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

More FUN in the snow!

We woke up yesterday morning to snow decorating our neighborhood as far as you could see. It was so beautiful. Adam had the day off so our family got to play in the snow together until we were frozen and starving... then we came in and made some cookies. :)




As I've learned since marrying my husband, he prides himself in finding a unique way to have fun. So he spent the morning towing Jacob and Gavin on their little sled with a go-cart, motorcycle, and any other toy he could find that worked in the snow. What an ideal daddy for two boys! ;)

A Broken Heart

A friend wrote this article and as I read it, my eyes immediately filled with tears. Tears because it happened to me... tears because memories of my own broken heart came flooding back.

I had a miscarriage in March of 2005, when Jacob was fifteen months old. We were trying for a second child and were more than ecstatic to see the positive pregnancy test. I remember running to tell Adam as he was attempting to fill a crack in our sliding glass door. Whatever he used had the opposite effect, so as I showed him the pregnancy test, we watched our glass door shatter behind us. How's that for an earth shattering response?

We were at the mall that night and made a little t-shirt for Jacob. It had his sweet face with fireworks in the background and said, "I'm going to be a big brother!" And that was how we told everyone without saying a word. Jacob would run into each house with his shirt on and family would bubble over in excitement and congratulations.

I don't remember feeling anything different from my first pregnancy. I was really lucky with Jacob to slide through the first trimester without morning sickness, so I just thought it was another easy pregnancy. Everything seemed fine until my first ultrasound turned my world upside down.

I was eight weeks along, holding onto Adam's hand and anxious to see our baby. When I saw the picture on the screen, I was immediately confused. It did not match the picture of the eight week fetus that I had seen in my pregnancy books. My ultrasound technician told me in a reassuring voice that the baby looked about 4 to 5 weeks, so it would be difficult to see anything in the ultrasound yet.

Upon leaving the appointment, I felt my heart sinking. Without a doubt, I knew I had been pregnant for at least eight weeks. Adam kept trying to convince me that I was mistaken, that our baby would be fine. I tried to keep a glimmer of hope but deep down inside, I knew something was wrong.

My midwife wanted me to have my blood drawn every other day to see if my HCG levels were increasing. Each time it was drawn, they stayed the same... which wasn't good news for us. Finally, one week later, we had a second ultrasound. It confirmed what we had been dreading to see, that the lining around our baby had started to deteriorate.

We saw that our neighbors were home as we drove into our cul-de-sac, so we handed over Jacob in tears. We needed some time alone. I remember laying in our bed, praying and crying together for over an hour. Later that evening, we went for a drive and ended up at a riverbank. It was pure serenity to watch the river flowing in front of us. Everything was quiet, and even though our hearts ached, we could feel God comforting us in the beauty of his nature. I couldn't fathom having a D&C procedure, so I decided to have the miscarriage on my own. I realize now that it wasn't the best decision. Miscarrying my baby was an absolutely horrific experience that I couldn't (or wouldn't ever want to) describe.

It's been almost three years now, but certain things bring me back to the emotions I felt then in an instant. I take comfort in knowing that God had a plan for us, and that plan was to bring sweet Gavin into this world. If everything went well with my second pregnancy, then we wouldn't have Gavin. And I just can't imagine our life without him. Someone gave me a book when I was going through this experience called ~ I'll see you in Heaven. That will be a beautiful day.

Seriously... they really do!

So I had to add one more to my last post. ;) I was getting ready for school in the morning, when I heard Jacob talking about bringing his ship to Donna's house. I can usually talk him out of bringing his toys to wherever we are going by telling him ~ we should leave it at home, just to be sure it doesn't get lost. So now he is convinced that if he can fit it in his pocket, it won't get lost. He spent a few minutes trying to fit the ship in his jean pockets. No luck. Just some shouting in frustration that it wouldn't fit. When I checked on him a few minutes later, he was all smiles with his zipper undone. "It fits in this pocket Mommy! Let's go!"

Kids do the Darndest Things!

