Checketts in the fast lane

Happenings ons lately....

2011-06-15T06:58:00.000-07:00

FUN TIMES IN MAY

We have had so many things going on this past month and I don't have all of the pictures for it yet, but in my lack of time I am just going to say a brief description of the picture and call it good ;-)

Mothers day Nate and Gabe woke up early (or let me sleep in) and they made the most delicious french toast I think I have ever had!

WHERE IS GABE?

Gabe has a new game he likes to play. Whenever I do the laundry he likes to lay on the floor and I dump all of the clothes on top of him! He LOVES IT!

here he is!

Another thing he likes to do is take his little squirt gun and run around the house chasing us! We get soaked!

FUN TIME WITH FRIENDS

We are starting the "good-bye" stage. It is so sad to say good-bye to all of our good friends! I am hoping that it is just a "see you soon!" instead of a "good-bye!"

This makes me happy to see Gabe being so sweet to babies. He is trying to give her the binkey! I know he will be a great big brother!

This next series of pictures I think is so funny! It was kind of windy and Bryan (janel's husband) was taking pictures of us, and for the life of us we couldn't get everyone to look and smile at the camera!

This one is hilarious!

Yep, windy...

This one we were at least looking at the camera....

I am going to miss these girls! Maria, janel, me, and then venna. We have been friends for the past 5 years and I am hoping that we can remain friends forever!

THE BOYS

THE REASON FOR NOT BLOGGING LATELY.....

2011-06-04T12:26:00.001-07:00

Nate and I have been really crazy lately. 4 years ago Nate started his own business called Mangia Technologies and it has been such a fun time seeing his vision come to reality, with the help of a lot of friends! But now that chapter in our life has come to an end. It was a really good run and we are sad to see it go, but when one door closes another door opens.

I am so proud of Nate! He was working on a project and an old friend came up to him and told him that he wanted Nate to apply for this job and thought he was the perfect fit. Intrigued, Nate decided "well, it wouldn't hurt". Well, it turns out that he got it!!!! Are you ready to hear what job it is?

WORKING WITH THE NFL AS 'MANAGER OF SALES AND SPONSORSHIPS!'

So, as quick and crazy as this is, we are moving to......

The city that never sleeps! NEW YORK!

Although his job will be in new york, I was thinking we might live in the suburbs and actually live here...

Connecticut. Isn't it beautiful!

That way we aren't too far from the city but I will have a little more room for my little kiddos to run around. Also, nate's parent and sister live in connecticut so we will be close to them, which will be nice for when the baby is born.

So, don't hate me for not blogging, we have had a lot going on lately! We would LOVE visitors so come to new york!

The High's And Low's

2011-05-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

We were out in Connecticut last weekend for our MIRACLE nephew Charlie's baby blessing (pictures to follow soon!). While we were out there Gabe was playing with his two cousins Abby and Molly whom he ADORES! Abby is 6 and molly is 3. Gabe couldn't be in better company then he is with these two cousins. I am finally at the point where I don't have to watch him all the time and he can just go and play with them on the swing set outside or in the toy room and he is perfectly content not having me there with him. (finally!)

So, a little background to this story. I have been introducing gabe to the toilet for the past two months casually here and there to get him interested in potty training. We have had some success where he would see Nate or I head to the bathroom and he would come running ahead of us and take the toilet first.

So as we were out in connecticut I was trying to have gabe see that Molly was going on the potty and that she was a big girl doing it all by herself. He started to get the idea of it when one night he didn't want to get in the tub and I couldn't figure out why, until he started to pee all over the floor, that he wanted me to put him on the potty! (language is still an issue in our house with him!)

After we flew home I just decided while his mind was fresh with Molly and Abby, I thought I would start cold turkey and put him in big boy underwear then set a timer for every 15-20 min.

The first day was AMAZING! No accidents, no complaints, only enthusiasm and joy. It was going so well!!!! YIPEE! I couldn't believe it! But then he woke up the next day grumpy......and all went down hill from there. He screamed when we mentioned the potty, he had 3 accidents in his pants that morning and 2 more that afternoon. We had to do all that we could to get him to sit on the potty but he didn't want to go. I know this isn't how we should do it and we were trying desperately to make it fun and exciting for him and not complaining when he peed his pants, but when I am 20 weeks pregnant, patience is something that comes in a limited supply!

So after 3 days of begging and pleeding......we decided to put the diapers back on and see if we can still ask him to go potty on the toilet, but not make it as overwhelming as we did before. It seems to work, he is still going 3-5 times a day on the toilet so we are progressing. Just not in the method I thought!

But it truly helps when I do this:

Gabe can't be "one-upped" by woody! So he always gets on the potty after I give woody all of my praise and adoration for going potty! Hey you do what you have to do right!

So for you mom's out there. Do you have any tidbits on what I can do to help gabe get potty trained? I have 4 months until this baby comes so I wanted to give him a good head start on this so he doesn't regress! Any input would be great!

EASTER

2011-05-09T08:42:00.001-07:00

I am a little bit behind on pictures so this week I am going to try to update some fun times we have had this past month! I will start with Easter.

I was a little unsure how gabe would like dying easter eggs but he loved it! Well, he loved sticking his hands in the dye and turning the egg around and around! Thank goodness for plastic table cloths!

As you can see we have already dyed a few eggs at this point and gabe was still going!

Look at those hands! I think more got on him then the eggs!

Easter morning we were able to go up to my in-law's cabin to spend time with them while they were in town. This isn't the best picture of gabe but he had so much fun trying to find the eggs! We mostly have video of easter morning so I might add a fun clip later on this week, but he mostly just picked an egg, sat down to eat it, and then went to find another one. But he was starting to get the concept so that was great!

K stay tuned for some more fun times in the Checketts House hold! Sorry I have been a slacker!

IS HAVING A.......

2011-04-26T06:56:00.001-07:00

I completely forgot to post on my blog what I am having! I put it on facebook.....

So, without further adu I am having a.....

girl, no boy, no girl, no boy......

A BOY!

So Gabe will have a little friend to play with!

MODIFICATION

2011-04-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

I have been informed that in my last blog post everyone thought that the "person with the most talent" I was referring too was Paul. NOPE! It was PIA! I think I even mentioned in my post that I was watching it on my DVR so I was a week late in watching it and completely forgot that people in the "world" have already seen this next weeks results! OOPS! So I just wanted to make it clear that I was referring to PIA ;-)

OF COURSE!

2011-04-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

So, when I lived in Florida I was introduced to American Idol. I instantly fell in love with the show because I love music and I love seeing america showcase their talent! (and I secretly wanted to be on the show....as do so many other americans!) So I have been a religious watcher of that show....until 2 years ago. I stopped, COLD TURKEY. I just didn't feel the vibe of it anymore and so I stopped.

Well, my sister in law and mother in law said that the new judges this year were great and it was really fun to watch...so I have been. It actually hasn't been too bad and I have enjoyed it.

UNTIL LAST WEEK!

Seriously, the only good singer in the competition was eliminated! I am sure people disagree with me, and I would love to hear if you are watching this show and who you do like....but honestly

I am trying to watch it again since I have been recording it and I can't!

Tell me who you like so maybe I can become a fan because as of now I don't like anyone!

Is there some fun shows out there that you guys like to watch because I don't have any! (besides modern family ;-)

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS.....

2011-04-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

Or in other words

"When life gives you snow....

make snowmen!"

It snowed here off an on all weekend, and so Nate and I decided to make a family of snowmen! As you can see, we used up most of the snow that was there, but it was fun! Can you tell who is who?

As sick as I am of the snow, we thought we would make the best of it and have some fun!

10 THINGS I AM GRATEFUL FOR...

2011-04-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

This month has been one crazy month for our little family. One night Nate told me that I was looking at all of the negative things that were happening and not focusing on the positive. So I decided to think of one thing I am grateful for a day for this past week to keep my perspective on life! And you know what, it really helped!!! I thought I would share all of the random things that I am grateful for from 10-1.

#10 gabe's toy room

The reason I say this is because there have been numerous occasions that I have put gabe in his toy room while I do "this" or "that" and it truly has been such a life saver! I don't feel guilty for leaving him in there because......well look at it! There are a ton of things for him to do!

#9 Thanksgiving Point

I ABSOLUTELY love living next to thanksgiving point now that I have Gabe! It has been such a fun place for us to go numerous times a week! We love it so much! Every time I put gabe in his car seat he says "MOOOOOOOOO!" and when I pass the street where we would turn to go to the petting zoo he freaks out because he wants to see the cows!

#8 A Great Home

There are so many times over this past almost 2 years that I have been so grateful that we own this amazing home!

#7 Great Neighbors

I don't have pictures of all my neighbors but they are truly amazing! They are always looking out for each other, worried when things are going bad, helpful in watching gabe, and when I go outside it is so much fun to just sit and talk to all of them! You guys are amazing!

#6 My Dayna Time

I am so grateful when I get a second to sit and do something that I want to do! These are some of my most recent frames that I have created...nothing too fancy but still fun! I love to have my time to be creative!

#5 GOOD FOOD!!!!

How can you not put food on your list of favorite things! Especially lately with being pregnant there are just certain foods that hit the spot....and this is one of them! SO YUMMY!

#4 Sunshine and the Outdoors

We were blessed to have a couple days of warm weather this past week and I am so grateful for that! It really helps to get outdoors and have the sun shining on you! I feel like that instantly boosts your spirits and makes anyone feel better!

#3 FAMILY

I am not going to put pictures of my family on here because that would take way too long to get them all (I don't have recent full family shots!) but I am so grateful for the love and support from both sides of my family. They are truly amazing and would do anything and everything for nate and I, and I am so grateful for them!

