Like mother like son?

Gavin has discovered how to take pictures on my iphone. (He also got a digital camera for his birthday, but he says the iPhone is "more better" to take pictures with:) On any given day I will find about 200 random pictures taken by Gavin. He says it is his "art project" of the day...maybe he will have a passion for photography like his momma? It seems he already does. Here is what he did in one day:

Busy Week

This week we had lots of fun. And of course were busy busy busy.

Monday we made homemade marinara sauce and went to an insect show at the library. Gav got to meet and touch the worlds largest beetle and grasshopper. We ended the day with a trip to the park and grocery. After dinner we went for a walk to Hacienda with Ryleigh.(Gavin's favorite "Girl Friend")

Tuesday Gavin went to school all by himself, and did great! Momma and baby A had a day to spend together too:) 

Wednesday Gav had art class and picnic lunch with Gordon. Late afternoon trip to the park.

After dinner we went for a walk to Hacienda with Ryleigh.

Thursday G had a field trip to Sanborne Park...and we did a scavenger hunt hike...so neat! After dinner we went for a walk to Hacienda with Ryleigh.

Friday we met Gordon and CB at the pumpkin patch down the street AND went to Fall Fest at Reed Elementary school. Gavin got his very first face painting of a skeleton. (Up to this point he has HATED tattoos and face paint!) Oh, and can't forget that the boys went to get a haircut, and baby A had his 4th haircut!

Then today G and daddy did lots of projects down the house AND we went to Powells Sweet Shoppe to get some cotton candy...Gavin saw it at the festival but the line was too long, so we promised we would find some today! We had Telaquepaque for dinner, and Austin had his first chicken and bean taco:)

Big boys in the bath

Wanted to write this down...baby Austin now takes a bath with Gav like a big boy! No more bath seat to contain him, he can be trusted to sit up on his own. He still dives for toys and goes under water, but not as much now:) Of course I was unable to get a picture because my hands cannot leave babies side...he is a little insane in the tub! (Total opposite of Gavin at this age...G would just sit and play with toys...NEVER tried to go under water) Austin? He will climb up the shower wall if you are not looking.

:)

Gavin at Mountain School

Here are just a few pictures of Gavin at school for the past 2 months. Gavin loves school, and has been doing a lot better with me dropping him off on Tuesdays. (He had one rough day, but since then has been very "brave") You can tell where Gavin's favorite place to be is....right besides his teachers! Especially Teacher Angie...she is such a wonderful teacher, and he LOVES her. He can also be found near Teacher Stevie or Teacher Jutta...they are his best friends:) Gavin and Ryan are also such good pals. They can always be found near one another, and play so well together. They giggle and talk all the way to school in the car, its so cute:)

Gavin's favorite parts of school are playing in the water, dirt, sand, and leaves. He loves finding bugs, and he loves going on treasure hunts to find certain things. He adores circle time and story time. When Teacher Angie plays the ukulele, Gavin is right there! She plays songs about what the kids are wearing, and Gavin always wants to sing about his bare belly;) (After he has her sing abut every single other article of clothing he is wearing!)

Not only does Gavin love school, but I love it too. I have met some really great people here, and when I go on Thursdays, its such a nice breath of fresh air. Its so peaceful in the woods, under the big redwood trees, and everything is so beautiful. The kids are free to play and do as they please, and there is really not much to worry about. I get to sit back and observe Gavin, something that does not happen often. I am cherishing this special time, I feel so lucky. 

A very special thank you to Dayle, for watching baby Austin so I can do this! Without her, it would not be possible. 

And thank you to Lisa for the wonderful pictures!!! 

Brothers at same age

Austin 8 Month photoshoot

Here is my baby at 8 months old. I was SO excited when I found out the weather was going to be so warm this week. Baby A LOVES the outdoors as much as his brother does. Today Gavin is away at school and Ma's house, so its just me and baby...how nice! We spend the day playing and playing and playing. I really try not to do very much besides play with him and love on him, as this time is rare. I am so thankful and I cherish this so much. 

