Weekend Update

We've had a nice weekend. Adam and Matt have tomorrow off from school so they're extra to have a longer weekend. The boys had a soccer game yesterday morning. One of the moms in our ward started up a mini soccer league because all of the other leagues in town hold their games on Sundays. So, most of the kids ages 4-7 in the ward joined up to have our own soccer league. The rest of the day was devoted to General Conference. Watching conference with children isn't usually quiet or relaxing. Most of the time it's a lesson in patience for me. We do have some type of conference activity and candy to keep the boys entertained and somewhat involved. We had conference bingo for them this time. I remember being Adam's age and watching general conference at our house in San Antonio and thinking, "this is so boring. I don't even understand what they're saying." And even though we heard lots of complaints and said multiple times, "put the ball away and come sit back down", it was nice to spend so much time together as a family. Any other Saturday would have been spent doing chores, errands, etc and we wouldn't have been together as much. Between sessions, Robert took the boys to buy new tennis shoes. We told Adam he has to finally get some tie shoes, not the velcro straps anymore. He struggled with learning to tie his shoes in kindergarten and hasn't wanted to do it since then. We explained that since he's older now it would be easier to learn. And it was. He got it down in just a few tries. Matt even learned how to do it. So, they did spend part of conference tying and retying their shoes. They're both at the age now that they only change shoe-size about once a year. And I've learned, through trial and error, that if we buy the better shoe brands (Skechers, Nike, etc) we only have to buy one pair per year. In the past I bought shoes at Walmart but ended up replacing them every 2-3 months. Now we just need to teach them how to ride bikes. That's for another weekend.

I Love NY

All three of our boys have worn this outfit that Auntie Holly gave us back when Adam was a baby. Here's a couple of photos--one of Matt and one of Gavin wearing it. I have a photo of Adam wearing it as well but we didn't have a digital camera when he was a baby so that particular photo is not on our computer. Matthew is 3 1/2 months in his photo and Gavin is 4 1/2 months in his. Can you tell who's who?

Gavin's 1st Cereal

On Sunday, Gavin had his first serving of rice cereal. He seemed to enjoy it and didn't fuss at all about eating it.

Matt wanted to be in the middle of the action. Here he is helping feed Gavin.

Weekend News

I title this 'weekend news' although I can't really say there's much news to it. We've had a nice weekend. Yesterday Adam and Matt seemed to get along better than most days and played well together. Basically just goofing off and having fits of the giggles. It's great fun for Rob and I to see them laughing and having fun with each other. Two weeks ago Robert repainted the basement. Yesterday we finished painting the trim. Only the doors are left now. We fed Gavin his first baby cereal today. He did better than expected--no crying, not even a 'what-the-heck-is-this' face. I'll post pictures later. He has dropped his evening nap. Now we're down to three a day. Last Sunday after church we were informed that the spanish branch we attend would be dissolved into the english ward. That officially happened today. I'm excited for the spanish members to be in a fully functioning ward and be able to enjoy all the blessings that come from that. I hope the language and culture differences won't be a barrier to anyone feeling welcome and/or accepted. So, that's my short post. Just wanted to record what's going on around here.

Growing Up

Earlier this week Matt and Adam were discussing who was stronger. Matt said he was 'cause he could do more push-ups. Of course Adam countered that and said he could. So, they both got down on the floor to see who could do the most push-ups. Adam did a typical kid push-up with his bum in the air, but Matt had the correct form and quickly did 10 of them. This caught me by surprise. Not that Matt hasn't always been athletic and quite stocky, but that he could do push-ups properly at his age. I told him to let me feel his muscles. I noticed that his biceps, triceps and shoulders seemed to be quite a bit stronger. So, I asked him if he had been practicing doing push-ups. He replied that he hadn't. So, then I asked what he had been doing to get stronger arms. He said that he's been doing chin-ups during recess.

Adam went to a classmate's birthday party this week. It was the first girl party he has been invited to. He even received a princess invitation. I wasn't sure if he would want to go but he said he did. When I took him over to Alexa's house, I noticed there were 6-7 girls there but no boys. Alexa's mom (who happens to be Matt's kindergarten teacher) told Adam not to worry, that more boys were coming. After the party ended and Adam came home, he told us about the party. He said, "When I went inside, all these girls swarmed around me and my stomach felt weird and I didn't know what to do". Both Robert and I started laughing.

4 Months

Gavin is four months old today. He is doing really well. He has a happy disposition and really enjoys smiling at anything and anyone. He seems a lot more interactive this past month. His current stats are: weight: 14 lbs. 5 oz (50th percentile); height: 24 inches (30th percentile).
In comparison to Adam and Matt, Gavin is the heaviest (by one ounce) and the shortest (by 1/4 inch). So, I'm thinking of him as our "stubby chubby". He continues to nurse six times/day and nap four times/day. He goes to bed about 9pm and sleeps 'til 7am. He's grown into his 3-6 months clothes. He loves to stand on our laps and has little interest in lying down. He no longer wants to be in his bouncy seat since it's too reclined for his liking. He is enjoying his exersaucer, as seen below. He also likes to sit in his highchair and be scooted up to the table with the rest of us during mealtime. He recognizes himself in the mirror and is just thrilled to see himself or any other baby. He breaks out into a big smile. He is getting quite adept at grabbing and holding onto his toys, our glasses, my hair, etc. He rolls from his tummy to his back and is starting to work on rolling from his back to his tummy.

His hair has fallen out on the sides, so he's sporting a mohawk along the top and down the back. He's got big, blue eyes that always seem to be very alert. It looks like he is starting to develop a dimple in his chin like his Grandpa Chichi. He has started drooling a lot and some days sports a rash on his chin from it. He continues to spit up a lot and it has gotten gradually worse as he's gotten older. I've been eliminating any and all foods that could possibly be bothering him. I feel like it's only safe to eat bananas and turkey sandwiches. However, the doctor today told me that at this point I can start eating everything again, including dairy. And simply try to pinpoint the exact foods that bother him. We're glad Gavin is doing so well and is a healthy boy.

Weekly Update

So, here's an update to my previous post this week. Gavin is doing much better. He's back on his normal schedule, including four naps and six feedings. He has started rolling over from his tummy to his back. I've done a better job of having Gavin do 'tummy time' than I did with Adam and Matt.
Adam is enjoying school. He's started up his gifted class again, which he loves. This year he is grouped with another student and not on his own.
Matthew won't admit it but he likes school. He did tell me he liked preschool better because it wasn't as long, but he said he laughs more in kindergarten because he has made lots of friends and "they are funny".
Robert spent all day yesterday painting the basement, at least the family and guest rooms. He's going to paint the study tomorrow. Somehow Labor Day weekend is always full of labor in our house.