Thanksgiving festivities at theToppings - part 2 of 2...

This is so cute--how Grandma and Gavin are sitting so nicely with their hands on their laps. Madison (who's almost three years old!) is the boys' cousin, and I think that they're starting to have more fun playing together.

Ok, ok, I'll retire the adorable sweater vest before someone starts singing, "Fat guy in a little suit..." (There's actually nothing fat about Gavin--he's long and lean like his daddy--but I'm pushin' it with this sweater vest, so I promise that you won't see it again 'til it's on Gage.)

What a precious picture of Gage with his cousin, Madison. She has the cutest curly hair!

We were all sitting outside tossing the ball to Shelby, Grandma's dog, and Gage's throws, bless his heart, didn't make it very far. Sometimes Shelby seemed confused.

And then Gage would run after the ball and try again, insisting that Shelby go and "git it," even though some of his throws would barely make it past his finger tips. Taking turns was really the name of the game here, and we can all stand to practice that more.

Thanksgiving festivities at the Toppings - part 1 of 2...

For the second year in a row, the grandkids decorated gingerbread houses at Grandma's for Thanksgiving this year. They really have fun with it; and, of course, what's not fun about sticking every other piece of candy (if we're lucky!) in their mouths?! "One for the house, and one for me, one for the house, and one for me..."

Brent and I call Gage "Brutus" every once in awhile. This picture seems to explain that name, doesn't it? The doctor even said it to us the other day, "He's a solid kid." I think we took this particular picture not so much to convey the essence of Brutus but because of the fun factory on his face and the outright bowl of gum drops sitting directly in front of him. His jingle might have gone a little more like, "One for me, one for me, one for the house, and back to me, and one more for me, and oh yeah, the gingerbread house..."

You have to admit: That's a gingerbread masterpiece if you've ever seen one! It really gives the kids something fun to do when we're all done eating (or when they're waiting), and then we all have an exciting and delectable centerpiece to feast our eyes on.

"Bob the Builder" fan club...

Gavin's just along for the ride on this one, but it's Gage who was recently begging for "Bob the Builder" at home multiple times a day. And we all got sick of it, accept for Gage, because prior to Christmas we only had one recorded episode on the t.v. No one here needed to see or hear anymore about Pirate Brickbeard and the golden hammer.

What a crack up! Isn't it funny to consider who/what/how things become popular and well-liked among kids? Thanks to family Christmas presents, Gage is all decked out with Bob DVDs and even a Bob the Builder doll. (The curious thing about the doll is that Gage has been throwing him down a lot, and then he'll promptly say, "Sorry." And sometimes he even speaks for "Bobby" and says, "'Give you," which is Gage's version of I forgive you. My mom speculates that Gage is totally reenacting what happens to him with Gavin, which makes sense.)

A winter trip to the zoo...

Here's Mr. Goof Pants, extraordinaire. This is what he did when I pulled out the camera. He's a total ham, and that's becoming quite clear these days. I wonder where he gets that??

The boys were playing in a newish play area at the zoo when we went on a coldish day semi-recently. (You like all of those modifiers?) They could care less about the temperature, just generally speaking, so the zoo is a winning outing for most days of the year in Colorado.
And it's a great place to meet friends, though we always say that we're lucky to get half of a conversation in while we're there "together."

I do, occasionally, get the picture smile shots when I ask for them if Gavin's had the chance to pull out enough of his goofy faces already.

I love this picture of Gage. I love the little hooded, fleece sweatshirt. I better get him in that a few more times this winter before he outgrows it.

More leaves please!

Is this guy cute, or what? This must have been a Daddy/Gage time, because I have no recollection of this moment or any memory of this picture. Gage loves to help Daddy with any and all yard work, just about anytime that Daddy will let him.

I like this picture of Gage raking the sidewalk. Keep up the good work, Buddy!

This actual event happened many moons ago, but I'm just sitting down tonight (Jan of 2012) to catch up on some blogging. Brent points out that the comments I make in the moment won't match the date that he uploaded the pictures (the publishing date, I guess), and I just have to get over that and keep moving forward. (This sort of thing is hard for perfectionists.) Anyway, the comment today that won't match the Fall picture then is that I just can't believe that our little man will be two on Monday (which is actually January 9!).

