Ryan with the Big Wig!

Ryan got to meet the President of Starbucks a week or so ago. I am not sure if I posted about that or not. He came to tour some of the stores in the Chicago area and make sure they were running smoothly. Ryan's store was one of the privileged ones to be included in the tour. He had a crazy week leading up to that day. I think he worked 12 or 13 hours the day before he came! Ryan's store passed with flying colors. It was awesome! Here is a picture of Ryan, the pres., and one of the other partners!

Zoo with Friends

We went to the zoo with our friends the Pareja's last week. It was a little cold, but we made the best of it! The kids had fun! I wish I would have gotten more pictures.

Here Puppy, Puppy

So every morning Gavin and I take our vitamins together. Gavin takes them as a dog, though. They are his bones. If I try and sneak his vitamin onto his breakfast plate or just give it to him in normal human fashion, we must start over. He just loves it. It's not that the vitamins taste bad, he likes them. He just LOVES to act like a puppy. So, here's how it goes:

Me:"Here puppy, puppy!"
Me:"Come get your bone, puppy!"
Gavin gets on all fours and starts making his way to the kitchen
Me:"Come on, puppy, puppy!"
Gavin makes it to the kitchen
Me:"SPEAK, puppy!"
Gavin barks
Me:"Speak Louder, puppy!"
Gavin barks as loud as humanly possible
I feed him the vitamin and he miraculously turn into a little boy again.

As you can read, the more times I say 'puppy', the better. He's such a little nut, I love it!

Cubbie Award!

Gavin earned his Cubbie Award at church two weeks ago! We were oh so proud of him. He even won the extra Apple Tree Award for saying all of his review verses each week. Way to go Buddy! Mom and Dad are so proud and love you so much!

Auntie Brenda and Miss Jillian!

We got to see our beloved Auntie Brenda this past weekend and our favorite Chicagoan - Miss Jillian. Hopefully we will be seeing Auntie a lot more in the months to come! Although, they are kind of dull, as you'll see from the pictures below! We did get to go to the Container Store, which is Disney World for people like us. I didn't get a picture of that, but it was definitely a highlight!

Where a kid can be a kid

We went to Chuck E. Cheese on Monday with Ryan's mom. What fun we had! Charlotte was a gem (as always) and Gavin had a blast. I couldn't believe how many tickets that kid was winning! Of course, I had to play lots of games as well. They have this Deal or No Deal game that I am slightly addicted to ( I have it for the Wii, too!). I am happy to report that I won 40 tickets, the most you can win! Anyway, this post is NOT about me. Here are some pics of our super fun day!

Grandma Sue (or Grandma "Dude" as Gavin dubbed her) and Gavin

Me (I mean, Gavin) and my mad racing skills

Happy girl can't wait to play!

So many tickets all by himself!

Works of God Monday - Tuesday addition

I missed my Monday post because my mother in law was in town and we were busy having fun!

Which brings me to the subject of my post! We were so blessed to have an unexpected visit from Ryan's mom this week. She is such a blessing to us and is always spoiling us! We were sad to see her go this morning, but we were really glad the Lord brought her this way, once again!

Things I Hear on a Daily Basis

1. "Can I spit in the sink/toilet?"

2. "Can I throw (insert random item) in the toilet?"

3. "Do I have to wash my hands?"

4. "Did I eat enough dinner?" followed by, "Can I have some candy?"

5. "Does Daddy have to go to work today?"

6. "Ooh, I picked a big booger!"

7. "Can I kiss Charlotte? Can I smell her?"

8. "Can you please sing me a son?"

9. "Mom, Mom, um Mom, um Mommy um Mom, . . . "

10. "I'm just teasin'"

11. "Can I get (toy) out?" - He asks everytime he wants to get another toy out.

12. "Can you pet this doggy?" - this is in reference to himself

Coloring Easter Eggs!

We colored eggs on Good Friday. I love doing stuff like this!

Happy, Happy Girl!

When we first found out that Charlotte was going to be a girl, my mom and I went shopping. This was the first little dress that we bought her. I have been dying to put her in it, but I didn't have any tights that fit her and that matched. Tights that fit are really hard to find! Well, my mom found these tights last week at Babies R us and the fit her really well! Charlotte wore this to our Good Friday services at Church.

Gavin Talk!

That's right folks - It's time for another installment of Gavin Talk. I am constantly writing down the hilarious things he says. Here are the latest.

1. My new favorite thing is Garden Salsa sun chips. They are a new discovery for me. I am not really a 'chip eater' (except when I am pregnant, I can't get enough) but I LOVE these chips. Anyway, Gavin and I were eating some the other day and he said, "these taste like the sunrise!" Not sure what that means, but we sure did laugh about it!

2. I have to start this one out with the disclaimer that we do not watch Dancing with the stars. I've just never been that interested in it. Well, we turned on the t.v. the other day and it was on. Gavin must have picked up on the name. He said, "Is this Dancing with the Stars? Well, where are the stars?"

