Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Happy 2nd Birthday Gavin!

I can't believe that my baby boy is already 2! Where has the time gone? He is in a new phase of being independent, speaking in 3+ word sentences, singing songs, learning his favorites... He has a new love for motorcycles and has been sleeping with one for several nights. He won't let go of it and if I try to take it away, it causes a major tantrum. He also has an obsession with some Thomas the Train snow boots that he wears almost constantly. He won't even take them off at night which has posed some very stinky feeties. I try to hide them, distract him, etc. And sometimes it works but other times, not so much. I just bought him some Thomas crocs today so maybe that will curb the snowboot thing for a minute. He loves riding his bike, going to the park and going for walks. He also still loves his blankie that he calls "Bebe" and his new favorite tv show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He had a great birthday party with several family members in the area in attendance. He got some great gifts and loved his Mickey Mouse cake and his Truck Balloon. We were in the dollar store getting paper products for the party and he kept saying "truck boon" over and over, really excited. I couldn't figure it out until I finally realized he wanted a truck balloon. Happy Birthday bud!

Summer's Fresh Start

We have finally completed our move and loving it here in our new home. Life is calming down, school is over, and we are ready to have some major fun family time! I am ready to attack "my list" again which includes updating this lovely blog :) So, the past month in a nutshell will be given mostly in pictures. Here it goes:

It's nice to have daddy visit more often in the ambulance. The kids love to play with the rubber gloves and check out all the equipment. Even though it was a bit of a shock for our new neighbors to see an ambulance in front of the house, they are getting used to it.


"Pretty in Pink". The girls love playing dress-up together.



We get to watch our new little buddy, Cason, a few days a week and got to help him celebrate his 1st birthday! It was a sports theme so Eris wore a baseball cap and gymnastics jersey shirt while Shayla chose to wear a pink hat, and a dress with a ballet skirt on top because "Mom, dance is a sport!" Gavin wouldn't wear his adorable Broncos hat so he wore his swim suit with snow boots.


Eris performed in her 2nd year of "Lets Play Music" and did fantastic!


Eris and her musical theater class at school put together a 10 minute skit all on their own. She was the narrator and memorized the entire thing! Afterwards, they signed and sang the song, "Fireflys." Sarah had the opportunity to meet the guy who sings it and told him about the performance and he thought it was totally awesome! Way to go Eris! :)


Gavin loves to help daddy with anything and everything especially when he's able to "help" while riding on daddy's back!


I had an amazing Mother's Day filled with love, laughter, lots of gifts, homemade breakfast and dinner, and bunches of fun with my beautiful family! Thanks guys!


Gavin with his chocolate doughnut on the couch. He seemed to rotate between licking his fingers or spreading it on the top of Kudos back.


Beautiful Eris posed herself for a pretty pic!


Spencer was asked by a family he home taught in Mesquite if he would baptize their daughter. We all went to watch and it got Eris really excited for her own baptism coming up.


Eris posing for some pictures after her dance competition. Her tap dance won "1st place group overall" and her ballet won "Best in Show". She was amazing!


More Moving Fun!


3+ years of going strong and fishie finally said goodbye. The girls were quite devastated. We buried him in the backyard of the old house, said our goodbyes, and the girls made him a headstone out of cardboard and wooden stick. Eris even included his name, dates, the words "We'll see you in Heaven," and a picture of Jesus on it. It blew away in the wind before I got a picture of it but it was heartfelt and beautiful.


Gavin and the worm he found in the grass. He carried it around for awhile and tried to take care of it. He would move it to one area of the yard and try to give it some grass. It was so adorable watching him try to take care of the little guy.


Eris and Shayla made a diner called "Lilly Lamb's Great Petunia" complete with menus, play food, cash register, set table for guests and a kitchen area where they prepared the meals requested. So fun!


I Love Chocolate!


Gavin is extremely independent and always chooses what he will wear, how he will get out of the car, what he will eat or play with or do. This has been his outfit of choice; basketball shorts with his train snow boots. I think that he loves to wear the boots because daddy has to wear boots to work so whenever he is home, Gavin brings him his boots and wants him to wear them so they can match. He tries to copy everything Spencer does. What a cutie!


Shayla is quite the little helper and loves to carry her brother around, push him in the stroller, get him dressed... She pulled him in this wagon for over an hour and they both had a great time. I just love those moments of bliss?

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter 2011!

We had a great Easter weekend. We were able to hit 2 egg hunts in the morning, see the Easter bunny, and have an additional egg hunt, bbq, and yummy peach cobler with our closest cousins! Happy Easter all!

Gavin's First Stitches

Life has been crazy and stress levels have been high. We have been trying to figure out the details of our move and pack and keep somewhat sane through the process. Spencer has been working extra to fund it all so it makes me and the kids even crazier. It just so happens that I needed to take my car into the shop and needed a ride so my sweet cousins came to my rescue. Afterwards we went with them to the park to escape for a bit and right as we get there, Gavin tips the bike he's riding and rams his cheek into the exposed metal on the handle bars. So they then have to give me a ride to the hospital and afterwards, a ride home. Gavin was completely brave and sweet through the whole thing and only cried when he was strapped down for the stitches to be done. 6 stitches later and he was good as new (with a possible moon shaped scar on his left cheek in the future.) The moment we got home though he was back on his own bike like nothing had even happened and the only issues we've had since have been him ripping off his bandaids and trying to pull at the stitches. I'm just grateful that he's okay and that we had family available to help us out! :)

What's More Fun than Boxes?

Being in the process of moving, we have boxes EVERYWHERE and the kids have been loving it! The other day the girls were pretending they were in a space ship soaring through an alien encounter. Gavin on the other hand has been enjoying finding the sharpie markers and drawing all over himself. They play so hard though that they have lately been crashing out on the floor. The joys of moving!

Weekend with Fam!









Part of my family came to visit and we had a great time! It was so nice to spend time playing with them in the nice warm weather. We were able to go to the Kite Festival where Eris earned her own shark kite for reading over 75 minutes per week for the past several months. There were several free games for the kiddos and they were even spoiled with cotton candy and some fun on one of the carnival-type rides. It was also great to visit with Great-grandma and grandpa Giles in St George. Although there was lots of fun and visiting involved, it was also nice to get some much needed items from storage and send some things back to be put there. Lots of fun and some accomplishment, what more can you ask for? :)

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Bye Bye Training Wheels

Shayla came to the conclusion yesterday that she wanted to try riding her bike without training wheels. Daddy helped her and in less than 30 seconds she was riding like a pro! I worked more on stopping and starting with her today and she is catching on so fast. I am one proud mama!