Just because....

...we love each other.

It's a Boy....and Another Boy

We've had two new additions in our group of friends lately...two new BOYS!! Yay! About a month ago, our friends Bob and Sarah welcomed a little boy Parker David (big brother is Cooper) and just a week ago our other good friends George and Lisa welcomed Carter Austin (their first! yay!). We've been lucky enough to visit and love them both recently. Although it was only a few short months ago that I was holding my own new baby that size...it still feels like ages ago when you hold a NEW newborn in your arms.

We went over to Bob & Sarah's one night for dinner and some hang out time together. It was so fun to watch Cooper and Gavin interact, cuddle with Parker and see the difference between Syd and Parker even though they are so close in age. Thanks for having us Bob & Sarah! It was awesome to meet your new addition!

A friendly game of Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Two big brothers and their little bro and sis.

The peanut and the tank.

Sarah & I and our babies.

Such a snuggler!!

Just this past weekend I went to meet Carter...however left the kids and hubby at home. :( Gavin has had a runny nose and cough so I thought it'd be best to keep him away from an 8 day old baby. Plus, I'm not going to lie, it was nice to have a night out where I didn't have to worry about the kids and I was really able to focus on hanging out with little Carter and his Mommy. I think it goes in the books that he's the smallest baby I've ever held...just over 6 pounds! yikes! He was a sweetheart though and just loved snoozing away in all of our arms. It was such a treat to hold him! Congrats George and Lisa...the best days are ahead of you!

Such a tiny tiny little peanut.

We're guessing that the way Amanda grows babies (big) Baby A is probably about the size of Carter in her belly right now!...Not too much longer for her though!

Carter and just a few of the ladies looking forward to loving and spoiling him for a very very long time to come.

Naptime...or Playtime?

Gavin is at the age where he often wants to stay up and play instead of going to bed at naptime or bedtime. I get it, I really do...however, I'm the mean mom who puts him to bed anyway. I'm also the mean mom who believes just an hour and half is way too short of time to sleep. This means that he usually starts his nap laughing and talking and when he wakes up...upon calling my name a few times I don't necessarily respond. Who am I kidding, even when he's been up there 2 1/2 hours I usually don't respond. I generally treat his first call out of "maaaaaaamaaaaa" as a 20 minute warning....meaning I have 20 more minutes of whatever I was doing b/f going to get him. I know, mean mom.

So, last week, he woke up, called my name, I looked at the clock and of course gave myself a little more time. It got really quiet up there so I naively thought he was "relaxing" a little more. No, not my kid. Gavin has learned a new a trick--if he stands on his pillow and reaches over the corner of the crib, he can reach the books in his bookcase. So now, when Mom doesn't respond, he just figures he'll do a little light and/or destructive reading of his books in the dark. For the record we'd been suspecting this behavior after often times finding books in his bed but could never be certain if the other parent gave him one or they were hiding under the covers. This confirmed it had been happening...and the other confirmation was when I asked him how he got the books...and he showed me...excitedly and with a smile.

I guess this poses the questions...besides the images in my mind of him toppling out and knocking his head giving him a concussion...how bad do I really want that extra twenty minutes?

Upon opening the door, Gavin quickly showed me with a very proud smile, how he had empty all these little envelopes we had in one book. Very proud of his accomplishment.

And very proud of how he had shredded them all over the floor.

Scene of the crime....see how one corner of the bookcase is noticeably empty?
After a few minutes, he realized this was awesome Mom was taking pictures so he offered up a big "cheese."

Cars, Cars & More Cars

We went to the autoshow with my family this year. We haven't been in ages and thought Gavin would have fun climbing around in cars, pushing buttons, etc. He did. It was a fun night. However, the highlight came when we saw the Jeep display...which had a little "racetrack" of sorts for kids. Technically you had to be 3 years old and 36 inches....well, my Dad the "rule follower" already had Gavin in line with a helmet on while he strategically kept moving Gavin around so as to avoid the height checker guy. Needless to say, he drove a jeep. Not very well but he thought he did.

Three Months

Just a few notes at three months....

Sleeping through the night. check.

Ready to switch to a 4 hour eating schedule. check. (at about 14 weeks)

Three naps a day because of a 4 hr eating schedule. check.

