Angel Baby

I feel like McKay hasn't gotten a ton of air time on here. Totally my fault. I certainly don't love him any less. Sometimes I guess the other pictures of us actually doing something are more interesting than him laying there. But that's not an excuse. Because boy, is he cute.

We recently went to the dr. for his 4 month appointment. He was 14 lbs 12 oz and 25 inches long - a perfect 50%.

He is really coming alive lately. Lots of squealing. Hair pulling. Grabbing at and hanging on to toys. Getting really good at tummy time and holding his head up. Rolling over from his tummy to his back. Although sometimes I think that could be on accident.

Sleeping is coming along nicely. We're about to 12 hours! The daytime sleeping is iffy - sometimes we get great naps and other days we get mini cat naps, even when I'm working really hard to stretch them out. But, I guess we go with the flow and with what baby needs. And what this baby needs is different than what our other baby needed. I'm still learning (again) and I'm getting better at being flexible. Lots more flexible with baby #2.

McKay is a bit of a crier. I probably notice it more than I did with Gavin because when he cried I just shoved a binky in his face. McKay is anti-binky. I mean really anti. By the look on his face, you'd think I was feeding him fish or pickles or some other food I hate. I'm thinking he cries pretty much as much as any other normal baby, but still - I notice it a lot more when there's not much to console him. I have found that I am the consoler. He is usually calm if I'm holding him. That can be both good and bad. Nice to feel loved and to be the one that can make him happy. Not nice to be the only one capable of getting that reaction. Our cousin noted that McKay looks at me differently than he does anyone else. Of course he does. I'm his mom. I'm going to go ahead and think it's me he simply loves and not than I'm the only one with the right flavor of milk.

Walking in his room after he's just woken up and seeing that smile - that huge huge baby grin - is about my favorite thing. My voice gets all high-pitched and squealy. I know this to be true because Gavin follows me in now and in the same (mocking) voice says good morning to McKay all slow and baby-like and squealy too. "Hi, McKay! Did you have a good rest?"

I love the interaction that we get out of him these days. He pays attention and laughs and thinks his family is pretty great. He loves to bounce on our knees and is super ticklish - especially behind his neck and on his back. He loves his legs and arms to be tugged and pulled on and thinks that's pretty funny.

Just cuteness. I'm so glad he's around.

Gavin turns TWO (two months ago)

This is how the party started. Hours and hours of work toppling into my lap in the car on the ride to Grandma and Grandpa's house. After I got over it, celebrating Gavin's birth was wonderful. I can laugh now, but it was not funny at the time.

Gavin L.O.V.E.S. Elmo. He sleeps with him every night. He watches him most mornings. These cupcake liners, cake pops, and this cupcake stand have been in my mind for eight months. I will say he was just as excited about his cake as I wanted him to be. I could hardly keep his mouth off of those cake pops - it nearly killed him.

Dear Gavin,

I can hardly believe that you are two. Time passes so quickly these days! It's so funny because some days seem eternal, but then there we are celebrating another birthday and I realize you and your little-ness is going to be over fast.

You are at such a fun stage. Your dad and I keep talking about how we want to stop the clock and keep you this way - how you are right now. You are sweet and interesting and so full of energy. You are not perfect, but there are so many things about you that your dad and I think are just plain cute.
You are mindful of other people. You see a bruise or scrape and lean down to kiss it better. You are learning emotions and know mad, sad, scared, happy and other faces. You'll say, "She's sad," and then curl your lips down and feel empathy for a total stranger.

You ask "Why?" all of the time. Sometimes when we get back a few generations in your questions, I lose track of the reason why we do some things. You are just a natural questioner. I'm not seeing an end to this anytime soon.

I'm still not sure what to do with your hair. Sometimes it looks really cute long and dad really wants you to look like a surfer. But mostly these days I want it short. Case in point:
You are a mover. Running, bouncing, hopping - you are so fast now that it looks silly when I try to chase after you. You jump off the couch onto the pillows. You pretend swim on the carpet to show us your new moves. You will jump and land on you bum right on the floor and then laugh your head off.

