JUMP!!

Ever since Gavin "discovered" jumping a few months ago, he hasn't stopped looking for new ways to jump on, over, and off of everything. He started by just jumping in the air from the ground. This was so much fun he thought jumping off things would be fun. He started jumping off of the footstools, the bay window (to us), steps, and the bed. He loves when we are either making beds or changing sheets and there is a pile of sheets and blankets for him to jump into.

His most recent discovery of jumping fun is from a bookcase in our bedroom onto the bed. 

As you can see, he is crazy and gets some serious air jumping onto the bed. He is really good about waiting for us to be there next to the bed to avoid him bouncing off, which he has almost done a few times when he does flips as he lands. He loves it and is always smiling and laughing as he jumps and then climbs back up to jump again. It is a great way for him to burn off some energy on days we are stuck inside as well! We run around and chase each other, "rum" (pretend we are cars/trucks and run around the house), play hide and seek, and run Lightning McQueen or other cars around the house, but jumping is Gavin's favorite!

New Ride!

Gavin has a fancy new truck to cruise around the yard in!

After much debating about what to do for Gavin for his birthday, I took him to Toys R Us to see if there was anything that caught my eye and Gavin's interest that would be worth considering as his present. We didn't actually stop in the Power Wheels section, but Gavin freaked out as we went by and desperately wanted to stop and get out of the cart to play. I was able to distract him with looking at some other toys in the next section but I knew that I needed to reconsider my position on Power Wheels and at least look into what our options were.

We decided to go back together to look at what Toys R Us had and let Gavin try a few out to see if it was even possible to find something in a reasonable price range and size. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety available. I thought the only options were the small "starter" ones that are far too small for Gavin or the large, $400 plus, size that seated two kids. I didn't know there was an in between size that would fit Gavin! Toys R Us didn't have many of the in between size so we took to the internet to see what was available from different brands in that size to get an idea of the price to decide if it was worth it. Scott found the perfect vehicle! A truck that was the perfect size and a very reasonable price! So, after a little bit of research to be sure that was our best option and we were getting the best price, we ordered it from Amazon. Unfortunately, although it qualifies for Amazon prime shipping (we are so spoiled by this), it took about 4 extra days of "processing" before they ship it out. That meant there was no way it would be here by his birthday. Huge bummer.

It came last night and it was totally worth the wait! Scott met the UPS delivery guy outside to have him bring it to the garage. We didn't want Gavin to see it so I distracted him and he didn't even notice Scott was gone for a few minutes and that something was delivered. Scott took care of putting it together and getting the battery on the charger after Gavin went to bed. Scott had planned to come home from work a little early so that we could unveil the truck to Gavin. We knew it would be a nightmare if Gavin had access to the truck before it was ready. He wouldn't understand he had to wait so it was much better to have him see it for the first time when it was all ready to be used. It didn't take Scott very long to put it together but the battery has to fully charge before it can be used for the first time (18 hours), so coming home a little early from work put us at a perfect time to try it out for the first time!

Scott went downstairs to take the truck outside before I brought Gavin down. Gavin just thought we were going outside to play so he was excited and headed straight for the garage door where Scott was waiting with the video camera (I had the Canon to take pictures of his reaction).

He was really excited! He saw it and he immediately climbed in to check it out. We tried to show him what to do but he pretty much figured it out what it does on his own right away. He still needs to figure out the whole steering concept, so we had to help direct him and keep him from running into trees, the house, and walls. He did really well and would often stop to just check out his truck. He could decide whether he wanted to drive or check it out more. It was really cute. We didn't know how long the battery would last, especially with driving through the grass, but he had a good 45 minutes of pretty much constant driving. It probably would have gone even longer if it had only been driven on pavement because while it was perfectly capable of driving through the yard, it was clearly using more power to do so.

The truck was absolutely a huge hit! I am so glad that I caved and gave Scott's idea some real consideration. I can't wait to go back outside for Gavin to spend more time enjoying his truck!

