May Happenings

Just thought I would catch you all up on the ins and outs of what we have been up to.  The month of May was pretty busy for us.  Doug spent a week in Wichita for work and so David and I went down to Shelton to spend time with Diana.  And anyone that knows me, knows there is no way I could spend 5 nights alone in a house.  I would go crazy!  So it was perfect that it ended up working out that I could go down there the whole time.  

For Mother's Day, we celebrated on Saturday instead.  With the weather so nice out all I wanted to do was hike.  The hike I had planned was a pretty short one, since we didn't have a hiking backpack to carry David in.  But it ended up being too far away and it just didn't work out.  We did end up coming across Wallace Falls and decided to check it out.  The hike itself was about 4 miles round trip.  It was beautiful!!  The only problem was we started the hike later in the day and so we had to hike it rather quickly instead of taking our time.  It was worth it though.  And David did awesome!  He rode on Doug's shoulders most of the way, and I carried him a bit as well, although he would have much preferred to walk it all himself.  After this adventure we decided to invest in a backpack.  And we are so glad we did since we did the same hike just a week later with the Anderson's.  After our hike we came home, we fed David and put him to bed.  Then Doug picked up some Mexican food, and we just enjoyed the rest of the night together.  The next morning Doug made a big yummy breakfast.  We went to church later in the day and had a relaxing night afterward.  It was such a nice weekend!

The Anderson's came up the following Saturday.  We went and hiked Wallace Falls again.  Can I say what a difference a backpack makes!  It did take some coaxing on the way up for David to stay in it without screaming, but on the way back he was so comfy that he fell asleep.  Again the views were breathtaking!  We had thought it would be fun to pack lunches to eat at the falls, and it was, but we weren't the only ones with that idea.  There were a ton of people there.  I thought the rain might keep people away, but not here in Washington!  It was pretty much just drizzle, with one short downpour while we ate (luckily there was  cover).  So it turned out to be not so bad.  After the hike we all came back to our house where Celia and Devan joined us for a BBQ and games.  It was a fun Saturday!

Memorial Day weekend we again saw the Andersons!  I am sure they are pretty much sick of us at this point.  We went down on Friday night.  Doug was wanting to work on the truck and so Saturday Ben helped him with that.  Sunday we went to church and had a nice dinner of ribs.  I haven't eaten a lot of ribs in my life maybe once or twice, and I didn't realize how good they can be. (If you can't tell, all of our family get-togethers revolves around food)  With David's B-day on the following Tuesday we decided to celebrate with the family and so I made some cupcakes for David.  He sure enjoyed eating them, but when we started singing Happy Birthday he started crying.  He did the same thing when Doug and I sang to him on his actual day.  Sort of funny.  The boy hates the song.  On Monday we drove up to Port Townsend and went to Fort Warden.  We had a picnic there and played on the beach.  They also have tunnels where they had kept firearms that we were able to walk through.  Although I thought those were sort of creepy.  Port Townsend is a cute little town.  The weather wasn't the best so we didn't get to walk around, but I sure would love to go back and explore some more.  We ended up driving down to Kingston, and taking the ferry back home.  Celia and Devan also took the ferry.  We had about an hour wait and so we got some crepes at a restaurant nearby and had our own tailgate party while we waited.  I say it was a pretty nice way to end the weekend!  The only downfall was I didn't have my camera with me and so my pictures were limited!

  

Lullaby

This post I did mainly to have it on record.  So it might be a little boring for most.  Read at your own risk....

So I was singing to David tonight before putting him to bed.  Now this is a rare occurrence these days since he prefers to be put straight to bed.  So the times I do get to sing to him I thoroughly enjoy!  As I was singing I started thinking about the songs I sing to him.  Most come from my childhood, each were ones that my father would sing to me. (Mares Eat Oats, Edelweis, Down By the Old Mill Stream, Etc.)  The only song that didn't come from my childhood is David's "Theme" song as I like to call it.  I came up with it as I fed him during the first few weeks of his life.  Pretty much I did this to keep myself awake in the wee hours.  Yes I can entertain myself pretty well if I need to!  But I decided I need to write it down in case I ever forgot it.  How sad would that be?  Now that David has a song, does that mean that my new little wee one needs a song of his own?  I guess we shall see.  So here is David's song.  Sang to the tune of Davey Crocket.  Remember when I put this together I was pretty much functioning on zero sleep, just keep that in mind will ya!

