He's a big kid now!

I'm not sure at what point Cavin no longer was a baby. Was it the moment he took his first steps? Was it when he began feeding himself with utensils? When he started brushing his teeth? When he started feeding the dogs by himself? Or when he first drank out of a cup successfully without a lid? If it wasn't any of those times, then I'm guessing it is when he graduated from crib to toddler bed.

Cavin loves his crib. If it weren't for Numero Dos he would have soundly slept within those 4 walls for who knows how long. But since Dos will be taking over Cavin's furniture shortly we took the 4 day weekend as an opportunity to transition Cavin to 'big boy' status. I sure do miss those mornings when I walked in to his room to see this:

Now we open our bedroom door to see this down the hall...

In true Cavin style, he took this change in stride. Cavin seems to 'go with the flow' with most things (a trait he did not get from his mommy) so I'm not surprised that this change didn't affect his routine much.

We made sure to put pillows on the floor by his bed for potential falls. Well, I'm glad we did because Cavin took a tumble at 4am his first night in the big boy bed. The next day during his nap time he took two falls. But last night he didn't fall once. And today, during his nap time, he learned a little concept called 'freedom'...he found his toys, books, and water to bring into bed with him to help him pass out. The only reason we knew he was up to something is we heard a police siren coming through the monitor (notice said police car in the bottom right of the picture).





Maybe next time we'll get an invite to the party in Cavin's crib. I hear the last one got so wild the cops had to break it up.

And just so you know....

...the doggies are settling into their new digs juuuust fine.

Giving Thanks

This year we were confined to California due to the impending arrival of Numero Dos. However, that didn't stop me from throwing on my Maroon Out shirt, turkey apron, and spending some quality time in my new kitchen. Someone had to make use of the double oven! I did cut a few corners with the Stove Top and instant mac-n-cheese but when I was just cooking for 3, I feel like that's okay. I still made a turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, and a cranberry/orange bundt cake so my boys had nothing to complain about!

It was a great Thanksgiving this year...in particular because my Aggies "BTHO" (beat the hell outta) texas! In the first time in a long time they've had a winning season AND have been ranked! Seriously, Craig, how long have we waited?? (All those mornings at the Chicken did not go to waste...)

On a more serious note (not that talking about Aggie wins isn't serious), I am very thankful for my family (both immediate and in-laws), friends, animals, and the two boys sitting next to me this year at the dining table...and the little turkey cooking inside of me. I am one blessed daughter, friend, sister, niece, wife, and mommy.

Baby Boy + 30 weeks = Third Trimester!

There he is folks. I'm not sure where the time has gone to (possibly work, moving homes, rooting for my winning Aggies, and yoga - with some bundt cakes, gingerbread lattes, and cookies in between)...but hello people, we are in the 3rd trimester. Count it. That's 10 weeks from today. Cavin has no clue what is coming. Scratch that - none of us really know what is to come....except I think Sandy, Jerry, and Toby have a clue.

I'm feeling pretty good...today. If you would have asked me two weeks ago I would have gone on and on about hip and pelvic pain, as well as, a mean case of the hives and loss of breath. But as with all pregnancy symptoms they come and go so this week I've felt pretty good. I'm sleeping well too, which of course I realize I've jinxed myself to nights of restless sleep until our boy arrives. Oh wait, there will be no sleep once he arrives either.

During our first trimester we had some blood work come back that indicated we could possibly have a low birth weight baby. Due to those results, we were asked to come in for a 3rd trimester ultra-sound to check his weight. The results: we have the opposite problem now. The baby is measuring at 83rd percentile in weight....allegedly on track to be an 8.5 to 9 pound baby! You want my take? The baby's enormous Spruiell noggin' is skewing the results (the head is one of 3 measurements they take to guess-timate the weight). Numero Dos was facing down and with his back towards my belly button so the best picture we got was of his thigh. However, the doctor has asked us to come back to check weight again so hopefully we'll get a face shot!

Rapunzel

Against everyone's wishes, including dad and grandmas (that's plural), I scheduled a time to take Cavin for his first haircut....one of many 'big boy' moments to come! I'm sorry but the kid's hair was getting way too long in the back, falling over his ears, and just needed a bit tidying up.

On a regular day, it looked like this:

I know, I know....adorable "bed head" pictures. But at 4o'clock in the afternoon? No. Before he became a male version of Chrystal Gale, I had to step in.

