Christmas Fun!

On Christmas Eve we went to Fort Dodge to spend time with family!  It was so nice to sit around and chat, open gifts and eat too much food!  Below Austin has just opened his new bow and arrow from Jon & Clare.  He is sure excited about getting some targets set up so we can start practicing.  I think this might be a little more fun once it warms up outside!

 

We were able to get outside and make a snowman one day.  Brian and I had a snowball fight with Austin and Colton that was a lot of fun!  We have also been playing with all the new toys non-stop, playing some new games and also watching a couple of new movies!  The excitement these boys have for the holidays is wonderful.   

 

And this is a picture of Austin and Papa enjoying a Tom & Jerry!

 

 

On Saturday we headed up to Emmetsburg for a Kliegl Christmas celebration!  Although it was a quick trip for us this year, it was a lot of fun to spend time together.  Colton is pictured below with his new Optimus Prime mask.  There is a button on the right hand side that you can push to have it talk.  Colton pushed this button over and over and over again!  The mask is so big on his face, it makes Brian and I smile when he puts it on at home.

Aaron and Becca gave Austin and Colton some Nerf guns and it had a target with it.  So, the target is taped to the wall in the basement and grandpa is helping Austin aim.  He's pretty good at getting it in the right direction.

 

At home yesterday Austin wanted to feed Gavin a bottle.  So, at bed time we gave it a try.  Austin did a very good job!  Gavin kept putting his hand on Austin's face, which would make Austin laugh.  He drank half of his bottle for Austin and then I took over, I think Gavin was laughing more than he was eating.  Super cute and it's great that Austin wants to help out!


 

Merry Christmas!

 

Gavin's 1st Christmas!!  He couldn't be happier.  The little guy has a third tooth coming in on the bottom and a second tooth coming in up top, so he has been red-cheeked now for the last few days.  He got to try squash on Christmas and he loved it!  I couldn't get it in his mouth fast enough.  I'd say he definitely likes the squash more than he likes the peas!!

Christmas time!

Santa came early this year because we are going to be out of town on Christmas Eve!  So we had a wonderful Christmas celebration on Sunday morning.  Below is an adorable picture of Gavin in his new 'Minion' had that he got in the mail from Judy Saturday.  So cute and his older brothers thought it was great.  I also wanted to include this picture because Gavin is showing off his teeth!

 

Saturday night we went outside and scattered around the reindeer food!  The boys walked all over the yard and then made a trail right up to our front yard just to make sure the reindeer would know what house they were headed to.  They took this job very seriously.

 

Sunday morning these three boys waited patiently at the top of the steps while Brian got the video camera ready!  Gavin and I were up at 7am and Colton finally woke up at 7:30 and then woke Austin up right after that.  I think Gavin and I were more excited than anyone else!! 

 

All three of the boys in action.  Colton and Austin were great about helping Gavin open presents.  Gavin opened up a toy and Colton looked at it and said, "Oh Gavin, that is sooo cool!  Very cool present Gavin!"  It was pretty cute.  Austin and Colton were also complimentary to each other on the gifts they were opening.  They loved playing with all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Tutle stuff and for the most part they shared very well.  The art easel was another big hit!  We played some impromptu Pictionary with the dry erase markers and had a great time.  Austin drew a picture of 'the galaxy', which Brian finally guessed.  Brian drew a picture of 'the solar system', which Austin guessed.  I drew things like 'school buses' . . . so I was a little out of my league playing with those two!

 

One of our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in action!  It was non-stop ninja moves all day and Austin told us that he wants to wear these jammies every day forever . . . and then the doorbell rang and his friend Harrison asked him if he wanted to come play in the snow . . . and those jammies were off in 1 second flat!  I played with the boys outside in the morning for about an hour before we started to get cold.  Then, in the afternoon, Austin and Colton went over to the neighbors to build a fort with them at their house.  They were outside again for over an hour.  They definitely love the snow and it was a good day for them to be outside, since it wasn't as cold as it had been the previous week.

Gavin had his first bite of vegetables on Sunday afternoon.  He had peas!  And this only happened once.  After the initial shock of getting to eat something besides oatmeal, he ate all the rest of his peas.  He ate peas at dinner time too and seemed to like them.  His reaction wasn't as strong as what we got from Austin or Colton the first time they ate peas, so Brian and I were surprised that he seemed okay with them.



