Jason Top 10

4 years ago today, I made the two best decisions of my life - to wear white shoes before Memorial Day and to marry my amazing husband. I actually can't believe that it has only been 4 years, it seems like sooo much longer (I mean that in the best way, Babe). I even had to count the years again today to be sure. Life before Jason seems like a book I read a long time ago - enchanting but inconsequential.

In reflecting on this anniversary, I decided I would share my 10 favorite things about Jason:

1. His maturity.

2. His humility.

3. His ability to eat under any circumstances.

(Yes that is a whole bagel in his mouth.)

4. His ability to handle pressure without breaking a sweat.

5. The refreshing smell of his armpits when we hug.

6. His willingness to risk his life for me, even if it is just to make sure I get a roasted marshmallow for the evening.

7. His respect for me at all times.

8. His talent for getting something on his shirt at least once a day, even if a bird delivers it from above.

9. His manly physique.

10. His dreams of being a star.

(I realize that I somehow managed to take the video below sideways, but it is still worth posting. Check out those swinging hips!)

Thanks, Sweetheart, for everything. Especially for not checking this blog often enough to know that I am posting these pics! Happy Anniversary!

Easter Festivities

Gabby had a very exciting Easter weekend. On Saturday, she was invited to an Easter egg hunt and lunch at a friend's home. It took her several eggs before she realized that she was supposed to find the eggs and put them in her little basket, but once she figured it out, there was no stopping her.

Discovering another egg, but enjoying the flowers simultaneously.

The competition is on.

Sweet victory.

On Sunday, some friends had us over for a yummy Easter breakfast. Gabby and her friend, Tori, had a great time playing together and having another mini Easter egg hunt. They became so good at sharing that they kept putting their eggs in each others' baskets. Apparently Tori was better at this because somehow Gabby managed to come home with a lot more eggs than half!

We also watched General Conference and taught Gabby a little bit about Jesus Christ and what Easter is really about. (Jesus is one of Gabby's favorite words and I hope that with the frequency that she points out His picture everywhere and shouts His name, it isn't considered in vain...). :)

By the end of the weekend, Gabby decided she is a big fan of Easter!

Gabrielle Boyer, Bee Slayer

She looks so innocent, doesn't she? Don't be fooled. Especially if you are an insect. Yesterday, we came home from a playdate and Gabby quickly began busying herself near her table as I put things away. I noticed her crawling around under her table - I assumed she had dropped a crayon or something. But then she came over to me saying "uh, oh" holding out her hand and saying "pa" (which in Gabby language means "poubelle"/garbage). She often finds tiny crumbs on the floor and wants to throw them into the garbage, so I still did not think anything of this, but since she was persistently pointing under the table, I decided I would help her find whatever tiny piece of trash was disturbing her organized mind.

What I came to find was none other than a suffering bee - a hornet no less - right where she had been focusing her attention on the ground. I quickly checked her for any signs of a sting, but she appeared unharmed. I have no idea where this wasp came from, but I can only assume that our invincible daughter discovered it and decided it was garbage, pinching it to near death in her attempts to pick it up. (See crime scene in photo above.) While I am certainly glad that she did not get stung, it also worries me to have such fearless child. Perhaps I have made the bees in her book seem too happy and fun....

Gabby's Sibling Revealed

Pros:

• Gabby & sibling will be best friends (whether they like it or not)
• We already have a wardrobe for her, pre-stained
• We have had a practice run with a girl and not so much with a boy
• Girls 3 : Boys 1 - we are totally winning in this household!

Cons:

• She may be a bit of a tomboy, since Jason will be teaching this child how to throw a football by 9 months, no matter what sex she is
• We originally avoided buying gender-specific baby supplies, which are never as cute as the girly options -now we are stuck with the animal car seat
• We have lost all hope of carrying on the Boyer name now that we add yet another x chromosome to the collection on both sides of the family

It's a...?!

At last the day arrived to find out if we are having a boy or a girl! And of course, our little one decided it would be funny to play a little joke on us and cross its legs, blocking all views of the necessary organs! Seriously?! Does this happen to other people?? Of all times to decide to be modest. So, the suspense continues. We have been referred to another office where they will do some 3D images, so that the gender will not be questionable (we hope!). Check back Friday for the real announcement!

