{Gerard's room}

I totally forgot to post pictures of Gerard's new room! Sorry!! You can see pictures of his old jungle-themed room HERE. We still haven't decided what pictures to hang on the walls, so it looks a little bare, but you can get a general idea of what it's going to look like.

I didn't refinsh his bed or dresser because they used to be Grandpa G's when he was a boy and then they were big Gerard's. I don't paint family heirlooms.

His nightstand used to be mine, but when the ceiling collapsed in our room it got ruined. The insurance company paid us to replace it but we also kept the old one so I could refinsh it for Gerard. I sanded it down, primed and painted it, and painted some unfinshed wood knobs to look like sports balls.

Here is the desk I bought for $15 on Craigslist.

Here is the desk after I painted it and replaced the knobs. I will be painting the chair (also a Craigslist find) in the spring when I can work in the garage without freezing my tushie off. (The sports clock sitting on the desk used to be in our basement but will soon find a new home on Gerard's wall.)

This is the bookshelf we bought at Ikea. I don't think I'm going to paint it, but apparently I ought to straighten up the books on it.

Gerard used to have a Lightning McQueen nightlight which he wanted to replace with a Yankees light. I looked everywhere and couldn't find one, so I made this one.

{update}

Morgan slept another night without her pacifier and she didn't even ask for it! Hallelujah! So,why stop here.... potty training, no paci, maybe we should get her the big girl bed and teach her how to ride a 2-wheeler! OK, maybe the 2-wheeler is a bit much, but I'm thinking BIG GIRL BED TIME!!!

{Morgan's big day!}

I don't want to jinx it, but Morgan slept without her pacifier last night AND for her nap today.

She left it downstairs last night when we went up to bed and she didn't want to go down to get it, so I told her she'd have to sleep without it. Surprisingly, she said "OK" and continued to get ready for bed. Once it actually came time to go to bed without it, she cried a little and asked if she could go downstairs to get it. I told her no, and that if she slept without it all night I'd give her a present in the morning. Much to my suprise, she slept just fine and was thrilled to get her Ariel bathtub doll this morning.

When taptime came around this afternoon she started having some second thoughts. She cried for a while in her crib and we could hear her on the monitor saying "I don't want Ariel anymore. I want my paci. I don't want Ariel. I don't want Ariel." It was sad, but eventually she stopped and she fell asleep. That was about an hour and a half ago and she's still sleeping! Yay Morgan!

AND, she asked to pee pee on the potty and she actually did it! We bribe (I mean reward) her with pink m&m's so I had better stock up before the Valentine's Day candy is sold out!

{derby video}

Here is the video from Gerard's first Tiger Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. Enjoy!

{goalie practice}

OH NO!!! I TAPED OVER THE VIDEO FROM GERARD'S FIRST HOCKEY GAME AS GOALIE. I can't believe it. It was totally my fault. I had rewound the tape part of the way and forgot, and I taped over the game with last night's pinewood derby. At least I have the video from his practice. I hope you enjoy it...

{undefeated.....almost!}

Gerard's pinewood derby car was undefeated in the Tiger Cub Scout races last night! It was a double elimination race and he never lost!!! WOO HOO! WAY TO GO GERARD!

The winner of the Tiger Cub races had to wait until the very end of the night to race the overall winner of the Cub Scout races. He was sooooo excited!!! Unfortunately, in the end, the 1st place winner beat Gerard. He was a little disappointed, but he'll be excited to get his ribbon at the next meeting. (Yes, a ribbon, NOT a trophy, much to the utter dismay of Big Gerard.)

Here are the cars after the official weigh-in:

One of Gerard's early races:

The final race of the night -- Gerard vs. 1st place Cub Scout:

Gerard, the lone Tiger Cub, posing with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place Cub Scout winners:

Since I forgot to take pictures before we left, here are some of his post-race car:

{race time!}

We're off to Gerard's Cub Scout pinewood derby. I'll post pictures when I can, and hopefully some video, too (if I can get the right cord this weekend!)

{baby M!}

Congratulations to Robyn, Jon and Spencer on your newest addition! Welcome Shoshana Ensley M..... 6 lbs, 2 oz. Little, like Gerard was. I can't wait to see pictures!

{getting old}

I don't know which is worse.... The fact that if I continue to pull out my gray hairs with a tweezer I will be bald before my next birthday, or the fact that I'm going to need to invest in bifocals to see the gray hairs so that I can continue to tweeze them. Am I really that old?!?!

{hockey pictures}

Gerard went to bed early. Truthfully, I'm surprised he made it to 7:30, considering he had to wake up at 6:45 on Saturday and 6:30 this morning to make it to hockey. Maybe now I can catch up on some shows I've DVR'd. Oh, no, that's right. Football is on. And on. And on. And on.

So I guess that means that I have a little time to upload some pictures. Enjoy!

Saturday's practice:

Sizing up the competition:

Nice save!








Today's Game:

{not quite ryan miller...YET}

Gerard was awesome today! His team was clearly out-played, with 95% of the game spent in our end. On the plus side, Gerard saw a LOT of action and got a LOT of practice. On the other hand, he let in 5 goals (2 of which were CLEARLY AFTER the buzzer, but they "counted" them anyway). The other goalie must've been bored, what with only seeing 3 shots on net the whole game and all that standing around twiddling his thumbs.

I took a lot of video and a few pictures, but apparently I need to buy a different cable to hook my old video camera up to my new computer to transfer the video. I hope to have that taken care of soon!

In the meantime, here's a sneak peak....

From practice yesterday:

From today's game:

{tired}

Tired....hockey practice this morning at 8:00...had to get up extra early to have time to get the goalie pads on....took pictures and video....will post tomorrow after tomorrow's 7:45 AM game....if I'm still awake then!

{homework}

In honor of MLK Day, Gerard's homework was to write and draw about his own dream. When I first asked him, he said, "My dream is for Mallory to let me sit with Maddie on the bus." After he understood that this wasn't really a dream for our world, he decided that his dream "...is that everybody would like everybody else." Wouldn't that be nice?

Here he is working on his assignment. And Morgan is doing her "homework" too....

Gerard said he got his inspiration from Grandma's January wallhanging:

{happy birthday, MLK}

{here comes trouble}

Oh boy.... Look what Gerard brought home from hockey practice yesterday....


See the resemblance?

picture from www.sabresfans.com

He gets to be goalie next week, including their game on Sunday. Of course that game starts at 7:45 and it takes twice as long to get goalie pads on, so he'll have to be at the rink by 7:15ish. So much for relaxing weekends and sleeping in!

Anyway, he brought the pads home yesterday and practiced a little out back. It took him a while to learn how to get up once he had fallen down, but now he's a pro. He's working the angles and everything! Go Gerard!

{you were right}

Morgan was no more inclined to skate on day 2 than she was on day 1. Even with Ashley and Nicole over, she refused to put on her skates. Nicole was a natural on the ice. She put on her skates, stepped on the ice, and skated. Just like that. She made it seem easy. Ashley was a bit more....um....hesitant. I think she liked skating as much as Morgan did. :) That's OK, she and Morgan were happy to play in the snow, swing on the swings, and slide down the snow-covered slide.

Gerard's hockey game was at 8:30 yesterday morning. It was a full ice game (instead of cross-ice) complete with goalies (suited up in their pads), referrees, and offsides calls. It was really cute. And Gerard's team one 4-3 (but who's counting?)!!! Between the game and skating with Nicole in the afternoon, he was exhausted! Then he had to wake up early today for an 8:10 practice this morning. Do I see a nap in his future??? I hope so.....

Hope you're all having a great weekend!