Happy Birthday Gavin!

It is absolutely unbelievable that Gavin is 2 years old today! Although Gavin is constantly testing and pushing his limits, he is a lot of fun and can be so sweet. It has been amazing to watch him learn and grow. I really enjoy being able to communicate more with him each day (even though he frequently chooses not to listen). He makes life crazy but still fun for us.

Some things that Gavin loves:
·Tractors, trucks, cars (pretty much any vehicle)
·Climbing, jumping and running (everywhere)
·Helping with anything we are doing
·Lightening McQueen
·Being outside and exploring
·Being around other kids

We had a somewhat typical day today. It was raining (and it rained all day long) and I knew the forecast was for a really rainy day so I had planned that we would go to the museum after his nap. We did what few things needed to be done around the house in the morning and played with various toys before his nap. Once he was down for his nap I quickly did everything I could for dinner so we could maximize our time at the museum and not have to rush home. Then I took a quick shower so I could get ready to go. Unfortunately, Gavin woke up early and quite unhappy. Nothing could shake the scream fest. Although this does happen from time to time it is pretty rare and I never know how long it will last or what will snap him out of it.

 
Once he calmed down (about an hour later), I was able to get him dressed and we headed to the museum. I thought since the weather was bad and he likes it there it would be a good place to spend a few hours playing for his birthday. It was also fun for me because his birthday last year was the first time we had gone.

We had a lot of fun playing and Gavin enjoyed the few other kids that were there as well. Since Gavin's present wasn't here yet, he didn't have anything to really open but we did have a dinner with things he likes, chicken salad sandwiches, pasta salad, and peas. It was a fun and relaxing evening together! Now we just need his present to arrive!

Live from a new phone!

I am hoping to play some more catch up with older posts and pictures but also make more use of the ability to blog from my phone. I just got a new fancy and awesome one today so we shall see how that goes. Until then, a cute picture of Gavin from today!

It's Party Time!

We had Gavin's second birthday "party" today. We decided that there wasn't any reason to do anything different than we planned last year in terms of size. We don't know many people with young children and with me being 36 weeks pregnant, we didn't know ahead of time how I would be feeling. We also didn't want to wait another week and have me be 37 weeks pregnant and start risking that I could potentially go into labor that would not be stopped because I would be full term.

It was a bit smaller than we intended when we started planning but it was still nice and a lot of fun. My mom was the only one that was able to make it (my dad was in church meetings and Scott's dad decided to make a trip up after the baby was born). I never really did much with decorations because I just ran out of time and energy (and it didn't help that my computer was refusing to connect to the printer for me to print things out). I had found some really cute ideas so I was really bummed I didn't get a chance to put them into action. Oh well, next time!

Gavin had fun opening his present from Grandma and Grandpa. He absolutely loves his new race car track and color wonder markers!

We planned fairly simple but really yummy food. We had vegetables, ranch dip, chips, and buffalo chicken dip. For dinner we had cheeseburgers, seasoned potato fries, and steamed broccoli (no pictures because we were too busy eating to remember). For dessert, I attempted to duplicate Gavin's tractor that he loves and that spends a lot of timing playing with even a year after we gave it to him! While it is certainly not professional quality at all, I think for my first attempt at a more complicated cake, it turned out great. Gavin recognized it was his tractor so it couldn't have been that bad!

We had a fun afternoon playing. We blew up balloons, played with Gavin's toys, and visited. Gavin loved having Grandma here and having new toys to play with! He did not like when we were going to cut into his tractor cake. He loved lighting and blowing out his candle but as soon as I tried to cut his cake he started crying and didn't want us to cut and eat it. We brought in his tractor toy because we thought maybe he didn't realize we were not cutting his actual tractor. He eventually let us cut it but not before several crying fits when we asked if we could cut and eat his cake. It was really cute, I never thought he would have a reaction like that!

