The wedding

It truly was a beautiful wedding. It rained the day before and the day after, but the sun shone brightly for their special day. We were so happy to be a part of it.

OK... so a little R-rated, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity ;)

The three brothers


Walking down the aisle
The rings
The dance
The cake

The other fun things...

After figuring out that we only had two full days (without wedding plans) to spend at Disneyworld, we bought a hopper pass. That way, we could try to see as many parks as possible while there. We spent the first day at Epcot and loved it there. We kept lucking out as people handed their fast passes to us... we were just in the right places at the right time, I guess! I also loved walking around the water and looking at all of the countries. Instead of eating one big meal, we sort of ate our way around the countries. Each country had a wine stand, a pastry shop, or some other sample of their food. Even the 360 degree movies were really impressive and interesting. It's funny that all the little kids there were either asleep, crying, or had a "bored out of their mind" look. I guess you have to be an adult to appreciate all this culture. ;)

A frozen banana... my favorite Disneyworld treat

You gotta have romance in Italy, right? ;)
We found the yummiest chocolate chip cookie ever in Germany
Ending the night with Illuminations, a firework show
The next day, we went to Cocoa Beach. It took awhile to drive there, so we only had a few hours before heading to the rehearsal. Andy (Adam's brother) brought his kiting gear all the way from Washington though, so he was itching to try it out. As we drove to the rehearsal, it started to rain. Due to the fact that Peter and Melisa's wedding was outdoors, this wasn't a promising sight. Nevertheless, we practiced for the ceremony under a picnic shelter and kept our hopes up for a sunny wedding day. The fondue dinner was incredible, but we were there almost four hours so I was happy to be there without two kids to entertain.

Shielding myself from the rain with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law
Just practicing for our special day... ;)
Since we spent our first day at Epcot, we split our last day between the other parks. We went to Animal Kingdom in the morning, Hollywood Studios in the afternoon, and the Magic Kingdom at night. The highlights? Definitely the car stunt show and Indiana Jones at Hollywood Studios. The stunt show had cars with motorcycle engines and four reverse gears, all pulling their e-brakes and missing each other by inches. One car looked like it was going backwards the entire time, but in reality, the driver's seat was backwards. They even had a driver rolling in flames! The other show was incredible as well, with Indiana dodging swords as they sprang up from the ground, running from a giant boulder, climbing ropes, punching out the bad guys, and jumping from building to building.

My favorite little guy at Animal Kingdom

This person is really on fire!
Adam got completely drenched on Splash Mountain... I've never seen anything like it!
I know you're impressed, but this is not me ;)
I have to say that ending our vacation at the Magic Kingdom couldn't have been more ideal. Although it is almost identical to Disneyland, nothing compares to the electrical parade, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, fireworks, everything. There's just something about the magic there, even if you are an adult. It's absolutely beautiful at night and there wasn't more than a ten minute wait for any ride. I loved every minute. The best part was we found a Woody doll for Jacob. We promised that we would bring one back for him, yet I left each park empty-handed after numerous searching attempts. The Magic Kingdom was my last hope. Fifteen minutes before the park closed, we found Woody outside of the Buzz Lightyear ride. He looked just like the real thing, with even a string you could pull to make him talk. It made my whole vacation.

Florida, here we come!

So here I am, blogging from the airport. How cool is that?! Then again, I'm pretty easily amused. :) Adam's brother is getting married this weekend and it just so happens that he lives in Orlando, Florida! Does it get any better than that?!

We debated on whether or not to bring the kids for awhile. The more we thought about it though... a five hour flight, three hour time difference, the rehearsal dinner at a fondue restaurant, tag-teaming the kids during the wedding... the more we thought it would be better to take grandma up on her offer to watch them. So right now, they are having fun with grammy and their cousins (who live right down the street).

Meanwhile, Adam and I will be spending some quality time together in Disney World! I've never been there, so I can't wait to see all of the different places that are wrapped up into one package. We're renting a house for the week with Adam's parents, brother, and sister-in-law (they left their little one at home also). There's even a pool and jacuzzi there. Words cannot describe how excited I am!

Our vacation is off to a great start as we are flying stand-by and have gotten on all of our flights with ease so far. We had dinner at Anthony's in Sea-Tac, with a beautiful sunset and planes taking off in the background. So. relaxing. I'd forgotten what going out to dinner is like without kids. You almost don't know what to do with yourself. Almost. ;) Right now, Adam is seeing if he can give me a private tour of his airplane, the MD-80. AND there is one first class ticket left on the flight to Orlando. I'm pretty much LOVING my husband for offering it to me. Yeah for perks!

