makes you happy.  I just knew all of the hard work of the two days would pay off as Harrison told me his favorite part of our mini trip. "Harrison, what was your favorite part of the trip?"  dying with anticipation he responded, "Remember when we were waiting for Dad to get the tickets to Lego Land and we went into Game Stop? The man told me I could play that demo game for 10 minutes!  That was sooo cool!  You think we could go back there?!"  "Do you mean you want to go back to Lego Land?" I asked.  "No, Mom, to Game Stop so I can play that game!"

Isn't that so sweet?  I'm having contractions, swollen feet, and a suitcase waiting for me to unpack thinking it was all worth it to show my kids a good time when all I really needed to do was take them to Game Stop. 

Fort Worth Nature Reserve

G-Jo had a great idea for us all to go to the local nature reserve.  Just when I think I have learned of all the fun things to do in this city I learn something new.  The kids were very excited to go hiking in the woods, they thought we were camping! Harrison mostly wanted to find and capture as many bugs as possible and Gavin simply wanted to scale and jump off as many rocks his little legs could climb. 

Harrison was disappointed the bugs just didn't jump into his collection container.  This is him trying to pick up an ant, he had a really hard time getting the ants into the collection container without smushing them to death.  I think the death toll of ants that day was at least ten--not one made it into the container alive!  Gavin, of course, quickly picked out a walking stick to help him with his adventures.

 

 To spend a Sunday afternoon climbing and hiking--a little boy's dream!

 Gavin jumping off a very big little pebble pretending he was the 'king of the world!'

G-Jo schooling Harrison on some land navigation. Who needs boy scouts when you have G-Jo to teach you how to read a map??  **Note- she went hiking on the same trail just the day before and ended up on a 4 1/2 mile detour (a.k.a getting lost.) But, Harrison doesn't need to know that.  He can live a little longer thinking G-Jo always knew exactly where she was going!**

 Our little 2 1/2 mile hike sufficiently wore us all out.  We had pink cheeks and hungry tummies when we made it back to the car.  Nothing like walking out of the wilderness into a nice air conditioned car to make you appreciate technology. 

**One last note** Steve was present for this family outing.  As always, he's behind the camera capturing the family moments.