Dinners, Family Fun, and Adieu Bambi!!!

February 1st - February 11th, 2008

On Sunday, February 3rd we went over to Brian's sister Julie's condo for a relaxing evening. We enjoyed being able to sit and talk while Vaughn was snatched up by Julie's roommate Mashell. She brought out a bubble-blowing gun. Little did she know that Vaughn LOVES playing with bubbles. Here he is on his first attempt!

Mashell was very patient to sit and hold the container that held the bubble solution while Vaughn dipped the gun in it over and over again. It's a wonder her legs didn't freeze up because Vaughn kept her there for so long!

Vaughn is a strange kid because often when he gets really excited he decides to hold it all in. He gets this strange serious look on his face and shakes from the excitement instead of laughing or smiling. We call this "Spazzing." And we love it! So here he is "Spazzing" because he just blew some awesome bubbles! (As you can see, Mashell was very encouraging about it all!)

Mashell finally got a break and took some time to look up information on the Internet about Beta Fish. She is a Beta Fish lover, and she took some time to show me a few things about them. Vaughn was totally attached to Mashell by that point, and felt the need to squeeze in-between us and get cozy. It was adorable! Mashell quizzed Vaughn on the different colors of the Beta Fish, and Vaughn responded by saying the word "Blue" for the first time! Mashell, you're the best!!! (Vaughn has always liked pretty blonds!)

On Tuesday of that week, the 5th of February, we went over to Brian's parents' house in Springville to have dinner with Brian's siblings. (Brian's parents are still out of town on seminars.) Above from left to right are Brian, Julie, Robert and Jared.

We brought over a lasagna to share, and as Mom Higginson would say, "It was nice to have everyone help us eat the food." Just looking at that picture makes me crave lasagna!!! Yum!!!

Here's another shot of the group, which I put in to prove that me and Vaughn were there. (Robert is looking very serious in the background because it was the night of the Super Tuesday Presidential voting results, and he really gets into it! We all do in fact.)

Cute Vaughn was a little more tired than usual that evening, as you can see in this picture. The poor kid! He looks like he could have fallen asleep at the table!

Robert's good friend Scott (far right) also came over to watch the voting results and to share dinner with us. He was also great to help us clean up after the meal. Scott is a really nice guy, and he's a lot of fun too!

Vaughn found that he got bored with all the voting results, and decided to surf the web. He honestly knows how to do certain things on the computer, and it baffles me! He's only 2 and 1/2 years old! We got on the Disney website and he enjoyed watching some Disney cartoons. It was adorable!

That same week on Thursday the 7th of February, I finally decided we couldn't take being stuck in the house any more during the day! The weather had been bad for a long time, and I finally decided we had to get out, snow or no snow! So we bundled up and went outside for a few minutes to brave the cold. Vaughn of course had to take his golf club in case there was anything that needed hitting.

Vaughn alternated between hitting the snow and being fascinated at the tracks he made when walking. He is a very observant kid.

I just thought he looked cute here!

Our cat Ivan made sure to put in an appearance. And once Vaughn caught sight of him, Ivan made a run for the window sill, which put him out of reach of Vaughn! Poor Ivan is very patient with Vaughn, even when Vaughn tries to tackle him and rip his tail off. I've had to result to just keeping the two separated until Vaughn is older. It's either that or Vaughn's gets a few fingers bit off or an eye scratched out!

Later that evening Brian's brother Jared stopped by for a minute after work, and wound up staying for dinner. We had a great time talking and then watching some old Disney nature shows called the True Life Adventures Series. Vaughn LOVES Uncle Jared, as you can see in this picture. Vaughn couldn't stop smiling the whole night because Uncle Jared was over, and he always pays a lot of attention to Vaughn. They have a really tender relationship. Jared is great with kids!

The next day on Friday the 8th, my sister Laura came over to visit for a little while during the day. I can't remember if we wound up watching a movie or just talking. But eventually she and Vaughn got tuckered out, and they fell asleep next to each other on the floor. It was SO CUTE!!!

Now here's the sad part of the blog. The following evening, on Saturday the 9th, we were coming home late from Brian's parents' house in Springville. We were in the middle of Center Street in Springville, which is a residential area, when out of nowhere a big deer popped up in the middle of the road! I barely had to time to recognize what is was before we hit it. Brian had tried to swerve, but the deer had popped up so quickly that there was no time to avoid it. We hit it with the front left end of the car, and the impact sent the deer flying to the other side of the street. We immediately called 9-1-1, and the police were there within 3 minutes. Being pregnant, I immediately began bawling, and was pretty shaken up for the next few days. Luckily the deer died almost instantly, and didn't have to suffer for very long. We were also very lucky because we hit the deer in such a way that it didn't go up over the hood and into the windshield. Vaughn was also on the opposite side of the car, so he wasn't near the impact. And Brian was fine too. We felt very blessed. And the car received minimal damage as well. We're so sorry about the deer, but we're glad it's in heaven!

Vaughn had no clue what went on, and was totally calm throughout the whole ordeal. He just sat in the back seat without making a sound, even though I was crying so hard! He got home and went right to sleep. What a great kid! (This is a picture of Brian and Vaughn earlier in the day taking a nap together. Aren't they cute?!?) Brian was very tender with me and took some time to sit with me on the couch and hold me until I could calm down. I love that man!

And here's my "One for the Road." I just had to show Vaughn spazzing again!

Love, Lisa