So Sorry

Me: "Gavin, did you know you used to live in Mommy's tummy?"

Gavin: "Oh, I did not mean to do that. I'm sorry, Mommy."

Things I Want to Remember About Age 2

There are so many things I want to remember about Gavin at age two, and how I wish I'd written them down on a daily basis! Some highlights:

• He seats himself at the table for dinner and says grace each night. He provides a running commentary throughout the meal and occassionally says sweet things like, "This is a very good dinner, Mommy!" or not-so-sweet things like, "I WON'T eat my tomatoes and I WILL have a treat!" Fortunately, dinner is often redeemed when he says, "May I be excused?" and "Thank you for dinner." Aw, manners really melt a mom's heart.


• He knows how to operate an iPhone and all the game apps. Gavin is quite adept at the Crazy Birds game and had to show me how to turn on daddy's iPhone on our flight to Utah last month. I'm not so sure this is a good thing. :)


• Gavin loves all of his stuffed animals. They are, in fact, his best friends and he has names for each one of the 17 creatures he sleeps with each night. However, Blue Puppy and Brown Puppy are his special friends and they come with us everywhere. I shudder to think what life would be like if we lost these ragged little creatures.


• This boy loves going to restaurants and now asks if he can go to specific places like Cozy Thai or Steak 'n Shake. Oy! He gets to go out to lunch with us once a week, and is really great in restaurants.


• Gavin's biggest passion right now is for music. He stands at he CD player for hours each week, selecting his favorite songs and singing. Sometimes he'll get out his drum or keyboard and play along, but often he likes to make up his own songs. I feed him song titles like, "Mommy's Really Pretty," and let him take the ball and run with it. You should try it sometime. There's nothing more gratifying than hearing a two-year-old sing at the top of his lungs, "Mommmmmyyyyy, you are reeaaaaaallllyyyy PREEEEETTTTY!!!"


• Sometimes we're not allowed to sing along to the songs on the radio ("No! I need to hear the words! You don't sing!") OR look at Gavin ("No! Don't look at me, Mommy!"), but we're always allowed to give Gavin cookies. Go figure.


• Gavin is now very interested in geography (thanks for my Oregon Scientific Smart Globe and my own geography nerdiness) and numbers. He loves to count things...and count things...and count things. And then he shows me where Brazil is on the globe. I think he's smarter than I am at this point.

Ah, I could write a book.

Whirlwind Summer

The Bride & her partner in crime!

Happy Bride & Groom, just married

Froelich's...of course!

I barely remember what happened this summer since it was so jam packed with work and travel, but we sure did have fun. We started off with a trip to Utah in June, followed by a trip to St. Louis for work in July, and then a girl's weekend in Minneapolis that was capped with Joe and Gavin picking me up so we could stay with family in the Twin Cities for a couple of days. At the end of July we headed for Starved Rock State Park where we met up with some of our dearest friends who were visiting from California.

August found me traveling to Anaheim for the annual Southern California Harvest Crusade, and then Joe and I turned around three days later and flew to Portland, Oregon for another close friend's wedding in Hood River (and yes, I was a bridesmaid).

It was all amazing, and we haven't had a summer like this since we were married. Maybe that's because my husband usually has a job during the summer, but still, we were grateful for the time to be together as we traveled the U.S.

Fun with Nicole

Yes, Nicole, you made my blog! :)

We miss Nicole now that she's moved to Nashvegas, but it sure was fun seeing her when she was in town over Labor Day. Gavs particularly delighted in seeing her very special "fishy face."

By the way, can you guess where we are in this photo?

Precocious

My little toddler boy is a big talker. He may be somewhat reserved, but he is not shy, and he'll speak up when spoken to. If he's comfortable around you, he'll talk for a very long time. In fact, he's been known to talk non-stop for an hour in the car. At 10 p .m. when he should be sleeping. What does he like to talk about, you may wonder. Here's a random sampling:

His current passion is for all things Veggie Tales. He has seen a couple of the television episodes, but more importantly, he owns the "Church Songs" CD and listens to it every day. The little guy even sleeps with the Veggie Tales CD cover and movie jacket. Every night. And he talks about Veggie Tales non-stop. In fact, he has asked us to call him Larry the Cucumber, and at least a dozen times a day he says to me, "Mommy, my names is Larry."

