Firsts

Our boys are growing up so fast and experiencing new things every day. I've been thinking of all the "firsts" that they've both encountered lately, and I thought I would share them...

First Hair Cut...We took Gavin for his first hair cut. We were wanting it trimmed a little bit, but the lady just kept cutting and cutting. None of it seemed to phase Gavin at all, but I almost hyperventilated in the shop as I watched the hair keep falling! It is short and it makes him look so much older, but he is still a cutie-pie!
Before

After


First Time to the Driving Range...RJ has picked up a few golf clubs lately and started going to the driving range up the road...he is really enjoying learning about golfing and has been wanting to take Aidan with him. So, he surprised him one day with a club and took him out to the range. Aidan loved it and was so excited to tell me how good he did! He looks like such a big boy in these pictures!




First French Fry...Aidan loves McDonald's, and his little brother is taking after him! During a recent visit to McDonald's Gavin tried his first french fry...and second...and third, etc...and loved them all! : )




First Bike Ride...Santa left a big-boy bike for Aidan this Christmas, and we have just recently been able to get outside and let him try it out. He is hesitant at first and gets frustrated when he has a hard time, but he is doing well. He told me the other day that he wants to leave the "little wheels" (aka training wheels) on forever!


First Birthday...I cannot even believe I am about to write about this one. But, this past weekend, we celebrated Gavin's first birthday. The real day is tomorrow, so I will share more then. But, it was a wonderful day full of family and food and fun presents for the birthday boy!

Eating his first bite of cake

With all of his loot

Sweet Birthday Boy



Aidan and Gavin,
I am having the time of my life experiencing life through your eyes. I have enjoyed these "firsts" as much as you have, and I look forward to all the firsts of the future! I love you both so much...you make my heart full! Mommy

February Happenings

Gavin turned 11 months old this month. He's growing bigger and cuter and HEAVIER every day! We can't believe we're already planning his first birthday...it's only a week and a half away. So, more on our sweet baby later.

Aidan is growing like a weed, too...I think he's having a growth spurt because he is eating all the time and sleeping a lot, too! He is doing well, though...loving school and piano lessons and playing with Gavin.

RJ and I enjoyed a mini-getaway for Valentine's. We went to San Antonio and had a laid back, relaxing weekend. It was so nice to sleep in and get ready the next day without little boys playing in the bathroom with me! ; ) We walked around downtown, went to the Alamo, and enjoyed some great food!

RJ turned 34 this week. He wanted steak and sushi for his birthday dinner, so we went to Kobe Steakhouse Saturday night. It was a great time with yummy food...lots of it! Sunday, his only birthday wish was to go to the driving range and hit balls. So, he did...twice! That evening we went to Chili's to celebrate a little more. I think he had a good day...and I wish for you the best year ever, babe!

I got my hair cut...this may not seem blog-worthy, but when you haven't had your hair cut in 7 months, you'd be excited, too! Hair dressers never know how to fix curly hair, so I usually leave with straight hair. RJ and Aidan have seen me this way a few times, but this was a first for Gavin...he stared at me for a long time wondering why I sounded like his mommy, but looked so different! : )

We had our first snow day today. When we left for school this morning, beautiful huge snowflakes were falling. It continued throughout the morning. I was sad that we had to go to school, but at least Aidan got to play in the snow at his daycare. Our school was let out early around noon, so I went to get the boys. It was nice to have an afternoon off. And, we get to go in late tomorrow! : )

Here are some pics from the month...

One superhero relaxing playing his gameboy.


Another superhero just being cute.


Aidan signing his name and writing "I love you" on his daddy's b-day card...so sweet!


Me and RJ on his birthday...there's the straight hair!


View this afternoon from our deck.

10 Months Old

Gavin has turned 10 months old. In his 10th month, he experienced his first Christmas, got his first 2 ear infections, tried more and more table food (and loved every bit of it), gained another pound or two, got faster with his crawling, got 3 teeth on the top, and has kept right on smiling. He is still the happiest little thing ever. He is smiling and jumping in his crib when we go to get him in the morning and doesn't stop until we put him to bed in the evening. We cannot believe how big he is getting and that we are now less than 2 months away from a 1 yr. birthday party. Every minute with him is a joy...here are a couple pics from the last month...

Playing with his big brother (in their matching footie jammies)!


Playing with his Christmas toys...I love these monkey jammies, too! : )



Loving his brother...


Sweet smile...

Christmas 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas break this year. I was home for 2 weeks with my boys and had a blast. Here's what we did...

CHRISTMAS IN DALLAS
We started the holidays by taking a day trip to Dallas on the 23rd to visit my family there. Mom, Gene, and I took the 4 grandsons to visit my mom's side of the family. We had a wonderful day at Uncle Gary's house and enjoyed visiting with everyone. We haven't seen enough of them lately, but hopefully that will change in the future. My Uncle Gary had just finished radiation treatment a week or so before we visited. He has had a rough journey these past 8 or 9 months, but is on the mend now. Seeing him with a hope and faith in his eyes and visiting with my family that we haven't seen in so long are cherished moments of this holiday season for me. I will also cherish the moments of my boys with each family member. Hopefully we will get to see them all again soon.

The boys got to open presents from Uncle Gary, Mamaw, and Aunt Candy's family. The big boys got Spy Kits and Marshmallow Shooters...both of which are "awesome"! We wouldn't let them shoot the marshmallow guns in the house, so they had to wait to play with those till we got home, but they did play with the spy kits...you would not have even known they were there...they were so quiet and sneaky! Gavin got a bobble-penguin and Tickle Me Elmo Hands...both of which he giggled at! : )





Gavin with Uncle Gary, Uncle Bob, Mamaw, Lacey, and Aunt Candy. This was Lacey, Uncle Bob and Uncle Gary's first time to meet him and it's been months since Aunt Candy and Mamaw have seen him. So, it was fun to watch him get to know everyone!





