Gavin's New Obsession...

For quite some time Gavin has been interested in the fridge. Heck, he is interested in anything, especially those things he can't have/do. The fridge is one area that I had let him "play" in because he really only was interested in exploring what was in the door. No big deal. Well, in the last week he has decided the door is boring and moved on to other areas. Namely, pulling out milk, half and half, heavy cream and seltzer cans, whatever he can reach. He loves sharing Scott's seltzer, so it is no surprise when he can reach those he pulls one out to try to get it open. Thankfully, he can not and he just moves on to something else. The milk products, he never passes up. He loves to pull the milk carton out and pop the top off (using his teeth... apparently teeth can be used for all sorts of things other than just eating) to chew/suck on it.



Sometimes he attempts to dump milk out too, most of the time I manage to reach him and rescue the milk before that happens. The half and half and heavy cream he loves as well. No idea why. He tries to get the caps off of those but usually can't since they screw on. He did manage to do it once and was attempting to drink the half and half. Crazy kid! Regardless, he is in love with the fridge and if he hears it open, he comes running. As does he love the dishwasher, cabinets, hall closet and bathroom closet. He absolutely loves the hall closet because he can pull out the duster and vacuum. Any time the vacuum comes out he follows it around as I vacuum and yells at it. It's really funny.


He is such a silly little boy!

Cabin Fever!

We have had rain almost every day in the last week! It has been a bit depressing and Gavin and I have been cooped up going a bit crazy. It's hard to be outside even when it isn't raining because of the humidity and mosquitoes. It is no fun to go to the park and get rained on. We haven't had any errands to run. Friends are sick so we haven't had any play dates (we are waiting until the colds and such are completely gone before we risk it). So, Gavin and I have been working to have as much fun as possible at home. We have baked various treats and some awesome dinners. We have read lots of books. We have kept the house reasonably clean. We have even managed to organize and put away some things that have been put off for way too long. It has been great.




Despite all our fun, we are looking forward to nice sunny days again! I hope the forecast is wrong because as of now, it is going to be another rainy, humid week. I guess we will just continue to work on things around the house until we can resume enjoying the fall!

11 Months Old!

Really, another month? Already? I think the last month flew by faster than any other one yet. Maybe it is because Gavin is now walking around and getting into anything he can reach. Maybe it is because I am in complete denial that he will be a year old already. Maybe it is because I can't believe that this time last year we were running around working on finishing as much as possible around the house (including Gavin's room) before he joined us. I have no idea, but this month has gone by way too fast. Gavin is growing up way too fast. He is such a smart, fun, amazing little guy. I love every second I spend with him (even when I am exhausted because he didn't sleep well which means I didn't sleep well). I am sad that he is no longer a tiny newborn but so happy with where we are now because he is so much fun!

He has quite the personality, which includes not holding still for a photo shoot.



Or looking at the camera, since the grass is much more exciting.


Let's see what has changed in the last month!

Stats:

Weight - 25 pounds 12 ounces according to our visit last week.

Height - 31.25 inches according to our visit last week.

Clothing Size - He has grown out of his 12 month pants which is not all that big of a surprise, but nothing else.

Milestones -

*Gavin is walking all over the place now! He still takes some falls here and there when he is tired or gets ahead of himself (trying to run across the room instead of walk) but he is amazingly fast and loves to explore the house. He walks from room to room all day long checking things out, getting into trouble and following me as I pick up and clean. It is guaranteed he will follow me if I have either the feather duster (to do corners and such) or the vacuum. Both are favorites of his. He gets all excited and comes running when the hall closet is opened.

*Gavin has discovered even more new noises and vowel sounds this month. He doesn't stop "talking" almost the whole time he is awake! Other than "dada" (or "dad" and "daddy") he doesn't say too much that I would consider words. He says what sounds like "I did it/did it", "yeah", "okay", and "that" but nothing that I would consider a word, yet. I repeat things back to him when it sounds like he said an actual word, but I am sure he just thinks I am crazy and I am far from repeating what he intended. Who knows though. He also likes to make all kinds of crazy noises with his tongue. He will mimic all kinds of noises too. He smiles really big and the does it himself. It is really cute!

*Gavin is really starting to appreciate and enjoy some of his books. There are some he absolutely loves and he smiles and laughs when we read them to him. He especially loves when you do voices for different characters and emotions. He also loves the touch and feel and sound books now. I have always enjoyed reading to him but it is so much more fun now that he seems to enjoy it more. I still occasionally read my books to him but he mostly ignores me since there are no pictures, fun sounds or things to touch. Hopefully someday he will appreciate those more as well.

*Gavin has seven teeth (three on top and four on the bottom) with who knows how many more coming in. He seems to constantly have another one that is coming in. I guess we won't be getting a break from teething until they are all in. Oh well... it will end someday!

That about sums up all his new tricks. He is an absolute joy in our lives and we are so thankful to have him!

Fun and Lazy Sunday!

We had a fun, relaxing day today. I have been taking advantage of the cooler weather and making some things in the Le Creuset. Yesterday we had stew and seasoned bread sticks. Today I was trying out a recipe I have had my eye on for a few months now, but wanted some cooler weather to try it out. Chicken enchilada soup. So, I made some enchilada sauce and threw in all the other ingredients and let it start cooking together for dinner!