#2 My Little Buster Brown

We have so much fun together! He truly is such a happy baby (when he has had enough sleep!) and I am so grateful for the smiles and laughter he brings into our home. I have no idea what I would do without my little buster brown! He truly helps me get through those long days when nate is out of town! LOVE YOU BUDDY!

#1 My Best Friend and Hero

I took this picture the other day when Nate was asleep. He told me to wake him up after 45 minutes because he had so much to do....but how can you wake him up like this! Nate is the hardest worker I have ever seen, and he does it with a smile. He is the most positive person I have ever met and he truly is and always will be my better half. He has so many things going on in his life right now but he still takes the time to love me and also be the best father I could ever have imagined. There is no way I can make ANY list of things I am grateful for without him being on the top! I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART NATE!

I am so grateful for this opportunity I have set for myself to think of positive things daily. You should do it! It is fun!

I am also thankful for all of you for reading my blog. ;-)

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO....

2011-03-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

WE HAVE GABE'S 2 YEAR PICTURES!

So not much has to be said about these other then...

our child is a ham!

I swear he was trying to pose, we would try to get him to smile but he would get this 'serious' face and....well you will see for yourself!

We were able to get a few family shots in...

Thank you Brooke for these amazing pictures! You are the best!

ITS OFFICIAL!

2011-03-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

Last week was my first dr. appointment for our new little baby. I was very nervous to go to this meeting because I wasn't able to keep any food down and I had a temperature of 101 for 4 days straight the week before because of the swine flu, so I had no idea what would happen to my little baby.

At first I was nervous, very nervous, because they couldn't find the heartbeat with the little monitor so the nurse wheeled in the ultra sound machine so the Dr. could check.

At this point Nate was able to join me and we just sat in anticipation for the Dr. to come in to see if everything was ok with our baby.

After about 15 agonizing minutes he came in and I went onto the table. He dabbed that gel on my tummy and we were about to see if all was well.

The Dr. took a minute to find the baby, but then once he did he said

"oh, it looks like this baby is going to be a mover!!!"

At first I have to admit I was like "oh no, not another mover! Gabe is a mover enough!!" but then the reality hit me that the baby was moving, and it was REALLY moving so that means that everything was ok!

Relief washed over nate and I as we took the next couple minutes looking at the baby and watched it move.

Nate and I walked out of the Dr. hand in hand happy that everything was ok with our little mover and our due date is the end of september! Also, a positive is, if this baby is a little mover then he/she can definitely keep gabe entertained when they are older!! PHEW then I don't have to do it! This could end up being a good thing......I hope!

So I am currently 13 weeks and all is well!

SWINE FLU

2011-03-11T14:22:00.000-08:00

I have the swine Flu

Don't ask me where it came from and how I got it, because I have absolutely no idea.

But on top of having Swine Flu, I am 12 weeks pregnant. Yes, this isn't how I was planning on announcing it to everyone, but nonetheless, I am.

So you can only imagine how I can feel at this precise moment feeling both nausia accompanied with fevers, aches, chills and everything else that comes with Swine flu and you have me.

I would curl up in a ball if I could but my belly won't allow me to do that.

I am stuck.

When I was younger and I was sick I would always go into my parents basement, get a milk shake or a smoothie and then turn on the most comforting movie anyone has ever seen.

I feel like when I watch this movie I start to feel better almost instantly just because it is so dear to me. No matter how many times I have seen this movie I can always laugh at Anne Shirley's way of speaking. I watch Gilbert desperately seeking Anne's attention to only be pushed away again and again

until the last 20 minutes of the series

then you get what you waited the 8 hours to see

they kiss.....

and all is well.

But for some reason, this time I didn't want to watch my favorite movie of all time. I am a succor for those classics such as Anne of Green Gables, Pride and Prejudice or Emma, but this time I wanted something different.

I knew I wanted to watch a series because I knew I was going to be sitting on this couch for a very VERY long time

So I scrolled through all I could think of

Indiana Jones? Star wars? Bourne? None of them sounded good to me. But then I saw it, and for some reason it stuck out to me. Maybe because Nate and I have recently started watching LOST together and one of our favorite characters just died....Charlie.

So I started it.

I have to be honest, the movie itself was just ok, but there was one character that made the whole entire show worth watching.

His character is something that I wish I could be myself.

He is loyal, optimistic, light hearted and most of all....

he is probably one of the best characters in a book or a movie that has ever been written.

Now, if all of those leading clues didn't give it away then how about this picture

In this scene I literally started to cry. Call me sick and pregnant but he is truly an amazing character. Time and Time again Samwise Gamgee comes to the aid of Frodo Baggins and this time he not only helps him, he carries him into Mordor to finally be rid of that stupid ring.

He never gave up

He never uttered a negative word when everyone else around him was in despair

He is the true hero of the story

Thank you Samwise Gamgee for helping me get through the Swine Flu.

WHERE THE MAGIC BEGINS

2011-03-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."

~From The Wonder Years~

In life we do not remember days; we remember moments. That is how I feel when I take a trip with my family. This past weekend we were able to escape for a few days and go to Disneyland just the 3 of us. Disney has always been a part of Nate and my lives and so we wanted to start sharing the "Magic" with Gabe as well.

As we were flying home yesterday I looked over to Nate and asked him what his favorite memories were from this trip. We talked about how excited gabe got when he saw Goofy for the first time and he surprised us both and just pointed and screamed "GOOFY!!!" as clear as day.

We loved his anticipation when we took him on the NEMO ride for the first time and so every time after that he was just so excited to get on the ride because he knew what was coming.

We loved how he just giggled when Nate took him on the teacups multiple times (bless his heart) and how he just couldn't spin fast enough

We loved how were were able to get the Magical Morning Pass 2 days in a row and there was absolutely no on in the park that early

We loved how we took gabe on his first roller-coaster and we were nervous how he was going to take it, but when we got off he ran around to the entrance and got back in line again

We loved how when we saw Mickey Mouse he was SO EXCITED, but the when we got close to take a picture he was so nervous, and then when we left he turned around and kept waving to mickey saying "bye bye! Bye bye Mouse!" (he can't say mickey)

So after all of the exhaustion it takes to bring a 2 year old to an amusement park, we are so grateful for these wonderful memories that we will take with us forever!

Here are a few pictures of our trip. Now, on a side note.....When you are at a Disney park there are certain fashion rules that you just have to throw out the window. I am not going to be running around the park in heels or even designer flats because by the end of the day my feet will be throbbing like you wouldn't believe. NO NO NO...at disney....you wear tennis shoes and loose fitting clothes, end of discussion. So don't mock the outfits ok!

We had to get a picture of MICKEY MOUSE!

Disney has a train that takes you around the entire park and Gabe would always hear it and say "CHOO-CHOO!" So we had to take him on it!

Thank goodness to Nate who is such a trooper, I would say the teacups were one of gabe's top 3 rides that he had to go on over and over. He loved them!

In California Adventure they had this fun playground place for kids to run around and this had a 3 story rope course and gabe thought it was fun to walk with daddy.

Who can resist waiting in a 30 minute line to get that smile?!? Nemo was by far his #1 favorite ride and we had to ride on it every day!

Gabe's first roller-coaster ride. He LOVED IT! At first he was wondering what was going on but he absolutely loved it!

I am nervous for this boy to be tall enough for the big rides because this boy can't get fast enough and high enough! He loved dumbo!

You can't go to a disney park without getting a turkey leg....and gabe just happens to be double fisting it with a churro. Rotten life isn't it!

The first ride we went on when we got to Disneyland. Can we cram anything else into the car? NOPE! My feet were so smashed!

We had a lot of fun and can't wait to go back someday!

Night Night

2011-02-28T15:49:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was one of those precious moments mothers have that make everything worth it. It was one of those moments that almost brought me to tears just to see how grown up my little gabriel has become.

One minute Gabe and I were playing in the living room and then the next minute saw him sneak into his toy room and grab Buzz, Woody and Jesse; then sneak into his room. Curious, since lately he has wanted me to be a part of everything he does during the day, I decided to follow him. I slowly opened his door to find him putting his toys down for a nap. He gingerly laid them down on the pillow one by one. Then he grabbed the blanket and pulled it just right up to their heads (he actually pulled it too far and then pulled it back down), and then he proceeded to give each one of them a 'bacio' as he knows it, but that means kiss. Then he went to turn on our humidifier and then went back to the bed and gave them another 'bacio'. After that he saw me in the doorway and raised his fingers to his lips and went "Ssshhhhh" and then walked out of the room!

It was so precious for me to see that because it is what nate and I do to him. We give him numerous kisses before bed and we pull his blanket up just right then turn on the humidifier. I love how adorable and precious he is becoming. I also love how much he loves his toy story characters. He gets so excited to see Buzz anywhere that he giggles, and when he sees woody he yells "DI, DI!" (he can't quite get the "woo" part of it yet) and I swear he has a secret crush on jesse. These are the moments that make me love being a mom.

On a side note, I have absolutely no idea how to turn my blog private so for those of you who have done that before can you tell me? I tried putting the email addresses in and it didn't work.......

To Blog, or not to blog...that is the question!

2010-12-05T20:10:00.000-08:00

I can see that it has been almost 6 months since my last post...yep, 6. I have been contemplating whether I should pick it back up or just let it be, and truthfully I am still not sure. But I do know that there was a reason that I stopped blogging. It was my SPAM! If you look at some of the comments on my posts you will see &%($(#*% (I don't have chinese symbols on my computer so you get the idea...)

So, without further ado..I think I am going to continue to blog BUT ONLY if I go private. I don't know for sure how this is done so I think I need to get all of your email addresses to invite you (right?) So if you would like to read my blog then I would love to get your email!

Well, for those of you who haven't given up on me yet!

