Happy Thanksgiving!

Another late holiday post; it is tricky finding the time/energy with these two little boys! To be quick and concise, I figured I'd just make a list of things that I am thankful for:

1) my two healthy, active little boys; Gavin is a full out crawler now, as well as pulling up all whenever he can, and Jeffrey is just as crazy/boisterous as ever
2) a healthy, involved husband who does all that he can with the aforementioned active children, as well as allowing me to have good time to myself. We're not really in a good place to focus on ourselves as a couple much, which is a bummer, but I know we'll get there again.
3) having family so close by
4) our happy little home, filled with memories and happiness
5) Jony's job- allowing us such luxuries as our home, cars, more food than we can eat, new clothes, and security. Money is not a huge stress in our lives, and I'm able to stay at home with the boys.
6) Friends; I've been lucky enough to really start forming some amazing friendships over the last year that have really filled a void in my life

It's been an amazing year with so many things to be grateful for. Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

The Appointment

Gavin and Jeffrey got to do their appointments together today, which Jeffrey was excited about. It was nice to get them both done with only one waiting time AND while Jony is off of work. Now, I don't have to go back until February with Gavin and next November for Jeffrey (!).

Both are doing well and off the charts, developmentally. Our pediatrician is, as always, super impressed with them. It was good timing to make sure that Jeffrey's ear infection is gone, as well. Yay!

Gavin is 18lbs, 4oz (64.45%) and 28" (86.68%)
Jeffrey is 30lbs 4oz (34.43%) and 37.75" (50.99%)

Gavin is obviously our bruiser. Poor kid also got two shots, but he's feeling just fine after a nap. Good appointment, overall!

Jeffrey is Three

As of 9:37pm last night, I have a three year old. It's such a bittersweet feeling to have your little babies have birthdays. You're so proud of everything that they've accomplished, but it's so sad to see them grow so quickly. Now, I have a pre-schooler. It's amazing. The days are filled with so much excitement, laughter and energy (sometimes too much!). He needs me less and less each day with mundane things like putting his clothes on, opening food to eat or even putting him to sleep. He's growing into his own person, and I'm loving who he's becoming. He's so smart and inquisitive, and I just love having conversations with him. Although it can get pretty frustrating to keep delving deeper and deeper into the "why" of things, it's amazing to see his brain working and figuring everything out. His memory and understanding is incredible. I'm constantly in awe of what he knows and can do, and I have no idea when he learned how to do any of it. My biggest struggle is remembering that he is still so little, even though he acts so much older.

He's the most amazing big brother; he couldn't love Gavin any more than he does. He's so sweet and respectful to everybody. I love that he gets all shy in new social situations, but then he'll bust out of his shell and have everyone laughing and enjoying the show he's putting on. He's a ball of energy that never stops, and his brain never shuts down. The hardest part of his day is slowing down enough to fall asleep at night. He is potty trained (knock on wood!) ever since deciding that he was going to be a week or so ago. He has his own opinions and will make sure that they are heard. He loves to be on the go and do all sorts of fun activities like the park, zoo or museums. He also loves rest days where we just lounge around at home. He asks every day if it's a school day and gushes about his teachers and friends there. He's ridiculously smart, and we have trouble finding things for him to channel his learning since most toys that are geared towards this age are too easy for him, yet the next step of toys are too complex. He has a crazy active imagination and a killer sense of humor. He's the most stubborn and obstinate child when he wants to be, just to balance out being so chill and calm the rest of the time.

If I'd been asked to design my perfect child three years ago, I'm fairly certain that Jeffrey is not what I would have chosen. Thank goodness that we're not asked because that would have certainly been a loss on my end. He is just the right son for me- challenging me and entertaining me day in and day out. I cannot wait to see what this next year holds for him.

Jeffrey's 3rd Birthday!

Hard to believe, but we had Jeffrey's 3rd Birthday bash this morning! I'm really happy with how it all turned out, and Jeffrey had a blast. It was a lot of work going into it, and we always regret deciding to have it at our house on the day or so leading up to it, but we're happy with the end result. Now, we all have to come down from the birthday party high (only to start attending birthday parties like it's our job from here until mid December).