While that was cooking, Gavin and I picked out some toys to take outside. We headed out to hang out while Scott worked on his antenna. It was a beautiful day out. Sunny and around 70. Perfect weather. The mosquitoes even seemed to stay away as long as you stayed in the sun and didn't sit in one spot for too long. That isn't too difficult with Gavin since he is always on the move. He was exploring the yard and eating lots of grass and some dirt. Probably even a little mulch since he wandered over around Scott's tower.

Gavin also found the hose and was very excited about that. He is obsessed with the hose.


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He is also obsessed with his daddy. He wouldn't take his eyes off of him.



Gavin also shares his dad's love of seltzer water. Any time he sees Scott pull out a can, he freaks out and wants some. He even figured out how to use a straw to drink it!




We had a great day together and a delicious dinner! Chicken enchilada soup is really good. We will definitely be having that again sometime this fall/winter!

Playdate with Denise and Charlie!

Today we made a trip out to Walden to visit a good friend of mine that I work(ed) with at IBM. It is about 45-50 minutes away, but totally worth the trip. I made some pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting last night to bring with us (I of course had one and they were delicious). Gavin did really well on the drive there but was very happy when we had finally arrived so he could get out and walk around. He was excited to explore a new house and he had a friend following him around everywhere he went...






He absolutely loved Charlie and Charlie loved him! Charlie followed Gavin around, sharing toys and snacks and just waiting for Gavin to either sit or fall so he could lick his neck and ears. Gavin would just giggle like crazy when that happened. I wish I had brought the video camera, maybe next time.

We had an awesome visit. It was so nice to see Denise and spend a few hours with her and Charlie. We look forward to another visit soon!

Brrrr, It's Cold!

Wow, it turned mighty cold after the last rain we had. The highs are barely in the 60's and it is going down to low 40's and upper 30's at night! So, I had to start going through Gavin's clothes a bit earlier than planned to pull out his pants. I was a little sad to find that the pants he wore earlier this year no longer fit. I had picked up a pair of cute corduroy pants on clearance that were 18 months, hoping they would fit sometime the following winter. Good thing because other than being just a little long, they fit Gavin really well now!

Clearly, he doesn't want me to bother him with all my picture taking!


Terrorizing his play gym and mat...



Checking out the view from behind the couch while I dust.


The one other pair of pants that he has are in a set he was given that is 18 months. They unfortunately are a bit tight. As is the shirt and the cute vest. Oh well, he can wear them for a little bit before they will need to be packed away. That just means we need to pick up at least one more pair than we had originally planned when we go shopping for his winter clothes and coat. (Of which, I can't wait until more is out because I love shopping for Gavin's clothes! It is so much fun!)

I am not sure if the cold front will last or not but we are enjoying the much cooler weather and have had windows open and spent as much time as possible outside (while trying to avoid all the awful mosquitoes that won't go away)! It is a sure sign of fall and I am loving it!

Who Needs Gates!

Despite knowing we need to decide on what we are going to do to block off the stairs and TV (with gates or otherwise), I have come up with some creative ways to ensure Gavin can roam free while I do things around the house like cook and clean without him being able to get into too much trouble.


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See, quite effective, right? Okay, maybe not ideal but it does work for a little while until we make a decision on what we want to try out to keep Gavin from trying to dive down the stairs.

Mosquitoes...

Are awful! The mosquito situation is completely out of control around here. It was bad in the spring, but mostly cleared up over the summer when it was really hot, although they were still out at night, since I am almost never out after dark, it was irrelevant to me. They are now ruining the wonderful fall weather we are having. They are not only terrible at night, they are out during the day. It is impossible to be outside at all without them swarming around and even when we just go out to get the mail, I end up with at least a few bites.

The main reason for all the mosquitoes is because of all the standing water still left over from hurricane Irene and all the thunderstorms we have had since then. There has been so much water, there is no where for it go anymore. It is amazing that after it rains (it doesn't even have to rain much), the puddles are around for days!

So, despite having perfect weather for hanging out in the yard, Gavin and I have been mostly inside, unless we are out running errands or go to the park (which we do at least once most weeks, sometimes more if the weather is nice enough). We have been having a good time though. Gavin is walking all over the house, even picking up toys to walk around with.


Eating the foam pieces from his mat. He is so funny because he knows how to get up the pieces he wants (the smaller ones because they fit into his mouth so he can walk and chew on them).


Gavin is finding new places to climb and crawl to/under all over the house. Under chairs, foot stools, into empty cubes of the shelves in the dining room, anything.





I have been baking and cooking a lot too. We are moving into my favorite time of year! Fall/winter weather, smells, movies, and baking!! Sometimes Gavin and I will have fun Halloween or Christmas movies on or sometimes we listen to Christmas music. I have been alternating between wanting Christmas themed and more fall themed baked items. I have made various pumpkin things (muffins, cookies, bread, cupcakes), gingerbread cupcakes and lots of sugar cookies! Nothing too fancy though, I just do a couple of shapes and colors for fun. Maybe I will try doing fancier things as we get closer to Christmas and I make cookies for other people.


So, despite being confined to the house because of mosquitoes (and when it rains), Gavin and I have been having lots of fun!

It's a Beautiful Day for a Wedding!

