Wheeler Farm

Gav and I had a little play date with his cousins Lauren and Katie, his aunt Heather and her sister Grace, at Wheeler Farm today. It was such a beautiful day and it felt really good to get out of the house. I can only pretend to clean so much. We started off by feeding the geese/ducks. That was the worst part. (For those of you in the dark...I am TERRIFIED of birds.) I did learn today that it's mostly the flying birds that bother me. These ones sure were loud, and I didn't let Gav out of his stroller...not because he was scared, because I was scared for the birds and what he might do to them! He is not always gentle with animals (or toys, or food, or clothes, or MOMMY). These geese would come right up to you, and they kept poking their heads into the food bag. It was sort of funny, in a creepy bird sort of way....

We saw a variety of smelly things, like chickens, turkeys and pigs and then it was on to the "Neighs!" as Gavin so delicately calls them. He is so stinkin' cute when he sees horses! And today was the day of all days for him...he rode his first horse! He wasn't scared a bit and he LOVED it! What a cute little cowboy!

We had a great day with Lauren (Coren as Gav says) and Katie (Tay ti) and Aunt Heather and Gracie! Thanks for going with us!

Photography

I have been taking a photography class the last 4 weeks and thought maybe I should actually practice taking pictures. Honestly, it's really daunting to me. I don't think I really have that "artistic" part in me that you probably need for great pictures. I think most of the pictures I take are going to be pure luck or because I have a cute subject (i.e. Gavin). Anyway, these are just cute ones of Gavin that I took this afternoon. I obviously am going to need A LOT of practice, and to venture out and take pictures of something other than Gav :) Maybe that will be my biggest challenge since he's just so darn cute!

Austenland...

I just finished reading a book by Shannon Hale entitled, "Austenland". I have heard a few people mentioning her books and thought I would give it a try, not knowing what to expect. Alright, if I'm being honest on here, I was pretty sure I wouldn't really be interested because my mother-in-law and sister-in-law (who has a slightly different taste in things than I do) were always talking about them. I in no way mean that derogatory, but I just tend to like different things. If you know me well, you know I am not one to be into things just because everyone else is. I swore I was never going to read Harry Potter or Twilight (I can't believe I am admitting that) because everyone else was and, well, look what happened there. For lack of something to read lately, I borrowed this book from my mother-in-law, and it was surprisingly good! I found it very witty, though a tad unbelievable, but apparently that's what I am looking for these days! Sometimes it's fun to escape to a fictional world and pretend to be someone else, which this book REALLY illustrates. I also found Shannon Hale to be a WONDERFUL writer. I tend to skip over a lot of stuff as I read because I am just plain bored with the author's writing. I can guarantee you that I read every single word in this book, though, and enjoyed it. I highly recommend this if you're looking for something new to try.

Picture Tag

Tammy tagged me with this fun post! I thought it was so random, I was so excited to see which picture it ended up being. Here's the deal...if you are tagged you have to post the 6th picture in the 6th folder in your my pictures file. So here is mine.....

Gav was only 5 months old in this picture! Remember what it was like when he didn't sit there and throw food at me, or feed it all to the dogs? But then he wouldn't be able to say, "Mama" and give me loves and kisses....I think I'll stick with where we are at!

I tag, Carlie M, Susan J, Nancy W, Katie M, Jenn C, Sandy A and Jeri P

All the things he can do....

October is halfway over and I have only blogged 4 times...apparently nothing too interesting has been happening! Or rather, Gavin keeps me too busy to blog!

He is getting so big. I found a program where you can print your blog out into a book and I was thinking I would do that at the end of the year. That way I can have it to keep as a sort of journal of events. I don't think I take enough time to record the funny things Gavin does or now says and I don't want to ever forget them. He has become such a fun little man lately! I can't believe how much he has grown up in just the last 2 weeks!

He can run and climb on ANYTHING! I can't believe how easy it is for him to do things that used to seem like so much work.

He understands SO MUCH! I'll ask him something and sometimes he catches me so off guard. The other day I was in the office and told him to go get my phone. Next thing I know he's running back in the room handing it to me! Or today during my presidency meeting I asked him to fold his arms during the prayer and I didn't have to do it for him, he just did it! He'll go get a diaper when I ask him to and he'll go get a tissue and blow his nose and then throw it away. I'm so proud that he also seems to understand we only throw certain things away. I have yet to discover that he has thrown something important in the garbage!

He absorbs information like you would believe. He knows the following animals sounds:

Horse

Puppy

Cow

Kitty-Cat

Bear

Piggy

Chicken

Sheep

It's so cute and I make him do it all the time! He was driving down the road with Keith and my dad the other day and saw a horse and said, "Neigh!!!!" I really only thought he knew what the sound was, not what it looked like! Now everytime we see a horse he says it and I love it just as much everytime!

He's learning body parts...he knows hair, feet, belly, hands, and nose. He's having a hard time with the difference between eyes and ears but we'll get there!

I'm very proud of him and how hard he tries to be a good boy. It can't be easy all of the time when you don't understand, but he's such a sweet boy. I can truly tell that he loves me and Keith. We're so lucky to have him for our son.

Good Friends? NO GREAT!

Friday night I had a recipe group to go to that I do once a month. Keith wasn't going to be home to tend Gav so I was looking for a sitter and my good friend Julie offered to take him. Not just take him, but take him to the Riverton HS football game with her family. I know what you're all thinking...."Take Gav to a game? She's got to be the bravest woman I've ever heard of!" She and her wonderful family took him and they said he was great. (I don't think she would lie, but we all know how Gav has been lately...) Julie is in primary with me and not only did she take him, but our fearless Pres. Nancy (you may remember her from the Weiner Mobile post) called me to see if he was going so she could bring some treats for him and make sure to see him. And then I find out, sweet darling, Susan (the other counselor) and her family sat by them too! Either they all really thought I needed a night off, or they just love Gavin! I am so thankful to have not only these women to serve in the church with, but also to have the good friendship that we do. I'm thankful for their examples and for their love for my son. I couldn't ask for better people to serve with. I was teasing Julie that they weren't going to make the blog since none of them remembered a camera....but I'll forgive them! I love you all, and your families too!

A drawing by Kyle...

A few members of my family have talent. Okay, a lot of them have talents, but a few of them are quite artistic, one of the family traits that was not bestowed on me. I can't draw a decent stick figure. Anyway, I recieved an email tonight from my Uncle Kyle and was so impressed! I knew he was artistic, but I haven't seen anything he has done in awhile. I also happen to LOVE the show House and that made this even cooler. Enjoy! You're awesome, Kyle, love ya!

Purple Turtle...

No, that is not what Gavin is going to be for Halloween...it just happens to be my favorite restaurant. If you find yourself in the Pleasant Grove area, you definitely have to stop by. They have everything from burgers and fries, to tater gems and fish and chips. (Napolean Dynamite even gets his tots there...or maybe it was just a shake, but he was there!) It's all cooked right when you order so it hasn't been sitting around waiting for you...it's delicious and the pink sauce (fry sauce) is to die for! I contribute the size of my first born to Purple Turtle corndogs...that's all I craved! My order today would be a Mile High Burger with bacon, and english chips. I would probably top it all off with an apple pie shake. It's probably a good thing I don't live closer to the Purple Turtle! Of course it doesn't help that I have an in with the owner......thanks DAD!

Too cute not to post...

My mom watched Gavin a couple of weeks ago and took these pictures. I really don't have anything special to say about them, but they are sure cute! He is growing up so fast! Thanks, Mom for loving him so much!

He loves Daddy!