jan. 31

kevin left today on a business trip.  gavin cried because he couldn't go on an airplane, too.  brooke cried because she's going to miss her daddy.  so, i had to make sure we had a fun morning.  brooke came up with the idea to make cookies :)  thankfully, we had just enough butter.  so brooke and gavin both helped me make orange chocolate chip cookies.  gavin helped measure the sugars and brooke did the flour, salt and baking soda.  they were both awfully curious as to what i was doing with the zester and the orange :)  i gave them some chocolate chips and let them lick the beater.  that was about all it took to put smiles on their faces.  mission accomplished.  now i need to give all these cookies away to our neighbors so i don't eat them all!

jan. 30

for the past month i've been running on the weekends.  i thought i would do the "couch to 5K" running plan, but i quickly realized that running 3 times/week proves to be a challenge with 2 small kids at home.  so, i run when i can, which usually means saturday or sunday.  even though it's only 1 day/week, it makes me feel good.  i've run in the cold and in the rain, and regardless of the weather, i always feel better after running.  there's something about breathing the cool, fresh air that is just plain old good for the soul.  not to mention the waistline... :)

jan. 29

a package arrived from aunt sandy today.  she sent the kids 2 big, cozy michigan blankets that she made herself, and she also had an extra little something for the birthday girl - new clothes for her baby dolls.  we didn't get 5 feet inside the door, and brooke was already making me drop everything and put the clothes on her baby.  she rarely leaves the house with a baby doll, but as luck would have it, she happened to have one with her today when we arrived home and received the package.  we dressed 3 of her baby dolls in the new outfits, and brooke played with them all day long.  what a great gift!

jan. 28

gavin awakened with a fever this morning, so we spent a long day indoors.  brooke had a little play date with our neighbors anna and jessie, and i managed to keep gavin happy.  kevin brought home uncle si's pizza, and then we all cuddled on the couch for some family time.  kevin turned on the x-games and was beyond thrilled to see gavin's excited reaction.  kevin said, "this is a nutcracker moment right here."  gavin kept saying things like "yay!" and "one more" and "whoa!"  it was so funny.  kevin is already planning their trip to aspen :)

jan. 27

brooke was at school today, and gavin and i enjoyed some great 1:1 time.  gavin had his last gym class of the fall/winter session today so i took some quick pictures with my iphone.  i love how he climbs up to the balance beam and gets on without even worrying about where i am.  he has no fear.  i still don't know how he hasn't fallen off.  when he walks across the beam (with my assistance) he says, "walk, walk, walk, walk."  i've really enjoyed participating in this class with gavin.  he loves it, and i love to see his personality on display.  i love that he is not afraid to try things.  i also love that he doesn't need me by his side at all times.  he's learning how to share, wait in line and take turns.  he taps the tamborine during introductions, helps the teacher put the balls away and lines up against the wall for stamps.  he's one of the younger children in the class, but you'd never know it!

jan. 26

my baby is growing up.  today when we started getting ready to leave the house, gavin walked into the kitchen with one boot on and one in his hand.  it's the first time he's put one of his shoes on by himself.  never mind that it was on the wrong foot :)  then he tried putting the other boot on, but i had to stop him to get them on the right feet.

jan. 25

brooke has been taking ballet for a year now.  she really seems to like it, although it's hard to know for sure because i rarely get to see her in class.  they only let parents "observe" on the last day of the session (about every 2 months).  she goes to class during school, so i don't even drop off or pick up.  so, it's special when i do get to go in and see her.  there is nothing sweeter to me than a bunch of little girls in pink leotards and tutus.  i love to see her coordination grow (ever so slightly) over the months.  she loves twirling and spinning around the house, and she recalls a lot that she learns during class.  brooke's teacher, miss katie, is the owner of the studio, and she's wonderful with the girls.  i feel very fortunate to have such a gem of a dance studio right here in our community.

