Three in the Family

This kid could play outside with the hose all.day.long. if I’d let him. Here are some photos of the happy hose sprayer and our second rhubarb harvest. (we made two delicious cobblers).

I’ve had this piece of scrap paper floating around for a couple of months with a handful of cute Gavin-isms jotted down on it. Before it’s a year later, here they are, when they’re still slightly current, although he’s not saying any of them any more. This kid moves quick.

• I’m gonna sell you to gypsies.
• I’m gonna sell you and buy a new owner. (love this one, like he’s a pet!)
• I’m gonna sell the wiener dogs.
• Usually I taste Papa’s beer. (totally not true. He’s gone through a big beer obsession lately.)
• Mama? How come you’re not a very good trier of meat?
• Parsniffs and Rutabagas. Parsniffs are not my favorite. (referring to their St. Patty’s day beef stew and all its contents.)
• When I’m this many (holding up fingers) can I drink beer?
• Mama? Why don’t you like meat? (at every.single.meal. multiple times)

He’s a funny one, this kid!

Our little Three in the Family is soon to be Four in the Family, and we couldn’t be happier about it! Baby girl or boy (it’s a surprise!) is due September 6th and I officially can no longer bend over without kneeling first. Times they are a’changing! We told Gavin the news the week after we arrived home from Costa Rica, back in March. His little face lit up and he snuggled right up to my belly. Although that was the first he’d actually heard of the baby news, he did make a couple of random comments the week before we told him, such as “mama, see that little hump on your belly? That’s a baby in there.” (I still had a flat belly at the time) And one other time he told me I had a baby in my belly. So, either he overheard a conversation or he just knows things. :) Either way, he’s had some pretty funny things to say about this new baby brother or sister of his…

• March 10th: “Maybe when that baby pops out you’ll drink a beer.”
• March 20th: (looking at some little booties that came in the mail) “Mom? What baby is gonna wear these shoes? Awwwww, that baby is gonna pop out and wear these!”
• Sometime in March: “No. I do not want that baby popping out. Never.”
• March 20: “Why is your tummy hurting? Ohhhhh, I know why. Probably because that baby is in there so much.”
• Sometime in April: (massive groan) “UUUUGHHH!” (what Gavin?!) “Why is that baby taking SO long in there?”

We asked him what he thought we should name the baby and he immediately replied “Daisy for a girl. Hofo for a boy.” Daisy hasn’t been mentioned again but he consistently refers to the baby as Hofo. I guess now it fits for either gender. Since we haven’t chosen a name, and won’t until after baby is born, Hofo has stuck as the baby’s nickname. It seems nicer than calling the baby “it,” sorry in advance future baby if your family calls you Hofo throughout babyhood. In the meantime… We’re so excited!

Oh, just a few more photos from Dozer Day that I couldn’t fit on yesterday’s post…

When I dressed Gavin in his Carhartt overalls that morning he said “Mama, what are these called? And why do they come all the way up here?” (motioning to his shoulders)

I told him they were worker guy pants and he’d need them to ride on the machines. He looked so cute.

Dozer Day was such an adventure! We parked at a park-n-ride in Vancouver and rode the bus to the rock quarry & it was a little boy’s dream come true. Sand piles to dig in, big tires to climb on, tunnels to crawl through, and tons and tons of trucks and heavy equipment to check out. The lines for riding on the working equipment were looooong so mama stood in line while Gavin and Pops explored the quarry. They found a shortish line and Gavin was able to sit in the cab of a crane and honk the horn. He was pretty excited about that! When I got to the front of the line, Scott and Gavin came back and little dude rode in the cab of the excavator. He was pretty tired by that point in the day, so Scott and I stood there laughing and watching as he relaxed in the lap of the operator. I was sure that he was going to fall asleep, but he made it through the five minute ride and then came back to join us. We headed over to ride in the big quarry trucks, which was super fun. They went really fast down a big hill and then up again, honking at the passing trucks and passengers. Gavin loved that, of course.

You know what’s funny about this? Well, lots of things. Things like yesterday when I was downstairs picking up Legos and Gavin ran down the stairs excitedly & proudly shouting “mom! I just dumped out all my stuffed animals everywhere!” And things like “look mom! I picked up all my cars!” as he dumps the freshly picked-up bucket on the floor. Or when my husband walked in the door from work just now and said (in all seriousness) “wow! The wife has been doing serious cleaning, the house looks fantastic!”

???? Life with a toddler & all his toys.

Happy Mother’s Day moms! We had a lovely day… The photos are some little snippets of our day. Scott made a delicious grilled tuna steak for dinner, blueberry muffins for breakfast and took over all the parental duties and laundry for the day. Thanks pops! The dudes picked me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and Gavin picked out a special puppy card just for me. In fact, he was so excited to show it to me that he ripped it open for me as soon as Scott sealed the envelope. :)

“Mama. Let me tell you a secret.” (Gavin, speaking conspiratorially)

“Papa likes beer.”

Camping camping is so fun, camping camping number one.

Super fun. And lots of work. And it was too hot to leave dogs in the car, so we didn’t get to eat at Norma’s, our favorite favorite beach restaurant. In fact, we ate at Taco Time in the car on the way home because G fell asleep and it was too hot to leave the dogs unattended. So, I guess we kind of celebrated Cinco De Mayo? Right?

We headed for home and there was a big sign that said “Accident ahead. Expect Long Delays.” We took our chances and sat in stopped traffic for 40 minutes, totally wasted Gavin’s nap, and then turned around when all the cars coming in the opposite direction had their hands out the window making little “turn around” loops with their index fingers. So that was an interesting 4 hour drive home on the nicest day of the year! :) It wasn’t really so bad… Gavin asked to sit in the car for “just a little more” when we got home, so I guess he was alright with it.

The last photo is the G-man when we took his sandals off upon arriving home. How proud do he look of those disgusting camper feet?!

more camping fun. Seriously the most beautiful weekend at the Oregon coast. Quite possibly ever.

Beach Life

We went camping at Pacific City last weekend. It was awesome. The sky was blue, the sun was out, the wind was INTENSE the first day, and we had some fun. Lotsa photos, lotsa photos. More to come.