Our Truck

We are now proud owners of a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500. We have always wanted a truck. We figured that since Jayden's xterra had been sitting in our parking stall for the last 5 months that it was time to get a new car. We got a killer deal on the Truck and we were able to trade in Jayden's car-what a relief that it is gone! For those of you who don't know, Jayden's x-terra was the biggest lemon! We love our new truck! One of my favorite photos of Gavin is one we took of Gavin "driving the truck".

The car dealership gives every woman roses when they buy a car

Ride the Train

This last weekend we decided it would be fun to take Front Runner up to Ogden to see Jaydens family. We had never been on Front Runner before, so we decided to see what it was like. I love trains and thought it was a lot of fun. I can't wait until Gavin is a little older and take him on the train again, I have a feeling that he will love it! We also went to lunch with the Garfield family and got a 5 generation picture!



Gavin's Grandma and Great Grandma

Great Grandpa and Grandma Marsh

Gavin and Great Grandpa

Quayde hanging out with Gavin

5 generations! Great Great Grandma Marsh, Great Grandpa Marsh, Grandma Garfield, Jayden, and Gavin

Family Picture

Riding home on the train

Gavin's first train ride!

Gavin on the train

Gavin and his daddy

This last weekend we decided it would be fun to take Front Runner up to Ogden to see Jaydens family. We had never been on Front Runner before, so we decided to see what it was like. I love trains and thought it was a lot of fun. I can't wait until Gavin is a little older and take him on the train again, I have a feeling that he will love it! We also went to lunch with the Garfield family and got a 5 generation picture!

Motherhood Lessons

The picture above cracks me up. Gavin yawned right as I took the picture.

The last 10 weeks have been the biggest learning experience of my life. Being a mom has blessed my life. Being a mom isn't always easy, but it is the most rewarding thing in my life. Lately I have been thinking about how my life has changed and the different lessons that I have learned from being a mom.

1. Do what works for you.

Being pregnant, Jayden and I got a lot of advice from people. Everyone tries to give you their two cents on parenthood. People try to tell you the "right way" to take care of your baby based on their experience with their own children. I have learned that you really have to do what works for you. You can read all of the baby books and all the advice that is out there. They are great and do give good information, but you still have to do what works for you and for your baby. One example of this is breastfeeding. Being at school this semester, I knew that I wanted to breastfeed, but it wouldn't be exclusively. We had to be open, because I'm not with Gavin all day and everyday. From the beginning, we introduced the breast and the bottle to Gavin and he took both really well. On the days that I am home with Gavin we really try to do our best at making most of the feedings breastfeeding. However, I also pump my milk, so Gavin has bottles with breastmilk. We will also give Gavin formula at night to help him sleep better. This means that Gavin has three different types of feeding time: breastfeeding, breastmilk from a bottle, and formula from a bottle. We try to give him 75% of his feedings from breastmilk, but we do not feel bad about supplementing with some formula. I have gotten a lot of advice about how breastfeed correctly and that you should only breastfeed exclusively. We have our own system and it works. It's not perfect, but it works for us and Gavin is happy.

2. You Don't Set Your Schedule

When you bring your baby home from the hospital, you think that you are going to get on a schedule. Sleep at the same time, feed at the same time, be able to leave the house ready at the same time....yeah right. Gavin controls our schedule. Some moms can get their babies on a schedule within the first couple weeks, but our schedule is no schedule. We have a different routine everyday, because Jayden and I have different days with work and with school. Hopefully once the semester is over we will be able to get on a set schedule. BUT Gavin eats when he gets hungry, sleeps when he is tired, and cries when he is not feeling well. There isn't much you can do to control it sometimes, so for the meantime, Gavin sets his own schedule.

3. Don't Compare Your Baby to Other Babies

Every baby grows and develops differently. Gavin is a big baby! At his 2 month checkup, he weighed 14 lbs and 11 oz, which is in the 97th percentile. He is also 24.5 inches and is in the 90th percentile for his height.

4. Life Is Fragile/We Are Blessed

Now that Gavin is here, it has made me realize how fragile life is. Lately, I have heard a lot of stories about people losing babies or young children. It has made me realize that we are extremely blessed. Gavin is a healthy and happy baby and I never want to take that for granted.

5. Love Has a Whole New Meaning

It's true what everyone says. You never thought you could love someone so much in such a short amount of time. Gavin brings so much joy into our lives. It feels like we have known Gavin forever. It seems like he has been with us way longer than 2 months. It is hard to remember life before Gavin came into our life.

Attention!

Our blog will be now going private. We feel that it is best to have our blog open to invited readers only. However, we would love for anyone out there who reads and follows our blog to be invited. Leave your email address as a comment if you would like us to send you an invite. Thanks!

MIA

If anyone still reads our blog...sorry I have been MIA lately! This semester has been so busy so far and is only going to get busier. It figures that my hardest semester of college is the semester of college where I also have a newborn...go figure. I'm talking about course load and out of class work though. I cannot wait until the end of April when school is over. It is almost going by too fast though, because I know all of the things that I have to get done before then and it scares me! We will survive though, even if it is only on a few hours a sleep a night. I am really hoping Gavin will start sleeping through the night soon. Nothing too exciting has been going on this month. School and work is consuming most of our free time. Although, we do know how to work hard and play hard. We do relax a lot on the weekends and make time for ourselves.

Just a little recap of things that have been going on. Valentines Day was great. Jayden and I didn't celebrate on the 14th, because we had work and school until the evening, so we decided we would wait until friday to celebrate. Valentines Day was still great though. My mom came up to babysit that day while I was at school. She made us a lovely Valentines Day dinner and dessert. It has been so nice having my moms help while I am in school!

On Friday for our Valentines celebration we went to the Roof and on a horse carriage ride through downtown SLC. My parents watched Gavin for the night so we were able to get some time to ourselves. On Saturday, we were able to go to the temple and see a movie. We saw "This Means War", which we thought was hilarious, despite some bad reviews. Then to finish off the long weekend, we went to the Jazz game with Jaydens parents, Ryan and Jodi. The weekend was too good to us, and it was hard to get back to work/school on Tuesday. 

Gavin goes to the doctor for his 2 month appointment on Friday and he gets his first round of shots...I will let everyone know how it goes after. Gavin is doing great and growing so much! I had to put a stack of his clothes away that he has already outgrown. Gavin pretty much started in 0-3 month clothes. He only had a few newborn pieces of clothing and he only could wear them for about a week. Now he is wearing a lot of his 6 month clothes too! It amazes me how much older he looks everyday. He is very alert now and is interacting. Gavin loves to look at his mobile. We will put him in his crib and he will giggle and coo at the animals when he is all by himself. He loves making noises and tracking objects!

Dinner at the Roof

Carriage ride through SLC

Grandma and Grandpa with Gavin at the Jazz game

How handsome are they!?

Snuggling

The Moby Wrap

All bundled up ready to go to the Jazz Game

Gavin's clothes that don't fit anymore!

Smiles and Giggles

Just wanted to share a cute video of Gavin this week. The quality isn't great because it is from my phone, but I think it is pretty cute!

All Smiles

This last week, Gavin has really started to interact with us more. He now smiles all the time and we have caught a few giggles. It is really fun to see him progress and grow. His smiles are SO cute and make my day!