Goodbye TBall...hello soccer!

Tball season is already over and now we have moved on to soccer!

So far soccer seems to be a little more his style - lots more action and less standing around!

T-Ball

We joined the YMCA and signed Gavin up for T-ball! Hard to believe he's at the age where he can start doing all the sports. T-ball now, soccer this summer, then flag football and then basketball - going to keep this little guy busy! He is already a sports fanatic though so I'm pretty sure he's up to the challenge!

Yes, we're still alive...

I have full intentions of updating this blog regularly but somehow life always seems to get in the way :) Things are going good at the Cronrath household. We are all settled in our new house - feels like we've lived here forever. Gavin is getting bigger everyday and amazes us daily with how smart he is and what a little man he is becoming. He loves to spell his name and put magnets or bath letters together to say his name. He also loves using my phone to text his name to whomever I'm texting. LOL! He is so much fun and being his mommy really does get more fun (and challenging sometimes) each day!

With his buddies Buzz & Woody :)

New House!

We have been thinking about moving for a few months---weren't sure if we wanted to build or buy a resale and then Matt showed me "the one" and I instantly knew this house was meant for us! 1 long month later we are all moved in and I couldn't be happier. Gavin will be in preschool next fall and we really wanted him to be anywhere other than the Pasco school district. I am proud to say we are Kennewick residents once again and this home is perfect for us and we will be here a very long time! Our old house was a great starter home but it really allowed us to see what works for our lifestyle - the old house had a formal dining room that we never used, and it had 2 living rooms, one of which was never used. We also really didn't like having a 2 story. Our new house is a rambler and has one big open space. I am so in love with it!

Catch up...

I am so horrible about updating this thing on a regular basis...so once again I will do a picture post with what we've been doing lately...

Goofing around with Daddy

After carving pumpkins--this is Gavin's fake smile. He thought the pumpkins smelled horrible and was so happy when we were done carving!

Cousins Lily & Kennady came to visit!

Got his 3rd annual picture taken at Grandma Rhonda's work...my baby is so handsome!

We went to the Pumpkin Patch and spent almost 5 hours there! I think I had more fun than Gavin did :)

Gavin (aka Spiderman) & Winger on Halloween

Cheered on the Kennewick Lions at a football game!

Fireman Gavin (I got this costume on 90% after Halloween clearance for $2---score!)

Loss

I'm not sure how many people actually read this blog anymore but for those that do still do...but I need to write for my own sanity and so I can read this later on down the road.

I found out I was pregnant on September 23rd and 1 month and 2 days later on October 25th we lost the baby.  I had been having some spotting over the course of 4 days I just felt in my heart that something was wrong so I called and got scheduled for a quick ultrasound to check everything out.  I got squeezed in with Dr. Howerton, who I had never seen before, and after a few minutes of trying to find the heartbeat on the screen, he leaned in towards me and let me know that there was no heartbeat.  I can't really describe how I felt in that moment other than saying it was just an instant sadness that I had never felt before.  I got scheduled for a D&C for the following day, but mother nature starting working and I ended up miscarrying mostly at home before my surgery.  It was the most painful and awful thing but I just keep telling myself that it was in the power of someone much higher than me and everything happens for a reason.  It's almost been a week and I still feel just as sad and empty inside but I am also very thankful that it happened as early on as it did, it was devastating and I can't imagine what it would have felt like to have lost the baby any later than I did.  Matt & I are doing okay and at peace with the fact that it just wasn't meant to be.  Dr. Howerton, who I almost feel like fate brought me to him, was an absolute angel and I am looking forward to seeing him again under much better circumstances.  I've never felt a connection with a Doctor before, but he was so amazing and made us feel as good about our situation as possible.  He said that based on the fact we have a healthy son, there is no reason why this should happen again and he had full confidence that when I am pregnant again there will be a much better outcome.  What I've learned through all of this, is how badly I want another baby.  I kind of had the "well if it happens it happens" mentality before I got pregnant, but after being pregnant for a brief moment and then having it ripped away, I realize it's absolutely something I want and I cannot wait to try again.  We are going to give it a couple of months so I can heal emotionally and physically and then pray we get a better outcome the next time around and will end up with a second healthy baby in our arms.

"An angel opened the book of life & wrote down my baby's birth. Then she whispered as she closed the book "Too beautiful for earth."

Gavin is 3!