AFTER ONLY ONE LESSON.....

2010-07-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

Last week nate and I decided that we were going to try to "channel" gabe's energy somehow.

So after a little research I found a trial class at a local Gymnastics place and we thought we would try it out.

Well, during the class I think gabe was COMPLETELY overwhelmed and he wanted to run around everywhere and do everything instead of listen to the teacher. But, I guess this little boy is a better multi-tasker then I thought!

After just that one 40 minute class he came home and did this!

(ps - I promise he owns a shirt, he just finished eating dinner!)

18 MONTH STATS

2010-07-12T11:21:00.001-07:00

I have a little weed on my hands! We just got back from Gabe's 18 month appointment and it turns out that Gabe is getting so tall! (it helps that one grandpa is 6'5 and the other 6'2)

Gabe's Stat's:

Height: 94%

Weight: 50%

Head: 57%

HE IS SO TALL!

He for sure doesn't get it from me!

WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOUR HUSBAND IS AWAY...

2010-07-02T13:14:00.001-07:00

TURN HIS OFFICE INTO A PLAY ROOM!!!!!

There are yellow stars on the right wall that you can't see in this picture very well.

It still has a lot to do like curtains, a pillow top for the window seat, frames for the toy story posters you can't see, and a fun light fixture. But you get the idea.

As you can see it is a big hit with gabe (and some of the neighborhood kids as well!)

Can anyone guess what the theme of the room is? I didn't show you pictures of the main decor just so it wouldn't give it away...

(*I have just posted 3 new posts so keep scrolling down to see the fun pictures*)

GABE'S FIRST HAIRCUT!

2010-07-02T13:04:00.001-07:00

We FINALLY did it!

Gabe had his first haircut 2 weeks ago (life has been nuts, sorry for the late post). He was such a brave boy and didn't even cry once. He did keep swatting the girl away with his hand like "what do you think you're doing?" But he did it!

The next day I took gabe around the gardens and I thought I would take a few shots of his 'new due' as he walked around.

What a little ham! But his hair sure does look cute!

And, YES, he still has the curls! YIPEE!!!

PART 2 (of the joy's of a 1 year old...)

2010-07-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

I think that I could just do a continual post named "The Joy of Having A 1 Year Old". Gabe is at such a fun age! He is getting into EVERYTHING. And I mean that literally. He is putting himself into EVERYTHING......

One of his favorite things to do on laundry day is take the hamper and walk around with it on his head! He literally walks EVERYWHERE with it on him!

Another thing he likes to do on laundry day...

I had to take out the toaster which sits on that shelf and he took advantage of the empty space...

This is tight on both sides so he decided he wanted to climb over the towels to get back there and "chill".

AND WHEN I SAY "GET'S INTO" EVERYTHING....

I swear I watch him like a hawk! I don't know how he does this so fast!

I know that there are many more pictures I am sure I can post, but man does this boy keep me on my toes! But I sure love him!

THE JOY OF HAVING A 1 YEAR OLD...

2010-06-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

I was staining our deck and I went to start cleaning up, and in the 2 seconds it too me to put the tarp away I came back to this.....He spilt the paint everywhere! I had already put him in time out at this point so he is now looking at the paint with a very big crusty on his face!

that mark on the bottom step isn't from me painting it, it is from his BUM! OOHH I was not happy that day, not happy at all! Look at my cement!

I was in the kitchen doing the dishes and it seemed awful quit in the house....

Its a good thing I just bought a bunch of toilet paper!

This one is a cute one of gabe. Whenever we go on a walk or play on the swing set he likes to "open the garage" himself. He is so strong!

He also likes to play "hide and seek"

He is starting to climb onto EVERYTHING, so I finally built him an obstacle course in our bedroom so he can have fun

He LOVES to play with toys!

He LOVES to smile

and he ESPECIALLY loves water!

Every day I wake up and think "I wonder what Gabe is going to get into today!"

Such a fun boy!

A NIGHT WITH DAVID COOK (AND REAL SALT LAKE OF COURSE!)

2010-06-11T09:25:00.001-07:00

What a night! After a 30 minute lightening delay ReAL played LA Galaxy who WAS undefeated until they played us! YIPEE! ReAL won 1-0 stopping their winning streak. WAHOO!

Here I am with my mom and sister in law waiting for the players and David Cook to come out of the tunnel

OH I LOVE HIS VOICE!

(I am a fan of the raspy voices....)

he looked up at my sister in law as he was heading back into the tunnel

After the game we were able to go onto the field to hear his concert. My mom was there for the first song, but then christy and I stayed like 15 year old girls and went crazy with the crowd.

Look how close we were!

WHAT A PERFECT ENDING TO THE ReAL VICTORY!

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY GARDENS

2010-06-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

Gabe had such a fun time in the water yesterday! He is truly a boy in every way and I just love watching him learn and discover. He isn't scared of ANYTHING! Thanks janel for the clip!

YET ANOTHER PROJECT...

2010-06-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I did this project about 3 weeks ago, but as you have read in the past 2 posts, life has been CRAZY! So I am a little late in posting this.

I found this AMAZING deal last month on a swing set and I instantly thought that gabe would LOVE IT! Sure enough, I was right! The only down side to it was...I had to assemble it myself! Nate has been crazy busy at work lately so I didn't want to add yet another project on his list of things to do (I already had him build me garden boxes...pictures to come soon).

So this project was mine, ALL MINE!

(or so I thought...)

Here is what it looked like. I didn't have a truck and the box was too big to fit in my car so I had to take all of the pieces out individually and place them somewhere in my car. Poor gabe a trooper with the slide over his head as we drove home! He thought it was funny though.

Well, I knew I was in trouble when I couldn't even figure out what STEP 1 was referring too! AAAHHH! But after 4 hours I finished 99% of the swing set. Not too shabby, although someone with more experience could have probably spent only an hour or 2. But finally I had to call in reinforcements and I called my friend to see if her husband can come over and put these last 2 screws in for me. He was such a trooper! We were both having a hard time putting them in and then finally we just had to shave off a part to make it work. But man what a head ache!

But in the end, SO WORTH IT! Gabe absolutely loves it! It says for ages 3-6 but gabe is such a daredevil that he lost no time figuring out how to climb the steps to get to the slide.

So, 5 1/2 hours later, a couple of bruises, but the laughter in my son's delight

PRICELESS!

NEW YORK WEDDING

2010-05-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

Have any of you seen the movie Father of the Bride? The white tent, millions of flowers, nice china and food all around? Get the picture? Well, that was my brother in law's wedding. EVERYTHING turned out more beautiful then you could have possibly imagined. Everything down to the last detail was immaculate. The only disappointing thing is that I forgot my camera! So, thanks to my iPhone we have all of the following pictures. I hope I don't bore you with all these pictures, but you have to see this amazing wedding!

This was the first bunch of roses. The "flower girls" were down there for 3 days straight before the wedding getting all of the beautiful flowers ready in my In Law's basement. They turned out PERFECT!

Here is the second batch of roses. They also had hydrangea's and some other beautiful flowers as accents to all of these roses. Can I say BEAUTIFUL?!?!?!

May 15 it was off to the Manhattan Temple. I LOVE this temple! It is right by Central Park and Julliard School of Arts which is amazing!

Here are Mr. and Mrs. CHECKETTS!! A-MAZ-ING dress!

I had to get a picture of this! Everyone was watching them as they walked across the street to get the group picture. It was like a scene out of a movie.

LET THE PARTY BEGIN! There were family pictures before the reception started so of course I had to get one with my sweetheart! The reception was held at Nate's parents home and it couldn't be more beautiful.

Here is the family minus Gabriel....he stayed home with my parents for the weekend so we could enjoy!

I had to get a picture of the back of her dress because it is beautiful!

Her colors were pink with a hint of mint green. Didn't this turn out AMAZING! You should have seen it at night. The lights were made to have a hint of pink in them. It was magical.

They also made a children's section were they had their own "food" like macaroni and cheese (which was amazing!), chicken fingers and cupcakes. Then if you look closely you will see jars of candy on the tables.

Look at all of this amazing food!!!! This was the same guy who catered our wedding and it was delicious!

In the kids section they hired a balloon guy who was unbelievable! This was the start of one of his masterpieces.....

And this was the end. Crazy cool!

During the program the boys had a little number where they changed the words to "living on a prayer" by Bon Jovi. This was Nate's solo...

Now time to throw the bouquet.... and guess who got it?

my 5 year old niece Abigail!

As you can see this was such a beautiful night! I wish the pictures were more clear, but I am just grateful I had my iPhone so i could take these!!!

WEDDING MONTH

2010-05-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

Fellow bloggers. If you are by chance actually one of the few who read my blog, don't give up on me! This month, as you read in the title, is wedding month. There is no other explanation for it. we just went to Canada for a reception and then we leave again for New York for my brother-in-law's wedding in the Manhattan temple, and then we have another reception for them out here in Utah.

CRAZY MONTH

CRAZY LIFE

CRAZY ME!

I will update when I have a second to think about life again.

I promise!

Wonderful World Of Disney!

2010-04-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

OH WHAT A WEEK!!!

It was absolutely amazing to be back in "my old stomping grounds!" I miss it! Gabe absolutely loved the rides and there were quite a few that he actually threw a HUGE tantrum because he wanted to keep riding....so much fun! I think we have a tradition in the making here!

Right when we arrived we headed straight for the magic kingdom. When you go with children, you have to do it right! I have to say that we ended up heading back to magic kingdom 2 additional times on the trip because the kiddos loved it so much! We were also able to go with my sister in law and her family, WHICH WAS AMAZING! Gabe loves to play with his cousins an they made the experience so great!

