Gavin James is 3 Months Old!

Gavin....aka....Gavsters, Nugget, Precious Little Pea, Baby Cakes, Mommy's Little Boy....is already 3 months old!  He's the happiest little guy and unlike his big brother, who we called Captain Serious for the first 6 months of his life, Gav loves to smile!  So we spend a  lot of time talking to him and getting him to show that adorable gummy grin.  He loves to connect with you and coo, and he's almost giggling.  He's just so incredibly cute!  He's still a bit fussy because of the reflux, so he spits up A LOT.  But other than that he's alert, happy and content.  And he's extremely active - he loves to lay on his activity mat, talk to all the animals and just kick up a storm. 

Thankfully, he's officially out of the swaddle and into a sleep sack.  He hated that swaddle and broke out every night so he's sleeping much better without it.  He had actually started sleeping through the night at about 10 weeks, from about 8:30 pm to 5:00 am.  We thought that was it and we were over the late night feedings!  But this past week he hit a growth spurt and caught a cold at the same time so it's been a rough week with him getting up a few times a night.  But he's feeling better and on the tale end of the growth spurt so we're really hopeful that he starts sleeping through the night regularly.  Mom and Dad REALLY need that to happen so we can all get some rest and get on a regular schedule!

Jack continues to be an awesome big brother - he likes to play with Gav and sing to him when he cries.  I can't wait for them to really be able to interact with one another.  It was really special having both boys here for Christmas.  We had a a great time with my family and the boys had a blast with their cousins! Next up we are headed to Chicago to celebrate with Christian's family and have everyone there meet Gavin.  It will be Gavin's first flight and our first time traveling with 2 kiddos. I'm sure it will be very interesting!  Can't wait to share stories.

I just love this picture.  It looks like he's doing a little happy dance...

Chillin in the swing...

He's laying on his activity mat talking to his animals, but it looks like they scare him to death...or maybe it was the bright flash in his face...

The little prince sleeping peacefully in his sleep sack...

Happy boy on Christmas morning...



We got spirit, yah, yah, we got spirit!

I'm happy to report that the Christmas Spirit is alive and well in the David house.  After my bahumbug post last week I wasn't sure if it would ever arrive, but alas, it has!  And despite having two sick chickens at home, we have had a very fun and productive week that really made it feel like Christmas time.  We spent last weekend celebrating with family and friends, I finished all my shopping, made my LAST Target run for 2011 and FINALLY decorated my Christmas Tree - woohoo! All that's left is the fun stuff - wrapping gifts with the hubs, making cookies for Santa with Jack, going to church to celebrate Jesus' birthday, Christmas morning mania and of course spending lots of time with my family. 

I truly believe that God sent me two moments that brought the spirit into my heart.  The first was last week when I was taking the boys to San Diego to see their cousins Marseille and Amelie. As I was cruising along the freeway to Jewel's angelic voice singing O Holy Night, I caught a glimpse of the sun bouncing off the Pacific as I passed through Oceanside.  Our mighty marines were running drills along the beach and the waves were crashing on the shore.  My babies were sleeping peacefully in the back seat and all was calm.  It was a moment of pure peace I had been needing.  And I thought, how blessed I am to live in this beautiful country, near my family and friends, at this amazing time of year. And how blessed we are to all have each other and to have our health.  God was definitely showing me how good my life really is.

The second instance was when I watched the CNN Heroes Special, where they honor unbelievable human beings who help those less fortunate.  In a society where we tend to obsess over celebrities, it was nice to see truly amazing citizens being recognized for their efforts to help others, when they themselves have so little. I bawled my eyes out for two hours.  And it just made me feel so lucky to have the life that I do when so many people today are struggling.  It reminded me that I need to start appreciating all that I have and not to complain about what I don't have. Donating time and money to charities really makes that more clear to me and it's something I am passionate about.  I believe that God sparked that charitable fire in me again.

