12 months old!!

Gavin turned 12 months old this past Thursday and I really can not believe it.  It truly seems like the picture below was just taken a month or so ago instead of 12!  He is such a blessing to Clay and I and we could truly not be happier.  He is the sweetest little boy, 99% of the time :-).  

Good thing that this was the last time I had to take a picture of him with the calendar page, because it is impossible to get a good shot of them both.  He is trying to hand me the tape that was attached to the paper.  We had tried taping the page to the chair in hopes to get off a quick picture, but he was faster than our camera.

I just love this expression he makes!  It melts my heart every time!!

Gavin is fully into toddler hood, tantrums and all.  He is off of formula and completely on whole milk, which is such a cost savings!  He has 3 meals a day and one or two snacks. We went cold turkey off bottles for the second time on 4/16 and he hasn't been back since.  He is doing really well!  He took his first steps on April 20th and has been walking more and more ever since, especially at school.  In fact until this last week, he didn't walk at home hardly at all but when I would go pick him up at school, they would tell me how much he was walking there!  Little bugger!!

Talking: weekend of the 16th - used the word "uh-oh" in context.  In addition he says and/or repeats the following:
Dada
Mama (rarely)
Dog
Cat
Ball
Clap - probably his most used word
No
Thank you
There is also a word we aren't really sure about, could possibly be baby, hold me or help me.  He repeats it over and over again when he wakes up or is fussy.

He has just gotten into Sesame Street.  We watch it on Netflix on the weekends while Clay is cooking supper.  Pretty sure his favorite is Elmo and sadly enough after only 3 or 4 episodes I can pretty much sing any of the songs and know exactly what they are about to say.

He also loves to dance and bop his head to the beat of music, it is so freaking adorable, I love it!  He also loves ALL animals and females.  He holds a special place in his heart for our cat Josh.  I have some pictures I will post later.  It is incredible how patient Josh is with him.

Some scary things are that he has NO FEAR of heights and will either throw himself off or try and climb down absolutely anything.  Apparently he has a fairly high pain tolerance also because he threw himself off of the couch last week and landed right on his head and never shed a tear.  I have a feeling that I am going to have to start signing my paychecks over to South GA Medical Ctr soon.  He will also put ANYTHING in his mouth and try to eat it.  Paper is his favorite followed closely by cat/dog hair, yard weeds, sticks, pine cones, and various other dirty things.  I have given up on trying to keep most of it out of his mouth and just try to focus on the things that are actually harmful.

Here are some other cute pictures from his birthday.  I will post his party pics in the next post.

 Gavin and Doug, our dog, have a deal worked out.  Gavin either feeds him from his tray or leaves enough in his seat to feed Doug later.

 As you can see from Doug's tongue hanging out of his mouth, Gavin had just finished letting Doug lick the icing on his fingers.  Next stop, Gavin's fingers in his own mouth, yummy!  Boys are so cute and sweet, but really pretty gross sometimes also.  But I wouldn't have it anyother way!!

Happy 1st Birthday Love Bug, I love you so much!!!

Catching Up

Wow, I can't believe it has been 3 weeks since I have posted.  Life around here has been super busy/crazy.  I thought work would let up once tax season was over but instead it has just gotten busier.  Thankfully though I am only working a normal 40 hr week though.  Since my last post, Gavin has celebrated his first Easter, spent the night with Clay's parents so we could have some alone time, met his future wife Emma, gone to Cheehaw Park, and had his 1yr birthday party (save for another post).  He has also started biting kids at school, just this week!! His teacher told us not to worry, that it was just a phase and they would work with him on it, but it still freaks me out a little.

So, Easter was kind of crazy. We got up and went to our normal church service at 8:45 but then instead of going to Sunday School afterwards, we came straight home so that we could celebrate our risen Lord with my parents, by eating tacos :-).  Cheap, easy and tasty so I couldn't complain.  They stayed and hung out for a few hours and then it was off to Clay's parent's for an after lunch Easter egg hunt.  I really didn't think Gavin would have any idea of what to do or what was going on but Clay helped him pounce on a few and then eat them.  His Nanny-Ma also gave him his first Peep, which turned his mouth blue and his attitude sour, but what are grandparents for but to feed them sugar and then send them home?

He also got a swing from his grandparent's and he really loved that!

After that we headed over to Aunt E's house for dinner and another Easter egg hunt.  Gavin did exceptionally well considering all the sleep he didn't get and all the sugar he did.  He had a great time playing with all of Jackson and Clare's toys and meeting all of the new people.  He also had a much better idea of what to do this time for the Easter egg hunt so Clay put him down and let him get to it.  

No pictures from the stay with Clay's parents but from what I hear they all had a great time.  And so did Clay and I, we got to go to Jacksonville and lay by the pool, go have a great dinner and do a little shopping.  It was so nice to have some time just to us to talk and catch up.  After our fun in Jacksonville though, we all came down with the stomach bug and spent the next few days as miserable as three people can be!  Luckily we all recovered in enough time to take Gavin to meet Emma and have dinner with some really great friends.  I also have no pictures from this, because I forgot our camera again.  Hopefully I can get some from Aunt E and Aunt J soon enough.

