Random Stuff

Ryan is out of town again for work (or at least he is trying to be out of town.  As we speak he is stuck at O'hare and keeps getting bumped to later and later flights.  ew.) so Gav and I are on our own for the next few days.  I've already tried to write the first few sentences of this blog three times, and my head is just so fuzzy that I can't seem to write what I want.  I don't know if I should blame the tiredness of playing with Gavin until 9pm, or this stupid cold that just won't die.

Anyway, like usual we've been busy since we blogged last.  Two weekends ago Ryan won the amazing father and husband award by offering to stay home with Gavin while I road tripped out to Iowa City with Andy and Shari for the Iowa v Iowa State game.  It was a great time with family and friends, but I missed the Booger and Ry terribly!

This last weekend Grandma and Grandpa Gillespie came up to visit.  Gavin is getting better and better at talking, and apparently his word for "grandpa" is "pop pop pop."  Everytime we said the word Grandpa or Gavin saw Larry, he would start making that noise!  He is also much better at using mama and dada correctly, and he is starting to say his own name!  Granted it sounds like "DaDin", but I'm starting to think that's an even cuter name than Gavin ;)  Gav can also point out himself and Ryan in pictures.  Someone contact Mensa!

Our pictures this week are once again from the park.  I feel like that may be a common theme this fall, since it is Gavin's favorite place to be.  He now understands the question "Gavin, do you want to go to the park?"  and this is always met with an enthusiastic head nod and then a rush to the door.  Its funny to me that these pics were taken on Sunday, because in them Gav and I are wearing pants and coats, and then today the high was almost 90 degrees! 

This is the face of a kid who LOVES the swings

More adorable-ness. And in the top left you can see the cop cars.  Middle schoolers were throwing pine cones at passing cars.  Classic.

Gav's new favorite activity, wagon pushing!  See the video below to see this fascinating game in action!

Not a fan of hoods.

Exploring the park grounds, and learning that it is NOT cool to eat the goldfish on the ground.

Gavin made up this pose all by himself, including putting Ryan's hat on backwards!

Why, you ask, would I include a pic that shows our couch, the carpet, and a bit of Gavin's toe?  Because this shows another new favorite activity of Gavin's: photography.

Gavin's first attempt at a self portrait.  He also loves to change the settings on my camera.  Although I can't complain, he somehow changed it to take the pictures quicker, which I have been trying to figure out for forever!  (This picture is also proof that NO ONE - even a baby as cute as Gavin - can take a flattering self pic, so I don't know why I keep trying!)

And this is a video of Gavin pushing the wagon all over the park.  After rewatching this video, I realize I may not be helping Gav's fear of the grass by yelling "Ahh, grass!" when we almost veered into the green stuff ;)

Labor Day part 2: The park

Ok, its 11 pm and really I should be in bed since I have work and Curriculum Night tomorrow, but I really wanted to get this blog up as well.  So pics will be posted, but my narrative is going to be pretty boring because my creativity is pretty much out the window at this time of night!

Today our little family enjoyed a lovely lazy Monday off of work and daycare.  We took 2 naps, we went out to lunch, we played, and we went to the park.  Gavin loves the park.  I usually take him there in his wagon, and he now starts getting excited the minute he catches sight of the park.  The park is actually made up of three separate areas:  the "big kids" playground, the "little kids" playground, and the "baby" swings and rocking horses.  The baby part is the farthest away walking from our house, so I usually have to pick up the speed the minute Gav catches sight of the big kids playground because he starts trying to unbuckle out of the wagon and keeps doing the more sign and pointing at the swings!

The swings are definitely Gavin's favorite part of the park.  I always have to cut him off, because I think we would be there for hours if I waited for him to get bored.  Here's a few swing pics:

The normal happy swing face.  Gav is pointing at the rocking horsies.  He always wants to go over and check them out, but once we get up close, he gets terrified and practically climbs up my legs.  I don't blame him, the paint job makes those horsies look a little crazy.

If you pull up this pic to full size, you can see that Gavin has another tooth popping through on the bottom.  He also has a molar coming in on top!

During this trip to the park, Gavin figured out that he can lean forward in the swing and be even more of a daredevil!

A good action shot of Gavin doing laps around the playground.

This was also the first time Gavin successfully got up to standing without anything to pull up on!

One last walking shot.  These were hard to get with me constantly envisioning Gavin falling face first and knocking out a tooth.  I was a worrier before I became a parent, but when Gav went gleefully roaming around the playground today, I realized that I will have lots more to worry about in the years to come! 

Labor Day part 1: The Zoo

We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend.  It struck me when I was pushing Gavin on the swings at the park today that I now have memories of Gavin tied to every holiday and day of the year.  This time last year, Kyle and Allison were getting married (Happy Anniversary guys!), and our little family of 3 was in attendance (although the sleep deprivation caused by a 3 week old means I don't remember much about that wedding!).

