Toad's birthday

So, for Gavin's birthday, we had a two-day celebration. The whole Shaffer clan was up and together, so we decided to have a BBQ with cake & ice cream afterwards. It was fun to have the whole family together and to watch all of the kids interact with each other. Gavin was spoiled (or should I say "much loved?") and enjoyed his b-day BBQ very much.

Opening his present from Grandma Shaffer


Loving the squishy ball he got from his cousins


These two boys are the same age and it was so fun to watch them compare notes about things they knew - space, math, science . . .

Blowing out the candles


Diggin' in


He wanted his blue sucker more than his cupcake

The next morning was his actual birthday so we got up and let him open up one of his presents. He LOVES Mickey Mouse, and I found some MM underwear at Target that I knew he would love. And, he did!! He was so excited to have MM underwear, and every morning he gets up and asks if he can wear those ones. If they're in the dirty clothes waiting to be washed, he's disappointed.

Hmm . . . which ones should I wear today?

After breakfast, we let him open the rest of his presents. At school when the kids celebrate their birthdays, they get a crown that they can wear the whole day. So, I decided to make a birthday crown for our birthday celebrations. I got a foam crown, and then glued large jewels on it. The boys thought it was awesome, and any time Gavin would take it off his head (which wasn't often that day) they would sneak it onto their head.


This monster truck sticks its tongue out when the body is lifted up, and Gavin was copying it! You can see how much he's enjoying sticking his tongue out!


He was so excited to open this present that he was just throwing the paper off

A few weeks prior to his b-day, we were at his cousins house and he found a doll with a magic bottle. He sat there for 15 - 20 minutes feeding this baby, burping her, rocking her. Sometimes he'd lay her down and walk away, then come back and check on her, so we decided to give him his own baby. He has loved this little doll!


Feeding his baby - which he named Joy

The boys had to take turns feeding the baby, too

Sitting with his loot - lots of Mickey Mouse

The baby started to fuss, so he had to feed her

We love you so much, Gavin, and are so thankful you're a part of our family. You keep us laughing and entertained, and on our toes! Happy 4th Birthday, little man!

Air Show 2009

So, in June, HAFB had an air show that we just had to go to. We love their air shows - walking through the airplanes, seeing the different eras of planes and how they've evolved, watching the stunt planes, but most of all, we love watching the Thunderbirds perform their routine and stunts.

We got to the base early afternoon, grabbed a spot to sit and enjoy the show, then Brandon went off with the boys for a bit to wander through some planes. The boys always love walking through these, and really love getting to sit in the cockpit in the pilots' seat. They always have a blast, so we've decided that anytime there's an air show nearby, we'll be going! Enjoy!

A monster truck that was parked at the entrance

Some of the awesome planes there

We watched this cargo plane take off - straight up - watched it fly around for a bit, then come land. It was pretty cool!

Me & Gavin watching the Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds in action

This plane was parked right behind us . . .

. . . so the older boys went and walked through it . . .

. . . and sat down for a minute . . .

. . . and came out totally happy!

Gavin's preschool graduation

Okay, my next several posts are going clear back to June - it's been a while since I've posted, and there are a lot of things that I haven't posted about yet. So, here goes.

We enrolled Gavin in preschool this year. The boys were in school full time, and Gavin was feeling very bored while they were gone. It was done by the high school's child development class, and he had a blast! He went four days a week, and the first day we dropped him off, he didn't even say goodbye to me! He just marched off and went to class. He loved having his own "school!"

Anyway, the middle of May was his graduation - nothing big, but it was fun to go to, and see the kids perform the songs they had learned, and to watch him get his "diploma." Since he was the youngest in class, we enrolled him to go again next spring, and he's very much looking forward to it! "Mom, after the baby is borned is when I go back to school, huh?" Enjoy the pictures!

Marching in for his graduation


He refused to wear his cap like the other kids. He had to have his cowboy hat!


Singing songs during the program


" . . . along came the alligator, quiet as can be . . ."


With his "diploma"


Getting snacks after the program. Yummy!

The finished garage

So, one of our projects over the summer was to put sheetrock and shelves up in the garage. So, Brandon has been planning, and drawing sketches, and measuring to get everything just right. His brother came over and helped him put the sheetrock up, then Brandon taped and mudded the creases, sanded the dried mud to smooth it down, then he and the boys painted the wall while I was at an enrichment activity! (Probably a good thing since I would have been a bit stressed with the boys around the paint!)

An idea of what it looked like before we started

Gavin helping "find" studs


Brandon & Jon getting ready to hang the first piece

Brandon cutting through the sheetrock for the socket opening. He saw sparks!

Hanging the last piece

Anyway, after all of that, we had a nice restful Sunday, then Monday morning, he and Gavin went and got the wood. He spent a couple of days building the shelves, modifying as he went if something didn't fit, or didn't look exactly the way he wanted. I helped make sure the 2x4's were level, but otherwise my job was errand runner, and water getter!

