17 Months Old

My sweet boy,

You continue to be the absolute highlight of my day. You always make me smile and I find that spending quality time with you makes me happier than anything in the world. You are a happy and silly little boy who brings joy to everyone you meet. I can't believe that you are almost a year-and-a-half! The time absolutely flew by and I am excited for what the future holds. Here are a few new things you can do this month:

• You give kisses every time someone has a "boo-boo." Naturally, Daddy and I have constant "boo-boo's" and are in need of kisses all the time.
• You still fall asleep in your highchair every now and then when you've had a long day.

• You enjoy sitting in your rocking chair in your room. However, you must have the blue blanket that Grandma in Heaven made for you hanging over the back. If you rock too aggressively and it falls off, you have to stop to put it back on the back of the chair.

• You know several body parts: nose, eyes, hair, mouth, cheeks, teeth, fingers, belly, toes, and ears.

"Gavin, where is your hair?"

"Where's your nose?"

"Where are your toes?"

• You love to color on paper and in the bathtub.

• You still love the outdoors and really enjoy going to the park. Although, you have eagle eyes and will spot every little speck and interesting thing on the ground and will want to pick things up. Yuck!

• You know how to "flex" your muscles and will sometimes show off this skill to others. However, sometimes you choose not to show off your muscles because you don't want to intimidate people (which is completely understandable).

• When we were at Barnes & Noble one day, you pointed to a mom with a baby and said, "Baby!"
• You signed "water" in the tub one night and have been signing it any time you see water now. You are so smart!!

I love you so much, Gav!

16 Months Old

My sweet boy,

You did so many new things this month that I decided to keep a list. It seems you have grown in leaps and bounds! Daddy and I just adore being your parents. You are just the happiest kid and find joy in all the little things in life. You are such a pleasant, easy child to raise (so far, hee hee) and we look forward to all the years to come! Here are some new things you are doing now:

• You said your first word shortly after turning 15 months and it was "Dada." Daddy called me at work and had you tell me over the phone. It was the cutest thing!! He was so very excited that his name was your first word.
• Shortly thereafter, you said your second word: "Daddy." Yes, seriously. I don't know how you just skipped over "Mama" and went straight to "Daddy," but I'll get over it. (Someday.) It is so adorable to hear you say "Daddy" because that is something that I thought usually comes later for most kids, but when you want Dad's attention, you will say, "Dada...Dada...Dadddddyyyyy!!!!"
• You suddenly love wearing your shoes. You went from hating them and despising them on your feet to wanting to wear them all the time and crying if we tried to take them off when we were at home. You will go get your shoes and bring them to us when you want them put on.



• You like to help clean (which is so nice for us!) and will often use a wipe to tidy up your tray after you eat.



• You are a fan of the fan and enjoy letting the air blow through your hair.




• You love wearing Daddy's hat around the house.



• You also love sunglasses and cell phones (you're very Hollywood, you know). One day, I bought some storage boxes and let you play with them for awhile. A few moments later, you had Daddy and I cracking up because we saw you like this...



And here you are with the phone once again...


• You blow kisses. Not just to us, but to EVERYONE. Once you learned how to do this, you wanted to show off this new skill to everyone you saw. We were at a car show recently and you began flirting and blowing kisses to the women at the table next to us. Of course, they thought you were just the cutest little guy and you kept them entertained for quite awhile.
• When you've had enough of something, like getting your diaper changed, you will sign "all done." So, when we recently went to the doctor for your 15 month shots, you cried and frantically signed "ALL DONE" repeatedly so the nurse would know that you were done with the shots. Unfortunately, she had communication problems, because you got all three of your shots anyway. How rude, huh?
• You were not a big fan of the "Little Piggy" song in the past, but decided that you really like it this month. In fact, when you are in a Piggy kind of mood, you will remove your socks and grab your little piggies and say, "wee, wee, wee..." so that we know that we need to do the Piggy song for you. You will also occasionally grab my toes and say, "wee, wee, wee..." as well. So stinkin' cute.
• You showed interest in your potty chair and wanted to sit on it. Does this mean you will be ready for potty training soon??? Hmmm...



• You LOVE the hose. (That may have been obvious from three out the four previous posts.)



• You can give a "high five."
• Your sign language skills are improving and you can now sign "milk."

• You do really well eating with a fork all by yourself.



• You give kisses!!! You absolutely melted my heart when you gave me your first real kiss. Each night after your bath, when I am getting you ready for bed, I give you a kiss after I clean your ears. Well, recently, I finished cleaning your ears and then I said, "Give Mama a kiss" and you put your little hands on my cheeks and pulled my face in and gave me the sweetest little kiss! My heart absolutely melted!! I asked Daddy to try to video tape it, but you wouldn't do it after you saw the camera. However, I tried to be sneaky and I caught you doing it later. The video is below. It's not the best shot, but you get the idea.




• You know a few body parts: nose, eyes, toes, and hair.
• You said your third word - "Mama" - hooray!!! That was a great day!

• Your fourth word (yes, you are just talking up a storm now!) was "yuck" and you will say it when you find dog hair on the floor.
• You can follow directions very well. For example, when you found some dog hair on the floor, I asked you to throw it in the trash and you carefully carried it all the way to the kitchen, lifted the lid of the can, and flicked it in. It was so cute. Now, whenever you bring us some "yuck," we ask you to throw it in the trash and most of the time, you oblige.

• When we ask you if you want to do something that you don't want to do, you will give us a whiny "mmmm" and shake your head "no."
• You give eskimo kisses. (And very well at that.)
• You think picking your nose is hilarious and will do it often while I chase you around saying, "no, no, no!"



• When we say, "Did you go poop?", you will reply with "Pppppffffftttthhhh." (That's supposed to represent the toot noise, but I have no idea how to spell it!)
• When we're out and about, people will sometimes tell me that you are so little for your age. Of course, I don't know what "average" size is for a 16-month old, but you don't seem little to me. Well, at your recent doctor appointment, you were 21.5 pounds and 29-1/2 inches, which is only 10% for both height and weight. So I guess you are little! The doctor wasn't concerned though, because you are continuing to grow and you are healthy. I guess you're just small. But, like I've said before, with parents like yours, you aren't destined for the NBA.

So those are the new skills you have learned this month. You are so much fun and just do the silliest things. I love you so much, Gav!!!

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....