Leonard Love

Yay! We finally successfully had a weekend long visit with the Leonards where no one puked, had a temp, had a cough or had to be quarantined!! That alone makes it a success but beyond that we had SO.MUCH.FUN. We took the kids to the Frankfort Children's Museum, watched them play and laugh and run....while we were able to have pizza, wine and quality adult conversation! We love the Leonards in our house and are so happy they came for the weekend! Can't wait until next time!

Yep, they really are this cute.

Awesome. (Taylor & Gavin)

My little tot in the Tot Center.

Building his own farm.

Besties.

When Taylor is in charge (which is pretty much always), the kids have no choice but to follow her her instruction....Gavin was only too willing to particpate.

A hula girl...and a cow construction worker. Fabulous.

Lil' princess Lauren. Syd was busy stocking shelves. Gavin and Mommy in the garden section. Dance Party. Two peas in a pod. Quite a different picture from one year ago! A rousing rendition of Follow the Leader lead by yours truly.

J-J-J-Jump Zone

Just recently, my friend Lisa and I saw a Groupon deal for Jump Zone, an indoor kids jumping playground of sorts. This deal was exciting because a) there is one conveniently located right here in Mokena, b) we are always looking for fun things to tire the kids out and c) we love a good coupon deal. Done deal. Purchased. We tried it out for the first time this past Friday. Oh my. Chaos. We needed two sets of eyes on each of us. The combination of both my kids running in different directions at full speed, Lisa being 9 months pregnant, Lauris getting stuck in more than one jumpy contraption, me being the only able bodied one to rescue her and this underlying fear you are going to lose a child somewhere deep in the abyss of larger than life bounce houses was stressful! All in all fun, but next time we're going with our husbands. :)

Lauris was happy to jump--and not spend her time fighting a maze.

Gavin warming up his legs.

The slide that Gavin went down no less than 45 times.

The contraption that held said slide--clearly, you can see the draw.

Little miss was happy to BE bounced, instead of bouncing.

"Sleepin' Over"

Last weekend we were all very excited because we had both Harrison AND Remy for an overnight sleepover. Gavin was so excited that when he woke up both of these individuals would still be here. Chad and I were testing out life with 3 kids and a dog....clearly, we were awesome at it.

Takes notes, people.

Best Friends.

Blue Eyes

Random shots of Syd....clearly these shots prove Chad would have made a beautiful girl. :)

LOVE this shot.

The one part of her that is from me. :)

Let it Snow!!

We finally got a good snow that was going to stick around long enough for me to bundle up the kdis and take them out in it. I think the bundling up part took about as much time as it did for me to get cold enough to head back inside! Actually, Gavin LOVED it! He cried when we had to come inside and was out again later helping Daddy do some shoveling. Syd on the other hand was terrified...then excited...then mesmerized...then cold. She'll get used to it. It was fun to get some cute shots of them outside.

Mr Gavin very happy to be outside.
Syd froze, wouldn't move and cried...not unlike our sand experience but a bit less dramatic.

My little snow bunnies.

Skeptical..

More than happy to flash a smile.

Finally peanut was starting to see the fun in this.

Sledding down our hill!

Warming up with a hot chocolate treat with Mom.

Back outside with Daddy later.

Hard at work.

Fun Facts

A few "fun facts" about Sydney & Gavin these days:

SYDNEY:

1 - Sydney is actually, LEGITIMATELY thinning out. People that don't know her would never believe that is possible, but the girl's tummy is getting less round and her legs are getting less chubby. She's still a chunk but all that running is trimming her down.

2 - Sydney's been working on her molars now for what feels like a month. I keep getting my fingers in there and feeling these big swollen lumps. About a week after Christmas I felt one cut through (yay!) but the other four a being stinkers. We've had more than a few challenging days.

3 - Syd's making all kinds of noises...that could actually...dare I say...pass for words!?!? She's adding the words up, night-night, cracker and papa to her repertoire. Who's kid is this?

