Cafe and Play

Last week we met up with Gavin's friend Nick at Cafe and Play.  This is a new indoor play place that is really close to our house.  We had been there once and Gavin loved it, so I have been telling friends about it.

Nick used to live two doors down from us, but now lives in Aurora.  The boys play really nicely together and Gavin misses having him so close.  They also both have springtime allergies, so indoor activities are good right now.

I was surprised Gavin managed to fit into this toy car!

We had a great time and will definitely be back!

Kidstreet

Last week we met up with Felix and Pierre at Kidstreet (aka Grounds For Hope Cafe).  The boys were in constant motion, so I didn't get many good pictures!

Here are Pierre and Gavin inside the giant climbing structure:

The boys taught Gavin a game called Strawberry Shortcake, where one of them pretends to be a lemon (the bad guy) and the others are grapes or other fruit.  Between that and other games they made up, they all had a great time!

Pizza Party!

The Cat Classroom had a pizza party last week, to celebrate the end of their pizza unit.  The kids made a "restaurant" that they named Pizza Planet, and they all helped serve their parents.  This is their little pizza assembly line:

Gavin was one of the cheese servers:

While our pizzas were cooking, the kids read a story called "Pete's A Pizza:"

Gavin watched me eat my pizza (notice the tables have red-checked tablecloths!):

This is Gavin's speech therapist, Mrs. Kelleher.  She is amazing with the kids,  and so sweet.  She worked with Evie last year, as well.  Gavin always notices her necklaces, and tells her he likes the ones that are purple (his favorite color), so she wears purple on the days she is in the Cat Room!

We had a great time in the Cat Room!  I liked my pizza.  Francis requested a special one with ONLY cheese.  The pizza unit lasted for six weeks, and now they are doing a unit on The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Nana's Birthday

Nana had a birthday a couple weeks ago.  We baked cupcakes and Gavin sprinkled them liberally:  Sprinkling and cracking the eggs are his favorite part of the process!

He was very careful.  He only dropped a few (really) and he picked them up!

Gavin helped Nana open her present  - a new ergonomic keyboard!

 Then it was time for a story:

Happy (belated) birthday, Nana!

A Visit to Daddy's Office

Gavin has been asking to visit Daddy's office, and last week we finally had a good day to go.  He checked out the phone and computer:

But the best part was all of Francis' toys.  This Tron car carrier ended up coming back home with us:

Getting comfortable!

One Year Later

It's been a year since God called you home on Easter Sunday, Evie. We love and miss you every day.

Evie's First Day of School -- October 14, 2010

Your brother Gavin has been taking good care of your spot. He also makes sure your friends the birds and the little field mouse have plenty to eat.

Egg Hunt

Last week, we went to an Easter egg hunt at the home of a friend in my "mom meetup group." Gavin had fun grabbing eggs, but he was more interested in the play set in the backyard.



He just grabbed this rope and climbed up by himself. He couldn't do this last year!



He wasn't interested in opening the eggs until the next day, when Grandpa & Grandma Cordes came over. He insisted that Grandpa eat the peanut butter egg (a real hardship, right, Dad?), then told him he needed to go to the dentist because "candy is sugary."

Easter

Gavin had a great day on Saturday, the day before Easter. But that night, he threw up a record EIGHT times. Francis and I were up all night with him. I would calm him down while Francis changed the sheets and ran the washing machine. We haven't had a rough night like that in quite a while!

In the morning, we tried to get Gavin to open his presents from the Easter Bunny (he decided they were from the Easter Beagle). He opened a few and then wanted to rest.



He was excited to color eggs, even though he was still a little peaked:

The bubbles that formed over the crayon lines spelled "Nana."

Gavin fell asleep on the floor watching TV, and slept between 3 and 4 hours:

When he woke up, he felt better. He still didn't eat any solid food, but he opened the rest of his gifts. He loves his new aircraft carrier:

He slept great last night, and he is a little better today.

Little Monkey Business

Last week I took Gavin to an indoor play place that we had heard about but had never been to. It's called Little Monkey Business, in Wheaton. We met his friend Nick there, who has spring allergies just like Gavin. Playing inside was perfect!

They had a blast and ran around non-stop for two hours:

Gavin loved opening the doors of the "crawler" section (luckily there were no crawling babies that afternoon)!

They sell coffee there, too, so I was happy!

Gavin asked every day if we could go back, so I relented and took him again last Monday. I highly recommend it!

Cat Cousins

Last weekend we went to visit Auntie Di and her cats. Uncle David came along for the ride!

The cats have figured out by now that when a small person comes over, they are going to get treats.



Gavin fed a treat to Fergie:




Fergie showed Gavin her new cat tree. He tossed puffballs at her and she batted them down. Gavin loved it!

Gavin examined Fergie in her box, while Fern examined Gavin from her spot on the windowsill:

Fergie came out eventually...

...only to sit in another box:

Gavin had so much fun that he didn't want to leave. Unfortunately, after this visit my suspicions were confirmed that he has a cat allergy. The car ride home was not a happy one, and eye drops were needed as soon as we got home. (I hope none of you have to attempt to give eye drops to a four year old!)