I a Pwincess!

I have been way into princesses lately.  It makes sense, since I am a princess!  I just can't fathom going anywhere without a tutu, crown and beads.  I especially love wearing princess shoes whenever I can borrow them from my mom.  Can you believe it, there are days Mom chooses to NOT wear her princess shoes!

So sometimes I wear them for her:

Fluffy crown, Mardi Gras beads, Tutu outfit, and Mom's shoes

I managed to wear a tutu every day last week.  Even to school!  My mom just made sure I had shorts on underneath.  So obviously, I made a point of wearing my best tutu and crown to play soccer with my dad on Saturday!

Fluffy crown, Panda sweater, Nightgown, Tutu,
Disney Princess sneakers a size too large, and soccer ball

Last night, I changed out of my jeans and t-shirt to slip into something a little more becoming of my station.  A party dress, obviously.  What you can't see in this picture is that I have an extra tutu on under the dress, as well as Mom's princess shoes.  I was really cry-ey when I had to take my dress off to go to bed.  I shouted, "How can I be a princess without my pretty dress on?"  Mom and Dad tried to assure me that I am a princess even in my jammies, but I remain skeptical.

Sparkly crown, Mardi Gras beads, Party dress, Tutu, and Mom's shoes

I love being a princess, don't you?  I just need to convince Mom and Dad to let me sleep in my tutus (and crown and beads) at night!  Jammies are for commoners.

Rolling!

Gavin is so proud of himself!

Much as Laura was at the same age, two and a half years ago!

Take Us Out to the Ballgame

Laura has been to a few baseball games, but yesterday afternoon was my first!  Mommy and Daddy (following a great weekend celebrating at Mandy and Reid's wedding) took Laura, Grandma, Grandpa and me to the Orioles game!  It was perfect weather for a little guy like me to be out and about - nice and sunny, but not very hot. 

Laura was very excited to see her favorite part again - the escalator!  She loved riding up the escalator all by herself (with a little hand from Daddy getting on and off).  My favorite part was... everything except the noisy cheering early in the game.  After the Orioles started to lose, the crowd died down a bit and I enjoyed the game a lot more.  The cheering early on was a little scary for me!  But you wouldn't know it from this picture:

I am just one happy dude, so pleased to have been included in this excursion.  Let's go O's!

And just for the record, here's a few pictures from Mommy and Daddy's weekend in CT:



Laura: August Recap



I wasn't the best at noting all the adorable things Laura said and did this month.  I swear, I need to install a webcam for the backseat of the car to just record everything she says back there.  When Laura is in the car, she doesn't stop talking for a minute. 

Laura's most discussed point in the car during August (and September so far) has been poor road quality.  She doesn't like how she gets bumped in her seat.  I told her that the roads are bad, because they were made cheaply, so now she is focused on spending "The Monies" from her piggy bank to fix them. During one really long diatribe, Laura expounded on how bad the roads were, then discussed how she would fix them, then offered up the monies, and finished with "that's my idea!"  Politician in the making?  

Laura also:

talked about waterpillars this month,

told me "I very nice at sharing"

announced "I wanna be a bannerina!" (ballerina)

and sang many rounds of "Pocket and a rosie, rosie, rosie!"  (which is continued with "asses, asses, we all fall down!")

My Little Reader

I distinctly remember sitting on the love seat in our house in Florida.  The pastel blue and pink plaid one.  The one where Bear was lost under a cushion for three whole weeks – an eternity.

I remember sitting on that couch on my dad’s lap reading my favorite story for the bazillionth time.  Ferdinand.  I remember turning the pages to my favorite illustration: the one with the lovely ladies with flowers in their hair.  I remember reciting memorized passages.  And suddenly!  A word on a page.  No longer individual letters, stark and black on a white paper.  But a drawn word.  A picture I could read. 

F-E-R-D-I-N-A-N-D

And now I sit on a recliner sofa in our house in Maryland.  The green leather one.  The one that Ries started to eat as a puppy seven whole years ago – an eternity.

I sit on that couch with Laura on my lap reading her favorite story for the bazillionth time.  Ferdinand.  She turns the pages to her favorite illustrations: the one with the men in funny hats, and the one with Ferdinand peeking out into the bull ring.  Laura recites memorized passages.  And suddenly!  A word on a page.  No longer individual letters, stark and black on a white paper.  But a drawn word.  A picture she can read.

F-E-R-D-I-N-A-N-D

In my two and a half years as a mother, I am not sure I have ever been so proud of Laura as I was last night when she found every "Ferdinand" in her favorite book.  Pride in part because my daughter is one smart cookie.  But mostly pride in her love of books and ready.  I hope Laura’s love only grows throughout her life. 

Nice To Meet You!

Hi, my name is Gavin!  It's so nice to be formally introduced.  I'm sure you've seen me around here.  My mommy and sister sure have a lot to say about me.  Well, they aren't the only ones with a lot to say!  I thought I'd kick things off with a quick story about my most recent adventure: Work with Mommy.

