God made you special

Our two boys are so different. I know that is to be expected, but I think since Danny was our first child, he is my standard of measurement. I assume that all children will be just like him. But isn't it wonderful that God makes us all different with unique personalities and characteristics.
For example, Danny is my sensitive, smart little boy. He worries about people and seems to have developed a tender heart. He is very inquisitive. In our home, we experience the ups and downs of a normal two year old, but I believe there is more to it. He has the ability to light up a room with his cheerfulness or completely bring us down when he is unhappy. He is social and I believe will have the ability to organize and unify people. He is full of life and personality.
Now Joshua is just a little baby, but I already see his personality coming out. He is so easy going. We get comments from everybody about what a happy and easy baby he seems to be. We are also learning that he doesn't like to sit still. While Danny used to be content as a baby snuggling in your lap, Josh will have none of that. He is persistent and doesn't like to give up trying new things.
I am sure some of the things they do have a lot to do with the stage of life they are each in, but I do believe babies reflect their future selves. Most moms that I ask say that the way their baby behaved as a child was a good indicator of the type of person they became. And isn't it great that God uses what we think as frustrating for good. While I may be challenged by Danny's reluctance to follow his mommy, it is that strong willed child that has the ability to be an adult who is firm in his convictions. It is my role as a parent to daily pray for those characteristics I see to be used for God's glory. His design is so amazing!
And another difference between my boys is their size....

Joshua's 6 month stats
weight: 19lb 4oz 80%
height: 28 inches 90%

Daniel's 6 month stats(actually it was closer to 7 months)
weight: 18lb 1oz 70-75%
height: 27 1/2 inches 85-90%

I know that may seem similar, but it really makes a difference. Especially with the clothing. Josh is already wearing stuff Danny wore at 1 year. He is a little chunk.
But they certainly favor each other in looks!

Here is a picture comparison. Same outfits and same smiles!





Can you guess the right name with the picture?

FREE STUFF!!!

No matter who wins today, at least half of the nation will probably feel like this.....a bad taste in their mouth.

Yummy green beans!


I hope people check today and take advantage of these free things....sorry to Nana and Max who voted absentee. Maybe you could go get a sticker and still participate?

If you have a "I voted" sticker...
Chick-fil-A will give you a free sandwich.
Krispie Kreme will give you a free doughnut.
Ben and Jerrys ice cream will give you a free cone.
Starbucks will give you a free coffee.

I know there are more, but some of them are regional or just in certain cities. (ex: Baltimore California Tortillas will give a free burrito and supposedly have a McCain and Obama burrito for the occasion)
We are headed out in a few minutes to join the nation in voting. Do you think if Danny and Josh start crying they will let me skip the line? I packed snacks, books, puzzles, and cars in anticipation of a long line.

If you are still undecided, here is a good article that might make you think.
http://papundits.wordpress.com/2008/11/01/the-audacity-of-deception/


Happy Voting!

Mis cosas favoritas...

I know that there are people reading my blog, because I have some of you letting me know in conversation and emails. thanks! But unfortunately, very few of you have joined the blogging world(it is sooo easy!) Ashley G tagged me to do a list of my favorite things and I think it sounds like a fun idea. But part of the assignment is to tag some people in my blog. I know a few of you who read this have done a favorites list before, but if haven't I would like to pass it on! If you are a blogger and decide to share your favorite things, jot me a note in the comments and I will head over to your blog and check it out. I can't wait to see your lists! And all you non-bloggers....you are welcome to comment too with your favorite things!
Now for my favorites!
1. Top of the list favorite thing is when I am listening to praise music in the car and I am moved to praying and crying at the same time. Might not be the safest driving experience, but it is a refresher to my soul. I love a long car trip when I am by myself or with my boys and I can let down my defenses and really just worship!
2. I love how my husband I balance each other. We are different in many ways and yet we agree on the important things. I love how we each have different ways of growing spiritually. Scott is led by his head more and I am led by my heart. That might be more to do with male vs. female, but it is definitely a good thing. We have taught each other so much over the years and have each grown in our faith because of the other person.
3. I love cold weather sleeping. I really like to have many, many blankets. Then I tuck them tight around my shoulders and just let my head peek out. Scott also likes blankets, so you will often find us with the fan on high and the heat off in the middle of winter, snuggling under blankets. But due to the fact that we have little babies, the heat is reluctantly turned on now.
4. Christmas lights. I may have mentioned this before, but I love twinkly lights. I love them on houses, in houses, in the winter, and in the summer. You will find lights up year round inside my house on our fake ficus trees.
5. My mom introduced me at an early age to the joy of consignment shopping. We used to volunteer together at our church thrift store and I loved finding little treasures. She taught me how to be patient as you dig through layers of junk, because you are bound to find something good. Now with two boys, I love getting nice expensive church outfits and unique clothes for a few dollars. It is like an exciting treasure hunt.
6. I love traveling by plane and getting delayed or the plans changing last minute. I love the anticipation and excitement before a trip to a distant location. Whenever we travel, I always hope to get delayed just so I can hang out in the airport. It is so fun to watch people. Scott would completely disagree with this one, because he has been delayed too many times trying to get home. But if I am with my family, I always feel like it is just part of the adventure. I guess I am usually a fairly patient traveler. I know that one is weird, but I guess I just enjoy a good adventure!
Hope you enjoyed my favorite things!

