Have Babies Will Blog

Ava turns 5!!!

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:04:00 +0000

On February 3rd (her actual birthday) we had a family party after Ava came home from another girl's birthday party.

She opened all the gifts from us, the grandparents, and cousins... It was super exciting for Ava although her real party came the next day.
It was a Cinderella kind of day...

Cinderella greeted Ava at the front door...

And then she came in and had a coronation ceremony for Ava naming her a princess for the day and she placed a crown on her head and gave her a special wand.

It was came with a certificate of authenticity.

Afterwards she painted the faces of all the kids...

That's the look of pure joy. It melts my heart.

Olivia thought this was the most awesome day ever too.

Ava blew out her princess cake candles and the kids chowed down. I say this because in reality I have never had a party where the entire cake and all the cupcakes were inhaled. This was a new day.

Soon Cinderella was reading her story to the kids and singing (sounding just like the real Cinderella I am not even kidding).

Gavin enjoyed the party too.

After the party Cinderella had to go back to Disneyland so she gave Ava a big hug and drove away in her pumpkin carriage.

After the party Gavin 6 months and Tyler 1 year were demonstrating their size... Gavin used to get his handmedowns... I think we will be giving the handmedowns now.

Ava 5 year Checkup

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:33:00 +0000

Ava had her 5 year check up and is doing well. She's in the 90th percentile for height, weight, and BMI. She didn't have to get any shots and won't need any until she turns 11. All in all Ava is ready for kindergarten and let me just say- if she could go today she'd be there. She is so excited to go to the big kid school.

Stats: 49 pounds, 45 inches tall

Ava- Pre-Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:06:00 +0000

My Ava's turning 5 on Friday so we got a jump start on the celebration by going to B&N and getting her free kid's club cookie and a bunch of choose your own adventure books, Junie B. Jones Books, Magic Tree house books, and others I can't even remember. Now that the girls have fallen in love with chapter books I actually enjoy reading again. I was so burned out of reading picture books over and over. Dave's liking this too. We read a few chapter each night before bed and they are ready the next night asking for more. Liv's teacher said she is reading at a second grade level and Ava reads at a first grade level. I never liked to read as a kid so I am really happy they do. The TV is dying a slow death and reading is prevailing. I like to hear Olivia reading to Ava in their room or when Liv's at school Ava reads to the dogs. Awesome.

Gavin 6 Months

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:40:00 +0000

Gavin has had a lot of FIRSTS in the last few days. He has started saying, "dada, baba, and mama." He can roll over from front to back. He looks like he is about to cut his first two bottom teeth which is little scary for me since I have 6 more months of breast feeding left to go and the girls didn't get teeth until they were almost a year old. He was weighed yesterday and is a whopping 20 pounds 0.4 ounces and in the 89% for weight. His height is 2'4" and he's in the 88% for height and his dome is in the 65% which is nice being that his head is not large.

Gavin can sit up by himself and he can grab everything. If I make it out of this without going bald it will be great. His arms are always moving. When I nurse him he is constantly whacking whatever he thinks may be behind him. He is also a little nosey bugaroo. He has to see what EVERYONE is doing. He still sleeps great and through the night, he eats like a champ as if that wasn't obvious looking at his gargantuan size. He stands well on his chubby little legs and he is the happiest baby ever. Everyone who knows him or meets him gets a view of the dimples and the flirty eyes. I could not have asked for a better baby. He has also cut his first tooth.

Gavin engaged in circle time with his buddies.

See the look of envy that those other babies are so limber...

This is the morning of his 6 month birthday.

Later that day he had to crash out on the couch with his remote and phone. Being 6 months is hard you know..

Gavin on a trip to the park to watch Ava pogo stick and Liv ride her scooter.

And my Gavinator- I just wanna smooch that face all over.

HappyBirthday!!!

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:14:00 +0000

To my wonderful husband I want to say "Happy Birthday- You are my everything!" and to my little man who just hit the 6 month mark I want to say, "Happy Birthday big boy- we are so proud of how much you have changed our lives for the better."