Instead of going to day care yesterday, I got to go with Mommy into work!  I really enjoyed the train ride, looking at all my fellow commuters and those fascinating fluorescent lights.  I gave in to the sway of the cars though, and fell asleep about 10 minutes outside Union Station. 

I was awake briefly upon arriving at work, but quickly fell asleep.  I was very comfy in my travel bassinet, with a sweater draped over an open desk drawer to give me a little shade and privacy.

After a quick snooze, I was back to work!  I had a very important meeting with some toys.

Mommy brought me to lunch with some of her co-workers.  She had some chicken.  I had some formula.  Very tasty.  After lunch, I helped Mommy with some data entry on her computer.  I liked the bright screen.

I fell asleep again after a little typing - work is exhausting!  Mommy woke me up briefly to help with some files.  I don't think I like files.  But since I was also really tired after such a long day, I'll give them another chance some other time.

By the time Mommy was done with her day, I was pretty exhausted.  I slept the whole train ride home!  Work was lots of fun.  Maybe I can go in again another time!

Gavin: 3 Months

Gavin turned three months old on Saturday.  Three months.  I can’t believe it has already been three months! 

Whenever I am asked to describe the sort of baby Gavin is, all I can think is “He is such a good baby.”  He is the happiest, snuggliest, giggliest baby I have ever seen.  He cries when he needs something.  But only a little wail once or twice.  After he knows you’ve heard him, he stops crying and waits patiently for help to come.

Gavin is full of big gummy smiles, but I think not for long.  He is a drooly face, with his chin all drippy and slobbery.  His hands are always in his mouth, unless he’s taking a break for a snack.  I feel like teeth are imminent.

Gavin loves his toys.  He was starting to get a little bored with his gym mat, so he’s already been spending time in the exersaucer!  He tries so hard to reach the piggy – his arms aren’t quite long enough yet!  But he’ll play with just about anything.  Especially if he can get it in his mouth (see above).

He also loves his big sister.  Gavin lights up when he sees her.  And the feeling is mutual.  Laura plays with him so sweetly, sharing her toys and making sure he has a pacifier – whether he wants one or not.  I’m really enjoying watching their relationship develop.

Gavin has spent the last week sleeping in his crib in the room he is sharing with Laura.  They are both doing really well sharing the room, and neither has woken the other... yet.  Knock on wood, because I probably just jinxed myself.  We did discover in moving Gavin to the crib, where he is lying flat  (he was inclined in the bassinet), that he LOVES to be swaddled at night!  When Gavin isn’t swaddled, he sleeps with his arms flung over his head where they flail and startle him.  Swaddling him keeps those pesky arms still, and he calms down into sleep so quickly.  Such a good baby.

Seattle

One Wednesday morning, my parents woke up super early and started running around like crazies - apparently we had "slept in" and were "late" to catch our plane.  A plane?!  We were going to Seattle for cousin Steve's wedding!!  I hopped right out of bed and was ready for this grand adventure!  We got on the road in record time... only to sit in terrible traffic.  Mom and Dad thought we were going to miss our flight.  Mom was pretty frantic, and Dad was coming up with back-up plans.  He kept saying, "if we make it by 8:15, we can still catch the flight!"  We rolled into the valet parking area at 8:10, grabbed our bags and ran!  We were too late to check any of our bags, but the really nice airline people gave us a new friend, Joshua, to hurry us through the airport (through the employee security check point) and to our gate - ON TIME! 

The rest of the flight was nice and relaxing:

When we got to LA to switch planes, Grammy and Bimpy were waiting for us!  What a fun surprise!  They flew with us from LA to Seattle, where we got on a huge ferry to get to Bainbridge Island.

Mom and Gavin left almost immediately to attend a bridal shower for my new cousin, Laurel.  I stayed at Aunt Alice's amazing house with the boys.  I loved playing Alice's piano, where I sang the famous "Chatham, Massachusetts" song.  I also fell asleep on the couch.  It was a long day!

The next day (Thursday), Aunt Alice took us to the Bloedel Reserve on the island.  Bloedel is a 150-acre estate, with huge gardens and wooded areas to wander through.  The trees looked like something from prehistoric times - Mom kept looking for dinosaurs!  We walked around all morning, and still didn't see half of the trails Bloedel has to offer.  It was a really neat "garden" to visit!

 After Bloedel, we had some yummy pizza for lunch.  Then Mom and Dad packed us up for another ferry ride.  We were invited to dinner with our friends Ashlie, Todd, Nolan and Peyton!  Dad grew up with Ms. Ashlie and Mr. Todd, and was so excited for a chance to see them while we were on the West Coast.  Mt. Rainier even showed her glorious self on our trip across the sound.

I had such a great time playing with Nolan and Peyton!

Friday morning was so beautiful!  We spent it at Alice's house, relaxing with all our wonderful relatives.  Cousin (aunt?) Julie made a delicious breakfast casserole.  I think Mom wanted to eat the entire dish - she'll definitely be making it for us sometime!  Gavin had fun wearing Dad's sunglasses.  I had fun "driving" the boat - just as long as the scary, noisy engine wasn't on!