A good friend of mine is getting married today. I hoped that Scott and I would be able to attend and leave Gavin with someone for the afternoon and evening but that ended up not being possible. Our babysitting options are limited and were unavailable and Gavin is not really an easy child to just drop off with someone else for the day, yet. So, I decided I didn't want to miss everything and arranged with Scott that I would go to the ceremony and he would stay home with Gavin.

Scott hung out with Gavin while I got ready to go. I fed Gavin and set Scott up with a couple of bottles, just in case and I was off to the church for the wedding! I am so glad I was able to be there. It was a perfect day for a wedding. The ceremony was so sweet, at a beautiful church and the bride, groom and their families all looked amazing! It was so good to see my friend glowing with her new husband and to get a chance to visit for a few minutes with them and her family.

Scott and Gavin had a good time without me for a few hours. I was glad to be home with them and I was happy that Gavin was clearly happy that I was home. I said hi and then left the room to change and he freaked out! It was so cute. I felt bad because I don't want him to be upset, but it still felt good to be wanted.

Hopefully the next time we have a wedding we will be able to go together and then we can both come home to Gavin and have him be really excited to see us!

10 Month Well Baby Checkup!

We had Gavin's 10 month well baby check up on Tuesday. It is a little "late" because of vacations (both ours and our pediatricians) but that doesn't really matter. I was dreading this appointment more than any other one we have had, even the three that he got shots at. At our last appointment, they said that we needed to allow extra time for the appointment because we would have to go downstairs to have some blood drawn. Ugh. I was sure it would be worse than the shots, how could it not be!

Well, we went in for his appointment and got his stats:

Weight: 25 pounds, 12 ounces
Height: 31.25 inches

The rest of the appointment was really good. He showed off how well he walks, all his "talking", how well he bends/leans down and recovers back to standing and was really good when she checked his eyes, ears and such. She said he is doing great and was impressed with how much he was doing. She said we come back right after his first birthday and it had to be on or after his birthday because he had to be at least 1 before he could get one of the shots he was going to get (only two shots this time, wahoo). Then she sent us down to have some blood drawn. Ugh.

Gavin was still in a fairly good mood and was happy and willing to walk around and play in the waiting room. When it was our turn, he sat on my lap and they told me how to hold him and to hold him tight so he couldn't squirm. Great, so not only does he have to be tortured, I have to help by pinning him down. I know I am stronger than him still (even though he is ridiculously strong) but I hate having to actually force him to do things. While she poked around looking for his vein, Gavin started to whine a bit in protest, but it wasn't too bad. Then she stuck him with the needle and it was interesting because it took him a good 15 seconds in which he looked at me very confused and then the screaming started. It was awful. So much worse than shots. It felt like forever even though it really wasn't all that long because it was only two vials. After she was done he calmed down a lot more quickly than I expected which was really nice. We packed up and headed home, grateful that was behind us. I hope we never have to do that again!

Despite the torture, Gavin was his normal happy self. What a relief! We had lots of fun playing, Gavin got into his drawer in the kitchen and was pulling everything out and doing all kinds of silly things like carrying lids (and stacks of lids) around with his mouth.



He loves unloading everything from this drawer! I must put it all away at least 4 or 5 times a day but its worth it because it keeps him entertained!

A great day despite the morning torture!

Family Reunion and More!

Friday evening everyone started arriving! Even though Rhonda and Troy had come by the day before and Matthew had picked Gavin and me up at the airport, we had not seen the rest of their families or Becky and Matt and their family. It was great to see all my nieces and nephews again! It has been a few years since I have seen them. They all seem so grown up now! Gavin didn't seem to mind the instant chaos of having 12 more people around (we were now up to 20 people in Andrew and Andrea's house and we were still waiting on Becky and Matt who were to arrive later that night, adding another 8 people for a total of 28 people for the weekend... good thing they have a huge house)! In fact, Gavin loved it! He loved the attention from everyone, especially his cousins. They were all more than happy to cart him around and keep him entertained and safe. That meant I had short breaks to actually visit with my siblings and parents without having to entertain Gavin at the same time.

We enjoyed an awesome dinner of lasagna, salad and garlic bread. After dinner was our first activity. We were put into three groups and our assignment was to write a story that was going to be given to another group to be acted out and filmed. It was a lot of fun because the kids really got into it and had some great, silly ideas! Gavin didn't have much to add, but he did think the bean bag chair we had with us was absolutely wonderful. He couldn't get enough of jumping/throwing himself into it and kept giggling away. Unfortunately, it was getting late and Gavin needed a bath and to get to bed. So, we had to bail out early and only helped write the story and missed out on the acting and filming portion. After Gavin was out for the night, the filming was done and Andrew was working on editing them to be watched, Andrea pulled dessert out. They had made ice cream sandwiches! They were delicious! There were strawberry, vanilla, chocolate and mint filled sandwiches. Surprisingly, the mint were the most popular (even with the kids), but it didn't really matter which one you had, they were a great treat! Before too much longer, everyone slowly started heading to bed. What a great start to the weekend!

Saturday morning, Gavin was up bright and early and woke up a few people in the process. Those of us that were up headed outside so we didn't wake anyone else up before they were ready. Andrew got breakfast in the oven (Andrea had prepared it Friday afternoon - overnight french toast). It smelled as great as it tasted. Gavin even enjoyed it (considering he hadn't been eating much in the way of solid food the last few days, that said a lot). After breakfast, showers started. With that many people, it is good that there were so many bathrooms so that someone else could get in the shower in another bathroom when the previous person was done.

