Getting Gavin Dressed.....

....is a timeconsuming ordeal! Gavin insisted on wearing daddy's shirt to the grocery store. (Mom won this one!)

Lights on Peacock Lane

Last night we drove to see the lights on Peacock Lane, a road about a 10 minute drive from our house that has gained a reputation for having very cool light displays. Its in an older neighborhood, so the houses seem to have even more "character". Gavin called one of them "a gingerbread house". Click here to see pics!

Montage of Cuteness

Super Cute!

I am having a ball dressing Alayna up in so many super cute outfits, thanks so much to Melissa, who let me borrow Maddy's outgrown clothes.

**NEW** MySpace Link

Just for fun, I made a MySpace page. You can view it by clicking on the MySpace link to the right.

Let it Snow~Let it Snow~Let it Snow

About a week ago we got our first (and probably only) snowfall for the year. At 7:30 in the morning, Gavin wanted to go out and play in it. At first, I hesitated. It was, after all, only 7:30 a.m. But I soon realized that if we waited, it would probably be all melted within a couple of hours. So, we got Gavin all bundled up and he marched through the snow, bent over to touch it, stomp in it and feel what its like to go down the snow-covered slide. Ahh, to be 4 years old again!

More Arizona Pics

Mom just emailed these additional pics from our Arizona trip. I thought they were so good that I wanted to share them with all of you. I just have to say my favorite is the one with me and my sisters, Karen and Kelly. I love my sisters so much! I'm so glad we were all able to hang out in Phoenix!!!

In Loving Memory of Cliff Harris

Chad's Grandfather, Cliff Harris, went to be with the Lord this past week. Chad flew out to Boise the day after Thanksgiving with his siblings to attend the service. He just got home last night. Although a tearful weekend, he said it was a very nice service and so good to be with family. We have been so blessed to have many more years with Grandpa than we ever expected or imagined. I found his obituary and thought some of you might like to read it.

On our way to preschool this morning, Gavin says...

"Mom, did we bring our smoke today?" Smoke, smoke....I had no idea what he was talking about. "Smoke?" "Yes, smoke coming out of a smoke stack." "Uh, no, sweetie, we didn't bring our smoke today." He sounded disappointed. "Oh," he said, "but all the other cars have their smoke." Then I realized what he was talking about. He saw the exhaust coming from the other cars and it looked like smoke (it was a chilly 35 degrees this morning). "You know what, Gavin," I said. "I was wrong...we DID bring our smoke today."

Rejoice in the Miracle of Birth!

What a beautiful statement, huh? Well, I wish I could take credit for creating it, but it was actually in an email I received from my aunt who was announcing the birth of her first granddaughter, Emilia Hope Harris, daughter to my cousin, Adrienne, her husband Seth and proud big brother Ethan. I wish their family great blessings and congratulations!

Alayna in her strawberry outfit

Mom, this is for you.....Alayna wore the strawberry outfit to church today. I absolutely love it!

Congratulations Meagen & Jeff

Gavin, Alayna & I flew to Phoenix, AZ last weekend to celebrate the marriage of my cousin, Meagen to her beloved Jeff. It was SO beautiful! The weather couldn't have been more perfect for the outdoor wedding. Here are some pics from our trip!




Alayna wore her purple dress that she got as a gift from Grammy Miriam....That is my favorite dress and I was almost afraid she'd outgrow it before she ever got the opportunity to wear it! Gavin had a ball playing with his cousins Noah and Samuel....you should have seen them chasing each other all around....they got so wound up that finally someone found that cord and tied them to the tree! We all had such a great time....I'm so glad we were able to come out for it.

~Alayna at 5 Months~

At five months old, Alayna is as cute as ever! She began laughing out loud this month. She loves grabbing her toes when she's getting her diaper changed. She's always full of smiles.

