Keith Family Blog

The Birth of Liam

2010-11-09T15:25:00.001-08:00

So I was scheduled for an induction on September 17th. I was pretty sure that I wouldn't make it to that date. I was already dilated to a 4 the week before he was born. I wanted to be able to make make it to the scheduled date but I was so ready to be done being pregnant. However, I actually made it to the 17th. It was such a blessing to have him on the 17th and here are a few reasons why.
-First my mom was able to be there for the birth of her 17th grandchild born on the 17th. He is the golden grand baby.
-My sweet, in-laws came at 7 and waited with me until the hospital said I could come in. Then they took the boys, and I knew they were well taken care of.
-I was already dilated to a 6 by the time I got there. (No wonder I was so irritable that week)
-Liam was born in just a few hours. I headed to the hospital at 9 and my water was broken around 11. Contraction were slow and steady and not painful the first couple of hours. I grew tired of breathing through the contraction and I started to feel like it was taking to long to get to the pushing part. I thought it would be over in an hour but the slow steady pace was probably more bearable.
-My mom and midwife and husband were all there and the conversations they were having felt very calming and in between contractions I would join in.
-I have my children naturally and I remembered the pain of Owen less than two years ago all to well. But knowing that pain and how to do it all again never left me it actually helped me.
-I was determined to not scream or loss control at the end. I don't know what it was, my mom's peaceful ora, the awesome midwife, my pre-determined thoughts, my husband actually not laughing at my pushing, or it being my third time, but I was able to make it through from start to finish the way I wanted to. It was amazing!
-I was so worried before Liam came into this family. I doubted if I could handle it all. So, I was so glad to have such a positive start on his entrance into this world.
-My mom had mentioned to me the night before Liam was born that she thought each labor she had said a little about our personalities. I feel with Liam's birth he was saying, "I am not here to burden you mom, I will make this as easy as possible on you." So far that seems to be true to his little character. He is easy going. Loves being here with all of us, goes with the flow of our fast paced, crazy, loud, family and any time he is held he adores you for doing so and makes you feel so important. I love when we make eye contact and he smiles so big, he is so sweet. He had my heart the moment they handed him and he held on to my thumb so tight.
-I am so lucky he came to me and I am beyond happy to be his mom. We all love him so much and can't wait to see life unfold with the addition of Liam.

Playing Catch Up

2010-11-09T15:17:00.000-08:00

SO my posts are going to start were I left off before I had the baby to where we are now. One post at a time I will get back to the current stuff. I have been so busy just enjoying my baby. It's like have a brand new toy that you take everywhere and can't put down. I love him so much more than I ever thought possible. We all do.

My Little Man's 4!

2010-09-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

After weeks of taking off a chain day by day the big day arrived and I don't know who was more excited, Me, Gavin or Owen.
Ok, well, it was Gavin but we all had a great day partying. Thanks to all of our neighborhood friends, Gavin had a blast a kangaroo zoo jumping and sliding for over two hours.
Through out the day he had many friends and family stop by and wish him a happy birthday. We are so lucky to live in a place where we have so many good friends just right across the street or down the road. Many of my friends have offered me so much help as I near the birth of this baby and seem to understand what I am going through. I really appreciate that, I feel so blessed and loved! Anyways back to Gavin.
For his Birthday Dinner he choose Carl's Junior. High class, I know, but the real purpose behind that was the play area. He really enjoys those now and he even helped his brother manuver his way through to the slides. He used to be deathly afraid of any resturant play area and now he is helping his brother down the slide, as he trys to convince him, "It's not scary come on Owen." Then we had to hustle home for the "cake" and icecram and present with all his family of course. He is not a big cake fan, but he loves doughnuts. So I ordered rainbow striped doughnut(he is obsessed with ROY G BIV, and the lady at the bakery got it just right) and I made it in to a cake tower. It was pretty sweet and who wouldn't love a doughnut. It was so yummy! He got everything he was hoping for and even more. We love this kid and hope he doesn't grow up to fast.

More Picture to come my computer won't let me upload all the cute photos tonight.

"I won't go into Labor"

2010-09-08T20:03:00.000-07:00

So,
On Labor Day we/I decided that we should go to Seven Peaks. It was the last day that it was open. Turns out that it was only going to get up into the 70's but I had all these memories planned out in my head already. Well it was so cold in the water and especially out. Gavin tried to be a good sport and got in more than the rest of us. We finally got up the courage to go ride a tube ride. Gavin cried the whole time we were in line and Owen was oblivious to what would happen. Jason finally got Gavin to ride down with him.(Which he told me was so fun, and I asked if he wanted to go again and he said, "No!") And the lifeguard then turns to me and asks me if I am pregnant. I was like, "well yes I am." Then he tells me I can't take Owen and go. I had to beg him to let me. I got everyone in line to help convince him to let me go. I told him I was due any day and if it sent me into labor it wouldn't be a big deal. I even tried to backtrack and say that I was really just fat. I assured him that a little tube run was not going to send me into labor. He finally caved and let me go. Owen gripped onto me so tight but he seemed to like it. It was all worth it to get my way and have a crowd cheer for the big preggo. I felt like a rock star. Turns out I didn't go into labor on labor day after all.

Saturday!

2010-08-23T14:59:00.000-07:00

I adore the weekends. I love being home with my three men. This Saturday Gavin started soccer. When he was going to bed on Friday we told to go to sleep quickly so he would have enough energy to play soccer in the morning.
Well bright and early at seven, even though he didn't get to bed so early, he was ready to go. He was at my bedside in his soccer shorts and t-shirt wanting me to put on his new tennis shoes.

He was so excited. So after much anticipation at nine we showed up to practice. It was so cute! And there are two boys from our neighborhood on his team. I haven't seen him smile so big before. His first game is the 18th and he has one more practice before he is ready for the big game.

So the rest of the day we hung out, cleaned up the garage, swam and got ready to take the boys to their grandma's while we went out!
I have so been looking forward to some one on one time with my husband. I feel like I haven't been able to do that in a while. We went to the Pizza Factory and saw Inception. And my mother-in-law had us take her car, a VW convertible beetle, my favorite car! The cherry on top of an already awesome day! Jason didn't even get a chance to drive it.

The only drawback was a rude dude saying, "get in my belly." After I waddled past him and his girl to the bathroom. I know I am big but that was so rude, I wanted to stop and tell him off, but I really had to pee. Then when I came back out he wouldn't look my direction at all so I could give him a dirty look. Oh well I can hardly blame him because I ate so much at the Pizza Factory I was even bigger than normal.

A month from today!

2010-08-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

So it's official September 17th is the day. (Unless I go into labor on my own before that). It's kinda of weird for me to have a planned date like this. I waited anxiously for that day to just arrive on its on with the boys. It's tourture but I kinda of like that nature gets to decide when the baby comes.
But, Because I have Group B strep, I have to have antibiotics through an IV. Last time I had Owen so quickly that I didn't get all of the antibiotics before he came. Thus making the stay at the hospital really, really long. So to avoid that I get to go in early, start the antibiotics and then have the doctor break my water. Plus my mom is going to be coming in the day before. I am excited to have here be here to excperience this with.
After the appointment I asked Jason if he was ready to have a new little one in 4 weeks. He said "No!" At first I was shocked and now I am thinking, well neither am I. I haven't done anything to get ready for him to be here. I still have to pull out and wash all the clothes, buy diapers, finish his room, talk to the boys more about it, make a nursing and car seat cover, start hypnobirthing prep etc... How did this creep up on me I am not ready!!! But all of those things are just the small details right? Once he is here I am sure all of that will be taken care of and he will be melting all of our hearts. I just hope we can decide on a name for him before he is home from the hospital. Cause I can't keep calling him little Chit, that's just cruel.

I am huge, I know. This is the one and only picture I am going to take/show.

The AMAZING Race

2010-08-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had our annual family amazing race. This was the sixth year it has been up and running. This year we planned it, cause it's best to be the planner when I have to opt out of a lot of things because I am pregnant. Jason actually took charge of a majority of the planning. It was kinda fun to seem him get all into to it. So this year consisted of a Golfing tournement, and IKEA scavenger hunt, a race up Ensign peak. All of this happened friday morning while I was home with my boys and my sweet 6 month old nephew, Luke. Which was such a good chance for me to get a feel of what life with three little boys will be like. It was a really easy going morning, so I am a little more at ease about things. Then around lunchtime my good friend Rachael, watched my boys so I could go out to eat with the whole family at Firehouse Pizzaria, and to the park for a name that movie game and a water balloon games. After that I headed back home with Luke while the rest of the gang went paintballing. Which sounded like a lot of fun but the welts and bruising looked painful. Ouch!
After that everyone came back to our pad for a pool party and barbaque. We all ate swam and wrapped up the night, so we could rest up for the next day of fun.
The next day we had rented Jetskis and made a comfy spot on the beach at Deer Creek Resevoir. The kids played in sand, muddy water and played all day. I think all of the kids tryed the jetskis. Owen loved it and wanted to go out a couples of times. I convienced Gavin to go out once and he enjoyed it as long as I stayed under 7 mph, but I went a tad faster a few times and he was ok but hesitant. When we got back he said, "I'm going to tell Butch(papo) that was scary-ish fun. It was a good day everyone had a blast. Now we all want to find a way to own a Jetski. Then we ended the day by finding our campsite, eating some yummy meatball subs, starring into the campfire, songs, marshmallows and quality family fun. I truly love the family I have married into. It doesn't matter what we do, it's always fun!

Picture to come later, my father in law Butch took tons of pictures and I didn't even snap a single photo amidst all the fun.

Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite

2010-08-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

So,
My two little guys have decided to be bed buddies. I went all out a few months ago thinking that I should get them bunk beds, with the arrival of the new little one coming in September. Gavin has loved his bed, which he picked out green stripped bedding for. He has kinda grown up and has been going to bed so much easier for us. Then about a month ago, Owen wanted to try out his bunk on the bottom. I was a little worried about him making the transition so early since he still really has a few months of enjoying his crib, his own space. But once he slept in his bed in Gavin's room there was no going back. He didn't want his crib anymore. In the beggining he didn't want the new bed either. He was way out of sorts. But after a few weeks of working on a routine that worked for both of them them they are so happy to climb into bed and laugh and tickle and yes sometimes bite each other and go to sleep. It's so sweet that they love to be there for each other. I love to check on them before I go to bed and see them both sleeping in the same bed. Gavin has always been a cuddle bug and prefers to sleep next to someone. While Owen has always been a good sleeper and wants to be just like his big brother. So it works, and now I don't have to stress about where to put the baby after he is out of the bassinett, or how to make it all work. Ahh...I love when little life details seem to work themselves out in such a delightful way. What a blessing and huge stress relief.

Notes from Gavin

2010-08-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

So,
I frequently get sweet little notes from Gavin. He likes to write to me at night sometimes. I usually collect the note after he has gone to bed. He is a genius in the language department as everyone is probably aware. Sometimes this gets him into trouble. I thought that this was the case with this note.

I thought the note said that I was smart on one side. And then I thought the other side said, I call you won't come, you're dumb. I thought that he wrote me something sweet and then got mad at me and changed his mind and wrote me something me in his frustration.

However the next day, I told him I got his note and I was sad because he called me dumb. He looked shocked and explained what he wrote. Turns out he wrote the words out of order. I had not put them in order. I guess he wrote Mom, you are smart, you are the bom(bomb)...I won't call you dumb. So then I felt much better, I don't even remember him calling me dumb but all is forgiven. I love that sweet smartie pants. As I type this he is reading books to his brother for me. I love it!

A Sisters/ Cousins Week

2010-07-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

My sister and I had planned on getting together while here two older boys and husband were away at Boy Scout Camp here at my house. But after she twisted my arm(j/k), I decided to go to Colorado and have some sister and cousin time. Gavin adores Graham, I adore my sister and Colorado and lets face it her pimped out home. I love spending time In Colorado. It's cozy, it's home, it's where I grew up. I got to hit all my favorite places...well two main places that were a must in this preggers body. Fargo's pizzarea, and BJ velet freeze two nights in a row. Yum, so good. I wish Tamzen could ship me some food. But it's probably good she can't. I weighed myself at here house...not a good idea. I still have eight more weeks of gaining weight. I am in trouble.
Enough about me though. The boys had a blast hanging out, jumping on the trampoline, playing at parks, getting spolied by Auntie, swimming, and going to the Children's museum. I haven't been the best/most patient/fun of a mom latley so it was nice to have my sister have my back. Plus, each night I got to spend some time just relaxing, watching a movie/show and talking with my sister.
Jason on the other hand didn't much like living the bachelor life. By day two of us being gone he decided to get some out of town business done. He likes us, he really does. So now this week he doesn't have to go on a business trip! I love that man! It was a fun week tons of memories and good times!

