Walk In the Park

This past week before everyone I know got sick with the illness that "Plague Monkey Spencer Larsen" brought around, we spent a lovely Tuesday evening with Grandma Karen, Aunt Becca, Sera, Gabe, Ryan (Who had the plague at that point.), and myself. We went to Veterans Memorial Park right by the West Jordan City Hall. It was so nice to spend our one night a week with Sera outside and playing. I feel bad that Ryan was sick but he took one for the team and spent most of the time lying on a blanket while the rest of us played.

We took lots of pictures that night. Becca loved taking Gabe the every spot at the park. And Sera, being so grown up, played with some kids her own age. I try not to hover over Sera when at the park because she would rather play with kids than with me or Ryan. But she did occasionally swing by and say hi.

This picture is of Aunt Becca and Grandma Karen pushing Gabe in the swing. As you can see, Gabe "thrilled."

And then it was Mommy's turn to push Gabe. And again...he could hardly contain his excitement.

Here we see Gabe enjoying some time in the grass. He kept trying to crawl away from us and we kept chasing him down. Just look at his bright blue eyes! If he wasn't so cute, I might not chase after him...JUST KIDDING BUBS!

And finally we have a video of Gabe and his new favorite thing: a balloon. All day we have been listening to the same squeals of delight. I secretly keep hoping that the balloon will pop but I haven't gotten lucky...yet...

Let him eat cake!

Tonight we spent the evening at my Mom and Dad's house. Mom usually does a big dinner on Sunday and so we decided to join them. It was my favorite meal: Pot roast, carrots, mashed potatoes with gravy, and salad. YUM!

I was in charge of dessert and so I went with my standby: strawberry short cake. Ryan doesn't care for more sweet stuff but he does like strawberry short cake. And while we were are enjoying our after dinner treat, my sister made the mistake of giving Gabe a taste of whip cream. His eyes got wide and he started going after her plate like a moth to a flame. He was a baby on a mission. So after we all finished our cake we made sure that our plates still had whip cream and strawberry juice and then...we let Gabe take care of the rest!

As you can see, he wanted to eat the plate along with what was on it.

Hope you enjoyed your Sunday evening as much as Gabe obviously did. Love you all!

9 Month Birthday

Happy 9 Month Birthday!!

As you can see Bubs, your 9 month picture is not like your previous birthday pics. You are not lying down and I am certainly not trying measure you. You would not have such a thing. Around our house now, if you are not standing, then you are crawling to place where you can pull yourself up. In this past month you have gone from my cute stationary cherub to a lightning-fast howler monkey of doom. And please know, I say that with all the love in my heart.

I am not sure where the past 4 weeks have gone but I can probably guess that you had something to do with it. You love taking things that you shouldn't have and either shoving them DIRECTLY into your mouth and crawling away with them and throwing them across the room. Your chubby little fingers always seem to find something the grab and then cling to with a grip I can only compare to the Jaws of Life.

You are fixated on my hair, my cellphone, my jewelry, the remote control, and about any beverage that we leave out. And of course, the more we say "No" the more you seem to want it. And once you grab it, believe you me, we have to pry your five Anaconda Strength fingers from around it all while trying to avoid getting bit by your 2 sharp teeth. And when we finally are able to force you to let go, you scream like you were just forced to look directly into the sun for five hours straight all while the "It's a Small World" song plays on repeat in your ears.



You have become stubborn and are gaining a certain amount of independence. You want what you want and you want it RIGHT NOW DAMN IT! DO NOT MAKE ME TELL YOU TWICE WOMAN! But you laugh more too. And it is becoming easier to make you smile. As you learn and grow you are beginning to see the world in a whole new light.

You are learning more and more each day. You can now wave Hi and clap your hands. You definitely are familiar with your name and know when we are talking to you. And you say "Da da da da da" like it is the only word that you will EVER need to know. Your father loves it when you say this-he feels so special. And I will admit here, that as cute as I find your babbling, I wish you would say Mama too. But I know that day is not far away.

You are growing bigger and stronger too. And are eating so much and losing that baby fat that I love. Your chubby little legs are getting more muscle and thinning out. I knew this was going to happen but it is a little sad to see them go. You are becoming a little boy and less of my tiny baby. And because of all this moving and growing, you are beginning to really value your naps which remind me that no matter how big you get, when you sleep, you will always look like my precious tiny baby.