So I ensured this would be a fun experience for all males involved. With the recommendation of a friend, I took the boys to a kid-friendly barber shop for the big cut where a man by the name of Larry Love (complete with enormous arms, tattoos, and fun stories about his 3 year old) put Cavin in a race car, turned on some cartoons, and went to town.

All in all, I think Cavin and Mike enjoyed themselves. And someone sure puts the meaning "handsome" to the word "Cavin"!

We've moved!

After many years, we finally decided to bite the bullet and buy a house out here in California. We bought a sizeable place in the 'burbs and are loving it!

Everyone was really excited about our new digs. Cavin packed the UHaul.



And Jerry drove.



Then we packed the kid himself up and were on our way!

If you need our new address and haven't received it already, please contact me and I will get it to you.

***MANY thanks to my mom who watched Cavin while the real move was taking place and to my dad who packed up half our house for us. We couldn't have done it without y'all!***

The ratio shifted for a day

Yes, for one day in 2010, the ratio of humans to animals tipped in the animal favor. At 2.5 humans to 4 animals, this was a scary thing for myself and Mike. But then again, that's what Halloween is all about right?

(photo by Meg Sexton Photography)

The day started off at Cavin's friend, Dane's, house. Dane hosted his friends over for a Halloween party. It was truly a blast watching all the toddlers run around in their costumes. It took an act of God, a really great photographer, and some bribing with M&Ms to get 6 toddlers and one baby to sit still for this picture...

(photo by Meg Sexton photography)

From left to right that's Cavin (doggy), Dane (pirate), Drew (train conductor), Maddy (bumblebee), Grayson (firefighter), Benjamin (robot), and Britton (duckie).

A couple hours later after we got home, ate, and just before heading out to do some trick-or-treating, Lucas flew on by (pun intended). Cavin was very excited to see Super Schooler!

Cavin was eager to show him how he can pant like the doggy he is.

After Lucas left, we took off trick-or-treating and let me just tell you I was WAY impressed with our neighborhood! These houses get pretty serious with their decorations. I think my favorite was the two houses that had wires connecting them with ghosts hanging from the wires...so that it looked liked ghosts were floating in the air above the street. Very impressive! Everyone was very into the holiday and there were tons of kids running around. I already cannot wait for next year. Mike and I have big plans for decorating our house for the holiday.

Cavin seemed to really enjoy the trick-or-treating for a couple reasons: 1) he loves ringing door bells 2) he is obsessed with lights so he pointed out every porch light that was on and 3) his new favorite phrase is 'tank uuuu' (aka 'thank you'). So he'd point out a porch light, trotted right up to the person's door, rang the door bell, said 'tank uuu' when he got candy, put it in his basket, and we moved on to the next house.

Once we got home, he took inventory of his loot.

A successful year I'd say!

Searching for the Great Pumpkin

Last weekend, we took some time off from moving homes to visit the Clayton Valley Pumpkin farm...just like we did last year. Cavin got a lot more out of it this time around since he could run around and play. Seriously, this place is any toddler's dream! They have hay mazes, tunnels, pools of beans, train rides, oh...and pumpkins.

Cavin insisted on bringing bear along with him so he'd have a friend to share the fun with as well.

He went through a hay maze and came out to find us through the tunnel...


He buried bear (and got buried himself) in the bean pool...



He played some basketball (w/ his 'I'm a serious basketball player' face on)...


And he goofed around!


And Nana and Pa took him to feed the animals, in particular, a pregnant llama.

Cavin and daddy watched the train go by...

And he posed for a picture with Pa and Nana...

An on to the more serious business of choosing the perfect pumpkins!

Cavin insisted on pushing the cart since his mommy is pregnant. Kudos to us for raising such a southern gentleman (take that bart riders)!

Look! Cavin with two witches!

And we finally found the keeper!

Oh boy! What a difference 18 months makes.

Taken outside our house in front of the lemon tree on April 25, 2009 (5 days after Cavin's arrival)...

Taken outside our (now old) house in front of the lemon tree on October 23, 2010 (moving day! - more on that later)...

Two things I find funny:

1) I'm wearing the exact same shirt.

2) I have a big belly in both pictures - the first due to Cavin, the second due to Cavin's new bro...I promise there was a few months in there when I had a more flattering figure!