Here we are on dumbo...Gabe was a little concerned at first, but then he LOVED IT!

Here we had to hit up the parade! In this parade the characters come out onto the street and dance with all of the children, it was great!

This day we also hit up so many more rides, but I forgot to take pictures!!!

Hollywood studios

They have such a great playhouse disney show at hollywood studios and it was great to see all of the characters from some of gabe's favorite shows! Right now they are watching little Einstein's.

Gabe has loved the movie "up" since we took him to see it in the theaters, so when we saw Doug we just had to get a picture! But unfortunately he was so interested in doug that he wouldn't smile for the camera!

Then here is where the downfall happened....literally! Sunday and monday it was raining almost the entire day!!!! I had to take a picture of Gabe's cute little face as we were heading out of Epcot on sunday.

Ok, I had to throw this picture in to show you that this was the last picture taken from our camera. Yep, you read right. There was SO MUCH RAIN that our camera got water damage! So unfortunately for the rest of the trip we didn't have many pictures!

So, fortunately and unfortunately, on our last day in Florida I realized that our video camera took pictures....so I am glad we were able to get some of us swimming at the pool, but I wish I would have thought about that for the other days in the park!!!!

They had this fun place at the pool where it shot out water and gabe LOVED IT! He was giggling the entire time! He even loved it when the water would smack him in the face! Such a fun energetic little boy!

On our last night there we stopped by Downtown Disney where gabe was able to ride his last ride. He did like it though!

Gabe has started to like Toy Story and so for our gift to him on this trip we decided that woody was a perfect gift, and he loved it!

It was such a great week and I wish we got more pictures of our amazing time down there. That just means we will have to go again soon!

IT'S GOING TO BE FUN!

2010-04-11T20:08:00.001-07:00

tomorrow night my little family is heading here:

*Minus the Twin Towers*

And then we head here:

I LOVE DISNEY WORLD!!!!

We may even hit up this place while we are there:

I CAN'T WAIT!

TO CUT, OR NOT TO CUT....

2010-04-03T07:35:00.001-07:00

My sister and her family came into town last weekend as they were driving to Arizona, and what a fun time we had! (pictures to follow soon). But one morning while we were there my 5 year old niece came up to me with a very serious face to ask me a question.

"Aunt Dayna"

"Yes Kamrie"

she hesitated...

"um...well, I was just wondering. If Gabriel is a boy...then why does his hair look like girl's hair?"

HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THAT?!?!?!?

I have my reasons why I don't want to cut his hair. His curls for one. I am just nervous that they won't grow back once I cut them!

But, I have to admit, I will miss how his hair looks when I get him out of his crib in the morning! Wouldn't you miss this?!?!

So, the question is out...Should I cut it?

FUN AT THE DEALERSHIP

2010-04-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

I know this sounds a little silly, but yesterday we had to drop off my car to get something fixed (long story, but luckily we didn't have to pay for it!) Anyway, and so we went at 8:30 in the morning to drop off our car and little did we know that it would actually be a fun day! They had this huge pirate ship right in the middle of the dealership where kids could play on! It was great! And another bonus is that we were there really early in the morning so we got the place ALL TO OURSELVES!

Here are just a few pictures of gabe that I took from my iphone. (and yes, we were BOTH still in our PJ's!)

This is gabe looking out over the ledge of the ship..He was so happy!

I don't know what it is with this boy, but he ABSOLUTELY loves to feel like he is "driving" things. Nate usually picks him up when he gets home from work and takes a "drive" around the neighborhood with gabe and he loves it! So here he is steering the boat.

When I got to the dealership they surprised me and told me it was going to take 3 hours to fix instead of the 1 hour they said on the phone. So I called nate to come pick us up! I also had him come in and see Gabe playing on the fun pirate ship!

I never thought I would actually have fun at a car dealership!

My son the squirrel

2010-03-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

So, lately I have been missing some things. Well, to tell you the truth, A LOT of things. I swear half of my day is spent finding this item or that not knowing where it could possibly have gone. Well, today was no different.

With Nate being out of town until this friday I thought that I would be productive and start editing Gabe's home videos of when he was a newborn. But there was one little problem with that...I couldn't, FOR THE LIFE OF ME, find the charger for the video camera so I can upload his videos. I searched EVERYWHERE! I even tried the laundry hamper thinking he put it in there, but no luck. I was frustrated because I have been wanting to do this for a year now and I haven't made the time so now that I wanted to, I couldn't! AAAHHHHH!

Then, HOURS LATER, I decided to actually get ready for the day. (a rarity when nate is out of town) and low and behold....I found the charger. And of course, who wouldn't have thought that it was in the drawer in a completely different room with my blow dryer. Goodness!!!! To emphasize this even more, the other day I was looking for my phone. Again I searched EVERYWHERE, even places that weren't Gabriel's "common hiding places" and I couldn't find it anywhere. Then all of the sudden my phone started to ring...where was it?!?!?! IN THE TRASH CAN! GOODNESS! I have lost binkey's, keys, shoes (they were in the bathtub...who would have thought), pens, food, books...you name it, gabe has found a hiding place for it!

Are all children like this!?!?!?!

MY HANDYMAN

2010-03-09T07:16:00.000-08:00

Seriously, my husband is amazing! Our basement has been in shambles since we moved in and I have been constantly trying to clean down there, but to no avail. I didn't have anywhere to put everything and I was going CRAZY! So my wonderful, amazing and magnificent husband surprised me for Valentines Day and told me he was going to build shelves in our cold storage.

Not only is this action amazing in itself, nate at first had absolutely no idea what he was doing! But that is the amazing part, he knows that I wanted them, has the determination to get things done and he just figured it out and did it! He is so amazing!

So here is the process:

my boys looking very GQ in home depot

The beginning...

Gabe even helped his daddy out a little bit by holding the shelves down. What a good helper!

The finishing touches! Didn't he do a amazing job? Now I have room for my food storage!

Also, I had to throw this picture in. Gabe and I just hung out in his little play area downstairs while nate was working and I thought this picture of him was so cute! We might have a new Jack Johnson or Dave Matthews on our hand!

GUS GUS

2010-03-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

Juliet Capulet once said "What's in a name?" This question can go a million different ways if you actually think about it. But for me, I think about the name we are given at birth. Unfortunately for me, my name is just simple and plain. I have never been one who was given a "nickname" or I can't abbreviate my name to make it shorter. It is just dayna. (unless you want to call me "day" or "na" but what's the fun in that?) But there are those out there fortunate enough to have a nick name. Even being called "Sam" instead of Samuel is a sort of nickname. For as long as I can remember, I have always called my little sister "bugs". I still to this day hardly call her by her real name, which is Karlee. I simply call her "bugs".

But for my son, he has many nicknames. I call him "buster brown" where a lot of people simply just call him "gabe" "baby Gabe" or "buddy". But there is one name that sticks out more then the others, and that name is Gus Gus, or just Gus. This name was given to him by his Uncle Ben. Gabe shares a special relationship with his uncle ben, even from the very beginning. (now I don't want all of the rest of you to feel left out! HE ABSOLUTELY LOVES YOU TOO!) I have been trying to put a finger on why Gabe just responds to Ben differently, even different then he does with me. Maybe because Ben is so much like Nate that he feels comfortable around him. Or maybe it is because Ben makes some faces while he talks in funny voices to Gabe which makes him laugh...I don't know what it is. But he LOVES him.

Yesterday was proof of that. Nate's parents were in town for a short little while so Gabriel and I went down to meet them at the University Mall to get him an easter outfit. While we were there we were able to meet up with Ben and his fiance Laura. Immediately Ben went straight to Gabriel, swooped him up and did this....

From a mother's point of view....it almost brought tears to my eyes to see the love my 14 month old can already have for his uncle.

So what's in a name?

Absolutely everything.

GABRIEL'S 1 YEAR PHOTOS!

2010-02-26T06:50:00.001-08:00

They are here! Gabe's 1 year pictures!

Our friend and neighbor took these pictures and she did an AMAZING job on them!

Thanks brooke!

There were many others, but I didn't want to overwhelm you so I just chose my favorites.

I still can't get over the fact that my son is 1!

DREAMS DO COME TRUE!

2010-02-21T20:00:00.001-08:00

Friday night I was able to have one of my dreams come true. I know many of you will laugh when you read what it is, but I was SO EXCITED!

I was able to go to the BILLY JOEL/ELTON JOHN CONCERT!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!

I have to say that it was absolutely amazing! I am afraid I didn't get the best pictures because I wasn't sure if I could bring a camera in or not so these may not be the best, but hey, I WAS THERE!

I don't know if you remember but clear back in april of last year I won these tickets off of FM100 here in Utah. I was so excited to go but the concert was scheduled for Nov. 20th. But then Elton John got sick with the swine flu and so the concert was postponed, but luckily not canceled. So finally after almost a year of anxiety and anticipation, Nate and I were able to see one of the greatest shows ever!

I do have to admit though that Billy Joel (whom I like more then elton john) sounded like he was aging, but he still sounded AMAZING...and he was funny as well! So great! But elton john sounded exactly like he does on the radio. SO MUCH FUN!

They played almost every single song that I wanted them too from: Your Song, Rocketman, Moving out, We didn't start the fire, Allentown, crocodile rock, River of dreams, and of course Piano man! The concert went for 3 hours!

SO FUN!

Thank you FM100 for making one of my dreams come true!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

2010-02-14T11:24:00.001-08:00

JACOB THOMAS GASSIN

2010-02-12T08:44:00.001-08:00

I AM A NEW AUNTIE!

Jacob Thomas Gassin

He was born February 8th weighing 8lbs 1.oz

He is such a cutie! I can' t wait to meet the little guy in March!

