Money!!!

It's obvious that Gavin's my baby in this picture. He's already thrilled with money--he played with this $20 bill for quite a while. Hopefully, he'll turn out to be great at managing his money someday. He'll certainly never be able to say that we didn't get him started young enough.

First "Spring" Walk

It was 45 degrees on Friday, so I took Gavin out for his first walk of the "Spring". Oddly enough, it's still January. We shouldn't be having these temps for at least another 8 weeks, or so. I know that some of you reading this will think that 45 degrees is not warm enough to be considered Spring-like, but around here, that's at least 20 degrees above normal for this time of year. It was sunny, gorgeous, and WET! Sounds (and feels) like Spring to me.

The Wrong Spoon?

Gavin was having quite a bit of difficulty feeding himself the other day. We couldn't really figure out what his problem was and then Dera pointed out that the spoon might be too big for Gavin. What do you think?

Relaxing

Chris set Gavin in the chair and Gavin put his arm up on the armrest. He looks like a big boy, taking a break. This picture, by the way, is very recent.

Meet Them All...

My sister, Karena, sent me this picture. My brother, Seth, graduated and most of my half-siblings got to go and see it happen. One brother, Jacob--the oldest, and their dad are missing from the picture, but everyone else is in it, so I thought I'd share it. I'll do my best to put names to the faces.
The back row, from left to right, are Robin (my biological mom)--she's holding Adin, Charity, Seth, and Karena. The two girls in front of Charity are Olivia (long, blond hair) and Elisabeth. Jaaron's the littlest guy in front. He's doing a great job of hiding Matthew. Levi is to Matthew's left and Josiah is just to the left of Seth.

Just Because

I'm just posting this old picture because I like it. I think that Gavin was about 3 months old here. I loved him in these jammies.

Gramps and Gav

I love this picture of my dad with Gavin. It's from the 4th of July (the day after we got Gavin out of the hospital). If you know my dad, you know that the 4th is one of his favorite days. He always plans a great celebration with good friends and food. He loved having his littlest grandson at 2005's party. I think it made his day!

Newborn

Someone suggested that I put a picture of Gavin from his incubator days online. I decided to post this one instead, I think the incubator pictures are kind of scary. Gavin's probably about 6 days old in this picture and still in the hospital. We didn't get to bring him home for 18 days...the longest 18 days of my life.

Robin

When Gavin was born, my biological mom, Robin, came to visit. She was very pregnant with my little brother Adin at the time, but she still wanted to come and meet my boys. My parents finally got to meet her, too, which was nice for me. Soon, I get to go visit her to meet my newest sibling and see all the others (11 total).

Oldie, but a Goodie

I'm sort of running low on recent pictures, so I thought I'd delve into the past for a few days and show some awfully cute pictures that were taken before I started this website.
This picture was taken of Gavin last September. We took him for a little swim at the cottage. As he was drying off in the grass he decided to take a little nap.

Brothers!

Dera thought he'd be funny and give Gavin bunny ears. Dera's been waiting a long time for Gavin to be able to play with him. Hopefully it won't be too much longer, Dera's just dying to teach him to skateboard this summer.

Dera's Handstand

Dera tried so many times to get the perfect handstand. He stays up in the air for about 1.2 seconds, so the real trick was getting the picture at just the right second. Finally, on about the 20th try, I got it. He's been waiting and waiting and waiting to see it online. So, here it is...

Dancing

The other night, we had our friends' boy, Kole, over. He and Dera had a great time "dancing" around the basement. To me, it looked more like running, but you have to pick your battles...you know?!? They were entertained and I wasn't doing the entertaining.

Laundry Day

Chris figured it would be easier to just throw Gavin in with his darks rather than give him a bath. Yet another reason I rarely leave Gavin alone with Chris! Just jokin', yokin' (as Dera would say).

Cute Coat

McKenya found this coat and hat at a garage sale recently and since she won't be needing it (at least not until next year!!!), she sent it to me to use this winter. I was glad that she got a chance to see it on Gavin this past weekend.

