The Dover Clan

First day of Joy School!

2012-01-24T14:06:00.000-08:00

Today was KaeLynn's first day of at home preschool that I doing with some moms from my old ward. It was so nice of them to let us join their group! Two days a week she gets together with some kids and we moms take turns teaching them a curriculum from Joy School. When KaeLynn woke up and I told her today is your first day of school, she jumped out of bed and ran out of her room saying, "I'm all grown up! I get to go to school!" Oh bitter sweet day that she is getting older, but oh so happy to have some structured learning in her day.

He Is Rolling!

2012-01-03T15:22:00.001-08:00

Yesterday morning after I fed Daniel I laid him on the floor to hang out while I went to the kitchen to cook breakfast. A few minutes later I peeked in to check on him and he was on his stomach! He rolled over and I missed it! Later that day he rolled over again for Cavan and me so I felt better. The last couple of days he has so been so cute and vocal with happy coos! Today he kept rolling over unto his stomach and then crying about it, so I would put him on his back. Then he would go right back to his stomach and then cry! It was so funny.

As 2011 Comes to an End

2012-01-01T20:52:00.000-08:00

December was a crazy month that went by way to fast! Daniel has changed so much! Ever since I totally went off of dairy, he has become such a happy baby! On Christmas day even started laughing! Daniel is sleeping through the night and I could not be happier. He is almost 4 months now and started sleeping 8 hrs at night when he was 9 weeks old. I love this stage that he is at now. KaeLynn is such a good sister. She loves to talk to him and rock him in his car seat. This Christmas was great. We did so many things with Cavan's family especially since his sister Michelle and her family moved to Kentucky the day after Christmas. We had a Christmas with my sister Kea at our house. She brought over her new puppy St. Benard! So Cute! My brother Brandon got me Zumba work out which I am in love with! Cavan got a shirt that really "fits" him well! Then for Cavan's and my 6th year anniversary he took me to see the horse show Cavalia. He actually surprised me which he has never done before! It was so beautiful! Then for my birthday he got me a Wii with a Zumba game! I have been in Zumba heaven! I finally get to have dance back in my life. He also got a shooting game (of course :) that is also fun. Then on Christmas Eve we drove to the Coast to see my family and had a good visit with them. Christmas day Cavan's brother blessed their new daughter Coralei. She was so adorable in her dress! KaeLynn got a ton of presents. She really enjoyed that every place we went there were more presents to open. Then the day after Christmas we went to Zoo Lights. It was cold and Daniel did not enjoy it most of the time, but we made the best of it. When we got on the train our whole cart was singing Christmas Carols! It was so much fun! Then for New Years Eve we went to our friends the Freys. Ate yummy food, played Zumba, and soaked in the hot tub. We actually stayed up until midnight, even the kids! Then all of the sudden today for church my little girl grew up and is now a Sunbeam! I can not believe she is old enough to go to Primary. This year has been such a good year for us. We have really grown and I look forward to what this new year has to bring us. Well I think that pretty much sums it up! :)

A Great Day

2011-11-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

Today was absolutely gorgeous. Perfect temperature outside, beautiful leaves, not windy, and the sun shine. We had a great time playing in our yard today! I love days like these!

Daniel is starting to suck his thumb. He shows more interest in his thumb then his binkie. He will take his binkie sometimes, but almost always spits it out a few minutes later. This is a lot earlier then KaeLynn started sucking hers. We will have to wait and see if he sticks with it.

Daniel is also smiling now! He just melts our hearts away every time he gives us a smile! We just adore this kid! He started smiling around 6 weeks. He is now 2 months old! He really interacts with us when we talk to him. He is so much fun.

Fun in the Fall

2011-11-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

Fall is going by so fast! We have had beautiful Autumn days and some good times. Halloween we spent at our friends house. We ate pizza, made caramel apples, watch Hocus Pocus, and caught a stomach bug! LOL thanks Jeremy! :) Ava and KaeLynn were so excited to go trick or treating. They stayed out for an hour in a half! KaeLynn was so cute in her Elephant outfit!
We also went to the Trunk or Treat at our ward. She played games, got a pumpkin painted on her face, and got lots of candy!

The fruit loop this year was fun as always! We ate lots of yummy food, got our pumpkins, and just enjoyed being with a family in a beautiful place. This is my favorite tradition we do in the fall. It is so lovely in Hood River!

Carving Pumkins

2011-10-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight we carved our pumpkins over at Nana and Papa's house. Only KaeLynn and I carved our pumpkins and we are going to draw faces on Daddy's and Daniel's later. I let KaeLynn draw on her pumpkin what she wanted me to carve. It is very interesting... We had a nice night together and look forward to Halloween!

Family Home Evening

2011-10-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

We just love our new place. We especially love having a fire place. This week for family home evening we roasted marshmallows on the fire and made smores. It was so nice to have the TV off and just sit next to the fire. It is so warming and the smell and sound of the fire is perfect. I love these moments where you wish it could stay that way forever!

Some more pictures

2011-10-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

Daniel is 4 weeks old now! He likes to sleep a lot during the day of course and is right on his feeding schedule at night! I am SO tired! He is starting to have more wake time during the day and every once in a while he gives me 4 hours in between feedings at night.

KaeLynn is so sweet to Daniel. She loves to put blankets on him and read him stories. She is so eager to pick him up already.
KaeLynn just LOVES all the new stuff that Daniel gets. Especially a fuzzy blanket that she says she knows it's Daniel, but she has to sleep with it now and carry it all around the house.

I feel so blessed to have these angels in my life. I love being a mother and I am so thankful that I can stay home with them during the day.

We got on video the other day Daniel rolling over while the guys were at Priesthood session. He is 3 weeks old in this video and rolls from his stomach to his back.

My two sweet children side by side

2011-10-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some Photos of our kids at about the same ages.

KaeLynn

Daniel

KaeLynn

Daniel

KaeLynn

Daniel

KaeLynn 1 week old

Daniel 1 week old

KaeLynn 1 week old in Cavan's outfit when he was a baby

Daniel 2 weeks old

Baby Brothers Arrival!

2011-09-09T18:21:00.001-07:00

We are proud to announce the newest member of our family, Daniel Bradley Dover. He was born at 12:43 am September 8th 2011 at Mt Hood Legacy Hospital. At birth he was 7lbs 9 oz and 19 1/2 in long. He is so precious and snugly. We just can't get enough of him! Here is how Daniel's arrival happened. On Tuesday I was feeling a ton of pressure down there and was very uncomfortable all day. I had a feeling the labor would be soon. The next morning I started to have contractions that were uncomfortable enough to keep me from sleeping. I finally got out of bed at 6am. I took a bath, made breakfast, cleaned the kitchen and the contractions were staying. They were not regular though. The time between contractions would go anywhere from 12 mins apart to 3 mins apart in random order. I took a nap around 2:00pm and when I woke up the contractions were much stronger and staying in between 4 and 6 mins apart. At 8:00pm I decided that I wanted to check into the hospital to get in the tub because I was having a hard time relaxing. I was only at 4cm when I check in. I got in the tub at 9:40pm. It relaxed me so much the contractions really started coming more intense. Once they started stacking on top of each other with no time between I had had enough! I made the decision to get an epidural this time. I had such a horrible experience with my first labor and I was realizing that this was not how I wanted this labor to go. I got the epidural at 11:05pm. I was at a 6cm by this point. I was laying in bed and I started to feel a lot of pressure down there. After the 3rd time of feeling like something was coming out of me I told the nurse. My midwife came in and to all of our surprise my bag of water was coming out still in its bag! It had never broke. It was the weirdest thing ever! She moved the bag to the side and there was Daniel's head. She broke the water and 1 big push and a little push later he was out! I didn't even tear!! This time around I was only at the hospital for just under 4 hours by the time I had him. It was perfect. I am so happy with the way this labor went. It was a much happier experience and I don't regret any of the decisions I made.

KaeLynn was really unsure of us when Nana brought her to the hospital. All she wanted was for Nana to hold her. After a while she slowly was warming up to him. She started taking his blankets and hat off and wanted to look at every piece of him. It was real sweet. She even brought a little stuffed dog for him. She came again to see him and was much happier to see him the second time.
Daniel was having a real hard time nursing. We have been working with the lactation consultant and she has been real helpful. He is on the border line of being Jaundice so we are really working hard to get him to eat. We also are waiting to get him circumcised because that can also effect his eating. I have been so happy with Mt Hood Hospital and all their staff. They have really helped me feel taken of.

