snow day

A school week that begins on Tuesday and ends on Wednesday is definitely a good week.  I so enjoyed all the extra time with my littles this week.

Monday I was home with all three because they were out of school for the holiday, or inservice, or something.  It was a nice day to be home with them after being away all weekend.

Tuesday I sent one to school.

Wednesday I sent both to school.  And the snow began.  In total, I think we are somewhere between 10 and 15 inches.

And today we were all 5 home together.

Warm fire going, sledding behind the 4-wheeler, snow ice cream with friends, naps and cuddles, dinner in the crock pot, movie and popcorn...lots of my favorite things all packed into one day.

And one of the reasons that winter is my favorite!

 

On Wednesday I didn't let Gavin go out in the snow.  I wasn't sure how he'd like it and I hadn't rounded up any of his winter gear yet.  Luckily he was pretty content watching his brother and sister from the window.

 

 

But today, all 5 of us got in on the fun.

 

 

 Even though he looked pretty serious in a lot of the pictures, he really loved the snow. 

 It's hard to believe our little baby was out riding on a sled pulled by a 4-wheeler today.  And loving every minute of it.  When we stopped and tried to get him off for someone else's turn, he wasn't ever very happy. It's hard to get good pictures while playing in the snow, but he was so cute to watch, he would wave and squeal as he rode along.

 Proof I was actually participating.  I even got my turn on the sled with Gavin.

 

And as much fun as the snow is, nothing beats coming back in to enjoy the warm fire.

Definitely one of the best.days.ever.

happy wednesday

 

 I guess it's a sign that it's been too long since my last post when Dave asks when I'm going to post again.

 

So how about a camera phone dump and a little recap of our last week, backwards, since I'm too lazy to rearrange the way the pictures loaded.

 

Last night, the kids started soccer, with Daddy as their coach.

They are so excited and can't wait for their first game. 

 

 

Early Friday morning I flew out to Dayton, Ohio to visit my sister (who actually lives over the border in Kentucky).  It was lovely packing everything I needed into one carry-on and not having to check a bag.  But they took it from me at the gate anyway, because the overhead storage was full.  They asked me where my final destination was and I told the lady Cincinnatti.  She looked at my ticket and corrected me.  Oops. I guess it's important to know where you are going.  But it was really early in the morning.

 

It was my niece's 1st birthday weekend, so I was so excited to be able to be there to help my sister with the party and help them celebrate their little Alice!

I promise she liked me more than the shows in the pictures.

 

I stayed up super late and helped finish up party details, and then slept in both mornings with no one to wake me up.  It was delightful.  And a MUCH needed break for this mama.



I love that technology these days allows me to see my family face to face.  Mason took the phone back to his room and got under his covers to talk to me.  We made funny faces at each other and he told me some secrets.  He's so fun to hang out with, even on the phone.

 

 

The weekend went way to fast, but it was so nice to be able to get away on my own and spend some time with my sister and her family.  We just need to get better about getting me to the airport on time.  We are 2 for 2 in the last minute arrival and sprint to my gate.  I almost could blame it on the shopping we always do on the way, but this time it was unexpected traffic, and not the shopping.  I ended up making it on the plane with plenty of time, but when everything you read tells you to arrive 90 minutes prior to your departure, when you pull up to the airport with 25 minutes till the plane takes off, it's a little nerveracking.

 

We had a pretty simple, but fun, Valentine's Day before I left for my sister's. No mommy and daddy date out this year, and I was okay with that.  We started the morning with heart cinnamon rolls.  I just used the canned cinnamon rolls and unrolled them enough to reshape them into hearts.

 



 

The kids loved our Valentine's countdown, and reading a note about something we loved about them each day.  They are pretty proud of their love notes, and taped them all in a very special place.

 

 Before I left we had a fancy little Valentine's dinner as a family. We had an unintentional bacon theme going with Pioneer Woman's bacon-wrapped filets and green bean bundles, but everything is better with bacon, right?

 

Oh yeah, and Dave came home from work with flowers for both of his girls.  He has a tradition of bringing Taylor flowers, and I never know when I'm getting them and when I'm not.  So it's always a fun surprise when I do. 

 

 

Mason had a cute little Valentine's party for Pre-K, that included a few songs for the parents.  He counted down for this day for weeks.  And now the countdown continues for his birthday.

 

 

 We usually try to make it to one hockey game each year.  And thanks to Dave's cousin, we always get seats in the first row along the glass.  The game went into a shoot-out at the end of overtime, so it was especially exciting.

 

 

During one of the breaks, the kids got to go on the ice and pick up pucks that the crowd throws down for a game.  I was shocked they went.  Mason stuck close to Taylor and didn't actually bend down to pick up any pucks until near the end.  It takes him awhile to warm up to things sometimes. 