Way Down South in the State of Texas
Proudest Darn Place that you ever did see
Born a Wee Lad
He was HUGE but we were Glad
Born with Courage and Honesty

Davey, Davey Young...Full of Righteousness  YeeHaw

Born in the Year 2011
An Era Full of Chaos and Confusion Overseas
Where Evil is Good and Wars are a Plenty
And Davey is Here to Conquer it all

Davey, Davey Young...Full of Righteousness  YeeHaw

Came into the World as David Rodney
Named after his Maternal Gran Daddy
A Man who was Righteous and Served the Lord
An Example set for Davey to follow

Davey, Davey Young...Full of Righteousness  YeeHaw

If His Attitude is like his Eatings or Feedings
He'll be the Greatest Man that the World has Ever Known
He'll Give it all his Might to Fight for What's Right
And This is the Davey We'll Know

Davey, Davey Young...Full of Righteousness  YeeHaw

Although He May be Young
He Can do no Wrong
In the Eyes of his Mom
And so this song will Forever Go On
And On and On and On

Davey, Davey Young...Full of Righteousness  YeeHaw

Catch Up on Our Simple Life

So a lovely friend kindly reminded it was time to update our blog.  Not to name any names, but thank you Chelsee!  You are keeping me in check.  Yeah, I am not so good at keeping up with this thing as I wish I was.  Maybe it should be my new goal, but it probably won't be, at least for a while.  So as for now I will try and update it as I can. 

The last few weeks have flown by way too fast.  I am now just about 26 weeks along.  Baby is doing great!  He is growing like crazy and in turn my belly is getting HUGE!  I just had a women tell me yesterday that I look like I am a lot farther along that I am.  THANK YOU WOMAN!  I really needed to hear this.  Oh the joys of feeling huge.  But really other than that, I am doing great!  I am just so excited to meet this little guy. I feel so blessed to be having another baby and I wouldn't trade it for the world, belly and all.  OK, enough with my yapping, here is my attempt to sum up our happenings...

San Diego Trip -
In the middle of March we spent a long weekend in San Diego.  The sun and I have become strangers these last few months and I felt it very important to meet up with him again.  Oh how I have missed the sun, and what better place to soak up some rays than in San Diego?  We arrived late on Friday and so the next morning as we walked out to our car David acted as though he never seen the sun in his little life.  He wouldn't stop covering his eyes.  I did bring him sunglasses but he insisted he liked mine much better than his own.  Go figure!  We spent our first day at Seaworld.  We had so much fun.  David loved all the shows, rides, and sea creatures.  He is fascinated with fish right now, and could spend hours looking at a fish tank.  This was the perfect place for us to go.
The next day we first went to Balboa Park and did some walking, we then went to Old Town and visited the Mormon Battalion Museum, as well as all the other shops and stops of Old Town.  We also visited the Temple and enjoyed the beautiful grounds. 
Our Last day we drove north to Carlsbad and then drove down HWY 1, we found our way to an IN-N-OUT (of course) and then spent some time on the beach.  David loved the water.  I thought it was still a little too cold (so I didn't even put his swimsuit on) but David thought otherwise.  Me on the other hand let Doug handle David while I soaked up some sun.  And yes it was pretty relaxing.  We then went and walked around Petco Park and let David play some before heading to the airport.  It turned out to be a nice relaxing weekend! 

Easter - 
We colored eggs and had an egg hunt on the Saturday right before Easter.  David absolutely loved the hunt for the eggs.  I think that was his favorite part.  We did put together a basket for him, but being the mean mom I am, I only let him eat a little of the candy at a time, so he enjoyed those goodies but not as much as I think he wanted to.  For Easter we went to church and then came home and had a wonderful Easter dinner with Celia and Devan.  We smoked tri-tip and had homemade mac and cheese, veggies, rolls, and banana pudding.  Now when it comes to food David will pretty much eat everything and anything.  The boy can eat!  But when he tried the banana pudding he spit it right out.  It was pretty funny!  I am guessing it was more of a texture thing than a taste thing, because he loves bananas.  We had a wonderful Easter this year!

