Henry Michael Buelow

Mark and I are a proud Auntie and Uncle to the newest little Buelow - Henry Michael. Hank was born on January 24 at 11:36 pm. He weighed 6 lbs and 15 oz and was 20 inches long. Mike, Shelley, and Hank are home now and doing great! We can't wait to meet him!!!

Working on My Paper

No, not me...Gavin.

That is his new thing to say when he goes over to his little table. He will sit over there and color or cut up paper and say "I'm working on my paper".... guess he has heard me say it a few times! Just wish I could finish mine like he does every time!

My Auntie is a Comedian

Auntie Lisa sure is funny ;) I guess what goes around comes around, though. Back when Gavin was born, some of our wonderful friends gave us a few onesies and bibs that had funny sayings on them ("mmm..boobies" for example). I think I put Gavin in each outfit only once and only when I knew the person that bought it for him would be there to see. Well, I figured I would spare Dylan from having to wear them and passed them all on as gag gifts at Lisa's and Trish's baby shower. Well, on my thumb drive of pictures this week, I find the picture below.....

Ha, ha Auntie Lisa.... very funny ;)

The next three pictures were a "photo shoot" Lisa did when the boys were wearing their "D" and "J" outfits from Auntie Claudia. Her commentary was pretty funny for this one - it was actually the end of the photo shoot -

Dylan - "I've had enough, I'm out of here"

Joseph - "I can't move yet, don't leave me here for her to take more pictures!"

Hard to believe that Dylan is almost 3 months older - they are nearly the same size!

Good thing this book is machine washable - Lisa said it is one of his favorites. There were a few days when I came to pick him up and saw this in the sink soaking before it went to the wash.

I found these super-sized bibs and they had Dylan's name all over them! Perfect for the baby that drools and spits up all day ;)

Discovery Center Field Trip

Gavin and Daddy got to spend some quality time together a few weeks ago when Mark went on a field trip with Gavin's school. They went to the Kid's Discovery Museum down in Honolulu -

which meant Mark even got to ride the bus.

The toy that you never outgrow

I'm sure the marketing people over at the Bumbo company never thought it would have so many uses and for such a wide range of kids! Not only are they used for helping babies sit, but they can work as a helmet for a superhero!

Go Sabers!

The season isn't over yet, but the playoffs that lead to the state tournament have begun. So far, the Campbell Sabers have won the Boys Varsity Dual Meet championship (public schools, team versus team) and the Jr. Varsity Oahu Interscholastic Championship. Only two more weeks until the state tournament - let's hope they have as much success as they did last year!

Daddy napping with Dylan after a long day at a tournament (notice Dylan is wearing his Sabers shirt) all while being watched over by our very own batman ;)

Soaking up some Vitamin D

By looking at us you would never think that we lived in Hawaii - we are a WHITE family! I guess that's what happens when you barely have time to go to the beach and when you do, shade is a must. Gone are they days of sitting pool or beach side and reading a book while working on a tan and the same goes for Mark and his former hobbies of surfing and diving. We traded them in for two little boys who prefer the Waterpark or building sandcastles over sitting and reading a book ;) With wrestling season in full swing, Sundays are our only day as a family, so we've been trying to get outside for a couple of hours each week so soak up some much needed vitamin D.

Last weekend we went to the Waterpark - both the boys had new accomplishments....Gavin went down the slides by himself and Dylan didn't cry when we put him in the cold water.

The weekend before that, we went down to the pool in our complex - certainly nothing compared to Maili Cove pool, but it works ;)

Earlier this month we went down to KoOlina to show Gavin the boats and fish at the harbor.

I Love My Brother

I love to watch Gavin and Dylan together. Gavin is so good with Dylan - playing with him and always loving on him. Dylan just lights up when Gavin plays with him - I don't think anyone gets a smile faster from Dylan than Gavin.