He asks a lot of questions. Tonight was a good example. As Joe tucked him into bed (for the third time), Gavs rattled off a litany of questions: "Daddy, are you funny? I'm funny." "Is sheepie a nickname for my sheep?" "Is Mucho here? I don't like Mucho (his imaginary arch nemesis)."

He talks to his stuffed animals about what he did during the day. I love eavesdropping on these conversations that Gavin has with his friends since I often hear him telling them things that I'm sure he learned by watching us and the Wonder Pets. Things about going to sleep, reading books, not hitting, and the importance of team work.

Those phrases from the Wonder Pets pop up during dinner conversation, as well. Tonight I told him he could choose two animal crackers from the tub after he ate his dinner and with hand poised over the open bin he said, "Here's my chance!"

He has an opinion about everything. Yesterday I asked him if I could have a hug and he told me, no. I then asked him if I could have a kiss and he said, "Maybe tomorrow." You have to respect that he knows what he wants.

He's a funny little kid.

Catching Up

What happened to the summer? It always disappears so quickly and this year I don't even have the photos posted to prove we had one. But don't dispair, my five blog readers! Photos are coming soon, as soon as I get them all downloaded from my husband's computer.

I feel like I should be documenting Gavin a little more carefully on my blog so I remember these funny, annoying, tiring, exasperating two-year-old toddler days. I liken this age to a dealing with a woman with severe PMS, every day, all day. One moment the boy is cuddly and saying things like, "I love you, Mommy. I want to rub your back." (cute, right?) to, "Don't LOOK at me! No, Mommy--you don't sing my songs!" Oy. The changes are constant.

We are really getting a kick out of all this new interaction, though. I'm trying to write down the funny little phrases like, "A memory is where the people live." This kid is either very deep or is picking up some sort of subliminal message from watching too many episodes of Wonder Pets.

Gavs also speaks very "formally." When I ask him, for instance, if that is milk he is holding he replies, "Why yes, it is." If I ask him if he would like to go outside he says, "Yes. I would." All very cute and charming.

I could blather on all day about how funny this little guy is.

Moab!

We had a fun trip to Moab, Utah with my parents, sister, and nieces a couple of weeks ago. The weather was perfect, and Gavin had a blast on his first hike to see the Sand Dune Arch.

Unfortunately, he threw up eleven times on the way back to my parents house, and it was a fun seven hours stuck in a car cleaning up toddler puke. But the poor little guy was a trouper and recovered quickly when we arrived at Grandma and Grandad's house, even dancing to "So You Think You Can Dance" and playing the piano.

But the stomach flu fun was not done. Gavs threw up two more days that week and then spread the love to both grandmothers, his daddy, his uncle, his aunt, and his mommy. Today his Pop caught it after two week. No one is safe.

So, when we weren't all throwing up, we had an enjoyable two days in Utah during our week-long vacation. We even saw Anthony Bourdain in the Salt Lake City airport on the way home, so that counts for something, right?

Supa Dupa Shopping

I really am getting into this super couponing thing. In fact, I was so stoked about my shopping trips this week, that I took a picture of everything I bought for $11 and change. This is where all of the Catalinas, coupons, and free Kraft products came in handy--especially since much of what I bought will go to the food pantry for my church's Community Care Clinic.

If any of you have further tips on couponing, pass them on! I'd love to learn more. Plus, this is just a little bit addictive.

He's Not a Baby Anymore!

What happened to my little baby? He's a big boy now...over three feet tall and 28 pounds or so. If I go an entire day without seeing him, he looks larger to me in the evening.

While I'm marveling over the growth of my child, I'll also update you that we are two doctor's appointments down and one to go with Gav's potential health issues. So far, we have been really happy with the outcomes. The eye doctor said that he does not have blocked tear ducts, but narrow tear ducts + allergies + astigmatism. The good news is that he doesn't have to have surgery, the okay news is that we need to bring him back in a year to see if he needs glasses.