You play swords. You always remember to give me a weapon and say, "On guard, mommy!" Recently you gave me a corner of your blanket to defend myself. Sweet. You love to play Operation and look at pictures of yourself. You ride your bike with such precision and speed for not using the pedals. You love pens and touching your dad's guitars when you know you're not supposed to. You've found a little corner behind an ottoman in mom and dad's bedroom that you sometimes escape to and will sit quietly there by yourself. You LOVE to hide. You hide in the same place time after time and think we still won't be able to find you. You think being tickled in your armpits is hysterical. That and you watching the ice skating scene on Bambi are those moments when we can hear a real laugh.

You've gotten a little more independent lately. Although we play together everyday, I'm can find you in a corner keeping busy and talking and playing by yourself at least a few times a day. I'm trying so hard to give you time so that we can really play and I feel super guilty when I have you plopped in front of the TV for an hour. Right now that's where I'm at so that I can get a few things done and feed McKay, so hopefully you're learning something.
You are a talker. Especially since you've turned two, it's like we're having full-on conversations with each other. You say sentences that are 5-7 words long. You know what we mean and you remember new words and can use them the next time you encounter them. You answer our questions and can connect something we're talking about to something you've experienced. You say things like, "It's perfect!" when the bath water feels good. You say, "Mommy, will you change my diaper please?" when you're dirty. You say, "Happy Birthday for you" in a sweet little voice and hand us something you think is special. You say 'my' instead of 'I.' "My do it." "No, mommy. My sing it." You were making this weird/rude 'blah' sound at a man at the register last week. When I told you that sounded rude, you folded your arms sweetly and asked, "How are you doing?" I think he thought you were cuter then.

You are a smart little cookie. Really. You can sing your ABCs perfectly and are starting to learn some of the letters and their sounds. That really wasn't my doing, so thank you Leapfrog. You recognize letters and point them out around town and say the sound that matches. Your blocks are more fun to you now because you realize that those letters actually mean something. You can count to 15, but don't quite get the 1-1 matching business. Some days you have four toes, other days you have seven. When I help, you've got all ten. One day you counted 13 horses in the corral by our house! Just for the record, there are only four. But I still love to ask. You're learning concepts that I think are pretty tricky - like hot, warm and cold or crunchy, chewy and sour. You know your name is Gavvy Robinson and that you are two. You can't hold up two fingers, but boy is it fun to watch you try. You remember things that surprise me. Like where a puzzle piece goes after doing it only one time. You are learning shapes and are pretty good with your colors.

You are obsessed with The Big One. The big banana. The big drink of water. The big handful of chips. The big grape. Whatever it is, you want it big. Your voice sounds a little monster-like when you say it and your eyes scrunch together. I hear it everyday. I don't ever want to forget that.
You already are telling me what to do. You wake up wanting me to take you bye-bye. Usually to Grandma and Papa's house. You pull me to where you need me to be or tell me to get up or sit by you or to stop what I'm doing so I can pay attention to you. If I don't do what you ask, you have started helping yourself by pulling chairs and benches where they need to be to get what you want. No drawer or cupboard is safe anymore. You look like an adult opening those child locks. It's time for mom to start reorganizing!

You tell me which direction to turn the car even though I've clearly got our destination mapped out. As we drive around town, you recognize important landmarks like Animal Ark and the yogurt place and Costco. Even off the freeway you can tell where dad's favorite fish store is. You're a pretty good navigator for a two-year-old.

You love your brother. You don't usually pay tons of attention to him, but you tell me when he's crying and whisper when you are walking by his door and you know he's sleeping. You wake up and sometimes ask where he is. You will lean down occasionally and try to make him laugh. You kiss his head and say, "Be happy, McKay!" or "It's okay little brother!" when he's crying.
Gosh, we love you. We're so glad that you're ours and can't wait to see what you'll learn next.

Happy Birthday, little boy.

Love,

Mommy

Summer To Do

This is my favorite thing about summer. Just look at this face. I CANNOT get over this picture.

Goggles 24/7? Check. Pajamas on all day? Check. Lunch in an elmo cupcake liner? For sure.

I think we've checked 15 or so of these off our list. It's keeping things fun. Whenever we run out of ideas to do, I consult the fridge and off we go.
Chasing down the ice cream truck was my favorite so far. Brian was mid-sentence and he saw me stop and look up, clearly not listening anymore. I heard the music. I grabbed Gavin. And then we ran. Barefoot. Several houses down the street. Made the guy turn around because the money was back at home. We let Gavin choose his bar and hand the man the money himself. Then Gavin sat on the front step eating his green and blue Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (they are still making those??) right before dinner.