It was about this time last year that I was sure that life would never be the same.  I was right, but not in the depressing way I had envisioned.  I was sure a year ago that I would never have a minute to myself again, that I would never sleep more than 2 hours at a time, and that there would always be dirty bottles in my sink (ok, I was right about that one!). 

But I'm happy to report to any new mom or pregnant girl that it really DOES get better (like everyone at Kyle and Allison's wedding told me as I sat bleary eyed with a crying newborn at 11pm!).  Life doesn't return to normal, but that would have been silly to expect, and boring now that I look back!  There are still challenging times, but Ryan and I are really enjoying this stage of Gavin's life.  He has just gotten a solid handle on walking, he's using his "words" (dada and uh oh) in the appropriate context more often, and he just loves to play and explore.  In short, it's pretty fun.  But as I've discussed with moms both new and experienced, raising a child is all about stages.  So in my short year of mommyhood, I think I've learned the lesson that I need to really LOVE the fun stages, and just grin and bear it though the tough stages.

We did a lot of fun stuff this weekend.  Some of that fun stuff involved simply laying around and enjoying 3 days off of work.  And some of the fun stuff involved actually leaving our house :)  The pics below are from our trip to the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa Gillespie and Uncle Kyle and Aunt Allison!

Gavin telling Grandpa all about the giraffes.  After all, this is his 4th trip to the zoo this summer!

Look at those grins...what are these two planning?

A family pic with our new walker!

Gavin loves to walk in public places.  He has not quite figured out how to avoid moving targets though. 

This is an incredibly rare occurence.  Gavin just simply does not show much affection, and certainly doesn't hug people and put his head on their shoulders.  But he has gotten a little better lately.  Ryan and I can get a kiss out of him every once in a while instead of a hand to the face.  And Grandpa rules all.  Grandpa is definitely first on the depth chart, with Mommy a close second. 

As always, the gorillas in Tropic World are a big hit.  However, this was our first trip to the zoo where I felt like Gavin was really noticing more of the animals.

The cut out picture is a tradition now, we've done it every time we've been to the zoo.  Although this time we switched it up and let Mommy get in the pic!

1 year letter

A little late, but here is our 1 year letter to Gav:

Dear Gavin,

Happy First Birthday!! Daddy and I can't believe how quickly a year has gone by. We can still clearly remember everything that happened a year ago today. We remember Mommy waking up at 5 in the morning with contractions. We remember hanging out at home and getting excited to meet our little boy, while Mommy drove your stroller around the living room to help with the contractions! We remember getting to the hospital, and watching Mad Men just before you decided to join us. And of course we remember that at 12:13 am on Monday, August 17th, our perfect baby boy came into this world!

So much has happened in a year Gavin! You have grown from 8lbs, 6 oz to 23 lbs, 3 oz. You're much taller now too, going from 20.5 inches to 31 inches! On the day you were born, you could barely open your eyes and you had marks on your mouth and hands from sucking on your fists so much. Now you are walking, eating, playing and starting to talk!

These days you love to play with anything that you can walk around the house. You love to walk with your lion, shop with your grocery cart, and fill up and dump out your lego wagon. Your ball popper is one of your new favorite toys, and so is your music set, especially the drumsticks!

You're getting better at making up your own games too. You like to take anything you can find and throw it through the rails on your baby gates. It's always fun to throw balls as hard as you can (usually backwards) and then chase after them before they've even come to a stop! You're also starting to like playing outside more. Wagon rides are a big hit, since you can see everything going on around you. We visit the park more often now, and you love to swing and go down the slide all by yourself!

Your tastes in food are changing too, Gavin. You used to eat anything Mommy and Daddy would offer you, but now you're developing your own preferences. You absolutely LOVE bananas, cheese, crackers/bread, and chicken. Everything else seems to depend on the day. Somedays you love pasta, other days, you just throw it back in our faces (we're working on your manners!). You drink whole milk now, and love to drink water out of your sippy cup.

Your days are busy, Gavin, and filled with fun activities. Music is a big part of your life, whether its dancing along to the Yo Gabba Gabba theme song, listening to your Music Machine CD in the car, or singing "la la la la la" along with Daddy. You also love to read. Peek A Boo Zoo and Five Little Ladybugs are your favorite books to read by yourself. And you still love to be read to, especially anything Dr. Seuss, the bear books, or your I Love You Daddy book.

At night you have a set routine, and you are usually a good sleeper. You used to love your baths, Gavin, but lately you're very scared of the water. Daddy and I have tried to make bath time more fun and less stressful, and the tons of bath toys you have seem to help! After bath time, its usually a bed time story and a kiss good night, and you're off in slumberland while listening to your lullabies.

Since you started sleeping in your crib, Gavin, Mommy and Daddy have come in every night before we go to bed to check on you and just marvel at how perfect you are. We feel very blessed to have such a beautiful, wonderful little boy sleeping in the next room over.

It's been an amazing year, Gavin! You've gone from our tiny baby boy to our awesome little toddler. We can't wait to see what the next year brings, and we're enjoying every minute! Happy first birthday big boy! We love you so much Gavin Michael!

Love, Mommy and Daddy