Student of the Week

Each day, Gavin can earn a sticker at school for being a good boy. I don't ever get there in time to pick him up from his teacher, Ms. Elaine, so I rely heavily on the sticker or lack of a sticker to know how Gavin's day was. Last week, on Monday and Tuesday, Gavin got stickers. On Wednesday, I got distracted when I was picking him up, so I forgot to look for the sticker. When we got in the truck, I asked Gavin if he got a sticker as I buckled him in. He told me that he did and that he might be Student of the Week. I'm guessing if you get a sticker each day, then you are eligible for this honor. We talked up Student of the Week. Friday, he received his Star of the Week certificate and got to select a treat from the treasure chest. He had an orange monster truck and a red race car in his cubby to bring home. He was very proud. We are extremely proud.

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Some other funny things that have been happening.

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Tonight I was washing dishes, Gavin was watching Team Umizoomi. He came running into the kitchen, grabbed me by the leg, saying, "Mama, come see." I hurriedly dried my hands thinking, "Oh no, he's going to show me some cool Hot Wheels toy that is being advertised." Oh, I wish it were a toy, instead, it was an Enfimil commercial; he wanted to show me the baby. "Oh, look how cute, Mama." He gets this sweet voice. I'm thinking he's going to be upset when he figures out that Dean is going to have a baby brother or sister in September.

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This morning, as I dropped Gavin off at school, he told Ms. Ashley, "I went kayaking this weekend in the red kayak. And, I threw rocks in the lake." After Ms. Ashley exclaimed how much fun that must have been, we turned to walk to his class and met, Ms. Molly. I asked, "Gavin, would you like to tell Ms. Molly what you did this weekend?" Gavin complied: "Ms. Molly, I went tee-tee on a tree." I could not contain the laughter that came out, "Gavin, you weren't supposed to tell that part." I guess Gavin knew Ms. Molly would understand the humor.

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Over Spring Break, I had my hair up in a towel after taking a shower. I walked through the living room and took the towel off. Gavin looked at me and said, "Mama, I think your hair is kind of sloppy."

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On morning over Spring Break, Gavin and I were out driving around, from the back seat I hear, "Mom. I think you're smart."

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Driving home from the lake and Saturday's kayaking adventure, "Mama, will you love on me?" (He's been very affectionate lately; Dave and I aren't completely convinced that he didn't love his way to that Student of the Week certificate.)

First Time in the Kayak

Today's beautiful weather prompted a family outing in the kayaks. Gavin's favorite color is red, so he and Daddy went out in Mama's red kayak, while Mama got the benefit of the rudder on Daddy's blue kayak. I've owned the red kayak for almost 4 years now, and I've never paddled it. We bought it the same day we found out I was pregnant. Since Gavin was too small up until this spring, we've never gone out together in the kayaks. And, I still didn't paddle it.

Dave was pleasantly pleased that Gavin wasn't nervous in the 'yak. I was pleased that he didn't make too much fuss about the life jacket. He's bigger than he was a year and a half ago when we were in Minnesota and the life vest just seemed too big for him. Since's he's grown into it, it didn't bother him.

With the rain we received Tuesday, the rivers and lakes were up. If you look at the top picture, you can see that we had to slip the kayaks under the rail, which is not typically under water.

Since the weather was so beautiful, there were a few boats out on the water. I was nervous that the wake from the boats would bother Gavin, but he seemed to have fun riding the waves. A couple of times, Gavin helped Dave paddle. Sadly I wasn't quick enough with my camera to catch the two paddling together.

And, the evidence that I was, in fact, out in a kayak on the lake.

Third Birthday, Part 2

Life is a bit hectic with Dave in graduate school. I sometimes feel like a single parent. We joke that Gavin probably sometimes feels like he has two single parents who switch out duties, since my job often calls for evenings supervising high school athletic events. But, we know this is short lived and will have a pay off. I mention all of this because the blog is being neglected while we live our life. Sorry.


Following are some pictures from Gavin's big day. We had asked him if he wanted a party; of course he replied in the affirmative, but whenever we asked him who he wanted to come, we got the same list: Dean, Matt, Lindsey, Glenda, and Bill. Who are we to argue? Whenever we considered a larger guest list it consisted of our friends, not his. Since he may understand birthday parties next year, we decided to take advantage of another low key birthday. After breakfast, I kept Gavin occupied, while Dave brought out the kitchen. As you can see, Gavin is tickled to have his own kitchen.


We let him explore the kitchen before moving on to gifts.

Thanks for the cool (and surprisingly quiet) drumset, Uncle Matthew.

We asked Gavin if he wanted to go on a train ride or go see Monster trucks for his birthday. In his almost 3-year-old wisdom, he told us, "Monster trucks are loud." Knowing he made that statement makes the photo below sweet; Gavin had to cover his ears whenever the train blew its whistle.

Big buddies out for a train ride.

We must keep a tight grip on our ticket so it can get punched.

One of the engineers was kind enough to talk with the boys.

Since it was February 25, the glass was in the windows. Lindsey and I said not having the windows in would be a bit nerve-wrecking.

Because the Trinity River Express, which arrives and departs in Ft Worth wasn't running, we rode the train one-way to Ft Worth. Glenda and Bill were sweet to pick us up. The party moved to our house. Dave and I spent some time Friday night hanging streamers and decorating the dining room for Gavin's birthday. His smile was worth the work.

Waiting patiently for cake.

Mmmmm. Chocolate, Gavin's favorite. It isn't my favorite, so it's a good thing Dave ordered the cake. I would have ordered white, which really isn't right since it is his birthday, afterall. And, I must admit, it was a moist, yummy chocolate cake. Sometimes they can be dry, but not this one.

After cake, we opened gifts. A cool bubble blower from RJ and Kerry.

An awesome car hauler from Glenda and Bill. (And some cars to haul.)

Dean was very excited about the garbage truck that he picked out fro Gavin's birthday gift.

Chef Gavin is ready to cook, thanks to Norma Jean's gift of a chef's hat and apron.

Now, I need to do some serious purging in the toy room and re-arranging.

Earning His Keep

It isn't all work and no play around here. Gavin loves to help me put laundry in the washer. (Well, he loves to carry in his step and watch the "waterfall" in the washer, but he does help me put clothes in.)

My favorite part is that he pushes all the clothes into the dryer for me. I didn't get a picture of that this time. Maybe later. (I'm doing laundry now.)

Quick Gavin Birthday Post

I'm pretty sure that we have many other photos to put up from Gavin's big day, but this is a start.

We started out with breakfast out at Dove Creek Cafe. Gavin eats more than I do when we go here. He is the one that insists on wearing his hat backward....

Then we went back home and opened presents - those pictures are coming. After that it was nap time, then we met Dean and family to go on a train ride to the Stockyards (at Gavin's request)

There was plenty to do at the Stockyards for fun seeking little boys. Lots of coin operated rides, they both LOVED this one. And balloon longhorn helmets too.

The boys found a Shetland pony in the corral next to the longhorns. The pony liked all the attention (or maybe it was the pieces of hay that they were picking up and feeding him) from Gavin and Dean.

After the Stockyards fun, Glenda and Bill were awesome and picked all of us up and drove us back home. We then had cake, ice cream and opened even more presents. More pictures to come...the majority of pictures are on the other camera.

The Cat in the Hat Visits Gavin's Class

Gavin has been on a Lorax kick lately since we read him the book several weeks ago - he can "read" you the book, and doesn't a pretty good job telling the story too. So a visit by The Cat in the Hat was a special treat. I think that G and Miranda are going to go see the Lorax over spring break.