in the buff

maria has said that after naps she walks into the room and she has a naked little boy staring back at her. well, this morning i went into his room and sure enough, the kid had his pjs sitting on the crib railing - just like we do - and was attempting to take off his diaper. he was done with nighttime and ready for the day. joel said "oh yeah, he did that yesterday too." i think that's how he makes sure we get to him sooner rather than later! maria said if he poops in his pack-n-play, we're getting it back to clean it! ugh! she said he'd probably be joining the big kids on the mats soon since he's getting too big for the p-n-p. she has waited longer than with some of the other kids since g is a bit stubborn and she thinks it will take a few days for him to actually take a nap and not be too disruptive to the other nappers! stay tuned on that one!

in "tractor" news. he didn't want me to sit down and work too much at the office yesterday. i had to keep standing up because it felt like he was rolling and rolling and rolling. we're going to have two very active little boys on our hands! the grandmas are laughing at me right now.

cheers!

January/February photos

Playing in my tunnel while Riley and Morgan pull it around the living room. Those big kids, they sure know how to liven up the place!

Eating grapes in my new hat! I like grapes. Mom keeps having me taste oranges - they're certainly an acquired taste but I keep trying!

Tissues are fun!

Playing with the cake carrier while daddy makes cake!

Dressed up to shovel snow - too much snow for me. I'll let daddy do it. I even let mommy put on my cool Crocs boots. Pretty stylish, aren't I. Now if I'd just let mom put my winter coat on - hah!

Dump truck driver

When he's not doing chores, he likes to run around the house with his toys. He has been pushing his (Liam's) dump truck around the house. Joel and I were finishing dinner and Gavin decided he needed a running start from the bathroom to the kitchen table. You can hear him counting - 2, 3, 2. Getting big, isn't he! 22+ months already.

Everyone asks what words is he saying these days - whatever we say, he says. For better or worse, he can now repeat almost anything we say. Unfortunately when he recites the words later we're not always sure what he is saying and he gets a little frustrated with us. Luckily he is content to take our hand and show us what he is talking about. He is very good at letting us know when he wants more - he uses his sign language and words for the best results. Some of his favorite books right now are "Wheels on the bus", "Boats" and "The Belly Button" book, also know as "Belly butt".

Gavin's chores

Gavin is really into doing laundry as you'll see (we can use this video later in life when his room is a mess!)! He likes putting clothes into the washer, pressing buttons to start the machine (luckily there is a child lock so he doesn't change the cycle) and by far, his favorite thing to do is listen for the music telling us the load is ready for the dryer. He hears the tune and runs into the laundry room and waits for us to open the door. From there he takes everything out and puts it into the dryer. He likes to close the dryer door then mommy lifts him up to press the start button.

In addition to laundry, Gavin enjoys loading and unloading the dishwasher - whether things are clean or not, vacuuming, recycling and toy "clean up", thanks to Maria!

Bye bye my little red car!

With Joel starting a new job and another little person on the way, my 2 door Civic's days were numbered. I bought this car about a year after I moved out to Colorado - the Mighty Probe's heating system died and I wasn't about to get it fixed. So along came the little red Civic - el-strip-o as peppy would say - manual everything and no A/C! We got it detailed last Wednesday, posted it on CL on Friday and sold it on Saturday morning. Besides a few minor scratches and dings, she still looked good after 10 years! We had 4 people scheduled to take a look at her and had to call them all back and say "Sorry, it's gone!" A little sad to see my first and only new car drive away with someone else. Oh well, as Joel says - "It's only a car!" We upgraded - slightly - to a 4 door Civic. Now David and I have basically the same car. I think that's where we started back in NJ - isn't it - he had a blue Eclipse and I had the blue Probe. Hmmm! Well, here is one last photo of the ol girl. Farewell!

New Routine

Joel started his new job on Monday - the first computer-related job in a long time that he has to go into an office like the rest of us working stiffs! He has been waking up at 5:45 to get showered and out the door. I actually see him for a brief moment in the mornings now! He gets Gavin up and out the door at 7 and on his way to work in north Denver. I am taking the early bus home to pick up G from Maria's. Something new for me! I might actually start to know the names of the kids Gavin spends his days with!

I'm continuing to work from home on Thursdays so G can "sleep in" and we can take our time getting moving - right! Thursday is trash and recycle day. This morning, Gavin and I sat in bed and read the fish book and the choo choo book. Then it was time to get dressed and take out the trash/recycle and let the dogs out. Well, in doing all that, I locked us out of the house - yeah! Luckily daddy was smart and gave the neighbor a spare key. Gavin and I walked down the street and retrieved it. On with the morning, time to go to daycare. We walked - it was pretty nice for a January morning - mid-30s and sunshine!

We got to Maria's house, I unclipped Gavin from his stroller, got him up the steps and off he went. Left his snack trap by the door and went right to Maria. This kid is trained - he heard breakfast in the background. He took her hand and off they went - no messing around! Good job little man!

Choo Choo!

Two videos. The first is from Christmas day. The second is from New Year's Eve. Gavin and daddy are still enjoying the new train set. Check out G's new hair style on the second video! We call it bed head!