2 years- much older and sillier

My little Davin turned 2 on October 19th.  How crazy, right?  He is such a little cutie these days and we sure love him.  He makes us laugh multiple times daily, here's why... (this is kind of long, keep in mind it's really for us to remember down the road, you don't have to read them all)

• Davin is a terribly picky eater (no, this part is not funny)  It's very frustrating, but he proves to be more stubborn the more you push him, so we make his food available all evening and usually he will at least try some before he goes to bed.  A couple of nights we've made it all the way to bath time without him being willing to give it a go, so we took his plate into the bathroom and tried to feed it to him as he played in the tub.  Both times we've done that he's ended up eating his entire plate of food...it's a bath time miracle.  Eventually we'll work on eating our food at the dinner table, but for now I'm more concerned with actually getting it into his fat little tummy.  
• Along the same line, him and I have some similar texture issues.  Things that are thick and creamy will sometimes make me gag.  The other day he took a big bite of sour cream (i'm sure thinking it was yogurt)  i'm a terrible mother because I knew what would happen but didn't stop him.  He about died and looked at me as if I had betrayed him.   He also sometimes just touches things and decides they're too slimy or unacceptable for his delicate palate .  For instance, he has never eaten lunch meat because it's cold and somewhat slimy.  He acts like he will but as soon as he touches it he changes his mind.  
• He has so many cute little friends where we live now.  He knows them by name and gets very excited when we get to play with them.  However, sometimes when we're at the park by our house playing he will just start walking home, look and me and insist, "mommy, home!"  He knows his limits.  
• We've had quite a few people comment on his expansive vocabulary.  He really does quite good.  He knows all his colors, counts to ten (sometimes creatively, he doesn't seem to like the number 4), knows most his basic shapes, knows a couple handfuls of letters, and surprises us daily by spewing out random words we had no idea he knew. He gets excited when he sees "yetters" places.  Like the big ones on the walls at the grocery store that say Dairy, and Produce etc.  He yells out "yetters!  yetters!  O! A! O! I!  O!" He really likes the letter O.  
• Every time I say we're going to the store he says "yeah! store!  Buy toys!"  I let him pick out a matchbox car at the store ONE TIME  months and months ago and for some reason he can't let it go.  
• He thinks every present contains a car.  
• We recently took him to see his first movie, Brave, at the theater by our house.  I felt like a terrible mother because I'm pretty sure he was terrified.  It turned out to be pretty intense, and we were sitting close to the front so all the action was directly in front of him.  We thought about leaving part way through (seeing as we get in free because taylor's a student it wouldn't really matter) but we decided he would have been more upset if we left because he was waaaay into it.  He sat on taylor's lap the whole time absolutely glued to the giant screen.  When it got scary he would grab taylor's hand, place it strategically over his eyes so they were mostly covered  but could still see, and wouldn't let him pull away until it wasn't scary anymore.  I was a little worried it would bother him for a while, or maybe at nights but it didn't seem to at all.  He's a champ, but I think I will screen our next movie a little more carefully.  
• Some of my favorite words or phrases of his include: "Yove you too!" "Silly Mommy" or "silly" anything. "Here you go" said while handing us completely random objects we have no use for. "Yightening mcqueen, kachow, kachow!"  "Mommy, watch dis" and then he pauses so he can think of something silly to do.  "help me mommy!" as he lays on the floor and pretends like he can't stand up on his own.  Plus so many more... 
• My last blog post about how he tried to kick me out of the living room so he could create mischief has become a favorite strategy of his and he uses it almost daily.  The other day he tried to convince me that I should go inside and let him stay outside.  I couldn't figure out why, until I noticed the piece of candy on the sidewalk.  Nice try Dav. 
• Sometimes after we read our bedtime stories, Taylor and I will forget to say prayer.  He will usually very quickly say "no mommy, pray." 
• He has started to become sensitive to my feelings.  If I act sad about something (usually to tease him) he will stare at me for minute looking very concerned, and then throw out his arms and say "mommy, big hug!" 
• A couple nights ago we were reading a book about shapes.  We were on the heart page so I decided to tell him that he has a heart inside of him that he could feel if he put his hand on his chest.  He was super fascinated with this concept and for a couple days would randomly pull up his shirt, put his hand anywhere from his belly to his actual heart and then say "Davin heart."  Seriously adorable.  Well, tonight as we were getting ready for bed he was lying on the floor doing the same thing and he started saying something that I couldn't quite figure out.  It took a few times but I finally realized he was saying "Heart mommy, get heart out" 

