Chunky Monkeys

McKenna

2012-01-19T12:12:00.000-05:00

Fire up Chips!

2012-01-17T09:04:00.001-05:00

Austin and Gwen

Austin and Jayden... You would have thought they were best friends for ever!

You can't get me!

Warming up for the 60m dash

The Race!

Daddy's new toy

2012-01-15T09:03:00.002-05:00

Austin-3.5

2012-01-12T21:02:00.003-05:00

This is how I left his last update post....

"I guess that sums Austin up for now, we'll see if I can remember an update before he turns 3!"

I think it's safe to say I didn't do that. Actually, its almost a year to the day since I typed
an update.

I think the biggest achievement since I last typed is that Austin is potty trained. We rented
a movie

called "Potty Power." That was all it took and he was on board. Of course this was right after McKenna was

from the library, that he picked out

born so it was a little tricky for me to manage the "always peeing toddler" and the
"always nursing infant"

but he picked it up like a champ!

Austin is still into cars, trucks, airplanes, helicopters....anything with an engine.
He loves to "pick out"
a truck or two to take with him anywhere, including bed time. He also loves anything
Toy Story and
Cars and has replaced Elmo with "monkey george" Aka Curious George as his new top favorite.

Austin continues to be a good sleeper and still takes about a 2-3 hour nap. He goes to be around 9
and is usually up around 7.00am ready for the day.

He continues to be a big guy and is still in the 95th percentile for both height and weight.

A few times a week we go to some sort of bible study/church/moms group meeting which all get
referred to as "kids church" in his mind. He loves all the different kids and is going a pretty good
job sharing and playing with others. Wednesday nights are his favorite because my friend
Heather's
daughter, Hannah, who is almost 7 is there. Austin is just smitten over her, they are the cutest.

Austin started preschool in the fall, Tuesday mornings for two hours.
He goes to Cross of Christ in town.
It is amazing

how much he has picked up in the short time he's been at school.
He can count to about 12 and then 13-20 are a little jumbled.

He is big into asking what everything starts with and recognizes some of his letters.
He knows all his shapes and colors

and is VERY curious about EVERYTHING!

His latest thing is to call us by our first name if he doesnt get the attention he would like
by using Mama
or Dada.

Its hilarious to hear him say "Jennifer Lynn, or Andrew Michael"
and the best is to hear him yell "JOann!"

Although feisty as any 3 year old can be, Austin is awesome and brings joy and
life to our family every day!

Goofball!

2012-01-12T16:11:00.000-05:00

McKenna

2012-01-11T16:15:00.001-05:00

It's been forever since I did an update on our sweet McKenna... At almost 10 months she's up to (in no particular order)....

Cruising around everything and letting go briefly to get to another object
Stood independently on Sunday (9.5 months)
Started crawling at 6 months
Eating everything in sight and hasn't turned anything down yet.
Nursing about 5 times a day and gulping down bottles when dad is around
Still not much into her sippy cup
Taking 2 naps a day
NOT a great sleeper at all, usually waking 1-2 times a night
Finally stopped swaddling around 8 months and sleeps in a sack now
Adores Austin and he can crack her up like no one else
Seems really outgoing and loves going to her playgroups at Coffee Break, church, bible study...
Nicknamed "Smiley" by Great Gram Elsie
Got her two bottom teeth at 6 months
Has all 4 top teeth poking out (some farther than others)
Uses cloth diapers and has quite the little "ba donk a donk"
Loves to be in the water
Doesn't seem to be very picky (yet), she is happy playing and eating whatever
Still hovering around 20 lbs and in her infant seat (so much easier for winter)
Puts everything imaginable in her mouth and has a clench technique so it is very difficult to fish out
Just starting to get an attitude when you (Austin) takes things from her
Although she doesnt sleep all night, she is a champ about going right to sleep when you lay her down
Sucks her left thumb only when you lay her in her crib

Just a few things to look back on someday!

Happy Birthday (12/28) Grandpa

2012-01-10T16:11:00.002-05:00

What a fun Grandpa that chose Chuck E Cheese for his birthday dinner!