(you see, my sister lives in Minnesota so we don't get to see her very often, but she is coming in march!)

YIPEE!!

RADIO? MUSIC? WHAT'S THAT?

2010-02-06T20:40:00.000-08:00

The other day I was sitting on our couch in the living room working on my computer while gabe was sleeping soundly in the other room during his nap. As I was sitting there I looked up randomly thinking "something feels different..." but I kept typing like nothing was up. Then a few minutes later I thought it again "what is different right now?" Then finally it hit me.

The room was SILENT.

No noise.

No toys.

Nothing.

aaaaaahhhhhh, peace.

Then I started thinking. Who is on the radio now? Would I even recognize any of the songs if I actually turned my radio on? When was the last time I opened my computer and put shuffle on my iTunes playlist?

WHERE HAS THE MUSIC GONE?????

It took me a couple minutes to figure out why. I love music, I love to sing to the songs (even if I am a little off key!) why don't I play it anymore?

Then it hit me.

My dear sweet little Gabriel came into this world. Some would say that is cause to bring more "pop" music into the home, I would say otherwise. I had heard some people say before I had gabriel that buying toys was a waste of money. Well, that may be so for them, but for me....

My son PLAYS WITH THEM!

All morning

All afternoon

All night!!!

I hear the alphabet, I hear spanish words, I hear london bridges, chop sticks, the banjo, music, music music and more music!

we get crashing blocks

Wagon wheels that need oiling

"farmer toad who plays his banjo to 'she'll be coming around the mountain"

and even though at this moment he is crawling UNDER the table, have no fear a song is playing as he does it!

-Then the song-

"hello, the phone is ringing so I say 'hello'

Goodbye when I'm done talking then I say bye bye"

OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN!

we have balls being thrown down the stairs, then giggles when he watches me go down to pick them up over and over

But don't worry, we have our quiet moments as well. This is gabe sitting down looking innocent before he decides to throw the ball down the stairs again...

Then when the house seems to be getting quiet and Gabe is NOT asleep...I start to get nervous as well. Here is gabe caught in the act trying to grab garbage bags out of the box and throw them all over the floor....

Also, when the house seems to get quiet, I see him sneaking away to his "hiding places" where he has stashed his binkeys because he knows mommy is trying to get him off of them.

But there is always joy in all of these moments. My favorite is just watching him play in whatever he decides to do. He is such a happy baby that he can play wherever he is. One of his new favorite things is to play by "himself". He thinks he is so funny!

So, despite the fact that as of right now I probably couldn't tell you who the latest crave is in the music industry or if we are in the same car together and you start singing all of the words to a new song and I just sit there pretending to..I wouldn't change it! Bring on the banjo and london bridges! It truly has become one of my favorite things in the world to sit back and watch my son become "Gabriel".

Who needs music anyway right?

BETTER LATE THEN NEVER!

2010-01-26T14:41:00.001-08:00

GABRIEL'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!

So, as the title states, better late then never! The party was 3 weeks ago and I am just now posting these pictures...goodness!

Here is gabe waiting for all of his friends to arrive, he is so happy!

Gabe has finally graduated from Baby Einstein (even though he still loves it) and he is in love with Mickey Mouse Club House! So of course we had to throw a mickey party!

Unfortunately, before all of his friends arrived, he got so tired that he crashed on my bed! HE WAS OUT COLD! We finally had to wake him up half way though so he could enjoy his own party...poor little guy!

His friends were so great in giving him some fun presents! He LOVES all of them, thank you that was so sweet of everyone!

Gabe had a hard time blowing out his candle himself so he asked his friend to help him

"Hum, I think I like it!"

Ok so I had to throw this picture in! I told you he was becoming such a Ham and posing for all of these pictures! But as you can see he fully enjoyed his cake!

Thank you to all who were able to make it, we loved having you!

PROJECTS

2010-01-15T13:48:00.001-08:00

So, already this year has been the"Year of Projects" and it is only the middle of JANUARY! I have been trying to find inexpensive ways to dress up our house without spending an arm and a leg to do it. So I have been doing this!

PROJECT #1

Cluster of Frames

*Some of the frames aren't filled in yet because I am getting them developed AND I am taking gabe's 1 year shots soon!*

(this one looks smudged by the "dare to" part, but it isn't in real life)

FINAL OUTCOME

I have a lot of bare walls in my house so I thought if I made a cluster of frames that it will help fill up the space! It was great!

PROJECT #2

PAINTING

I know it looks a little bare now, but I will add a few things here and there to it to make it complete. But we have a red wall in our living room! SUPER FUN!

THE BIG "1"

2010-01-07T20:05:00.001-08:00

Hey all, I am finally here posting. It has sure been a great holiday and I have a million more pictures to share, but I wanted to post about this first.

As we were flying from Florida to New York, gabe fell fast asleep in my arms and I

couldn't help but just stare at him for the longest time.

"My little boy is 1 today" I kept repeating to myself. "Where did the time go?"

A year ago I was in the hospital waiting for this little boy to come into my life...

into our life. Now he is here and I am afraid the time is just flying by to quickly I have no idea where it went!

I started reflecting on the things he has done this year and the results astounded me! My cute boy has been to 8 states (some multiple times) and 4 countries before he turned the age of 1! No wonder he doesn't sleep well! He has also learned to crawl and then walk, he has 3 teeth (I know, kind of funny but also cute at the

same time!), he can say "mama" "dada" "ba-ba" "ba" (meaning ball) "hi" and "ya", he still LOVES his binkey (much to my detriment) and he has a head of curly

blonde hair that makes all of the other kids jealous! He loves his toys, cousins, friends and absolutely most of all he loves to play with my hair.

Oh how I love this boy!

Also as I was looking at my son I started to think about how he has changed physically as well. He was born with a thick head of dark hair and olive skin. He was so tiny then I truly felt like I was going to break him! Then over the months he started getting bigger and stronger that now he isn't a little boy anymore, he is a

"little man".

I felt like a total baby but I almost started to cry right there on the plane. I am just glad that he is mine and I get to see him every day!

Here are a few pictures that I love from the past year.

2 weeks

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

BROKEN OVEN, "UP" CAKE, AND A MISSING CHIMNEY

2010-01-07T14:16:00.000-08:00

The following pictures are of the birthday party we threw for Gabe in Connecticut this past weekend. I called so many bakeries out there to see if anyone can make a Disney Pixar's "UP" cake because it is Gabe's favorite movie, but no one could. So, without having the slightest idea what I was doing I decided to make a cake!

So, as the title of this blog post states, a broken oven, "up" cake and a missing chimney. Well, funny story there. You see, Nate's family took the red eye flight the night before so everyone was in bed while I was trying to make the cake. Unbeknownst to me, their oven was broken! So 5 attempts later I finally got the cake and cupcakes to work! GOODNESS WAS I FRUSTRATED!

Then on top of that, like I said before, I had no idea what I was doing, so that was kind of fun. There here is the funniest part of all. I had this piece of cake left out to make the chimney but I ran out of frosting. So I as was coming back from getting some more, I walk into the room and there is my sweet sister in law eating the chimney! I have to admit it was funnier then it sounds and I just busted up laughing! That poor girl though, I thought it was so funny that I had to tell everyone at the party that she ate it! SORRY LILY!

So without further ado, here is my "UP" cake.

Unfortunately we didn't get a straight on picture, but you get the idea

Gabe LOVED the cake. I think more then anything though, he loved just squishing his hands in it and making a BIG mess!

OK, so not the best picture, but that was only the start of his messy hands. Goodness, such a boy!

Here is his cousin Abby helping him eat the cake

You can see the damage in the cake. I have to admit most of it was on his clothes and the floor, but it was fun!

Here is gabe with "the girls" opening his gift. He loved it!

Then I had to put this picture in so that everyone can see my cute father in law and sister in law in a party hat! It was adorable! Someone asked him why he was wearing it and he said "I am at a birthday party so of course I am wearing a birthday hat!"

THANK YOU to my sweet sister in laws and nieces who were there to support gabe on his birthday! He ABSOLUTELY loves you and LOVES the gifts you gave him. THANK YOU!

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA

2009-12-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

This is the moment every parent thinks about. "Will my son like Santa?" "Will he cry?" "will he actually sit there and be a good little boy for mommy so she can take a picture?" These are the thoughts that run through your head at this exact moment.

At first there was curiosity. "who are you?" "what is that white stuff on your face?"

Next he got shy.

Then he was done "alright I gave you a minute to take pictures so I am done...ooh, what are those big red things over there? I like those better then santa"

So there we have it. He wasn't a a crying child, nor was he happy to see Santa, he just sat there knowing we wanted to get some pictures of him and then moved onto the next thing. Not bad I guess!

Then here is the whole gang who went to Breakfast with Santa. Gabe does't look too happy, maybe he did like santa after all!

WHAT A HAM

2009-12-17T14:58:00.000-08:00

So, it has happened.

My son has turned into a mini me. Now, when it comes to looks, my husband can win that contest HANDS DOWN, but personality....well, I do have to say that I have a few personality traits that are starting to seep through to my son. I truly haven't tried to influence him one way or another, but they just seem to happen.

Today we went to the petting zoo at thanksgiving point. The weather was gorgeous for being december and I wanted to take the last chance to be outdoors before the "real snow" hits in. While we were there we looked at the adorable animals; which by the way gabe has started to really interact with them (as shown from the following 2 pictures).

And once that was through we ventured to the mini houses that are there and that is when it happened. I realized that my son is TOTALLY GQ! Everyone used to tease me when I was little that when a camera or video camera came on I completely turned into this big cheeseball and every picture taken I had to be in.

Well, unfortunately for all of Gabriel's future siblings....he is the same way. What do you think?

