Cozy Coupe Driver

We've been eyeing the Little Tykes Cozy Coupe for a while. A week or so ago, Dave found a great sale on this one, a 2009 30th Anniversary edition. I guess even Little Tykes does a model year end close out. ;)

I started putting it together Saturday afternoon during Gavin's nap. The only tools required were a hammer and a screwdriver. I opted for a rubber mallet. I got through step 8 of 31 before calling it quits. I was afraid my hammering was going to wake Gavin up; plus I just couldn't get the two pieces joined together. I put all the pieces in our bedroom and closed the door so Gavin wouldn't see it.

Later that night, Dave decided to work on it. He got through step 10, before needing my help. Finally, we did get it assembled, with only one minor problem. The screws supplied were too long, and using the drill instead of a screwdriver meant one screw protruded through the other side of the plastic. Like I said, only a minor issue.

Sunday morning, while I was getting ready for church, Dave and Gavin came in to check on me. Gavin saw the coupe, ran over to it and stood going, "uh uh uh" at the door until Dave let him in.

Dave spent the next 20 minutes pushing Gavin through the house.

Then it was my turn, while Dave got ready for church.

Gavin was not ready to get out when it was time. But, he's never ready to stop doing something that's fun. Or at least, we're ready to stop long before he is.


The coupe got stashed in the closet when he and I went upstairs. Yes. We're bad parents. But it isn't like he has run around the house looking for it. Wait. He did. But only for a few minutes. He told us that he would like us to call the police to report grand theft--auto. We decided it was not in our best interest to make that phone call.

We'll get the coupe out again. We promise.

Little Drummer Boy

Sunday morning, Dave's job was to entertain Gavin while I got ready for church. Because we only have hundreds of toys, not thousands, Dave got two pots and a wooden spoon for Gavin. They had quite the time making music while Mama got a shower.

Friday's Adventures

There are stuffed monkeys that guard the four-corners of Gavin's crib. Occasionally, he'll point to one when we get him up in the morning. When we give him a monkey, he hugs on it. This morning, he pointed to Blue, who escorted him downstairs.
Once breakfast began, Gavin wanted Blue, who had been waiting on the sideboard while Gavin ate, to join him for breakfast. Breakfast is always better when you share it with a friend.

Our morning field trip was to the kennel where Mason will be boarded when we're in Minnesota. It has changed ownership, so I wanted to see the changes that have been made and needed to drop off Mason's shot records. Gavin and I had a very brief tour that was cut short when Gavin got upset at the barking of the dogs.

When we got home, Gavin sprinkled some juice from his sippy cup onto the floor. I got a wet paper towel to clean the floor. Gavin decided to help. Later, he decided to keep cleaning. Mason was his first victim. Mason is very patient with Gavin.

After scrubbing Mason up, it was time to move on to the refrigerator. Then he tried to clean my face with his damp paper towel.

After some lunch, I put Gavin down for a nap. He rolled around, sat up, stood up, and did everything except sleep for 25 minutes. Once he finally fell asleep, he only napped for 45 minutes. He woke up in a foul mood, which persisted for the rest of the day. He's teething--the last four have his gums swollen--but yikes, this was no fun. For 45 minutes after his nap he cried. Nothing could make him happy. Finally he calmed down for a snack. From there on out, it was touch and go. He would be happy for moments, then would cry/pout for no apparent reason.

Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day.

Wednesday Fun

Gavin and I started Wednesday by meeting Michelle and Addie at Parr Park for a walk. Gavin got a few minutes of play time on the jungle gym and met twins who were at the park with their grandfather. All I've got to say is that Grandfather is a brave man to bring two year-old twins to the park to play.

After a quick stop, we were home for more fun before nap time. Gavin discovered this cabinet and it's contents earlier in the week. He played for a while taking water bottles out of the cabinet.
Then, I had some laundry to fold, which included this bedspread. Gavin was having a good time walking around on it, so I had him to sit down, so that I could take him for a magic carpet ride around the house. Needless to say, he had a good time and was very sad when I folded the spread up and put it away.

