HoPpY eAsTeR!!

We had a very nice easter weekend. Jeff had no school or work on Friday and I had Saturday off! It was very nice. We never get a "weekend" so this was a real treat! Gavin was sick and slept through most of it! But all in all we had fun. We went to an Easter Egg hunt on Saturday! It started at 1o and we were in the car by 10:06! Sweet! It was perfect for us since Gavin was under the weather and Gage still got to hunt for candy. That day we colored eggs. Gage did great! No spilling, no crying! Gavin just cracked the eggs open then tried to eat them! Sunday the Easter bunny came! We found lots of eggs he had hid, and our easter baskets had lots of candy! The favorite toy the easter bunny brought was a bubble maker! The boys had new easter clothes to wear to church. Daddy and Gavin skipped most of church, while Gage and Mommy had a fun time learning the easter story. Gage was really in to the easter story this year. We had told it about five times by breakfast. I think that is what made Sunday so nice! Unlike Christmas, where you go crazy for 5 weeks trying to get every little thing done, stress, and stress some more, then squeeze in the Christmas story. This year for Easter there was no stress, very little planning, and Gage wanted to here about Jesus more than the Easter Bunny!
Sunday night we went to Grandma and Grandpa Curtis' house for another easter egg hunt and dinner. It was an enjoyable time. Grandma gave the boys books, which they love. Gage got a search and find book. It has kept him entertained for hours! So despite needing to give Gavin respiratory treatments every 4 hours, we had a great weekend. Enjoy the many pictures!

What we did this week

Well last Friday I took Gage to "Horton hears a who". I liked it, and so did Gage, but I know not everyone would like it. I love the Dr Seuss movies though. Gage told everyone he even got to share Diet Coke with Mom. I told him he should be letting everyone know that he drinks diet coke.
On Monday for St. Patrick's Day the boys had a very green dinner. Gavin could care less, and Gage didn't really want to eat anything that was green that wasn't suppose to be!! Gage just said, "Let's get this 17 pinches thing over with so we can get to Easter!" (St. Patrick's day is the 17th)

Gavin is walking a lot more this week. He climbed onto the dishwasher and stood up on it! He was so proud of himself!!

Gavin ended up getting sick this week, no surprise I guess. He is now getting albuterol treatments every 4 hours! How fun it is to give a baby respiratory treatments! Poor little guy. I haven't had much sleep this week! So when Gage asked me where the Easter Bunny lived I went blank! I said a bunny hole. But that wasn't good enough he needed the location! I was so brain dead, I had to texted Jeff and ask him. He said a bunny hole! He obviously hasn't slept much either! We finally decided on bunny town! So Gage says only small bunnies live in bunny town. But after some negotiating, we decided it was bunny town.

Gavin had his year check up, here are his stats:
23 pounds 4 ounces
29.5 inches long
44.5cms head circumference
his head is only in the 6th percentile
He may not be as big as Gage is, guess we'll see!

The Birthday weekend!

Well yesterday I told the story of the "birthday weekend" to the girls at work . The whole break room was laughing at my misery. I feel now that I can laugh at the situation , so I am ready to blog it. Unfortunately you can tell nurses a lot more details than you can just the average person, (we have very sick senses of humors!!), so much of the story will be left out to spare you information you would just rather not know. But that just doesn't make it as dramatic or funny for that matter!! So here it goes......

