King Gavin

I found Gavin on our bed, watching Bolt, and looking like he owns the place. 

This is the 'I know I'm cool' look.  He gives this look a lot.  This boy's gonna give me so much trouble.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Gavin was given a caterpillar garden for his birthday. The boys loved watching the caterpillars eat and eat (like The Very Hungry, Caterpillar, right?!)  then make their cocoons, and finally become beautiful butterflies! 

The boys were sad to let the butterflies go, but we didn't have any food to feed them. We told the boys they were now very hungry butterflies and needed to go find some food.  Thanks, Fancy, for a fun gift! 

Move Over Betty Crocker,

There's a new baker in town.  I'm going to be a bridesmaid in my friend, Christie's, wedding.  The bridesmaids threw a surprise engagement party and I was put in charge of the cake.  I was going to go to my tried and true, Costco, spend $16.00 and be done with it, but then I got to thinking....I can make one of these.  They're not that hard, lots of people make cakes, right?

After a little (okay, maybe a lot!) of internet reading,  talking with some well-seasoned bakers- my Mom, Lois, and Nancy, and having a trial cake run two weeks earlier, I felt confident I could do it!

The bottom layer was strawberry and the top a three layer red velvet. All covered in cream cheese icing. The challenge was to make a cake from scratch that not only looked great but also tasted amazing.  I had my skeptics (Steve) but in the end, even he was impressed.  

Christie's married name will be 'Lay', hence the Hawaiian themed party complete with leis.  I love the cake topper I found, salt and pepper shaker Hawaiian kissing couple--even with magnetic lips to keep 'em locked together!  Steve's mom provided the fresh tropical flowers courtesy of her garden.  Thanks, Lois!

The bride-to-be, Christie, and her fiance, Shawn, were completely surprised!  The party and the cake were a big success.

Why Haven't I Been Blogging?

Because I've been busy potty-training Gavin!  And, believe me, this job is time-consuming.  I really wasn't ready to start this; it takes a lot of work and I have to mentally prepare myself for all the work involved.  But, Gavin, (as pictured in the photo below) kept taking off all his clothes including his diaper and would run when I approached him with a diaper.  So, potty training we are!  And, so far, so good.  We started off going potty every fifteen minutes--yes, every fifteen!  I would set the kitchen timer and stop whatever I was doing to entice Gavin to the potty.  See, no time for blogging when this is going on!  We have now weaned to forty-five minutes to an hour and life is returning to me. 

I think potty training works best naked!  Gavin has fully embraced this method, although I think unexpected guests are taken by surprise.  I should probably put a sign on my door:  Warning, potty training in progress, bare tooshies inside. 

The Options Are Endless....

for the captions I could make for this photo.  But, here's a couple I've come up with--

'My worm is hiding my worm.'

'Don't worry worm, this worms gotcher back.'

'From one worm to another, we need a little space.'

'This ain't your momma's inchworm.'

 

What's your best caption?

Our House, Is a Very, Very, Very, Fine House.....

Steve and I had whimsical dreams of buying an older house and 'fixing it up.'  We had watched the shows (and thought we had learned from their mistakes!) and thought it would be a fun adventure.  We had no idea the money and time it would take to turn our outdated, dusty house into the dream we pictured. Here we are, three years (and a lot more money than we ever thought) later and our house is almost perfect.  I say 'almost' because I've come to realize, being the owner of an older home, your house is never completely finished.  There is always something that you need to do.  Items never get crossed off the list, they just move to the bottom, knowing one day they'll be at the top again. 

I endlessly worked on this video slide show at the bottom of this post.  Not because it's this amazing video that will get thousands of hits on you tube.  No, no, I worked on it endlessly because I'm totally in the dark when it comes to computers.   So, watch the video, and then watch it again!  I worked hard on it!! 

 Some pictures in case the video doesn't work. 

'Ol McGavin Had a Farm

We had a belated birthday party for Gavin.  With a mad dash to the finish line the house is finally finished. working on those pictures now, promise!  A big thank you to my brothers, Dixie, and Mom for helping pull the party and house together.  One of these days I'll master this whole party thing!  Until then, I will continue to count on friends and family to pull me through.  It was a memorable party that Steve and I are still talking about. 

I had great intentions to make amazing cupcakes from my 'Hello Cupcake' cook book.  I hugely settled for some grass and dirt cupcakes with animals on top. It was kindly pointed out to me that I was mixing farm and exotic animals.....but really, I don't have time for such details.

Who doesn't love a good pinata?  This horse was tough, it took Steve going at it to give up the goods.

 

Oh, my Geedge and his animals!  This is what made me want to have this party.  This child loves bugs and animals.  And I love seeing him smile. 

Really, her name is Tina Turner.

 

My friend, ShirLee, and her husband, Mike, brought horses for us to ride. "No need to be scared", said Mike, "horses are really nothing more than a thousand pound dog." The kids loved the horses and seemed to really enjoy Mike in his full cowboy get-up. Harrison walked up to Mike in awe asking in his little voice, "are you a cowboy?"  Like someone he had heard and read about in books but never actually had met.  Mike said, "well, I ride horses, not cows, but I 'pose Ima cowboy."

 Gavin would have preferred this horse was just for him and everyone else take turns on the other one. Sharing is not his strong suit.

Alex, and his childhood friend, Cody. The kids loved the snakes (the adults could have lived without them, but the kids oohed and aahed) The finale of the party was getting to watch this beauty eat her dinner...a nice, large mouse. 

 

I realize odds are likely Gavin won't remember this party.  But I will. I will remember his excitement riding the horses and petting the animals. The gigantic smile on his face while lots of people sang him happy birthday. I loved watching him sing along and clap with everyone else after he blew the candles out.