Last camping trip of the summer.... Sigh

2011-09-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

Labor day weekend we had a lot of fun. The weather was beautiful and the kids were great, and when they have fun that means the adults have a good time too!

KaeLynn, Eddi, and Leanne played at the large playground at the Hideaway. This place is loaded with fun things to do. KaeLynn got so dirty and had her only accident the whole weekend. She did amazing with her potty training this weekend. I was really worried, but she has come a long way.

I am now going on 39 weeks. I had a few contractions this weekend. Nothing serious and they went a way once I put my feet up in a chair, ate some food, and drank plenty of water.

Our set up on the waterfront was great. The water was really shallow where we were so we didn't have to worry about the children. Only down fall is the prop hit some rocks and damaged it for the rest of the weekend. Bummer! We still had fun. I couldn't play on the boat anyway.
It seems silly to say this is the last camping trip. That is how it usually is because summer weather is supposed to go away. But this week it is going to be in the 90's! Maybe I will have this baby and will be in a nice air conditioned hospital! Lets hope!!

Daniel's Baby Shower

2011-09-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

My Wonderful sisters and mother in-law put on a baby shower for me last night. It was nice evening with my friends and family. Everyone was so kind and I got some much needed diapers, boy clothes, and blankets. We had a chocolate fountain and de

licious food to dip. Then Cathy brought out a chocolate and mint ice cream cake roll that was scrumptious! My oh my I look so swollen in these photos!! I had my 38 week check up that afternoon and everything looks to be going fine. I am even dilated 1cm! WooHoo!! All I need to do now is organize the baby clothes and then I am ready for this little man to enter the world. Oh I still need to pack my hospital bag. We are going to the lake this weekend, but I don't plan on playing on the toys. I will let Daniel come when he is ready. I hope the next post will be announcing his birth!

Cavan and KaeLynn Birthdays

2011-08-28T21:09:00.000-07:00

This year we celebrated KaeLynn's Birthday early because her birthday is so close to the baby's due date. We celebrated Cavan's Birthday late because me moved on his birthday. And her cousin Celeste's birthday was on Sunday so we decided to combine them all together. It was a lot less stressful that way and KaeLynn did not seem to notice any different. We had a pretty good size pool in the back yard with a little water side that the kids had a blast in it! It was perfect for all the adults because we got to relax in the back yard and eat while they all played. Then Michelle made these really good ice cream cake rolls for the birthday cake. KaeLynn had so much fun with her cousins and friends. I can't believe she is turning 3 years old in a few weeks. She is such a sweet girl with such an outgoing personality. She sings all the time and actually knows the words to the songs. She will belch it out loud and clear when she feels like it no matter where we are. In Sacrament meeting it is the hardest. I feel bad for telling her to be quite because she really is so adorable and she is not being bad. But it is quite distracting for others sitting around us. She is a very smart girl and I plan on putting her in preschool probably in January. She loves animals real and stuffed along with baby dolls and nurtures them with so much love. She is going to be a great big sister. She is also the mother when around her friends. Always telling the kids when they are misbehaving or telling them how to act. It is very funny to watch. She is still a snuggle girl and loves her blankie. She has adapted to a smaller version of blankie which is very helpful. We are also trying potty training again. We are making progress, but it still is such a battle. She loves her family so much and ask daily to see her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I love this girl so much and I am so thankful that I have the privilege to her mother.

Mt Hood Railroad

2011-08-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

This year Regency took their employees to the Mt Hood Railroad for a train ride. This was my last official event I had with this company. I quit on Tuesday and we moved back to Gresham. I could not be happier. It is such a relief to not be managing anymore. We feel great about our decision and I look forward to finally being a full time stay at home mom. The train ride was great. KaeLynn and Javen thought it was the coolest thing ever. The scenery was beautiful. The train was mobile as it swayed back and forth and I thought it would make me sick especially being prego but I did fine! Then the had these "robbers" come and steal out fake money. One of the robbers really like KaeLynn and let her keep her money. I don't blame him. Who can resist that cute face? He did steal some of her goldfish snacks and later at our lunch BBQ he stole one of my cherries! It was a nice day and I am really glad to end my job with Regency on a good memory.

Dover Family Pictures 2011

2011-08-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

Here are a family pictures for this year. All the kids did surprisingly well. It was nice to have all the family together.

Camping at Mcgiver

2011-08-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

We actually went on a camping trip that was not at Lake Merwin! We went to Mcgiver Park with Cavan siblings. It was so much fun and the weather was so perfect! I love nothing more than to relax in a camp chair outside in the beautiful outdoors, let the kids play in the dirt, read a good book and eat, eat, and eat!!! We went bike riding, hiking, and played in the river. The kids had so much fun. Cavan and his brothers also started to catch crawdads in the river and the kids loved it! Then we took them back and cooked them and some people at them. I was not interested. KaeLynn fell asleep on the way home and when she woke up and we were in our parking lot at home, she started crying "I want to go camping!" It was so sad! I forgot my camera so I got a few pics from Michelle to help us remember the wonderful weekend we had.

Zoo Trip summer 2011

2011-07-19T21:37:00.000-07:00

Today was the day we went to the zoo. KaeLynn was waiting for days to go! She kept saying she was going to see the whales and kangaroos! She did an amazing job for not having a nap. We were so lucky to have daddy meet us at the zoo. He was able to get off early which was a huge help for me because I was having a hard time walking around so much and lifting her up to see animals. My back and legs were killing me. That is just the joy of being pregnant! We went to see the birds and you can buy a cup of nectar and feed them. Right when I walked in, this bird immediately look me in the eye, made a sqwaking noise and flew to my hand. Then he just started drinking away. It was so fun. KaeLynn was okay with the bird as long as I didn't bring it to close. By the end of the trip I was so exhausted. We went home and had a short nap before we went back to the Dovers for dinner.

Beach Trip

2011-07-19T21:04:00.000-07:00

Cavan's brother Mike and his family are in town for a week. Our week has been so busy and so crazy. One of the things we did was on Monday was a day trip to the coast. We started our day in Tillamook and had ice cream for "brunch". KaeLynn really enjoyed seeing the factory and of course the ice cream! Then we went to Cannon Beach and played in the water. The day really turned out to be beautiful. The kids had so much fun in the water. They went at it full force! Cavan was very happy to be able to fly his kite. He bought it last year, but it was too windy to fly it. So this was his first time to actually fly it until it broke. We ended the day in Astoria. We ate at the Wet Dog and had my dad and grandparents meet us. We had a HUGE group! Then to work off our dinner we went to the Astor Column. KaeLynn had no problem climbing all the way to the top and she loved being up there! The view was so beautiful especially with the sun setting. The day went so well and I really look forward to do it again!

4th of July 2011

2011-07-19T20:56:00.001-07:00

We went to Corbett again this year. We had everyone there and the kids had a blast! The weather was nice this year! The fireworks were amazing and we had a great time.

Sunset Falls

2011-07-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

Last weekend My sister Kea, and Ro'l and I went to Sunset Falls. It was such a beautigul day and the kids (KaeLynn, Javen, and Leanna) had such a blast and were so good. Cavan and the guys went to the Lake to help his parents redo the roof on the lake house, so I had to do something to entain KaeLynn. Summer feels like it has finally begun!

Starlight Parade

2011-06-06T20:20:00.001-07:00

This year was the first time we took KaeLynn to a parade and she loved it! The loud music and cousins running around having fun is her kind of place. The weather was so perfect that day. Our first 80 degrees of the year! Kyle ran the 5k fun run. I was really missing out on running. It will be real exciting when Roy'l and I run it next year. We are already talking about costumes to wear. We left early and still didn't get home until 11:30pm.

Multnomah Falls

2011-05-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to Multnomah Falls with my sister Kea, Danny, Hailey, and my brother Brandon. Our good friends the Freys also came along. It was a good day to hike. We ate our picnic lunch and then hiked all the way to the top! We brought KaeLynn's stroller because we knew we would end up carrying her. It was tough pushing up the stroller, but when KaeLynn is happy we are happy! Well, I only pushed for a bit, but it was hard! In these pictures I am almost done with my 5Th month of pregnancy at 23 weeks. Hiking is one of my favorite things to do and I would do it every weekend if I could! I am so glad we had family and friends to go with.

