The Quinlan Boys

Not So Perfect

2012-02-15T16:22:00.003-06:00

Today was PJ day at Owen and Liam's preschool. They are doing the letter "P" this week, so to celebrate they have a day of pajamas, pizza, and Presidents. The boys were all PJed up in their favorite characters today and I asked them to let me snap a quick photo. It's rare when they WANT their picture taken. RARER even when they stand where I ask them to. And even RARER when they are still long enough for me to grab the camera AND they smile. So, imagine my dismay when the moment ends, they run off, and I look through the images and find that NOT A SINGLE ONE WAS IN FOCUS. Really? They cooperate and I still don't get the shot? Oh well. Just icing on my not-so-perfectness I have going on these days. It's still a cute shot of the "big boys", isn't it? Even if it is a bit fuzzzzzzzy....

Gavers is just a walkin' everywhere now. Crazy.

Grammie and Pa got the boys a shopping cart for Valentines. I got them a little more food products. They have enjoyed playing with their market, cart, and abundance of food today.

They kept taking turns playing the different roles in the "store."

Gavin is happy behind the cart, but he likes to be behind the store, too.

Owen is managing the shop now, while Liam and Gavin struggle over who gets to fill the cart and who gets to push it....

Owen gets bored while they work it out.

Just another not-so-perfect day in the life.....

Valentine Parties

2012-02-13T20:45:00.006-06:00

Today was party day at the boy's preschool and I feel like I should have been awarded with an "I Survived Party Day" t-shirt at the end of the school day! Wowzers. First, let me just say that Gavin no longer just happily sits in a stroller and looks on. Nor, does he just want to hang out in my arms and watch from that vantage point. No sirree. He wants in on the action. That certainly adds to the difficulty of attending the parties, mush less being co-mom-in-charge of one. Oy.

First party was Liam's. I thought that Cooper's sweet book about trying to figure out how to show his mom he loved her would be a hit. And it was....with Liam. Boy, you don't realize how long a book is until you are watching a sweet teacher read it to 12 restless 2 year olds who just want to move on to the party table. Sorry, Ms. Michelle ;-)

Liam, me, and Gavin.

Funny, funny, Gavin. He took Liam's glasses when Liam went to pass out his Valentines. Holy Moly. This picture is probably among my Top 10 Faves EVER. It just makes me laugh out loud EVERY time I look at it....

Ha!

Sweet Liam passing out his V-Day cards.

Then, a few hours later (thankfully Gavin got a little nap in between), we went to Owen's party.

These hearts are decorating the wall outside the classroom. To say that Owen's picture is HORRIBLE would be an understatement. Whoa, Buddy. I can assure you this Valentine won't be on our fridge. Ha! I will, however, keep it for laughs.

Owen at the craft table with his side kick, Gavin, just before Gavin fell and bonked his head on the table, which ended with a good ole ice pack. Did I mention that bringing him to the parties is turning into a pain???? Literally.

Owen's Valentine sack. I love that his "N" is backwards. He is still working on them and usually asks me to do it for him. I am so glad he did it all by himself. It's just cuter that way! Oh, and the four lines on the "E" are awesome, too!

Owen passing out his Valentines!

Hope you all have a Happy Heart Day!

Is it really February already?

2012-02-08T20:16:00.006-06:00

Last weekend, my mom and Larry kept the "big" boys for us so that Gerard and I could start packing for a move. In organizing closets, I found these fun shark shirts! Last year, Owen and Liam each had one. I loved them so much I ordered Owen the next size up so that I would have one for all three of the boys! So glad I found these for this year -- I had forgotten that I did this!

Gavin has been practicing his walking. I love watching him walk. He is a wobbly little bundle of laughter when he walks. He is so proud of himself and gets to tickled at the idea of getting cheers from anyone else who catches him in the act....

Funny little fellow.

Gavin and Liam have quite a bit in common. But, the thing I notice the most is their love of trucks, trains, and cars. I thought this picture of them each playing with a "Mack" was cute.

And, silly Gavin gets a kick out of racing behind Liam, emulating his big bro.

If they were in matching clothes, this would look like a mirror shot...

Liam and Gavin on the tractor. Owen saw this and asked where was he. LOL.

Liam and Gavin watching Pa move trees with the big blue tractor.

here's Owen....he was over helping Grammie move sticks from the burn pile over to the fire pit!

This boy loves to work.

Gavin enjoyed watching us from the front of the RV. He got so excited when we would look over and wave back at him!

Gavers got pretty intersted in figuring out how to work this tractor. He knows where the peddle to make it go is; but, his legs are about a mile too short ;-) So, Pa helped him out....

Happy Baby.

Last, but not least, Liam's teachers sent home hearts for the kiddos to decorate for the bulletin board. Liam wanted to make his like a monkey. I am not that crafty; but, we found some supplies at home and whipped this up during Gavin's nap one day when Owen was at school. He was so proud of it! So am I for that matter.

Hope to blog again soon!

Busy Boys

2012-01-17T21:40:00.002-06:00

Gavin is getting so close to walking. I really can't figure out why he still wants to hold onto something -- but, he does. He was trying to keep up with Owen and Liam outside yesterday -- he couldn't. Perhaps he is just waiting until he can run before he let's go??

Man, when I saw the below picture of Liam on my camera, I was blown away by how grown up he looked. Just love seeing him smile with his whole face...

...especially when the eyes get all squinty. Surely trouble follows this look. It's the smile he gives when he is about to do something he knows he shouldn't. Oh Liam. He makes us laugh so we don't notice the mischief.

Finally got our computers up and running on Monday after PC Geeks made a house call. Owen is loving it!! I have designated this one as "his" computer and we have found some great preschooler games on it. I was blown away at how he knew what to do. I guess Computer Center at preschool is really paying off since I haven't ever sat with him to show him how the mouse works. He's a pro already ;-)

Gavin has discovered that he likes the trains. And the train table. Both of which I think Liam would be happy if neither of his brothers wanted to share with him. Liam likes the trains so much more than Owen that I think he feels this room is kinda his. Poor guy has a rough time playing trains with Gavin, even when Gavin is really trying not to wreck his track.

After a couple of time outs (for Liam) and a little lesson in train table etiquette (from momma) the boys got going in the same direction and smiles (okay, looks of concentration) were had by all!

Back in the computer room, Owen and I decided it was best to keep the doors closed so that littlest brother didn't come in and turn off the computer every few minutes. For about 45 minutes, Owen was able to have some time in the computer room on his own. I still am amazed that he can play on it that long and not call me in to help him. Oy.

Once Liam found Owen and the two of them were in there, Gavin took more notice. He wanted in, too, by golly. He stood on his tippy toes to see what they were up to and then proceeded to bang on the door. Ha!

Sweet Owen, who adores his littlest brother, decided he was done with computer time, opened the door and invited Gavin in, and then showed him that he could turn the computer off for him if Gavin so chose. And Gavin did choose. That's his favorite thing to do in there.

I shared this below pic on Facebook, but have to post it here, too. It just cracks me up. I guess Gavin is going to be a good multi-tasker. He can crawl and drink his milk at the same time. His version of the "to go" cup is hilarious.

Busy boys!

Balls of Energy

2012-01-13T21:48:00.003-06:00

My three boys were balls of energy today. What better way to "burn" some of that engery than Gymboree? Family Gymboree at 1:15 today was dominated by the Quinlan boys. We were there with only one other family ... thank goodness, cause my boys were all over the place!

Silly Gavin is so brave on the equipment...yet, he still isn't brave enough to take more than a single step without holding onto something....

Owen and Liam on the dual rocking horse were cracking me up....

Three little firefighters....

My boys on the "bottom bunk" in the pretend bunkhouse.

Another Family class awaits us tomorrow morning....

Chocolate Goldfish + SnackTrap = Happy Gavin

2012-01-13T15:28:00.004-06:00

Christmas 2011

2012-01-08T21:27:00.005-06:00

We've been so busy, that I haven't had a chance to upload pictures from our Christmas to the blog. Decided tonight was the night! In the above picture, Liam is playing his sweet Santa Clause game and asking Owen what he would like. I just love his precious little smile.

We celebrated with Grandpa Tex early in the holiday week. The boys were very rambunctious that day; so, we didn't stay too long. But, it was great to see Dad and how well he is doing!

Later in the week, Chippie, Grammie, and Pa came to our house. We decorated Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve. An interesting activity with a two and a (then) three year old. Liam ate more icing than what went on the cookies and Owen sneezed over a group of them, thereby claiming his own special collection that went in a separate container.

Grammie had made the cookies at her house and brought them up to ours -- all we had to do was decorate. That was a brilliant move!

Occasionally, I get to be in a picture, too ;-)

Christmas Eve, at dusk, Owen and Liam spread Reindeer food on our lawn.

Then, the boys set out cookies and milk for Santa. Gavin was trying like mad to claim Santa's plate and eat the cookies himself....Owen grabbed it from him and huffed away. He then put them up too high for Gavin to reach. Comical for sure.

We let each boy eat a cookie while they posed for this sweet picture...

See how happy Gavin is once he gets his way? Little stinker.

Christmas morning....Liam was still playing Santa Clause only this time he had real gifts from Santa to pass out. He has his Daddy's stocking in his hands and is taking it to him.

Owen wanted a football uniform for Christmas. He sometimes asked for a "red" one and sometimes asked for one with a "cow" on it. So that I could figure out which he really wanted, Aggies or Longhorns, he and I had an evening of Internet shopping -- I asked him to point to the one he wanted Santa to bring him. He wanted the Aggies (Whoop!). I decided to have some fun with this and Santa also brought him a giant punching bag Longhorn football player.

Grammie and Pa found this really fun market for the boys! The boys love to play "drive thru"; so, this was perfect.

Just a sweet picture of Gavers.

Of course, we got the boys a few superhero costumes for Christmas.... Owen got Green Lantern and Superman.

Liam got Finn McMissile (he LOVES Finn).

Gavin thinks the market is fun, too!

If you wonder what Christmas morning with three boys ages three, two, and one might look like....

Owen looked at the view from the top of the stairs and said "Mom, I love what Christmas makes our house look like."

And, that closed the door on Christmas...we had to put the decorations away quickly as we put our home on the market on the 29th.

Fun picture of the boys enjoying the spring-like weather.

I just adore having a baby playing in the pots and pans....

A sweet picture of the three Quinlan Boys with Chippie.

What a fun holiday we had!!

Spidey-Owen Turned 4 Today

2012-01-04T21:31:00.004-06:00

Four years ago today, this little man gave me the greatest gift -- he made me a momma for the first time. I remember the very first day of his life (okay--the first afternoon -- I was a little groggy that morning) like it was yesterday. The smell of him. The feel of Baby Owen in my arms. All of it. I've been telling Owen about him as a baby for the last few days and letting him know that I am a little sad that he is already so big and F.O.U.R. years old. I mean....next birthday he will be 5. That's old enough to start real school. Oh my. Anyhow, Owen explained that he wants to be big so he can do things, like drive a car, etc., etc. But, at then end of our conversations about him getting so big, he snuggles close to me and says...."but, mom, I am still very small. See? You can still hold me." Ahhh. Sweet, sweet boy. Tonight, he also informed me that if I like three year olds so much, I am in luck--Liam will be three on his next birthday and then I can be happy again, he said. Hum. Not quite what I mean seeing as how Liam has to get bigger to become three. But, that's beside the point, eh?

So, we celebrated Owen's birthday with a crazy costume party after school today. Owen had a blast!!!!!!!!!!

He picked the Blue PowerRanger costume to wear.

There was superhero costumes for the boys and fun pink, purple, frilly ones for the girls.

Parachute time was a big hit.

The look on Owen's face when his cake was presented to him by Miss Stacey = priceless!

Not really sure about whether he liked us singing to him or not....

Blowing out his 4 candles.

These pictures crack me up. I asked Owen if he wanted a picture with each of his friends. Emma joined him first.

