Leap Day Snow!

Happy Leap Day! We were pleasantly surprised by actually getting some snow today! About time too! Other than October's crazy storm and a few inches at the beginning of January, we haven't had any! I can't believe we barely had a foot of snow fall before today!

The snow today wasn't as great as it could have been. It was wet and heavy and followed by rain and ice. Gavin and I made the best of it before it changed over from snow though. We spent a long time outside (at least an hour, probably longer). I pulled him around on his toboggan, built a small snow man, made snow angels, threw Gavin in some snow piles.

 I even cleared some snow from the bottom of the driveway so that Gavin would have an easier time walking around. He manages to get around okay but he still has some trouble getting tripped up when there is too much snow to walk through. He seemed to appreciate that. We pulled out his truck and I tried to push him around in that. He was not happy when that didn't work out. His boots kept dragging on the ground and made it impossible to go anywhere. By then, it was about time to head in to warm up anyway.

We went back out when Scott got home to help him clear the rest of the driveway. Gavin was so excited to see the snow blower in action (even though it wasn't all that necessary to run). We stayed out and played for a bit until we needed to head in so I could finish up dinner (Split Pea Soup and breadsticks - it was delicious and perfect weather for it). If the rain doesn't completely ruin the snow we will definitely be heading back out tomorrow! Who knows if we will get any more snow this season, we need to enjoy what little we are getting!

Random Gavin Silliness...

We haven't been super busy because of friends being sick but we have managed to stay busy. We went to Jumpin' Jake's Discovery and had a blast! It is much closer than the one we went to last month and it is intended for kids 7 and under, so it was perfect for Gavin. I will have to bring my camera the next time we go (which isn't really often since it is kind of expensive). They have bouncy houses and slides, play houses/stores, trains, legos, a "school bus" to ride and so much more! Gavin loved every minute of our time there.

Other than that, we have done our usual errands, cleaning, and time outside when it is warm enough. Plus we have added in walks! Gavin has decided that he now loves his stroller. It is about time! I am so excited that he actually wants to get in and walk over to Vallkill and around the neighborhood. I am looking forward to the fresh air and exercise. I even broke down and took him out on a walk when it wasn't really all that warm, just because he really wanted to be outside. So, we bundled up and I threw and extra blanket on Gavin and off we went!

Gavin has also been exploring new ways to enjoy his toys on days we are at home and stuck inside.

Finding "new" toys...

He is certainly creative when he wants to be!

One Cool Little Dude!

Enough said!

Toothbrushes are so Cool!

Gavin has always liked his toothbrush. He has yet to fight having his teeth brushed and seems to enjoy it. In the last couple of days he has become very interested in toothbrushes that are not his, namely my own and Scott's. He insists on carrying them around the house and either has them sitting by him while he plays or has both of them in one hand and uses his other to play with whatever toy he has.

I am very grateful he doesn't mind having his teeth brushed but I really hope his desire to treat my tooth brush as a toy passes quickly. Such a silly little boy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We are having a wonderful Valentine's Day here with lots of yummy food! I decided not to do anything to crazy since it is a Tuesday and Scott had to go to work (and possibly have to work late) but I wanted to do a little something special. So we had some delicious Overnight Creme Brulee French Toast! I used some homemade brioche and a recipe that is lower in calories but you would never know it is lower in calories and fat because it is awesome. I will definitely be making it again sometime. It literally takes minutes to put together the night before and then you just pop it in the oven in the morning! Gavin even loved it!

Gavin and I had a pretty low key day, just a little bit of picking up and cleaning and lots of play time! We had a little bit of cooking to do as well. I had already made dessert last night (much easier to make, decorate and clean up after Gavin is in bed) and I had picked something that both Scott and I really love but doesn't require me to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. We had Chicken Salad on fresh homemade rolls, baked potatoes and roasted green beans. Gavin was a big help making each one. He loves helping put flour, sugar, water (or anything) into the Kitchen Aid bowl and turning it on. He is pretty good about minimal mess too, although a little extra mess isn't a big deal since it makes him so happy to stand there and help!

Scott was able to get home at his normal time so we were all able to sit down and eat dinner together. After dinner, Scott surprised me with a movie! I had ordered a movie from Amazon that had just come out and it hadn't come yet (even though it should have) and I was really hoping it would come today. When it didn't I was really bummed and Scott left work a little early and went and picked it up for me as a surprise! Yay!

Since I only managed to remember to take pictures of our day this morning before Gavin was dressed, here are a few cute pictures of him still in his pajamas!

So, now I am off to watch Breaking Dawn Part 1! I am so excited! Definitely a great day!

Sick, Sick and More Sick...

It has been an interesting couple of weeks around here! It started with me getting the first cold I have had in a few years. I have been really lucky up until now. Other than morning sickness, I haven't really been sick since before I was pregnant with Gavin. That is a long time ago! I guess it was my turn again. I did what I could to minimize any germs being spread. I was very careful about covering my mouth and nose when I sneezed and washed my hands every time I sneezed and blew my nose.

Gavin did pretty well and was a trooper playing by himself and letting me just sit or lay near him and chat and play. It was still more exhausting than usual because I wasn't sleeping well but I tried to take it easy where I could. I made dinners that could be spread out across the day. Gavin helped me pick up and do a little cleaning so the house stayed in some semblance of order.

Thankfully this started at the end of a week so Gavin only had a couple of days of boring before the weekend and Scott would be home to help entertain him. We had a lazy weekend that was generally pretty miserable given how crappy I felt and the fact that Gavin didn't sleep well (he has molars coming in and they are certainly taking their sweet time).