I have to admit that my friend who was there with us captured more adorable shots of him, but she hasn't been able to send them to me yet, so these are just the few I took. Isn't he precious! I mean, I didn't even have to ask him to do these poses....he just DID them!

The unfortunate thing though, is when I want to have him pose...he does this. Is it just me? Am I stealing his spotlight or something? Goodness, I just wanted a cute picture with my son, is that too much to ask?

CHRISTMAS LIGHTSHOT COCOA......AND REINDEER?

2009-12-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

Yes you heard right...reindeer. For FHE last week we invited my parents to come with us to Thanksgiving Point where we saw all of these fun christmas lights and displays, listened to Mannheim Steamroller, drank some delicious peppermint hot chocolate and just enjoyed the snow.

Then, after the fun drive we saw them. Poor little guys. They truly looked miserable standing there in the cold with hundreds of people staring at them and taking pictures. I swear one of them looked like he was falling asleep just standing there. Yes, I am talking about the reindeer. I truly don't think I have ever seen a real reindeer before, only on the movies.

So, here you are, some pictures to enjoy just like we did.

Imagine "Carol of the Bells" playing right here

Then imagine "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"

Here is the end when we say goodbye

Then, the reindeer. My parents are holding Gabe in the corner if you can see them.

What a fun way to bring in the holidays!

ALREADY?

2009-12-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

Gabe turned 11 months this week. I truly don't know where the time has gone! I feel like life is just one constant roller coaster that as soon as you hit the first down-word motion you zoom as fast as you can and in a million different directions until the ride finally crashes to a stop. That is how I feel about this past 11 months of my Gabriels life. Constant change, constant movement, a whirlwind of new discoveries, expressions and feelings have come and gone in this house hold.

Well, this past month has been no different. I do have to admit this isn't the best footage we have of gabe's "new discovery", there are some that are far better and longer then this, but yet here it is!

Can my son really be walking already?!?!? Yesterday he was walking all over the place without any help. It was incredible! He has been taking a few steps here and there these past couple months, but not until 2 days ago did he really take his first few steps. The crazy thing is, he isn't just walking, he is starting to RUN everywhere he wants to go! HEAVEN HELP ME NOW! Hey, at least maybe now that I have to run to chase him everywhere I can finally loose the last couple pounds I have been wanting too! :-)

WHIRLWIND WEEK

2009-12-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

This past few weeks have been crazy, but fun!!! It started off for us in Seattle last weekend to watch the MLS cup! But before we headed to the game we stopped at Pikes Market to look at the fun place! I LOVED IT!

And while we were there we had to stop at the gum wall...so cool but gross at the same time!

Here are some fresh crabs, lobster and shrimp at the market...yummy!

Look at that produce, you can't get better then that! (I wish we had a market like this here)

THE MLS CUP

-WE WON!!!!!!!!!-

Here is the team after they won holding the cup!

Here is my Father and Mother in law celebrating with the team

And of course, we had to celebrate as well!

Nate and Wingert are good friends that nate is actually wearing one of his playing jerseys! He claims it is his good luck charm!

THANKSGIVING IN CONNECTICUT/NEW YORK

Here are the two cousins playing! Actually, Gabe was just pushing her in the wagon and it was so cute! I just couldn't get a good picture of it...

Here is our table before we added the yummy food! Doesn't it look great?

Here is a picture of Gabe and Nate in their matching Holland soccer jerseys they got that weekend!

Then lastly, I was able to see this amazing play! Everyone has to see it, it was amazing!

We hope you had such a great thanksgiving as well!

MLS CUP BABY!!!

2009-11-20T14:29:00.000-08:00

We are headed here tomorrow to watch our team ReAL SALT LAKE challenge David Beckham (um, I mean LA GALAXY...excuse me :-) to fight for the MLS CUP! It is going to be such an exciting game!

And then I am headed here for a great thanksgiving dinner cooked by my amazing mother in law! SO FUN!

Have a great thanksgiving everyone!

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!

2009-11-18T17:26:00.000-08:00

I WAS SUPPOSED TO SEE THIS ON FRIDAY!

OF COURSE ELTON JOHN HAD TO GET THE SWINE FLU!

IT'S THE HOLIDAY SEASON...

2009-11-17T09:09:00.000-08:00

I don't know what it is about today, but I am feeling so festive! I leave friday for thanksgiving and I won't get back until the last day of November, so today I decided to pull out all of my christmas decorations and start putting them up!

I know some of you are thinking "that is WAY TOO EARLY!" And normally I would agree with you and wait until after thanksgiving, but there is something about today that just made me want to bring christmas into our home. I also visualized walking in from thanksgiving holiday to a home that is already decorated with our Christmas village all set up, stockings hanging from our fireplace, christmas lights hung on our roof, the smell of cinnamon lingering in the air...Truth be told, I wish I could decorate like this all year round! The only thing I will save to decorate until after Thanksgiving is our christmas tree.

But do you guys want to know a secret? I have even started doing this...

I know, I am crazy! But truth be told, 3/4 of these gifts are for my nieces and nephews! I just couldn't wait wrap them!

I hope everyone enjoys this holiday season, whether you have started already or if you won't start for a couple weeks!

MY GABE TIME

2009-11-10T09:29:00.001-08:00

Lately, mornings have been my favorite time of the day. Even though they have recently been starting around the 5:45-6:30 hour, they still have become a very precious time for me. I have started to call it "my gabe time". Yes, I am with him basically 24/7 and yes, about 10 hours of the day it is typically "mine and gabe time" but mornings have become my favorite.

It all starts when I hear him giggling in the crib while I am trying to get my last precious moments of sleep before I go in to get him. But after hearing him giggle, I can't help myself to go in the room. Instantly upon opening the door, he squeals with delight at seeing me enter the room and then he jumps around laughing just waiting for me to come over to him.

Then after the morning ritual of diaper changes and feeding him, gabe and I ultimately gather on the floor and just play. We play anything that comes to my mind and we laugh and sing and squeal while doing it. Then after I see those eyes start to glaze over and I still don't want him to go to sleep quite yet, I bring him over to the couch and do this:

He nestles in right on my shoulder and we watch baby einstein. These precious moments are what I look forward too. A time where my son isn't kicking and squirming to get down on the floor, but he is still and wanting to sit next to me. It is "my gabe time"

And that is why mornings are my favorite.

WHO'S IN THE DRIVER SEAT?

2009-11-03T07:34:00.000-08:00

Lately, when I have been trying to put Gabe in his car seat he burst up in lightening speed, turns around, grabs his handle and does this...

Doesn't he look like he wants to drive or something?

"LUCKY"

2009-10-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that I am a big disney fan. Maybe fan isn't a strong enough word...I am a fanatic. But recently I have become fond of a movie that I never was to keen on while growing up. That movie is:

101 dalmations

It is an adorable movie with cute characters and I especially like one puppy in particular.

Lucky.

Of course there is rollie who is adorable when he says "I can eat a whole elephant" but although that is a cute comment, there is no puppy like Lucky. After a while I was trying to think about why I like this one puppy above all the other 100....and I think I figured out why.

If you aren't familiar with this movie...lucky is the one RIGHT up next to the TV. Actually, there is another clip that I wanted to get where he is actually standing up with his face next to the tv. I have realized he is my favorite because...

I have him right in my home! Every single time the tv is on, boom he goes straight for the it. As if the screen isn't big enough already, he needs to be a foot away! I do move him away so it doesn't hurt his eyes, but truthfully, sometimes I just sit and watch him as he is there. His face just seems to light up even more knowing he is that much closer to the puppets on baby einstein or Handy Manny and his tools. And when his face does that I know

That I am "lucky" to be his mom.

TOP 20...

2009-10-27T14:28:00.001-07:00

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE?

UM....YES!!!

(not me, silly, ashleigh!)

This is one of my amazing friends from high school and her husband Ryan Di Lello... and they just made it to the top 20 in SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE!

Ashleigh and I have been friends since junior high and she has always been an incredible person AND dancer. She is the nicest girl you will ever meet and always has been. She and her husband have been dancing on a cruise ship for the past few years and almost as soon as they got back, they auditioned to be on this show...and the rest is history!

So, I am rallying my friends together to support her and her husband and vote for my friend!

It airs tonight at 7:00 so watch it! :)

A BOY AND HIS BENCH

2009-10-25T16:03:00.001-07:00

I am grateful for the bench.

With this beautiful fall weather our days have been spent outside in the backyard. We do the usual routine, I set him down on the grass and stretch out my legs like I am going to play a game with him...

but he has a different idea in mind.

Every time I set him down, he bolts to one place

The bench.

It doesn't help that there is dirt all around the bench, but yet, he loves the bench. Maybe its because it is red, or because it seems to be the latest hot spot of the local birds, but he loves it.

So, today before church I thought he looked so cute in his little suit and thought it was perfect

I needed some pictures next to his favorite place around our house...

Also, I know that every single blog post is about Gabe....but hey, look at how cute he is! Why would you want to see anything else?

HALLOWEEN PICTURES

2009-10-21T09:56:00.001-07:00

This was a first. Every time we get the camera out, gabe is all giggles and smiles! I haven't had a bad "photo shoot" of him yet! But for some reason, today he was not having it!

NO SMILES!

So, despite our bad luck with his halloween pictures, I think a few of them still came out pretty darn cute! I just hope on actual Halloween we can get some smiling pictures!

We are getting him ready for his fun costume...and no it isn't a scarecrow (even though that is what his nose looks like!) And I am telling you, it took me about 20 minutes to put that nose on! He DOES NOT sit still!

My neighbor has this cute display out in front of her house, so I asked if I can take some fun pictures of gabe...

Or at least they should have been fun!