Then, Parker.

Then, Noble.

Then, three more friends ... Emma D, Skye, and Grayson. I was going for a picture of him with each of his friends in small groups. But, this worked. Ha!

Everyone signed the birthday chair. Cool thing about this year is that most of the kiddos signed their own names!!! I love that!!! We will have to let Grammie, Pa, and Aunt Julie sign as their absence was due to the date I picked....

Owen was very happy to drag his gifts home and open them!

After the party Owen said that the best part was "Seeing all of my friends dressed up in costumes and having fun with me".

The third best part of the day for me was Owen giving me an unsolicited "Thank you so much for the super fun party, Mom."

Second best part of the day for me.... Owen waking up in my bed this morning and, upon realizing it was his birthday, standing straight up in the bed, in the dark, and saying "Mom, look at how big I am today. I turn four years old today. I am so big. See?"

Very best part of his day for me ... watching him enjoy HIS birthday all day long. He was so happy, so thankful, and so sweet. My heart swells when I watch him. Love this kid so much.

Happy Birthday to my sweet, first-born, stubborn, smart, curious, independant, biggest brother, kind-hearted, super-hero-loving, Owen.

We Heart Santa and Cooper

2011-12-20T19:57:00.002-06:00

I have never enjoyed the Christmas season more than I have this year. My two oldest are really getting into the spirit and it is contagious. One of their favorite games to play is "Santa". They take turns wearing the Santa hat and asking each other, Gavin, and me, what we would like Santa to bring us. Once the wish is spoken, "Santa" turns his back, moves his arms around quickly, and then returns with the wished for item--invisible in two sweet little hands extended for the recipient to take. Melts. My. Heart.

I have to say that watching Liam do it is the sweetest thing ever. I can't be sure if he really "gets" the Santa Clause thing, or if he is just watching Owen and doing what Owen does. Either way, his sweet smile and bright eyes exuding from underneath the Santa hat are adoreable.

The other day, Owen was Santa and it was my turn to make a wish. I wished that my sweet almost-four-year-old would be a baby again. "Santa" turned around, started working on my wish, and then returned to pronounce that it couldn't happen. Owen stated that he was big and couldn't make himself little again. I pouted. My sweet Santa snuggled up in my lap and said that even if he wasn't a baby, he was still quite small. Ah...the silver lining. I got a little teary as I held him.

In the pic of Owen, below, in the Santa hat, Liam keeps pointing to it and saying "That's you, Mom." Hum. I guess Owen does look a bit like me with that expression.

GG sent the boys a sweet bear named, Cooper, earlier this year. Liam has loved Cooper since he arrived; but, this month he has really, really, really become attached to Cooper. Cooper sleeps with him, comes down the stairs in the morning with him, comes in the car with us, and last week, Cooper even joined Liam and I are our lunch date.

Cooper is a special bear that responds to certain phrases by talking back. He came with books and when a specific phrase is read, he says something witty, cute, or just appropriate. It's fun to read those books with Liam and Cooper. The sweetest thing, though, is that when you say "Cooper, I love you." Cooper responds with a warm "I love you, too." The only snag is that Cooper doesn't usually pick up on the phrase unless spoken just right -- as in, my 3 year ol and 2 year old don't pronounce the words well enough for Cooper to get it. Driving in the car the other day, I heard Liam whispering "Cooper, I wuv you" and for the first time ever, Cooper picked up on the phrase spoken by my 2 year old and responded "I love you, too". Liam was so excited! He talked to me! He talked to me! Oh my. Momma shed a few more happy tears.

These two "bigger" boys are really making it feel Christmassy around here.

Holiday Fun

2011-12-18T11:45:00.005-06:00

Since my last blog post, the boys have been keeping us very busy with holiday activities! They both participated in their preschool's annual Christmas Program. Owen's class wore Santa hats and sang a couple of songs. Liam's class rang bells and sang Jingle Bells. Owen walked into his room confidently. Liam was a tad shy; but, no tears were shed!

Owen entered the sanctuary with his hands in his pockets looking quite smug. He maintained that pose the entire performance. I don't think he sang a single word; but, he looked uber confident.

Liam lost a shoe on the way it -- not a good start for the little guy. He got on stage okay and was looking around. He spotted me and then burst into tears and cried for the rest of Jingle Bells. Boy, that song sure is long when you have a sad little guy on stage.

Somewhere in the mix, we remembered to take Gavin's one-year scale photo! So cute!!

Owen is having fun playing with the wigs I had bought for the "photo booth" at Gavin's party. Hilarious.

Owen has always been quite the jumper....

Now, Liam is, too. Liam is really enjoying being able to better keep up with his big bro.

I snapped the very first photo of all three boys STANDING. Love it. Love that they smiled, too. I'm a lucky mom!

The boys each had their Christmas parties at school. Liam's teachers made the cutest EVER t-shirts for them to wear. Each kiddo's hands and footprint became Rudolph with ornaments for all of the kids and the teachers. Such a great shirt!

Owen wanted to go to Liam's party with him. Liam wanted him there. So, I got Owen out of class so that he could join in. I cherish all of the moments when they are so sweet to one another. They help me get through the rough moments a little easier ;-)

The boys after the party. Look who had too much sugar. LOL

Serious sugar-high....

Hope your holidays have been as fun-filled as ours so far!

One Year Old in a Flash!

2011-12-03T20:58:00.006-06:00

We celebrated Gavin's first birthday with a "one year old in a flash" party. Given my love of this baby and my love of taking pictures of him and his big brothers, I thought the theme was perfect! We had turquoise and lime and silver everything. Had a fun Polaroid and a scattering of disposable cameras for the bigger kiddos. And decorated with photos from Gavin's first year. It was fun!

With the four families that joined us, plus ours, we had 14 kids at the party! Is that crazy, or what??

Gavin's big brothers and their friends handled opening the gifts for the little guy.

Gavin was fine with that!

Gavin and Cole were looking at a toy with Emma. Guess Cole wanted a more comfortable perch--he sat in Gavin's lap. Hahaha!

A rare photo of me with one of my little guys.

Cake time! Always the favorite for me and my little family ;-) We love cake.

Gavin kept trying to touch the candle flame, so had to hold the cupcake while we sang. That made him a teensy bit mad.

Once he had the cake, he was oh so happy.

Emma K was so sweet. She stood by Gavin for a lot of the time he had his little cake. She plays with Gavin at her house a lot. Sweet little friend to him. Emma D had fun taking Polariods!

Gavin's crazy brothers taking a break from his toys to enjoy his cake.

Did I mention that this guy loved his cake. I do think it was the high point of the party for him.

Yum!

Hmmmm.

Cake is gone. Guess I'll eat big brother's cookie.

All three playing with the Dino that GG got Gavin. This was a HIT!

Happy first birthday to my baby, Gavin. I absolutely cannot believe he is one year old.

Happy 1st Birthday, Gavin Walter

2011-12-03T07:47:00.001-06:00

This sweet, sweet boy is 1 today! About to celebrate with him. Pictures to come!!

Thanksgiving Weekend!

2011-11-26T21:32:00.007-06:00

The boys have been off from preschool and swim this week and Gerard stayed home starting on Wednesday. So, we've had lots of much needed family time. It's been lovely! The boys have been off from preschool and swim this week and Gerard stayed home starting on Wednesday. So, we've had lots of much needed family time. It's been lovely!

The boys have been chomping at the bit to get our Christmas Thomas the Tank Engine out for the front yard. I kept saying, "after Thanksgiving" and "wait until Thanksgiving is over." Well, whaddeya know....those boys (well, Owen) remembered. So, on November 25th (the day just after Thanksgiving, of course) we pulled out our Christmas decorations and finished the outside AND inside. The little elves worked all day long. Gerard and I were impressed by their stamina and attention span.

I wish I had it in me to leave the tree EXACTLY as they decorated it. But, I don't. I had to move the curlies around so that they are a little more even. And, spread the ornaments a bit so that more of the tree had some. But, I really did enjoy doing this with the little fellas and I left as much of it like they had done it as I could. The glass ornaments really, really needed to be up high and out of Gavin's reach, eh?

I did get the boys' approval of the moves I made and in the end, we were all happy with our 2011 Christmas Tree! My favorite is the top--I have an angel that Owen made when he was in the Rainbow Room at preschool (he was 22 months old) and one that Liam made last year (he was 16 months old). So sweet. I can't wait to add more angels to the top of our tree!

Last year, I bought an Elf on the Shelf. After reading the book, I decided the tradition wasn't really for me. Didn't want my little ones thinking Santa had a spy and creating a false reason for them to be good. The boys should just WANT to be good. Well, poo on that theory. I think the Elf on the Shelf was created for 4 year olds. Oy. I couldn't wait to find that little bugger this year and get this tradition started! Our elf joined us last night--not a moment too soon. And, this morning, he was found, we read the book, and he was named by Owen....I am in love with this little fella who we call, "Star". He enticed Owen to make better choices at a few critical times today ;-)

Happy holidays!!!

Feels like Autumn

2011-11-15T20:43:00.004-06:00

We have spent the last few weekends with Pa and Grammie camping on our property at Lake Fork. The days have spent watching the boys have a BLAST, clearing the land to figure out where to build the cabin, and enjoying the fall weather. Even though it's been warm, it feels like Autumn out there! So nice. This view of our gravel road from the RV is spectacular.

Last weekend, Owen spied a Cowboys and Indian play set at Brookshires. Boy, did that set get a lot of use this weekend.

Even Daddy Q got in on the cowboys/indian action.

The neighbors came by and gave us some pointers on how to use the tractor to clear the thick brush by water's edge and Pa has mastered the technique. Liam feels like he has, too.

Tried to get a picture of the three boys at sunset--didn't work out well for me ;-)

You can hear coyotes howling at night. Pa sent the boys out on their gator with their guns on a coyote hunt. Oh my goodness.

Gavin reminds me of Elmer Fudd in this picture -- "where is dat pesky wittle wabbit?"

A gorgeous tree changing colors for the fall...

Littlest fella is not longer happy just getting carted around...he wants to be. in. the. dirt.

One of the coolest trees on this property is a massive cedar (I think). Pa cut out some of the branches in the bottom of it to create a fort for the boys. The LOVE it in there....

Owen cut out a bigger space to make room for his friends for when they come to visit. Aww.

This is the hint of the view we will have from our cabin. That little sliver of sunlight in the distance is where the water is. Hooray!! I was sitting by the Tree Fort admiring the "future view" as Gerard called it. Later, Owen came to sit next to me and said, "Mom, I LOVE your future view."

And, we love it at the property. Especially in autumn!

tick tock

2011-11-03T18:41:00.002-05:00

Man...the clock is moving fast. Eleven months old today. My baby. My last baby. My sweet, snuggly, smily, giggly, baby. I loved watching my first two boys advance in age, skills, and size. But, knowing that Gavin is the last one, it is bitter sweet watching him crawl, cruise, and struggle to get out of my arms and onto the ground to explore. sniff, sniff.

So, this is the 2nd to last scale photo I will ever take. Unreal. The next time we drag out the scale and the black blanket, it will be for Gavin's 1st birthday photo on the prop. I have taken 35 of these photos in the last 46 months. Wow!

Happy 11 months, my sweet baby boy.

Halloween!

2011-11-01T21:07:00.005-05:00

The Quinlan Boys had a very busy Halloween! It was a "school" day for Liam and Owen and both had parties in their classrooms. Then, we had our 3rd annual trick or treat potluck at our house in the evening. So fun and so much candy!

All three boys before school. Owen was hanging on to Gavin to keep him from crawling out of the picture. Liam was squirting them with water. Oy.
Liam enjoying the candy he got in his treat bag at his party in the Orange room!

Owen having fun doing the craft at his party in the Silver room.

My three little superheros. Gavin was Buzz Lightyear, Liam was Lighting McQueen, and Owen was Captain America.

What a cute little Buzz!

