Gavin's Army Crawl

Gavin started crawling this week. It is this cute little army crawl. He is very fast and very good at getting all around the house now.

My little gymnast

Mikayla has been taking gymnastics this summer. At the end of each session, they let the parents come in and watch. Mikayla was so excited to have Gavin and I come watch her. The funniest thing was sitting there watching her trying to be still and wait her turn at each station. She was sitting on her spot, but was just so wiggly and jittery. She looked like she was truly about to pop. It made me think of a comment she made this last Sunday. On the way home from church, she asked me if she had a big spirit or a little spirit. I promptly replied that she had a very big spirit (that is constantly trying to bust out of her little body). Watching her wriggle around during class made me think of that "big spirit."

New accomplishments

Gavin is starting to learn to use a cup now. At first, he kind of gagged on the water, because he was so suprised that something came out. He isn't very skilled yet, but getting better all the time.
He is also trying to feed himself now. We have started him out on Gerber fruit puffs. They are very soft and will melt in your mouth. He seems to particularly like the blueberry flavored puffs.
Also, the biggest news that we discovered today...Gavin is cutting his first tooth! He has been so clingy and whiney the past couple of days. I hope and pray it is all related to teething and that my baby that used to be so good and self entertaining will come back to me!

My favorite people

This picture pretty much speaks for itself. Isn't that just the sweetest thing to look at?

New roof!!

We had a hail storm about three months ago and we decided to have our home inspected to make sure we didn't sustain any significant damage. Well, it turned out that our roof sustained some moderate damage and we also had some holes in a couple of pieces of our vinyl siding. Last Thursday, our roof was replaced and we are so pleased with how it looks. Our old roof was your basic builder grade black. It's hard to tell from the picture, but our new shingles are various shades of a medium brown. Jeremy picked the color out all by himself and I think he did a wonderful job. Another bonus of this upgrade was that the bill was footed by our insurance company!

Soccer!

Mikayla started a soccer camp this week. It lasts for four weeks and then is followed up by 4 weeks of T-ball. We are trying very hard to keep this active little girl busy this summer! She wasn't to wild about venturing on to the field without mommy. It didn't help when she fell and skinned her knee. After that, she was horribly moody and whiny the rest of the time. I hope that next week goes a little better!

Horse Back Riding Exursion

Last weekend when my sister and her fiance were in town we decided that Chris needed to see a little bit of the country and get on a horse. He never really been near horses and had never been on one. I have two very good friends that ride horses, so I have been around them a decent amount (not as much as you would think, though).
My friend Amy has several horses that she uses to teach riding lessons. I called her up and set up a time for a quick morning ride. She had just purchased a pony for her son, so we brought along Mikayla for a pony ride. Laura and Chris rode around (separately) on Amy's horse, Arizona. He is a very sweet and gentle horse that she has had since she was a little girl (11 years old I think).
Mikayla had the opportunity to ride her friend, Matthew's pony, Tex. She had so much fun. It would have been more fun for everyone else had it not been almost 90 degrees (at 9:30 in the morning!)

Amy always has her riders help get the ponies and horses ready before they ride them. Mikayla had fun brushing Tex.
Mikayla riding Tex.
Mikayla and Matthew posing for a photo op.

I did it!!

Shortly after this past Christmas, I came to the realization that I was having a much harder time losing my baby weight after having had Gavin. After Mikayla, it was pretty easy for me (even though I never actually lost all of it, but I was pretty close), but it was definitely harder after Gavin. My mom and I decided to go to Weight Watchers together so we could both start losing weight. They have an excellent program for nursing mothers, which was very important to me. I didn't want my search for a smaller waistline to endanger my milk supply, and thankfully with this program it didn't. I joined at the beginning of February. Today, I became a Lifetime Member of Weight Watchers! That means that I reached my goal weight and maintained it for 6 weeks. I feel so good about what I did. I have to say it is a big feeling of accomplishment to have done this the old-fashioned way without surgery (not that I would have ever considered that), pills or a fad diet.
Our meeting leader, Sissy, has people where a crown during the meeting if they have achieved a big goal. Today, I got to wear the crown. Mikayla thought it was so fun and enjoyed getting to wear it at the end of the meeting. Now, my next goal is tone up the skinnier body that I have!

Summertime, Summertime!

Well, it is definitely summertime here in the south. It has been in the 90s for several days now and there is no real relief in the the near future.
Today, Jeremy and I took the kids to our neighborhood pool. This was Gavin's first visit to the pool and he absolutely loved it. There was never a moment of apprehension or fear in our little water baby.
We walked to the pool with our double stroller. Mikayla loves sitting next to her brother in this thing.
We had great time together!

Starbucks Run

We are not coffee drinkers, but Mikayla loves to visit Starbucks!! Well, not technically Starbucks, but Uncle Dan who works at Starbucks. Mikayla loves to go in and see him. Uncle Dan always makes her a special order "warm" chocolate (and I get my sugar free Cinnamon Dolce Creme). After Dan makes our drinks, we sit and visit with him for a little bit and Mikayla feels like a big girl drinking out of a cup like everyone else. It always makes for a fun afternoon
Mikayla drinking her warm chocolate.
Gavin had fun too! (That smile looks a little bit like Popeye...)

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

Yesterday was my grandmother's 83rd birthday. We celebrated with her and my grandfather at Olive Garden this evening. I feel so fortunate to be able to spend this time with them and for my children to know and love them as much as I do. My grandmother is such an awesome lady that has endured so many hardships in her life. She remains a strong and faithful individual through everything. I love her and respect her so much. She is such a blessing in my life.

Mikayla insisted on eating a whole breadstick by herself - she didn't need it cut in half.

And of course, she had to help Great-Grandma blow out the candles!

Mary Lou Retton, watch out!

Mikayla had her first gymnastics lesson today. She was excited about going, but when we got there she was a little apprehensive. The room where they meet isn't very large, so they don't let parents inside. Mikayla wasn't very wild about that idea and really wanted me to come in a "play with her." After assuring her that I would be right outside, she went in and ended up having a nice time. She is much more excited about going next week.

Get ready, get set....

Well, we haven't gone yet, but as you can tell he is pretty close. Gavin started getting up on his hands and knees today. You can tell that he really wants to start crawling and he is trying very hard to figure it out. I was working on trying to find a good used jogging stroller this week, but I think I am going to invest in a baby gate for the top of the stairs now.
I just threw in this picture, because it is just so darn cute!