After breakfast was cleaned up, we headed to their tv/family room to watch the videos that had been created the night before. They were all really great and so silly! Everyone did a great job with the stories they wrote and the acting of the story assigned to them! After watching the videos a few times, we headed down to the park for some outdoor games and to just hang out. It is a really nice park that is just at the end of their street. Daniel was a good sport (as usual) and let his nieces and nephews torture him.


Others were playing Bocce. The teams kept changing as others either wanted a turn or those playing were tired and wanted to do something else.


The rest just hung out and visited. We all enjoyed otter pops, even Gavin! He was thrilled. Not all that much of a surprise given how much he loves ice, but he even quickly figured out how to hold and eat/drink it all by himself. It is amazing how quickly he figures things out!

We headed back for lunch (and Gavin took a much needed but all too short nap) of hamburgers, hot dogs and fruit salad (with fruit from Matthew and Holly's garden). After lunch there were some projects for the kids to do and then it was time for the talent show! No, Gavin and I did not participate as I don't really have any talents and trying to get Gavin to do anything on command is pretty much impossible, he is only interested in doing things on his own terms. Those that did participate were very talented. Given how many people participated and how talented they are makes me wonder how I ended up with no talent! Apparently that gene skipped me! Oh well.

After the talent show everyone dispersed for other fun and games. Gavin enjoyed lots more time being surrounded and entertained by his cousins and I enjoyed time playing games and visiting.


For dinner, Andrew grilled chicken and there was potato salad that Rhonda had made. It was delicious! After dinner, everyone else got ready to head up to Canyon. Unfortunately, given how terribly Gavin had been napping (and sleeping in general), we skipped it so I could get Gavin to bed a little bit earlier. They were nice enough to leave some goodies for me to enjoy after I got Gavin to sleep. Andrew and Andrea had made marshmallows with mini m&ms and chocolate chips in them. They were so good! Homemade marshmallows are awesome. They took them up to roast them because then all you had to do was put them in the graham cracker and you had a s'more with chocolate that should be melted! The theory is great, unfortunately, the marshmallows didn't hold up as well as thought, but they were still delicious. I used them to make s'mores in the microwave and I also made a standard one (or two). An awesome dessert to enjoy, even if I couldn't roast the marshmallows in the fire. After they all returned, everyone quickly headed to bed because it was getting late and it had been a busy day!

Sunday morning was a bit busier. Gavin was being entertained by his cousins so I was able to help with the breakfast prep. Andrew and Andrea made muffins, banana and blueberry. The banana were good but the blueberry were fabulous. The absolute best blueberry muffins I have ever had (probably the best muffins I have ever had)! I am glad there were so many because that meant that I could have more than one! During this time the shower process had started again but was a bit more critical since everyone needed to be ready for church at 1 and we still needed to fit in our family meeting that morning. After breakfast was cleaned up, we gathered the adults and those kids that were interested in participating and had our family meeting. It was good to have us all in the same room and gave us a chance to discuss our next reunion and other things that people wanted to discuss. By the end of the meeting, Gavin had had enough and I attempted yet another nap. I was pleasantly surprised that he actually took a much needed 2 hour nap! Finally! A normal nap! Although, this was probably because it was the first time it had been that quiet in several days. After he got up, I set up the pack and play in the bathroom so I could take a quick shower... big mistake. Even though I had put on Yo Gabba Gabba and given him some toys, he was not happy about it and protested by attacking the toilet paper roll that I didn't see was within reach and proceeded to make a huge mess with it. Oh well, at least I got a quick shower.

Before long everyone was home from church and it was time for dinner. Tamales and tacos/burritos. The tamales were awesome. Andrew and Andrea know someone that makes them fresh and sells them to restaurants and they were able to get them from her. That is not something I have often or something I would attempt to make so it was a great treat. After dinner, it was time for families to start packing up and heading home since all the kids had school Monday morning and Becky and Matt's family had a long drive ahead of them as well. I packed up our things because we were heading up with Rhonda and Troy to spend our last few days with them and then with Matthew and Holly before we headed home.

Gavin was not happy to be in the car, but thankfully his protesting didn't seem to bother Rhonda, Troy and the kids (either that or they were just lying to be nice). We made it to their house and Gavin relaxed... for about two minutes. Their dog Cosmo was so excited that they were home that he was barking some and Gavin was not impressed. He proceeded to have an absolute meltdown. Even though the barking lasted for about 2 seconds, Gavin was not interested in having anything to do with Cosmo, including having to see him. He would see him and it would start all over again. I felt awful, Cosmo is such a sweet dog and just wanted to check out Gavin but Gavin wouldn't stop crying. I started to worry that it would be a big problem and we wouldn't be able to spend the time I wanted with Rhonda and Matthew's families. He did eventually calm down, but bedtime couldn't come soon enough that night!

