Summer get-away to Grampa T's...

We recently took Gavin up to visit "Grampa T" (my dad) and "Gramma S" (my step-mom) in Loveland. They actually live outside of town right across from a beautiful ranch, and they have lots of open space and beautiful gardens in their yard. The river runs right behind their house, and it's so nice and peaceful up there. This picture of the three of us was taken in front of a wagon on their property.
Dad took this picture of us in front of one of his lovely fountains and flower gardens. Gavin was especially fond of the plastic gold fish swimming in the fountain, and we were especially fond of the part where he would put it directly in his mouth. (If you know my dad, this made him cringe every time.)
The bun in the oven is definitely showin' up in this picture with me and my dad. We just had another appointment yesterday, and they said I was 15 weeks and 5 days. We heard the heart beat again and even a little movement! (I knew I was starting to feel something!)
What a sweet picture of Father and Son walking hand in hand out at the ranch.
Gavin liked petting the horsey but was a little thrown off when the horse whipped his head around and swiped Gavin's face. Horses are such large and beautiful creatures, aren't they? We tried to feed several of them that day--a regular pastime for Dad & Sandra--but none of them seemed up for our carrots. Gavin dropped a carrot inside the fence one time, and we had to be sure to pick that up in a hurry before he took it upon himself to crawl under the fence and join the horses. What a little adventurer we have!

Mowing the lawn

This mini lawn mower was the best $1 purchase we've made in awhile!!! (At a garage sale, of course.) Gavin loves to follow Daddy around the yard, and I love to watch. :)
What a cute pair of boys, huh? I'm happy to say that our back yard is currently greener than it was in this picture, due to the random rain/storms of recent days and some occasional sprinkler effort on our part.

4th of July

A local church nearby hosts the coolest activities for the 4th of July, and one of 'em was getting a ride on a real fire engine. It was so fun for me to watch Brent and Gavin climb aboard and to see Daddy explaining everything to his son. Gavin had the same look of shock 'n awe in just about every picture. He was so excited, but you might not know that just by looking at his face...if you didn't know him.
Gavin has talked about this day and the fire engine experience many times since. What a highlight!
Brent thought that it would be funny to take our pictures here. The most humorous part was Gavin squirming out of the face hole from my grip, and I was just barely able to put my face in the right spot and keep Gavin from hitting the ground. So here we are: Mommy and her Baby Benjamin Button.
There was a petting zoo there too (a big draw for Mom), and Gavin got to pet this rooster. He stared intently at the rooster's crest and asked the woman holding it, "What's that?" And then, of course, he learned a new word that day and repeated it several times to practice it. How precious!
There were baby goats too! It was priceless to watch Gavin's face when he touched these animals. He pet some rabbits and a donkey too. What a cool outreach this was! I overheard one of the volunteers making biblical reference to the donkey. I'm always moved when I think about how many people give of their time and their energy to be a part of things like this.

I'm going to be a big brother!

Is this funny or what? He covered his face with this sign all on his own for the first picture, but I have to say that it's easier to read the important information: Gavin is going to be a big brother soon! Yes, it's true, I'm pregnant with #2, and I do realize that this is not news to most of you, though I guess it could be for some. My due date is January 8.
Poor Gavin has been asked to hold this sign many, many times (including for Daddy the day we found out!) and probably has never quite understood why. He "knows" that Mommy has a baby in her tummy, but then again he also says that he has one in his too. I've been telling Brent that it's been really hard for me to imagine him with a brother/sister, but we know that he'll make a great big brother. I'll be 15 weeks on Wednesday, and we have our next doctor's visit that day. It's SO hard for me to believe that at our very next appointment we'll know if our next little one is a boy or a girl. And, yes, we're definitely going to find out! I've been feeling good, over all, though still very tired and wondering when/if the increased energy of the second trimester will kick in. Anytime now! :)