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!

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

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.

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....

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...

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)

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

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...

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

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!