You love exploring your surroundings. You want to climb over, crawl into, and look at everything you can. This past month you have really started figuring out your world and how things work. And sometimes this works to your advantage while other times you get yourself stuck and are not quite sure how to get yourself out.

But no matter how much you grow and how smart you get, I have realized that you will forever be my little boy.

So happy 9 month birthday Gabriel. You are crawling like mad, standing up, "talking" all the time, and I simply cannot get enough of you! You have taught me so much about love and I cannot wait to see you grow even more. Please never stop smiling at me and always continue to learn. You make me proud and have given me the best 9 months of my life.

Happy birthday Bubba!

Love always, Mommy

He's a Real Mover

Hello again Internet! Another week down and not much has been going on. I will mention that today is Ryan's 28th birthday. Sera picked out a new shirt and jeans for him. Gabriel bought him the last expansion for his Killer Bunnies game. And I bought him tickets to the CAKE concert for June 19th. He did not have to work today so he spent his time relaxing with Gabe and playing with his new Droid phone. I will admit that I am worried he's going to have an affair with his new phone.

Now that I have said all that: TIME FOR BABY PICTURES!!!

This is a picture of Bubs with a wipe on his head. For some reason this wipe was really freaking him out. And the look on his face says it all!

A little later that day we gave Gabe his first real taste of an Otter-Pop. He loved the whole thing except he did not want to hold it-I think it must have been too cold for him. I also find it FREAKING ADORABLE that his food matches his eyes.

And finally this video is for Grandma Linda, Grandpa Scott, Great Grandpa Willard, and Uncle T. Let me start by saying sorry to Linda for not getting this loaded sooner. It seems like every time I went to take video, something went wrong with my camera or Gabe started screaming. But tonight I finally got it right and I give you Bubs On the Go! The quality isn't perfect but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Much love to all our all family and friends from Montana, Utah, and everywhere else!

Big Events

This past week has been very busy for my family. With mostly fun and happy moments but also a sad one. I will start with that because I feel it is the respectful thing to do.

On Monday morning my Grandma Diane's older sister, my Aunt Ruth, passed away. I didn't know my Aunt Ruth as well as my sister or my brother did, but the moments I did share with her were often filled with laughs and fun. I mean, how can it not be fun when you hear a woman in her late 80's talking about Auto-Erotic Asphyxiation? She was intelligent, kind, and hard-working. And I know that she will be missed by many people.

That being said last week was crammed with BIG events. Starting with my sister graduating from the University of Utah with...are you ready for this Internet? HER MASTERS! I KNOW! HOLY SHIT! I am so incredibly proud of her and all the hard work she has put into this. She is smarter than she gives herself credit for. And I know that she is going to take her MSW and change lives. She truly is making a difference and is doing good in this world.



But of course this night was really about me...



And of course, it wasn't just me that was there-Gabe and Ryan came along to show their support to Becca. I mean look at Gabe stare at his Aunt Becca in awe!



And then Saturday marked a HUGE moment for my parents as they were married in the Manti Temple. I am happy for my parents to reaching this goal that at one point in time, seemed like it would never happen. I know how much this means to them and I cannot truly express how happy I am for them. They have both worked very hard to get here and that says A LOT about them.

After they were sealed in the temple, we all went to my Aunt Wynn's dairy farm in Sterling, UT. Sera enjoyed all the cows and climbing on the hay. I was worried that she was going to have allergy issues but she did just fine. She played and ran so much that she slept almost the whole 2 hours for our drive home. I only hope that we will be able to go back before she gets so old that a day on the dairy farm won't be so cool anymore.

And of course Gabe had fun too. Here we see one baby bonding with another baby. Shortly after I took this picture the cow licked his face. NASTY! He didn't seem to care about it nearly as much as I did.

And here is a picture of my family outside the Manti Temple. I know this picture is a little out of order but oh well! My blog! Sadly this is the best picture I have of all of us together that. Please forgive the blurriness of the photo. But just look at how happy my Dad looks? That right there is priceless.

Thanks to everyone for a great week! I love you all and will post again soon!

Can You Hear Him Now?

Why yes, I always buy cell phones to match my Baby's eyes.

It's Full of Lots of Brains

This was the same sweater that I brought him home from the hospital in. Yes it still fits him because my sister bought a VERY LARGE size for him. Well it mostly fits. LOOK AT THE HOOD! I put the hood up and his giant head almost didn't fit in it. And for those of you who are wondering, yes I am addicted to that smile.