jan. 24

brooke received "moon sand" as a birthday gift from one of her friends.  i was excited to get it out and try it.  i've heard that it's like play-doh.  um... not so much.  unless i did something wrong, this stuff is a lot like sand and not much at all like play-doh.  i was cringing at the mess and wouldn't leave the kids' side.  i will say though that gavin could have sat there most of the day playing with this stuff.  he sat there very content for at least 30 minutes, and i finally cleaned it up and put it away in order to get ready for lunch.

jan. 23

what do you buy for a 4 year-old girl who has everything?  well, a mani/pedi for one thing :)  hanna's gift to brooke was a mani/pedi, so anastasia and i took the girls to the nail salon today.  they have this cute chair for little girls, and it was made even cuter by the fact that brooke and hanna shared the chair for their pedicure.  this was brooke's 1st time having her nails done "for real."  she loved the pedicure and sat so still through the entire thing.  she chose dark purple glittery nail polish for her toes and bright pink for her fingers.  the nail tech added some cute girly flowers to their toes, and they were happy as could be.

jan. 22

brooke came to me quietly tonight and said, "mom, this was the best birthday party ever!"  that's all i was hoping for.  it was a great party.  all the girls had fun, and brooke loved having all of her friends at her house.  they had their hair done, had make-up (glitter powder) and stick-on earrings applied and made their own princess tiaras.  then all the girls sat down for tea and cupcakes, followed by presents.  it was a ton of work but worth every bit of it to see the smile on brooke's face all day long.  happy birthday, my sweet princess.

jan. 21

the anticipation is building... tomorrow is the big day!  a princess tea party for 14 little princesses.  i can't wait!

Jan. 20

in 2 days, 14 princesses will be coming to our house to celebrate brooke's 4th birthday.  i just might be crazy :)  today i started decorating.  so far, so good, but i have a lot to do in the next 2 days.  wish me luck!

today gavin turned 21 months old.  we were at gym class, and a woman i've come to know said, "when is gavin's birthday?"  when i told her april 20th, she paused then said, "he's going to be 3, right?"  ha!  when i told her, "no, he'll be 2" her jaw dropped open and she said, "wow, he's really with it."  i thought that was such an appropriate way of putting it.  my boy is definitely "with it."

jan 19

we've had 2 big days in a row.  brooke started ski lessons today.  we take a bus up to the mountain with 11 other kids from brooke's school (ages 3-6), and then we split up into smaller groups for the ski lessons.  the lessons last 1.5 hours.  brooke cried nonstop for at least the first 30 minutes.  at that point i was seriously questioning our judgment in enrolling her in these lessons.  i tried to have as much patience as possible knowing that it would take time for her to be comfortable.  after a short break during which brooke was able to bond with her ski instructor (young female, thank heavens!), she jumped right up and was ready to put on her skis.  no more crying.  no more whining.  she just got up and did it.  i was so proud of her.  she was really quite good on skis.  i can't wait to see what she can do at the end of 6 weeks.

jan. 18

our birthday girl.  my heart is so full thinking of the joy she has brought us every single day of the last 4 years.  brooke, you are one special girl.  words can't describe how much we love you.  happy birthday!

jan. 17

brooke's birthday is tomorrow.  she has been counting down the days for about 3 weeks now :)  i am making cupcakes in ice cream cones for her birthday celebration at school tomorrow, and i'm planning to make cupcakes for her birthday party on saturday.  tonight, however, i realized that brooke needs a birthday cake for her special day.  so, the cakes are in the oven :)  and they sure do smell good!  i'm trying a new recipe, so we'll see how it turns out.  brooke keeps telling us that she wants to have a dinner like shrek in "shrek 1" with flowers and candles and a fire going in the fireplace.  how cute is that?  so tomorrow night we will have a "shrek" dinner.  brooke planned the menu which includes steak, mac-n-cheese and broccoli (suggested by mom, of course :)

