Mr. G is back!

I think Dawson's teething again, and neither me nor him are having a fun time with it. I think he spends about 75% of his waking time whining and crying. He just follows me around crying, but nothing I do seems to help. I feel for him, but I'm also starting to feel for myself too! Justin keeps suggesting that Dawson just needs to go to bed (even if it's only been 2 minutes since we got him out of bed!) Owell, this too shall pass right? (Oh, it better!)

St. Patricks Day

Just within this past year Justin is starting to understand and look forward to holidays. This year was really the first time he celebrated Valentine's Day and St. Patricks day, and he loved both. At his preschool they always do a party for each holiday, and Justin looks forward to each party with tons of anticipation. The funniest thing about it is that he rates the sucess of the party on whether or not they had enough good food (aka treats!) Well apparently there were more treats at his Valentine's party then his St. Patrick's party so Valentine's Day is his favorite holiday for now. However, St. Patrick's day was my favorite since he came home with such a cute "clover hat"

A Day at the Beach

A couple of weeks ago, we had some unusually warm weather for March. We took advantage of it and headed off to the beach. Justin had a blast making sand castles and then stomping on them. Dawson wasn't quite so excited about the whole experience. Walking on sand proved to be a little challenging for his 14 month old legs. He did however, enjoy chasing the birds around.

Party Time!! (aka bath time!)

As you can see, both Justin and Dawson love bath time. Justin will beg me at least once a day to take a bath. For a normal kid, that would probably be fine, but Justin has eczema and we have to really limit the number of baths he takes since it drys out his skin even more. Maybe that's why when he does get in the bath, he thinks it's the best thing ever! The boys play so well in the tub, (except for the occasional shove that usually sends Dawson underwater!) and the funny thing is, neither of them want to take a bath without the other. Justin's favorite bath time activity is making mohawks. What started as a distraction to try to get through washing the boys hair without tears, has turned into a favorite tradition of ours. However, Justin is a little disappointed lately because since this picture, he's had a haircut, and his mohawk just doesn't compare to Dawson's these days!!

Justin

Full Name: Justin Garabed Kalayji

Age: 3.5

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Food: Boy is that a long list, but he says cookies

Favorite Toy: His Lightning Mcqueen Car

Favorite Person: That would be Mommy! (unless of course Grandma or Grampa are around!)

Favorite Activity: Playing with Tanner (his buddy from around the corner), or playing CandyLand with Mom (as long as Mommy doesn't win!)

Favorite Movie: Disney's Cars

Favorite Thing: Doggy (his tattered and worn blue stuffed dog that's he's carried with him since he was a baby)

Justin is growing up right before our eyes! I'm always amazed at the things he says to me, and how much he understands. Although he was a rather challenging toddler and baby, he has become a really good boy. He loves helping mommy with everything, he loves going to school, and he adores his brother Dawson almost as much as Dawson adores him!

Dawson

Full Name: Dawson Michael Kalayji
Age: 14 months
Favorite Color: All of them
Favorite Food: Anything with loads of sugar!
Favorite Toy: His brother Justin
Favorite Person: Mommy (I promise I'm not just saying that!)
Favorite Activity: Eating!! Followed closely by running, tackling, laughing
Favorite Movie: Baby Einstein
Favorite Thing: His flannel baby blanket (there's a cute story behind it! Dawson would not sleep for the first 6 months of his life unless he was swadled so tight you'd think he'd suffocate! Well since he was a rather large baby (20 pounds by 5 months!) none of his blankets were big enough to do the job, except for one. Well apparently because he spent so much time wrapped up in this blanket as a baby, he developed a real bond with it, and now carries it around with him almost all the time. Actually he only carries half of it at a time. Since the blanket was so big he was always tripping over it when he started walking, so it has since been cut in half!

Dawson has been a perfect addition to our already busy family. He never stops moving and if you try to stop him from exploring just watch out!! Although his Grandma calls him Mr. G (the G stands for grump) he actually is happy most of the time. The thing with Dawson is that there is no middle ground. He's either happy and laughing, or screaming and crying. And if he doesn't get his naps right on time, in his own bed, with his own blanket the name Mr. G really does suit him!