And here is a picture of our three little elves!  I will try to get another one but really . . . looking at this picture of Gavin cracks me up EVERY TIME I see it!  All three boys were wearing their hats sticking straight up and it was adorably hilarious!  We are looking forward to spending time with family in the upcoming days!  Merry Christmas!!



Gavin has been having a hard time staying asleep these last couple nights.  I thought we were on the right track towards sleeping through the nights and was wondering yesterday morning what could be going on with our little guy.  Well, I found out!  He has TWO MORE teeth coming in.  A third one on the bottom and his first one on top have broken through the skin.  So, it seems these last few nights have been restless for him because his little mouth is hurting.  So, hopefully now that the teeth have broken through, he will get some better sleep in!!

Austin's Christmas Show!

 Long overdue 6 month picture of Gavin.  I should have posted this with the last update!

 

 Today was Austin's Christmas program.  They sang 7 different songs. . . a couple of regular songs 'ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle' and then all traditional Christmas songs.  Austin did a great job of singing and knew all the words.  Jingle Bells was the most fun to watch, because they jumped up and down with jingle bells during the chorus.

 This is Austin's buddy Lincoln!  This is a great friend of his this year.  He has told us a lot of stories about his days at school and daycare . . . most of them involve Lincoln.  He very proudly introduced Lincoln to all of us.  And then they posed by the class Christmas tree!  After the singing show, the kids frosted sugar cookies and got to show us their favorite toys.  Brian read Austin and Lincoln a book about monster trucks.  Austin showed all of us the class guinea pigs; Carmel and Angel.  Colton was pretty curious about the guinea pigs and Colton was also very curious about the sugar cookies!  I think both boys had two cookies each.  It was a great little Christmas party.  Now Austin is officially on Christmas break and doesn't go back to school until January 6th! 

Annie drove over last night so she could join us at the Christmas program.  The boys got to play with her all morning and were very excited to have her at our house.  They had fun showing her all the special Christmas ornaments on the Christmas tree and got to watch Toy Story 2 with her.  Annie had to head home after the Christmas program, it was a quick but fun trip!

Gavin updates . . .

Gavin had his 6 month well baby visit yesterday and got a good report!  He is a happy, healthy boy!  His weight is 20lbs and 6 oz.  His length is 28 and a quarter inches and his head circumference is 17 and three quarter inches.  He is now in the 90% for height and the 75% for weight and head size.  The Dr. said that it is normal to drop to a lower percentile where weight is concerned at his age because he is now moving around more.  He is rolling everywhere!!!

We started on Rice Cereal November 22nd and then started baby oatmeal on December 2nd.  He seems to love the oatmeal.  Last night he ate 6 Tablespoons.  This is a lot, compared to the 2 Tablespoons or rice cereal that he would eat.  He can sit up without any support and if he does fall over he is quick to roll over to his tummy and get where he wants to be by rolling there.

He is picking up objects and can transfer an item from one hand to the other.  He is vocalizing more and becoming more social with all of us!  He is making sounds like "dadadadada" and he loves when we sing and talk to him.  Austin and Colton are always busy trying to figure out what words he is saying.

He is loving that he can sit up now and really likes to be held in a standing position so he can support his own weight while being held up!  We have started using the 'Jonny Jumper' in our doorway and he loves this as well!  He is growing and changing so much so fast, that I forget that I need to keep everyone in the loop some days.  He is such a smiley, happy guy!!  He is also very patient with his brothers, as they are always wanting to be real close (sometimes too close) to him. 

The Dr. confirmed that he is doing great!  We are looking forward to starting vegetables in a week or so.  I'm going to try to make homemade baby food this time around.  I never tried it with Austin or Colton but am feeling more confident that I could figure it out!! 

Yesterday at breakfast, I told Ausitn and Colton that Gavin had a Dr. appointment.
Austin - "Does Gavin have to get shots?"  (said with sincere concern in his voice)
Me - "Yes he does, they will keep him healthy and help him to not get sick."
Colton - "Whhhhyyyy?  I don't like shots.  Gavin doesn't like shots mama."
Austin - "I don't want Gavin to have to get shots."  (with tears in his eyes)

They are such great brothers to Gavin.  They were so concerned about his day and when we picked them up later, Austin even remembered to ask him how his shots were.  Good guys for Gavin to have in his corner.

Feast of St. Nick!