3. When he gets in trouble and he knows I am not exactly thrilled about it, he will say to me, "Mom, are you happy? Please look at me and smile!"

4. He still is calling his slippers "flippers". I was about to correct him the other day b/c it seems he doesn't even see a distinction between the two words. I decided it was too cute and I wasn't quite sure I wanted him to use the right word yet.

5. While playing with Charlie, he says "Hey there big fat baby!"

6. We were watching a movie a few nights ago and Gavin told me that the leading lady looks like me. She is very pretty and very thin. I know she really doesn't look like me, but it sure did warm my heart!

7. Almost every day that he has not had a nap he gets VERY tired by bedtime. So tired, in fact, that he can almost say nothing without whining. He must have known bedtime was approaching, because he asked me this:
G:"Is it getting dark again?" Me: "yes" G: Why does this always happen to me? It can't get dark again and again and again!" This was followed by a mini meltdown and an early bedtime.

8. Sometimes he asks if we can go and eat at a rescue-rant (restaurant). I love his little mispronunciations.

9. For some odd reason, Gavin like to smell Charlotte. I think he's pretending to be a dog when it does it. I asked him why he smells her and he said, "Because I'm crazy and I'm naughty!" He had no idea what naughty meant. I asked him who told him that and he said "(Friend at Church) said we are naughty boys."

Works of God Monday

I've missed a few weeks of this, not because I have nothing to praise God about! It's just because Monday's are always so busy!

Well, today I am praising God for his provision and his loving attention to the small things in our lives! Our lease is up next month and we were told our rent was going to go up. Well, when the new lease agreement was presented to us, our rent only went up $25! Whew! We LOVE living hear and we really enjoy our neighborhood. We are happy to not have to move.

When we first moved into this apartment, we were told we could not paint. That was very disappointing to us. Well, when we signed our new lease we put in a request to paint our living room and our landlord granted it! We are SO excited to be able to do this. We have to go with a very neutral color, but we don't care. Right now I believe the walls are just covered in a thin coat of primer. It really is awful. I can't wait! It is amazing to me how the Lord even cares about silly little things like this!

Spring Cleaning

I am getting ready to start my spring cleaning! I am very excited about it. Ryan and I are going to purge our house of all the things we don't use or need. We do this quite a bit and I love it. It just feels so good to have the house uncluttered and fully functional. This year I am going to take it slow and go room by room. I'm not giving myself a time limit, either. I am going to start one room and clean until it's done - even if it takes me a week per room! I'll probably rearrange everything, too. I really do enjoy cleaning. Gavin and I grab some rags, crank up our itunes and get to work! Happy cleaning!

Helper

Gavin is still a really big help to me. He is constantly bringing me burp clothes, diapers, and whatever else I ask for. He even "watches" his sister for me every time I leave the room! I was sitting like this with Charlotte and I got up to do something and came back to see that Gavin had taken over my spot. They are so cute together. I am excited to see their relationship grow and grow and grow.

Friends

Gavin has found a friend that he totally clicks with. They enjoy the same things and they have the same style of play. They are the same in lots of ways while still having plenty of opposites. The opposites help to balance them out. Gabriel has really been a blessing to our family.

Charlotte's New Hat

I've been having fun making hats and stuff for my Etsy site. Charlotte is just the cutest model! I may (MAY) be a little bias,though.

Think before you speak

I was shopping a few weeks ago with my sister and my niece. I was in Forever 21 and I was waiting for my niece to try on a shirt in the dressing room. I had Charlie in the Baby Bjorn. This girl that worked there came up to me and was oohing and ahhing over her. She asked me how old she was so I told her. She then looks me up and down (no joke) and gets this weird (kind of ugly) look on her face and asks me how old I am. Are you serious? I got defensive, of course, and told her I was, in fact 27 years old. What are people thinking, really? What if I was 16 or 17? She would have made me feel so stupid. You don't ask someone that! I know I look young, I don't deny that fact. However, you would think that most people would have the sense not to ask me just in case I really was too young to have a baby. This actually happens to me more than I would like to say. I get dirty looks at least once a month and comments like this maybe once every couple of months. It is irritating and humiliating. People in general really should start thinking before they speak.
UGH! Thanks for letting me vent!

Outside

We got to enjoy a little bit of nice weather last week before it snowed again. Yeah, that's right. I said snow. The snow is once again gone and hopefully will not return until next winter. I am ready to do some walking!

It was nice, but still chilly in the shade - hence all the layers

HA!!!

I made this funny head band today out of left over yarn. I think it's the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. I think it's super cute, though. Ryan, on the other hand said that it was "hideous".
The flower looks like it is taking over Charlie's head.

The more I look at it, the funnier it gets. It really is quite ugly (which makes me love it even more). I can't stop looking at these pictures and laughing!

My newest project

I made this cute little clutch purse in my spare time (whatever that is). I love it!

Growing, Growing