The baby is waving here as he or she teases us.

Hugs & Kisses

Gabby loves to give hugs and kisses (or "bisous" as she knows them). When saying good-bye or good night to someone she becomes a leaner and expects a kiss, no matter how well she knows the person. She also is a girl among mostly boys her age in her little social group. Put these together and you get a hilarious video that was taken a little while ago, by our friends the Burns:

http://aaronandmelanie.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/matthews-girlfriend/

Gabby is used to being the bigger and more aggressive one. She doesn't really know how to react with the tables are turned! Too funny.

Recent Distractions

Gabby recently enjoyed the Seattle Science Center with her friend, Josh. Well, actually, she only enjoyed one small part of the toddler area of the Science Center. I could not get that girl away from the water!

So this is what it is like to be in the 50th percentile in size, instead of the 99.99th.

(By the way, she may tell you that the ring is a halo, but it is actually a reflective stroller in the background.)

Can I take a message?

Uncle PJ comes to town!

Crazy display at the Experience Music Project (EMP).

Gabby thought the EMP was a dance studio.

New Abode?

After using every moment of our February free time, we are now under contract to buy our first home! The closing date is set for April 20th! (We've come a long way from our tiny New York apartment....)

Love is in the Air

Gabby was invited to her first Valentine's Day party a few weeks ago. She had a great time socializing with her friends, but the highlight of the event was coming home with a bag full of Valentine notes and goodies. This bag provided countless hours of entertainment for weeks. She just kept taking each item out studying it, "reading" it, and once everything was out, she returned each item to the bag with care. She didn't care that many of the items were sweets, she just wanted to play with them. Why didn't I think of this for our last airplane ride?

This is what we gave out for Gabby's Valentines:

Gabby is also getting lots of practice showing love and taking care of her babies. It doesn't get more generous than Gabby sharing her own precious food.

February Snapshots

Gabby can finally look like a girl! (Or at least a female cartoon character with horns.)

That is until she wakes up the next morning, when she looks more like Chris Farley...

She has taken a liking to making her own fish soup.

Just a little more milk should do it....

She had a lot of fun jumping around at an indoor inflatable playground this week.

She is also getting ready to be a big sister.

I set this box down after a Costco stop and she couldn't get enough of climbing up onto it. She was even more proud when she successfully climbed up with both of her babies on her own. Seriously - she sets up better photo ops than I can.

And of course, it is about time that I post a video of Gabby's Penguin Dance.

A couple of months ago, Gabby learned that penguins waddle, so whenever we ask her what a penguin does, or if she sees a photo of one, etc. she begins this little dance:

Baby Boyer Take 2

That's right! My body is currently working hard to produce another pair of Boyer cheeks! We have experienced so much joy with Gabby that we are very excited to soon welcome another baby into our home. My due date is July 28th, so I am a little over 3 months along. Let the countdown begin!

Boyertown and Beyond

Over the New Year, we took a trip to Philadelphia to visit Jason's family. The locals were so excited to have us all there that they named a town after us (see above). Okay, okay... Jason's brother and his family actually live about 30 minutes from Boyertown, where the Boyer ancestors settled in the 1800s. I have to admit it was a pretty cool town though.

The flight there was about as good as a flight with a 14-month-old can get. Although the flight was full, there happened to be an empty window spot next to us, so Gabby got a little space to move around and to lounge:

Gabby met her cousins for the first time. She LOVED them. And luckily they got a kick out of her, too. They made each other giggle constantly and Gabby was giving out kisses and hugs left and right. She also finally learned to do stairs, after taking many a fearless cliff dive off the entryway steps.

The family recently discovered more of the Boyer lineage, so we visited some very old churches and graveyards, where we located many Boyer headstones. It was so freezing, I was almost buried there myself.

Our oldest niece, Katelyn, was baptized while we were there. It was wonderful to be part of that special occasion.

