6 months old

On the 14th Gavin went in for his 6 month check-up.
Length: 26 3/4 in. 30%
Weight: 17 lbs. 8.5 oz. 50%
Head Circ: 44.7 cm. 80%

He started rolling over the 1st week of September from his back to his belly (the hard way) and then a week later he did it from his belly to back. Now he's a rolling fool; the second you set him down he starts rolling like crazy. For about a month he has been perfecting his sitting, he just needs to figure out how to keep his back a little straighter, but he does pretty good. He is one of the easiest going kids I've ever met and is such a happy boy. He loves to squeal and see how much noise he can make. We're pretty sure the red hair is going to stick and with his big blue eyes the girls won't be able to resist him. We love this little boy.

Zack- 26 lbs. 10 oz.
Austin- 28 lbs. 10 oz.

Gavin's introduction to food

On the 12th we started Gavin on people food. I think he has been ready for a couple of weeks because he has acted very interested in our food, but I was slow getting some rice cereal from the store and I wanted to wait until he was 6 months old.

He was very eager to get that spoon in his mouth and has done really good eating. BTW, I don't have leprosy or some form of skin disease. I had just finished staining the deck and that stuff didn't come off easy.

Life Lessons Learned

Life Lesson #1- Only use trex when building a deck.

A couple of weeks ago I was outside playing with Zack and Austin and decided that since I've had my dad's sanders since May I should finally get around to sanding my deck. It became a 2 week long project that required every minute of spare time I had. I will say though that it was very empowering for me using power tools and doing what is in my mind "a man's job". Austin and Zack now call the hammer "mommy's hammer" which I think is so cute.
Before- I know it looked terrible, it's been needing it done since we moved in almost 6 years ago.
If you look at the railings you can see that I've sanded half way down, I can't believe the difference.
After- I was so proud that I did it all myself (Aaron basically just stapled some boards in to make it sturdier).
After staining the deck for 7 hours I went inside to learn my 2nd life lesson of the day.

Life Lesson #2- Don't can for 10 hours on a gas stove.

Thanks to my wonderful grandparents I had peaches and tomatoes coming out of my ears. I canned 31 quarts of peaches, 16 quarts of stewed tomatoes, and 11 pints of tomato sauce. I finally finished around 12:30 (thanks to my parents for all of their help that day!) and was crawling to bed I was so tired when the carbon monoxide detector went off. The levels were reading 50 and after doing some quick research on the internet we discovered that it takes 12 hours to start doing damage so we opened some windows and with in 15 minutes they had dropped to 30. It took me another 45 minutes to feel safe going to bed when the detector wouldn't read anymore because they were so low. It was a very long day!

Couch Potatoes

(I love how they are sitting back to back. Their faces are messy from just having fruit leather for a snack.)
Zack, Austin (I have to label because I'm starting to have a harder time figuring out who is who.)
This is the reason we waited so long to let our kids watch TV. I only let them watch it a few days a week, but they are constantly asking. They are obsessed with the dinosaur movie (Toy Story 2). Aaron and I are beyond sick of watching that movie so I tried to find Toy Story and apparently it's in the vault. I don't understand the purpose of the vault and I don't like it!

A date!

We actually got to go on a date sans kids! I know, I didn't know it was possible either. My parents were awesome and came and watched the boys so we could go to the first Utes game together. They played Utah State and won 35-17. It was a fun night! I sure love that guy!

Friends

The first week of September Ryan, Katie, and their kids were in Utah visiting so we got to hang out with them a couple of times. With napping schedules and all of the other busyness of life we just went up to Ryan's parents for a picnic. It was fun to just sit around and chat with them. Our boys and Josh were being shy at first, but it didn't last long and pretty sure they were having a great time together.
The wild animals in the cage: Josh, Austin, Zack
Then we got together with Ryan, Katie, Kayla, Brandon, and Christy, and their kids on Saturday at a park. It was fun for the kids to run around together and always great to see friends.
Cole, Josh, Zack, and Austin
Gavin and Carter getting to know each other

Random

Here are some pictures from the last month that never made it in to a blog post. Be prepared for a long post.
Gavin doing tummy time- this is from about a month ago so he's even stronger now. It's amazing how fast they learn!
His brothers like to do things with him- Austin, Gavin, Zack
Gavin loves to play with his fishies and in the past week or two has started moving a lot more and will turn in circles underneath them.
Zack kissing him on the bed and about 10 seconds after this picture was taken, Austin was play biting his hand and really bit him and Zack hit him on the head. He's going to be a tough boy!
Zack and Austin have become very independent in the last month and now have to get themselves dressed. On this day I gave them their shirts and went to go get their shorts and this is what I saw when I came back.
Zack with a cute flag bum.
This is the adorable view I have while nursing Gavin. I love how he crosses his little legs.
A couple of weeks ago my friend Erika was in town so me and Christy with our kids met her at the South Ogden Splash Pad. Zack and Austin still didn't love it, but they seemed to like it a little bit more than last time. I'm sure next year they will love it. Here is Erika and Ethan.
I totally forgot to get a picture of Christy and Bennett. Sorry Christy!
I didn't get any pictures of Austin in the water because he wasn't in there for very long, but here's a cute one of Zack.
They did have a lot of fun playing on the playground. Austin getting ready to go down the slide.
Zack loved hanging and swinging from the bars.
Austin has a thing at playgrounds that if he looks down and sees the holes he gets really scared. He had been playing for at least 30 min and then looked down; that was the end of the playground for us.
The things they find to play with.
This is from the end of July when Gavin learned to blow bubbles.