My Grandma Anderson

My Grandma Anderson passed away this past week and I will be at her funeral all day today. I feel so very fortunate to have been her "adopted grandchild". My mother's parents were deceased long before I came into this world, so my mom's twin sister's husband's parents (aka Grandma and Grandpa Anderson) took us in as their "adopted grandkids". My favorite childhood memories of them took place each Christmas. They always invited us to their home for their family Christmas and treated us just like family. My Grandma Anderson was a wonderful person, full of life and very feisty. She will be dearly missed, but was ready to go home and be with Jesus. I rejoice in the fact that she is in such a better place today and no longer has to suffer. She's pictured here with Gavin--recently and in the hospital when he was first born. I thank God for the fact that one day I will see her again and until then, I know that she will be smiling down on me and all the others that she loved.

Silly Tom

Gavin was getting a little restless while being passed from person to person the other day. Tom decided to stuff Gavin inside of his coat--to mimic my sling. I can't remember if it worked or not, but it was silly. Oh, he also has McKenya's scarf on--he didn't wear that pretty red thing as a fashion statement.

Basketball Star

This is not the greatest picture, but you can get the general idea. Dera is dribbling in this one--at his first game. One of these days we'll get a better picture of him participating in b-ball posted.

Buddies

This is Hunter with Gavin. My friend, Amy, got pregnant shortly after I did. We both hated being pregnant, but now have these two wonderful little boys. Someday, I just know they'll be buddies.

Crazy Animal

Sofie is a smart dog, but sometimes she makes me wonder. Apparently today she decided that the dog bed was supposed to lay on her--rather than the other way around!

Why God Made Dogs

The other day, I was laying with Gavin on the floor and Sofie decided to come and lay right next to him. I decided, at that moment, that all of the annoyances that come with owning a dog are worth it. Someday, I think that Gavin and Sofie will become great friends.

His Two Favorites

Gavin has now decided that the more things he can fit in his mouth at one time, the better. He's got his two favorites in at the same time in this picture--fist and burp rag. We've also caught him shoving fingers in along with his paci recently. I'm not sure why he feels he needs more than just the paci, but he's persistent and it keeps him happy.

Basketball

Roth has been playing basketball in our local youth league for a few weeks now. He's enjoying it and it gives us something to do on Saturdays. Dera started this past weekend, too, so be looking for a picture of that. Should be fun...

Hungry?

So, we finally had the thought that maybe he's constantly putting things in his mouth because he's hungry. We fed him...turns out he likes the food to be on his face rather than in his mouth!

Still Chewing

People keep asking if we think that Gavin might be cutting a tooth. I am not holding out much hope for that even though he's the right age--I was 13 months before I got my first tooth! I think he just likes the feel of things in his mouth. His favorite thing to chew on is his fist, followed closely by his burp rags, and after those two, just about anything will do.

Chewing on Everything

Lately, Gavin's been chewing on everything he can get his hands on. I know that this is no phenomenon, but it's new to us.

Growing Up

Gavin just recently started rolling over, which means he's spending a whole lot more time on his tummy. Chris snapped this picture the other day. You sure can tell Gavin's growing up!

Sledding

The boys had their final day of Winter break on Monday. Chris took them sledding at the High School across the street. I didn't go over there to watch, but I did make the boys pose on their sleds in our backyard before they went. Reportedly, they had a great time. I was just glad to see that there were no broken bones, which, if you know my boys, you know that is nothing short of a miracle.

Lots of G's

Here's a more recent picture of my Grandma, Goldie, and Gavin. Her little dog, Gracie, is also in the picture.

Roth & Brad

Roth and my cousin Brad had almost identical shirts on, the day after Christmas. We just had to have a picture, of course.

Auntie & Dera

Dera was really into playing with his Magnadoodle that he got from Auntie Leata and Uncle Dean. He spent a good portion of the afternoon trying to find someone who would play games--most of them made up by Dera--with him on the Magnadoodle. Auntie took a few moments to indulge him. Thank goodness for Aunties!
By the way, Happy New Year...