So to celebrate Dave's birthday the kids and I brought him to the Exploratorium in SF. This was Gavin's first BART ride and adventure in SF so this was kind of a big deal for everyone. Look at my little man sitting up on his own. He was loving the ride.

This was also the first time the girls had been to the Exploratorium and they went nuts. They played with everything, checked out what every single project does whether it was how a tsunami works or how the brain functions. I think they were on education over load but they loved every minute of it. And then there's Dave... this was right up his alley. He is a science junkie so coming here was a huge success. Here's a few pictures of the girls enjoying themselves.

Ava was checking out the skeletons in her closet.

Gavin's getting his first glimpse into the science of how things work. Ava is helping explain things to him.

Olivia and Ava are feeling out the cyclone while Dave watches...

Olivia is mesmerized by the bubbles so she made a big one and then...

Dave trapped her inside of one. It was huge and Olivia told me, "It was awesome Mommy."

After the Exploratorium we walked over to Fort Mason and then to Ghirardelli for some chocolate.

And then we headed to the beach to play. Gavin got his first look at the ocean and the waves.

While standing down there he did not enjoy is warm feet being stuck in cold sand and the bottom lip popped right out. Sad face.

But he did like the sand on his feet once he was off the ground. Oh boy, another one of our kids who enjoys digging in the dirt.

And here we are, the gang, off to another adventure.

The Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:56:00 +0000

Before the big game Gavin was undecided on which team to root for...

Psych! He's a Saint's fan all the way just like his daddy!

We had a few minutes between games and BBQing to get our picture taken. Notice Olivia looks strange... that is the smile she chose to have in all the pictures so we went with it. One day she'll have to explain that to her boyfriend and we can all snicker and laugh. Oh wait- we did that already!

12 jumps on the pogo stick at the park- a new record. Olivia's at 8 so far.

The cruiser on her new two wheeled scooter.

My man giving me the sign to go!

Size

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:38:00 +0000

Just for reference:
Ava 5 years old- 45.5 inches tall 48 pounds
Olivia 6 years old- 48.5 inches tall 48 pounds

He Speaks!

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:34:00 +0000

You heard it here first folks- The Gavinator speaks.

As he laid silently in his crib out pops, "dada."

Rolling Around

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:08:00 +0000

At 3:52 PM today while watching football Gavin rolled over from front to back. It's a good thing too since we were thinking maybe the hospital gave us a broken model and we were going to have to return him for a full refund:)

New Year's Eve 2011

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:49:00 +0000

Instead of going to bed at 9 o'clock like a couple of old farts we decided to go up to the cabin and spend New Years weekend with our friends. Given that this is Gavin's first New Year it should be somewhat special right?

When we got there it was still a little nippy out so the kids took off in their jackets to walk the dogs.

By the afternoon they were climbing trees, riding bikes, raking leaves into huge piles and running through them, shoveling rocks to make a pathway with some pavers, and having a grand ol' time.

Nick can ride now without training wheels. Way to go!

Ava will be an expert tree trimmer one day!

And here's the happy family BEFORE the chaos starts.

So New Years Eve day Rachael and I take off to go have some girls time without the kids and we head out to lunch leaving the kids and the men with chores. We were gone a few hours and when we got back everything was done. It was awesome. Everyone followed directions, they ate some popcorn for being so great, and then it was getting dark so they all came inside.

This is when Olivia tells me she has a headache. Of course we don't have any pain reliever up in the middle of nowhere so I check her head and there's the fever. Again. We cannot seem to catch a break this winter with the stupid colds. So I have her lay down for awhile until dinner. As we are sitting around marveling over how good the Honey Baked Ham is... Olivia coughs. You know the cough that is usually followed with vomit. So we whisk her away from the table and put her to be with a washcloth apologizing to her for such a miserable New Years Eve. The hours roll on and now it's around 9Pm and the other two kids are getting cranky. Nick ends up in timeout so I put Ava to bed which leads to Nick going to bed too. I check on Olivia and her fever has broken and she is now sleeping. Yea let the good times roll right? No.

