Before Christmas

Gavin and I are leaving for the airport in about 30 min. He is still napping so I thought I would hurry and post. My brother gets married tomorrow morning! I can't believe it, but I am so excited for him. I am especially excited to get to see all of my family today and then Zac's family on Friday! It definitely feels like the last few weeks have flown by! I was on the committee for our Ward Christmas Party and then I sang in the Choir Program and I have had book club, enrichment, laundry, shopping and a million other things, but I am ready to go!
We have been trying to help Gavin get the concept of Santa so he would at least see him at our Christmas Party. He didn't last long, but he actually sat on his lap.


On Monday we were able to go to an Avalanche game. It was so fun and they won 3 to 2 in the shootout. Zac's gave him tickets for box seats! Seriously, box seats! Zac was so excited he could barely contain himself of the way there. Gavin had a blast and has been talking about it since. He loved yelling with everyone and I appreciated that the box kept him a little more confined than regular seats. And considering it was an hour and half past his bedtime he was a trooper.




We hope everyone has a Wonderful Christmas!

22 Weeks

Well, I guess I better do a small pregnancy update. I haven't thrown up in a week! Hooray! I am really happy about that. Although, the nausea is still around for now, but hopefully that will go away soon. This little boy likes to kick a lot, just like Gavin did. So we will see if he comes out just as active. We are really hoping for a calmer child this time around, but we will just be happy if he is healthy. I am struggling with how much earlier my belly has shown this time around. I don't mind looking pregnant, it just makes me worried about how big I will be by the end.

I have a lot more back pain this time around, but I think that is mostly due to my active two year old, who wants me to walk around holding him every time we are at the store. Gavin really hates his car seat now. About half the time he will get in and the other half he screams his head off and fights me. Which means that I end up with one leg on top of him to hold him down while I buckle him in. (I am sure this is quite a site to see in the parking lot). Hopefully no one thinks I am an abusive parent.

This is actually at 21 weeks.

Last Saturday Zac took Gavin out to play in the snow for a few minutes. Gavin thought it was SO cool. Zac was just cold. It looks like we are going to have to buy him some snow pants. Everytime we walk outside he says, "SNOW!" Like he is so surprised it is there. It makes me laugh everytime.

I am almost done with Christmas Shopping, just a few more things to get. And only a week and half until Gavin and I leave town. I seriously can't believe that Christmas is only 2 weeks away. What happened to the time?

Thank-FULL

We had a great Thanksgiving week! Zac's mom was able to come on Monday and spend the whole week with us. It was great to have her here and Gavin was definitely spoiled with attention. He is having a hard time adjusting to the smaller, less constant attention he receives from Zac and I. I am probably the worst. My pregnancy sickness is still in full swing and has been pretty bad the last few days, so Gavin is having a hard time. Zac's Dad, sister Amanda, and brother Nic came on Wednesday and everyone stayed through the week and left early Sunday morning. This Thanksgiving I made my first Turkey which turned out ok. I used the Our Best Bites recipe and brined it and everything. But I just cooked it in out Roaster Oven to leave the oven open for everything else. Had it actually been in a real oven it probably would have turned out better. But it is all a learning experience. We had WAY too much food, but that is part of the joy of Thanksgiving! It all tasted great and we had a wonderful time.

While we finished getting everything ready Zac, Grandpa, Nic, Amanda, and Gavin headed over to Westlands park to play.

Looks like everyone had fun. :)

Ready to eat!

That night Amanda and I went to the Outlets in Castle Rock with some of my friends from the ward. They start their sales at 9pm on Thanksgiving and then we headed over to WalMart to get a few of the Christmas items I needed there. Amanda was a real trooper to come out shopping with me, even though she didn't buy anything her self. On Friday we went out to do a little more shopping at Kohl's and Burlington Coat Factory. We all went to lunch a Cici's Pizza Buffet and then Zac and I went with his parents to Sam's club and then to find a new bed for Gavin for when the baby comes. We found Gavin a twin bed at American Furniture Warehouse and we are really happy with it. Hopefully over the next few months he will learn to sleep in it so there aren't any problems when the baby comes.

Gavin definitely learned how to use Grandma's iPad and everyone's touch screen phones. I was really impressed with his fine motor skills. He is one smart kid. We would laugh as he would lounge around playing games.

On Saturday we went over to Hammond's Candy Factory for the free tour and some free candy canes and then we went out to lunch at Hacienda Colorado. That night the boys went out to an Avalanche game while the girls and Gavin went shopping at the new H&M and 16th Street Mall.

Waiting at Hammond's

The week went by way too quickly, but we always have a busy December. The tree is up, now I just need to finish the rest of the decorations, finish some Christmas Shopping, and before you know it Gavin and I will be flying to Salt Lake for Alex and Katie's wedding on the 22nd. I hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday Season!

It's a........

BOY!

We are really excited for Gavin to have a little brother, or maybe partner in crime? He doesn't quite understand yet, but we are working on it. The baby looks healthy and everything is great at this point. Now just 21 more weeks to go!