He has grown up so much in the last few months and has really started to come out of his shell, try new things, and acts a lot braver than his old timid little self.  He still is usually very careful when it comes to new situations and, thankfully, still needs his mommy and daddy.  There are about a billion more things that are adorable to us, maybe not so much to you, I will post some more as they come to me.  And this took too long, so i'm not even going to add pictures at the moment. In the near future perhaps...

Oh little Davin, Mommy and Daddy love you so much.  I hope that as you grow up you can maintain your careful approach to life but at the same time can be brave enough to live a life full of adventure and excitement.  There are so many people that love you and your sweet smile.  Being a mom isn't easy.  But when I think about all the things you've learned, how far you've come, and your sweet little personality that is all your own I've realize I've never felt more gratified or happy.  Please always remember you are the most important thing to your Dad and I.  We love you, would do anything for you, and pray for you every night.  We're sorry that you're our "experiment child" and hope we don't mess up too bad.  I believe you'll be resilient enough to bounce back from any of our mistakes.  Always try to be happy, keep an eternal perspective, and enjoy life.  We love you little goose!  

Sneaky

Today, Davin took being sneaky to an entirely new level.  He recently learned which button is the open/close  on the DVD player, this morning I repeatedly told him to leave it alone, and most importantly, don't mess around with the dvd inside.  A little while later, the stinker grabbed my hand, let me to the bottom of the stairs, and then insisted "mama, upstairs!" I asked if he was coming with me, he declined my offer and again insisted "mama, upstairs!"  This was new for us and for a few moments I wondered what was up, it didn't take long to realize.  I obliged his request and made my way up the stairs.  He stayed at the bottom watching my ascent, and wasn't satisfied until I'd reached the top and turned the corner, after which he quickly ran back into the living room.  I waited for about one minute then slowly and quietly crept back down the stairs and stuck my head out over the stair rail to witness his mischief.  Sure enough, he was at the DVD player pushing that most beloved button repeatedly, taking out the dvd, playing with it, putting it back etc. etc.  The kid was in heaven.  Can't you just picture those little wheels turning in his little almost 2 year old mind?  "Hmmm, mom says no, but if she's not here, she won't see me and I can do whatever I want!  Genius baby!  I'll just, ever so innocently, send mom upstairs and she will have nooooo clue what I'm up to."  When he eventually saw me peeking at him, he gave me his biggest, most innocent "too bad I'm this dang cute, and you don't even want to tell me to stop" smile.  He was right.  It's a good thing his other habit of late is randomly throwing his arms out wide, yelling "big hug!!" and running towards us to attack with a giant hug.  It seems he "ups" his level of cuteness on the same advancement schedule as his sneakiness.  I've gotta give him credit for that...

One more

Ok, just one more thing that's different in Oregon....(at least for now...)

Utah construction zones-
If the area being worked on is this long   _________  then the coned off area is this long ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(seriously)

Oregon construction zones-
If the area being worked on is this long ________ then the coned off area is this long ____________________(seriously)

Oregon probably saves a fortune every year just in cone production.  (or lack thereof.)

This could possibly, in and of itself, be a justifiable reason to come visit us...  :)

it must be the end of the world

There have been some changes that have occurred in our family since we've moved here....I've become...domestic!!  In the past week I have made blackberry jam, strawberry jam, and canned peaches with plans to can pears this weekend.  There must be something in the air, I never saw this coming.

More Things Oregon

A few thoughts about how things are different in Oregon...

*Pumping gas-all that's required now is to hand your card to the guy at the pump and say something fun like "filler up!" and then sit in your car, cozy and warm, while it's all taken care of.

*One way streets are EVERYWHERE! I seriously feel like I need to relearn how to drive, it's ridiculous.

