Little Underwood, Big Harte

Some pictures of the Gavin Chronicles up here in MI. We enjoyed the Harte Christmas party and saw lots of family we haven't seen for several years. Anxiously awaiting Daddy's arrival on Monday! Frosty is thristy Cookie decorating! Snuggling in the corner during my lunch break. New jimmies from Godfather Andrew Harte Christmas party, he loved the triplets and the older cousins. Followed them around and made them pick him up, so cute! Lansing Potter's Park zoo lights. Watching the skaters. Oh Uncle Andrew is fun! Lots of reading lately. Some snuggles and books with Grandpa. Auntie and Grandma walking at the zoo. Uncle Matt takes a turn. Pretty Auntie and Gavin. Auntie read to him and he fell asleep 1.5 hours before his normal nap time, must have been worn out. Pictures to text Daddy in Poland. Kisses for Santa.

Gavin has been feeling better so let's hope it continues that direction. He's been exploring G&G's house and messing with all the Christmas decorations. He of course loves the train under the tree the best. He and Uncle Matty are big buds and he likes to help get his water filled in the morning plus see him after work. So far, I have enjoyed some "sleep-ins" before staring work while Mom and Dad get up with Gavin (THANK YOU!). I also got to see some of my best ladies last night for a dinner out. This weekend we have the Harte Christmas party at my parent's house, then next week, a few more visits after work are on the schedule plus a day off for shopping with Mom! Stefan is doing well so far in Poland and says although giving the course through a translator is a new challenge it is going well. We already can't wait to pick him up Dec. 22. Hope everyone is enjoying the magic of this season so far! A little squirmish with the train but has Uncl...

Gavin wants to wish his Grandma Underwood a very happy birthday - he said so himself (in words we could almost understand, too!). Safe travels today! We miss you and hope you have a great time celebrating (when you get to SE Asia). Unfortunately, Gavin is sick with an ear infection so he isn't feeling very cooperative so far today in order to shoot the sequel video from Grandpa's b-day. We made it to MI on Saturday evening and despite being a bit antsy on the planes, the trip went pretty well for us. We even had an empty seat next to us on both flights, which I know made all the difference. He went with no nap because who wants to nap when there is so much to do and see? By the time we got to Mom and Dad's, got some food and a bath, he zonked out until 6:20 a.m. the next morning. The next afternoon when he woke up is when we noticed the temperature and it got up to 103.1. With no pediatrician here, the on-call ped from home said he'd like him to get checked so we ma...

Sharing this post from my Facebook page this morning for those not on there. When I was younger I didn't really comprehend what it meant when my fun-loving, adventure-seeking older brother Matt got leukemia. I didn't know fully what chemo or radiation was or how it was affecting his body. And, I certainly didn't understand what it meant when he relapsed and that according to three different doctors, it was "like winning the lottery" that my Mom was actually a match and was  going to be his bone marrow donor. I just sensed the severity from the grown-ups in my life. I knew they were sad because of their tears. I knew he was sick because he was in the hospital for so long. Well today, I do understand, but there are no longer tears for Matt. Today we celebrate TWENTY YEARS since Mom gave Matt life for the second time, TWENTY YEARS since his transplant and TWENTY YEARS since he was cancer free. I got my brother back and now he gets to be Uncle Matty to my son. My h...

The rest of the long weekend we did all things Christmas for our one weekend here in December. We made it to the Elf Parade which kicks off Pensacola's Winterfest, then we ventured near our old stomping grounds and went to Zoo Lights (which Gavin loved!). On Sunday we made cookies for Gavin's teachers. We also enjoyed some family snuggle sessions and downtime which was quite lovely. Now we prepare for our big ventures ... let the packing begin! Daddy's clever creation, a car that Gavin is still playing with made from his overnight diapers cardboard box.  Winterfest begins at the Elf Parade. Santa in the background. We didn't want to keep Gavin out too late to stick around and meet him with the long lines. Zoo Lights! "Snow" aka bubbles.  He's in a rude awakening when he gets the real thing soon. It sure looks like snow! Gavin's favorite lights - he didn't want to leave this one, he kept asking to drive it. Gra...

We are most thankful for this little love and his health! Here are some selfies he took the other day. As we prepare for Stefan to venture to Poland this weekend and Gavin and I make our way to MI, we really enjoyed the long weekend together! Thanksgiving was almost perfect with our faithful friends, Libby and Shane and Libby's family. They invited us to their family holiday, hosted us in their home, made us all kinds of amazing food and we thanked them by having Gavin get sick on both their guest bed comforter and carpet ... yep, true story!  Poor kid had something in the morning that didn't agree with him and although he wasn't sick, his belly was just not cooperating. He kept pointing to his belly and saying "boo boo". Sad! We made it home without incident in the car and the next day the kiddo was back to normal. Sorry again friends and thank you for putting up with us! :) Outfit one for Gavin and Daddy. Our lovely hostess and host carvi...