Brandon mudding the creases

Gavin & B with their paint project

Brandon nailing up the first 2x4

Building his shelves


The cat door he built so we don't have to leave the garage door open

After it was complete, we tore the storage room under the stairs apart and moved camping supplies and holiday decorations outside. Our house was a mess for a while, but the closets downstairs look great, as does the garage! I don't have a finished picture yet - my camera battery died, so I'm charging it up so I can get a good picture.

Thanks for all your hard work Brandon! The garage looks great, as do our storage closets!

Pictures of the baby's room

The paint looked magenta when we opened the can. Yikes!

Brandon putting the first swipe of "magenta" on


Gavin really wanted to help, so we gave him a roller and let him have at the wall!

Brandon's tall - need I say more?

My handsome hubby! He's so good to try and please me and my funny quirks


The (sort-of) finished product (after four coats of red, and two of the yellow)

Painting the entertainment center pure white

A close-up of the new carpet

The carpet as it was getting laid

Brandon initiating the carpet with the first vacuuming

Voila! That's his bedding on the floor - I wanted an idea of what it would look like in the room.

We pulled the red up and over the closet door. As for the crooked picture - I was talking on the phone when I took the picture. :)

Our "new" white entertainment center - it's SO pretty!

We have new carpet

Yeah!! For the past three days, we've worked on painting the baby's room - that's done. Yeah! A few weeks ago, there were some HUGE rainstorms here, and they flooded my MIL and BIL's basements. So, they have to get their carpet re-stretched. LaRean, recommened an old family friend to us since we're recarpeting the baby's room, so we called him and he came this morning and laid the carpet in the baby's room - for only $75! Wow!

The room is coming together, I'm feeling the baby move alot (although the boys are disappointed 'cause they haven't been able to feel him yet), and I got a three hour nap today! Much needed considering the past three days we've stayed up until midnight or later working on the room, plus I got hit in the head yesterday by Scott's bike handles as I lifted it up into the truck.

Pictures will be coming shortly, I hope. If not, just know that they will be coming at some point!

Constantly running

Sorry no new posts - we've been running and project-ing this whole month, and I haven't had time to post. Still don't since the boys are outside having a game of b-ball with Brandon and I want to go watch. Tomorrow and Tuesday, we're painting the nursery, then we have dr.'s appointments, picture appointments . . .

I might be able to post all of our goings-on in August!

For now, we're doing well, although I do keep having contractions. Nothing regular or consistent, but it does seem to happen on Sunday a lot of the time (or maybe it's because I can actually sit still for a while so I actually feel them), or when I work too much. Hmm.

Oh, on another note, before I forget, we went to Scott's dr. at PCMC for his yearly follow-up on his hand. All's well - no surgery this year. The finger hasn't grown more crooked which gives the dr. hope that the short side might actually be trying to catch up. Scott was VERY disappointed that he doesn't get surgery, but, he'll survive!

That's all for now. I need to get some cookies out of the oven. Speaking of cookies, does anybody else bake on Sundays? I love to bake on Sundays. I'll get the boys involved if I can, but if not, it's fun to sit down after dinner and share our treats. Yummy. Ooh - it's beeping!

Update on Dallin

So, Tuesday morning, they started doing all sorts of tests and monitors on Dallin. They weren't able to find anything - everything came back normal - so they scheduled an MRI for Wednesday at 11:00. Anne Marie arranged with my mom to come to the hospital and drop off two of her other kids for me to pick up- much easier for all involved; they'd have cousins to play with, and mom wouldn't have five extra kids to take care of.

So, I took off on Wednesday morning, met them down there and had lunch at the cafeteria, during which Dallin was having his MRI. They had to sedate him pretty heavily so he would be absolutely still during the scan, but he did well. After lunch, I took off with the two boys and headed home. They kept asking to go swimming, so I called Brandon on the way and had him start pumping up the pool and filling it with water. The boys were ecstatic!!

As soon as we got home, they ran and got their swimming suits on and (literally) dived right in. It was pretty fun, and we got some good pictures of the kids playing. Then, I started dinner (at the request of Spencer, I made mac and cheese).


Tanner


Braden


Spencer


Gavin

While it was boiling I got a phone call from Anne Marie. She asked if we had room for more people. At first I thought that something had fallen through with a place to stay for her other two kids, so I asked how many. "Three," was her response. The MRI came back completely normal, so they dilated his eyes to check for (something), and when that was normal, they discharged them.

Apparantely, a baby is brought into PCMC every couple of weeks with this same problem. 50% of the time, they're able to find a problem and diagnose it. The other 50% is just a "watch and see" type of situation. That's what they sent them home with. The dr. said that in his professional opinion, he'd take Dallin off the apnea monitor and just watch him closely. Anne Marie said that she couldn't do that, to which the dr. replied that as a parent he probably couldn't do that either. No kidding!!!

So, they headed up to our house to spend the fourth of July weekend. Dallin had no episodes up here, but LOVED his bath time, and of course his Aunt Nee! My positive reinforcement of telling him that he will love me is working! :) He'd reach for me, and play with me . . . He's such a sweetheart!

Thanks for the fun time, Anne Marie and Mike. I am sorry your vacation got interrupted, but I'm sure glad we got to spend time with you! We love you!