crawling.

So this video is for my family. My mom asked if Gavin is crawling yet, and here it is. Not really a crawl, but he definately cruises. He's fallen down the stairs twice, pinched his little fingers in drawers, and is now going from crawling to sitting. He's super busy, and also super cute in my opinion.

I love that smile!

weather report.

Warning! We have just received word that Hurricane Maddie has hit shore, and Mt. St. Kate has erupted. Those in the vicinity of region 661 better known has "the Wheeler household" beware! It may take days to clean up the wreckage caused by what seem to be two very little storms. However, don't judge them by their size, rather take into account their amount of energy. These two pack quite a punch when left to their own devices. You may also experience some southwesterly winds this afternoon during clean-up. Mother Nature often raises her voice after such storms arise.

Just kidding, looking at the picture it doesn't seem to be too bad. The only problem is, Kate and Maddie like to make these kind of messes all through out the house. It may look like a bunch of fake food, but look closer. They like to throw in hot wheel cars, littlest pet shops, and more. Together they make quite a team.

And as promised, here is my little sign of spring. I planted 24 of these little guys last fall. I've only seen about sixteen come up. Thankfully some of them survived.

my favorite treat.

So, this post is quite random. I was eating my favorite treat, thinking about Jared's suggestion that as of next week we forego treats to prepare ourselves for our upcoming trip to CA, and I decided that I better sneak in a few more good times before we go on this diet.

Yes, other than chocolate, graham crackers and milk are one of my favorite treats. I have passed the obsession on to Maddie also. We always have a large box of graham crackers in our pantry for those moments when nothing else quite satisfies. And in case you were wondering, I always use the Winger's cup. It's the perfect width for a whole graham cracker, and it holds enough milk to soak through that pile of crackers with just enough left to satisfy my thirst.


So what is your favorite treat? I dare you to share on your blog.

easter.

Easter morning, I woke up to Colin whispering, "The Easter Bunny forgot to come." My reaction, "What?" and then to Jared, "get out of bed and help me!"

Notice the Halloween bucket? I was too cheap to buy more easter baskets, so I opted to use easter bags instead. Maddie didn't want to collect eggs into a bag, so she found the bucket.

Gavin having his first taste of Easter eggs. My first reaction was, "Oh, how cute!" And then I reallized he was drooling yellow dye on our freshly cleaned carpets, and I started yelling at anyone and everyone to get a rag.

Painting eggs, well, this is the end result. I forgot to take pictures of the painting process.

All in all we had a nice day, and have you noticed the signs of spring around here? I have and it puts a smile on my face! Pictures to come soon.

a towa.

So this morning Kate asked me for a towa. Anyone want to guess what that is? I thought she wanted a towel, but after asking her repeatedly if she wanted a towel, and her mumbling no, I was at a loss. Finally I said, "sure, whatever you want, go for it." She proceeded to pull all the pillows off my bed and build a "pillow towa". A tower of pillows, who would have thought? Long story short, she entertained herself for about 5 minutes, I got a picture, and that was that. She moved on to hiding herself under the pillows, and then jumped up to proclaim that she needed to poop. Great! She's getting the hang of things, and I am thankful. We both had to celebrate her success with a yummy cookie, o.k. if was a few cookies.

a solution.

So, I think I've found a solution for the voles. Here it is...

That's right, bobcat pee, with true Madison Bobcat pride, I will sprinkle these little granules of urine all over my yard. Hopefully the little varmints still have some of their preditor/prey instinct left and will be scared of the smell of this stuff. It's also supposed to keep other dogs/cats away from the yard. I haven't smelled it myself, so hopefully the smell won't keep friendly neighbors away also! Don't ask me how they get bobcat urine, I wouldn't want that job, I just want to scare the voles away.

bathtime.

So Gavin is now completely mobile. He has a seal inspired crawl where he pushes up with straight arms, and then propels himself forward onto his belly. It kindof reminds me of people doing the worm. His knees have not yet decided to get in on the action. But that doesn't stop him. He has now made his way all over the house. This morning I changed his diaper in his room, and then left to throw it away. He heard Jared and the kids in the living room, and belly flopped all the way down the hall to see them. I think it is cute, but I am so not ready to baby proof the house again.

And in other news, he had his first bath in the big tub, well his first by himself that is. Usually I throw him in with Colin or Maddie and let them hold him while I wash him off. But this time he got the whole tub to himself, and he loved it!
And for those who enjoy a little humor, Colin was in the kitchen with Jared and I the other day, and mid conversation he announced that he had tried on my bra the night before. I asked him how it felt, what else do you say? He responded, "I think I want to try a manicure next."

last night.

So, I went to enrichment last night, and I really enjoyed it. I have been thinking about what was said, and am finalizing some new goals based on my night. If you didn't happen to make it, here's what I learned last night:
- We have a lot of talented women in our ward.
- I have a lot of work to do to equal their talents.
- I need to find ways to be more creative.
- Lynne has a teenager no one knows about. Ask her about him. :)
- When you go to Sister Nelson's home, whatever you do, wait until she answers the door. Don't enter when you hear a little voice tell you to come in. (she has a talking parrot)
- Attend future Relief Society broadcasts. I think I missed out last time.

If this didn't fill you in, you might want to watch this (go to Create). I felt quite inspired afterwards, and if you'd like to read the whole talk go here.

updates.

Gavin can now sit up. He can also crawl army style, very slowly. We just noticed last night, so no pictures of that yet. If something is a foot away, he'll inch his way forward to get it. He's figuring things out quickly. I'm a little hesitant for him to grow up. I am ready for him to start sleeping better though.