Monday morning Gavin slept a bit later than he had been (wahoo). We were still up in time to spend some time with the kids before they headed off to school. Rhonda was nice enough to make pancakes for breakfast, one of Gavin's favorites! He was thrilled! Then Gavin took a great nap. I was hopeful that he would sleep a bit better with it being quieter because the kids were in school and he had hopefully worn himself out to a point where he had to sleep. It seemed to be working that way. During the day, Gavin napped really well and enjoying playing with more new toys. Sydney let us stay in her room and Gavin loved checking out all her toys. Although, he also loved checking out Devin's toys, so I am sure it was partially because they were out, available for use and Sydney didn't mind. Gavin also started to get used to Cosmo and even started to get brave and get close enough to touch him and check him out.

Once the kids were home from school, Gavin was in an even better mood because he was back to being carted around by his cousins. They really did such an awesome job of entertaining him! Rhonda and Troy made enchiladas for dinner that were so good! I wish that when I made them they were that good! Gavin had mashed potatoes and peas. He was happy and eating much better than he had been, probably because things were much more calm. After dinner, Stephanie pulled out her cotton candy machine and made us cotton candy! It was really cool. I have never seen anything like it and that worked so well. It was just like getting cotton candy at the fair, but better because she had all kinds of great flavors! I hope we have a reason to have one some day, it really is a fun treat to have! After Gavin was in bed, I watched a great movie with Rhonda and Troy. They have so many movies and as I was looking through, they mentioned a movie I had never heard of that they loved called Stardust, so we put that on. It was a really fun movie. I am glad that we watched it!

Tuesday morning, Gavin really slept in! I was shocked when I woke up and saw it was after 8! He rarely sleeps that late and considering he had been getting up between 6 and 6:30 for the last week, that was a welcome change! He enjoyed pancakes for breakfast again and we hung out and he played with Cosmo (getting braver by the day). I really enjoyed getting to catch up with Rhonda and Troy! After a couple of awesome naps, the kids were home and we had a little more time to hang out before it was time to pack up so we could spend the night with Matthew and Holly's family.

Rhonda brought us over to Matthew and Holly's house (just down the road). The kids were excited to see Gavin again. Awesome! Nicole was more than happy to show Gavin around and find some great toys for him. She found some books that he could chew on and they even still have their cozy coupe! Gavin was happy to put that to use! Theirs is a bit lower to the ground, so he could actually use his feet to push himself around. Spencer helped by showing him what to do!


We were just in time for Holly to cut up some watermelon, it was yummy, Gavin and I both had several pieces. Watermelon is definitely a favorite of his now! Holly also made some rice crispy treats for dessert! Delicious, especially since I don't even know when I had them last, so good! Matthew made a delicious dinner for us, shrimp and vegetables over rice. Gavin enjoyed his vegetables and rice that Matthew pulled out for him. After dinner we hung out and found some fun toys and clothes that Spencer had outgrown for Gavin to grow into.

Unfortunately, before long it was time to get to bed because Gavin and I had a really early morning Wednesday to head to the airport. So we got set up and ready for bed and said good night!

Wednesday morning I got up really early so I could shower and quietly sneak around the house to finish packing up and get everything loaded so Matthew could drop us at the airport for our 7:30 flight. Gavin didn't seem to even notice being moved from the pack and play to the car and slept the whole way to the airport. A nice start to the day! Even though the Salt Lake City airport isn't as small as Stewart, it also isn't that big and that time of the morning you don't need to allow tons of extra time, so we planned to allow about an hour. We ended up getting there a bit earlier because it didn't take as long as it might normally to get there. Check in was quick and then we were saying our last good bye for this trip. Security went smoothly and reasonably quickly and we were off to find our gate. Gavin had some time to burn a bit of energy and walk around before we boarded our first flight of the day.

We were flying from Salt Lake City to Detroit, a 3 hour flight. After having such success on the way out with 3 flights, I was hoping for similar success on our way home. Gavin explored the plane while we waited for everyone to board after us. He did reasonably well during that time. Unfortunately, it was another full flight. At least the people around us were all very nice. Gavin did fall asleep during take off and slept for about half of our flight. The second half was somewhat interesting. He woke up happy and willing to be entertained on my lap with various toys and snacks but that didn't last. He wanted to get down and explore which was not really an option. He settled for me standing with him and walking him around some so he could explore that way. That only lasted so long before he really needed to sit back down. Although he didn't really cry or scream, he did whine for roughly the last 30 minutes of our flight because he didn't want to have to sit on my lap. Despite that, everyone commented on how well he did and how good he was. I think they were just trying to be nice and make me feel better but I still appreciated it and I know it could have been much worse.

When we arrived in Detroit we had to make the trek from terminal A back to C... absolute torture! They seriously need to come up with a better way than just walking that far to get around! When we got there, we used the family bathroom again (love these) and then settled in a corner of our gate to hang out and wait for boarding. Gavin watched planes, explored and enjoyed making more friends. We boarded our final plane and within minutes of pushing back from the gate, Gavin had passed out in my lap! He slept until we had landed at Stewart! The nice old man next to us and I chatted the whole flight and Gavin didn't even notice. I was relieved! We had survived all that time on planes and Gavin had slept most of it.

I was really glad Stewart was so small after we deplaned. Aside from not wanting to haul 50 pounds of stuff around anymore, I was looking forward to seeing Scott and it was great that the walk out to baggage claim was so short! Gavin was so excited to see him too! It may have only been a week, but that is a heck of a lot of time to be apart!