jan. 16

mmmm... doughnuts.  when all else fails, we go for doughnuts.  there's a doughnut shop in our community, and the kids love it because they not only have doughnuts, but they also have toys.  whenever kevin needs to get the kids out of the house for me to get something done, he usually takes them to the doughnut shop.  i hate going to the doughnut shop because it is the worst run business i have ever personally experienced.  every time i go in, i swear i am never going back.  and then i usually give in, only to be disappointed all over again.  like today... we show up at 10:30 am on a sunday, and they are out of doughnuts.  a doughnut shop that's out of doughnuts.  really?  well, technically they had 2 doughnuts.  just enough for our little munchkins.  they were happy, so i guess i should stop complaining :)

jan. 15

today was a rough one.  we kept the kids out too late last night, and we paid for it.  lots of crabbiness in the house today, but we managed through it.  kevin and i relaxed with an episode of "parenthood" during nap/quiet time.  brooke came down before the end of the show and cuddled up with us.  i love her cuddles. when the show ended brooke indulged me with a few photos.  love it when that happens :)  i can't believe our girl is just a few days away from turning 4!

jan. 14

i love our quiet days at home.  today was one of them.  we stayed in pjs all morning and played together.  we painted, played with trains, engaged in"pretend like..." with brooke, played tickle monster on the bed, listened to music and watched a movie.  brooke and gavin both love smoothies so we make them often.  gavin will go to the freezer and try to pull the door open.  once i help him open the door, he grabs the bag of frozen strawberries.  then he helps me get out the magic bullet and covers his ears (only because he has seen his sister do this :)

tonight we all went to the mall.  gavin did not want to leave the elevators, so kevin and i said, "ok, gavin.  we're leaving.  see you later."  to which brooke yelled, "no!  get him.  you can't leave him.  he belongs to us!"  yes, he sure does.  i love the things kids say.

jan. 13

had to get a shot of brooke in her new outfit from ba kaye and ta ta bob.  what's even cuter than the dress, matching tights and barrettes is the fact that brooke refers to this as her "slinky dog" dress.  she loves slinky dog from toy story, and she got one for christmas from ba kaye and ta ta bob, so this dress was the perfect choice.  also note, my girl still loves her giraffe :)  she is turning 4 next week...  i'm wondering when this attachment will fade.

jan. 12

my kids love hot cocoa.  actually, they love the whip cream and marshmallows that come with hot cocoa.  once they make it through that, they usually don't end up drinking too much of the cocoa :)  last night we had some crazy wind and snow followed by sleet, which made for a good morning to stay in our pjs and have some hot cocoa.

jan. 11

tonight after dinner i saw gavin pick up his stool and carry it over to the tv.  i knew what he was thinking... if i get my stool i'll be able to reach the dvds that mom put up on the shelf, then i'll be able to pick the shrek dvd and make mom play it for me.  i grabbed my iphone to make sure i captured gavin reaching as high as he could, but coming up way short!  our cutie pie has a lot to learn :)

jan. 10

i love college football, even when i could care less who wins.  it was nice to be able to sit down with kevin and watch a good football game.  now, on to important matters... like who is going to be the next head coach at michigan???

jan. 9

before kevin and i were even married, i was excited for the day when we would have children who were old enough to learn how to ski, and now here we are!  brooke starts ski lessons on wednesday, so we took her up to the mountain to get her in her boots and on her skis.  we didn't do much, but brooke seemed to like being on her skis.  phew!  it's crazy how accessible the slopes are - 25 min. drive for us.  we loved being out there.  gavin loved it, too.  he wanted to be on skis so bad that he was trying to stand on the back of brooke's!  one more year, my little man...

jan. 8

i took brooke to see tangled today.  i was surprised to find out that it was playing in 3D.  it was amazing.  i loved the movie.  brooke did, too, until the very end when rapunzel's hair was cut and the wicked woman turned very wicked.  she could have done without that part.  i was proud of her for wearing those glasses for the entire movie.  every time something in the movie appeared to be right in front of our faces, she would pull her glasses down slightly to lose the 3D effect and make sure nothing was there.  so cute!  oh, and she pretty much ate the entire bag of popcorn by herself :)

jan. 7

we had a fun day at home today.  it started with a pancake breakfast with brooke, hanna and gavin.  hanna stayed all morning through lunch, and the kids had fun playing together.  gavin loves to chase the girls around or just generally be in their presence, but they typically want their own "boy-free" space :)  so gavin and i played with a little play-doh today while the girls were busy playing make believe.