Gavin's birthday (on Friday) started out great!! We gave him a ball (which he loves!!) and a cozy coupe radioflyer which he LOVES!! So he was enjoying his gifts, Gage was having fun with them as well. All was going well. Until the afternoon, Gavin was down for a nap and I thought I'd better start making the cakes for his party. Gage decided to turn on the naughty button. So he spend the next 3 hours in and out of timeout. Which made it really difficult to pay attention to making the cakes. Needless to say I ruined one cake that was for the adults. I had tried my hardest not to buy the usual cake from Costco that we do EVERYTIME! But needless to say we had a Costco cake. The cake for Gavin actually turned out just fine, with help form Jeff. But Iwas mad a t Gage and frustrated that I had put all this time into making a cake that was a COMPLETE disaster. (Still debating whether to add pictures of it, because when I realized that I had ruined it, I put it all together anyway with out leveling it for dramatic effect!)
So I am very emotional all weekend and I am crying over the cake. So Jeff comes home, we decide to go out for dinner, than take the boys swimming. We went to Sweet tomatoes, not my favorite, but Gavin is a people watcher and he loves seeing everyone getting up and down! He had a blast, plus they have healthy options for the boys. So dinner was not bad for the Decker's. Gavin did throw a plate of peas on the floor, but I consider it a success for us. So we take the boys to the pool. I am sure you with kids know what a chore it may be to get to boys and yourself into swimming suits in a gym locker room. They are crawling around on the floor, running around naked.... it is an event. So we are in the pool, I sneak my camera in, get caught, so I don't get pictures of Gavin swimming on his birthday. We had been swimming for maybe 5 minutes at the most when Gage chokes on the water and throws up in the pool!! Did I mention he had fruit punch for dinner?! OK so Jeff tells the lifeguard. He asks us where the throw up is! Jeff is like, "well he threw up over there, but now it is every where!!" So they inform us they will close the pool down. We dart out of there as quick as we can before everyone can get mad!! So back to the locker room to redress the family! FUN! So that was Gavin's birthday! I have to admit, I think Gavin had a fine day, it was just his mother and brother that didn't have a good day. So the next day, Saturday, Gage wakes up as ornery as the previous day, and so did I. I am trying to clean my house for the party and have a complete break down! Why? I don't know. Well we go to the Gateway to go to the Discovery Gateway! The kids are having a Great time!! But the digital camera's memory card is full, and I didn't bring another. Good thing I have my SLR, until some kid grabs my lens and yanks it! Cant get my camera to work! By this point I had had it! Anyone who knows me knows I have to have pictures! So it took me a while to get the camera working again. We come home to get ready for the party!! Gage cried and fought with his cousins the WHOLE time!! I am sorry to everyone who was there, because I am well aware that it was a miserable few hours! I feel like it is a lot of work and money to have a party and it just wasn't fun! It is a real let down!
So to continue onto the rest of the weekend, on Sunday I was just sick, (this is where I am leaving out details!!) Monday, I take Gage to school, I am still sick. Gage's teacher calls, says he is sick. I pick him up and as soon as we walk in the house, I run to the bathroom, and Gage pukes all over the floor. I am a bit preoccupied myself, unable to help Gage. I come out to find Gavin playing in the puke. Whole family in the tub. I call my doctor, I have to go in and get some medication samples. Do I dare take us in the car that far? I will need a change of clothes for me and Gage! Well we brave it! I bring a bowl for Gage. He doesn't need it in the car at all, Yeah! I ask him if we should bring it into the doctors office with us. He replies he is just fine. So off we go, the second we walk into the doctors office, "MOM I'm going to throw up!!" AHHHHHH! and he did. Lovely. Then traffic is so bad, it takes us an hour to get home. I had one responsibility that day, and that was to pick up Caleb from school, which I was incapable of. What a loser I am. My parents take Gavin off my hands.(thank you!) And Gage and I go home, lay on the couch together and sleep and moan and feel yucky!! Gavin on the other hand must have felt left out, felt like he was getting enough attention, because it was on this pucky day that he started WALKING!! Little stinker!
So here is a picture or two of our weekend...... (OK maybe a roll or two, I know I get carried away!!)
The day starts out perfect...


Note Gage is happy!
The cozy coupe!!

Too tired to eat lunch, Gavin falls asleep in his highchair, he has supposedly done it before, but I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes!
Still happy!
I love balls! But now is the time that Gage began to look something like this for the rest of the day


The disaster cake! Dramatic effects added!

Gavin in his suit in the gym locker room

The next several pictures are of our trip to Discovery Gateway!! Would highly recommend to anyone!! The kids LOVE it!! Even Gavin!


Gage was so BRAVE to sit in the helicopter, he was really scared, but once inside he had fun. He said I think I will be brave today! He faced his fear!



Now back to the Decker house for the party! Gavin loves pizza!Present time!! Gage loves this Mickey Mouse helicopter Grandma and Grandpa gave him!! He walks it around the house! It is so cute!


A lot more of Gage looking something like this!



The monkey cake for Gavin to dive into!

Hurry up and sing so I can get a piece of that monkey!!

Yummy!! I love cake!

Rinse off in the sink!
Gage looking like this some more!



Well that about sums it up!
"THE END" Party poopers!

All partied out!!

Well I have yet to post pictures of Gavin's big day, mainly because I would rather forget about it for a long time. I have tons of pictures to post as well , so it will take me a while. I don't think anything went right that weekend. Although I think Gavin had a lot of fun, and that is what matters! Here are some pictures of Gavin the day after his big weekend. He is all partied out, and he has been playing with his balloons, so he has crazy hair!! Yes, he does have hair, you just can't tell because it is so fine and white! There is also a picture of Gage and Gavin going for a bike ride with Dad!

The BIG ONE!!