For lunch, I offered Gavin ravioli. Knowing it would be messy, I took off his shirt. He didn't eat a lot of ravioli, but he made a grand mess. It's a good thing I like ravioli.

Banana Pudding

. . . or 'Nanner Puddin' (just depends on where you live) . . .



I love to cook. I enjoy spending an afternoon puttering around in the kitchen preparing food for the day or week ahead. I don't get to putter as much as I used to; it's just not the same with a baby on your hip. But, slowly, I am getting back to cooking something that takes more than 30 minutes. Earlier in the week, I signed on to bring banana pudding and deviled eggs to Scott and Tonya's Indepedence Day Pool Party. So, I had the perfect opportunity to cook and putter.

I don't make banana pudding that often and typically when I do, I cheat by using Jell-O pudding instead of making my own custard. I know it isn't hard to make the custard from scratch; I've done it before. But, Jell-O sure makes it easy to just add milk and shake. And, Cool Whip does make a decent substitute for the meringue topping.

Inspired by watching Julie and Julia, I decided this banana pudding should be the real deal. I didn't even have my instant pudding in the house as a temptation. After getting Gavin down for his afternoon nap. I set to work on cracking my hard boiled eggs for the deviled eggs; then it was on to the pudding. Dave joked that I could combine the two into a delicious trifle much like the one that Rachel makes in the Friends episode (a layer of lady fingers, followed by ground beef, peas . . .), but I decided that Joey might not be present at this pool party.

Cooking really is therapeutic. I have nothing to focus on a the time, but the recipe at hand. Working to combine sugar, flour, egg yolks, and milk into a mixture without lumps, gives me a tangible purpose. Something my job often lacks. Cooking also reminds me to have patience. It seems like forever before the custard starts to thicken, the egg whites begin to stiffen, or the meringue begins to brown. But once the appropriate amount of time and energy have been given, the result is delicious.

There's still a little left in the fridge. Like Paula Deen, I think I'm going to go find my good friend, Mr. Fork.

Drinking From a Straw

It's funny how Gavin seems to do nothing new, then in spurts, he's doing tons of new stuff. Yesterday we allowed him to eat with a metal baby fork. He did a great job stabbing his food and eating. Then, tonight, he opened up one of the cabinets and started pulling out water bottles. Eventually, he got to a cup with a straw. He began to play with the straw, pulling it in and out of the hole, dragging the cup around by the straw, and then sucking on the straw. Dave and I decided it was time to break out this cool cup with the built in straw. Gavin immediately starting drinking out of it like he has always drank from a straw. Go figure. We'll have to try it with a real cup and straw sometime, but I don't think he'll have any problems.

He was so enamoured with the cup and straw that he drank a lot of water before dinner then a lot of milk with dinner. We'll see how saturated the diaper is in the morning.


(A note: today was casual day after playing at the park. T-shirt and diaper were the attire for the afternoon.)

At the Park

This morning my friend Michelle and I met at the park with our babies to walk. While Addie enjoyed running to the end of her leash and sniffing all the good smells along the path, Gavin kicked back in his stroller for the ride. Gavin was happy to meet Addie, who greeted him with kisses and tail wags.

After our hour long walk, I let Gavin stretch his legs at the playground. Thankfully, he was a big fan of the swing today. I say thankfully because: a) the swings are my favorite and b) at Easter, Gavin was not a big fan of Dean's swing.

Michelle grabbed up my camera and started snapping pictures, without being asked, that's a good friend.


I'm glad Michelle was there to witness Gavin's swing ride. We both think that he was leaning back and almost pumping his legs. I'm not sure where he learned that. I'm almost positive that there are no swings at school.





























Hey, mama, what's over there?




























All that swinging (and riding in the stroller) makes a boy hot. So, Gavin cooled off with some water. Of course, he couldn't stand still to drink (or eat his snack). He had to be on the move.

