Lovin' our Independence

There aren't a lot of advantages to living so far from family but there are a couple and one of them is that on occasion, you can do whatever you want on the little holidays without worrying about disrupting any family celebrations.  This 4th of July we decided last minute to take to the road and headed up to Huntsville area, to the Bridge Street shopping area.  They've got a man-made lake that you can rent paddle boats for and paddle around.  Given the heat, we opted for the electric boat.

Each of the boys had a turn to drive.  I love Tyler's gaping expression of excitement/horror while Connor was at the wheel.

And what's the 4th of July without a few fireworks.  Not old enough to know any better, the kids were elated to twirl a few sparklers and watch a few fountains.  Zach fell asleep halfway through but Connor and Tyler were all amped up and stayed armed with their water guns til the show was over. :)

Baby Blessing

We all know babies are blessings and Zach has been no exception, even with his heart defect.  Being so far from family definitely has its disadvantages but when we heard Carl's parents were coming, we jumped at the opportunity to schedule Zach's baby blessing for the same time so Carl's dad could participate.

He was a pill for pictures after church but was nice and quiet during his blessing.  We adore this beautiful baby boy who has added nothing but joy to our already full lives.  He completes us.  We love you Zachary Perkins Gaufin.

Vacation at Home

I don't know how we got so lucky but we get all sorts of visitors.  Not long after our visit with my brother and his family, we were excited to get Carl's parents, Grandma and Grandpa Gaufin, all to ourselves for a few days.  It was a shorter visit than usual but we made sure to pack it full anyway.

Between bike rides, digging, and water parks, we splashed our way through the visit.

We even got to help celebrate Grandpa's birthday which the boys were thrilled about.  We haven't been near family to celebrate birthdays for a few years now.

Connor

Here are Connor's responses to his birthday questions.  Congrats on number 5 Buddy!

1. Favorite color? "Blue"
2. Favorite toy? "Toy cars "
3. Favorite game? "Hide & Seek"
4. Favorite tv show? "Wizards of Waverly Place" (first celebrity crush? Alex Russo, known in the real world as Selena Gomez)
5. Favorite song? "Jesus Once Was a Little Child" and "Boom Boom Pow" (Black Eyed Peas)
6. Favorite book? "The Stinky Cheese Man"
7. Favorite fruit? "Grapes"
8. Favorite breakfast? "Captain Cruch"
9. Favorite snack? "Strawberries"
10. Favorite treat? "Gummy bears"
11. Favorite thing to do? "Ride bikes"
12. Favorite holiday? "Halloween" (So true for a boy who LOVES to dress up!)
13. What do you like to sleep with? "My blanket & dog"
14. Who is your best friend? "Kyleigh Gobble"
15. What animal would you want to be? "Tiger - because they have black stripes and sharp teeth and claws"
16. What do you want to be when you grow up? "A 'missiomary'" (Missionary)
17. Who is your hero? "Spiderman - because he has sticky webs and swings from walls." (Not because he saves people...?)
18. What do you like to dream about? "Superman."
19. What do you want to learn? "Dress up and ride my bike."
20. What makes you happy? "I like it when people give me presents."
21. What does Mom do all day? "Chores"
22. What does Dad do all day? "Goes to work to make money."

What superstar children I have!  I am so happy to have this wild and energetic, constantly moving, incredibly independent, always wanting to help little boy as my right hand man.  So excited for his to start school and see all that life has to offer!  We love you Connor!!

More Birthday Fun!

We had so much fun celebrating Connor's birthday this year.  He and Tyler played out in the pool all morning while Zach snoozed on a towel on the covered patio. In his superhero funk, he requested a Captain America cake which seemed easy enough.  He didn't notice my fallacies until he made the direct comparison the next day.  He was so excited to turn 5 and it made his birthday that much more fun.

We are so proud of the boy Connor is becoming.  He received money for his birthday in addition to the thrill of a Captain America shield.  When I asked him what he wanted to do with the money he got, he told me he wanted to go to the store and buy a Captain America shield for his brother Tyler so they could play superheroes together.  What a good brother!  What a lucky Mom!

Summer?

So way back in June, before we knew there was anything wrong with Zachary, we had an awesome start to the summer.  My brother Jeff and his wife Kim and their two super cute little ones came to play all the way from California.  They are crazy.  They drove.  Straight through.  Again, crazy!

But we were so happy to see them for the first time in about 2 years.  And the cousins had a blast, ear infection and sickness aside.  My favorite was watching Connor and his cousin Skye play Kindle games together on the couch.  And I don't think I took a single picture of Toren where he wasn't smiling.  And don't worry, Carl only got away with hauling Zach down the playground zipline once. ;)

It was no fun saying goodbye but we had a great time while they were here.

Then and Now

This is a series of pictures of Zach before heart surgery and after...he's clearly a whole new kid!

So much more updating to come so stay tuned!

