Gulf Shores

We went on a little vacation this past weekend and had a really nice time.  My parents got a condo right on the beach in Orange Beach, Alabama.  I will say during the time we were there, I think we saw the sun twice and it rained on our last day.  Even with that, we still managed to play on the beach, go swimming, and have fun!  We took Gavin out to the beach on our first morning to see how he would like it.  He's been in sand before, but sometimes he has different opinions on things.  Within the first 2 minutes of walking on the beach, he tried very hard to get the sand our of his shoes.  It was cute to watch him.  Eventually, he got use to it and didn't mind it at all.  

We went to lunch at a place called Lulu's.  The restaurant was started by Jimmy Buffet's sister, Lulu.  It was a cute place outdoors that had a large play area for kids.  My mom brought Gavin to the sand area and he played his little heart out.  He laughed a lot and threw sand everywhere.

Brooks, Gavin, and I spent time on the beach and they played in the water.  I will admit the wind was blowing really hard and it was very cloudy, which made the water a little cold, but it didn't matter to them!  Gavin would hold Brooks hand and walk out into the water.  They would pretend the waves were chasing them and run away.  Gavin laughed a lot!  He would go out into the water if Brooks was holding him and he let a few waves crash into them!  It was a precious sight to watch!

Did I mention that Gavin enjoyed playing in the sand??  He LOVED it.  He had shovels and a pail and he would scoop up the sand and play and play and play.  After a while, he'd hand me his hand to clean it off.  On this day, we noticed Gavin's mouth was turning a little blue from the "cold" so we decided to go swimming in the indoor pool.  Gavin loved being in the pool and it was amazing to see how much of our swim lessons from last summer he remembered.  He'd jump off the side of the pool, he'd go under water, and he would kick his feet when we put him on his stomach to swim to one of us.  My mom had a great idea and bought some water guns so Gavin got to play with those.  He thought it was hilarious to get mommy and daddy wet.  

So, the indoor pool area also had a hot tub.  I took this picture thinking it was pretty funny that the sign behind it said no kids under the age of 12 allowed.  Normally, we would have NEVER put Gavin in the hot tub, but after 15 minutes of being inside and swimming, his lips were still a light shade of blue.  Brooks dipped him in the hot tub water to help his body's temperature even out a little.  Gavin would get in and say, "ooohhhhh", "HOT".  Don't worry, we didn't let him stay in THAT long..

On our last day it rained pretty much all day.  We did manage to take Gavin outside on the tennis courts and let him throw balls.  Brooks found a frisbee in the bushes somewhere so Gavin got a kick out of throwing that all around.  We also brought a bat and ball and practiced hitting!  He was actually really good at holding the bat and got better at watching for the ball.  He ran around and laughed hysterically 90% of the time.  Then, we stayed inside and just hung out until the rain stopped. 

Our last night we went to dinner at a restaurant on the water and got some amazing seafood!  Overall, the trip was a huge success and a lot of fun.  Brooks enjoyed getting time off of work, I liked getting to just rest, and Gavin LOVED the beach!  

First Haircut

We went to Gulf Shores this past weekend with my parents and had a fun, enjoyable trip that I will post pictures and tell you all about later!  On our way back home, we stopped in Lake Charles for Brooks to go to the dentist and for Gavin to get his first haircut.  We took him to my cousins shop at The Ritz.  I was really not eager to get his haircut just because I like his curls and feel like his hair has just started growing, so to cut it just seemed premature.  Plus, I was nervous about how Gavin would react once he was in the chair and saw the scissors.  However, Gavin did AWESOME!!  He sat in the booster seat, got the cape put on him, and sat very still.  He was calm, relaxed, and serious at the same time.  It was cute.  After realizing that he was going to be fine with the haircut, and wasn't bothered by it at all, I started to relax.  Gavin did soooo good!  He let Melinda cut where she need to, how she needed to, he turned his head when she asked him to.  Ahhh, he just did soooo good!  We were really impressed.   I'm glad that we decided to get his haircut.   Right before Gavin got in the chair, Brooks thought we might need some candy JUST INCASE we needed to "encourage" him to stay in the chair, so he walked next door and got a bag of M&M's.  Since we didn't use them while Gavin was getting his haircut, we gave them to him as a reward afterwards.  Brooks and I were so proud of him!  He was really proud of his hair, too!  Along with him climbing out of his crib, this is another example of him growing up!  