We'll be back next week. I'll try to bring back some sunshine!

What?!

My dad and step-mom were over for dinner the other night, when I heard Jacob spelling something. He's been trying really hard to sound words out lately and actually does a surprisingly good job. For example, he'll say, "Whistler. R-I-S-L." Not bad, huh? ;)

Well, this time I heard him spell S-E-X. My head immediately spun around with a huge question mark on my face. He could not be spelling what I think he's spelling? Then I heard him again. S-E-X. I looked at Adam and said, "Ummm, are you listening to what Jacob is saying right now?" I have NO idea what my dad was thinking. Probably... what the heck are you teaching this kid?! ;)

I finally figured out what he was spelling the third time. He said, "Snakes. S-E-S." Ohhhhh. S-E-S... thank goodness! Because I'm definitely not ready to have the S-E-X talk yet. ;)

My Jacob

My favorite thing about having a four-year old... not a day goes by where he doesn't say something that makes me smile. He's just learning so much everyday and is incredibly curious about well, everything. Questions, questions, questions, all day long. They are so dang cute though!

We were at Zoolights a few months ago, when two girls walked by hand-in-hand. Jacob called out, "HI! What's your name?" They kept walking by so I said, "It's OK Jacob. Sometimes people don't like to tell you their name." They must have realized he was talking to them because they turned around and introduced themselves.

Jacob - "How old are you?"
Me (embarrassed)- "Jacob, you shouldn't ask adults how old they are."
Woman - "It's alright, I don't mind. I'm 29."
Jacob (looking at the woman with a short haircut) - "Are you a boy or a girl?"
Woman (being super nice about it) - "I'm a girl."
Me (thought I was embarrassed before. Nope.) - Apologized as I explained to Jacob that some women just have short hair cuts.

We were talking about what to have for breakfast the other day and Jacob had his heart set on blueberry pancakes. (We always get blueberry pancakes at our favorite breakfast restaurant)

M - I don't know how to make blueberry pancakes Jacob.
J - You can make blueberry pancakes Mommy. You just have to practice.

Jacob recently became shy about praying by himself. He either asks us to pray or wants us to help him. So lately, we have been praying and he will repeat what we say. Or Adam will ask him what he is thankful for, and he will say lions and zebras and ice cream and swimming...

Tonight though, I asked if he could help me pray. He thought for a minute, folded his hands, closed his eyes, and started praying all by himself! I was so excited to hear that sweet, pure voice thinking of his own little prayer again. Afterward, he flexed his muscles and said, "I'm sooo strong cause I help you pray!" I couldn't help but laugh and tell him yes, you are so strong.

Jacob got a balloon from Red Robin and wouldn't let go of it the entire evening. When it was time for bed, he brought it upstairs with the intention of sleeping with it. To his devastation, I let it float to the ceiling in his room.

M - You can watch it from your bed, OK buddy? The balloon will stay right there until you wake up.
J - Oh no, I need a ladder!
Let's build a sand castle. (Where do they come up with this stuff?!)
I. can't. jump. high. enough.
MOMMY!

Jacob really is a good big brother to Gavin. He is worried when Gavin cries and tries his best to comfort him. Whenever he has a snack, he brings one for Gavin too. The other day, he tried to help Gavin onto his chair to play a game. I heard him say, "Gavin, you're getting so much heavy!"

Jacob LOVES treats and tries to eat just enough dinner each night to have one. He always wants to know exactly how many bites he has to take and carefully keeps track as he eats. The funny thing is that during the day, he knows I'm not likely to give him a treat. He constantly is in the pantry though, looking for something he would like. When he finds it, he brings it to me and says, "Mommy, look what I got for you!" Acting all sweet and innocent, like he really just brought it for me. If I eat it, he looks at me with adoring eyes that say... can I have one too?

My favorite thing by far though are the random I love you's. We'll be playing, reading, cooking, or just cuddling and he'll look at me and say, "I love you Mommy." It's the most genuine I love you though ~ nothing could mean more. One time he even said, "Mommy, I know I love you. I just know it."

Little Gavin

Gavin's second birthday is just around the corner (exactly one month from today), so I thought I would share with you how his little personality is developing.

