Happy Birthday, Jess!

It's Jesska.....Like Fresca! Happy Birthday to the most beautiful girl I know. I Lub, lub, lub, lub you more than I can describe. No matter how much we fight, I still lub you. You always make me laugh.....even when I'm trying to punch you.

Thank you for doing everything you can for me. You will never know the good that you've done (Holding my hand while getting a HUGE needle in my back is one and sitting outside of the room when Gavin was born is two.) That meant so much to me. I cry just thinking about it. You are the best sister anyone could ask for and I am greatful you were given to me. I truly know that we lubbed each other so much in heaven and that is why God made us sisters. I know that at times, I am really not the best example for you, but I want you to know that the church is true. Truer than you can imagine. The temple is the place to be and I can help you get there. I am here for you always and will support you no matter what.

I LOVE you, sis! SOOOOOO MUCHO!

(Oh yes, Gavin wanted to give you a big ol' lick in the face from your favorite nephew! Happy Birthday Aunt Jess! Thanks for helping me with my presents on Christmas!)

A Season of Firsts

The last week has been amazing! The milestones Gav has reached all at once have been crazy.

So far this week he has......

****Mastered sitting up
****Got his FIRST TOOTH!!
****Got his first cold (though really not that bad.....yet)
****Had his first Christmas (Duh)
****Went an entire week without pooping out of his diaper!
****Learned how to clap his hands (Too cute!)
and Finally.....

****Sat an entire meal at a restaurant in a highchair. No support whatsoever!

What a big boy I have!!

On with Christmas Day....

After getting giddy with the unwrapping we drove to my dad's house where he and Jodi were making us Christmas breakfast. What good parents?! We don't even live there and they STILL feed us! Ian was a good boy as usual. He loves his new Game Cube Santa brought him and was playing Lego Star Wars the entire time we were there. Anna was just as good getting lots of new baby toys. Poor kid though. She was so sick the last couple of days with a horrible cold. The poor thing. Also, Jodi, I hope you can soon stop sleeping with Anna on the recliner and hopefully sleep in your own bed this week. Anna's definately a Daddy's Girl.
We then headed over to my mom and Shawn's house....across the street. Oh, how convenient! We unwrapped more presents, went home, took a nap, then went back to my mom's for Christmas dinner. (This makes me tired just blogging about it!)













And then we went home and SLEPT. Man, it felt good to sleep in my bed. Even though I had a stuffy nose Gavin next to me, I still slept pretty good!

Last, but not least, I must admit that our pumpkin from halloween and our "Happy Autumn" wreath on our front door just got taken down.......ummmm.....TODAY! We never use our front door since we only need to go through the garage door. Sadly, we forgot all about the mushy, smelly pumpkin on our front porch. I'm sure our neighbors thought we were absolute scrooges. Oh well, better late than never, right?!
Well, if you didn't get a Christmas Card this year, sorry, it's not a fluke. I honestly FORGOT! Oh well, MERRRRRRRRYYYYY CHRISTMAS anyways!!

Christmas Day

We finally made it. Tim's reason for living. CHRISTMAS DAY!

Tim was beside himself with giddyness all day. We woke up at 7am......THANKS HONEY! Gavin spent the night in our bed (I think he caught Anna's nasty cold) so I didn't get much sleep. Jess helped Gavin open up all of his gifts.....what a spoiled boy!!

He got a Drop n' Roar Dinosaur, an animal train, a picnic table, see n' say, a cute ride on toy, blocks, binkies, clothes and much much more.

Don't worry, I did buy Tim gifts.....do you really think I got off that easily?! His gifts included the miter saw he's been eyeing all year, new clothes, cleaning supplies (his other love) and lots and lots of clorox wipes and beef jerky.

And Tim, just like every year went OVERBOARD on my gifts (not that I'm complaining!) He got me lots of new clothes, new running shoes, Sims expansion pack A NEW COMPUTER CHAIR, more shoes, more clothes and lotsa chocolate! He knows how to keep a girl happy.

Jess......I love the Fraggle Rock DVD! I watched most of the episodes so far! Boy, does it make me think of Elsie's.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was loaded with things to do.....like always. I loved it though! Tim was way too excited for words. He is such a little kid sometimes. I just love that about him. We started off the day by getting into our Christmas pajamas. Every year, Tim and I buy Christmas PJ's and wear them ALL day Christmas Eve and for as long as possible on Christmas day (until we start to stink). I love it. Any excuse to buy comfy clothes is good enough for me! We then went to Grandma Betty's (Shawn's Mom) annual Christmas Eve party. That place is always packed FULL of people, presents and food. Gavin was such a good boy the entire time. (Of course he was, he was with Papa Hippie and Grandma. He's always good for them.)

