Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was an interesting one.

Woke up excited. I was already. Cheese ball made, bags packed. All that was left was getting everyone up, dressed, the car loaded, and we were on our way.

It started out just like all our other Thanksgivings spent here in Arizona. We have loved them. We go to Eric's Aunt Marianne's house. She makes a FABULOUS meal, we all enjoy one another's company. We all sleep over to do Black Friday shopping the next day..... it is always super fun.

This year was a little different.....

This year we ended up in the ER.

It all started before dinner. I was in the living room playing with Marshall on the floor, Eric was in the kitchen, Gavin was outside in the backyard playing with his cousins. All was well. Then I hear the crying, and Andrea yelling my name over and over again. I get up thinking that Gavin has just been scared by Sammy when Eric walks in carrying Gavin with blood all over himself and Gavin.

This image is forever imprinted in my memory.

I follow Eric into the bathroom and as calmly as possible get Eric to move his hand from Gavin blood covered face/forehead. There is about an inch long gash that is just spirting blood. Andrea grabs a washcloth, I throw Marshall in the carseat and we are off.

Gavin is sitting in my lap and I am holding his head as we follow Eric's Uncle to the hospital. We get Gavin to calm down enough to tell us what happened.

All the kids were just playing and running around when one of the cousins throws a big river rock which happened to land on Gavin's head.

It wasn't until later that it dawned on me how serious this could have been and very blessed we are that it didn't end up being something more serious.

We get to the ER and luckily enough there was basicly no one there. The nurse comes out looks at Gavin's head, which at this point had stopped bleeding. A few minutes later they call us back. A little while later the PA comes in and cleans up Gavins head and face.

All the have to do is super glue it !!

Answer to prayers! I just want to jump up and down! I am so grateful. I know the process of getting stitches and I don't know if I or Gavin would have been able to make it through that. Little did we know that stitches weren't even on opition. It was either glue or staples!! Thank goodness for glue!!

Gavin was so brave and did not cry at all. I think I was more shook up then he was.

Later now when you ask him what happened he says ..... that his cousin threw a rock and hit him on the head then he went to the dr to make his ouwie better and to clean up the BBQ sauce aka blood.

 I forgot my camara so these are pictures from the next day.

Gavin's cut head. His hair is stuck like that now from the glue! We are probably going to have to just shave his head to get it out.

Here's Gav happy as a clam with the new animal blanket ( the nurse gave him) and the toy he got to pick out for being so brave!

 

 

Gavin's new blanket and Zurg toy! He loves them both. Sleeps with his blanket every night and takes Zurg with us almost everywhere we go.

Gavin's brave face.

One tuff kid!

It's been over a week now and Gavin is doing great. He doesn't even notice his ouwie anymore. Eric and I on the other hand are super paranoid about it. We are so worried he is going to bonk his head. Gavin is a bit clutsy! Not sure who he gets that from......

One thing that has come from our little adventure is that I am so grateful for my sweet Gavin. Not that I wasn't before but like I said before when all was said and done and I could take a second and think about how easily we could have lost him forever....

Those rocks where huge and could have very easily done some serious damage.

It just reaffirms my beliefs that life is so short and you never know when the Lord will call you home so we must be very grateful for the time we have together.

I love my boys and my family so very much.

I would do anything so that they never have to feel any pain or go through anything like Gavin did.

I also know that that is not life and that we have to go through these things to help us grow and make us stronger.

Let's just say Gavin and Marshall both got a lot more hugs and kisses then they usually do this past week.

I guess this Thanksgiving the thing that I am most grateful for is my beautiful little family. I am thankful for the knowledge that families for forever and that no matter what life throws at you that knowledge is sure.

Brothers

Before we had any kids, even before I was married I always said that I wanted a lot of boys....I even said all I wanted was boys! And can I just say I love my boys! They are so cute and so much fun! Gavin makes me laugh everyday with all the funny things he says and He amazes me with how smart he is! Marshall just melts my heart with his sweet smiles and his new little laugh! I can't wait to see who they becomes but I love where they are at now and I'm enjoying every minute!!!

I need to be better......

So its been decided...... I need to be better at blogging. After all it is almost like a journal, and I also enjoy reading other's blogs and maybe there is someone out there who likes reading mine so ....... disicion made..... I need to be better.

To begin with I guess I should update all you avade readers with what is going on in the lives of us Tippetts.....

Daddy Tippetts.........is working hard and well working hard for his family. He just got promoted a few months ago and it keeps him busy at work but happy. It has been a major blessing and a great answer to prayer! So HOORAY for Daddy's Job!!!

