Did I Mention?

Because I'm a slacker on my blog there are often many things we do that I don't blog about. Here is a smattering of events, if you will, of the happenings from the past 6 months, that went unblogged.

THE PUMPKIN PATCH



It looks like they're on the moon.

THE AQUARIUM



Sorry Gav, you get to be the mermaid this time.



 A TRIP TO THE LAKE WITH FRIENDS

 DIRTY DASH

These were taken before we got covered in mud. Next year I think I'll actually train for a five mile uphill run. But you know its not a serious race when they're offering beer at the top of the mountain. I wasn't the only one walking.

GRANDMA MARGARET'S FUNERAL

My mom, brother Spencer, sister Courtney, and I made the trip to SLC (5 hours there and 5 hours back in one day and I probably shouldn't mention we changed behind the dumpster in the church parking lot, but we did, and it's not the first time we've done that, and probably won't be the last) for my step grandmother's funeral. There's nothing like a funeral to remind you of your own mortality to help you remember what's important. She lived a long and full life. She will be missed.

 

CHASE AND SARAH'S WEDDING

We flew to Vegas in May for my nephew Chase's wedding. It was a beautiful day and they're a beautiful couple.

While we were there we visited the school named after my grandfather. We also visited the M & M store on the strip and discovered the joy of raspberry m&ms. Yum!

 NEON TREES CONCERT

Chad and I got to see the Neon Trees. It was super fun.



Chad's mission buddy is the bass player in the band and we got to hang out before the concert and go to dinner with him.

This is Chad's other mission buddy and his wife who also got to enjoy the show with us.

Done. I think I'm officially caught up...



Conversations with Gavin

Gavin is 20 1/2 months now. I really can't believe he's almost two. So crazy. He is such a FUN and busy baby. I love watching him progress in his ability to understand and to communicate more and more.

Gavin's vocabulary.

diaper: bopple
water: wah wah (used for any sort of liquid including milk, rivers, rain, puddles, etc)
grandma: mama (also used for mom)
binky: di di (pronounced dee dee)
outside: side (used often and then turns into crying when he can't go 'side')
apple: bapple
banana: na na
yogurt: gogur
cracker: cracka
car: cock
hot: dot (in a really intense voice as he backs away from the oven)
Tito (our dog): Tio (pronounced Tee-o) He has also learned to howl which in turn makes Tito howl.
Cereal: ceo
Please: peas

Conversations with Gavin usually go like this:

Mom: Did you have fun with grandma?
Gavin: Ya

Mom: Do you have a stinky diaper?
Gavin: Ya

Mom: Are you just so adorable?
Gavin: Ya

Mom: Did you throw this in the toilet yesterday?
Gavin: Ya

He'll usually answer "Ya" to any question you ask him.

Conversations with Gavin in the car:

Gavin: Mama!
Mom: Ya? (I wonder where he gets it)

Gavin: Mama!
Mom: Ya?

Gavin: Mom!
Mom: Yes Gavin?

Gavin: Mama!
Mom: What buddy?

Continue that conversation for a 10 minute car ride. Probably doesn't get more in depth than that.

The Karate Kid M&M and the Lil' Cowboy

A post in pictures. 'Cause let's be honest, what is there to say about Halloween? You dress up, you walk from house to house begging for candy, and you go home.

I will say that these two are adorably cute in their costumes.

 As you can tell by the look on his face, Gavin is in heaven. Being outside and freely roaming the neighborhood may just be what he lives for.

 Traditional trick-or-treating with the cousins. The best was when Gavin was standing at the back of the pack on the doorstep, all the kids would get their candy and run off and leave Gavin, the lone cowboy on the doorstep. The owner of the house would finally see him and say, "Oh, did this little guy get any candy?" He didn't really care about the candy (other than to hold), he just loved being up at the doorstep with the rest of the kids. You could tell by the way he would chatter with them. I'm not sure what he was saying but I'm sure it was something interesting.

The annual organizing of the loot and trading session.

My poor pumpkin got stomped on. A disgruntled trick-or-treater, I suppose.

And here's a walk down memory lane. A very short lane since Chad and I have only dressed up twice in 13 years of dating/marriage. One time was when we were dating, and apparently that was when I could somehow fit into my roomate's girl scout uniform she wore when she was 11 years old. And the other time was a year after we got married. Next year it's on...we're dressing up.