Summertime Fun!

2010-07-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

So we have had to be creative around here with what to do when it's so hot. One of our favorite things to do is get out some glow sticks. This particular day we decided to dance to Hey Soul Sister, Owen new favorite song. It's pretty fun!

We also decided to let our kids try out the water fountian that sprays water and anyone can cool down in it. The boys had a blast in the hundred degree weather. I sat there in the tiny bit of shade sweating thinking that if it wasn't creepy to be the big pregnant lady in a swimsuit running around with a bunch of kids I would have been out there myself.

Gavin's Preschool Graduation

2010-06-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

Gavin completed his first year of preschool. It was fun to teach and have him be a part of preschool. We held a small preschool graduation ceremony and party. Gavin opened his diploma and read it all by himself. I am so glad that he has such a love of learning and that it comes to him with such ease. I know that he also loves to be social and be with his friends at school. So we miss preschool alresdy. And we can't wait for another year of letters, friends and fun.

Simply the Best!

2010-06-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

Just returned from the best vacation! On Christmas my parents suprised all of their children with a mystery trip. We ended up going out their way to Dekalb, IL. To tour some of the sights in chigago and enjoy thier farmhouse. It was the most relaxing and enjoyable trip.

Day 1, Friday, May 29th,
Jason and I headed out leaving our two boys in care of his parents. Who the boy love to be with and I felt very comforted in knowing they were with them. I couldn't have gone without them. Our flight was delayed a bit so we played games in the airport and on the plane. Well, on the plane when I didn't feel sick. I forgot how being pregnant and flying is a bad combo for me. Then when we got there we had Chigago style pizza. Yum, they do it sorta backwards with the sauce on the top. Then even though it was late, we started off with a dip in the pool, a midnight swim. The best pool in america, I am sure of it. It is my new happy place.

Day 2, Saturday, May 30th,
Walked to Egg Haven, the best breakfast resturaunt in DeKalb. It was so worth the walk there and I think I burned off the calories that were consumed there. We did some more swimming that afternoon. Then we headed to China town. We ate at the best chinese resturaunt on the block. Then we rode the famous L train on our way to see a play, Million Dollor Quartet. It was the most fun and enteraining play I have ever seen. Apprently the 90 year old lady in the gold sequene shirt clapping and shaking it though so too. I wish I had a picture of that.

Day 3,
Day of rest! After all that walking I needed the rest. We slept in, went to church, all three hours against my will. But it was worth it cause the rest of the day was spent in the pool. It was the best just chatting stopping to eat and swimming some more. My parents have the best pool. I would be there everyday if I lived out there.

Day 4, Memorial Day
We went to Chicgago, did a driving tour of the area, went to the top of Sears/Willis Tour. Saw the Chicago temple and ate the Best Seafood place. I don't like crab...or so I didn't until this place, it was so yummy. We also had the nicest waitress I have ever had ate any resturaunt ever. So I gave her a hug and made her take a picture with me. I think I embarressed her just a tad. Then we headed out to the movies. Robinhood was the best movie my dad has ever seen apprently. I was skeptikal but it was a good movie.

Day 5,
Enjoyed a stroll along a quaint street in Dekalb. Full of boutique like shops, and other cool shops. Then all to quickly it was time to load up the car and head to the airport. My dad made sure to get us one last taste of chicago at Donald's real Chicago Dog type place before heading home. I am sure that I enough to last me the rest of this pregnancy. Good company, eats and times will be remembered!

Preschool goes to Wheeler Farms

2010-05-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

So it's our last week of Preschool for this year. We took a field trip out to Wheeler Farm. (Best free family activity in Utah!) I don't know who enjoyed it more Gavin or Owen. Owen loved the ducks. I think he wanted to take one home. He had no fear and would run up and get right next to those ducks. He didn't even mind the big loud geese as he tried to mimic their quacks. Gavin found a y shaped branch and was set for the day. He just loves to be with his friends and run around and there was plenty of wide open spaces for that.

Our Third!

2010-05-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

Baby boy Keith number three is in the making. I am about twenty-two weeks pregnant! We have two amazing boys already, so we are excited to welcome a third adorable boy into our family. The only problem is that we have two boy names that we really like already and we can not think of a name that we both like. Although Gavin has had a name picked out even before we new the gender. He knew that he was getting a brother and named him Lobby(he insists that it is spelled Loby). So for now we all call him Loby. And the other day he told me his middle name should be Chip. Isn't that lovely!? So I guess well just have to wait and see.
Sorry I'm so behind on writing I am just now getting to the non-sicky part of pregnancy. This little boy tricked me into thinking he was a girl because I was so much more sick than with the first two. I am sure that the bloging will be slow and get slower but can you blame me, my hand are only going to get more full. But check in periodically for a quick glance into our lives. I am sure there are going to be tons of stories to tell.

Valentines Day and On

2010-03-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

Valentines Day was a lot of fun. The day before we took the boys to Kangaroo Zoo. We told Gavin it was his Valentines Date with us. He loved it and the next day was giving out hugs and kisses to all. We made a heart shaped pizza and a cake to celebrate the occasion.

I got Jason an IPod that I accidentally left out a few days before. It was my nephews so we were enjoying the music on it while Jason was at work. He was shocked to find out that it was really his. He has wanted one for a very long time. I was also shocked to be spoiled by Jason. I really haven't done much of anything lately to feel deserving of his treats. I got beautiful roses, a mani/pedi and a note of all the reasons he love me. I guess it only took him four years to figure out why he loves me. One of my favorites being I stink at Wii...so true. So yea, I have the best hubby and he is my best friend. We actually got to go out on two date weekends in a row and it was so nice to date my husband. I really do just love being with him. We also recently saw Brian Reagan Live(Jason's "surprise" birthday present). He is hilarious, I recommend him to anyone if you need a good laugh.

March has been a whirlwind of a few nice warm outside days, sickness and cabin fever craziness. I love to be crazy but I am ready to be outside more.

Wazzzzzuuuup!

Notice the boots, he loves these and I can't get them off once there on.

Underwear model! Gavin's new haircut all styled. If only he would let me do his hair every day.

My independent guy, won't let me feed him, it makes for some creative cleaning up.

Just me. I was curious what I look like when I yell at my kids. Mean huh, but I need to take one in the morning before all the make-up and such...scary.

Not just a milk-a-holic!

Two Brothers, Two Balloons and Silly Songs

2010-02-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

I love this moment! I don't know what I was doing before this but I remember trying to get so things done around the house. And I heard sounds of joy. I went into Gavin's room and instead of the fighting over a typical letter or train I saw this. I ran to get my camera in fear that it wouldn't last. But they both danced and played with there balloons for a long time that day. It was one of those moments that makes it all worth it and my heart melted.

Pre-School

2010-02-09T16:28:00.000-08:00

Today Gavin started Preschool! We are doing a neighbor hood preschool with 2 other boys and taking turns teaching. Gavin was very excited about going as soon as I took out his back pack and showed him all the things in it. He was most excited about the green playdough and green pencil. Owen has fun helping mommy clean as we listened to Maroon 5. We had some good one on one play and then read books and he went to sleep. Life with one Child now seems like a piece of cake. It was fun to play with him today. Then I had a few minutes alone missing my sweet Gavin. When I went to pick him up next door he didn't want to come home. I think he is a fan of preschool!

Sometimes...

2010-02-08T22:03:00.000-08:00

We Shoot hoops,

Play with blocks,

Read a book,

We find an object for every letter in the alphabet,

Get new little man haircuts,

Boogie to our ipods in our undies,

Have a reoccurring abscess...ouch,

Have a blast at the Hill Air Force Museum,

look like this after taking the boys swimming without Jason, my goth checker.

Once Upon A Christmas

2010-01-26T13:06:00.000-08:00

So Christmas came and went this year sorta like a dream. Like the kind of dreams you wake up from and try to fall back to sleep so you can get back there. I've tried all month and it's not coming back. Till next year I guess.
I am the worst at remember to take pictures of everything as it happens so my pictures are random.

The Hoogle Zoo Lights. It was bitter cold but it was so much fun to see all the lights.

The boys thought this cat was the funniest thing as it kept walking back and forth right by them.

We drove to Glenwood Spring on the way to Colorado and stayed the night there. Christmas Eve morning we went swimming! In the natural Hot Springs. It was so much fun. Any part of us that was out of the water would freeze but under the water was toasty. I had to keep leaning Owen back into the water because I was afraid his ears might freeze! It was a great family memory!

Owen taking a Christmas nap with his mom. Best gift I got all day, I love the sweet calm,cuddly, sleeping baby.

My bro and sister-in-law(Tommy and Jolene). Enjoying the talent show.

We enjoyed many activities while we where in Colorado, sledding, a gymnastics place, playing wii, staying up way to late every night etc. Owen favorite was sledding. He has no fear.

Tamzen got punked. I'm evil... she prepared us all such a nice dinner and I am sure was working overtime for days before we got there. And then I stick pre-licked marshmallows on her face while she was sleeping. Real nice huh?

Our talent, singing the MXPX version of the 12 days of Christmas that we listened to a zillion times on the ride to Colorado. Gavin was to shy to sing it like he was in the car. And this may be one of the only pictures of Gavin at Christmas time. He was off having the time of his life with his cousins the whole time. He only took one nap the entire time we where there. No time to waste I guess. Just like his dad. Jason played hard with all "the guys."

Some other highlights of the trip not pictures was being able to be with everyone on Christmas Day. We are a large group.(18 grown ups and 16 kids) So it's hard to have us all together. My sister luckily has a gigantic house to host us all in now that my parents house is someones Else's. We drove by the old place and probably scared the kids that were sledding. Oh well, that used to be my yard kids. Get used to frequent drive bys.

All my siblings and spouses went to our favorite Japanese Restaurant and after dinner saw, Sherlock Holmes. Jason sometimes does look like Robert Downy and it's awesome!

We also went to eat at the Melting Pot for our Anniversary, with Tamzen, Lee, Tommy and Jolene, good company and the food was spectacular.

We had a blast hanging out in Colorado, can't wait to have Christmas again next year!

Owen's First

2009-11-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Owen!
How this happened I don't know. It seems to have gone by even faster with child number two. Some things that I learned is that...yes I love Owen just as much as Gavin my first son. I finally know it's true. My parents do love us all the same. I honestly worried before Owen if it was possible to love another child like I love Gavin. It's amazing to know that there is that much love inside of this little heart of mine. When I think about it I feel like the Grinch who stole Christmas. My heart has grown three times in size. Guess I'm maxed out, my heart might burst, just jokes. But I am so grateful for Owen and his sweet, happy demeanor.
Owen is...
walking (a lot!!!)
crawling the stairs
braving coming to the edge
using some signs, mostly for eating purposes.(more, eat, all done, milk)
talking a little, dad, mom, wat's dat, ba(ball)
A baby vampire
Growling like a dino
training to be a pro wrestler
and champion little brother pest

Trick or Treat

2009-11-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

Gavin, Jacob, Matthew, Brayden and Carlin, and Eric is in the next pic.

Halloween was kinda a trick this year. Owen was super sick, so he was a bee all of five minutes. He was the cutest bee ever. Yes, he pulled it off much better than I did when I was 10. Ugh, I wish I could scan that picture. Jason saw it and almost bust a gut laughing at me, "It's like made for a 7 year old, why did you wear that thing?"
Gavin had to wait all day to actually go trick or treating. He wasn't super excited about wearing the whole costume, just the wings. He wanted to be a lady bug like his little girlfriend Adria. Then he didn't so much enjoy the running from house to house. He likes to take his time and after a few pieces I think he was happy. He was acting like, "I have all the candy I like... I'm good." Plus, he didn't want to carry his own bucket and I wasn't going to carry it. Oh well, he enjoyed going with all his friends. We are so lucky to live in a neighborhood with all these cute little kids. It was fun to watch the group bombard each house. After trick or treating we went over to the Kim, Danny and Matthew Dunn's for some goodies. So I guess Halloween was also a treat.