Mariner's Game-
We took David to his first MLB game a week ago.  The weather wasn't the best (rain, hail, wind, and clouds) but we still had fun!  Celia came with us and then Devan met us there.  We all got hot dogs from the street vendors before the game, David included.  I tried my first Seattle Dog (with cream cheese) and it was pretty tasty.  David did great through the whole game.  It amazes me that a not even 2 year old enjoys watching baseball at home and can sit through a whole game without much fuss.  That boy is seriously a little too obsessed with sports.  To him everything can be made to act as a bat and a ball.  He just cracks me up the things he comes up with.  The Mariner's did lose, but Doug was actually rooting for the Rangers since 2 of their pitchers were on his fantasy team's lineup.  So it all worked out for him, and I guess that is what counts, right?

Tulip Festival -
We headed up to Mount Vernon yesterday to see the tulip fields!  They began to bloom in the beginning of the month so I was a little worried we missed the peak time to go, but we didn't.  They were in full bloom and beautiful!  I love the area up there.  It reminded all of us of northern California.  It was nice to just get away for a few hours and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us.

So these are most of the outings that we have had in the last few weeks or at least the ones I can remember.  On our regular days, David and I get to spend them everyday together!  Some days seem longer than others but each day he makes me smile and teaches me something new.  I love that he loves the outdoors and the dogs!  I love the faces that he makes.  He is so animated.  I love how obedient he is (most days).  I love that he shares with me.  I love that we can communicate without a problem, even though not all of our communication is verbal.  I love that he loves to learn new things.  I love that he enjoys praying at meal time.  I love that he goes to bed without a fuss.  I love that to my every question, his answer is please.  I love that I am his forever MOM!        

   

         

More Trains, Balls, and Dirt

We are beyond excited to announce that we are PREGNANT with BOY #2!  I am just about 20 weeks, so almost half way there!  Baby Boy is due on July 30th, but if he is anything like his brother I am expecting him sometime early August!  We had an ultrasound last night and everything looks great! 

1 Year Old Davey

David Rodney Young is officially 1 Years Old!  How time flies.  We celebrated with Grandma & Grandpa Plaster in Branson MO.  Since his birthday was on Memorial Day, we had the whole weekend to celebrate!  We left NC at 3 am on Friday and drove all the way through.  David was such a happy baby to travel with.  He slept and then he smiled some.  He woke up so happy each time and as long as we gave him attention, he was a happy boy.  This was quite different than the last time we traveled with him, which he screamed the whole way from Branson to Nasheville.  It was very much a pleasant surprise!  I am so happy we were able to visit Doug's parents.  We had a nice visit and Davey had a blast with them.  He warmed up with no problem.  We celebrated his day with breakfast at the Cracker Barrel and then we had cupcakes.  He was so tired that we had to wake him up to open his presents and eat his cupcake.  I should have let him sleep but we were leaving for Nashville and had to get on the road.

At 12 months old Davey is doing so much more.  He took his first steps in Branson.  Although he still isn't quite walking yet.  We gave him a little push car for his birthday and he pushes that thing all around the house.  He loves it!  He is also signing now.  He knows milk, water, more and food.  He gets excited that we can communicate on some level.  He talks a lot more and tries to mimic what I say.  He is obsessed with his tongue, and loves to stick it out and move it around.  He loves his Daddy.  Each time he hears Doug coming in the door after work, he gets so excited.  He also loves eating off my plate, for some reason he thinks it tastes better.  He is also starting to use utensils now.  He is still breastfeeding, but hopefully will be weaned soon. We have tried to wean him twice this last month, and each time we were almost there he got sick and all he wanted to do was breastfeed.  So it has been a long process.  He is starting to like cow's milk, but his favorite drink in his sippy cup is water.  He loves the dogs tons and tries to open up the door to go out and visit them.  Luckily he can't open doors yet, but he still lets me know when he wants to go out there.

