Gavin says the funniest things!

1. He always refers to people as "humans"

2. A few days ago Gavin told me, "I wanna be just like Jesus!"

3. When he wanted me to do something ( I can't even remember what) for him and I told him I couldn't, he said, "Come on, mom, be strong like daddy!"

4. Yesterday he asked, "Do animals have an imagination?"

5. As I was driving the other day and stuck in some traffic I was huffing and puffing and Gavin asked me, "Are you frustrated, mom?" I said, "YES!" He then replied, "Well, when the cars start moving, it will be over and you will not be frustrated anymore." Thanks Gav, you're such a problem solver. . .

6. Several months ago we had a conversation about creation. He asked me how God created earth. I told him that God just spoke it into existence. Well, since Charlotte has been born we've had some interesting conversations about me nursing her. I told him that that was how God created mommies bodies - to make milk for their babies. Well, after he had time to process this, he asked me: "Mom, can I see God speak the milk into you?" He assumed that when God spoke it, I filled up with milk!

7. While at the store he picked something up and said, "Is this on sale?" Can you tell his mamma is a frugal shopper?

8. His Grandma sent him some money in the mail and I asked Gavin what he wanted to buy with it. This was his reply, "I want one of those guns from Target that are in the toy aisle by the potties." You can tell you spend way too much time at Target when your four year old knows the layout of the store.

Valentines Day post

So, Ryan and I have never really been big on Celebrating V - Day, especially since Gavin was born. We just don't think it's that big of a deal. Well, this year we've been a little distracted with having a baby and all. We were on our way to one of Charlotte's Dr.'s appointments and Ryan and I were just chatting in the car along the way. As we were talking I kept on looking around and seeing all kinds of balloons and people with flowers. I said, "What is going on? I keep seeing all these people with balloons and flowers!" Then we looked at each other and started cracking up when we realized what day it was. I think Ryan and I truly are a match made in heaven!

It's already happening!

One of my biggest fears (for lack of a better word) when Charlotte was born was that Gavin would drift from being a mamma's boy to a daddy's boy. I love my relationship with Gav and how we function and flow together throughout our day. Well, it is already happening. Today he got hurt. It was a minor injury that didn't even require a band aid (although one was administered). I put Charlotte down and immediately came to his rescue to comfort and love on him. Well, he let me hug him for a minute (okay, it was more like three seconds!) before he croaked out, "Where is daddy?" It was such a sad moment for me. Although, I have to say not as sad as I thought it would be. I thought I might cry if something like that ever happened. As it turns out, having a daddy's boy won't be so bad after all. We will survive and I am sure he won't always just want his daddy.

Life with Charlotte

Well, life with two is definitely busier! We are enjoying it, though. My parents are here, which has been wonderful. We could not have survived without them.


Charlotte is doing extremely well. I have never seen a baby like her before. She rarely cries. She eats well, she sleeps well. She is definitely the opposite of her big brother. He was so high maintenance and she is just so laid back. Ryan asked me if I thought something was wrong with her b/c she was so easy! We are so thankful for her and the joy she is already bringing to our family.


Gavin has adjusted extremely well. I have to say, I was super surprised out it. I thought he was going to really resent her and have a hard time. He actually can't get enough of her. He was a little timid when he came to see her in the hospital, but after that, he's been great. When we got home I walked in the door and I was so excited to be home and to see Gavin. All Gav did was look around me and say, "Where's Charlotte?!" He could have cared less that I was home. He was ready to see his sister! When Ryan brought her in from the car, Gavin walked right over to the car seat and tried to take her out and wanted walk around with her. He just thinks he can flop her around like a stuffed animal. It's so funny, but so refreshing. I know he is missing his mamma time, but we are working through it and it helps that Grandma and Papa are here!!!