Gavin-fly and Jacob-Thomas, still best buds 4 ever! Gavin wanted to hold hands.

Annual Packs Trip

2009-10-27T21:30:00.000-07:00

So this is the third year that we have picked Pumpkins at Packs. I love it there! I love seeing Jason get so into finding the "one". It takes him a while he can't be rushed, he has a general idea of what he is looking for but he waits patiently until one speaks to him. In the end he always finds the perfect match.
Gavin had fun looking too. He wanted a orange and green pumpkin this year so we looked high and low and found a pretty good match. He kept looking at all the broken, mashed ones saying they were scary. Owen agreed on the pumpkin we found for him and was content to sit in the wheel barrow and enjoy the ride. I am most content to just watch my boys and take picture of how cute they are and watch them love life.

Weekend Getaway

2009-10-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

So this weekend we took a trip to Rexburg Idaho.

Gavin two minutes into the trip. Don't worry he has a bucket of letters to take with him to Idaho.

Owen two minutes into the trip to Idaho.
Tenille and Lawrence were gracious enough to have us in thier new place. They have a cute apartment and it was fun to see the newly weds all settled into thier apartment.
On Satturday we were able to go to Cragio's for lunch. A novelity Pizza and Pasta Place. So good I wish I had gone to college there. I would have eaten there every day. Then we went to the movie theater where Tenille works. We got the VIP treatment while we saw the movie, UP.

Tenille definatley hooked us up with popcorn, drinks and candy. Gavin was in Heaven. And Owen was dreaming about Heaven.

Later on that night Tenille had to work a short shift at the drive in and the men went to the priesthood session. So Gavin, Owen and I tagged along to the drive in. It is the coolest little drive in location ever. We had a blast hanging out in there. GAvin of course had fun showing off all his cute tricks in front of Tenille's friends. And he again was in Heaven when he found a bunch of letters that go to the Menu board. We also discovered that night that Gavin can say his ABC's backwards, like it's nothing. He can say it so fast to. I was shocked when I heard him do this. Jason said he has done it before but this was the first time that I heard him do it.

Gavin playing tag with Katelyn. Oh la la.

Tenille working the Drive in Theater. I would love to own one of these one day. How fun!

Pretty right?

Tenile played a little trick on me. She tried to pawn this hat off on me and tell me it was a pre-birthday gift. She liked to see me try to graciously accept her "re-gift". However I really did like the hat, a little. After don't we look so good in it.
Well it was a fun time. Rexburg may not be very big. Some teased us for going on a get away to Rexburg. But anyplace where there is family is a getaway from all my cares. I am so lucky to have so much family and love that surrounds me daily.

Refreshing

2009-09-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those day that you think, "why can't everyday be this blissful?" Other than the fact that my hubby is out of town for the night, today is one worth remembering. Nothing big, just a good day.
So for about a week I have heard that today was going to bring a big change in weather. Were talking temps from up in the 90's, all the way down to 50's today. I love fall, but I haven't felt very fallish yet. I have some decoration out but it felt odd to even have them out, until today! So I got the boys all dressed in there halloween shirts, put on my own fall sweater, and socks. I love cozy warm socks. We took Jason to the airport around lunchtime. Gavin is learning to recognize place we go now and was asking Jason if he could get on the airplane with him. It was so sweet. Then Jason left it was sad, but then... As he was walking into the airport, he bumped into a pole and the two big boxes he had to take with him fell. Crazy man trying to take so much in with him. He looked slightly embarresed as he turned to see us watching it all. I have never loved my cute husband more than at that moment. We are quite the match, that is exactly what would have happened to me in that situation.
So we came home had some lunch, sang, danced and played. Gavin has really likes staying home more and when I ask what he wants to do today he replies, play games, watch a show. He is really into making up games these day and giving them awesome names. I wish I could remeber the one he made up yesterday for dumping a set of letters in one containier to the next.
Both the boys took long naps due to getting over thier colds. It was great. Then we had soup, a mock Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana. Yum, so so so good. We went on a walk just so we could get all bundled up and enjoy the brisk air. It was so refreshing! Then we danced to my ipod, jumped on my bed, tickled Owen and read books.

Here is a picute of Owen right before he realized that he could stand and took two steps. He is almost there, I give him two more weeks till he is full on walking. He already climbs all the way to the top of our stairs. I have to watch him like a hawk!

The boxes of letters have resurfaced, I try to put some of them away on the sly but he wanted them all out again the other day. As I was cleaning them up tonight, I noticed a few things. Jason said he thinks he makes secret stashes in every room in the house.

This symbolized Gavin and Owen he likes that with his brother he can spell the owrd GO.

This is his "little" letter family Jason, Gavin, Owen and Tatum.
What a funny kid.

Sunday Best

2009-09-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

I tried to take a picture of Gavin and Owen because they both looked so handsome. Owen sat up and smiled so big and looked right at the camera, very photogenic. Gavin on the other hand won't look at the camera or smile nice. So I was getting frustrated, "Gavin come on look at the camera, and smile...this was his best effort. Seriously.

I think that Gavin is just going to have to be a hansome boy in person and that the camera just can't capture that kind of hansome. I was laughing so hard on the way to church thinking of this picture. I'm still laughing.

Owen a different Sunday, lovin' to have picture taken.

This Day in September

2009-09-23T15:40:00.000-07:00

Today I realized that if you are exhausted from the day to day monotnous list of things to get done your kids probably are too. I went to target to get some items that I needed for dinner. You know the feeling when you look in the frige and wonder how and I already almost out of eggs again! So I headed out Owen instantly dozed off of course, and slept like a rock throughout the store and straight home to his bed where he is still sleeping. And poor little Gavin who never wants to take naps anymore feel asleep sitting upright in the cart, mouth wide open, head tipping over and then sitting back up to get comfy and sleep some more. He is also still sleeping. It's a miracle they are both sleeping at the same time this long! I quickly got the items on the list, chuckling at Gavin and for being in the store with two kids who just wanted to nap. Silly Mom, I wish I would have slowed down a bit and taken a nap with them and be ok with cereal for dinner.

A Good Head of lettuce!

2009-09-16T22:54:00.000-07:00

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!

2009-09-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

Gavin is officially a big big boy now. He turned three on Sunday. We had a very nice relaxing family get together. But before that had a big birthday bash with some of his little buddies on Saturday. I made a Chicka Chicka boom boom tree during the week and filled it with candy. He had no idea. A few minutes before the party I pulled it out. His response..."Oh my goodness!!!" So I would say all the planning and the prep to make it the best birthday of his life was a success.

Gavin was definitely showered with gifts of love. Everyone knew just what to give the alphabet and green crazed boy. What a happy three year old. I love being able to spend my days with him. He is such a funny little man. I just love those sweet brown eyes. He knows I get a little sad know that he is a big big boy. He likes to tease me and see me pretend to be vekelmpt. But really, I just have to pretend so I don't really get sad. I am happy he is getting bigger, smarter,etc. But I just wish I could be he favorite person in the world forever. I love how he tells me he loves me a zillion times a day and that we are best friends. I just know that with each passing birthday... OK now I am starting to get worked up...anyways. Happy 3 Gavin!

A million thanks to all his family and friends that made him feel so special and loved on his birthday!

Gross!

2009-09-03T20:47:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

This is Jason. I think I have only posted one other time. I am not as eloquent as Tatum. Anyway...I have a story that I think is hilarious, but Tatum is probably unwilling to share because it is a bit gross.

So the other day we went to the mall, but before we did we stopped off and got some greasy fast food. (I don't remember where, but not important.) Before we left we refilled our soda and hopped back in the car.

Gavin and I are soda hogs so we had most of it gone by the time we got to the parking garage. In fact I took a swig right before I got out of the car and all the ice had melted. It was no longer any good so I put it on top of the car so I would remember to throw it away.

We started the ten minute process of getting ready for the mall. Setup the stroller, get our returns organized, and then we realized Owen needed a diaper change. I laid him in the back of the CRV and changed him before I put him in the Baby Bjorn. In order to free up a hand, I consolidated the trash by putting the diaper in the cup of watered-down soda and put it back on top of the car. (I'm sure you can see where this is going.)

Tatum had of course not seen this so when I turned my head she snatched the soda for one last swig. When I turned around I screamed, "DONT!!!", but she was not sure what I was talking about. Despite my warning she took a big sip and said, "WHAT?". I told her and started busted up laughing. Needless to say, I did not kiss her the rest of the day.

Tempted

2009-07-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

Gavin has, dare I say a little girlfriend. They are such cute little friends. She tempted him to run through the sprinklers. Only Adria could get him to try this. He is so cautious, and neat and hates to be wet. Funny how it just takes the right person.

Gavin has, dare I say a little girlfriend. They are such cute little friends. She tempted him to run through the sprinklers. Only Adria could get him to try this. He is so cautious, and neat and hates to be wet. Funny how it just takes the right person.

Playgroup goes to the zoo!

2009-07-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

We deciced to take all the whole gang to the zoo. Gavin loves all his buddies, Jacob, Matthew and Eric. They all had fun seeing all the animals. They are quite the wild bunch so they must gave felt right at home. I of course love hanging out with Cari and Kim. I am so lucky to live on the same block/neighborhood as these ladies. And it is even more lucky that we all have boys so close in age.

Family Night

2009-07-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

For family night we hiked a little trail up in Muller Park. I was quite impressed with Gavin for walking most of the way. This was his first real hike. He seemed to enjoy it. But think Jason enjoyed it the most. He pointed out all sorts of cool things to Gavin. Such as a shiny trail left behind by a snail. Aong with other boyscout-ish things I didn't know. I could sense the exciment between the boys. And Jason latter mentionsed how he is going to take the boys on all sorts of campouts and hikes. What will I do...maybe a nice pedicure.

Always a treat we have in store. This may be Gavin's favorite part of FHE. Even Owen got in on the action.

Gearhart Fest

2009-07-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Dekalb Illinois...
Started out with a early morning flight(we had to leave our house at 5 a.m. yikes)to St. Louis. I was so excited I hardly slept a wink. I felt like an eight year old waiting for Christmas morning.

When we got to the Hertz car rental it had been quite the journey already but we were all holding up pretty good. So good that I think we may have pushed it to the max. Just as Jason was loading up the car so we could go the last leg of the trip to Nauvoo...I felt a light sprinkle on my toes. I turned to see Gavin pants down relieving his tiny bladder which I am sure was about to burst. Luckily there was only one young man sitting on the curb near by and he may not have even noticed except for my loud shrill...Gavin. Oh well all I can say is I am glad he didn't pee his pants. I realized that I had mad a big mistake, by letting him go in the backyard. what kind of mother am I.

So after that we headed out to the temple. On the way there I realized we had left our recommends at home. Again what kind of a person am I that in all of my preparation I somehow didn't manage to get that packed. I was so nervous that I was not going to get to see my sister get married. But we called a bunch of friends to get our Bishop's number and we were able to make it. Nauvoo is such a beautiful little town. So lush and green the Temple is so beautiful. We stayed the night in the Hyrum Smith Farm House. It was amazing to actually be in Navuoo and feel of the history there. We want to go back there, to stay longer.
The next morning Tenille was married and she looked beautiful. Tenille and Lawrence look just the way every young couple should when the get married they were beaming from ear to ear. I can't say the same for Owen he was pretty sleep deprived and the rain pouring down was not helping the situation.

My parents had the reception in their sweet barn, which kept us all dry. So we were able to celebrate and enjoy the live band. Gavin asked the singer if he could sing twinkle twinkle little star. I wish I had my camera at that moment. The singer lowered the mic. and Gavin sang it without skipping a beat. I don't think he even knew he was performing until everyone cheered and clapped. Then his face lit up and I think he was secretly thinking, "who me, you like-y, I am pretty amazing..., thanks." Or something along those lines. It was so cute.