Last night the boys left out their Christmas letters to Santa . . . this morning they were excited to see what St. Nick left them!  They are sitting on Spiderman chairs and each chair had a KitKat candy bar in it.  They are also eating these candy bars before breakfast, which is only okay because it is the holiday season!  :)  The Christmas letters they had me write were adorable!  They also went straight to bed last night because of course they didn't want St. Nick to pass by our house.  We have been watching a lot of Christmas movies and cartoons this week.  I love this time of year and all of the excitement that it brings.

 

Gavin is also doing a fantastic job of eating his rice cereal.  He is eating 2-3 tablespoons at breakfast, lunch and dinner.  As soon as this box is empty he gets to start on baby oatmeal.  His brothers sure love that he gets to start eating more things.  They were not impressed with the rice cereal.  I don't think they realize that Gavin's oatmeal will be different from their oatmeal!  Gavin has also started trying to pull himself up on his knees and kind of rocks back and forth.  No movement so far but I feel like it could be any time.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!

 

Gavin's first Thanksgiving was a lot of fun!  We travelled to Emmetsburg on Thanksgiving day and we were able to spend time with a lot of Brian's aunts and uncles who we haven't seen in quite awhile.  This the first Thanksgiving that Brian and I have spent together in the state of Iowa too!  We did a lot of fun stuff while we were in Emmetsburg for the weekend. 

 

Friday night Grandma and Grandpa took Austin and Colton to the light parade on Main Street.  It was pretty cold outside so they got all bundled up in their snow pants to watch the parade.  They came home with their pockets loaded up with candy and glow sticks!

 

Brian took the boys out on the frozen lake!  There was absolutely no snow there but the lake was frozen enough to walk on.  I was a little unsure about it but it was actually lot of fun.  Austin and Colton were pulled around on the sleds (on the lake) by Grandpa, Brian and their uncles.  They thought it was pretty fantastic.  I joined them and we walked on the lake to the park.  Could not believe it was 47 degrees and we were walking on a frozen lake.  Anyway, beautiful weather on Saturday so we were able to spend a couple hours at the park.   

 

Brian got a Christmas tree all set up for us in the living room and the boys and I decorated our house on Monday and the tree on Tuesday.  We are officially ready for Christmas at our house!  The boys ask daily if Christmas is tomorrow!!  They are definitely excited for all the festivities and of course for all the presents!

Just a little bit of us . . .

 

Austin and Colton love cuddling with Gavin.  Austin and Colton made a big pile of pillows and blankets in the living room.  They were using their imaginations and calling it a boat.  They were very excited when I laid Gavin down in their boat so that they could all play together.  Both brothers are good about making sure Gavin is happy and well taken care of.  The minute Gavin is not happy, both brothers will start singing to him and if that doesn't work, they are calling for me to come and save the day!

 

Gavin now has his two little teeth poking through on the bottom.  You can't see the teeth in the above picture, I just thought it was cute.  He also started eating rice cereal last Friday on the 22nd (his 6month birthday).  We were all very excited to get to see what Gavin was going to thin about rice cereal.  Turns out, it's not too bad.  He spent the first few days trying to figure out what the spoon was all about and then the last couple of days he has been opening his mouth and ready to eat when we get him in the high chair!

 

 

Last time I posted he had just started rolling over in both directions.  I think the next day he started rolling from one side of the room to the next.  He can definitely get to where he wants to be!  Gavin has also been much squirmier when trying to change diapers, he does not want to sit or lay still for long!!

 

Austin had a Thanksgiving feast at school yesterday.  He wore a pilgrim hat and went to the big school to have a popcorn, juice boxes and corn muffins with the Kindergarten class!  The other class was dressed like indians and Austin said it was a lot of fun.  He asked if we were having popcorn and corn muffins at our Thanksgiving on Thursday.  I said I didn't think so!!

 

Colton has been taking his snow pants to Mindy's every day this week so that if the opportunity to go outside arises, he gets to go along!  He had fun the last couple days playing outside.  He gets cold pretty fast, so they aren't outside for long but he tells me he loves playing in the snow!  It should be a fun winter and Brian and I are already looking forward to taking them to a good snow hill this winter. 

 

We are also already on the look out for Christmas lights!  I can't tell you how amazing it is to hear Austin and Colton "ooh" and "ahh" over the lights.  They point and yell out to eachother when they spot some lights while we are driving along.  Definitely one of my favorite parts of the holiday season is getting to enjoy their excitement!

