Family Reunion!

This past Saturday we had a Spain/Tow family reunion. Tiff's grandma and Aunt Linda drove out from Michigan to be there. We had a BBQ outside and enjoyed the weather. Haven and Avie were able to meet all kinds of family they had never seen before. Both kids were spoiled horribly and passed around. Aunt Linda was sneaking Haven cookies every chance she got. Haven was thrilled. Grandma Spain got to hold Avie for the first time. Everyone agreed that Avie looks just like Tiff and Haven looks just like Mike...

This is Tiff with Avie and Aunt Bree

This is Tiff's Aunt Linda

Tiff and Avie with Great Grandma Spain, Aunt Bree and Great Aunt Linda

Us with Great Grandma Spain, Grandpa Spain and Uncle Travis

Preview of Haven's new bed...

Papa is building Haven a spaceship bed. It will hold a twin mattress, but it will much more exciting than just a "big boy bed". It will have a cockpit, wings on the side (one of which will fold down into a little table), windows, doors and even a built in toy chest! It is like a giant play house or play...spaceship. You get the idea. Mike and I picked out the color for it last week. We will begin decorating Haven's room with a space theme. We stopped by the other day and got to see how it looks so far. Haven had no idea what it was, but he was excited anyway. Papa is doing a great job. We can't wait to see the bed when it is all done. Here are some pics of the work done so far. Check back for more pictures when the bed is done.

Swimming!

Today we took the kids swimming at the rec center. There is a huge kids pool with slides and fountains spraying everywhere. They also have a lazy river than lets you float with the current. This was Avelyn's first time swimming. She wasn't exactly thrilled. She clung to dad and we couldn't get her to take her thumb out of her mouth. Haven had a blast. He played really hard and wore himself out. He wasn't too happy when it came time to leave, but we promised to take him back soon. Here are some pictures...

Trip to a Ghost Town!

Today we all visited Nevadaville! This town was built in the 1800's and now is empty. As some of you know, Mike is working on a western script, so we actually went for location scouting purposes, but it was a fun family outing. We packed our lunches and headed up into the mountains. Haven was feeling a a little adventurous, so we had to keep him close by. He saw his first chipmunk and called it a dog. ~shrug~ Better work on that...

Haven's 2nd Birthday Party

Haven is officially a 2 year old! We celebrated with family this past weekend. Haven was very excited over his cake, but was much more interested in the toy cars on top of it. After we had cake, we opened presents. He got a lot of fun stuff including a cool car and his first tricycle. Mike seemed proud when he opted to use his imagination and had great fun with the big box the bike came in. Uncle Shannon wasn't gonna be left out of the fun. Haven and Shannon played with the box for a long time.

Haven was worn out by the end of the day. He has stayed very busy all week with all of his new toys. Some pictures are included, but I will be adding more once we get them from Grandma and Grandpa, so check back!

Watch Out World! Here Comes Avelyn!

Avie started crawling last week at 6 months old! She started out pretty slow as she tried to figure out how to coordinate everything. But now she is efficient and can follow us anywhere. She tries her best to keep up with Haven.

Mike and I are on our toes now. She is surprisingly quick about her mischief. She investigates everything, including plants, the dog's food and water bowls, Mike's PlayStation controllers, fans and her favorite is computer cords. When I lose her I know to check the pantry. In fact, since starting this post I have pulled Avie away from the dog's water and pulled Haven's shoes out of her mouth. ew.

The new found mobility is resulting is a lot of clean up...before and after Avie has been there. But don't worry...Haven is a great big bother and keeps a watchful eye. I hear "no no A-ee" often and there Haven is to tell me she is eating the computer cords again....speaking of, I better get go get that light cord away from her...

Here are some pics of her crawling and some fun pics of her this past month. She is growing so fast!

Forced to Implement Timeout...

He received several warnings to stop his inappropriate behavior, but refused to better his behavior, so Haven was forced to put him in timeout. Yes...I said Haven put his bear in timeout. I am not real clear on what exactly the bear did that Haven thought warranted a timeout, but I'm sure Haven made the right decision. In this house we can't tolerate bears throwing fits, hitting, biting or talking back. Haven knows the rules better than anyone. Haven is a little busy with "bear care" at the moment so I will share the part of the story I know...

I was busying working when I noticed Haven was really quiet. You know...the kind of quiet all of us parents get when we are obviously disapproving of a certain child's...or in the case, bear's behavior. So I looked up to find Haven kneeling in front of the bear who was now sitting unhappily in the timeout chair. Haven spoke softly to the bear and pointed to his own eyes so the bear would look at him while he was telling him why he was sitting there. Haven then walked away to leave the bear to think about his behavior. About five seconds later, Haven again knelt in front of the bear. I heard more soft mumbling and he pointed to his eyes again. Apparently the bear did not want to look at him while he was talking. But Haven stayed consistent and made sure the bear knew who was in charge. I'm not sure what Haven said to the bear, but it must have moved the bear to an apology because Haven picked him up from the chair and gave him a big hug.

Whew. Glad Haven handled that one. I implement enough timeouts during the day. Haven also diapers the bear and puts the bear to bed so I don't have to worry about it. He sure is helpful.

I just hope the bear learned something about behaving nicely. I would hate to see Haven put him in timeout again.