Tyler

I asked Tyler a few questions on his birthday.  These are HIS responses and I maintain that they are not necessarily accurate. :)

1. Favorite color? "Purple" (for the record it was dark blue last week and today it's yellow)
2. Favorite toy? "Ironman "
3. Favorite game? "Chase!"
4. Favorite tv show? "Lego Ninjago- Masters of Spinjitsu"
5. Favorite song? "Follow the Prophet" and "What Makes You Beautiful" (One Direction)
6. Favorite book? "Spiderman"
7. Favorite fruit? "Strawberries"
8. Favorite breakfast? "Oatmeal"
9. Favorite snack? "Ice cream" (Me: Uh...when do you have ice cream for a snack...? Tyler: everyday Mom.  Me: Oh.)
10. Favorite treat? "Ice cream"
11. Favorite thing to do? "Pick up toys" (Me: Uh...but you don't like picking up toys. Tyler: Yes, I do.  It's my favorite!)
12. Favorite holiday? "Saturday" (that's the day Daddy stays home)
13. What do you like to sleep with? "Baby Jaguar" (a little beanie baby)
14. Who is your best friend? "Ironman...and Zachary.  That's all."
15. What animal would you want to be? "Dinosaur.  Because I would eat other dinosaurs."
16. What do you want to be when you grow up? "Pick up toys"
17. Who is your hero? "Ironman.  He shoots bad guys."
18. What do you like to dream about? "Ironman."
19. What do you want to learn? "To ride my new bike"
20. What makes you happy? "Cheering up!!"

I adore this boy who squeezes you when he gives you a hug and says, "Mmmm!" and who says things like, "Thank you for making this [insert some food he loves] Mom.  You're the best!"  He makes me groan sometimes with all of his antics but he makes me smile much more often.  We love you Tyler!

For fun...

Tyler likes to run errands.  Connor would much rather stay at home.  On one such night when Carl was running errands while I made dinner, Connor asked if we could surprise everyone and make it fancy.  Thus, we went from a simple pancakes-for-dinner-because-I'm-lazy sort of night to Ricotta Pancakes (delish by the way!), garnished with apple slices & whipped cream, grape juice in stemware, my favorite white square plates, and a bright red table cloth with candles.  I even thickened the homemade syrup. ;)

Turning 3!

Tyler turned 3 and what else is there to do besides CELEBRATE!  He opened presents, rode his scooter, tested out his new bike, went to the splash pad at the park, hit up Chick-fil-a for lunch, and indulged in some serious chocolate ice cream and chocolate chip cookies.  (This year, instead of cake, he requested milk and cookies.)

 I can't believe how he's grown.  He is such a big boy, completely potty-trained and a total jokester.  Life wouldn't be the same without him.  Despite his independent and stubborn nature, he certainly knows how to put a smile on your face!  Such a good kid!

Happy Mother's Day to me...

It's been said of me before that my eyes are magnets for trouble.  Despite 20/20 vision, I have had more eye injuries than any other kind of problem it seems.  And for whatever reason, my injuries tend to coincide with holidays and celebrations.  Christmas, a few years back, while assembling my desk, I managed to get a small metal shard lodged in my eye and I couldn't open my eye for very long for about 2 weeks until I finally went to the dr. and they fished it out.  Of course, it was only a couple weeks later when I was assembling a new bookcase that I just so happened to catch a metal flake in the other eye.  And last year while watching a movie on my birthday and holding Tyler on my lap he threw his arms up in excitement and totally nailed me in the eye with his finger.  An emergency room trip and 3 days of recovery later, I could see again but as a result of these incidents and more I tend to receive safety glasses and other eye "accessories" from my family.

Well, far be it from me to interrupt the pattern that has been established.  That is why I could only smile, laugh, and curse my luck when on Mother's day this year Zachary threw up on me.  In my eye.

It's true that he's what they call a "happy spitter."  He doesn't really spit up though, it's much more fountain-like and projectile.  And when it landed ALL over my shirt, the couch, AND my eyeball, I wasn't surprised.  Thankfully some very thoughtful people sent me some Sharie's berries and they were delicious!  I love what the outer packaging says, "Perishable.  Once opened, contents may disappear immediately," and "Instructions: Close and lock door.  Hide behind large piece of furniture. Quietly open box. Savor and enjoy!"  Apparently my furniture isn't quite large enough because I had little helpers on either side of me with milliseconds. Regardless, it was a good couple of days and I didn't sustain any major injuries this time!

Snuggling

What can I say?  We seem to stand in line to hold him.  Sometimes I give him a bath just so I can claim a turn to snuggle the little guy.

The last few weeks

I keep saying that I feel way to young to feel way too old to be doing life with a newborn.  But sleep deprivation aside, this is one adorable little baby.  We take turns loving and doting and hugging and kissing his sweet little cheeks and occasionally we get around to doing other things like play outside and watch movies.  And given that I expect company soon, I'm thinking of cleaning my house.

