Our Little Men

Garrett's First Dentist Visit

2011-08-05T10:42:00.000-05:00

Well.....being an almost 2 and a half year old, I guess it's time to do some more "big boy" stuff! Garrett had his first dentist appointment today, and he did great!!

He opened up like a "big Lion" and counted all his teeth....I think she said there were 20 in there!

He loved the bubble gum toothpaste and was super excited to get to pick out his own new toothbrush (Tigger)!! He helped out with "Mr. Thirsty" (the tool that sucks all the water out), and even sprayed some water!

We didn't do any X-Rays this time, but at his next appointment, we'll try those.

I can't believe what a big boy he's becoming!!
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Our Boys....

2011-05-19T13:42:00.001-05:00

It's been a while since I've updated. Not from lack of WANTING to, mind you. We have been so busy with so many different things I haven't even uploaded pictures from EASTER from my camera yet!!

Grant is playing soccer. He is improving so much! We're looking into getting him into a soccer camp this summer. We really do enjoy watching him play. Their team is playing in an age group higher than they should because of their record last season, so wins aren't as easy as they were in the past. They haven't won a game yet, and that really upsets Grant, but they are improving every week!

Gavin starts baseball today (providing the rain stops), and he is really excited to try it! He gave up on soccer, but we're happy he's giving something else a shot. He still wants to play soccer at Grant's practices, however, "no more games".

Garrett is getting so big. He's really a little brut some days, but he's also so sweet! He hasn't had an ear infection in quite a while, and the ENT says that he doesn't have to have tubes put in at this point, which has made us so darn happy!

I'm hoping to get some more of their "events" updated here as soon as things calm down a bit!

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Garrett's 2 year visit

2011-03-07T14:41:00.001-05:00

I took Garrett this morning for his 2 year check up. He is doing really well, growing by leaps and bounds, and the doctor was impressed by his activity and vocabulary!

Garrett has been battling ear infections for quite a while. He's been on 5 oral antibiotics and has had a injected antibiotic. He has been referred to an ENT (which he'll see on Monday), but the doctor did check his ears today. He still has fluid in his ears (more in the left than the right), however, they show no signs of infection currently. So, we'll see what we do after our visit with the ENT.

Garrett weighed in at 34 lbs 1 oz (97th percentile) and he is 37 1/2" long (off the charts)!! He is one big 2 year old!!

He didn't have to have any shots (which made mommy VERY happy), but he did leave with his graham cracker in hand! He even walked out to the car holding my hand! Our littlest man is getting so big!!
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Garrett Gets a Hair Cut

2011-01-20T22:15:00.000-05:00

My goodness .... I can honestly say that this is the latest that one of our little men has gotten a hair cut! Grant had his first hair cut before he was even a year old (he was nine months old). Garrett is almost two YEARS old, and we finally got his hair cut. It was a very difficult decision to cut.....As many of you know, he had gorgeous curly hair. I loved it ... it was so cute ... he was so sweet with his curly hair. Lots of people said "Cut it". Lots of people said "Don't touch it". But, in the end, even with the Johnson and Johnson curl spray, he just did NOT like to have his hair combed, brushed ... nothing. It was always a tangled mess (except after a bath), and it WAS CRAZY WILD and really long.

In the end, we decided to get it cut ... and now he looks like such a little boy! I had a bit of remorse afterward, but it was the right decision .... we may allow it to grow a little more, but we'll see.

Here's some pictures ....

Todd got his hair cut here when he went to Michigan and now our boys do too!

Getting ready to take his coat off ...

First we spray .... "Cheese!" Garrett Says

"He just started combing, didn't he?!?!?" (I told you he didn't like it .. and I didn't lie)

A sucker made it better ......

For a little while anyway ...

All done!

This picture reminds me of my dad when he was little ....

Christmas with the Little Men

2011-01-20T21:57:00.000-05:00

This past Christmas was really quite amazing! We had so many Christmas celebrations (five), and it was so busy....but MY GOODNESS was it ever FUN! These three little men that we have surprise us more and more every day. They can be some of the most bad behaved little men one minute to the most amazing, generous, helpful, content, happy.... I could just go on and on. I am literally just so baffled by our children. One minute I think that I am doing them absolutely no good staying home with them, and then they do something that makes me realize that "I did that ...." I feel pride in moments like those. And this Christmas, Our Little Men showed us so many of those moments....it was truly amazing!

Here are a few pictures of Our Little Men and their Christmas Parties ....

Gavin Getting a Gift at The 1st party ... Hosted by Us

Garrett Getting his present

Christmas #2 @ Papa and Nana's

Grant @ Papa and Nana's

Christmas Morning ... Garrett got a TRICYCLE!! He LOVED it!

Jackson giving a helping hand ...

Grant and his Michigan Snuggie

Gavin and his Pillow Pet

Christmas #4 @ Dzia Dzia and Bushi's (Grant and his Denard jersey getting a gift)

Garrett ....

Gavin checking out some new tools!

We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and the boys blew out the candles

Christmas #5 -Grant and Santa

Garrett and Santa

Gavin and Santa

WOW!!! Quite a Christmas!!!

Garrett's EEG

2010-11-11T13:55:00.001-05:00

Whoops!!! I sent the picture without the description!!

The picture below is Garrett and I during his EEG. He did very well. I was surprised! I told Todd that had he not been there, he wouldn't have sat still for any of it! But, he sat still for almost the entire thing.

We met with the Neurologist approximately 40 minutes after the EEG and he gave us the results. Garrett's EEG was perfectly normal. He said that we shouldn't worry too much about it. He said that if he has another episode to call him, however, he feels it was more than likely a "one time event" because he was sick. He's not convinced it was a seizure rather he passed out/fainted. He said that sometimes the body does things when you pass out that may resemble a seizure..."the brain gets mad", but a seizure is very different.

So he gave us some "pointers" (or more like, what not to dos) if it were to happen again and then he did a quick examination .... Which gave Garrett an opportunity to show him how fine he was.

We are so relieved to have this wonderful news and look forward to not seeing another incident like that!!
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Garrett's EEG

2010-11-11T13:54:00.001-05:00

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What a Summer!

2010-09-21T20:51:00.003-05:00

Well, the boys and their mommy and daddy had a fabulous summer! We spent some time at the pool, we took a little "staycation", we hit the zoo,went to Greenfield Village, the beach in Lexington, headed up to Traverse City, and even hit a Polish festival in Hamtramck!

Grant and Gavin both took swimming lessons over the summer, and Grant has moved on to Fish 3 and Gavin in going into Fish 2! We were very proud of the way their swimming has taken off! They both love to swim and go under water! We're planning on continuing their swimming lessons through the winter months...and we'll hope that they go down the slide next summer!

Gavin continued going to preschool all summer because we thought it might be a bit easier on mommy, but we sure did miss him when he was gone!

Grant has started the 2nd grade, and just writing that makes me get a little teary eyed! I cannot believe that he is already a 2nd grader! Where does the time go? But, so far he likes his teacher and doesn't mind getting up early for school.

Gavin is officially in his final preschool year, and he is doing great! He's already mastered his numbers and colors. He can spell his first and last name, and he is even drawing a bit! He is learning Spanish and so far knows "Hola" and "Adios". He isn't too excited to do homework, but ... we're working on that too. He's excited to graduate in the Spring and start Kindergarten in the Fall. We are working on tying his shoes. It's ..... going. We'll get there. But, anyone that knows Gavin, knows that he doesn't have the greatest attention span! :)

Garrett has also started going to day care two days a week with Gavin. He enjoys playing in the Treehouse (the gym day care), so we thought that giving him the opportunity to play with kids his own age would be good for him. It's also giving mommy time to do her "thing" around the house so when I have the two boys (three when Grant's home from school), we can PLAY and have a good time. We may even take some "field trips"!

I'm going to post a few pictures of the boys over the summer ... hopefully I can get them all in ...

Well, they won't let me put enough pictures in here ... I guess I'll have to do an update for each of our fun filled trips! I'm hoping that tomorrow afternoon will give me some time for that ... until then .....

Garrett's latest discovery

2010-05-13T21:28:00.001-05:00

I tried to upload a video of Garrett in the tub. He found that he can do chin ups with the little bar for washcloths. Its really cute! I'm going to have to see if we can get it up here! Sorry for the teaser! :(

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Garrett's latest discovery

2010-05-13T21:25:00.000-05:00

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Happy Easter!!

2010-04-04T08:58:00.001-05:00

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Winter Fun!!

2010-02-22T21:59:00.004-05:00

Today, we got 8 inches of SNOW! We were hit a couple weeks back with about 4 inches of snow so THIS was sooo much more fun! I shoveled this morning. Then Grant and I used his snowball maker and had a snowball fight when I was done. We had a great time! Then this afternoon, I shoveled off the deck and made a hill for the boys (and Todd and myself as well...) to sled down! We had such a great time! Garrett even got all bundled up to go out on his very own sled! I fully expected that he was going to cry the entire time he was out there, but he enjoyed it! Todd and I walked him along this "track" I made through the back yard ... over and over and over ... and he just loved it! When we would make a turn, he would try to pick up snow to eat. He talked and laughed the whole time he was out there. Here are a few shots of the boys' having a great time in the snow!

It was quite a PARTY!

2010-02-22T21:45:00.003-05:00

With Gavin and Garrett having birthdays so close to one another, we decided that the best thing to do was to have their parties together. We realize NOW that, perhaps, economically it wasn't the best for our guests, but we didn't want to have every one traveling the distances they travel three weeks apart.

We had quite a turn out ... about 35 people and the boys were super excited to see some cousins that we don't usually get to see too often throughout the year.

We had Gavin pick out the birthday cake design, and he did quite well. Garrett LOVES the music to Spongebob Squarepants and Gavin (Grant, too) loves to watch Spongebob, so ... that's what he picked. The cake, of course, came from Holiday Market, and it was fabulous! They always do such a great job on the boys' cakes!

We had a simple lunch, some great apps prepared by my cousin, Wendy, and, of course, cake and ice cream! I, personally, thought it was quite a smashing success! Now, granted, with that many people in our house, it was hard to visit with everyone. I would have liked to have "entertained" more, but everyone here is family ... so, I know that they weren't amongst strangers and feeling out of place.

Here are a few photos of the boys at their party ...

Unfortunately , I don't have a TON of pictures of Gavin ... he was off playing and when it came time to open presents, I didn't get any pictures. I'm getting some from my mom (who, thankfully, was taking pictures) so perhaps once I get those, I'll post some more ....

Gavin's Birthday Breakfast

2010-02-22T21:36:00.004-05:00

Gavin turned four...yes, can you believe it?!?!? FOUR!!!

We started a tradition with Grant a couple years back that we make a birthday cake and have it for breakfast the morning of their birthday. They think that it's pretty neat that they get to have cake for breakfast! Definitely nothing that Todd or myself ever experienced as children!

I have a giant cupcake cake pan that I make and decorate how they want ... Gavin decided that he wanted it to be blue and orange. I made my own butter cream frosting and used my Pampered Chef decorating gun (Gavin, of course, made sure I used 4 of the attachments on his cake because he had to see what they all did!).

He had a great 4th birthday and he took in ice cream cone cupcakes to his class so they could celebrate his birthday at school! He had quite a day ....

Our Little Men and Their First Paczki

2010-02-22T21:29:00.003-05:00

Fat Tuesday ... Pazcki Day .... We were surprised with some Hamtramck Paczki! Oh my goodness, I cannot even remember the last time I have had a REAL HAMTRAMCK PACZKI! Oh was it good!

The boys, yes, all three boys ... had their very first taste of these wonderful jelly filled softballs of goodness! They LOVED them! Grant and Gavin had two each! Garrett just nodded in agreement that, "yes, these are FABULOUS!!".

Here are a few shots of the boys are their very first paczki experience!

It's been a while...

2009-11-18T09:25:00.001-05:00

Well, Garrett is now 8 and a half months old and, as you can see, a lot more active!

I have a ton of pictures from the last four months that were finally removed from my camera last night! I am seriously going to attempt to update with everyone's pictures and news!

I'm hoping to do that this week!
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4 Month Visit

2009-07-10T19:28:00.000-05:00

Garrett had his 4 month visit today. I cannot believe how fast this time is going!! He weighed in at 20 lbs even and he is 27 1/4 inches long (both are in the 97th to 98th percentile for his age!). He is growing so fast.

The doctor looked at his eye, and if the drops don't keep the gunk away, we have to call an opthomologist and have his duct probed open at 5 months. I'm really hoping that it goes away because I really don't want to have that done. But, if it doesn't, I know we have to do what we have to do.

The doctor also said that we could start introducing him to cereal and some fruits and vegetables at 5 months of age IF we don't have a history of allergies and he shows interest. He shows interest in food already, so I'm sure we'll see what he thinks when that 5 month mark rolls around.

Speaking of rolling around, Garrett has been rolling from his stomach to his back, and I've seen him roll from his back to his stomach!! He is sitting up pretty good with some assistance and he is "talking". Oh how he is talking!! I think once he starts saying words he'll be like Gavin (you'll never get him to be quiet!!).

