Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Lyns...This one's for you!



He is "Fang" no more... Two front teeth came in this month. :)

What we've been doing...

1) Putting up a vinyl fence – a serious undertaking. Literally hours and hours and hours and weeks and weeks of work. Thank you, thank you to our neighbors, family and friends who have helped us. It would have been done next year (maybe!) without you. It looks so good! And Wilson has stopped barking at everyone walking by. He has, however, gotten accustomed to digging his way under into our neighbor’s yard. I swear – if it’s not one thing, it’s another.
Jason & Brian

Grapevines coming out

Rhett and Gavin

Actual completed vinyl fence coming soon...a few more touches left.

2) St. George - Robinson Family Annual Trip

Like father, like son

Gavin loves the pool

Rockin' the hair

Pooped


3) Cabin retreat with the Nelsons. So fun and beautiful! Brian and I are convinced we need 20 acres and a cabin. We'll work on that.

Jason, Karen, Ethan, Kate, Lily, and Elsa Nelson

The kiddos

Enjoying the outside

Petting the goats. Very nature-like.

Cleaning my cupboards. I was too embarrassed to take a ‘before’ picture. But I was too proud to not take an ‘after’ shot. Just think of the most cluttered, gross, unorganized thing you’ve ever seen. And multiply that by 12. It really is so pretty now. Sometimes I open the door just to see.

4) Working on a six-week meal plan. This will ensure that I actually do cook meals and will help me to get my food storage going. What an idea – store the stuff you eat. Huh. How could Brian not be happy about this? He’s eaten better and healthier in the past month than he has in the past five years.



5) Bread baking. Along with my food storage kick, I’ve decided to feed Brian and Gavin real, homemade wheat-full bread. Gavin loves it. But then again, he loves anything you can put in his mouth. Thank you Meredith! You are inspiring!

6) Visiting with Bart & Krista who were in town. BBQd at Michelle's house. So fun. I LOVE these girls. Two of my very favs.




7) Sleep training Gavin. Moving from two naps to one. Takes more than a day or two. But...I think we've got it! :)

8) Preparing for two courses I will be teaching teachers in a few weeks.

I may just break down and get the internet. I am so out of the loop! Qwest may be giving us a deal I just can’t refuse. Here’s hoping that 1) we can get it and 2) that I can control my computer time when we do.

That was my fast way of catching up an entire month. It's the very best I can do right now. :)

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Gavin turns ONE



My baby is one. I cannot believe it. Is it possible that it’s been one year since we brought him home? I do remember life without him, but those days are slowly slipping away from me as life with him is now the norm. He is such a sweet boy and, like I think every other month, is really coming alive.

He shakes his head no, tilts his head to the left, puts everything up to his ear, still has two fangs (the front ones are coming!), snuggles into my neck when someone new talks to him, waves hello and goodbye, does pattycake and “so big” on command, has walked 12 steps in a row, loves when his daddy comes home, loves to be with other kids, and can’t get enough attention. He is playful and loving. Just lately he’s been a little clingy to me and may be turning into somewhat of a mama’s boy. That was good timing, with school just getting out and all. Now I can be with him for many, many days in a row.

We celebrated his 1st birthday with three others – cousins Maddi and Nick and uncle Matt. We had a BBQ at our house with Brian’s family. Gavin had a great time and loved to be around everyone.

He wouldn’t touch his cake. I was surprised. He liked it though when I put it in his mouth or he buried his face in it instead. He’s no dummy – chocolate is good! This was no AmyJane’s friend-made cake (I need to learn!), but my best effort. I thought it turned out pretty cute.



He got several books, a swimming pool with toys, blocks, and a xylophone. Brian made sure I got him some sort of hammer so he could start hitting things. No boy of Brian’s will be unfamiliar with tools. In fact, the two of them watch (and record!) Handy Manny all the time. Funny.


It was a great day and fun to celebrate Gavin. Gosh, we love this kid. I feel like if I’m not careful I will wake up and he will be graduating from high school. Time is so short and it passes so quickly. I hope I can remember these seemingly insignificant days, because they really are the ones that matter most.


This picture cracks me up. Sums up our year of both mom and dad focusing on this little dude 24/7.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Summertime

School is out – hooray! I’ve been waiting for summer for a very long time. Right after school got out Brian headed to Clear Creek to be a counselor at the district’s 5th grade summer camp. Since it’s no fun to be at home for that long, Gavin and I took off for Arizona to see the fam. My three-year-old nephew took this picture for us. BTW, I chopped 8 inches of hair to donate to Beautiful Lengths...my grandma said I could do something else for cancer patients...

We went swimming, visited aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents and great-grandparents, strolled around the mall, and ate at yummy Arizona restaurants. My sister Lynsey dropped everything and hung out with us every day. We had a fun time – even with three carseats in the backseat.



This boy is not meant to be an only child. In fact, I think he’d be a really great younger brother, but it’s too late for that. ☺ He loved being around his cousins and was totally entertained by them. I actually got to sit down and visit.


Gavin started walking while we were there – something he hasn’t done tons of since we got back. When we left Utah, he had only taken one step. By the end of the trip he was up to 12. I emailed Brian his daily progress so he wouldn’t feel left out.


It’s always nice to see everyone and think Gavin and I will do it every summer so he can know his Arizona family.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

St. George

Early in May we traveled down to St. George to spend the weekend with my sister Lynsey, her husband Matt, and their two boys. We saw Brian Regan at Tuacahn. I had never appreciated him before – he always seemed overly goofy when I saw him on comedy central. But he really is funny. I laughed the ENTIRE time. It was like doing a million situps. I needed that.



It was fun to have my sister’s family with us and I’m learning what a funny thing it is to take a bunch of kids to a restaurant.

That weekend Gavin had his first swim…and loved it. He sat on the step of the baby pool and dove right in. Good thing we were sitting right there! I think he thought it was a giant bathtub.

It was fun to see him smile and have so much fun. We’ll be headed down to St. George again soon and I’m excited to take him again. While Brian and I played a game of shuffleboard, Gavin sat in his stroller and people watched for about a half hour – perfectly content. Sweet boy.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Eleven Months

What we do:

Pull, grab, climb, stand, cruise. This includes Gavin pulling himself up in the tub by the faucet. Stresses me out.

Visit Wilson, long stroller rides, get the mail, enjoy nice weather.

Crawl like crawling should look. Eat, nap, roll away during diaper changes, smile, lots of screaming, grind six teeth, sign occasionally, feed self with spoon sometimes, make messes constantly.
Unload cupboards, bang pans with a wisk, be loud generally.

Make mom and dad happy and proud. Just when we think we can’t love this guy anymore, we do. I do, however, recognize that we are in a new stage. He won’t hold still anymore – not hardly. I already miss that. I’ve had to chase a pooey bum on the run. I mean really, who’s in charge here?

I can hardly believe Gavin will be ONE in three weeks. This year has flown by...

Monday, May 4, 2009

Wicked Cool


Last week Brian and I were able to see Wicked at the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake. We have had tickets twice before and were unable to go. Once we were moving and the other Brian had pneumonia. Luckily, Brian took pity on me and I flew myself to Denver a few years ago to see it with my friend Melanie. But Brian still has never been – until now.

It was absolutely AMAZING. It is the best show I’ve EVER seen – and I have appreciated many a musical… There is no time to look at the program to see who is playing what character or what song is coming next. Besides, we all know what song is coming next. And if you don’t, let me urge you to listen to the CD because you are seriously missing out. My attention was completely captivated. So wonderful. So funny. Beyond entertaining. Best $100 you’ll ever spend.