the coolest pumpkin ever

If you are a Georgia fan, you will appreciate this pumpkin...



Scott saw it online and thought it was a cool idea! Wonder if our Virginia neighbors will get it?

Danny enjoyed watching and poking the pumpkin, but was not into touching the seeds and guts. That is, until I roasted them and then he couldn't get enough! In this photo, he is trying to get guts off the hat after peering into the pumpkin.


This pumpkin was going to be a classic with eyeballs like the left side, but then I accidentally chopped off the inside. So, it became an eye patch on a pirate. Can you tell that he is saying arghhhh?



I will post again soon with Joshie's info from his appt. He is a big boy!

my wild animals

It is brrrrr chilly and very windy outside. I am enjoying candy corn and warm coffee today. Definitely need coffee to keep me awake after our boys have had restless nights lately. yawn. Mommy is worn out!
Tonight we are going to carve our pumpkin. Any good ideas for face designs? I don't think we are big Halloween people at the Gaskill house, but we do enjoy the fall festivals and pumpkin carving. I think Danny and Josh will probably get to dress up for a few more years and then we will hopefully phase out of that stage.
We did enjoy a fall festival this past weekend and look forward to going door to door as the cutest giraffe and lion you will ever see! I included some pictures of our "wild animals"!

my sweet boys!


Josh was worn out!


Caroline is giving Danny some TLC. He is such a flirt!


Danny loves his tail!


Tomorrow is Joshua's 6 month appt....more updates to come!

Three kids...not yet.

I mentioned in our last post that we took care of our friend's little girl this weekend. She is a sweetheart. Danny followed her around all weekend and is still talking about her. Her name is Caroline, but he says it like "Cawowine". Adorable!
Mommy and Daddy are exhausted though. She was an easy baby, but I think having three children in diapers is not ideal(my sympathies to Mere) Another tough thing was the fact that two children had to be carried whenever we went anywhere. No rest for the weary. After she left, we were amazed at how calm things seemed. But I have to say that if we have a third and are blessed with a girl, I hope she is as sweet as Caroline. I loved having a little girl to dress up! Not a good reason to have a baby. Maybe I need a baby doll for Christmas!

Here is a picture of Danny and Caroline sharing cheerios on the couch. I wish I had taken more photos!


Speaking of Christmas, I love this time of year. I love the fall and the cooler weather. I love sleeping under tons of blankets. I love the smell of firewood burning. I love the bright colors on the trees. I love the anticipation of advent. I love fresh evergreen decorations. I LOVE all the decorations for the holidays. I am itching to get the Christmas stuff down from the attic. I know, I know, we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet, but I can't wait. I guess that explains why all my fake ficus trees have lights on them. I love twinkly lights! Can you tell I am excited?
Now it's your turn. I have a request of all my readers....I am curious how many of you are out there. Please take a moment and make a comment(I have reset it so you do not need a blog account to comment!).
Please tell me about your favorite holiday tradition. We are looking to adopt some new traditions. Do you have a yearly event that makes the holiday time special for you?

Someone please feed the kid

I am currently loading pictures on my computer and getting started on long overdue updating of our smugmug site. Stay tuned for fall photo updates. I love taking pictures, but as I browse through recent photos, I am overwhelmed with the fact that I am practically a year behind in my scrapbooking. yikes!