Mommy Tippetts............ is busy being a mommy! I don't really do much else! Not a whole lot to report. One other thing I need to work on is finding time to clean the house..... hahaha! Now that the weather is cooler there are parks to visit...... no time for housework. YUCK!

Gavin Tippetts.......aka Handsome Gav..... Gav had his 3 year appointment and weighted in at 31 lbs and 37 and 3/4 inches tall! He is doing so so so good and is super smart! He loves to read books, play with animals, and dinosaurs and knows all of their names....seriously all of them. He knows more names of dinos then I do..... He loves to watch videos on youtube (all educational, of course, except for maybe a few funny farting ones here and there). He is seriously the smartest little 3 yr old I know. He is so tenderhearted and still love to cuddle! I hope that never changes!!!

Marshall Tippetts.......aka Moo Moo..... Marsh is now 3 and a half months old and growing strong! He is such a big boy! At 3 months he weighted 14.2 lbs and was 24 inches long! He is huge! He is such a happy baby! He smiles all the time. Even when no one is looking at him. He can roll over from back to tummy and talks all the time!!! Now that he is getting over his reflux he is such a good baby and a joy to have in our family! I just love his chubbyness and rubberband rolls!

Marshall Eric Tippetts

My sweet Marshall is finally here. Actually he has been here for over a month now but I've been busy. Marshall was born on July 10, 2011 at 10:37am. (exactly 5 minutes later then his brother was born! Gav was born at 10:32am) He weighed in at 8 lbs 15 oz and was 20 inches long. He had a smaller head then Gavin, thank goodness. The labor went well. Gotta love the epidural!! It took almost 12 hours start to finish. His first few hours where a little rough. He swallowed a lot of fluid and had a ton of "spit-up" if that's what you call it. Have you ever heard of someone's water breaking after the head comes out? Well that's kind of what happened. My water broke but his head and body acted like a plug so when his head came out so did all the water. Weirdest thing I have ever seen! Sorry for the details but I don't want to forget them. Nursing has also been ten times easier this time thank goodness!!!! We like to call Marshall our little Marshmellow! He loves to eat and that is all he wants to do. In fact he eats to much and gave himself reflux. I ended up taking him at 3 weeks because he would just cry and cry when he would eat and I didn't know what was wrong because he wasn't spitting up so I didn't think it could be reflux. Sure enough. The Dr said its because he's eating to much and his little tummy can't hold all he wants it too. Poor guy. In those 3 weeks he gained exactly 2 lbs! He is doing better but still struggles a little with his reflux! He is too cute though with his double chin and rubberband legs!!! We just love him!

Gavin has been going pretty good with Marshall. He treats him so nicely and has never been mean to him. He is coping pretty good with all the changes in his life. He loves to give Marshall kisses and he loves to hold him. The only real acting out has occured at night. He gets up everynight and wants to come into our room. I'm pretty sure its because Marshall gets to be with us all night. But we are working on it and over all he is an amazing big brother.

My three wonderful amazing boys! Oh how I love them all so much!!! I don't know what I do with out them!

My sweet boy having a a little skin on skin time a few hours after he was born.

Minutes after birth.

It has been a hard transition but I love my family. I am so grateful for how very blessed we are.

Some Thoughts I'm Having

It's only about 2 days before baby Marshall makes his arrival. I am excited to hold my precious little boy in my arms at last but I can't help thinking about my sweet Gavin.

I'm sure this is normal. I am sad for him. He has no clue how much his little world is about to change. He has been the center of our lives for so long. He has gotten all of Mommy and Daddy's attention. He has been spoiled.

These past few days I find myself giving more hugs and more cuddles and being more emotional when I watch him. He is so special and such a good boy. We have been truly blessed by having him in our family. He is so smart and loving and kind. He is definitely Mommy's little buddy and Daddy's playmate! We have so much fun together, the three of us.

I have always known that Gavin wouldn't be our only child but the transition is making me very emotional. And although I will miss our little family of three I know that becoming a family of four is what God wants for us.

I am excited for Marshall and so is Gavin! Every night when Gavin says his prayers he asks Heavenly Father to bless baby Marshall and then gives my tummy hugs, kisses and "moochies" aka Eskimo kisses. My prayer is that Gavin will adjust well and that I can be a good mommy to both Gavin and Marshall.

A Night at the Ball Park

Back in May Eric won some tickets to the D-Backs game!! It was so much fun! They were great seats. Gavin did a lot better then we thought he would and he loved it. The people behind us kept yelling at the players and then Gavin would repeat what they said. It was so funny. Every one around us was laughing. And of course we had the token drunk couples in front of us to keep us entertained as well. There was lots of laughes and good time even though the team lost. I hope we can do it again soon!