We took the boys on our first family vacation to visit with Aunt Gwen and Uncle Buzz in Alabama. When I get my pictures downloaded I'll post them and tell you all about it. The boys did really well in the car, and they had a blast visiting. They can't waiy to go back!!

Well, that's it for now. I'll post more soon!
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Two Men In ATub

2009-07-09T19:30:00.001-05:00

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Garrett's Baptism

2009-06-24T21:07:00.005-05:00

Garrett was baptized on June 7, 2009 at our church, Historic Trinity Lutheran Church, in downtown Detroit. It was a beautiful day! The Godparents were my cousin, Wendy (Auntie Wendy) and Todd's cousin, Tim (Uncle Tim). Garrett was so good in church!

His baptism gown was worn by my dad (dzia dzia) when he was baptized, my brother Danny, and both Grant and Gavin as well. It's been a blessing to have the outfit! I, personally, think that it's really neat that the boys have all been baptized in it. I still have mine .... but, unfortunately, it appears that I will be the only one to wear it. No girls for us ...

There was quite a turn out at the church and we had a nice brunch at our home afterward to celebrate Garrett's baptism into God's family. We were so happy to have so many people witness and help us celebrate this important day in his life!

Thank you to everyone for making this such a special day!

Gavin the Barber???

2009-06-09T20:34:00.001-05:00

Gavin decided that he was going to give Todd a haircut while he watched the hockey game. Yes, that is an Ugg boot that Gavin is using as his clippers! He is even making that "rrrrrrrrrr" noise as he cuts his hair.
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2009-06-08T21:38:00.002-05:00

Garrett has started "entertaining" himself in his cradle. Unfortunately, with Garrett staying up more during the day, it leaves mommy with little time to do anything like say ... go to the bathroom. So, I have to put him down while I do things like that as well as changing laundry, fixing lunch, etc. Well, thankfully, he doesn't start crying until he gets bored with whatever he's doing so I'm able to get SOME things started (maybe not finished....). On this particular day, he thought it would be fun to grab onto the bumper we have in his cradle and play with that. He is starting to play more and more and it's really a lot of fun to watch! He just grabs onto something and swings his arm .... where ever it lands ... it lands (he doesn't usually let go though. You have to PULL it out of his hand!).

Garret and his tub

2009-06-08T21:32:00.002-05:00

Garrett, like the other two boys, LOVES to take a bath. And, now that he's getting bigger, he loves to splash his feet around and slide himself down into the water! I dread the day that we move him to the big boy tub! I enjoy giving him a bath now. When they get into the big tub, they turn into animals! I don't know what it is ... the size ... the "freedom" ... but each one has turned into a bathroom soaking machine when they get into that tub. But, here are a few shots of Garrett enjoying one of his latest bath ...

The Boys playing pool at Dzia Dzia and Bushi's

2009-06-08T21:25:00.003-05:00

Our boys are so creative! I hear them downstairs at my parents' house playing, and I hear "take a shot ...", "nice shot...", "go in the hole ...". I was like, OK, I have GOT to check this out. I get to the bottom of the stairs and peek around the corner and find them playing pool in my parents' basement. They have created their own pool table with the top to a storage bin, the balls are from a toy Gavin got for his first birthday, and the sticks were made from doweling that my dad cut and gave them! Hence, the boys' pool hall ...

The Boys First Tiger Game

2009-06-08T21:16:00.003-05:00

This year, for Grant's birthday, we decided we would take the older two boys to the Tiger game. They both have really enjoyed watching sports on TV as of late, and we thought they would really enjoy seeing a "real live" baseball game! The game started late due to a rain delay, but we snacked on hot dogs, peanuts, and pop. We also took the time to get the boys their own Tiger hats (and one for mommy and daddy too!). Once we got to our seats, Gavin noticed that they were still prepping the field. He had a comment/question about everything they were doing from the vehicle used to bring out all the tools they used to what type of tools they were using. I almost think he liked watching that part more than the actual game! But, they did have a great time! Grant was a little upset that they were losing and wanted to go home, but we did stick it out a little longer. It was getting cold and Gavin was FREEZING! The Tigers did end up winning the game, and the boys will have some wonderful memories!

Grant's 6th Birthday!

2009-06-08T21:11:00.002-05:00

Grant turned 6 on May 2nd! I cannot believe it ... and he is finished with Kindergarten! My little man is getting to be such a big boy! This year's birthday had an Incredible Hulk theme, and of course, Holiday Market did the cake! I sooo love the cakes that this guy does for us! Grant was sooo happy with how it turned out too! We had a great party! Our family was very generous with their assistance with the menu and we had pizza, cake and ice cream to go along with the wonderful things they brought! I think a fun time was had by everyone -- Not just the birthday boy!

Grant's Soccer Season

2009-06-08T21:00:00.004-05:00

Grant played soccer again this year. I didn't get to attend as many games as I would have liked, but with Garrett, weather was our ruling factor. Grant had a blast and Todd was a co-coach this year! I really think that he enjoyed coaching as much as Grant liked playing! The team didn't win all their games, and Grant didn't score a goal in every game ... but they did play well and were hopefully learning a lot of "techniques".

Grant even tried his hand at goal keeper this year. He did pretty good (they did score on him, but it was his first time). We're trying to determine if he's going to be the keeper that has you on the edge of your seat wondering if he's paying attention and miraculously the ball finds his hands (like someone I know ...) or if he is going to make everyone feel at ease. I'm not quite sure yet ... and I don't even know if he liked being in goal. He likes to score ... and well, when you're in goal, you don't usually have many opportunities to do that!

Easter 2009

2009-06-08T20:42:00.004-05:00

The boys had a great time decorating eggs this year!

The Easter Bunny enjoyed hiding their very colorful eggs and their baskets, but the boys were very good at hunting those eggs and baskets! The Easter Bunny even tried very hard to hide things in a spots that were a little more difficult, but they were just too smart for the Easter Bunny!

Garrett sat by watching. I'm sure he can't wait until next year to join in the fun that these two had! I'm sure that they will show him how to look for eggs and teach him all the "regular" hiding spots that the Easter Bunny has too!

Look What I Can Do!

2009-06-02T12:00:00.001-05:00

A little blurry, but he sure is strong! He is lifting himself so high and his little legs are going the whole time! He just wants to go go go!
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Tummy Time!

2009-06-02T11:33:00.000-05:00

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Hi!

2009-06-01T08:02:00.001-05:00

Here's our littlest man taking a rest from all the chit chat! I have so many pictures to download from my camera and update this blog! All of our little men are getting so big, and changing so much! I can't wait to update and share!
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Garrett taking a break with Daddy

2009-04-28T19:41:00.000-05:00

Todd took this picture during a "burp break". Garrett is starting to stay awake more during the day and he's sleeping most of the night. Thankfully when he's awake, he's usually like this....happy!
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Garrett's One Month Visit

2009-04-08T12:36:00.000-05:00

We took Garrett for his one month visit yesterday. He did have to get one shot, but he did pretty good with it. It probably didn't help that he was hungry, but he didn't cry TOO long.

The doctor said that Garrett is doing everything he's supposed to....he's growing and gaining weight, so he's eating like he should. He weighed in at 12 lbs. 12 oz. (97th percentile) and is now 22 inches long (75th percentile). I was really surprised when they gave us his numbers. I knew he had gotten bigger and a bit heavier, but I never would have guessed he would have gained more than 3 pounds in a month!

The doctor said that he's a healthy baby. He also said that we shouldn't be seeing more than a couple hours sleep in a row until 2 or 3 months of age. Well, Grant slept through the night at 3 weeks and Gavin was 6 weeks old. I'm just praying for something along the lines of Gavin! I don't know how much more of these late nights with frequent interruptions I can take! And poor Todd is the one feeding him and changing him at night! He's crazy!

I've tried to get Todd to bring the baby upstairs to sleep in his own room so Todd can stay in our room, but he is being so considerate of my recovery. This third C-section has taken quite a bit more of recovery time, and its been a more difficult recovery all together. Todd is so concerned that I need the sleep to heal, but I do still wake up when Garrett does. But hopefully soon, my wonderful husband will get to sleep in a comfortable bed instead of the couch!

Other than that, everyone is doing great! I go for my 6 weeks visit on Monday and will hopefully get the A OK to go back to my normal routine and start exercising! I can't wait!

Until then, Happy Easter to everyone!
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Gavin enjoying a" nice day for a ride" on his chopper!

2009-04-01T11:56:00.001-05:00

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Ummm.....

2009-03-26T08:47:00.001-05:00

Yeah, I'm not exactly sure what Gavin thinks this is today, but he sure does have an imagination! He is trying every which way he can to fit into this box! Oh, to have a camera that would just snap snap snap away while he was doing that so you could see every different position he's tried to fit into it! I could take a video, but I don't think it would upload due to size!
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Gavin Sure Loves His Craftsman Tools!

2009-03-25T16:11:00.000-05:00

Gavin loves his tools so much that he falls asleep reading his catalog at night! How cute!
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My First Mobile Post

2009-03-23T11:42:00.001-05:00

So, Todd told me that I could start posting pictures from my phone to my blog. He has started his own blog that he posts to solely from his phone. I thought this was pretty cool, and figured I would give it a shot. Now, my phone does not take pictures that are anywhere near the quality of Todd's, but I figured...why not give it a shot and see how it turns out. I probably won't do this too often because I HATE pecking out a post on my phone, but for a quick peek at what's going on with Our Little Men, I just might find it handy!

Here is a special moment I'm not getting too much of today. Garrett asleep in his cradle. He appears to be a little stuffed up today, which might be why he isn't sleeping too well like this. He will sleep for MAYBE 20 minutes, and then wake up crying! Yes, can you say speed eating, peeing and changing laundry?!?! Ugh! But, thankfully, I'm still in the recovery portion of my post pregnancy so I don't feel AS BAD if I don't get too much done! But, I don't want to constantly hold the littlest G because I can't turn him into a "hold me, hold me, hold me!!" baby! G2 (Gavin) would never stand for that when he's home with me and G3 (Garrett).

So.....we'll see how he does with the sleeping. I'll be putting him down as soon as I calm him and he falls back asleep in my arms and just plan on NOT getting anything accomplished today! :)

And....just and FYI.....I emailed this the first time to my cousin's wife...I'm thinking I'm gonna need some practice with this! :). That's one strike for me and posting via my Blackberry!!
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2009-03-07T21:58:00.008-05:00

On Wednesday, March 4, 2009 at 10:11 a.m. we welcomed our newest little man! His name is Garrett Karol Male. He weighed in at 9 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 1/4 inches long! It was quite an exciting day! We arrived at the hospital at 8:00 a.m. and they started prepping me for the surgery. Our parents and my brother, Danny, arrived around 9:00. My c-section was supposed to start at 10:00, but since there weren't any others scheduled, and nothing that would prevent us from starting on time, they took us in early! Everything went very well! Here are a few pictures from our big day .... I hope that you enjoy them!

The boys are loving having a new little brother! I was a little nervous, but they are really doing great with this! Grant and Gavin came up to see me every day that I was in the hospital and they have just been so excited to see Garrett. The first thing Grant did was take his coat off, wash his hands, and say "where's the baby?"... "Can I hold the baby?". It was really sweet. Gavin has even gotten into holding him and wanting to hug and kiss him! It's been a nice surprise!

Guitar Hero with Family

2009-03-07T21:38:00.004-05:00

The boys, Dzia Dzia, Bushi, and Uncle Danny had a great time playing Guitar Hero last Sunday! Grant couldn't wait to have Uncle Danny come over and show him a thing or two ... I really think he wanted Uncle Danny to unlock some more songs, but they had a great time playing anyway. Grant LOVES the game, and he LOVES his Uncle Danny so, it was a perfect match!

Dzia Dzia and Bushi even joined in the fun! Dzia Dzia played drums ... while Bushi played the guitar! It sure looked like they were having a lot of fun, so I wanted to share a couple of pictures from the game!

Gavin Turns THREE!

2009-03-07T21:24:00.008-05:00

Our little man, Gavin, turned three on February 10th. We had a wonderful gathering of family here at the house and it was a fun time! Gavin picked out his birthday cake which was made to look like his favorite pair of big boy pants! He was so excited to see it ... and since he is using them exclusively now ... it was really quite fitting. Two great milestones documented in one cake!

Gavin had a great time with all of his family surrounding him! Happy Birthday Gavin!

Gavin and his Drill

2009-01-28T19:11:00.002-05:00

Just a peek into some of the crazy things that our little inventive Gavin does to entertain himself (and unknowingly to him ... us!). Once he realizes he has an audience though ... look out!

Just a couple of cute pictures ....

2009-01-27T21:10:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to share a couple of cute pictures of the boys enjoying the Wii playing Mario Kart and of Jackson Browne enjoying a break in the snow. They really are a lot of fun to watch play that thing! Gavin still really has NO CLUE what he's doing, but he has a heck of a good time trying!

The basement ....

