The Gibson's...in a nutshell.

We are an average family....ok, maybe a tad larger.  Rob and I met in the Navy fell in love, got married in 2003 and the rest is history :)  We had a great time in the Navy and miss so many people that we left behind.  We both have wonderful memories of our active duty time.  However, we decided that it was time to move on...for the family.  I finished my enlistment in 2007 and Rob decided not to reenlist as well.  Neither of us could imagine leaving each other again and by then we had two children together plus Mason.  it was hard enough having him gone while I was pregnant with our first baby.  We relocated up to the Chicago Suburbs where he was able to find a good federal government job.  His brother and wife were up here too, it was good to know that there was family to come to even with all of the change happening.  We were excited for a new start.  We rented a home for the first year and a half and decided that it was time to buy!  We needed more room and rent was almost as expensive as a mortgage.  We purchased our first home last July....such a great feeling!  The neighborhood is full of little boys...perfect!  I stay at home with the children and do the average mom stuff day to day.

OUR CHILDREN:

Mason- he will be 9 soon....I can't believe how fast he has gone from that little boy with those sweet baby cheeks to a big boy that wants to be just like Daddy.  He is such a good boy, I am so very lucky to have him as a son.  His arrival was not expected but he is now where he belongs.  I may not have carried him in my body but he sure is carried in my heart and will be forever.  He is one of my children in every way that it matters.  We stated as strangers and grown to love each other and are still getting to know each other.  He is the type of boy that is always eager to please the people around him, very respectful and loves to be the center of attention.  He loves strong and is very hard on himself at times.  He is so helpful and almost always does the right thing.  He is really doing very well in 3rd grade...he has come so far from kindergarten when people were starting to speak of ADD medication!!!  Over our dead bodies.  What he needed was structure and discipline.  He is an excellent student these days.  He loves to play baseball and is a good player too.  He also races his bike in the ABA.  He is learning the tricks of the trade from his Daddy and Uncle Roger that grew up doing the same thing.  In fact, they still get out there and race as well!
Rylan- is 6 now.  He is my first born child. He is very sensitive, emotional and has very dramatic moments at times.  (these moments crack us adults up!)  He and I were thrown together and sent home from the hospital when he was first born with no one but each other...Daddy was on deployment for the first month or so.  I learned how to do things by the seat of my pants!  With no one else around I learned to trust my instincts, which I quickly learned were inside me all along.  Ry-Guy reminds me of my current self at times...he is my "difficult" child.  I believe that we are still getting to know each other.  He has such a sweet and sincere side to him and I know that he will always be my little boy.  He is in half-day Kindergarten this year.  He had learned so much!  He is still learning about how to act in school but I believe that this will come with maturity, just like it did with his big brother.  He knows what is expected of him...just has a hard time with focus and control sometimes.  Ry likes to do things like puzzles, coloring, art , legos and has a creative side.  He has always been able to entertain himself and still can play for hours all by himself.  He is a great artist (from Daddy) but got his creativity and perfectionist tendencies from me.  He gets quite angry when things don't turn out.  Rob and I both think that he is going to be that kid that acts like he doesn't know what's going on but will have an IQ through the roof.
Aiden- my youngest son, now 4  I have been staying at home with him since he was about 6 months old...he is a very sweet and sensitive yet still very "boy".  He will hit you one minute and then feel horrible about it and cry the next.  He is compassionate.  He loves to cuddle still and sometimes just tells me "I love you" out of nowhere.  He is "boy" being pretty rough at times and wants to do all the things that his brothers do...even homework.  he learned very early on that he has to "keep up" with his brothers.  He learned to ride his bike with no training wheels last spring at age 3...KICK ASS!  He didn't fall at all and will fast as his little legs will take him.  His sweet side/rough side are going to make him a very well rounded boy.  I believe that he is probably going to have to fight that rough boy side from time to time in the future :)  His personality is what I would consider "easy to love", he just doesn't give me a hard time.  He also doesn't take much bull from people...I can see this getting him into trouble.  He doesn't let his oldest brother tell him what to do.  While I don't condone punching, it does make me chuckle when the 9 year old comes up telling on the 4 year old for him punching him in the gut.  He likes to hang out with Mommy and he is a sweet mommy's boy.  He love s to help me do things and is eager to learn.
Karis- she is kicking me as I write about her.  She is our last child.  We can't wait to meet her.  Her brothers are very excited that they get to have a sister...wonder how long that will last?  With this pregnancy I felt a sense of closure from the very beginning. Our family will be complete this summer and it feels GREAT! This would have been the last baby even if it was a boy.  This is the last time I will carry a baby and experience this absolutely amazing and wonderful thing...pregnancy.  She will be the last addition to the Gibson family (at least last from us).  Rob said that he knew it was a girl the whole time....men, they know it all.  I went in expecting to see what I have seen in the past with the ultrasounds...but didn't.  She said "it's a girl"...I believe I said "no way!!"  Then my words were...."the family is going to shit!"  My mother thought that I was playing a joke on her.  It was such a surreal feeling for the first week, saying she and her when referring to the baby growing inside of me.  Those are foreign words in this house!  I was so happy and relieved (and still am) that I have been blessed with another healthy pregnancy and a baby that is developing perfectly...a special little bonus that she doesn't have a penis :)  A family full of boys would have been just as awesome, that's all I have known so far.  It's still going to be louder and rougher...she'll play with a pink monster truck.  I don't think a girly girl can exist in this house...we shall see.  I sure hope she is as easy of a baby as her brothers were!