We met with the surgeon about his abdominal hernia on Wednesday of this week and, again, the news was better than we anticipated. The doctor wants to see him again in six months to a year, just to see if Gavin's tummy is making any progress in closing on it's own. If he eventually needs minor surgery to repair the hernia, it won't be until he's four or five, so they are giving him some time.

Our final appointment for with the celiac specialist will be in a few weeks, after we return from our vacation in Utah. We're praying for a great outcome for the appointment as well, and I appreciate those of you who have let me know you are praying for Gavin. It means a lot and we really see it making a difference. Bring 'em on!

Good Material

We really have some good material to work with around here in terms of stories that involve Gavin saying funny things. He was highly entertaining this evening during dinner, shutting his eyes very tight in mid-bite and declaring, "Mommy and Daddy are invisible!"

Later, he cuddled with his special friend, aka "Blue Puppy" on the floor, hugging "him" and crooning, "Oh, puppy, I love you. Oh, puppy, I missed you." Sounds a lot like what his Mommy said to him when I saw him after work today! This modeling of the parents can be so cute. (But also so bad--like when Joe and I got into an argment at Trader Joe's yesterday and Gavin started screaming to get our attention. That makes you feel like a crummy parent, believe me. Just keeping it real, people).

Finally, as we were putting Gavin to bed, we asked him if he would like to say his own prayer tonight and he said yes. Here's what he prayed:

"Dear Father, we love you. Thank you for loving us. Amen."

I'm melting.

Quote of the Day

We just returned from an outing at the Lincoln Park Zoo and if you're planning to head over this Memorial Day weekend, don't. I suppose I'm just a bit grumpy from searching for parking, walking around in humid and hot 88 degree weather, and wrangling a toddler. No, Mommy wasn't a whole lot of fun today. But, I did smile when Gavin greeted me with:

"Hey there, little mommy!"

Pretty cute.

As we were driving home in the relative comfort of our air conditioned car I asked him, "What did you think of the zoo today?" Gavs replied, "I liked it! I saw rinoceros." He's so cute that it put me in a better mood.

I Love You Mucho!

Lately we've been affectionately saying to Gavin, "I love you mucho!" which makes him giggle. He often replies back with his own, "I love you mucho!" or, more baffling, says, "I love you Cak!" It kind of sounds like Martin Short in Father of the Bride trying to say the word "cake." Very funny!

Last night I was tucking Gavin into bed and when I said, "I love you mucho," he frowned and said, "I don't like Mucho! I don't like Cak!" He was quite insistant that I was not to like them either and it dawned on me: he thinks Mucho and Cak are people!

Of course I had to promise that we would no longer speak of them. Bye, bye.

One Appointment Down...

This has been a tough week. We recently had Gavin tested for celiac disease/gluten intolerance, and the results came back that he has all four genetic indicators. What a bummer. He hasn't shown any physical signs of being allergic to wheat, but since Joe and his mom both have gluten intolerance, we decided to have Gavin tested as well.

What does this mean? Well, we're not actually sure yet, but the worst case scenario is that Gavin will have to live a gluten-free lifestyle. Although this is not what I want for him, at least there is a way to keep him healthy and thriving. We are going to meet with a specialist at the University of Chicago next month, and they have a children's celiac center there--one of few in the world--so we are very blessed from that perspective.

I did do a bit of grieving for all the birthday cake Gavin won't be able to eat, all the pizzas he can't consume, etc., but I guess in the long run it is only food. I just want my little boy to feel "normal," not like the odd kid out.

In addition to the gluten stuff, Gavs had to go see a children's opthamologist today since his ped thought he might have clogged tear ducts. It turns out he has "narrow" tear ducts and mild allergies, as well as a moderate astigmatism, but no surgery will be required to un-clog. Woo hoo! Of course, if his astigmatism doesn't begin to self-correct by next year, he may need glasses, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Next up, we meet with a surgeon about Gavin's abdominal hernia. It hasn't closed since birth, so surgery is likely.

Boo.

Our New Bedspread Arrives!

Life

My blog is definitely receiving third-rate billing lately, coming in far behind Facebook and Twitter. Who has time to be a mom, work, take care of household stuff, and keep up with all of this social media? So, for those of you who want an update, here's what we've been up to this past month.