Gavin and I were laughing and playing on my bed, when his tooth connected with my upper lip. My lip split open and started bleeding like crazy. Adam ran to the kitchen to get some ice and here was the result. Gavin watched me with a sad little face for awhile, but it wasn't long before he decided to latch onto the other side. I don't know if it was out of sympathy or if he was just experimenting to see what the heck I was doing. ;)
It looks like corn on the cob, it feels like corn on the cob, but it sure doesn't taste like corn on the cob! (Gavin loved pretending and making munching noises up and down his cob though)

After getting Jacob ready for bed, we found Gavin in the bathroom (as we do frequently) pulling all of the toilet paper off the roll. To his delight, he managed to get the entire roll piled up on the bathroom floor. We decided that the natural consequence would be for him to carry the toilet paper to the garbage can in the kitchen. Since he was upstairs at the time, it took awhile... but he did it all by himself.

Bonding...

I've been able to capture some cute bonding moments between Jacob and Gavin lately. Realize that this is an extreme rarity, as our days are usually filled with attempting to annoy each other, grabbing toys out of hands, and screeching for mom. If ever I find them playing together quietly, I soak up the moment in awe for as many minutes as it lasts.

So you could imagine how fast I ran for my camera when I saw them all cuddled up on the couch together. Usually, if one even comes near the other, upset voices fill the room instantly. So the fact that they were not only near each other, but CUDDLING?! Unbelievable. I did find out later that afternoon that Gavin was running a fever. So in all actuality, he was probably just too exhausted to argue.


Then yesterday, I got out one of Jacob's new Car games and was teaching him how to play. Gavin crawled up to join us and before I knew it, they were taking turns spinning the arrow and placing their plastic circles on the Bingo cards. Honestly... no tears or tantrums for over ten minutes! Just patiently taking turns and playing their first game together. Awwww...

Whistler

Adam and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary at Whistler this weekend. His parents have a condo up there, so we were excited to be able to stay with them. This year was particularly special because Jacob was old enough to have his first ski lesson. OK, so let me back up a bit. Ever since Jacob was in my tummy, his grandpa has been talking to him about skiing. He is an avid skiier and dreamed that one day Jacob would follow him with his little skis down the mountain. He has sat Jacob on his lap and talked about taking him up to the "peak" so many times that I'm pretty sure it was one of his first words.

I've never been skiing, and have only made a few feeble attempts at snowboarding. So to my absolute thrill, I found that they had opened up a tube park recently. We took Jacob there the first day and had so much fun pulling him around in his giant tube and going down the hills together. It's set up almost like a waterslide park, only you link on with your family at the top and all ride down together. There are eight different lanes, all varying in curves, bumps, and height up the mountain. It was the highlight of my time there and we even built a snowman at the top of the lift together. :) Jacob was very brave and had the biggest smile on his face the entire time. (I used my mother-in-law's camera here, so I'll have to post the pictures when I get them from her)

As for the ski lesson, it went pretty well. Of course, those bitty little skis were my favorite. It was snowing really hard, so Jacob spent most of his time rolling down the mountain, making snowballs, snow angels, and climbing up steep crevases. What can you expect from a four year old who was playing in the most snow he had ever seen? It was pure winter wonderland and he loved every second of it. He did ski a few times though, when his teacher could find him. ;)

Adam's parents watched the kids so we could go out for an anniversary dinner. We actually were married on Adam's birthday, so we celebrated his birthday as well. I know... a little random, but we had some really significant reasons to get married on that day. First of all, it was on that exact day two years before that Adam had first written to me. It was also my grandparents wedding anniversary, so we loved the idea of getting married on January 6.

Hair gel

I take Jacob to get his hair cut about once a month. (Luckily, Gavin's hair looks cute when it grows out a little so it's not as high maintenance. ;) At the end of the haircut, they always ask if Jacob wants gel in his hair. I don't usually put gel in his hair, but it's such a small amount that he doesn't even notice. Yesterday though, the lady put gobs and gobs of gel in his hair. And he immediately noticed. Here is what I heard all afternoon until I helped him get the gel out.

"Mommy, that lady put drool (it sounded like either drool or jewel)in my hair!"

"Help get my drool off!"

I patted him on the head and told him it looked cute.

"No, don't pet it!" Then he felt it and cried, "Oh no! I got more drool!"

"This is making me SO SAD!"

"Mommy, I need some water to get it out. I need a bath!"

So finally, after the drool dried, we got it all out. And he will probably never want gel in his hair again. :)

Happy New Year!