Random

Life seems to just pass by faster with each day. It is already the end of November and quickly approaching 2017. I find myself in disbelief that Gavin and Dane are already 6 and 4. Gavin absolutely loves school, which I am so grateful for, but I do miss him being home. I am enjoying my time with Dane and a little quiet in the afternoon while he naps. I do miss them being younger but I also am really enjoying them growing up, enjoying their time together more, getting to share things I enjoyed as a kid with them, and looking forward to sharing more of those things with them.

We have had some crazy weather. We have had lots of warmer days later than usual, although they are often followed by large temperature drops that feel bitter cold. We have had a Fiat amount of rain the last two months after having almost none the rest of the year. we have even had some snow! After getting basically no snow last year we have already had two days of small snow accumulation and the kids were so thrilled. I guess they feel deprived after no fun snow to play in last year.

I have enjoyed getting to go on two field trips with Gavin, one to a local farm for  the morning and Dane was able to participate as well. The other was a play at Marist college. I reallu enjoyed some time with just Gavin and his classmates, although riding on a school bus was quite an experience.

We enjoyed having Pappy Hank here for Thanksgiving. It was a great visit despite the cold germs that invaded the end of the week.

We are really loving having our Christmas tree up, the house decorated, and the kids trees in their rooms. I am not a fan of the cold and short days, but I do love the holiday season.

Henry our elf has returned and the kids are thrilled. They love to talk to him and find him each morning. They look forward to his return every year.

Nothing all that exciting, just life, but we have fun and enjoy our time together.

First Day of Kindergarten!!

It is shocking to me how quickly this day has seem to come. While I am so excited for Gavin because he is going to do so well and love school, I am so sad that our days of play, leisure, special moments, and unscheduled time are now quite different. I look forward to treasuring the time we do get together and having some more time with just Dane, but I still find myself missing the years of just Gavin and me, and then the years of Gavin, Dane, and me. I wish I could slow down and absorb more of the time with the boys, it seems that if I blink they will be all grown up and gone.

I am excited for all of the adventures Gavin will have this year and I look forward to all the stories he will have each day when he returns home. I look forward to Gavin making new friends, friends that are all his own (since up until now his friends have mostly been through my friends kids) and could even be lifelong friends.

It is all so very exciting and I certainly hope he loves school as much as I did! Gavin has changed and grown so much over the last year, it will be exciting to see him learn, grow, and mature even more this year!

Exciting Day!

Quite a day around here. Gavin had his Kindergarten screening this morning. His first day is Monday. He is so excited.

Our new couch also arrived. So far the kids and I love it, time will tell how it lasts. I think it looks nice and look forward to Scott getting around to inatalling the track lighting we got for the living room (and kitchen) so we will not have the lamp in the living room anymore.

The kids get their hair cut later this morning and then we have the rest of the day to play, relax, and enjoy our new couch. It is going to be hot today so it will be nice to be inside where it is cool!

Exciting Day....

Gavin caught his first fish! He was thrilled. Unfortunately, he was also scared to take the fish off the hook. Gross. Fortunately, the fish managed to wriggle free so I was spared having to touch the fish. Yay!

Sick Day/Cold Rainy Day!

Gavin was unable to go to school again today so we are making the most of it. He does seem to be feeling better for the moment and although I was woken up quite a bit last night, it was overall still a lot more sleep than the night before so that is great as well. With the crazy weather yesterday and today (50s over the weekend and then snow, changing to ice, changing to rain, yesterday into today), it is not so bad staying in and resting. We have been switching between music, some TV, and games. Dane and I periodically go off and do other things which is fun for us to hang out and for Gavin to have a bit more quiet and restful time. I would much rather Gavin not be sick but I have been enjoying the extra snuggles from him. Hopefully Gavin will remain fever free and feel up to going to school tomorrow. He has a field trip Friday and I would be sad for him if he had to miss out! For now, we are enjoying our time together!

Dane playing his Bass, laying down. So silly.

Gavin trying to master PAC Man - he has actually managed to clear the first level twice now!

Dane enjoying some ho-cho (hot chocolate) and Chuggington!

Sick Day...