Smile and Pretend You are Happy

That would be Mark's favorite thing to say to Gavin when I insist he sit through yet another round of pictures. I was so excited to buy the boys these cute coordinated Christmas outfits and they didn't get to wear them. When we were in TN, the snow caused church services to be cancelled and with just our immediate family together, there was no need to get them dressed up....SO, Mark and the boys graciously agreed to let me dress them in the outfits for a few pictures at KoOlina a few weeks back. Both the boys had mosquito bites on their faces (with all the winter rains, we have an influx of mosquitos here) and neither of them were very excited about having a camera in their face, yet again.

As I was snapping away with Gavin in these pictures below, the sillier the face he made as he seemed to be in complete misery, the more he made me laugh. As you can see from the last picture in this series, I finally got a small smile from him.

Now that looks like a real smile ;)

3 Year and 4 Month Stats

I'm a little behind on posting this information on the blog.... there just isn't enough time in the day for everything! The boys both had well-baby checkups on January 15 (Gavin 3 years and Dylan 4 months) - both are healthy and doing great! Here a few "stats" on each of them:

Gavin weighed 31 pounds and was 38 1/4 inches long. (He grew 2 inches in the year and gained 4 pounds). His checkup consisted of a vision and hearing screening, an all-over exam, a cholesterol test, and a TB test. (No real shots, other than the finger prick and the TB test). He passed everything with flying colors and kept the staff very entertained by telling them he was Spiderman and pretending to wrap them up with his web ;)

Dylan weighed 15.2 pounds and was 26 3/4 inches long (he gained 3 pounds and grew 2 3/4 inches in 2 months). This poor little guy had to get 3 shots, but luckily he had his big brother there to hold his hand...he only cried for a minute ;) All is well with him also, except he has a slight case of eczema (pretty common in babies).

No presents for you!

Yesterday brought a moment that I couldn't help but laugh at - I had both of the boys in Costco...Dylan strapped to me in the infant carrier and Gavin in the shopping cart. Gavin found my phone in my purse and started to play with it, which was keeping him occupied and I was distracted because I was trying to finish the shopping. He found the camera feature and began clicking away - taking pictures of me and any stranger that walked by! A few minutes later I started getting text messages from people asking

"Is Gavin playing with your phone" or "Is Gavin playing with your phone? I see you are in Costco". When I replied back, the response was that they received a text from me that was a picture of the top of my head with some random letters.

Time to take the phone away.....

Result: A meltdown from Gavin (who was in need of a nap). He started crying and then said to me in his maddest voice: "Santa is not going to bring you any presents"

I couldn't help it, but thought this was pretty funny. My first response was a good laugh! People probably thought I was crazy at this point....a crying toddler and all I was doing was laughing at him!

My Aunty is Awesome

Now that we are back at work, Dylan gets to spend his days with Aunty Lisa and baby Joseph. Seems like the two boys are getting along great and even overlap their naps occasionally to give Lisa a break. Lisa is just amazing- she makes it look easy to care for the two of them! She has even found time each week to take pictures of the boys during the day and send a thumb drive home with me at the end of the week with all the pictures....certainly something I look forward to on Fridays!

The little guy has christened Aunty Lisa with his once-a-day-blow-it-out-diapers...last weekend he even saved it up two days just for her on Monday ;-) We sent him to her on Tuesday with a bib that says "My Aunty is Awesome" to help kiss up to her for his diapers the day before, but in true Dylan fashion, he didn't even get to wear it for 5 minutes before he spit up on it (something he does very often!) So this picture below captures the little rascal.....

In almost every picture of Dylan, he has his eyes and mouth wide open and always wearing his new accessory - a bib.

The boys hanging out...Joseph (1 month) and Dylan (4 months)

He won't stay on his back anymore (Makes Daddy proud...never want to be on your back if you are a wrestler). He flips over to his belly as soon as you lay him down. This week, he started scooting around (army-crawling) to get to toys. A few times he even pushed up to his knees. He seems determined to be mobile soon!

Starting to hold his bottle...seems like he learns new things every day!!!

Notice Dylan is wearing a bib and has a burp cloth under him....he drools and spits up all day! Not sure who drools more- Dylan or Marley!