catching up

There are lots of things I haven't had a chance to post. So we'll consider this a catch-up post.

Last week Gabe was sick most of the week. He had a pretty high fever, wouldn't eat, wanted to sleep a lot, and later in the week had a pretty icky rash. The poor guy wanted to be rocked and held. We don't know what he had (neither did the dr when we went in), but he's better now - so we're happy with that! I loved snuggling with him in his rocking chair, but I'm glad to have my giggly/energetic little guy back with me! The last 2 days he's been hilarious - quite the show-off. (this is Gabe showing what a big boy he is)

Then this weekend we had visitors. My Aunt Sandra and Susan came for a visit, and my mom came to meet them here. We had a nice visit. It always makes me wish we had family that lived closer when we do get together.....It was great to talk about family, and about how blessed we are by the people we are related to. We have been blessed with a heritage from each member, and it's interesting how that makes us who we are. It made me think a lot about who I am and where I come from. I'm so grateful for that.

But we took a drive on Saturday to see the beautiful scenery of Kolob and Cedar Breaks National monument. It was beautiful!

Sunday evening Gabe got to open a couple of birthday presents early. (Thanks for the adorable clothes Sandra, Susan and Grandma Marilyn!) It took Gabe a while to get a hang of opening the presents....and I think in the end Daddy helped a lot. But Gabe did love rolling around in the wrapping paper when he was all done.

Another fun thing for Gabe was that a friend of mine gave us a "Hokey-Pokey Elmo" that her daughter doesn't play with anymore. It is so funny! Gabe loves playing with it and I'm sure will be joining in with Elmo as soon as his balance is a little better.

Then yesterday when I was running errands we had to stop at the craft store. When we got up to the check-out register Gabe was pointing at a bunch of balloons and saying his version of the world "ball" (which sounds like doll). The cashier thought he was so cute and offered him a balloon. He had a ball with it. He loved hitting it, pulling it up and down by it's string, he squealed and yelled with delight. And much to my delight it was still inflated this morning and we had even more fun with it! It made me so happy to see him having so much fun. It was truly one of the highlights of my mommy experiences. I can't wait to introduce him to more fun things that will get him that excited.

Well I thought there were more things to catch you up on....I guess life has just seemed busier than it actually has been. Have a great week!

(**Well, for some reason the last 2 pictures won't load....I'll have to put them in another post)