Quick update:
Gavin:
He is such a happy, easy going baby which I'm so grateful for. He sleeps from about 8:30-6 every night. He got his first tooth the week before he turned 5 months and the second the next week and he likes to bite (OUCH!) He loves to talk to us and laughs very easy. He is very ticklish. I'm pretty sure his red hair is going to stay. I can't put in to words how grateful I am that he is a part of our family! I LOVE this little boy!!!

Zack:
He wanted to be very independent about a month ago with getting dressed, but lately he has been wanting mommy to do it. He figured out how to open doors this last week. :( He is still a mommy's boy and I love it! I LOVE his smile, he has a sweet little dimple in his right cheek like his dad (which is something I've always loved about Aaron).

Austin:
He has also become very independent. He gets very frustrated when he can't get shirts off, but he never gives up and he is so cute when he's successful. He will proudly exclaim, "I do it!" He also can open doors and he's just taller enough than Zack that he can also turn the lights on. He is also a mommy's boy and they both love to cuddle. I LOVE his sweet personality and his sweet smile!

Heidi:
I've been busy canning and freezing produce. I went and picked 7 gallons of cherries and 2 huge baskets of apricots at my grandparents. I've also picked tons of raspberries and blackberries in my yard and some zucchini. I've been trying to find some time to do some sewing, but I haven't done much. I feel like I'm still trying to find some balance with kids, house work, and yard work and so far I don't think I've been very successful, but I've been loving hanging out with my boys every day. They are all my little buddies and I'm so grateful for them!

Aaron:
Ute football starts Thursday; need I say more? I love him more than ever and I'm so grateful for how hard he works for our family.

Coming soon: a video of Zack "singing" (hopefully)

David and Shalee

On August 15th David and Shalee got married in the Salt Lake Temple. We had to be at the temple by 7:10 in the morning which was not an easy feat, but it was made much harder by the fact that the only person we had to watch our kids was Angie and she wanted to do it at the temple. It did not make for happy kids since they usually don't even wake up until 8 or later.

The ceremony was of course great. I loved their sealer and his advice.

It was raining and cold (60's) so all 3 kids wanted to be held the whole time during pictures (remember- not happy kids!) so I didn't get any pictures at the temple.

After we went to a luncheon at a church in my parent's stake which was very nice.

Then that evening they had a reception in my parent's yard. Luckily it had stopped raining and was a really nice night. My parents have an amazing yard and I always wanted to have my reception in their yard, but we didn't think our guests would appreciate that in December. My mom made probably 10 or more varieties of yummy cupcakes and they had fruit for their refreshments. I thought it turned out really nice and was beautiful. We are so excited Shalee is a member of our family now! It was a great day except for my kids not getting a nap. We left about 10 and they were asleep right after we got in the car. I don't think they have ever been so exhausted.

The pictures are kind of of random things:
All of their nephews on both sides
My little studs with their mom

Zack and Austin
The reception
Zack
Neal
Austin
The cute and happy couple

Pineview

Our trip to Jackson Hole this week got canceled because my brother got married yesterday so Monday the whole family minus my brother-in-law Matt went to Pineview for a few hours. We had a lot of fun playing on the beach and in the water.

Austin and Zack DID NOT like the feel of the sand on their feet and they didn't want to get in the water at all. After about 30 minutes Zack warmed up to the sand and the water. It took Austin a good 1 1/2 hours to decide it was okay. And of course about 30 minutes before we left they decided that they loved it and threw fits when it was time to go.
Steve brought up his kayak so we all got to take advantage and take it for a paddle. It was a lot of fun, but I hope that me and Aaron's ability to paddle together isn't indicative of the quality of our marriage because we couldn't go in a straight line.
Michelle and Zack
David had just tackled my dad in to the water. Time for payback!
My mom, Austin, Zack, and Angie
Me and Zack
My dad and Gavin

Splash Pad

A little over a week ago for another one of our family activities we went to the South Ogden Splash Pad. Austin and Zack love to swim so we thought they would have a blast. They just stood on the outside watching everyone else.
So being the good parents that we are we made fools of ourselves trying to get them to play.
Then they finally decided they would play with the small fountains, but nothing else. Oh well, as long as they had fun; that's all that matters.
Austin on the left, Zack on the right
Being cute, hiding from the sun. I can't wait until he's old enough for sunscreen.
Zack, Austin
Zack
Austin
I had to put Gavin and his cuteness on here so please disregard the lady holding him.