First Food!!

We started Gavin on rice cereal Sunday night. This was a bit earlier than we started Mikayla, but I think he was very ready. He has been eating more often and he still wakes up in the middle of the night to feed. He really enjoyed his new food!!
An added bonus... I think his new food is helping his sleeping habits. He actually slept for 3 1/2 hours in his own bed last night. Hopefully, we will only improve!

My Valentine Sweeties

Well, I have finally found a moment to get my pictures downloaded and blog about Valentine's Day. I had to work on Valentine's Day, so it wasn't as big a day for us as it usually is, but it still turned out pretty nice.
I had signed up to help with the Valentine's Party at Mikayla's preschool. I was asked to bring the balloons and other decorations. I was so pleased to find some very cute Froggy Valentine balloons at the dollar store. At such a great price, I was able to get enough for all of the kids to take one home. Jeremy didn't haven't to go in to work until late, so I was able to leave Gavin at home and spend some quality time with Mikayla. It was a nice morning.
Since I had to work on Valentine's night, Jeremy and I went out last Saturday night. We left the kids with my mom and headed to dinner. Sadly, this was our first date since Gavin was born. It was very nice. After having a very nice night together, I have resolved that we need to do this more often. There are several advantages living close to family and we need to jump on them. There is absolutely no excuse to live close to two sets of grandparents and an aunt and not go out at least once a month.
I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day and was able to snuggle up close to their sweeties!

New layout

I love reading other people's blogs because you get such great ideas. I have often tried to change my background to make it pretty, but usually run into trouble. I always seem to lose my sidebar stuff, so I have to redo my whole page.
My cousin had a link to a blog by someone named Matiekay that has several different layouts and VERY easy instructions about installation. I was very happy to find it.
I also found the link to another blog called Blogs2Books where you can convert you blog to a form where you can have it printed into a magazine or book. Since this is my version of a personal journal, I am very excited about doing this.
Another thing that I should share with you is Google Reader. Do you spend us much time as I do looking at blogs everyday? My friends Stacey, had a link to this posted in her blog. You subsribe to all of the blogs you like to read in that one place and it tells you if there is a new post when you log in. It is great and has saved me a lot of time (something I don't have a lot of)
On a more personal note, we are starting to see little babysteps in Gavin starting to sleep somewhere other than the swing or my arms. Yesterday he slept for about 30 minutes in h is crib and then last night he slept for a decent amount of time in the pack and play next to our bed. At the beginning of the week, we had about given up. One night, he cried/fussed for 2 1/2 hours straight. However, yesterday he figured out how to suck his thumb, so now he can soothe himself a little better. Who ever thought I would be thankful for thumb-sucking. Hopefully, we will continue to see progress!!

God Be With You 'til We Meet Again

I have finally had the opportunity to watch the funeral of President Gordon B. Hinckley. I wasn't able to watch it Saturday since I was working. Jeremy set up the DVR to tape it so over the course of the past two days, I have finally watched it. I just wanted to share some of my feelings and thoughts that have consumed my heart over the past couple of days. I don't often share these feelings with others, but I have often commented on how this blog has turned into my journal of sorts. I want to record these feelings so that I may be able to reflect upon them later.
Here is a list of the things that I hope that I will always remember when I think of President Hinckley.
1. He was such a personable person. It always amazed me how he was able to personally touch the lives of people that he never met.
2. I will always remember how he connected with the youth. I had a knack for being firm in the things that they needed to do, but conveyed it in a loving and accepting way.
3. That cane!! I don't think I have ever seen him use it for the purpose that it was intended. It was used to wave at people, tap at things, etc.. When he was just holding it, he held it off of the ground, holding it at the middle of the cane.
4. His sense of humor. He often had a little joke or funny story in many of his talks. He was a pleasure to listen to.
5. His apparant love for his sweet wife. Everyone should have a companion that loves them that much.
6. His work ethic. At the age of 97, he had a work schedule that would make me tired. It is a true testament of the work that he did that The Lord blessed him to be able to hold up such a schedule.
7. He closed nearly every Conference with the phrase, "God Be with You Til We Meet Again." I always think of him when I hear that song.

I am thankful for his guidance and I know that his work will be continued under the leadership of our new prophet, Thomas S. Monson.
Thank you for your sweet spirit, President Hinckley and may God be with me til we meet again!

Go Diego Go!!

Last night, Mikayla and I went to go so "Go Diego, Go LIVE" at the Fox Theatre. Mikayla is a very big Dora and Diego fan, so needless to say she was very excited. So excited in fact, that she didn't take a nap yesterday, which brought on its own set of challenges. We went with a friend of mine, her son, Kamron (one of Mikayla's best buddies), and her sister-in-law.

This is a picture of Mikayla all ready to watch the show. She is wearing her Dora backpack and ready to watch the show!
They handed out these cute Baby Jaguar masks for the kids. Mikayla loved growling with all of the other kids.
It was such a fun night. I haven't had the opportunity to do much with just Mikayla since Gavin was born. I was thankful to be able to spend this time with my little girl and see her have so much fun.

Teddy Bear Parade!

