Kiddie Pool

This weekend we decided to introduce Gavin to his kiddie pool.  He has already been swimming in "real" pools and at the beach, so we weren't sure how he would take to the kiddie pool.  I thought he might decided he was too cool for such a small pool.

However, like all other forms of swimming, Gavin loved his kiddie pool as well!  He wasn't too sure at first, so I climbed in with him in my regular clothes.  Gavin promptly felt better about the whole thing and soaked me with all his happy splashing.

So Gavin spent the next half hour or so splashing away and playing with a bunch of kitchen tools (it really is funny how many kitchen gadgets are also quite fun to play with in the pool) while Ryan and I sat in lawn chairs next to the pool, feet dipped in, drinking some beers.  We are such classy parents :)

Like every first time experience, Gavin is still debating if he likes this or not...

Success!

Gavin was a little confused by these bath/swimming toys.  I wasn't too sure what the yellow one was supposed to be either.  McDonalds Fries?  Pasta?  Coral??

We should just assume that Gavin is going to love doing anything that involves splashing!

Zoo part 2

Gavin loved the zoo so much the first time that Grandma and Grandpa Mayner wanted to come with this time to see their grandson's experiences with the animals.

Gavin observing the butterflies...he was very thoughtful in this exhibit.

Tracking some butterflies with Grandpa.

Gavin and I tried to pose with the giraffes but the lighting wasn't right. 

My sunscreen warrior.  Who says protecting yourself from the sun has to be nerdy?

The Gav Man and I in front of Baboon Island.  What an awesome name, it sound more like a really twisted reality tv show than a zoo exhibit.

Gavin is a well documented monkey fan.  His favorite stuffed animal is a monkey named Maurice.  Every time Gav plays with Maurice, Ryan and I make the monkey noise (ooo oo, eee ee).  Well, apparently Gavin thinks that all stuffed animals make that noise now, because he says eee eee every time he picks up a stuffed toy.  Time to work on our animal noises!

Showing Grandma and Grandpa how awesome Tropic World is!

Gavin was really interested in the fences in Tropic World, he's trying to convince Grandma that we should stay and inspect them longer.

Gavin's first ride on a carousel was thrilling for us both!

More evidence that Gavin is just like his Daddy...Gav is inspecting and delighting at the inner workings of the carousel instead of enjoying the view.

4th of July

I love the 4th of July, its right up there with Thanksgiving and Christmas as one of my favorite holidays.  But I was a little sad this fourth, because its the last of Gavin's "first" holidays.  After this, Gavin has experienced every major holiday once, which means my little boy is growing up!  Less than a month from today, Gavin will be 1 year old!

We spent the 4th of July in Geneseo this year.  Gavin started the weekend by watching his parents "run" a 5K.  Ryan ran the race...I spent most of it wheezing and walking :(  Luckily Gavin loves me even if I am out of shape!  Gavin helped Grandma and Grandpa supervise the race and cheered us on at the finish line. 

The rest of the weekend was spent playing softball and volleyball, grilling out, and of course, watching fireworks!

Gavin and Grandpa about to go cruising for chicks.

A rare family pic!

Aren't we cute with our cheesy pose?

Much to our surprise, Gavin LOVED the fireworks!  We thought he would be scared of them after his trip to Busch Stadium, but he must have been scared of everyone clapping instead.

Ugh, I definitely should have cropped my face out of this pic, but check out the look of wonder on Gavin's face, so cute!

Showing our appreciation for the show.

Gavin can barely contain his excitement about all the "booms" (his cousin's word for fireworks).

Daddy and Gavin watching the grand finale.  This is the part where Gavin got a bit scared, so we brought in blankie reinforcements.

Gavin at the park on the 4th.  They put up flags for all the veterans that have passed away from the Geneseo area. 

A cool view of some of the flags in the park.

Uncle Andy and Aunt Shari's Wedding

On June 26th, 2010, Gavin attended his third wedding when his Uncle Andy married Shari and made her officially Gavin's second Aunt!

Ryan and I both stood up in the wedding, so Gavin spent most of the wedding day hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa Gillespie.  We did manage to get a few pics with our cute little guy though!

Gavin LOVES his Aunt Shari, so we let him see the bride before she walked down the aisle.

We seem to get a lot of pics of Gavin telling long involved stories, not sure what this one was about!

Looking cute in his baby suit.  Thanks Grandma Mayner for making the Booger look stylin' at the wedding!

I managed to sneak a picture in with my favorite little guy!

Thanks to Mary and Larry for watching Gavin so Mommy and Daddy could have a fun night celebrating with Andy and Shari!

St. Louis

Our family has been enjoying a fun and busy summer so far!  We've taken lots of trips and done a lot of fun things.   We have a ton of blogs to catch up on, which will explain why some of these pics are from almost a month ago!

This blog is about our family trip to St. Louis.  Ryan and I have gone to St. Louis together every year since the first year we started dating (except last year...8 months pregnant in St. Louis heat didn't sound very appealing to me!).  Sometimes we've gone just the two of us, sometimes we've been joined by Kyle and Allison and some of the other Gillespie bros.  But this year, the entire Gillespie fam made the trip down for Gavin's first trip to Busch Stadium.  We had a great time, and it looks like Gavin did too! 

Gavin and Daddy about to head to their first Cardinals game together!

Gavin checking out Busch Stadium

Gavin doesn't realize that home runs are actually a cause for celebration :)  But really, Gavin just didn't like all the clapping after Matt Holiday homered.  We thought he didn't like the fireworks, but as you'll see in our 4th of July blog, thats not the case!

Gavin's first trip to the Arch!

One good looking family.

Gavin meets Fredbird for the first time.  He was really interested in Fredbird's feathery thumbs up.

Another cute family pic

Gavin and Grandma having some drinks in the bar.

Grandpa and Gavin regaling the bar with their stories.

Every morning we took Gavin on a walk around St. Louis after breakfast.  This morning we went to the park by the old capitol.

We also stopped by Busch Stadium one morning.  Here are Gavin and Daddy posing with Bob Gibson? (I'm still learning my Cardinals history, or at least thats what I tell Ryan!)

Gavin trying to channel Ozzie Smith.