Daddy's Clothes

2011-05-03T16:14:00.000-07:00

Cavan has this new habit not putting his church clothes away after church. Well this morning KaeLynn found them and wanted to play dress up. My poor attempt of tying the tie is pretty sad. Cavan had tried to teach me how, but he so picky that I can not make his "windsor tie". KaeLynn tied my tie and I think she did great! She loves to button up buttons and put on clothes. It was real cute!

Baby Cake Celebration

2011-05-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

We decided it would be fun to find out the sex of our baby by having our family around as we cut a cake to reveal the gender. It was such a fun way to find out! At my ultrasound, I ask the ultrasound technician to write down in an envelope the gender of our baby. I then gave the envelope to a women in my ward that makes fantastic cakes. She then would die the cake the color of the gender. Blue for boy, pink for girl. Well, it was blue! On the outside of the cake it read "Twinkle twinkle little star, soon we'll find out what you are." It was so nice to have family around to share our wonderful news.

It's a boy!

2011-05-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

We are having a boy! We are so excited! We know his name will be Daniel, but we just have to come up with a middle name. I am measuring right where I should be and everything seems to be going fine. He is moving a lot now! I am really like the stage of pregnancy I am in now. I am comfortable, not as tired, and not nauseous! I could stay here for a while! We look forward to having our little Daniel be apart of our family!

Easter 2011

2011-05-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

Our Easter started on Saturday with a beautiful sunny day. We went with the family to Woodvillage to do an Easter egg hunt. The Easter Bunny showed up in a helicopter so it was a pretty big deal. Then the hunts were split up into age groups. KaeLynn's group was such a disappointment. The area was so small and they asked the parents to not come in. To only allow the children. Well, no one listen and the place was completely crowded with adults. The whole thing lasted about 30 seconds and KaeLynn only got two eggs. Oh well! At least it was a gorgeous day. Then on Sunday we had a wonderful Easter dinner with the family. Then the kids had a real chance at getting some eggs. That week we also had a really good Family Home evening on the meaning of Easter. KaeLynn really didn't understand, but she enjoyed watching the movie about Christ being resurrected.

Potty Training Bear

2011-04-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

KaeLynn has been doing really well with potty training. We have had few bad days, but then she surprises me and does awesome the next. I can tell she is more confident, especially because yesterday she was potty training her Bear. This Bear she has had since she was born and it is one of her favorite stuffed animals. She dresses him in her clothes. Puts diapers on him, and cooks him food from her play kitchen. Yesterday I walk into her room to hear her saying "Bear, it is not okay!" I ask her what happened and she was "cleaning up the floor" because she told me that bear pooped on the carpet. She "cleaned" up his mess he made, wiped him down with a wipe, and took him to sit on her little potty. She then told him to use the potty. After a minute, she pushed him aside to show him how it is done. She went and then decided that she would share her candy she got for going potty with him. I am so proud!

Pregnany update

2011-04-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

I am 17 weeks pregnant and this morning I felt the baby move! I feel so much better than I did. I am still sensitive to vegetables. I have to disguise them in my food and smoothies. I am slowly starting to eat them raw which is better then when they are cooked. I am still able to run! I am much slower than I used to be. Roy'l and I used to run 3 miles in 30 minutes easy! I run for 30 mins only so if I don't get 3 miles in I still stop. I am not as tired and don't fall asleep on the couch right after KaeLynn goes down. I still need naps every once in a while. My anatomy ultrasound in on the 29Th. We are so excited to find out the sex of our baby!

Potty Training

2011-04-12T14:37:00.001-07:00

Potty training has begun! We started yesterday morning and it was not fun! Once she finally went on the little potty and got candy afterwards, I could see that it finally clicked with her. Since yesterday afternoon she has been doing great. She does the best when she has no pants or underwear on. She seems to be more aware that way. This morning she actually went poop on the potty twice! I was dreading the pooping part because I know it can be the hardest transition for them, but she did so well. She didn't even tell me that she needed to go. She just went by herself. She was quite shocked afterwards and seemed to be be quite disgusted. I was also grossed out. I almost lost my lunch! I know we have a long way to go, but I am very proud of her for her progress so far. Another big girl transition she did was today at the park. It was so beautiful outside that we took a break from potty training and went to play! All of the sudden she didn't need me anymore to do things. She climbed up the bars by herself, went down the big slide by herself, and was so confident and doing what Javen was doing. I was so shocked! She is just growing up so fast!!!

St Patricks Festival

2011-03-21T13:57:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we went to Edgefield at McMenamins to the St Patrick Day's festival. We mainly went because it was free and we didn't have anything else to do. We went with our friends the Freys. Ava and KaeLynn really loved dancing to the live band! KaeLynn loves dancing any way, but it was even more exciting with a huge audience. We watch Irish dancers, ate food and just killed some time. The kids really enjoyed themselves.

I am Pregnant!

2011-03-05T08:17:00.002-08:00

Baby #2 is on their way! I am now 12 weeks along. This ultrasound picture was taken at 8 weeks. So far this pregnancy has been different in a lot of ways. I have felt more sick. Not throw up sick, I was just nauseous all the time! I am finally feeling better now and have been able to start cooking again! I also started showing a lot faster then my first. I was shocked! At 6 weeks I could see my stomach already getting pudgy! I have been very tired going to bed around 9pm every night and that is with taking a nap the same day. I have also been very emotional. My poor husband. Sometimes I think he is worried he married a crazy person! KaeLynn has no idea what I am talking about when I try to tell her I have a baby in my tummy. When I told her again the other day she look at my stomach and said " take it out!" She is going to be a great big sister. I am so excited and so thankful to be blessed with another child.

Sledding at Last!

2011-02-24T13:18:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we drove up to Mt Hood to go sledding! Casey and Roy'l came with us. We also invited the missionaries in our ward and they invited some more missionaries so we just had a huge group! KaeLynn at first hated being there. The first half of the day she would cry and whine and just wanted to play in the truck. After we had lunch we took her out again and put her on a kid sled and let her go on the bunny hill. After the third time she was finally starting to see that it was fun. She really enjoyed it once Javen and her would go down the hill at the same time. The last part of the day was much more fun. KaeLynn really started to enjoy herself and finally would play in the snow. Javen is such a dare devil! He was not scared of anything. I think he went higher up on the big hill then I did, but I am also a scaredy cat. Maybe that is where KaeLynn gets it from. The missionaries had a blast, and for some of them it was the first time they saw snow. I was happy to finally go to the mountain. I hope we have time to go again before the season ends.

KaeLynn moments are sweet

2011-02-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

This morning I needed to do laundry and her blankie was in need for washing. I explained to her that I needed to wash her blankie so she knew it was coming. Her blanket was about half way down inside the basket and she had dug out a little corner of it to the top so she could have one last moment with blankie before it was washed. I walked in to her hunched over the basket, sucking away on her thumb like it was the last time she ever would again. It was quite adorable. When I broke her away to go to the laundry room, she said "Bye blankie! See you in a few hours!"

Another sweet moment with her was the other day Cavan and I took KaeLynn and Wilson out to play with Cavan's Rc cars. KaeLynn wanted to go off on a walk, so I let her just go with me following. Once we got over this little hill she saw this huge open field of just grass and trees. She said, "Wow! Look at that. The most wonderful things!" She amazes me everyday and I am so thankful for all the joy she brings into my life.

Old town San Diego

2011-01-17T14:22:00.001-08:00

Cavan and I had a few hours to kill before our flight home so we spent it in Old Town San Diego. This place has such a unique feel to it. Amanda and I went there when they had their Saturday market going. We were so close to the Mexican border and it felt like we were there! Well I have never been to Mexico, but I could still feel the culture. We went to the Mormon Battalion Museum and learned about the 500 that were enlisted to fight in the Mexican war. I learned a lot a neat facts. I could spend all day in that town if I had time. I really enjoyed our time in San Diego and I hope we have future meetings there!

Disneyland!

2011-01-17T14:10:00.000-08:00

When all the meetings were over it was time to play! We went to Disneyland and California Adventure. If you ever have the chance to go with out your kids I highly recommend it! It was so fun to be with Cavan and just run around and do what we wanted on our own time! The wait for rides was not bad because it was January and it wasn't hot. Cavan was a trooper and took Chase on some rides so Jonathan and Amanda could go on some rides too. At the end of the day we watched the World of Color. This was such an amazing show and a good way to end the day.I was so exhausted when we were done! Luckily our flight to go home the next day was in the afternoon because we got home late and I needed to sleep in! Of Course Cavan can find a shooting rink at Disneyland!