I am also excited to share stories from this weekend, as we had our first family of five experience. We had our friend Caroline spend the night Friday and Saturday. Danny loved having a "girl"friend here. She is between our boys in age and is so cute! I have decided it would be fun to have a little girl, but I was reminded by my family that wanting to play dress up with a little girl is not a good reason to keep having kids. We will definitely be attempting to wait a few years before we have any more children. I will write some more stories later about her visit!

Something exciting is happening at the Gaskill house!
We have done some rearranging at our breakfast room table. Danny has upgraded to a booster. Previously, we were using his high chair with out the tray as a chair at our table. He loves his new seat and is proud of being a "big" boy at the table. Josh has also upgraded from Mommy's arms/bouncy seat/where ever he would sit during the meal...to....the...HIGHCHAIR! Yeah for real food! Our Doctor is big on waiting until they are 6 months to feed them their first food, but I couldn't wait. He is always trying to take bites off my spoon when he sits in my lap during dinner. That seemed like a good sign to me. Here are a few cute pictures of his first real meal. Can you believe how much he has grown up?


I tried to explain to him that you don't actually eat the tray, just the food on it. I promise he isn't hungry. He is a rollypolly baby!


Don't you just want to kiss those sweet dimples? I do!


I will share more later, but here is a recent picture from our trip to Carter's Mtn for a fall festival!

friendly sign war

My official position is typically anti-yard signs or bumper stickers or t-shirts promoting your favorite candidate. Honestly, do you really think that your bumper sticker is going to change someone's mind...hmmm, she looks nice and she likes McCain, so therefore I think I like McCain. No. And yard signs are just asking for someone to egg your house. But I gave in a few weeks ago.
Yes, I put up a yard sign.
We have this neighbor who is very supportive of Obama and so she recruited her elementary age girls to go around and get neighbors to put up signs. I started to see a scattering of yards with Obama signs a few weeks ago. Another conservative neighbor of mine decided that we needed to even out the advertising and offered signs to a few people. I put one up. Scott cringes at it every time he drives up the driveway, but now we are just one of many neighbors stating their support in a candidate. I mean it is actually pretty funny as you drive down the street and see sign after sign. Our quiet little neighborhood has become an interesting study in the state of this election.
I want to make sure that this blog is just a place for family and friends to read about our boys and how our life in Richmond is going. I don't want my readers(ie: the 5 of you) to feel bombarded with political opinion. I also believe that my role as a Christian is to love my neighbor. And pushing my beliefs on them certainly won't achieve that purpose. God is not for politics. He is for people. Including the unborn child and Joe the plumber. I definitely disagree with Obama on so many levels, such as: abortion, taxes, health care, size of government, etc. I felt the need to let our neighbors know that we were not on the Obama band wagon.

This is like my little "blog yard" sign. Please don't egg my blog.

It was like seeing a celebrity...

We were in Frederick, Maryland visiting my parents at their new house. After church, we headed down to the main street area to grab some yummy Mes-si-can food. If you ask Danny to go eat Mexican, he will literally squeal and jump up and down like a little kid....oh, wait...that's because he is a little kid. But he reallllly does love some beans and rice. But I digress(as usual). We were walking down the street when we came upon the fire station. It was basically some garage doors open to the street with four shiny fire trucks inside the garage. We stopped and took the opportunity to point out the trucks to Danny, when (get this!)...a...real...live...FIREMAN came over to talk to us. Wow...a fireman. Danny was a little speechless. He did keep a tight grip on Nana's finger, but we managed to snap a few photos. What friendly people! And what a cute little town! We can't wait to explore more in the future.

Time for a rescue

It was less than a minute. I only stepped into our kitchen for a minute and left Joshua in his usual spot on the ground rolling around with his toys in the living room. I heard sweet words coming from Danny's mouth as he sat down to play with his brother.
But much to my surprise, Danny was not being very sweet. I turned the corner to the living room to find Danny banging Josh on the head with a toy! Fortunately it was just a soft toy...it was the base to our fabric ring stacking toy. Joshua was not in any real danger, but he certainly was a little shocked to be repeatedly banged on the head by his brother. I hollered at Danny and swept Josh up just as he started to whimper.
Is this a taste of my next few years with two little boys?
uhoh.

this taken was on vacation....just layin' around.