Midnight hits and we all celebrate and then a few minutes later Ava comes running out of the room and throws up. Can't take my kids anywhere the little pukers. She proceeds to barf until 2AM. So not only did Dave and I get any action on New Years Eve but we also slept in separate rooms so that he could hold the bowl while Ava threw up while I stayed with the baby in the other room to keep him from getting sick.

So the next day we head home, all kids feeling better, and once home everything that day and night go back to normal. Then the next night the kids go to bed and Olivia comes running out and throws up. Really? Have we not had enough vomit for 2012? Apparently not. I guess this is how we will be spending the next year... Yea, I say most sarcastically.

Gavin

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 19:50:00 +0000

See my smiling baby-

He loves to take a bath.

Especially when his daddy is there to play with him.

And also because his head is covered with ringworm. Yip. Ringworm. You'd think there would be a good guess as to how a baby could have gotten ringworm on his head but apparently it's just a fungus that you can get on warm moist places just like athletes feet. Since I've had a hat on his head most of the time I am guessing that is what happened. Neither dog has it... the other kids don't have it. I haven't gotten it from feeding him. It is a mystery.

Boys- man they start at an early age with the hyjinks. On top of that- behind his ears became really red from drooling I'm supposing and somehow became infected. So every day twice a day he gets cream smothered on his head, a different cream behind the ears, and a medication he swallows three times a day for the bacterial infection. I feel like a terrible mother that my cute little baby has hit the skids but his ears look 80% better, the ringworm is 75% gone, and the medication he still has to take for a few more days. Thankfully it's not an issue. He sucks it right out of the dropper. It must taste great.

So since we saw the pediatrician once again, on Gavin's 5th month birthday he weighs a whopping 19.5 pounds and is 27 inches tall. He no longer can ride in the cute little car seat that snaps on to grocery carts but instead the next size up seat. And since I switched the seat he is much happier not being stuffed like a sausage into the old seat.

Thankfully he still fits into his swing!

Fun Times

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:54:00 +0000

Juli came to visit the baby and brought-

the bunny. See the pure joy of 5 hours of fun with the bunny on Liv's face?

See the joy on my face as one kid sleeps.

Look at that cute little mug. Cutest little baby in the world. I can say that. I am the mom.

He is also a Saint's fan like his father and Uncle Scott.

This picture is just to reference his size. Gavin is almost as long as the changing pad. I gave birth to that without an epidural. Ouch.

Using the Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 23:41:00 +0000

Seriously? Is there anything these two can't do?

Olivia's first attempt at the "poto" stick. I don't know why she calls it that but she can jump on it!

This is a scooter that Olivia was given by Santa but since it has two wheels instead of three Ava has taken it over and she's good at it. Guess what she'll be getting for her birthday?

Christmas 2011

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 07:40:00 +0000

This is us waking up and heading downstairs to see if Santa left us anything. Frankly, I don't remember if we were good or not this past year. Should be interesting.

By the look on Gavin's face something hanky was left under tree... yes, another Christmas turd courtesy of Sugar. Off to a good start.

Well it appears some jolly ol' fat man ate the cookies.

And since he left crumbs Ava figured she would help out by eating the crumbs.

Ahh. The joy of still wrapped presents.

The ripping begins.

Even Gavin on his first Christmas got in on the wreckage.

Boy that paper must taste good.

The coveted pillow pet has shown it's head.

And some Wii will be a playin'.

Thank Goodness Santa gave Olivia her own music on her own MP3 player... Now we all don't have to listen to it.

Or so we thought. Thanks Liv you have a beautiful voice.

Mr. Hawkiepoo loved his new blanket and frog.

And his new snazzy jammies with reindeer feet.

My dad chilling out by the fire. Ha! Gavin's nose is still running. Thank goodness we aren't all well for Christmas that would throw off things for years to come.

This may be Gavin's first Christmas but he knows when something belongs to him and he wants it.

My mom back there clutching her coffee...

