"Well we know who the Christmas ham is..."

Gavin's 4 month appointment was on Monday, and when he weighed in at a whopping 18 lbs 3 oz, the title of this entry is what the nurse said!  I think its pretty appropriate since not only is Gavin our chunky monkey, but he really is a ham.  He is constantly smiling for girls at the mall, making people laugh, and showing off for himself in the mirror.  I wonder who he got that from....

Gavin has had an exciting few days!  Last week, Grandma Gillespie came up to do some shopping and spend some time with her favorite grandson :)  This gave Mommy and Daddy the chance to go to Wildfire for dinner to enjoy some chopped salad and adult conversation (although our conversations seem to always steer back to Gavin, no matter where the conversation started!) 

This weekend, Grandma Mayner came over to babysit so Mommy and Daddy could attend a few Christmas parties.  Gavin and Grandma had a fun time playing in his jumper and "dancing," and Mommy had a little too much fun at her parties and learned that hangovers and babies simply don't mix.  Suddenly I understand why its a universal truth that no one's mom drinks, and if she does have even one drink, shes already tipsy and hence an absolute blast to watch.

Gavin and I have also gotten to hang out for the last few days, because I'm currently enjoying the most wonderful time of year, winter break!  We've accomplished a lot in our days home together.  Gavin is starting to really enjoy his jumper, he is trying to sit on his own more, and he even rolled over for the first time!  I know I said in a blog when he was like a month old that he rolled over for the first time, but that must have been some lapse in gravity in our house, because it never happened since then. Therefore, I'm counting this week as the first time it officially happened.  Gavin seemed very pleased with himself for rolling over from his tummy to his back, but once he realized that it didn't get him any closer to the toy he wanted, he was over the whole accomplishment pretty quickly.

Also earlier this week, Gavin turned 4 months old!  It's also the time of year when back in 2008, we were just realizing that Gavin existed, although we didn't know if he was a boy or a girl, and we definitely didn't know what an awesome kid he would turn out to be.  Here are some shots from his 4 months shoot with his buddy/nemesis Rufus:

As always, these shoots start out friendly...

But soon Gavin and Rufus were locked into a staring battle.

And when Rufus blinked, Gavin went in for the attack!

Rufus tried to fight back, but Gavin attempts to land some low blows...

...and some biting for good measure.

Rufus is worn down by all of Gavin's dirty tactics.

And Gavin is thrilled to get the pin.

Gavin declares himself the winner, while Rufus slumps in defeat.

But the cops show up and break up the fight just as it is ending.

Their brush with the law makes the boys realize that all this fighting is silly and they are soon friends again.

Also, this week Gavin met Santa!  Santa really liked Gavin's green outfit, and Gavin did a great job of waiting in line for almost an hour to meet jolly old St. Nick.  From the look on his face, I think Gavin was too excited to remember to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas. Maybe next year!

And to conclude the world's longest blog entry ever, here is our 4 month letter to Gavin:

Dear Gavin,

As your Uncle CJ said when he wished you a happy 4 month birthday, 0.33 is the new 0.25! (It’s a math joke for your nerdy math teacher mom :)

What a great month it has been Gavin! Since your 3 month birthday you have celebrated Thanksgiving, met your great Grandma Gallagher, attended a few Christmas parties, gone holiday shopping with Mommy and Grandma M., and been baptized.

You also reached some major milestones. Now not only do you smile, but you laugh as well. There can’t possibly be a better sound in this world than your giggles and squeals. Whether it’s Mommy tickling your tummy or Daddy talking to you about baseball, your peals of laughter are constantly ringing through our home, and we love it!

Another milestone you can check off the to-do list is rolling over! Just this morning, you started out sitting up playing with your toys. You started to lean to the right, and plopped over on your tummy. But your “car” toy was too exciting to ignore, so in your attempts to see it better, you flopped right over on your back! You couldn’t see your car anymore, but boy were you pleased with yourself for figuring out how to start moving around on your own!

You’ve also started sleeping through the night more consistently now. And while this might not be a very exciting milestone for you, it’s thrilling for Mommy and Daddy!