Gavin has been teasing us with the walking.  According to one of his teachers, Ms. Mae, he does it quite frequently at school, but it is a rarity at home.  Just a couple of steps here and there and never when we want him to :-).

I took the day off on Friday so that we could go with Aunt J, Uncle P and Emma to Cheehaw Park in Albany.  The ride was pretty boring but it gave me and Aunt J some much needed time to chat and catch up with each other and the babies some time to nap.  The adults were way more impressed with all the animals than the babies and Gavin was much more interested in crawling whenever we would let him and finding pieces of wood to chew on.

 I am afraid my kid is going to grow up to be one of those guys that eats things to get into the Guinness Book of World Records!!  He also thought Emma's ride was way cooler than his so he gave it a try and let her wear his hat in return to keep the sun off her face.

 They had a great exhibit with Meerkats, my favorites!!

 Pretty picture of a bobcat, Clay took.

Gavin was actually screaming but we figured it would look close enough to a smile!

Sweet Ride!

I Hunt For Hugs

Gavin will officially turn 1 tomorrow!!  I can't believe it!!  I will try and post those pictures and the ones from his birthday ASAP.  

First Steps!!!

Gavin rewarded me for all my hard work during tax season, by taking two teenie tiny steps by himself last night!  I felt sorry for Clay because he wasn't home and of course Gavin would NOT recreate once he did get home.  I know it won't be long and we will be wishing he was still crawling :-)  He is so tall that he can get into almost anything, so we are going to have to rethink our baby proofing.

11 months

Gavin turned 11 months old last Tuesday!  I know I am a little late, but better late than never :-).

This past month passed so quickly, I barely even remember it.  Most of me is glad of that since it was the last month of tax season, but the rest of me is wondering what parts of Gavin's life I missed out on, or just don't remember.  I am hoping that my new and improved sleep schedule will help out this memory of mine.  If not, then I might start getting even more worried if I can remember to.

This past month other than hanging out with his Daddy a lot, Gavin did get to go to Wild Adventures (thanks Aunt E).  The weekend after that, he was supposed to attend his first flag football tournament, but it stormed all weekend so we sat at home instead.  The next weekend he went to visit his Nanny-Ma and Papa while Daddy went turkey hunting, which he thoroughly enjoyed and played outside a lot.  He also was supposed to have his first "big" pool experience the weekend before last, but the water was about 3 degrees above freezing.  So he sat in the tiny kiddie pool for about 15 minutes before he got bored and started crawling around looking for things to put in his mouth.  He did have his first hot dog which he almost inhaled.  He took a new approach to eating it and shaved off the sides with his teeth instead of just biting down.  Unfortunately we had forgotten our camera, so we don't have any pictures of the special occasion.

Some of the things he has done that I did remember to write down the exact dates are:
3/17 - The teacher ended up being completely correct Gavin's first bad note home  So Gavin has been drinking milk out of a cup at snack time since then.  We decided to go all out and cut out all the bottles on Sunday the 9th but then went to Target to find that they didn't carry the kind of cup he would drink out of (we only had one of that kind).  When we tried to get him to drink out of a different cup, we failed.  So we had to go back to the bottles.  I felt like such a failure!!  But don't worry, we finally found some more of them this past weekend at Wal-mart.
3/26 - 3/27 - new word "Thank you"  I know that he has absolutely no idea what it means but both Clay and I heard him repeat it after we said it on Saturday the 26th and then he did it to me again on Sunday while Clay was at church.
3/30 ish - started standing without holding on to anything.  He has gotten really good at this and will move his upper body all around but just not take one single step!
4/2 - learned to High 5 on the way home from the outlet mall in LP, probably because he was so happy to be going home
4/3 - repeated MaMa back to me, although no one was there to confirm it :-).  He has since said it in front of his Daddy, so I have confirmation!!


Some of the things he has done that I don't remember the exact dates are:
-More teeth, he is up to at least 8, all of them in the front.  He won't let me get a good look in the back, so I'm not sure if he has any back there yet.
-Has gotten REALLY good at throwing and rolling the ball to us.  I think he enjoys all the applause he gets from his goofy parents because he grins pretty much the whole time.

-His other achievement that I am not so proud of, is his ability to throw a MAJOR fit.  I mean arched back, throw himself onto the floor, screaming, banging head, fit!!  Clay and I have to be so careful not to laugh because it is so ridiculous, that it is funny.  Don't get me wrong, Gavin is so mild mannered and laid back 95% of the time, but when something happens that he doesn't like, like a diaper change for instance, he goes berserk.  I am not sure where he got his overly dramatic, stubborn personality from...  So Clay and I have to be extra vigilant and not give into any of his tantrums for fear of what it will lead to later in life, as in a year or so when he hits the terrible twos?!?!  I am still pretty scared!  Thankfully they are short-lived, not too frequent, and so far have never happened in a store or restaurant.