2012-01-05T15:38:00.000-05:00

Christmas day

2012-01-04T15:31:00.000-05:00

Andrew posing so we could get the lighting right!

How the Garavaglia's have grown!

Bronner's

2012-01-03T14:33:00.000-05:00

Diva

2012-01-02T12:32:00.002-05:00

More family

2012-01-01T12:11:00.000-05:00

McKenna was in awe of her cousin Ethan!

The Ladies

Yo Yo and McKenna

Grandma and Grandpa with their lovies

Craziness in Frankenmuth

2011-12-31T11:51:00.000-05:00

Andrew's oldest brother, Jesse, his wife Andrea and their sweet Olivia

B and E- Cousins

Andrew's next brother, Topher and his son Landon

Gabe, Austin's cousin, born 3 days apart

More silly B and E

Youngest brother Bryan's wife, Laura

Topher's wife Heather and their littlest one

Great Gram Elsie

McKenna enjoying her first Bavarian Inn Dinner

Family

2011-12-30T11:48:00.000-05:00

Reindeer at the Library

2011-12-29T08:17:00.000-05:00

Christmas with the Aiellos

2011-12-28T08:14:00.000-05:00

We had such a nice evening with the Aiello's and they even spoiled the kiddos with gifts!

McKenna's first purse :)

The many faces of McKenna

2011-12-27T07:34:00.000-05:00

All of these pictures were taken in about 30 seconds...

"I'm not sure about this"

Hello! Over here!

Peek a boo

This is how I got my nickname, "Smiley"

Hubba bubba baby

Enough already Mama

Splash!

2011-12-26T07:27:00.001-05:00

Rollerskating with Santa- Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T08:20:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve Morning

2011-12-24T08:28:00.000-05:00

Excuse me... I'm on the phone

Santa ate the cookies!

It's been awhile

2011-12-24T06:44:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the lack of blog pictures lately. Here are the kiddos!

Having fun with the big kids

2011-12-23T06:40:00.000-05:00

This is how I get what I want!

2011-12-22T06:40:00.000-05:00

Cool Yule 2001- South Lyon

2011-12-10T19:14:00.000-05:00

Cookie Making

"And now I get to eat it??!?!?!"

Trying to stay warm during the parade

The big finale!

Santa via Helicopter 2011

2011-12-08T18:58:00.000-05:00

The kids LOVED Santa, we just couldn't get McKenna to look away from that beard for more than a second at a time!

Who needs toys?

2011-12-06T18:53:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving at Uncle Al's

2011-12-01T14:03:00.000-05:00

Pumpkin Carving

2011-11-30T13:43:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the hard work of the boys we got to enjoy fresh baked pumpkin along with muffins, pancakes, cookies, bread and pie! Oh ya... and roasted seeds!

Our little turkey

2011-11-29T13:57:00.000-05:00

Family

2011-11-27T13:56:00.002-05:00

Aunt Nancy and Uncle Al, My mom and Dad, Austin, myself, Andrew and McKenna

Austin and McKenna with Uncle Al and Aunt Nancy and their little Josie!

Unsure...

2011-11-09T15:32:00.002-05:00

Umm... Grandpa, do you know what you are doing?

Halloween continues...

2011-11-07T15:09:00.000-05:00

Halloween lasted all week as we trick or treated at the library and the mall before Halloween even arrived.

Austin made friends with a fellow Spiderman here (with a very cool painted mask!

At Brairwood Mall

Spiderman in action.

2011-11-06T15:17:00.000-05:00

Halloween, one year at a time!

2011-11-04T15:03:00.000-04:00

2008- 10 weeks

2009- 14 months

2010- 2 years old

2011- 3 years old

For Great Gram Elsie!

2011-11-03T14:57:00.000-04:00

2010

2011

Thanks for our pumpkin Gram! We love it :)

Happy Birthday Uncle D!

2011-11-02T15:24:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday "Baby Hog"! We love you!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T13:27:00.002-04:00

Watch out for Spiderman!

Our little goldfish

Peek-a-boo!

2011-10-30T13:35:00.000-04:00

sugar rush!