*No sales tax!  Let me tell you about my excitement when I went to the dollar store, bought 5 things, and the total cost was 5 dollars!!!  Sweet!

*The town is small, but combine never having been here with all the one way roads and the multiple highways and ways out of town and it makes me miss the simple days of  the grid and getting on i-15 and driving until you reach your destination.  It was surely simple back then.  And to make matters more interesting, combine all that with a GPS that randomly decides to shut off and then won't turn back on...now that's excitement.

Now an unrelated thought... does anyone else have a hard time with those "identify the letters before you comment on this blog" thing? I got an email from my mom the other day saying she tried ten times to identify the letters so she could comment on my blog, but eventually gave up.  I'm just grateful it's not just my eyes getting worse.  Those robot automated comments they're trying to protect us from must be getting smarter...

Oregonians Shenanigans

We live in Oregon now, it's true.  All things considered, the move went very smoothly with a few small exceptions (let's just say it's a good thing I married a very patient man...) We've been here for about a week and a half and have had some fun "oregonian" experiences...a couple of trips to the coast (60 degrees, overcast, and windy but the soft sand and beautiful views were so worth it!! Now when we say anything about the beach Dav wraps his arms around himself and says "brrrr." we need to take him to hawaii.) picking wild black berries (which grow EVERYWHERE!!) and sweating it out in our house because of this freak 100 degree hot spell and no air conditioning (thanks for the welcome Oregon...where the heck is this rain everyone keeps talking about???) I may live to regret that thought in a few months.

Now that we're here and (mostly) settled, please consider these requests...
1. will someone who has even an itsy bitsy. smallest, tiniest bit of design talent please come decorate my house for me?? Please!!!
and 2. Don't forget us up here! Come see us! I will take you to the beach and give you a lovely pull-out couch to sleep on and entertain you with an absolutely adorable almost two year old (who went to nursery and stayed in nursery for the whole time without crying for the first time today! yayayayayayayayay! Best day of church ever!)

Davin is having fun so far and was so thrilled to see all of his toys and his bed again.  Every time we pull into our parking lot he shouts out "new house!" He'll probably call it that until we move in 4 years. We will miss being close to family, but are so excited to be here and to get to experience this new, exciting stage in our lives.  We've met some great people so far and hope they can endure my taylor's weirdness and become great friends.  Love you all, don't forget to visit, the couch is all ready for you...

And just in case you don't believe me, some pictures to prove we're here

 It took a lot of self control for Dav to leave the rocks alone this long. They were destroyed about .2 seconds after the picture was taken. 

 Cannon Beach

 Ecola State Park. So incredibly beautiful. 

 Lush woods and gorgeous ocean...I may or may not have committed taylor to buying me a house here one day...

 Just in time for low tide. Awesome tide pools and our cool starfish. 

 Quite possibly the first picture we've taken of just us since Dav was born...sad...

 Soooo tired

Look closely-there's a fuzzy caterpillar on his arm. he was in love with that thing.  At Aunt Karen's and Uncle Mitch's. 