2009-01-27T20:57:00.004-05:00

There has been so much progress in the basement! We have the walls painted, the lighting up, and a completed ceiling! We are so excited at the progress! My dad has been putting in so many hours over the last few weeks. I think that it's probably taking them twice as long to do this since Gavin has been a permanent fixture down there because he wants to "help fix the basement". He pounds (hammers, as he would say), drills, drinks pop, wears his boots ... he's just the all around "workin' man" when he's down there!

We let the boys help with the paint ... Grant did a great job! Gavin on the other hand .... well, he didn't stay below the line AT ALL! But, Daddy was able to fix it and it looks just like all the rest of the walls.

When I see all the progress it just gets me all excited! I cannot wait until it's done ... and the boys can have their own little place to be. It will not only house all their toys, but it will give us our Great Room back! I hope anyway .... But , Todd and I would really like to enjoy the space as well!

The Great Lakes Invitational

2009-01-27T20:47:00.003-05:00

We took the boys to the Great Lakes Invitational at Joe Louis Arena this year. This tickets were given to us by Todd's cousin Tim and the boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves! We went to the Michigan v. Michigan State game, and Michigan won! The boys got to see themselves on the Jumbotron (I've been going to Red Wings games there for years and have NEVER been on that thing) dancing away during one of the little "intermissions". They really thought that was neat. But, since I didn't expect to see them up there, I missed a photo opportunity for that! :) Oh well ...

This was the first hockey game that Grant had been to since he was hit with a puck at the Michigan v. Ohio State game. He did very well. He wanted to make sure that we weren't sitting too close, but I think that Todd and I were more concerned about where the puck was at all times than he was. He cheered louder than anyone in our section and he just had a blast! This was Gavin's first hockey game ever! He initially wanted to leave half way through the first period, but then a couple of very pretty girls sat behind him. Before you knew it, he was flirting and talking with them and he had a great time too! We stayed for the entire game and the award ceremony at the end too! They didn't want to leave and can't wait to go back!

Christmas!!

2009-01-27T20:23:00.008-05:00

This year, the boys took an active role in helping us decorate for Christmas. They helped Todd put the lights out in the front yard (unfortunately I didn't get a picture of that), and they helped decorate the Christmas tree this year. They had a great time and really enjoyed doing it! They were very proud of their work and showed everyone that came over what they did and showed them their favorite ornaments. Here is a picture of their decorating job. There were many limbs that had multiple ornaments on them, and there were spots that had absolutely NOTHING, but it was their work, and I didn't change it! I was pretty proud of myself!

The boys had a wonderful Christmas this year! They really had a blast with all SIX of their Christmas celebrations! Santa was VERY good to them too! They were really excited that Santa brought them a Nintendo Wii for Christmas as well as quite a few games, accessories, and Guitar Hero (Wii fit came for mommy too .... ). They got such a wide variety of toys from legos to super hero action figures. They got board games and video games ... they were treated so good by Santa and family. Christmas was wonderful!

At my Grandpa's Christmas party, the boys got to see Santa Claus and get presents from him. That was pretty exciting for them. Gavin was scared of Santa initially and used one of my aunts as a "sheild" from Santa's view, but once he saw that he came "bearing gifts" he was OK with being seen by Santa. They had a great time with all of their extended family, cousins(my cousins children), grandparents, aunts, uncles ... everyone! They played and ran around all night long! It's always a struggle to get them to leave!

Baby Boy Male

2009-01-27T20:12:00.003-05:00

So ... since the last post, we did find out that we are having another boy. He will be born on March 4, 2009 (it's been scheduled for that day anyway ... ). We went and had a 3D/4D ultrasound done closer to Christmas, and we were very surprised to see that he looks exactly like both of his brothers when they were born.

In this picture, our newest little man is smiling for us! He slept through most of the ultrasound, but he did manage a couple of smiles and he did open his eyes for a split second. But, he wasn't too active other than those couple little things.

We are very excited to meet this little guy and can't wait to finally have a name for him! We do have a middle name picked, however, we are trying to come up with a "G" name for his first name. With a Grant and a Gavin, coming up with a name that doesn't sound too similar to either of those two names is really difficult. I've been on just about every website I can think of looking for "G" boy names, and really there are a ton of names out there, but some of them just don't fit us (I guess that's how you would say that ...). I've been on Polish websites ... and there really aren't too many names there either. So, we are down to three: Garrett, Graham, and Gabriel. I'm not quite sure which we'll choose, but we have 37 days to narrow it down! I just hope that we come up with something soon!

The UPS Man and the Ninja

2008-11-23T21:40:00.008-05:00

So, we had our Halloween celebrations! We went to the Zoo Boo at the Detroit Zoo, and we trick or treated with Our Little Men. We had a great time with all of those events! Grant and Gavin got a TON OF CANDY (that we are still trying to finish up, by the way). As I told you in the last post, the boys were dressed as a Ninja (Grant) and a UPS Man (Gavin). Here are a couple of photos of them all dressed up during their Halloween events. The Itsy Bitsy Spider is Petra (my cousin Cherie's daughter).

After trick or treating, Todd took Grant to the Michigan hockey game. They arrived a bit late due to the fact that Grant wanted to keep on trick or treating for quite a while. They got there before the end of the 1st period, and Grant was pumped watching it. When out of no where in the 2nd period a hockey puck went over the glass and got Grant in the forehead. According to Todd, Grant was scared until he realized that he wasn't going to die, but then it became quite a cool experience. I was scared to death when Todd called until I got this picture of Grant in the Emergency Room. Once I saw this ... I knew that he was just fine!

It's a bit blurry because it was sent from Todd's Blackberry, but he got to keep the puck that hit him in the head, and someone got him a hockey stick to remember the moment! Not that the scar that he'll have forever won't remind him! He was so excited to tell me what had happened to him when they got home. He had to take the puck and his ticket to the game to school that Monday to show everyone! He was so excited and it didn't bother him at all that he had to wear this huge bandage for 4 days! He was actually a little disappointed when the stitches were removed and he didn't have to wear anything over it.

We have also found out since the last post that we will be adding another little man to our family. We are pretty excited to meet this newest little man, and to finally pick a name. When we had the ultrasound on October 30th, he weighed in at 1 lb 1 oz (I guess that's right on target according to the gal performing the ultrasound). Here are a few pictures of that ultrasound.

This is one of his feet. This foot is HUGE compared to the last photo we had in August of BOTH feet. When Todd saw this picture, he said "If this baby is a girl, she's going to be a Sasquatch!" (is that spelled right?!?!?)

This is a picture of the baby's face. He is looking straight at you. The top of his head is to the left of the picture and his chin toward the right. You can see his eyes and nose and mouth in there too.

Here is a profile view of the baby. His head is to the left and his tummy toward the right. You can see his little nose ... he looks so cute! I cannot wait to meet him! Even Grant gives him kisses every day and Gavin tries to see him through my belly button. He always says, "my can't see in there ... it's too dark!" It's cute how they are getting excited. Grant even likes to feel the baby move when he starts kicking and punching!

We can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is coming up this week! Grant has a Thanksgiving concert that he says he's going to sing in, but we'll see .... he always gets shy once he gets in front of a crowd. We are looking forward to getting together with all of our family on Thursday and shopping on "Black Friday". It's going to be quite a busy weekend! We send our wishes to everyone for a Happy Thanksgiving!

PS ... please forgive me if the spacing is off ... it's hard when I add a ton of pictures to get this "just right".

Happy Turkey Day ... Gobble Gobble!!

Update! Update! Update!

2008-10-23T18:24:00.005-05:00

It's about time, right?!?!?! I looked at this website and realized that it had been three months since I updated and I feel AWFUL! There is so much to show you!

Since my last post, Todd and I found out that we will be adding another little man or a little lady to our family (we'll find out on October 30th which). The boys are taking it pretty well and are very excited that they will be sharing a room together. I personally think that they are more excited about getting bunk beds than being in the same room together ... but if bunk beds make it OK ... well, then bring on the bunk beds!

Grant started kindergarten! Unbelievable! He got on the bus NO PROBLEM! And, now he's running ahead of me to get on the bus before I can give him a hug and a kiss! He's already embarrassed by mom .... my little man is getting so big!

Gavin is working on getting into Pre-School with his one remaining task ... POTTY TRAINING. As I'm sure you all remember with Grant ... that was not an easy task. With Gavin, it seems like it's twice as difficult as it was with Grant. He has some GREAT days ... and then he has his bad days. We've tried the big boy underpants (which he hates!), I've tried having him walk around naked in the house (I figured he would definitely tell me when he had to go ... never assume!)...I've tried everything I can think of. But, everything I remember from Grant and have read say that he'll give up the pull ups when he's ready. But it's so darn frustrating! But, like I said ... he's having more good days than bad days. I'm hoping by Thanksgiving he'll be going a couple days a week.

We took the boys to the cider mill this month and we picked apples and our own pumpkins (I forgot to take pictures of that .... idiot!). The boys had a BLAST! They thought it was so cool to pick out their own pumpkins in the patch! It was so much fun watching them! Now, we'll have to have them carve them into Jack-O-Lanterns for Halloween! They are so excited for Halloween! Grant is going to be a Ninja and Gavin is going to be a UPS man! Hilarious! But, when he saw the costume, it was an automatic "My gonna be the delivery guy!". So, that's exactly what he's going to be.

We're taking the boys to the Zoo Boo at the Detroit Zoo tomorrow night, and I'll have to update with pictures of that. It will definitely be sooner than three months from now! But, the boys are looking so forward to that. My cousin, her husband and their daughter, Petra, are joining us. And my parents and her parents will be joining us as well! We should have a good time ... I'm just praying for NO RAIN!

And ... Gavin and I spent a day with Nana learning how to make applesauce! It was really fun! I didn't realize how simple it was ... and since it's the only applesauce the boys will eat, I'm glad I learned how to make it! Now, we don't have to ration it! Gavin had the job of tasting (he really liked that part). It was time consuming ... but it was easy and we had a blast!

Until the next post .... Here are a few pictures of the boys from the past three months ... I'll update again soon!

My ... They've come a LONG Way!

2008-07-16T12:42:00.003-05:00

Here are a couple BEFORE and NOW photos of the boys and their DziaDzio (English to Polish translator says this is how you spell it ..... just doesn't look right to me ... but that's what it says!). There is one thing for sure that I can say ... He sure loves his grandsons! They sure like learning how to use his tools and then sitting with him in his chair. And .... I think DziaDzio sure enjoys showing them how to use the tools and relaxing with them as well! Looking at these pictures, I just cannot believe how quickly time passes by! It seems just like yesterday when GRANT was born .... and now we have Gavin who is almost 2 1/2! It's nuts! But looking at the joy that these boys have brought to us and our families...it's just wonderful!

Priming .... One Step Closer!

2008-07-16T12:34:00.005-05:00

So, we have primed our basement walls. I still have to spackle some areas going up the stairs, and get that primed, but the MAIN AREA IS PRIMED and just about ready to paint. Todd still has some items to clear out of the basement, but once those are moved ... Painting here we come! We had the boys help us prime the walls. That was quite an experience ... goodness was it! I think we had more primer on the floor than on the walls, but they had a good time! I didn't even have to get my roller back into the primer for quite some time! Here are some shots of the boys in their painting gear and equipment in hand!

"I'm just a Dance Machine" ....

2008-07-16T12:29:00.001-05:00

Show Me How the Little Piggies Eat!

2008-07-16T12:24:00.003-05:00

Gavin LOVES his ice cream sandwiches! Well, he flat out LOVES ice cream! But, then again ... who doesn't? He has an interesting way of eating these tasty treats too! He opens the packaging and then pulls off the top cookie. If he can ... he'll flip it over and remove the lower cookie as well. He eats these two items first and THEN....he dives in for the rest! I guess he saves the best part for last.

Graduation Day!

2008-06-06T20:17:00.005-05:00

Today was Grant's graduation from preschool! Wow! I still cannot get over the fact that he will be starting Kindergarten in the fall! How time has flown by .... it's just unreal to me that my little man has turned five and he's getting ready to start school. It seems like yesterday that I was sitting in the hospital holding him.

Well, today was a rather warm day, but it had a nice breeze to it, so it wasn't too bad. Grant wore cap and got a diploma. They sang a couple of songs (which of course Grant didn't really sing ... he just stood there with a weird look on his face ...), did their ABC's in sign language and "hopped into Kindergarten". It was really a cute ceremony. Here are few pictures from the day ....

He shoots .... He Scores!

2008-06-06T20:04:00.003-05:00

Grant scored two goals in his game last weekend. Tomorrow is his last game, and he isn't too thrilled about that. I'm hoping that he'll want to play again in the fall, but he says that he wants to play football. I've done a little research on the local Pop Warner football leagues here in the area and HOLY COW is that ever expensive! And for something I don't even know if he'll like! But here's a little clip of one of Grant's goals from last weekend ....

Grant and Gavin shared a nice little moment during one of the shifts Grant was on the sideline. It was so cute! Gavin just wanted to be with Grant and Grant took him under his wing and watched the game with him! Gavin didn't want to come back and sit with mommy and daddy, but alas ... Grant was called back into the game and Gavin had to come back to us! But here is a cute little picture of the two of them sharing a moment...boy, do I wish there were more of them.