On Monday Jason went to a cubs game with the "guys" in my family (Amanda, a major sports fan and Jakelle went to). While most of the ladies and children stayed in Dekalb and played and swam all day. Gavin had the time of his life playing with his cousins. I feel like I barely say him the entire trip. I had fun hanging out with my sistas and all my nieces and nephews. I wish I could see them all more often.

The next two days were filled with water park bliss. My Dad treated us to a two day stay at Kalihari Resorts in the Wisconsin Dells. It was an amazing town filled with themed water parks resorts. The one we stayed at had an African theme. Just before midnight I had a craving to go go kart racing so...Jason, Brody and Payton came with me. One the way down to the track I was so excited I was pretend racing Brody and bumped him into the wall pretty hard. My evil side came out a little in Wisconsin. I also splashed really cold water on Tamzen after as she was getting out of the hot tub. And I also tipped over my parents inner tube when they were enjoying a nice relaxing float around the lazy river. Not to mention they had Gavin. I usually just think of doing these things in my mind and then I come back to my senses. What can I say I was on vacation...I got a little crazy. (I do feel really bad about tipping my parents over, sorry mom, dad and Gavin, again.)

The next day was our last and I don't know how it went by so fast. We headed back to my parents house. The cousins all slept upstairs; some even in box shanties. Jason and I had to go to my favorite place to eat in the Midwest. Portillo's, thinking about the Chicago dogs and cake shakes is making me drool right now.

So the next day we drove to St. Louis to catch our flight home. Almost missed which wouldn't have been so bad if we weren't three plus hours away from my parents home. But we made it. Sadly our trip cam to an end...until next year!

2009-07-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

Random End of June Fun

2009-06-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

Gavin made his own desk one day after his dad left for work so he could work too. He has important thing to do to.

Look what I can do!

Ahh! I love the suprised look on Owen's face. Gavin likes to spook Owen.

Popcicle covered tounge's. Gavin's favorite color is green of course.

Jason's popcicle was white in case you can't tell.

Quiltin' Fool

2009-06-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

I have been putting together the top of my sisters gigantic queen quilt for her wedding present. My grandmother and I went and picked out some fabric to make her a quilt for when she got married, long before she was engagged. Yet, somehow I am still probably not going to make it in time for the wedding. It has turned out to be a much bigger project than I anticipated. But here is the top ready to be hand quilted. I have a hard time finding time to quilt and ignore this little guy, how could you. And by the time my boys are in bed I am spent. So I usually don't sew to much at night.

I am quite happy that I accomplished this much. I love the bright colors against the the black. I did it all with out a pattern. I dreamed it up all on my own.

Mommy wow!

2009-06-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I remember the jingle to the pull ups commercial so well or why it sticks in my head. But whenever Gavin wears them, I have to sing the song in my head. I'm a big kid now! Gavin has been potty trained for quite some time now and he is learning to not need them at night either so eventually I can be rid of the pull up and the silly song too.

Bees' Game

2009-06-16T14:59:00.000-07:00

Gavin has been working to earn more marbles in his Bee's jar to go to another game. He filed the entire jar with goodness in no time. He was so excited he was asking me what else he could do to earn marbles. It was all worth it too. He meet the Bee and wanted to follow him as he surfed the crowd. It was a cool evening and it only sprinkled for a little while. It was quite enjoyable for all of us.

A little cloudy and cool, just right for a ball game! (Photo by Gavin)

"I like the game, I do, I just like the goodies that go with it better"

"What, mom I'm trying to watch the game here."

"You're my hero, can I get your autograph!"

As always Gavin make friend everywhere we go. The ladies behind us thought Gavin was funny. One of the ladies behind us had bright red streaks in her hair. So naturally Gavin asked her if that was her favorite color. I explained his idea that everyone wears there favorite color. So they convinved him that he needs to dye his hair green. He is still not sure what dye is but he still asks me if he can dye his hair green. Maybe I will have to let him for Halloween this year.

Busy like Dad

2009-06-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

We are so ready for Jason to be done with school. It is his last week and weekend of school. He is super busy with finishing up this week so we decided to keep busy too.

Gavin wanted to make a paint apron like Joe's on Blue's clues.

He picked out Green letters and some awesome puff paint at Micheal's craft store.

The finished product.

Gavin loves to help me make treats. So we made dad some cookies to suprise him with after he got back form his last class.

Gavin had to go to bed before dad got home. He was sad so he had some cookies before he went to bed. The next day after Jason got home from his final we yelled congratulations and surprised him with the baked by Gavin peanut butter blossom goodness! Yea! We are so glad daddy did it. We love and appreciate him so much. On to brighter weekends!

Book Fair at Wheeler Farms

2009-06-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

We went to a book fair at Wheeler Farms. We enjoyed walking around the farm, checking out new books and reading programs that Gavin is too young for. We meet the Jazz bear, that Gavin and Owen were not to fond of. I gotta admit up close and personal he is kinda creepy. In the main barn there was a wonderful story teller, Linda Gordon, from Chigago. And we headed home just in time to miss the down poor of rain.

We went to a book fair at Wheeler Farms. We enjoyed walking around the farm, checking out new books and reading programs that Gavin is too young for. We meet the Jazz bear, that Gain was not to fond of. I gotta admit up close and personal he is kinda creepy. In the main barn there was a wonderful story teller, Linda Gordon, from Chigago. And we headed home just in time to miss the down poor of rain.

Model Shoot

2009-06-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

Gavin adores "his" Mo-ped helmet. He wears it in the car often and even into stores while we run errands. One afternoon while baby Owen was napping we had a photo shoot. Many people have told me that Gavin could model. However he rarley lets me take pictures of him...willingly. We had fun taking pictures and he was cracking me up with all of his differnt posses.

Tee-Hee

An Unusually Rainy June

2009-06-05T21:02:00.000-07:00

It has been so rainy so far this summer. So we took advantage of a blissful sunny day. We were outside for hours. We love our little park that is right next to our house. Here's Gavin showing off his skills. He is really good at cimbing up the slides now. Little Owen loves to play outside and I just can't resist kissing him he is so soft and loveable. Gavin and Owen like to play together in this tunnel. Owen especially love Gavin's shoes. "Watch this Mom." "Huh... Who Me?"

Gavin what a cute kid. And watch as he knocks me over at the end of the slide.

Memorial Day Weekend in Colorado

2009-05-31T16:02:00.000-07:00

While Jason and his dad were putting new flooring in our house, we headed off to Colorado for Tenille's bridal shower. And some good family fun.

Here are the boys golfing . Gavin is just our of range in this picture. He looked so cute golfing with the older boys.

Gavin making a funny face.

Brody modeling Owen's jacket. How he fit into it I don't know. But it was hilarious cause he walked up to me and just started talking like it was no big deal. When I realized he had Owen's jacket on I almost peed my pants. Crazy ol' Brody always good for a laugh. On a side note I just can't believe how tall and old he is getting. I remember the day he was born and I remember him as a baby. Where did the time go?

Brody's blue steal pose.

Payton joined in on the fun. After all Owen is his mini me.

So I didn't get any pictures of the shower or Tenille. But it was a really pretty shower. It was fun to have a get away and spend some time with my family. I even stayed an extra day. I discovered Owen is not much of a traveler. he hates his car seat and can't sleep in it for very long. So Tamzen got me a ticket to fly back the next day so I could stay longer and not have to travel back via the car. The extra day we were there fell on Brody and Payton's last day of school. Tamzen has a schools out party. When they came home from school we all sprayed them with silly string and they had a party. Tamzen's such a fun creative mom! Oh and an added bonus was meeting my newest nephew Ranier. He is a month older than Owen and quite possible the happiest baby on the planet. So cute that boy!

May Pictures

2009-05-31T15:30:00.000-07:00

To remember what has been going on in ourlives I have to go by what pictures we took. SO here is some of what we have been up to. I'll start off where we last left.

Lawrence made us this awesome trim on the wall...

Along with this shelf system I don't know what we did without.

Gavin and Mom at a Bee's game. Thanks to my Jason's sister we are able to go for free frequently and the boys love to ride the train to the game and stay to hear the "take me out to the ball game song.

What handsome boys! You gotta love Owen' hair here too.

Jason modeling the dress I found for Tenille's wedding. Most importantly he is standing on the wood floor that they (Jason and his dad) put in over Memorial Day weekend. I was off in Colorado that weekend for Tenille's Bridal shower.

2009-05-06T22:14:00.000-07:00

Just Stop it Already

2009-05-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

My Baby is 6 months old today. I tell him everyday to just stop growing and stay this way forever. This is a blissful age. Especially with a baby like Owen. He sleeps through the night, like through the night 8 ish to 7 ish. Ahh that makes for a very, very happy mom. He is so strong, he rolls over both ways, can almost sit up on his own and is trying to scoot. He is so happy, squishy, easy going, easy on the eyes and charming. I love, love that baby of mine. Happy Half B-Day O.

Accomplished

2009-05-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

Jason graduated today with his MBA. I just wanted to thank him for all his hard work. It hasn't always been an easy road. I have to admit, that I haven't always been the best at supporting him. In the long run I knew /know this is what he needs to do. But I want my hubby back on the weekends. I thank him for going to class in spite of my pleas to skip class or leaving a grumpy wife when he had another group project to do. There were many times he studied early Saturday morning in our bedroom closet so he wouldn't wake me. I was thinking the other day when he got his cap and gown of all that he has acommplished in just the 4 years. He now has a masters in bussiness, he has a really good job that he loves, he has two handsome sons that adore him,(and I am sure will want to follow in his footsteps) a smokin' hot wife, (ha ha), a house and so much more that make him the man I love and adore. I love you Jason. Congrats, you did it!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

I love Easter! I always have and always will. Especially with one like today. We had a wonderful meeting today. It was stake conference and Gavin was so quiet and well behaved during the whole two hours. And Owen slept in his Daddy's arms the entire time. After church was over I said, "Gavin I am so impressed!" He replied so matter of factly, "I'm pressed too Mommy." After, we went over to Jason's parents house and enjoyed a oh so delish meal. The weather was so nice, spring is definitely here. We tried to take some family pictures while we were in our Easter clothes and Gavin is really into making the same scrunched face. We had fun and just enjoyed being there and just relaxing. Oh yeah right before we left Gavin was so funny Gavin went over to Jenise's twin sister Denise. He pulled her hair back. I wasn't sure what he was up to. I thought he was trying to get he earrings or something. Then he said, "Hey you look like Grandma!" It was so cute that he had figured that out and could vocalize it. On the way to the Keith's. Owen likes to take Gavin's cups and chew on em'. Gavin likes to be safe in the car since he found my old moped helmet. Two cuties in their Easter vests. Neighborhood Easter egg hunt at the clubhouse. Gavin took off and you can barely see him. Gavin got his Easter basket a day early cause I forgot to put it up after preparing it...Oh well he's young he didn't mind. He also got the old school Gone Fishin' Game and he loves it. I have to admit it is pretty fun to play and try to fish out those suckers.

