New Year's Eve

For New Year's Eve this year, we decided to go see the lights at Brookfield Zoo. We got there in the middle of the afternoon and only stayed for two hours - just until it got completely dark. There were lights everywhere and Gavin loved it!

He also loves the "Swamp" exhibit. He wanted to go through it twice. Gavin made sure we all looked at the two crocodiles and he loved watching the river otter play, below:




He loved pushing the buttons on this display. There are different color patterns that light up to show the path of certain migrating birds. The buttons were more interesting than the migrations, of course:




Next we saw what Gavin referred to as the "scarlet macaws." The zoo calls them "green-winged macaws." (There is more red color on their bodies than green, but who am I?) Gavin got his terminology from a "Diego" episode in which Diego has to rescue and help a mother scarlet macaw. We didn't bother trying to explain the difference to him!

We must have been in that room for half an hour. Gavin LOVED it!

By this time, some of the building were closing. We went to the "Feathers and Scales" building, which has road runners and other small desert birds, lizards and frogs. Gavin loved the tiny, poisonous blue, green and yellow frogs.

He also loved sending coins into the big yellow funnel, below:

We had fun and got out of there before it got too cold (and before the huge crowds arrived). It was a good amount of time to be at the zoo in winter!

The Day After Christmas

The day after Christmas we drove up to Kenosha to have lunch with the extended Cordes family. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures there, because Gavin was particularly clingey with me, but we had a great time.

Before we left, Gavin and I read one of his new books:

After lunch, we stopped off at Mark and Robin Flory's house. Gavin loved playing with Annie and Sam. Here are the boys playing the piano:

Then they moved into the basement to try the drum set. Uncle Mark helped Gavin get situated:

Gavin loved it and played for awhile! Doesn't he look like a pro?

Then we headed back home to catch up on some down time before the next flurry of activity started up. More pictures to follow!

Christmas Day 2011

Christmas Day started out at iHop with Nana & Grandpa Cermak. Gavin drove his cars on the table and pretended Nana's eyeglass case was "jail" for the cars:




Gavin loves to add the cream and sugar to everyone's coffee:




Back at home, we started opening presents. Gavin only opened a few of his and then just wanted to play with them for awhile. He had several wrapped gifts left over at the end of the day, and he kept telling me, "Mommy, Christmas isn't over because I still have presents!"







Francis grilled sweet corn and cheeseburgers for dinner. Some might find this non-traditional, but he is an expert griller. We always grill year-round, and it was delicious! He's husking the cooked corn in the photo below.




Gavin and I relaxed on the couch as bedtime got closer:




It was a fun day, but this was our first Christmas without our precious little Evie and her presense was missed at every turn. The only thing we could do was to try and give Gavin the best holiday experience that we could.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! We hope 2012 brings better memories.

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.