Preparing for the party...and ANOTHER round of testing...

A little Gavin anecdote for you: We had our carpets professionally cleaned on Monday to spruce up for Gavin's party this weekend. Gavin was so excited as the guys were unloading all of their equipment. Ironically I had just asked the man in charge if it was best if we stuck around or got out of their way when I heard Gavin say, "Uh oh....motorcycle washing!"...I turned around and quickly discovered that Gavin had decided a handful of micro machines needed to go into the steam cleaner. Luckily the machine wasn't on and the pieces were easily fished out--and the guys all had a sense of humor about it. They were only filling the machine with water when Gavin decided that his toys needed a bath. My decision was made for me--Gavin and I decided it was a good day to get labs out of the way!

Gavin's birthday was a low key affair--we're all saving our energy for the Scooby-Doo party this weekend! I just picked up a pan of brownies at the grocery store and decorated them very quickly.



Gavin didn't care as long as it was CHOCOLATE and he got to blow out the candles. In fact, last year he wanted nothing to do with candles and this year we heard "More times???" He got to have a couple of tries at it so he'll be a pro for this weekend.



And as many of you know, I'm a *tad* bit addicted to photography...Gavin was super tired yesterday afternoon and was totally zoning out so I used the opportunity to snap a couple of pictures. I love his eyes in this shot. (And his new haircut that Tony gave him last week makes him look SO grown up)



Today brings another round of tests for me at our local hospital. Every Thursday until "Kango" arrives I spend about 3 hours lying around at the hospital for biophysical ultrasounds and non-stress tests. It's tiring, but I keep reminding myself that it's all going to be worth it in the end. It's reassuring too, to hear that heartbeat and see that baby moving around. I still have moments of panic when I worry that something could be wrong again--and I'm sure that worry will be there until we are holding "Kango" safely in our arms.

Happy Birthday Gavin!

It's hard to believe that Gavin is 3 today! Sometimes it feels like the last 3 years passed in the blink of an eye...but when we stop to realize everything that Gavin has gone through in the last 3 years, it's hard to believe that it ALL happened in the last 3 years...the little Gav-man has been through more in 3 years than most people endure in a lifetime...

I remember how quickly Gavin's delivery turned from "routine induction" to "emergency c-section"...and I was so groggy from the meds that I barely got to see Gavin before he and Tony flew to Sioux Falls. Luckily for me, Tony snapped this photo of Gavin with my sister's camera, and she ran out to have it developed.



I had it next to my bed for the 2 days I had to stay in the hospital before being discharged. Little did we know how our lives would unfold...at this point in the game we thought Gavin just had some breathing issues because he was 5 weeks early. Little did we know that the roller coaster ride that would bring us to our highest highs and lowest lows had just begun. And now we wouldn't trade it for the world--don't get me wrong, I HATE that Gavin had to suffer and go through so much--but to this point Gavin has been our best teacher. The lessons he has taught us are priceless.

Gavin's 3rd Birthday is approaching!

It's hard to believe that Gavin will be 3 tomorrow! We are so excited to be having a birthday party for him this weekend. Tony and I have been "readying" the house...all of the Christmas decorations came down this weekend much to Gavin's dismay. Over and over I heard, "Yeah, all done Christmas tree....night-night snowboy...." followed by heavy sighs. As the ornaments came off the tree Gavin kept asking us to turn on the lights. He was a very big helper in getting the tree all packed away, but we could tell he was disappointed that all the lights and decorations are gone.

Just for fun, I created an online baby pool....feel free to enter you guess by clicking here.

Once the baby arrives, we'll enter all of the stats and the site will configure a winner!