Mommy and Gavin

Daddy and Gavin

Gavin

Gavin and Mickey

Easter!!!

Playing a little catch up!!! Easter was really fun this year. Gaving was really excited for the Easter Bunny to come. We got up early and lead Gavin out to the family room to see his basket! He was so excited for his Curious George puzzle and his new bubble gun!! After church we went to Eric's Aunt's house for dinner and an Easter egg hunt. Over all a very fun day spent with family!

REWARDS!!!!

The dreaded potty training has begun. We have been working on it for months now. Gavin understands what he needs to do but really just likes his diapers. (I was hoping to have him trained by the time the baby comes, fingers crossed, perhaps we still might.) It has been very frustrating, but we are getting there slowly but surely. He has the hardest time with going number 2, so as a reward we told him that if he did it we would take him to the zoo for a camel ride. He has been wanting to do this for a very long time and so sure enough within a couple of days of making this promise he did it! We were so proud!!!! So the first chance we got we went to the zoo for a day filled with fun!

Here is Gavin feeding a giraffe! He loved it!

Eric and Gavin after feeding the giraffe.

The promised ride! He smiled the entire time!! It's amazing how big the camel's really are! You don't realize it until your two year old is sitting on their back!

The orangatan exibit opened that day and it was awesome! Gavin loved the baby orangatan and still talks about how it was chancing a bunny that was inside the enclosure.

And of course no visit to the zoo is complete without a ride on the Merry-Go-Round!!

 

 

So you are probably wondering, or maybe your not, if Gavin is continuing to do well with his training? The answer to that question is a resounding...............nope. Once he got his camel ride he is once again content with his diapers. We haven't given up.....yet. I'm still praying that he'll just magically "get it" before baby comes!!!

Utah trip March 2011

Ok so it's taken me forever to finally post about our trip to Utah in March. I really have no excuse other then pure laziness. So here it is! We left for Utah on March 11 and drove straight there! It was a really long drive but it was fun because we were so excited to go. The first few days we spent with Eric's family and had so much fun. Then we spent a few days with my side of the family, and the last few days where with Beth and JD. It was nice to go back and see everyone and visit. We had so much fun and Gavin loved every minute spent with his many Grandparents and cousins! The trip back was long!!! We decided last minute to leave a day early so we would have a day to veg when we got home. Well that morning Gavin starting getting sick and not feeling very good! So our 10 1/2 hr drive turned into a 12 hour drive. We had to stop several times and Gavin was just miserable! By the time we got home (430am) my feet and ankles where swollen and we all just crashed! Besides all getting sick we had a great time!



Gavin pulled the laundry basket in the background over his head and took off the top layer of skin on his nose just before the trip. So he has a band-aid on most of the time.

Feeding the ducks at Salem pond.

Playing on the swings with Dad.

After church on Sunday.

Gavin got a special treat when he got to sit on Eric's friend Aaron's motorcycle!

Aaron and Gavin.

Feeding the horse at Grandpa Mike's house.

Wags and I at her new house.

Gavin riding Trax. He loved it! And still talks about it all the time.

Sydney riding the train.

Temple Square. It was really cold and windy that day but we had tons of fun anyway!

The Girls! Becky, Rosie and Me.

Beth, Macee, and Me!

Eric and Syd! She loved Eric and couldn't get enough of him. She wanted him to hold her all the time!

Syd, Gav, and Marney the Dog

Bethany and Sydney

Gavin and his best buddy Lis. One night when we were all hanging out Lisyl and the girls where getting ready to leave and Gavin kept saying "Lis come back!"

Gavin and the Girls minus Lucy. Lucy was really sick while we were there.

Gavin and his cousin on Eric's side of the family, Selah.

Gavin, Grandma Sue, and Selah. Grandma Sue had this cute little kitchen set and they just played and played and played with it!

Baby Boy !!!

It's been a crazy week and a half. We got a phone call saying we needed to go in for a special ultrasound to check baby's heart because at the last ultrasound his heart rate had dropped. Of course they tell you not to worry which means that is exactly what you do. So the ultrasound was today and all is well. Baby looks perfect and his heart is just fine! Just a weird fluke. Thank goodness. It was really fun to see baby again and I have never had a 3D/4D ultrasound. Some of the images were a little creepy, I'm not going to lie but most of them were simply amazing! I can't wait for my little guy to come!

Here is a 3D/4D image of baby with his arm and hand up by his face!

This is the best shot they could get. He was a little stinker and wouldn't really corporate with us to get a good face shot. Here he is snuggle up against the placenta.

Here is a pretty good profile shot.

We are so excited for him to join our family..... here are our top names that we like so far. Nothing has been decided yet.

1. Carter
2. Marshall
3. Asher
4. Van