High Tech Baby

Gavin loves to sit on the counter next to me when I am working/playing on the computer. He especially loves sitting up there when I am talking to Anne on the webcam! He loves seeing her and talking to her, and of course playing peek a boo with her. It is so cute. The first picture is of Gavin kissing Anne through the cam. He is so funny. One time she was eating a cereal bar and Gavin really wanted a bite and actually thought he could get one. It was hysterical. We were cracking up at him. He was opening his mouth and trying to get close to the screen to take a bite out of it.

Pucker up Annie!

Whatcha doin' mamma?

Cheeeeeese!

Pumpkin Time

Gavin and I scooped out all the gook from our pumpkin and separated and cleaned the seeds. Then we salted those suckers and popped 'em in the oven. When Gavin woke up from his nap, we had a great snack! I love pumpkin seeds, and Gavin liked them too. I think that he liked getting all gooey the best, though!

Bed Time

Daddy surprised Gavin the other day by getting into his crib at bed time. Gavin wasn't quite sure what to make of it all. After a couple of minutes he really started to think it was funny though. Now when it is time for bed he says' "Daddy, in?" and trys to convince Ryan to hop in again.

Monkey Boy

Gavin loves to eat bananas like a big boy now. It is nice because they are a great snack on the go. He can hold them and do it all by himself now!

Ridin With Grandpa

Gavin thought he was tough stuff riding in Grandpas truck. He did not want to come out when it was time.

Surprise!!

Ryan was just promoted at work so I threw him a surprise party! He was definlately suprised! He had been working at the house all day and was not looking his best, so when he walked in the door and everyone jumped out, he was feeling quite embarrassed. But after he jumped in the shower and got cleaned up, he was lovin' it. I am just so proud of Ryan and how hard he's worked and what he has gone through to get here. I know that it has been a long ride and a long time coming! I just wanted him to know that everyone is so proud of him! Both of our families came out and almost everyone from Ryan's store came out as well! It was a lot of fun and just nice for everyone to show their support! I have to send a shout out to Shannon, my coconspirator, for helping me get everyone there!

Here is all of the people from Ryan's store that came over to help celebrate!
There were so many ppl, I think that I may have cut some out!

Me and Ry - one of the few pictures of just the two of us since Gavin was born.

The cupcakes - notice the Starbucks "S"

Some of the decorations. We had lots of balloons and streamers, all in Starbucks Green.

Congratulations RYAN!!!!!

More Fall Fun

We had fun at Farmer Nick's with Grandma and Grandpa, we just had a hard time taking pictures! Gavin was so rambunctious it was almost impossible to get a good shot! We did however, manage to capture a few, but I think I took about 180 - and this is all we got! Hope your fall is going well! We are trying to make the most out of ours!

Fun at Farmer Nick's

"Paddy's" final farewell

Well, I must say, Gavin is doing much better today! He actually did great. Quitting the passy cold turkey was definately the best way for us to go. I let him know that it is gone and now he seems to be okay with that. On Saturday it took him almost an hour to go down for a nap and he was wailing for most of the day. But, by the time bed time rolled around, he went to sleep without even asking for it. Then Sunday came. . . Sunday's are alwasy hard for church going babies. He had a VERY hard time in his sunday school class and cried so hard that he eventually fell asleep. He took another nap at home and seemed to be fine, but then it was back to church. He cried a lot more, so loud I could hear him during awana. He went to bed fine again though, with out even mentioning his paddy. When he woke up this morning I went to go and get him and he didn't even want to brng his blankie along. Today he has been playing great and not even seeming to notice or remember his loss. It was a rough few days, but definately worth it!! I can now say with confidence, Our house is a passy free zone!

Hard Days in the Dobbertin Household!

Okay, I know all of you out there watching this video are going to think a number of things. You could be thinking, "What a bratty kid" or "what a mean mamma" or "she needs to spank that child" or you may even do what I do, and laugh. We are going through the mourning process for our beloved "passy" or as G says it, "paddy". He is almost two and we are potty training for goodness sake! You can't be sucking on a "paddy" when you're trying to go the the bathroom. Well, anyway, Gavin is not taking this all very well. He is really grieving. It was sad at first, but this video is only a glimpse into what I have been dealing with every day. He honestly does this for 15 min. or so until I can distract him for a little bit with something and then he will remember paddy again and start all over. Sometimes he is so worked up I wonder if he even remembers what he was crying about in the first place. Even now, he is in his crib bawling away trying to calm himself down enough to go to sleep. It really is heartbreaking at times. I just went in there to rub his back a little and he is just really devistated by this loss. It is as if someone died! All of you mothers out there who have gone through this must know that I am not exaggerating. So anyway, I had to get this on video so that when he is 16 and upset about some girl, I can tell him "this too, shall pass. Just like you got over giving up your paddy, you will get over this too!"
In the mean time, anybody have any tips to help keep this mamma sane?



Watch the Video


Oh and just so you know, Gavin calls his sippy cup his Babba still. We did tackle giving up the babba's when he turned one, but that wasnt nearly this bad! He didn't really even care about that!

POTTY TIME

Crank up the volume on your computer, because the song is the best part! This is just a funny video of the frustrations of potty training. We are far from accomplishing this difficult task, but we are trying!

US

I snapped this picture last night as we were all laying on the floor before G's bed time. He was being so cute and we rarely get pictures of all of us together. After I took the picture Ryan asked him if he was ready to go "night night". He said "night night" and got up and walked to his room and waited for us to pray with him and then put him in his bed. When we put him down he said "bye bye".