Because that's what you do when it's summer.

Steel Days

There is nothing like the carnival in town. I don't remember doing this stuff as a kid, but here in UT, it seems to be a pretty big deal. Last month was Pleasant Grove's Strawberry Days where Gavin got to ride the rides for the first time. Last year he was a little bystander - longingly staring at his cousins through cheap silver gates.

This year he got the hang of it quickly. It just took once to know to give the workers his ticket and work his way in. He figured out he had to run to get the right car or dragon or turtle to ride.

So when American Fork's Steel Days rolled around, he knew just what to expect. We saw them setting up a day or two in advance and I didn't hear the end of it until we finally pulled up in the parking lot ready to play.

Riding the dragon is his favorite. He is still talking about it. This is his cousin Jorja.
Riding the motorcycle is a close second. Riding with cousins Madi and Treyton.
Brian and McKay enjoying the surprisingly cool and windy summer day.
Somehow my sister-in-law Crystal talked me into riding this. The Fireball or something like that. Goes around in a complete circle over and over and over and over and over. We waited to do this until the very end - because I knew what would happen. What a mess. I was nauseated for two hours. Brian was no better... We came home and plopped ourselves on the carpet right next to the A/C vent. Our faces had the look like we were smelling something stinky. Can you see it??
This ride (or any other cheap carnival ride): never again. Steel Days: for sure.

My Boys

As we got the boys ready for bed tonight, Brian was in Gavin's darkened room singing himRobinhood and Little John and then it was time for our goodnight lullaby, Godspeed. Brian and I sat on the floor, he was playing the guitar and I was changing McKay's diaper and putting on his pajamas. While we sang, Gavin climbed all over my back and happily chattered and sang away while McKay's cries started softly and began to grow. For some reason, this moment with my three boys hit me like a ton of bricks. Here we are trying to calm the boys down - which neither of them seemed to be doing, despite our best efforts - and instead of feeling frustrated that this bedtime routine seemed to be turning to chaos, I felt so happy inside. A crying baby who needs me and a happy boy who wants to be near me and a loving man who is sitting right there helping me with both of them.

That's just what the moment was - perfect. A moment I hope to not soon forget, if ever at all. These moments are fleeting and I know that. I know days aren't perfect. Parenting can be downright frustrating. I know that some days can seem long but I also know that the years will fly by. It's the journey that counts. This is me enjoying the journey.

St George

Let's see - this was June 24-27. We headed down with Brian's family.

Our trip included but was not limited to:

* multiple pool trips every day

* Gavin discovering goggles and wearing them 24/7

* dinner at Poncho and Lefty's with the adults

* our little family sleeping together in one little room

* lots of cousin bonding

* me and Gav literally flying off of a slide

* Brian buying a new mountain bike

* early morning bike rides while G&G watched the boys

*marshmallow gun fights where Gavin took a direct hit to the eye from his dad

Can't wait for next year!

McKay's Blessing Day

McKay Nathan Robinson - he's official! We had a wonderful Sunday with family and friends. Several people came to be with us and it was fun to see them all. We invited everyone over after church to sit in the yard and eat some food and visit.

Brian and I had set McKay's blessing day as the day we wanted the yard done. Having a goal is a great idea - but we take things right up until the end. We were out working until midnight trying to get everything straightened up. (Yard post forthcoming.) Brian has been working so hard and it all turned out great.

Some family pictures from the day...

McKay and Dad. McKay cried during the entire blessing. That didn't stop Brian from giving a good one!
McKay and Mom. This is the same outfit Gavin wore when he was blessed.
Grandma & Grandpa Robinson. McKay was starting to lose his gusto here. A nap followed this picture.
Grandma & Grandpa Woolf. My parents flew up for the day from Arizona. It was fun to spend time with them and nice to have them here with us for McKay's day.
The food, flowers, and setup. My parents got this set up while we got ready for church and took pictures. I thought it looked really nice.
Our sweet little family. So glad to have McKay in it. I think we all look a little more official today. With Gavin we were a family. But somehow two kids means we have a FAMILY.