A Day at Papa and Nana's

2008-05-28T20:44:00.005-05:00

So, I took the boys to Papa and Nana's house last week, and we had a good time! Todd needed to get some stuff done around the house without the boys interrupting, so ... we headed on down.

While we were there, we had lunch with Papa at McDonald's and then headed on in to Coldwater to see Nana at The Museum Gallery. The boys got to feed the fish and sadly, we found out that Big George had passed .... so there weren't so many big fish to feed this time around. Then we headed into the gym and the boys played there for an hour and a half while Todd's dad and I talked.

When we got back to Nana and Papa's house ... Grant wanted to show off how he could ride a two wheeler. He did such a great job! He was a little upset that there weren't any sidewalks and that he had to stay in the driveway, however ... he managed quite well in their HUGE driveway!

While Grant was showing off on his bike, Gavin went into the barn and "started up" the four-wheeler. He even remembered his helmet! It was really funny watching him "tear out" of the barn on that machine (well, it's a battery operated vehicle that doesn't really go that fast, but he thought he was FLYING!).

The next day ... before we left, the boys noticed that the field behind Papa and Nana's was being planted. There was a tractor going up and down the field and he was really moving fast (for a tractor anyway ...). Grant and Gavin just had to see what was going on! So, they ran to the edge of the field and when the tractor came their way, they waved. They were both invited to take a ride in the tractor and, of course, both declined ("nu-uh"). But, as soon as he started the tractor back up, Grant decided that yes ... he did want to ride in the tractor. So, when he came back around, Papa helped Grant up into the tractor and they rode up and down the field twice! Grant had so much fun! I never realized how large these tractors were until I stood there trying to get a picture of Grant sitting in it! It was pretty neat!

Can you tell we're part Polish??

2008-05-28T20:39:00.003-05:00

Ok ... so, I really have NO CLUE what made our boys dress in such crazy outfits the other day, but Gavin and Grant must have decided that they wanted to show anyone they could that, yes ... they are part Polish!

Grant insists on wearing this particular pair of sweatpants quite frequently ... and really ... as long as we aren't going into public, I let him wear them inside the house. Gavin, well, he's decided that Grant's shoes are the best shoes around, and he would much rather wear his. Again, as long as we aren't going into public .... inside the house is OK.

I don't know .... you tell me though .... Is this just being silly, or is my Polish side really shining through?!?!?!?

Undefeated!

2008-05-28T20:33:00.003-05:00

So far Grant's soccer team is undefeated! Grant has scored at least two goals in each game and in his last game he scored FOUR! If he could just control the ball a little better ... he would score so many more! I'm not bragging ... there isn't a goal keeper in this age group, and really ... a few of the children on his team seem to shoot the ball just a shy wide. They haven't really grasped the fact that they can stop the ball with their feet and line up their shot .... so, it really leaves a lot of disappointing "ooooh"'s sounding from the side line full of hopeful parents. But he has two more games ... and we're keeping our fingers crossed that he keeps up the good work! I am really surprised at how well he does on a team. He is passing to players on his team and working with them to get to the goal. Sure, he gets disappointed when he isn't the one to score, but we tell him that he helped the child that scored because he passed them the ball or he blocked one of the other players from coming and taking the ball. That seems to make him happy. GO GRANT!

Grant's 5th Birthday Party

2008-05-28T20:22:00.007-05:00

Grant had a wonderful birthday party at Pump It Up! He invited a few cousins, some friends, and of course, Godparents and Grandparents. Everyone seemed to have a great time and Grant was very excited that he was able to share his birthday with everyone!

Grant picked out his cake from our favorite place .... Holiday Market, and our favorite decorator, Don, made Grant's cake. He has made all of the boys' cakes since Grant's 2nd birthday and they have always just been fabulous! Grant wanted a "scary dragon"...and it turned out perfect! He was so happy when he saw it! It was "just want I wanted!" he said. And it sure looked like EVERYONE enjoyed it!

Our Little Men are getting so big ... so fast! We just hope that some of this nastiness that they have toward us as their parents and each other fades quickly! But, something tells me that won't happen for quite a few more years! ha!

Grant's First Soccer Game ....

2008-05-01T20:21:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday was Grant's first soccer game. It was a cold, windy morning, but he was ready to go! Each player plays equal time, but Grant did get to play quite a bit. It amazes me how many kids just don't want to get out there and play. There are kids that run off the field to check out a patch of dandelions and there are little girls that just twirl in the middle of the field or lay on the ground while the other children just continue to play around them. It was rather entertaining! I did video tape all of the plays that included Grant ... but, now ... I have to figure out how to convert these video clips from my video camera to put them up here. I ordered the software that is, of course, "proprietary" for this particular camera and they can't "just give it to me" so when that comes, you can all see Grant's GOALS! Yes ... I said GOALS! The final score of the game was 3-1 and Grant scored two of the goals! It was very exciting! And, when they clips get put up here, you'll hear how excited I was for him! "Go Grant...Go Grant! YAY!" He had a great time and cannot wait until Saturday's game.

Tomorrow is Grant's birthday ... he is going to be FIVE! When I think back to the time when he was born ... it just amazes me that this time has flown by so fast! He is turning into such a neat kid. Sure, he can be very (and I do stress very) frustrating at times, but he is really neat. When he isn't being a snot ... he is the sweetest, most creative ... just the neatest little boy to be around. We have a special day planned for his birthday and I just hope that he has fun! We will, of course, take a time out around 2:00 so that he can get his nap in. He is such a BEAR without it ... and hopefully we'll finish off the afternoon with Horton Hears a Who and then off to dinner with Papa and Nana.

Be on the look out for more pictures! I'm going to try to get those up as soon as possible (although Todd and I will be in MEXICO - Ha! - until Thursday...so maybe not until next weekend). Thanks for reading ....

Grant's First Soccer Clinic

2008-04-19T20:04:00.005-05:00

Today was Grant's first soccer clinic. He met his new coach and his teammates on the "blue team". He was a little shy at first about sitting down with the player from the Ann Arbor Arsenal that was running his section of the clinic, but given a few minutes to warm up ... he did awesome! He had a blast! We were almost brought to tears watching our little man playing his first organized sport! He has been pretty pumped about playing since Todd took him to get his shin guards, socks and cleats. He had to try them on for me as soon as they got home so that I could see what everything looked like!

He actually listened to instructions while they were called out in each exercise! He impressed us with a lot of his abilities and how he kept at it until he got it. He didn't even get frustrated! That was a huge boost for me since I've worried so much about him going to kindergarten and throwing some sort of fit if he didn't understand something! Phew! They had to come up with different ways to move the ball (besides kicking), different ways to move (besides running), and they learned how to change directions without touching the ball. Grant was really proud of himself when he "mastered" that! We even heard a few "Mommy...Daddy ... did you see that?!?!?"

Grant had a great time ... he scored three goals and reminded us of it several times. The above video shows the goal that resulted in the "clinic coach" saying "Nice Shot #19!" (that's Grant's number by the way .... ). How exciting...and the pride that I felt when I heard that! That's OUR child that they were praising! And, of course, Grant had to make sure that we knew that too!

When we came home, that's all he wanted to do ... play soccer! And, he can't wait until this week's practice on Wednesday or the game! He's so excited about soccer, he has Gavin DEMANDING that he should play too! Maybe next year ....

Child Safety

2008-04-09T08:02:00.003-05:00

So ... we've been trying to keep things in our house very safe. Gavin likes to open the refrigerator, open the oven, and get into just about every cupboard, room and closet that he shouldn't. We went hog wild with the child safety devices. We even attempted to upgrade the ones we had from Grant since Gavin had figured out how to circumvent them. Well, we now have SOME latches on cupboards that seem to work and covers on the burner knobs. All other child safety items have been destroyed or "figured" out by little Gavin. He is just too curious and stubborn to give up on getting into what/where he wants!

Little Bunny Foo Foo

2008-04-08T21:53:00.006-05:00

The boys thought it would be fun to sing a little song while wearing the sunglasses left for them in their baskets by the Easter Bunny!

Quick Little Update ...

2008-04-08T21:08:00.004-05:00

Well, it has been nearly two months since my last post. The boys have been keeping me very busy! When they are napping I'm busy keeping the house clean or getting dinner ready and then by the evening, I am ready for bed! So ... my updates have been very well ... I've really slacked off!

We had a lot of fun out in the snow this winter! I would shovel snow off our deck and down a set of steps ... the boys and I would then sled down the hill into the yard! We had a blast! It wasn't Dzia Dzia and Bushi's, but it was fun!

Grant and Gavin had a great Easter! Gavin had a hand in decorating the eggs this year, and he did a really good job! His eggs were one of two colors, but he still did a great job! Gavin did partake in the Easter egg dye to see how it tasted ..."mmm, like it" was his response, I do believe ... The Easter Bunny was very good to these boys! They got all the right candy, and all their eggs were hidden. According to Grant, though, "our Easter bunny doesn't hide eggs really well". Gavin found two eggs, while Grant found 16! Oh well ... Gavin will give him a run for his money next year I'm sure. Once Gavin found his basket, he wanted NOTHING to do with the eggs anyway!

Grant and Gavin have a lot of fun with their art projects too! They love to paint, and Gavin ... well, he likes to drink the water. This water wasn't as popular as the egg dye, but still ... he had to try it! They both have pretty creative imaginations and like to express themselves in many different ways. Grant has used nail polish on walls and furniture, and Gavin has used toothpaste on doors, carpet and walls to show their artistic abilities. I, however, prefer the more controlled atmosphere in the kitchen, on a table cloth, and mommy watching very closely for the dump of the art supplies onto the floor!

Dzia Dzia and Todd have started finishing our basement and it is really coming together. Almost all of the dry wall has been hung, and next will be the mudding. I'm hoping to get to help with that part of it. The boys have enjoyed watching all the progress and have gotten to "help" out a little bit. That really excites them, and they just talk nonstop about it! They have their own little aprons and they put them on when Dzia Dzia gets here. It is probably taking them a bit longer to do it because they have the boys tagging along, but both Todd and my dad seem to enjoy the time with the boys, and I know that the boys are really enjoying it too! They have even taken to helping with other things like mashing potatoes and they are helping me come up with ideas on how we are going to organize their toys down there. They cannot wait to have a room to play in and have a blast. Both Dzia Dzia and Bushi's house and Nana and Papa's house have basements with play areas that the boys LOVE to spend time in and we cannot wait for them to have the same thing here!

We took Grant for kindergarten round up this week! I cannot believe that he will be starting kindergarten in the fall! He took a little while to warm up, but once he did, he showed them what he knew and how well he knew it! He impressed me with his behavior and I am really looking forward to him going. We have planned a special birthday party to celebrate his 5th birthday and he is really excited about it! We are going to have some of his friends included which makes him really happy! Grant has also decided that he wants to play soccer ... so we registered him for the Spring season, and he will be starting April 19th! I'm gonna be a soccer mom! Look out ... here I come with my soccer mom SUV and my little men ready to play!

The boys and I have had our rough spots over the winter months. We've struggled with the cabin fever that set in when the temperatures were so low that we couldn't go outside. We tried to get out and go to the mall to play, we lunched at McDonald's with play areas, and we have ventured over to a little playscape place close to home. We have made it to the warmer weather again, and I am really looking forward to playing outside with them ... walking, riding bikes, going to the playground, blowing bubbles, using sidewalk chalk, watching Grant play soccer and hitting the zoo!

Phew ....

2008-02-12T14:26:00.000-05:00

Well, it has been a VERY long time since I last posted on this blog, and I must apologize. Things have been so crazy insane here. I have a few pictures that I want to share from Thanksgiving on through Christmas and beyond that. So, I will add them to this posting and then hopefully .... HOPEFULLY .... I can update Flickr. That just takes so long (especially since I have so many stinking pictures to put up there)!

Todd and I hosted Thanksgiving this year. We had both sets of parents, my grandmother and my brother, Danny. It was a nice turn out ... and I was able to get a 27.42 pound turkey! It was the biggest turkey that I had ever seen and it took three loaves of bread and two pounds of sausage to make the stuffing. I ended up having to buy a special roaster to fit this monster in it ... and it was surprisingly juicy. I was so terrified that it was goin to be dry! It was a successful Thanksgiving dinner and everyone had plenty to make a meal out of the left overs that we had!

Gavin found that both he and Uncle Danny have a LOVE for Cool Whip ... Gavin wouldn't let poor Danny take a bite out of his pumpkin pie without Gavin running up and asking for "whip"! He doesn't care for anything else other than that when it comes to the dessert. But, Uncle Danny sure did enjoy sharing his dessert with Gavin ....