Ava's awesome present she made for me at preschool.

Viewing the carnage. It's everywhere.

Ava's new cat Snowy. She goes everywhere Ava goes.

I think the kids are lost in there somewhere.

We had a great Christmas followed by a fantastic Cioppino dinner. Dave and I were blessed this year with our new little Gavin and the completion of our family. The girls are loving school and their teachers. Things are just going really well for us. Here's to 2012 to be even better.

See in the picture over there by the red thing... that's my sanity slip slippin' away. Merry Christmas!

I wonder who's going to clean up that mess?

Kids Mass

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:30:00 +0000

Upon arriving at church for Christmas Mass I was dreading that the Mass would be a long one and the kids would get antsy. So to my surprise a woman walked over to us and asked if the girls would like to be in the play. Of course my two little hams said yes and ran away with her. And there we sat. The entire Mass in silence. Even the baby went to sleep. I literally could the angels singing.

Apparently Liv chose to be an angel. Go figure. It has wings. She would never pass on the chance to wear wings.

Ava was a camel. Dave thought she was a cow. Apparently he doesn't know the story of the three kings and baby Jesus. Isn't that where Christmas derived from anyway?

New Rooms

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:55:00 +0000

So Gavin was born and Olivia was pretty much displaced for 4 1/2 months. She asked me several times to bring all of her toys into her room but with all of Ava's stuff in there and the fact that some stuff needed to be cleaned and gotten rid of I just didn't have the time. So thankfully my parents came here for Christmas which allowed me a few days to paint Gavin room which brought all of Olivia's things out and into the hall so that I HAD to deal with them.

In a matter of two days Gavin's room was painted. Then I cleaned out Ava's toys and Dave put up some fancy new shelves to hold their belongings. Then he put up shelves in Gavin's room and we added the decorations and we were finally finished. Two great rooms that all three kids love. Olivia ran in to her new room to see the new creation and said, "Wow Ava look- here's my cradle too, and my jellyfish..." That made the week of work so worth every minute.

THE GIRLS' ROOM

GAVIN'S ROOM

Ava's X-mas party

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:28:00 +0000

Santa visited Ava's classroom this year and brought coal...

All the kids got to see first hand what they'd get in their stockings if they weren' t the best little kids Santa knew they could be.

Santa read, "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to all the good boys and girls.

Then Ava sat on Santa's lap and told him she wanted a remote control car since her old one had broken.

He offered her a candycane.

And that made Ava grin.

Olivia jumped right up there to tell Santa that she wanted a pillowpet.

And then the three posed for a group Santa shot.

Gavin's first picture with Santa.

Me and my boy. I have to say Gavin is one of the best decisions Dave and I have ever made together. He is such a great baby. He LOVES his sisters and the dogs, and really truly completes us.

49er's Game

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:18:00 +0000

Have you seen these two guys?

Let me explain who they are.... They are the proud recipients of two tickets to see the Steeler's play the 49er's. BUT... and that's a huge but. They didn't get just any old tickets...

Their tickets seated them HERE right behind where the players sit. They are about 8 rows back on the 45 yard line. The tickets were over $1000 a piece. Now look closely at these faces in the photo above and you will see in the glimmer of their eyes the words- FREE- written all over them.

In all honesty, they have these tickets every year but my dad doesn't want to drive all the way to SF for football unless it is against his team- Pittsburgh. So this was a good year for the both of them. Father-in-law and son bonding.

Snowtubing

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:49:00 +0000

Every year we go to the snow to play during the winter break. Sometimes we go up to the Mountains and go sledding down some pretty steep slopes and then sometimes we come HERE!!! The land of fun and joy!!! And TUBING of course!

Look at the little rascals all geared up for fun while standing atop the huge presents.

They were all gracious enough to let me snap their picture while they stuck their heads through the winter wonderland scene.

And for that they were rewarded with a train ride. Gavin's first train ride outside the belly.

See the rascals all pretend to smile for me. You'd think their faces were going to snap off. I received a lot of teeth.

