Fun with the Hose (Yet AGAIN)

We really have created a monster. Gavin LOVES the hose and wants to play with it every time he sees it. Matt was recently playing with Gavin in the backyard when he yelled for me to come outside with the camera. Of course, our little man was playing with the hose (in his pajamas again, but this time while sitting in his cozy coupe and creating his own personal tub), but what Matt really wanted the camera for was this...

It was exceptionally hot outside and Bocephus (our huge black lab) had decided to make the 20-gallon tub we sometimes use as his outdoor water dish into a pool. He looked absolutely ridiculous squished into the tiny vessel!

Now, of course, I couldn't go outside and see my sweet boy being adorable as always and not take a few photos of him! So, here is my little man sitting in his cozy coupe (in his pajamas) while creating his own personal pool. I guess he figured "if the doggie can do it, why can't I?"

It was at that point that Matt and I decided that we should just go buy a little kiddie pool to save our poor dog and son the trouble of trying to create their own. So, Matt headed off to the store while Gavin and I headed inside.

I changed him into more pool-appropriate attire and gave him a snack...

he asked for more...

he got upset when I wasn't quick enough with "more" because I was too busy taking pictures...

then he presented me with the "yuck" he found on his tray (a dog hair)...

Once Matt returned home with the pool, we went back outside for more watery fun.

It looks like we flooded our backyard!

And finally, some more cozy coupe time! Gav was making his doggie noises that involve making a silly face at the same time. And you may have noticed the transformation of the cozy coupe...complete now with stickers from various companies Daddy purchased from for his Chevelle. To Gavin's right is the lovely "I love my HOOKER headers" sticker. Oh joy....

Fun with the Hose (Again)

Little did we know that by letting Gavin play with the hose, we had created a hose-fanatic. He wanted to play with it again a few days later, but this time, I made sure he was more prepared in his swim trunks, swim diaper, sandals, and shirt. Once again, he had a great time and made the absolute cutest facial expressions ever!!

4th of July

There is a nice little park at the end of our street that has been the center of a fireworks show every year as long as I can remember. As kids, we would always watch the show comfortably from our front yard. And since Matt and I have moved into my childhood home, we have continued that tradition. We don't see a reason to leave the house when we have the best fireworks view of all from our own front yard. This year was no exception. We barbecued and enjoyed time with friends and family in the afternoon until the show began. Gavin was sporting the cutest "Red, White, and Vroom" onsie. Unfortunately, I really need to work on my hostess skills because I was so busy watching Gavin and making sure everyone was having a good time that I only took pictures twice and didn't even eat! I was so bummed because I know there were some really great photo-ops, but I didn't take advantage of them. However, the fireworks show was the best I've ever seen so far (which baffled me considering the state of our economy). Unfortunately, Gavin missed most of it, as he fell asleep shortly after it began. Oh well. Next time we have a party, I am really going to make a point of trying to take more pictures.

Our friend/neighbor offered Gavin a cupcake and Gav grabbed ahold of his hand to make sure he didn't take the tasty treat away before he was done!

Gavin and Mommy

Fun with the Hose

While outside one hot day, Gavin and I were watching Matt water the flowers and Gav became very interested in the hose. He was only wearing his pajama shirt and diaper, so I brought him in and quickly threw on the extra shorts and socks from his diaper bag and a pair of shoes. When we returned to the front yard, Gavin held the hose while Matt controlled the water. His reaction was hilarious! He had such a great time. The poor kid's mismatched ensemble was ridiculous, but he was just so darn cute anyway!

Tom's Farms

As Gavin makes his way through toddlerhood, I find myself constantly looking for fun places to take him and new things to do as a family. I remember visiting a local place called Tom's Farms with my mom as a child. We would get something to eat at the restaurant and enjoy our food near the duck pond. Afterwards, we would generally visit the antique store, as my mom was an avid antique shopper.

I looked Tom's Farms up online and found that it had changed a bit since I was kid, and now includes a family fun area with a petting zoo, pony rides, a train, carousel and more. I decided that it would definitely be a great place for us to visit as a family and so ... we went!

We started by enjoying a meal at the Wine and Cheese Shop. Following our meal, we headed over to the carousel. I envisioned Gavin smiling and laughing during the ride, BUT, when I began to set him on top of the stationary horse, he was everything but smiles. I quickly decided that we would sit together on the bench seat so as not to hold up the ride. Gavin was okay with that.

"Wave to Dada"

We then headed over to the train and the three of us enjoyed a brief ride around the farm. Gavin decided that he really liked the train and had a mini episode as we tried to pry him away from it.

But his tears quickly subsided when we found the mini excavator ride. Gavin enjoyed controlling the large yellow toy and was delighted when he could make the nose move up and down.

From there, we went to the petting zoo that had the most adorable baby animals! Gavin loved feeding them from outside the fence, but once inside, he was not too fond of those greedy animals bombarding him for the feed. One little piggy lived up to his stereotype as he shoved all the other animals out of the way in order to devour nearly all of Gavin's dixie cup of food.

Is that remnants of a fudgesicle on his lips??

We then decided to head over to the pony ride. I kept my fingers crossed that my sweet boy would like the real pony more than he did the fake ones. As I started to set him on top of the adorable little horse, he let out a fuss, but then calmed down. Once the horse started to move, he began to get comfortable and really enjoyed himself. My sweet boy looked so cute on the top of the little pony! It was such a picture-perfect moment!!

Feeding the Ducks

In an effort to cut expenses, the district I work for decided to have all employees work 4-10's over the summer. Since I am only an 11-month employee, this meant two weeks worth of free Fridays for me! Hooray! On that second Friday, I decided to take Gavin to feed the ducks at a park just a few blocks from our house.

They had a cute little play area for the kids with two steering wheels, two slides, and few other fun things. However, my little man was only interested in the steering wheels, of course.

When Gavin hears a dog, he makes the cutest "barking" noise while barely opening his mouth. This also makes for an exceptionally adorable facial expression, demonstrated in the picture below...

Later, after I pried him away from the steering wheels (literally!), we walked down to the pond to feed the ducks. Gavin liked looking at the ducks but decided that he didn't want to give his perfectly good bread to these strange creatures. So, after ripping the bread into pieces, I would give one to the ducks and one to Gav, one to the ducks, one to Gav, etc, etc.

On the way back, I spotted these rock pillars with cut-outs in them that would make a perfect little seat for Gavin. I immediately thought that it would make a great photo-op, so I scooped my sweet and sleepy little man out of the stroller and looked for the only spider-web/gum/bug-free pillar and set him in it--proud of my keen eye and imagining the wonderful results of this impromptu photo-shoot. Well, you know how things don't always go as planned... This was the best of the two shots I was able to get before he really freaked out. Oh, well...