Easter!

The boys had a fantastic Easter weekend. Both boys had fun Easter parties at school and Jenny's on Friday morning. Then we hit the road for a weekend in Iowa. We saw lots of Grandparents and family. They enjoyed dying eggs, an easter egg hunt and playing with a new power wheel mustang that Grandpa Mike surprised them with. Owen especially loved the mustang and literally spent hours outside driving it around, "fixing the engine" and "air pump" and filling it with gas. Gavin intially got right in with Owen but was quick to realize Owen was not the safest driver around and said all done! After he had a good nap, and Owen got some much needed driving practice, Gavin gave it another go and they cruised around the neighborhood together. They also got some cool red shades in their Easter baskets. They looked quite studly wearing them while driving in the red mustang even if it wasn't sunny!

I can't believe that next month Gavin will be 2 yrs old! He has grown so fast and continues to entertain everyone around him. He has a great sense of humor and enjoys making others laugh. His Easter card from Grandma Cyndie and Grandpa Carroll was a knock, knock joke and Gavin loved it! He walked around telling it, or parts of it, to everyone all weekend. He would laugh and say, "That's funny!" Gavin is also enjoying the time we get to be outside. He likes playing soccer and catch with a ball. He is looking more and more like he will be if a lefty, but it's still pretty early so we have to wait and see!

Both boys started swimming lessons last week. They went well and they are both excited to go back tomorrow. Owen loved that they let him swim with a toy bus.We'll post some pictures soon! Enjoy the Easter pictures!


                                

Spring Break or so we thought...

    This past week was my week off for spring break. Unfortunately mother nature didn't cooperate and we spent all week indoors. Never the less we had a lot of fun and the boys stayed busy. We enjoyed lots of play dates with friends, had marathon play sessions with some of their favorite toys and of course lots of dance parties!
   Gavin is now 22 months and so much fun! He loves playing and laughing with Owen, Joel and I. He continues to enjoy puzzles, legos, trains and books. We had a full morning of building and playing with trains and geo tracks on Saturday. The little guy was in heaven! Gavin has become more of climber, if that is even possible. He regularly gets bruises on his forehead and body from jumping or falling off furniture. Warmer weather will hopefully help release some of this energy.
   Owen is all about being a 4 yr old. A lot of his sentences start out with, "Mom 4 yr olds get to...". We are convinced that Owen is in a growth spurt right now. His appetite has increased, he is sleeping a little bit more and we also had to move him into 5T pants. Owen has really been into making trailers for his trucks and cars. He is very creative using drum sticks and toy bins to connect his trucks together. Owen is also looking forward to more outside time. He is always looking for ways to get some "exercise". He even did a yoga with me the other day which was so funny! His favorite pose was the "up dog" pose and the savasana at the end!

We are looking forward to fun filled April! Enjoy the photos!


       

Owen's Dancersize class

Owen's Dancersize class had a performance day for parents last week. Joel was able to go and get it on camera.

dancersize

Owen is 4!

Our big boy is another year older! Owen is 4 yrs and very proud of it! He had a great time celebrating his birthday last weekend. He brought treats to school on Friday, had a party on Saturday and a special birthday breakfast on Sunday! He really enjoyed seeing all his friends and family and loved all the great gifts he received. Owen had his 4yr check-up today and his stats are- 42 inches  tall (84%) and 35.2 lbs (41%).     A healthy guy! Both boys have grown and changed so much in the last few months here are some things that they are into-

Owen-
Loves playing "Mom & Dad" or "School" ( basically anything that gives him an opportunity to be in charge of someone else ;) He uses stuffed animals and imaginary friends to carry out lots of scenarios. It has been so sweet watching his empathy develop. He is so thoughtful and caring to his "children" and "students".
Cook with mommy. Owen really likes to help make dinner and does a really good job being safe in the kitchen.
Drawing and writing his name
Anything related to Disney's Car Movie! Playing with the cars, reading the books, watching the movie, role playing the movie, singing/dancing to the soundtrack, etc!
Dancing and taking Dancersize class
Reading and sounding out words. Owen has several sight words and can sound out many 3-4 letter words. Owen also reads familiar books to Gavin.
Picking out his clothes and pajamas. "Mom it is not cool to wear stripes everyday!" Owen would prefer to wear a car on his shirt everyday!
Last but not least Owen loves talking and talking and talking!

Gavin-
Puzzles and blocks
ABC magnets
Trains! Owen may be the car guy, but Gavin is definitely a "Choo, choo" guy
Singing- his favorites are Old Mac Donald, The Zipper song, Twinkle, Twinkle and Rock-a-Bye Baby. It is very common to find him sitting with blocks singing one of these songs to himself. When he is tired he comes up to mom and says "rock-a-bye baby mama" which means take me to the recliner for some snuggles. So sweet!
Curious George, Elmo and Wonder Pets are the characters that Gavin loves!
Counting- he can count 1-11 and then jumps to 18!
Helping- Gavin really likes to help mommy. He likes to bring dishes to the sink after meals, put dirty clothes in the hamper, put on his own boots and hat and clean up toys.
Talking-Gavin is so social, always greeting everyone. His vocabulary is growing and he is using more full sentences.
Hanging with Daddy! Gavin is growing out of his mama's boy stage and really loves rough housing and being silly with Daddy! He no longer cries when mommy has to leave because he gets to "play with Daddy!".


Enjoy the pics! Soon to come a video from Owen's Dancersize class and a new section called "Quotes of the Month".

Winter fun!

                                 

The boys have been enjoying some indoor and outdoor winter fun. Enjoy the photos and videos! We are gearing up for a busy February including Owen's 4th birthday (crazy!). We'll have lots more to share soon.

 

Christmas and New Years!

Well we are finally getting back on track after a busy, but very fun holiday. Both Owen and Gavin got into the whole Santa thing this year. We had fun making him cookies and were excited to see that he ate them all! The boys had so much fun visiting all of their grandparents and other family in Iowa. Gavin loved helping Uncle Daniel with the luminaries, opening gifts "open it!" and wearing everything as a hat. Owen loved opening gifts, helping others open their gifts and decorating the Christmas cookies. He also commented on how fun it was to stay up late each night! They also had their first experience in the Flattery Talent Show. Owen, after a lot of thought, got up the nerve and performed his favorite song "Dynamite" with Grandpa Mike. Both boys did really well with all of the traveling. They have been enjoying their new toys and books. Santa brought them a mini trampoline and sit and spin which have been so helpful in burning off those sillies.

On New Year's Eve we had a sleep over at Uncle Jennon & Aunt Beth's. The boys had a lot of fun playing with cousin Cooper and friends Will and Addy. They enjoyed saying, "Happy New Year", wearing the hats and blowing the noise makers. (Poor Gus!)  We have been slowly getting back into the routine of going back to work, school and daycare. Owen started his first week of Dancersize and had a blast. They sang and did moves about cleaning the house! Gotta love that! Gavin is continuing to work on all 4 eye teeth. One is especially bothersome these days. He has been having a hard time sleeping but making up for it with lots of daytime cuddling.

Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays as well! We are looking forward to another great year!

                                

December fun!

The boys have been gearing up for the holidays and keeping busy. They have been to see Santa, watch the Holidazzle parade, and the Macy's Elf display. Both boys have been having been really into art projects lately and make ornaments and holiday pictures all the time. Owen had his last game of indoor soccer this weekend and loved getting a second medal. He and his buddy Will had a lot of fun being on a team together. Enjoy the pictures. I'll be sure to post many more after Christmas!