Daddy is doing well with taking care of everything around here.c He has been entertaining Gavin and taking him and my parents to some museums so I can get some quiet time and some sleep time!
He is smitten with his daughter. He even said, "I'm so glad we had a girl and not another boy!" One of his new favorite phrases is, "How are my girls doing?" It's so cute to see them together. I think she's gonna be a daddy's girl!


I am doing pretty well. Recovery the second time is a little bit rougher. I am wondering where these days are going! Everything seems to be going by so quickly. There doesn't seem to be enough of me to go around. Speaking of which - I am off again to feed the baby!!!

Charlotte's Room

Well, baby's room is pretty much done. I think I've rearranged it about sixty five times. What else is there to do? Here's what you've already seen . . .

Here's the other side of the room - the changing table. I was a little overwhelmed with all the polka dots, so I added some rectangles.

Yesterday I put the finishing touches on, by making this pillow for our snuggle chair.

I can't wait to bring her home and show her around and dress her up in all of these cute clothes!


I had to get a shot with all of the diapers - Thanks Jason and Kate!

Hopefully my next post will be pictures of CHARLOTTE!!

Huh?

Well, we went to Target about a week ago and Ryan picked up a case of Code Red Mt. Dew. When we got home, I put the case in the fridge and opened it up to find this:

I was pretty excited about it. I had a yummy root beer float that night! Have you ever found an unexpected item in your groceries?

Things I've Learned This Week

1. It is close to impossible to explain verb tenses to a new four year old.

2. Scrubbing Bubbles is an AMAZING product - my shower has never looked better and I didn't have to scrub a thing (seriously just spray, wait and wipe!).

3. Shoveling Snow does NOT induce labor - it just makes you very sore and tired.

4. The made up word "snoof" has many possible meanings. You can use it in sentences like,
"This toy is not snoof enough, mom" or "I am feeling snoofy" and even "There is not enough snoof on my shelf"

5. No matter how many chocolate chip pumpkin muffins you make, they will be consumed within days, if not hours.

6. No matter how hard you try, when you are 38 weeks pregnant it is impossible to wash your child's hair and not end up in the tub - this task has now been delegated to Ryan as I have no interest in falling in the bathtub (no matter how clean it is!) . . . again.

7. Decorating, to a four year old means proudly throwing several things on the floor and leaving them there.

and last, but not least . . .

8. Even when it is cold (-15) and snowy (6-8 inches) and everyone else is miserable and complaining, you can still appreciate, love and enjoy winter in all it's glory!

Gavin talk

Gavin is just a hoot to talk to most of the time. Here are some of his most recent quotes.

1. "You're the sweetest girl that I love."

2. "What (which comes out - whuch) you said?"

3. "You gotta be kiddin' me!" - this one almost always leads to a nice long talking to about our attitude.

4. "You're the silliest girl I haven't never seen"

5. His favorite book for awhile was "Are you my mother?" so out of the blue one day he started calling me Bird Mother. He will randomly say, "Thank you, Bird Mother" or "Here you go, Bird Mother." It is so funny and I LOVE IT! We have made it a family affair and now refer to Ryan as Bird Father and Gavin as Bird Brother. I am sure Charlotte will be Bird Sister when she arrives!

6. Gavin has battled some bad colds this season so now he feels the need to tell people, "I am so sick". The other day when he was getting "into trouble" he told me that he couldn't get into trouble because he was "so sick". What a scammer!

Well, that's all I can think of right now. I am sure there are many more funny things he says, though. Hope you enjoyed some laughs! What are some funny things your kids are saying these days?

The To Do List

I've been working hard on my ever growing to do list to get lots done before the baby comes. One thing I really wanted to finish was this blanket for Gavin. He's been asking me for one for awhile. I think I started this one over the summer! I finally finished it this week! Here is my finished product. Now, it's on to the next 10 tasks!

What's for dinner?

