It Takes A Village!

Last Wednesday Juli was in town and we decided to take the kids to 7 Peaks.  Juli's M.I.L. Kathy was able to come too and Taya and Seth. Kathy was so much fun to have there. G.K. just loved her! Kaycee was really cute with him too. I forget what a big girl she is. Both Kaycee and Jackson are really good swimmers. We all loved the wave pool and the lazy river. It was fun to play with the big kids while Kathy and G.K. played. I think he mostly pushed his stroller around and around. I wanted to stay later but we had big plans of getting ready for G.K.'s big party!!

Patrick hasn't liked our deck for a while and we've gone back and forth with fixing it up or pouring concrete.. Well the day before the party we got our concrete poured! So needless to say we needed some serious help! Brandon came and helped Patrick load up a ton of dirt and Jenn was so sweet and made us dinner (we don't deserve them at all!!). I needed some help decorating cupcakes which I hadn't even made all of them yet, but Jenn was really patient with me. Vickie also helped me with my first real cake!! I was so nervous and I really think it would be fun to take some classes. It was so hard to get the color just right. Did you know the color brown is almost impossible to make. Unless of course you don't want brown! Brandon (who owns a painting company.. he deals with colors a lot!) got on the computer and found out about Cocoa powder!! If you only knew how long it took all 5 of us to figure that out!!

 

On Wednesday it was my big boys birthday!! I really can't believe he's one! This last year has flown by. We had a lot to do and I had to run downtown to get my packet for the 24th DesNews marathon. We met Kathy, Juli, Kaycee, and Jackson at the old Delta Center and Kathy got G.K. a cute Jazz ball that he loves to chew on! I thought they would have a cool expo but they didn't so we met Gerald and went to lunch at Crown Burger. G.K. really liked Crown burger, their fries are really good! I let him push his stroller around the parking lot before we headed home.

 

When I got home I had so much to do! Vickie and Lyndsey came early to help me set up. Patrick was upset because he couldn't get any sod for where the machines had ripped up our grass (this maked 4 times we'll have put down sod in our back yard :>) We tried to get G.K. to take a nap but he knew there was something going on so he wasn't having it at all

Okay so I really didn't think about his party.. I had it at 5:30 on the hottest day of the year!! It was blazing hot! So we had the "Hillbilly Hot Tub" up and running. We had a bouncy house and some tunnels. The best thing was the shade. I didn't want to get out from under it! G.K. wasn't quite himself because he was kinda tired but he warmed up after a minute

There were a lot of people there. We were so glad that so many people care about our little guy! He got so spoiled with presents!! We really just wanted to throw a party for him. The first time we went to Hawaii our kayak tour guide told us that for the first birthday they throw a big luau for the baby and people don't bring presents they just surround them with people that love them. That was the idea..

I knew better!! We all sang Happy Birthday to Garrison and he didn't really touch the cake. so Patrick told me to show him how to dig in... Well he got the hint! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!  Amidst all the hustle and bustle I forgot that we had tons of candy for all the kids and leis for everyone and a veggie tray.  We had such a great time though. We feel so blessed to have this little guy. 

Party!

 

G.K. took his first step on Thursday, June 4th! He still isn't a "walker" but he walks more everyday and he is getting more confidence. He's had a few falls and I am not ready for him to be walking so we aren't pushing him too much. It is so fun to watch him learn and grow.

But the big story is Boston turned 1!! He is so handsome and such a sweetie!He was sharing his birthday cake with G.K. And G.K. got to meet Avery and he absolutely Loved her! She is such a doll. She has the cutest poses. G.K. always wanted to be touching her and he wanted to play with whatever she had. They kept fighting over the water bottles. It was so fun to have them all together, they are so close in age! G.K. is the bald one. I can't believe how much hair both Boston and Avery have. They are adorable!

 

We had a really yummy dinner and we went swimming (Thank Heavens the weather cooperated with us so we could swim!) Boston got a lot of really cool presents! G.K. loved this blue tunnel. He kept going back and forth through it with the biggest Grin on his face! We had such a good time! It was G.K.'s first friend party and we had so much fun, we will definitely have to play some more!