Liam was growling and running real fast like Lighting McQueen. Love his little face--he did a good impression of the car on his shirt. LOL

Owen as Captain America, complete with his shield....

Cute shot of Gavin and Owen.

The whole gang before hitting the streets for some trick or treat fun.

The littlest ones that were celebrating their first Halloween. I think Gavin's face is hilarious. He didn't know what to think of Cole.

The kiddos checking our their loot after a long evening of trick or treating.

Hope everyone had as much fun this Halloween as our bunch did!

If Cuteness Won Football Games....

2011-10-30T18:32:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, the boys got all dressed up in their Aggie Yell Leader overalls that Grammie made them for a Take Two photoshoot. I think I have a new favorite photo of my three loves. Sweet Liam giving the littlest guy a kiss, Baby Gavin showing off his steller personality, and Biggest Brother Owen squeezing little man and cheesing it up. Love them.
One trick I tried to get smiles was to ask the big boys to toss pumpkins at me. I think this is sooooo funny. See the white pumpkin blur in the bottom left of the picture. I guess it worked--they are all smiling--but not one of them is looking at me. LOL

Too bad the Aggies lost to Mizzou.... if only cute fans were enough to pull out a win for the ole team.

I'm a Big Kid Now!

2011-09-27T20:28:00.002-05:00

Look at who's wearing big boy undies! yay!!! Liam was so excited to have his picture taken in his Lightening McQueen undies. He wore big boy britches all day today with only ONE accident! I am so proud of the little middle man! He was really excited, too! One step closer to being like his big bro, who he absolutely adores.

Playing in the front yard tonight, the boys were all crawling around with Gavin. As boys tend to do, they turned it into a competition. Liam won. Owen stayed back to cheer Gavin on. Gavin was the loser. Oh well. Gavin's only been crawling, really crawling, for 2 days. And Liam was always a crazy-fast crawler. To be expected.

Owen wanted to be Captain America in August. Now, he is a tad obsessed with SpiderMan. So, now we have a CaptainAmericaCladSpiderMan in the house ;-)

He through his web on the side of the house and swung down....it was impressive to all of us non-Superheros in the audience.

Had a fun, albeit long, day with the boys. Sure wish nap time could be relied on. Oh well.

Just Owen.

2011-09-23T21:28:00.002-05:00

Owen is 3 going on 4. I can't believe he will be four years old in January. Seems like not too long ago when Gerard and I were waiting on him, our first born. Now, we have three kids. Crazy. But, if I had to pick one of them to be my firstborn, the biggest brother, I would have picked Owen. Funny how things like that work out. He is just a natural and he LOVES his role as biggest kid.

Owen's preschool teachers sent home a note about each of the kid's friendships being formed in the classroom. Some of the boys play in the dirt and dig for dino bones. My boy. Well....he likes to chase the girls. Yup. That's what they said about Owen. He has three little girls that he plays with. He pretends to be a monster and he chases the girls and puts them into jail. And then he turns into a good guy and saves them all. Oy. At a birthday party today, a mom of a little girl that was in Owen's class last year told me that her daughter always talked about Owen and how nice he was. She gave me the best compliment...said that she can tell he is a really good friend to all of the kids in class. LOVE that about him. He loves to talk about his class at school and all of his friends.

Owen has a kind, soft heart, but boy can he find mischief. Like today, for example. I fill up a bucket for him and Liam to use to put water in their water guns. Likity split, and Owen is naked and taking a bath in the bucket. Complete with bath toys and a little bath butler (aka Liam) helping to bathe him. What a mess. He can dress and undress himself (a great help, but also a factor in some crazy outfits). He can do tricks on his scooter. He can ride a bike without training wheels. He plays baseball. He buckles himself into the car.

He is my silly, independent, coordinated, fun-loving firstborn. LOVE him!

Just Liam.

2011-09-23T21:18:00.002-05:00

Liam is 2 years and 3 months old. He is a silly little boy that enjoys a good laugh. He is quick to anger; but, forgives just as quickly and easily. He shares. He kisses owies. He hugs. He dances. He loves.

This little guy has really made two years old look like a breeze. He rarely gets in trouble as he almost always complies with requests. If he starts down a path of misbehaviour, just a reminder that he needs to use his listening ears often does the trick. Given how tough his baby-hood and toddler years were, I am amazed. He has gone from most difficult, to easiest in the last 3 months or so.

Liam adores his big brother Owen. Some of the funniest moments are when he tries to imitate Owen. He does this mostly with speech. With actions, he seems to know his limits and/or what he, Liam, likes to do, and he won't always follow Owen. But, verbally, he can tell a story just like Owen, but without the words. He just kinda goes through the syllables and the intonation and facial expressions. So, when Owen tells me about friends at school, Liam tells the same story about the same friends in fewer syllables. Hilarious. But, if Owen wants Liam to try to ride Owen's scooter---"no way" says Liam. He'll just ride his Tow Mater (pronounced "two beers" by Liam).

That's Liam in a nutshell. Super fun little middle guy. LOVE him.

Just Gavin.

2011-09-23T21:05:00.002-05:00

Gavin makes me smile. Even at 4am, after I have drug (or dragged) myself out of my nice, warm bed, this baby makes me smile. When grocery shopping, I have never had less than 5 people stop me and comment on his sweet smile. At the pediatrician's office, even other mom's want to hold my baby. I get asked all of the time if he is really as sweet as he looks. Yes. Yes he is.

I cannot tell you how blessed we are to have Gavin in our lives. He just goes with the flow, no matter how crazy the flow may be. Just this morning, for example, he had found Owen's blanket laying on the wood floor. He cuddled up on it and was relaxing while I tried to get the other two boys dressed and in the car. As soon as he was spotted, he gets asked "Gabin, where go? To the bafroom? Otay." And, off he goes...no longer resting cozily on a warm blanket, but being drug across the floor by two preschoolers to the bathroom. Did he cry? No. This baby laughed and laughed and laughed.

Gavin's PT is still seeing him for his torticollis. He still has a slight tilt. He still has some muscle weakness in his arms and on his left side. He has started to crawl on hands and knees a little this week. He isn't too motivated to keep working on that, though, since he can get around just fine using his inch bug crawl. He uses furniture or the stairs to pull to stand; but, he's nervous to let go. Yesterday, though, he got a little ahead of himself and took one tiny step toward me. That was pretty fun.

His wispy hair is definitely blond with hints of red. It's growing just long enough now that it doesn't always stand up on the back of his head like a peacock's feathers. I will miss that. Not sure why, but I love how his hair stands up. He has big, bright blue eyes. And, the sweetest little chin dimple you can imagine.

That's my baby boy at 9 months old. Just Gavin. Love him.

Snippits

2011-09-13T20:58:00.004-05:00

We've been busy. Here are a few snaps of what's been going on.

Lot's of together time....
Owen's first Blastball game. he looked so big walking out to the field.

Owen is the third from the left, the one who is "baseball ready." He didn't get a single ball in the field, but he had two really great, solid hits!! Proud of him! After his first time at bat, Liam greeted him in the dugout with a "Good job, Onan." Melt. My. Heart. When Owen went onto the field, Liam cried. He couldn't understand why he couldn't go, too. Soon enough, Middle Man, soon enough.

The Coach brough snacks. This made for some happy boys. Owen shared with Liam. Sweet.

We went to Grayson's 5th birthday party....KaChow. Gavin has started clapping--oh my sweetness. Owen and Liam played in the foam at the party--messy fun.

The boys met Lightning McQueen at the party. Don't tell Uncle Gerry that Owen stuck his foot up on the door to pose. I didn't notice in the moment. KaChow! Liam was in little boy heaven. In addition to Lightening McQueen, there was also a Yella Mator! Fun!

Owen & Liam started swim lessons. They both did so great!

That's all for now....

Batter up!

2011-09-08T22:16:00.002-05:00

Owen watches little kids practice with their teams in the fields by the elementary school by our house. He has watched soccer, baseball, and football teams meet and play as we walk or drive by. All summer, he asked me when he could practice with his team. Well, today was his day. I researched fall sports in the area and found something called Blastball that the Plano Baseball Association does. Its like t-ball, but a little simpler and lower key. The bases squeak. The bats are foam. The ball is squashy. No gloves. No batting helmets. No throwing the ball. To get an "out" they field the ball and raise it over their head and yell "Blastball". Sounded cute to me and like something that could be right up my sweet little guys alley.

His first practice was today. All day he was excited. When we got there, the first thing he did was try out that squeaky base. I knew he would like that. LOL.

He did even better than I hoped. He met his teammates. Met his coach. And started practicing like such a big boy. I have to admit, I anticipated he may just sit with me on the sidelines. He didn't. I teared up.

The "batting coach" got him all situated and he hit a few balls. This, of course, is his favorite part!

After practice, the uniforms were handed out!! Yippee! If Owen was excited about practicing with his team, it was nothing compared to the thrill he got out of getting his "uniform"!

Owen picked number 3. He adjusted his hat. He squeaked the base a few more times. He is in little boy heaven.

After practice--a kitty showed up. 2/3rds of the players headed on over....

Just a reminder that they are, in fact, 3 year olds.

Owen loved the kitty almost as much as baseball practice.

We may have a shot at the World Series if kitty stays away from the field. LOL

Go Royal Blue Knights!!!

Baby Gavin is 9 Months Old

2011-09-08T15:30:00.002-05:00

At nine months, baby boy weighs 19 lbs and 10 ounces (34th %) and is 28 inches long (40th %). He is 100% sweet, sweet, sweet!!

Gavin eats solid foods--he is "over" the baby stuff now. One day he still liked baby food, the next day, he did not! He "crawls" like an inchworm, he pulls up on stuff (sometimes), and he sings ;-)

And, he is very, very loved by two of the best big brothers on the planet. Sometimes, the love just knocks him off his feet--see below :-)

Love this happy boy and wish he would slow down on the growing thing.

Is it too much to ask that he stay little?

First Day of Preschool

2011-08-29T10:28:00.003-05:00

It's official! The "big" boys are at school today!

We took photos at the front door to mark day one.

Their shirts say "Owen Class of 2026", "Liam Class of 2028", and "Gavin Class of 2029".

Owen wore silver shorts for the silver room! Liam's shorts are orange for the orange room!

Owen wanted to take a picture -- Liam's smile cracks me up. Looks like I left the house without makeup on--oh well. At least the boys were dressed and had lunches!!

Owen was so excited. He wore his backpack for about an hour this morning and constantly asked me how much longer until he got to go to his Silver Room. Liam kept telling me that "no" he wasn't going to school today.

They did great at drop off! I look forward to picking them up and hearing about their days!!

Daddy Q snapped this photo of us at bed time last night--LOVE MY BOYS!

Meet the Teacher

2011-08-26T17:40:00.004-05:00

It's official. Summer is coming to a close. Unfortunately, the only "summer" that is going away is our open schedule. Seems the summer heat is here to stay.

Owen & Liam met their teachers today and visited their 2011-2012 classrooms where they attend preschool.
We found Owen's class first. He is in the Silver Room (mid-3's) with Ms. Michelle and Ms. Tracy. He was so excited to find his name on the wall next to the letter "O" in the alphabet.

His teachers had a project out for them to do. Each kiddo had to decorate their "spot". Liam helped Owen with his project--in fact, Liam did more of Owen's than Owen did, I think. Owen's teachers had a note written to them and left a hershey's kiss. We read the note and then Owen shared his piece of chocolate with his little brother. I got a wee bit teary eyed.

When we got in the car later, Owen said "momma, I am gonna looooove my new classroom." Yay!!!

Next, we found Liam's room. Liam is in the Orange room (young-2s) with Ms. Michelle (both boys have a Ms. Michelle) and Ms. Kim. Liam just walked right in and started playing....even with all of the people crowding the room. Wow!

Owen did more of Liam's project than Liam did.

Proof that Liam did decorate his "person" a little bit.

