Must be a boy thing.

So, last night we were sitting having our dinner, and Gavin is babbling away. Josh looks at him and goes "Say dada?" and Gavin looks at Josh with his impish grin and goes "Dada!" I take my turn and look at Gavin and go "Say mama?" and he looks at me and says "Mama!" How cute is that? Anyway, today at lunch I attempt to see if I can get Gavin to say "Mama" again. I sit across from him and start baby talking "Gavin, can you say Mama? Maaamaaaaa?" and Jayden immediately mimics me, but with his own words. "Gavin, say poop. Poop! Can you say poop?? Gaaaaavin. Poop" I can't wait to take Gavin into public after Jayden has successfully taught him his favorite words.

It's Santa!

Saturday we took the boys to see Santa. Jayden was pretty pepped up about it, and I was beginning to think that maybe this year he would get a picture with Santa (it was a no go last year). He sat with Josh as they made out his Christmas list before we left, and we stressed to him repeatedly that he didn't get presents that day, he just told Santa what he would like so Santa would know what to bring. We decided to go to Fun City, because it supports the Kiwanis club and you get a card to play the games afterward. Jayden was pretty pumped up when we got there, we all started walking towards Santa, and as soon as he got into view...Jayden immediately started walking backwards. Luckily the picture machine wasn't working and we had a good 20 minutes to warm Jayden up to Santa. Gavin on the other hand was mesmerized by Santa. He walked right up to him, and as I placed him on Santa's lap, he immediately started crying.
So, we didn't exactly get a Hallmark moment, but we did get both kids in the same picture with smiling with Santa.

Christmas Hoedown!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Gavin's One Man Band

6:22 PM by Chelsea 3 Comments
Apparently Jayden isn't going to be the only loud kid in the house. Gavin has figured out how to toot the recorder, and use it as a pretty awesome drumstick too!
Also, you'll see that he's walking better and better. He'll be ten months on the 23rd, can you believe it?!?

Saint Nicholas Day

First of all, you all need to check over at Hazel's Blog, her parents have some wonderful news! It's a story like that that makes Christmas so much better, and reminds us all to be thankful.

Secondly, you may or may not know that today is St. Nicholas Day. This is the actual feast day of Saint Nicholas, patron Saint of Children (among many other things). From my understanding, the Eve of St. Nicholas Day is when St. Nicholas fills the children's stocking. It's supposed to be with things that the children can share, so typically treats and candy.

This was our mantel this morning. St. Nicholas was nice enough to put everything up on the mantel, he must have known that Jasper (our dog) is typically on the naughty list and not to be trusted with anything on floor level.

Jayden was patient enough to let us snap a picture before they peeked into their stockings. The boys also had some gifts from Josh's parents, they got Gavin a baby Christmas CD, some cars, and some socks. Jayden recieved candy, a Cars dry erase board, playing card games, and a slinky.

St. Nicholas got the boys candy, raisins, some other snacky stuff, toys, and they're yearly ornaments.
The ornaments each year typically define the child for that year. This year, Jayden's was a John Deere Tractor, and Gavin's was an angel that says "A Gift From God" since this is his FIRST Christmas.
That was all for this morning. Hopefully we'll get to see Santa today. I don't know if Jayden will sit on his lap, but maybe a taste of whats to come from this morning will help entice him. I have a pretty strong feeling that Gavin might yank Santa's beard off, but we'll see...

Hazel Update

For an update on baby Hazel, please go to their blog: http://hazelana.blogspot.com
Her mother has written a complete update on everything that has happened up until now.

In case you didn't know, batteries are very very dangerous. The battery that Hazel swallowed was out of a remote control, but it was one of those small nickel sized batteries. Those same batteries are used in greeting cards, and can be very very dangerous around small children. All over the county children are being rushed to emergency rooms because those batteries come out, and the children swallow them. Battery acid starts leaking within the hour, and has the potential to cause a lot of damage.
Many of you know, Jayden LOVES those cards, and we always keep them out to play with. I'm sure this is the case in many houses. But, I'm sending out a request for no more. I can't imagine going through what Hazel's mother is going through if Jayden or Gavin were to swallow one. So, we're going to stop buying them, and would love for you to do the same. Nothing is more important than a child's safety.

Thanksgiving 2008

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, we sure did! It was Gavin's very first Thanksgiving, and he got to celebrate it four times! How lucky are we? We had our first at Josh's parents house last Sunday.
Here is Peyton having his Thanksgiving dinner.

And here is Gavin starting his first meal, he gets pretty impatient waiting for his food, so he had a roll to tide him over while his meal was fixed.

After the meal, everyone went outside to take a ride on Papa's wagon.
Kimmie might hate me for this, but I think it's a pretty funny picture. Apparently she was pretty excited about the ride.

Jayden, Colin, and Taylor.

Nate playing football with Colin.