The G Man

2009-04-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to blog a little bit about my favorite two year old in the world. But he has been keeping me so busy that I am ready to fall on my bed and sleep by the time I get a chance to even get around to opening my computer. Last night I went to bed at ten a mere 30 minutes after he went to sleep. He is a bundle of energy from the time he gets up till the time he goes to bed. He can make me laugh so hard, be so sweet or make me want to pull my hair out because he is so naughty, all within five minutes. Today was a perfect example of all of these moments. For instance... Gavin gave me hugs and kisses and told me I was his best friend this morning. He played so nice and quietly in his room. So much so that I dosed off for a little morning nap on his bed. I must confess this is not the first time I have done this. A few weeks ago I was trying to put Gavin's clothes on, which is always a struggle. I got so exhausted in the attempt I laid down on his bed and dosed off. When I opened my eyes to check on him I saw this. That's right Gavin in just his undies and crocs making the letter C out of paper bowls. Ahh what a funny kid! Now don't go and think I am a bad mom. I am not heavily sleeping, I can always hear Gavin and I am always in the same room as he is. Plus he likes to stay right by and tell me to open my eyes every few minutes. Or today he tried tricking me and telling me Owen was crying, when he was really sound asleep Some other Gavinism at the moment, both good and a little naughty. *spinning in a circle really fast when he is mad, while saying you makin' me dizzy and falling on the floor. I can't help but laugh when he does this. *knows how to spell at least 15 words that I know of, can read at least 20 and can count up to 30. He is really into Sesame Street right now. Particularly the letter and number of the day. He still loves letters and can’t go a day without them.
A>
*accident pron like me especially when he ignores my pleas to not touch hot things or to not sit on a tiny wagon. The day after his fall, he sat in front of the mirror making silly faces with his new found third eyebrow.
*loves to smell Owen's diaper after a toot or poop and say eew that's sick.. Or today he sat on him and tried to play horse with him
*loves his daddy and hates when he goes to work or school. He has to have a few hugs and kisses each time with the reminder that dad will be home at 5 and possibly for lunch *loves silly kid songs. We have some CD's in our car everywhere we go he wants to listen to them. *He is into pretend play now. He come up to me daily and says "Mommy, I take you sunshine away." And will throw it and stomp on it to tease me until pretend to cry, then he hands it back to me. *He also loves to tease Tenille and she love to tease him and say that's my goldfish or blanket or whatever is near him. He is going to miss her. *Sleep walks, he wakes up wanting pancakes, or Jason to play basketball with him, or something crazy I think he dreamt about. Gavin is so smart and witty and talks like he is 6 or 7, I think that's why I get frustrated when he is being "naughty". But that's when I have to remember he is just two and really I wish he could stay this way forever. Like I try and tell him when he is "taking my sunshine away", "No you're my sunshine." I love you Gavin!

4 Months

2009-03-08T20:50:00.000-07:00

So Owen is now four months old. I can't believe he is that old. He is sick again for the second time in his little life with a bad cold. He is making it through though and is still the happiest little sick guy. When our doctor weighed him on Monday he was 15 pounds 13 ounces! He is still sleeping through the night most of the time and he is looking like he will roll over any day! Which is probably good since he has some serious hair loss on the back of his head. I love Owen so much and I wish he could just stay little forever!

Never too Old for a Party

2009-02-24T22:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Jason,
Well today was/is Jason's Birthday. I love Birthday's and nothing thrills me more than planning a great day for my man. We started by getting ballons from Gavin. It was so windy today that four of them flew away. Gavin was wailing, "My Balloons!" It still make me laugh thinking about the whole situation. So we went back and bought four more. We of course had to get four of the exact same color to replace the others. Gavin was so cute singing Happy Birthday to his dad at work.
For dinner we went to Five Guys. Jason's new favorite Hamburger and Fries place. It was delicious! Then we came back for some cake and icecream. I made Wii remote cakes. Jason does love to play when he can. Infact he did his Wii age today and he was 32. Ouch! A year older than his actually age. He is usually his low twenties. I guess his now officially an old man if the Wii sports says so too.
Well all in all, I think Jason had a pretty sweet day. He deserves it, he’s the best!

We only put two candles on, other wise our fire alarm would go off... seriously!

birthday Wii cakes

Logan and Gavin playing Wii

Gavin and Miles being cute!

Chunky Monkey...Doggy

2009-02-20T20:52:00.000-08:00

Gavin the big boy, the big brother and some comments on his Owen. Sometimes Owen spits up, ok, well always spits up. Sometimes I say in a baby voice, “Owen you got chunky monkey spit-ups.” With which Gavin follows up with, “chunky doggy spit-ups,” then he chuckles, like he knows he is being funny. Sometimes I have Owen "doggy pile" on Gavin and they both think that’s fun for a second. Then Gavin yells spit-ups because he is afraid of the up chuck that may very well follow.
So, tonight as I was trying to calm Owen down. I was at a loss at what to do. Gavin kept telling me to be happy. Then he noticed that Owen was still crying. He doesn’t cry too often, but when he does he has a loud wail. Gavin said, “Mom, Owen’s crying.” I tried to explain that he was sad. I asked him what would make him happy. We decided to have Gavin try to calm him down. He gave him a couple of hugs and kisses, and it worked! He calmed down. It was a miracle! I swear they have a special bond. Owen loves to be near Gavin and watch him. He especially loves it when Gavin interacts with him. He doesn’t even seem to mind to bad when Gavin “accidentally” hits him.

They say you are what you spit up. Owen is a chunky monkey and we all love it. (I got jealous of all of baby Ranier's rolly-polly pictures and took some of my own, thanks for the idea Jolene.)

Oh and I found this on my camera tonight and a bunch of other self portraits and random shots. Gavin loves my camera and I can always tell when he has gotten to it.

Peace Out,
Tate

2009-02-17T23:03:00.001-08:00

3 Day Weekend = Love

2009-02-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

This weekend was one of the best we've had in while. We are all finally healthy and back to ourseleves for the most part.
So on Friday night Jason and I went out for a Valentine's date with his sister and cousins. We ate at the Pizza Factory where I spilled and entire cup of water on my lap. Oh and we took Owen with us because he won't take bottles and Gavin was having a blast at his Grandma's (thanks Jenise). After we played some games at his cousins, Spencer and Nikki's house. It was so much fun to just play some games with everyone. We also had some yummy desserts that people brought. I managed to spill the rasberry sauce from the Cheesecake on my shirt. One of his cousins that obviously hasn't spent enough time with me said, "Man it's not your night." I replied, "It's not my life." I think that's why I enjoy kid so much cause they always spill and have something on their shirt too.
Valentine's morning we made pink heart pancakes and had breakfast with Tenille and Lawerence. Later that day we went down to Utah County for a wedding reception. On the way there we dropped off a Valentine for Jason's Grandma Josie. She loves to see our boys and Gavin got a bag of goodies from here too. (Gavin is still on a sugar high, he is a chocoholic) Then we went to IKEA. Ross and Val found some cute kid chairs and we bought a cute little red one for Gavin that was only 10 $. The reception was in a cool art building and they had lots of yummy food. We tried not eat to much cause we knew we had to pick up some Los Hermonos. Which was our real Valentine treat. I love love Los Hermonos. Before we left we stopped by to see our old neighbors, Mary and Chris Banford and their new little baby, Matthew. Their other little boy that is 3 used to play with Gavin and seems so grown up. But then again so does Gavin compared to how little he was when we moved. He was barley 1 when we moved and not talking. That seems like a lifetime ago. It was good to see some old friends and remenice about the old days.
Plus Jason wrote me the sweetest note in my card. I guess he does love me afterall.
He spoiled me by telling me that he found the perfect office desk that I've been looking for. We went and bought it on President's Day. I love it, can't wait to pick it up!
I normally dread Sunday nights but Monday was a holiday so we stayed up late and played games with Tenille and Lawrence. I stayed way later than I should have reading everyone's blogs. Needless to say I was a bit crabby in the morning. Poor Jason. But the day got better. I gave Owen his first hair cut. I know it seems crazy to give a three month old a hair cut. But trust me he needed a trim. His hair was unruly before. He still has a ton and is cuter than ever. Then we took Gavin to KANGAROO ZOO. I have been wanting to take him there for a long time. It is an infatable boucy warehouse designed mostly for kid. It has tons of slides and stuff. We only had to pay five bucks for Gavin. And watching him have the time of his life was worth every penny. We called our neighbors Patrick and Cari to have Jacob come join him it was so stinkin' cute. I love that Gavin is getting older and can do stuff like this. It was the perfect ending to the weekend!

Some people have comfort foods...

2009-01-27T13:56:00.000-08:00

I have my sisters. Don't get me wrong I love to eat comfort foods too. I especially love eating them with my sisters. Especially because being with them is a very good reason to celebrate and go out to eat at our favorite places. Or to make a good treat and eat with them as we tell funny stories from our childhood, talk about all the recent gossip with the stars, or analyze in depth the way we are the way we are and why.

About two months ago my sweet sisters came to be with me at a time that I needed "comfort." Mostly they came to share with me the joy of having my second son, Owen. My older sister called me as I was starting labor and quickly got on a flight to come that day. And my younger sister was finishing up her mid-terms and headed out that day as well. I have to be the luckiest sister in the world to be sandwiched in between two amazing sisters. They are both way cooler than me and I don't even know how I got so lucky to have them. I am glad that Tamzen prayed and prayed for a little sister to come to her family and I was able to be her little sister. And Tenille is the little sister that I will always admire and be in awe of.

I have to be honest and say that it was not always bliss between all of us. There is a about a 7 year gap between Tamzen and I and a five year gap between Tenille and I. SO we didn't always see eye to eye on a lot of things. I remember the time Tamzen thought I broke her precious karaoke machine and she yelled at me and took my precious boom box as a payback. Which being the 12 year old I was I responded, "that boom box means more to me than your life, give it back, give it baaaack." Ugh, I can't believe I ever said that. Tamzen is truly a best friend to me. One I can count on for anything. She cheers me up when I am sad, make me laugh so hard I cry (or pee a little), is and amazing example, a super good listener, laughs at my jokes and funny stories, keeps me fashion savvy, takes care of me, is so good at everything she does and the list could go on and on. Just a couple of weeks ago when we were in Colorado. I was so sick, tired and feeling extremely down on my luck. Tamzen, Lee and Brody stayed up pretty late and talked me through it all. I feel like I will always be in debt to her for all that she has done for me. Luckily I have a little sister too, one that I hope I can be just as nice to.

Which brings me to Tenille, my favorite little sister. The coolest of all little sisters. We too had our differences. Like when she would borrow my clothes and I wouldn't see them for a loooong time. And I would raid her room and find them in her closet. Or she would open my new package of mechanical pencils and use them first. Well...now Tenille is living at my house in between semesters at BYU-I. (I also lived at Tamzen's house in between semesters.) And I can borrow all of her clothing which is much cuter and trendier than mine. Her living here this semester is such a blessing to me. She has this aura about her, that is full of life, bright, happy and vivacious. Which is much needed for a new mom that is sleep deprived and tired. She has been a gigantic help with so much already. I can see why mom and dad wanted to keep her in Chicago with them. I look forward to the next few months as we grow even closer together. We have always been close, but I moved away when Tenille was still a young girl. Now she has grown into a young woman who can do whatever she puts her mind too, is so creative, talented, beautiful and amazing. I have some things to learn from her, that I'm sure will help me in this life.

I love my sisters so much, they are simply the best!

I wish I had a recent picture of us all together, that's something we need to do the next time we all are together.
Tate

Holiday Fun in Colorado

2009-01-17T22:05:00.000-08:00

Christmas Time

2009-01-17T21:48:00.000-08:00

Owen's Blessing

2009-01-17T21:23:00.000-08:00

The Good Times Are Now

2009-01-16T22:49:00.001-08:00

Hey,
So I realize that I am extremely behind in my updating of posts, I have my reasons. But the time just keeps rolling on, so I am going to summarize the best that I can.

