Charlotte's Room

We are slowly but surely getting Charlotte's room all organized and put together. Since I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to find out the gender, I had to pick a neutral color scheme. I didn't want to go all out and redo the whole nursery like we did with Gavin, but I really liked this set at Target by Dwell Studio called Circles. So, I am going off of these colors but am not going to buy the set. This is the blanket that I made for the room,

I have a few other projects in the works, as well. I am sure I'll post a pic of the finished product, whenever that may be . . . We aren't allowed to paint the walls in our apt., so that is a HUGE bummer to me. But, I am getting over it! It just makes me have to kick the creativity into a higher gear!

We really have been blessed beyond measure with gifts and hand-me-downs. So far we have received:
1. lots of adorable little outfits from family and friends(I am sure we will subject Charlotte to some sort of fashion show that borders on torture for her once she is born).
2.We already had a crib, but we were given a mattress.
3.We were just given a beautiful changing table.
4.My sister in law is handing down lots of clothes that her girls wore.

I'd say we are pretty much prepared! I know that the Lord will always provide for our needs, but I am amazed at how He constantly provides for our wants as well! What provisions has he made for you this week?

pumpkin carving!

We carved up our big pumpkin last night. It was such a job! Of course, Ryan and I did all the work. Gavin doesn't like to get all gooey. Seriously, who's kid is this? Anyway, here is our end result!


and some pics along the way

27 week belly pics

Here's baby Charlotte at 27 weeks!

Hair Cut

While I was in Michigan I got my hair chopped off! Nine inches, to be exact. I know this because I actually have the ponytail to prove it. No, I am one of those weird people who is/was attached to her hair! I am donating it through the Pantene Beautiful Lengths drive. It is not something I would have done on my own. However, after reading this post by my friend Brenda, I decided to take the plunge. She is organizing a big event to get 50 - 100 people to participate. Here is a before and after:

Favorite Fall Picture

This is, and I think always will be, my favorite Fall picture. Gavin was 10 months old when this was taken. I put it up every Fall as part of my fall decor. I just love those chubber cheeks!

Bean Boy

I don't know I got so lucky, but my boy LOVES raw, green vegetables. Here he is snacking on some green beans fresh from the farmers market.

G is for Gavin

Gavin and I have been learning all of the letters and the sounds they make. With each letter we usually do some fun crafts, trace the letter quite a few times, learn a Bible verse that starts with that letter and learn a Bible story as well. For the letter G we:

Baked and decorated ginger bread cookies

Told the story of David and Goliath

Made a giant goliath and threw "rocks" at him

Memorized I John 4:8 - God is love

It's had its up's and downs, but for the most part it has been going well. There are a few things that Gavin DOESNT like about it. He does not like 'sit time/self control'. I make him sit still with hands folded and mouth closed for about three minutes every day. That way when we are in public and he is getting too riled up all I have to do is say, "Gavin, sit time/self control" and he closes that mouth! (I learned this trick from my super mom of a cousin, Beth!)

He also has a hard time with "book time". Book time, like sit time/self control, involves keeping the mouth shut. This is by far the hardest thing in the world for Gavin. I increase book time by five minutes or so every week. We've made it up to about 1/2 hour of silently looking at books. I am hoping that this will be so valuable to me when baby Charlotte is here and she is nursing! For now, it gives me some peace and quit to do some reading of my own!

Well, here are some pictures of Gavin and his ginger bread cookies

Michigan

Today Gavin and I are on the trian and on our way to Michigan! I love Michigan in the Fall! I am so excited to spend six days with family and friends! We have plans to go to a Cider Mill, celebrate some birthdays, go to Greenfield Village (Gavin's favorite) and have our annual Dobbertin Family Harvest Party. Gavin is excited to see all of his cousins, grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles! I am sure I will have lots of pictures to post when we get back! Hope you all have a great week!

Pumpkin Puree and Pumpkin Muffins

Last year I started using an actual pumpkin for my baking instead of buying it in the can. To be honest, the taste is not that much different, but I love it anyway. I love baking from scratch! Today Gavin and I made these yummy pumpkin muffins. I made half with chocolate chips and half with out. It was fun. Although, I was on my own when it came to getting the guts out of the pumpkin. Gavin did not want to get "gooey". What a nerd! Anyway, here is the recipe we used. It was very easy, time consuming, but easy!

Ingredients
1.5 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

* pumpkin pie spice = 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/4 t of ginger, 1/8 t cloves and 1/8 t of nutmeg!

Directions:
In a large bowl add the sugar, pumpkin, oil, eggs and vanilla. Beat well to combine. In a smaller bowl stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin spice. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until moistened. Spoon into greased muffin tins, filling 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Yields 1 dozen.

This recipe is very versatile. It can be used to make a quick bread as well. I also like to add a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to the batter. If you are making it as a bread bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour.

This year don't just carve your pumpkin - EAT IT!

Another thing checked off my list!

We've been slowly making room for baby girl for awhile now. One of the things we had to do was to move our "office" out of the spare bedroom and into the front living room. Ever since we've done that its been in a revolving state of organization and chaos. I can never seem to keep it clean for more than a few days. The problem being there aren't enough spaces/places to put everything. Well, leave it to Brenda to give me some inspiration! After reading her post on her nifty mail center, I went to work! I ended up making a mail center and organizing everything else as well! I even added some decorative elements. Now, I love my workspace and don't mind that it is out in the open for all to see! Thanks Brenda!