Since Jeffrey is obsessed with excavators, his party was "Construction" themed. Or, more specifically, Dump Trucks and Tractors. It was easy to decorate since he has so many (read: too many). We went easy with the food and provided toddler friendly snacks, and my SIL brought the cake. We had all our construction-esque toys out- blocks, tool puzzles, legos, etc. Outside, Jony built a sand table (last night!), so there was that and a baby pool full of sawdust. We put all his little construction toys in there for everyone to play with, plus he had the big ones out there, too. There was also some coloring pages and sticker sheets. The sand table was a HUGE hit; all the kids loved it. It was worth Jony staying up late to build. Each kid got to choose a pail (w/ shovel, rake and scoop) and a construction hat to wear and use during the party.

It was a huge hit, and I think Jeffrey had the time of his life. Now, of course, he's started asking if it's his actual birthday yet. Can't believe that's on Monday. THREE.

3 Year Survey

(are we really at this point?!?)

I bought a book called 20 Questions and went ahead and asked him his 3 year questions. Most of them were expected, and I cannot wait to come back and read them in the future.

1. What is your favorite color? red
2. What is your favorite toy? excavators
3. What is your favorite fruit? grapes
4. What is your favorite TV show? Team Umizoomi
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? a sandwich; peanut butter and strawberry jelly
6. What is your favorite outfit? blue shirt with a lot of construction workers (they're actually trucks)
7. What is your favorite game? hide and seek
8. What is your favorite snack? raspberries
9. What is your favorite animal? lions, the loudest animals at the zoo
10. What is your favorite song? ice cream song
11. What is your favorite book? Trucks A to Z
12. Who is your best friend? Boden
13. What is your favorite cereal? I don't like cereal
14. What's your favorite thing to do outside? play in the sand
15. What is your favorite drink? milk
16. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Larry
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? blackberries
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? (still thinking about this one)
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a construction worker; drive an excavator

Halloween!

Man, life is crazy when you forget about Halloween. For months, Jeffrey was dead set on being Captain Hook for Halloween. So, we got his costume and planned out the costumes for the rest of the family. Then, a few days before Halloween, he decided he wanted to be an excavator (obsessed). Luckily, he was enticed enough by the hook to go along with the original plan. Halloween, overall, was pretty overly stimulating for Jeffrey this year. He had a lot of fun, but it came at a pretty bad time for us. Since Gavin was sick, there was a lot of night-wakings that affected Jeffrey, and he was more tired than usual. Even still, he had a blast going up to a few houses and getting candy. He had way more fun hanging out with my dad and passing out candy, though. This will probably be our last year at my parent's house, so we'll probably test out a Trunk or Treat type deal next year, which may be more his speed, anyways! Gavin was on the upward from his virus, but he still didn't feel all that great. He loves wagon rides, though, so he was a trooper and all smiles in the wagon while we walked down the street. After that, though, he was done. Poor guy. Next year, he should have more fun.

Here's our little family: Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinkerbell and Mr. Smee!

6 Months!

I'm a day behind, but that's to be expected when the month-day falls on a Saturday. My little nugget is half a year! I can hardly believe it's already been six months, but I also can't believe that it's only been six months. Having kids doesn't ever make sense, does it?

Gavin had a rough month since he hates that he cannot crawl yet (getting there, though!) and had the virus his brother had. Our little drama baby was NOT a fan of having a fever. He's all better now, although we're now entering the world of teething. I hope it takes awhile, even though I miss sleeping, because his little sweet toothless smile is just too precious. He's been going through quite a few growth spurts this past month, as well. Even still, his little personality is coming out strong and clear. He's for sure going to be as stubborn and independent as his brother, although he's clearly attached to his mommy. He has no problems getting dropped off at church or MOPS, but he will not accept being left with family members. Makes no sense. I'm really just trying to enjoy this baby stage, and I'm pretty sure I still view him as an itty-bitty newborn when I thought that Jeffrey was SO big at this stage.

Gavin's 6 Month Stats:
-over 17lbs, don't know about length
-wearing/growing out of 6 month size clothing.
-sitting completely on his own without falling over
-goes from sitting to his belly
-rocks on all fours
-can get from his belly to all fours and does yoga (plank, haha)
-pulling up, if his positioning is right
-starting to jabber
-excellent small motor control- pincer grab, transferring between hands, etc.
-started solids: banana and avocado
-first illness
-waking up, on average, twice a night. He's been difficult to get back to sleep lately, due to teething.
-loves standing, flipping off the light switch and playing/laughing with his big brother in the car