Mexico 2008!!!

WOW - i went down that!!!!

Look at how cute they are wearing their ocean slippers! They all insisted they had to have them because the waves were cutting their feet up too badly - funny... although I think I'll have scars on my feet from tumbling along the bottom!
This was the view from our room - BEAUTIFUL!

We are back from our trip, and Bryan and I are both going through a little post-vacation depression... anyone remember that after our cruise?! I would much rather be on the beach than going to work! We had so much fun!!! Thank you so much to mama and papa Wulf... the trip was so relaxing too - we all got massages at the spa - heavenly! The top pictures are from the canapy tour we took - UNBELIVABLE!! We took 14 zip lines through the jungle, it was honestly the most amazing thing I have ever done - it even beat the waterfall in Jamaica and the sting rays in Grand Cayman! I want to go back just to do that again! It was so nice to spend so much time as a family. Bryan and I missed G, but we also really enjoyed our time together - that hasn't happened for a long time! Now I'm just excited to start planning the next vacation!!!

Some of my favorite things to do!

Snuggle on the couch
Help daddy clean the garage!
Arts and crafts with mama
Brush my teeth! (he's obbessed!! notice... two toothbrushes)
Bath time!




Gavin has been so much fun lately! He's learned how to run pretty fast, which makes picking him up from daycare pretty interesting, as he's running down the hall squealing! He has so many favorite things to do - he just has so much fun expoloring everything. He's also been saying a lot of new words. He tries to repeat everything we say. Bryan was pretty excited when he said "golf ball" last weekend! We spent last weekend at Leech Lake with my family - we had so much fun. I have to wait to get pictures from my sister before I can post any. We took some cute ones of Owen and G playing together - they were actually fighting over toys - crazy! We're getting so excited for our trip - a nice tropical vacation is just what we need right now - this crazy cold it really starting to get to me.

One busy little boy!

" What?!? I'm not supposed to eat my paint?!"
"I'm going to get you mama!"
Gavin has been one busy little boy lately, he's learning so much, I just love watching his little brain at work. The other day he put his hand over the heater as it was blowing warm air, and looked up as if he was scolding me and said "OT - NO UTCH!" translation: Hot- don't touch! He really does listen when I talk to him! He's also been using his signing a lot lately too - he's gotten really good at "more" and "please" and will do "thank you" every now and then, but he gets that one confused with blowing kisses! He thinks everything is hot - and insists on blowing on all of his food before he'll eat it! He also seems to think our prayers are comical, he just sits there and smiles at us! He loves his new tricycle he got for Christmas, he climbs on up and insists we push him all over the house, it'll be nice when he can reach the petals! He also plays a lot with his tool bench, it amazes me that he knows for the most part what each of the tools does - must be a boy thing. He still loves music the most, and can pretty much dance in rhythm to anything you put on. He figured out how to turn the radio on in my room, so that pretty much plays all day. He has started going to daycare three days a week. After Christmas he made the big move to the toddler room, which he is really enjoying. They do a lot more activites, and keep them busy all day long, which is something Gavin really needs, or he'll bore easily. Apparently he hasn't mastered how to eat lunch at the big kid table yet, they tell us he gets up to explore all the time. I was happy to hear though that he naps really well in a cot, which I was a little worried about. Mom is really enjoying the extra sleep day too - what a difference it makes!

What a VERY Merry Christmas!!

Just hangin out eating some chex mix with Uncle Shane!
Wow - life got really busy the past few weeks, sorry I haven't updated this sooner! We had such a nice Christmas, it was so good to see so many of our family and friends. Gavin was sick the week before, but was feeling better just in time for all of the fun. We started our celebration friday night with the RatTrap family christmas. I feel so blessed to have such a close group of friends, and although I don't see them nearly as often as I like, it doesn't seem to make a difference when we get together - we had so much fun, and the food was delicious Kell! G also got to spend some time with Garett, who is just a few weeks younger - it was so fun to watch them play! Saturday we spent with the Wulf's and Sunday with the Hagen's - Gav was spoiled rotten - and loved every second of it, although I think he might have been a little overwhelmed - which toy to play with first!?! such decisions a one year old has to make. :o) He really enjoyed opening his gifts this year too, which was fun to watch. Monday was spent at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Eden Prairie. It was so nice to see so much of our family! By Tuesday, Gavin was pretty much Christmased out, we had a pretty low-key day trying to give him a little normalcy, which I think he appreciated after his 4 hour nap that afternoon! And we've pretty much been trying to get back to normal ever since. My new year was spent with a very ill baby, which made me appreciate my own blessings even more. It never ceases to amaze me what a miracle a baby is, and how tragic it is when something goes so terribly wrong. Most days I can't even believe the role I play in these people's lives - what a privledge - I just have to remember that when I haven't sat down for 10 hours and my head is spinning! I assisted at the delievery of twins last night - which was very exciting! I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!

Getting ready for Christmas!

We have had so much fun getting ready for Christmas! We celebrated at Grandma Betty's last Saturday - which is always so much fun. Then on Sunday we had everyone over to our house for a cookie exchange. We baked and baked and baked all day - it was a blast! Lauren, Ellie and Allison decorated a gingerbread house - which is now my holiday centerpiece - it turned out sooooooo cute! Gavin had a blast playing with his cousins all day long - what a treat that they all were there! We got the best laughs out of Owen, next year he'll be just as crazy as Gav is now! I'm almost done with my shopping, which is a big relief. I can't wait to see everyone over the holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey everyone - our camera's battery was dead, so I don't have any thanksgiving pics to share - sorry! I do have a little update though. We had Gav's 15 month appointment last week. He's up to 24lbs and 32 1/4 in! He's still really tall for his age! Everything looked good, except for his sinuses - they are full and infected, so that means 20 days of antibiotics! yuck!! He loves to take his medicine though, so it's not a problem for him. He's running all over the place and loves to get into everything - literally!! He says a few words, and has really been into giving hugs lately - I like that part a lot! We're still trying to get settled in the new house - hopefully we can get some furniture soon - that will help. We put up the Christmas tree, which surprisingly G has left alone! We'll see how long that lasts! We're looking forward to seeing a lot of people over the holidays. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Our first family vacation to Disney World!

G had soooooo much fun playing in the water fountain! Good thing we had a change of clothes!

Standing in line for his first ride - Winnie the Pooh!
He was so tired he fell asleep sitting up - poor guy - it's tough keeping up with Grandma and Grandpa!
Gavin came back so spoiled after spending a few hours with Grandma and Grandpa - but he finally looked like a "real tourist!"



We're back from our trip, and it went way too fast! We had so much fun and Gavin just loved it! He wasn't scared of the characters - he loved going up and meeting them, he even got a kiss from Pocahontas - I think daddy was a little jealous! He was just so intrigued by everything - he stared at all the lights, took in everything his little eyes could see on the rides, and reached for more fireworks when they were over. He got to be a pretty good dancer too - especially jammin to chubby checker one night at EPCOT - he can really groove for a one year old! I think we all had more fun watching Gavin take everything in than actually looking at things ourselves! We're both going through a little post-vacation depression - and counting down the days until we can go again - December anyone? Although, I don't think he'll need anymore souvenirs for a good five years - he was spoiled rotten! We got a lot of good pictures, so we need to set up a scrappin date - I have so much to work on!