I thought this schedule in Liam's classroom was so, so cute!

So, while Owen & Liam are away at school a few days a week, I get to spend time with this happy little fella!!

Here's to a fun-filled 2011-2012 school year!!!!

Circle Time

2011-08-25T20:40:00.002-05:00

The boys have really taken to creating forts in the house using blankets, pillows, sheets, etc. The other morning, I came down the stairs after putting Gavin down for a nap to find this.... their very own Reading Circle, complete with Owen reading a book to Liam. Super cute!!

Time just keeps flying by...

2011-08-07T21:45:00.003-05:00

Gavin turned 8 months old last week. Yup, he's my 3rd. Takes me longer to get the pictures taken and on the blog. I don't think this laid back little fella will mind at all, though. He's a big 'ole happy 8 month old!!
At 8 months, Gavin is using "rolling" as his means to get where he wants to go. He'll roll across the floor, or into another room, and then scoot the last few inches to get exactly where he wants to be. It works! He feeds himself chopped up table food--tonight he had baked beans and mac & cheese. He can feed himself, messily, with a spoon. He holds his own bottle. He is learning to drink from a straw. Do you catch the theme here? If it involves food, he is mastering it. Little man is motivated by his tummy--kinda reminds me of Pooh Bear (cute movie, by the way).

The brothers are making sure to include him in their fun and games. I am so thankful for that. We build tents, and they want Baby Gavin under it with them. They post for silly-face pictures, and they want Baby Gavin to pose, too. See....

Middle Man has started potty training. But, we are taking a very laid back approach to it. He wears underwear some every day. But, we put it on when he wants to and take it off when he is ready. Some days its for 30 minutes. One day, we did it for 5 hours. He doesn't do so well with transitions and isn't the people pleaser that his big brother is, so I think this approach works well for us. We'll see what happens. His potty prizes are bits of candy and he gets one for him AND for Owen when he goes. So, you know Owen is in there getting this boy on the potty often so they can both get candy. This afternoon, Liam got the underwear wet and he said "Wiam sorry, momma" so sweetly I almost cried. I reminded him that we are just practicing and that it's okay. What a big boy he is!

Man, they grow and change in the blink of an eye, don't they?

3 boys + 3 girls = Lots of Fun

2011-08-02T22:07:00.006-05:00

We had a great time splashing, sliding, jumping, and playing with Ella, Emma, and Ava! I do think Owen has a wee crush on 5 year old Ella ;-) What a great time we had today!

The six kids all in one spot.
Ella showing my boys how to go down the water slide.

Gavin and Ava. Sweet babies. Ava is very mobile and Gavin is content just watching her. That's my boy--don't go anywhere too fast, Gavin, your my last baby!

Owen on the slide.

Even Liam made it up the ladder--crazy kid can climb anything now.

Sisters splashing in the sprinkler.

Baby Ava. She's 2 months older than Gavin and 4-5 pounds lighter. Haha!

Emma and Owen swinging....the two 3-year olds.

Emma and Ava posing for the crazy neighbor with the camera.

My boys in a pink Jeep that's out of batteries are letting a girl push them. Doesn't seem right, does it?

Before I had my camera in hand, Liam was playing, too. It was priceless. Still really cute shot of Owen and the girls. But, would have been even cuter if little Liam was still in there.

See....I think Owen has a crush on Ella....look at his face....he's smitten. Oy.

Fun with Friends!!

The Baby

2011-07-21T21:48:00.003-05:00

I decided to take a few photos of Gavers to share with you on the blog. As with anything I try to do with one boy when all three are awake, this was quite an ordeal. This is Gavin once I FINALLY talked the other two into "helping" me by hiding behind my back.
This is Gavin when Owen was sitting next to him, but left because momma talked Owen into, you know, hiding behind my back. Yup. Gavers is a HUGE Owen fan. He loves both his big brothers, but Owen pays the most attention to him and it shows in how Gavin reacts when Owen is around.

This, is just plain funny. It's a perfect "sibling"shot. I love Gavin's face. It is so, so unlike him to have a scowl.

This series captures Owen & Gavin perfectly. When Owen is around, he can get Gavin talking like noone else can. Who knows what Gavers is saying, but boy was he saying it with gusto.

Funny that Gavin and Owen have the same expression while Liam is doing one of the things he does best...snacking ;-) Liam generally takes advantage of the time that Owen spends with Gavin and uses the time wisely--he eats Owens snacks, plays with toys that he knows Owen likes, etc., etc., etc. Middle man is one smart cookie!

Owen chatting with Gavin about the photo-shoot.

Happy, happy baby.

So, I am in a wedding in a few months. I need to lose the baby weight. What better than pulling the baby's that caused me to weigh this much to lose it? Phew. This is a WORK OUT!

Happy Thursday!

Can I have a motorcycle?

2011-07-16T17:17:00.005-05:00

Last Monday on America's Got Talent, a dad and his two kids (one 13 and one 8) did their act while my boys and their dad watched. The kids rode on motorcycles inside a sphere cage with their dad standing in the middle directing them like a conductor. After the act, Owen turns to Gerard and asks if he can get a motorcycle from Target. Gerard's response was not what I expected. He simply replied, "Owen, not EVERYthing comes from Target." Ha!

On Friday, Owen asked me the same question. And I didn't reply quite as a should have. Instead of saying "no, you are too little" or "not while you are living in my house" as one of my momma friends says to her little guy, I said "Owen, you can't even ride your bike without training wheels, yet". Well. that wasn't the right thing to say.

Owen must really want a motorcycle, because he promptly replied to me with "Well, let's take them off so I can learn". And, we did.

Early morning practicing.

Owen practicied on and off all day Friday. When Gerard got home from work, we wanted to go to a field to try some more. So, we loaded his cheering squad in a double stroller....

....and Owen got to practice some more.

Gosh, he looks like such a big kid. Boo, hoo.

We took a few breaks to ride the scooter really, really fast down the hill ;-)

And then Middle Brother wanted to try riding the bike....

And then Owen got brave enough to say "Let go, Dad". He didn't make it far before toppling over, but I am just so proud of him for trying.

If he keeps practicing, I think we will have a full-on bike rider in a week or two. I will have to get his helmet on him the next time we practice just in case that's when he decided to take off!

Thought this was funny. Liam was hot and thirsty and wanting juice. I was so busy taking pictures of Owen that Liam got a bit loud....

Today, I took the boys for a hair cut. For the last 6 months or so, they have sat in the chair together for their hair cuts. When we try one at a time, the one in the chair cries, screams, and wants to get down with the one NOT in the chair. I finally had the lightbulb go off in my brain, and tried this. It works. I have never had a problem talking a stylist into doing it. I say "you can have one, very difficult kid in the chair, or two very calm, still kids." They ususally pick the latter. ;-) And, we usually get a lot of attention from everyone in the place b/c they are so good and so stinkin cute ;-)

It certainly takes creativity and lots of energy to be a parent to three little boys!

Gavin is 7 Months Old

2011-07-04T19:21:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, Gavin turned seven months old. When I told him that, he started crying. Random. Baby Gavin seldom cries. But, it kinda makes me want to cry, too. Gavin is hands down, the best baby on the planet. I know every mom reading this thinks their baby is the best, but, I am convinced that I am the mom who is right ;-) I mean, just look at him.

Gavin is growing like a weed. So much so that his physical therapist doesn't think he'll crawl because, she says, he is the biggest six-seven month old they see. Well...we'll show them, won't we, Gavers?

Gavin is holding his own with his big brothers. He doesn't miss much. He may be too little to talk back to them, but he makes up for it with his smiles, gurgles, and grabbing of their faces and hair when they are near. Gavin LOVES his brothers.

A lot of people ask me which I think he looks like. I think he looks more like Owen, but he has Liam's facial expressions. There are times when I look at him and totally see one of his brothers as a baby. But, that could be just cause that hasn't been very long ago ;-)

He is a fun mix of the two, but certainly his own little self. His square jaw, chin dimple, and sparking blue eyes are all his own.

Happy 7 months to the BEST baby on the planet!

Liam's 2nd Birthday!

2011-06-26T21:35:00.006-05:00

Liam turns two this week. Our sweet, strong-willed, perfectionist, funny, foodie boy is turning two. Tonight, at the pool, Owen wanted me to sing the "noble duke of york". I did. We looked up and saw Liam doing a hilarious little jig. He had us in stitches. That's Liam in a nutshell. He is so darn funny at times.

Admittedly, he is definitely the most difficult personality of the three boys, but just as soon as I am ready to let him go live with Grammie and Pa, he does something totally sweet, totally funny, or just totally "him" that melts my heart and reminds me why I can't live without the little bugger. LOVE him!

Liam loves his baby brother Gavin so much. He adores his big brother Owen more than I ever hoped. But, he has also fit in a love for trains and cars and trucks. So, a "transportation" party was planned for Liam. Isn't his cake amazing?

Grammie and Pa keeping Baby Gavin entertained during the party.

The party started with Liam's very favorite art project....painting with monster trucks.

Then, we moved into the play room for more fun with cars and trucks. All of the kids happily played on the equipment, participated in the games, and had fun. My 3 boys, though, would have been just as happy playing with a truck for 30 minutes.

Baby Gavin getting so big!

Miss Holly played red light green light with the kids. I saw this and chuckled, because Owen looks like he is really running his heart out with a win in mind. I guess I was right about that, because when he just saw this photo he said "mom, it doesn't look like it in this picture, but I won that race." Ha!

Back in the party room for cake! The cake got put in front of Liam and his face just lit up. Then, he got confused about the candles and almost lit his little plate on fire while looking around for a parent to help him blow them out.

Daddy Q showed Liam what to do, but he still wasn't willing. Just when some of the other kids were about to get up to help, Owen shot out of his chair and blew the suckers out. So funny!

I felt bad for the kiddos that had gotten excited to blow the candles, so we re-lit them and let the others do it. Then, we did it again. Then, we did it again. And, then, I think our little birthday boy was ready to dig into the cake, so we stopped.

Not sure what made him happier, the cake or his balloons.

After the party, it was time to head home. And, like any good big brother should, Owen kept watch over the gifts to make sure they didn't get left behind.

And, at home, Owen was happy to Emcee the gift opening part of the day. Lucky for him, Liam would respond with a "uh huh" every time Owen asked if he wanted to open another present.

After a long, long, party day, the boys had a nice, relaxing story time with Grammie.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Liam! We love you to the moon and back, little buddy.

Mom

Opening Night!

2011-06-24T23:29:00.002-05:00

I am really not sure I've ever been to the opening night of anything. But, when Owen asked me this afternoon to take him to the theater (where on earth did he pick up that name for the movies, anyhow?) to see Lightening McQueen I have to admit I got a wee bit excited.

I love the movies. Owen did not do well the first time I tried to take him to a movie. It was at least a year ago, if not longer. He was spooked by the darkness and the volume. I've been a little bummed ever since, because I have always wanted a kid to take into the kid movies with me so I don't look like a total loser going to see animated films on the big screen.

So, even though it was opening night, and even though we had been swimming for three hours and Gerard and I had seen a glimmer of hope for an easy bed time, I made the movie date happen. Owen was excited.
So, off to the 'theater' my three and a half year old and I went. He is a charming little date.

We got our popcorn and drink. Handed our tickets to the ticket taker. Found cimema "1". Took our seats. Watched all {holy cow, you would think they may have a few less for a 'kids' movie, of the previews. Watched a cute Toy Story Toon. And then Cars 2 started! It was a strange start. I couldn't quite follow what was happening, so I know my three year old couldn't either. But, once it got underway--we really enjoyed our show.

And, I enjoyed my date with Owen!

Fun times!

Favorite Father's Day Fotos

2011-06-23T19:27:00.002-05:00

First, one of my awsome hubby with his brood...
Then, one of Grandpa Tex with the gang.

Finally, one of Pa with two of his grandkids...

Happy {belated} Father's Day to all of the dad's in our life!