He is such a precious little boy.  It took us so long to conceive him, that we really thought it would never happen.  Little did we know that Heavenly Father had the perfect little boy to send us, all we had to do was wait.  We just needed to be a little more patient and have a little more faith.  I am so glad for our little miracle baby.  He really is a miracle.  A blessing to my life, and a blessing to Doug's life.  He has made so many things perfect.  He is full of such happiness and goodness, that I can't help but smile.  I am so grateful that I get to be his mom and that I will be the one to raise him.  His birthday and his own existence marks the day that our new chapter of parenting began.  We love him and cherish every minute of it.

11 Month Old Davey

At 11 months Davey weighed in at 24.5 lbs. & was 31 inches long.  He loves to wave and stands up holding on to furniture!  He loves his toy cars and pushes them all over the house.  He still loves his baths and his meal time.  His favorite food is smoothies right now.  Ever since he figured out how to wave he does it all the time.  He loves dancing and music.  He had a blast spitting while Grandma was here.  She would make noises with her mouth and then he would copy her.  They pretty much had their own greeting.  He loved every minute of it.

Grandma Davenport's Visit

My Mom came out from Cedar City Utah for a visit.  We talked her into staying for 2 1/2 weeks, and we loved having her here.  We have missed her ever since she left.  Doug was on a business trip the first week she was here and so it was nice having someone here with me.  We took walks and went on lots of drives showing her around the area.  We stopped at some of the random cemeteries on the sides of the roads.  Some might think that to be strange but I loved it.  Cemeteries are so peaceful, and it is always interesting to see how old they are. We also worked on a project of redoing my table and chairs, but more on that to come.

We took a trip down to Charleston SC.  It is such an awesome place to visit!  We took a tour of Fort Sumter, where the Civil War had begun.  We also went and explored the downtown area.  We walked and walked and walked, it was great!  There were so many beautiful historic houses and churches.  Plenty of Revolutionary and Civil War history.   Each corner you turned there was something to be seen.  The city of Charleston encompasses everything I have imagined the south to be.

There is also this huge bridge over the Cooper River that intrigued me.  They have a pedestrian lane on the bridge and each time we drove over it, there were mounds of people either walking or running it.  So I had it in my head that we had to run up the bridge.  I somehow convinced Doug that this was something he needed to do, and so together we ran up the bridge while my Mom and Davey walked around towards the bottom of it.  It really was inspiring.  Once you get to the top you feel as though you are on top of the world.  I loved it.  They also have a really cool park at the base that we went and had a picnic at.

We couldn't come all the way to Charleston without visiting a plantation and so we went and did a tour at the Magnolia and Garden Plantation.  The grounds at this plantation were beautiful!  There were ponds and flowers and private gardens and bridges and so much more.  It was breathtaking.  We also learned that the Charleston dance was actually started at this plantation.  I thought that was very interesting.  There was also an old oak tree in Charleston named Angel Oak that we visited.  It is HUGE!  I don't think I have seen a tree so big.  So we took lots of pics.

At last we visited the beach just south of Charleston in Folly Beach.  This was the first time my mom had touched the Atlantic Ocean.  It was a perfect day to go.  We also ran into our friends the Toone's there.  It was ironic, they were leaving as we were just getting there.  Such a small world.  This was Davey's 3rd time to the ocean.  Each time before he hated the sand and water, but this time he loved the it.  He just sat in the water and splashed around in it.  It made my day that he finally loves the beach as much as I do.

Another adventure that my mom and I took was to Greeneville SC.  We had learned that one of our relatives, My Great Great Great Grandfather Meeks was buried in a cemetery down there.  So we did our research and found a church cemetery of where he was likely to be buried.  We found the church and we also think we found the grave site, but can not confirm because there was no name.  But it was surrounded by other family names and so we believe it to be the one.  It was a fun day.  There was also a cute park in the middle of downtown Greeneville that we went and walked around.  There is a waterfall that runs through the park.  It was a beautiful place to end the day.  We loved having Grandma here!  Davey warmed up to her  beautifully and the day after she left I could see in his eyes that he missed his friend.  We can't wait for her next visit!