He's saying things in complete sentences (or at least complete thoughts) these days! Among his comments are: my turn, don't say that, hit me (to incriminate his big brother, of course), love you, miss you, don't do that 'gain, and other things I can't remember right now. And he parrots most anything we say these days. This was a big week for him: He had his first soccer lesson after watching Big Bro play for two years, and today he had his first swimming lesson with "Miz Liz"... and did quite well, might I add. He's growing up! He really is becoming our second little boy and not our baby, though I will always call them both my babies...and think of them that way, I'm sure.

Swimming with "Miz Liz"...

We recently started more intensive swimming lessons with Gavin--at a place near our house that was recommended to us by our neighbors--after being pretty disappointed in the lessons at our local rec center. Brent and I both said that we saw more progress after one of Gavin's new classes than after several sessions at the rec center. A major explanation for this is the swimming instructor, "Miz Liz," about whom everyone says, "That woman doesn't mess around."

Here "Miz Liz" is working with Gavin on his back float. We'll be signing him up for new lessons soon, and I think that he'll be joined by his little bro for some Mommy-and-Me classes, too. Miz Liz runs a tight ship and doesn't accept "no" for an answer, and most of the time that's exactly what Gavin needs. He's very good at jumping in to the teacher from the side of the pool, and he's working on keeping his face down while he swims. We're happy with his progress, and we're so glad that he likes the water.

Museum class trip...

Daddy got to go with Gavin on a class field trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. They got to see lots of cool dinosaur skeletons and watch a space show in the planetarium, too.

I was happy that Brent got to go, but it did feel a little strange that I wasn't there. I wanted to see his face when he saw his first dinosaur skeleton. I just think, judging from our previous conversations, that he's had no idea about how large they really were. He's talked ever since about things he learned and saw that day. And the craziest thing is when your child is teaching you new things...or telling you things you've totally forgotten anyway.

Our little astronaut...

Gavin was recently studying space in preschool, and he came home one day with this space suit in hand. The jet pack was made out of an old cereal box, and as you can see, the helmet was adorned in much aluminum foil. It was so adorable for all of us parents to see our little astronauts ready for blast off when we came to pick them up that day. Gavin is really loving Apple Tree, and so are we!

Mr. Organizer...

In addition to his shoe organizing fetish (one I can definitely get behind), Gavin just recently gained the ability to properly pair them (left and right). Way to go, Little Man!

Snow...

The boys have so much fun in the snow, even when they go out completely unequipped, which just cracks me up every time. They were well-equipped this time, however, because Daddy was on duty, and that guy is a true boy scout.

They made a short, stout snowman with muscles and a mohawk, which was a sight to see when I arrived home.

Wow! Now that I think about it, it rather resembled Donkey Kong in a snow suit. That was some creativity!

This is adorable. I love that they remembered the carrot nose that I reminded them about when I drove away earlier. I forgot to mention that they also added pine needles in random spots on the snowman's body, so he had some random hair growth issues as well.

Turning it off and on...

Gage recently realized how fun it is to change his facial expressions to get what he wants...or just to be goofy sometimes, too. And it's so funny! So in picture #1 he's smiling and being his normal--and in this case, super messy--self. In picture #2 he's giving us the totally staged frowny face because he knows that we think it's funny. And what cracked me up is that he willingly did both for the camera--he totally understood what was going on! I'm sure he gets that he can really play Mom and Dad with that adorable pouty face when he decides to turn that one on.

Trick-or-treating...

This big-bellied elephant costume has served us well...twice. And we were happy to pass it on to a friend for her little boy, so it will be fun to see it again next year or the year after that. And unlike his big brother, Gage had no problem keeping the hood on, which really makes the whole outfit.

It was so much fun to go trick-or-treating with my little fish and elephant. We actually made it off of our block this year, which was a big deal. It was fun to have a few destinations a couple of blocks away.

The great pumpkin carving project...

I thought that pumpkin carving was the perfect time to break out the hand-me-down Home Depot apron for Gavin. He had a great time doing it this year, like I knew he would.

I can't remember, exactly, but judging from the pictures, it looks like we were all out there carving the pumpkin in our church clothes; hence the apron, I guess.