 

Cruisin'

G.K. is getting so big so fast! I wish he would slow down. Patrick took him outside for a walk. He walked so far, his big toe was bleeding. Patrick made him stop but he was really mad so I got him some socks and he walked  quite a bit more. He loves walking. He gets the biggest smile and is just beaming. Sorry the video is sideways and there is no sound! I wasn't thinking when I was getting this!

What is this?

So G.K. has really been getting around.

He's not crawling but he can cover some serious ground. 

I think his favorite is to stand on his toes and hands/elbows.

It's hard to get good pics of it but I think this one will do.

When he's on the move he almost leaps ahead and falls really hard.

It's getting hard to put him to sleep because he's moving around so much.

He will rock back and forth and hit his head on the bumper pads.

I may need to take them down soon because he is starting to climb up on them.

We may need to put this kid in gymnastics he is so strong!!

eating

So I'm not sure if I've blogged about this or not but we have been feeding G.K. solids for a while now and for the most part he Loves it! His favorite right now are sweet potatoes and peas. We haven't given him many fruits yet. But Root Beer is a vegetable in our house so it's totally okay!

Oh! Look how Big he is!

D'Ohgee can't wait for G.K. to start throwing his food.

This was his first bite of squash. It's not his favorite but he likes it okay.

...Is My TWO Front Teeth!

Okay so I haven't got a picture of it yet.

Trust me I'm working on it.

But, Gk has his 2nd tooth in! 

Poor thing.. It has to hurt.

But he's been really good.

All I Want For Christmas...

He loves to play with his toes when I change his bum

Well today Gk and I had a very eventful day! 

We got to go to lunch with all the girls from work!

I love them all and miss them very much.

(Even Kelli and I just met her today-she took Hana's place)

Anyway we had lunch at Archibald's at Gardner Village

They have the absolute best Fried Green Tomatoes.

Gk was pretty good. It was so good to see Diane she looks great!

It was fun to hang out with them when they weren't working....

(Diane, Heather, Maddie, Teena, Gk, Kelli, Mindy, and Julia)

Aren't they all beautiful!

Then we went shopping with Jenn, just for a 

minute... .

they looked so cute in their matching outfits...

Then we came home and had to finish a project or two.

All day my sweet little boy hasn't really slept.

He's been happy, but something was up.

When Patrick got home he noticed the same thing, so he tried putting him down.

But he wouldn't go down for a nap.

Not even in the swing, which is weird

because he'll always fall asleep in the swing.

So Patrick did some investigating.....

and..

a tooth! Holy cow! A tooth in my little baby's mouth!

I know it's kinda hard to see but it is there!

I took him to the dr. yesterday and I asked her about all his chewing and drooling.

She said it was normal. Babies don't usually get teeth until they are 6 months to 1 year.

Well at 4 1/2 months this kid broke teeth!

My baby is growing up!

98, 99, 100!

Not so happy about the Halloween costume!

Okay I know I am a total cheese! But our little Monkey has been with us for 100 days! Pretty amazing huh! Time sure does fly but at the same time it's only been a hundred days. I can't imagine life without tis guy. I got a card that says, " The miracle is that one little life can change so many!" I think that is pretty true. Patrick and I have gotten closer and are both in love with our son. I can better understand the term "unconditional love" and in that understand the love our parents have for us and the love heavenly father has for us too. It has been an amazing journey, one that has changed me. I am so grateful that GK is healthy and happy. I truly cherish every moment we have together. I love being able to stay at home. I thought I would go crazy but the days fly by. Thanks Patrick for everything You are the best!

G.K.'s Blessing

Patrick blessed G.K at church yesterday

Patrick and I thought he'd be screaming the whole time.

He was a really good baby during the blessing.

He still didn't quite make it all the way through sacrament meeting. He was a hungry boy.

It was weird to sit on the cushiony seats, even when we get to church on time we sit in the back.

