Pictures of Gavin

Every time I try to get pictures of Gavin without fail he scratches or bumps his head just before I'm about to set the appointment. I normally take the boys to JCPenney's to get their pictures taken but they don't "edit" any of their pictures. So you are left with whatever they take. Which is a good and bad thing. The pictures you get are true to life pictures. But little blemishes like a scratch on their face I'd like to have removed if possible. Enter Deanna. I happened to mention this to her and she recommend a place that her friend had gotten her child's picture taken at. She contacted her friend and got the name... fotofly in Draper, UT. I looked them up on their website and they looked really cute. For $79 you get all the pictures from the session on a CD. NO other charges. No sitting fee, no additional charge for extra people in the picture (immediate family only). And no obligation to buy any prints. Of course they sweeten the pot by offering same day prints for only $4.00 ($3.00 if you order in the first week). I liked their concept and their photo gallery was really cute. Unlike JCPenny's when you look at their photo gallery the pictures could have been taken at ANY JCPenny's. Also I liked that their backgrounds and props weren't cheesy. They had natural looking backgrounds that weren't curtains (well two are curtains but they are super contemporary looking). So I booked a session that worked with our schedule and within a few days of being told of this place I had Gavin's pictures taken.

I must say I am really happy with how they turned out. The girl was awesome with Gavin. From the get go she had him smiling (which if you know Gavin he doesn't smile until he assesses the situation and deems the person worthy of a smile). I really did love the backgrounds.

So take a look:







Gavin is such an awesome little kid. He totally understands what we are saying to him. He loves to help and is always taking care of his garbage and clothes. Well the garbage thing is a little annoying because he throws EVERYTHING away. He's done with a bowl; into the garbage. We'll have to hide our keys, when Zack was in this phase my mom and Bob lost their keys. (we found mom's keys a year or so later -- bob's are still missing). And I did find my phone floating in the toilet. That was a fun week. Luckily Bob has a work phone and my Aunt Jolene was getting a new phone and gave me her old one. Gavin loves talking on the phone. He can say ball (which was his first real word). And he says lo lo lo on the phone. He calls Zack-- Kah. When it's nap or bed time I ask him if he wants a bottle which he gunts a yes and nods his head. Then I say you want to go to bed? And again grunts and nods his head. For the most part he just rolls over and goes right to sleep. His naps are about 2-3 hours long and he totally sleeps through the night. He's a rock star!

Gavin we love you so much and you are such a wonderful addition to our family. You love brother so much. You are definitely a momma's boy but when you need special attention Daddy is your favorite. We love your little personality. You are growing up way to fast but it's been so much fun to watch!

First Dentist Visit

Last Tuesday was Zack's first dentist visit. I felt bad that I haven't taken him to the dentist yet and he's already 2 1/2 years old. But I've heard conflicting times as to when to take a child to the dentist. Some places I've read to take them after they are two some websites say three and some say when they get their first tooth. In Zack's case that would have been like 4 months old. And I'm sorry a 4 month old does not need to visit the dentist.

I'll admit I was a little nervous for my little guy to visit the dentist. Don't get me wrong. I loved going to the dentist when I was little. He was super nice, the office was fun and we got prizes afterwards. Luckily I knew someone that worked in a dentist's office and I've heard really good things (from her and other patients) about him. So we gave it a try.

Zack is fearless. I love that little guy! When we got to the denstist office he immediately started playing with all the toys and exploring the room under the stairs. It was awesome. Gavin of course played too. That was my other concern I couldn't get a sitter for Gavin so I was worried that if Zack had a meltdown or something I wouldn't be able to help because I would already have my handsful with his little brother.

After I filled out the majority of the paperwork for the first visit the dental assistant called Zack back. She told me that normally the first visit is a lap visit and they quickly look at the teeth but mostly just pretend denstist. I really didn't have a lap available for Zack because Gavin was already buring himself into me because the lady was talking to us (he's such a shy little guy). So I asked Zack if he wants to sit on mommies lap and have the dentist just look at his teeth or sit in the big chair and have his teeth cleaned. He chose have his teeth cleaned. And off he went with the Dental Assistant. I had to hurry and grab all my stuff to catch up to them. Zack just jumped right into the dental chair and was ready to go. They wanted him to lay down but he wasn't really comfortable doing that. He also didn't like the headphones in his ears so he didn't watch or listen to the movie that was playing in the ceiling.

