Lots of time has gone by since I posted! We welcomed baby Liam into our family on July 2013. He was born with a cleft so it was lots... ok TONS of work at first to get him fed. We still enjoyed every second snuggling and loving on him though! We made it through the initial surgeries and he is definitely getting his food intake now! He is 15 months old already! The time has flown by. Brynn and Gavin are still the best of friends and love their baby with all their hearts. We are so incredibly blessed!

Brynn is in 2nd grade! When did that happen? She is a rock star at everything she tries. She has been doing tumbling for 4 years now and can now do back flips, ariels, round-off back hand-springs... and does cartwheels everywhere she goes (instead of walking:)). She loves soccer and has gotten quite good! This was her third year and she scored lots of points and had tons of fun doing it. She is an AWESOME reader. She reads all of the time. She is an awesome singer! I told her she needs voice lessons because she was definitely blessed with an awesome voice. She said she will do that later but will NOT sing in front of people. :) Brynn is helpful, thoughtful, kind, full of energy, sassy, smart, and an incredibly great daughter and sister!


Gavin is in preschool and LOVES it. This was his first year in soccer and he was so funny. He was a lot younger than most of the kids so, even though he is really fast, he just couldn't keep up... and could care less. He would try to catch butterflies or floaty things in the air and jog up and down the field. LOL He had fun though! He is also in tumbling and absolutely loves it. He mostly does stretches and balance and somersaults into the "pit".  He loves to ride his "easy roller". He has learned all of his sounds to his letters and is trying to put them together to form words. Gavin is HILARIOUS! He giggles almost all day long. He loves his family and is very sweet, patient, and loves to play tricks on us. He is so gentle and gives the best hugs!


Liam is a walking/slobbering ball of love! He loves to eat! He enjoys being outside. He loves to play with his brother and sister. He has been a really good baby (as they all have). He is so so SO much fun to love on and that is what we all do!


This year we have grown a TON as a family and continue to learn each day how to meet each other's needs differently and in a more patient (still need work) way. We love being together, playing games, going on walks around the park, watching movies, eating yummy dinner together each night, going to all the college football games, and just snuggling up every night to read a good book. I can not even describe in words how much I love being "the mommy" of this awesome family of mine. I LOVE IT! We are incredibly blessed and so thankful for our loving Heavenly Father whom blesses us with small and tender mercies every single day.

Cats and Mice

You know the saying... "While the cats are away the MICE SHALL PLAY!" That is what has been going on around here lately. While Matt and Brynnlie are gone... Gavin and Mommy PLAY!!! It has been SO MUCH FUN having time with just Gavin and I. We read books and The Friend, color, chase each other around the house, go to the park, snuggle, go shopping, and he helps me in the yard or clean up the house and make dinner. It is amazing what this 1 on 1 attention is doing! He seems be on an accelerated learning path. He is telling me all sorts of stories and saying words and sentences that I didn't even realize he knew. I am so absolutely in love with my little boy and I love spending quality time with him!
When we take out the camera and say, "SMILE GAVIN!" this is the face we get. LOL

THIS IS MY FAVORITE PICTURE! He is such a cutie and we LOVE watching him grow as his personality comes out! :)

Gavin's 2nd Birthday!

Gavin turned 2 today! He woke up to a bedroom full of balloons and Brynnlie and I sang Happy Birthday to him. He got out of bed and we danced around the room kicking the balloons up in the air. He giggled and immediately knew this was going to be a special day. I asked him how old he is and he put both of his pointer fingers up and said "TWO"! He ran into the kitchen and saw his birthday decorations and yelled, "BIRTHDAY!" (sounded more like BIR-DAY!) We took his new 4-wheeler off the table and he jumped on it and pushed all of the buttons and laughed.


We took Brynn to school and he sat in his chair and ate breakfast while I filled and iced his cake. (I made the layers last night and froze them so they'd be easier to ice... and it worked!) I kept singing happy birthday to him and after a few times he started singing happy birthday too. We picked Brynnlie up from school and ate lunch. Daddy came home early and we blew PURPLE bubbles outside (what a fun mess) and drew with his new side walk chalk all over the back porch.

You are a Cheeser Gavin!

This cake would win the Ugliest Cake Contest but it sure tasted Yummy!

Gavin and Daddy took a nap while Brynn went to her friends house to play and I went to get my hair cut. Gavin slept some more while daddy took Brynn to tumbling. After naps and tumbling we ate hamburgers at the park and played on the jungle gym and watched a soccer game. We came home and Gavin finished the dinner he didn't eat at the park. Every time he ate a bite he could get a sticker to stick on his face and arms. He loved that game. After dinner Grandma & Grandpa came over with a couple of aunts and uncles for presents and cake and ice cream. He LOVED his chocolate cake and ate the entire bowl! He played with his new toys while we talked. He got in his jammies and sat on Grandma's lap to read his favorite book "THE BIG RED TUB!" He laughed and laughed at all of her noises and expressions.

We washed his stinky feet and Matt and I took him in his room to go to bed. We said, "I LOVE YOU! and he said, "I WUV U!" We both kissed him on his cheeks at the same time and he smiled. We said a prayer as we held him between us and we thanked our Father in Heaven for this amazing miracle we have been blessed with. We could never have dreamed up this life of ours and how happy and blessed we are with our two beautiful children.