Beach Activites and Graduation

2011-01-17T13:51:00.001-08:00

Every year along with their meetings, they have a graduation ceremony for the rookies. This year the ceremony was on a boat. We got to eat out on Mission Bay! It was quite the experience! They also give out plaques to any Carmedics that have earned one for all their hard work. They put them into categories of how much they bill out for that year. Cavan received one for the first time! I was so proud of him. This was one of our goals that we wrote down last year and he actualy did it! This will be Cavan 6th year doing Carmedic. I love that he loves what he does and I am so proud of him for the progress he has made. He is bringing on a partner this year. I can't wait for him to grow with his business even more! We had the team bonding activities on the beach again this year. Cavan was red team this time. This is when all the wives sit back on the beach, talk and watch their husbands make fools of them selves. It is quite funny! The red team did the best this year and won over all!Cavan was chosen to do the ABC's contest. All they had to do was sing the ABC's the fastest and my husband won! Oh he makes me so proud!

Sea World

2011-01-17T13:15:00.000-08:00

This year for Cavan's Carmedic annual meeting we went to San Diego CA. This was the best place we have been to so far for a Carmedic meeting. I fell in love with San Diego! There is so much to do there, and I love the sunshine! Our first day in San Diego we went to Sea World. It was only about 3 miles from our hotel. This place was very fun! We saw all kinds of animals.

Our good friends the Porters are also in Carmedic and we really enjoyed hanging out with them again. If I wasn't with Cavan then I was always with Amanda. We had a blast together! The Shamu show was the best. These animals are so amazing! You can kind of see in this picture that not many people sat close to the pool because it was the soak zone and it wasn't that warm to get wet. The people that were brave enough really got soaked! It was funny as long as it was not happening to me. The dolphins were so cute! It was really hard to get a picture of them because they move so fast. They had a new show that they did with birds and acrobats with the dolphins. It was very cool to see. Then we went to the shark exhibit where you get to walk through a tunnel made of glass and feel like you are in the water with the sharks! Very cool!

Then there was the sea lions show. They were cute too and they had the most funny actor for the show. He was hilarious with all his dancing and jokes. Together they put on a real good time.

Then we went to the "Pets Rule" show. This was so adorable! This show was your average house pets that did a bunch of tricks. They even had house cats that were trained and would chase the dogs! It was hilarious!

It was such a fun day! This year KaeLynn stayed home with Nana and Papa. I know that when she is older she would love to see a show like this.

Big Belly

2011-01-02T20:31:00.000-08:00

Tonight KaeLynn had decided not to eat her dinner again, and after her bath she was complaining how she wanted cookies because she was hungry. As she was pouting she stuck her belly out and it looked HUGE! At least I felt better because I could see that were clearly not starving her. She loved the attention Cavan and I were giving her because we were laughing so hard and started posing for the camera.

Gone Shootin

2011-01-02T20:15:00.001-08:00

This weekend I actually shot a gun. I had fought with Cavan for years about him getting a gun, but I slowly became more open to it. The world today is becoming more dangerous, and I do believe that we have a right to protect our family if it came down to it. We also have a really cool safe that will only by Cavan's or my finger print. Cavan has been wanting me to take a class and learn how to shoot a gun for a while so this weekend I finally did. We actually went as a family. My first reaction was "No Way am I taking my daughter shooting!" But we were going with another family that has taken their kids before and assured me they would be fine. Once I got there I totally agreed! The shooting range is clearly marked. One side is where you shoot your guns and we were on the other side and set up a little "camp". We had a propane heater, chairs, and our camping burner and boiled some water for hot coco. The kids really enjoyed themselves and KaeLynn played in the truck the majority of the time. One couple would go shoot while the other couple stayed with the kids. It really wasn't bad and it was very exciting shooting the gun. It was very cold outside so we did not stay long. All I need to do now is sign up for my class so I can properly be trained.

My KaeLynn

2010-12-27T21:18:00.000-08:00

KaeLynn got a tutu for Christmas from Nana and Papa. She was wearing the tutu around the house and dancing. This girl loves to dance! I am so glad because I love to dance too! Daily she ask for the "music on" so we can boogie together. She really has great rhythm. I hope she will want to dance in the future in ballet or whatever she chooses. She also got this really adorable Adidas outfit from my dad. We went out to lunch today and she was standing by the window posing for us. I swear she could have been a model for Adidas in this outfit! She was so CUTE! KaeLynn is so much happier now that she is feeling better. It is fantastic! I know I am gloating about my daughter, but I can't help it. Every parent will say this, but I have the cutest kid in the world!! What do you think? Do we have a young star on our hands?

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T21:20:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! This year we spent Christmas at the coast again with my family. Santa brought all of KaeLynn's gifts to my dads house so she got to open a lot! KaeLynn had so much fun opening presents this year. She was so excited and eager to open each one. She got a few baby dolls with a lot of accessories. She ADORES them! She also got a little baby crib to put them in. She is such a good little mommy! She also got a bumble bee pillow pet. Instantly she was in love. Every morning now she asks for it. This is in addition to her two blankies. So she comes out of her room with her hands full! Her exact words are "Pillow pet please". It is very sweet. We then drove to Gresham to be with Cavan's side of the family. A lot more presents were there and KaeLynn's cousins to run crazy around the house. We had a lot of fun eating, watching movies, and playing games. It was a very good Christmas. No one sick this time. Well, Cavan had a slight soar throat, but no sinus infections or ear infections! Yipee!!!

My Sweet Angel Girl

2010-12-21T18:42:00.000-08:00

My poor baby has been through a lot this last two weeks. She first started with a cold. Then she told me that her ears hurt. This was horrible timing because we are in the process to adding her to our health insurance. The application process has taken weeks and she is still in "Admission". So I was treating her ear infection at home. She seem to get back to her happy self real quick. But then on our anniversary she woke up and puked. She has never puked before and handled it very well. The poor thing puked 7 times that day so our reservation for the Melting Pot had to go. After the flu passed she woke up with pink eye! So I was treating that at home as well. But then she starting becoming a Real monster. I mean way more than a toddler does and she was not sleeping or eating well. So we decided that we will have to just pay for this doctors visit out of pocket. Turns out that she still has an ear infection, an irritated throat and her eye is still not completely better. I felt HORRIBLE! I am so happy to have some antibiotics for her now, and look forward to sleeping again.

Three Birthdays In One Night

2010-12-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Cathy, Eddi, Adam and ME! December is a huge Birthday month for our family. We decided to celebrate all of our Birthdays tonight, since the rest of the month is very busy for all of us. There are Relief Society dinners, Ward Christmas dinners, The Dover Family Christmas party, and our anniversary just to name a few. Man I was born in a crazy month! Michelle made this awesome cake for us that I found on a blog that my sister in law Brooke told me about. Adam lives in Utah so he was not here for the celebration, but he was definitely in our hearts! We had a yummy baked potato bar and played Uno while the kids ran around and destroyed the house. Wow I will be 24 this year! I am grateful for everyday that I have and look forward to so many more!

Holiday Feast

2010-12-11T21:21:00.000-08:00

This year my sister Kea and I decided to do a Holiday feast between Thanksgiving and Christmas to celebrate both holidays. This way we could be with the other side of our family on the actually Holiday. We had an amazing meal and did a gift exchange between us. We had a really good time. They have a really sweet dog that KaeLynn adores, and Hailey and KaeLynn also get along really well. I hope this can be a new tradition that we will do every year!

Holiday Fun Run

2010-12-10T22:47:00.000-08:00

Last Night Roy'l and I did our first 5K Fun Run! We have been running since mid summer and finally reached our goal of being able to run 3 miles in 30 minutes. When we heared of this run and that it was free, we were really eager to run with a group of people. We had such an adventure trying to arrive on time. The run was in the Pearl Disctict and if you really know Roy'l and me you know that we do not have a good sense of direction. We are also not comfortable driving in downtown Portland. We decided to drive to the Loyd Center, hop onto the max, walk about 5 blocks, hop on to the trolley, walk another 5 blocks and then we were there! We made it at exactly 6:00 when the race started. It was so neat to run in the city like that. I am so thankful to have a runing buddy! It makes it so much fun to share this with someone! I am excited to do another one again soon!

