Baseball

Roth ended up doing very well in baseball this year. His team actually won their division. He was very excited and looks forward to playing again next year.

The Mystery Machine

The Old Folks

The numbers seem to be dwindling, but this crew keeps on making the 4th fun. We keep saying we're not coming again the next year, but then nothing better ever comes up. Plus, the idea of being with family and friends is always appealing.

All the "Kids"

This year, another "kid" came back for the celebration besides just Ben and I. It was nice to see Kris again and meet his fiancee. The doggies were just an added bonus!

Typical 4th

We spent the 4th at my parents house, as usual. The big boys went golfing in the morning and we all had a great lunch. We did make it home for the fireworks--which all three boys enjoyed.

Big Babies

I had to pry their fingers off the side of the boat to get them in the water! Once they were in, it was amazing...they actually enjoyed it. Silly kids.

Gavin Drives the Boat

Well, not really, but he sure looks cute pretending!

Local Parade

Roth walked with a couple members of his Tae Kwon Do class in our local parade. It was a hot day, but he enjoyed it.

Dumpster Diving

I'm not really sure what to say about this one. He did this all by himself. Thank goodness it was empty at the time!

Spaghetti Face

Gavin is totally feeding himself now--which is wonderful! I guess this is what happens when you give a sleepy baby (who likes to rub his eyes) spaghetti for dinner.

Gulp

Gavin liked being at the beach, as well. He certainly enjoyed putting rock after rock into his mouth. Of course, once he accidentally took a big gulp of lake water, he decided he was done.

Beach Day

The boys and I all went to the beach last week. Roth and Dera had a lot of fun with their snorkels.

Boating

Well, with a great lifejacket we decided to start taking Gavin in the boat this summer. So far, he enjoys it--as long as we keep him out of the wind.

Father's Day

We went out on our boat for Father's Day. Chris caught this great big fish!

The Presents

Gavin got a few presents for his birthday. His favorite was definitely the lawn mower from Auntie Leata and Uncle Dean. He played with that for quite a while--once we finally figured out how to get it out of the box.

Birthday Boy

Gavin turned one! That's almost unbelievable to me. He really enjoyed his cake...every last crumb.

Daddy's Hat

Gavin thought he was awfully cute in his daddy's hat. I agree!

The Big Boys

Roth and Dera also had fun in the water. They got to play in the sprinkler and play with the water guns. It was a fun day for all of us. I love it when the weather is nice enough for everyone to be outside!

Pool

The other day we filled up this pool for Gavin. The water was freezing cold, of course, so we were going to leave it in the sun for a bit to warm up. Well, Gavin decided he didn't care and crawled right in, giggling the whole time. He played in that pool for an hour and loved every second of it.

First Teeth

Gavin got his first two teeth a few weeks ago. This is the first decent picture of them I've been able to get.

Dirt!!!

Gavin discovered the outside dog dish the other day and was just splashing away. Once he got bored with that, he crawled through the yard. This is the end result!

Ping Pong

Gavin found a ping pong ball in a friend's closet. He crawled around with it in his mouth for nearly an hour. I just couldn't stop laughing at how silly he looked.

New Baby

Wednesday, I had my first Dr. appointment for baby #2. The Dr. likes to do a little sonogram. I know it's hard to make out, but I thought I'd share one of the pics we got anyway. The baby--for those of you who haven't seen these before--is the white blob all crunched up inside of the black blob. The head is on the right--the baby is laying on its side. We got to see the little heart just a tickin' away. It was neat. I'm currently 10 weeks along.

Strings

Lately, Gavin's been standing everywhere that he can pull himself up. He recently discovered that he could stand at the window and suck on the strings of the shades. Unfortunately, the strings shorten after you release the mechanism and the shade comes barreling down at him--he doesn't like that so much. He'll learn one day!

Well, I haven't been posting much lately. I'm sort of out of pictures and energy. Gavin's certainly keeping me busy and pregnancy just drains me. I'll post when I have something--just keep checking every once in a while.

