Home improvements

So here are some fun projects that I've been up to in the house. Gage's room has taken several segments to complete and even then I'd love to have pasture fencing go around the room. Maybe during the summer when the garage isn't so cold to work in! The bathroom that I re-did is our masters and now has a beautiful row boat picture in place of our wedding one. In a couple of the pictures Gage is helping his Dad build a frame for a giant 3' by 6' mirror we had cut and it turned out great. Seriously professional looking and I'd bet you'd have to pay hundreds in store to get it's equal. Our grand total cost in the end was only $80 with a lot of the stain and lumber left over so we can use it again! We wanted to put it in our bedroom but it turned out to be too big for the space so we put it in the front entryway and it looks beautiful. I'll snap a pic and get it on as soon as possible. I'm also going to try and include a video of Gage riding his bouncy horse in his room. He was a little unsure about it at first but now he's really starting to warm up to it.

Gage has decided that walking is over-rated and has decided that crawling is just that much better. He walks just fine and takes sets of steps all the time but he's just too lazy to move to it preminatly. He doesn't even fall when he walks. He just maintans perfect balance and sits where ever he's at. Not that I'm complaining. I've heard they get near impossible to watch once they really start running around. I'm just glad that I haven't had to get up with him in the night for the last month so I'm thinking we really are beyond the 3am wake ups. My new fav is that he's starting to throw himself to the ground when he gets upset and I think it's so hilarious. Just face down, kicking feet and then he'll look up at me with such dismay that I can't help laughing. If anything can be said of him, he's got a great boo face.

Temperatures here have been near fatal with several days not breaking zero degrees so I can't wait till the summer comes. Luckly it's been a way better winter than I've had the last few years in Rexburg so I'm not complaining much but I would like to be able to wear less layers when I'm out and about. On another note Cody interviewed for a JAG internship, which is the Army's legal program. There are only 25 positions available in the whole Army so odds are against him. But it did get us thinking about the Jag program and all the great benefits they could offer. Such as retirement by 45, his 8 previous years of service would count towards retirement and he would be in an environment that he's familiar with, student loan payback, and job security. He would also become an officer which would be cool. So who knows, maybe in 3 years we'll be heading out to who knows where in the manditory 4 years abroad. Sounds like fun huh?

Cake Cake and more Cake!

Here's some pics from the birthday party we had for Gage. Turns out I picked the right kind of cake cause he really went for it. I though I'd put some pics of the progression that his cake eating took. He was slightly hesitant at first but by the end he had at least half the cake smeared all over him! The funniest part was that he would cover his fingers in cake and frosting and then lick each and every finger thoroughly before moving onto the next. It took one heck of a bath to get him cleaned off and then we opened a present for him. I took videos of the cake and the present opening so I'll add those on when I get the chance. Thanks everyone for your birthday wishes and I'm so glad he's a part of my life. I love the little guy!

Happy Birthday Gage!

I can't believe my little baby boy turns a year old today! Everyone says how fast it all goes but it seems like this year has been so long just because I can't think of what my life was like before having him. He's such a part of our family that we almost seem like a pretend family without him. Gage has been the perfect personality to come into our family. He's laid back and very content to just be around. I feel like he's already figuring out how to live a happy life. Seriously- nothing gets this kid down! He has taken some serious hits and sicknesses and you wouldn't even know it. He's rough, tough and everything that it means to be a little boy. We wrestle for hours on the couch and rough play by throwing him on anything that offers an ounce of padding and he just keeps coming back for more. His Grandma Brower thinks that he'll be one heck of a wrestler someday cause he just goes for you and doesn't hold back a bit. I've had several fat lips to prove it! Another thing that I love about my son is that he is so curious about everything. Food, the puppy, anything that makes a noise. And the funny part is that he'll just sit and watch it for a while first to try and figure it out and then he'll go after it. He sure is one observant kid. And what he lacks in willingness to smile he sure makes up for in classic expression that could have only come from his Dad. Gage will take any "perfect" photo opt and use it as a chance to take it to a whole new level. He's just so full of expressions and it's made being his photographer a trip and a half. Another thing that I really appreciate about Gage is that he's not loud. He rarely cries and is not into whining (yet) so it's enabled me to retain my sanity, which as we all know is priceless. The few times he's been really sick and has cried for 30 mins straight I realize that I love him so much for his quiet personality. I feel like I don't write what I love about Gage often enough so excuse the Gage fest that this blog is becoming but I really love my little boy so much and am so excited to see what kind of a sweetheart he's going to end up being. Happy Birthday Gage!