We love you!

Sarah & the boys

Greetings from St. George Island

2011-06-15T13:48:00.003-05:00

We're at the beach and the boys are having a blast!
lots of sand to play in.

lots of water to splash in.

lots of cute baby goodness to love on.

lots of tennis to be played.

lots of time to stroll on the beach.

and lots of time to nap....that's what I'm off to do now!

Greetings from SGI!

Mr. December & Ms. February

2011-06-05T14:43:00.004-05:00

Cranial Technologies, the company where Gavin's Doc Band came from, has an anual calendar contest. Well, Erica and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to enter our two cute-as-can-be Doc Band wearers into the mix!

Do you think they will get picked? We sure do!!

Just Call us the Clampetts

2011-06-03T22:19:00.004-05:00

Green Acres is the place to be....
We are getting good at "roughing" it! We spent Memorial Weekend out at the property and boy did we have fun. I have pictures to prove it!

GA Julie spent a couple of days behind the wheel of GQ's tractor!

Grammie spent a few days juggling grandkids.

Owen is just in hog heaven out there....

He and GA Julie had a few duels with the water guns, which made for a cute photo op!

See?

Friends of ours rented an RV and joined us and they brought this super fun toy! Owen and I are hooked!! We are hoping to find one under the Christmas tree this year from Santa ;-)

Grammie and Pa took it for a spin. Grammie came back saying Pa drove it too slow. Ha! She should have ridden it with me and Owen.

One of my favorite things about the time we spend at the RV is watching the boys create games and activities from the "fewer" toys they have out there. One afternoon, they were swimming and came up with a bowling game. They used the pool, a soccer ball, and a truck. The object was to roll the ball into the pool and hit the truck.

Owen explaining his rules to Liam....

Watching Liam's roll....

Owen congratulating Liam and then letting him know that Owen's turn was next.

Owen's roll...

The game ended when Daddy Q got back in the saddle of his tractor. Liam pulled up a chair to watch just like they did last weekend.

The "best" photo I got of Owen, Liam, and their buddy.

Pig Pens.

One of the best parts of camping is the food! S'mores.

Watermelon?

Oh my. That picture of Liam is just too cute. I think I'll stop posting here. I can't top this pic!

Six Months.

2011-06-03T20:43:00.002-05:00

Baby Gavin is half-a-year old today! I cannot believe it. Time does seem to go by faster as you get older, I already realized that. But, man it flies by so fast when you are old AND have three very young kids. I feel like Gavin was just born. I remember holding a 5 lbs 1 oz baby when we came home from the hospital like it was yesterday. Lucky for me, Gavin is content to stay little. He loves being cuddled. Loves being carried around. And isn't in a big hurry to get independent and crawl off anywhere. I get to have my little baby a little longer than I expected for a 3rd child. Shoot. I thought this one would be running and eating corn dogs by 6 months. So glad I was wrong!

Gavin had a bout of pneumonia this week. Poor fella. He has a rough cough, had an ear infection, and had lots of drainage. But, not much of a fever and good spirits make him an easy patient. I was telling a friend today that I never know when he is sick, because he is always happy. While, with Liam I also never know when he is sick...but, for the opposite reason--that middle 'un can fuss.

The scale photo today was a group activity. Guess which part of the group decided that they wanted to get some attention, too.

So, here is Owen's almost 3 and a half-years-old scale photo ;-) He weighs in at 31.5 pounds now--bigger than this scale measures.

And, Liam's almost-2-year old scale photo ;-) This one is a whopping 27 pounds!

And, look at who isn't sure if they liked sharing the spot light....

Happy six months, Baby GQ, Jr!

Yup, it's a tractor.

2011-05-23T20:46:00.005-05:00

On Saturday, we had a very exciting day! Gerard got a new toy and the whole family enjoyed checking it out this weekend!
Liam had fun pretending to drive.

Owen and Liam climbed into the front-end loader. So, I handed them Gavin and took a photo.

Since Gerard made it look so easy, I thought I would take a turn. Owen wanted to join me.

Daddy mowing.

Me and Liam.

Gerard and Owen doing the royal wave from their chariot.

Gavin is a happy baby. But, he is most happy and gives the biggest laughs when Owen is paying attention to him. So cute.

Silly Owen.

Gavin swinging.

Liam in the treehouse!

So fun!! We have a weekend full of tractor driving coming up for Memorial Weekend, too!

this is how we roll....

2011-05-20T21:53:00.005-05:00

I am not sure if it's because he is the youngest of three, because he has torticollis which may delay gross motor skills, or because he has such a laid back personality, but.... whatever it is, Gavin just isn't that into rolling over. He can do it. We've all seen him. But, he just doesn't do it very often. Could also be that since he's learned to sit up, that's his preferred position as he can watch his crazy brothers better from an upright position.
Regardless of the reason, we are having to work with him on rolling (orders of his physical therapist) and getting his baby ab muscles stronger so he can sit straighter for longer periods of time.

Lucky for Gavin, he has 2 big brothers that are eager to help him hit his milestones and make his PT happy. Here they are plotting their efforts. No, really, Owen and Liam were waiting to watch little man roll over. It's quite an event. It happens so seldom that everyone cheers when he does it....
Liam, in particular, likes cheering. So, he kept rolling Gavin back on his tummy and then....

Scooting over to cheer him on to roll over again....

...and again, and again.

Owen, on the other hand, is the big "sitting" helper. He will lift Gavin by his shoulders to a sit and then perform silly antics that make Gavin laugh so hard he plops over, just to help him up again.

I think Owen likes the belly laughs he elicits from his captive audience.

Lucky for Gavin, he has two brothers that are eager to see him succeed! Luky for me, I get to watch them have a blast together.

Yup, that's how we roll....every success in this house is a team effort and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Five Months Old (ahem...better late than never)

2011-05-11T22:55:00.000-05:00

Guess who turned five month's old last week! Yes, last week. I know. I am late with the post. I was late with the picture, too. At least the picture was closer to the day than the blog post is...I took the picture on May 5th (2 days late).

At five months, Gavin is still the best. baby. ever. period. He smiles when he is awake. He plays and giggles and laughs and is just so fun! Then, he sleeps like a dream. Mother's day, he went to bed at 4:45 in the afternoon and slept through the night. I have to say, I missed the little fella.

I guess it goes without saying that wearing the Doc Band isn't effecting his mood or sleep! Gavin is rocking in physical therapy. For PT, they take the Doc Band off so they can evaluate him better. His head tilt has improved from 22 degrees to 4 degrees! He now has full range of motion to the left. He is doing so great! We are now working on making looking to the left more of a habit; he still prefers the right. Also, working on his baby ab muscles so he can roll over and sit better. Cub-a-lub doesn't have a 6-pack, than's for sure.

he loves PT. he loves any one-on-one play time. at gymboree last Saturday, he talked to me the whole time. Little guy was noisy!

....his PT had him on the exercise ball to work his abs... cutie.

So, Gavin may not have quite as many pictures of his babyhood as Owen and Liam did. But, he does have more pictures with Mom than either of the boys--thanks to Owen who likes to borrow my camera!

So, there it is. Gavin at 5 months old, 8 days late ;-)

Mother's Day

2011-05-11T22:52:00.000-05:00

Just a few photos from my fabulous Mother's Day!
Lunch at Chuck E. Cheese was so fun! The roller coaster ride was a big hit!

LOVE their faces.

the middle brother.

2011-05-11T22:45:00.000-05:00

Liam is the sweetest brother. He looks up to Owen like no other. I have a lot of pictures now of Liam looking at Owen instead of the camera. If Owen is sad because there is only one Thomas the Train cup and Liam got to have it b/c it was Liam's turn to pick cups, Liam feels bad for Owen and shares.

If Owen gets hurt, Liam toddles over and says "What's da madder, O-nan?" I mean. He is a doll.

But, it isn't just Owen that Liam is a good brother to. Liam absolutely adores Gavin. Liam and I took Gavin to a doctor appointment recently, and Liam was so worried about him. When the boys are watching t.v., Liam will climb in my lap to be next to Gavin and he will just pet Gavin on the arm, leg, head, whatever.

And, in the wagon the other night, Liam wanted to have his turn holding his little brother. Look at how happy Gavin is in Liam's arms.

we love our little middle guy.

Pure Joy

2011-05-01T22:31:00.000-05:00

Easter in the Country

2011-05-01T21:49:00.006-05:00

We spent Easter with Pa and Grammie at the RV last weekend. This was, perhaps, one of the best weekends we have ever had out there! I was sad to miss Easter service at church, but enjoyed an amazing service with some of my cousins on Saturday.
Owen and Liam are at the stage that I have always dreamed of. When we planned to have our children close together in age, this is what I pictured. Sure, they fight. Sure, they gang up on me when they want something. But, the SURE do love each other, too. They can play together so well now and they both seem to make a point to include Gavin as best they can. Liam will place a tractor in Gavin's hand. Owen comes to check on Gavin periodically. They are just the best!

Okay, back to the weekend. Pa put a tire swing up for the boys. He didn't want to just WATCH the action. So, he climbed in and hoisted Liam to his lap. They swung for a while and then Liam hopped out. Pa then got out...but, it took some creativity and putting up with me and Grammie laughing. He finally figured a way out. It was so funny. I went to swing next and was getting in like Pa had. Owen said "mom, don't swing." I told him I really wanted to. He said, okay, but don't do it like Pa. Either get on the very top or swing on your tummy. Too funny.

The boys sharing the tire swing....

The horses in the neighboring field came to the fence a lot ... Owen drove his tractor over to check them out.

The boys playing chicken with their lawnmowers...

My cousins and I at our Easter service on Saturday. My 25 year old cousin, Lauren, graduated from Texas A&M in December. Whoop! Sadly, in January, she was involved in a tragic accident that has left her paralyzed. She wanted to worship with family, so their pastor made the trip to East Texas, where Lauren is, and we had our own private service together. It was amazing. She looked so pretty!!!

Easter Morning. The boys woke to find their Easter baskets on the dash of the RV ;-)

They looked through the baskets and then couldn't wait to get outdoors and hunt the eggs!

We had so much fun hunting in the clearing of the property!!

Liam got more into it here than he did the week before at Gymboree.

Yay! "Got it!"

Eggs in the tire swing....got em!

More eggs in the field!

Liam doing what Liam does best...stopping mid-activity for a snack! That boy.

Liam following his big bro in hopes of finding more eggs.

I bought some confetti eggs for us to do. You are supposed to smash them on each other's head. I smashed one on Pa. We asked Owen to, and he just wouldn't do it. Neither would Liam. So, we threw them at the big oak tree! That was more fun for my tender-hearted boy. We had a blast smashing the eggs!

Liam hopped on Owen's tractor and took it for a spin! He is getting so big so fast.

After the festivities, back at work clearing the property. Sunday, we pulled vines from the trees.

A sweet picture of the little guy...he didn't hunt eggs or clear the property, so its just a picture of him watching the trees from the safety of the play pin!

Our Easter lunch was from Dairy Queen. Mom and I have vowed to do better next year. But, Liam sure did LOVE his dilly bar.

Hope you and your family had a great Easter, too.

Texas Bluebonnets

2011-05-01T21:42:00.002-05:00

If you think it's easy to get three little guys to sit still, look at the camera, and smile naturally....think again! Liam was really into the photo for the first few clicks. Owen was smiling funny. Gavin was staring at the flowers. I asked Owen to try and help me get Gavin to look at the camera. Owen applied this instruction very literally. Gavin still looked at the flower. Owen still looked funny. Liam was "over it."

This, my friends, is our 2011 Bluebonnet Photo!

The Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T17:48:00.007-05:00

Today, the Royal Wedding of William and Catherine made news all over the country. Although it wasn't mentioned on CNN (yet--ha), our little family held a royal wedding of our own...Prince Gavin married his Doc Band today ;-)
We brought it home and decorated it to do our Prince justice. He has a stunt helmet theme going.... perfect for the baby of a family of three boys...don't you think?

