Wow! 4 years have passed already. Where has the time gone? For some reason this year I am having a much harder time being excited and not sad about Gavin getting bigger/older. It has been both an amazing and frustrating year. There were many days and weeks I didn't think we would survive 3 to see 4. There were also lots (and lots) of really fun weeks and months. It is a roller coaster ride for sure. As hard as it can be, I can't help but be proud of how awesome Gavin is. Even the frustrating traits are not so much bad, just hard to manage at times as we clash throughout the day.
I love watching his relationship with Dane grow as I see them play together more each day. I see Gavin taking care of Dane and leading him into trouble as siblings sometimes do. I see Gavin teaching Dane how to use various toys, "reading" books together, doing puzzles, and playing games like hide and seek and climbing being crazy boys. It is amazing to see them interact and all that Gavin is teaching Dane. He really is an amazing big brother. So loving and protective of Dane. Despite not always wanting Dane around, he gets very worried if Dane is hurt or in a situation that is very dangerous. He gets very upset if we joke about Dane being missing (like if he left the room and is being too quiet), he quickly has to go look for him to make sure he is ok. It is very sweet.
Gavin has definitely slowed down in how much he has grown, but he is still consistently in the 90th-95th percentile, even though he has only put on a couple pounds since last year. He is 42 inches tall and 44 pounds! Crazy, he is apparently the size of an average 5.5/almost 6 year old. He doesn't look huge, he is so lean because he is all muscle. It is amazing!
Gavin is this amazing little sponge. Soaking up such amazing amounts of knowledge from books, watching others, playing with us and his friends, and everything else around him. He does pick up some things I wish he wouldn't, but he is very perceptive and is able to piece things together to learn as he navigates life. He is very determined (sometimes viewed as stubborn) and persistent. He doesn't always handle disappointment well but we are working on it and it is better at times, so it is nice to see him growing as he figures out how to handle that we don't always get what we want, when we want it.
He has become much more independent. Although, he will usually choose to have a playmate (me, Dane, Scott, a friend), he is getting so much better at creating fun new ways to play with his toys. I love when I need to step away to take care of something around the house, start dinner, or take care of Dane and hearing him playing and all the conversations he has with himself and his toys.
I love that Gavin is interested in everything. He wants to be involved and ask lots of questions to learn about what you are doing. Although the questions can be tiresome (especially when it is late and he is full of questions instead of settling down and relaxing so he can sleep), it is still amazing to get a peek into how his mind is working and what it comes up with.
We had a low key day of playing outside, riding bikes, helping clean up pine needles, visiting with Pappy Hank, and seeing Grandma and Grandpa for a bit.
We had a yummy dinner (that Gavin mostly refused in favor of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich - no surprise) and a fun cake shaped like a motorcycle tire (per Gavin's request and thankfully he didn't mind that I managed to totally botch the "spokes" and was thrilled he had a motorcycle tire cake).
We have his party next weekend. It was supposed to be yesterday but it turned out that everyone would be able to make it next weekend so we decided to move it. We are super excited and I was glad to have a little more time to finalize everything without having to also prepare all the food and do his party cake. It was nice to have a low key weekend for his actual birthday so we could really enjoy each other.
I am sure the next year holds many more challenges, but it will also hold even more amazing moments and fun times that will give us memories we will always hold dear. Happy Birthday Gavin!