Two teeth and counting . . .

We have two bottom teeth coming through!  He is still a smiley happy guy through all of it.  I also forgot to mention earlier this week that Papa saw Gavin roll from tummy to back on Saturday.  I said that it didn't count until I actually saw it happen . . . Sunday night it happened!!  So proud of this little guy who is growing in leaps and bounds!

 

Late 5 month picture posting . . . but still adorable!

 

And this is what I woke up to this morning!  Austin and Colton love standing on the sides of the crib talking to Gavin . . . I was wondering how long it would take before this were to happen!  As you can see, Colton got Gavin all covered up with the crib bumper and they were 'sleeping' together.

We have a tooth!!

We had a great weekend visiting Nick and Courtney!  We couldn't get there fast enough on Friday evening.  The boys were so excited to get to do all kinds of fun things at Nick and Courtney's house.  Friday night they got to play 'soccer ball' in the basement.  Everyone got in on the soccer ball fun and it kept the boys busy for close to an hour.  We had chili for dinner and watched one of the movies that Austin and Colton brought along.

 

Saturday morning the girls got up and went shopping in Des Moines while the guys stayed behind to do guy stuff.  Nick and Papa took the boys to a park, while Gavin and Brian stayed home (it was a little chilly for Gavin).  Colton and Papa found a snake, Papa picked it up to show Austin and Austin wanted to hold it!  So, Nick got this great picture of Austin holding a snake!  Colton, looked at the snake but wasn't interested in touching it.

 

When they got home from the park they worked on raking Nick's huge yard.  The boys helped pick up sticks and make a big pile of leaves/sticks.  Sunday morning we had a bonfire and the boys were really excited to see the leaves on fire.  Once the fire was started, they had a fun time helping Nick and Brian throw on dead tree branches to keep the fire going.  We headed home after lunch on Sunday.  Such a fun and laid-back weekend for all of us!

 

 

When we got home, we decided to try to put Gavin in his Bumbo chair to see if he could keep himself upright.  I was real close by the entire time, but he didn't really need me . . . except to hand him toys when he dropped them.  He did so good sitting up with the extra support. 

 

 

Brian ran to the store and while he was gone Austin and Colton dumped their halloween candy out all over the floor so they could look through everything and pick out 2 treats. It is so fun watching them decide which ones they are going to eat and in what order. They are also very good about putting all the candy back in their trick-or-treat bags and putting the bags back in the laundry room.

 

 Austin was down in the basement for quite awhile by himself and when he came upstairs he said he had a 'surprise masterpiece' to show to all of us. We headed downstairs to find out that Austin had picked up the entire basement and put every single toy away all by himself. He was so proud of himself and we were so proud of him too!

 

I was playing with Gavin on the floor in the living room and he was laughing away.  I noticed that he has a tooth coming in!!!  On the bottom, middle/left, he has a tooth that is trying its hardest to break through.  This would explain the terrible sleeping pattern we have fallen into and also help explain why Gavin always wants to be chewing on something.

Me - "Gavin has a tooth!"

Brian - "Won't be long before Gavin is eating solids."

Austin - "Yeah, like baby food!"

Colton - "And like pizza!"

Both big brothers are so cute and excited for Gavin to get to eat something besides milk!!

 

 

This past weekend we had a little baby and a three year old that was a tad under the weather.  Gavin was sick several times throughout the night on Friday.  He was in good spirits on Saturday but still wasn't eating much and of course wanted Annie and Papa to hold him for nap time!  He didn't sleep well on Saturday night and then on Sunday he seemed to be back to his old self again.  So, glad that he was feeling better by the end of the weekend.  It was nice to be able to cuddle with him and help him to feel better.  Colton also got sick on Friday night but he seemed to bounce back and was just fine on Saturday morning when he woke up.  They both must have had a little tummy bug.

Colton and Austin were invited to a neighbor's birthday party on Saturday afternoon and had a lot of fun.  There was a pinata, which Austin could not wait to take part in!!  Colton spent his time at the party indoors playing with the trucks in the play room.  After the party was over we went to meet up with my friend Kelli and her family.  Kelli was in town for a wrestling tournament that her oldest son, Drew, was taking part in at the UNI dome.  The boys got to go swimming at their hotel and I had a wonderful time catching up with Kelli.  Brian was a good sport about being the 'shark' in the pool so the kids had a fun game to play while we were there!