The dental assistant cleaned his teeth, gave him a little floride and flossed his teeth. And he did wonderful! He listened to her, held his mouth open big and wide and sucked the water sucker (don't know technical name) when she asked him to. I was so proud of my little guy!

And of course I took pictures.

Pictures with the Dental Assistant. Don't mind the huge bruise on his forehead. He ran into a table the week before and it still hasn't completely healed.




Goodie Bag!!! Zack got a toothbrush, sticker, floss, a prize from the prize bucket and a tocken to buy a prize from the candy machine. He totally lucked out.



The dentist checking his teeth. I was worried because he had a brown spot on his back molar that I scrub at every night and thought was a cavity. Come to find out that it's just mother natures way of sticking her tounge out at good dental hygiene. The dentist asked if Zack got a lot of ear infections when he was a baby (which he didn't) but all it takes is one ear infection and medication to damage enamel that hadn't come in yet. So the enamel was stained and soft on the back molar, we made another dentist appointment for the next week (today) to have it fixed. No drilling or shots. Just a little sanding and a filling.

Happy 1st Birthday Baby!

Seriously can you believe it's already been one year since Gavin came into our lives. What a trip! I love that little guy so much. I can't even imagine him not in our family. He has a such a wonderful personality.



His 1 year stats:
30.7 inches tall (between 75 and 90th percentile)
25.3 pounds (between 75 and 90th percentile)

Verdict he's a big boy! And we love every inch of that little guy!

For Gavin's birthday I took the boys to the park. Yes I realize it's only March but they are getting tired of being in the house and it was warmish. The trip didn't last very long because Gavin fell on the slide and cut his lip. He was bleeding ALOT! So we ran home and got the blood to stop. Probably not the best start to his birthday.

When daddy got home we went to Famous Daves for dinner. (I'm not a fan -- still not.)



Afterwards we went to Grandma and Grandpa Speakman's house for Grandma's traditional first birthday train cake. Gavin was a little hesitant in making a mess with the cake. For the most part he just picked off the candy from the cake. But after we gave him a piece he really got into it. Oh yeah and the little stinker would not look at the camera. GRRRR.





It was a pretty low key day, but we knew that Saturday was going to be the big day. Gavin's first birthday party with family.

I got to admit I get a little crazy with parties. I have big plans and a lot of ideas but in the end I'm rushed because I'm a procrastinator and try to get everything done the night before. This party was no exception to the rule. I've been planning his party in my head for over a month now. In my mind it looked amazing. The party still turned out amazing but just a little different then I had planned.

For dinner we had Sliders (mini hamburgers), pigs in a blanket, salads and chips. The food turned out really good. It was fun to have the little hamburgers I think. I just thought it was appropriate to have little food for our little birthday boy. I originally wanted to have the party to be a car theme but it ended up being more of a color theme. I found some fabric to make a banner for Gavin's birthday and the party pretty much centered around that. But it was perfect. Hopefully Gavin likes the color green because that's what we've pretty much picked for him :).


I made the banner for behind his high chair, cupcake toppers and his t-shirt. I must admit I was pleased with how it all turned out. I wish I knew how to make the cupcakes look more professional but I tried. One day I'll take a Cupcake decorating class... yes that is my dream. But until then these will have to do.



After dinner we had Gavin open presents. And when I say Gavin I really mean Zack opened the presents, quickly showed them to Gavin then moved onto the next present. Poor Zack didn't quite understand the concept that it was Gavin's birthday and not his. Luckily Gavin is good at sharing for now and allowed Zack the opportunity to help him with his presents and even let him play with most of them.



Then it was time for cake. Not really sure why it's so exciting to have a one year old devourer a cake but it's tradition. Gavin didn't really get into it too much. I know my mom has better pictures then I do of Gavin but these will have to do for now.




Like I said all in all the party was a wonderful success. It was for a one year old who won't remember a thing about the party but I wanted it to be perfect for my little man. He's a wonderful guy and we are so lucky that he's healthy and chose to be a part of our family.

And some more pictures from the party. These are our party guests (minus my dad, Debbie and Lori who had to leave early)





Gavin also enjoyed playing with the decorations when the party was over. I think this was his favorite party of the entire night. Poor guy had people overload and didn't want to be put down for more then a few minutes.