His monthly calendar page pictures were an exercise in patience and futility.  He is so mobile even without walking and wants to be in motion constantly that it is virtually impossible for him to sit still long enough to get a picture.  We usually have to get his ball involved or take him outside so he can play with/eat the grass.  Unfortunately for the pictures, he had just had a bath, so outside was not an option and he was extra energetic with the ball.  I wish I had space to post the whole batch of pictures, most all of them are awful but it is kind of funny because you can tell how hard we were trying to get just one single decent picture.  Oh well, I am pretty sure this is the life of a mother of an active little boy, so I might as well get used to it.

I can not believe in a less than 3 weeks we will have Gavin's birthday party!!  This year has passed by so quickly!  I never thought that being a parent would be so much fun and so exhausting.  I wouldn't trade it for anything!!

Happy Tax Day everybody!!!  :-)

Just ordinary life

These past two weeks, we have been pretty boring.  Praise the Lord that tax season is nearing the end, however that means that I am also nearing my end. I could not be more tired and I think Clay might be secretly wondering if I have cracked, but he is way to sweet to even suggest it. Although he did agree with me that I was an emotional basket case last weekend...  So if my posts are a little worse than normal, give me a break, I am at the end of my very short rope!

Gavin has been keeping us on our toes, it seems like he gets more and more energy every day!  This past week he started waking up screaming really early as in 3:30 - 4:00.  At first I thought maybe nightmares, but then someone told me he was too young.  Then I thought either teething or a growth spurt.  Either way, poor Clay was about as tired as one guy can get.  Yes, I am spoiled, Clay gets up with Gavin at night.  So when he did it Monday, I told Clay to stay in bed, that I would take care of it.  Well by the time I got Gavin's bottle warmed, he had quit.  He did a quick screech twice more that morning before I left for work but I never got him up.  I guess maybe that did the trick??  All I know is thankfully he has stopped and is back to sleeping until 7 like normal.

He has also started going to bed a lot earlier, which makes our afternoon schedule super tight.  He has been on a slow progression backwards from 8 pm and then a couple of weeks ago, Clay put him down at 7 and he went right to sleep.  This is nice for Clay and I to enjoy some couple time, but it makes it hard to spend anytime with Gavin since we don't get home until 6.  Then I either entertain Gav for a little while, while Clay finishes up dinner or I give him a bath.  Then we stuff him full of food and milk and send him off to dream land!!  On that same note, the batteries ran out on his Sleep Sheep Tuesday night, which he has had since a week or two since birth.  He has cried for a little while both nights (yes we forgot to get batteries, bad parents) but seems to have slept just fine after that.  But I have been thinking it is probably time to wean him away from that or else he may need a noise maker to fall asleep for the rest of his life.  Although we have wondered if his strange ability to sleep through the loudest of storms has come from his falling asleep to rain or waves every night.

Obviously from my post you can see just how boring we have been.  Gavin did get to go spend the day at his Nanny-Ma's last Saturday though.  Clay got him up super early so he could drop him off and then go turkey hunting.  Then Clay and I went back down there after I got off work and ate lunch.  Clay's sister was there and so was Gavin's favorite cousin Kaliegh.  It appears as though they had tons of fun, Gavin loves to entertain and to be the center of attention.  He gets his fill of both down there, as he should.  Below are some pictures his Aunt Lesia took of him.

Isn't he just the cutest thing EVER!!!  And yes, that is a camouflage recliner he is sitting on.  I have to admit, it is really comfortable!

Just one last picture we took a couple of weeks ago that I just think is so cute!

Caught in the Act

I caught Gavin in the act last night as I was getting him ready for his bath!

What a cute little innocent looking face.....

Here Mommy, don't you want some too??

Bathroom Antics

On a normal day Clay gets up with me at 4, 4:45 during non-tax season months, and works out, so by the time Gavin gets up at 7 he is showered, dressed and ready to go.  Well his allergies are bothering him and Gavin kept him from getting much sleep both Friday and Saturday night, so I was a sweet wife and let him sleep in this morning.  Unfortunately that meant that he had to try and get ready while Gavin was awake, which means trying to contain a very active, very impatient almost 11 month old, while you are in the shower.  So Clay decides to put him in his walker in the bathroom with him, thinking that the tray that surrounds it will keep Gavin from getting too close to anything to get into trouble.

Well when Clay gets out of the shower, he notices Gavin is no longer in the bathroom with him.  Gavin has managed to get out of the bathroom and almost out of our bedroom door.  Apparently while he was still in the bathroom, he noticed the roll of toilet paper, or as he fondly knows it his unlimited supply of "chewing gum".  So he grabbed the end piece, promptly stuck it in his mouth and then started trying to escape unnoticed.  Gavin didn't think to detach his piece of "gum" from the remainder of the roll so he unraveled almost the entire roll during his attempted getaway.  Clay said he found him still munching on the paper with the remainder of the roll still attached to him. I wish he had gotten a picture of it because I am sure my description probably isn't nearly as funny as when Clay was telling me at lunch.