If you can't tell, he is a Dalmatian puppy. If you didn't know this already then you do now! Gabe ABSOLUTELY LOVES DOGS! Especially when they bark at him! So, we had to dress him up as a puppy this year, there was just no other option

I took this shot as we were heading back into our house to show his "grumpy" face. I wish we could have had at least ONE SMILE! But, nope....maybe next time!

MY BFF'S

2009-10-18T15:03:00.000-07:00

Last night I was having a hard time falling asleep. My mind kept going from topic to topic thinking of the most random things, then thinking about something completely insignificant that it made me even more frustrated for being awake thinking about it! But then, as usual, my mind wandered to Gabe. I thought about his life thus far and how great it has been. His giggle when we come into the room. His new expression of delight he does when he is happy. The way he kicks his legs so hard when he doesn't want you do to something...and then I started to think about his future.

"How will he be when he grows up?"

"What kind of person will he be?"

"Will he play sports?"

or other things like

"I wonder who he will become friends with"

and then it happened.

My mind was suddenly filled with a million memories of my childhood. Memories of 4 friends doing one crazy idea after the other. Times where we played "prince and princesses " and since we only had one boy friend, he was our captor and kidnapped us from our happy palace but then he suddenly transformed into the prince and saved us from the evil dungeons. Or there were the times where we rolled pennies down the drive way for hours seeing who's penny could roll the furthest. Or other times when we borrowed a wheel barrow from a neighbor and we squealed with delight as one of us would push the others down the hill. Another time we would ride our bikes to the local grocery store and buy airheads and warheads. Or, if we were really lucky, we bought a King Kong Kone and we raced to see who can eat theirs the fastest. We ran through sprinklers, jumped on the tramp, made up crazy dances to fun music thinking we were the most amazing dancers in the world. We laughed, we cried, we hugged (and even 2 of my friends kissed!) But we were together and that is how it stayed, even now.

Then after thinking about my childhood, I just smiled. Of course gabe will find amazing friends like I have. I know that he will get to have even more adventures then I did, come up with even crazier things to do and have even more fun memories with is friends and that made me happy.

I still have these best friends today. And as cheesy as we get when we are together and as cheesy as it sounds to hear, I will have these best friends forever.

And that thought helped me fall into a deep, restful sleep.

MISCHIEF...

2009-10-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

All I can say is

"PICTURES SPEAK A THOUSAND WORDS!"

He has discovered the drawers....BUMMER!

Gabe's little "innocent" face after I saw him kissing the dinosaur!

oh yes, this little stinker is a VERY messy eater

"Please, sir I want some more"

I came in the other day and the whole entire roll of toilet paper was on the floor,

you can't really tell by this picture, but you can see the rest of it in the bottom right corner

Hum, I don't think that is how its supposed to be played with,

but maybe that's just me!

Gabe LOVES his tunnel, back and forth, back and forth

I have to admit it is exhausting for me just to watch it!

P.S. Sorry for the low quality pictures, they were all taken from my phone!

CURTAINS.....FINALLY

2009-10-13T08:09:00.001-07:00

So, I know we have lived in our house now for almost 5 months, but I just finished gabe's curtains! (well, I have to admit....my mom helped....A LOT!)

The room still isn't quite done, but you get the idea. Nate installed the bead board and the crown molding, I painted the walls and the bead board, and the rest is just a little bit of whatever.

Also, I want to get a cute table or something in the right corner, what do you think?

This is a close up of what the curtains look like, it is a cute nursery rhyme design with the cat and the fiddle, jack and jill, the dish running away with the spoon and a few others.

GABE'S NEW TRICK

2009-10-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

Gabe learned a new trick this past week!

The great thing about him is he responds to us doing this and so he is learning! It makes me think about other things I should start doing with him so he will pick up on that as well. HUM...

IT ALL STARTED WITH THE BENCH...

2009-10-01T15:34:00.001-07:00

I went to the store to look for TV consoles

and I came out with this...

and then it spawned an idea.

A crazy idea but if I could get it to work, it would be brilliant!

I instantly drove, bench in stow, to Home Depot where I was going to put my ideas into action. I had no idea if it was even going to look good, I just had to hope.

So with 6 trips to Home Depot, 48 large stones, 130 small stones, 3 lilys, one lilac tree, 48 tulips, a few bumps and bruises, a very sore back and arms later -

I came out with this

It looks good now, but just wait until spring! I planted tulips all around the tree and the lily's that I think will just add some amazing color

also, hopefully by then these will start to grow so you can see them. On the fence you see some Ivy that I have placed in 3 different sections around the fence. Then on the gazebo I have a flowering ivy that will look amazing as it crawls up the side!

Then on the sides I added this retaining wall to make a great entrance into the gazebo.

And to tell you the truth, despite all the hard work it was really fun to do! I am discovering that I actually like this kind of stuff, go figure!

OH HOW I USED TO HATE IT

2009-09-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl I remember when my mom would come into the family room where I was playing with my toys and say "alright dayna, time for your bath"

I would immediately jump up and run to the bath tub. I loved bath time! I remember splashing and singing and playing with the bubbles (I always had to have bubbles in my tub!) and not wanting to get out.I dreaded getting out.

I HATED getting out.

But truthfully, not totally because I loved the bath tub that much, it was just because I knew what was next.

I hated what was next!

My mom would wash me off in a towel, get me dressed, and thenshe would try to comb my hair!

I hated it!

She would try to distract me by saying "when it hurts, just say 'hippopotamus' and I will stop" well, at that age

WHO CAN SAY HIPPOPOTAMUS!

So I would try and try and couldn't say it and I would just cry and throw a big tantrum.Well, finally as I grew up my mom just learned to not comb my hair at all and so I would walk around with nappy snarls but I wouldn't care.

I had won.

So tonight I was giving Gabe his bath. I toweled him off and got him dressed just like my mom used to do to me and then I realized his hair was getting longer. It is getting so long in fact that I might need to brush it!

So I went to grab the brush...but then I stopped

because I saw this

I just couldn't bring myself to brush through it!

I LOVE THE CURLS!

So, Gabe, I know it wouldn't be as bad for you as it was for me, but

YOU WERE SAVED BY THE CURLS!

FAMILY HAPPENINGS...

2009-09-28T12:23:00.001-07:00

So, I know I have been a blog slacker lately.

I truthfully just couldn't bring myself to blog lately

because every time Gabe nap's lately

I am either doing homework

or working on a FUN NEW PROJECT in our backyard!

(pictures to come!)

So, here is some fun things that Nate, Gabe and I have been doing as of late.

We bought gabe a new toy and he LOVES it!

(despite the way he looks on it right now)

We were trying to hard to keep gabe entertained one night so he wouldn't go to sleep early and so Nate built him this cool fort!

You can't really tell, but he was giggling he loved it so much!

Isn't our little Buster Brown growing up so fast!

This is Gabe by his favorite tree...And my LEAST favorite tree now!

As many of you know or have experienced, he just B-Lines it right to the tree and he starts eating the moss inside of it! So we caught him in the act and you can see that little face of his ready to pounce!

So, he found nate's office and he loves to go inside and then make these crazy faces at us. He thinks it is so funny! (and you can see all of his little finger prints on the glass as well!)

For some reason the song from Oliver comes to mind when I see this picture

"Boy, Boy for sale, he's going cheap....!"

AND FINALLY OUR TRIP TO WASHINGTON DC

Nate's friend got married in the DC temple and so Gabe and I walked around the town!

The white house was close to our hotel so we just took a fun stroll...It wasn't as big as I thought it was going to be, but still fun!

Arlington Cemetery

This is the grave sight of JFK, Jackie, and their son Patrick.

Here is a fun family picture of us in front of the washington monument.

We are in line to see the declaration of independance!

This is us in front of the National Archives

(where the declaration is held)

We were able to go with nate's sister and brother in law and here is a fun picture of the capitol as we were crossing the street! luckily no cars were coming!

Here is gabe and I in front of Ford's theater where President Lincoln was shot.

Here is the gang taking a break! (with 3 kids....we needed one!)

As we were sitting and taking a break, there were 3 helicopters flying above us and one landed at the white house!

Hello president Obama!

This is us in front of the reflection pond.

It was so hot that it was great to just stick our feet in the pond for a while.

Then finally, the lincoln memorial.

It was such a great trip, even though it resulted in gabe's ruptured ear drum...but it was fun to spend some family time together!

My Buster Brown's laugh

2009-09-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Unlike my wife who is not only economic with her finances but also her words, I tend to be a bit long winded in my writing, so if you’re bored already just click play on the videos and you’ll get the basic idea.

Hi all, this is Nate. Yes I do of course realize that I have never posted in the past; nor do I have any intention of making a consistent contribution to the prestigious blog known as Checketts in the Fast Lane; but I am long overdue-almost 9 months-to give the one and only post I intend to make.

I have gone through the lengthy process of approving this message with the blog’s editor and with her generosity and permission here I go:

Mr. Gabriel... It's difficult to know where to begin. Perhaps to start I will tell you there has never been a father so in love as I am with my little boy. He is a dream come true a thousand times over and has been even before his birth.

I certainly cannot speak for all husbands / dads but from the moment I saw that pregnancy indicative plus sign to the first ultrasound, I wanted a baby boy more than I had ever wanted anything else. I was no switzerland to the oft-asked question of "Do you want a boy or a girl?” The answer was always “I want a boy,” and that was it. I soon learned of course why everyone gives a neutral answer to that question when I heard “Oh you’ve jinxed yourself--you're going to have 4 girls.”