Once we had cake (it was delicious, a marble butter cake with lots of butter cream frosting), it was time for the party to end. It was a lot of fun and the food was great, Gavin had a wonderful time so I think it was a success!

Afternoon at Ikea!

We rarely go to IKEA, even though we really like it, because the closest one is about an hour and a half away (and it often takes longer because of traffic getting to the area). As we have been trying to decide what we want to do with the room situation as we prepare for baby number 2's arrival, we decided to leave the nursery intact and move Gavin into what is currently our guest bedroom (even though at least one of us is often sleeping in there). We decided there was no reason to break down the crib to the toddler bed or convert it to a full size bed for Gavin (even though that was the original plan when we picked out the nursery furniture) and then have to get a new crib (a new convertible crib) to have to do the same thing down the road. On top of that we have a bed in the master bedroom that is awesome but only a full, which is not big enough for us. So we decided to give that bed to Gavin and move the queen that is in what will be Gavin's room into the master bedroom. Now all we needed to find was a good dresser and a bookcase for his new room. I had spent some time browsing various stores online but I hadn't really seen anything I was impressed enough with that I wanted to go look at it in person. Then I remembered to check IKEA and I found a few great things for Gavin's new room. I found a dresser I wanted to look at, I decided we should get a smaller version of the bookcase we have in the dining room, and found what looked like a great deal on a comforter to go in the duvet cover we just picked out and ordered.

So, Scott took a half day and we set off for IKEA after Gavin's nap. Thankfully, Gavin travels much better now and we had a very pleasant and easy ride to IKEA. We took Scott's truck because there was no way to fit everything we wanted and needed to get in the Terrain. Gavin loves riding in the truck so he was really chatty and really enjoyed seeing everything on our drive down.

We had a great time while at IKEA as well. It was a bit difficult because Gavin really wanted to be down and exploring everything. The way IKEA is set up, it is fun as an adult, as a kid it is like a huge playhouse. Going from room to room checking out the furniture and accessories, there are a million things that caught Gavin's eye. We kept him in the cart a fair amount of time, carried him some, and let him explore as long as he was being good. It is hard not to get too carried away though. He was so excited to try all the couches, chairs, beds, and closets out. He loved sitting on the couches and laying on the beds. He loved climbing into wardrobes and closing himself in even more. It was a bit difficult at times as I chased him around but it was also great watching his face light up as he saw something new to check out. At the end are the kids rooms and we enjoyed checking out the kids furniture and toys even though we were not there for any of it. Gavin loved the play area they had set up with a rocking horse, slide, and tents.

After we had walked through everything, we stopped and ate some dinner before we went downstairs to pick up everything from the warehouse and head home. I always look forward to some delicious Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes when we plan a trip to IKEA. I have made Swedish meatballs a few times and while they are good, I really enjoy the ones from IKEA!

After eating we found everything we needed in the warehouse and waited in line to pay, exhausted and ready to head home. The drive home was a bit quieter, we were all tired and looking forward to going home to bed. We didn't even unload when we got.home because we just wanted to lay down. Gavin and Scott passed out almost immediately on the couch so I changed Gavin and got him ready for bed while he slept there. I then put away a few things because apparently even exhausted I am unable to just leave things until the next day. Then I headed to bed.

We now have the big job of getting everything unloaded, put together (well, some of it will be put together immediately, the bookcases for Scott's room will not be put together yet), and rearranging bedrooms to set up Gavin's big boy room! It is a big job but I am looking forward to it all being done and getting Gavin settled into his new room. Hopefully he loves it because we have spent a lot of time deciding what we what to do and picking out new furniture and sheets!

Pictures and reactions to follow once we are able to get his new room together!

Big Boy Room!

After a lot of time looking around, planning, a trip to IKEA and a long weekend of moving, reorganizing, decorating, and building a few pieces of furniture, Gavin has officially been moved into his big boy room!

He loves his new room! Now I just need to finish reverting the nursery back to being ready for a newborn and decorate with the new pieces we picked up for the baby!