After Michelle and Addie left, Gavin and I played for another 15 or 20 minutes. I showed him how to climb up and down a toddler-sized jungle gym with 3 slides. He was more interested in the steps than the slides or tunnel. Since it was just the two of us, no pictures. But, there will be other times. I had to carry him away so that I could go defend our PopTarts against the grackles that were eyeing the shiny open package. Gavin was none too happy at being taken away from his new-found steps.




We're both ready for our next morning walk.

Happy 42nd Anniversary Grandma and GrandBob

We aren't sure if the mailbox is up at the cabin, but we know Grandma and GrandBob are checking the blog. We hope you have a wonderful 42nd anniversary at the cabin celebrating the first year of retirement!

We'll see you next week.

Love,
Gavin and his mama and his dada

Independence Day Pool Party

Scott and Tonya were gracious enough to host an Independence Day pool party this afternoon. There were seven families there with 1-3 children per family. Three little girls are younger than 3 months old--one 3 weeks old. Needless to say, Gavin had a great time.

First there was time to play inside. The log cabin is super cool.

Then we all suited up and headed to the pool. Gavin continues to be a little daredevil in the water. Of course, he's learning a lot from Sara. She thinks she can swim and really does quite a good job. I was impressed with her jumps to her dad. By next summer, she'll be a little fish just like her brother, William.Sara just needed a little help getting back on to the Baja step.And sometimes, she didn't need any help. However, Gavin was happy to cheer her on.
Gavin enjoyed tooling around with Mama.

It was good to see the Dads in control of the kiddies.

Splashing with Dada was fun.

Of course after swimming there was lots of food: hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, macaroni salad, chips, fruit, deviled eggs, cupcakes, ice cream, and banana pudding. Oi, I ate too much. Gavin (and all the other kids) barely ate dinner; there was too much playing to be done.

We headed home around 8. Gavin ate Cheerio's in the car on the way home. We gave him some milk when he got home. After getting him into his pjs, we put him in bed. I'll bathe him and apply extra lotion tomorrow to combat the salt water from the pool. Somehow, I don't think he'll care if his skin is a bit dry.

I'm looking forward to him being big enough to want to see fireworks. But, all in good time.

Romper Room

I'm embracing the fact that Gavin requires a lot of toys to be entertained. (Or maybe that I think he needs a lot of toys to be entertained. Some days, he's quite happy with the sticker off of a banana.) While my mom was here, she and I moved the piano from the un-named "red sofa room" to the living room. And, toys went to the new romper room.

Later, I shifted the sofa on to a different wall so that the sofa is more prominent than the toys. We've intended to buy a rug for that room for five years now, but haven't. When you're on the floor playing, you need a rug. I talked with Dave about buying a rug with a geometric print. He recommended a rug with a road pattern for Gavin to play on. I gave some lame argument about not wanting it to be entirely a kiddie room. He scoffed at me, asking me to look around at all of the toys. Knowing he was right, I decided to embrace the romper room decor.

I shopped on eBay for rugs with the road design, finding a 5x7 rug for $60. Thankfully, I didn't buy it immediately. Saturday the rain prevented Dave from doing his 25 mile paddle, so he accompanied Gavin and me to Ikea for some rattan trunks (I'm stealing Lindsey's toy storage solution). There, we also found a rug for $18; it's not quite as big and the colors aren't quite as vibrant, but for one-third the price it will do. We also found a baby gate for the upstairs landing, a craft paper dispenser, two small rugs, and a few kitchen items. Two hundred dollars later, we left. Dave says I can't go back for another five years.

Romper room still has a way to go. We want to get some pictures on the walls. We both have some ideas. We'll just have to see what we end up doing. Gavin is happy to have all his toys together. He's not too happy that he can barely reach into the trunks, but before we know it, he'll be plenty tall enough to pick out his favorite toy.