Annie and Papa came to watch the boys on Friday because Austin did not have daycare or preschool to go to.  We talked them in to staying until Sunday morning . . . so, it was so nice to have a couple extra hands around to help throughout the weekend since Gavin wasn't feeling well.  One of the great benefits of living closer to family!!

Happy Halloween!

We all carved pumpkins last Sunday.  Brian did all of the actual carving and the boys and I helped scoop out all the goop and the slime so that we could make faces on the front of all the pumpkins.  The boys really got into this and Colton wanted to help everyone out.  Colton moved around the table helping with all three of the pumpkins.  They were great helpers!  The other thing the boys were excited about was roasting the pumpkin seeds.  They had to seperate the seeds from the slime and put them into a bowl so we could clean them and roast them.  They turned out really great and the boys were excited to get to try them that evening.

 

Here is our little family of superheroes!  Thor, Spiderman, Baby Superman!  I dressed up as Wonder Woman to go trick or treating last night but I did not dress up for this picture that we took last weekend!  Trick or treating was a blast!  They both loved running from house to house to get candy.  Austin would get a piece of candy and yell "Cowabunga! or Yeah Baby!" as he ran to the next house!  It was so fun to get to see!  Colton would get a piece of candy and then he would want to hold my hand and he would repeat, "Need more candy, need more candy." as he would run to the next house!  Colton kept up with Austin pretty well and then decided to slow down and go at his own pace.  So, Austin kept up with Jake, Zoey, Marlee and Maddie while Colton and I hung out with Sarah and Charlee.  This seemed to also go quite well.  After about an hour of trick or treating Colton and Charlee were done so we headed back to Sarah's and the little kids got to hand out candy to the people who rang the doorbell.  They were pretty selective about who they gave candy too and would only open the door if the trick or treaters weren't too scary!

 

Austin:  "I love trick or treating more than anyone else in the entire universe!"

Colton:  "Mama, I really like eating treats!"

 

I would definitely call this years halloween a huge success!

 

Our happy little pumpkin Gavin!

Colton had his 3-year check up yesterday at the Dr.  He weighs 33 pounds and is 3'1" tall!  He is growing and doing great!  Austin came to the appointment as well, so both boys could get flu vaccines.  They had the nasal mist for both of them and they did really well.  Austin wanted to go first.  The nurse told him that after she mists it into his nose, he needs to pretend he is smelling a flower so that it gets sucked up.  He did great!  After that, Colton did just as great as Austin.  They were very proud of themselves and the nurse let them each pick a sticker for being so brave. 

Last night, the five of us went on a walk around our neighborhood.  The boys collected sticks, pinecones, rocks and leaves.  They brought all their treasures home and we had an arts and crafts time.  They each glued all of their findings onto construction paper.  This morning, they were very excited that the glue was dry and they could hang up their 'science projects'.  Austin explained to me that next year when he is in kindergarten, he will be doing a lot of science projects . . . so this one was really good practice!  He is so cute and of course had a great reason as to why we were collecting items on our walk!  Colton was excited because he got to use glue, scissors and the stapler!  And to be honest, with all the glue they used, I was surprised that it was actually dry this morning.  :)

Colton turns 3!

To celebrate Colton we had a little get together at a hotel swimming pool.  The grandparents were all able to be there, as well as Nate & Amanda, Nick & Courtney, Sarah & Charlee and Jamie, Jeff & Keller!  The kids were very excited to get to go swimming.  They were singing a "Let's go swimming" song all the way to the hotel pool.  This was a made up song, that basically consisted of the words "Let's go swimming" repeated over and over and over and over . . . 

 At the request of the birthday boy, I made a construction site cake.  He wanted a backhoe and this was about as close as I could get.  He thought it was great that he could drive the dump truck right off the side of the cake!  It tasted delicious as well!

 Here is a picture of Colton and Charlee.  They are relaxing in the hot tub!  I didn't get in the water, but apparently it was freezing.  Brian spent most of his time in the pool throwing the boys up in the air and letting them jump to him in the deep end.

 Keller, Colton and Charlee blowing out the candles on the cake!  We sang 'Happy Birthday' four different times so each kid could have a chance to blow out the candles, although I think ever time, they all helped eachother!