On Christmas Eve Jason's Parents invited us on a "train" ride. Well it was mostly for Gavin. We rode from the North Salt Lake to Temple Square. I have to admit that I may not have attempted to do this on my own. But it was quite fun. It was so nice to be there as a family and see the beautiful lights. They also had the Nativity scene set up with the story playing outside. I am glad that we had a chance to remember the real reason that we were celebrating Christmas.
So after that things got crazy. We went to Jason's parents for Christmas. His sister Lindsey came from Colorado. The cousins all played, while we all ate yummy Christmas treats. Then we headed home to wait for Christmas morning. The next morning Gavin slept in until 9:30! Owen did not he was a hungry boy all through the night. But it was so fun to see Gavin so excited about his tool set. We could hardly get him to open any other presents. In fact, he opened them slowly over a few days. Maybe we should celebrate Hanukkah style next year. (Teague might like that too.)
So then we had a delightful dinner at the Keith's. I hardly saw Gavin all day because he was playing with his cousin Ben and his toys. He wouldn't even let me change him out of his PJ's all day and hey it was Christmas. But then sadly the day ended and we had a giant snowstorm that night.
The next morning we decided to brave the storm and go to Colorado anyways. After we made it out of Utah it was an easy trip. We stayed the night at my grandparents house in Denver. They made us their notorious breakfast then we got ready to go to my hometown Colorado Springs. The 27th, our anniversary, (3 years) we spent with Tamzen and Lee (13 years). We went to Salsa Brava. It was so so good. Then we saw Benjamin Button. Gavin was at Tamzen house with Uncle Teague and Aunt Jakelle. Owen enjoyed the movie, but not as much as Tamzen and I.
When we returned home that night we returned to a very sick little boy. Gavin had a horrible cold the entire time that we were in Colorado. He had swollen puffy eyes, a runny nose and he could barely talk. I got it a couple of days later. So needless to say we stayed close to home, well Tamzen's home, and chilled. It was still tons of fun just to be there and see all my family. I miss Colorado and the blue skies there so much. Colorado Springs has the most amazing blue skies. And it was perfect weather, well for December, the entire time we were there.
On New Year's Eve, Tamzen had a get together at her house. We ate good food had Martinelli's and played Scum. I was the first to hit the hay closely after midnight. Jason stayed up till 4. What? I know that is not like him at all. SO we stayed one more day so he could re coupe and went to Red Robin with Tristan and his family on New Year's Day.
Then we headed home. It was an easy trip home. Gavin slept half the trip. Poor kid so worn out from being on Vacation and being sick too. As soon as we got home people were coming into town for Owen's blessing on Sunday. My parent's came and stayed at my house until Tues. I wish they could have stayed for a week. They are the best. I realize each time I see them what wonderful parents they are. I am definitely spoiled. Oh yeah and my Grandparents came all the way from Denver too. Oh yeah and Tenille is now here for good, well 4 months. She is working here in her off time from BYU-I to help me out and to be closer to her boyfriend Lawrence. So on Monday we all went to Body World. This guy found a way to plasticize real bodies without their skin and stuff and make it art like. Kinda cool mostly gross.
After that it calmed down a bit until my sweet baby got sick on Sunday. He had a super high fever and was automatically sent to the ER. They ran all sorts of tests and he has croup. I wish they could have assessed that without an I.V. not to mention all sorts of other painful tests. He has the same thing as Gavin basically but it is even harder to watch a tiny baby have it. He is slowly getting better.
So I have to explain the purple lips. This may be more info than some want to here so skip if it disgusts you. I have a really bad cracked nipple so I went to a specialist and she prescribed this violet herbal stuff. It is so messy. It stains whatever it touches. Hence Owen's purple lips. It make me so sad that he has to go through so much right now. But he is the cutest happiest baby and has adorable purple lips. I guess you have to find the humor/good in all situations. I am still learning this, especially with all the stuff going on right now.
Tate

2008-12-23T14:10:00.001-08:00

The Christmas Spirit

2008-12-22T15:30:00.002-08:00

I haven't much been into the Christmas mood lately. I have been wrapped up in my own little baby world that I didn't give Christmas much thought until December was here. Then all of the sudden I realized I needed to do about a million things. Christmas definitely changes when you are the one that is planning and preparing the Christmas fun. It is a lot of work. I appreciate my parents and applaud them for not going insane. Eight kids...that's nuts. I love them so much and can remember to this day the buzz of anticipation in my stomach all Christmas Eve. No wonder they told us we were not to come out of our rooms and start the festivities until at least 6 a.m.( It's hard to believe that I ever wanted to be up at that insane hour) I now understand the tired parents on Christmas day. Well I decided that I am going to do everything I can to enjoy Christmas and about a week ago I began to feel that buzz in my stomach.
I would have to say that Jason helped me out by making me laugh so hard that I cried the other night. We went driving around our neighborhood to see all the lights. Gavin feel asleep after about thirty minutes of looking at all the lights. So Jason decided to find a hill and sled, with our new sled that was still in the back of the car. He had no coat so he wore my girly white pea coat. He hiked up a hill in my coat, with no gloves, hat or anything sled worthy. And came plummeting down the hill. It was hilarious, I wish I would have had my camera. I love that crazy man for helping me find my Christmas Spirit.
So we hung lights in our window and in Gavin's window. The first few nights we had the lights on when Gavin went to bed. But a few night later he was just awake having a party in his room. Singing and playing with toys until 11 pm. Needless to say Gavin loves all the Christmas decor and is truly getting into the Christmas spirit. He loves to listen to the classic Christmas songs. He is so good at memorizing lyrics and has even stopped and corrected me when I sang the wrong lyrics to Jingle Bell Rock. What a little smarty pants. We took him to see Santa the other night and he him. I was relived because you never know if a two year old is going to cry or love Santa. Well Gavin, sat upon his lap and had himself a nice conversation. I bet he gets everything he wants. Santa said Gavin was a cute little guy.

Today we went and bought Jason a present from Gavin and Owen. Gavin and Owen helped pick out the present and Gavin talked about it the whole way home. Then he announced to daddy at lunch time that we got him a present. I had to stop him and tell him it was a surprise and not to tell daddy. So we wrapped the first presents of the season and put them under the tree. Gavin hugged one of the present and said, "I love my present!" Oh Christmas, what an exciting time. I can't believe it is almost here. Yeah!

All I can say is thank goodness for Christmas this year. It has brightened the cold dark nights and made my heart feel a little lighter!

Merry Christmas to All and to All a good night!
Tate

MTC Day For Elder Gearhart

2008-11-30T21:17:00.000-08:00

I am very behind in my blogging. So the next few blogs my be out of order and from weeks ago. So, my youngest brother Taft entered the MTC a week and a half ago. My sister Tenille came down from Idaho to help take Taft to the MTC with me. It was fun to take him and see him off. Taft is going to be an outstanding missionary. I love that guy, he has a heart of gold. My mom told me a few weeks ago that Taft had been praying and working on one of his eyes that he has always had issues with. After a doctors appointment, he came home ecstatic because his vision had improved greatly. I didn't even know that it was as bad as it was. But he spent months working on improving it and praying. He is such a great example to me. His faith is unwavering, he knows and trusts in the Lord. Taft said he was nervous before he entered into the MTC (so much so that he could hardly eat his last, pre-mission requested, Bugers Supreme meal!) but when the time came he was the first to say goodbye to his goofy sisters and head out the door without a tear to start his mission. Oh and Gavin watched the whole movie and was pretty good while we were there. He didn't want to say goodbye. Gavin hates goodbyes. During the movie they show I wispered in Gaivn's ear, "don't you want to be a missionary someday?" He wispered back, "No" That's ok by me for now too soon to even think about my baby leaving. Oh then I would be bawling. Tate

2008-11-21T14:35:00.001-08:00

Baby Bliss

2008-11-18T22:45:00.000-08:00

I don't even know where to start so much has happened. I have so many things to post but I would rather sit and stare at my baby and toddler sleeping in my bed. I love being able to be lazy and just enjoy this new time in my (our) lives.
Gavin loves Owen or as he sometimes calls him Goo Goo.
Over the last two weeks we have been showered with so much love. Thanks for all the phone calls, visits, gifts, treats and meals. It has made the last two weeks so enjoyable. I will post more stories and such later. Here are some more pictures that some of you requested. Owen now weighs 7.5 and is 19.3 inches long.

Owen is here!

2008-11-06T16:26:00.000-08:00

Baby Owen was born around 1:30. Labor was about 3 hours. He was 6 lbs. 11 oz. 18.5 inches. Mother and baby are doing awesome!

2008-10-31T23:08:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween!!!

2008-10-31T13:17:00.000-07:00

Halloween is so much fun! I love it. I don't know if Gavin is too excited about the dressing up part, but he is excited to get candy. We went to the store to pick up a bag of candy to pass out and a lady was passing out candy and he knew what to do right away. "Trick or Treat," he said and gladly ate the candy. Ahh...just like his dad. All about the candy without having to dress up. This year we found a skunk costume. He wore it once to our ward party crying for the first five of the 45 minutes that he had it on. Maybe he doesn't want to be a stinky skunk. But he sure is a cute one. He had fun going door to door in our neighborhood and at his grandparents. Oh and the other day we had our neighbors (Cari, Patrick and Jacob) over and carved pumpkins. They are way more talented and creative in the pumpkin carving area. They carved Bill Cosby, John Wayne and Lightning McQueen. We carved ours from a stencil/pattern book. We did a spooky house, a scarecrow and a classic pumpkin face for Gavin's. Owen's was too mushy to try and carve it so we wrote his name on it. It was a lot of fun to carve pumpkins together. We love our twinkie neighbors that we seem to have so much in common with. Cari has become such a good friend of mine. It has been nice to have someone that we can call and hang with, go shopping with, eat out with or switch babysitting with while we have our baby appointments and make our bellies into pumpkins. She is due with her second boy, like a week after me. And our two year olds are the best of buddies. I feel so blessed to have them for neighbors. Anyways Happy Halloween and we hope everyone eats so much candy you feel sick!

My First Tag

2008-10-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

My sister tagged me, normally I don't do these but this was actually kinda fun. Tagged be the sevens.

7 Things I Can’t Do:
Watch a scary movie without peeing my pants, having nightmares or needing to have someone sleep right by my. Ask my sister Tamzen, my cousin Sara, or my hubby.
Remember to fill the Brita Pitcher back up.
Be without my boys (Jason, Gavin and of course Owen).
Follow written directions. Ya know like step-by-step Ikea or sewing directions.
Text fast with my new BlackBerry. Man I miss my Razor.
Stand for things to be out of order in my house. Everyone has OCD a little bit right?
Budget, I hate numbers, math and number crunching. Good thing I married Jason.

7 Things I Can Do:
Do a double, reverse, or inward flip on a diving board.
Swim the length of a meter pool without taking a breath.
Make-out pretty good. (I can tie a cherry stem and unwrap a starburst with just my tongue.) That’s proof enough, but you’ll have to ask Jase he’s the only man that knows.
Quilt a new hobby of mine that I love.
Clean a car better than you can pay a guy at a professional car wash.(inside and out)
Make cute babies(well that depends on what this one turns out to look like, well see)
I can play a few ditties on the guitar. (Not great but at least I can).

7 Things that attract me to Jason:
His gorgeous brown eyes and eyelashes.
His laugh, especially when he can’t stop laughing.
His calm cool collectiveness, he can go with the flow and I love to just be around him.
His random wackiness when I least expect it. Like the time he sang me a bunch of crazy kid songs to cheer me up. He still surprises me with the things that are stored up there in his brain. His goodness, he is a good guy through and through, his standards, his goals, his kindness to people around him etc.
His love of family. He always puts family first.
His little bit of nerd; he would be the one for me without it. He gets me.

7 Favorite Movies:
Stick It
The Other Sister
While You Were Sleeping
Home Alone/Elf/A Christmas Story (Tie)
Steel Magnolias
Some Kind of Wonderful (Thanks Steph)
School of Rock

Favorite Foods:
Café Rio (Chicken Salad)
Taco Bell (7 Layer Burrito)
Los Hermanos (Smothered Burrito & Chips & Salsa and smoothies)
Bangkok Grill (Pineapple Curry)
My Mom’s Sweet & Sour Chicken Recipe
Tamzen’s Ritz Cracker Chicken Recipe
Lettuce Wraps and Dan Dan Noodles

7 Things I Say Most Often
Siiick!
Oops a daisy.
What in the WORLD!
Can you do me a favor…
Don’t judge me.
Love you.
Do you need to go potty?

7 People I Tag:
Ben Afleck
Jason Mraz
LC of the hills
Tina Fey
Robert Downey, Jr.
Mark Walberg
Anyone who really wants to do this that is my friend.

Pack's Pumkin Patch

2008-10-20T13:41:00.000-07:00

Jacob and Gavin watch out everyone!

Scary Scarecrows!

Nikki was supposed to be hiding my belly...
where were ya on that on Nikki?

Gavin picked out a little green pumpkin and
a orange one. Later we decided he was think
ing of his little bro. How thoughtful...and we
didn't even know it.

"What dis Mommy?"

I swear I am not smuggling a Pumpkin out in
my shirt.

Gavin so excited he made it out of the little
corn maze.

