Our Little Boy

Since being 8 is a big milestone around here, it has made me stop and reflect on how fast Gavin is growing up. I made this video slide-show of him from birth to 8 years old.

Big Weekend

We had a really big weekend. Gavin was Baptized. (In our religion, LDS, it is custom to baptize children when they are 8). It was such a good day. We had so many family and friends there supporting him. Thank you to everyone who came and shared this special day with our little boy!

Alec Started Preschool

We went to school today,
My little boy and I.
I worried all through breakfast,
afraid that he might cry.
I watched him walk away with pride,
and I was quite alone.
The tears I thought would be his,
are indeed my very own!

The High School near our house has a preschool that runs for 8 weeks in the Spring. We decided to put Alec into it. With Alec's anxieties we thought he would have a rough couple of days adjusting. Well he didn't. He walked right in and never looked back. We are very proud of him! I went home afterwards in tears, because my baby has started school and I have the house to myself for 2 hours a day. It was a little overwhelming.

Fun Easter Weekend

Tagged Kids

Gavin, Brynn, and Alec have been tagged by their cute little cousin Brynlee. Here are 5 things about each of them.

Gavin

1. Gavin is a very social little boy. He always has friends around him, and has a hard time if there are no friends to play with. He has always enjoyed being around other kids even when he was a baby. His teacher at school says that everyone wants to be Gavin's friend and be around him.

2. Gavin is devestated if he feels you are mad at him or don't love him. Even if he is in trouble he has to come and hug you and make sure you still care about him. He loves to be hugged and give hugs, and will even blow you a kiss (if his friends aren't looking).

3. Gavin is obsessed with Nintendo (or anything video game related). If we didn't regulate it then he would eat, sleep, and breathe video games.

4. Gavin has a huge imagination and loves to play with his siblings. He will often make up great stories of knights and castles and battles that he acts out while playing. He will also make up great animations and stories, and will sit and draw them out for hours. His drawings are very animated and detailed.

5. Gavin has a really big heart and does not like to see anyone sad. If someone is sad he will try to comfort them by hugging them, giving them stuffed animals to hold, or acting goofy to make them smile.

Brynn

1. Brynn is very opinionated and does not like anyone telling her what to do or how to it. She is determined to figure things out herself in in her own way. This is a great trait because she won't let anyone tell her she can't do something. She will figure out a way.

2. Brynn is an amazing drawer. She has an eye for drawing and painting and for a 6 year old her perspective is amazingly accurate.

3. Brynn is a scatter brain. She is always loosing her shoes, coat, homework, library books, clothes, etc. (even though there are designated baskets, drawers, and shelves for everything). Sometimes this is frustrating for a Mom who tries to be organized, but other times I am glad that Brynn doesn't take things too seriously. She tends to go at a slower pace and "stops to smell the roses." She isn't uptight and in hurry all the time (like her mom).

4. Brynn is the bravest child in our family (her brothers are a little chicken). She is not afraid to ride rollercoasters, or talk to people, or do anything out of the ordinary. We never have to talk her into anything. She is up for a challenge any day.

5. Brynn loves to learn. I will often find her writing stories or reading books. I never have to get after her to do her homework, she is excited to do it. She loves school and tries her very best at everything she does.

Alec

1. Alec is very animated. He is my only child who will get up in front of a crowd and perform. He is always making faces, doing silly dances, or saying something very dramatically. Alec makes people around him laugh on a daily basis.


2. Alec has a lot of anxieties and doesn't handle change very well. We have to prep him days in advance if we are going somewhere different then usual, and he will usually have a meltdown about it a couple of times (going out to eat is a joke). He doesn't like crowds or loud noises and will have meltdowns (I tend to think they are little kid panic attacks). He almost always has a meltdown in Wal-Mart because the stimulation is too much for him (I don't blame him on that one really, Wal-Mart can cause anyone to melt down!)

3. Alec has always been a cuddle bug. He loves to sit on mom or dad's lap and cuddle. We have a ritual every morning after we take the kids to school. When I am getting him out of the car he will have me pick him up and he will put his head on my shoulder and snuggle with me while I carry him into the house. He will sometimes come in and say, "I need my mama," and that means he wants me to hold him for a minute. I think I will be very sad when he doesn't want to snuggle anymore.

4. Alec developed a habit when he was a baby of holding your finger for comfort. When he was one he discovered that the finger he was holding has a fingernail. Now for comfort he will hold your finger and flick your fingernail. He does it when he is sad, or just before he falls asleep (instead of a good night kiss he wants to flick your fingernail), or just when he needs reassurance. We are used to it, but it is funny when we go places and he will do it to other people, it freaks them out.