The boys had a wonderful Christmas! Santa went a little crazy and we ended up with a ton of presents under our tree! We had a total of five Christmas celebrations to attend and the boys had a blast! They were both so excited and couldn't wait for Santa to come! They tried really hard to be soooo good...and really, overall, they were just typical kids trying way too hard to be good! In the end, Santa came anyway ... so, I'm sure that means that they fit his standard of a "good child"! That made our boys very happy! They had a GREAT time opening their presents! Grant, of course, zipped through all of this before Gavin got half way through! And, of course, Mommy and Daddy had a great time watching their two little men running down the stairs, seeing the excitement when they saw all that Santa had brought, and watching them ripping all their presents open! It was so much fun! Here are a couple of pictures of Grant and Gavin opening up the presents....

So .... the boys also went bowling ... the first time that we went bowling with the boys. We went with Papa and Nana. I'm not sure if the boys have ever been bowling with them prior to this, but they had a blast, and Grant is quite the little bowler! I had such a blast watching both boys get so excited when they hit some pins! Gavin would even start cheering right after he let go of the ball! It was so much fun! I can't wait to do that again! I know that I won't be able to take them somewhere like that all by myself for quite some time (Gavin throws a little bit of a temper tantrum some times ... ), but when we can all go, I hope it's just as much fun!

Gavin has started getting in and out of his crib. He has started to show his personality. He is so funny ... he is quite the little jokester and he can be quite a little stinker! He flirts to get himself out of trouble .... he loves to make people laugh .... He is so fun! Grant and Gavin, both, have given us so much joy! Sure ... they give us a lot of grief too ... but they CAN be some of the greatest kids to be around! Todd and I are really enjoying Our Little Men! We hope that even though they tend to be a little crazy and mean toward one another that they grow up to be great friends. They can be so mean to one another, but then, they can be so caring toward one another and they are always looking out for one another when the other might be in trouble.

Hopefully I will get Gavin's two year birthday party up here soon. My camera, unfortunately, ran out of battery right when it was time to do the cake. So, needless to say, I'm hoping that my parents got some shots of the birthday boy blowing out his candle.

Well .... here's to not waiting two months for another update! Pictures and posts should definitely come more frequently than this!

And Christmas is Almost Over ....

2007-12-27T21:15:00.000-05:00

We have had a wonderful holiday season! Since my last post, we have celebrated Thanksgiving and have almost finished up our Christmas celebrations! We have one more party to attend this coming weekend with my mom's side of the family, and the boys are so excited about it! They cannot believe how LONG Christmas is!

We have enjoyed spending time with our families and getting to celebrate! We have all had the best Christmas we can remember in quite a long time! It was just so much fun! The boys were so excited about Santa's arrival ... they were so much fun to watch on Christmas Eve morning (since Santa made a special trip to Nana and Papa's house) and Christmas Day (morning and afternoon .... Dzia Dzia and Bushi also had Santa make an additional stop)!

I will be sharing some photos soon. Everything has just been so hectic around here, it's hard to find the time to get on here .... pull the pictures off the camera and post.

The boys are definitely growing like crazy. Gavin is talking a lot more ... and he's even making short sentences. He has really taken to using the potty .... for number one exclusively though. When you ask him to try the other, he responds with a quick "No! All done ... " So, of course, we get off the potty and end up changing a diaper soon afterward. But, he is already making much bigger strides than Grant, but I'm sure that is because he soooo wants to be like his big brother!

Speaking of Grant ... he is getting a little better with his attitude. At least I have been able to sit him down and calm him easier than in the past. He still has some of his normal outbursts, but it's usually when he's tired. I'm sure I'll shoot myself for mentioning this ... but he has had a great couple of weeks at school -- even with Christmas approaching. He has had several very good days at school and has remained on Green for the majority of those days (which, of course, thrills me!). He is getting so tall! He is in a size 5 -- of course, the waist of this particular size is a tad large (thank God for those adjustable waist bands), but the length is just perfect! He's been complaining that his knees hurt lately, so I'm sure that means he will wake up in a couple of weeks and all the clothes he got for Christmas will be too short again! Whenever his joints start to hurt, he sprouts up in height!

Well, I should close now, but I did want to give a little update to anyone that reads this. I haven't forgotten about this blog .... I've just been so stinkin' busy! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and I will try very hard to get photos of the boys up here as soon as possible!

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year! We hope to see everyone soon!

A What?

2007-11-06T20:08:00.000-05:00

So .... Todd and I are eating breakfast and here comes Grant pounding down the stairs ....

He has on this outfit ... The hat that was attached to his winter coat at one time, his safety goggles, and gloves. He asks me for his snow pants .... huh?!?!? He wants to put on his snow pants with the rest of this outfit ... oh, and he is going to add his Michigan knit hat to the mix and perhaps some snow boots too???

I get him his snow pants and he grabs his boots .... he adds the knit hat and what does he say he is??? This is good ... Grant is a NINJA! Yes ... a Ninja ... and I know that everyone has seen a Ninja dressed just like this ... all decked out and ready for any kind of weather! This kid has such and imagination ... I don't know what in the world we are going to do with him!

They Wanna Be Football Players!

2007-11-06T19:57:00.001-05:00

Last year, my dad got Grant some football pads, a helmet and a jersey. Both Grant and Gavin LOVE to pretend that they are Michigan Football players. The boys were sharing the pads yesterday. We did have to take the helmet away for the time being because as soon as Grant puts that on, he turns into a tackling machine that just hits everyone and everything that gets in his way. But, in the meantime, both boys still like to put on the pads and mess around. And Grant says that someday he is going to be a football player too! Gavin ... well, he really has no clue what sport he wants to play when he gets older, but I'm sure that he'll side with Grant's decision. Gavin has to be like his big brother ... and he tries to do whatever Grant does. Sometimes it doesn't work out as well as he would like, but he sure does give it all he has!

Happy Halloween

2007-11-06T16:01:00.000-05:00

What a fun time of year! The boys are all excited about going trick or treating and carving the "jack o lanterns" (as Grant calls them)! We had so much fun watching these little men with the pumpkins and out and about Trick or Treating. Grant was a Blue Power Ranger (and would tell you very quickly if you guessed it wrong), and Gavin was a Pirate. He was so cute! It was a tad windy so the pirate hat did have to stay at home .... But they had so much fun going house to house trick or treating. Grant even said "Trick or Treat" this year! Last year, he refused, however, this year, he led his baby brother from one house to the next teaching him the art of trick or treating! Here are a few photos of our pumpkin carving night and the boys in their costumes!

Our Fall Activities

2007-11-06T15:28:00.001-05:00

This fall, we have been rather busy! We took the boys to the Cider Mill .... They had so much fun! They saw a lot of farm animals, had their first shot of FRESH Apple Cider and Apple Cider Donuts! They even had fun goofing around in their "pumpkin patch" (we didn't do the You Pick that day) and with the board cut-outs! We had a great time together as a family.

Grant and Gavin being a Black Cat (Grant) and a Scarecrow (Gavin). This one, I think was their favorite!

Here's our little honey bee (Gavin) visiting his hive (Grant)! This one wasn't too popular with Grant ... he didn't like being so low!

Here is the Grant Man looking closely at the pumpkins! He did find it fun to take rocks and sprinkle them around the stems of all the pumpkins .... And then he also liked to toss some of those stones (which wasn't so cute).

And here is Gavin .... browsing the pumpkins trying to figure out which one will look best on his front porch. He picked a few and piled them up across the path, but since this was soooo far before Halloween, we didn't buy any that day.

Grant's First Day of School

2007-10-09T21:08:00.001-05:00

Grant started Pre-School this fall, and he was very excited! He got his new Spiderman backpack and Spiderman lunch box! This was a picture from his first day! The thought he was soooo cool! He absolutely LOVES it! He has been on a field trip to the Toledo Zoo and he has been able to see his "buddies". He looks forward to his two days a week! This month he's going to the Pumpkin Factory and having a Halloween party. Todd and I are even taking the boys to the Boo Zoo at the Detroit Zoo this year! We cannot wait!

Grant came home from his first day of school counting to 10 in Spanish! I was floored! He is such a sponge! He tells me so many little tid bits that he learns in class .... like, Kangaroos have Joeys ... it's so funny! He doesn't say it's a baby Kangaroo ... he calls it a JOEY!

He's growing up so fast! He even likes to watch his own little shows on the Disney Channel. He still likes his cartoons, but Bob the Builder is out of the picture and Transformers and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody are in! He's getting into shows that "teach" -- of course, he doesn't realize that he is actually learning ... he thinks they are just funny! But, he definitely repeats some of his lessons!

Our Little Men are so smart! I can't WAIT to see how they grow up! They are so amazing!

Our Boys Love the Beach

2007-10-09T20:54:00.000-05:00

Our family went to Maine for our family vacation this summer. We went with Todd's parents (Nana and Papa) and had a great time! We had a few days at the beach -- which had me worried because Grant has been so "weird" about the water, and Gavin had never been in or seen such a large body of water. But, to our surprise, the boys absolutely LOVED the beach! They couldn't wait to go! We went to the beach every morning on the shuttle and the boys even enjoyed that ride!

The boys had a great time playing in the sand, running into the water waiting for the waves to come in and running back so the waves didn't get them. Grant pretended that he was "fighting" the waves and kicked the crap out of them! Splashing like crazy! Gavin liked to "cook" for Nana in the buckets full of sand and "taste" the sand on the shovel before serving it up! He was full of sand for a while. Grant liked to take walks with Papa and collect rocks and sea shells. Mommy and Daddy even found a whole clam shell for him to add to his collection while we were out trying to body surf!

After this vacation to Ogunquit, Todd and I definitely think that we will take the boys back there someday! I was truly amazed at how much fun they had, and really ... I can think of worse things we could do than spending the day on the beach in the sun with our boys! They had a blast and we had a blast watching them!

Our Lovely Boys ....

2007-10-09T20:20:00.000-05:00

These two sure do look perfectly innocent and angelic ... don't they? Most often they are ... they can be the coolest thing around, but lately ... They are just frustrating!

Don't get me wrong, I love these boys like nothing else and I am very proud to be their mother. I do, however, get very frustrated with all the "testing" that both of them have now decided they are going to give to both Todd and myself.

Grant has always been a tester. He likes to see what he can do to change our minds regarding his punishment. If he throws a big enough tantrum, will we let him stay up for that extra half hour? If he tells us over and over that he doesn't like us, will we let him throw a ball in the house and try to hit the TV? If he throws all of the pillows in the house, will we allow him to allow him to "surf down the stairs" with the top of his basketball toy box? Lately, he's been testing a lot more frequently, but we really haven't given in much. Lately we have been really putting our feet down and keeping it there. He doesn't take too kindly to that.

Gavin, on the other hand, hasn't really ever tested us. But, watching Grant over these past 20 months has shown him that testing gets quite a reaction out of mommy and daddy, and he thinks that it looks like a lot of fun. Gavin has been starting to throw tantrums and has even started "talking back" a little. I can't really understand some of his back talk, but the look on his face tells me quite a bit -- he's mad! he's also trying to do things that he knows that he shouldn't be doing to see what kind of trouble he is going to get into.

The boys have definitely been spending a lot of time in their rooms "thinking" about what they've done wrong. We're trying a whole new regime to get these little boogers in line. We are trying rationalizing with them ... we are trying the "star" reward system - for every good thing they do, they earn a green star - that allows them to collect stars in order to do a fun thing at the end of the week. We do fun things throughout the week, but Grant has been known to choose an outing to Chuck E. Cheese for his special fun thing. This seems to work -- for the time being ... but, what in the world can two parents do that will stick?!?!

We really don't want to spank and yell at them constantly, but then again, time outs don't work either. Those are spent yelling and screaming at the mom and dad. They don't really "learn" anything from those. Gavin follows his brother's lead. I think if we can get to Grant ... Gavin will do by example. I don't think we can handle two little monsters!

This is just a quick little rant .... the boys are truly amazing little boys. We LOVE them dearly. We wouldn't trade them for anything and we are definitely amazed at their way of using their heads -- their way of thinking. At such young ages, they use their little minds in such ways that are truly amazing! They THINK! They can be a little mind boggling and frustrating, but they challenge everything and fight for what they want. They question everything and ask why. They see how far they can go ... they don't give up. I think these boys, being the challenge that they are, are going to grow up to be amazing boys!

Our Little Men ... Update

2007-08-13T19:47:00.001-05:00

Since our last post, our little men have grown so much! Gavin is talking up a storm and Grant is getting ready for preschool in the fall. Mommy has also quit her job and is staying home with the boys! We are having so much fun together!

Gavin is starting to sit on the potty and Grant is showing him all the bad habits that he can think of. When you tell Gavin "No" he thinks the proper response is a nice little raspberry back! He doesn't take to kindly to be told no. Grant and Gavin chase each other around the house and play in their pool in the back yard!

I'm going to share a few photos of our growing little guys! I cannot believe how quickly time has gone by and how much these little guys change in a little amount of time!

The boys love to take baths together! They are getting into the swing of playing in the tub and having a good time clowning around! Here they are showing off the wonderful "dos" their hair allowed us to make before their most recent hair cut! They thought that it was so funny to soap it up and stand it on end! As soon as we bring out the camera, Gavin says "Cheese!" He's all ready to get his picture taken with a huge cheesy smile!