Gavin wasn't feeling well last night and had a low fever so he needed to stay home fr.school today to rest (plus it couldn't fall back to sleep once he woke up super early this morning). So we have rested today. Watched some TV, snuggled, played some games on the roku, chatted, and just took it easy. Although Dane is not (currently) sick, he certainly has benefited from some additional rest as well. They have had a few moments when I was taking care of other things and they were snuggling on the couch. I wish Gavin wasn't feeling yucky, but it is sweet to see them when they sit or lay so nicely together!

Memories...

We had two things we haven't done in a while this afternoon... Fruit Smoothie pops and we set up the Moby wrap as a hammock. They both still love the fruit pops and Gavin loved checking out some of our latest library books in the hammock. Unfortunately, it is very clear that Gavin is much bigger because he doesn't have much space under the table anymore! So sad! He wasn't bothered by the cramped space but I am sad he won't be able to fit under the table in the hammock much longer!

Another Beautiful Day!

We enjoyed as much of the afternoon outside as we could, it looks as though we return to colder temperatures this week. I can't wait for the warm weather to stick around!!

Something New...

We tried bowling today with some friends. It was so much fun! They all loved it and had a great time pretending in the arcade after. It was so nice to see some friends that we have missed seeing since Thanksgiving! We can't wait until Spring so we get more time with our friends!!

First Tooth...

Gavin lost his first tooth today. The first one he had come in at 5 months, came out today. It is a shock because he never mentioned it was loose. It is early-ish for him to lose teeth, but since he got them in so early, it makes sense. It was quite an afternoon because it happened at school and I think he was surprised too and he had a lot of emotions to try to process on his own. He adores his teacher but I think that this was just not something he was prepared to or able to handle on his own or go to someone else for. He wanted mom. I felt bad he was so nervous, unsure, and scared about the tooth. Even though we have talked about how he will lose his teeth and new permanent ones will come in, I think since it was sudden, he needed reassurance it was normal and nothing bad was going to happen (and that he didn't do anything wrong). I forget that despite how confident, smart, and capable he is that he is still so young and learning how to handle his big emotions and navigate lots of new territory as he grows and changes and has to handle things on his own when he is at school. It is certainly a reminder of how much he still needs us and I am glad that I am here to be able to comfort him and help him through his journey.

Pictures to follow... I never got around to getting a picture because it took all afternoon and evening to get him to even want to tell anyone! I am still in shock that we are so quickly moving to this next stage in life, it is exciting but also so hard to see him grow more independent and farther away from the little baby I want him to stay forever! It all happens so fast!!

Stuck!

On our last trip outside yesterday, Dane climbed up to press the button to open the garage door. As I finished getting Gavin and myself zipped up, he managed to get stuck between the chair and rolling toolchest under the workbench. Apparently with so much padding he was totally unharmed and laughing!

Snow Day Fun

A couple trips out in the snow, a few rounds of sneaky snacky squirrel, and lots of other playing mixed in. A fun, unexpected, snow day today.

2 Hour Delay...

We woke up to a little snow, more than we have seen so far all winter, maybe an inch. Enough they have a delayed opening i n Hyde Park and since Gavin's preschool goes by Hyde Park's schedule, no preschool this morning. The boys are excited to go out shortly and play. They are currently enjoying the morning playing together, which is great because I get a few minutes of quiet to get myself ready for the day, make Scott's lunch, and get Scott off to work. Should be a fun day!

Racing Gavin

Gavin is still in love with all things Hot Wheels. We frequently work together to use his tracks and sets to race cars on. This afternoon he asked and once we had one set up proceeded to test it and then give detailed descriptions of the crashes, who was winning, etc. I often wonder if the love for cars will continue and he will manage to find a career he loves or if it will just be fond memories from his childhood. His love for cars seems to grow by the day, so it will be an interesting journey to find out where it takes him!

Cooking with Dane

We were cooking and making tea this morning while Gavin was at school. I grabbed my phone to take a picture and Dane disappeared and told me to wait because he wanted to take my picture. He is such a sweetie (when he wants to be).

Paper Airplane

It is really chilly outside and the boys both still have colds so we are hiding inside looking for different things to do. Gavin asked for a paper airplane. So he got out some paper and markers. It probably doesn't fly well but he is thrilled so it is a win. Dane is happy just to collect markers and line them up. Crazy boys.

Mud Pit

A favorite pastime enjoyed mainly after a good rainfall or a vehicle being washed.