Gavin's room painted -- Finally!

Back in July, Daddy was supposed to paint both the kids' rooms, not just Malin's. Of course, that didn't happen, and Daddy's been putting off the inevitable for long enough. So two weekends ago he started the process of getting the rest of the wallpaper down, scrubbing the walls, and priming, and finally got some color on the wall this past weekend. As with Malin, Gavin got to choose his own color -- blue. We decided to do the top of the room a very light blue, and a very dark blue around the bottom. Hopeully we will get the last of the tape and stuff cleaned up this weekend. Ever curious, Gavin wanted to help out, so Daddy allowed it -- with VERY close supervision, of course!

 

Belly!

Mommy finally relented and allowed Daddy to take a picture of her belly -- and here it is! Mommy is scheduled for a C-section on February 28, so unless the baby decides to come before then, that will be our big day!

 

First Snow

The mild winter weather we've been having finally came to an end with our first snow that amounted to anything this weekend. It wasn't enough to cover the ground, and it was barely enough to cover the driveway. But that didn't stop the kids from being excited about it and wanting to play in it! They got out the snow shovels and cleaned [parts of] the sidewalk. They made snow angels, and even managed to throw a snowball or two at Pappy Tom. What fun!

 

Krazy Kids

We've begun the process of getting out some of the baby items that have been put away for a while. The kids, ever curious, have been investigating and playing with all of it.
Gavin strapped himself in to the booster seat the other night, then somehow managed to stand up with it still attached. He was giggling so much he had us all splitting our sides.
	And the changing table has been the kids 'bunk beds' for a few nights (No, we don't let them sleep there).
This is not a baby toy -- it's one of those things that's supposed to grow 500 times its size in water. We've had other ones, but I've never seen one work as well as this one. It started off in a bowl, then in the sink, and finally in the bathtub overnight. Till all was said and done, it was close to 5 feet long!

 

Happy Birthday Pappy Aughey

Daddy's Pappy Aughey celebrated his 88th birthday this past week. We all went to the nursing home to celebrate. Here's a picture of Malin with the Birthday card she made for him, and Gavin talking to the Birthday Boy himself.

 

It's a Hershey Chocolate World

Tuesday last week, Mee-Maw was itching to visit her sister, Sally, who lives in Elizabethtown. So Mommy loaded her up along with the kids and Mam-Maw, and Marina in to the Burby and drove her down. While Mee-Maw visited, the rest of the gang burned some time by visiting Hersheypark. They rode the Chocolate World ride twice, they each got a turn being a 'factory worker', filling containers of Hershey Kisses off a conveyer, and had fun monkeying around in the lobby of the 'sweetest place on earth'. After their attention was exhausted there, they braved the cool weather and headed to the 'Cocoa Castle', a huge public playground. Here are some pictures from their adventures.

 

Little Hoopsters

One of our new rituals for the new year is a trip to the Lewistown YMCA on Sunday afternoons. We signed Malin up for a 4 and 5 year old basketball team. Marina is signed up also -- they didn't get put on the same team, but they don't seem to mind. This past Sunday was their first practice. Mommy and Daddy stayed and watched (Gavin went to the park with Nana). Their coaches showed them chest passes, bounce passes, dribbling and shooting. Malin's passing is fine, and she is one of the few girls tall/strong enough to actually get the ball up over the rim (The baskets were set at 7 1/2 feet), but Daddy needs to work with her on her dribbling (Mommy is not sure that Daddy can help!). Marina mostly just needs to work on her concentration! Here's a few pictures of the girls in action.

 

Christsmas catch-up

Well, Daddy's Christmas vacation is over, and he needs to get back in to the routine of blogging. We have so many pictures from the holidays, that there's no way to even begin to post them all. So here are a few of the kids opening gifts at Mam-maw's, home, and Nana's.
The kids made out like bandits. Spoiled rotten as they should be. Malin's Santa gift was 'Heely's', and Gavin got roller skates (He wanted a digger -- like he sat on at the fair! Apparently Santa couldn't get that down the chimney) Both kids got new bikes from Mommy and Daddy. Combine that with their pogo sticks from Mom-mom and Pap-pap, and unicycles and skateboards that the Holderman's got, and we surely have an accident waiting to happen. Luckily all kids also got helmets, knee and elbow pads, and wrist guards. Other 'loot' included lots of books and clothes, a few games, a magic set for Malin, and a racetrack for Gavin. Mommy and Daddy go some nice gifts also. Daddy got a jack and a Steelers jersey and lots of puzzle books. Mommy got an external flash for her camera, and lots of gift certificates to the local spa, where she has already had a manicure, pedicure, and full body massage. Despite doing his best to give Mommy a break from the kids, Daddy had a nice relaxing vacation and was even able to get a novel read. Mommy relaxed some too, but had a busy week of entertaining. Malin stayed awake to ring in the new year for the second year in a row (Gavin crashed before 9), and we had family to our house for the traditional pork and sauerkraut. Our year is getting off to a busy start. Daddy back in his routine for work, Malin back at school, along with a few new routines for us all. Lots more to blog about, but enough typing for tonight