Houston, We have a Problem

I was in Gavin's room packing his suitcase for our trip to Florida when he decided to join me.  He quickly realized his froggie and paci were in his bed and he wanted them, BADLY.  The rule in our house is he only gets his frog and pacifer when he is going to sleep and they have to stay in his crib.  So, naturally, as he continued to express his hearts desire for his items, I placed him in his crib and let him have at them while I continued to pack him up.  After a few minutes Gavin wanted out of his crib, but wasn't willing to leave his paci and froggie.  So, he took matters into his own hands. 

I realize this video doesn't show the entire "problem" fully or completed, however, please know that he successfully completed his task multiple times, EXCEPT for when I tried taping him.  When we return from Florida we will be having to change things up a little.  Our goal was to wait until we moved to Saudi to put Gavin in a big boy bed, but we don't think we can wait 3 more months! 

**Scroll down to the bottom and pause the music so you can hear him. 

Latest Projects

It's been exactly a year since I decided not to teach this year, in order to stay home before we moved.  I remember thinking what in the world am I going to do with all my time?  Well, I think it's safe to say that  I have found several new interests to fill my time with.  

This past week I worked on two cakes and two baby door signs for some friends and clients.  Now that all these projects have been completed, I realized that these projects were fun for me!!  I made sure that I didn't put any pressure on myself, took time while working on the projects to take breaks and hang out with Gavin.  I even went shopping one day!   I purposed it in my heart, that I wasn't going to allow any part of these projects to stress me out and it worked!  I'm really thankful to have these hobbies and have enjoyed them a lot.  I actually don't have any more cake orders or cakes planned so I'm going to get a nice little break for a while.  Brooks and I are starting to work on our checklist that must be complete before our departure date so I'm going to spend time getting those things taken care of.  

Here's a cake I made for one of my best friend's baby shower that I helped host on Saturday.  The top tier was chocolate with chocolate mousse filling, the center tier was red velvet (the mommy to be's favorite), and the bottom was white cake with almond/vanilla filling.   Addison Ray Carpenter will be here sometime next month and we can't wait to meet her!  I also made a door sign for Addison's nursery and for her parents to use on their hospital room door.  

I've been selling baby door signs for almost 2 months now and have been enjoying getting to be creative with different nursery themes, colors, etc.  I made this door sign for a friend of mine from church whose best friend was having a baby.  Her room colors were pink and brown.  I think this sign is my new favorite-- now if I only I could learn how to make pretty bows.  

Here is a cake I made for a 7 year olds birthday party.  Her mom told me that she LOVES bright pink, lime green, and black!  This is the "theme" I came up with.  I had so much fun making this cake and was really excited about the way it turned out.  For the little girls birthday party, her mom rented a limo and is taking her and her friends to get their nails done.  How fun is that?!!?  This is a 2 tiered cake- the top tier is chocolate and the bottom tier is white with cookies-n-cream filling. Yummy!!

Audrey Cate

A few weeks ago I posted that my brother, Bryan, and sister in law, Anna, welcomed their daughter, Audrey Cate into the world!  She came 10 weeks early and is still in the hospital getting cared for by some amazing NICU nurses.  One of them made a PRECIOUS tutu for her.  I think she's THE cutest thing I've ever seen!

Audrey has been doing really well with her daily tasks.  She has started eating on her own and is gaining weight daily.  She is currently 4lbs 4oz.  This is a big jump for her for being born at 3lbs.  I had the opportunity the day she was born to see her for a few minutes and it was a very special time!!  I'm so thankful to have had that time with her; to love on her; and to pray over her.  I miss her tons and think about her daily.  We're all hoping and waiting anxiously for the day to come when she gets to go home with her mommy and daddy AND meet her big brother, David.  Thank you for continuing to lift her up in prayer.  

