having a moment

brooke starts preschool tomorrow. she's been "in school" since she was 18 months old, so tomorrow should not be a big deal. but it is. brooke moving from the "young preschool" room to the "preschool" room feels like we're turning a corner. brooke's transitioning from "little girl" to "big girl," and i know there's no turning back. it puts a lump in my throat. yesterday we took the kids shopping, and we bought brooke a new outfit for school. we bought a 4T dress. why does 4T seem so much bigger than 3T? is it because it's only 1 year away from 5T? today i took her to get a haircut. as i stood there telling the woman how i wanted her hair cut, i had a moment. a moment where i knew that in the very near future, i will no longer be able to tell someone how to cut brooke's hair. brooke will want to be in charge of her own hair just like she already wants to be in charge of her own clothes. so i savored the moment... of being in charge, of taking care of my little, big girl.

16 months

the stats: 25 lbs. 2 oz. (50-75th percentile), 34 1/4" tall (greater than 90th percentile)

words a stranger would understand: mommy, daddy, rock, walk, ducky, bee, uh-oh, owweee (as in "something hurts"), woody, baby, tickle tickle, milk, book, more, me

words mommy, daddy & brooke understand: airplane, water, thank you, hat, brooke, bunny, choo choo

favorite foods: blueberries, hummus, yogurt, honey bunches of oats cereal, beans, peaches, strawberries, grapes, bunny crackers, pasta, fig newtons, corn, broccoli, peas, smoothies, ketchup

things gavin loves: trucks (especially the garbage truck and UPS truck), diggers, rocks, water, walks, computer games, music, books, Elmo, Thomas the Train, blocks, bath time, playing "this little piggy" with his toes, the garage, wagon rides, bike rides, climbing on everything, the park, Curious George, Toy Story 2, blowing bubbles

firsts: sign language, apple juice, ice cream, doughnuts, time-outs, turning lights on and off, reaching the counter top, unlocking the back door, turning the dial and igniting a stovetop burner :(, a ferry ride, a haircut, class at Little Gym

what's new: gavin started signing the other day! all of a sudden, he decided to start using the sign for "more" and "please." he also holds his hands in the air to say "where'd it go?" gavin can point to his eyes, ears, nose and mouth and also points out things in his books. this weekend we were driving in the car and kevin said, "who had fun at the pancake breakfast?" and brooke said, "me!" and then we heard gavin say "me!" so cute. he's growing up so fast. he's stronger and more daring than ever, which means he totally has his way at the park. little jungle gyms, big jungle gyms... doesn't matter.  my boy is all over them.  climbing up steps, ropes, bars; hanging and swinging from bars; sliding down slides; running across bridges.  he wants to do everything his big sister can do, and he pretty much does. when he wakes in the morning, he calls for mommy and/or daddy. when i put him to bed at night he grabs my face with both hands and gives me a big kiss :) he also gives me a kiss whenever he knows he's in trouble! speaking of trouble... gavin is testing the limits these days and thinks everything is a game.  his favorite is "let's see if mommy will chase me...."  or "i know i'm not supposed to do this so let's see if i get in trouble...."

angelina ballerina

as a mom, just about everything your children do is cute, at least to you. but, really, there can't be much in this world that is cuter than a little girl doing ballet.  last week brooke went to "angelina ballerina" ballet camp.  she went for 2 hours each day for 5 days and loved every minute of it.  4 weeks ago brooke barely knew who "angelina" was, but boy how that has changed!  when grandma & grandpa were in town, they bought brooke an angelina ballerina doll (pictured above). that was the start of it... followed by the watching of the dvd that came with the doll, which has now become a daily ritual in this house. brooke has memorized every word to every song and dances along with angelina right in front of the computer.  gavin thinks it's so exciting - he insists on being in his high chair, pulled up to the computer so he can take it all in :) brooke has since discovered (thanks to mommy) that angelina has a show on PBS so it is now on the DVR and being replayed at this very moment. there's an angelina movie coming out this fall, so you better believe we'll be at the theater on opening day :)

makeover

whoa! what a change my blog has undergone. google has been prompting me to change my blog to one of their new "designer" templates, but i have resisted until today. i had to play around a lot to find something that wasn't totally boring and still suited me. while i like the design & colors, i'm not sure it's great for a blog. too much going on? too hard to look at? comment if you think so. if i (or you) can't live with it, then i'll just have to redesign again :)

before. during. after.

gavin got his first hair cut yesterday @ 15 1/2 months old.  he doesn't have a lot of hair, but the hair he does have was getting a little scruffy.  i didn't expect this to go well.  it started with tears and a death grip on me.  i pretty much had to force him into the chair.  the fact that it was a tractor, and he could "drive" didn't matter one bit.  the sucker that the man tried bribing him with didn't matter either. and then, what i didn't anticipate... the clippers.  sent my boy over the edge.  the noise, the invasion of his personal space... not happy.  once the clippers were put away, he settled down a bit.  i was able to capture his attention with the Thomas the Train behind him and Nemo on the TV screen in front of him. then when it was all over, he lost it again.  "save me, mommy!  save me."  i hated seeing him so upset, but the end result was definitely worth it.  i can't get enough of his handsome little head.

two personal favorites

love, love, love these.  soon they will be blown up and added to our walls :)  i think the picture of gavin is the best picture i've ever taken.  it inspires me to keep taking pictures.  the picture of brooke so perfectly captures her expression after throwing a water balloon.  it screams summer, and it is so brooke.

these are pics i want to look at over and over again.