Christmas Eve 2011

We always celebrate Christmas Eve with the Cordes family. In the morning though, we were at home making cupcakes for Santa. Gavin loves to help crack the eggs and mix the batter:






Of course, Gavin's favorite part of all is adding the sprinkles. Nana & Grandpa Cermak were on hand to supervise (and take some of those cupcakes off our hands).




Then we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Cordes' house. Here's a group shot of most of the family (minus Grandpa and Gavin):




Gavin had a great time opening presents:




Grandpa and Grandma:




Arranging some of his new cars:




Silly time with Dad:




Rolling around in the wrapping paper:




Back at home, we left milk and a cupcake for Santa. He left a note for Gavin before eating his snack! I bet our house was the only one who left him a cupcake!



Stay tuned for pictures from Christmas Day!

Outside Fun

With the last few days' weather being sunny and 40ish, Gavin got to spend a little time outside. On sunday he played "Kiss- n-Ride" with Nana and Grandpa. (Nana sits and gives kisses, Gavin and Grandpa ride around):



Then it was time for a story. Yes, that is Nana under that hood:



Usually Gavin is not interested in sitting still for a story except with me, and at bedtime. But if he is outside with Nana, he will let her read to him - only outside, though! Who can understand the mind of a 4 year old?

Under the Weather

Gavin and I were both exposed to some kind of stomach bug, and I have no idea where we caught it. Poor Gavin threw up 5 times on Friday. He never, ever vomits, so this was very traumatic for him. He even took a nap on the couch (above) and he gave up naps a few months ago. But luckily, he was able to keep everything down on Saturday.

I seem to have gotten the milder-yet-lingering version of this bug. No vomiting for me, but I feel blah and can't get moving. Here's hoping it goes away by this weekend!

Grounds For Hope Cafe

Last week, we finally went to an indoor play place that I have been hearing about for awhile. It's called Grounds For Hope Cafe and it is run by Trinity Lutheran Church. It has stuff to play on, and it's a coffee shop, and it's free! (Donations are welcome.)

They have a huge climbing / sliding structure. Gavin was on this thing for most of the time we were there:



Gavin and his buddy Nick:




They have rooms with toys, too. This room was "supposed" to be for kids under age 2, but Gavin and Nick couldn't resist:

Yes, this is half of a Mini-Cooper stuck in the wall. Gavin was fascinated, to say the least:

Party in the Cat Room

Last week, Gavin's class had a "unit-culminating activity," which parents were invited to. The unit they wrapped up was on "community helpers," such as mail carriers, firemen, doctors, dentists, chefs, etc.

The kids did a number of things, one of which was mixing a fruit salad for us. Gavin got to add some blackberries before he stirred it:




He wasn't crazy about the chef hat. I guess he's too cool for it!



Gavin and a friend pretended to build and fix a house in the block center:




The kids made houses out of popsicle stick and "cement," and then painted them:

Gavin's house was done in the Cubist style...

Next Gavin cooked me some lunch in the house center. I even got a birthday cake - 2 months early!

Reading with Grandpa

We've had some slow weeks lately, so I haven't had as much material for the blog. Here is a cute picture from October. I think Grandpa was adding some silliness to the story of the Great Pumpkin, and Gavin loved it!

Clow Airport

This weekend we finally got around to doing something that we have wanted to do for months: go to breakfast at the small airport near Uncle David and Uncle Brad's house. They have a small restaurant called Charlie's and it's right on the air field.

We had hoped to see planes landing and taking off as we ate, but it turned out to be a cloudy day so there wasn't much air traffic.



The food was good, the waitress was excellent, and Gavin was a good boy. He was excited to show his newest cars to his uncles.




We took a short walk after we finished eating and we got to see ONE little plane land. Oh, well, one is better than none! We'll be back another day, and hopefully the sun will be out so we can see more planes flying.

My Morning in the Cat Room

Last week I got to spend the morning with Gavin in the Cat room. It is always so enlightening to see what the kids in his classroom are doing. I think I have mentioned before that Gavin is with the same group of kids as last year, so I have seen them several times over the past year. It is neat to see them mature as a group - for example, they talk about how they are feeling now, instead of just reacting. IE, Gavin told his friend, "No, I don't want any more blocks," instead of hitting/crying/knocking everything down.

They have motor time first thing in the morning. The day I was there, they rode tricycles:




Gavin in his favorite "choice time" area - the block center:




I was there on a Tuesday, which is the day Gavin works with the occupational therapist. She had him pick up these puff balls with a tweezer and put them into the plastic bin:




Our attempt at a photo of the two of us.

I had a great time, as usual. We'll see the Cat friends again soon!

Aunts, Uncles, and Cats

Last Sunday we went over to Auntie Di and Uncle Kevin's house. Uncle Kevin put new brakes on Francis' front wheels (and discovered two nails embedded in the tire - thank goodness you found those, Kevin) while Gavin chased the cats around. Gavin is gentle with the cats, but he doesn't tone down his energy level for them. He actually chased poor Fern so much that she was panting!

Here he is holding Fergie's tail (gently, of course):




Shaking hands:




Checking out Uncle Kevin's white Miata (now being sold for parts) with Auntie Di:

A few days later, Uncle David came over to watch Gavin while Francis and I went to his parent/teacher conference. It was mostly good news. Something funny that came up was that Gavin skips the number "15" when he is counting in school, which I noticed at home as well. He can count well into the 20's, but he won't say 15!

Anyway, here he is making silly faces with Uncle David:

They also watched many videos of trains on David's iPhone, which must have worn him out. I kept him up a few minutes past his new bedtime of 7:30 (it was formerly 7:00) and he told me that he needed to go to bed!

Christmas Lights

Since we had such wonderful weather this weekend, Francis decided to put up our Christmas lights. And before anyone starts complaining that it's not even Thanksgiving yet, let me remind you that the weather here can change in five minutes. We need to take advantage of these "Indian summer" days when we get them!

They started with the backyard lights. Gavin was the superviser:

I don't have pictures of the front yard yet, but Francis did a great job of making the outside of our house look festive! Now I'm ready for snow (although I don't think anyone else is).

Cantigny "Tank Park"

Last weekend, we had some still-decent weather. Gavin had his first trip to see the tanks at Cantigny with Francis and Nana & Grandpa Cermak. (We had been to see the Lego train shows there, but somehow we hadn't explored the grounds.) Needless to say, everyone had a great time!

Gavin was very sure-footed and wanted to explore every tank. This tiger-painted one was a favorite!

We'll be back soon if the weather allows - otherwise, we'll be back in the spring!