Gavin turns 3!

 I cannot believe that this little guy is 3!  I can remember hoping for him to join our family.  I had actually given up hope that we would add more kids.  Then, right when I least expected it, this great sweet spirit blessed our family.
 Gavin is such a happy, fun, and helpful little guy.  He looks up to his older siblings, his older brother in particular.  One little thing about Gavin, is that he has always liked to help me cook.  He is constantly pulling a chair up to the counter to help put ingredients together.  He has earned the nick name of "The Rocket" in nursery.  He really is a fast little bugger! 
 Last week we took a trip to Utah for Spencer's nephews' wedding.  While we were there we had a birthday party for the three boys.  So today was a celebration on a much smaller scale.  I think that he still had a fun day! 

This morning Makenzi and Eli were both awake and getting ready for school before Gavin got out of bed.  I talked to the kids and told them that when Gavin woke up that we would sing Happy Birthday to him.  He came out of the bedroom while the kids were having breakfast at the table so as he came into the kitchen we sang him the Happy Birthday song.  At first he didn't understand why we were singing but when we said his name in the song he got a smile on his face.  I think that he thought that his birthday was in Utah.  Later, my parents called to sing to him and wish him a happy birthday.  Then tonight we had some friends kids over for a babysitting swap so we had pizza and cupcakes with them.  Gavin thought that it was a great party!

Playing together...Priceless

Almost three year old  upset that he can't do the things that the big kids do.
Baby is tired of big kids smothering him.
Three year old and baby playing together.

Priceless.

Garet is 10 Months-Little Stinker

My baby just keeps growing whether I want him to or not!  It is so much fun to have a sweet baby in the house.  This baby can be and has been a little stinker when it comes to sleeping.  He is the complete opposite of Gavin.  Lately his trick is to wake up when laid down in his crib.  I have to just let him cry it out.  I really don't like to have him cry because he doesn't just cry anymore, he screams.  In fact, he screams so hard that he has broken blood vessels in his eyes.  Little stinker!
He gets around quite well these days.  He is crawling all over the place and putting everything that he possible can into his little mouth.  It has Spencer quite worried that he might choke on something.  The last time that we had a baby at this stage we also had a dog that went around and ate everything that could possibly harm the baby.  So for the moment I miss having a dog around.
Garet's latest trick is to pull himself up on things and then stand.  The kids think that this warrants attention with a dramatic, "MOM, MOM!" until I am looking and then they say, "Garet is standing!"  I know that this is so exciting to see him standing all by himself but, I almost have a heart attack when the big kids act that way.
So there you have it, my baby is quickly becoming a toddler.  I relish these last days, weeks, months, however long it is going to be until my little stinker is walking around the house.

Eli Turns 7!

It's Eli's birthday!  I can't believe how fast my boy is growing up!  He got to choose what he wanted for breakfast this morning and he chose waffels with ice cream.  Then he got to take a snack to share with his first grade class.  He came home from school wearing a birthday crown.  He wanted to get pizza and eat it at Agua Caliente Park, so that is what we tried to do!  We ended up eating the pizza in the car on the way to the park.  When we got there we knew that it was going to be a short trip because a monsoon was looming.  Sure enough, we had about 10 minutes at the park and then came the down pour.  I think that he still had a good time!  When we got home, he got a present and we had hostess cupcakes for dessert.
I sure am proud of this boy!  He is growing so quickly!  His favorite things to do right now are play his "army man" computer game, watch TV, and play outside.  He doesn't like chicken or most of the other things that I make for dinner.  He is responsible and loving.  He always wants to give you a hug before you head out the door!  I love him so much!

First Day of School

Today was Makenzi and Eli's first day back to school.  They were both pretty excited about going back.  When I woke up Eli this morning, his eyes popped open.  He was so excited!  Makenzi knew what she wanted to wear, like a typical girl, on her first day back.  She is really excited about her new teacher.  She got who she wanted.  I am curious to see how this year goes after the last two being not that great.
Eli's teacher called and told me that he did well with his first day as a first grader.  I'm really hoping that he feels successful.  I wonder how he will adjust to being at school all day.

Summer Vacation 2011