So Christian and I decided that I lieu of gifts for each other, we would each donate to a charity in each others name.  It's a small way we can give back and hopefully start a tradition for the future.  He doesn't know who I donated to so I will have to tell you later.  I will tell you it is one of the charities from the CNN special.  Here's the website with all of the various stories - it's definitely worth a look.  I believe these people are what the holiday spirit is all about.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/index.html

I hope you all have a blessed, happy, joyous and peaceful Christmas!

The David Family Photo Shoot

Here are some pictures from our family photo shoot on December 1, 2011.  Jack is 2 years 5 months and Gavin is 9 weeks.  It was a crazy day with the two kiddos so I never thought she would get such great pictures.  But she managed to capture some really amazing moments of the boys.  They sure are a handsome pair if you ask me!  Enjoy...

The Truth About the Holidays!

I love getting funny Christmas cards during the holidays....you know the ones where the family takes a goofy picture or makes fun of themselves.  It's such a breath of fresh air from the dozens of portrait studio photo cards that we receive...you know the ones where the family looks so sharply dressed and deliriously happy to be together - so much so that they make you wish that your own family was that perfect .  Don't get me wrong - I love these photos!  I take these photos too and one day hope to get my act together enough to actually send them out. 

But wouldn't it be funny if someone exposed the raw cuts...you know, the ones where the toddler is arching his back trying to get away from your grip, the newborn is puking, the dad's eyes are closed, and the mom is yelling at everyone to just smile darn it!  (yes, I just described my own family photo shoot from earlier this month!)  Anyway, it just got me thinking about what the holidays are really like for most American families....and it ain't the image of the gorgeous family in their holiday best, sitting in front of a beautiful Christmas tree.  It would look a little more like my family - chaotic, stressed and tired!  Wouldn't it take the pressure off all of us if we all just kept it real?  So let me be the first to keep it real and share what the 2011 holiday season has really been like so far for the David Clan, despite the glowing way in which I describe it in my last post....

As much as I try to get into the holiday spirit, it just hasn't hit me yet.  Maybe it's because I am caring for a newborn and a toddler and want to pull my hair out on a daily basis.  Or maybe it's because every time I try to listen to my Christmas music Jack makes me put on the CARS soundtrack.  If I have to hear "Life is a Highway" one more time I am going to jump off a bridge.  Jack couldn't have cared less about the Santa we saw on our visit to the North Pole as much as we tried to hype it up.  But I don't blame him, he was pretty lame.  He had this crooked mustache and a fake Scottish accent.  Hey buddy, last time I checked Santa wasn't from the UK.  We completely forgot to buy the professional picture with Santa so we had to frame a snapshot that our friend took.  So I feel like Gavin got jipped out of his first visit with Santa.  Whatever, he'll never remember it.

Shopping has consisted of making several harried runs to Target and Toys R US and ordering gifts online.  We've avoided the malls as much as possible - how Ba humbug are we?!  The day that we went to the Mom's Club holiday party for Jack I was running an hour late so he missed pretty much all of the festivities. He had to decorate his cookie with all the left-over frosting and sprinkles that 20 toddlers before him had their dirty little hands in. Yes, I am the mom of the year!!  I have yet to bake Christmas cookies and never got around to sending out Christmas cards.  Ok, let's be honest, I never send them out.  But I really wanted to this year!  Jack hasn't watched a single Christmas classic on TV - unless the Phineas and Ferb Christmas special counts.  We missed a trip to Disneyland because it poured rain all day.  Of course the one day it rains in SoCal is the day we want to go!

And the day we got our Christmas tree and decorated the house was actually one big disaster after another.  We got hosed at the tree lot and paid $120 for our tree - only in Irvine!  When we got home and tried to put the tree in the base, we realized the base was broken.  Christian and Jack had to go the three different places to find a new one.  Then Christian tried to string the lights but they wouldn't work.  So he had to go out and buy new ones.  They still don't work!  In the midst of all this Jack threw a tantrum so bad that he puked something pink all over our new cream rug.  While I was trying to clean him up I burned the hot cocoa.  Gavin cried pretty much all day so decorating the house took forever.  Christian and I stayed up til midnight trying to get it all done and ended up getting into a fight - I can't even remember what it was about. So we never even finishe the tree.  This was so not the Norman Rockwell day that I had envisioned.

