Big Helper!

Gavin has really turned into a BIG Helper! He always wants to know what we are doing, and how he can help...especially when it comes to the kitchen! We are excited to teach him to cook, but his skills still need some polishing!

Helping make pizzas...
tasting the pizza...it passed his test, then we cooked it!

helping mom make muffins...food that Gavin helps with isn't served to anyone else...there is still lots of licking of fingers and sticking them back in the bowl!

helping Daddy with the vacuum sealer

Gavin is even getting quite independent helping with the diaper cream...

Wrong End G!

there is a similar picture of Cary when he was little with Desitin ALL over his face! Luckily I caught him before he did too much damage!

We found him some new rain boots...can you tell he likes them?

boots even go with pjs


Our little cupid received lots of valentines...including some great books!

Mom's little Valentine

Cary treated us to steaks on the grill for Valentine's day...Gavin is supervising from the inside (not by his choice)

Walking in Mom's shoes is dangerous...therefore it requires a helmet!

Dan is by far Gavin's favorite...the McNamara's joined us for a BBQ on Saturday night. We figure there are worse people Gavin could idolize :)

We got outside and enjoyed the nice weather this weekend, taking walks and sledding in the back yard! Looks rough doesn't it?

20 Week Baby Update...half way there!

We had our ultrasound on Monday...I can't believe we are half way there already! The doctor thought everything looked good, and the baby was measuring still on track for a due date of July 5th! It is so amazing to see the little person growing inside of me, and I'm so thankful that I'm continuing to feel pretty good. The doctor was able to identify the gender, but we didn't want to know. I'm guessing girl and Cary is guessing boy...we'll see who's right!

20 week belly picture!

G poking at the baby

Kisses for G's baby brother or sister...what do you think?

Cowboys and Cupcakes

We are keeping busy...here's what we've been up to!

Is this our sick baby or was he just sad that the Viking's didn't make it to the Super Bowl?

Nope, both of my guys were sick...so we had a lazy weekend at home! Needless to say I was ready to go back to work on Monday, and was thankful I didn't catch whatever they had!

There's no privacy in our house anymore...unless you lock the door! Then he stands outside crying and pounding to get in.

I think we have a little cowboy on our hands! Gavin was invited to join us at the rodeo this year, this was Cary and my 4th year...and while it wasn't quite the same with Gavin (or maybe it was the lack of beers for me), we still had a great time and G had a lot of fun and was well behaved!

Sarah is always kind enough to share her "suite" tickets with us! On Monday Gavin was telling the daycare lady about seeing horses, falling down (the cowboys) and Matt (Sarah's fiance).

We made a trip to Eau Claire to play with Finley at the Sports Center...lots of balls, what more could a little boy ask for?

Luciana got Gavin Elefun for this birthday, while his butterfly catching skills can still use some practice, he and Daddy had fun playing.

Concentrating so hard to catch those butterflies

I guess Luciana was putting the moves on Gavin! He is getting to be a little ladies man...he also has a new girlfriend at daycare that he frequently talks about, Caroline!

Cuties!

I can't believe it's been a year...but our sweet little Godson Liam turned 1 on the 27th of January! What a better reason to celebrate.

Presents...who needs presents, Liam was totally happy with the bag.

Doesn't it look like he is going to launch a handful of cake right at the camera?

G approved of the cupcakes too!

G wants to be just like Daddy...including drawing himself a goatee!

Tonight we went to the "Hot Air Affair" in Hudson to see the hot air balloons...I just think the look on Gavin's face is priceless when he first saw the balloons!

His favorite was the "Nemo" fish-shaped balloon...my pictures of the balloons didn't turn out because it was too dark.

Stuffed marshmallows

There's not much to update on the baby, except I am continuing to feel good for the most part and I'm starting to feel movement once in awhile! Next Monday is our big ultrasound and we are continuing to pray that our little one will be healthy!

This might be the 1 and only pregnant picture of Amanda and I this time around...she's due with a little boy on March 14th...we can't wait to hear of his arrival!

Krusemark Christmas

The weather delayed our original Christmas plans, so this past weekend we headed down to Madison, SD for our delayed Christmas with the Krusemarks! Cary was able to take Friday off so we started out right before lunch (made a stop at Buffalo Tap..yum yum) and were on our way! Steph and Stacy had just finished the basement so we were the first to try it out! We had great food, family and accommodations!

G and I with Grandma Sis, she is honestly one of the sweetest ladies in the world and adores her grandchildren and great-grandchildren!

My Baby is looking so BIG!

We started Saturday out with a delicious lunch and then it was time for presents. Nobody was left unspoiled.