Although we haven't seen any teeth yet, she's showing all the signs of teething (drooling, fussiness that is soothed with cool items in her mouth) so we know its just a matter of time! She's also on the verge of rolling over. She can almost complete the turn...but not quite.

No doubt, Alayna is a cute baby, but she is going to be a beautiful girl. Her (still) blue eyes and dark hair are a unique combination. Oh, and she loves her big brother, Gavin. She stares at him in the car everywhere we go.

Its a bird, its a plane, its.......

SUPER GAVIN!!!! Gavin's Superman costume was a huge hit! Little old ladies oohed and ahhed. A group of older boys kind of "adopted" him. "Hey Superman, come with us," they yelled. "Let Superman get some candy." It was very cute.

Here in Portland it was a cold, windy evening and Gavin had a great time "flying" around the yard!

Our Little Lady Bug

Alayna had a good time tonight going trick-or-treating with her big brother. She only lasted a short while in the cold, but she was SO CUTE, I just couldn't hardly stand it!

~Alayna in a Pumpkin~

Pumpkin Fun

After Chad got home from work last night, we all hopped in the car and headed over to Rossi Farms to pick out some pumpkins. We got there just as they were about to close, but we quickly found some great pumpkins and headed over to Melissa and Jason's house to carve them. Here are some photos of our evening!

Breastfeeding FYI...

I learned something new today from Melissa, my go-to girl for all things breastfeeding. Melissa is training (and almost done!) to be a LeLeche League leader. I was concerned because I got pretty sick this weekend (horrible flu-like thing that Gavin caught on Friday and I was sick with by Sunday). Anyway, I was worried that Alayna would get sick because I was nursing her. Had I been home, I probably would have had Chad feed her from my frozen supply, but we were up in Washington celebrating Chad's 33rd birthday, so I had to continue nursing her). Well, now I'm glad I did. Turns out, that when I get sick, my body produces antibodies that is passed to Alayna through breastmilk and actually decreases the chance that she will get sick. Here's a great LLL link with more info for all my breastfeeding friends out there: http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/sick.html

All Bundled Up!

Our project for today was working on the yard. It was rather cool and I didn't want Alayna to be outside without a hat. For some reason, I couldn't find her regular hats, but I found this one in a drawer. Its a bit big.....she's got quite a bit of growing room.....but she looked so cute in it, I had to snap this picture!

Trip to the Coast

We went to the coast today. Drove over to the Tillamook Cheese Factory and then stopped at all the beaches along the way going north. Here's a few pics from our last stop in Astoria.

A Day At Mt. St. Helens

Mom and Dad are here from Michigan and we've been doing all sorts of sight-seeing over the last week. Today we went to Mt. St. Helens, which was just spectacular! Here they are with Gavin and Alayna.

Link of the Day

Awesome Musician, David Klinkenberg....Check it out!

What a Big Girl!

Alayna has been demonstrating that she wants, very badly, to be able to sit up. However, she has not been able to do this unassisted. So, we got her this Exersaucer (a fabulous deal on Craigslist!) and she absolutely loves it!

Rachael...

I'm not sure why I feel led to post this link today....but I do, so I will. This is a website dedicated to the life of Rachael Barlow, a close friend of my sister (Kelly), whom she met through her Teen Mania internship in Texas. I got on her website today, which I haven't done in a very long time, and I am amazed at the extent of it. One thing that I learned today is that although I will never be able to understand why God chose to take this child of his from this earth, her legacy indeed lives on and is still changing hearts and lives to this day. With that, I give you http://www.rachaelbarlow.com/.

Gavin's First Day of School

I can't believe Gavin's first day of school has finally arrived. I think I was just as excited as he was (maybe even more so) as I packed his little lunch box and picked out his outfit to wear. He nervously smiled as we walked in and found his classroom. At first he was overwhelmed.....kids everywhere! Finally, the playdoh table caught his eye and it was there that we said our "goodbye, I'll be back soon"s. Now, just a few more hours and I get to go pick him back up!