 

 

So far this week we are just hanging out.  It's a slow week, which is always nice. And we are anxiously awaiting a possible 1-10 inches of snow.  I've heard all different things, so we'll see.  

 

The best thing so far is that I came home to a completely different baby than we've had for weeks and weeks.  We can't figure it out.  But sweet little Gavin has not been so sweet lately.  I was nervous leaving Dave at home with all 3 kiddos.  When normally he does amazing, and I don't have to worry about a thing.  Gavin has been so hard on me for awhile now, that I wasn't sure how Dave was going to survive alone.  Much to my surprise I got reports back that he all of a sudden was acting way different.  As if he hadn't been feeling well for a month or more and now he does.  We don't know, but we are thankful for the change, and relieved to see our happy boy back. 

 

Today he let me set him down.  He let me walk away from him.  He did more laughing and playing than screaming and crying. He danced and laughed and ran and only checked in with me for the occasional snuggle.  As oppossed to the all-day-long-comforting.  He still likes to be a challenge at meal times.  But at least now we have the patience and energy to get through the meal times with him much easier.

 



 

Well, I'm off to watch the beginning of the snowfall.

Have a happy Wednesday!

 

gavin {14 months}

Man, I forget how much changes in just a few months with babies.  Gavin has lots of new things to share with you since our last post at the end of November.

This boy doesn't stop.  He hardly sits down and pauses for anything.  I know this is typical for boys, but Mason wasn't like that, so this is a first for us.  He gets into everything, opens cupboards, drawers, pulls things out of my purse, off tables and counters, and will not stay out of my bathroom cupboard where all my nail polish is.  He has broken one bottle already, by dropping it on the floor, but the others seem to be holding up fairly well.  And he's already trying to run.
It's crazy that our 3rd child is the one who is teaching us the most about being on our toes and knowing where he is at all times.  He is way more curious and on-the-go than the other two were.
But I love the way that he will stop in an instant after running wild, to sit down and snuggle in with me for just a few seconds.  And then he's off again.

His newest thing is climbing on the dining room table.  On this particular day, I turned around to see that he had climbed up only because Taylor and Mason were eating a snack that he wanted to be a part of too.  He definitely helped himself.  Ranch dressing and lots of dipping was involved.

 

 

The only words we've heard him say are mama and 'ruff', and sometimes dada.  He is definitely making other sounds like's he's trying to say something, but we have yet to figure it out.

But he does use some sign language quite a bit. His favorite is please and pretty much uses it for everything. But he also signs 'all done' and 'more' , and then he made up his own sign for "gimme gimme". 

 

  

Meal time is my least favorite time of the day with this kid. I can't seem to find much that he will eat. And he seems to think that throwing his food, plate, and sippy cup on the ground is pretty cool. He doesn't "accidentally" drop them. He slings them on the ground as fast and hard as he can. It's kind of exhausting. I would try the whole "take it away, and don't give it back" method, but I'm afraid he wouldn't care if he gets it back to eat or not.  If I could feed him yogurt and oatmeal all day, he'd be happy. And ice cream too. 

He moved to the big table just this week.  I still have the highchair sitting close, I may be in denial that it's time to pack it away.

 

 

He still sleeps like a champ.  Best baby ever.  If I am remembering right, he has woken up 1 time in the night since his first 8-10 weeks.  And that was on Christmas Eve.  I was nervous it was because he was getting sick, but I think it was because he was on complete overload.  He still naps twice a day, but can go without the morning nap if he has to.  I'm just recording the fact, I promise I'm not bragging.  He's also turned much more cuddly than he was his first year.  We never really rocked him as a baby, he never liked it.  He just wanted to be laid down.  But he does enjoy rocking now, but only because I think he's at the age that he knows it prolongs him having to be put to bed.  The things these kids figure out.

He wants to be held more than I remember Taylor and Mason wanting.  And he is 100% a Daddy's boy.  The minute Dave comes home from work, he moves his legs as fast as they will carry him to greet him, and then insists on not being let down.  Daddy loves it too, but it definitely makes it hard to take a shower.  When he hands him off to me, even if it's just for a second, Gavin throws the biggest fit.  He screams at me and kicks for me to give him back to Daddy.  He wants nothing to do with me, even though he wanted everything to do with me all day long.  Daddy has been known to take him to the bathroom with him and close him in there with a snack, just so he could stay close.

 

He's beginning to really love books.  His favorites are "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and a tractor book.  He brings them to me, grunts as he gives it to me, and then climbs into my lap.  It's a nice little perk to have another reader and almost a 2nd one! to read to him also.  