Ryan got me this cookbook for Christmas and I LOVE it! It's all about pureeing veggies and sneaking them into your meals. You may think, I don't need to sneak veggies into my kids meals, I just make them eat them! Well, Gavin is actually a good veggie eater. He eats broccoli like a champ and loves every minute of it. Ryan is my non veggie eater! I don't think he quite knew what he was getting himself into when he bought this book! I've got some good veggies into his diet and I don't tell him until after he's eaten it all up! He doesn't mind, as long as he doesn't know what he's eating while he's eating it for the first time! I've been pureeing like crazy and freezing them for future use! This is a book I would definitely recommend!

Congratulations Ryan!

Today Ryan starts his new position with Starbucks! He is now running his very own store! I know he is so excited to finally be in this spot! He has a great store, too. So, if you are ever in the Chicago area stop by the Bucks at State and Lake and say hi to him!

My Awesome Husband!

I just had to post this hilarious picture of Ryan and his brother Jason. Jason never grows facial hair so we were surprised to see him sporting the goatee. Ryan was in the process of shaving his beard and 'stache and they decided to have a little fun with it. I am pretty creeped out by the sight of Ryan with a mustache. But I have to admit, it was pretty hysterical!

Whew!!!

The month of December was so hectic for us! It kind of went by in a blur. The weekend after Thanksgiving my entire family (minus one sister) came out to help celebrate Gavin's 4th birthday. Yes, that's right - my baby boy is four years old! We had fun exploring the city - well as much exploring you can do when it's freezing out and you have four kids under four to tote around.

Right after my family left I came down with the worst cold I have ever had in my life. I do not remember ever feeling that badly before. Of course, my sickness had to linger into the weekend. Ryan's brother Jason, his wife Katie and their son Will came out for a visit. Even though I was sick, we had a fun time with them. We celebrated an early Christmas, went downtown for a bit, drove out to Ryan's grandparents for a visit and pretty much just hung out. We were so sad when it was time for them to leave!

After Jas and Kate left we had a quiet week before Christmas. All of our shopping was done and we didn't really have much to plan for. It was just going to be us this year. We went to church on Christmas Eve and then came home and stayed home for the next few days. It was wonderful. It was a great time for us to relax as a family and spend time playing with Gavin and all of his new toys! I look at it as the calm before the storm - the "storm" being baby coming.

I am at 36 weeks now and am counting down the days. I've been very busy the last week or so cleaning like crazy and cooking and freezing meals. My sciatica is FINALLY gone - that was rough - so I feel more like myself again. I am trekking out to the Dr.'s every week now, which is super annoying.

Well, I guess I am just rambling. I will try and be better about keeping up with this thing! I hate to say it, but facebook is so much easier! But I love my google reader and keeping up with everyone blogs! I am sure I will be posting like crazy once the baby is born!

Hope you all had a great 2008! I am so looking forward to what 2009 brings our family!

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving came and went so quickly! I can hardly believe it is over with already. Ryan's parents came to stay with us over the weekend. We had a wonderful time. I made my first Thanksgiving dinner. I have to say, it was a lot of work but TONS of fun. I really enjoyed doing it. I learned a lot - the most important thing being: never make that much food for five people again. I went a little bit overboard. I guess I just got a little too excited about it all.

After we stuffed ourselves that night we got to open our Christmas presents from Ryan's parents. We aren't going to be able to be with them this year and they wanted to see us open our gifts! I am a huge kid when it comes to opening gifts I was so excited. I think I tore into mine just as fast as Gavin did! My in laws are so generous and give us so much! We loved everything and had fun opening them up. Gavin got a double dose b/c he got to open his Birthday gifts too!

Friday morning Ryan's mom and I woke up at 5:30 to go shopping. It's the first time I've ever gone shopping on black Friday. I am pretty sure I'd do it again. We didn't have that bad of an experience. We just went to Target and got some deals and came home.

Friday night we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo for their "Zoo Lights". It was relatively warm (well, it's alwasy hot to me these days), so it was really nice. The lights were fun and we got to see some animals and Gavin even got a cookie.

