Christmas Carols

Matt was singing Christmas carols with the kids tonight. While singing the 12 days of Christmas Matt sang the first part and Gannon filled in the rest. When they came to the first day of Christmas Gannon sang vulture in a dead tree for partridge in a pear tree.

Our Father's art

Gannon stopped us in the middle of the Our Father tonight to say "God does too art! The sunsets are art" -Gannon, age 5

Batman's Best Friend is Robin

Gannon is 5 years old today! It's amazing how quickly that time has gone. He is such a blessing. I truly had no idea the joy he would bring to our lives until this day in 2007. Gannon's 5th year of life started off with an emergency vehicle party at the park and while this is still a big interest of his this year we will be celebrating as Super Heroes! The party will be at the park again this year. I've made capes for all the kids and Gannon really wants a pinata too. While ordering his cake I asked Gannon what he wanted it to say and he said "Batman's best friend is Robin." I asked several times as we were ordering the cake what he wanted it to say and he kept repeating "Batman's best friend is Robin." All my other suggestions got shot down so that's exactly what it will say. Gannon has gone through some big changes this year and we are all working together to help him with the transitions. Ella moved into his big boy room in January and we had to pink it up a bit. Then on April 8 we welcomed Kilian to our family. Gannon made a beautiful rainbow house picture for Kilian and put it in his hospital crib the first day he met him. Gannon loves his baby brother and wants to hold him, make faces at him or do anything that will make him laugh. These boys are going to be great friends and I'm sure they, along with Ella, will give us a run for our money. We have started having special Mom/Dad and Gannon time that he has coded CPL. I don't know where he came up with that but it works and we love it. Every night we sit in our bed, read books, talk about his day and say prayers together. The time together is priceless! Gannon is one of the oldest and definitely the biggest kid in the UCCC Supernovas. He learns so much through play. Gannon loves to draw and spends a lot of time at the drawing table. He knows how to write his name, can identify all uppercase and lowercase letters and is almost able to count to 100. Gannon has started spelling out words he sees in books or on signs and asking what they say. He really enjoys reading books and listening to Matt's stories. Gannon misses some of his friends who went to kindergarten this year. His best friend Jack is still in his class and they have a great time together. Gannon often looks for Ella on the playground. I've heard they walk around holding hands (too bad we don't see that at home). Gannon started playing soccer this year with Dad as the assistant coach. Sometimes he likes it and sometimes he doesn't really care. He was goalie in his first game. Gannon asked if there would be cheerleaders so of course I had to buy blue poms for the siblings and parents to cheer during games. This year will be another big year for Gannon and we can't wait to see what happens next.

Sweet Gannon said the entire Our Father unprompted tonight. I was so surprised and proud.

What did you say??

Last night Matt came down stairs looking upset and said to me "I am not happy".  I asked him what happened and he told me Gannon said the "N" word.  I was floored. 
I asked Gannon "What word did you say to Daddy"
Gannon responded "Neegar".
"Where did you hear that word, Gannon."
"Handy Manny"
"What was Handy Manny doing?"
"He was looking for his neegar."
"Was he looking for his sneaker??"
"Yes, his neegar!"
Oh, dear!  We need to work on our pronunciation!

The Birds and the Bees!

I thought we had some time before we were faced with questions like this but apparently not.  For the past three days Gannon has been asking me how babies get out of mommy's tummies.  The first couple days I danced around it.  I told him God helped the baby come out, I totally ignored him and I changed the subject.  But this morning I decided he wasn't going to give up so I may as well put it out there.  So I told him how babies come out and he thought about then said "Yuck!".  Waited a few seconds and then said "Kinda like how Santa comes down the chimney?"  I thought about it said yes and tried to keep myself from cracking up.  He is going to keep me on my toes for many years to come.

Gannon is a funny kid!

Gannon cracks us about every day but these two are worth writing down in the history books. 