Since I'm staying home with the boys we decided to get a zoo membership. We took the boys to the zoo this summer and, of course, the animals weren't too busy entertaining...but the boys still had a great time! The zoo has done a really neat thing with the kangaroo habitat! You actually walk through it. There are ropes that border the walk way, but you can get quite close to the kangaroos. One of the kangaroos even had a Joey in her pouch and Grant thought that was really neat!

Grant and Gavin enjoy playing in their pool with one another too! Grant is a little dare-devil when it comes to doing much of anything -- he has used a block of wood to slide down a slide at day care (it was a skate board), he tried to use the top of his basketball toybox as a surf board down the stairs (thankfully I caught him!), and he figured out that adding his slide to the little pool made things just a little more interesting! He was having so much fun that Gavin had to try it himself! We had a harder time getting Gavin in from the pool than Grant! He thinks everything that Grant does is just so cool that he has to try everything -- exactly like Grant! They are so fun to watch!

We have a lot of fun playing outside -- just me and the boys! We play with sidewalk chalk, blow bubbles, play with the hose and go for walks. The boys have a great time and I love to watch everything they do! This afternoon the boys thought that it would be fun to have me draw themselves on the driveway! It was the oddest thing ... but it was really cute! I'm sure that the end result was a little disturbing to some people, but it was just too cute how cool they thought it was to have me trace them!

Here are a few other little photos of the boys doing other fun activities that they enjoy doing. I think that I am really going to enjoy staying home with them and watching them grow up and becoming little men! I was a little scared about it at first, but I am settling in quite well so far! Who knows, maybe I'll actually MISS WORK at some point, but I have yet to miss it -- I am having so much fun with the boys!

I hope that you have enjoyed seeing what our little men have been up to! They are grown so fast, and I am so lucky to have this time to spend with them! I am really thankful that Todd has given me the opportunity to stay home with our little men! I am so enjoying myself! I wish I would have done this sooner! For some reason, I thought that I would rather work than stay with our children -- WRONG!

So Much Has Happened Since I last posted ...

2007-05-01T20:21:00.000-05:00

It has been so long since I last posted on this blog! We have been so busy with the boys ... so much has been going on. First off, Grant is going to be FOUR YEARS OLD tomorrow! I cannot believe it! It just seems like yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital ... and now, he is our big little man! He is definitely becoming quite the little helper with his brother (who, by the way, LOVES his big brother like crazy!). He knows how to make him laugh when he's sad, he plays well with him (as long as Gavin doesn't have a toy that Grant wants), and he has become very accepting of his little brother.

We have noticed a big difference in Gavin since he's had his tubes in his ears! He talks so much more, he is so happy, and best of all ... we haven't had ONE ear infection since (knock on wood!). He has had his first haircut. He had the cutest curls in the back of his head, but it was really getting long. You couldn't really notice it until you got his hair wet and the curls hung down passed his neck! I felt so bad letting them go like that, but I really loved those curls! They were so adorable and made him look so cute! But, we finally decided to take him to Bill the Butcher (the same barber Todd has been going to since college).

The tranformation was amazing! When he started cutting his hair, I started to see a new little BOY! He wasn't my little baby with the cute curls in the back any more. He was turning into a little boy! He was so handsome! I totally loved it once we had it done. And, of course, Bill gave me quite a bit of his hair for his scrapbook (which will eventually get put in there). Gavin did so well. He sat so nice while Bill cut his hair. He was quite a bit interested in all of the different things that he used to cut his hair, but he did move too much. And, when it was all done, he had his first sucker (a dum dum) which he LOVED!

We had a visit from the Easter Bunny as well ... and Gavin thought that was just amazing! He had a good time looking for eggs and his basket. When he saw his basket, a big "Whoa!" came out of his mouth! It was really cute! Gavin had his first Peep (which is all over his face in this picture) and he loved that too. He did have a hard time realizing that when you find an egg you can't crawl around with it. He did manage to smash one up pretty good, and he wasn't too thrilled about what happened to it when he was done. This one, though, he managed to give to daddy to add to all of the others that Grant found.

Grant had a very CARS Easter. He LOVES the movie and mommy (or, the Easter Bunny rather) spent a lot of time on Ebay trying to find him a bunch of the Matchbox size cars for his basket. He ended up with quite a few of them! His favorite was Chick Hicks. Then shortly after that, Mommy was able to find him his "Mr. The King" that he wanted so bad. That took the place of Chick for a little while, but Chick is back in his "place of honor". Grant had a great time looking for eggs as well! He did a very good job! He did have a couple of tricky ones, but he managed to find all of the eggs (with a little help from Gavin). When he came downstairs, it was almost like Christmas! He couldn't wait to look for the eggs and his basket! He and mommy dyed the eggs on Friday while we were home from work and day care. He made them all VERY bright! He even had some that he mixed in all the colors and they turned out really funky! But he was so proud of those eggs!

The boys have been absolutely amazing and we are having such a ball with them! I cannot wait to see what else comes our way!

Gavin's First Surgery

2007-03-19T15:47:00.000-05:00

While I didn't get any photos of this joyous event .... Gavin did end up having his first surgery on Thursday, March 15, 2007! He did so well! I was a nervous wreck! We had to be there at 6:45 am for a 7:50 am surgery. Gavin was so unhappy about being confined to a little area once they took us from the waiting room! The doctor came around to see us, the anesthesiologist came and saw us and explained how they just give him enough sedation to make him stay still - it wears off really quickly - blah blah blah. And a nurse checked on us periodically. When it was Gavin's turn, two people that we hadn't met yet came by to take him. He was MORE than willing to go with them, but I wasn't real happy that the people that were actually going to come take my son away didn't introduce themselves! Todd and I went into the waiting room. I went to the bathroom, Todd went into the bathroom and before Todd came out, the doctor was sitting with me telling me that Gavin was done! It was UNBELIEVABLE! I couldn't believe how fast everything went! I think we figured it was a total of 8 minutes from the time we left the room until they came to get us! But he is soooo much happier. He did manage to get another double ear infection from the time we saw the ENT and decided to do the tubes and the actual surgery, but that went away before he had to have the tubes in. He sleeps better ... he has started trying to say more words (now that could all be a coincidence, but who knows ... ) and he smiles so much! I cannot believe it! I'm very happy we did this!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAVIN!

2007-02-20T20:50:00.000-05:00

Our Little Man, Gavin, turned One year old on February 10th! I cannot believe it! Time is flying by so darn fast!

We had a wonderful party for Gavin on his birthday with a lot of family and close friends! My parents let us have the party at their house, thankfully, so there was plenty of room for everyone. My cousin, Wendy, my Czia Czia (spelling totally unsure of) Di, my mom and mom-in-law helped out with the food - thankfully - so the planning was pretty much a breeze! I don't know what I would do without all of their help! They always come through for me when I need them!

This was Our Little Man's birthday cake! Grant was a big help in assisting with the choosing of the cake. We tried to keep Grant as involved as we could in the planning to avoid any kind of jealousy when the party came around. He did very well....don't you think??

Gavin sure enjoyed the taste of his very own cake too! He had so much fun with that! At first, he wasn't really sure what to do. So, Daddy put a little bit of cake on his finger and Gavin had his first taste. From then on ... he just took his whole hand and filled his fist with cake and frosting! It was so much fun to watch him eat that cake and have no care in the world about all the people around him without any cake!

Everyone was so generous with their gifts and we enjoyed having everyone there to help celebrate Our Little Man's first birthday!

GAVIN STATS: We took Gavin for his one year check-up and he weighed in at 25 pounds 8 1/2 ounces and was 31 1/2 inches long! He is in the 90th percentile for both and well proportioned! Gavin does have chronic ear infections and one that hasn't gone away with the latest round of antibiotics. The doctor prescribed a stronger antibiotic that worked on one ear, but hasn't on the other just yet (he still has five days on that one). She suggested Gavin see an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat doctor) for tubes. I am very upset by this. I know that it will make him happy and keep the ear infections at bay, but yet, this is surgery ... he is only a year old! It scares me very much. I know that it's common and I understand that it's best for Gavin, but I was really hoping he would grow out of it just like Grant did. I just hope that if he does need the tubes, the ENT gives me enough information to make me feel better about this procedure.

Overall, though, Gavin is a very happy and healthy baby boy! We are so happy to see that smile on his face every day!

On the Grant front ... he no longer wears Pull Ups and he is doing a really good job with going poopy on the potty! He has gone through a couple of sidetracks, but he makes his way back to the right track and has a positive attitude about it! He is also doing very well at school. He is behaving very well, and is even quite helpful to the teacher! We are very proud of him!

I'm going to attempt to update the Flickr account with this post as well. I have so many other great pictures from Gavin's birthday! Be sure to check it out!

Holy Cow .... I cannot believe how long it's been!

2007-01-15T20:51:00.000-05:00

Man ... It sure has been quite a long time since I have sat down to jot down a few words about Our Little Men! There really has been quite a bit going on around here since my last post. But, I'll share a couple of stories ...

Let's see .... Grant is still trying to poopy on the potty, but he actually gets up on there and tries. He isn't always successful (and really quite rarely is) ... but he's gotten to the point where it's OK to try. This is driving me nuts since he is going to be FOUR...yes, FOUR in May. The pediatrician tells me, though, that I cannot push him. He is testing me ... it's a power struggle with him, and that is what he can control. Supposedly, if I don't act like it's a big deal, he's supposed to decide that he wants to do this. So, I'm trying to be patient (and, as many of you know ... that is very difficult for me).

Grant also had the best time at Christmas! He really got it this year, and it was so cool to watch him come down the stair and see that Santa had come! The tree was loaded with presents and he couldn't wait to dig in and open EVERYTHING! I don't think anyone but Grant opened presents! He was done with his faster than I could even imagine, and he was more than willing to help everyone else with theirs ... even Jackson!

Grant has been behaving much better at home and at day care. He is becoming more helpful with cleaning things up and he is beginning to like his brother a little bit. He does use him as the blame for a lot of things he does ... but we know better than that. "Maybe .... Gavin did it."

Gavin took his first steps the day after Christmas. He has taken up to five at a time, and he is getting to be more courageous. He is trying to go from one place to the next walking ... and he's even held my fingers and walked with me. He does crawl a bit faster than he walks, so I think that is why he isn't just taking off running. He'll get there though!

Gavin has also been experiencing a TON of different foods. He LOVES to eat! He just can't get enough of his "big boy" food! I am not quite sure what his favorite is, but he loves to eat anything that you give him. He tries everything and seems to enjoy it all! All the cute noises he makes while he is eating are so funny! I suppose that might explain why he is 26 pounds (at least on our scale) already and he isn't even a year old!

Gavin also experienced his first Christmas! It was so much fun! We had decided that we weren't going to go too crazy since it was his first Christmas and he wouldn't realize what was going on ... but that is easier said than done! He, too, had a ton of gifts and stocking stuffers. He was able to open a couple of items before Grant took over, but he was more interested in the paper and tissue paper than anything else. Every piece he could find went into his mouth!

Todd's mom and dad took us to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for Christmas. While we were there we were able to meet up with Uncle Ray and Aunt Donna for brunch at this awesome restaurant, Orange Hill Restaurant, with a great view! It was so nice to see them! This was the first time that Todd had gotten to meet my Uncle Ray! We don't get to see them very often so I'm glad that they were able to meet us for brunch to visit for a little bit. I may be heading out that way for work in the near future, so perhaps I'll get to meet up with them again! We love you Uncle Ray and Aunt Donna!

We had a really good time at the game as well! It was my first trip to the Rose Bowl, and it was pretty exciting. The games outcome wasn't particularly thrilling, but the experience was really neat! There were so many activities that we went to, so many places we got to see, and we even got to hang with one of the players' family! We went to a Pep Rally, the Rose Parade, and participated in a Michigan Alumni tailgate! It was a wonderful trip! Thank You, Nana and Papa!

My mom and dad were nice enough to watch the boys for us while we were gone! They were both very under the weather, but still managed with both boys and even seemed to recoup a little with them there. We really are thankful they were able to watch them so that we could go to the game. Thank you, Dzia Dzia and Bushi!

Well, those were a couple of highlights since the last post. I know that there has been quite a few more ... But ... that's enough for now. I sure hope that I'm able to catch up a lot more frequently in the future! I sure miss jotting these fun little stories about the boys!

Gavin Update

2006-11-27T20:33:00.000-05:00

Today was Gavin's nine month visit -- He was such a good boy!

He weighed in at 24 pounds 4 ounces, and he was 29 inches long! This put him in the 95th percentile for his weight and the 90th percentile for his length! The doctor said that he is ahead of schedule in his "vocabulary" and motor skills - so we were very proud of that. Gavin doesn't "say" too many words. He has the momma, dadda, nana, papa, dzia dzia and bushi (which sounds a little like bull sh**), but hey ... he says it! He may not always say "nana, papa, dzia dzia and bushi", but he has said them. He says momma and dadda while he is looking at Todd and I. The doctor said that this is "very good".

Gavin has been eating "normal" people food, and he really enjoys it! He loved Thanksgiving dinner and he has enjoyed pretty much everything that he has tried. The only food that he hasn't liked is peas.

