December 2, 2008

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Well here we are the beginning of December and it is hard to believe that Christmas is only 3 weeks away.

We had a great time surprising Colin for his 40th birthday. It was a fun time for all. The kids and I planned a surprise party and invited about 30 of our closest friends and family. I think Colin was truly in awe and had a great time just being together with friends.

Thanksgiving in our house was one of the best ever this year. It truly was stress free and quite relaxing. The kids had a great time playing Wii with grandma and papa and we all indulged just a little bit on food. Gavin loved turkey and mashed potatoes. He even gave stuffing a try! We had so much to be thankful for this year and being able to spend it with family only made it more special!

I don't really know what to say to you about Gavin these days.....but this.....He is TROUBLE with a capital T! He is cruising very well now....steps included. He knows very well how to get up the steps but his theory on getting down is to free fall. We are working on coming down the "safe" way! He climbs up and just smiles at you as if to say..."you lookin at me?" He is a professional at standing in his highchair....why sit when you can stand is his theory! He loves to grocery shop standing up too.....makes it quite a challenge to get stuff in the cart and make sure he stays in the cart too. His vocabulary is really expanding now and he babbles all the time. He loves to say Bye Bye and on a good day he will wave at you too. He is a very good kisser....you know, the wet sloppy kind! He has recently discovered cars and if they move that is all the more better for him. He is now on Synagis for the winter and gets a shot once monthly. This is to hopefully prevent RSV. He will continue this until May. He got 2 new pairs of shoes this past week because believe it or not....he finally grew to a size 1! He is still a bit over 13 lbs but eating like a champ. I think he gains very little because he is so active these days. We spent a good week with him and the stomach flu. Poor baby just did not feel well at all. He is back to his normal self now. He is also sporting 4 teeth these days....he invites you to put your hand in his mouth and then gently chomps down!

With Christmas being 3 weeks away, our house is full of busy-ness these days. The kids have 3 weeks of school left and Colin is officially entering concert season. We are working to finish up our shopping and just relax some. This weekend will be our annual treck to the woods to find the "perfect" Christmas tree. The kids are very excited and Ian is sure he is going to cut it and carry it this year. This I want to see! We hope to be able to capture the "perfect" kid photo so we can put it in Christmas cards as well.

We hope each and every one of you are well and enjoying the season. Thanks for your continued love and support.....each and every one of you hold a special place in our hearts and we thank God for you each and every day!

Until next time....

Peace and Love,

Colin, Juanita, Ian, Brooke and Gavin