Growing like a weed. check.

Adding a few more rolls and crevices for my mommy to clean out. check.

Has officially picked up nicknames such as chunk, moose, chunky monkey, chubby bunny, porkchop and "the tank." check.

More smiling, more alertness, more neck strength. check.

Loves watching older brother run around. check.

Still loves to be held and snuggled. check.

Continues to amaze us with her un-Gavin-like infant behavior...for example, instead of being relaxed, rocked, coddled to sleep...preferring to be put down, left alone to cry for 5 minutes and then sleep soundly...for HOURS. double check.

Continues to be a perfect addition to our family, getting lots and lots of love and kisses. super double check.

Valentine's Day

Sunday was Valentine's Day. We have never made much of a big deal about the day but did start a silly tradition from the first year we were married--heart shaped pizza. So, we celebrated on Sunday by relaxing, recuperating (from the previous night's engagement party) and snuggling our two little sweethearts. Good day.

Happy Engagement

The Saturday of Valentine's Day weekend we helped throw my brother Chad and Lorien an engagement party at Kyle and Heather's house. It was fun...it was rowdy...it was so much "younger" than me. We had a really good time talking about the upcoming wedding and celebrating with their friends and simutaneously having a night out without kids (yay us!). It did happen to be Sydney's first overnight stay at my parents and although I was a bit more worried about how I'd do than her....we both did great. :)

When you show up to a party with your alcohol and/or mixers in a Pampers box, either you are "super classy" or way to old to be at the party. For us, maybe a little of both?

Aaron, Brad, Kyle

Air guitar....I think.

Wheaton ladies and Chad.

Group pic...of those that remained around 1 am.

Aww, the happy couple.

Just hanging out.

Sleepy Girl

I haven't made a post stating the fact...but it's official. Sydney is sleeping through the night!!

Turn of events happened right around 10 weeks...we had a week where we had to "work" on it by putting the paci in her mouth or calming her a little bit...I had already weaned my nursing time down to 60 seconds (literally)...and she fell into the rest herself. Her last feeding is a dream feed btwn 10-11 and we're still working on a wake time of 7 but right now its generally btwn 6 & 7. yay!

As for sleeping in her own room...this poor girl was jammed into her bassinet for another week or two. For some reason, I couldn't pull the trigger on that one too quickly. Actually, the first night she slept any further than 12 inches from me...was he first overnight stay at my mom's house (sigh!). She was a champ about it though, and so was I. :)

For the record, Syd is a tummy sleeper and I can't resist those cute chubby cheeks everytime I see her in bed.

Superbowl Sunday

Chad and I have traditionally hosted a Superbowl party...almost every year of all the years we've been married. It's always lots of fun and now its becoming more and more chaotic. This year our tally was around 18 people plus 6 kids...Gavin being the oldest. Its fun to get together with friends, eat lots of food, do some betting...but personally, I've had far more relaxing days. Just a few pictures....

A super Superbowl cake compliments of Lisa Thomson...complete with referees. Our two little linebackers.

Kid craziness.

My other little linebacker snoozing through the game.

Perusing their numbers...there was a reason Dave looked so optimistic.

As I said...TOTAL CHAOS.

Lauris found a friend in Chad...her new BFF for the night.

Bulls Game

Chad and I have been wanting to take Gavin to a Bulls game this year and we were finally able to make it work. We set it up to be "Gavin's Night Out." My brother and sister-in-law graciously offered to hang out with Syd for a couple of hours so Gavin could have some time with just Mom and Dad...and Grandpa. (My Mom was out of town and since we had an extra ticket we offered it to my Dad and he came too!) Gavin was in awe of all the action..the noise, the yelling, the jumbotron and of course Benny the Bull (a Gavin favorite). Considering he was up past bedtime and doesn't really "follow the game" yet he did great. We had tons of fun and it was nice to do something that was special for just him. Plus, he looked crazy cute in a little Bulls jersey.

Checking for any race winners.

We're a basketball family...or at this point we think we will be. :)
Daddy and Gavin watching the game.
A game highlight--the balloons that hand out to distract players during shots.
Gav & Mommy
Goofing off with Grandpa
He looks so grown up!
Melts my heart.