Gavin had two shots today, but he did very well with those. He cried a little bit, but all it took was a little TLC and he was just fine!

Grant's First Michigan Football Game!!!!

2006-11-08T21:14:00.000-05:00

Well, Jenny and I have been debating for some time now on when should we take Grant to his first Michigan Football game. It's a difficult decision to make. At his age, it certainly can't be a big game, as who knows how long he would make it! And there is no way I am leaving the UM-ND or OSU game in the first quarter!!!!!!!

Well unfortunate circumstances arose on Friday with the passing of Nana B. While it was certainly a blessing, a sad time none-the-less. She means so much to our family, and it will be sad not to have her bright smiley face blessing us. But we know she's up there smiling down upon us =) I'm sure Adam is mixing her the best hummers, and she couldn't be happier!

Well we woke up Saturday morning, and after a day or two of trying to unload the tickets, we had figured that we would have to eat them. Then a brainstorm struck me! Why not see if Grant wanted to make his first steps into the Big House when their were people there???!?!?
So Grant woke up, and I asked him if he would like to go see Michigan Football play? After a short pause, he responded with a resounding YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
So we finished breakfast, and got dressed. Jenny was quite maternal, dressing Grant in layers to insure he stayed warm!
We got it the car, and made our way. With the game being in early November, and against Ball state, our normal tailgaiting group was exceptionally truncated, with Dave Schlaff, his friend Whitney and son Trip being the only attendees. But it didnt matter anyways, as we didnt arrive until an hour and a half before kickoff, so Dave was kind enough to offer me a beer, which I graciously accepted, and Grant and I began to make our way to the Big House!
Of course we got into the stadium and I wanted to goto the "M-Den on the 50" to get Grant and Gavin some UM gear, then headed to the concession stand. Grant ate nearly a whole big box of popcorn, and over half of a 32oz Diet Pepsi.
Then we entered the stadium and Grant was amazed. He had been there before, but never with people there!
Grant and I sat down, and watched warmups, and suprisingly, he sat there just taking everything in. The clock ticked down to about 12 minutes, and then Howard King, the public address announcer comes on and states his patented line, " Preeeeeesenting the 235 member, Michigan Marching Band. Band take the field" As the band pours out over the field, Grant is instantly drawn to the familiar music. Our great friend Dan was kind enough to get Gavin a DVD about Raising your Child to be a Michigan fan. There is a scene in that where the band plays " The Victors". So as the band finishes playing the M-Fanfare, turns to the north endzone and begins playing the greatest college fightsong ever written, Grant turns to me with this excited look on his face, and says, " They're on my TV Daddy!!!!!"
What season of Michigan Football would be complete without a flyover? Well Grant's first Michigan game would be THAT GAME! Shortly after the completion of the National Anthem, two F-18 fighter jets did their flyover!!! It's more amazing every time how loud they are! Grant's couldn't have been more amazed. Instead of being scared by the noise, he kept wanting them to come back!!!!

Well the first quarter came and went, without much fanfare. Michigan was obviously not playing their best game, but Grant was taking everything in. We got to the second quarter, and Grant started to get cold. So I took him back to the M-Den on the 50 and got a blanket ( for like $38 INCLUDING TAX!!!!!!!, can you say, RIPOFF????) Grant had to "go potty" so we swiftly walked to the Men's Room, although Grant couldnt figure out why we couldn't use the one right outside our section, even though I pointed out it was the WOMEN'S bathroom? =)
Of course no trip to the Big House is REALLY a trip without a stadium hot dog, which Grant ate not one BUT TWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heading back into the stadium, I could see Grant starting to tire, so I fully expected to be making an exit in the near future. Of course after I tried to put the blanket on him, he decided he didn't want it, so the girl next to us, who appeared to have left the bar last night and driven right to the game, was the beneficiary of the blanket. I asked Grant if he wanted to go, but he vehemently stated NO! In fact he would stay for the ENTIRE game, although it included a nap for 1/2 the 3rd quarter =).

All in all, it was an amazing day. Not only did Grant far exceed my expectations for how long he would stay, how good he was, and HOW MUCH THAT BOY CAN EAT, but it allowed Grant and I to spend a wonderful day together. What more can a father ask for but to pass along passion for the things in life that mean so much to you. I am truly blessed to have a family as wonderful as mine. And I'm sure this will be the first in many trips to the Big House with our children!
Go Blue!

I Just Had To Share A Few Photos

2006-10-10T19:43:00.000-05:00

It has been quite a while since I've updated this with any photos ... and I know ... our Flickr account is WAY over due! But, that takes Oh Soooo Long to do when you have a gagillion (I know ... not a real word) photos to resize and upload. So ... Here are a few of my most recent favorites that I wanted to share of the boys!

They are growing so fast! Today is Gavin's 8 month birthday! I cannot believe how fast time is just zipping on by! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing Grant home from the hospital and now we have Gavin turning 8 months old! When does this happen, and when does it slow down long enough to enjoy it for a bit?!?!? Does it?? If I blink and Grant is graduating from High School, I think I'm going to cry!

Well ... here come the photos.......

Not too long ago, my mom and dad took Grant and Gavin to visit with my Bonna and Papa. They sure do love to see them, and I'm sure that Bonna and Papa feel the same way!

Grant is actually posing for a picture and giving a pretty devilish look, but at least he's standing there and showing a bit of personality. There have been times where getting a picture of Grant without having him turn away is nearly impossible, and then there are times, like this one, where you actually capture Grant being Grant. And, well, Gavin ... he really isn't quite sure what to do when you bring out the camera!

Here they are again ... with Papa! Grant is posing yet again and not throwing a fit! I love these two boys! Sometimes I just cannot believe that they are actually mine! I look at them enjoying seeing their family and spending time with them, and I just wish that I could do this every day! I would love to just take them to see everyone. Sure ... there are days that I just don't know why we've left the house, but then there are days like this one where you can't believe how good they are and it makes things seem like it would be soooo easy!

Here is Gavin enjoying a bath in Dzia Dzia and Buschi's tub! This, to Gavin, I'm sure, is like diving deep into the ocean! The top of this tub when he sits is still over his head! He has a great time in there crawling and drinking up the water! It is always fun to watch the boys' first experience in this tub! Grant has made it into quite the deep sea adventure complete with Tupperware Cup flippers on his feet! Gavin, well, he is still becoming acquainted with what these waters hold for him. I'm sure that once he realizes how manageable they are, he will become as adventurous as Grant has!

Grant loves to play outside ... and he loves all the "toys" that Uncle Danny leaves in the garage (for Grant, of course ... "He wants me to play with it"). Here you see how Grant is torn between his love for being a hockey goalie and riding his bike. He isn't quite sure how he is going to combine the two into one sport, but he is definitely going to give it a try. I think that he calls this one, "Riding my motorcycle with a helmet" -- but once he is bored of the bike, he goes to get the hockey stick that Uncle Danny made especially for him and becomes a "Hockey Player"!

Uncle Danny has been wonderful with the boys! They sure love it when he gets down on the floor and plays with them! He even has a good time too! Gavin, though, I think, is trying to figure out what exactly Uncle Danny has on his eyebrow, and how he is going to get that out. He probably thinks that he could definitely get it if he gives it a good tug, but I think he knows that it just might hurt Uncle Danny if he does that. It looks like he is trying to figure out a way to get that barbell out with the least amount of pain for Uncle Danny. I mean, he does want him to play with him again!

Grant and Gavin LOVE to play, and I can remember when Grant couldn't wait for Gavin to get on the ground and play with him! Well, now that Gavin can do that, Grant has mixed emotions about whether or not he really does want Gavin to be able to do this. But, in this picture they have joined together to team up on Dzia Dzia! They have tackled him and pinned him to the ground -- and, they look pretty proud of themselves for doing that! I don't think that Dzia Dzia really minds so much, but when these boys get a little bigger ... he just might!

This was the cutest photo opportunity I think I've had in a while. Grant and Dzia Dzia were "missing in action" -- they weren't outside...they weren't in the kitchen coloring ... they weren't on the computer. Where could they be?!?!? My mom suggested the basement, but I expected to see them playing with one of Grant's soccer balls, or with Buschi's exercise equipment. But, when I got to the bottom of the stairs, they had the exercise mats out and were laying watching a movie! How cute is THAT?!?!? Grant and Dzia Dzia have found something new to do. Now... if Grant comes home wanting me to buy Rudy ... I'm really going to regret this new bonding time!

So ... that's it ... those are the latest and greatest that I have of the boys! My dad just gave me a disk of like 400 pictures on it! I'm sure there are a ton more that I will eventually share, but I wanted to get a post out tonight! It has been almost a month (I think) since my last post! These boys are changing so quickly, I wish I had time to update this more! But, I think, my posts will just end up being HUGE until I find more time to update more frequently.

Thank you for letting me share these few memories with you and I look forward to sharing some more soon!

The Big Tub ...

2006-09-14T19:22:00.000-05:00

So ... tonight was the first time that Grant and Gavin had a bath together at home. They had a blast! Grant wasn't too keen on the idea initially. I don't think he thought he would be able to have fun in the tub with his little brother in there. But, once they got in and Gavin start splashing around, Grant decided that it probably wouldn't be that bad. It looks to me like they were enjoying themselves, don't you think?

As you can see, though, Gavin didn't really want to do too much of the sitting thing. He didn't want to sit still long enough to get washed, he just wanted to stand up and LAUGH!

Gavin sure enjoyed taking a bath in the BIG TUB!

Gavin's Last Bath in the "Baby" Tub

2006-09-14T19:14:00.000-05:00

So, Gavin has had his last bath in the little tub ... He has sort of out grown it. He has always been a little "large" for the tub, but he would sit there and let you wash him. Now .... Gavin likes to take control of his bathing experience! He likes to sit up in the tub and take control! But, the whole tub tilts forward!

He would much rather splash around and have a good time! He doesn't like to just lay there and let you wash him any longer! It's time to move onto the big tub!

Grant and Gavin have taken a bath together before. We were in Atlanta and really didn't have any other option to bathe Gavin, so they took one together. It went surprisingly well, so I'm sure that taking one in their own tub won't be bad! Gavin sure looks like he likes the idea of retiring the baby tub, doesn't he?

Our Boys ...

2006-09-05T19:32:00.000-05:00

I sure hope that these two love to be close to one another when they get older too! This started out with Daddy bouncing Gavin on his knee. Grant, of course, can't let anyone get more attention than him .... so he climbed up on Daddy's other knee. Gavin thought it was the coolest thing to have his big brother next to him! And, Grant ... I know that he loves being by his brother as well!

Atlanta Georgia ... Here We Come!

2006-09-05T19:22:00.000-05:00

Well, we made it all in one piece and with most of our sanity to and from Atlanta. This trip was much nicer than our last trip, and was really quite nice. The boys traveled better than expected, and they had a great time. Grant had his DVD player, and Gavin had Grant. We did stop a lot on the way down to get the boys out of the car and let them run around, but even when we got to the hotel, Gavin was just excited to be able to move around!

Grant though, just had fun meeting his new cousins. He has met them before, but he was only a little older than Gavin the last time we were there. This time, though, Grant found a new friend in Sammy Jo. I think Todd and I figured that they are something like fourth cousins ... but Grant didn't care. He still says, "I love her". He doesn't quite realize that they are related! Sammy Jo kept Grant busy, and made sure that he enjoyed his vacation! It was so great!

We had a great time visiting and we look forward to being able to get there again sometime soon! Although, we have been there twice and they haven't been here yet .... Hmmm....perhaps they should come up and see us!

Gavin Update

2006-08-22T20:50:00.000-05:00

Gavin had his six month visit today at the pediatrician .... Here are his latest stats:

Gavin weighed in at: 21 pounds 4 ounces
Gavin measured: 28 inches long!
He is in the 95th percentile for both height and weight ... so the doctor says that he is well proportioned. She also said that he is stronger than the average six month old, and that he has a great temperament. Gavin had FOUR shots this time around ... again, but he did quite well. He cried for a little bit, but by the time I got him back to day care, he was giggly.

Comparing him to Grant at this age ... Grant was 20 lbs 11 oz and was 28 1/2 inches long.

I think that Gavin might end up being bigger that Grant when they get older.

We leave on Thursday for our trip to Atlanta. We are really looking forward to going to see the newest member of Jon and Maxine's family - Abbie, and we hope that Grant and Gavin travel well. We'll update you with any new photos that we take and update you on how the boys did on the trip down and back!

2006-08-17T20:11:00.000-05:00

I don't know why I find it so hard to get on here at night and update with even the smallest post. I have no pictures ... no new ones, that is. But, we do have some updates!

Gavin is SIX MONTHS old! I find that so unbelievable! I cannot believe that our little man is already half way through his first year of life! We take him for his six month pediatrician visit next week ... Looking forward to finding out how much he has grown!

Gavin has also gotten his first two teeth! Yes, TWO! Grant didn't get his until he was almost eight months old, so being six months old and having two teeth pop seems a tad early to me. But, I guess that just really proves how every baby is different! I have tried to get some pictures of his teeth, but haven't been able to get one just yet.