Gavin turns two. Yes it's true! We are now the proud owners of a two-year-old, complete with mood swings, fits of temper, and cuddly hugs. Oh, and a Wonder Pets party. It seems that overnight our toddling baby has turned into a little boy, talking in complete sentences and requesting his favorite music, food, toy, etc. Gavs has also shot up in height and seems to tower above other kids his age; it is still hard for me to believe that I have a son who is in the 90th percentile for height since neither Joe or I are particularly tall. We'll thank Gavin's grandfathers and uncles for that gift!

He is beginning to say some really funny things...I knew this day was coming! For instance, I had a bra laying on the bed this week and Joe asked Gavin if he knew what it was. Gavs said, "For nipples!" Later the same day he said, "I don't like the cracks." I asked him what cracks he was referring to and he said, "Cracks on my booty." What?! It's crazy where he gets this stuff!

Laura becomes obsessed with couponing. I'll thank my friend Nicole for this one! Nicole was nice enough to walk me through the concept of super couponing and now I'm hooked. I'm one of those people that will drive to Dominick's just to "do a deal" to get four free bottles of Windex. Don't judge. You'd do it too if you realized that you can save crazy amounts off your grocery bill. Last week I spent $2.50 on a transaction and saved something like $20.00. Pretty good, right?

Oh, yeah. I also am just beginning work on the 2010 Harvest with Greg Laurie events (mark your calendars for the Chicago outreach at Allstate Arena, Sept. 24 - 26) and am now co-leading our church's moms' group.

Joe networks with cool design-y people. There's no news on the job front for Joe yet, but he has just five weeks until his first year in the MPD program is complete. In the meantime, he was able to attend Design Chicago where he met Gordon Segal, the founder of Crate & Barrel, and they will hopefully be able to set up a time to connect.

Joe also had the opportunity to attend the Q Gathering in Chicago this past week, a dynamic conference where church and cultural leaders came together to collaborate and explore ideas about how the Gospel can be expressed within our cultural context. I plan to go next year, but this year's program was just perfect for Joe since it featured talks from designers/ideators from the Chicago area. Joe had the chance to meet many of the speakers and particularly connected with a business designer from IDEO, which is a company he might like to work for. Long story short, it turns out that this IDEO guy lives in our town (what a coincidence!) and, in fact, lives on our street (imagine!), and (wait for it) lives in our building! We're thinking this could be a God thing.

We shall see!

Easter

I really hope to get some Easter photos posted on here this week, especially since this was our first year giving Gavin an Easter basket. After tasting jelly beans for the first time, his new mantra around the house is, "More candy! More candy!" I had to tell the poor guy that mommy threw the rest of the candy away. Bad mommy. Mean mommy.

A cute thing happened on Easter during church. Gavin was in the sanctuary with us during worship and he absolutely loves the music. But evidently the songs weren't as familiar to him as he would have preferred. During a brief break between two songs that no doubt were celebrating the risen Savior, Gavin cried out in his little boy voice, "Sing ABC! Sing ABC!" It totally cracked us up, and the families sitting right around us. I'm sure God appreciated his heart to sing out loud and strong--even if it was ABC!

Things are Changing

Big news in our family this week, friends. My sweet husband was laid off from his job of nearly ten years yesterday. Fortunately, he is in pretty good spirits as he has felt for some time that sales is not the job for him (even though he is excellent at it), and he's also now 2/3 of the way through his M.A. in product development at Northwestern.

It is a big relief for Joe to no longer be in work culture that mandates long hours and encourages six-day work weeks, for very little pay-off. We are glad to see him before 8 p.m. each night!

Still, it is a nerve-wracking time of uncertainty. Joe doesn't have any sort of severance package to fall back on, so we are grateful that I have work committed through October. This is a bit of a pressure situation for me (at least I put the pressure on myself) as I don't particularly want to up my work load since I also stay home with Gavin, but on the plus side, Joe is now available to babysit for me.

I know God has our next step all mapped out, but it sure is hard not knowing what is next.

Work

I had an interesting conversation with Gavin this week about work.

Me (to Gavin as he opened his bedroom door and walked out): "Gavin, where are you going?"