Oh, how I love this time of year. It is my favorite time of all. On Saturday we went to Pack's Pumpkin Patch in West Farmington. We went there last year with Val, Ross and Logan. We loved it so much we headed back there again. This year was even better. Gavin and Logan were able to enjoy it on a whole new level. Plus our cousins Spencer Nikki and Miles joined us. Miles just looks cute out there in the field of pumpkins. Our neighnbor Cari, Patrick and Jacob came to. Jacob and Gavin are the same age and best of buds. We got some cute pics of them enjoying the festivities. It was the perfect afternoon so bright, warm and nice. Sorry the video is on it's side. Tilt your head it's worth it.

Quilting and Nursing Covers

2008-10-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

My Cuddle Bug trying to find some space
on my lap without squishing my belly to much.

I couldn't resist taking this pic. Gavin is so cute
when he sleeps super hard.

Baby Owen's Quilt

Cute Nursing Cover

So,

I think I have everything ready for the baby to get here. I am getting anxious and ready to have the baby! I finished a quilt for him a couple of weeks ago. I made a nursing cover last week, with the help of my oh so talented mother-in-law, Jenise. It turned out to be pretty cute (ok super cute). Whoever came up with this idea to have a cover was a genius. I wish I woud have had one last time when Gavin was trying to kick off my blanket in front of people. Some things should be kept covered up ya know. I also have all his clothes washed and ready and his diaper bag ready too. We picked out the paint for his room, set up the crib for him and everything. A couple of day ago I decided we need to paint and we have been painting a little bit every night. With all the recent stuff we have been doing I was hoping to bring him here asap. But with my luck he will be a week late.

Jason, Gavin and I watch a little video about him having a new little sibling. It was so 1987. Needless to say we watched it once. But he is so excited and ask to see/touch/squeeze/talk to Owen inside my belly. I think Gavin and Owen are already best of buds. And Owen must be pretty tough for all Gavin has done to my belly already.

Well maybe next post will be one of Owen. Maybe not.

Tate

Our Friend Micheal

2008-10-08T21:50:00.000-07:00

We have a little friend in our neighborhood. His name is Micheal and he is about six. We met on a cool evening and he became fast pals with Gavin. He likes to entertain Gavin, push him in the swings and go down the slides with him. It is pretty cute. Gavin loves older kids so it's kinda nice to have Micheal out at the park so often.
One late summer evening we were all outside. Jason brought out some Watermelon and we shared it with Micheal. I think that was the night he bonded with us. Since then he has sold me on a School Fundraiser and comes over often to ask if Gavin can play. There is only one tiny problem. He wants to come in and play in our house. Which he has and that's fine with us he is a nice kid. But it made me nervous, because I have never met his mom or siblings or anything. He is always outside alone for long amounts of time. He even gave me his mom's # the night he came in to play. I called her to tell her who I was and where Micheal was and that we would like to meet her. If I was his mom I would want to know the people's house he was at. I haven't heard back from her since. So tonight when he asked to come in and play I said that we wanted to play outside. He is so nice I don't want him to feel rejected.
He took off his shoes to play and only had on one sock. I asked him why he had only one sock and he said the other was at home. Oh, o.k. that makes sense. So Gavin had to take of his shoes just like him to play. The kid who freaks out if a wood chip gets in his shoe was barefoot running around without a care. I hope he is not so easily influenced later on.

Risky Business

2008-10-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Gavin dancing in his undies. I have to secretly get photo's and video's when he is not looking. So I was trying to not crack up while I was getting this.

I'm Yours

2008-09-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

Gavin's has become quite the singer. He can actually carry a tune pretty good and pick up lyrics fast, even when I am sure he has no idea what they mean. Oh man, I guess I have stop listening to my explict music.

Good Old Fashioned Family Fun

2008-09-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

So,

This Saturday we decided to go up the Farmington Canyon for a campfire. Jason and I have been craving camping and hiking and all that fun stuff. Well actually Jason more than me. But for obvious reason's I have been putting it off. I decided that we don't have anymore time to try to do some camping and such before it gets too cold.

Jason packed up the car and all the gear. We bought things to roast on the fire and set out. There was a slight drizzle going on outside on and off most of the day. But we thought we would try our luck. I thought we would drive for a few minutes and then pull into a nice campground. Little did I know we were actually going to drive up the mountain. A one way, barley enough room for your car, 30 min. drive of insanity. I was so nervous. At one point I was asked, "how, much longer, I didn't know we were going to drive up the actual mountain!" I don't know why I was such a nervous wreck. I used to be such brave adventerous,thrill seeker. All I was thinking was, one wrong move and my worst nightmare of flying and then rolling down a cliff with my family could come true. Maybe I have some extra maternal instinct to protect right now. I don't know but it was scary.

However, when we got to the top and pulled into the campground it was pretty cool. Gavin went to look for dry wood with his dad, and loved it. He even tried to help the fire get going. He had his camping chair and was all set to roast some mallow's.

We were there for about 10 minutes before it started to down poor. We knew the already damp wood would not make it. So we headed back down the scary drive. At the bottom of the canyon there is a duck pond and we stopped to feed the ducks. Just as we jumped in the car to head home another down pour began. I love rainstorms, just as long as I am in a dry place watching it. So much for our attempt to have some good old fashioned family fun.

Random Happiness

2008-09-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

I have been especially moody and not myself latley. But I decided to think of all the things that made me happy today.

Quilting/Sewing, I know it may seem a little boring but I love to pick out cute fabric and try and make something out of it. Today I finished some burp cloths and a blanket for my sister-in-law Jolene, who is having her baby boy next week.
Gavin cracked up at the word latley. I said to him, "Why are you being such a stinker to Mommy latley." He walked around saying, "latley, latley" in a silly voice laughing. Mocking me perhaps but it was so cute I forgot what it was he was doing before.
Taco Bell...need I say more.
Gavin slept through the night in his big boy bed for the first time ever on the first attempt. I actually think he likes it better because he has more room to wiggle around. He was in a different position each time I checked on him.
Staying in my PJ's today until Jason got home from work.
Feeling baby move a lot. I think I can feel feet and hands.
Swimming in the Kiddie Pool with my family on the 18th of September.
Hanging our first picture frame on the wall in our home. That's right we have been here for 6 months now, but it has like 2o something 4x6's in the gigantic frame. Full of some of our favorite moments and people over the last few years.
I started Breaking Dawn and had some time to read a few pages while Gavin played with his new B-Day toys. Then he realized I was trying to read. "Mommy, mommy," everytime I tried to read a paragraph. Oh well he is more fun than some sappy book.
A phone conversation with my sister about life.
Watching an old Psych episode with my hubby and hearing him laugh really hard. He has the best laugh!
Seeing a preview for the new Grey's season. (Or any of my favorite fall shows coming back soon!)
My hubby making fun of me for writing something sappy about him in this post.

So I guess life is good here!

The Big Two

2008-09-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the picture from his party. He was so excited, and loved all his presents. He was so hyper at his party, probably due to going to bed at 11 the night before and having no nap. He is super funny when he is like that though so it made for a fun party!

Gavin turned two yesterday! Sometimes I can hardly believe that he is two. And sometimes I can hardly believe that he is only two. It doesn't feel like he has been here longer than two years, but he acts like he is older than he really is sometimes. For instance, that boy can talk. He has full conversastion with me and anyone that he can find. Granted it is not all understood, but I am amzazed by what he can say. When I was on my way to the airport on Friday, he was in the car for a really long time and had an accident. He said, "Mommy I peed-ed." I was a bit frustrated because that rarley happens and we had no where to stop and pull over. I think he sensed my frustration as he said, "and that ok, accidents happen." This is a line Grover says from Elmo's Potty Time. He picks up on everything so fast, he amazes me.

Also as he has gotten closer to two he has become quite the comedian. He loves to make Jason and me laugh. And laugh we do, he makes the best silly faces and has awesome dance moves. Well, we love Gavin so, so, so, much and we are so glad he is ours. Happy B-day Gavin!

Back in Dekalb

2008-09-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
So I finally got the chance to come and visit my parents out in Dekalb. I have been dying to thier new home. And it is even more beautiful than the pictures that I have seen. More than seeing it there is a feel to it that feels like home to me. It's weird, I know, because I have never been here before. But it has a cozy, quaint, feel to it, just like the home I grew up in back in Colorado. It has been a little cooler here too. So it feels like autumn time has already settled in here. There is a patch of leaves that have already fallen on the ground that are the perfect shades of red and orange. Yesterday, we even went to an apple orchard and a pumpkin patch today. I love it here. And everywhere you go there are fields of without end of corn and soy beans. My mother tried to talk me into going over to a field by a store and getting some with her. My own mother wanting me to snatch up some beans. See where I get my wild side from.

And now ready for this...I saw Wicked! Can you believe that I finally got to see it. My obssession with the musical began back in 2004 or 5 when Stephanie's (my old roomie) sister gave her the music. We used to blare that music everywhere and sing at the top of our lungs. I think we were pretty good back in the day. Anyways, now years later I finally saw it. It was Wicked, I wish I could see it again tonight.

We rode a train from Elburn into Chicgago. Downtown was cool, I rode in my first taxi, and saw the L-Train and were they filmed parts of the new Batman movie that I am afraid to go see. Being in downtown and riding the train makes me feel all shabby shick. I was a fun night.

Meanwhile Taft watched Gavin. I was a little nervous to leave him because he has recently been potty trained. But Taft was a champ and Gavin loves "Uncle Taft" so much. He even wanted to put on his shoes and go to work with him this morning. I think he missed his Dad too. Jason is working in Arizona this week. Tonight he was acting like he was playing hide and seek and looking for his dad.

Well, we leave tomorrow and I can't believe it. It was a short trip but I am glad we were able to make it out here. Gavin was an amazing flyer on the way out here. Flirting with the flight attendant and anyone that looked his way. He made so many friends. And tomorrow is the last day he can ride free. What a way to ride out his last day of being a 1 year old.

More to come soon,

Tate

That's How we Roll

2008-08-26T22:54:00.001-07:00

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London 2012 here I come!

2008-08-26T21:51:00.001-07:00

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Elko, Who Knew?

2008-08-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

So,

On Thursday, we all took a mini road trip to Elko, Nevada. Jason had to check out some sites along the way for his job and had a few meetings. So Gavin and I decided that we wanted to tag along. We have been there once before and the hotel has a decent swimming pool and hot tub. Gavin and I went swimming while Jason was working that afternoon.

I must say that I didn't have super high expectation for an amazingly fun trip. It was just a way to all be together and get out of the norm. About five minutes into the trip we got a flat tire, and I was thinking oh this is going to be a great trip.

But it was a super fun vaca. We had a fun 3 and a half hour car ride down, much to my surprise. Gavin was quite entertained the whole way. I had some stickers that I forgot I left in his coloring book. They are his rewards stickers I use at home. Like if he throws away his diaper or sits in the shopping cart while I shop. He loves them and since he only gets one at a time I am sure he was in Heaven. I looked back and he had them all lined up, saying his letters what a funny kid.

He also thought it was fun to sing a lot of songs along the way. Like Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells, My name is Giraffe(one I made up), and the muppets song that I have no idea how to spell. He was laughing so hard and wanted us to sing it again and again and again. He got a little camera shy cause he was laughing way harder before I tried to get this video.

After Jason got back we from work that night. We went to dinner at the only sit down place in town, Wingers. I had wings in honor of my dad. Wingers is his favorite place to eat at when he comes to Utah. My favorite thing is the desert. Asphalt Pie is the bomb, I recomend it to everyone.

So then we went out to find a park. And we found maybe the coolest park I have ever seen. It was all wooden with towers, slides, teepees, boats and lots of space to run around in. The park had signs on it every where you turned with the people that donated money to have it built. How cool is that? I want to build one here. Or wherever I live. Here are some pictures. We had to go back the next day before we left to take pictures of the place in the daylight. And to play one last time before we left Elko. Even though it was a short trip to what would seem like a not so great town it was an awesome family get away.

-Tate

A somewhat nervous mommy to be!

2008-08-05T13:03:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,
My sister was recently here with her boys. It was a blast! Gavin still talks about them like they are magically going to be here when he wakes up. He love all his cousin and talks about them all the time. It's a could thing he is having a brother soon. He needs the company.

Graham and Gavin in there new matching
Shirts.

Silly Brody Payton and Graham
at the Pioneer Day Parade,
See why Gavin loves these guys.