So, we waited for my suitcase to come out and then headed home! Gavin was even in a good mood for the ride home. We had a great time hanging out and tried to get Gavin back on his normal schedule on New York time. It seemed like it would work, but it ended up just being a short nap before Gavin insisted on getting up for a few hours. It was a bit painful after such a long day, but it worked out well because he slept great after that and slept in past 8 the next morning so we were both able to catch up on some much needed sleep!

It was a great trip. A wonderful family reunion. It is always so much fun to spend that much time with family and I am so grateful that Gavin and I were able to be there for it. I am so grateful for everyone taking care of us while we were there and for Scott to tolerate us being apart for so long (it was hard on all of us... especially since Scott had to deal with hurricane Irene while we were gone). I look forward to the next one and hope that Gavin enjoys it as much as he enjoyed this one!

Hanging out in Sandy, Utah!

Gavin and I enjoyed our first afternoon and evening with Andrew and Andrea. Andrew was there waiting for us when Matthew brought us from the airport. He gave us a tour of their awesome (huge) new house! It really is a beautiful house and they have done so much with it to make it even better! Then Gavin and I settled in our room, Joseph was nice enough to let us invade his room while we were there. We got out some of Gavin's toys and just hung out for a bit. A little later in the afternoon, Joseph arrived! It was so nice to see him and Gavin was so excited to have a playmate that is closer to his age and size than Andrew and I are. Joseph was so great with Gavin and pulled out all kinds of his own toys to let Gavin play with. Gavin loved every second of the attention from Joseph and followed him all over the place!

(Gavin is missing a shirt because he had completely soaked the one he had been wearing and didn't seem interested in having another one put on once the dirty one was off.)





Meanwhile, Andrew was working on dinner. Although he kept insisting it was no big deal and not a lot of work, it certainly looked like a huge undertaking. It smelled and looked wonderful and tasted even better. He roasted a chicken (with bacon on it!) and we had mashed potatoes, spinach and gravy with it. I know that when you cook and bake all the time, especially doing more complicated recipes it isn't as big of a deal as it may seem to others, but that doesn't mean it isn't still a lot of work. I really appreciated all the hard work that went into it and fully enjoyed eating it! Before long it was time to get Gavin in bed. He had done so well with sleeping on the planes that we were able to stretch out his bedtime to his normal time, but on Utah time. It took a bit longer than usual to be able to lay him down in the pack and play (and I ended up falling asleep for a bit too), but I finally got him settled and then headed back out because there was dessert that Andrew had shown me earlier and I was eager to try that out! It was a lemon almond tart and it was definitely worth getting back up for! After that Andrew, Andrea and I just visited for a bit before we all headed to bed.

Thursday was a nice and relaxing day. Gavin hadn't slept all that well (not being home, off his normal schedule and teething caused quite the sleeping mess while we were away!) and was up very early but Andrew was up early as well so we had company! We just hung out and by the time Andrea was getting up and heading out to work, Gavin was ready for a nap. Unfortunately, it was quite a short nap but he woke up in a relatively good mood and so we played some more. Andrew was even nice enough to keep Gavin occupied so I could take a quick shower! Andrew went through the toys they have from when Joseph was little and pulled out some really fun new things for Gavin to play with, he really loved the stacking cups (he loved to knock them over) and the crazy ball with a mind of its own and also the little robot guy!

Rhonda and Troy stopped by for a visit while their kids were in school. It was great to see them and for them to meet Gavin before we were all together for the weekend and it was chaos. We had a great visit with them (and Gavin took another very short nap... ugh) and then Andrew and I just hung out waiting for Mom and Dad to get back. They had borrowed Andrew's car to drive up to Idaho with Daniel to visit Becky and Matt and their family. Andrew started dinner while we waited and I attempted to get Gavin to take another nap (yup, another short one, not a good sign). (Another awesome dinner, prosciutto and pea risotto, lamb chops and steamed broccoli!) Gavin was happy to see Grandma and Grandpa when they arrived and started showing off some of his new tricks. By this point he was really getting the hang of walking and getting a lot more brave, attempting to cross rooms.

We hung out and enjoyed another delicious dinner before I got Gavin in the bath and into bed. Despite being so tired, he went down much easier than the previous night so I was able to escape for dessert! Andrew had made orange panna cotta. Absolutely delicious! We even had a little more of the lemon almond tart because Mom and Dad had not had that yet. At this rate, I was going to gain at least 10 pounds while we were visiting! Totally worth it though. Then we visited for a while before it was time to head in for bed (my signal was the first of what would be many wake ups from Gavin, poor kid).

Friday was a bit busier. Friday morning Gavin and I were up very early again, thankfully so was Andrew and Mom and Dad were not too far behind that. We hung out and kept Gavin occupied until he was ready for a nap (I am not sure why I kept bothering considering how short they always were). After his nap I squeezed in a shower while Grandma entertained Gavin and Andrew and Andrea prepared their shopping lists for the reunion. When they got home, Andrew brought Daniel with him, so it was great to visit with him as well! Gavin was loving all the attention from everyone and doing really well even though he was definitely overtired. I really enjoyed visiting with everyone as well! Andrew, Daniel and Mom set to work on getting the lasagna (for dinner Friday night) all made up and ready to bake later that day). It smelled and looked so yummy!

Before long, other family started arriving and our reunion was starting! A weekend full of family, fun, good food and entertainment!

Utah Here We Come!