 Colton is giving Charlee a hug and thanking her for his new Team Umi Zoomi bath toys!

 

On the day of Colton's birthday, he woke up to a bedroom full of balloons and he got to take cupcakes to Mindy's to share with all of his friends.  Austin also got to go to Mindy's for the day, which was a special birthday treat for Colton!  Mindy had a gift for Colton and also had a little birthday party for him in the morning.  Each kid at her house, got a teenage mutant ninja turtle party favor and a cupcake too!  At the end of the day Brian and I picked up the boys and the five of us went to Pizza Ranch.  After dinner, we went home to open gifts and call one of Colton's birthday buddies . . . Uncle Jon (who was turning 30 the same day!)  So, we talked to Jon for a minute and then had to get right back to opening up gifts. 

 

 The big boys waiting patiently for the go ahead to start opening gifts!

  

 An shot of Gavin, trying to get in on the present opening action!

And a thank you hug to big brother Austin for all of the new Chuck and Friends trucks!

 



Gavin's baptism

Gavin is such a sweet baby.  He truly is always happy and smiley.  He doesn't complain too much and he has a lot of patience with his brothers, who are always in his face!  Well, he was baptized on October 13th at St. Pat's church and he screamed and cried the first 10 minutes of the ceremony.  It was heartbreaking to hear him cry so intensely.  I think he was tired and if he would have slept through the mass, he probably would have been just fine, but unfortunately that was not the case.  He did get baptized so at least the day was a success!

 Deacon Loving administering the sacrament of baptism.

 God parents:  Uncle Aaron and Aunt Courtney

 Gavin and his family.  This was the best picture I had on my camera of the five of us!  Colton was very interested in everything about the baptism and Austin was not as interested as I thought he would be.  Austin was just recently learning about baptism at preschool so I think he thought he already knew it all!

 Gavin is all smiles after his nap back at the house!

And this picture is definitely overdue but wanted to make sure I got it on here . . . Gavin at four months! 

 

Gavin had a Dr. appointment last Tuesday.  So, on October 15th, (almost five months old), he weighed 19lbs 4oz and is 27" long.  He is at the top of the 95th percentile in weight and in the 90th percentile for height.  When we walked into the Dr. office, the nurse called him a 'bruiser'!  He is a big guy, and he is healthy and so happy!

Toes!

Gavin found his toes today!  He pulled them up to his mouth and even tried to get them in his mouth!  Such a smart little guy!

Cuddle Time

Austin has been wanting to 'cuddle up' with Gavin quite a bit and what better time to do this than on Saturday mornings!  These two little guys cuddled for an entire episode of Justice League!  Both boys were pretty happy and Austin loves being able to help take care of Gavin.  Gavin was smiley until I got the camera out . . . and his little middle finger popped up too!  I didn't notice until I uploaded the picture, I will have to talk to Gavin about keeping the blog G-rated!!!! 

Austin!

 

Well, this little guy gave us quite a scare last Thursday evening while we were in Arizona.  Brian and I landed in Phoenix in the morning on September 12th.  My parents were watching the boys at our house and everything was going great all day long.  We talked to them twice throughout the morning and afternoon and every thing was going smoothly.  Then, that evening, Austin climbed up on top of the sprinkler/car wash we have for the boys to play with and was told to get down.  He got down, ran outside, then ran back in the garage and climbed right back up to play on the sprinkler again.  This time, he fell.  He hit his head and my parents knew he had a concussion once he threw up some of his dinner.  My dad and Austin headed to Urgent Care, where they were sent to the Emergency Room at Covenant.  Brian and I were scared and feeling helpless since we were thousands of miles away. 

 

The Dr. looked him over and decided to give him a CT scan.  Thank goodness the scan came back perfect!  It was just a mild concussion and he needs to drink plenty of fluids and take it easy.  He also took a 30 minute cat nap at the ER, and when he woke up he was pretty much back to his old self.  My dad said, he was wide awake, alert and asking a lot of questions about the ER when he woke up.  Brian and I finally got to talk to him on the phone after his nap and it was such a huge relief for us to hear his voice!  He got on the phone and said, "Hi mommy, I love you!  We talked to one Dr. and now we have been waiting for 10 HOURS to see the next Dr."  When we heard his sweet little voice, a wave of relief washed over us.