G is a present expert by now!
Reading a new book with Daddy
He got a lot of great new toys! The project this weekend is to clean out the toy room, we are running out of room.
A tool chest just like Daddy...complete with safety goggles
Steph made Grandma Sis a photo brag book from all of us, the grandchildren were excited to see themselves in the book!

After presents it was time for cake...and then we did a birthday celebration! 5 of the 6 grandchildren had a birthday to celebrate! The kids all played really well together, and had a fun seeing each other.

Sunday we got in the car for the LONG (5+hour) ride home! We sure wish they would all move closer.

What We've Been Up To!

We've been keeping busy at the Krusemark's! Our little man continues to make us laugh, challenge, and amaze us every day! He's really into colors these days, and is getting pretty good at identifying what colors things are. He's also getting to be quite a talker, he pretty much talks non-stop all day and night :) It is nice that for the most part he can tell us what he needs and wants...favorite word being TREAT! We started a music class last week with Liam and Kristi...Gavin loves to play the instruments, especially shaking the eggies! This week we got to play with the parachute and he thought that was pretty fun too!


Yesterday we met Heidi and Spencer at the Giggle Factory in Hudson and the boys spent the morning playing, while the moms talked. It was great because the boys could run around and we didn't have to chase them (well not too much)! Apparently I was too busy talking to take more than 2 pictures!

Is that Linus?

I had to go to New Orleans for work for a couple days, so the boys hung out while I was gone! I took this picture of my little "Linus" before I left!

Gavin loves the computer!

He's now tall enough to get in every drawer in the house...he especially loves this one with the kitchen utensils. He also likes to watch and see what we are cooking. Are we going to have a chef on our hands? I just know Grandma Ceal is smiling down on this picture!

If only this meant he was ready to be potty trained! He got the changing pad out of the diaper bag, laid it down and here's how we found him!

Gavin has taken residence in our Big Tubby! More room for him to swim and splash around :)

Baby Update:

Monday I had my 16 week doctor appointment and everything is looking good! After a month of Christmas festivities (read a lot of good food), I was a little nervous to weigh in! He wasn't concerned, so I figured I shouldn't be either! The babies heartbeat was in the 150's, and although I'm not feeling movement yet we could hear kicking on the doppler! We also scheduled the 20 week ultrasound for February! This seems crazy that not too long and I'll be 1/2 way done. I guess time goes a lot faster when you have someone else keeping you busy.

I'm continuing to feel really good, I'm definitely getting bigger faster and have had a few comments from people at work like: You are starting to fill out nicely and You are going to be HUGE by the end! Gee thanks, as if I didn't know that already!

I'm still guessing GIRL...I have been craving lots of candy (not chocolate...the most recent obsession was cherry valentine hearts, my great SIL Steph had a whole bowl waiting for me when we arrived on Friday) and cucumbers and tomatoes!

Overall while I certainly don't love being pregnant, but I can't complain either!

Gavin's Going to be a Big Brother!

We are very excited to announce that Gavin is going to be a big brother in July 2010! Of course we are very happy...but also a little bit nervous! Gavin has been a pretty easy baby and little boy...and we are hoping we aren't testing fate with #2! Oh well, no turning back now!

Here are a few answers to some of the common questions that we get!

1. Are we going to find out if it's a boy or a girl? No...we loved being surprised with Gavin, and unless the ultrasound tech slips, we will remain surprised with this one too!

2. Are we hoping for one or the other? Obviously we will be totally happy either way! I have been feeling different than with Gavin so I think it is a girl, but Cary is hoping for a boy because he thinks if it is a girl he might have to get a part time job at Baby Gap just to pay for the clothes! In all honestly we do love having a little boy and have tubs and tubs full of little boy clothes so we will be happy with whatever this little person will be!

3. How am I feeling? Overall I'm feeling pretty good now, I had quite a bit of nausea at the beginning, but never threw up! I have already started to pop out, which was much faster than with Gavin...and I'm predicting that I'll look like a giant beach ball by the time summer comes around! It was also a lot different dealing with the exhaustion this time, when I was pregnant with Gavin I could come home and sleep after work...these days that doesn't happen! I do catch naps when I can, and I'm thankful to be only working 3 days a week now!

4. What is Gavin's reaction? Gavin will say Big Brother when prompted and will point to my bell (or his) when asked where the baby is. Of course beyond that he doesn't really get it. I'm sure it will be pretty clear when the baby comes home...and doesn't leave! I guess we've got 6 months to prepare him!

We brought Gavin to our 12 week appointment when we got to hear the heartbeat, he and I had been to his doctor earlier in the day to get his flu booster so he thought they were hurting me too. Needless to say he didn't like to see Mommy on the table and cried in Daddy's arms most of the time :( He'll be staying home from now on!