Settling In and Turning 3!

Well, January has flown by, hasn't it!?   The day after we 'occupied' our new house {I'm not really saying 'moved in' because our household goods didn't arrive for about a week later and we were living comfortably with all we had packed up in the cars and uhaul} the kiddos and I drove 3 minutes down the road to visit Kayla's new school and get her registered {it was to cold to walk}.  We focused on a very specific and small area to live when we moved here primarily for the schools.  We don't have the luxury of sending our kiddos to private schools but we most definitely can move to a neighborhood with the top rated schools in the State ;) .  And we ended up with a superb one because it was recently awarded a Blue Ribbon!  

It was like the first day jitters all over again!  Excitement all wrapped up in a bundle of nerves.....for both of us.  As a parent you just want your kiddos to be accepted and thrive and anyone who has been the 'new kid' knows it's not always that easy.  Thankfully kindergartners are more curious than 'clicky' and Kayla fit right in and had a great first day!

Gavin and I had our first fun mommy/son outing to the children's museum in Baltimore!  Our good friends the  Vensko's live about 30min from us......OK let's pause to soak in how excited I am about that.........and enjoy a throwback photo of of us and Kassy {on the right} in Hawaii at a Luau, circa 2005... 

and refresh your memory of our friendship HERE.  Nichole invited us to go with her boys and since Kayla was in school  Gavin had a lot of fun BOY time; they all got along beautifully.    

A few days later the Vensko's came over for dinner and cupcakes in celebration of Gavin turning THREE!!

{please excuse my lack of attention to detail for not making sure the camera was in focus while rolling}

Thanks guys for the Zingo! game.  We love it!

My heart was full that night because it's quite a blessing to come together with old friends...and even when we don't know each others kiddos all that well {yet!}....they make them feel pretty darn special for their birthday in a new town.  

I can't believe our little guy is three!!  Where is the time going?!  No more babies or toddlers....he's officially in the 'preschool' age group and I feel we are on the cusp of being that family with 'older' children. And it's a very exciting time as our family begins a new chapter....but there are times I try to bury my face in their necks and hold them tight in a failed attempt to keep them little...just for a bit longer.  After a minute they usually push me away and say moooooooommmmm! what are you doing?!  And I just tell them I'm memorizing the moment...some day they'll understand that....

Gavin is a love bug!  He loves meeting new people and everyone is an instant friend in his book.  He still has a passion for trains and cars and loves reading books.  He also is the first one to jump in and lead just about any dance party!  We're at that wonderful age where the funniest and random things come out of his mouth....he's definitely a bit of a clown and tries to get a laugh out of anyone..... namely his sister.  With three also comes the development of a little 'sass' and 'back talk' and he's continuing to learn {sometimes the hard way :/ } the proper way of speaking to others.  All in all, he's a pretty awesome kid and we can't imagine our family without him!  We love you Bubby!!