He also loves all his Aunt and Uncles who love to spoil him. Especially "Auntie" Tamzen. She is one of the best mom's ever. And since I basically grew up watching her my whole life I hope some of that rubbed off on me.

Which brings me to the topic at hand. I am becoming more and more nervous to be a mommy of two. I would like to think that most of the time I have it together. Gavin has turned out to be more amazing than I could have dreamed up myself. But I feel like he came that way. But there are the times that I have a guilt full moment, day or week. Like I should have had more patients, or energy, or done more things with Gavin durning the day. What do any of you mom out there do to keep life happy and movin'? Somedays I am just out of ideas. Then I get nervous thinking of how would I handle two children at the store that are crying. Double of all the frantic moments. Of course there will be double of all the happy moments too. But all I can think of and worry about is the hard stuff right now. SO anyone have advice? Any books that I should read while I am anticipating the arrival of the new little guy? Ok and one more thing is I really want Gavin to stay as happy and loved as he is how do I make sure he doen't get jealous or feel like he is being put second.

Oh yeah and Jason just finished his first year of school! One more year to go, and it's over in June! Plus Jason has a month break right now. Finally I get my husband back for a little while.

A Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

2008-07-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

I was reading this to Gavin as he went to bed and thought that I wish Icould have been in Reno with my Hubby today. But I guess they have bad days in Reno to, or so he tells me.

So, it all started with a massive rainstorm just as I was settling into bed a 12:15. It was kinda cool to watch but a little scary and creepy when you are all alone your house and you are already a little on edge. Then I woke up to Gavin crying at 5:45 am. "What in the world" he went to bed after 10 so why would he do that to me? Why? So I try to be a good mom and not just bring him into my bed. I rubbed his back tring to get him to back to sleep until my arm almost broke off. Then I caved. I brought him in my bed. But he was not about to go back to sleep. So I finally got his Milk and a banana he was begging for. And tried to wake up the best I could and feed it to him. After two bites of banana he was done. So I tried to make him eat another. Bad idea he gagged and them smeared banana all over my bed. To say the least I was so mad. But he had a time out and said, "sorry, sorry sorry!" Why does he have to be so sweet?

After that we got up and started the day we were ready by 9 am for the day. Bathed (minus Gavin pooping in the bathub the morning was actually not horrible), beds made everything. That was such a strang feeling. I am just not a morning person. So we played outside and Gavin feel asleep in the swing at the park at 10:30. Actually the day was ok and we managed to have some fun and I just love Gavin so much. I am so exhausted though. I guess this is just preparing me to be exhausted (when the baby is here) and still carry on and make the best of a crappy day.

Jason was supposed to be home at 7 and he missed his flight so he is driving home now. (I miss my husband, he is gone a lot and well I kinda like him, so I wish he didn't have to travel and go to school) And my sister Tamzen and her boys are on there way right now. So at least tomorrow will be a better day.

-Tate

Wheeler Farms

2008-07-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

Ilove summer so much. There is so much that you can do outside and people are always more ready to get out and sweat a little in order to have some fun. Last week we went to Wheeler Farms with Jason's family. jason had to work but Gavin and I had a lot of fun. He rode a pony and the ducks and geese swarmed him. The ducks and geese were just his size and had no issue getting close to him. It was cool. I felt like we were in the Movie Charlotte's Web, especially when the large rats ran back and forth from pig pen to pig pen. As always heres some pics. I know I post a lot of pictures but that's whats the most fun to look at right?

Got Milk?

2008-07-17T22:51:00.000-07:00

This is Jason again. Here is a funny video I came across the other day. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Od6EN9BqVc

The Zoo

2008-07-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday we went to the Zoo. We have season passes and so far we have only gone once. I have not been feeling up to going by myself and Jason doesn't get off till the gates close. So he took off work a half hour early and we just barley made it inside. It was the perfect time to go. It was hot but not unbarable and I think we were some of the last people there. An hour and a half is plenty of zoo time at once for us. It was so much fun. We saw a lot of monkey's (which Gavin called George) and even a white alligator. Gavin loved it! He is also a bit of a scardy cat. Like when we would walk into some of the obsevatory rooms it had a dark entrance and he didn't like that. He didn't want to get to close to the big animals. We rode the train that was just a short trip around the lower half of the zoo. There was a tunnel that it went into and he didn't like that part. Plus there was this fake elephant that make loud noise as you walk by and he was extremly uneasy about that. All in all the Zoo rocks!

2008-07-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

So, here is a story that I hope you will enjoy. Two weeks ago I (Jason) was driving home from the thriving metropolis of Ely, NV. I was probably the only car within 5 miles in each direction and I was probably going close to 90 mph. As I came over a hill I saw two little birds perched in the middle of the road. I tried to slow down to give the guys a chance to fly away, but alas, only one made it. The other one ended up leaving a little blood and feathers on the grill of my Nissan.
I felt bad. It was my first kill.

Luckily I was able to redeem myself yesterday. We have been keeping a close eye on a nest right outside our backyard. For a while it was just a mom going to and from, but soon there were 4 little heads bobbing up and down. We have been lifting up Gavin periodically to look at the little "birdies". The other day when I was out there I noticed that the mom had done some repairs to the nest. I am not sure where she found it, but she had woven a few long strands of tape from an audio cassette into her nest. The tape dangled all the way to the ground. I thought this was odd, but did not really think too much of it.

Yesterday I was barbecuing in the backyard and Tatum asked me to go get a few pictures of the nest. (Why, I don't know.) I took the camera and went around the fence to get a closer look. To my astonishment I noticed that 2 of the little guys had left the nest, but the other 2 were dangling upside down just outside the nest. It looked like they had tried to leave, but their feet got tangled up in that darn cassette tape! They had obviously been trying to free themselves for a bit, but the more they struggled the more tangled they became. Each bird had one tangled foot and they were gross. There was exposed flesh and they were obviously broken.

Here was redemption staring me right in the face! I decided to take action and perform emergency surgery on the 2 birds. Tatum ran inside and got me a pair of scissors, a step ladder, and some rubber gloves. I spent about 10 minutes disconnecting them from the nest, but they were still connected to each other. After some careful snipping I was finally able to separate the birds. (I think I missed my calling in life. I should have been a surgeon!) It was quite obvious that they each still had to deal with their broken leg. One did not make it and we found it dead by the fence today. However, one survived and was hopping around the playground for most of the day. It was fluttering a little at lunch, so I am hoping that he taught himself how to fly and flew off into the sunset. Either that or a cat ate him! Just kidding...I think he made it.

THE END

Pictures from the 4th.

2008-07-09T14:06:00.001-07:00

Here are the pics to go along with the last blog. They are out of order so good luck.

My favortie comment of the whole weekend... Jason kissed me on the check before I feel asleep and said, "You taste salty." Can you blame me, it was hot a girl is bound to glisten a little.

Happy 4th of July...I guess.

2008-07-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

So, what a busy weekend. I am almost recovered and the last load of laundry is almost done. With the 4th on Friday, Tenille, Taft and there friends, Lawerence, Lina and Lindsay, got here on Thursday. (The three L's as Teague calls them.) On Thursday night we went swimming and played some games, none of which I won. The next morning we all woke up early so we could drive to Provo to catch some of the parade with Teague and Jakelle. It was so much fun, and luckily it was sorta over cast otherwise the 100 degrees would have been torture. Gavin loved all the bands, floats, trucks and car. I taught him to say, "good job band." He said it everytime a band walked by. After the parade we walked to Village in for Breakfast. Why we walked I don't know. I haven't excersized to much latley and I thought I was going to have the baby as we walked over the train tracks. Just kidding. Maybe it was just my pre-pregnancy pant were cutting off my circulation even though they were all the way un-zipped. It was so worth it, cause breakfast was so good. Man I love food. On the walk back to Teague's house Gavin wanted to stop and play every couple of steps. It's a good thing Teague and Jakelle came and picked us up the last few blocks.

Later we headed to the mall so I could get a pair of pants that fit and to cool off. The rest of the day was spent waiting for the fire works by the Staduim of Fire. We waited there for about 6 hours. Thanks to Teague we got the same great spot that we had last year. We ate Pizza, lit fireworks, got a bunch of free food and stuff from venders, played games. Jason even took Gavin's bike and he rode it in the street after it was blocked off. We also had some substitute nephews help us with the fireworks. They were cute, but they made me miss Brody and Payton. Maybe next year we can all be together for the 4th. (The rest of my family was in Dekalb, Illinois visiting my parents new place) When the fireworks started it was amazing, definatley worth the wait. Gavin did much better this year. He was still a little nevous and tried to run away from the firework. So I covered his ears and held him tight. We were so close you could feel the fire works. I think even the baby was like, what the heck is happening out there. I love my boys they are the best!

The day was good, except the part were some rude people ran a way red light and cut us off. We told them that they were rude and they told us to chill and it was all good and flashed us a peace sign. Yeah it's cool be jerks, way to celebrate your freedom. Nothing makes me more irritated than things like that. So as we passed them a few miles later I mocked them and gave them a peace sign. They hung there heads out the window and yelled some nasty thing to me, while I yelled "Happy Independence Day...I guess."

Ok so the rest of the weekend was just a jam packed and fun. Saturday morning we all slept in. Then we went swimming at our pool. I forgot to mention how much Gavin loves company. He loves to go from one person to the next. Man that boy love to have lots of attention. And everyone was loving giving it to him. He is still saying everyones names, hoping that when someone comes to the door it all of those people again. He was a bit disapointed when it was just his dad yesterday. Anyways we went bowling later that afternoon and I wish I had my camera there. Gavin had this little bowling ramp to push the ball onto the alley and he was so excited to bowl with us. And man I saw some moves that he has never danced before. He was digging the music at Orchid Bowl.

Needless to say we were sad to see everyone leave Sunday evening. And I think we could have slept all day yesterday.

It's a Boy!

2008-07-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

Isn't he adorable!

I am so excited. We found out today that it is a boy! I thought it was a boy all along but we were wrong last time. We would have been excited either way but there are obvious pro's and con's to both sides.

Pro's

Gavin won't be the only boy like Jason
We don't need a new wardrobe

More testosterone in the Keith Family

We know what to expect

We already have the Pee Shield

I don't have to worry about being a proper lady

quite yet.

Con's

I am way outnumbered

I can't buy a cute new wardrobe
(oh, and the shoes and accessories)
More testosterone
My favorite color is pink and there is no
hope of having a pink room now.

Anyways, I think for us this is the best! We can't wait to see what he is like. We can only imagine another little Gavin, because that is all we know. But I am sure he will have his own style and personality. It will be fun to see what he brings to our lives. It all seems so much more real now. 19 weeks and counting!

My Iron Man

2008-06-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

So, who thinks my husband looks like Robert Downy Jr. I do. People have told me this before. But, not as much as recently with the new movie Iron Man. A few of my brothers and my dad call him Ironman. He especially looks like him with his hair a bit longer and when he has a goatee. One of these days we'll have to see the movie. But either way I have my own Ironman. He is the Best!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2008-06-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

So here it is...our new blog. We have one blog from way back when. It is kinda fun to think back to when Gavin was only 4 months old. He has grown into quite the boy since then. This last Saturday we went to the Utah Bee's game. We had so much fun walking to the trax and riding it to the stadium. Gavin thought it was especially cool, because it was just like a train to him. I am not the biggest sport fanatic as many of you may know. But I do love being there with the crowd. It's a feel good American sport. Plus, I do love a ballpark hot dog (1 and a 1/2 actually and a churro), pregnant lady, pregnant lady, oh so hungry. It was kinda funny to see Gavin loving wearing his hat just like Daddy. He is definitely a mini Jason. When we got home Jason was teaching him, "Take me Out to the Ball Game." When we finally got him into bed late that night he was trying to sing the tune. How cute it he? We have been singing that song all week and he still can't get enough of it. All he talks about is the Bee's and the Padres Chicken, bawk, bawk, and everything about the ball game. Young minds are so impressionable.

Solids

2007-01-18T20:06:00.001-08:00

Hello All,
Well this week has been an exciting one. Gavin started eating rice cereal! He loves it, but that is no surprise, he loves to eat. Hopefully it will help his stank situation.