The big kids even went for a ride!
Jayden helped Papa drive. Gavin was inside napping during all of the tractor rides. On Thanksgiving Day our little family made a nice big brunch; eggs, bacon, french toast, homemade doughnuts (thats right Jenny!), and some fruit. Jayden ended up spending the day at Nana's house and we joined him that evening for a Thanksgiving dinner with my mom and siblings.
On Friday my sister and I took our boys down to Warsaw Illinois to have a leftovers lunch with our Grandpa. I snapped a few pictures with my Grandpa and the boys. Gavin was being very squirmy so I had to take what I could, not the best, but better than nothing!
Here is Grandpa with both of the boys, I honestly don't know if Gavin was laughing or crying.

And here he is with Gavin!On Saturday we went to the Quad Cities to have Thanksgiving at my cousin Hanna and her husband George's house. She did a great job! Everything was fantastic. She also thought it would be fun to go to the John Deere Pavillion, so we loaded up after lunch and headed that way. In case you didn't know, Jayden loves tractors, and at the Pavillion, you get to go on most of the tractors. He and Ethan had a blast! Plus, they had a gift store that had everything that John Deere made, TONS of toys and clothes at really good prices. Jayden got a hat and a backhoe with some Christmas money from Grandpa.
Here is Jayden and Ethan up on one of the tractors, Jayden is trying to buckle himself in.

In the huge scooop!

Sharing the riding lawn mower, Ethan was being a goof.
Another goofy smile!

After all of our Thanksgivings were over, we woke up this morning to SNOW!

Prayer Request

Please send your thoughts and prayers to baby Hazel. She is in the ICU and having difficulty breathing following surgery. What was thought to be croup was actually a battery lodged in her esophagus . They've removed the battery, but the battery acid had already thinned her esophageal lining and there are now worries of that rupturing.
Hazel is almost exactly the same age as Gavin (four days older), and I can't possibly imagine what her parents are going through.
Get well soon Hazel!

9 Months Old!

My baby boy will be 9 months old on Sunday, can you believe it!? And in addition to that, he's walking! He took his first steps when he was 7 months old, and just this week he's really been trying to walk instead of dropping to crawl. I was even able to shoot a successful video this morning without Jayden or Jasper storming through.



How cute is that??
I can say it's cute now, but I know it's going to mean a lot more work here soon. He's already an ornery little guy that's discovered a super cute smile in the middle of mischief can turn a mother from scolding to laughing instantly.
Currently, our daily battle of mischief involves the doggie dishes. We keep the food dishes at the farthest end of the house, all this does so far is buy us more time to catch him before he gets to the dishes to dump out the water and food. I usually start with the "No no no! Gavin!" when he is about halfway there, and I'm still half a house away from catching him. The distant sound of me saying no will make him stop, sit, and look back for me every time, but as soon as he sees the smallest glimps of his mama coming, he books it with every fiber of his little being in an attempt to get to the food dish. He is smiling and laughing the entire time, until he feels both hands on him as I swoop him up, then he has a full fledged tantrum. At monotonous and annoying as this should be, I still laugh every time because he's just so diligent. And we both know, that someday I'm going to be too late and he'll be at the finish line with a mouth full of puppy food and that ornery smile on his face.

So, as you now probably know, Gavin is happy to eat anything, but pretty much demands a sippy cup of water with every meal and will yell until he has one. He is completely off of babyfood, he just eats what we eat. His favorite foods are cheese and cold raw fruit and veggies....I think mostly becuase they feel good on his gums.

He officially has teeth coming in. Two on the bottom, and one on top. Maybe, just MAYBE this means he'll start sleeping through the night because he'll be out of excuses not to??


Jayden and Gavin have good days and bad days. Jayden typically doesn't want to share his toys, and the only toys Gavin wants to play with are Jayden's. Besides the toys, they get along very well. If Gavin is ever crying, Jayden starts singing to Gavin or runs to grab him a toy to make him happy again. Jayden is also pretty good at watching out for Gavin if I'm busy doing something, and he isn't afraid to scoop him up under his arms to pull him away from something Gavin shouldn't be getting into.

Overall, Gavin is the sweetest, happiest baby. Unless you're trying to do something he doesn't want to do. Such as, wipe his nose, change his diaper, dress him, put him in his car seat, get him ready to sleep, give him medicine, or snatch him away from any mischief he might be getting himself into...then, you pretty much get a full fledged tantrum until whatever is being done to him has passed. All of the other times, he's just perfect.

CNH Open House

Over the weekend Joe, Josh, and Jayden went to the Case Open House. Jayden, of course, was in heaven. He loves everything to do with construction machinery, so this was just his thing! Here are a few pictures!




Decision 2008

Trick or Treat in Burlington

Last night we headed to Kim and Nate's house for another round of Trick or Treating. Once again, the evening was perfect. It was warm enough to not even need jackets, and the sky was completely clear. Kim and Nate also have the perfect neighborhood, well lit with neighbors waiting expectantly on their front porches with bowls full of candy. Jayden knew exactly how things worked this time around...almost too well. If a person dare to give him only one piece of candy, he would stand and eyeball their bowl full of candy until they threw a couple of more pieces in his bag. It was horribly embarrassing, but funny at the same time. I'm sure I'll get him back when he becomes a teenager.
Once again, he donned his fireman costume. I was actually able to get a good shot of him in it!
I didn't have the same luck if there was more than one costumed kid in the picture, but that's alright. Good enough, right??

