Its a bird, its a plane, its.......

SUPER GAVIN!!!! Gavin's Superman costume was a huge hit! Little old ladies oohed and ahhed. A group of older boys kind of "adopted" him. "Hey Superman, come with us," they yelled. "Let Superman get some candy." It was very cute.

Here in Portland it was a cold, windy evening and Gavin had a great time "flying" around the yard!

Our Little Lady Bug

Alayna had a good time tonight going trick-or-treating with her big brother. She only lasted a short while in the cold, but she was SO CUTE, I just couldn't hardly stand it!

~Alayna in a Pumpkin~

Pumpkin Fun

After Chad got home from work last night, we all hopped in the car and headed over to Rossi Farms to pick out some pumpkins. We got there just as they were about to close, but we quickly found some great pumpkins and headed over to Melissa and Jason's house to carve them. Here are some photos of our evening!

Breastfeeding FYI...

I learned something new today from Melissa, my go-to girl for all things breastfeeding. Melissa is training (and almost done!) to be a LeLeche League leader. I was concerned because I got pretty sick this weekend (horrible flu-like thing that Gavin caught on Friday and I was sick with by Sunday). Anyway, I was worried that Alayna would get sick because I was nursing her. Had I been home, I probably would have had Chad feed her from my frozen supply, but we were up in Washington celebrating Chad's 33rd birthday, so I had to continue nursing her). Well, now I'm glad I did. Turns out, that when I get sick, my body produces antibodies that is passed to Alayna through breastmilk and actually decreases the chance that she will get sick. Here's a great LLL link with more info for all my breastfeeding friends out there: http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/sick.html

All Bundled Up!

Our project for today was working on the yard. It was rather cool and I didn't want Alayna to be outside without a hat. For some reason, I couldn't find her regular hats, but I found this one in a drawer. Its a bit big.....she's got quite a bit of growing room.....but she looked so cute in it, I had to snap this picture!

Trip to the Coast

We went to the coast today. Drove over to the Tillamook Cheese Factory and then stopped at all the beaches along the way going north. Here's a few pics from our last stop in Astoria.

A Day At Mt. St. Helens

Mom and Dad are here from Michigan and we've been doing all sorts of sight-seeing over the last week. Today we went to Mt. St. Helens, which was just spectacular! Here they are with Gavin and Alayna.

Link of the Day

Awesome Musician, David Klinkenberg....Check it out!

What a Big Girl!

Alayna has been demonstrating that she wants, very badly, to be able to sit up. However, she has not been able to do this unassisted. So, we got her this Exersaucer (a fabulous deal on Craigslist!) and she absolutely loves it!

Rachael...

I'm not sure why I feel led to post this link today....but I do, so I will. This is a website dedicated to the life of Rachael Barlow, a close friend of my sister (Kelly), whom she met through her Teen Mania internship in Texas. I got on her website today, which I haven't done in a very long time, and I am amazed at the extent of it. One thing that I learned today is that although I will never be able to understand why God chose to take this child of his from this earth, her legacy indeed lives on and is still changing hearts and lives to this day. With that, I give you http://www.rachaelbarlow.com/.

Gavin's First Day of School

I can't believe Gavin's first day of school has finally arrived. I think I was just as excited as he was (maybe even more so) as I packed his little lunch box and picked out his outfit to wear. He nervously smiled as we walked in and found his classroom. At first he was overwhelmed.....kids everywhere! Finally, the playdoh table caught his eye and it was there that we said our "goodbye, I'll be back soon"s. Now, just a few more hours and I get to go pick him back up!

Gavin's New Bed

We splurged and bought Gavin a bunk bed set (we found a great deal!). He was outgrowing his toddler bed anyway (plus, we need the crib mattress for Alayna's crib). He's very excited about his new bed (crossing our fingers that he's excited enough to stop coming into our bedroom in the middle of the night).

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Alayna sports fashions from the 70s! This one's for you, Mom! ;o)

Gavin & Alayna

What do you get when you combine a fidgity proud 4-yr-old brother and his wiggly happy baby sister?...a very hard picture to take!

Bath Time

Alayna was in a really good mood tonight right after her bath. Here's some of her cute expressions.

Happy Birthday MADDY!!!

Today Madeline Jane Zollner turned one year old and we had the honor of helping her celebrate with a Hawaiian-themed party. What a blast! Maddy had so much fun that I couldn't even get a clear picture of her, so I posted the best one I've got. I think Gavin has become Maddy's honorary big brother. He really got into "helping" her open her presents.

Adventures in Computerland!

Well, I did it! I've officially joined the ranks of high speed internet users. It only took a memory upgrade for my super slow computer and all afternoon to figure out how to install it! But, my efforts have paid off and (hopefully) I'll actually be able to download pictures onto my blog now. These three pics were taken about two weeks ago, when my sister Karen visited for a week. We had a blast going to the fountain at Blue Lake Park on a really hot day as well as the Oregon Coast where we got ice cream (see the cow picture). We also went to Seattle, but unfortunately I forgot my camera, so Karen, you'll have to email me all the pics you've got! ;o)

a new chapter is about to begin....

Its crazy to think, but Gavin will be starting preschool in four short weeks! He will be attending Tree of Knowledge Christian Preschool and participating in their pre-kindergarten program. We went to visit the school yesterday and met with one of the teachers. It was very cute....a small and cozy school. Looking over the curriculum for the year, I realize it is exactly what Gavin needs. I think he's really going to love it. He'll be attending 3 days a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) from 9 am - 12:30 pm.

Here are several pics taken in the last few weeks of Gavin and Alayna. Alayna is between 7 and 9 weeks old in these pictures. Enjoy!