Summer...finally!!!

I'm really trying to update this blog every month, but we've been a little busy this month with adding the new baby to the family. Here are some things we did in June & July, when the weather FINALLY started to turn into summer.

Paul got Gavin a tee-ball set and they practiced in the garage. So far, Gavin prefers to hold the bat at the big end, but he'll learn. The pink car in the background is still his favorite activity, so we spend a lot of time in the garage where Gavin pretends to go on trips, puts his keys in the "nition", and locks the car with a loud "beep" when he's done.

We also played at the park with our friends a lot. Here's Gavin with his neighbor friends Dylan & Olivia enjoying a snack break.

Gavin & cousin Olivia taking a stroll after a dinner out with the aunts & uncles

We enjoyed a lovely Father's Day brunch at Meriwethers

My sweet cuddly boys

At the end of June, Paul took a trip to Canada for work, so my friend, Kristi, and I took our kids to Lincoln City for a few days and stayed at my mom's beach house. The weather was pretty decent so we hung out on the beach, took walks, played at the park, and drove to the Newport Aquarium.

Watching cartoons with their lovies. (Gavin's is a pinwheel.)

Gavin actually enjoyed the Aquarium...I think the sun was just in his eyes. :)

Gavin was pretty scared of the water (especially after Madison got soaked by a wave), and didn't like walking on the sand much, but he did like playing in it.

May Happenings

We didn't do a whole lot in May, but I thought I'd throw in some pictures of our every day activities.

We finally decided to get rid of our 14-yr-old dishwasher that was no longer washing our dishes, and got a fancy new one. Because Gavin is fascinated with all things that spin and make noise, he adores this new appliance and considers it one of his toys. :)

Last year, we met Sarah & Jack at a nearby park and we've been good friends ever since. Jack is younger than Gavin by a few months, and Sarah is due with her 2nd baby around the same time I am. We also live about 5 minutes away from each other, so we've enjoyed many play dates, and will for years to come, I'm sure.

One of our favorite things to do is meet up at Starbucks for coffee/juice dates, and then go play at the park. Here are the boys playing "chase", and giving each other stroller rides.

Sometimes, Mommy would feel a little too pregnant to get out of the house, so we filled our time playing in forts, watching cartoons, and singing and dancing to music. Here's Gavin with one of the forts.

Gavin "dressing up", wearing Mommy's shoes and Daddy's hat.

Last summer, I bought Gavin this little car at a garage sale, and he wasn't really into it, but this spring, it was all he wanted to play with. We've spent HOURS riding around in the garage pretending to go on trips to Gramma's house and saying "have a good trip! say hi to Gramma when you see her!". :) Here he is gassing up his ride with the hose.

One thing we look forward to every week is seeing our playgroup friends on Wednesdays. The moms all take turns hosting, and we've been doing it since the kids were little babies. Now all the original babies are getting little brothers or sisters, so it's getting to be a big group! On this particular day, it was just 3 kids at my house. The boys had a great time playing with playdoh and playing in the ottomans. I think they were either driving their boats or playing bathtime.

Here's a larger group shot on another day. There are 4 kids missing from this shot too.

At the end of May, Paul had a long weekend, so we sent Gavin to Gramma's house over-night and painted the baby's nursery. Aunt Meg and her girls stayed at Gramma's house too, so the cousins had a good time playing together.

Olivia & Gavin enjoying their morning coffee (milk). Apparently Gavin takes this about as seriously as his parents. :)

Cute little Ella...

I don't know why, but Mom wanted to take a picture of me when I picked up Gavin. I think this was about 32 weeks.

"Gavin is a big boy!"

In April, Gavin started getting pretty excited about being a "big boy" so we made the transition from crib to bed. We were pretty scared to take the step because he had become such a great sleeper, but it all went a lot better than we thought. He loves his bed, and even though he knows how to climb out, he will not climb out until we come in to get him. He just sits up in bed when he wakes up and talks or sings until we come in - it's great!


A good friend of mine was able to score us some great furniture from the store where she works. Hopefully he'll be able to use it until he leaves for college. :)

Gavin's various sleeping positions...

We also started with potty training in April, which was going really well for a while. Gavin responded well to the sticker charts, jelly beans, and M&Ms. Every time we put him on the potty seat, he would say, "it's not scary, I'm a big boy!" Eventually, the sticker chart went away, and so did his enthusiasm. He's still able to pee in the toilet when we ask him to, but we decided to let go of potty training until after baby sister arrives. It just became too exhausting for me to constantly remind him and lift him on and off as I got more and more pregnant.

We started out with the frog potty, then progressed to the big toilet with a kid seat on it.

Elmo's potty book with sounds also brought lots of encouragement

Here's Gavin splashing in the fountain at Typhoon in Beaverton. We love going out to eat here because 1) he's entertained, and 2) he will actually eat Pad Thai noodles (not just Mac & Cheese and Spaghetti O's as he does at home). The restaurant is also right next to the Max light rail line so when we sit outside we get to see the train go by a lot.

And here's just a random picture of Gavin and his friend, Madison. During one of their weekly play dates, they decided it would be hilarious and fun to play in the bathtub together, without any water. Silly kids...

More stuff that happened in April...

Paul and I had planned to take our "babymoon" getaway to Vegas over my birthday in February, but the weather there wasn't much better than in Portland, so we did it in early April. Gavin had a great time staying at Gramma's house, and we had a great time relaxing by the pool at Mandalay Bay, and hitting our favorite restaurants and sights. The weekend went by way too quickly!

By the canal at the Venetian (you can kind of see the early signs of my nasty sunburn)

An Italian dinner on the Piazza and a fabulous chocolate birthday dessert



The next weekend was Easter, and we all met up at my mom's house. It was raining, as it usually does, so we did the egg hunt inside. The toddlers didn't mind at all.


Opening Easter baskets

Our playgroup meets every Wednesday, and in mid-April, we decided we'd take the kids to Woodburn to see the tulip festival. Of course we didn't expect them to care about the flowers, but it always makes for some pretty photo opportunities. They had a great time running up and down the fields, exploring the display of big machinery, and playing in the kid area. As a bonus, the rain held off almost the entire morning.


Buddies: Gavin, Logan, Demir, Brady, and Yohan

Me, my bubba, and the belly bump


Gavin was very mad at me here because I made him sit in the dirt for a group picture. The boy hates getting dirty. :)



Getting to sit on the big machines was definitely the highlight for the boys.

Great-Grandpa should be proud of these two

And of course, Gavin loved the "big fan"