 

He loves anything electronic that he knows he shouldn't have.  Like the kids' mp3 players, our phones, and the remotes.  Oh, the fight we have with remotes everyday.  You'd think we would have figured out where to keep them out of his reach by now.  But somehow he runs off with remotes over and over again, every day.  There are 3 of them, so by the time I think I've rounded up 1 or 2 of them and have them out of reach, he's already grabbed the 3rd and is off and running.  His favorite thing to do with them is throw them through the banister, down the stairs.  We've lost one remote for good already, it probably went into a trash can or something and is gone forever.

 

 He loves to follow his big brother and sister around everywhere!  He's good enough at stairs now (being carpeted helps) that he can go up and down on his bottom and stay right where they are.

He especially likes to go to the basement to play.  There have even been a few times that Dave and I have realized that all 3 kids have been downstairs playing together for quite some time.
But he also loves the bathroom sink, and anyone else's toothbrushes that he can get his hands on. I pick up a random toothbrush somewhere in the house every day.  And just yesterday he inherited his brother's tool bench.  I wasn't sure that he'd even care or know how to play with it, but he loves it so far!
 

 

He loves to dance and play in the bathroom sink.  If we tell him to sing he'll say "lalala".

And his newest thing is shaking his head yes.  He hasn't quite learned the no thing yet.  Although when it comes to food, he is great about hitting things out of our hands that he doesn't want or fiercely turning his head the opposite direction and waving his hands like he's say "get that away from me!".

 

He's a happy little boy despite some of the ongoing annoying stuff he has to deal with.  We'll be making a visit to the allergist next week, and at the beginning of March, he'll have a surgery done to his tear duct system to place tiny silicone tubes in to open the entire system up.  We are praying this is the fix to this little guys constant red, dry and irritated eyes.  It should be a pretty easy procedure, probably harder on Mom and Dad to hand him over and have him be put under more than anything else.

 

 

 

 

I have a feeling this spring and summer will be quite interesting with this little one running all over the place.  He is all boy. Dirt, leaves, sticks, rocks, balls, anything that moves...he goes from one thing to the next, to the next.  I hope we can figure out his sensitive skin so he can actually enjoy the outdoors.

It amazes me at how hard and long it took for us to decide to have baby #3 (well, it felt like forever, since our first 2 are 16 months apart, but I know 4 years may not seem that long at all to others). But I look at this sweet boy and wonder what on earth life would be like without him.  There was a place for him all along in our family, before we even knew it.  And he fits that little place so perfectly.

valentine's countdown

The frame that we used for our Christmas advent calendar is still up on the wall.  I left it on purpose knowing that I'd find more uses for it.  I have been meaning to print some Instagram pics and rotate those out a few times a year.  But I haven't gotten to that yet. 

 

But for the next 2 weeks, we'll use it to help us countdown to Valentine's Day.  It took me just an hour or so to throw together, with all things I had on hand.

 

Here is what I used:

Martha Stewart Swiss Dot Card and Envelope Set  (I bought these for our Christmas advent calendar but used something else)

small paper doilies from walmart

 hearts hand cut out of red felt

and "love" scriptures printed from here  (although after I took these pictures I re-typed some of them in another translation).

 

If I was to do it again, I think I'd use mini kraft bags so I could put little treats in them.

 

 

I just folded the doily over the envelope and used a glue stick.  And then glued on the heart.  I didn't trim the doily, just left it as is, for simple and quick.

 

 

I only glued the doily on the back where the flap comes open, otherwise I would have glued it shut.

The envelopes came with the cute pink scalloped card, I used those to write notes to Taylor, and I cut plain white cardstock rectangles about the same size for Mason's.  When I took these pictures I hadn't thought about making a seperate card for Mason.  I was going to write a note to Mason on one side of the pink card, and Taylor on the other side.  But then I figured that the kids would want to keep their cards and "collect" them.  And that would obviously cause problems if their notes were written on the same card.  So in the end, I added the extra white card for Mason's notes.

 

 

So each envelope has a note for each kid, that says "We love you because...",

plus a "love" scripture that we will fold and glue to make a heart that we can link together to make a heart chain.

I didn't get a final picture with them hanging in the frame, so you can just check out my Christmas post if you need to see what it looks like.

 

I think the kids were a little dissapointed that it wasn't activity based, like it was for Christmas. But I think once they start reading their notes, they will love it and be anxious to hear the ways we love them each uniquely.

It would definitely be fun another year to add in tasks that help them show love to others too.  A great way to tie in the reason we give Valentine's to our friends and family.

 

This is the first time we've ever done a Valentine's countdown, so we'll see if it's a hit or not.

We may have a new tradition if so.  The only problem is that I only had 12 envelopes on hand, so we started today, February 3rd instead of the 1st.

 

And maybe after V-day, I'll finally get Instagram pictures put up!