Owen joined us early this morning. Dad and Liam came a bit later. All of the British guys in the house donned British flag shirts for both Royal Weddings today. The staff at Cranial Technologies, thought that was really cute.

Gavin with Dad after the final adjustments to his Doc Band were made.

Our version of "Beefeaters." Owen & Liam are ready to protect Prince Gavin!

Is Owen's face not hilarious? I would be scared for Liam if the swords weren't foam and if I didn't know how very much Owen loves his little bro.

After all the paint and Modge Podge dried, I did a photoshoot with the Baby of the Day to show off the work Owen and I put into the "hat." For any of you who don't know what the Doc Band is, Gavin needs it to help correct his headshape. Because of the torticollis (tight, short neck muscle on one side), he tilts his head instead of looking straight on AND he favors looking to the right. Because of the latter, he usually sleeps in one position at night. Because he is such an AWESOME sleeper, logging 11+ hours a night, his little head is slightly flat on one side, his ears aren't even, and his facial features aren't symmetrical. All slight. We still think he is perfect, but because it could get worse instead of better, opted to use the Doc Band for 5-8 weeks until his head is a bit more solid. Once the Band comes off, he will have a rounder head and be finished with his Physical Therapy, so the problem should resolve and he will be 100% again!

He wears his crown well!

Gavin's Physical Therapy Sessions

2011-04-22T08:24:00.002-05:00

Gavin has been in PT for 2 weeks now. He really enjoys it! They stretch his neck, play with him to encourage him to look left, army crawl, and roll over, and they do various balancing activities to build strength in his left-neck muscle. The last thing on that list, is his favorite! He loves looking at himself in the mirror at the various angles. Ha! What a ham!

At his PT's recommendation, I took Gavin in for a Doc Band evaluation. He has moderate flattening and facial asymmetry....so, he's getting a band. He was photographed yesterday and a 3D computer image of his head was created from the pictures. They will make his "helmet" and he'll get it on next Friday. I was so upset by this at first, but, have come to terms with it and think he'll just Rock the Band!

Eggs-elent Weekend

2011-04-17T20:26:00.004-05:00

We went to Target with Emma on Friday so that Val and I could get supplies for the kid's Easter party at preschool. Emma spied some Toy Story 3 themed egg-dye kits and Owen had to have it! He was so excited! We dyed the eggs yesterday. The kit came with 3D glasses and wrappers for the eggs. Owen was so cute trying to see the designs pop out at him! He got embarrased when he saw me take this photo ;-)

My oldest absolutely LOVES craft time. Liam wasn't digging it--he had his heart set on having a story read to him. So, I took a break to read to Liam and Gavin, and Owen just kept right on working.

He got to do a lot of eggs since Liam didn't participate!

Baby Gavin is just along for the ride! He appreciates any action!

This afternoon, we participated in Gymboree's Spring party. The party kicked-off with an egg hunt. Owen was one of the first in the door and he filled up half his bucket pretty quickly. Liam lagged behind. He only got 2 eggs, but he worked really hard for both of them and was quite content with having one for each hand ;-)

He had more fun doing this than his facial expression reflects ;-)

Owen was very serious about the hunting ;-)

Daddy Q and the baby.

Gavin LOVED the action. 20 kids and their parents and lots of bright colors....what more could a 4 month old ask for?

"Posing" for the group picture.

Owen, Liam, and Emma during a parachute activity.

Emma and Owen bunny hopping with Miss Linda.

Craft time!

Yup. We had an eggs-elent weekend!! Hope yours was good, too!

Perfectly IMperfect.

2011-04-12T21:59:00.006-05:00

Things are so busy with me back at work. Everything is going well, for the most part, though. It's just busy. If we could get Liam to go to sleep quicker, happier, easier, all would be good. But, sometimes it takes about 3 hours to get him to sleep. He will move around, cry, play, talk, cry, move around, etc, etc, etc until 11 pm. Eventually, he just stops and goes to sleep. We don't believe in crying it out. So, we just lay with him in bed until he finally just falls asleep. I have no idea what else to do. We tried his old crib (we booted Gavin out). It worked well for one nap. But, short of that...some nights are just easier than others. No rhyme or reason. Oy. Anyway, I have to blame something for the lack of posting...so, we'll just blame sweet Liam ;-) He is in bed now--only took about 45 minutes tonight--so here's a post! Gavin is eating solid foods now. We started him on rice cereal (day 1) and then blew right on over to veggies. He is my 3rd baby...don't forget that. Rules schmools. So...he now eats green beans and peas, too!

Wouldn't you know that big bro Owen wanted in on the action! I think Liam would, too, but he is too busy eating his own dinner to worry much about Gavin at meal time!!

Tried to get a "perfect" picture of the three boys. Yeah right. It doesn't exist. Thought I got a few, though, that were so IMperfect that they were, in fact, perfect examples of our life right now. Can you see something wrong here? Gavin is such a good sport that I didn't notice until I was uploading the pictures that he was being held by his noggin. Poor fellow.

A shot of Liam and Gavin by Owen. I do think Owen might have some photography skills. Not bad!

Again, what's wrong here? How hard to you think Liam fears Owen's grip will get? He is poised and ready to remove Owen's hand as soon as the going gets tough.

Fun times with Buzz and Woody in the house.... I tried to get a simple picture of them standing next to each other.

That

didn't

happen.

Yes, life at our house is far from perfect these days. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. These boys bring such joy and fun to our lives, they are totally worth the chaos. The only thing I would change would be Liam's going to bed habits....any advice ;-)

Growing Gavin

2011-04-04T21:29:00.002-05:00

It's official. Gavin is growing. A lot! He weighed in at his four month well-check at an impressive 15 pounds 2.5 ounces (50th%). He is 24 1/4" long (25th%). Hmmm.... I think those percentages indicate he is a little on the tubby side. Sweet little, Tubs.

Gavin is rolling over, sitting with a bit of support, gooing, gurggling, smiling, cooing, etc., etc. He is the happiest sweetest Quinlan baby yet! LOVE this fellow!

He was diagnosed with Torticolis today. Essentially, his neck muscles on the left side are too short and he will need physical therapy to stretch them out so he can achieve a full range of motion with his neck. I new this may be coming....since his 2 month well visit, we have been doing stretches at home with him. But, they aren't enough and he needs professional assistance with it. Sounds like he was just too cramped in the uterus and couldn't move much in there. Hopefully, we will see a lot of improvement in 6 weeks.

The doctor also said that his eye color is "his eye color"...it's permanent. Can't quite tell what color, exactly, that is. But, they are bright and gorgeous!!

I am so glad we have this sweet fella in our lives. He is a blessing and I love him more and more every single day!

Happy 4 months, Baby Gavin!!

Our Day Out with Thomas the Tank Engine...

2011-03-29T21:52:00.005-05:00

Sunday morning, the boys and I had an early train departure on Thomas! We booked the 9AM train and met Liam's friend, Noah, for a fun ride and train play date. The boys were both a little shell-shocked and it was early and cold. But, fun! We posed for a picture with Thomas. The boys were a bit miffed to have to look away from the train and toward the camera man.... ...and, they didn't really want to pose with their certificates like Lori and I hoped they would...

But, they did like watching Thomas pull into the station!

It was a fun morning!! It ended with me deciding to buy Liam a train table (he loved having the track at his height and off the floor) so I found one on criagslist that night.

And, on an unrelated note, bath time at our house has taken on a whole new level! All three boys in the tub these days!!

Fun times, here!!

Happy Visit

2011-03-25T22:16:00.003-05:00

I have been dreading this visit for some time. I am not a great fan of the dentist and just figured it would be a huge ordeal to get my boys to cooperate. When they suggested a "happy visit" at my Dentist office, I thought to myself, "yeah right. Well...unless you consider screaming children fighting you tooth and nail and begging to leave, "happy", then we are on the same page." But, a happy visit it was.

The girls in the office let them walk around all over while I had my teeth cleaned. They picked out toys from a treasure chest. Talked to a lot of the hygienists. They hopped up in the chair, played with the gloves, mirrors, picks, etc, etc, etc, and had a ball.
Owen let Ms Janice count all of his teeth...20. Liam let her count a few..."8". Owen got to pick a new toothbrush and Ms. Janice reminded him to brush twice a day to which Owen replied that he only gets one bath and that's when he brushes his teeth ;-)

Liam = not so happy to be taking a photo BACK in the chair.

Owen = very happy for a photo op to remember his "Happy Visit".

Seriously. Are these my children?

Sweet Dreams.

2011-03-25T22:13:00.002-05:00

The other night, both Owen and Liam wanted me to lay down with them at bed time. Can't split myself into 2, so I moved them into the guest bed with me. They were both sound asleep in about 5 minutes. I snuck out. Did a few things around the house. Got my jammies on. Came back to move them to their own beds and found they had scooted together. So sweet. Never too tired for a picture of a sweet moment.

Sweet dreams do come true.

Gavin's Baptism

2011-03-25T22:03:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday, my good friend, Megan, and I baptised our sweet baby boys. To commemorate, we tried to get a good shot of all five boys together. Any idea how hard it is to get 5 boys to all look good in 1 picture. Well...this should give you an idea....
Baby Cole.

Baby Gavin.

Gavin is a sweet and very mellow baby. So it made me laugh when he cried out just after the preacher sprinkled water on his head.

Still not pleased... That has got to be the sweetest little sad face EVER.

Parker and Owen "praying" during the Children's Sermon.

Baby Gavin on his big day.

We celebrated afterward with dinner at Cyclone Anayas. A pic of my with my three boys.

Sorry for the lack of words. I hope that one day when Gavin reads this he isn't too upset with me. I am just so sleepy.

Night, night.

Busy Boys

2011-03-16T21:24:00.005-05:00

We did it. Gerard and I took all three boys out and about last Saturday. We packed up the mommy-van with a double stroller and a Bjorn and headed to the Home Show at Cowboy Stadium and it was FUN!
We started off with Owen walking and the littler guys in the stroller. Funny thing was, the Home Show entrance was a model home and we could barely get the stroller through the door. It never occurred to me that we may have trouble getting in the door at Jerry's World with a double stroller...isn't everything there Texas-sized? Ha!

It didn't take long before Owen wanted to be next to Liam. So, Gavin went in the Bjorn and Daddy pushed the stroller. We got more attention from the exhibitors than they probably got from the public. Everyone had a comment about us and all of our young kids. We got so many inquiries, chuckles, and comments it got to be quite annoying. If any of you read McMama's blog, I can only imagine after our outing with our "small by comparison" brood, the attention she gets. Wow.

Sunday, I got all the boys dressed and we went to church. It didn't last long. Liam did not do well in the nursery, Owen didn't want to go to his Sunday School class, and only Gavin seemed not to mind anything too much. Owen and I went to big church for about 7 minute, then I hung out in the nursery with all three boys for a while. After about 20 minutes, decided just to head back home.

We had a fun afternoon, though. Owen was in the mood for some picture takin'....

...isn't he fun?

He kept posing and then running to see the preview screen on my camera and laughing at himself.

Still can't beleive my first baby is a three year old.

Owen loves to feed Gavin. He is really quite good at it. Lucky for him, Gavin is super laid back about his bottle and doesn't care who gives it to him as long as there is milk to be had.

Gavin has also been spending more time in the Bumbo. Since he's in the right position for a movie, Owen thinks it's time for him to watch his Baby Einstein...Gavin loves the little Bee in "Baby's First Sounds" just as much as Owen and Liam did when they were little.

I know I talk on the phone a lot. And, I know that Owen, when he was about Liam's age now, made me laugh so hard by imitating me that I can remember it like yesterday. Sunday, Liam got my phone and had a big 'ole conversation while walking around playing. He looked so serious and interested in the conversation, while absent-mindedly playing with toys and checking on various things, that I rolled with laughter. I snapped a bunch of photos...here are just a few so you can smile, too.