jan. 6

hanna came over to play with brooke tonight and ended up staying for dinner.  everyone enjoyed dinner, and we had a lot of fun together.  afterwards, the girls requested a dance party.  it's so great to see brooke, hanna and gavin getting down to some good old country/pop music.  tonight it was taylor swift and carrie underwood.  i will always have the greatest memories of hanna and brooke playing together, and of gavin's excitement over having another girl in the house.  i love to hear gavin's voice shouting out "nnnaaa" as they all play together upstairs.

jan. 5

brooke with teacher lacey at the little gym tonight.  it may have been brooke's last gymnastics class ever.  we'll see...  we start ski lessons next wednesday, which is going to take the place of gymnastics at least for now.  brooke's experience at the little gym over the past 1.5 years has done so much to build her confidence.  i am so proud when i see how much she has grown, even over the course of the last 6 months.  at the start of this session she refused to go on the "big" balance beam.  tonight she was up there doing a whole routine with only a little assistance.  i love to see how she comes alive when she's in there with a bunch of kids her age.  she loves her teachers, too.  whenever we play "pretend" with her princess dolls, she is always teacher lacey, and i am teacher nikki.  i have seen so much of brooke's personality unfold by watching her in gymnastics.  she loves to be right next to the teacher, she races to be the first in line, she communicates clearly when she does not want to try something, she is cautious but is able to overcome her fears with time and encouragement, and she is always looking to make sure i see her great skills on display.  she loves praise, and i love to give it to her.

jan. 4

tonight gavin came to me and said, "bath."  one reason - his new yookidoo flow-n-fill spout.  he played with it for the first time during his bath last night, and he couldn't wait to do it again.  it was a christmas present from aunt mercedes, uncle carl & pierce, and it's a big hit.  if you have a child who loves to play in water, you need this toy.  i've been happy to see how much the kids are enjoying all of their christmas gifts.  you can never tell when they open them because they (particularly brooke) are so focused on tearing into the next gift, but i have to say that they really love their new toys.

jan. 3

today was kevin's last day of vacation :(  we wanted to get out and do something together as a family, but by the time gavin awakened from his nap and the kids had something to eat, it was past 4:00pm.  kevin was trying to get everyone excited about going to a park and soaking up some of the last rays of sunshine of the day (and maybe the week!), but neither of the kids were cooperating.  it didn't seem like they were very interested in leaving the house so getting them dressed to go out in the cold and the snow was a big challenge.  i was almost ready to throw in the towel, but kevin persevered.  turned out that kevin knew just what we all needed :)  the kids were so happy to be on the playground - climbing, sliding, running.  then we took a walk into the field to watch a dog play catch with his owner.  the kids decided it was a good opportunity to take part in their favorite activity - eating snow!  crazy kids love it.  it took about 2 minutes for their little hands to be frozen, and then they were whining to go home.  i'm so happy that kevin got us out of the house, and we were able to enjoy the beautiful outdoors on a day when we might have otherwise stayed inside.  oh, and don't you just love the adorable hats we bought at the college hill coffee co. while in cincinnati!

jan. 2

i love to take pictures of items the kids leave lying around.  i think they tell a great story.  like this one...  brooke set up all of her toy story characters by our front door.  when she moved on to the next thing, i couldn't resist snapping this shot before i picked them up for her.  oh, how we love our toy story characters in this household.  when brooke and gavin opened this gift from santa, brooke said "how did santa know we like toy story?"  i said, "the elves told him, of course!"

jan. 1

tonight during dinner gavin said he was "all done," and then he walked over to the bathroom door and said "potty."  it took us by total surprise.  kevin ran to get one of the little potties for him and brought it into the bathroom.  once his pjs were down and his diaper was off, gavin sat right down.  he didn't go, but he sure was cute sitting there :)