U-Cut Farm

2010-12-04T21:15:00.000-08:00

This was the first year we actually went to a tree farm and cut our own tree. We went to a place in Sandy. It was a nice winter day, chilly with a little bit of sunshine. KaeLynn really enjoyed walking around in the rows of all the trees. She got bored really fast though and was asking to go home. When we got home we decorated the tree. The missionaries also came over and helped Cavan put up lights around our property. The residents really like what we have done. I finally feel ready for the Christmas season, Now if only I had all my Christmas shopping done...

Thanksgiving left overs at the coast

2010-11-28T21:06:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving we drove to visit my family and had some more Thanksgiving food with them. We had delicious food all weekend and KaeLynn was able to see her grandpa and great grandparents, along with aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. This cute picture of her in the sink is because my dad only has a shower not a bathtub and I didn't want to get in the shower with her so the kitchen sink it was! She LOVED it! She kept saying "Wash my hands" over and over again. My sister Abby later let us come over to her house to see her two horses. KaeLynn enjoyed the horses from a distance, but did not want to see them close up. KaeLynn absolutely adores Abby. Abby had went home before we left and she kept asking for her. It was a nice visit and we look forward to come back during Christmas.

Zoo Lights and Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T21:41:00.001-08:00

This year we were able to go to the Zoo lights the night before Thanksgiving. Cavan's parents have a zoo membership, and this event was only open to members, so we all got in before it was open to the public. It was very cold, but we were all bundled up nice and warm. KaeLynn enjoyed herself. She loved seeing all the lights in shapes of animals. They had this band playing mostly Christmas music and our family could not help but dance along with it. It was a good way to stay warm! We also rode the train and our family almost took up a whole cart! We had a party of 14 people total! Wow are family is getting so big! Then the next day Roy'l and and had our very own " 5K Turkey Trot". We were going to sign up for an official Thanksgiving run, but wanted to save our money. It was a good way to get our metabolism going before we ate a bunch of yummy food! Then we went to the Dover's and had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner!

All by her self

2010-11-21T21:25:00.000-08:00

KaeLynn has become very independant lately. Her favorite new phrase is "all by myself!" Sometimes she says this with excitement that she was able to do the task by herself, and other times it is in a demanding voice that she wants no help! In that case this was this morning before church. She still hadn't let me change her from her bedtime diaper. She put the dress on with the neck of the dress through her legs. To top it off the tights were on backwards! It was so adorable! When she realized that it wasn't working she asked for help. She then found my church shoes and put them on. She then told me "come on mommy! time for church". It was quite a fun morning!

Trans Siberian Orchestra

2010-11-20T15:25:00.000-08:00

Last Monday night Cavan took me to go watch the Trans Siberian Orchestra for an early Birthday present. We first went out to dinner to PF Changs and ate delicious Chinese food. Then it was time for the show. The TSO plays the most amazing instrumental Christmas songs. There were lights, fire, smoke and the energy in the room was crazy. The best song in my opinion is their version of Carol of the Bells. It was a great night!

I need a time out!

2010-11-07T22:31:00.000-08:00

This year I went to Time Out for Women with the Dover girls of the family. (Cameo and Michelle I call are Dover blood with different last names). This event was amazing! We got the cutest tote bags and left feeling completely spiritually fed. It is so nice to have a conference with inspirational stories and examples that keep you going when you feel that you are not giving enough or when you doubt if what you are doing is worth it. Everything was related back to Christ. It was a testimony to me that with him ALL is possible. Who knew that being a wife, and a mother could be so hard. I wouldn't want it any other way and I really enjoyed the speakers that gave me inspiration to keep doing my best. This years theme was Hope. I laughed and cried and wouldn't have changed one thing about it.

Happy Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

We ended our trip in Utah celebrating Halloween. We carved pumpkins, made Halloween cookies and went trick or treating. The evening first started with KaeLynn being a witch, but then changed her mind and wore Adam's old costume of a turtle. She like being the turtle much better. We went trick or treating in Brooke's sister's neighborhood and hung out with her family. We also danced to their Wii game Just Dance. It was a blast! We had so much fun in Utah and look forward to go back and see them again.

Today we did...

2010-10-28T18:49:00.001-07:00

We started this morning with making Carmel apples. Our first batch did not turn out, but we go the hang of it and our second batch turned our nice. The kids were so nice to help me unwrap 100 caramels. We later went to the Sweets Factory in Salt Lake City. We got to wear these really "cute" hair nets and eat some really good candy. KaeLynn did really well wearing her hair net, but was not patient for the tour. At least the candy made her happy.

We walked through Temple Square and went to the visitor center. The Christus is such a beautiful statue of Christ. KaeLynn recognized him immediately and called him Jesus. We also went to the Joesph Smith Memorial Building and watched the Joesph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration movie. This movie is amazing. I cried like a baby. I highly recommend anyone to watch it. It gives a good history of his life and what the early members of the church went through to establish the church. The movie is about 90 mins long so KaeLynn of course did not want to sit through the movie. Auntie Brooke was so kind to entertain her so Cavan and I could enjoy the movie.

We finished our day eating at Brick Oven. We met up with our friend Melissa and her boyfriend and enjoyed great food! The kids did pretty well for only sleeping in the car for a short time.

Cornbelly's

2010-10-27T21:31:00.001-07:00

Tonight we went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving point in Lehi. We were stuck in the corn maze forever and the kids were starting to get really cranky. It was also very muddy and really dark making the walk even harder especially with kids. It was a challenge and we were so relieved to find a way out!They had this huge air pillow that we jumped on. Of course the kids love to jump. KaeLynn was more comfortable jumping when I was with her.We got to go on a hay ride and it was nice that we had the whole ride to our selves. We were able to see all these really neat carved pumkins on the ride.This is the kids corn maze that was a lot easier and Adam was much happier about this one.These two are so adorable! It is so nice that they get a long so well.They had a whole room just filled with corn. KaeLynn loved this room and did not want to leave. She loves to pick things up and organize them into piles.KaeLynn was very grumpy and cold in the end. The kids were troopers for as long as we stayed.

Fun times

2010-10-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

Adam and KaeLynn are getting along very well. KaeLynn loves it here. A whole room just for toys with an indoor play gym.

Cavan is really enjoying his vacation! It's a good thing because he needs it!

Snow in October!

2010-10-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

This morning in Utah we woke up to beautiful snow! KaeLynn loved looking at the snow from the inside, but had no interest in playing in it. It took forever to convince her to go outside with us. We made a snow man and the kids jumped on the trampoline with the snow. It all melted away by the afternoon. Then we drove out to BYU to go to the book store. I love BYU and just like being in the environment of all the students. After that we met up with Mike on his lunch break.

Utah 2010

2010-10-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

We have driven to Utah to visit Cavan's brother Mike with his wife Brooke and son Adam. We made the drive on Sunday night and it went really well. Cavan and I each took a 6hr shift while the other slept. KeLynn slept about 8hrs total and watch movies when she was awake (thanks to Casey and Roy'l for letting us use their car with their sweet DVD set up!) When we arrived we all took a 4hr nap! Our first night in Utah we went to Monte L Bean museum. It is a museum of real stuffed animals. KaeLynn really enjoyed seeing all the animals. Adam was so cute. He kept asking Brooke all concerned if the animals were real, and she would say yes, but they are dead don't worry. He felt better after that. We ended the night at the BYU creamery and ate yummy ice cream!

Hood River 2010

2010-10-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

This year we went to the fruit loop in Hood River a week earlier than we normally do and it turned out to be better! We had more pumpkins to choose from and the weather was gorgeous! As usual we had a blast and ate a ton of junk food! This is one of my favorite things to do with family. It is so pretty here in the fall and all the fall festivities made this trip perfect!

Family Pictures 2010

2010-10-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

Birthday Party

2010-09-18T21:04:00.001-07:00

This year we had KaeLynn's party at the Dover house. Last year I planned for the party inside at the church and it turned out to be a beautiful day outside. This year I planed for a back yard BBQ and it rained outside! Oh well we all had fun anyway. KaeLynn really enjoyed having her friends and cousins to play with. She also really loved all the candy and cake she got to eat! She received wonderful presents and we all enjoyed each others company. Maybe next year I will plan the party for indoors.