I added some of Gavin's art work to the left there and I covered my white file holders up on the shelf with some decorative paper. You can't really see any of that really well.

This is the mail center. I actually had enough room to add more things than just the mail. I was able to add a spot for recipes I look up online, crafts I want to do eventually and even a folder for the organizing and decorating ideas that I clip from magazines!

Answered Prayer

I had a dr.'s appointment today. I was going to be seeing a different dr. than I normally do. My Dr. had to go out of town at the last minute. I had been planning on asking my dr. to do another ultrasound to try and get a peek at the gender of our little one. When I found out that I would not be seeing MY dr, I was a little concerned. I knew I wouldn't feel comfortable asking this new dr that I had never met. Since I found out this new information, I began to pray. I prayed specifically that the dr would offer to check for me without me having to ask at all. I knew it wasn't likely for him to take time out of his busy day to check this insignificant (not to me, but to him) thing. But I still prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed. I really wanted to know the sex of this baby. So, we head into my appointment and I am sure you can guess what happened:

Dr. Says : Hi, I'm Dr. so and so
Shake hands
Ryan: Hi! I'm Ryan
Me: I'm Suzanne
Dr.: Who is this?
Ryan; This is Gavin
literally next sentence:
Dr.: Do you know what you are having?
Me: No, the baby wouldn't cooperate at the ultrasound
Dr.: Well, I'd be happy to take a look, if you want
Me (inwardly): WHO HOO
Me (audibly): that would be wonderful

two minutes later we were looking at our beautiful baby girl. Talk about a specific answer to prayer. God cares so much even for the small things in our lives!

Then Gavin pipes up: I didn't want a girl, I wanted a boy!
He's excited now, but it just took a minute. He just knows he wont be able to wrestle with Charlotte Mae Dobbertin.

Harvest Days

Gavin and I have been enjoying some fall crafting. We got this idea from the October Issue of Martha Stewart. Gavin has been seeing lots of Fall decor on peoples houses and expressed interest in adding some of our own. Gavin wanted to hang these in our front windows for all to see.



We decided to make a fall scene to hang up in Gavin's room. I think (okay, I know!) I had more fun with this than Gavin did. He enjoyed using the glue and he loved the idea, but I just went a little over board. At one point I wouldn't allow him to touch it anymore because he was trying to pick off the hay.

The Lincoln Park Zoo had some Free Fall festivities this past weekend. We got to pick and decorate a pumpkin, make a visor, watch a real John Deere blacksmith at work, and ride on some battery powered John Deere's. It was pretty cool. Gavin, of course, loved all the John Deere stuff!





I hope you are all enjoying your Fall! We sure are!

Peter Pan

So, hooray for the Disney Store putting their costumes at 40% off already. I was planning on making Gavin's costume this year. Then I saw how cute this one was and saw the price, I was SOLD! I think I could have made it for maybe $5 less and it wouldn't have looked nearly as cute. Gavin has hardly taken it off in the last few days. He loves it! I am glad he is getting his use out of it! He even fell asleep on the couch in it!

I was asking him to do something for me the other day and I said, "Gavin, can you . . . (whatever it was)" and he says, "Peter Pan will do it!" And he hopped right to it!

( side note: some of these pics were taken on my phone due to the loss of my camera. What happens when you contact the warranty department and are completely honest about putting your camera in the washing machine? Nothing, that's what.)

Here's another cute Gavin story, although it does not involve Peter.

He was asking us all these questions about God the other day. How tall is He? Can He fit in our house? and he was just going on and on about it. Finally I said, "Gavin, you are asking some great questions!" Gavin's response, "Yeah, I talk too much!" It was a hoot! Now we are wondering who told our inquisitive boy that he talks to much! Okay, so it was probably me in exasperation on a day when he wouldn't stop speaking to let me think clearly!

He is just growing up so much. I have really noticed it in the last few days. I thought the point of Peter Pan was NOT growing up? He is wanting to help me all the time with big tasks. I love it, but I just can't believe that he can do some of it! He is officially in 4T clothes now. Ryan and I were cracking up as we sent him off to Cubbies in a pair of floods and a too small t shirt. I knew it was time to drag out the next bin! I am proud to say I accomplished that today! YEAH!

Well, on to accomplish many more tasks! I am a woman on a mission!

Hope you all are having a great day!

Birthday

Ryan's birthday was a lot of fun. We stared out the day by making him his favorite breakfast - biscuits and gravy.



After breakfast we gave him his first gift - the video. He loved it! Later that day he told me it was his favorite part! After that we all got ready and headed downtown to walk around and hand out until lunch time. Then it was Ryan's choice for lunch. He picked his favorite place, the Cheesecake Factory! It was yum!

Then we came home and took a little nap. We were all still stuffed from lunch, so we decided to fore go dinner and skip straight to dessert. Gavin and I had made another one of Ryan's favorite things - Chocolate Cheesecake. It had been hiding in the fridge and Ryan hadn't discovered it! We put almost (we were a few short) 30 candles on the cake and sang Happy Birthday! Gavin had a blast.





Then Ryan, with Gavin's help, opened the rest of his presents! It was such a milestone birthday I knew he deserved more than our usual one or two gifts! Ryan was very surprised! It was fun!

I think that we were able to make the day memorable for Ryan!