Perpetually red-faced

People!  I recently had a breakthrough after happening upon an article online about chronic blushing and I realized that I AM A CHRONIC BLUSHER!!! In a nut shell, I probably have a heightened sympathetic nervous system (my extremely fair skin doesn't help either) that simply causes me to blush involuntarily at just about ANYTHING! (Ok, it has gotten a lot better in the last few years, in fact when I first read the article I thought "oh yeah, I use to do that all the time") If any of you high school friends are reading this, I'm sure you remember me going bright red ALL THE TIME, right? In case you've forgotten, let me remind you about an 8th grade english class and our poetry unit.  We wrote poems as groups, and I specifically remember that two of the five or so poems mentioned something about my face going red, I was that cool.  :)  Actually, I do remember getting teased about it, but it was always by my friends and it was always good natured.  In all honesty, getting teased about it was probably one of the best things for me.  Let me explain.  I've always been one completely willing to laugh at myself about an abundance of things, it makes life much more bearable not to mention enjoyable.  Had my friends not pointed it out and caused me to simply laugh at myself and deal with it, I probably would've tried to hide it, which would have been impossible and kind of consuming and depressing.  You might be thinking, oh come on, it's just blushing.  But think about it for a minute.  What if you blushed every time you met someone new and had to wonder if they thought it was weird that you were blushing.  What if you blushed every time you talked to a cute boy, or even an ugly boy, or blushed when you answered a question in class (even if you knew you were 100% right), or if you blushed when someone even mentioned the word "blush." I could go on, but you get the picture, right?  The more I think about it the more I remember, holy crap that was annoying.  I specifically remember feeling my face going red and thinking, "it's probably not that bad", and shortly thereafter having someone blurt out, "Wow! You look like a tomato!"  Had I not just laughed about it (most of the time) it seriously would've been overwhelming because it would've constantly been a worry and an embarrassment.  In the articles I've read online, chronic blushing can actually lead to erythrophobia, which is the fear of blushing.  And that obviously would just get you into a bad cycle.  Ok, so my point...  I consider myself lucky.  In the articles online I've heard stories of people who basically have their lives consumed by the blushing.  The first article that caught my attention and led to my research was about a college kid who committed suicide because he just couldn't take it, which is just terrible.  (I promise I was never anywhere even remotely near that point.  My dealings with it just hovered around annoyance) So thanks friends, for making me laugh about it.  And my other point... I AM NORMAL!   :)  (haha friends, the truth comes out!) Seriously it was kind of a relief just to hear that other people deal or dealt with it too.  Yay for normalcy! Really though, it just feels good to have an explanation.  And even though I mentioned that it's not near as bad as it was, it's definitely still there.  And because it most frequently comes around when I'm meeting new people I've considered using this as an introduction..."Hello, my name is Michelle, and I'm a chronic blusher!"  What do you think?  (And just remember, in past situations or in future ones, going red doesn't mean I'm embarrassed about what's going on, it just means I'm me!)

18 months

Someone in our house just turned 18 months last week!!  Davin is growing up so fast, it's unbelievable how quickly he reached this milestone.  Strange how some days seem to take weeks, but when you look back on the weeks it seems like only days have passed.  True to form, here are some bullet points of fun things you need to know about Dav at 18 months...

• Dav is already the jealous type.  He gets mad at Taylor if he holds my hand or hugs me for too long.  The other day we were hiking with Dav on Taylor's back.  Taylor was holding my hand as we walked and when Davin looked down and realized he got really mad and kept pointing at our hands. It wasn't good enough that we let go, I then had to hold hands with Davin as we walked.  
• He LOVES to wave to people.  He waves at pretty much everyone we pass, and will keep waving until they wave back. 
• Davin thinks he can juggle.  He puts a tennis ball in each hand and then moves his hands up and down and all around in the air and is really proud of himself while he does it. 
• One of Davin's favorite parts of the day is when I eat cereal in the mornings.  He insists on sharing with me and will usually sit by me on the couch waiting for his turn for a bite.  
• This warm weather has been awesome and Davin starts asking to go outside or "sigh" as soon as he wakes up.  Luckily it appears he has more of his Dad's skin than mine.  We were out one day longer than planned and I got a pretty good burn on my arms while Dav got nothing.  He already has a cute tan line on his neck.  I love it! 
• 2 months ago Davin was an incredibly picky eater, but he all of a sudden started eating soooo much better.  I attribute that to the fact that he got a lot better at eating with utensils which he prefers because he HATES having dirty hands.  In fact, if he's eating something, like fruit slices, with his hands we have to clean them off before he will touch any of his other food.  Silly goose.  
• He says quite a lot, but many of his words sound very similar so it's hard to distinguish.  My favorite word he says is "yeah"  He says it all the time and nods his head really big every time he says it. When we ask him if he wants something he has started saying "I do" (at least we think that's what he's saying) it's pretty cute.  
• Davin is still a very sensitive, shy, and timid soul.  Little things make him nervous, like leaves blowing around in the wind  (but I don't mind because he usually runs to me and needs a hug) 
• Today he experienced puddle jumping for the first time and was in heaven!  He kept asking for more "mo" and wanted to walk around and find every tiny little puddle.  
• He  loves, loves, LOVES to spin in circles.  Seriously, if he is in a silly mood he will just spin in circles for like 20 or 30 minutes at a time and he just giggles uncontrollably the entire time. I think he just loves feeling dizzy.   
• Davin just started trying to snort like a pig...I love it!  
• At his 18 month doctor's appointment he was 50th percentile in weight and height and his head has started to become proportionate to his body and is now only the 80th percentile!  Way to go Dav!!  