2011-10-29T13:28:00.000-04:00

Bavaria Pretzel making

2011-10-27T13:08:00.000-04:00

Reading to make pretzels!

This is my pretzel?

Not bad for a rookie...

This is how I felt 7 months ago...

2011-10-26T16:18:00.000-04:00

Look at those thighs!

2011-10-24T16:12:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Yo Yo!

2011-10-23T13:28:00.001-04:00

LOVE YOU GRANDMA YO YO!!!!

Leaves

2011-10-22T16:09:00.002-04:00

Nothing like playing in the leaves in the fall!

Pumpkinfest 2011- South Lyon

2011-10-16T21:25:00.005-04:00

Missing something?

Ready for the fire?

Silly daddy....

That's better, kinda...

Fowlerville

2011-10-15T17:06:00.000-04:00

We met in Fowlerville with Uncle Al, Aunt Nancy and my parents to celebrate September birthdays. Austin had a great time with his special Uncle Al!

Ready for the Rodeo

2011-10-13T17:02:00.000-04:00

Library

2011-10-11T16:49:00.000-04:00

Excuse me... I am reading.

Storytime with a special guest from the Humane Society

Picture Day at School

2011-10-09T16:45:00.000-04:00

Getting all ready for picture day at school!

The foreman and his crew

2011-10-08T16:39:00.000-04:00

She sure can brighten up your day!

Tiiimmmmbbbeerrrrrr!

Awww....

2011-10-07T16:37:00.000-04:00

Hard Work

2011-10-06T16:34:00.000-04:00

Apparently eating this banana was a lot of work and she needed a little rest.

Go Tigers!

2011-10-05T16:30:00.000-04:00

Cider Mill - Take 2

2011-10-04T15:49:00.000-04:00

Sister for sale?

2011-10-02T15:03:00.001-04:00

She's too cute to sell, if you ask me!

Buffalo Austin

2011-10-01T19:49:00.002-04:00

DONUTS!

2011-10-01T14:53:00.000-04:00

How tall this fall?

2011-09-30T14:40:00.000-04:00

One bumpy ride!

2011-09-29T09:10:00.000-04:00

Can't believe how big she is getting!

2011-09-28T15:00:00.000-04:00

Cider Mill

2011-09-27T09:10:00.002-04:00

Petting Zoo at the library.

2011-09-19T16:38:00.000-04:00

It's fall time.

Which should I read? or chew on...

St. Louis Fans

2011-09-17T16:31:00.000-04:00

Grandpa G went to St. Louis for a wedding and brought back outfits for the kids!
Don't worry... We still think the Tigers are #1!

Happy 1st Day of Preschool

2011-09-15T04:34:00.000-04:00

These pictures are actually from Tuesday when we had Orientation, but today is his first real day of preschool. He is SO excited and tells me over and over how he is "ready to ride the school bus." Too bad he'll have to wait a couple of years for that.

Double Motorcycle

2011-09-14T10:44:00.000-04:00

It's too cute to see M hold on to A for dear life as we play motorcycle!

Chow time

2011-09-13T10:23:00.000-04:00

McKenna is getting more interested in eating day by day. She is enjoying some homegrown zuchinni here. (thanks to whoever's garden this came from at work!)

Games

2011-09-11T10:10:00.000-04:00

Future Pro

Splash!

2011-09-09T10:34:00.004-04:00

Ready for the waterpark in his new board shorts

New Friends!

McKenna at the water Park

2011-09-08T10:18:00.000-04:00

20 Teeth

2011-09-07T10:09:00.000-04:00

Austin had his first Dentist appt and did great. He thought everything was so funny and really did have fun there!

McKenna had fun too!

...19, 20 teeth!

Petting Zoo and Touch a Truck

2011-09-04T14:09:00.000-04:00

Hair Cut

2011-09-02T06:18:00.000-04:00

We took Austin to get his first haircut from someone besides the family.

As you can see, he didn't exactly "love" it

But he hung in there

For this perfect finished result!

Cheese!

2011-08-30T14:14:00.000-04:00

Play Date

2011-08-29T14:15:00.000-04:00

The leader of the pack

"Get over here, cutie!"