"Ya Man". Thanks Papa Hippie for the hat!

Tim walked away with the fancy kite he has always wanted and I got bath stuff. I love smelly good bath stuff. You can never go wrong with that!

After the party, we crashed another party.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!!"

You are easily the best daddy that any one could ever ask for. You have sacrificed so much to give your kids the best life possible. You amaze me with how great you are. We know all you have done for us and we will love you forever. You are always the one we can count on..... no matter what!! I love you and hope you have a Happy Birthday!

Every year, we head out to Blake and Paula's where they have the best food for any holiday party. They had grilled salmon, sushi, buffalo wings, seasoned pork.....you name it, they had it! What a good way to celebrate my papa's birthday! Gavin enjoyed being passed around to all of his Aunts and Uncles who have never seen him. They were all shocked to see such a big kid. He was such a trooper considering it was WAY past his bead time!

We then headed home, Jessica in tow. She ended up spending Christmas Eve at our place. I loved having my little sister there. She passed out as soon as she layed on our Love Sac. Although, it was nice to wake up and have her there Christmas morning. It reminded me of when we were little.

Happy Holidays

Lets get a rolling with the holiday update......

The holidays have been absolutely nuts this year. With me working (catering is crazy!) alot more this month as well as trying to keep up with the bug, I have got to squeeze in one whole month of fun into one BIG ol' post.

Let me also start off by saying.......

I'M SO HAPPY IT'S OVER!!!
Not that it wasn't fun and all, but geez, I feel like a big weight has been lifted off of my shoulders (And alotta weight has been added to my keester...)

The beginning of the month started off pretty smoothly. Tim was itching to put our tree up after Halloween, but I told him he had to wait until after Thanksgiving. The day after Thanksgiving, that tree was up before I got out of bed. Well, I guess it wasn't too hard for him. Last year, we just took off the breakable ornaments, wrapped it up in a huge plastic baggy and hauled it to the basement. Never thought it was such a good idea until I realized how much easier it was than having to set it up again. NICE!

Shopping was also better this month considering we got off to a rusty start. Tim and I just picked a day and got alot of it done. It was surprisingly easy. I really didn't even mind the malls this year and that's including the 2 hour wait and $25 photo's with the big red guy. It really was good!


****This is the only picture I have with Gavin and Santa on my digital camera. The nazi's at the mall wouldn't let you near Mr. Claus with a camera of any kind. Needless to say I was forced to purchase the holy schmoley expensive stuff from them and I don't have a scanner in order to share it with the rest of you....... Sorry, it's upsidedown!

Later on in the month we had our annual Christmas Shindig at Robert's Restaurant. (For those who don't know, that's where I "work") Like always, we had alot of fun. This year was a little different though. We decided that since we are all reproducing like rabbits, it was time that we start making the party more kid friendly. We played some silly games and exchanged white elephant gifts. (Sorry Cheryl, the pregnancy test was ALL Tim's idea) Janice and Jenn helped me plan alot of it and I couldn't have done it without them. THANKS YOU SEXY GIRLS, YOU!


Gavin then helped me clean the house for Tim's parents to spend the night. He did the laundry and the took a nap. Life is sure rough for him!

6 Months

Gavin, you are the best thing I have ever done. I love you, babybug. I love waking up everyday and playing with you. Your Papa and I want you to know that you are what makes us great. You have made us a family. We are so lucky to have you in our eternal family.

Scouts

So far scouts has been great. Those boys really are fun to be around. Here are Caleb and Jarom pushing apples with their noses. They are so easy to please!!

6 months, Wooh Baby!

HAPPY 1/2 BIRTHDAY, STINKY BABY BUG!


Gavin is now half way to his first birthday! I still am awed at how quickly time has just flown by. I wish it would slow down for a bit. It makes me want to cry when I see his pictures of him when he was born. It makes me feel sad that I will never see him that little again. I guess that's why we spend every ounce of time with them when they're with us. Well, now look at me....getting all emotional....
****I love this time with my baby. This is what Gav and I do after a day at the doctor. He's always so cuddly.