Gavin's 2nd Birthday

Well, it happened. Our baby turned to 2. He really isn't a baby anymore and I cannot believe how much he has grown in the last 2 years.

This was our newborn:

Here is our 1 year old:

And now he's 2!

I think that he had the best birthday any 2 year old could ask for and he has played with his toys nonstop. He gets upset every night because he doesn't want to stop playing and go to bed.

Here are Gavin's Stats:

As a newborn:

21.5 inches, and 8lbs 7oz

95th percentile

As a 1 year old:

32in, and 23lbs 10oz

95th for height, 5oth for weight

2 years old:

36in, and 29lbs

85th for height, 62nd for weight

The Dr. said that he had a growth spurt. But I feel like he always has a growth spurt. :)

On Thursday, November 10th we let Gavin open his presents as soon as he woke up in the morning. He has really gotten in to Toy Story lately so when he saw Toy Story wrapping paper he was SO excited. We gave him a stuffed Buzz and Woody from the Disney Store as well as an Aquadoodle (best invention EVER!), and a few books. We also bought him new shoes and clothes but he didn't care for those after opening his toys. He was so excited and played with them all day. Gavin and I went to McDonald's for lunch so that he could play in the playplace and then when Daddy came home we went over to Red Robin for Dinner. And by the way, they now have sweet potato fries, SO good! After dinner we video chatted with Grandma and Grandpa Jones as he opened his presents from them of Toy Story 1 and 2. We then talked to Grandma and Grandpa Barrus and Aunt Amanda. Aunt Amanda gave him a Woody to go with the Buzz Lightyear she had sent him in October. And Grandma and Grandpa Barrus gave him a Toy Story Tent and Sleeping Bag. He also received a card and money from Great Grandma and Grandpa Barrus, and a Lightning McQueen Pillow Pet from Aunt Tiffany and Uncle Kellan. It was a great day!

His birthday shirt.

Lots and lots of presents!

Most of his presents

Card from Great Grandma and Grandpa Barrus.

On Friday we had his Birthday Party! We are so grateful to all of our friends who came to enjoy his birthday, and he loves all of the gifts he received! He was given a stuffed Bullseye, a remote control Mater, two cars from the Cars 2 movie, and a Mr. Potato Head. Cars and Toy Story toys are perfect for this 2 year old. He was truly in heaven. We played a Toy Story trivia game and I had the kids try to throw snakes into the basketball hoop (I had a boot attached that read, Get the snake in my boot!). We then had his Toy Story cake and opened the presents.

Ready for a Toy Story party!

He was happy to finally have that cake!

Thank you to all the family and friends that made Gavin's birthday so special!

Gavin was definitely spoiled on his birthday! I am so grateful that I get to be his mom and watch him grow. He is such a joy in our lives.

We are really excited for the coming weeks. We find out the gender of the baby on Tuesday, Breaking Dawn midnight premier on Thursday, Grandma Barrus comes the next Monday and then Grandpa, Aunt Amanda and Uncle Nic come on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. Christmas is just around the corner and we definitely LOVE this time of year!

Halloween 2011

Well we started out with our Ward Trunk-or-Treat on the 22nd. I enjoy it, but all of the older kids go around as many times as they can until no one has any candy left. Not many people usually show up, so they feel like they need to get their fill to last them until Halloween. Zac was working that day, but he showed up right when it started and was able to take Gavin around. Quite a few of the kids were SO excited to see Woody! (There is a picture of him near the end.) It is really fun to see some of them get so excited, it was like they were meeting a character at Disneyland. Many people came over and took a picture of Zac and Gavin, they thought it was SO cute that they were Buzz and Woody. I am assuming the most of them had NO idea who I was, not that they needed to take my picture. One person actually told me that I should have dressed up as the cowgirl (Jessie). I explained to her that Bo Peep was Woody's girlfriend. She didn't believe me, but I reassured her that Jessie is Buzz's girlfriend and Bo Peep is Woody's. :)

Doesn't he make such a great Buzz Lightyear?

He has to eat that Candy!

On the Saturday before Halloween we headed over to Boo at the Zoo. The lines were a little long but I would just wait while Zac took Gavin to look at the animals. We even left with a whole loaf of bread, which I thought was awesome.

We then had our Halloween Party that night. Which I of course have no pictures. It was simple but I hope everyone had fun dressing up and enjoying great food.

The best we could do for a family picture. Bo Peep, Buzz, and Woody. We took this picture after we came home from Trick-or-Treating at Zac's work. Gavin filled up his entire pumpkin bucket and couldn't even carry it because it was so heavy. It was great to go, and everyone is always so nice! A lot more people knew that I was Bo Peep, so that was good. We put our sign up for trick or treaters to come to our door, but we only had 4 little kids. Needless to say, we have A LOT of candy left over! Sad part is, we probably won't eat most of it.

After 3 rounds of trick-or-treating I think Gavin has enough candy to last him awhile.

And here is Gavin watching Toy Story for the third time today. It's ok, you can think I am a bad mom.

But I want to say that I love how he climbs in the blanket all on his own. He is growing up so fast! And I can't believe that he will be 2 next week!