Gavin's First Birthday Party!

Although Gavin doesn't officially turn one for two more days, we held his birthday party yesterday (I didn't think a Tuesday night party would go over very well!).  The party was a success!  A lot of our family and some of our friends were able to come and celebrate with the Gavster.

Since Gav loves monkeys, his birthday party had a monkey theme.  So here are the obligatory pics of the decorations (because darn it, I spent money and time putting these things up, so there will be evidence that they existed! :)

Gavin's personalized birthday banner...its amazing what you can do with the internet.  How did people survive before Google?!

I wish I could have taken a picture to capture the look on Gav's face when he saw this monkey balloon for the first time.  He absolutely loved it, and then started punching it in the face, which for Gavin seems to be a sign of affection!

Aunt Allison knew of Gavin's love for monkeys as well, and made these awesome monkey cupcakes!

Ok, on to the actual party.  I warn you, there are going to be a lot of pics in this post, so buckle up!  Here Gavin and his friend Olivia are working on opening the pile of presents.  Gavin helped with about the first 3 presents and then decided it would be a lot more fun to play with the opened presents than doing the work of unwrapping, that's what Mommy is for!

As with any child I've ever met, Gavin was more interested in ripping the paper into tiny bits than in actually playing with the present.

I'm not sure what he's excited about here, but I just thought it was a cute pic.  He looks so old here!

Gavin clapping for the wagon.  He really does love it, he already went on a ride with Grandma and Grandpa Gillespie this morning.

Time for some shirtless cake eating!

These days, kids get their own cake to go crazy on called a "smash cake."  Gavin is trying to figure out what's going on here...

...tasting the first dainty finger of frosting...

...and quickly deciding that fistfuls of cake (frosting, I think he might have accidentally ingested some actual cake) is much more effective.

A good pic of the destruction.

"Where has cake been all my life?"

A birthday shot with Mommy and Daddy.  This is before Ryan smeared cake on my face.

Overall, we had a great time and we hope Gavin and his guests did too!  Happy (almost) First Birthday Gav!

(Are Ry and I the only ones that think that 1 looks like a 2?!)

First Haircut!

Sigh...its the second week in August and my little boy is almost a year old!  This is about the time last year where I absolutely lost my mind while waiting for Gavin to arrive (Ryan can attest to this fact.  Going past your due date is just not pretty, and I did not handle it with grace.  I did handle it with lots of donuts and whining.)  At that time, Gavin turning a year old seemed like something that would never happen.  And yet, here we are.  I drove by the elementary school for our neighborhood today, and similarly thought that it just seems impossible that Gavin will ever go to school.  I'm a little scared to think about how quickly that day will come as well.

The fact that Gavin keeps blowing through milestones lately isn't helping me feel like my baby has suddenly turned into a toddler.  He is getting better at walking every day (video to come soon!).  I still wouldn't classify him as a walker, since he relies mainly on crawling and cruising to get anywhere.  But he can take a good 5 or 6 wobbly steps before he plops on his butt and continues on his way.

But the milestone I want to write (and show) about in this blog is Gavin's first official haircut.  I say "official" haircut because Ryan likes to lop off a chunk or two when I'm not looking.

Although he looked adorable, Gavin's hair was getting out of control.  It was hanging in his eyes and his ears, and just wouldn't be tamed anymore.  So despite Ryan's mom warning us that the haircut would turn him into a big boy, we finally gave in.  Ry and I took Gav to a place called Kid Snips, which is basically awesome.  I may start getting my haircut there.  Kids get to sit in a chair shaped like a car, they watch any DVD they like (or play Nintendo if they're old enough), and they get a balloon and a prize from the treasure chest when the haircut is over.  And if it's your first haircut, you get a certificate with a lock of your hair and a pic of your sweet new hairdo!

Gavin did a great job with his first haircut, mainly due to the Yo Gabba Gabba DVD we brought with us.  It actually worked a little too well when Gavin started "dancing" along to the opening song right when Ms. Kelly was about to make her first snip!  Below are some pics and two videos of the experience.

Before pic.

The first snip.  Yes, I teared up a little at this point, I'm such a mom.  But check out those cute smocks!

My new favorite picture of Gavin.  Such a cute half smile and accidental mo-hawk about halfway through the haircut.

Zoned out to Yo Gabba Gabba while Ms. Kelly used the clippers.

Success!  Where did that little boy from the before pic go?

Here is a video of the first snip!

Here's a video of Gav's reaction to the clippers.  I don't want to ruin it, but that face he makes...so cute!

The Shedd

A few weeks ago, the Gillespie clan went to the Cubs v Cards game in Chicago, so Allison, Gavin and I decided to head to the Shedd Aquarium! 

Gavin had a great time at the Shedd.  There are so many giant tanks that even little guys like Gavin can get up close and personal with.  Plus it was nice and cool in there, and it was about 100 degrees outside (as you can tell by how sweaty we all are in the first few pics), so Al and I were feeling lucky that we weren't at the Cards game.  (We felt even luckier when we found out the Cards got killed....that is no time to be hanging out with the Gillespie boys :)

Gavin checking out the scene.  This tank (I think it was the Caribbean Reef?) was my favorite as well.  It's a giant circular tank with a ton of cool marine life swimming around.

Just some of the fish that were capturing Gav's attention.

This is the first of a series of pictures where Gavin was way too interested in the fish to take a picture.  I'll take that as a complement for picking a cool activity for the day!

Picture #2 in the "Gavin could care less about the photo op" series.

Amazing view of the outdoor area at the Shedd.  And a great pic of Gavin's fake smile.

Gavin was much more excited to take this pic with Aunt Allison!

I know, I know.  Two pics in the same blog that don't even include Gavin?!  I just thought it was pretty :)

Gav checking out the shark tank.  I broke the rules and used my flash to get this pic. Yes, I'm such a risk taker.

Random Summer Stuff

We're back with some new posts!  Gavin has been up to quite a lot in the past month or so!  This past weekend we took Gavin to Chicago to spend some time with his Uncle Kyle and Aunt Allison while Ry and I enjoyed a dinner that did not involve applesauce in my hair or pasta flying through the air (video coming soon of Gavin's attempts at self-feeding.  Who knew applesauce was a finger food? Gavin did.)

Gavin and Uncle Kyle riding a truck at the park in Chicago.  This was after Gavin played in the spray park, hence the sweet 'do (although Gavin's idea of playing in the spray park was for me to hold him close to the water while he splashed me, that punk :)

A pic capturing the joy of swinging.  I did not, however, manage to get a pic of Gavin flirting with the girl next to him, which he was also enjoying. 

We also have two videos to share.  These are from earlier in the summer, although I don't quite remember when.  The first video is of Gavin making my favorite face.  I decided I had to get that face on video so that I can always remember it!  Apparently, I used to make the same face when I was a baby and my parents nicknamed it "the scrunch!"

The second video is of Gavin "dancing" to his favorite song on his toy toolbench.  Gavin is really working on his dance moves these days.  I guess he has to perfect them soon if he's going to keep flirting with the ladies!

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.