Tales From The Piggy Bank...

Brian has a piggy bank.  A green "Angry Birds" piggy, of course.  Inside he has had a ten dollar bill. A gift from someone for one occasion or another.  He pulled it out today and asked if he could use it for something, so I said yes!  I told him I'd take him to "5 Below" (where everything is literally $5.00 and below) and he could pick out two things... but HE would have to buy them at the register.  He was so excited.

We walked the aisles - over and over and over.  It's hard to be a kid and have so much colorful input coming at you - everything looked perfect and he had such a hard time choosing.

After much thought, he settled on the "Gyro Bowl" - a cool "As Seen on TV" item... and "fake legos."

We walked up to the register to stand in line and the nerves set in a little bit, but he pulled it together and walked right up to the counter and plopped both items and the ten dollar bill in front of the clerk. Note to self: teach him purchasing etiquette.  

When she handed him his bag he said thank you, unprompted!  (Proud Mommy moment)  It seemed silly, but I got a little choked up as I watched him walk in front of me holding his bag so proudly.  My little boy is getting so grown up.

We stopped in to Miss Silvia's new salon for a hair cut (his best one yet!!)...

...before we rushed home to play with the "fake legos."  Note to self:  Make sure he never knows the difference between "fake legos" and the expensive real legos.  I impressed Brian by building a canon - and we both tried swinging the gyro bowl that was filled with cheerios to see if any fell out.  (They did which is probably why this "As Seen On TV" item is now in "5 Below.")

Hope was super cooperative during all of this!  She slept through the entire afternoon, giving me a block of alone time with Brian.  Hope has been blessing us with much longer stretches of sleep these days.  One evening she slept for almost seven hours!!  I kept thinking I should wake her up to feed her - but, seriously, look at how she has filled out this week...

I think it was fine to let her sleep!  

I can't believe that she is TWELVE weeks today.  Here are some of her photos from today...

  She smiles all the time, still nurses really well and coos a lot. 

 

The only struggle is her car seat.  She hates being in her car seat.  We just made some adjustments to it to see if that helps, but if not - I just bought a new seat to try.  Actually, the new seat is three pounds lighter.  Doesn't sound like much, but I'm sure it will make a big difference!  I can't get over how heavy the car seat is with her in it!  By the time she's out of it, I'll have some body builder's arms!!

I've been working hard on the big fundraiser over the last few days.  Well - let me re-phrase that.  I've been working hard sporadically during Hope's naps while Brian is at school or in the evening when they are asleep - basically, when I can.  Things are starting to fall into place, which makes me so happy. I can't believe this is really happening.  

I wanted to announce that the FIVE $500 event sponsorships that get the voice over commercial at the beginning and end of the evening are all spoken for.  However, there are still $500 event sponsorships available - and those will get advertisement on my blog and facebook page (both of which get a lot of traffic).  And there are still plenty of other sponsorships available - the ones I listed in THIS post... or you can make up your own sponsorship!  

Once I am ready to open the ticket sales, I will make sure to give plenty of notice so no one misses out. I am thinking I will schedule it ahead of time for a Saturday when most people are not working.  

For those of you who can't make it to the party but would still like to donate - I have information for you!!  The hospital has set up a spot online for this project.  If you click THIS link, it will bring you to the donation page.  Under the Donor Designation section, click the third option down:  Ability Playground.  You can write in the box at the bottom that this is in memory of Gavin Leong.  I will be getting updated every few days (starting Monday!) on the donation totals.  I can't wait!

It was brought to my attention that the starting donation on their site is $25.00.  If you would prefer to give less than that, you can give through "Gavin's Trust Project" online by clicking Donate Now and designating it specifically for the playground project.

Speaking of the playground project - I named the event!!

Gavin's Playground Project!!  Hope you can make it on April 5th!  And if you can't be with us, please say a prayer that it is a huge success.  Every child deserves to feel like a superhero... and a place to play that won't hold them back from being just that.