Becoming the Teacher

We have been working on our letters and sounds. Thanks to Letter Factory and a game involving jumping off the couch while going through flashcards, Dallin has these down. We played our favorite jumping game last week with Dallin's friend while our Mac and Cheese was cooking. I had to stop the game to finish making lunch, so Dallin announced he could do it (be the teacher). He told his friend to start jumping and went through some flashcards. I heard in the background, "This is W. Wa, wa, wa ,wa."

So the student became the teacher and the mommy teacher sat back amazed at the progress of her son.

Loving the Rodeo!

My favorite brother-in-law, Matt, got Keith Urban tickets from his work and gave them to me for my birthday. I hate to have favorites because I have some great brothers-in-laws, but Matt is the only one giving me free tickets (during busy season he will also take Dallin for some male bonding times and give me a break. You can see why he is my favorite.) I got four tickets but since Zane was working, we made it a girls night! My sister-in-law Kari and two other friends all enjoyed a night away from kids and a great concert!

While Zane was off work, we took Tuesday to do the carnival part of the rodeo (thanks again to more free tickets through a co worker of Matt's). This was a first for Dallin too and we had a blast. We did the petting zoo, carousal, ferris wheel, lots of rides, and even saw a pig race. We met up with some friends too which made it even more fun especially when one of us sits out with Gavin while the other goes with Dallin on a ride. Of course I took tons of pictures!

Dallin is in the orange and white stripped shirt. He was really easy to spot.

We are looking forward to next year's rodeo!

The Best Present

Thank you Zane for that sweet post. You sure surprised me.
The best birthday present though was the end of busy season!!! Zane took Monday and Tuesday off work so that we could have an extra long weekend together to catch up and recoup. Zane had been working 80 hour weeks and we were feeling the effects on our family mostly in the rise of temper tantrums at home (I won't say by whom). Needless to say, a long weekend was definitely needed.

Besides catching up on yard work, we spent Saturday flying a kite and playing soccer. This was Dallin's first time flying a kite and he had tons of fun.

Enjoying the show (and trying to eat the grass)

Playing soccer

We had a great weekend! The other part of my present was Zane watching the kids so that I could go shopping with my mom and sister, cleaning the bathrooms (my least favorite job), and helping me with all my flower garden projects. I have such a great man!

Happy 30th Ariane

I have hi-jacked Ariane's blog to wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY. This day is a special day for me because it is the day that my sweet wife was brought into the world. Some of the things that I love about Ariane are:

- Ariane is a fantastic mother - I could not have asked for a better mommy for our children. She is a great teacher, comforter and provider. Dallin and Gavin are lucky to have her as a mom.
- Ariane is funny - I recall when I met Ariane on a blind date (which we were not dates by they way, a story for another time) and she was the only one that I had eyes for because of her personality. I pulled out all the stops to try to impress her.
- Ariane has great faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ - I am so grateful for her testimony and love of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- Ariane will do anything she can to help others - I love her desire to serve others.

There are many more things that I love about Ariane; however, I am scared she is going to wake up and see me and I want this to be a surprise so I will end there. I am so grateful I met you Ariane and am still amazed that you said yes. HAPPY BIRTHDAY

With all my love, Zane (your sexy bald husband).

I Guess He was Sleepy

He used his tray as a paci and zonked out!

Gavin is 8 Month Old (February 26)

We discovered this last month that Gavin will not do anything he doesn't want to do. We have been trying to drop his 11:00 p.m. feeding for months. He just refused to eat at 7:30 before he went to bed, so he had to eat at 11. Then while my sister was babysitting him, he decided to finish his bottle before going to bed. That first night he got up at 3 a.m., but we were able to put him back to sleep without feeding. Now, he will finish an 8 oz bottle before bed time, sleep till 5:30 a.m. (this is Gavin's magic hour where no matter what we do, he will wake up at this time), drink a bottle and then go back to sleep in his own bed. Before now when Gavin woke up at 5:30 a.m. he would "sleep" in our bed because he was so noisy he would wake up Dallin. This is a huge celebration for me because before I could never go to bed before 11 and I was up at 5:30 every morning. I feel like a new women because I'm actually getting a decent amount of sleep! I know a 22 pound baby shouldn't need to eat at 5:30, but I can fight it and hold him off till 7 a.m. and not sleep, or I can feed and then go back to bed. I choose to sleep. I have learned too that fighting Gavin is pointless. When he wants to sleep past 5:30, he will (he actually has a couple of times.)

Gavin's other big news is that he decided to roll over from his front to his back. Again, we have worked with him on this for three months. He would roll onto his front, play for a little, then start crying until Dallin or I came and rolled him over (he reminded me of a slug.) Then one day last month, he just rolled over. We weren't playing with him or anything. He wanted a toy and rolled over. It will be interesting to see how this part of his personality manifest as a teenager...

So, at 8 months Gavin is almost sleeping through the night, rolling all over the house, trying to push himself up to get ready to crawl, enjoys sitting and playing with toys, and eating like a champ. He does three 8 oz bottles a day (we just barely dropped a bottle), eats three meals a day, and can drink from a sippy cup. He likes his snacks and can put them in his mouth by himself. He likes bigger snacks like biter biscuits over puffs and cheerios because he will still choke on a puff every once in awhile. Gavin has been teething and drooling all month, but we haven't felt the tooth yet. Gavin teething means he is a little crankier, but cranky for Gavin would seem like a normal temperament for any other mom. He is a very happy, giggling baby.