We LOVE YOU FOREVER & ALWAYS GAVIN! Happy 2nd Birthday! :)

Hair Cut

Gavin's hair was getting SUPER long and Mommy wanted to see more of his cute face so I cut it all off. We cut at least 4-5 inches off the back. We miss all that hair but it grows really fast so I'm sure it will be long again soon. I bet he's had 15 haircuts since he was born. I always tease that all the Pediasure we give him goes right to his hair. It sure isn't going anywhere else :).

Before

He's not a happy camper in this picture but his hair looks great :).


After

Sudsin' in the Sink

Gavers enjoys his baths in the kitchen sink. He giggles and stands up and dances. He and Brynn laugh at his sudsy hair standing straight up in the air. I love to bundle him in a warm towel after he's done and he likes his legs, feet, arms, and back massaged with yummy lotion. He likes it all even more now that the warm sun is shining through the kitchen window every morning.

1st BIRTHDAY!

Gavin turned 1~!! Can you believe it? I still can't. We had lots of festivities to celebrate and I'm so grateful to our family who comes to share these happy times with us.





Gavin, we LOVE you! Our son has a very SPECIAL sweetness about him that melts his mommy & daddy's heart. His eyes SPARKLE. He is patient and has been an EASY baby. He has a TENDER heart and gets his feelings hurt easily. He is SMART and loves to use his hands to figure things out. He is a GREAT sleeper. He gives the BEST kisses! He has an addictive SMILE. He LOVES his mommy & daddy and likes to be held. He loves his big sister and watches her very closely & LAUGHS every time she laughs. He makes our family feel COMPLETE. And he is really HANDSOME too if I say so myself. :)

This past year with our little man has been really special. We've loved EVERY SINGLE SECOND with him and can't wait for bajillions more. ;)

Love these chillins

We sat up to a hot bowl of chicken noodle soup and garlic toast tonight (yes it is still snowing here) and I looked at our two beautiful children and said another little prayer of thanks for the miraculous opportunity I have been given to be Mom. I am so blessed. Brynn & Gavin keep us on our toes and keep us laughing constantly. Oh the joy!!! I tell ya... these two bring so much happiness into our home.

Lately Brynn has been putting "stick in the mud" into all of her sentences. For example, she asks me quite frequently... "Mom, what are you stick in the mud doing?" Or... "Mom, that is so stick-n-the-mud funny!" She says "stick in the mud" really fast and adds it into EVERY THING. It cracks me up to no end. She is so incredibly sweet and makes sure people know how much she cares. She tells me quite often, "Mom, you are a good mommy." And it melts me.

"silly face"


"sweet face"


"mad face" - (not really... it's worse than this ;o))


"happy face"



Gavin likes to scrunch up his entire face and sniff in & out really fast. With his two new front teeth, I can't help but laugh out loud every single time. I have to blow that face up and put it in my kitchen window so that I can laugh at the hilariousness for years to come. He gave me my first kiss yesterday and I melted into a puddle right then and there. He does an open mouthed kiss with his tongue slightly out (No, I didn't teach him that!!!) and it is too sweet for words.

"sniff face"


"sweet face"


"sad face" - (no, I did not pinch him... he just wants to stop taking so many dag-gom pictures!)


"happy face" -- HA HA HA HAHAHAHAH! Oh buddy... you is soo C.U.T.E. with those teethers.

Baby on the MOVE

The Sunday before we left for Disneyland we got to see Gavin crawl for the very first time! By the time we got home he had mastered it and is now officially ON THE MOVE. Life has changed as we know it :). He was pulling out the lamp plugs and pulling down the decorations tonight after dinner. Tomorrow mrng. will have to be spent re-baby-proofing mi casa. He loves to crawl up to anything he can get a hold of to get himself in a standing position and then bobs up and down and smiles from ear to ear. He is so happy and proud of himself and couldn't be any cuter! We love our little guy so much!




(I can't get my video of him crawling to upload so you're just gonna have to take my word for it. ;))

He also just cut his first tooth on the bottom and has two very large bulges on the top which have been bothering him quite a bit so we know they're coming next. 8 1/2 months old ~ wow! Time really does FLY when you're having fun :>!

Gaver's Sealing

We had the opportunity to have Gavin sealed into our eternal family the weekend before Thanksgiving. It ended up being the first snow storm of the year and we are so grateful that our entire family trekked into Logan to share this AMAZING experience with us regardless. It was an emotional weekend and I'm so grateful to be a part of this gospel and to have our children sealed to us forever.

Brynnlie sings "I Love to See the Temple" quite a bit and she was excited to go into the temple with her brother. Both Grandmas helped get the kids dressed in the nursery and played with them as they waited. Brynn and Gavin were amazing during the sealing (the chandelier gets em every time). Afterward, when our family & friends came to give us a hug, Brynn REALLY hammed it up and was making us all laugh.

Some of our family left to get ready for the dinner but here is a pic of the rest of us.




We are so glad that Gavin's birthmom and her family could also share this special time with us. They have been incredibly gracious and kind through the entire adoption experience and we are eternally grateful for each of them. Rachael has a strength and courage about her that we look up to. It was fun having her & her oldest brother spend the night with us so that they could attend Gavin's blessing the next day.


The snow was coming down pretty hard but it was the perfect time of night to take pictures and we got some good ones! (a couple of the temple workers told us that we probably shouldn't take our kids out in the cold but we figured the adoption was final so we can freeze them all we want now. ;) hahaha)




It was such a magical evening & we will never forget it. We are so incredibly blessed!

Legal

We are legal! Everything went well at court and the judge ordered that our adoption be final. YEAH!!!

The kids before we left for court


And our family after the legalities...




We LOVE adoption!