Sammy and Austin

Grant and McKenna- 5 days apart

One cool cat...

2011-08-28T14:12:00.000-04:00

Wesley and McKenna

2011-08-27T02:41:00.000-04:00

Our friends, Mike and Stacy, had their son the day after we had McKenna at St. Joes

In the hospital... 3/17/11

2 months later!

Now 5 1/2 months old!

Dada and M

2011-08-26T09:49:00.004-04:00

Hot Air

2011-08-24T09:40:00.004-04:00

On Austin's birthday, we were headed home and saw this hot air balloon from a distant. It was so pretty with the setting sun. As we continued driving, I realized we were getting closer and closer, and it turns out it was landing in a sub right near us. We turned around and pulled in to watch for a few!

Beach Bums

2011-08-22T09:46:00.003-04:00

Scrub a dub dub

2011-08-20T21:21:00.000-04:00

We added a little fun to the kids bathroom this week!

Austin and his bud Anthony

2011-08-19T21:44:00.001-04:00

Happy 3rd Birthday Austin!

2011-08-17T09:37:00.000-04:00

Austin has been celebrating his birthday FOREVER! We had his fun construction family party, went to Mongolian BBQ for lunch and then went to play games, putt putt and have ice cream after nap!

Lefty in Action!

Hole in one?

Yum!

Getting his groove on!

Hard at work in his jammies

2011-08-16T16:56:00.000-04:00

In town

2011-08-13T16:29:00.000-04:00

Uncle Bry on double duty!

Miles

Crashed!

2011-08-12T16:09:00.000-04:00

McKenna stayed sound asleep as we took the entire tent down around her and packed up the whole car! What a sleepy head :)

Race Cars!

2011-08-11T15:53:00.000-04:00

The little boys look a little rough

Pool time!

2011-08-10T15:43:00.000-04:00

Austin turned into a fish this summer!

Uncle Bry with cousin Miles!

Sand Dunes

2011-08-08T15:34:00.010-04:00

We ventured on a sand dune ride just like the one pictured on Austin's tattoo!

I had to literally push Austin back up the dune that he insisted on running down!

On top of a GIANT sand dune!

Boys will be boys

2011-08-07T15:24:00.001-04:00

Lake Michigan

2011-08-06T15:16:00.000-04:00

First Day

2011-08-05T13:49:00.000-04:00

Our first day of vacation started off pretty rainy so we took a detour to a water park hotel instead of tenting like we had planned.

Fowlerville Fair

2011-08-04T13:37:00.000-04:00

Visiting Uncle Al and Aunt Nancy

2011-08-03T13:29:00.000-04:00

Gotcha!

Spoiled with his OWN water, Frosty and CHOCOLATE animal crackers!

Feeding Josie

What a difference a year makes

2011-08-02T13:05:00.000-04:00

2010

2011

Meeting Uncle RyanMc

2011-07-24T11:52:00.002-04:00

McKenna and Uncle Ryan finally got to meet when Ryan stopped by on his way to Arizona. Yes, I said Arizona. Andrew and Ryan drove over 2,000 miles in a Uhaul, pulling a car, with two cats, and a fish in about 48 hours! Makes me tired just thinking about it.

Bouncing!

2011-07-17T15:29:00.000-04:00

Fire Trucks in Port Sanilac

2011-07-14T16:41:00.000-04:00

McKenna

2011-07-12T13:34:00.000-04:00

Mckenna will be 4 months on the 15th and I am not sure where the time goes! A few things to remember...

She sleeps best when swaddled, although spends a lot of her time trying to get free

She started rolling back to tummy at 3 months and hasn't stopped since!

Nights usually include 1-2 feedings but she is sleeping for 5-6 hour stretches

She did great when Mama went back to work and takes the bottle like a champ.

She thinks Austin is hilarious and the two of them spend a lot of time making each other laugh

Fireworks!

2011-07-11T15:27:00.000-04:00

Uncle D's earplugs did the trick for Austin at the fireworks!

Too bad they were too big for little McKenna. She was wide eyed but didnt seem to mind the noise.

Interview with McKenna Holt

2011-07-10T16:44:00.000-04:00