I say it every year but wow! I can't believe my baby is THREE years old! Time goes by way too fast.  On his actual birthday I took the day off of work and he got to spend the day with me and Daddy.  We took him to Red Robin for lunch and then to a hockey game.  The next day we had his birthday party and he got even more spoiled with so many cool new toys!  I think we need a separate house just to hold the rediculous amount of toys this kid has! :)

Potty Watch

We have been "kind of" potty training Gavin for the last few months but within the last week really decided to make a more serious attempt.  He will usually go potty if we put him on the toilet but we weren't having any luck at him going in there on his own so I ended up ordering him a Lighting McQueen potty watch and it has been wonderful! It got here on Friday and we recorded him saying "It's time to go potty!" and set it to go off every 30 minutes.  Gavin LOVES this thing!  He gets so excited when it goes off and runs to the bathroom.  Poop has been another issue but this morning he came running upstairs to find me and tell me he had to go poop and didn't want to poop in his big boy underwear.  I was so proud I almost cried!  I feel like we are finally on the road to success....hopefully it stays that way!

What Gavin's Been Doing...

Fishing with Grandma Rhonda

Baseball game with Papa Ed

And another baseball game with Papa Jared & Grandma Gina

 "Shaving" in the bath tub...

 Celebrating his cousin Lily's 3rd birthday!

And making his mommy sad that he is going to be 3 in less than one month!

Little fish!

Gavin is turning out to be a little fish just like I was when I was younger.  Last summer he was scared and wouldn't really try to swim at all.  This year he is a completely different kid!  He can swim around with his life jacket on and he's been wanting to jump in and finally a few weeks ago I decided to let him.  He goes completely under water but pops right back up and just loves it!  Now he doesn't want any help in the pool, he says "I do it myself!".  We were going to put him in lessons this summer but I was late at researching and he's advanced so much on his own, I think we are going to just wait until next year for that.

Big Boy Bed!

We finally put the crib away and Gavin has his very own big boy bed! We had a yard sale and used that money towards getting him a bunk bed.  He probably would have stayed in his crib forever, he never tried to climb out but since he will be 3 soon, we decided it was time!  We were both worried that he would constantly get out of bed but we have been so lucky and he hasn't tried to get out one time.  He still yells for us when he wakes up and I don't know if it's just timing or this new bed is much more cozy but he has been sleeping so good in it! The last week or so he's been sleeping in until at least 7, sometimes even 8.  Not gonna lie though, it does make me a bit sad when I walk into his room and his crib is gone.  My "baby" is growing up way too fast!

Can you tell by his cheesy smile that he loves it?!

Emily & Hannah

Matt's sister Andrea's kids Emily & Hannah are in town for a month visiting and Gavin has been having so much fun spending time with them!  I just wish they lived closer so they could see eachother more than once a year.

Picture post...

I have so many cute pictures on my iPhone I thought I'd just do a picture post with a few...

Gavin is really into puzzles lately.  I bought him a few from the Dollar store and he loves them and can actually put them together all by himself! 

This is a picture of my Dad...I think Gavin looks so much like him!!

Oh this picture is so sweet yet just moments before it was taken we had to leave a restaurant before we even ordered because he was having one of his worst "terrible two" moments to date.

I went to Real Deals this weekend and got this bug catcher for him, it was only $2 and has provided hours of entertainment...woohoo!

He still isn't a fan of big creatures in costume but we went to visit Sparky at a Firefighter fundraiser at Yoke's a few weeks back.  He got to sit inside the Firetruck which he thought was pretty awesome!

The power went out awhile ago and it went out right after we had dinner.  It ended up staying out for almost 3 hours so Gavin got to have his nightly bath by candlelight and flashlight!

Little boys are so much fun!

I love that I have a little mini-me that I can be a total dork with...we sat and took almost 30 pictures the other night and this was my favorite! :)

30 down...19 to go!

I decided to finally get off my lazy @SS and joined the gym back in January and thanks to the dedication I get from my Dad, I finally hit my first goal of losing 30 lbs.  I feel so good and feel like "me" again.  I am so embarassed at how much I let myself go, but I am finally on the right path and it feels SO good.  I am now 19 lbs away from what I weighed before I got pregnant.  Honestly though the number on the scale doesn't matter as how much better I feel about myself.  I never wanted to be a fat mom and I had found myself being the mom who would let her kid sit in front of the TV because I was too tired and didn't have any energy to go for a walk, take him to the park, or just be outside.  PATHETIC!  Anyway, all of that is history and I can't wait to reach my next goal!

Cousins :)

My niece Sarah and I have always been close but we definitely have had an even more special bond since we had our kids.  Gavin & Lily were born just under 1 month apart.  It was so fun being able to be pregnant at the same time and then to watch our kids grow up together!  I just wish we lived closer so we could get together more often.