Two years old

2010-09-18T20:44:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby girl is now two years old. She has changed a whole lot in just a short amount of time. She nows weighs 27lbs and 6 ounces. She wears size 2T clothes wears size 5 shoes. All of her teeth are in except her last molars are almost in. She talks a lot! Will repeat anything you say. Her favorite songs are twinkle twinkle little star, wheels on the bus, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, Book of Morman stories, ABC's and just likes to sing and make up her own songs. She LOVES to dance and has really good rhythm. The day before her birthday she told me that she wanted to sleep in her bed. I had set up her toddler bed a few weeks ago with no intention to have her sleep in it just yet. I really liked having her "caged" in her crib. I put her in her bed for her nap not really thinking she would stay and she did! She has been sleeping there since and so far has really impressed me. On her birthday she also asked to go potty in the toilet. We put her on the potty and she didn't go, but she was real excited to try. She also tells me sometimes that she wants a diaper change or she will say " Mom! I poopin!" I think she is ready to start potty training. I will keep you updated on the process. This picture of her in her bed was her first night sleeping in her big girl bed. I love being able to stay home full time with her now and experience all of these fun new changes.

Company Picnic

2010-09-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

This year Papa's company picnic was at Mollala at Buckaroo Fairgrounds. It was a beautiful day and there were a lot of good food and fun rides. The kids had a ton of fun and had never ending amount of ice cream. KaeLynn didn't want to ride the ponies, but she loved the petting zoo. We look forward it again next year.

Time to go to the lake

2010-07-15T21:31:00.001-07:00

Oh how I love to go to Lake Merwin. It is becoming to be my most favorite place in the world. The weather was so nice last weekend. I have decided that I want to live there! LOL I wish!! KaeLynn wasn't phased at all with the inner tube. She had no reaction. She just sat there and took it all in. It is nice to be able to just enjoy the outdoors. Even KaeLynn loves it. She is so happy outside. There is just so many things to explore! We will diffidently be going back soon.

4th of July 2010

2010-07-15T21:21:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th of July! We went to Corbett again and it was another great show! A lot colder then last year. It was still fun enjoying family and all the festivities. KaeLynn had a lot more fun then last year. This 4th of July she was mobile. It is so cute to just let her walk to discover and explore things her self. It was a good holiday!

Our First Swim Class

2010-07-04T09:51:00.001-07:00

KaeLynn and Javen have joined their first swimming class. They both love to go everyday! KaeLynn does so well singing all the songs and is started to feel more comfortable on her back. I love our new neighborhood. I can see the Portland East Community Center from my place and takes only minutes to walk there for her class. Next week will be her last week and I am know she will be so sad. Here are a few pictures of our fun times.

The Sternwheeler

2010-06-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

I recently quit my job and took an apartment manger position so that I can be a stay at home mom. My company took all of their employees on the Portland Rose Sternwheeler. It was such a perfect day for the boat ride. The weather was gorgeous! It was so relaxing and it was fun to have my brother in law Casey and his wife Roy'l with us. Roy'l works for the same company which is a fun perk! Cavan's parents took the kids so that we could really enjoy our ride! Thank you Mike and Cathy!!!! Here are some pictures from our fun day.

A toddler song

2010-06-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

We do not have a working radio in my car so KaeLynn and I sing a lot to each other. Yesterday in the car she was singing her version of "Happy Birthday to you". I should also say that Uncle Casey seems to be KaeLynn's favorite uncle. I don't why she has attached herself to him, but she can't get enough of him!

Happy day choo choo

Happy day Casey

So adorable! Just thought I would share this sweet moment!

Going to the Zoo

2010-06-11T21:59:00.000-07:00

"Going to the Zoo" Is what KaeLynn would say as she clapped her hands with excitement. She has gotten really good at learning her animals and their sounds, so it was so exciting to see the animals in person. The Seals and the Polar bears would a little to big and scared her. She did really well with all the other animals.

Her facial expressions were great as she discovered more and more animals.

We checked out the new African exhibit and all the kids were climbing to the top of this large rock. Kaelynn observed this and was very eager to go up top too.

Then we had to go to the petting zoo. She loved them and just kept saying "soft" has she pet them.

At the end of the day the kids were just to tired to hang on. Gordon fell asleep sitting up.

Poor little Eddy passed out right in the middle of song. Roy'l and I kept singing active playing songs to keep the kids awake so they would take a good nap at home. One minute Eddy was singing along and then the next he was out!

Javen was getting very angry with us. He wanted to sleep real bad. Roy'l calls this his angry face.

It was a good visit. Thanks Nana and Papa for the taking all of us!

Memorial Weekend 2010

2010-06-02T21:01:00.000-07:00

Memorial weekend we spent it at the lake house at Lake Merwin. It was nice to finally get to camp with tents and a campfire! It rained but not the whole time. We camp with Cavan's family and we had our good friends the Frey's come! It was fun!

When it did rain it was nice that the kids could be inside the trailer to watch a movie. KaeLynn LOVES being with her cousins and she even had her good buddy Ava with her. After we went home she could not stop asking for her cousins, aunties, uncles, and nana and papa. It was cute.

We also had a cover with a propane fire pit so we could still stay dry and warm. I am a much happier camper when I am dry and warm!

KaeLynn enjoyed helping papa cooked his dinner.

This little miss did such a good job camping. This is her cute cheetos face. She got to eat more junk food that weekend then she ever has before. She loved it!

Nap update

2010-06-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

KaeLynn has finally started to take better naps. Around 13 months old we had a hard transition from two naps to one. She went from taking two 2 hour naps to one 45 min nap. It was awful. For months I was dealing with a cranky kid because she wasn't getting enough sleep. I was trying everything, reading everything and nothing seem to help. Then one day she slowly started to sleep 1 hr a day.Then 1 1/2 naps. It just kept getting better and better. Then out of no where 3 hrs!!! This is where this photo came. Right when I took the picture the flash woke her up. She now has even taken a 4 hour nap! I can't believe it. She is much happier when she gets enough sleep. Don't get me wrong she still has her days where she is sleeps just an hour, but it is still better then it was.

Dancing makes everything better

2010-05-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

Just for fun I put on some music and these two kids just loved it! I had to catch this precious moment and share it with every one!

A New Look

2010-05-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

My Sister in law Roy'l and I were growing are hair out for Locks of Love. It was fun to do this together and it felt great to give to children in need of healthy hair. To grow my hair out to donate was my new years resolution for 2009. I was proud of myself for keeping it and it only took 19 months.My precious hair in a braid ready to send off to Locks of Love.

Here is Roy'l hair from the back.

I love Roy'l hair cut, it is so cute!

Roy'l hair length before it was cut

This is my after shot from the back

This is my before shot. My hair was so long looking back at it! It didn't feel that long when I had it!

TaDaa! The new me! I hope everyone likes the new look!

Piggy Tails!

2010-04-29T13:47:00.001-07:00

My sweet girl is 19 months old and can finally have pig tails in her hair! Nana had discovered this while I was at work... I came home and almost died when I saw her, she was so cute! All of the sudden my dreams of more bows and berets were coming true! It was hard to get a good picture of them, but they are there!

Hello Beastie!

2010-04-25T21:17:00.001-07:00

Good bye Xterra and Hello Centurion. So for everyone who wants to know what a Centurion is let me explain... The front half of the vehicle is a Ford F150. The back half is a Bronco. Thess two vehicles were put together to make my husbands dreams come true. It is a very rare vehicle, with only about 4,000 of them made. It is very rare to see this in the North West. It seats 9 people and has plenty of room for all our stuff! I am still warming up to this new addition, but I know it will have great potential for all the fun things we do and want to do with our family!

Gone Fishin

2010-04-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend my brother Brandon spent the night. Our friend Jeremy invited us to go Fishing with him and his daughter Ava. It was a fish Farm in Sandy. It was really fun and exciting to catch the fish. After you caught your fish you brought it over to be killed and cleaned. Then you take it home and eat fresh fish. I don't like fish, and really did not like to see them be killed, so just my brother caught one. KaeLynn and Ava loved seeing the fish, especially the first one Jeremy caught that was cute and little. But when Brandon caught a bigger fish the girls started crying and did not like the "fishy's" any more. It was pretty cute.