Grant has been doing great with the potty training. He is still having issues with the #2, but he's going #1 all on his own. He'll just walk right into the bathroom and go! I have been amazed! I just wish there was a way to get him to realize that #2 IS meant for the potty and not his pants! That would be the best!

Grant has been doing better in school this week behavior wise. He has been on green all week, and hasn't had any accidents! I have been so proud! It's much better that his "choking kids with a jump rope days"! I sure hope that this continues. I really hate getting upset with him for being a three year old!

We are traveling to Atlanta next week as a family. We are looking forward to it! It will be our first road trip together .. EVER! Todd and I haven't even been on a road trip together (well, not counting places like Traverse City.)! We hope that the boys are really good for us! I would hate to have Gavin crying the entire way there and back! Hopefully I'll have some great photos to add to the post next time!

2006-07-29T20:49:00.000-05:00

Earlier I wrote how Gavin seems to want Grant's attention more than he wants anyone else's. Well .... Gavin was playing oh so contently in his Exer-saucer when Grant decided that he wanted to sit next to Gavin and watch him. Well, Gavin immediately turned to watch Grant! I don't understand what Gavin's fascination is with Grant sometimes! I'm just kidding! Grant is so good with Gavin ... he just loves to make him laugh and I think that he loves his brother just as much as his brother loves him! He helps get Gavin up EVERY morning. He gets his stool up next to the crib and he just starts in with the high pitched "hey" and tickling! They are just so darn cute together. These two are going to grow up and be such good friends ... at least I hope they do!

Our Lazy Afternoon

2006-07-29T20:21:00.000-05:00

Today was the "Toxic Bash" at my aunt and uncle's house. Todd and I really wanted to go, but decided that with Gavin being so young and it being so hot this afternoon, it was probably best for us to say home. Next year we will definitely be there! We had so much fun last year that it was a really hard decision to make, but we thought it was better for the boys.

So .... instead we had a lazy day here at home. Well ... not exactly LAZY, but toward the end of the afternoon it turned that way. I made breakfast, we headed to Sam's Club, and when we got back ... TONS OF LAUNDRY ... cleaning of bathrooms ... changing of the beds ... washing both cars ... and laundry is STILL going! But, the boys enjoyed their day in and out of the house. Grant helped us wash the cars. Sure, I think we ended up drying our cars three times a piece because Grant was having so much fun spraying everyone and everything with the hose!

But ... here are a couple of photos of the boys when our busy day started to wind down.

Here are our two little men ... resting. Grant resting on the couch waiting for his nap to kick in, and Gavin resting on Daddy's chest! Our Little Men are just so darn cute!

Gavin's First Taste of "Real" Food

2006-07-29T20:07:00.000-05:00

I know .. I know ... all the Pediatricians say that you aren't supposed to give baby food or cereal to an infant until they are six months old. Well, we started Grant on cereal when he was something crazy like two weeks old to get him to sleep through the night, and ... it worked. We tried the same thing with Gavin and three weeks, and it just seemed to make things worse. So, we discontinued the cereal.

The gals at day care have told us that when another little child in Gavin's room is being fed their baby food, Gavin just stares and starts "chewing". Odd ... so, we decided that since he is going to be six months old in two weeks (unbelievable isn't it??), we would try giving him some baby food -- pears was our first attempt. I wanted to share some photos of it to show how much he enjoyed them!

Here is Gavin patiently awaiting his new meal in our quick and convenient high chair. He knew that something different was going on. He's never been in a high chair before!

Here is Gavin opening up for his new food. He just knew that this was something that he wanted to try!

Mmmm....pears! I think that I really like these things! At first it took him a minute to realize that he was supposed to swallow these things, but once he did ....

Todd couldn't get the spoon to his mouth fast enough! Gavin had to try and get it from him. Maybe he thought that would get it into his mouth faster! But, needless to say, Gavin thoroughly enjoyed his first taste of "real" food and we can't wait to try it again!

It's Been .... So Long!

2006-07-13T21:07:00.000-05:00

I know that it's taken some time to update this blog, and I do apologize ... It has just been quite hectic here at home, and finding the time to upload new pictures and sit down and update is nearly impossible. AND, there are some readers that get upset when the update doesn't include any pictures (uhh .... DAD!). :) Just kidding ....

So .... I got out the blanket to let Gavin roll around and play with his toys, and as always .... Grant decides that he HAS to lay with his brother. And, of course, demands a picture be taken. It's so cute to watch these two! Grant will pretend like he wants absolutely NOTHING to do with Gavin, but the second Gavin sees Grant, he smiles and starts "talking" to him. He tries so hard to gain Grant's attention, and when he gets it, Grant just makes him laaaaaaaugh!

Gavin just loves his big brother so much ... sometimes I think he would rather have his attention over anyone else's! When Gavin waves his hands around and touches Grant, he'll pretend that Gavin knocked him over, and Gavin gets all excited and giggles. Grant will get back up and wait for the next touch from Gavin .... they'll go back and forth like that for a few minutes and just laugh! The really are so much fun to watch.

I wish that I knew how to get some video on here ... I have some cute clips of them playing together and with Daddy! They bring so much laughter to these two tired parents! We are so blessed to have two great little boys (even though Grant can be quite a stinker ....)!

A couple of pictures ....

2006-06-21T18:55:00.000-05:00

Here is Gavin in one of our favorite outfits that Grant had. He is just the happiest baby!

Here is another picture of Gavin ... naked naked naked (well, he does have a diaper on). He loves to lay on Grant's blanket and talk, giggle and roll over!

Here is me and Grant! I got my hair chopped yesterday. You can't really tell how short it is ... but I kind of like it like this. It's quite easy to do too!

My apologies ... But here is an Update!

2006-06-21T07:35:00.000-05:00

I realize that it has been FOREVER since I've updated this website! I must get some time this weekend to do that! I do apologize for not keeping up MY end of the bargain!

The boys are fabulous! We had one week with just one child! Grant spent the week with his Nana and Papa last week and he had a GREAT time! I couldn't believe how much better he could hit the baseball, throw a football ... and even CATCH the football! I know that he wore his poor Nana and Papa out! They just have so much space for him to run and ride his "motorcycle" that he just can't get enough! I'm sure that they have used this week to catch up on sleep!

Gavin, on the other hand, stayed home with us. He started rolling -- constantly! It was a quick roll here and there, but now as soon as you put him on his back, he's rolling over! He is going through a teething spell -- nothing has popped up yet, but there's the drool, crankiness, and the constant urge to bite down on anything he can put in his mouth! It could be today, next week, or three months from now before that tooth/teeth pops up, but I still feel for the little man!

Gavin had his four month (yes ... four month) check up yesterday. That litte booger is growing like a weed! He was 18 pounds 9 ounces and 27 inches long! The doctor said that he exceeds the 95th percentile for children his age. She said that if he keeps growing like this, he'll be 6'4"! But, he rolled over for her, chatted her ear off, and smiled and giggled for her. He stood and sat up (with assistance), and showed her how well he could control his head. She said he was "Perfect"! That made me quite happy. The poor little man ended the check up with four shots. He did well though...he was a little cranky the rest of the day, but other than that ... he was fine!

I do have photos to share, but I have to find the time to post them! I am hoping to get those on here this week! Thanks for the patience, and the photos should arrive soon!

Grant's First Motorcycle

2006-06-02T20:41:00.000-05:00

In a way, Grant is like his Dzia Dzia because he LOVES motorcycles! He thinks they are the best thing around! For the longest time, he called his Jeep all-terrain stroller his motorcycle (it had a steering wheel, horn, etc. -- therefore, it's a motorcycle). For his 3rd birthday, Dzia Dzia and Buschi got him THIS motorcycle! He loves it! It has turn signals, it talks, and it even plays some tunes! He loves riding it around in their basement and ramming into the walls with it! Wait 'til he gets this hawg out on the road!

Gavin can hold a rattle!

2006-06-02T20:33:00.000-05:00

Gavin has started to grab what he wants and bring it to his mouth (where else would the things he grabs go???)! I've been working with him and his rattles lately, and yesterday he got it on the first try ... every time! It was really cool! Here are a couple of pictures of him and his rattle!

Gavin's Losing His Hair

2006-06-02T20:32:00.000-05:00

Gavin and his "women"

2006-06-02T20:22:00.000-05:00

Gavin loves to spend time with all the women in his life. They can make him laugh and smile, and turn from a grump to a sweetheart! Buschi is definitely one of those women! She has the effect on Gavin and Grant. She can get Grant to do things that mommy and daddy can't. She can always make Gavin smile ... and she can change a diaper without him crying! She is amazing! I don't know if it's the sound of her voice ... or what, but they boys are immediately "calmed" by her.

Nana has the same effect on the boys. I don't know what it is, but all she has to say is "we don't do that at Nana's", and Grant doesn't do whatever it was that he was doing! And, the best part, he doesn't wait one minute and go back to it ... he actually stops! Gavin, I'm sure will be the same way. But, Nana also has little songs that she sings that keep the boys entertained! I try them at home, and I get "No, No ... that's not how Nana does it!" Oi!

And They're Here .... Finally

2006-05-20T21:45:00.000-05:00

Well, I have finally taken the time to update the photos of Grant and Gavin's big day. On May 7, 2006, we celebrated Grant's third birthday and Gavin's Baptism! It was a wonderful day! My parents were gracious enough to let us have the party at their house this year! We were so tired of cramming everyone into our house, and not being able to utilize our awesome "party barge" of a deck because it was too cold. We asked my parents if we could impose on them and have the party there. They were wonderful and said that we could...And wouldn't you know ... It was BEAUTIFUL out that day! There were people sitting on the deck, in the garage with the door open (at our house the door was closed and my dad had to bring his heater!), and the kids played outside! I guess that's just the way it goes ...

Anyway ... I have finally uploaded the pictures to our Flickr account ("More Pictures" link on this blog) minus the pictures from Todd's dad. For some reason, I couldn't get them to open ... but, I'll fix it! He got some really great shots! I haven't added any titles to them yet, but I wanted everyone to see what a great day we had! I hope that you enjoy them! And thank you to my mom and dad for allowing us to celebrate at their home, to everyone that helped with food, to everyone that provided us with their pictures, and everyone that came to celebrate with us! We love you all!

"It Looks Like Nana B's Hair" - Grant Matthew

2006-05-20T21:14:00.000-05:00

My mom brought this hat home from one of the ladies that she works with for Gavin. I, personally, think it looks cute ... but, Grant thinks that this resembles something else.

When I brought the hat home, Grant wanted to know what was in the box. For fear that he would ruin it, I urged him not to open the box. But, Grant being Grant decided that he was going to open it anyway. He opened the box and put it on his head. He looked at his daddy and said, "It looks like Nana B's hair".

Now, anyone that knows Nana B, might see the resemblance (unfortunately, I don't have a picture so that you can compare the two yourself), but Todd and I just thought it was so funny that Grant put this curly blue hat and Nana B's hair together! So ... Todd thought that he would put the theory to the test too!

I don't know ... I think that Gavin looks a bit cuter than Todd in it ... but Todd sure does make you want to laugh -- really hard! Don't you think?? He actually seems to enjoy wearing it!

Grant Update

2006-05-15T20:53:00.000-05:00

Grant went in today for his three year check up. He was a good boy while we were there, and he weighed in at 37 lbs and he was 38 3/4 inches tall! He is in the 80th percentile for both height and weight! He is growing to be a healthy big boy!

The doctor also got to experience Grant's independence and his knack for ignoring you when he's doing something. He says that he is a normal three year old. Thank God!

PS .... I promise to update the birthday and baptism pictures this week! I just have to find the time to do this. AND I am also writing out the Thank You cards for the boys ... so it's taking up some time.

2006-05-11T13:05:00.000-05:00

It's 9:00 pm ... Both boys have been put to bed. Todd and I are watching our TiVo-ed "Prison Break". We hear a noise ... "da dong .... da dong". "What was that?"

"Sounds like it's coming from upstairs."
"Do you think Grant fell out of bed ... or is hitting the wall?"

Todd goes up to check on Grant and I hear a giggle at the top of the stairs. I didn't sound like Grant was going to go back to bed very easily. I heard his bedroom door shut .... open .... shut. And then Todd came downstairs.

I asked him if everything was alright, and Todd said "Yeah ... Grant was just playing basketball!"

Grant got a basketball hoop to put on his bedroom door this weekend for his birthday. The noise that we heard was his throwing the basketball at the hoop -- missing, not missing, who knows?? But, Todd said that he had the light on, and was "shooting hoop" -- to put it in Grant's exact words!

At least he wasn't crying to get out of his room! I'm sure he would have fallen asleep eventually!

Grant's Birthday!

2006-05-10T20:53:00.000-05:00

Sunday we had a party for Grant's birthday (pictures will be forthcoming)! He turned three years old on the 2nd, and Gavin was baptized on Sunday so we had a combined celebration for the two of them. We had a great time with everyone that joined in the celebration, and I will share photos as soon as I get them downloaded! Be on the look out!