ALOHA

This reminds me of a picture taken in Hawaii.

In actuality, it's a bud from Gram's magnolia tree.

ALOHA, anyway!

Photo courtesy of Uncle Tony

Toofer Patrol

Dean's first little toofer finally made it's way out!

Ava had her first tooth at 4 months, so I naturally assumed Dean would be somewhere around there. Well, the wait is over. I think there may even be 2 in there!

Watch out Sissy!

Ballet Pics

Ava had her ballet pics taken today.

This is their "recital" ensemble.

The little girls loved being dressed up in all their glittery glory.

Wow. I know. (I'll just leave it at that.)

Playset Chronicles

Long. Story. Short.

We bought our first, and hopefully last, playset today. Yay!
We've been looking and researching for months, and today, we finally pulled the trigger. I'll admit, it's pretty exciting. Ava is just tickled.

Last weekend, Chet and cousin Jason leveled a small area of the backyard.Ava watched patiently in her chair. Apparently, there is still plenty of prep-work to be done before Chet starts building. Here's a peek at the boxes in our garage. (Thanks Uncle Joey for helping with the transport!)
I can't wait to see the finished product. Here's what it's supposed to look like.I'll keep you posted along the way. Wish us luck!

Faux-hawk Fun

Happy Earth Day

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." - Native American Proverb
Look for ways to reduce your carbon footprint, today!

She has something in her pocket.

click arrow to play

8 Months

So, our little linebacker turned 8 months yesterday!
Yeah, you heard me right, 8 months! WOW!

Lots of changes going on over here. Big boy changes.

If you can believe it, we've graduated to size 4 diapers. Gasp!
I buy diapers by the box, and I knew we couldn't make it through another month in size 3. So, I bought a box of size 4 and they fit him so much better. Ava never wore size 5, but I can assure you, her brother will. =)

Lots of exploring going on. Creeping along, rolling around, pushing off. I see determination in his eyes. And, don't even try to take the remote control or telephone away from him!

As you know, we've enjoyed the waving, swinging & clapping firsts.

I almost forgot...Dean has started having little conversations with us back and forth. Lots of things qualify. It may be a strong "ack" sound. Back and forth, back and forth. It could be a chuckle. Back and forth, back and forth. Whatever it is, it's highly amusing. I'll have to ramble up a video for ya soon.
We've also introduced the sippy cup. He's starting to catch on, but he is still a rookie. Big sissy is very eager to provide lots of help in this department.

Speaking of Ava, it is adorable to see their little relationship and bond continue to grow. He's always been crazy about her, but it seems like they somehow get closer everyday. It's sweet.

We took both kiddos to get their first "studio picture" together. It's a spring-ish photo. Next comes the full family photo...one of these days. If you can believe it, we've never had one before, even with just Ava and us. Stay tuned, that won't be till sometime this summer. So, that's it.
Our little D-man has two-thirds of a year under his little belt.
Happy 8 months!

Happy Birthday, Bridget!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
And many more......
(pic taken on your bday, 4/16/04)

Little Waver

Chet has a ritual when he gets home from work.
It goes a little something like this:

he greets all of us,
hangs up his coat,
washes his hands,
picks up the little man,
signals big sissy...
and then they all head upstairs to change out of his "work clothes."

It's a nice break for me to fix dinner, or whatever. The usually linger up there for a little while, which is much appreciated by me and highly anticipated by the kiddos.

Anyway, on Monday night when Chet came home from work, things went a little differently...

As he was carrying the little guy away to head upstairs,
Dean started waving at me!

You know the wave. That really cute baby wave where they make a tight fist and then open their fingers up really wide. Over and over. So cute! He was waving bye-bye to his Mama!

Of course, we all chimed in, and he just kept right on. First time, captured by the whole family, what could be better!

I have to likely attribute this new learned behavior to Nana. She is forever trying to teach little babies to wave and we were just with her on Easter Sunday. So, kudos, Nana, your lesson paid off!

Dean is a little waver now, and it really is adorable!
Funny how these little baby gestures can melt your heart...

Papaw

THIS ONE'S FOR YOU, PAPAW!

Happy Easter!

HOPE EVERYONE HAD A VERY HAPPY EASTER!

Guess who loves to swing?

DEAN DOES!

Happy Bday, Uncle Jason!

We hope you have a wonderful bday!! Miss you bunches!
Love, The G Family xoxoxo

4 Year Update

Ava had her 4 year check-up today. Everything went great.
It's official, she's really growing up on us!

I don't know why, but once again, I was surprised by how tall she is!
She certainly doesn't take after her Mama in that department!

Height: 3ft. 6in. - 90th percentile
Weight: 35lbs. - 50th percentile

(Chet thinks Ava looks like him in this picture...so I thought I would post it.)