They were playing outside and I wanted to get a hugging picture. The moment was always perfect just before I snapped the photo. Some how when the camera went to my eye, Owen's grip got tighter and poor Liam suffered through for the picture.

Oh boy.

And, my favorite shot of the day. Just a sweet smile from my sweet middle guy.

Happy Spring!

Gavin's New Trick

2011-03-15T21:56:00.001-05:00

Ha! This baby loves to stick his tounge out at ya! So fun! I took lots of pictures last weekend...big blog post tomorrow!

Friday = Art day

2011-03-07T19:38:00.004-06:00

One of my favorite things about my three year old is that he dresses himself. His outfits are so great!! I loved this one...
After Chick fil a, we headed to Art.

Owen & Emma picking their colors.

Liam doing whatever Owen and Emma do. Really, he does get it, but he thinks everytime they get more colors, he should, too. And why not?

The artists at work.

Someone had the bright idea to have them glue animal crackers to paper and then paint them. That was fine for Owen & Emma....they understood.

But, Liam thinks animal crackers are for eating. Sadly, his picture only had 2 animals on it....

Emma painting....

After this bit, Liam had a massive melt down. He was tired and it was day one of letting go of the paci....

In that regard, Liam is paci-free! He hasn't had it since last Thursday and is, for the most part, doing amazing!! Way to go, Liam!

Last Tuesday...

2011-03-05T21:14:00.003-06:00

...the boys got all dressed and ready for preschool.
They both had great days. And, when they came home...

...they found DinoLand in their bathroom....

...they were so excited!!

Lina and I were very busy while they were away ;-)

2011-03-04T09:07:00.002-06:00

Gavin turned 3 months old yesterday!!! I was hoping to include photos of his *finally* completed nursery; but, have a couple more pictures coming in that I want to hang first. Oh well...next week.

Gavin is 13 pounds of pure joy. He has got to be the absolute sweetest baby on the planet. He is a talker. Gavin coos, goos, and gurggles all of the time. His smiles are infectious. He is just an absolute doll.

I would post more; but, with three boys I don't have much time. I hear stomping and crying...

must run.

Sarah

It's a Gymboree Day!

2011-02-26T19:49:00.003-06:00

We love Gymboree. I started taking Owen to Level One classes when he was about 9 weeks old. Since then, we have always had at least one of our boys enrolled in a class. Well, this week, we tried a a Family Art class that Owen & Liam loved. Today, I took Liam to his Level Four class and then later in the afternoon, Gavin got to go to a Level One class. Gavin cooed, smiled, and gurgled the whole time. So....the whole family is enrolled now!

When I was leaving with Gavin, Owen asked where we were going. I told him Gymboree and he really wanted to come along. I explained that it was Baby Gavin's class and that he couldn't play. That we would be doing songs, motions, tummy time, etc. with Gavin...not climbing and jumping. He still wanted to come. I braved it.

He was so, so sweet with Gavin and the other babies. He watched the other moms and dads, watched the teacher, and listened to me tell him what to do, and he basically did the class for Gavin today. He was a coach during tummy time. He helped the teacher pick up after each activity. He kept using his sweet little high-pitched baby talk voice and asking Gavin, "Do you see all the other babies?." LOVE!

Friday, we did an Art class with Owen's friend Emma. The theme this month is circus. They painted, glued, did play doh, and had snack. Both of my boys had a lot of fun. About 20 minutes into the class, Owen looked at me and said, "This is SO FUN mom."

Owen's lion.

Owen's elephant eating peanuts.

Liam's lion (and a little paint on the cheek).

Liam's elephant....it's eyes are on it's tummy, it's ears a bit funky, but it's his and so cute!

So now, we have a couple of Gymboree Days each week.

Sweet Superheros

2011-02-26T19:39:00.002-06:00

My boys are obsessed with Toy Story. We have two little Buzz Lightyears that run around the house saving the day. I saw these Toy Story PJs at Target on clearance for $4.00 -- it was a set of two pair of jammies in a size 4. Big for both boys, but they were just $4!? I got them.

That afternoon, Owen and Liam found them and wanted to take a bath so that they could put their "Buzz" jammies on. So, I just went on and bathed all 3 boys at 3:00 in the afternoon. Why not?

Then, we played Buzz outside for quite a long time....

Owen shooting his laser....

Liam will put his arms in the air to fly, and say "and yond" (his sweet little version of Buzz's "To infinity, and beyond") before taking off running as fast as his short little legs will go.

Owen doing his "To 'infimy' and beYOND"!

and he's off....

I think I live with two of the cutest, sweetest superheros on this planet.

What a week.

2011-02-20T21:18:00.002-06:00

We have had a crazy week! I started back to work after a 2 year leave of absence. It's an adjustment; but, going well so far. The boys are so used to Lina coming, that they haven't missed a beat. But, it's still new. So....we'll see.

Saturday morning, I took all three to the park. The big boys are wearing their super perfect tees that say "You're no match for my Dad!" LOVE!! Chippie, if you want a copy of this picture for your house, just send us an email and it's yours!! Maybe I can get a picture of them WITH their dad...now, that would be even better, huh?
Gavin is "talking" and smiling so much now!! I love it!! The little gurgles and coos are the sweetest sounds ever. And, the smile is AMAZING! He also has a little trick...if you stick your tongue out at him, he will almost laugh, and then stick his out at you. So fun!! Can he just stay this little for a while? I don't want him to keep getting bigger just yet ;-)

Oh Liam. He is obsessed with pushing this golf bag around. He pushed this thing from our house to the little park. Oy.

Owen is just Owen. Silly, fun, and always up to something....

I finally took Liam to a class at Gymobree again. He is still signed up; but, he hasn't been since I went on bed rest back in early November. Poor guy. Today, we moved to a Level 4 play class instead of the music class. He LOVED it!! I will do my best to take him every Saturday. I love having one on one time with him. So often, when I have only one boy out and about it's either Owen (b/c he asks to come along and is the easiest to take places) or Gavin (b/c he is the most portable and can't say no or ask to buy things in the stores). I seldom get out with just Liam. So, to have a fun date for the two of us is a perfect reason to get out of the house together!!

So, that's our week in a nutshell (or, err, a blog post).

At least he looks cute in shin guards....

2011-02-15T20:47:00.002-06:00

A group of Owen's friends are playing in an Under 4 indoor soccer league this season. Owen just barely made the cutoff for the age requirement, and we are good friends with the team mates and coaches, and he LOVES playing soccer, so I signed him up. Tonight was his very first practice. His favorite color is green...so donning green socks, green shirt, and carrying his green ball, off we went!

Owen was SOOOOOO excited. He told Liam and Gavin that they were going to Miss Mimi's house so that mama could take just "Big Owen to soccer tonight" he further told them that Miss Mimi would take good care of them and we would be back soon. He was so antsy to get there, he told me to hurry up while I was talking to Miss Mimi. Ha!

We got there, though, and he was as nervous and overwhelmed as I feared. But, after 10 minutes of watching, we sat on the field, and then about 5 minutes later, he joined Noble, Parker, and Coach Jeff. Only hiccup was that he wanted me to hold his hand and do everything, too. Well, I did a couple of times to get him used to being there then went to the side. My little guy followed me and that was the end of practice for him.

So...here is how he spent the last 12 minutes of the 30 minute practice...

Of the 30 minute practice, he spent 10 warming up to going on the field, 5 on the field getting used to the idea, 3 minutes doing the drills, and 12 minutes watching. Oh well.

We may not last long in soccer; but, he sure does look cute in his shin guards!!

He's gone country...

2011-02-06T23:56:00.003-06:00

My hubby is from England. I am from East Texas. To say that we have a few cultural differances is an understatement! Well...last night, we went to see Willie Nelson in concert and we had a blast!! Our attire for the evening...Gerard's first time in boots!! The photog cut off our heads...but, the quality of the shot was too good for me not to post it!!
Take two!

Gerard and one if his partners at Gilly's in Dallas before the show.

Our table!!

My mom and Larry!

...and the Legand, Willie Nelson. To see him in concert was AMAZING! I can now scratch this off my bucket list! He sang for quite a while, it was a small crowd, intimate setting, and it was perfect!!!

His guitar could tell stories, I am sure.

We had so much fun!!!

2 months {+ 1 day)

2011-02-04T21:36:00.004-06:00

Baby Gavin is two months old and growing like a weed! Last visit to the pediatrician, his size was in the bottom 10% for babies his age. This month, he landed himself much higher on the scale! He is now 11 pounds 1 ounce (38th%) and 22 inches (21st%). Just like his brothers at this age, little man is rounder than he is tall ;-) But, I mean, look at those cheeks!!! Super sweet.

After two months, Owen is still just as crazy about his baby brother as he was the day he came home from the hospital. The newness hasn't worn off. Liam is interested in Gavin; but, not like Owen. Liam keeps a good eye on those two, and when Owen seems really preoccupied with Gavin, Liam sneaks upstairs from some private play time with the toys up there...sneaky little fella!

Gavin has got to be the sweetest baby ever. Not that I am an expert or anything...but man is he a breeze of a baby. So sweet. So easy-going. So happy. So much so that I didn't really get too concerned about some symptoms he's had recently. Took him in for his 2 month well visit yesterday, and learned my laid back chunky monkey has RSV. Now, he is on breathing treatments and going for daily PulseOx checks. Wow. Poor little guy! Because he is sick I gave him a day off from modeling for the scale photo and did it a day late--after learning his PulseOx readings were better.

Sweet little man coos and gurgles up a storm. He is quite the conversationalist. His smiles are infectious! So sweet. I captured a smirk on camera...it's blurry...but, I am sharing anyway.

For Gavin's 2 month birthday, we got dumped with snow. That made getting him to the pediatrician for an RSV check more difficult. We took Owen and Liam next door and Gerard escorted Gavin and me in the Jeep!

Sweet boy all snuggled in his car seat... Those cheeks! LOVE!

To finish off the two month post, pictures of all three guys at their two month doctor visits. Aren't my babies cute?

Happy 2 months, Baby Gavin. Get well soon!!

Out in the Real World

2011-01-31T21:00:00.004-06:00

A group of Owen's friends went in together to get him a big boy bike for his birthday. Because it's been chilly out, he has been relegated to riding in through our living room, entry way, and kitchen! He's gotten pretty good in there; but, I still wondered how he would do out in the real world.

This weekend, he got to take his new ride outdoors and he did AWESOME! I am still floored that my cautious, perfectionist first-born got on the bike. Never mind that he rode it around the block like he's been riding for ages. To learn how to stop, we played "freeze" with him on the bike. When Liam or I said "stop", he had to stop. I pointed out to him that when he was going fast enough before stopping, the stopping created skid marks. Oy. This fascinated the kiddo!

Now, he starts and stops constantly! He was so proud, that he rode to Mimi's house (a neighbor), rang the bell, asked her to come outside, so that he could create skid marks on her sidewalk. Nice, Owen.

In other news...Liam said Owen's name for the first time today. It was so cute!! "Ah-win! Ah-win, hewp, hewp!" He wanted Owen to help him with a door he needed opened.

LOVE IT!

I Pwedge Awegance...

2011-01-27T20:29:00.005-06:00

Somehow this morning, I managed to get all three boys ready 30 minutes before we have to leave the house to get Owen and Liam to preschool. Took a few of those minutes to try and get a shot of my three boys together... Not the best...but, it serves the purpose of capturing their sweet little selves this morning!

Now, for the real purpose of the post!!