My princess waiting for me to hop in next to her.

Who are these people and how'd they get in our photo? Awww- their Nick's parents and probably one of the coolest couples we could have ever met.

So the train ride ended and somebody had to get rebundled. Guess who? Yip, and he's not happy about it. I call him Mr. Crankypants.

The tube riding has begun and my baby is flying down the giant snow slide.

Here's Ava at the top getting ready to be pushed down the slide. Her little face is beaming.

My princess yelled, "WEEEEEEE" all the way down.

Nick and Olivia were in a race. Nick won!

And then there were the snowball fights and Ava gave me a big grin.

Gavin's first time getting near snow. Let's just say he didn't like it. After all the excitement we all went for some yummy hot chocolate and played at the park. Whew, what a day.

Not so- Tummy Time

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:19:00 +0000

Don't let this picture fool you. Gavin HATES tummy time. If I even think about putting him on the ground to do tummy time he cries. Everyone always tells me, "Wow, what happy baby you have. I don't think I've ever heard him cry." And then I show them tummy time. First the lip pops out, then the tears well-up and then I snatch him off the ground because he and I both know by this point it just ain't happening.

Back time seems to be enlightening so far. I mean hey- so what if he's 5 before he rolls over... he can sit by himself, pull himself up to sitting, eat well, and I think he even has a B.S. or he's just full of it.

Me and my kiddo doing what we do best together.

Amparo's Visit

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:00:00 +0000

Amparo and her family came out to see us for a little holiday fun. The girls ran around giggling and play with everything and Gavin did his usual smile and laugh. It was good seeing them again and having the kids get to play together. I miss us not living so close to each other anymore but she's moving soon and we will be closer.

Liv's X-mas Pagent

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:46:00 +0000

Liv's class along with the other two kindergarten classes all put on a Christmas Pagent. The kids sang their little hearts out..

Here's Liv getting ready to use her bells.

Eating

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:44:00 +0000

That's my Gavin chowing down his grub!

The Big Guy

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 21:03:00 +0000

Sounds like I'm ordering a pizza right? Nope. It's just my huge kid. Gavin had his 4 month well baby appointment yesterday at 20 weeks old. He is 18 pounds 13 ounces 95%, 26 1/2 inches tall 88%, and his dome measured 17 inches 75% I think... Needless to say his pediatrician asked if I was now buying him 6-9 month clothing. I laughed and told him the outfit he's currently wearing is 12-18 months... and then he laughed and said, "Well you sure have a big one on your hands..." Really I hadn't noticed. My back aches from lugging him around each and every day.

He then asked if he's eating well. Seriously you need to ask? Yes, he eats everything from cream of wheat to that gross Gerber meat. I am making him all of his baby food but I can't blend meat down like Gerber can so they win.

And then it came time for Gav's vaccines. Before he was even stuck in the leg he began to wail because he just didn't want to lay down on the table nor did he want some random lady looking at his face. So then Ava begins to wail because she is scared for him and then Olivia screams like a siren because she panics when everyone else is crying. It was like a scene from a bad movie. I'm trying to comfort him, comfort Ava, and listen to Olivia tell me there's something red on him and my hand... Again he had to be laid down for a new band aid sans more crying. Upon leaving I made my next appointment and guess who will be joining us again- yip both of the girls. Gee I wonder who will cry next time. Probably me in the parking lot.

People ask me all the time how I manage to take three kids everywhere I go and stay sane. First, I'm crazy and second, I walk really fast. With three you learn to flee the scene of the crime almost instantly. I think with all the crying drama we were down a flight of stairs and in the truck in a matter of two minutes. Good thing I am not fat.

I Stand Corrected

noreply@blogger.com (After Hours) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:23:00 +0000

Olivia didn't just give our phone number to one boy at school but rather two boys. Thankfully the second mom found me and let me know what she had done before letting her son call the house. The best part is this is the boy I've been told is the WORST kid in class. Thanks Olivia. Thank you very much. If you call our house don't be surprised if the number's been changed.