5. Alec is very smart and catches onto things easily. He can already write all of his letters, he knows the difference between upper case and lower case, and is starting to spell words. He can spell all of the names of his family.

(Sorry I am bragging a little, but sometimes a mom gets to brag!)

We tag our cousins Ryan, Emily, Eva, and Emmie, and our friend Carter

What a life!

If I believed in Reincarnation, then I think in my next life I would come back as a cat.

Lazy Joey

You can sleep all day, and someone else feeds you and cleans up after you. And you don't feel guilty about it one bit!

My own personal radio station

I have found this new website that I love. It is Pandora Radio. This site lets you choose songs that you like and then they find other songs that are similar. It is like making your own personal radio station. You should try it!

Happy Birthday Brett!

Brett is 34 today! (His family started a tradition when he was younger to have a grapefruit for breakfast on your birthday, with a candle in it.)

The Top 10 Things We Love About You

1. You do dishes and mop floors without being asked.

2. You can fix your wife's computer when she doesn't know what to do and is readyto take a sledge hammer to it.

3. You keep your mouth shut when your wife wakes up in a really bad mood.

4. You love spending time with your family and wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

5. You are a great Dad who loves to play legos and video games with your kids.

6. You always call your wife everyday at lunch to let her know you are thinking about her.

7. He helps me on video games, he is really nice, and I really like him (Gavin).

8. He is almost winning super mario galaxy, and he always plays with me (Alec).

9. He is the nicest person I ever met (Brynn).

10. You watch The Biggest Loser, and HGTV with your wife, even though you really can't stand it.

You are awesome! We love you! Happy Birthday!

Conversation with my 3 year old...

Alec really wants a shield to go with his foam sword. He has some allowance and wants me to buy him a "soft" (foam) shield. I can't find any in the stores so I have been looking online. He is getting impatient.

Alec: When are you going to buy me a soft shield?
Mom: I am trying to find one for you.
Alec: I know where to find one.
Mom: Where?
Alec: Well, the Soft Shield store of course.

Duh! Why didn't I think of that!

Foot Update

Well I got the results back from my MRI on my ankle. It looks like my torn ligament has healed nicely, which is good news. The bad news is that I have a pocket of fluid in my ankle joint which is causing my pain. My doctor has put my on anti-inflamitory pills for 2 weeks. If that doesn't clear it up then he wants to do surgery and put a scope in there and clean it out. Let's hope the drugs work!

Friends and Fun

We have some good friends that we get together with a couple times a year and do fun things together. All of our kids are about the same ages and they really enjoy seeing each other.

We went to Park City with everyone this week for a couple of days.

There is this sledding hill that pulls your tube up the hill, and then you tube down the hill. It was a lot of fun! The kids had the best time.

Alec really surprised us by going down the whole time we were there. He usually does not like sledding because it is too fast. These tubes were really fast, but he enjoyed it.

Happy Birthday Gavin!

It is Gavin's 8th Birthday today.

These past 8 years have flown by!

He had a friend party on Saturday.

Today we had Grandma and Grandpa Francis, and Angie, Ryan, and Emily over for cake and ice cream.

Gavin has a big heart, a big imagination, and lots of friends. He is a joy to have in our family. Happy Birthday Buddy!

Hard Rock MRI

I had an MRI of my ankle on Friday (this is the same injury that occured before Christmas, it isn't healing). Anyway it was quite the experience.

The Tec doing the MRI asked me if I wanted to listen to music during the procedure. I said sure. He asked me what kind of music I like. I asked him what kind he had. He said, "Jazz, Country, Rock." Well I hate Country, so I said Rock. I figured that is what I usually hear on the radio...right? Well I was very wrong.

He put the headphones on my head, told me to hold very still for a half hour, and left the room. The next thing I know Hard Rock is blaring (it was very loud, so loud I couldn't even hear the really loud MRI machine) into my ears. I hate Hard Rock, though I could probably handle it if it wasn't very very loud, right in my ears!

So I have Hard Rock blaring in my ears and I can't move to take the dang headphones off, and I can't say anything without moving, so I am stuck listening to this crap for a half hour!

Here are the thoughts running through my head:
"Why is Rock such a broad term? Please remember to say Soft Rock next time!"
"I bet my brother Matt would be in Heaven right now!"
"I wonder how many brain cells or eardrums I am killing right now."
"I wonder if the Tec guy is laughing his head off as he watches me try to be really still while Hard Rock is blaring in my ears. I wonder if he did it on purpose."
"I wonder if this is what that guy on Lost felt like, who was trapped in that overstimulation room for weeks."
"I wonder if I will be overstimulated and go crazy from this experience."
"I knew there was a reason that I hate wearing headphones. From now on no more headphones!"
"I want to stick a fork in my eye!"

I survived, but I did feel a little dizzy on my way home!