18 Month check up

2010-04-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

KaeLynn just had her 18 month health check yesterday. Goods news is she is just GREAT! Learning and growing right on track. Now if only she would eat better... now don't get me wrong she is doing better (partly because I stopped catering to her picky appetite). She weighs 25.9lbs and is 31inches long. After her immunizations it was a very sad day. KaeLynn does not let bad things that happen to her go lightly. She was very grumpy the rest of the night. She kept forgetting her leg hurt because she kept jumping up to run around. She would stop in pain, lift up her leg and cry. It was so sad. Daddy was holding her with her blanket, and she was such in need of comfort that she actually started sucking both her thumbs while sleeping at the same time. Right before I snapped the picture she pulled one thumb out. KaeLynn is talking so much. She answers questions and is definitely showing more and more of the person she is ; bossy and adorable! She loves animals, stuffed "soft" bears, blankies, and Elmo. She brings so much Joy in our life and we are so blessed to have her.

Funny Girl

2010-04-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

After KaeLynn's bath I spiked her hair up to be funny and she read right into it and started making silly faces. The more we laughed the more she was being silly. I love these moments KaeLynn brings to us. It makes life so precious.

Easter 2010

2010-04-09T13:53:00.001-07:00

This easter it was raining again so we had our easter egg hunt inside at Cavan's parents. KaeLynn loved her easter basket. Nana and KaeLynn had practice sessions of putting eggs in baskets so when it was time for the kids to go she knew exactly what to do. She was quick putting egg after egg in her basket. It was so adorable because she was also putting eggs in the other kids baskets as well! We ate a yummy easter dinner and enjoyed visiting with family. We didn't go to church this year on easter because it was general conference. It was such a good one this year I learned a lot. I love this time of year to be with family and to remember that Christ lives again and so will we!

Wilson is back!

2010-04-03T12:46:00.000-07:00

Wilson was able to come home yesterday afternoon and seems that KaeLynn went right back to loving him like he never left. She has been up in his business since he got here. This morning she kept trying to snuggle him in his bed. She also kept giving him blanket after blanket. He was just smothered in them! He was so exhausted when he got home. He plopped on his bed and stayed there until this afternoon! His obedience is so much better, but we still have to work with him and keep him on top of it.

My other little puppy

2010-04-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

This girl cracks me up. She has always followed me around like a little puppy dog, and for anyone who really knows KaeLynn knows she also loves to snuggle. Her favorite things in the world are her blanket, thumb,bear and someone to hold her. If I am doing the dishes or getting ready in the morning and can't hold right at that second she will lay at my feet and suck her thumb. Even if it is on the cold tile. Then I feel like the worst mom in the world that my daughter would snuggle the cold floor just to be close to me!

Wilson Update

2010-03-27T12:20:00.001-07:00

We went to go visit Wilson this morning and he is doing good. He had a food allergy to the food we gave him so we brought him some new food we hope will help. He is picking the training up very well. He is very timid around new things (bikes, scooters, hats), but adapts well once he is given time to get used to them. He was very unsocialized when we got him, so we will have a lot of work to do when he comes home. The trainer thinks she might need to keep him a extra week depending how he does this next week. KaeLynn was so happy to see him! We are all eager for him to come home!

A trip to the coast

2010-03-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to the coast to go see my dad. He hasn't seen Kaelynn since Christmas and we were due for a visit. While we were there we met up with some of Cavan's family and played at Cannon and Seaside Beach.
We forgot KaeLynn's high chair and the only way she would eat her breakfast was sitting on the floor. It was pretty cute.
Then my sister Abby kept KaeLynn busy and played this old game with her. This was the first time I have ever seen her sit cross legged.
When we first got to the beach she wasn't sure if she liked the sand, but warmed up to it pretty quick.
Cavan bought himself a kite but the first time he got it up in the air it crashed and broke. He fixed it when we got home but he was pretty disappointed at the time.
Once KaeLynn realized that there was water off in the distance she took off and there was no looking back.
She didn't even react to the cold water! She just kept saying Bath Bath!!

Then we went and found the carousel. KaeLynn was so excited to see the "horsey's" until we got on. Then she got really scared. After a few minutes she did better and then we started going around she was really enjoying herself!
After our long day we went out to eat and had some good food. It was a good day!

Bend

2010-03-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to visit our friends the Hicks in Bend. Cavan went up to Mt. Bachelor with Dave and from what they tell me it was awesome. Of course I was really disappointed that I didn't get to go because of my neck injury, but Cavan got some pictures for all of us to see how gorgeous it was. We also climbed Smith Rock. This was the best hike I have ever done! Very Hard but very beautiful!!

KaeLynn was such an angel for the hike. She just sat back and took all the sights in.
Up towards the top we left KaeLynn with Dave to do some serious rock climbing up these boulders to get the full view. It was so pretty!!! You could see everything, including Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Hood

Cavan and Dave with their Rockstar energy drinks. This is the american way to hike! LOL These boys needed their energy somehow from all that snowboarding they did.
This is the picture of Smith Rock and we climb to the top of it!!!

Just for fun

2010-03-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a fun one. We went to the East Portland community center and went swimming with friends. KaeLynn loved it! There was a cute little kitty slide and then a big slide that Cavan and KaeLynn went down. She did so good!

The next day we went to the Audubon Trails in Portland to go hiking. It was a beautiful day and KaeLynn was such a good girl in her little pack we borrowed from our friends. This was her facial expression the whole time. She was just taking it all in.

Giggling at Wilson

2010-02-21T19:51:00.000-08:00

As we were getting ready to take Wilson and KaeLynn to the park KaeLynn was laughing so hard at Wilson when Cavan put on his leash that goes around his head. She has not laughed this hard since I don't know when... KaeLynn has been so happy since we got Wilson and she seems to be laughing more. We are really happy with our choice to have Wilson in our family. When we got to the park KaeLynn found Wilson's doggy treats when I wasn't looking and she ate one! Yuck! The pickiest eater ever ate a doggy treat! LoL I guess I can just give her those when she won't eat dinner!

Our first outing with Wilson

2010-02-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

Today was so pretty that after Cavan got off work we took a late lunch to a park and had a picnic. Then we let Wilson and KaeLynn run around. Of course KaeLynn loved being free and Wilson enjoyed running around. It was hard for Cavan and I when other people or dogs came around because Wilson has not been trained yet. He knows sit but only does it when he wants to. We were so used to Lexy being so well trained that we forgot what it was like to have a dog that doesn't do exactly what you say right when you say it. He has real good potential and I know he will do great. Lexy was about his age when she was trained so I know he will pick it up just fine.KaeLynn kept grabbing the lease and running after Wilson yelling "Sit Sit!" It was so cute because Wilson had no clue what she was doing and she look so determined.
There was train tracks real close and when a train went by KaeLynn was so surprised to see it. This was her facial expression.

KaeLynn also found a pile of dirt and she got it everywhere. Later when we got home I went to give her a bath and found dirt even in her diaper!
It was such a nice day and a good start with Wilson.

Welcome Wilson!

2010-02-17T20:10:00.000-08:00

Wilson is the newest member to our family. We adopted him last night from a couple that could not commit the time to take care of him. He is 1 year old, about 50 pounds and is so loving! He is a perfect match for us. He is scheduled to get fix next week and as soon as he is all healed up he is going off to training. Kaelynn has not stop squealing with excitement since he has come. He is so gentle around her and is such a sweet heart! We are so happy to have him and look forward to seeing him grow up with our family.

The life of walking

2010-01-28T16:39:00.001-08:00

KaeLynn has really become fond of walking. We decided to go for a walk outside when she lost her balance and scraped her face on the concrete. She of course screamed and for any of you who know Kaelynn when she gets hurt, it is the end of the world! We were about a block from our house and I didn't want her screaming all the way home, so I ask her if she wanted to walk again. She immediately stopped crying a waddled all the way home like nothing happened. She got a pretty good mark on her nose and even got her forehead a bit. This is just what the new like of walking brings us!

