Little Gav

Our boy wants so badly to be a Cub Scout that it hurts. He also wants to learn how to write and read and he DESPERATELY wants to go to "Big Boy" school (a.k.a. kindergarten). He also wants to be considered a "cool dude", whatever that might entail and he would sell his mother down the river for a chance to have his own skateboard and do "cool" things on it. But he is my last baby and none of these items are on my agenda for him. I'm starting to think that my agenda doesn't matter much to him. Case in point: " Gav, can we have a snuggle? It's been a long time since we've snuggled." To which he replies:" I don't do that anymore. And, your a girl so that means you have girl cooties." First of all, who says "cooties" anymore and secondly, I do not. Sigh ... I'm still going to smooch all over him when he's asleep. Ha!
Gav's first attempt at his name. Not bad for a boy whose parents don't think about sitting down to teach such things until the day before school starts! Well, to be truthful ,we made such a stink about this sort of thing with Jacob that we decided (er, apathy) to not push Gav at all. He pushed himself. He really wanted to sign a card for a dear friend so he sat down to it:

G: " I'm going to write my name"

Me: "Okay Gav, that's a great idea." Mind wanders off again ...

G: He writes name

Me: "Gav! You wrote your name!"

G: "I said I was going to write my name!"

Right. This is what comes of NOT being the first child. You have to listen and learn very quickly and quietly so as to NOT disrupt the complete and total attention to the doings of your older brother. I think he gets it. We love you Gav!

Eggnog and Ornaments

We're teaching the children the proper wine glass holding technique. We think Gavin nearly has it.
Brad and boys decorating the tree this year. As you might notice, the tree is, shall we say, modest. All had a nice time unearthing and hanging up treasures of Christmas' past. The best ornaments we have are homemade, as I'm sure is the case in every family. As they separated their ornaments into his and his piles, they decided that they would likewise have separate sides of the tree to decorate. Hmmm. After much convincing they dropped that plan for the more traditional approach. Success. This year, Jacob hung some beautiful decorations he made at school and proudly brought home each day this week. Gavin both made and received many homemade ornaments from preschool. He decided that they were too special to hang on the tree and would be safer in a small box in the kitchen. That way we can admire them individually. Good thinking Gav.

Weiner Dog

When I come back to this world the next time around, I want to come back as this dog.

A Word About Boxes

A box is just about the most awesomest awesome item there
is to play with ...ever. I don't think I'm overstating here.
Like many kids before them, Jacob and Gavin have turned a
box into a mobile home, complete with pillows and "people".
It has been a pay-to-ride business venture and a pirate's ship. This
Christmas it became Santa's sleigh with Jacob acting as Rudolph,
my bathrobe sash, the reins and the fact that Jacob's pants came
down, the best laugh Santa could ask for at Christmas.

Thank you grandma and grandpa for sending the box. How
did you know it was exactly what we wanted?

Now Gingerbread is Everywhere

Will the Christmas fun NEVER stop I ask you? Spent the weekend planning,cutting,baking, "building", blow drying, and decorating gingerbread houses. Each boy wanted his own structure and these were no ordinary structures ... no happy little farm house with candy cane walkways for our two. But of course, we love and appreciate this creative twist. Jacob's "House of Doom" included a spider, a ghost rising up from the hole in the roof thanks to mommy's superior planning, and a quicksand lake with severed legs sticking out the top (see above pic). Gavin, not to be outdone, made a "Wresting House" with tough guys standing guard. With Gavin, I was allowed to add a sweet little barn scene and a lake with a ducky. Satisfaction. They worked with focus and determination that only a sugar-filled project could inspire.

Malcolm tried valiantly to leap to the worktable but failed each time thanks to God's cruel assignment of miniature sausages for legs. Poor Moo Moo. He did manage to get a hold of a purple jelly bean which caused him great aggravation. Have you ever seen a dog try and get a jelly bean out of his teeth? Now that I have, I want to see it again. Saki, as always, piled himself into a heap in the corner and let the whole scene wash over him.

This could be heard last night, very late, as Jacob and I braved the end of the building phase:

Me: " Oh, I forgot to cut out a door, or even windows for your house, Jacob."
Jacob: " That's ok mom. We'll have more fun making it ourselves. I don't even want windows."
Me: " Thanks sweetie. That's a super great attitude. OK, let's start on Gav's house now." Enter Gavin's walls complete with cool door.
Jacob: " Hey! How come he gets a door and I don't? I want a door. Can I have his walls?"
Me: Sigh...

And thanks to Brad who bought Cup-A-Joe coffee for caffeine deprived wife and cleaned the bathrooms while we created, the day was fantastic! We decorated to our hearts content and ended up with gingerbread houses for both sugared up boys. By the end, Jacob was giving Gavin lessons on how to make spooky creatures with salt water taffy which both enjoyed. Gavin could later be found playing with his "person" on the floor with the rest of his toys (and fur, of course). Did I remember to make it "go away" before it hit the gingerbread scene?

Brad: " Now all we have to do is wait for the cats to jump on all of this and hair it all up." " How gross will it be to eat a hair and gumdrop tree."

Me: Sigh ...

Christmas in Hillsborough

Kicked off the season with a parade through downtown Hillsborough. Who's laughing? We accompanied Jacob as he walked with his cub scout pack. Woo hoo! He liked passing out flags and candy canes to the spectators, feeling a bit like Santa perhaps. The other highlight was seeing school friends along the route, something he was hotly anticipating and later wrote about in his journal on Monday morning at school. Our social butterfly. Gavin was a combination of curious and overwhelmed but also enjoyed the experience, especially getting to meet Santa. Check out the face. This was the chosen afternoon insanity to break up the morning, afternoon, and evening insanity of making gingerbread houses. Poor daddy. He's always taking the pics but we promise he was there too (carrying little Gav as always happens to daddy). I'll be sad when he gets too big for this. Gav and dad are real pals on these kinds of outings.

Swingers....

There is an old pecan tree in Papa and Nana's backyard that has stooped over and grown lopsided in pursuit of the sun. It doesn't grow many pecans anymore, but it's odd overhang is perfect for a rope swing. Jacob and Gavin had a grand ol' time -- in between food and visits with cousins -- just swinging Thanksgiving away. Quotes most often heard: "Swing me higher! Hard as you can!" "Get out of the way, Gavin!" "Watch out for the dog!" "Uh, I feel 'swing sick'...Make me stop!!"

Fur Is Everywhere

Welcome to our family's blog. We have named it "Fur Is Everywhere" because it is. It's everywhere. And mess too. Lots of mess and fur in our home and two crazy parents who unsuccessfully attempt to control both. And in between, we enjoy our lives with our boys. We want this to be a place to share photos, memories, and thoughts with our extended family who we don't see enough of. It is also my answer to those anxious, nagging worries about keeping a record of our life together. A little something to look back on when we're old and bored to death of looking at each other. Photo albums and journals are no match for my laziness and inertia. I hope this sticks!