Helping Daddy

Recently, Chris put a new screen door on our house. Gavin was very interested in the tools for about two minutes, then he moved onto the shoes, then the dog dish (ew!), and after that I lost track. He's a very busy boy now that he's crawling.

More Bowls

These are fun because he can bang them together and they make all kinds of noise. It's a good thing I don't get headaches easily.

Peek-a-boo

The smile says it all...

The Bowl

It's so true when people tell you your baby would much rather play with your pots and pans than any toy you buy them! Gavin just loves this bowl, especially when I give him something to bang on it with. He also thinks it's hilarious when it's over his head/face. Who knows?

Limbo

Roth did pretty well in the limbo contest. He really enjoyed skating. I don't think he sat down once in three hours!

Rollerskating

I took the boys rollerskating today. Dera spent quite a bit of time on the "turtle" scooters, but he also really liked skating. There were many bruises the next morning!

Surprise

On Easter Sunday, we surprised my family with a little news. The news is written on Gavin's shirt. In case you can't make out what that says, I'll fill you in--it says I'm the Big Brother. I'll let you figure out what that means. Surprise!

Swinging

I recently bought Gavin a swing. It's hanging from a tree in our backyard. The first time we put him in it, he hated it, but now he enjoys it. In fact, yesterday, he took a nap in it.

Spring is Here

While hunting for Easter eggs, I just had to get a picture of Dera with these beautiful daffodils. It's finally starting to look like Spring around here.

Easter Eggs

Roth and Dera got to search for candy filled Easter eggs. They enjoyed the fun and the candy even more.

Happy Easter

Gavin was the Easter bunny for our family. We hope your Easter was as wonderful as ours!

Bath time

Gavin took his first bath with toys the other day. He has always loved bath time, but sitting up in the tub and playing with toys, or sucking on them, was even better.

Sculpture Garden

Two of my sisters came home with us after our visit to Illinois. They flew out of Minneapolis and we stopped at the Sculpture Garden before they left. It was a bit breezy, but enjoyable. The best part was spending time with my sisters, though. I really enjoyed having them visit.

Standing

Gavin just pulled himself up for the first time the other day. It was really fun to watch him discover that he could do it all by himself. Now, I can't get him to stop!

Mmmm, rocks

Gavin likes to stand now--he's getting so indepedent. He found my decorative rocks. Apparently, they taste good because he just keeps putting one after the other in his mouth. Fortunately, they're all much too big to choke on.

George in the Box

Gavin just got a George-in-the-box. He really wanted it. I swear it had nothing to do with the fact that I love Curious George!

Cute Baby

This is one of my favorite outfits on Gavin. Unfortunately, along with the warm weather coming the warm clothes have to go. Oh well, he's got a lot of cute summer clothes to wear.

Taylors Falls II

We all had a great time climbing around. I'm sure you'll see many pics from Taylors Falls before the summer is over.

In the Hole

The boys think it's just great to climb in every hole they can find. It's just nice for them to have the opportunity to use some of their energy!

Taylors Falls

We love to spend Saturdays in Taylors Falls climbing around on the rocks. Gavin enjoyed being on Chris' back for the adventure.

Oops

In all his crawling around, Gavin's managed to get himself stuck in a few places around the house. He usually gets himself out, just to get himself stuck again. He's a funny boy.

Cuddlebug

Gavin recently got a new little blankie and he loves to cuddle with it at naptime.

Gavin and Adin

Gavin and my newest little brother, Adin (also Gavin's uncle), had a great time entertaining one another during our visit. All my kids have a buddy, or two, or three, when we visit Robin!

More Family

We also visited my biological mom's family while in Illinois. This is most of the gang. Only Seth wasn't there--as he's in the army now. The boys had a great time, they were constantly entertained by someone!

Family

While in Illinois, we visited my biological father's family. These are most of them...grandparents, great-grandma, aunts, an uncle, and even a cousin. It was a nice visit.

Vrooooom

Roth only wishes! If anyone in this family is getting a motorcycle, it's going to be me.