So just when you start to feel like you are the only stressed out crazy person around the holidays and that everyone else in America has it all together, just think of me and my insanity and of my pathetic little Christmas tree that 2 weeks later is still sitting bare in the middle of the room. And remember that behind all those beautiful holiday picture cards is the real story.  Happy Holidays!

The Holidays...so far!

Here's our mantel with the addition of Gavin's stocking.  But I still feel like a 5th stocking would look absolutely fabulous in the middle!

We're off to a fun and busy holiday season!   And we're having so much fun experiencing all of the Christmas spirit with Jack.  He's almost 2 1/2 so he totally gets Santa, Christmas, Baby Jesus and of course...presents!  Christian and I just love seeing the holidays through his eyes.  He's just so full of excitement and pure joy during all of our activities.  And he was absolutely giddy about the tree and decorations we put up so I can only imagine what he will be like on Christmas morning.  We can't wait! 

Over the past few weeks Jack has visited Santa, decorated the house, gone to a few kids holiday parties (including a Hanukkah celebration!), decorated cookies and watched countless Christmas specials on the Disney Channel.  We had to skip a trip to Disneyland due to the rain....yes, it rains in California! We were so bummed!  But we've still had a lot of fun times.

We took a train ride to the "North Pole" to visit Santa.  The county decks out a park to make it look like the north pole and the kids get to ride a train up to see Santa.  Jack was a little overwhelmed with all the lights.  But he loved sitting with his girlfriend Kendall and her friend Brooklyn...

Gav slept through the entire thing.  I loved his hat but Christian thought he looked like a Scottish golfer...and a girl...

The kiddos hamming it up...

Gavin's first visit with Santa.  This was Jack's third time visiting St. Nick and he wanted nothing to do with him so Christian and I had to get in the photo for Jack to even go near him.  I have to admit the Santa and background were a little cheesy, but the experience was awesome...

Jack helping Daddy set up the tree.  For some reason he had to wear my running shoes while doing it...

We went to a holiday party for our Mom's Club. Jack wore his new holiday shirt, which reads..."Dear Santa, I can explain."  It's SO perfect for him...

Decorating cookies with tons of frosting...

Jack LOVES Kendall...

Gavin wanted to show off his Christmas shirt that he wore to the party.  What a handsome boy he is...

Now this is true Christmas cheer...

 

Gavin's First Thanksgiving!

I can't believe it's already Christmas!  I feel like someone needs to invent a PAUSE button during the holidays.  Something we can use when things get hectic to just remind us to slow down and enjoy it.  So before things get any crazier with the red and green, I wanted to post a few Thanksgiving pictures to document Gavin's first turkey day.

We hosted Gav's first Thanksgiving at our house!  It was my first official holiday-hosting too.  For us it was a rather intimate affair with 11 adults and 6 kids.  But it was the perfect blend of family and good friends and we had a really great time.  Everyone brought a dish so that took a lot of the pressure off me to cook everything so I was very relaxed that day.  I also realized I was even more relaxed because for the first time in 9 years, I was HOME for the holidays and not on a plane!  What a difference that makes!

We had awesome food, great company, the wine was flowing and all the kiddos behaved themselves.  Now that's what I call the perfect holiday!

Gav was surrounded by lots of love that day...

Family pic without Gavin, who was napping...

Jack chillin with his favorite girl Kendall and her daddy Tony...

My bestie Lisa...

Amelie's in a food coma!  She's got the right idea after a big meal...

Cookin' in the kitchen with mom...

The boys toasting a great holiday with a little cognac...