It’s only a few days away from Christmas, and we’re so excited to share this holiday with you Gavin. Your stocking is hung on the fireplace, your presents from Mommy and Daddy are under the tree, and your Christmas CD is playing while you sleep. The most exciting part of this holiday for you is probably all the flashing lights and wrapping paper to play with. But for Mommy and Daddy, it’s the realization that Santa delivered the news of our most precious gift almost a year ago, and now you are here to enjoy the celebration of Jesus’ birth with us. Happy four months and Merry Christmas Gavin!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Santa Claus is coming to town

Its been a while since our last blog. We've been pretty wrapped up in the end of the year and the upcoming holidays, and don't have much to blog about just yet. But Gavin's 4 month "birthday" is this week, and Christmas is just around the corner, so we hope to have more interesting updates soon!

Until then, here are some pics to keep you current on Gavin's cuteness. We did a photo shoot this afternoon for our Christmas card (yea, by the time you get it, it will be more like a Happy New Year's card). Gavin was actually quite cooperative, considering he has been not that happy the last few days. We suspect he may be starting to teethe. Or maybe he's just not taking Daddy's threats about Santa's naughty list very seriously. It probably doesn't help that "Santa's" presents are all just sitting out in the family room for Gavin to see. Mommy is a little lazy like that.

Here's the out-takes from our photo shoot.  You'll have to wait patiently by your mailbox for the really cute pics!

Our happy little elf in front of the tree.

Gavin sporting his adult size Santa hat...finally a piece of clothing thats too big for him!

Naughty or nice?  You decide.

Tummy time isn't nearly as easy with a giant Santa hat on your head.

Gavin's best impersonation of the drunken mall Santa.

After a long photo shoot, Gavin is all settled in for a long winter's nap.

Christmas time is here...

Christmas is in full swing here in the Gillespie household! Our Christmas tree is up, the house is decorated inside and out, and Gavin's stocking is hung on the fireplace with care. Christmas is my favorite time of year, so I fully intend on spoiling Gavin this holiday season, and I'm sure Santa will be kind to him as well :) Although, at least this year, it looks like Gavin might be more interested in the wrapping paper than the actual presents!

Gavin has only recently started to interact with paper products, but he's already a big fan. We tried to take a birthday picture for Uncle CJ this week, just like we did for Uncle Kevin about a month ago. But this month, Gavin was very interested in the piece of paper wishing Uncle CJ a happy birthday, and tried his best to shove the entire thing in his mouth. So we ended up doing a birthday video of Gavin devouring CJ's birthday wish. That video is on Facebook, because I'm saving a super cute video for this blog!

Gavin had a busy weekend. He went shopping with me and Grandma Mayner on Saturday at Gurnee Mills. Gavin did a great job shopping, although he wasn't really interested in staying in his stroller where he can't see any of the action. So he spent a lot of time bjorning and flirting with the ladies.

Today, Gavin went to a Christmas party thrown by Miss Jeanne, his daycare provider. Gavin really enjoyed hanging out with his baby friends, and we liked meeting the other kids and their parents. Miss Jeanne threw a really great party, and gave Gavin some very thoughtful presents!

At first, Gavin was more interested in trying to eat the wrapping paper than he was with the actual presents.

But once we got home and assembled his present, Gavin decided to check out his new loot.

Gavin also used his new toy to show off one of his new tricks, sitting up on his own! Its not really sitting so much as it is leaning forward and propping himself up for a few seconds until he plops over one way or the other, but its still a start!

It took him a few minutes to decide, but finally Gavin agreed that Miss Jeanne picked out a pretty cool present.

Miss Jeanne also gave us a really neat present, a calendar with pictures of Gavin at daycare! She took so many great pictures, but here's a pic of the March pictures when Gavin was rocking a sweet mohawk.

Gavin didn't want to be a party pooper, but Miss Jeanne's party was during nap time, so this is what Gavin looked like after the short 5 minute drive home.

Even though it's just starting to feel like winter time, Daddy says pitchers and catchers report in just a few months. He and Gavin like to talk about all the fun they'll have in the spring. Gavin thinks this is a riot. The video below shows off Gavin's newest skill, laughing! He is still learning though, so right now it kind of sounds like someone stepping on a Canadian goose, but its still music to our ears!