Protector

It has been ingrained in my head since I was very young to protect my younger siblings at all costs. It is a memory so old I don't even remember being taught it - one that I have always taken very seriously. It stands to reason that I would pass this on to my children so that they would also do the same.

I think I began imparting this lesson to Gavin when he was 3 and his little brother Logan was born, and I have continued it with Logan now that Dylan has been born. The power of this lesson was thrust back in my face recently when Gavin was inside doing his homework and Logan was outside playing with a neighbor boy. Gavin while sitting at the table doing his homework looked out the window and did not see his brother Logan in the backyard. Gavin was immediately panicked and said, "Oh no Logan is down by the pond and he could fall in!". To which I answered, "You boys go near the pond every day why are you worried now?". Gavin looked at me with intense concern on his face and said, "This time I am not there to protect him." I assured him that I would check on Logan and make sure he was alright. Gavin relented and was relieved to find out Logan was on the other side of the bushes and not near the water. All at once I was impacted by the force of his concern and the power of the lesson I had passed on to him.

Having had that experience I now ask myself if that is the right thing to have done...

Welcome Baby Dylan to the Family!

Dylan Matthew was born into the family today at 11:29pm he is 7lbs 10ozs and 20inches long. He is a tiny one in comparison to the two previous giants, but what a sweetheart.

Oh Beee-have baby!

A couple weeks ago Logan and I were sitting at the table and Logan was asking me who he could marry. "Can I marry daddy?" I said "Nooo I am married to daddy" "Can I marry Gavin?" "Nooo that's silly!" I said. "Can I marry you?" "Nooo I am married to Daddy" Then he thinks for a minute and says this... "First I'm gonna get a girlfriend, then I'm gonna marry her, then, I'm gonna shag her." I had such a hard time not laughing, it was excruciating!

The Leprechaun

Gavin came sprinting off the bus today yelling to Mike about how the Leprechaun came into their class room and turned over all of the chairs and he needed to catch the Leprechaun. From that point on he was obsessed with catching the Leprechaun. That's all he did all afternoon into the evening. He set a trap with Chuck E. Cheese tokens in it and jelly beans leading to the tokens.

Our Cassanova

Today Gavin and I were at a wrestling tournament so mommy had to take Logan to skating because she had a competition today. Logan was quite a big hit with the girls. They thought he was the cutest thing. Mommy was getting a kick out of it because he was eating it up. After a while Logan came over to her and said, "Mommy, one of these girls here is beautiful". Mommy was very intrigued to know just who Logan was talking about and said, "Oh yeah who's that?" and he said in a rather coy manner with a little grin, "You are.". Mommy was simultaneously melted and very worried by this ability to execute flattery so effortlessly. We are going to have quite the handful here.

Wrestling - A Lesson Learned

Gavin,

Today you had to go to wrestling without me. It is always a chore to send you alone because you cry and get all worked up about it. Today you toughed it out and didn't cry at all. When mommy told me that you also cut open one of the sores on your knee and you didn't cry about the blood I was teary eyed with pride. Not because I had done anything for you, but because you acheived it without me.

"I think that the greatest benefit from wrestling is learning to face challenges and to demand the most from yourself.  You learn to fight when you think there is no more fight left within you.  You learn to get up after you’ve fallen, time and time again.  You learn about sacrifice and about pain.  You learn to endure and to overcome.  This is what I want for you, not because I wrestled, but because these lessons are the true gifts of this sport."
-Allen Takata.

This is what I want for you and today you took a giant step in that direction. You were on your own.

I Love You,
Daddy

New Baby Coming!

We just found out the new baby is going to be a boy! Logan is super excited and sings to the baby and talks to mommies tummy every day. He is so excited to be a big brother finally he asks when mommy is gonna get the baby out everytime Lori has a doctors appointment. Gavin really wanted it to be a girl so he was a little disappointed when he heard it was a boy.

Gavin is wrestling now and had his first tournament today! He was very brave and went out there and gave it his all, but he ended up losing 3 times and got 4th place out of 4. I was very proud of him for working hard. He learned that we never give up no matter what.

Little Jokester

The other day we were driving in the car and Gavin was telling some nonsensical knock knock jokes and we were trying to explain why they weren't funny and why other jokes were funny. While Gavin is mulling over the concept Logan pipes up.

Logan: "Knock knock"

Mommy: "Who's there"

Logan: "Poopie"

Mommy: "Poopie who?"

Logan: "Poopie YOU!"

Needless to say we started cracking up. Gavin was not pleased at how hard we laughed at that joke so an explanation was required. We explained that since he was 2 we did not expect him to construct his own joke and that made it funny. We did not get into the finer points of that fact that the joke was constructed such that it made the recipient of the joke the butt of the joke. Logans comedic timing is still pretty darn good for 2 years old despite the fact that it was likely an accidental success.