Here is a conversation between Gannon and his teacher, Miss Matti
Gannon: Miss Matti, do you know how we're different?
Miss Matti: how Gan?
Gannon: I have a penis and you have a jina. You do have a jina, right?
Miss Matti: Yes, Gannon I do have a jina.
Gannon: OK

Gannon and I had a breakfast date to my office today. Gannon was in the bathroom with me while I was getting ready.  He grabbed Matt's hair stuff and stuck his fingers in it. I asked him what he was doing and he said "I have to look handsome for WashU" then stuck a big glob right in the middle of his hair.

Fun Fall

We have had such a fun fall with lots of little adventures keeping us busy. I took the kids to the zoo one Friday after school and had so much fun. All the animals were out and really active. We spent lots of time with the chimps and took a long walk up the hill to see the big cats. Gannon really loves the animals and Ella was so easy hanging out in the Baby Bjorn.

We went on a family adventure to the Eckerdt's Pumpkin Patch and Fun Farm. They have so much to do, we could have spent an entire day there. THe highlights were the pig races, hayride and of course, picking our pumpkin. Gannon picked a perfect pumpkin and we can't wait to carve a really scary face in it soon. Both kids crashed in the car on the way home.

Sooner football is in full swing too. Gannon loves to say Boomer Sooner and screams OU every time we get a touchdown. It is so much fun to see him get into the games and run around like crazy with excitement.

We were also lucky to get the invite again this year to join our friends the Gall family at Echo Valley Ranch. It is always such a relaxing weekend. This year there were four families there with a combined 6 kids - 5 boys ages 4 and under and Ella. Every one got to do some fishing. We had a really nice dinner and watched the OU Mizzou football game.

Labor Day Weekend Adventures

I need a vacation from my three day weekend. We were so busy and had so much fun. First things first though, Ella started rice cereal and has already moved on to avocados. I'm attempting to make baby food like I did for Gannon so hopefully I can stick to the plan.

Saturday we spent time at our park on the playground, playing tennis and watching the Gateway Cup bike race around Francis Park. That evening we went to the largest St. Louis OU Club watch party in history. There were close to 100 people at Weber's which was amazing. We had the dining room packed and more people at the bar. The Sooners won but it was closer than we had hoped so it could be a long season.

Sunday we woke up and started our adventure in southern Illinois. Our first stop was at Mary's house for breakfast. Then off to Giant City State Park in Carbondale. The drive was a blast. We went through lots of great CDs but Gannon's favorite was a mix Megan made called Family Grooves. He and Ella danced in the backseat to Lime & the Coconut and Mountain Music. Matt was impressed I knew all the words. Once we got to Giant City Gannon and Matt climbed the water tower and Ella and I stayed on ground. Then we went on a hike in the woods and played on the playground. We were there for a little less than two hours but it was great. On our way home we stopped at Carlyle Lake and watched the boats in the water. We took Gannon to the spillway to watch the fishermen. I think we may have finally found a good place to fish. Both kiddos crashed in the car on the way home.

Monday morning we met Mike, Kim, Claire and Jackson at the Mill's Apple Farm near Highland. We had so much fun even though most of the apples were bad. Matt ate one and when he got to the core a worm crawled out!!! Gannon decided to put the car seat arm rest covers on his feet like boots and that is how he fell asleep.

It was such a fun family weekend and we decided every weekend should be three days!

Ella started school

Ella has joined Gannon at school and is doing great. The kids in her class are so interested in her and love playing with her toes. She seems to enjoy her teachers and they love her. I miss both my babies during the day but know they are learning so much. By Thursday night I don't want anyone else around because I don't want to share. Maybe I should go back to school and learn how to share and play well with others.

Funny Gannon

Gannon is a really funny kid. I know writing this down won't capture his cute face or voice but I hope this will help us keep his funny stories around for a while.

The other night I was leaving the house for a haircut. I told Gannon where I was going and he said, "Are you going to get a sucker at your haircut?" I said, "No." Gannon said, "Oh, a beer?" I told him I was going to have a glass of wine he said, "No, you're going to have two drinks beer and wine." Funny funny kid!