Too cute for Words

Gavin's friend, Peyton, came over on Monday and spent the morning with us.  I had been telling Gavin all day Sunday that she was coming over and when he woke up Monday I reminded him again and he attempted to say Pe-tn.  It was cute.

Peyton came over and the kids hung out in the playroom and watched cartoons.  They played with blocks, cooked on Gavin's kitchen, read books, and much more.  I was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher and looked up and saw them sitting in the chair together-- it was beyond words too cute!  I quickly snapped this picture.

Sesame Street came on and to say these guys were excited would be an under statement.  They squealed with excitement and both danced around waiting for Elmo to appear.  

We took a walk around the neighborhood in the double stroller we picked up from our neighbors garage sale a few weeks ago (not for us, but for Bryan and Anna, they just haven't come and picked it up yet).  Gavin and Peyton had fun going around the block- we saw lots of birds and squirrels.   

I let the kids play outside for a while in the garage before it was time for lunch.  They took turns pushing each other in the toy car.

Yes, they shared!

We started blowing bubbles and chased them out of the garage and Peyton found some visitors on the side of our house.  She was very interested in these ducks or birds (I don't know what they are), they weren't real interested in her though.  

Gavin, on the other hand, did not want to have ANYTHING to do with those ducks so he ran back into the garage and bounced on his cow!

After the kids played their hearts out in the garage, they were ready for some lunch.  

They played some more and then both began expressing their desire to take a nap.  I decided to make a pallet on the floor since it wasn't quite nap time yet and we played peek a boo with all the blankies.  I walked away to grab my phone and came back into the room and found them laying down.  Now, THIS is too cute for words!

I think it's safe to say Gavin is going to miss his friend, Peyton, when we move.  

Being Called Mom

Last night I was woken up by Gavin crying.  Brooks got up with him because usually when I go in his room he doesn't always let me leave as easily.  When Brooks came back to bed, I couldn't sleep.  So I laid there staring at my clock trying to fall asleep until I heard Gavin again.  This time, it wasn't just cries I heard from him... he called out, "mama, mama".  My heart skipped a beat and I immediately jumped out of bed.  Brooks offered to go to his room again, but I said NO WAY.  He called for his momma!  (which was a first for him to do from his crib)

I went into Gavin's room and did what any mom would do to calm their child down.  I rocked him in his rocker.  I rocked him in our recliner.  I laid the recliner down and let him sleep on my chest.  I laid on the couch with him to help him sleep.  Nothing worked!  Two hours later, he asked me for juice.  Needless to say, I got him some juice.  At that point, Brooks was getting ready to leave for work (yes, Gavin was up from 3-5am) so he decided to try to put Gavin down and see if he would fall asleep... and he did!!  He slept til 9:30am.  It was great-- I even got to sleep in a little.

I wrote all of that to say that my heart is filled with so much joy getting to love on my little boy.  It was wonderful to feel needed and wanted by him.  Everyday he does something that makes me love him even more then I thought I could.  Yet, last night having him cuddle up with me and hug me was priceless.  A while back, Gavin started twirling my hair while I'm holding him on my hip and he pretty much twirled my hair the entire night.  Not sure where he got the idea from, but it seems to be something he likes.

Since Gavin's night was not easy on him, I decided to make today a fun and enjoyable day for him.  I love how God tends to remind me how I'm not in control of things.  I had our entire day planned to a "T" in order to get a bunch of things done and instead, I threw it all out the window.  We hung around the house during the morning and were lazy.  I let Gavin have butter AND syrup on his waffle AND I gave him 2 cups of chocolate milk.  Gavin played around with his toys and  I worked on a baby sign order that was due and then realized I had to make a trip to Hobby Lobby to pick up some ribbon that I had run out of.  I didn't mind having to go to HL but told myself that today was all about Gavin so we made a FAST trip.  After HL I took him to Chick-Fil-A and then ran to Toys R Us where we picked up some Mega Lego Blocks and a Basketball goal for outside.  He seemed to have a great day and only took a 30 minute nap.  We're not real sure what last night was all about, but we're hoping he won't have any more nights like that one for a while.