Mamaw with her great-grandchildren.

My mom with her mom and siblings.



CHRISTMAS EVE
We spent Christmas Eve at home...Aidan and I made Gingerbread Men Cookies in the morning while Gavin watched. And, we made cookies for Santa that evening. Aidan also got to open one present that evening...a tradition from RJ's family that we are going to continue. I even got a prize this night...RJ made me a collage of pictures that we took trying to get a Christmas Card picture...it is precious...I love it! Once Aidan went to bed and we were sure he was out, RJ and I went to work helping out Santa! It sure is fun to be on this side of it...being sneaky and enduring...I mean enjoying...every minute of it just to see the look on his face in the morning! : )

Making the icing for the Gingerbread cookies...Aidan enjoyed licking the beaters...I turned my back for a second and when I turned back around, he was dipping it in the icing for a second round! : )

Gavin watching us make the cookies.

Decorating, the finished products, and enjoying one of his masterpieces...



I couldn't let Gavin just watch all the fun so he got some goodies, too...not a cookie, but a nutri-grain bar and he loved it! : )

Aidan's one present before Christmas morning.


Cookies for Santa...


My collage from RJ.



CHRISTMAS
Aidan woke us up about 5:30 in the morning (which is honestly better than I was expecting) and couldn't wait to go see what Santa had left. All he asked for was a blue Bakugan Bakosphere...I had found every other color except blue, but finally found a blue one at the last minute. Now I know how my mom and Aunt Candy felt all those years trying to find the exact Cabbage Patch Dolls, etc. Although I think the craze for those things is in a league of it's own! Anyway, he got the blue Bakosphere, a Spider Man bike with a helmet, a piggy bank (random but he's been wanting one for a while), and a few other little things from Santa. Gavin got a couple of goodies, too, of course...a walk-behind/ride on thingy and a few other little toys. Then, the boys opened presents from us before we ate breakfast...which RJ cooked for everyone...pancakes, eggs, and turkey bacon....mmmmmm! Then we got dressed and headed to Grammy and Grampy's. The kids got tons of fun stuff there, too, and we ate a delicious lunch there. That evening, we headed to Victoria to do it all again with RJ's fam. We did our Christmas with them Saturday morning and then had the big Gonzales Christmas party at Aunt Pat and Uncle Adam's that evening. It was fun to see the family and visit with everyone. We headed back home Sunday and enjoyed hanging around here the last week.

Santa's deliveries

Aidan on his new bike.

Gavin loved his new "computer".

The loot at Grammy and Grampy's house.

Gavin loved this, too...I'm not sure if he likes the music or looking at himself in the mirror better! : )

Mini-Santa...

I didn't have my camera most of the time in Victoria, but I was able to catch this sweet moment...Aidan cooking with Aunt Mari!


The holidays are always fun, but this year seemed especially wonderful! Aidan is at a great age for all the Christmas excitement...from decorating the tree to making cookies, to anticipating Santa's visit. Every bit of it was fun and precious to watch him enjoy. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at home with the boys. And, RJ was able to take quite a bit of time off, so we were able to all be together a lot, which was wonderful. I am very blessed...looking forward to next year!

Aidan's First Piano Recital

What a big day...Aidan had his first piano recital (after just 3 short months of lessons). He goes to lessons during the day, so RJ and I don't get to see what all goes on during class. I was able to attend the week of Thanksgiving since I was out of school, and I was amazed. There are 4 students in his class (all 4 yr olds). They are learning the basics and having fun doing it. I was very impressed with what they knew already. He really enjoys going to class and often asks me in the morning if it's "a piano day". RJ and I are excited that he is able to start learning music, and we hope to foster this excitement that we see in him.

I must say, I was more nervous tonight than he was! If you know Aidan very well, you know that he gets shy in crowds. So, I didn't know how he was going to react when he saw all the people that were in the audience. However, he did a great job. He marched out, played his two songs (they are short and simple, but songs none-the-less), and even bowed to the crowd before he left the stage! We are so proud...our little boy is growing up! I can't believe he is old enough to be having a performance of any type. He was very proud, too, to be playing for everyone, and , most importantly, he said he had fun...I hope that feeling sticks for a long time!

Here's our little musician...

9 Months Old

Gavin turned 9 months on Thursday! He is at such a fun stage...everything is exciting to him as he is exploring the world around him. He is getting really fast at crawling around and has started to figure out how to escape when I try to block him into an area! He is still pulling up on the furniture and cruising around it, but hasn't really let go and tried to walk, yet. He is very strong, though, and amazes me at what he can do already. He has 2 teeth on the bottom and is working on some more. He is babbling all the time and still chuckles at everything. He is a very happy little boy and makes us smile all the time!

At his check-up, he weighed in at 26 pounds, which is above the 95th percentile...not surprised! And, he was 29 inches long, which is in the 75th percentile...so he's starting to catch the others in length! He had the flu and an ear infection a week ago, but he has recovered from both. And, the doctor said he is a very healthy baby. She gave him the best news ever when she said he could start eating soft table foods! He has been watching us eat and wanting to participate for so long now...we've only tried waffles in the morning and he has enjoyed that. I know he will be enjoying a lot more in the near future!

He loves music and is mesmerized by his daddy's bass guitar. He will look for it when he hears RJ start playing. He has also started "dancing" when music is playing.


Escaping from the living room during our week home with the flu! As you can tell, he recovered quickly! : )


Looking cute in his winter hat!


Playing with big brother's puzzles...he wants to be just like Aidan! I don't know why I think pants with writing on the butt are so cute, but I do....love them!


Enjoying his little bits of waffles this morning!