Just recently, Gavin has taken on a love for legos, peg puzzles, and Mr. Potato Head. He will focus on building a tower with his legos for quite some time... until the tower crashes and I hear his upset voice cry out. In honor of his brother, Gavin got a few beginning puzzles for Christmas. At first, he wasn't sure how to maneuver the puzzle pieces. One day he got it though, and you could see confidence glowing on his face as he placed each piece in its spot. By far, Gavin spends the majority of his time each day with Mr. Potato Head. He doesn't really get which parts are supposed to go where, just takes great pride in fitting one body part in each hole. (Jacob always gets so upset because the pieces aren't in the right spot. He comes up to me with a concerned look and says, "Gavin's just being silly?")



Gavin loves to sing and some of my most cherished moments are cuddling in his rocking chair and singing together. Whether I sing a song he knows, or make one up (which is a frequent occurrence in our family), he gazes into my eyes and softly sings along. One time I was singing "Mommy loves Gavin" over and over and he just smiled and sang "Mommy wuvs Gabin" with me. After each song is through, he always ends with "RAY", short for hooray! I also hear him singing himself to sleep in his crib at night. If you listen carefully, you can even make out the song he is singing.

He is learning that each thing has a place and likes putting things where they belong. The only trouble is that he thinks dirty forks and spoons belong in the garbage, so we've lost a lot of silverware lately. Unlike Jacob, he thinks cleaning up his toys is fun... especially if I sing the clean up song. One odd thing he loves to do is put his diaper ~just the wet ones ;)~ in the diaper genie for me. He doesn't like getting his diaper changed, but takes comfort in making a basket with the diaper and carefully closing the lid.

Gavin's world revolves around being a big boy and doing things on his own. He no longer wants to be carried or ride on his belly down the stairs, he insists on holding onto the railing and taking one step at a time. Gavin has recently taken a huge interest in letters and will point to and tell me what letter he sees. Sometimes he is even right! :)

One thing I've especially noticed is his love for our dog, Sy. I think this stands out to me because Jacob has never taken an interest in or even payed much attention to Sy. However, Gavin is constantly petting, hugging, bringing balls to, and putting blankets on him. He also found Sy's dog food in the pantry and will frequently bring it to me in hopes of feeding him.

The number of words he is able to say is multiplying rapidly. Some of the most common phrases are "More meel" (more milk), "OK Jacob" (when Jacob is upset), "jup jup be" (jump on the bed), and "Ora, Iego, and Iggles" (his favorite TV shows). Mostly, I just hear Moooommmmaaa all day long. The tone frequently changes though from whining to asking a question to just seeming to say it for no reason at all.

Gavin weighs about 34 pounds, but hardly eats anything. I wouldn't say he is picky, he just eats tiny bits of whatever it is we give him. The only exceptions are french toast, pancakes, chicken nuggets, and anything sweet. He is more of a vegetable fan and will hardly touch the meat, while Jacob eats the meat and hardly touches the vegetables. Jacob, only weighing five pounds more, eats more than Gavin everytime though. Shows how much of a factor genetics play, huh?

All in all, he is growing into a little boy before my very eyes. I can't believe he is going to be two!

Show Week

Gavin has come a long way since that first day of Little Gym. It's funny how they come in, not knowing or understanding the routine or what is expected of them. I struggled the first few weeks, thinking he would sit in my lap when he was supposed to, try everything that was introduced, and transition with ease to the next activity. What I was thinking?!

It only took a few weeks for his little brain to soak it all in though... and he got it! He was able to stay on my lap to watch the other toddlers bang the drum, held my hand on the big red mat through all the warm-ups, wasn't afraid of the air-track, and for the most part, would even try each skill of the week. Did I mention how much he even loves to clean up when it's time to put the balls away? Once he understood the routine, his crying tantrums turned into happy smiles. He absolutely loves Little Gym!

This was Gavin's teacher, Miss Morgan. We LOVED Miss Morgan and are really sad that she won't be teaching at the Little Gym anymore. Her husband is in Iraq for six more months and then they will be stationed in Kentucky. We'll miss you!
Singing "Wheels on the Bus" with the parachute
Getting good at shooting those hoops! (Usually when it's time to play with balls, Gavin finds whatever adult will throw the ball back and forth with him. He hams it up as he walks from one mommy and daddy to the next!)
Bubble time is one of Gavin's favorites!
Receiving his Little Gym medal from Miss Morgan