On to the important stuff! He had his 6 month check up yesterday. He is now only 19 lbs. 2 oz. That is only a 5 oz. weight gain from when he was 4 months. What is up with that?! He gained weight so fast that I thought for sure we were going to have a chunker baby forever, but he is proving us wrong. He has dropped from the 100+percentile in weight to the 80th. Still, that is a big kid, but what's going on? The doctor didn't seem too worried though. He said that he is definately still growing height (90th %) and head (50th %) wise, so he isn't worried too much. Just said he'll keep an eye on it. He said that because he's really moving around now he's probably burning off alot of calories and is less interested in eating. Oh well. Tim said not to worry, but when it comes to your baby Mom's worry about EVERYTHING!! Also, the stinkybug did do great with his shots (like always) and only cried for a second when she did the 3rd poke. He's such a good boy.

So far, solid foods have been a challenge, but lately he's been eating better and better. We started him on cereal at about 5 months and he is all over sweet potatoes and pears. Actually, scratch that.....he HATES pears!! I can't wait until I get my food steamer for Christmas (not supposed to know about that) so I can start making homemade babyfood! (Maybe I should wait until he actually likes the food)






Sleeping has been a little off this month as well. He now goes to bed around 8pm and is then up at 11ish for a night cap when I come home from work, then is up again around 4 or 5am. Then up for the day at 8 am. I'm not liking this very much. I've been working extra hours because of the holidays and so I'm a little wore out. I liked it much better when he'd only get up once. But I guess I really can't complain too much because he is sleeping a whole heck of alot better during the day. He now takes 2 or 3 two hour naps a day. Which is AMAZING when you compare it to the up for an hour...nap for 30min.....and repeat all day long from the last couple of months.

Physically and mentally, Gavin is just a growin'. He is ALMOST crawling. He gets his booty up off the ground and straightens his legs all the way and scoots on his face. Weird, I know, but it gets the job done. Although, it really just makes for a nasty rug burn on his nose! He is also ALMOST sitting up all by himself. I don't dare leave him up for too long for fear of a broken noggin, but if I put him in the boppy, he'll sit there for hours, no problem. He is also beginning to recognize Tim and I when we come home from work and gets all sorts of excited. He flails his arms and starts grinning and screaching until we pick him up. I love it! Makes my day when I hear that squeal. His favorites games are still peekaboo and kissing on himself in the mirror. That poor mirror. Tim has to clean it off every night because of the drool that covers it. Oh well right??!! It keeps the kid happy!

I'm sorry I wrote a novel. Guess I just had alot to say tonight! I love my boy and I hope he knows he is absolutely adored by his papa and mama. We just can't get enough of him.

**** This is him "trying" to crawl on the couch. What a turkey!

Ahhhhhh......

Finally, a nice......relaxing weekend. I swear we haven't had one of those for quite some time. We have always had either someone staying at our house (still fun) or doctor appointments. Luckily we got away scott free this weekend. All we really did was put a dent in our Christmas shopping (who doesn't like spending money?!) and baby sat Miss K (such a good girl!). It was GREAT! Now.......I just need to figure out how to finish the rest of my shopping WITHOUT Tim. He's great fun and all, but it's a little hard to keep things a secret when he's RIGHT THERE!

First Shoes

Gavin hasn't "really" had shoes since he was born. I usually just threw him in socks or slippers and ran. But lately I've been worried about those little toes getting nippy so Tim and I decided to get him his FIRST pair of shoes. We finally settled on a pair from payless since I figured, by the way he's growing they will last only a week or so and I love them! He looks so grown up in them. As soon as we got home, Tim put them by the door next to all of our shoes. It almost made me cry. My boy is getting so big!

George

Good Night, Stinkbug. Good Night, George.

Cabela's

Gavin had his first Cabela's experience the day after Thanksgiving. He loved the giant fishy aquarium. He kept trying to grab at the fish. It was dang cute! Too bad that whole store is just one big room of death.


We then found him this cute doll that had hunting gear on. I really wanted to buy the doll. That is until I looked at the price tag..... $40!! Holy carp. I'm not made o' moolah here!

Happy Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. The family, the friends.....eating until you throw up. It truely is beautiful. To kick it off right, Tim got off work early on Wednesday to clean up the house. HAHAHA Big Shocker there! He went nuts vacuuming (his favorite thing to do) and dusting (his second favorite). Then Tim's parents came down from Idaho to spend the weekend. Oh yes, I better mention.....I didn't cook. Don't worry.....I did not cause anyone stomach cramps this year. We decided that we should all venture out to Chuck-a-Rama for our Thanksgiving feast. I must admit it wasn't as bad as I thought. I was a little freaked out about the whole thing at first, but then decided that it was much better than having to do the dishes!



(Lacey, I was thinking about photoshopping you in.....I missed you!)

After that we made the rounds to see my family and steal their leftovers. Then we settled down for a LOOONNNGG snooze.

Gavin didn't make it very long. He was out like a light before we left the buffet.