 

 After talking to him and feeling reassured that he was going to be just fine, we got off the phone with him.  Austin and my dad got home at midnight and of course Austin was hungry since he didn't have any food in him and he had been at the hospital for over 3 hours (not quite the 10 that it felt like to all of us).  It was a very scary evening for all of us, but we are so grateful that he is okay!  When he got home, he told my mom that "They put a donut on my head and took a picture of my brain!"  He has also acted out exactly what you do when they take a picture of your brain.  He said Papa told him he was very brave, but couldn't hold his hand while they took the pictures because his arms had to be in the machine.  Since Austin never forgets ANYTHING, I'm sure he will remember the details of this for quite awhile! 

 

So, the Dr. said for two weeks we need to keep Austin settled down and to drink lots of fluids.  Drinking lots of fluids has been no problem at all but explaining to Austin why he has to settle down, is quite a different story.  Last week we had some rainy evenings, and I was able to get a couple movie nights in so the boys just kind of laid around.  This coming week may be more of a challenge because of the beautiful fall weather we are having!  I keep telling him to be careful and take it easy and he keeps telling me that his brain doesn't hurt anymore.  This makes me smile . . . but I still have to tell him to take it easy for a while longer.  We also had to talk to him, again, about why it is so important to listen, rules are for your safety, we don't want anything to happen to you.  He seems to get it, and hopefully he will be a better listener.  But actually getting our four-year-old boy, who is always so full of life, to settle down is quite the challenge! 

 

The rest of our trip was great!  Phoenix was amazing, Jen was a beautiful bride, and we had a lot of fun celebrating at the wedding reception with our friends.  Austin, Colton, and Gavin got to spend Friday night in Fort Dodge and played on Saturday with Lindsey's little boys and Griffin's little boys; 8 kids all under the age of 5.  They had a blast!  Sunday, we all met back at Nick and Courtney's.  It was so wonderful to get to hug all three of our little guys!!  We headed back to Cedar Falls that evening and all five of us were exhausted from all the fun we had been having.

 

 

 

 

This evening Brian and I will be heading to Maxwell to stay with Nick and Courtney.  Tomorrow morning we are flying out of Des Moines to Phoenix, AZ for my friend Jen Tilton's wedding!  We are getting excited and in anticipation of the trip I explained to Austin, Colton, and Gavin everything they would get to do this weekend . . .

Me:  "Annie and Papa are coming tonight.  They will be at our house around dinner time!  Then tomorrow you get to sleep in before Papa takes Austin to preschool.  I'm sure if you ask Annie and Papa nicely, they will take you to McDonald's some time while you are with them!  Then Friday you are heading to Fort Dodge, Saturday you get to play with Masan, Nolan, and Collin Redman.  You boys are going to have a fun playdate and then have pizza together.  Sunday morning you get to wake up, have breakfast and head to Nick and Courtney's house.  You get to play with Nick and Courtney all afternoon and then mommy and daddy will pick you up some time on Sunday." 

Colton:  "I want Annie and Papa to be here now!  Where are Annie and Papa?!?"

Austin:  "I'm soooo excited that Annie and Papa are coming because I won't have to brush my teeth!"

So, apparently, Colton is ready to start partying and Austin is just happy to have a 'teeth brushing free' weekend to look forward to.  (Or so he thinks!)  How funny!

Fun & Games!

This weekend we played a game where you have to hold a picture up to your face (without looking at it), ask questions about yourself and try to figure out what your picture is!  Austin looked adorably hilarious in every single card he held up to his face.  Brian was pretty scary and Colton posed for one round. . . he really didn't get into actually playing the game.  We had a nice family day on Sunday!  We played games all morning, Brian made waffles at the boys' request.  Austin said, "Daddy, we haven't had waffles for an entire week!"  So, Brian made waffles and omelets!  We played Plah-Doh in the afternoon and spent an hour at the park last night.

 

 

Colton fell off of the merry-go-round on Saturday at the park.  He was holding on pretty good and the next thing I know, he's flying, face-first off of the thing.  He was more scared then anything but his poor little cheek did get scraped up pretty good.  This picture is from when we got home on Sunday night from the park.  All three boys were happy.  And below are some Silly Sunday pictures!  Austin was trying to get Gavin to make a silly face but Gavin wasn't too interested in that he just wanted to watch his brothers dance around and be silly!!