Sorry for the blogger overload. I just rarely find myself in the mood to blog these days. Things are just so busy for us right now. The house is coming along well. I will post some pictures soon. We almost have the upstairs done. The bathroom up there had to be gutted and redrywalled. Then we had to lay a new subfloor and everything. Some plumbing needed to be repaired as well. It was an ordeal. But now the bathroom is in working order - the drywall is up, the floor has been laid, the shower has been tiled the sink is in and now it is just about ready for some paint on the walls. The remainer of the upstairs is pretty much just waiting for carpet. Ryan and my dad put up all new doors and trim last week, so carpet will be coming soon. The main floor and basement are another story . . . We are getting a new furnace put in today, so that will be nice, but not much else has been done to the basement. Jason and Ryan gutted the kitchen last week as well. That was a dirty job. Some walls need to be repaired and then we will start bringing in the cabinets and stuff. We are getting the windows in early next week, too!! So that will be nice! We still have about two months before move in, so I know that everything will get done accordingly, and if not, oh well! It will all work out!

SLEEPY EDDY

It rained all day yesterday so G and I made a tent in the living room, complete with his "box bed". I put him in there and popped in a video, gave him a snack (some organic peanut butter cereal and some chocolate soy milk) and left him to himself. I came back a few minutes later and found this . . .

He had conked right out on me and it was only 10:30 in the morning! He must have been so tired. What a cutie though. He ended up sleeping in there for an hour and a half! The worst part was that I didnt really get anything done b/c I had to be so quiet so I didn't wake him up!


This is Gavin in his "sleepy eddies" jamers. These were my nephew Jacobs when he was little! It is so cute to see Gav tooling around in these!

DORK!!

OUR LITTLE DORK

A BOY IN A BOX

No matter how many toys he has, a box will always provide the most fun for a little boy! We bought this new chair from Target and the box turned into the cutest little "bed" for Gavin. He loves watching a video in there. Its been in our living room for over a week. Every time I try and pack it up, he just has to get in it! It is really cramping my style, but he just loves it so much! We'll see how long we keep it out!

more pictures

This is where i found Gavin this morning! Great hiding place!

Movie Night is never complete without a nice big bowl of popcorn!

More pictures from inside the dryer!

Pictures from here and there

Gavin Loves his big teddy bear!

Gavin having lunch with some friends (okay, so I totally staged this, but he loved it!).

I was planning on posting more pics, but ran out of time! Stay tuned, maybe

more will appear later!

Clean Machine

Gavin has inherited my "clean gene". He loves to vacuum when mamma does. We got this little vacuum and it is perfect for Gavin to use while I use to big one. I am glad to see that I am rubbing off on him!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Yesterday we celebrated my dad's 62nd birthday! Even though he is 62, he looks more like 45 and acts more like 18! My dad is special to me - as I'm sure all dad's are to daddy's girls. When I think about my dad I get a twinkle in my eye and a warm feeling in my heart. Just the thought of him brings a smile to my face. To me, he is the perfect dad. He is tender and loving when he needs to be, yet firm and strict when the situation calls for it. My dad and I have a special bond, we are naturally close. We don't have to talk everyday or know every detail of each others lives, but our relationship just flows as if we were together all the time. We dont have to work at getting along or staying close, we just do and are. We are so much a like, it is awefully scary. Niether one of us has any patience, but we both think that we are extremely patient. We are both very stubborn. We have a hard time "going with the flow" and we like things the way we like them. We have a stong sense of right and wrong and we both take much pride in our family. We both take life for what it is, and we have a hard time seeking out change. I know that some of these things don't sound like good attributes, but they are some of the things that make my dad who he is - MY DAD.
There are so many memories that I have of my dad, but none are more important then this one: The most lasting memory that I will always carry with me about my dad is seeing him, every morning with out fail, sitting at the table or on the couch or some other cozy place in our house, drinking his coffee and reading his Bible. My dad has done this every day since i can ever remember. I will always cherish this memory and know that my dad always was and still is committed to Christ. When I was in high school I can remember being convicted several times by the sight of my dad so faithfully reading God's word. It used to annoy me, but now I am so thankful to have that committed to my memory.
I love you, daddy!
Love, your little "Pooter Doot"

One Book Meme

I've been tagged by Zigger to answer this “One Book Meme”. But I haven't had much time to read lately, due to the fact that I have a toddler!

1. One book that changed your life: The Excellent Wife - I was a spoiled rotten wreck when I got married and this book helped me to realize it and change my selfish ways (Now that i think of it, maybe I should give it another go!).

2. One book that you've read more than once: Pride and Prejudice

3. One book you'd want on a desert island: My Bible

4. One book that made you laugh: a book that my best friend from high school wrote. I actaually can't even rememeber the title, but it was really funny.

5. One book that made you cry:"The Bridge to Terabithia" I read this book when I was about 10 or 11, I think. I bawled like a baby. It is the saddest book and one of the best books, I have ever read!

6. One book you wish had been written: "The fool proof way to potty train"

7. One book you wish had never been written: ???

8. One book you're currently reading: i haven't quite started it yet, but "Living Beyond yourself; exploring the Fruit of the Spirit."

9. One book you've been meaning to read: Shepherding a Childs Heart - again

10. Tag 3 others: Annie Hill, Traci Finley, Shannon Gonzales,

Zigger, sorry it took me so long to respond, i didnt realize that I had been "tagged"!

New Link

I've added a new link on my side bar - My Favorite Photos. It is just a collection of some of my favorite pictures, most of which I've taken, but not all. So, feel free to take a peek!