National Sweater Vest Day

There was no particular occasion for this picture, except that we knew that if we didn't dress the boys in these adorable sweater vests soon they wouldn't fit in 'em anymore. So the little dudes looked especially precious at church recently in this attire. You might also recognize this picture in our Christmas cards this year.

A collection of memories...

Gage has the best smile! And his little round cheeks are so kissable.

After Gavin graduated from the school of throwing legos behind his dresser every day--a practice that Daddy could no longer tolerate--he has become quite the little builder. He probably puts his legos into three or four different configurations every day. It's neat to see him take so much pride in his work when he's done. He always comes to get us and, much like Mommy, wants us to notice and comment about every detail of his work.

Wow! Who took by baby boy and subbed in the college graduate in the izod sweater vest?! Doesn't Gavin look so grown up and adorable here?

Chillaxin'...

Can we all tell who names these posts? That's all Brent, and it cracks me up! It seems like every couple of posts we revisit this pose, and by now Gavin knows that we think it's cute so he even asks me to take a picture of him and Daddy like this sometimes.

Halloween fun...

Gavin Elliot Koel was the cutest little chef we had ever seen! We borrowed this little outfit from a friend in my small group at MOPS, and it could not have been more fitting. Gavin loves to cook!

Gage fit right into Gavin's old dog suit, and he would even keep the hood on, which makes the whole costume. (Gavin wore the dog's face like a hood, and it was a challenge even getting him to keep it on long enough for a picture a few years ago.)

I love this picture! I love to watch my boys looking at one another. They're so sweet.

What a pair! We walked around our neighborhood, and Gavin really got into it this year. He was very excited about the sugar, as you can imagine. The glorious part is that he has completely forgotten about his pumpkin full of candy, and I wish I could say the same for Mommy. (The only things left now are not even worth mentioning.)

I carried the little puppy around our block, and he never even contested once about keeping the hood on. Occasionally, a neighbor would ask if Gage needed any candy, to which I would reply, "Why, yes, Gage really could use one of those" as I'd point to my favorite chocolate bar.

Hunting pumpkins...

We went to the pumpkin patch to find a pumpkin again this year, and I think that this is the one that we ended up taking home. It always happens to us that we see tons more great-looking ones after we've chosen ours and we're already driving out of the patch. Next time we should just drive the whole loop and look more on the backside. Brent is in his bike gear, if you're curious. He rode his bike from work to the pumpkin patch to meet us.

This was the best shot we got of the two boys together, if you can believe it. Soon after this Gage was feeding himself dirt, and things were going downhill. I have to remind myself that I'd rather have quick and candid shots like this--and experiences too, because this excursion was pretty short and sweet--than none at all.

More apples...

Is Gage a precious piece of work, or what?! He still LOVES his apples, but his favorite way to eat them--by far--is to pick up the entire apple with the peel on and nibble away on it like a little beaver. Both the boys and I were sharing an apple after nap time today, and it was so funny to watch. We would pass the apple around (eating apples in slices is far inferior to all of us, apparently), taking turns and sharing surprisingly well. But, every time that Gage handed the apple to Gavin for his turn he would start to whine and become desperate for it until it was his turn again. The great thing for Gage to see, however, was that his big brother was always giving it back to him, which is not always the case. It's good and right for me to remember and record the triumphs too. This was a sharing victory, and it should be celebrated.

School park fun...

One of Brent's best ideas--lately, because he has a lot of them--was getting Gavin this awesome, new kite for his birthday. I love to look at Gavin's face when he's flying it.

I got to take it for a spin too and experience, firsthand, how cool it really is. It reminds me of flying a kite with my dad and my brother when we were little.

Gavin and I were playing a little soccer that day too, and Daddy was the photographer.

Gage doesn't seem to mind the grass at all. I seem to recollect that Gavin was a lot more tentative about it.

Mama and her boys! I am so thankful for all of them. And for all of you, too, by the way. (I'm writing this on Thanksgiving, so I'm reflecting a little bit about things I'm grateful for.) It's very fun for me to hear people tell me that they read our blog. We do a lot of this for ourselves (we publish the blog every year in the form of a wonderful book), but it feels extra special to know that we have friends and family that take the time to read about our lives.

Swimming lessons for Gavin...

Oh my word! (I know, that makes me sound like I'm from the South.) Look at our tall little man in the middle of these boys. He just finished his first session of "big boy swim lessons" the other day (this picture was taken at the first class), and we're starting up another session this Sunday.

It was good for us to see how well Gavin paid attention to the swimming instructor. We weren't sure how that would go down. We appreciate that the ratio is 4 students to 1 teacher. That really helps.

I think that Gavin has to be able to demonstrate that he can successfully do the back float (with some help) before they'll pass him on to the next swimming class. Maybe his extra practice in the bathtub will pay off during this next session.

Let me just say that I never use to understand the function of these baby seats in public places. It's funny how your non-parent eyes can completely overlook things that mean nothing... until the day you become a parent with a baby who would be crawling around the fungus-filled rec center floor if it weren't for this genius invention that keeps them contained and happy. Now I look for these bad boys everywhere, especially when Mommy is desperate to use the bathroom herself and can't quite figure out what to do with the tiniest man in the equation in the meantime.

Gavin's new bike...

Gavin recently got a new bike, and we were very hopeful that he would transition directly from his Strider balance bike to this one, skipping the training wheels altogether. But, much to Daddy's dismay, we ended up putting the darn training wheels on after all. Gavin was feeling a little discouraged on the new bike at first, and we realized that he just hadn't had enough practice pedaling yet.
I have to say that it sort of kills Brent (and me too, a little) to see Gavin leaning way to the side on his new training wheels because he really had been balancing well on his other bike for quite some time; and it's hard not to see this as a step backwards. But he's enjoying it, and that's probably the most important part. And he's getting great exercise pedaling these days, too, so we feel good about that.

There's an apple monster in our house...

We recently discovered just how much Gage loves apples. I mean, he's crazy about 'em! We can't pass through the fruit section of the grocery store anymore without mad kicking of legs and pointing to the apples, so now I just give him one early on and he works on it while I shop. We can't mention the word anymore unless we have one to offer him.

This is what an apple looks like after Gage has had his way with it. I have to admit that I get funny looks at the store when people see the baby holding an entire apple. Can you see all the little beaver bites out of this thing?!

Bon voyage, BMW...

I (Brent writing this time) thought it only right to pay homage to my former ride, the nicest car I've ever owned. This car was born to drive, but apparently at the first glance of snow it cowers in fear. It has been fun to drive it the past few years. Finally the time has come to move on to another AWD or 4WD vehicle that works a bit better for kids. Here we go minivan...err...on second thought...another Subaru will do just fine. We are currently working with AutoSearch to find us another reliable Subaru to tote the family around in. Maybe in another 15 years I can get another race car.