Today, Mikayla's preschool put on a Teddy Bear Parade for the parents. Mikayla and I made a float for her stuffed animal yesterday and they got to wear their jammies to school (she was very excited about that). All of the kids were very cute - so were their floats. There wear some very fancy floats out their - I don't think the kids helped much with those. Mikayla's float won the "loveliest" award. Her float was wrapped in purple paper. They couldn't have wheels on the floats, but I cut out hearts to look like wheels on the sides of the floats. I had some die cut hearts and teddy bears, so I let Mikayla color those and I pasted them on the sides of the floats. It turned out very cute. One neat thing was when Mikayla was coloring the teddy bears, she decided that they all needed eyes and mouths. She gave each of them a face in the anatomically correct places. I am still amazed that she is learning these things and growing up so fast.

Mikayla in her Dora jammies and slippers.
Even though it isn't evident in this photo, she is happy to have us there. Gavin is sleeping in that brown polka dot sling that I am wearing. That has been a wonderful thing to have. It lets me carry him around in such a way that I have free hands and I can give him a bottle of breast milk without having to get him out.

I had to throw in a picture of Gavin with his sweet little smile - he is such a cutie. He is starting to play alot and his activity level grows daily. He is such a fun little baby - even if he won't sleep in a crib by himself.

Reflection of an amazing man

My mother called me last night to tell me about the passing of our beloved prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley. Even though I knew that his time here on Earth was coming to an end, I was initially a little surprised and taken back. At first, I was a little sad. President Hinckley was such a dynamic individual. He was a fun-loving and humorous man- I always enjoyed listening to him speak. I also know that he received direct revelation from our Heavenly Father in which he guided us into a path of righteousness. After taking some time today to reflect on his life I am truly happy for him. He had a wonderful and fulfilling life. He is in heaven with his sweet wife, who I am sure was waiting for him with a big smile, and our Heavenly Father. He served us well in this life and I know that he will continue to serve us in the next life.
Other than the most recent General Conference, the last time I saw him was at my sister, Emily's graduation from BYU. I remember thinking how special it was to have the Prophet at your graduation - I was a little jealous of my little sister for that. I have had the opportunity to meet him in person on one occasion when I was in high school - it is a truly humbling experience to be in the presence of such a holy man. I hope I never forget the feeling I had shaking that great man's hand.
I posted this picture of the prophet, because I will always remember him with that cane. He seldom used it for its inherent purpose - it was often used to wave at people and poke at various things. I always got a little chuckle from watching him do this.

Shake, shake, shake

I tried to upload this with my previous post, but I was having some trouble with it. This is a video I took this evening og Gavin playing with a rattle. This was the first time he held on to it for a significant length of time. Sorry about the background noise - we were watching Extreme Home Makeover.

Gavin at three months

Well, Gavin will be three months old on Tuesday. I can hardly believe that he has already been with our family for three months. He is such a sweet and cuddly little baby.



This picture is an example of what can happen while I am trying to make dinner. Gavin was sleeping in the swing and Mikayla ran into the kitchen, yelling "I gave hime a pillow!!" I rushed in to make sure there wasn't one covering his face or something and this is what I found. Mikayla had put a doll pillow behind his head and gave him the orange monkey toy. Gavin just sat there and took it. I think he will grow to be a very tolerant child.
I have had a good bit of trouble trying to get a picture of Gavin smiling. I bought this new camera and it just before it takes a picture, it puts a red light on the subject to reduce red eye. Well, this red light always suprises Gavin, so most of my pictures have a "deer in headlights" look to them. I have started having to hold the camera down and bring it up just before taking the picture, which doesn't often result in a well-posed picture. This one turned out pretty cute though. You can also see how big he is getting.

Round 2

Well, snow has fallen in Georgia for a second time in less than one week. Mikayla was so excited to get to play in the snow again - I hope that she doesn't think that this is the norm. Snow started falling heavily around 10am and lasted until about 5pm. Most of it stuck, but we did lose some since the temperature hung around 33 all afternoon, so a little bit melted as it fell. We told Mikayla she could play in the snow after he nap. In hindsight, we should have put her down for a late nap, because the best snow was out during her nap. Oh well, she didn't seem to know the difference and had a ton of fun.
She was so excited for her daddy to pull her around for a "sleigh" ride.
Jeremy had a snowball fight with a bunch of the neighborhood kids. Mikayla was a little defensive at first of her daddy, saying "Don't hit him!", but she soon saw how much fun they were having and even threw a couple of snowballs on her own. Me and Gavin (held securely and warmly in his Snugli) watched from a safe distance.

Jeremy, Mikayla and some of the kids in the neighborhood built this snowman. I am almost embarassed to post the picture, because it is not the prettiest snowman ever built. (this is a problem with trying to make a snowman from about one inch of snow - you get all of the yucky stuff from the ground) Jeremy was pretty proud of its size though. Mikayla made it a snow girl by putting flowers on her head.
After playing outside, Daddy and Mikayla each took a warm shower and Mikayla came down and snuggled with Gavin while holding her "Frosty" She even got some "warm chocolate" (per Mikayla hot chocolate is too hot!)

It was such a fun day for our family. I am so happy that Miayla got to exprience snow and that we built some memories for our family.