The time had finally arrived, Gavin and I were heading to Utah for a week! After a lot of preparing and packing (and very little sleep on my part), we were heading to the airport at 4 am. A completely ridiculous hour but much better than the alternative, 4 pm, which I was sure would be an absolutely awful idea and guarantee I was the person everyone hated with the child that screamed the entire flight. So we were on our way to the airport at 4 am for a 6 am flight. Gavin had just woken up when I went in to get him from his crib, so he was awake the whole ride there. I figured that couldn't be a good start to the day.

We unloaded and got checked in fairly quickly (the nice thing about that hour is that there are very few people at the airport) and headed toward security. I had done a little bit of reading to see what was allowed when traveling with a child and to prepare myself for what we might encounter. I had packed two bottles (just in case Gavin wouldn't nurse during take off and landing), Tylenol and Advil as well as snacks for Gavin and per the rules, they are all allowed, in excess of the 3 ounce limits and you don't even have to deal with the ziploc bags! As we approached the security line (which was thankfully very short), we were waved through and they opened the other side for us to pass through without having to deal with everyone else. It was SO nice! Even though the regular line wasn't long, it was nice to not have people in front of or behind us waiting for me to get situated on either end. It was also nice because the extra security/TSA people even helped me to get out the bins for stuff and get everything loaded into the bins. I am not sure if it was because it was really early, a tiny airport or just a really nice group of people, but I was really grateful for their help. On our way to the gate, we picked up a water and bagel to share while we waited. I let Gavin get down and walk around and hopefully burn any energy he might have before we were confined to a plane for about an hour and a half (probably more like 2 hours between boarding and deplaning).

Before too long, they were starting to board the plane and we were one of the first people to get on (because I took full advantage of the extra time they allow you when traveling with kids, I wanted time to get our bags stowed and get comfortable before we are stuck in our seat). Gavin seemed to enjoy taking in all the new sights and happily explored both our gate and the airplane. Once everyone was boarded, there was a wonderful surprise, even though it was supposed to be a full flight, there were several people that did not show, so there were extra seats. Even though the person that was to sit next to us was very nice and I am sure would have been great company during our flight, I was grateful when she wanted to move elsewhere so we had the two seats to ourselves! As we were taxiing and getting ready to take off, I got Gavin settled and before long he had passed out! What a relief! I was sure that even him being tired, he was going to flight sleeping and everyone would hate me and my screaming child! He slept the whole way to Detroit, he woke up as the plane stopped at the next gate. That meant that I even was able to relax and get a few minutes of sleep as well.

I have been to quite a few airports but Detroit is one I have never visited before. It is a very nice airport however the mode of transportation from one terminal to the next is very lacking. We had to walk all the way from the end of C to the other end of A (it was like walking a giant C). Between the backpack of Gavin's toys, the diaper bag of medicine, bottles, blankets, diapers, etc, the camera bag with the video and digital cameras and Gavin, I had to be carrying 40-50 pounds of stuff. Even with rushing and using all the moving walkways, it still took us at least 20 minutes to make it there. We also had to stop at a bathroom when we got closer to our gate because I needed to change Gavin and I didn't want to have to do that on the plane. We were in luck and found a family bathroom which made changing him so much easier!

We made it to our gate just in time to sit for a minute before they started boarding. We quickly got up and while I stowed our bags on the plane, Gavin explored the plane. I was hopeful that we would end up with a little extra space again, but that hope was quickly squashed. A completely full flight. Oh well. At least everyone around us was very nice and understanding. Gavin was a huge hit. Everyone around us was loving all his smiling and talking (good thing!) and were encouraging it! There was even a family in front of us that had a sweet little girl that was sharing her toys with Gavin. It ended up being a good thing that I brought bottles with us. Gavin didn't want to wait for take off to nurse (we had to wait in line for a bit before it was our turn) and so he wasn't interested when we were actually taking off. So I convinced him to take a bottle until we were in the air to hopefully prevent any ear popping issues. Once we were in the air, Gavin was awake for maybe another 20 minutes before he nursed and passed out again. He was asleep until we had landed in Denver! Awesome. I was so thankful he had been so good and then slept again!

Our gate in Denver was only a few down from where we had gotten off, so we walked around to find a bathroom (hoping for another family bathroom, no such luck) so I could change him and then set up camp at the gate. We had a lot longer here because we didn't have such a long walk to eat up all our time. So Gavin had a lot of time to walk around and explore. He made several friends and was entertaining everyone waiting at the gate. No one seemed to mind him walking up to them and using their luggage to cruise around. For a kid that was terrified of strangers not too long ago, he was being awfully friendly! Gavin even worked on his independent walking and managed to walk a few feet a couple of times. Before too long we boarded our last plane for the day (thank goodness!) and we off to Salt Lake City. Gavin did really well on this flight as well. He wanted to nurse before take off again, so he ended up using his other bottle (I am so glad I packed two) but we weren't in the air too long before he wanted to nurse and passed out again. He slept until we were on the ground and was a trooper as we got off our last plane and headed for the baggage claim.

Our suitcase came out fairly quickly and we headed out to meet Matthew who had just called and said he was there to pick us up. He was nice enough to come get us and deliver us to Andrew and Andrea's house where we would be staying the first few days of our trip. Despite having slept most of the morning/day and being confined quite a bit, Gavin even did well in the car. By the time we arrived, he had had enough but lucky for him, he wouldn't see another car seat (or plane) for a while!