By the time Monday came around, I bet Scott couldn't wait to get out of the house and go to work to get away from the insanity. Although I was certainly not back to normal, I was starting to feel a bit better. Gavin and I did a little picking up and cleaning but still took it easy. Tuesday I felt much better and we were going to get out of the house but never made it. Instead we settled for just getting outside for a little bit.

Wednesday, we had a beautiful day! We had a playdate in the morning that was awesome. I had a great visit with the mom and Gavin had lots of fun with her son. Gavin passed out on the way home (no surprise since he has decided to wake up between 6 and 6:30 most days anymore... ugh) and slept for 3 hours (WOW). By the time he woke up we had missed most of the afternoon of awesome weather but after a quick diaper change and getting shoes and a sweatshirt on, we made it outside to make the most of the warm day that was left. We explored some and waited for Scott to get home. It certainly didn't feel like February, it felt like it should be April!

Wednesday evening, Scott started to not feel great and by Thursday morning he was pretty miserable. Gavin and I went to our playgroup and then came home to try to keep quiet so Scott could work and try to get some rest. I guess it didn't really matter what precautions I took, the germs were determined to spread and infect others. Scott was far luckier than I was though, his cold was short lived and by Saturday was feeling significantly better. This was a good thing given the fact that Gavin decided that he didn't need to sleep in the middle of the night (awesome). He had already decided to wake up continually and insist I bring him to bed to snuggle where he would roll around all over trying to get comfortable, preventing me from sleeping at all. Having Gavin decide that he wanted to run around playing in the middle of the night was not my idea of a good time. He was up for over an hour, twice, before he would go back to sleep for an hour or so. I literally didn't get more than an hour of broken sleep before Gavin decided that he was going to be up for the day at 6. It is amazing that he didn't just pass out from exhaustion. He didn't get anywhere near enough sleep!

So, another lazy and generally miserable weekend ensued. I dumped Gavin with Scott around 8 and tried to hid out in bed to get a little sleep. I slept for about an hour before Gavin came barging in and refused to let me go back to sleep. I don't know where he gets all this energy! We tried our best to make the most of the weekend. We went to the diner for lunch after Gavin took an early nap. We took a walk when we got home from lunch because it was relatively warm outside. We ended up stopping and chatting with some friends down the road that we hadn't seen in a while. Gavin had a great time exploring their house. He had no problem letting himself in to various rooms. Crazy kid!

Saturday night was a bit better, at least Gavin wasn't insisting on playing in the middle of the night, but that didn't really mean his sleeping was good. He was up frequently and rolling around all over. Another night of almost no sleep. Cool.

Sunday we took it easy and didn't do much. We were all exhausted and it seemed like Gavin may be starting to get the cold that Scott and I had. His nose was running a lot! He had been having a little the last day or so but that is not an uncommon issue with teething, even though it wasn't something we had seen before. Since he had been running a very low grade fever off and on, was drooling like crazy, chewing on things more than usual, refusing a lot of foods and a few other typical teething symptoms, I just figured he was adding a new one to the mix for the molars coming in. Although it may still have been partially related, that was certainly not the only reason for the running nose. Huge bummer! Gavin's first cold! I guess we were just lucky to make it 15 months before he had one.

I can only imagine that Scott was glad when Monday rolled around again. Gavin ran around as if nothing was different. It is amazing how he can function on the crappy sleep he was getting! I chased after him with tissues. He enjoyed some quality time in the bathtub in a steamy bathroom to help clear out his nose. We did some laundry and tried to rest and enjoy our day. Although Gavin had what I am considering his first cold, it was certainly not as bad as it could have been, which I am super grateful for! A little bit of crappy sleep isn't as bad as little/no sleep and a crabby kid that is also so miserable during the day he can't have any fun.

So we stayed home for a few days and I tried to cope on less sleep and keep Gavin's nose as clean and clear as possible. By Wednesday, we needed at least a little time out of the house. Gavin's nose hadn't been running too much so we all went to get haircuts after Scott was done with work for the day. Gavin and Scott just needed trims (badly) and I was in the mood for something different so I had quite a bit cut off. My hair is now at about shoulder length (I will try to get Scott to take a new picture so I can post that soon). It is nice because it takes much less time to wash, dry and straighten or curl than before! A welcome change for at least a little while.

We picked up some dinner on the way home because it was getting close to Gavin's bath and bedtime. Scott ended up having to run back out because we were out of cough drops and my throat was really starting to hurt (ugh).

It was certainly good that he did because without them I would have not been able to get any sleep. Go figure that I manage to come down with another cold/issue given I can't even remember the last time I had a sore throat, let alone one this bad. I had a few days of awful pain and then it started to let up but it took my voice with it. Scott had a lot of fun making fun of me, nice right?

So, it has been quite eventful around here. We have missed a few playdates because of colds that we had and others which kind of stinks, but I certainly don't want to spread my germs to someone else and I appreciate that they feel the same about their own germs. We are hopefully on our way back to health since Gavin (other than the typical occasional cranky day and teething issues) is feeling better which allows Scott and I to relax a bit more and get better as well.

Now I just need to get back on track with taking pictures, offloading on to my computer and sorting through them to share! I love having such a nice camera but it makes it much harder to pick photos to upload since I have 4 or 5 times as many as before. I will pick that over missing all of Gavin's awesomeness any day though!