Gavin (turned, pausing for a moment): "To work!"

Me: "What will you do there?"

Gavin: "Play. Get money."

Me: "What time will you be home?

Gavin: "Seven. Bye."

Evidently we have this conversation a lot in our house if he's picked up all of this information. Funny, I don't remember the part about the money, though.

Away We Go

Okay, ya'll. I am so excited for the weekend since Joe and I are going on a semi-staycation for 48 hours. It happened like this. Once a year we are fortunate enough to go away with two other couples over MLK weekend; sort of a couple's retreat that has been going on for 12 years now with dear friends. Unfortunately, one of the couples has family obligations this year and at the last minute found out they can't fly up to Chicago, which is how Joe and I found ourselves with an entire weekend free. We had already lined up childcare and a Saturday off from work, so we're pretty much being forced to have fun. Bummer.

What will we do? Well, we have a few things planned between Friday evening at 5 p.m. and Sunday afternoon. IKEA run, fun meals out, movie, an overnight stay at the Affinia hotel, shopping, and a visit to the new contemporary wing at the Art Institute. Fun and, for the most part, free since we are using gifts/gift cards/student discounts for just about everything. We haven't had a night to ourselves since last Valentine's Day, so this should be a blast, and a much-needed break as we navigate the life of working parents, one of which is attending grad school! Hurray for breaks.

Observations on Life

I love Gavin's observations. They're just so...deep. No, I'm serious! For his age, I find them quite stunning. For instance:

Bored with plain Cheerios, I poured Gavin a bowl of Cheerios with milk this morning and let him eat them with a spoon. He loved it! His observation? "Cheerios are swimming." In the milk, that is.

Whenever I put a handful of blueberries in front of Gavs he says, "Hi, guys!"

We have a Mark Rothko-esque painting on our wall; interpretively, it could be an orange sunrise dawning over a sea of blue. It could be, if that's what you see. Gavin stared at it the other day, studying, studying, studying. Finally, he said, "Swimming pool."

One of my favorite quotes recently: "Mommy eats broccoli (yes! But, uh, not that often lately)...Daddy eats french fries...Daddy eats milkshakes."

I'll keep adding to the list.

Goodbye, Baby...Hello, Little Boy

Today I took Gavin to KidSnips for his first short haircut. He'd been once before for a trim to his baby curls, but those long, unmanageable locks were beginning to turn into a little mullet, making him look like a mini Billy Ray Cyrus. Or like a little monster truck driver. You get the picture.

So off to kiddie paradise we went. KidSnips is no hardship, believe me. It's filled with toys and kids get to select their own movie to watch as they sit in little race cars to have their hair "styled." Please. My mother just slapped a bowl on our heads and trimmed around it. I have the pictures to prove it.

At any rate, in ten minutes we rode the wave of tears ("No cut! Take bib off!") to happiness ("Wonder Pets!" "Drive car!" "Lollipop!"). I think Gavin enjoyed himself once the actual haircut was over, but when I asked him later if he had fun he said, very mournfully, "Gavin was crying."

Life is hard, kid.

Holiday Photos

Could Gavin look any more tired?

Mexican dominos championship on New Year's Eve

Judy and I look hunchbacked

At the Christmas Opera at Del Rio's in Highwood

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! The boys are both napping, thanks to a late night we spent at the Kron's house playing Mexican dominos. When else are you going to stay up until 2 a.m. with a one-year-old? So here I am...figuring out how to start the year auspiciously.

So far I have been in uber organized mode, cleaning the house, making chicken soup and downloading photos. I think it's pure adrenaline. Or maybe it's the survival instinct that kicks in when you're a mom who needs to get things accomplished. Either way, it's a nice way to start. Maybe I'll even get a shower today.

As far as New Year's resolutions go, mine are the same, simple desires for my life that I think about every year at this time:

Read the Bible every day and actually ponder it
Go to the gym four times a week
Stop eating at night
Actually follow a budget
Don't take on more than I can handle
Maintain a positive attitude in the midst of a hectic life
Get a hobby and leave the house one night a week

There they are. Feel free to ask me how I'm doing. Hopefully I can knock something of this list this year.

What about you? What are your New Year's resolutions?