As Dayna and I went in for the ultrasound I was so nervous I could barely speak or hold any decent conversation. I shyly handed the nurse my dvd to record the session--I had stuck it in my briefcase the day before so I wouldn’t forget it. Then I promptly and obediently went to my designated sitting area. I sat there intently watching the screen, repeating my nervous habit routine of finger fidget, cell phone check, and leg bouncing, etc. I couldn’t stand the anticipation--I wanted to tell the nurse "Throw that gel on and let's get an image already!" But I sat and waited until there it was--that white and black bouncing image--the next stage of our family. The nurse expertly maneuvered around until the image was in the “perfect spot,” (I could still only see a mess of white that wouldn’t sit still). But then as if on cue, she asked “did you want to find out baby’s gender today?” “Of course” I practically cried pre-empting Dayna. She looked up smiled, paused, and then gently said “You've got a baby boy.” I jumped from my chair, fist pump in motion, and screamed “YES!” “I knew it! I knew it!” Looking up in my excitement through the cracked door I could see a nurse and several passers by look in to see who had missed the insanity wing of the hospital. But I didn’t care, I was on cloud nine looking at my baby boy, or as I have called him since “my buster brown.”

The 9 months passed much quicker for me then they did for Dayna--in fact I almost feel like its insult to devote so little blog space to trimesters of morning sickness, discomfort, and more sugar candy's than previously thought possible. But it did pass and then came a long and intense labor and again Dayna moved higher on a pedestal I could never dream of touching. And then came the beautiful, ever moving, buster brown. He had a head full of dark curly hair on his coned head and slitted blue eyes that opened almost immediately. He quickly showed the hospital just how good his lungs were when I started to play “claire de lune” on my ipod speaker for him. It was the song we had played almost nightly to him in the womb. Almost instantly he turned towards the music, calmed right down, and looked up at me as if to say “here I am dad--I made it.”

It’s hard to explain, in fact I have tried on a number of occasions and failed, but before Gabe came I almost felt like his birth would be a reunion of sorts. Certainly in our mortal existence we had never been together, but it didn’t feel like an introduction to me--rather it was that coming together after a period of separation, a reuniting of souls that had been apart for some time. Me and my buster brown together at last.

And then from birth to almost every doctor’s appointment thereafter we always heard the same refrain “Wow, he sure is a mover.” In fact his first pediatrician even said “I’ve never seen a baby move so much.” That was a pediatrician for pete sake, and not one fresh out of med school either.

Now 8 months have come and past so quickly. As you’ve seen from the blog posts, he is growing quickly, learning new “tricks” as we call them, and making us laugh daily. The one constant is still of course “Wow, this kid never stops moving.” My mother of 6 told me while feeding him a bottle and watching his leg bounce up and down non-stop “Nathaniel, I’ve never seen a baby still kick so much while eating.” He even moves when he sleeps, sometimes even violently. My sister Katie, who should have a PhD in swaddling children couldn’t even keep him contained in her “kung fu swaddle.” He just loves to move.

His other favorite activity is laughing. I am certainly biased but when this boy smiles he has a face that could launch a thousand ships (as was said of Helen of Troy). And in fact my assignment for this post from the esteemed editor is in fact showing a few videos of this little giggle. Here are a few I captured with my phone which is the reason for the poor quality.

These first two videos ar e from our recent trip to Washington D.C. Gabe was obviously a bit crazy from the long flights and little sleep. As you can see he especially loved the baggage claim.

Dayna found this little St. Louis blues remote control Zamboni (machine that smoothes the ice between hockey periods--for you non ice skating / hockey fans). Gabezilla loved trying to catch it. Oh, and for the record that's Dayna driving.

And finally this kid loves dogs. This was an area where they were selling puppies. Gabe got so excited he stuck his pudgy ankles through the bars and got them stuck. He was still laughing as the puppies came to lick and chew on his toes. NOTE: he does not have the same reaction with cats (my shameless positioning to avoid felines and get a good american dog)

That’s really it. I love this kid.

There are more videos but those will have to wait for another late night post or a more likely one from Dayna.

-Nate

AMIST ALL OF THE PAIN....

2009-09-13T19:42:00.001-07:00

With all the recent events that have happened in the Checketts household

I forgot to mention one little thing that has made a

HUGE

impact on our lives as of late...

Enjoy!

Time to start baby proofing!

CAUTION: I WILL BE RANTING!

2009-09-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

breathe dayna, just breathe.....

ok, now, calm down and just write.

I am going to tell you a story. A story that doesn't have a happy ending. A story that makes me so darn frustrated...I can't think straight!

It all started a month ago, almost exactly. 2:54 am I awoke to a terrifying scream coming from gabe's nursery. So I quickly jumped out of bed and ran to his crib not sure what to expect. He was hysterical and burning up. So, I cuddled him, checked his temperature and it came out at 103.2. Nervous, we called the doctor and they said to take him into the doctor first thing in the morning.

So, we did.

But before I took him to the doctor I called my mother in law who is amazing at diagnosing things before they happen and she said "make sure they check his ears."

So, I did.

The sad thing is, my doctor was 'busy' so we went to another doctor in the same clinic. He checked gabe and said that everything was alright, he just has a high fever and his ears are perfect. (exact words)

So, we trusted him and went on our way.

Then, about a week later (and still with a fussy baby this whole time might I add) Gabe started grabbing his ears. I didn't think anything of it because the doctor just said they were fine, so another 3 days went by. Then around 4:15 am we heard another full on cry. So, yet again I rushed into the nursery, cuddled my son, checked his temperature and it was 101.3 and his ears were really red. So, yet again I call the doctor and they said to take him in to get him checked.

And yet again my pediatrician was 'busy' so we went to yet another doctor and he said the exact same thing "his ears are just fine, but maybe rub some cream on them for the next couple days to see if it gets better."

So, we did.

Well, don't worry, I am almost finished. So, since everything seemed to be ok, besides a little fussy baby, we headed off to NYC and Washington DC this past week for a fun little "get away" with nate's sister and brother in law. As we were in DC I look down at my son and saw this:

CAUTION - NOT PRETTY!

and to top it off, it got worse!

(this will be graphic so you don't have to read)

there was blood crusted in his ear as well!

so, all I can say at this point is:

STUPID DOCTORS!!!!!!!

This is where I rant. I knew something was up, but they didn't see anything. We went back again yesterday and still my doctor was 'busy' so we went in to yet ANOTHER doctor and finally he said that gabe's ear drum burst.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

So, before I really get in to my ranting about stupid doctors and how frustrated I am with all of them, can anyone recommend a GOOD DOCTOR that is not BUSY all the time! I am in search of one ASAP and could really use someone reliable. I mean, I have no Phd but I knew more then they did....goodness!

A BOY AND HIS DOG

2009-09-08T18:11:00.001-07:00

A Boy and His Dog

Edgar Guest

 A boy and his dog make a glorious pair:

 No better friendship is found anywhere,

For they talk and they walk and they run and they play,

And they have their deep secrets for many a day;

 And that boy has a comrade who thinks and who feels,

Who walks down the road with a dog at his heels.

 He may go where he will and his dog will be there,

 May revel in mud and his dog will not care;

 Faithful he'll stay for the slightest command

And bark with delight at the touch of his hand;

Oh, he owns a treasure which nobody steals,

Who walks down the road with a dog at his heels.

No other can lure him away from his side;

He's proof against riches and station and pride;

Fine dress does not charm him,

and flattery's breath Is lost on the dog,

 for he's faithful to death;

He sees the great soul which the body conceals--

Oh, it's great to be young with a dog at your heels!

EXCITING DAY!

2009-08-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

Motherhood has its ups and downs. There are those sleepless nights; those fussy moments when you have no idea what your child wants or needs and you try everything anyway, but to no avail.

I have to admit I have had many of those nights where I just want to throw my hands in the air and throw a mini-tantrum like I used to when I was 2 years old because I didn't know what to do with gabe and I was so tired.

But then I have moments like this, moments of total and absolute bliss.

Moments where you forget about those long sleepless nights

or those days when you just don't think you can make it any longer

and it makes everything worth it.

It makes it so you actually might think about having another one

(don't get any ideas, that thought it WAY in the future!)

You think, "that is why we do this!"

Motherhood becomes a positive thing. A thing you look forward too every day. You can't wait to see him, you can't wait to hear what will come out of his mouth next or to see that smile when you get him out of the crib.

He knows you. He loves you. And it is staying that way!

THREE'S

2009-08-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

Why does everything bad come in 3's?

I mean, if they (referring to the chi in the universe) are trying to be asymmetrical then they could just stick with 1,

but no, it has to be 3

I woke up this morning wanting to check my email. I grabbed my computer, hopped back onto my bed to try to still relax a little bit while gabe was still asleep and then...nothing.

My computer wouldn't turn on! But that isn't the half of it, my BRAND NEW BATTERY of less than 3 months is DEAD! So, there goes checking my emails and my blog.

Then after that I wanted to go and buy a few things for my sister who is sick in the hospital.

So I loaded Gabe up in the car and I wasn't 2 miles away when ... BAM

no, it wasn't an accident although it surely felt like one! But no, 2 punk teenagers thought it would be funny to throw rocks at my car and it dented the side.

Oh ya, really funny.

Then, last but not least, I was trying to carry gabe and some of the things I wanted to get my sister out to the car and CRASH, they all fell to the floor

including this...

It has not been a very good day!

TRAFFIC...

2009-08-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been in traffic before?

That stand still traffic that you can literally

walk out of your car, eat dinner,

and still be ok?

Well, I was in that kind of traffic tonight

and let me tell you

IT WAS AWEFUL!

But that wasn't the worst of it

I was in that traffic

for 2 HOURS

with myself

AND GABE!!!!!

If he didn't like cars before

he won't like them now!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

The only humor in the whole night

was the fact that there was a catoring

company who got out of their car

and started handing out

fat boys to the cars around them!

I wish I could have taken a picture!