This is the same exact outfit that I did Gavin's 9mo photo shoot in:) One of my favorite outfits...even though daddy says it looks like a dress! I still can't get over just how different these boys look! 

{Gavin 38 Months}

Dear Gavin-

Another month gone by. We are still as busy as ever, and you do something "amazing" and funny each and every day:)

You have entered the "why" phase of your life. We knew this day was coming, but man its exhausting! There are about 500 "why's" every single day. A long time ago I remember someone giving tips on what to do and how to respond when a child begins asking why for everything. They said to respond "I am not sure why, why do YOU think???" So I tried this a few days ago. This was the conversation:

G- "Momma, why does baby not want to come in Davin's room???"
Me- "I am not sure Gavin, why do you think baby does not want to go in your room?"
G- "Momma, Davin doesnt know that answer, thats why I ask YOU the pwestion!!"
Me- "Oh Lord"

This is such a fun age, and we love teaching you all sorts of new things. You are very smart, and YOU actually teach momma new stuff all the time. When it comes to fixing things, you will tell me how to do it, and you are usually right.

You are Mr. Independent these days. You can do everything on your own, and prefer to do it that way. I have such a great little helper all the time.

You continue to love books, and want to read all the time. Your favorites are any Dr. Seuss, Curious George, and Little Critters books. You will stack up a huge pile, and then read us the names of each book, and sometimes who the author is:) Another fun book you love is the My First Alphabet book series. It is a seperate book for each letter, called "My "A" Book, and so on. We only have 7 of the letters, so I was able to find all the rest from someone in my moms group! I was so glad because you LOVE this series, but it was made in 1984, so very hard to find!

Your favorite shows are still Curious George and Clifford. You will occasionally watch Calliou, Bob the Builder, and Leap Frog shows. You get one show in the AM, and one after nap each day. You look forward to this time SO much, and ask for them all day long sometimes:)

You continue to play with "your" i-Pad, and are learning a lot from it! Mostly cooking games, as you love to cook both on screen and off.

You are wearing size 3/4T. You still have diapers for nap/night, and they are still pretty wet, so we are not pushing anything. When you are ready we will know!

Eating everything and sleeping great. Napping 2hours a day, and very consistent with that. As long as we keep things the same, you do so great! Your bedtime routine has to be the SAME exact every night! Bath, play with shaving cream in bath, brush teeth IN bath, drink water in bath, jammies on, storytime (as many books as you can get us to read), tucked in, turn on turtle light, sing three songs...you tell us the order. ABC's, Bitsy Spider, and Sunshine (You are my sunshine). Then we say goodnight and leave the room while you are still talking. You just keep talking even  after we shot the door:)

Oh Gavie, life is so fun these days. You are such a great big brother to Austie, and you help feed him, carry him, and play with him:) You are the only one who can get baby Austie to laugh super hard!!!

We are so excited for halloween and going to Cincinnati! More next month:)

Love you-
Momma

ps. You now say "I love you too" each time I say goodbye to you...so sweet:)

Camping at Big Basin

This weekend Derek and Gavin went camping at Big Basin! They went with a big group from the Mountain School, and had so much fun. They went from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning...baby Austin and I went up and spent the day there on Saturday.

Gavin had so much fun! He helped pitch the tent, start the fire, and cook all the food all weekend. We went on some pretty neat hikes to see a waterfall and "slippery rock." Baby A even crawled all the way up this ginormous rock! Big Basin is so beautiful, and hiking underneath the big tall redwood trees feels so good. Gavin was our "Hike Leader" and he made sure we knew where were going and "stayed safe." So much to do and see, and of course so much fun because all of Gavin's friends were there. G did lots of playing in the dirt, mud, sand, water, and tree moss...all of his favorite toys.

This was G's first time camping, and it was like he has done it how whole life. (Of course, we expected our nature boy to fit right in) I only got a few pics while baby and I were there...

**Derek and I had not been to Big Basin in over 7 years!!! Last time we were there was when we were dating:) We agree that we will be going there quite a bit more now that we have a serious camper.

10/12/12

I take all my pics these days on my phone. Its so easy, and then they appear like this. Like I said, too easy! Here is our week!