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