Stiched Up!

Well, we had a very first encounter with stitches!  In typical fashion the kids were bouncing around my mom's family room and Syd took a header off the couch into the corner of the coffee table.  There was immediate blood and some panic.  Thankfully we were minutes away from an ER so Chad and I scooped her up and headed over there.  The poor girl was a mess.  The dr informed us that she would in fact need stitches but we were going to have to numb it up first.  We sat for what felt like an enternity (45 min or so) holding this numbing agent on her head.  In the meantime, she fell asleep on Chad.  So when she was good and numb (or so we thought) we layed her down on her stomach and they were going to stitch her up.  Not so easy.....really, when you think about it, how would you like to awaken to stitches being inserted into your head while two nurses, your mom and your dad are all pinning you down and you cannot move....yep, did NOT go well.  I have never - IN MY LIFE - heard this girl scream like this.  It was unbelievable.  In fact she was screaming so loud and so hard that she broke blood vessels all over her chest.  My poor thing.  So...there we have it.  Our first (and I WISH our last) stitches.  Three on the top of her head....two days before leaving for Disney.  Pefect timing of course.

 

 

 

 

 

Odyssey "Farm"

In effort to take advantage of the nice weather and avoid the busyness of October, we thought we'd hit up our annual Bengston's Farm tradition a bit early....well, upon pulling in, we were told they aren't even open yet!  On to Plan B....we went over to the new Odyssey Farms.  It is a far cry from Bengstons but we still managed to have quite a good time doing pony rides, feeding goats and getting lost in the corn maze.

This huge dragon caused Gavin a lot of distress.  It was breathing heavily and when you near the entrance you heard the loud pounding of its heartbeat...or was it your own!?!?  Meant to be scary...it was just that to Gavin.

Looking on with trepidation.

There was no convincing him to get near it.

In fact, it actually induced tears and panicked cries of "No Papa!!" when my Dad entered. 

Poor kid was traumatized...and this being the entrance, you can see why.

First ever pony ride!

Miss Sydney was waving the whole time!

She's no fool.

Someone always like to sit very close...

Feeling some benefit to Odyssey Farms taking too much of our money-at least we have the account!

Pirates & Mateys

This past weekend we celebrated some of our favorite friends' fall birthdays....basically it was a good excuse to get together, spoil each others kids and have fun together.  In sticking with a very common popular them lately we did another Pirate Party!  We celebrated Gavin turning 4, Lauris turning 3, Jackson turning 3 and Sydney turning 2!  It was a fun night of pizza and pirates!

Gavin & Dex....matching pirate gear.

Our resident cake decorator Amanda designed this awesome (and delicious!) creation!!

Birthday Girl Lauris!

Birthday Girl Sydney!

Birthday Boy Jackson! 

Gavin checking out his new dinosaur!

Lightning McQueen roller skates!

Syd wasted no time getting down to business with her new doll accessories....good to know she likes to change diapers.  :)

Singing Happy Birthday...

...and blowing out candles!

Everyone is digging in!

Especially Sydney.

Who started a trend....

Stealthy Sydney

Yep, we are still on this poop issue. I've tried putting her in jammies and although it works, its a pain. So I tried packing tape (I didn't have any duct tape in the house). I circled that tape around her diaper so it was good and stuck.

After nap....I went in and the first thing I heard was "bachy poopoo." There it was a huge piece of poop in her bed and her (clean!) diaper laying beside her with the packing tape all crumpled up around it.

Who is this girl and how is she learning these Houdini moves? Better yet....WHEN WILL IT STOP!?

Again?

Well, two days later....it happened again. Thankfully the poop was on a WAY smaller scale this time which I'm grateful for since I was flying solo on this clean up. However...I've noticed something that concerns me: the poop is not in the diaper. She's taking off her diaper and THEN pooping in her bed. WHAT!?!?!

I now have two options: put her in jammies that zip or duck tape that girl in that diaper.

Sigh.

The Day You Turned 4

Gavin,

The day you turned 4, we had a great day!  You were SO excited it was your birthday and you really understood what it was all about!  You are such a fun kid---you are constantly making us laugh with your questions and the way your brain works.  We love hearing your words and and you have become quite the talker--even if it is hard to understand you.  You love being with the people that love you.  You are protective of Sydney....sometimes very "angwee" with Sydney...sometimes the play coordinator of Sydney but most of all you do love her.  You are impossible not to smile at because your enthusiasm for all activities is contagious.  You light up our days and we can't imagine you anyway but just as God made you.  We love you buddy!

On the day you turned 4.....

We had birthday #4 chocolate chip pancakes with candles....

...you were excited to blow them out!

You went to school and got a birthday crown and present from your teachers!!

You wanted to wear the crown.  ALL. DAY.

We went to your favorite place for lunch....McDonald's!!

And we ate with some favorite cousins, aunties & friends!

You ordered your favorite McD's meal:  a cheesburger.  I was not surprised.

You were excited about eating with all your friends but you missed Jackson who was at school.

Just like every other lunch outing...you guys were climbing all over the place even when told not to.

You laughed and giggled alot at lunch and spread the word it was your birthday and you were 4 years old!  You were excited to tell people!

Auntie Lisa had an appt so Lauris & Dexter slept over at nap time.  You two laughed over snack time and made funny faces.

You did your therapeutic listening while eating before soccer.

You were adorable in your crown and SO excited to wear your "4" shirt all day....even when it got dirty at school, you told your teacher you did NOT want to take it off and wanted to keep wearing it.

We all drove together in Daddy's car to soccer.  That was super fun.

We started soccer class on your birthday!

You listened very well to the coach about stretching...

....and practicing drills....

...and stopping goals.

Your sister Sydney was constantly trying to get in on the class action.

Daddy tried to distract her with slam dunks.

Lined up for a running drill.

You were actually one of the fastest kids in your class--you ran down the floor the whole time with a HUGE grin on your face...like you always do when running and doing active play.

We made our own pizzas for dinner.

Daddy had to help Sydney.

And you helped make Mommy's pizza.

 You told me you wanted 4 mushrooms, 4 green peppers and 4 pepperonis....because you were 4 years old.  You are very smart.

And cute.

You were so excited about your birthday chair.

You pointed out that this sign said Gavin and 4.

 You opened more presents from Mommy, Daddy and Sydney.

 One of which was an interactive pirate book!

And your very own pizza kit.

No birthday is complete without a treat and you were so happy for one more round of Happy Birthday and cake.  When you went to bed, you were sad your birthday was over b/c you LOVED the special treatment all day long.  :)