Naples Beach

2010-01-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

This last weekend Cavan and I flew to Naples Beach Florida for his annual Carmedic meeting. We flew in on a Thursday night, so right when we got there we went straight to the beach to see the sun set. It was beautiful! The gulf of Mexico is very different then the Oregon Coast. The beach was very quiet and did not have the fishy salty smell. The resort we stayed at was right on the beach. KaeLynn stayed with Cavan's parents. This was our first time away from her. It was weired not being with here, but it was nice to have time with Cavan. KaeLynn had a blast with Nana and Papa.
The next morning was gorgeous! The forecast was said to be very disappointing, but I woke up to sunny blue skies in the 60's.
While I was reading on the beach I just happened to look up and see three dolphins passing by! I couldn't believe it! I was so excited that I was shouting out to people I didn't even know that there were dolphins! This picture is the only proof I have of the fin sticking up out of the water. It is not a good picture, but they were coming in and out of the water so fast it was hard to get a good picture.
My good friend Amanda was my life saver while our boys were in boring meetings.
Cavan and Jonathan in between there "team activities" on the beach. Ever year the office ladies plan fun games for the guys to play to take a break from the meetings.
Cavan and I relaxing in the sun. The funny thing about this picture was that shortly after it was taken one of the resort workers come up to all of us Carmedic wives that were sitting in these chairs and told us that we can't sit in the chairs unless we pay $45 each to rent them for the day! We were shocked and mad. For as much money as were spending you think we could sit in a chair. The Carmedic office ladies went and talked to management and worked it out to where we could sit in the wooden chairs.
Here is all the Carmedics getting organized into their teams.

After all of the meetings were over we decided to have some fun. We drove to the everglades to take a ride on an air boat. It was so awesome! It was colder that day but we couldn't pass this opportunity up. The water really smelled like sulfur and was very gross looking. Cavan and I were splashed with the gross swamp water. All Cavan could do was laugh and say "it is all part of the experience". I could of use a little less experience at that point. The motor was VERY loud, but it really made it feel like you were just gliding through the air.

We were very lucky to see a alligator because it was colder. This alligator was a teenager and really was not scared of us. After the ride the driver of the boat told us about some local places to eat some alligator and frog legs. Since we were all for the "experience" we were eager to go. I tried the alligator, but after seeing the frog legs I just couldn't do it. Cavan's partner and his wife ate them. The alligator was soaked in a hot sauce so that is all that I really could taste. The restaurant was a little shady, but we were there for just the "experience".

Christmas Fun 2009

2009-12-27T21:02:00.001-08:00

This Christmas season was great! The Wednesday before Christmas we went to Peacock Lane with some friends. It was very cold but the lights were neat to see. Then we drove to Astoria to my family there Christmas Eve and then back home Christmas morning. KaeLynn got a lot of fun things and actually did really well opening her presents! KaeLynn is really getting better with her walking. She is becoming very independent. It was nice to see family but I am glad the holiday stress is over!! Now lets get ready for the NEW YEAR!

KaeLynn is Walking!

2009-12-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

KaeLynn is actually walking now! Yippee!!!! She started taking a few steps last week and is now really feeling confident. I can tell now that she actually wants to walk. Before she never showed any interest in it. I am so proud of her! I am looking forward to all the adventures walking will bring us.

Update on walking

2009-12-03T22:22:00.001-08:00

Monday night I was in the kitchen cooking dinner when KaeLynn was in a bear crawl position. She then slowly took her hands off the floor and lifting her upper body up into a standing position. Nothing holding her up but herself! This is big progress for her! The rest of this week she has been repeating this over and over again! She hasn't really taken any more steps on her own, but this is good progress towards it! Good Job KaeLynn!!!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-03T22:08:00.001-08:00

This Thanksgiving we drove up to Astoria to visit my family there for a few days. It was great to be with them and we had a great time!This is Grandpa playing with KaeLynn. She kept do sign language for "more" every time her grandpa stopped playing with her. It was so cute.

Uncle Andy snuggling with KaeLynn.

KaeLynn was not sleeping well for her naps and was getting very VERY grumpy. I couldn't take it any more so yes, I turned on the TV to make her quiet. It worked! When she saw the kitty on the screen she couldn't help but say Kitty Kitty!

This is my baby sister Abby. She could not get enough of KaeLynn. Abby loved to hold her and play with her the whole time she was there! It was great to see every one!

KaeLynn's first step

2009-11-08T20:15:00.000-08:00

Tonight Cavan and I were passing KaeLynn back and forth between us to see if she would take a step and she did! She is 13 months old (almost 14 months). The first try we did it I passed her off to Cavan and let go and she easily took a few steps to him. Then she took a few steps back to me! I couldn't believe it! After that she wouldn't do it any more and just wanted to play. Just last Monday she finally got enough courage to walk with us holding only one of her hands. She had been to scared before and would just drop to the floor if we let go. She is definitely making progress and I am so proud of her! This was the only photo I could get. It all happened so fast and then she was done.

Happy Haloween!

2009-11-01T16:17:00.000-08:00

This year KaeLynn was a sunflower. We went around our neighborhood with our good friends Trish and Ava while Cavan stayed home and passed out candy. It was so cute when Kaelynn would see her friend Ava knock on a door (she is two years old) and then KaeLynn would put her hand up to the door and do her version of knocking. It was pretty cute. KaeLynn just loves her pumpkin pale that carries her candy. She has no idea what candy is, but she loves playing with it. She will dump it all out and then put it back in her bucket over and over again. Cavan and I just laugh while we eat her candy that she got for us! :)

Carving pumkins

2009-10-25T21:37:00.001-07:00

KaeLynn's very own pumpkin. I tried to carve a puppy but it didn't turn out. Now I am not sure what it is, but it is a carved pumpkin and that is all that matters.

Here is mom's pumpkin right next to hers. Mine is just a silly Halloween face.And yes this is Cavan's pumpkin. You are not being deceived... This is truly a butt crack pumpkin. For all our family who truly knows Cavan, knows that he has a weired thing with butts. For all of our friends who just now found this out, I am sorry.

KaeLynn wanted nothing to do with the pumpkin guts. Silly girl, sometimes I wonder about her :)

Hood River 2009

2009-10-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

This Saturday we went back to Hood River to enjoy another year of fall festivities. It was an absolutely perfect day. The weather, our family, the food, and the smells (food and fresh air :) all made the day so perfect.Here is a picture of our precious pumpkins (including the kids)!She was very interested in the dirt on the pumpkin.

There were so many good pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. This year KaeLynn could actually play in the patch. Last year she was only a little over a month old and didn't do much.Oh yes bring on the cider... This is fresh squeezed apple cider made right there. They literally squeeze the apples with a machine put in the jug and hand it to you! Yum Yum!KaeLynn and her cousin found some cool tractors to play on.

Here is KaeLynn on the hay ride. She was such a good girl and we had so much fun together as a family! I can't wait to go again next year.

Family Photos 2009

2009-10-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

We just had our family pictures taken at a really nice park in Hillsborro. The setting was perfect if only it didn't rain! It was pouring with thunder and lightning! Yikes. We finally found a undercover spot where we took most of our pictures. They still turned out great and I am very happy with them.

2009-10-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday morning my mom left to drive back to her home town, Brunswick Georgia. It was very sudden, but needed. She is starting a new chapter in her life and is going back to school. I will miss her terribly, but I know that this is the time that she wants to spend with her mother and find herself. The Sunday before she left I took my mother to the temple tours that were going on and it was a beautiful day! The weather could not have been more perfect. I also learned a lot of fun facts about the temple. After the tour my mom and I sat by the water on the temple grounds and talked. I learned a lot about her that I didn't know. It was definitely a great memory of my mom and I. I'm so excited for her and I can't wait until I can see her again. Good Luck MOM!

KaeLynn's 1 year stats

2009-09-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

I wanted to have a record of my sweet girl and how big she is at one year. At her one year check up she weighed 21lbs 7oz. She is 29 1/4 inches tall. She had to get 4 shots to get caught up on her immunizations. It was absolutely horrible! I'm glad she won't need her next vaccinations until she is 15 months old. She now has 6 teeth with 3 baby molars starting to break through (which has been awful). She does say a few words: She definitely knows Daddy and knows who he is. She has developed a habit to say Daddy! to whoever walks through the door (even me). She will only say momma mom, mom when she wants to eat what I am eating. She says Up, Hi, Doogie, Exy (lexy). She also knows how to wave Bye Bye with her palm facing her and her fingers up and down (like she is waving to herself). She is not walking yet but will walk with her cute little baby stroller. She is very picky with her food and has to try something new a hundred times before she decides she will eat it. She doesn't like weired textures of food and and if she feels it with her hands and it feels different she is instantly turned off. She is officially weaned from nursing and is now drinking whole milk. We are now working on getting her to take the milk from the sippy cup instead of the bottle. Our goal is to be done with the bottle by 14 months. She is just a bundle of joy and we love every bit of her!