There are many more things about this little munchkin that are so fun!  He keeps me laughing every day and we love him an incredible amount!  :)

Sporting a mohawk and a cheese smile

This was probably one of the best days of his life! He was in heaven. 

You can't see it very well but he is pointing to his bandaid.  He was super concerned about this owie.  

Loving the bucket and shovel at the reservoir.  

Realizing that his hands are dirty.  He did kind of shrug it off and keep playing though, I was proud. 

Every blog needs an Easter post...

I don't want to feel left out in the blogosphere, so I MUST include a post about our Easter, chock full of pictures of my baby being adorable with his very own Easter eggs. It was a pretty typical day. The Easter Bunny had brought Dav a basket the night before and he was very excited to see it in the morning. We don't have a ton of pictures from the day because we mostly took videos...

I don't know why he has a sad face in this picture, he was actually super excited about his basket and of course about the eggs because there was CANDY inside!

That's better...sort of...

We did a small egg hunt for him outside. This is actually after he found all the eggs, but he had so much fun and was still walking around looking for more so I stole his basket, walked to part of the grass where he couldn't see me and re-hid all the eggs. It was just as exciting the second time around! In this picture he was lining his eggs up and "counting" them.

EGGS!!

Looking like a really really big boy carrying his basket!

This was such a fun day with Davin! It seemed like the first holiday that he kinda understood what was going on. He knew that the basket and all the fun things in it were for him the second he saw it and I loved seeing how excited he got! One thing is for sure, he would eat candy all day long if we let him.

Outside fun in the sand

This warm weather lately has been lovely! We've managed to escape the doldrums a few times to experience it first hand. One day we went to Snow Canyon in St. George. We hiked around and then ate lunch in a nice sandy area. I'm pretty sure I had more fun than Davin... :)

Just a nice family picture with beautiful Snow Canyon in the background.

One day we also went down to Sand Hollow Reservoir. Taylor used his float tube to do a little fishing and Dav and I played on the shore in the sand and got our feet wet in the cold water. Here is Davin looking out at the tiny speck that is Taylor.

How could I not include this one? His face is shiny from the sunscreen, and the sun must have been in his eyes.

Dav and I really did have a lot of fun. However, I think his favorite thing was experiencing cheetos for the first time. He was in cheeto heaven.

This is just a random picture from the other night. Dav was getting his jammies on but wouldn't let go of the tennis balls he was holding. I don't know why I found this so funny.

I know that wasn't much of an update, eventually I'll get around to it. Until then just trust me when I say Dav has been learning, growing, and getting cuter by the second. (I promise I am a completely unbiased mother....)

Lately...

Life has been pretty chill. We don't have too much going on down here. Davin keeps us laughing while school and work and Davin (of course) keeps us busy. The impending move to Oregon is getting much closer (about 5 months now!) and we are getting very excited! I do wish, however, that I could go to sleep about the time the packing commences and wake up again when all our stuff is unpacked and put away in Oregon. (Have I ever mentioned how much I absolutely DESPISE moving??) Any tips anyone has on moving long distances would be most appreciated! Now on to more important things....

DAVIN! This little guy is so much fun! (frustrating at times too, of course, no doubt about that) Here are a few quick bullet points about the little man at 16 months...