4 - She eats like a haus. Seriously, she can put it away.


GAVIN:

1 - Gavin's in a huge BEAR HUNT phase...he likes to read the book, listen to the music on tv and play bear hunt all over the house with ANYONE that will respond. He likes to be the bear, pretend there is a bear or make you there bear...it doesn't matter.

2 - Gavin loves school and loves therapy. He gets excited every morning about one or the other.

3 - BIG Helper. FAVORITE WORDS. He wants to help me do everything and when I make lunch without him or do another job he likes to do without him, there is often words. How this doesn't equate to picking up toys though, I have yet to figure out.

4 - He's doing SO much better on the potty. We still have accidents. Mostly they are just pee thank goodness but not always. However, he's actually TELLING me sometimes when he has to go which is a huge breakthrough.

5 - As for language...he's trying more and more. We have more words and more accuracy. We are still very very far behind BUT further ahead than we were 6 months ago.

6 - He loves playing pretend. Sometimes I'm Gavin and he's the Mommy and he drives us to school or church or the store. Sometimes he's stuck and injured and we need to rescue him and doctor him up. Sometimes he's a chef creating a multi-course meal. He loves to pretend.

Fish Out of Water

So today before nap, I was giving the kids a bath. When they take a bath together, chaos ALWAYS ensues. This time was no different. Sydney is going through a "stand in the tub" only phase which is particulary annoying and frightening especially with her wiggle worm brother all over the tub ready to take out her legs at any moment. At any rate, as I was about to get Sydney out of the tub, I realized I forgot her towel in my room. I instruct Gavin to be very careful by Sydney and go RUNNING to grab the towel (yes, I'll admit, I've done smarter things than leave my two children unattended in the bathtub). I come running back into the bathroom and this is what I see:

HOW did that happen?

My Prayer Today

Today as I was driving I heard a song on the radio...about a daughter getting married and I started to let me mind go down this path....I prayed...


For Gavin - That God is creating a woman for him that will honor and respect him. A woman who will bring him comfort, who will bring him laughter and will bring him joy. Someone who encourages him, challenges him and delights in him.


For Sydney - That God is creating a man for her that someday will love her beyone measure. A man who will always make her feel beautiful and safe and protected. Someone to listen to her and hug her and make her smile. Someone who truly see her as a treasure. Someone like her Daddy but a perfect fit for her.


I prayed...in earnest today...that God is creating and living within the future wife and husband of my children. And someday, according to God's plan...he'll bring them together.

Puerta Vallarta 2010-2011 Part II

Continued...

Mexican party night...waiting for their turn to hit the pinata.

Margot hit that thing with gusto.

Gavin froze and got very shy....he need a little encouragement. Grandpa gearing up the kids for the candy.

Our pack taking over the terrace to watch.

Checking out the loot.

Chubs and curls--two of my favorite baby things.

Syd and Daddy rocking out to a tune.

Two bathing beauties by the pool.

Nothing makes this kid happier than being in water. Seriously.

Is this possibly a SHARING moment!?

Diving off Dad.

Erin and the newest addition--Greta (10ish weeks).

This was like a playpen. She would walk around the whole towel and not step off!

Digging and Building.

Taking Sydney out to put her toes in the ocean.

Apparently, wet or dry, makes new difference to her--same reaction.

But oh so happy to be on the towel with her Mommy.

The kids and their final creation.

Beautiful Beach Baby.

Shaking her maracas.

Enjoying the night time temps outside.

NYE- Chad and Lorien.

Mommy and her NYE Princess.

Harris family bringing in 2011.

Dressed in our New Year's best.

Very intent on the New Year's Eve show...but 10 pm was his limit when he basically asked to go to bed.

The two Chads.

Happy to ring in 2011 with my hubby.

Lorien & I.

Chad, Tim, Chad....where's Kyle? :(

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Beach bound for one more day.

Last pool laughs.

Sydney and Gavin with Papa Tom and Ama Oody.

First official Harris pic in 2011.

Puerta Vallarta.