Nothing better...

than a chubby, naked baby.

For comparison's sake, a similar pose of both kids at 4 months...

Gavin (4.5 months):

Kylie (4 months):

(I think she actually had him beat in the chub department... in her defense she wasn't quite as long so her rolls aren't as stretched out!)

Zoo.

A couple weeks ago we picked the hottest day of the year to go to the Cleveland Zoo. Obviously the zoo is way more fun when you have sweat dripping down your faces and you need to buy a ridiculously over-priced drink every 20 minutes. Oh well, at least Kylie had a blast!

Checking out the jaguar with daddy...

This was Gav's view of the zoo...

The gorillas... Matt's favorite (Kylie liked them a lot, too)

The kiddos loved the crazy monkeys...

Grandma Lori was there and did an excellent job of baby-holder.

This was his expression the whole time he watched the monkeys...

Ky checking out the strange deer and monkey (?) exhibit.

Drooly McDroolerson.

He even makes drool look good.

(Click to enlarge)

This pretty much sums him up right now. Drool is constantly hanging off his lip. It's amazing how every baby is different... Kylie was not a drooler at all. I think Gavin slobbers more than a St. Bernard.

Some mo' vaca shots.

Matt and I were lucky enough to celebrate our 5 year anniversary while on vacation. The family was willing to babysit the kiddos so we went to dinner at a really nice restaurant that Matt had made reservations for as a surprise the week before (10 points to Mr. Romantic for thinking ahead). We had a deeeelicious meal, I had a glass of wine (gasp... 1st one in about a year) and an actual conversation without a certain 2 year old constantly vying for talk-time. We didn't have to cut up and blow on food, didn't need to pull out the crayons, didn't order any white milk, and didn't eat and run like we normally would. We then finished our date by meeting the family back on the ocean. It was fantastic.

Did I mention I had a glass of wine??

**************

And now for some family photos...

Crib Cuddles.

Just an iPhone snapshot of the sibs cuddling in Gavin's crib. As soon as Kylie hears her little brother awake in his crib, she runs into his room and calls for me to put her in with him. Poor guy doesn't get any quiet time to wake up peacefully on his own. But, he doesn't seem to mind all that much. Just look at that face...

Daddy's fan club.

Some photos of the kiddos and their daddy on vaca...

Kylie and Matt are thisclose. She is such a daddy's girl and he truly is her hero. They are the best of friends.

She loved having him around all week.

The big guy with his little guy.

Happy daddy with his 2 cute kids.

Matt got pampered on vacation and had a spa treatment right on the beach.

One lucky guy...

People pay big bucks for this!

Pretty good sport for a guy that claims he hates sand. HA!

My little fishies.

Growing up, my summers were spent at Grandma and Grandpa Hotchkiss' swimming pool. We were in the water all day, every day! So, it bums me out a little that Kylie hasn't had many opportunities to swim. We've gone to a public pool a handful of times, but with all of the people, it doesn't really allow her the freedom she needs to get comfortable in the water.

But, she did just that on vacation! She would wake up and ask to go in the pool (and continued to do that for about a week once we got home... so sad).

With the assistance of an inner tube she even learned to brave the waters all by herself! Such a big girl!

Kicking all over the pool...

Even baby brother got into the fun! Gav loved the water, too. Not surprising since he loooooves bathtime and this pool water was pretty close to bath water temperature!

Our little water babies...

Nothing says summer like sitting poolside in a wet suit with wet, pool hair!

And, another reason to love swimming... they create gloriously long naps!

A Convo.

One of the many hilarious convos I have with my *almost* 3 year old...

Me: "Look, Kylie, it's really windy outside."

Kylie: "Can we fly my kite?!"

Me: "No, we'll have to wait for daddy to come home, I don't know how to fly a kite." (just a little white lie)

Kylie: "You don't know how?"

Me: "Nope."

Kylie: "Oh, maybe when you get older you learn."

4 months old.

So, I'm a little late posting this, but our Gav-man is now 4 months old! It's so hard to believe that he is this old already... the last 4 months have absolutely flown by!

He is such a happy little guy and is a growing like a weed!! At his 4 month appt. last week, he tipped the scales at 16lbs. 11oz. and is 26" long. That's one big boy!

Is it legal to be this cute? I think he needs some sort of license to be carrying around these good looks! :)

ALWAYS smiling...

or making goofy faces...