Patrick really did a good job with the blessing. Even with all the baby blessings he's done I think it was different for him to bless his own son.  I'm so grateful Patrick is a worthy priesthood holder and can give his family so many blessings. 

He is truly an amazing husband, I know I don't tell him that enough.

I tried to share my testimony during the meeting, but I'm just not an eloquent speaker.

I am so grateful for everyone coming all the way down to share in our little families special day. We have had so many people be supportive while we were getting ready to start our family and now that G.K. is here we can feel the love people have for us.

I'm grateful to my mom, she was an amazing mother, and Patrick's mom has taught me a lot in the past 9 years that I've known her. I love you guys thanks or the examples.

It is so nice to know that there are so many people that support us.

After the blessing we had a little get together at our place.

There was so much yummy food! Thanks everyone for bringing something to share.

(Mikayla, Gavin, Mike, Brooklyn, and Tarese)

Everyone was helping out to get ready.  Parker, Mike and Tarese's oldest was helping me fill up this huge water pitcher in the sink. He told me that it looked like it was leaking but I didn't really pay attention, it was filling up slowly, but it was filling up. When it was full I went to find someone to lift it up for me and when I went back it wasn't as full. The spout was open. That was my little lesson for the day, I need to listen a little better.

(Lyndsey and Patrick's Mom)

Inside people were watching football while waiting for the food. Mostly because the flies and  bees were swarming outside. They were trying so hard to get in. This morning I woke up to flies buzzing around my head. They drive me crazy! I've officially killed 4 though. My aim is getting better even though my reflexes are still slow!

(Juli, Kaycee, Jodi, and Dane)

(Carson, Michelle, McKell, and Paxton)

The grill was a little smokey, I think some of the charcoals got wet so it was a smokehouse bbq.

Patrick, Patrick's Dad, and Garret)

It is tradition in Patrick's family to give the baby a taste of ice cream on their blessing day.

I'm not sure how much he liked it, he doesn't show his emotions a whole lot. But if he's anything like me he'll be able to down a pint in less than 5 minutes.

After Patrick gave G.K. an ice cream mustache, it was pretty cute, but that he knew he didn't like.

We had so much fun. It was really good to get to hang out with everyone.

We can't wait to see what an amazing little boy G K will be. He has blessed our lives so much already. I never knew having a child would change our lives so much! I'm glad we waited, I think the timing was perfect for us. He has truly brought an amazing spirit with him. I hope I can always feel it. It warms our home.

Welcome G. K.

On Wednesday morning Patrick took me to the hospital to be induced.

Traffic was terrible, it almost took us an hour to get there but they still had a room ready and waiting for us.  

This was Patrick and I before the labor pains started. When I went in I was dialated to a 3+ and 80% effaced.  They started me on the pitosin at about 8:45, at 10:30 I was dialated to a 6, and at 11:30 I was dialated to a 9. So it went really really fast. Which was really good and a little bad because the epidural didn't really get a chance to catch up with the contractions. Well it did work on my left side but my right hurt really bad. At Noon the nurse, Janean (she was amazing) came in to check me and she said I was at a 10 and we were going to do some "practice pushes". My doctor was on lunch but would check in she said. He came at about 12:20 and didn't look really serious so I wasn't worried until he checked the baby and put on his gown. Then I was pretty freaked out. 

Garrison Kalvin Lowder was born at 12:35P.M.  He weighed 7 pounds and 3 ounces. He was 19 and a half inches long.  He has the most adorable cry that I have ever heard. I think it is still too hard to tell who he looks more like, he is beautiful.  He loves his Daddy!  

Patrick gave him his first bath and I think everyone on the floor heard his screaming. 

Garrison has big hands and feet like his Daddy. 

I love my Boys!

The whole experience just went by so fast I can't believe that he is really here. 

Thanks everyone for making this such an amazing experience and sharing it with us. 

We are new at this whole parent thing, and it has been fun to hear everyones stories. 

We feel spoiled and I think that G.K. will be spoiled too, but I heard that you can't spoil a baby.