Christmastime Is Here!

We are right in the midst of the holiday season! We had a great time in Iowa for Thanksgiving, celebrating with my mom’s side of the family. Lots of aunts, uncles and cousins – including a new baby! Gavin was thrilled to have another kiddo around, and even asked me to bring him home with us.

While there, my cousin Lacey took family pictures for us (love having a photog in the family!). Here is one sneak peek of the shoot – the rest will have to wait until Christmas cards go out!

Once home, I immediately pulled out all of our holiday décor. I probably should have taken down & put away all of the fall stuff first – it was pretty disastrous around here for awhile!

It was fun to pull out all of our family ornaments. After nearly seven years of being together, and four years of Christmases as a family of three, our personal collection has started to grow. No longer do we have the perfectly matching ornaments, but a collage of hand made ornaments mixed in with the fancy ones – and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

This is the first year that Gavin truly remembered some of our “traditions” and how this whole Christmas thing works. It has been so much fun!

And to keep him in line, and to ensure no coal in his stocking – this guy showed up this morning!

Pumpkins & Halloween Fun!

We visited Sekapp’s Apple Orchard/Pumpkin Patch…

Gavin painted a pumpkin…

We carved pumpkins…

We played Halloween games at our daycare…

(decorating felt pumpkins)

(Halloween memory)


(pin the hat on the witch!)

 

And of course we went trick or treating!!!

(someone is ‘Spidey’ obsessed in our house!)

Hope you all had a fantastic October and Halloween!

We’re feeling pretty blessed to be able to celebrate as normal as our friends/family on the east coast deal with the devastating results of Hurricane Sandy. It may be chilly outside, but we have our warm beds to come home to at the end of the night.

Gymnastics

Just a quick note this evening – more for my own family records than anything else. Tonight, Gavin started gymnastics. Due to gym rules I couldn’t get any pictures (yes, I was miserable) but he sure had fun! There were six little ones in his class, and three were boys! I was happily surprised!

Good news? He does very well following directions and participating in class. Not so good news? He’s a bit too eager about participating – if someone ahead of him went too slow, he budged ahead of them. Followed class tonight with a talk on the ride home about how proud we were of him – but that he needs to slow down and respect his new friends!

I’m hoping that this is something that Gavin will stick with for awhile. Just enough exercise to help keep those lungs healthy – but will also help keep a gangly little boy coordinated and on balance. But whether he chooses to continue, or find something else he enjoys, that’s his decision!

While I didn’t get a picture of him at the gym, I did manage to catch a fun glimpse into our life this evening.

This lip…

has been perfecting a pout for the last 3 1/2 years. Sorry buddy, as cute as that face is – you’re still not getting your way and staying up until morning time!

Goodnight!

Preschool!

Where has time  gone? How have 3 1/2 years possibly flown by so quickly?

And let’s be honest – when Gavin was first born, and diagnosed with CF, I had this image of sickly kid. A kid always in the hospital. Always dealing with doctors. No sense of a “normal” life.

So needless to say, today was even more special. To have a reality check. That CF or not, our life is normal. Yes, he had to take his enzymes. Yes, we had to wake up early to get his treatments done. But man. The kid did it. And he did it with flying colors.

I am beyond proud.

And nothing made this mama prouder than a raving review from his teacher when I came to pick him up. And nothing made me happier than the running hug I received when he noticed me – followed by a big kiss and a “I missed you sooooo much mommy!”

A Mini Getaway

This past weekend we jetted up to the Twin Cities to start off our extended Labor Day weekend with a bang.

We joined Casey’s parents at the Waterpark of America/Radisson Hotel. Gavin was so excited about getting the chance to sleep in a bunk bed that he initially forgot all about the waterpark! It didn’t hurt that our room overlooked one of MSP’s runways – he sat and watched numerous planes take off and land.

Evening one at the park was spent on the slides. Sorry the pictures are awful – I was just too busy playing to pay attention to getting great pictures. From the kids area, to riding several slides – our little man had a blast!

Our last day, Saturday morning, was spent in the pool. Gavin wanted nothing to do with the slides – he enjoyed “learning” how to swim and getting passed between Casey and myself.

Friday morning we woke up bright and early and hit up the state fair. Our first stop? Machinery hill. Gavin was obsessed with sitting in every tractor within eyesight – and for those of you who have been there, you know its more than a lot.

Gavin got a chance to learn about farming. How to plant the seed, water it, pick it and even “sell” his produce at a (pretend) farmer’s market.

With his (play) money, he was able to purchase a toy/treat at the county store. He happily picked out a small, stuffed sheep.

We played in the huge sandbox – and because we were there so early he got it all to himself! Total rarity at the fair!

We had lots of fun at the Kidway…

I managed to ride the spinning teacups with Gavin – without getting ill. My great-grandfather was one of people who created the tilt-a-whirl. So from a young age, my cousins and I were taught how get those cars spinning like crazy. I clearly remember the first time my brother, cousin Jason and I managed to get our grandfather to turn a lovely shade of green. I suppose I should add – that was the last time he rode it with us as well!

After getting of the ride, Casey informed me that Gavin and I were “flying” – feels good to know that I can still survive those kinds of rides!

My personal favorite was watching Gavin drive these bumper boats. They were propelled just enough to give the kids motion, but they barely moved. It was hysterical watching a bunch of preschool aged children aimlessly bump into each other. However, I would not want this job at the fair!

Gav and I rode the SkyRide and soared high above the fair grounds – even passing over our family. I love that my little daredevil will do this stuff with me now!

After hours of fun, and shoving our faces full of food -  we ended the day with a stop at the rodeo in the coliseum.

Getting a break from walking, and the heat of the day, ended our trip with a bang. Well, literally. While driving back to the hotel – we were rear ended. Nothing major, and everyone was fine – but definitely not the ending to the day that we had all hoped for!

Casey and I were able to sneak in a trip to the Mall of America & to IKEA – where we picked up more wooden train pieces. Needless to say – we have one happy little boy!

Life is good!