I can't believe my little baby is one year old. When I think back at Gage when he turned one he was much more "grown-up" than Gavin. Gavin is still my "little" baby, and for that I am truly grateful! They grow up way too quickly. This past year has been full of ups and downs as always, but we have been so blessed to have this little guy in our lives. This is how his story began...... March 7th, 2007 I wake up to go to work, I am not feeling well, but what's new? I tell Jeff, but he blows me off, because like I said I have already thrown up for 37weeks straight. I am taking Gage to Grandma and Grandpa Curtis to be babysat while I am at work. By the time I got there, I couldn't stand up straight because I was in so much pain. (this part has nothing to do with Gavin, but it sure was funny!....Gage runs to grandpa and wraps his arms around his legs and jumps on, Grandpa's pants came right down, underwear and all!!!) OK now back to the story. My Mom takes me to the hospital, they do same labs and such. Well by my labs, and by my very high temp, I obviously had an infection, they just didn't know where. So they do an ultrasound, all is fine. They decide to admit me. I call Jeff at work and say,"Im at the hospital", he says, "Yeah" like Duh you work at the hospital! I politely inform him that I am at the Cottonwood hospital being admitted. I tell him don't worry you don't have to come, we are just working on finding where the infection is. Well thankfully he decides to come. At that point my Mom leaves to go take Gage from Grandpa so Grandpa can work. The doctor tells me they are just going to watch me over night, but want to get more labs. My brother Jordan calls to check on me. I say "happy birthday little brother!, ...no I am fine, ....no I will not have the baby today..." Then the doctor walks in, well your White blood cells have doubled, I think you need to be induced. Wow! I just sent my Mom home, and I really truly can't be having a baby three weeks early right, I mean I am a NICU nurse, I know what can happen, and I truly cannot be having a baby on my brother's AND brother in laws birthday(Jordan and Jordan)!! So I call my Mom, let her know, write a list of all the things I am sending Jeff home to get. Just as Jeff is about to walk out the door, they say "the baby is in stress from being induced, we are doing an emergency c-section!! Are you joking me!! This was a whirlwind of an hour!! They say one person can be with me in the surgery, I asked if they would wait until my Mom got here, but the look on Jeff's face and the nurses face told me no. Let's face it Jeff, my Mom is better in these situations!! So despite my Mother's absence, I went for a C-section. I was bawling like a baby!! And the anesthesiologist kept yelling at me to quit crying and asked me what the matter was!!!?? So Gavin was born at 15:38, 8 lbs 4 oz!! A big fella for three weeks early!! Good thing he was early or he would have for sure passed Gage's weight of 9lbs 2 oz!! When I went to the recovery room it was so nice to see my brothers and my Mom and Gage!! I have such a great family!! So Gavin shares his birthday with Jordan and Jordan! We didn't have a name for Gavin yet, but no Jordan was not an option! But of course Gavin was not doing so well. He needed oxygen and was having a hard time breathing. So Gavin got transported to LDS hospital. Now both my boys have matching life flight t shirts!! Gavin was on a ventilator over night. Then on several different breathing machines. I know that I am very familiar with the NICU, and I knew that my baby would be just fine. But I can't begin to tell you how hard it was to see him in NICU. I was at at different hospital, I couldn't hold him, I couldn't hold Gage because of my c-section... I could go on and on about what a devastating experience this was, even though I knew he was fine. I can't tell you how incredibly grateful I am for a family that is so close. They are my rock. They took Gage, they visited the hospital, they gave me rides to the hospital, they cleaned my house. I could not have got through this with out their help! Gavin came home one week later on oxygen, he stayed on that for another 6 weeks. What an absolute pain that was!! Monitors beeping all night, pictures of Gavin with tape on his face, being stuck in one room for 6 weeks!! Gavin is doing fine now though!! Gavin was born with a crooked toe and tongue tied, but we sure can deal with those. I am lucky to have two boys who are so healthy despite their hospitalizations!!
Now a little about Gavin:
He hates socks!! I can't keep them on him for more than 2 minutes!! He yanks them off the second he has a chance. Any where we go we are backtracking, looking for socks. For all those people that have stared at me in the store thinking "why don't you have socks on that baby!" Well, we came in with two, usually more considering the strays I keep in my purse!

Gavin loves balls!! It was his first word!

Gavin has a limited vocabulary! He can say Dada, ball, gage, gagey, and ohhh
he has yet to say Mama, despite the Mama's boy he is. Gavin loves his mommy

Gavin LOVES paper, especially eating it!! I have no idea how much paper he has actually eaten, but a fair amount. He knows it is naughty and if he knows you saw him stick it in his mouth he takes off as fast as he can!! When you catch up with him he sticks his head between his legs so you can't get at his mouth. And he will not open his mouth for anything, you will be bitten several times before you get that paper out of his mouth!!(he just did it as I was typing this) And he laughs when it happens!

When Gavin gets excited he opens his mouth, sticks out his arms, twists his wrists and turns his feet and tilts his head back!

Gavin started crawling at 10 months, Gage was walking at 9.5 months

Gavin wants you to hold him while he sleeps ( no I never get anything done)

Gavin thinks a nap should last no longer than 30 minutes, despite the 60 minutes it took you to get him to sleep

Gavin has some killer thighs! Yes he gets those from his mother!

Gavin doesn't look like Gage. I think he looks like Jeff, many think he looks like me?! The look a like meter was not helpful!

Gavin loves Gage, he was extremely frightened of him the first several months, I am sure you are all wondering how that could be!! But he LOVES Gage now. Last night when I was putting Gage to bed he said, "mom I will keep Gavin" I said, "Gavin can't sleep in your bed, he would fall out!" he said, "no, not sleep with me, I mean I will keep him as my little brother!!"
So it is official, finally after one year, Gage is willing to claim Gavin as his little Brother!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAVIN!!! WE LOVE YOU!