Saturday we headed downtown in the a.m. and went to Navy Pier. They Christmas decorations are so festive. I love it! We only spent an hour or so there and then we headed out to Ryan's aunts house for another Thanksgiving feast. There was food and family galore! We always have with with Ryan's cousins and aunts and uncles.

Sunday was the sad day. It was time for Grandma and Grandpa to leave. We headed out to church the same time that they left to go home. Gavin didn't know quite what was going on. When we got to church he looked around and said, "Where's Grandma Sue?" I guess he thougth they were meeting us there!

Overall it was a great Thanksgiving. I was missing my family a lot, but I am taking comfort in the fact that they are all pulling in tomorrow for a nice long weekend visit. I've almost recouped from last weekend and now I get to turn around and do it all over again! It's worth it, though! I love being with our family.

We hope your Thanksgiving was as good as ours!

Baby News:

I just thought I'd give a Charlotte update - I had a dr.'s appointment today and everything looks good. We are at 31 weeks and a few days. Every keeps asking me if I am "sure they got the due date right." I just make big babies! The dr. told me the second one usually increases by a lb. I am not sure if I can handle a 9lb. 12oz. baby! We grow 'em big!

Conversations in the Car

We are riding in the car this morning taking Ryan to work and all is quiet. We were just listening to some music. All of the sudden, Gavin pipes up and this is what transpires:

Gavin: When did you get married?
Me: Seven Years ago
Gavin: Were you a princess?
Me: Well, I had a fancy dress . . .
Gavin: Well, Daddy didn't have a prince outfit on.
Me: He had a nice suit on.
Gavin: Yeah, it was black, I really liked it.
Gavin: Was I there?
Me: No, you weren't born yet
Gavin: I was in your belly still?
Me: No, God hadn't created you yet
Gavin: Did you get married at the Disney Store?
Me: No
Gavin: Did you get married in Africa?
Me: No
Gavin: Well, that would have been really cool.

I don't know where he comes up with this stuff or how his thought process jumps from the Disney Store to Africa! He's such a crack up sometimes! I love it!

Sneak Peak

Well, it's not done yet, but here are some pics of Charlotte's room.

We aren't allowed to paint, so this is fabric that I put on the wall above the crib. I was told that you could use a corn starch paste to stick the fabric to the wall. I googled it and voila! It worked!

C is for Charlotte!

I got the giant letter C from JoAnn Fabrics (with a 40% coupon, I have to add) and then painted it brown, punched out all the circles and went crazy with the decoupage! Ryan hung it up for me!

Here is the view from the doorway. I am still waiting on my (FREE) changing table. It is traveling here from Michigan over Thanksgiving weekend. Once I get that, I'll post pics from the other side and the wall decor I did over there.

This was my latest idea. I bought this hanging thing from Ikea over a year ago and decided to re purpose it. I used my left over fabric and cut out circles and applied them with some good old fabric glue. I love how it turned out! I should have taken a before picture!

I have to say, when I envisioned having a girl I always thought I'd go pink, pink and more PINK! However, I love how this theme is turning out!

I don't mess around!

Christmas is by far my favorite Holiday. I usually wait until about the third week into November to put up the tree. However, Ryan had the day off and we were rearranging things to make room in our storage space. I suggested we get the Christmas stuff out, so we wouldn't bury it in the back behind everything. Well, then it was all out and I made the mistake of opening up some of the boxes. We weren't really doing anything else so . . . we went ahead and put it up! I love it. Gavin was really loving it. Although, I think I may have confused him a bit b/c he knows his birthday comes right before Christmas. He asked me if I was going to set up his birthday after he went to bed! He had a great time cluttering the ornaments around the bottom of the tree. He didn't mind when we moved them around, though.




He still hasn't taken off the Santa hat, either. He ever wore it to Target and the grocery store today!

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!