 After lounging much of the morning (while Dad helped the uncles set up the yard a bit), Aunt Alice took us all out to lunch at a restaurant on the water.  I ate a huge bowl of chowder!  Then we went to a distillery on the island for a vodka, gin and whisky tasting.  Except, I had a huge meltdown just as we got there.  Dad took me and Gavin back to the cabin we were staying in, and left Mom to enjoy the tasting with her family.  This was a great plan until Gavin got hungry and Dad didn't have any bottles for his formula! 

But I did get a good nap, and was ready for Friday night.  The rehearsal dinner!!  I have no idea what we were rehearsing, but the dinner was fun.  I got to wear a pretty party dress, and dance to some fantastic music from a live blue grass band!  We partied late into the night.  Gavin fell asleep in the piano room, while I got to sleep in cousin Gwen's big, purple bed.

The next morning we said a fond farewell to our little cabin in the woods.  After breakfast at Aunt Alice's friend's house, we were heading to the ferry again, as the wedding was in downtown Seattle.  Breakfast was on a different part of the island, and OH!  What a view!

 Gavin slept through the view, but I sure did enjoy it!

 After breakfast, we got on the ferry and headed to Seattle.  Mom, Dad, Taylor, Julia and Torie wanted to visit the famous Pike Place Market.  They loved seeing all the fresh fruit and veggies.

 They stopped by the famous fish market, in hopes of seeing some fish thrown through the air.  Alas, no one was buying any fish.  But the fish were still pretty on the ice.

 I slept through it all.

 After some lunch and more serious napping, I got to put on the prettiest party dress of all.  It was time for Steve and Laurel's wedding!  The wedding was on a roof, overlooking the beautiful city.  It was a little warm and windy up there, but I was a very good girl. 

 Laurel had a pretty party dress on, too.  White and fluffy.  Just not quite as pretty as my dress.

 Gavin was silly.

 Elizabeth (Wizabiff) was pretty AND silly.

 I had a lot of fun running around the reception, which was in a sort of children's discovery center, where kids can learn all about Seattle and the fishing industry... and mostly play with the life jackets on the model fishing boat!

 I had the most fun of anyone at the party when the music started!  I danced the night away!

 Gavin danced a little, too.

The next morning, we rolled out of bed, packed our bags, and met up with Grammy, Bimpy, Parke, Sarah, Elizabeth, Taylor, Julia and Torie for brunch to celebrate Bimpy's upcoming 60th birthday!!  Bimpy's birthday isn't until September, but we don't often have all TWELVE of us together - for anything!  We took advantage of the chance.  I was a little sleepy for brunch, but was happy enough on Bimpy's lap.

 After brunch, Taylor and Julia had to get to the airport, and Parke, Sarah and Elizabeth had to catch a ferry to a different island.  So the few of us left (all with later flights) visited the University of Washington for an hour or so.  The campus was beautiful!  Mostly, it was just a nice way to spend a few more hours in Seattle.

Mom, Dad, Gavin and I went straight to the airport from the U of Wa, and flew back to Maryland.  Thanks Seattle, Washington!  I had fun!

Laura's July Recap

Laura "fluffing" a baby cow in PA, 7/29/2012

After our trip to Cape Cod, July passed quickly with little to update.  Gavin visited the Postal Museum for lunch one day, we spent a weekend with Grandma and Grandpa swimming in the pool, and enjoyed the first half of the Olympics.  Here's a quick recap of how cute Laura was during July:

• "Hopstable: I like that word!"
• "Mommy, can you do me a favor?"
• "Good night, Gavin dear!"
• Laura pretended the minivan was space ship all the way to MA
• Laura made motorcycle noises while she rode the ride-on toy around house (a toy I played with as a toddler!)
• "Pippi owled at me" (growled)
• "I'm going to gard with Grammy" (garden)
• "Thank you for letting me play with Super Grammy!"
• "Thank you for making my sweet little things, Super Grammy!" (doll blankies, pillows and sleeping bags!)
• "Dad, you remember ice cream?" (who could forget ice cream?!)
• "Tell me whats wrong, Gavin"
• Laura has been playing birthday since her 2nd birthday in January.  It's her favorite game to play!  She uses duplos to make cakes for everyone.
• "Got the idea?"
• "Hi Gwam! Hi Bimp!"
• "I would be here in no time!"
• "Can I fluff him?"  Laura "fluffs" (pats) everyone and everything.  Gavin and Pippi are favorites to fluff.
• "Four more minutes and then I take a nap"
• "My favorite part was the doll cribby in the very first store."  We try to ask Laura to remember activities, and to name a favorite part. It's usually prompted, but this instance was not!
• I walked into the family room to see Laura on the floor, face dripping with water from the dog bowl, "I a puppy, mom!"
• Laura has started asking why about everything. Ugh!
• "Mommys not a meanie bug, Daddy!"
• "Can I fluff your hair Bimpy? You don't have much hair!"
• "That feels me better"
• "I'm a big girl, so I don't cry anymore!"  She cried 5 minutes later.
• "Wow! That's cool!"