It's Official!

It's OFFICIAL! Gavin's arms have now bypassed his wrists!

Trip to the Lakes

Last weekend, the boys ventured to Isanti once again for the Day at the Lake! Unfortunately, I did not get to join them this time because of too many lingering projects and I did not want to fall behind on anything. Of course, I sent John with the point-and-shoot (which is currently out of commission) because I needed for him to document Nathan's day of fun playing with his friend. I thought it might be a little stressful for John having both of the boys and Gavin going through some fussy changes but they all had a FABULOUS time - boating, picnicking with the neighborhood... Now I really wish I could have joined them because we always have so much fun with our friends and what a gorgeous day to be on the lake!!!!! Anyway, there were some funny stories that came out of their afternoon adventure. Nathan obviously had a fun play date who is almost a year older than he is but they play well together (being our son is so very "advanced..." and all... you know ... ) and this little friend of his is ALL BOY. Nathan's still at that in-between stage where he is still trying to ... um... find himself. Yeah, that must be it. And in the course of trying to find out WHO he is, he is experimenting with several different "looks," seeing which one suits him best. I think this one really is the most fitting... See what you think...

Here I think he is beginning to realize he is a little embarassed of his new look...

What a pretty little boy!

Then, of course he needed to explore some new items in question on his road to maturity and manliness. Dora the Explorer! He found enjoyment playing with Dora and her dollhouse.

Gavin was a great source of entertainment as he was all smiles and cute. He did enjoy the day and that was the longest he and I have been away from each other. Our friends' six-year-old daughter, like all little girls, was eager to

hold the newborn baby...

This pictures makes me think of some images I saw on the news after a recent severe hail storm that did incredible damage to some cars in the southern portion of the Cities. People took some pictures of the large chunks of hail next to other "props" just to offer the viewers some concept of perspective. There was one picture in particular of a baseball-sized hail sitting next to an apple and a coke can; the ball of hail was about the same size of the other two props...well, you get the point.

Enter the Command Station

Gavin recently began using the "Command Station." This is what we referred to the exersaucer when Nathan used to play in it. Now Gavin is beginning to see the thrill of the Command Station. He is also drooling (as you can see in the picture), which I think is a sign of teething. He sure acts like he is teething lately! He will be four months old this week. At the beginning of last week he was diagnosed with a mild case of bronchitis by Dr. Severson. We were told to watch for a fever but he never did spike a fever, which was GOOD. His breathing still does not sound better, though, so John brought him in to see Dr. Dad again today. He says he has Asthmatic Bronchitis! Good thing Gavin sees his pediatrician this week for his routine check-up (and more shots!) so I can discuss this with his doctor. I do not know what any of this means, of course! But, Dr. Don did say it might not ever go away...????

Some Funny Things Have Happened

Saturday night was "Awesome 80's Prom!" I took a BUNCH of pictures but then dropped the camera! As a result, it is not working so well today. These TWO pictures are the only ones I have recovered, so far, out of the 20-something pictures I took. I think these were taken towards the beginning of the night. It was fun reliving the 80's, I have to admit, along with Joleen, Shannon, Kathryn and happy birthday Shannon; welcome to the 30's. (It was her dream to go to this 80's prom so we obliged.) :-)

Last Weekend's Pictures

I meant to post these last weekend (and I thought I did). Dad was asking for some updated pictures of Gavin. I will see if I can find some more.

Oh What You Can Do...

...when you have one hand free and you have a baby on your lap...

The Race is On!

John ran the 5K race in St. Paul today!! It was the Irish festival downtown. There were more than 300 participants and he was in the top 20-30. Results have not yet been posted online so he doesn't know his exact placement and time.

Being this was his first race EVER he did an awesome job! Definitely something to CELEBRATE!

I've delved into the new world (for me) of DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING! A fabulous world, indeed! It's combining a person's love for photography, graphic design and scrapbooking all in one!! Finally I will be able to finish our 2005 album...and beyond! (Sorry, too much "Toy Story" talk by Mr. Buzz Lightyear - Nathan's favorite toy). What a great way to spend the time while holding a fussy infant who won't sleep (teething has begun). I never imagined I could scrapbook WHILE holding my toddler-sized infant. This is very inspiring. This layout here was a freebie and I just tried it out for some practice to see if digital scrapbooking would be fun. I'm hooked!

Bike Riding 101

This weekend we decided it's time to urge Nathan to ride his bike. Yes, it's late for this sort of thing; usually toddlers are riding bikes by about 18 months or so. Well, not our Nater! He is a budding perfectionist, so I've seen the bike riding attempt coming but put it off, knowing he would get frustrated rather quickly and move on to bigger and better feats of greatness. I decided the best place to start would be at a deserted parking lot where there would be limited distractions and Nathan could concentrate on his bike, rather than running off to a slide or a swing, if we were to bring his first biking attempt to a park. Anyway, on with the show...


Here is Daddy beginning his attempt at Bike Riding 101...

"Feet on the pedals...
Hands just so....
Now push with your feet...
and GO GO GO!"


Oops...feet fell off. Let's try this again. Here's how you do it...feet on the pedals...

Or...um....not so much...

Enough of THAT! "I have better things to do!"

Monday's Play Date

Nate with his friend, Josh. They have not seen each other in a while, though their daddy's are best friends. They had a fun time together on Monday. (They are three weeks apart in age.)

a Toddleresque Cuisine

One evening I let Nater request his dinner entrée and accompaniments. Below is his creative display. He ate it all! The new trick to eating veggies? ITALIAN DRESSING!!! It is now a staple in our home. He loves it on his veggies and he even asks for more. Italian dressing. Pure genius.

Best Wishes!

We attended a beautiful wedding last weekend - Jackie Madsen! Best wishes & Congrats to the beautiful bride! We had lots of fun!