Gavin the dino and Peyton the dragon. We tried to sit them next to each other for a picture, but they just rolled around. We couldn't get a shot of either of their faces, but it's still cute!And we're off!

We dumped the candy on the floor when we got back, Gavin enjoyed himself by digging through the booty....

and attempting to eat his share too!

Trick or Treat in Denmark

Last night we went down to Denmark Iowa with my sister's family to her friends, the Williams', house. They had healthy snacks ready for the kids in hopes that their bellies would get full with good stuff before all of the junk. In Denmark, everyone goes door to door on hay rack rides because the little town is so spread out.

Gavin went as a dinosaur, the cutest dino I've ever seen if you ask me!
Jayden went as a fireman. Here the boys are on the hay rack ride. Jayden was so eager to go Trick or Treating that he grabbed a seat as soon as we got to their house.

Here's the crew! Jayden, Gavin, Ethan, Olivia, Landis and Kane were our Trick or Treaters for the evening.


Gavin's first time!

Gavin loved this pumpkinHere is Jayden with his loot at the end of the night. He had such a great time. When we got back to the Williams' house he looked at me and asked "We get to stay here forever?"

On a side not, Gavin has taken a liking to pumpkin cookies. If the fridge door is left open for a second longer than it should be, this is what happens:
Happy Halloween to everyone! We're going out tonight with Kim, Nate, Peyton, and Grandma (think that's it?)...so watch for another post tomorrow!

Oops! A forgotton post!

So, a few nights ago I spent all of this time uploading pictures to the blog, and then our internet went out and I was unable to post the blog! I forgot about it until just now, so now my blog is out of sequence...but oh well.
This weekend Becky and the kids came down to spend some time with family. On Sunday we all went to Fun Fest at Notre Dame. It was tons of fun, there was a jump house, games, food, and pumpkins. Jayden was a bit crabby, so we weren't able to play that many games, but we still had fun!
Here is Gavin picking out a duck in the duck pond game.

They had a very cute Slingo game shaped like a spider web.
We carved our pumpkins earlier this week, Jayden had a ball, and Gavin was just happy to be there. Here is Gavin posing with his pumpkin. Look how well he's standing now!
To keep Gavin preoccupied, we gave him a biter biscuit, as you can see, they're very very messy!
Jayden actually got right in and helped scoop out the pumpkin.
The finished product!
Spooooooky!
That's all. Sorry it's not a very exciting post, everything I had written earlier wasn't saved.

Rainy Days

For only being gone for a short bit of time, it took us a bit to get back into the groove of things this week. I started off Tuesday by working very hard to get all of our luggage unpacked and put away, and to catch up on a few more chores. Apparently, this wasn't the best way to start the week. Jayden was very irritable, and more difficult than usual. So, for the rest of the week I focused on activities. The weather was horrible, and Jayden begged to go outside from sun up to sun down every day. He already had the sniffles, so I tried to keep it fun inside. Easier said than done.
Gavin on the other hand has been as happy as can be. He wanders all of the house, and only gets cranky when he's hungry or sleepy. Plus, he's only been waking up 2 times a night this week (down from 4-10), and he's been napping great. We put a stereo in his room and have Michael Buble continuously playing...seems to work!
First thing Wednesday morning we went to get some Play-Dough. Jayden was thrilled because he plays with it all of the time at Grandma's house. We'd had Play-Dough before, but had to get it out of the house because Jayden wouldn't stop eating it when he was younger (Yuck, huh). He has played with it for hours at a time this week, definately a good investment!
I also thought it would be fun to recycle our old broken crayons. My sister gave me a Halloween muffin tin for my Birthday one year, and it made the perfect mold for new crayons! In case you haven't tried, it's very easy.
You simply grease a tin, and throw in the broken crayons. Bake until they're all melted...

And voila! Cool new crayons!
I also thought I'd introduce one of my favorite foods from childhood to Jayden, sugar sandwiches! Suprisingly, he didn't like them!We also made forts. This was a hit with Jayden, Gavin, and Jasper.

I tried to find a good mud substitute. Jayden loves digging with his tractors in the the dirt outside, and I know this is going to be one of the things he misses when the weather gets bad. I threw on his swim trunks and put shaving cream in the tub with his diggers. It was fun, but it didn't keep him entertained for quite as long as I'd hoped.
Gavin thought it was cool though!
Tonight we took the kids down to Bootiful Nauvoo. We wanted to get there in time for the Halloween Parade, but we just missed it! It was still a wonderful event, and we fully intend to go again next year.
There are hundreds of Jack O'Lanterns throughout the town. As it got dark, they really added to the atmosphere. There was a haunted house, but the line was over half a block long, so we skipped it. The whole downtown was open, with treats to be found everywhere, kids in costumes, and entertainment. I had no idea it was such a big deal, the sidewalks were absolutely packed down both sides of the street.
Nice and toasty!There were also picture boards throughout the downtown. Here is Jayden as the Headless Horseman!
And that's it for the week! I can't believe we had such a hard time with cold rainy weather already...I just hope we can survive this winter!