Good morning!  Here's wishing you a fun filled day!

20 months old, and doing it well!

A couple days ago I put some shorts on Andy that he wore comfortably last summer.  Then I took him on a walk and as he strolled down the sidewalk they would slowly slip down around his ankles.  This boy is changing so fast from a plump butterball to a busy bee toddler.  Ever since that moment I have been dying to get some pictures of this kid and all of his joys.  We're putting off a professional until after baby girl is born, so I tossed in a few props, threw my camera around my neck, and carted Andy off to Riverside Park.

 His blankie was a mandatory prop.  Pull this thing out and it's like instant cuddle time magic!  I tossed it to him and he dropped to the grass with it, exclaiming "nigh nigh!"

As soon as this boy learned to throw, every spherical object in his path gets tossed.  It's added a whole new dimension to my life, trying to protect vehicle, children, and other fragiles from whatever he turns into a projectile.






I've been slowly trimming away at his beautiful hair.  His wispy curls make my mommy heart melt! 

 His lower lip that he must be careful not to trip over.  It makes me want to talk like Sebastian in the Little Mermaid, "You gotta pucker up your lips, like this..."

 We love this baby!  My favorite page of one of his books describes him well..."You're my Wiggly Worm, My Busy Little Bee, My Silly Goose, My Moosey Moose, My Monkey up a tree."  Oh sweet toddlerhood, we are going to miss you!

God bless America!

We had a fun 4th shared with the Gilbert clan!  Sadly Kevin couldn't join our escapade up to Royal so we started our day out together as a family at the local parade.  Andy's apparently turning his nose up at the abundance of tootsie rolls and scarcity of lollipops the parade produced.

 Some Hermiston buddies, the Adairs, Dickmans, Thomas', and Bliss' (hiding).

Then, we kissed goodbye to Kevin and were off to Royal for some cousin time!  

All the awesome Grandsons!  Brian, Logan & Dane, Carson, Jackson, Jovey, and Andy.   

And some of the awesome-ist Aunts and Uncle Jory.  Then Grandma and Grandpa, where Kevin gets his bewitching good looks! 

This place is a true country oasis!  Some of the Gilbert's friends built this slice of heaven and were so nice to let us come beat the heat.  I came unprepared and ended up going down the slide fully clothed with Andy.  It's official, I want one!!!

 I thought the slide might freak Andy out, but instead, he let out a little "yee-haw" on our way down.  He preferred the edge of the water though, where he could sit and toss rocks.  It's his latest favorite past time.

And what he's doing here as well.  He could have done this into the night but I forced him in for a bath :).

 Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Gilbert!  We always love seeing you!  And it was so good to see everyone else, especially Shannon and Jory's family who are rebelliously far away!  Love you all!!!

" God bless America, my home sweet home!" 

Yep!  It's true!  We are going to be adding a girl to our party!!!

She gave us a "say cheese!" in this shot :)

 Kevin had to work during the appointment so he rushed home at lunch to find out.  I had him fooled with the blue paper but the gender picture and pink outfit clued him in..."What are we going to do with a girl?!?"  Is what he's saying here.  We're stoked, and I've started teaching Andy how to say sister...it sounds like "tetah" right now.  We've got a few months to perfect it!

Holy guacamole! Brace yourselves for some pictures!  This post brings to you a plethora of catch up shots!  Between Easter and now we've done a few things believe it or not.  We went to AZ in May and to UT in June to see Jensen family, and hopefully WA will see us in July to for Gilbert family time.  How do you not take awesome family for granted?  We really have the best family one could ask for. 

 AZ included a lot of relaxing, in the backyard and at the Lake.  I felt pretty spoiled to have Gran and Gramps all to ourselves!  I love my parents and feel so blessed to be on their family tree.    

Andy thought he'd give the dog bed a try while Misty went on believing she's a human.  Since that trip she has gone to dog heaven.  We'll miss that lover of a dog!  She was part of the family.

                                                                    Cute cousin, Sophie

    My sister Jen and her fabulous kids came for a bit.

Then Darren and his wife, Felicia, brought their stud muffins to play.  We celebrated Little Jake's 1st birthday on the lake.

The obligatory Lake Powell powdered doughnuts.  You don't have one without the other.  And Judd will not let you forget!

                                                   

Andy and I sure had a good time at Gran and Gramps' house!

Then in June we shared them with everyone except for Darren who was stuck in Vegas.  UT was so fun, except that Andy has not developed his love for camping just yet, I think between being out of his element (we've got a pretty consistent schedule around home) and the uneven ground, you could describe him perfectly as an "unhappy camper."  Around day 3 1/2 he started to warm up to the mountain but that was just in time for us to pack up.  We have never seen a toddler more happy to spend 7 hours in his carseat.  Kevin and I, on the other hand, enjoyed ourselves and all the family, fishing, trail rides, horseshoes, and food.

   The traditional fish pond.  We don't have a reunion without a fish pond.

            It's a spectator's sport for the adults.

                                                                   Cousins are the best!

                     Face painting with dirt.

Also, of recent tradition...the dance party!

      Another spectator's sport :)

       Imaginary boat rides while the guys are out fishing.

The 'happy-to-be-going-home' camper.

Then, fast forward to this month, we get Gilbert family reunion time.  My other favorite people in this world!  I wish that all of our amazing siblings, their spouses and kids, and our parents could be our next door neighbors...in a perfect world.  These pictures were taken on Memorial Day at Grandpa Gilbert's grave.  He was a pillar of a man and who we named Andy after with his middle name, LaRell.  We love our family!

Part of Kevin's eagle scout project.  I've got some cute boys in my life!

Elder Eyring once said, "Our most important and powerful assignments are in the family.  They are important because the family has the opportunity at the start of a child's life to put feet firmly on the path home."