 Isn't he sweet?

Thankfully the boys don't fight over him by any means.  They each jump at the chance to help him if he's crying and are quick to alert me if they think he needs a new diaper or might spit up.  For the first couple of weeks anytime Zachary twitched Connor was convinced he either needed another bottle or a diaper.

And Zachary responds really well to both the boys.  He loves to stare at them and hear their voices.  We couldn't be happier. :)

Looking Back...

Looking back I have to say that I am extremely grateful I won't be doing this again.  The 24 hr. period following the c-section was miserable at best.  I will spare you the details of that and instead dwell on the wonder of our newest little member of the family.

 Once I recovered from the first 24 hours, I was anxious to go home and join the rest of my band of boys there.  My mom was able to come out and be with us for a couple weeks and that was a HUGE blessing and help.  I'm not quite sure how I would have done it without her.  By the time she left I was able to move around considerably better but I still had to be very careful.

I don't remember the first visit of the boys.  I vaguely remember that they came by but I was so sick from surgery and anesthesia that I rely on the following pictures to "remember" their first reactions to their new baby brother.

Admittedly, Tyler asked a week later when heading out for a check up for Zachary if we were taking him back to the hospital.  I explained that we were taking him to the dr. and then we'd be bringing him home with us again because he was part of our family now.  There was some protest on Tyler's part but it soon gave way to lots of hugs and kisses and declarations of, "He's SOOOOO cute Mom!".

Welcome to the World

Please forgive us while we spend our time loving on the newest addition to our family. Zachary Perkins Gaufin joined us Thursday, April 19th at 12:46pm weighing in at 6lbs 7oz and captured our hearts from the moment he arrived.  We now spend our time holding, hugging, oohing, and ahhing over this true bundle of joy.  We will return to normal life soon and post more pictures then!  Oh, how we love him!

P.S. Due to the unfortunate timing of my cell phone's white screen of death (the day Zachary was born) it feels like we've been out of contact with the rest of the world.  We're not ignoring anyone who's tried to reach us via my cell phone, we just don't know you've called.  If you'd like to chat, we are happy to say that our home phone, email, and facebook are all still functioning! :)

Last Hurrah!

I wanted to do one last hurrah with the kids before we went from a 4-person family to a 5-person family.  The kids are undoubtedly excited for the baby's arrival so we decided to celebrate with a trip to one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Red Robin.  I thought about photoshopping the pictures together but I was 9 months pregnant and fairly lazy.  We were all there, you get the idea. :)  We can't wait to see how the new little one adds to the family as he certainly will!

Happy Easter!

We didn't neglect Easter this year although I was seriously tempted being 9 months pregnant.  Our family has arranged for the Easter Bunny to make his visit on Saturday morning so that Sunday can be focused on the Savior and His glorious resurrection.  I usually don't make a very big deal about the Easter bunny, in fact people we'd run into at the store and at the dr.'s office started asking the kids if they were excited about the Easter bunny coming well before I even pulled out our Easter decorations.

Anyway, Carl had to go on a Scout campout Friday night so I simplified things and instead of a basket full of goodies for each of the boys, I decided the Easter bunny would only give 1 basket and it would be to the family.  After the boys went to bed I filled the basket and left it on the couch for the boys to find in the morning and find it they did.  After showering in the morning, I came out to find plastic grass strewn all over the floor and the candy necklaces already half gone.  The kitchen revealed the Tyler had remembered where I put the Reese's Pieces and there was a bowl of them that had been emptied half on the counter and half on the floor.  They were pretty much wired for the entire day.  Thank goodness next year I won't be fighting the inner bowling ball and maybe I can direct the affairs of Easter a little better. :)

Touching the temple

A couple weeks ago, Carl and I had plans to go to the temple but at the last minute we had a mix-up with our babysitter and we decided to get the kids dressed up and take them with us.  We are hoping that the more exposure they have to that incredible building and the peace and blessings that it offers, the more they will understand the true treasure it is and have a desire of their own to go there someday.  Perhaps as they touch the temple, the temple will, in turn, touch them.  It has certainly touched us and we feel so incredibly blessed to live so close to one!

To learn more about LDS temples, click HERE.

Taking Care of Each Other

In addition to doing the occasional sweeping for me, when they're not arguing about whether they'd rather watch Dora or Diego, they do a pretty good job of taking care of each other too.  A few weeks ago Tyler was pretty sick. It was the typical won't-eat-won't-drink-just-lay-on-the-couch-like-I'm-dead type sickness.  Connor was a super big brother and offered to "read" him stories while I was making dinner.  It made Tyler's day...and mine!

The Beat Rock Boys - A Music Video

For the ward talent show this year we decided to participate.  To spare ourselves the pressure of a live performance though, we submitted the following.  Connor and Tyler had fun seeing themselves up on the big screen and of course showing off their dance moves.