I couldn't believe how well Gavin did during our flights out. I was worried that having two layovers would be terrible but if I wanted to fly out of Stewart we didn't have a choice, at least one direction we were going to have two layovers. Lucky for us, it ended up being a great thing and allowed Gavin to have enough awake time in between flights that he could sleep on the plane. A much more relaxing trip than I had prepared myself for (especially considering the way I packed toys in the backpack in preparation for needing lots of distractions). We were safely in Utah, enjoying family and looking forward to more arriving for the reunion!

And We Have a Walker!

After months of trying, Gavin is walking everywhere! It is so amazing to watch how quickly he has gone from a step here and there to walking across rooms!

He took a couple of steps while we were in Hilton Head, but nothing that we really thought should count as his first steps. What we like to consider his first steps happened the weekend after we came home. Sunday afternoon while we were hanging out watching the crazy thunderstorms pass over (during which I HEARD lightening for the first time, yes, HEARD - it was insane!) and deciding the best approach on the shelves we had picked up at Ikea the day before and Gavin took a step without falling/lunging after something and remained upright! It was awesome! He then took a few more! It was so much fun to encourage him, especially since we have been able to enjoy so many of these milestones together as a family!

It quickly progressed from there. Over the next few days, the few steps became more reliable and frequent. By Wednesday, Gavin was attempting to walk even farther. While we were in the Denver airport waiting for our last plane to Utah (yet another item I need to blog about... I am still so behind!), he went several feet before falling! While we were in Utah for my family reunion, he quickly started attempting to cross rooms.

By the time we returned home the following week, he was a pro, showing off to Scott how much improvement he had made! In the week since we have returned home, he has improved even more. He even has mastered walking in and out of the kitchen and bathrooms, which is impressive because there is a fairly large height difference (and edge in the case of the kitchen) between the tile and the hardwood floors.

He still sometimes gets ahead of himself and has had quite a few bumps, but I am sure that even once he has fully mastered walking (and running) that he will have bumps. That is just part of being a kid!

I am still in disbelief as I watch him walk around the house. I can't believe that he is almost a toddler already! I knew he would walk before he was officially considered a toddler, he has been wanting to for months. It makes him look so much more grown up. Although he is more capable of getting into trouble now, he also usually follows me from room to room if I picking up/cleaning, which is nice, right?

Oh well, since I haven't gotten around to figuring out uploading video yet, instead I will just share a random picture of Gavin (because it would be mean to not upload at least one picture of him!) eating baked potato... yum!

2 Years Already?

I need to take a break in trying to catch up on how behind with what we have been up to tonight. It is for a good reason though!

It is hard to believe that it has been two years since Scott and I got married! Although I had a great time planning our wedding and our wedding day was perfect, I am glad to be beyond that and enjoying our life together. It has certainly been an amazing two years! We have had a lot of fun together and with our families on vacations, at the holidays, preparing for Gavin to arrive, tackling house renovations and enjoying our life as a new little family!

We had a fun, low key weekend and day today. We spent a lot of time hanging out together, working on getting the shelves up in the dining room and even watched a few movies. Saturday morning I made blueberry muffins for breakfast (and gingerbread muffins later in the day) and we had chicken and vegetable kabobs for dinner (one of our favorite items off the grill)! Sunday I made German pancakes for breakfast and then Scott requested hamburgers for dinner, so he grilled again Sunday night and I just made potato and sweet potato fries to go with it. I decided that I wanted to make cinnamon rolls for our anniversary breakfast and creme brulee for dessert so I had to do some prep work Sunday night after Gavin was in bed. I made the dough for cinnamon rolls (because Grandma's recipe is the best one and needs to be made the night before) and I made the creme part of the creme brulee so it could chill overnight.

Scott managed to finish getting the shelves mounted in the dining room (I helped a little, but he definitely did most of the work). I am excited to start getting more put together on it and have it all be organized again! I will post some pictures of that later.

This morning when Gavin was up for the day we made the cinnamon rolls and then got Scott up to come hang out with us and have breakfast. I even shared a little cinnamon roll with Gavin since he had already eaten his breakfast (a banana, some grapes and a carrot) while I made the cinnamon rolls earlier.


Clearly he loves them as much as the rest of the family!

We hung out and watched a movie and had lots of fun playing as a family in between Gavin's naps. Then Gavin and I worked on getting dinner ready. I decided to keep it somewhat simple because I didn't want to need to spend all day in the kitchen. So I decided to make paninis and twice baked potatoes. The paninis had chicken, roasted red pepper (roasted it myself - its the best way to have them), caramelized onions and mushrooms with mozzarella cheese to keep it all together. I made Gavin just a grilled cheese sandwich to have with his potato and he had some grapes (one of his new favorite things to feed himself). It was all really good!






After Gavin was in bed, I picked up all his toys and got the creme brulee ready. No pictures because I was more concerned with eating it than taking pictures. It was fantastic. Maybe I will remember to slow down and take a picture when we have more tomorrow night!

It is sad to see our weekend come to a close, but it was definitely a great weekend together as a family! I am so lucky to have such an amazing husband and son! I love them more every day and I look forward to all the wonderful things in our future!