Tunes for Toddlers

We made our 2nd Annual trip to Tunes for Toddlers at VSU and had a wonderful time, just like last year.  Gavin was much more interested in what was going on than last tim, although he still lost interest way before the  demonstrations and performance by the cute little kids were over.

 Next up was the Instrument Petting Zoo, where the percussion instruments were the biggest draw for him and most of the other children.

 And for the 2nd year in a row, the xylophone was the instrument of choice.

 Although Clay tried to widen his horizon with the drums, he didn't have much luck.  Gavin kept picking up all the various other sticks used on other instruments and taking them back to bang on his beloved xylophone.

They did let him test out his skills on the trombone, we decided to wait on signing him up for any lessons :-).

We made a quick trip to the park, or as quick as any trip to the park can be before heading home for naps.  I usually never have the camera with me when we go to the park, so I went a little overboard with the pictures.  I am sure all the other parents thought I was nuts, I was snapping away like I was the paparazzi following the latest celebrity train wreck.

My little daredevil!

 Watch out! Here comes Daddy!!

Trip to the Mountains

Two weeks ago we made our annual trip to the mountains for a little pre-tax season relaxation and togetherness.  I wasn't sure it was going to be very relaxing since Gavin has no concept of quiet but I was pleasantly surprised.  No he wasn't quiet but as long as we didn't mind being outside in the rain, he was happy which makes everyone happy and much more relaxed.  Thankfully the temperature was very moderate so the rain wasn't that bad.  Clay and I got up at the crack of dawn and we actually made it there by lunch and with Clay rigging up his laptop so that Gavin could watch DVDs the trip was as pleasant as anyone could hope for.

Everything pretty much closes down after Christmas so there isn't a whole lot to do to entertain a toddler indoors, especially during the week.  Besides we all enjoy being outside so we decided to take a trip to  Amicalola Falls. Clay and I had been there several years ago with a couple of our friends and really enjoyed it.  We stopped off to get a poncho since I forgot my raincoat and headed out.  In the time that had passed since our previous visit, neither of us remembered that there were several routes to getting to the top of the falls.   So when we heard a group in front of us talking to one of the park rangers about the route they were taking we just assumed that was it and didn't bother to ask.  Well boy were we sorry, we unknowingly got on the East Ridge Trail which is a 1 mile hike straight up the mountain!!  Oh and did I mention we were CARRYING a 30lb tired and cranky toddler???  Needless to say the hike up was a bit tense and we had to take several breaks.  

Gavin was not interested in being held, riding on Daddy's shoulders or doing anything other than throwing rocks or getting close enough to the edge of the mountain to shave years off of my life!  Thankfully we are in decent shape and made the mile in less than an hour but when we got to the top, we noticed another problem...... FOG!  We couldn't even see anything!!  I wanted to cry!  I was soaking wet from both the mist and sweating like a BEAST, Gavin was super ill and I thought it was a complete disaster!  Luckily Clay did not give up so easily and as we started the descent down the man made steps (the route we took the prior visit :-)) we were able to really enjoy all of our hard work.  And Gavin LOVED it!!!  He has not quit talking about the "waddy" since then, it is his new favorite word.  We took tons of pictures so I apologize if you get bored, and this isn't even half of them!

After all of our hard work, we decided to reward ourselves with some roasted marshmallows!  Gavin loves them just as much as I do, which is evident in the picture below.

The remainder of our trip was fairly uneventful but absolutely wonderful, we are so blessed to be able to come here every year and so thankful to the people who make it possible!

Christmas take #2

Since Clay's Mom was in the hospital right around Christmas, we decided to postpone the celebration until the day after New Year's. Since there had been SO many scares with her health, it was a pretty emotional occasion.  Gavin was super stoked that he was again getting SO many presents and was a perfect gentleman the entire time, which was quite a feat since we didn't even start opening presents until about an hour after he is normally asleep.

Gavin's new rocking chair his Pa-Pa made him

Playing with his new kitchen from Aunt Lesia

And his present from my parents finally came in last week, and everyone (mostly April my brother's girlfriend) chipped in and got it put together in fairly good time.  I think we only surpassed the estimated time by an hour or so Lol!