I love this picture of Gage...

and this action shot of Gavin...

...and this adorable shot of Gage! I can't believe how big he looks here. And I'm in total disbelief that he's really turning two in less than one month!!!

Stealing a lick...

Gage loves his "pops" (lollipops), and here he was stealing a lick after we told him that he couldn't have it. And the funnier thing, of course, was that we were laughing at him and trying to catch his sneakiness on film.

You should have heard Brent: "What are you doing, Gage?" And when Gage was looking right at him, perfect for the photo op: "No, you can't have that right now." How confusing must that have been for Gage: hearing us tell him "no" while we took pictures of him and tried to wipe the smiles off of our faces. How can he be so cute even when he's being so conniving?

Potato head pumpkins...

We borrowed this great idea from our neighbors, and I encourage you to copy it next year, too. For our small pumpkins this year we put Mr. Potato Head parts on 'em, and they actually turned out really cute.

And how cute is Gage here? This was "his" pumpkin. Don't be fooled into thinking that you can just stick the potato parts right into the pumpkins, though. You should first use a nail to establish the holes where you'll stick the parts. That worked better for us.

Halloween at Apple Tree...

Gavin had a great classroom party for Halloween. Parents were required to dress up, too, so I was Mommy the Chef, and Gavin was a fish. (Did I mention that I found his costume at a garage sale for $1? Gotta love that!)

And Gage was a precious, little elephant. Here he is with his little buddy, Holly. Holly's older brother, Nathan, is one of Gavin's friends and classmates.

Can you tell that Gavin's favorite part of the party was eating ALL the sweets available? He thought that I missed the seconds and thirds he was taking, but Chef Mommy saw it all!

Here's Mrs. Tonelli with her twelve preschoolers. And, yes, that's our child in the front with the scary, green teeth in his mouth. Aren't they all so cute?

One cool cat...

Gage was posing for a picture (always accompanied by "jeez!" in a super loud voice) in Daddy's snow hat the other day. (And when I say the other day, it really means SO many days ago, since I'm at least one month behind :( in my blogging.) Gage is a real sweetie, and he has started talking so much lately! Here's some things we hear a lot from him: my turn, hold you (gotta love that one, when he means hold me), watch, Daddy/Mommy, funny!, Gavin, home, and much more. We're so proud of him.

Pumpkin picking with Mommy...

This was the best "group" shot of us taken by a kind stranger in the shadows. We finally went to Rock Creek Farms with the sole intent of buying a pumpkin this time.

Gavin found a giant pile of pumpkins that he thought was fun to hide and roll around in.

This is the one that we eventually decided upon, and it really made a nice jack-o-lantern later. The boys had fun sitting on top of a random hay bale outside of the pumpkin patch.

This was the photo we took of ourselves on our pumpkin selection adventure (we really had a lot of fun), and Gage's only contribution was his index finger touching my cheek. Don't miss that. I was glad that we had come only to hunt for pumpkins that day, that we weren't in any hurry to do it and that we could enjoy our time together while the sun was setting. I remember feeling like I knew I should capture every sunbeam and smile of my children and happy memory in my heart in those very moments. They are fleeting...and it's so easy to get caught up with discipline and to-dos and everything that blocks us from these joys. God, please help me to experience joy even in the mundane and, especially, when searching for pumpkins at sunset with my precious children.

Pumpkin patch fun...

There is no better view than from Daddy's shoulders. Indeed, Gage loves it up there!

We visited Rock Creek Farms three times this year before finally purchasing a pumpkin, and I think these photos were taken on trip #1. Don't you love Gavin's face? That's one happy scarecrow. That really might scare the crows, come to think of it.

We met some friends and their kids there, too, but the other buddies didn't make the cut in this photo, apparently. (Sorry, Caleb.)

If we could just get the kids to keep their hands out of the holes, you might see more believable cowboys, scarecrows, pumpkin pie innards, and pumpkin people. (Oh, that's a jack-o-lantern that Gage is inside of. I see it now.)

What's great about Rock Creek Farms is that you can do all sorts of fun things (jumpy stuff, petting zoo, hay maze, and this wagon photo op) without having to pay an admission or be forced to purchase a pumpkin. This keeps us comin' back (three times this year) for sure.