Eventually, we made it home. And I do mean eventually. When we made it to the airport, we discovered that our flight was delayed 3 hours, then 4, then 5.... The plane had some mechanical problems and they could not use it at all, so they finally decided to wait for another plane to come from Amsterdam that we could use. Of course, it was already impossible to catch our connecting flight in Phoenix. The airline at least was willing to offer food vouchers and a hotel. However, when Jason made it though the long line to speak with them about our arrangements, he discovered that the earliest they would be able to get us out of Phoenix was two days later! Um, no. It was time to use the Gabby card. After they realized what we were dealing with, somehow they magically got us onto a direct flight to Seattle that night. Hallelujah!

But we still had to survive that 6 hour flight with Grumpy Gabbers. Remember the photo at the beginning of this post, where Gabby was chillin' in her seat on the airplane? Picture the complete opposite for our return trip. After 7 hours in the airport, and departing at what should have been her bed time, she was not a model child. I am going to leave out the details of that horrible flight, in hopes that I might eventually forget the torture. However, I do want to remember this: long international flights with a 1-year-old are now out of the question.

Devastating Earthquake in Haiti

Photo courtesy of www.metro.co.uk

I usually limit this blog to updates on our family, but the 7.0 earthquake that took place in Haiti yesterday evening has constantly been on my mind today. I was in Haiti two years ago with the non-profit organization that I worked with at the time (Catholic Medical Mission Board). I have lived in impoverished countries in Africa and never had I seen poverty the way it was in Haiti. (To read an article I wrote about my visit, click here and see pages 4-5.) The Haitian population was in need of help BEFORE the earthquake. Now their suffering is unimaginable.

I cannot even put my thoughts into words. They were not able to meet the medical needs of their people before the earthquake - now with their few hospitals collapsed, no supplies, and their few doctors among those killed or missing, how can they meet the needs of the tens of thousands who need care? Paved roads there were almost non-existent, dirt roads covered in giant pot-holes were the norm - with the additional rubble on the limited roads, how will emergency supplies get to the people? Especially when there is no gasoline. Food, water, shelter... the people have needs that will go unmet for a long time. And Port-au-Prince is known for its violence - how can people feel safe when they have to sleep in the streets?

The good news is that neighbors are helping neighbors locally and furthermore, there are people reaching out to provide relief from around the world. Those who may not have ever given a thought to Haiti in the past are giving selflessly. Trials like these do bring out the good in people. They also help us realize all of the many blessings in our lives that we take for granted.

Below is a slideshow of some of the photos I took while I was in Haiti visiting hospitals, clinics, orphanages and schools run by local church organizations supported by CMMB. (The link to the article above explains the stories behind many of the photos.) The hotel I stayed in (Hotel Montana) is apparently flattened and many UN officers who were staying there are still unaccounted for. My prayers go out to my friends and colleagues there and all of those suffering in Haiti right now. If you are able to send help, please do. These are the types of situations that my training is for, yet in my current position I feel like I can do nothing but donate and spread the word to encourage other people to help.

Christmas Activities

This Christmas was full of many firsts for Gabby. Below are some samples:

Gabby finally learns to keep a winter hat on (so much so that she likes to wear one around the house).

OrthoWashington's Christmas Party: Dinner in the Space Needle.

Gabby develops a fear of Santa at our church Christmas Party.

(What would Christmas be without a few tears shed over a strange looking man with a beard?)

Gabby becomes a pro at baking Christmas cookies (and stealing dough).

We enjoy an evening with friends walking around the Bellevue Botanical Garden's light display.

We rise early Christmas morning to celebrate Christmas at our apartment, with Mémé (Jen's mom).

Gabby decides that Christmas is a good thing (despite Santa).

Gabby learns to color at her new table.

Our happy family has a wonderful Christmas Day.

We are always thankful for the chance to celebrate Christ's birth each December. We are also grateful for the thoughtful cards and goodies that we received from friends and we wish you all joy and happiness for the year to come!

The Tranquilizing Effects of Peanut Butter

I wish that I had captured the beginning of this process on video. Gabby was happily eating her bread with peanut butter when her arm began to get extremely heavy as it raised itself to her mouth. She managed to get the bite half way in before her energy expired for the afternoon. Into a deep sleep she fell. As much as I tried to talk to her, she would just give a courtesy peek and then decide I was not worth waking up for (nor was the bite hanging out of her mouth).