• He still loves to play with balls, but cars, trucks and basically anything with wheels are a new favorite.
• He has gotten much better at communicating what he wants to us, and has some very strong opinions. Luckily, he doesn't say the word "no" yet, he just shakes his head. He has started to say "yeah!" He mostly says it when he's really excited about something. The other day I asked if he wanted to go outside, and he basically screamed "YEAH!"
• Light switches are the new coolest thing! Unfortunately he can reach his bedroom light switch from his crib, so for the past week whenever I go to get him in the morning or after nap his light has already been turned one. Sometimes I will see his light go on even before I've heard a peep out of him.
• PICKY EATER! It's one thing when he just won't eat something because he doesn't like it, it's another when he gobbles it down one day, but won't touch it the next...any tips from you fabulous mothers out there??
• His best tickle spot is his little neck. He acts like he doesn't want us to tickle him but will tip his head back, giving us the perfect target.
• He likes to play the classic "I'm gonna get you" game, and will run away laughing so hard he sometimes topples over. However, he's not very good playing in reverse. He will chase us about halfway across the room and will then turn around and run away again.
• And my personal favorite... He has started saying the word "whoa" and uses it in many instances. We now have evidence that he is all guy because his favorite time to use the word is after he farts. Just tonight he had some great big gas bubbles escaping in that not so polite fashion, and after every time he would pause, look surprised, and then loudly exclaim "whoa!" Gross.

I could go on and on and on and on but will stop there. While being a mom is really really hard at times, it is also really really awesome more times. I love being a mommy, and I love my little mister so much. He makes me laugh every day, and makes me want to pull my hair out about every other day. Life is not perfect, but it is good!

And now a few pictures for your viewing pleasure...

For a few weeks he went through a shoe fetish stage. He would constantly be putting on any shoes he could find.

Just a little yogurt beard

A little burrito all rolled up

He has perfected the cheesy smile and will do it on request.

Love, love, love this picture! Wearing a ball cap, a backpack, and his best "cheese" smile. He looks so grown up I want to cry a little.

We took a mini day trip to Zion's (thanks to Jared and Kelsey giving us their pass) Davin loved his new hiking backpack

Throwing rocks in the river, he basically freaked out when we made him stop so we could leave

Daddy and Davin. I told Dav to smile and he made this face instead. He thought it was hilarious

He was poking Taylor's head, our little jokester!

Just chillin!

One Sentence

If you told me to describe this entire last week in just one sentence it would have to be this...

Davin cut FOUR teeth!

No further explanation necessary.

Update: I just kicked Taylor's butt in a game of Sorry! (Yeah we're cool like that) My week has been redeemed!

One of those days

Today was one of those days...you know what I'm talking about. A no makeup/no leaving the house/pull my hair out/baby driving me crazy days. I tried to plead with Davin to go play quietly in the corner and please don't touch or eat anything you're not suppose to, instead he peed on the carpet. You'd better believe that kid will have a ten o'clock curfew until he's 25... :) (He did manage to give me a few kisses in the mix which made me consider an 11 o'clock curfew...we'll see how the next 16 years of his life go...)

Random + Christmas fun

First some random pictures . Dav likes to sit on our laps when we read to him, so what does he do if we are laying down and he wants to read with us? He just climbs right up of course. It's a good thing Dad had this one memorized.

Cute little bear outside in the first snow.

Looking snazzy all ready for church.

Playing peek-a-boo, a favorite pastime.

There he is!

We went up north a few days after christmas and got to spend time with my family. We were lucky enough to be there for Vivienne's baby blessing.

Here's Brielle, Davin, and Vivienne. Of course the girls are adorable while Davin sits there and cries. Oh Davin.

Dav and Brielley

Grandma and Grandpa with their 3 grandbabies (and uncle jeff)

We were down in arizona for Christmas day this year. We were lucky enough to be able to stay there for almost a week and had lots of fun with the Blancos.

Their friends the Colliers do a live nativity at their farm. Taylor was a wiseman. His job was to lead a llama to the manger and then get it to stand still for the manger scene.

It was pretty cold. Poor Davin couldn't see...

Shaundra, Tavi, Dav and I

Blanco family tradition- caroling

Cousin fun! They had fun together.

The three blanco boys in their matching jammies!

We had to give them a large amounts of cookies to get them to cooperate for this picture.

Christmas was awesome! We got to spend a lot of time with family. By the end Davin knew who everyone was and would point to them when we asked. It was a much needed break, but it was nice to come home.