Dun....da-da....Dah!!!

Well it took 3.5 months, but it finally happened. TREYSON TOOK A PACIFIER !! Woo-hoo! I was sad at first that he wouldn't take one because they're so nice in the car and at church. Then I was okay with it because I figured that helped him sleep more at night -- being able to soothe himself by sucking on his fingers. But we were driving home the other day and he started crying. The kind of cry that was going to continue until we got home. Not quite tired enough to fall asleep. So, I figured I might as well try again with the reserve one I always keep in the diaper bag (just in case). It worked!! I couldn't believe it! I didn't want to celebrate too loud for fear that he would get scared and spit out. I'm not going to force it on him unless I'm absolutely needing to, but, when it's time, I have a feeling it will be easier to cut off the tips of the pacifier rather than the tips of his fingers. Don't you think?

Cabin Fever and My Favorite Gardner Trait

My parents wanted to get a family trip in with Jason just getting home and before Kevin leaves on HIS mission. They found a cabin in Pine on vrbo.com and it was perfect. There were three bedrooms in the main cabin and then a detached garage with a loft above it that had air mattresses and a pull out sofa bed that, in total, slept eight. So it was perfect for our growing family.

Two plans for this trip were the hike down to Fossil Springs and the Tonto Bridge. Me, being the stubborn thing that I am, insisted on making the trek. Celynda (who has since had her baby) was staying home with Lukas (her son) and Kai. We THOUGHT Griffin would be able to handle it, however, maybe a tenth of the way in, Griff decides he's had enough. So, rather than dealing with his whining the whole time, Jeff took him back to the cabin, and ended up staying there with Griffin which meant not being able to go to the Springs with us. :( ---I should have been the one to go. The hike DOWN wasn't horrible with Treyson. He cried a little here and there, but my brothers and dad were MORE THAN HELPFUL taking turns holding him. (Treyson didn't enjoy the pack I brought for him.)

The hike back was a different story. Everyone had jumped in when we got down to the water and some even made a scary leap off the huge dam there. I don't know if it was the water or sweat or both, but the walk back was unbelievably horrible because gnats swarmed all around us the whole way. If you stopped for two seconds and looked down at your legs, there would be at least 30 of these stupid bugs crawling all over you. Not fun. I am not a bug fan anyway and this was SUPER hard for me to handle. I ended up running, shaking my head, and carrying Trey all at the same time just to make it back to the car sooner. These hikes are not short either. Needless to say, we were all quite sore the next few days. The Tonto Bridge was much more do-able for kids and pregnant gals.

It was a really fun trip that we all enjoyed. Many Foosball, Catch Phrase, and dancing in the window memories that will forever be the "good times" we spent at "The Jackson in Pine". (That's the website for the cabin.)

THANKS MOM AND DAD !!!!!

ALSO......

Treyson turned 3 months yesterday!!

Can you believe it's been that long already? He is, by far, my best baby yet. Sorry Griffin and Kai, but it's true. He's been sleeping through the night for a month now. Maybe even 6 weeks. That's the Gardner trait I mentioned in the title. Gardners LOVE their sleep!!! On a usual night, Treyson gets between 8-10 hrs. Most of the time it's closer to 10. (Sorry moms who are out there waking up throughout the night still) Although.... he tends to be kind of a Mama's Boy. That will all end soon enough when we move back down to the valley close to family. He'll start to recognize more and more people and allow them to hold him which will be great for my back. He's such a fun baby and I love him to death!!!