Neither Owen or Liam talk much about their days at school. Liam for obvious reasons...he just doesn't have the vocabulary yet. Owen, however, I would think would tell me all about it. The kid is a chatter box. But, instead, he just answers the questions I ask without embellishment. He will, sometimes, tell me all about something that someone did to get in trouble. Oy. And, he does LOVE to share his craft with me, Liam, and Gavin. In fact, that is my favorite post-school activity with them. Owen gets his craft out of his backpack, encourages Liam to do the same, we ooh and ahh over both and then hang them on the wall in the playroom. It dawned on me that if I knew more "insight" of what happens in his day, he may talk more. So, I recently asked his teacher to write on his take home sheet what job he held for the day in school. That way, I have something to ask him about that is a little different that my ordiary banter. So far, he has been line leader, snack helper (his favorite--talked a lot about this job), and the caboose (which he really didn't want to talk much about--I don't blame him. Not the best job, huh.).

Well, on Tuesday, Valerie and I had the kids at Gymboree. That day, Emma had been the flag holder. Valerie asked her about it and discovered they say the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school and that our kiddos know it. She got a cute video of Emma that night. Well, I copy-catted and here's Owen reciting the Pledge. A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E. Excuse the spaghetti on his face. Oh, and the rest of the video....just a little insight to dinner time at our house. Lindsay G....you have this to look forward to ;-)

Baby Liam is Getting SO BIG

2011-01-25T20:37:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, Liam woke up with a stinky diaper, which led to a rough case of diaper rash. Poor little guy. He is walking around like he just rode bareback through the Rocky Mountains. To help the fella out, I put him in big boy underwear yesterday. I thought the air on his hiney would help.

Every so often, he would go to the potty. I was sitting in there with him to keep him company until he was successful, when Owen stepped in and asked to take over "sitting with Wiam." Owen was telling Liam all about the joys of wearing big boy underwear. Liam was fully engaged in the conversation.
Owen: "Wook, Wiam. You can eben get underwears wif Buzz and Woody on the back. "
Liam: "Oh, wow. Cool." For real. He said that.

The mentor and his apprentice.

A random picture of a Cheetos-covered Owen with his not-so-little-anymore-little-brother, Gavin.

Isn't Liam precious in big boy underwear? He could model for Calvin Klein. It almost makes me want to potty train him...just to see his tiny hiney and chubby legs walk around the house like this. Precious.

"Baby" Liam drinking from his big boy cup. He has the drinking part mastered....just tends to tip the cup over while digging into his dinner every now and then. But, that's how they learn, right? Oy.

I ordered these super, super cute bath towels on Etsy for the boys. I am going to do their bathroom in Dinosaurs (now that I know I have 3 boys and no little girls in this house...it's all boy upstairs!). Owen LOVES to play dino after bath and ROOAAWWWRRR.

He encourages Liam to do the same. But, Liam has found he gets more laughs by dropping the towel and running around in his birthday suit.

What a cutie pie.

We got the bed rail all fixed up, so Liam is in his Big Brother bed tonight. He is SOOOO happy!!!

Both my big boys in their shared room at bed time tonight.

I thought Owen grew up fast. And, I believe that he has a big personality. But, something tells me I "ain't seen nothin' yet."

Yup. Baby Liam is getting SO BIG!

Character Building?

2011-01-24T22:52:00.003-06:00

After Owen & Liam's bath tonight, I got Liam all jammied up (i.e. in his pajamas). Gavin was crying, so I asked Owen if he wanted me to help him quickly or if he wanted to get his jammies on by himself. He chose the latter. I went downstairs with Gavin, fed him, and got him to sleep. About 15 minutes later, I returned to the playroom to play with Owen and Liam for a bit and then get them to bed.

Oh. my. What I found made me laugh so hard. I am still laughing.

Owen was wearing Liam's 12-18 month pajamas (they are too small even for Liam--come to think of it, I need to move them out of his drawer), the shirt was on backwards, the sleeves just barely long enough to cover Owen's elbows, the pants were just below his knees, and he had his pull up (we call them Diego pants) on the outside of the pants.

Me: Owen. Wow! What are you wearing.

Owen: Wiam's pajamas. Mine are all gone.

Me: And, why are your Diego pants on the outside?

Owen: Uh, because they wouldn't fit on the inside.

Oh my word. He is so resourcful and it was so funny.

I felt terrible that my baby didn't have his own jammies (I was in the middle of folding laundry downstairs much earlier today and never finished). But, I was so impressed at how resourcful he was.

Now, I am not sure if I should cry that my sweet 3 year old is so independant and didn't miss a beat when his mamma didn't have any clothes avaialble for him. Or just shrug my shoulders, chuckle to myself, and consider it character building ;-) I will go with the latter.

And, just cause he is so sweet...here is a picture of baby Gavin in the bath from last night.

Night, night.

Busy Baby Boys

2011-01-23T21:29:00.002-06:00

Phew! Three boys ages three and under sure do make for a busy household! Here's what they are each up to....

Gavin is already 7 weeks old. Where does the time go! He coos and gurgles and makes other sweet little baby noises. He has opened his fists and started grabbing for his toys. When he bats one that jingles, his little legs kick in delight.
He enjoys tummy time and is getting really, really good at lifting his little head up. He won't just lay flat against me anymore unless he is really tired. He likes to look around and see what's up.

Liam is 18 months old going on 3 years old. Anything brother can do, he can do, too. Well...except for walk in his boots. Oh my word. If there is something that Owen does that Liam cannot, in fact, do, little man gets M.A.D. We are transitioning him to what we call his "Big Brother Bed." It's going well...I need to get the side rail on better as poor guy slipped through it last night.

Owen is 3 years old going on 30. He is my little helper, Liam's best friend, and Gavin's great big Owen. If Gavin is playing on his mat, Owen is, too. He will read to him, talk to him, jingle toys for him. You name it, Owen does it. When Gavin starts to cry, Owen makes sure I know that his baby is hungry. Owen has also started making up games, which he includes Liam in. Friday, for example, Owen had the three of us in the closet hiding from ghosts. fun times.

The other day Gavin was happily swinging, and Owen and Liam were watching Dora. Owen realized that Gavin couldn't see from where he was and set out to move him....

When it got tough, he called in reinforcement..."Wiam, WIAM! Come hewp me!!."

Of course, Wiam came to hewp him and before long, Gavin was watching Dora, too.

Bowling with Buddies

2011-01-17T14:02:00.003-06:00

So fun! Our friend, Cutter, loves to bowl. So, his mamma got a group of us together today for a bowling play date. What fun!

Owen used the rack. It was a great way for a beginner bowler to get in the game. He had fun pushing his ball down the slide and watching to see how many pins he knocked over.

Liam, however, did not want to use the rack. I did get him to a little later in the morning; but, at first, he was all about rolling the ball down there. Thing was, his ball went very, very, s.....l.....o....w..... He and Owen would watch it patiently (I had lots of time for pictures since the ball was so very slow ;-).

Yay!! He knocked some pins over! High-five, Liam!!

Watching....

Discussing....

Congratulating...

Thank you, Kristie, for organizing us!! We had so much fun!!

Mini-Who?

2011-01-15T17:29:00.003-06:00

sometimes, it's the paci Gavin needs to get settled and to sleep....
sometimes, though, he finds his fingers and they do the trick.

this leaves me wondering if I have a Mini-Owen or a Mini-Liam on my hands....

In other exciting-for-a-mom news...Liam went potty in the potty yesterday. Holy Smokes! He is only 18.5 months old!! He was eating lunch and told Lina "poop." I walked in the room, he said it again. I checked his britches and saw that he hadn't pooped yet, so I took him to the potty. I tried sitting him backwards the way Owen goes now...it's way less messy than the potty seat. Liam didn't like that. So, Owen found his old potty seat under the sink, stuck it on the potty, and said to Liam, "Wiam, dis is what I used to learn to potty." Liam sat on it, Owen showed him where to hold on and then told him what to do next..."push." So FUNNY! I got the camera cause I thought it was so funny. In the meantime, I hear Owen tell him "good job, Wiam" and they flush the potty. I asked if he really went, and Owen said he did. Liam didn't seem finished, though, so I sat there with him. He went some more and I got to see proof. Oh my word! Go Liam!!

Liam was so happy and proud of himself. He did a happy little potty dance and kept returning to the bathroom to dance some more even hours later. So cute! I do not intend to start potty training him, yet. He is too little, me thinks ;-) I have decided that when he says he needs to go, I will take him and he will get tons of praise for it. But, until he either really shows that's what he wants to do or he is two years old, it will just be for "fun". Can't believe I am referring to anything potty-related as "fun"... Oy!

What has motherhood done to me?

34 years.

2011-01-12T22:28:00.002-06:00

Today was my birthday. I turned 34 years old today. Wow. Where has the time gone? I say that every time I mark a milestone for the boys. Today, however, is different. It's my milestone. In college, I thought very hard about my future. I decided then and there I wanted to major in something 'useful' and to build a career that was meaningful and would allow for early success with the idea that by 30 I could feel "successful" and then give myself a break to enjoy the kids I hoped to have.

I did that.

I am so thankful and totally in awe that I can say I am "living my dream". I had a full career. By 30 years old, I was in a position to lead a team of eight in a professional capacity. I loved my job. We traveled the country, working really hard for our clients, but always enjoying where we were and having fun, too.

Then, when I was 30, Owen was born. I still worked. But, I worked 'part-time'. I got the best of both worlds. Then Liam was born, and I got to take a leave of absence from work, that I am still on and enjoying. Now, I have three of the sweetest baby boys anyone could ever hope for. My husband supports me, loves me, and makes life for us all so fun. I am really living my dream.

I used to dream of what life might be like at 34. In my wildest dreams, I pictured something like the life I live. I can hardly believe it's real. I am a lucky, lucky girl.

Happy birthday to me. I am loving my "dream" and so thankful for each and every day. So thankful for Gerard, Owen, Liam, & Gavin. They are my dream and, lucky for me, they are my real life, too.

I can't imagine anything better.

Another Day of Snow!

2011-01-10T15:56:00.002-06:00

We still had lots and lots of snow on the ground this morning and Owen wanted to get out there early to play! We bundled up both of the big boys and headed out doors early this morning.

Liam wasn't sure if he liked standing in it or not. The snow comes up to his knees, making it hard to move to well....and he likes to move! Maybe gloves would help...that way if he fell his little hands wouldn't freeze. Note to self...buy the boys some heavy gloves!

They took their bull dozers out there and got to work.

Last year, Owen did not like standing/walking in the snow one bit! It was fun to see him wonder around in it this year.

The snow play lasted about 10 minutes, then we headed back indoors. All morning, the boys played so well together. I love, love, love how they are playing together right now.

Owen's imagination is soaring, and he creates games for he and Liam to play. Often, they are going to work somewhere. They pack their work bags and head off....so far the destination is often the hospital....little doctors?! This morning, they "worked" at the tool bench.

And yes, Gavin is here, too! Didn't take him out in the snow; but, he has benefited from our lazy snow days! Lots of cuddles from his brothers....

It's so hard to get a good one of all three boys ;-) The better one was blurry. Boo. But, you can still see how cute they are, can't you??

Hopefully school won't be canceled tomorrow....my boys and I are having fun, but I think leaving the house might do us all some good ;-)

The Littles

2011-01-09T23:15:00.002-06:00

Just a little post of a couple of things the little brothers have been up to. Gavin has started enjoying some play time each day. It's funny, since he is still so small, I don't expect him to do anything but eat and sleep. However, he has other plans.

Gavin has started spending a lot of time awake these days. Sometimes he will stay awake for a couple of hours. I laid him on the exercise mat the other day in an effort to humor Owen who wanted Gavin to play.

But, low and behold, Gavin seemed to get into it. So, I have been letting him "play" on it some now when he is awake. I think he can see the toys, and I think he is trying to work out just how he might grab at one. Maybe I need to move them closer so he has a shot at success...

The other "little" has been really testing his boundaries and mamma's limits. Early last week, he was wanting to land himself in time out. I can't remember now what he did; but, I remember that I gave him a warning. Instead, he went straight to our kitchen time out spot, sat down, and worked really, really, really hard to start crying. What a little actor.

Should I go on and call Hollywood and tell them about him? Ha!