Gannon asked me if army men could surf. I said probably. He said, "Why do they all have surf boards?" I thought for a minute and realized all the army men are standing on little plastic platforms that look like surf boards. Pretty smart.

3rd times a charm

This is my third attempt at doing a blog and if this doesn't work I may be out for good. Gannon says so much funny stuff throughout the day and Ella changes by the minute so I figured why not try and write it all down.

Today Gannon, Ella and I walked to the park for a picnic dinner and some running around on the playground. Gannon has become a little climber and couldn't get high enough on the jungle gym. Towards the end of our time at the park Gannon sat on the teeter totter and Ella, strapped into the Baby Bjorn, and I sat on the other side. It must have been a blast for Ella because she cracked up the entire time. I wish I could have seen her face because I'm sure she was smiling from ear to ear.

I'm starting to plan Gannon's 3rd birthday and the theme this year is Tractors! Gannon is slightly obsessed. You will never notice so many tractors and construction than when you are in the car with Gannon. He calls is struction and always wants to know where the struction guys are and what they are doing. I hope to find some good party supplies and maybe even some really construction cones, fencing... to make it even more exciting.

Last day as a Milkyway

Today is Gannon's last day in the Milkyway classroom. On Monday he will officially be a Starburst. He spent most of this week in the Starburst room and when it was time to return to the Milkyway classroom and he went to the door and said "Bye bye Becky, bye bye Keesa" turned around and walked back down the hall. Gannon loves all the new activities and experiences he is having with his new friends and teachers. I am sad to leave our Milkyway teachers because they have been amazing but we'll see them in the hall and hopefully #2 will get to be in their room too.

Pictures from Jennie

Click here to view these pictures larger

September visit to Tulsa

Matt has been gone for 2 weeks and we are so excited to see him next Friday.  Gannon and I have had fun together.  We spent our first weekend in Tulsa visiting Grammie and Granpie.  Lucy, Sarah and Adam were there which added to the excitement and fun.  This was Gannon's first flight with his own boarding pass and seat.  He was a great passenger and talked about the airplane all week.  Granpie picked us up at the airport and took us to Kingspoint to meet Lucy, Grammie and all their fun friends.  The kids danced to the band and had a great time.  Saturday we played outside with Irish and watched OU football.  Gannon and Lucy had so much fun together and got along great.

Gannon's 2nd Birthday Weekend

We celebrated Gannon's 2nd birthday this weekend.  Friday Gannon took cupcakes to school to celebrate with his friends.  He got a balloon and book from his teachers.  When we got home from school he was excited to see his "prizes" in the dining room.  We celebrated with a small party on Saturday morning.  Gannon played outside with a few friends.  It was a beautiful day for a party.  We all enjoyed a light lunch and cupcakes.  When we sang Happy Birthday to Gannon he freaked out and started bawling. We didn't give him any warning and we were so loud and staring right at him he didn't know what to do.  After he settled down he enjoyed some cake.  Later in the afternoon we opened presents. Gannon was spoiled by everyone.  He got a lawn mower, fire truck, tractor, big wheel, lots of books and some cute clothes.  That night we watched the Sooners stomp Idaho State.  Gannon wore his OU jersey that he got as a birthday gift from Gram and Grampie.  We taught him to yell Boomer Sooner and OU. 

Gannon's actual birthday was Sunday.  After Mass Sunday morning we took Gannon to the local fire house in hopes that we would see a fire truck.  Not only did we see the fire truck but Gannon got to sit in it and act like he was driving.  He had a blast and acted like he was in a dream.  It was super cute.

Matt left in the afternoon for 3 weeks in Hartford, CT.  It will be a really long time for the three of us to be a part.  Gannon and I went to the park and he got to kick the soccer ball with a couple kids which was a highlight for him.

Overall I would say it was a great birthday celebration and an awesome start to a new year for the Marchal family.