It's a.....

We had our 20 week ultrasound today and found out we are having a BOY! Gavin and Megan have been pretty sure that the baby is a boy, but it was nice to have a doctor's confirmation. A few weeks ago Gavin grabbed an ultrasound photo from a previous appointment and said, "Mom, Teeny Tine (baby's name for now) is a boy. Look! (pointing to the head) He has short hair." We are very excited and can't wait to pull out baby clothes and get his room ready.

Floating High in the Sky

Every year our town has a Winter Carnival and as part of it the city offers free tethered hot air balloon ride. We did it last year and loved it, well everyone but Megan loved it.
We got out of the car and Megan covered her eyes and said, "No! I don't want to see the hot air balloon." Needless to say, she stayed with a friend on the ground while the rest of us went for a ride.

We learned last year that it is very loud, so we borrowed these shooting earmuffs. Gavin thought they were great!

We had to wait in line for about 30 minutes, but it wasn't bad for a free ride.

I LOVE my camera! A friend took this while we were in the air.

Afterwards we walked downtown to see the ice sculptures local community members were carving. This sombrero wearing cowboy was our favorite!

Sledding

Today we went sledding with a group of friends. Our friends rented a small cabin with a fireplace called the Warming Hut. It has a sledding hill nearby, so we spent the day sledding and playing. It was great!

Gavin had a blast! He got quite the workout running up and down the hill. He'll sleep really well tonight!
Megan is not a fan of sledding yet, but we're hoping she'll become one over time. She did enjoy watching others and making snow angels though.

I wish you could see Meg's face in this picture. She is absolutely terrified, so needless to say, this was her last time down the hill.

Gavin and daddy.

Gavin is sandwiched between 2 girls. It was a very fun day with family and friends!

Birthday Boy

We recently celebrated Gavin's fifth birthday. I cannot believe he is 5! He is such a joy to have in our family and we love him so much!

We had a party at the swimming pool. It was very easy, conveinient, and the kids had a lot of fun.

For Gavin's birthday Mark bought a new TV! It's a 46 inch, Sony, LCD and it's a big improvement from what we had.

He requested a dragon cake, so here it is! I am so grateful there are creative people in the world who share their ideas online. I was really excited with how cute it turned out!

Gavin and his buddy Varin playing in the pool.

Megan was a trooper and loved celebrating too.

Potty Training

This beautiful little girl is working on potty training and although it makes me slightly crazy, I think we're making progress. I'd love to be diaper free for a few months before BABY #3 joins our family in July!

Christmas

We had a fabulous Christmas break and we're now back in the swing of things and playing catch up. On Christmas Eve we headed to Idaho to visit my (Cassie's) parents and sister.
The kids were so much fun this year! They'd been looking forward to Christmas and counting down days the entire month. Megan got a kitchen and a tea set that she loves and plays with daily.

Megan took her time carefully unwrapping each present.

My siblings and I all pitched in to buy our dad this 4 burner gas grill. He LOVED it!

Gavin got this cool remote controlled car. He's pretty good at driving it, and Megan is terrified of it and screams when in comes near her, so that makes it extra fun for Gavin to play with.

On Christmas Eve we acted out the Christmas story. The kids were very attentive and mostly reverent.

Megan played the role of Mary.

Mary riding the donkey.

My parents have a cardboard gingerbread house that we colored and set up. The kids loved it!

I'm part of a group of moms that writes and performs plays at our local library. We performed "The Elf Who Stole Christmas" for elementary schools, storytime groups, and the public a week before Christmas. It was busy, but a lot of fun!

Christmas is Coming

We are so excited for Christmas and we've been doing lots of fun things to enjoy the season!

Our library had a family craft day last weekend where the kids made these cute Christmas trees using ice cream cones, frosting, and candy. We have the best librarians!

I asked Gavin to put his socks and shoes on the other morning and he came out wearing daddy's socks. Funny kid!

We had a blast decorating our gingerbread house.

Megan was convinced the stockings were for wearing not just for decoration.

Gavin asked santa for a remote controlled car. We'll see if he delivers!

I was so proud of Megan! She can be extremely bashful, but she bravely sat on Santa's lap and even talked to him!

The kids love to help make treats!

Gavin decorated most of the gingerbread house by himself. Megan helped by eating the candy. We hope you all have a Merry Christmas!