Back to School

Gavin went back to school today. He started a new Elementary school called Smalley. We went to an open house on Friday and met his teacher, Mrs. Iglitz. She seems really energetic and fun. Gavin is attending an Early Childhood Pre-K program at Smalley. It will help with his speech and language development. He feels like such a big kid and gets to ride the bus to school everyday. We took him to school for his first day and when we got to his classroom, he was ready for us to leave. Although he went to school for half of the last school year, it's still hard to let my baby go to school. Gavin will turn 4 in September and he is such a big boy and so smart, but I still remember the day he was born and when we first brought him home from the hospital. He was such a great baby. He got a new backpack and a lunchbox. So as not to leave little brother Tyrone out, we got him a lunchbox and a backpack too. They both received back-to-school blessings from Lucas.

And the name is.....

NIAMH LIBERTY ABBOTT
The votes have been tallied and an offical middle name has been decided. 27% for Daisy and 72% for Liberty. We appreciate all who cast their votes, and ultimately chose the name we wanted all along. Recently with the olympics on TV, Mandy and I have been watching the events. Whenever the National Anthem was played, when we won gold, Niamh would start kicking up a storm. The other day we were watching Charlie Brown and the National Anthem came on again, and out of nowhere Niamh woke up and started to kick. I think Liberty is fitting, for my little patriotic girl. I'll take it as a sign of which name she wants.

Water Babies & a Baby Quilt

Jason & Susana were nice enough to let us use their awesome pool while they were out of town last week. Thanks guys! The boys love swimming.

My pregnant self. Not the most flattering pic, but for documentation purposes....



Lucas sporting a Mohawk, looking good!



Tyrone is usually more daring than Gavin and has jumped off the cliff before. Gavin surprised us by just climbing up there and jumping off.



Tyrone just jumped off the cliff. Cousin Katie in the background.



My water babies



This pic took forever to take. Daddy would not take the shot until both boys were looing at the camera. All they wanted to do was get in the water.




This is the quilt I made for our baby, Niamh. I love Toille print and I found some really cute material at Walmart. I have only ever made one other quilt, so I enlisted the help of my mother-in-law who is a great quilter. It only took us a few hours and she did all the ribbon border. She is the best. I am very proud of how it turned out and I can't wait to see our little angel sleeping peacefully under it. I am also grateful to my mother-in-law for helping me, she is such a wonderful lady. Thank you Diana!

~Patience is a Virtue~

The last two weeks have been a little trying with Gavin and Tyrone. I don't know if they sense that their world is about to change with the arrival of a little sister or if it's yet another phase that they are both going through. At times I have felt like a terrible mother and feel so guilty for losing my temper. It's hard being pregnant and hormonal all the time. It's hard having two little boys who are 17 months apart, who always seem to know where your weak points are and insist on pushing those buttons. I have come to realize how blessed I am to be a mother and to have such a loving, supportive and understanding husband for a soulmate and best friend. I would not be able to do life everday without Lucas. He is my rock. I have had a few bad days lately, but I have also had days where my kids make me laugh at their little games and the funny things they say. It makes me so happy to see how close Gavin and Tyrone have become. Their bond of brotherhood is very strong and they love to play with each other. They are always role playing that Gavin is a fireman and Tyrone is a policeman. Tyrone watches everything that Gavin does and tries to copy him. Gavin loves to be the leader, but he also looks out for his little brother. They have such different personalities but they still get along. I know that both boys will have an adjustment period when their sister Niamh is born, but it is a relief to know that they have each other to help them adjust.

The obsession continues!

I received "Breaking Dawn" by Stephanie Meyer in the mail yesterday. I pre-ordered it in June and couldn't wait until it got here. This is the 4th book of the vampire series and the last one......sob sob. I am sure a lot of you out there have been counting down the days until Breaking Dawn was released. I'm usually not one of these people who are obsessed with books or movies and their release date. I got hooked very early on and love Stephanie Meyers' style of writing. I have to warn Lucas when I'm about to read a really good book, because nothing in the house gets done and everyone has to pretty much fend for themselves.

So, last night I began reading Breaking Dawn at 11pm. I was still reading at 1:30am. I couldn't put it down. It didn't take long to draw me back in and there is a very unexpected event that happens very early in the book. Wow! is all I can say. So, I am on page 146 and only 608 pages left to go. I don't want this saga to end, so I might just take my time. Yeah right :)

Never a dull moment....

Gavin got 4 stitches

A Henderson Fire Engine


Gavin on the Fire Engine

Gavin with one of the crew

Sunday started off like any normal Sunday, or so I thought. I was

giving Gavin & Tyrone a bath and had left the bathroom to go into their room and get their Sunday clothes layed out. Then I heard a bang, a splash and Gavin let out a big cry. I ran into the bathroom and he had pulled the shower curtain across halfway and somehow slipped and bumped his chin off the side of the bathtub. At first he was just crying and then I saw blood on his neck. When I looked closer and had him tilt his chin up, I discovered he had split his chin open. I could actually see some fat from his chin. It made me a little quesy, but I called Lucas and he came and helped me get both boys out of the bath. We both agreed that Gavin would need stitches. Lucas took Gavin to St. Rose Dominican Siena hospital and were seen right away, because the E.R was completely empty. Lucas called me on his way home. They had gone to the hospital and were back within 2 hours. It was amazing. Lucas said it was really sad, because the nurses had to strap Gavin down and wrap his body up like a burrito in order to stitch his chin. He was screaming "Daddy, let's go home, all done." I would have been bawling if I were there.

The highlight of the hospital trip for Gavin was that he saw a fire truck outside the hospital. Gavin is really into fire trucks lately and it's funny because there is a certain rivalry between police officers and fire fighters. Gavin was gushing about the fire truck and the firemen. Lucas said to one of them, "it's pretty sad when the son of a police officer is obsessed with fire trucks." The firemen then gave Gavin a tour of the engine and gave him a fire hat. Gavin was seriously in heaven and soon forgot all about his chin. It's funny how you never know, starting your day, how it will turn out.