Apparently I had more to say about this Halloween than I thought.

Ethan started 4th grade this week. Where has the time gone?? He's now officially on the big kids side of the playground and he's officially too cool to hug me good-bye on the first day of school. Although he may have been too cool for that a few years ago. He's making his own lunches for school now. Today he was going to put cereal and milk in his thermos until I reminded him that it'd probably be totally mushy by lunchtime. He agreed, so now he's eating dry cereal from his thermos for lunch today. Bet you're jealous.

After going back-to-school shopping he put together his different outfits and what he thought would look good together. He even layed them out on the floor. This is the first year he's actually cared that much. He even got skinny jeans this year which I guess are the thing to get. Which is funny they're called skinny jeans cause on him they're totally loose. He not only had to tighten them from the inside but he also needs to wear a belt with them. So much for "skinny" jeans.

These are two of his good buddies who also happen to be in his class. Again, they're in 4th grade, so they're a little too cool to smile in this picture. But he came home saying that his teacher is the best he's ever had. It'll be a good year! We love you Ethan!

Then there's this little guy. Or shall I call him my little duckling. It doesn't matter what he's doing, if he senses that I'm leaving the room he'll pop up and follow right behind me. I sometimes feel like a mother duck.

He also keeps me really busy. When he's sleeping, I really just think of that time as the time he's recharging his batteries. He's 18 months now and he's becoming quite the character. His nursery teacher at church calls him a little goat because he climbs on everything. He's also become really attached to his binkys and if you'll notice from these pictures, a lot of the time he has one binky in his mouth and he'll stick his finger in the hole of the other and walk around everywhere with it. Then he'll switch them out and put the one on his finger in his mouth and the other one goes on his finger. He's got quite the system. He's calls them "didi"s. He climbs on the backs of chairs, the coffee table, the couches. Luckily he hasn't figured out how to move chairs to climb higher but I know it's just a matter of time. He enjoys giving us a heart attack when he perches himself on the arm of the couches. It's so scary. But really, he thinks it's funny when we tell him "no" and jump up to grab him. He'll fling himself back on the couch and laugh. Pulling things out of any drawers and cupboards is one of his favorite things to do. If he hurts himself and I react and make sure he's ok, he'll usually reenact what he just did and do a fake cry. It's very entertaining. It's also cool to realize how much he's understanding. When I tell him we need to change his diaper he'll walk right to his changing table or when I tell him he needs a bath he'll try and take off his shirt and walk to the bathroom. It's really fun to watch. Needless to say we LOVE him to pieces, he's very entertaining, and he definitely keeps us on our toes.

A Bed With a View

We've had a lot of fun guests come visit us this summer. Usually some of those said guests get to crash on the floor and couches of our family room. When this happens a dilemma usually presents itself. What do I do when Gavin wakes up at 6:45am and the rest of the house is still sleeping? I can't in good conscience let him roam free and awaken everyone can I? 

This brings me to my bed with a view (and what a sweet and beautiful view it is). Here's how the morning goes: I drag the high chair into my room, get Gavin situated with a simple early morning breakfast of a Nutri Grain bar and a sippy cup of water (sippy cups of milk are not allowed in my room since it will most likely be chucked to the floor and milk  will be splattered all over my carpet. That's a big no no.). I will then proceed to get back into bed. If I'm lucky, after he's done with his breakfast he'll allow me to put him on the floor where he is welcome to pull all the books off the bookshelf as he pleases while I crawl back into bed. He'll eventually make his way to my side where he will successfully climb onto my bed. That will last just a little while until he makes me get on the floor with him. After he tires of being cooped up, that is my queue to go out to the family room and sick Gavin on all the unsuspecting sleepers. This usually entails, but is not limited to, climbing all over them, hitting their heads, getting ahold of their mobile devices, and stepping on their pillows to more easily climb onto the couches. And that's our morning while we have guests.

 But what lovely guests they are! Here is Chad's mom, his sister Rachel, and Rachel's 3 kids. They came for a week long visit filled with all types of water events. Including a lot of swimming and sliding down water slides and floating the river. What fun we had. Come again guests! (Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of Chad's mom Judy and her two sisters when they came to visit a couple weeks prior).