Gingerbread Creations

Matt LOVES a project!  He constantly wants his hands to be doing something.  I bought this gingerbread set specifically for him, knowing he would want to do and it had two items to build and decorate--a house and a train. I'm glad he enjoyed doing it.  Later that night both he and Adam ate the candy off it and then took the meat tenderizer and pulverized it. 

 

 

Favorite Gifts

 Matt got a pogo stick.  The box was nearly as tall as him.

 

 Both Matt and Gavin got marshmallow guns from Santa.  Look at the grin on Matt's face.  They have had lots of fun with them.  And Gavin, too.  He quickly chases after the marshmallows in order to eat them.

 

Santa brought Adam a Pokemon Diamond DS game.  Too pricey for Mom's budget.

 

 Robert always loves KU stuff, including this KU Vault and photo of the championship shot in 2008.

 

Gavin and I checking out his Team Umizoomi remote control car.  Santa was good to me, too.  He brought me a new Kindle Fire and J.A. Henckel knives.

 

 Gavin likes his new puppy.  He calls it "Little Dog".

 

 

Gavin riding on his dinosaur pillow racer. 



Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was found with presents under the tree, our stockings full and snow on the ground.

Moving Up

Gavin has moved up to a toddler bed.  During the boys' snowday, Matt and I were a  bit bored and looking for something to do.  We decided to bring up the toddler bed from the basement.  When Gavin saw his new bed in his room he was very excited.  When Robert saw it, he thought, "Oh, great, now we'll be putting him back into bed 10 tens a night".  It's worked out alright, though.  Gavin ended up getting sick later that day, with a very high fever.  He whimpered all night.  I ended up sleeping on the floor next to him in order to hold his hand.  Notice the 'jayhawk pillow pet' next to his bed.  Gavin had a 103-104 degree fever for three days.  The fever finally broke but he was still sick another 7 days, including Christmas.  In fact, on Christmas morning, Adam and Matt were itching to start opening presents.  I told them we had to wait for Gavin.  At 8:30 I told them I would wake Gavin up.  I went in his room and told him Santa had come and left him some presents.  He was not interested.  He told me, "I'm still sleeping."  We left him and let Adam and Matt start opening their presents.  Gavin finally came out of his room around 9:15. 

       

Gavin likes to sleep with "his animals", especially his 'bear bear', 'baby bear', 'monkey' and 'surprise (a koala bear) and any others he puts in bed.  He also likes to have lots of blankets on him, usually 4-5.  He loves to be bundled up and cozy.  Also, notice his messy hair.  He has got the craziest hair.  He was born with crazy hair.  Every morning I look at his crazy, messy hair and think he's just like his Uncle Owen.   

1st Snow Day

We had our first snowday on Thursday, the 20th.  I'm not really sure why school was canceled because we only had an inch of snow and it was sunny all day.  However, the boys didn't complain.  Matt was very excited to play in the snow.  He's typically the first one out in the snow.  It was Gavin's first time playing in the snow.  We bundled him all up.  I wondered if he would fuss about the snow clothes because he seemed to be excited to wear them like his brother, Matt. 

 

Matt made a snowangel and was showing it to Gavin.

 

 Gavin then gave it a try.  He couldn't quite synchronize his arms and legs.  But, he sure looked cute trying.

 

 Gotta eat the snow!

 

 It's Gavin's turn to try the snow.

 



St. Nicholas Day

St. Nicholas stopped at our house the night of December 5th.  Notice the number of shoes in the photo below.  And then think of the number of people in our family.  Notice the difference?  The boys thought the more shoes they put out, the more stuff they'd get.  St. Nicholas brought new pajamas, chocolates, fruit, and books.

 

Plethora of Calendars

Every December the boys get a chocolate advent calendar to count down the days 'til Christmas.  Typically they share one calendar. However, this year I thought it would be fun to get them each their own (they were cheap at Walgreens).  Then a few days later we got a package in the mail from Grandma Chichi with three more calendars.  So the boys ended with two each.  We hung all six of them up in the hall.  The boys enjoyed getting two chocolates every morning. 

 

Earning His Bear

At the end of last month, Adam earned his Bear in Cub Scouts.  Here are a few pictures from the pack meeting.  He is now an official Webelos.  He enoys scouts, but it is not his top priority.  He'd rather be playing his Ipod. 

 

Thanksgiving Break

We spent our Thanksgiving holiday with Robert's folks and brother in Leavenworth.  That being said, you'd think I would have taken pictures of grandparents, the turkey. 

Nope!  Either it didn't occur to me or I just wasn't thinking.  Instead I took pictures of the boys playing at the park to get some of their wiggles out while waiting for said turkey to cook. 

So, besides the park, the Thanksgiving meal, and Adam's birthday celebrations, we did a few other things too on our trip.  Robert and I spent Friday shopping.  And boy, did we spend a lot of money.  Much more than we usually do on Black Friday.  But, it was fun and we got lots of christmas shopping done.  On Saturday we went to the KC temple.  It's so nice to have a temple there.  The boys spent a lot of their time playing with Grandma's kittens she is adopting out.  Matt and Gavin were constantly with the cats and talking about the cats.  Another great Thanksgiving!

Adam's 10th Birthday

Adam celebrated his 10th birthday in Leavenworth at his grandparents' house.  We took the boys out of school a day early for their Thanksgiving break in order to have a fun-filled birthday for Adam.  Our boys still like the tradition of going to McDonald's on their birthdays.  Their tastes might get a bit more expensive as they get older but for now it's fine.  Then, we took Adam and Matt to see the new movie, "Rise of the Guardians".  Opening day was Adam's birthday so he was excited to see it.  The day finished with cake and receiving $50 from Grandma and Grandpa. 

 

 

Here's a list of 10 things I love about Adam:
1.  He likes being smart, but he doesn't flaunt it. 
2.  He's a deep, intellectual thinker.
3.  He's good at saving his money for things he wants.
4.  He loves to stay in his pajamas all day Saturday.
5.  His humor is maturing, so it's fun to share more jokes with him.
6.  He can easily define what he likes and dislikes.
7.  He can eat a box of 50 fruit snacks in two days.
8.  He is tenacious, often to the point of unrelenting.
9.  He does his homework right away--never needs prodding.
10.  He still gives me a kiss before going to bed each night.

Adam's 10th Birthday Party

Adam had his birthday party this past Saturday.  He couldn't decide on a theme or what he wanted to do.  So I told him we were going to surprise him with something fun for the party.  And, boy, was it fun!  We rented an inflatable obstacle course.  The boys LOVED it!!! 

(Warning--lots of photos) 

 

At the party were Adam's friends, Orion and Kenji Craig, Cyrus Kentner and Steven Mills.  Matthew and Gavin also participated. 

The bouncy was set up three hours before the party began so Matt and Gavin played 'til they were pooped. 

Check Matt out--he's flying thru the air.  He would hurtled himself off the top of the slide every time. 

Gavin wasn't afraid to play with the big boys.  He didn't mind getting jostled around. 

 When the boys needed a break we came inside for cake and other snacks.  We then had a pinata.

 Gavin taking his turn.  He thought it was very exciting.
 

 Next came Matt.

 



And then Adam.  Cyrus finally got it open.