We didn't do to much this holiday weekend just hung out at home. We did get good news though, Jacob got the promotion he wanted at Target. It means more work for him on top of his already busy schedule of school and UPS but he is happy about it and looking forward to it so that is all that is important.

Gavin's feet grew again!! I just bought him summer sandals in April and they didn't even make it to the summer! His toes are hanging over the size 5's so I might just skip 6's and go to 7's. His little feet are so fat that I can only get him the kind with adjustable straps to fit over them. It may be necessary to take him to a store for specialty baby foot wear.

He got bubbles from Mrs. Studnicki for his birthday and we tried them for the first time over the weekend. He was completely fascinated by them and couldn't figure them out. It was so cute to watch him.

Don't ask me what he is doing with my hand in this picture

You can see his new bottom teeth a little in this picture.

This is Gavin's latest thing - bending forward and touching his head on the ground. He thinks it's hilarious.





Aunt Ellie got him a new sippy cup, he loves it and drinks really well from it (even though it is for 2+) which is good since I have been having trouble getting enough liquids in him lately. It just looks cute because it is almost half his size.












This is his new place to sit, squeezed between the fireplace and the cd cabinet. A very strange place (especially since he gets stuck half the time) but he does it all the time


Unless you know what he is doing it is hard to tell ... he is scratching his bottom. Look at that innocent face

Happy belated birthday to my mom, who celebrated on Monday, and happy belated anniversary to Missy and Jake- they got married 3 years ago on my mother's b day.

These two were taken the night his night light burned out. Look at his face.... he was completely traumatized by waking up in the dark

Luckily we got him back to bed and he slept peacefully the rest of the night with his froggy

Fun and/or Strange Facts

Here are some little facts about Gavin that wouldn't be a good enough entry on their own but together they make a great list..

1. Gavin is afraid of the dark. He always has had trouble sleeping in the dark so he has a night light. The other night the bulb burned out on it and when he awoke and realized it was pitch black in his room, he freaked out. It took forever to calm him down and he ended up sleeping with his lamp on. I think it is a little strange of him to be afraid of the dark, his first 9 months were completely dark so you think he would be used to it.


2. He has learned to spin in place. He has made it one of his new dance moves, he will be dancing and then start spinning around and around. I think that is amazing because a lot of 12 month olds haven't even mastered walking yet and Gavin can spin around and keep control. My mom and I both agree though, that he did not get that kind of coordination from our side of the family.

3. He has almost mastered feeding himself. He has been able to use a fork and feed himself for awhile but I am just now trying to let him work with spoons and messier stuff. He was eating fruit and yogurt yesterday and was doing really good. Putting the spoon in the bowl and then successfully putting it in his mouth. I was cheering for him and one time I put my hands in the air and said 'yea' the only bad thing was Gavin chose to do the same and he had a spoon full of yogurt in his hand. He dumped it all in his hair but it was pretty funny.


4. He now has 8 teeth.


5. His first word was NO, big surprise I'm sure. It also happened to be my first word (another shocker)


6. If you go into the bathroom and shut the door he will knock on it the whole time you are in there. I'm not sure were he learned that you knock when someone is in there but it is pretty cute.


7. When he hugs a stuffed animal he wants you to say 'AWW'. Sometimes he does it just so you will say it.


8. He fake coughs. If someone coughs he hears it and wants to cough too.

I had a very good second Mother's Day. It seemed more of a mother's day than my first because Gavin was only a few weeks old then and I felt more like a diaper changing milk cow than a mother. We went out to eat Saturday night to celebrate and we all had a good time. Gavin was very good but after awhile sitting nicely he decided to sing at the top of his lungs and dance. It may sound cute but it was pretty embarrassing - he was LOUD. After dinner Ellie took Gavin home and Jacob and I got to go to a movie which was nice. Sunday when I went to get Gavin up from his nap I found a card for me on his changing table. Wasn't that nice of Gavin? Jacob also gave me a book and Ellie bought me lunch so I really had it good for my 'first' Mother's day.


Sharing with daddy, isn't that sweet?



His expression goes perfect with his shirt
I love taking pictures of him when he is sleeping. He is so sweet and still unlike when he is awake.

Happy Mothere's Day

My mom sent me this in an email earlier this week and while some parts are overly cheesy some are really true.

Being A Mom
We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions
that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family."
"We're taking a survey," she says half-joking.
"Do you think I should have a baby?"
"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.
"I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more
spontaneous vacations."
But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying
to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never
learn in childbirth classes.
I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child
bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an
emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.
I consider warning her that she will never again read a
Newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That
every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees
pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be
worse than watching your child die.
I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit
and think that no matter how sophisticated she is,
becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level
of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will
cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments
hesitation. I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years
she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed
by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day
she will be going into an important business meeting and she will
think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of
discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her
baby is all right.
I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no
Longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the
men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a
major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays
and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will
be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be
lurking in that restroom.
However decisive she may be at the office, she will
second-guess herself constantly as a mother.
Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her
That eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she
Will never feel the same about herself.
That her life, now so important, will be of less value to
her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment
to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years,
not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child
accomplish theirs. I want her to know that a cesarean scar
or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My
daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the
way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a
man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play
with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love
with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.
I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with
Women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice
and drunk driving.
I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of
seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the
belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or
cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.
My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears
Have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say.
Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and
offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere
mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of
callings.
Please share this with a Mom that you know or all of your
girlfriends who may someday be Moms. May you always have in
your arms the one who is in your heart.

Gavin is learning more things every day, yesterday he put Jacob's shoes on his feet -SO adorable. He knows that socks go on feet too, he just doesn't know how to put them on so he lays them on his foot or beside it. He knows that phones are for talking on so he puts them to his ear the only thing is they are usually turned the wrong way. It is so crazy to watch him become a little person of his own. He is very observant and watches everything so you have to be very careful what you do in front of him. For example one day when we were in the kitchen I opened the dishwasher, from then on he thinks he can open it when ever he wants so I have to keep it locked all the time so he doesn't get a knife or something out of it.

Two cute Gavin things: The first is his new dance. He sticks his butt out and shakes it and it is definitely his funniest move yet. The second is that sometimes after I put him to bed when it gets quiet I check on him to see if he has fallen asleep. Twice so far when I peek in he is lying in his crib and holding a book over him "reading" it. He just looks so much older when he is doing it. I want to get a picture of it but if I go in there while he is awake he will want to get up. I'm not sure if I want to risk it but it would be a precious picture.


Here are some pics of my ultra adorable son being both cute and strange. In the open mouth picture he was posing so cute but by the time the picture took he had opened his mouth (what a big mouth!) and I thought it turned out funny



















These two are of Gavin giving me the pick me up face: The first is his whiny face and the second is the more cute look

12 month checkup

Gavin had his Dr. appointment today and as usual everything went well. He is 30 1/2 inches long and weighs 26 pounds. When the nurse called our name and Gavin started walking toward her she remarked how big he was and the Dr. just kept telling us how wonderful he is -which is always nice to hear. She said developmentally he is in the 15 to 18 month range which is good. She said to me "do you know how great he is?" and I was like "of course I do". She used the little rubber thingy to check Gavin's reflexes and when she laid it down he grabbed it and started hitting the same places she just had, it was so cute. After she checked him over physically and she let him down on the ground and watched him play and said she could watch him all day. It's just a really good feeling when someone who spends all day looking at babies is so impressed with yours. She did say that at this age range he might develop tantrums and we said we had already noticed that (he threw a whopper yesterday!). Gavin had to get quite a few shots and he did NOT like that (who would) but luckily he recovered fast and walked out by himself, happy.

Gavin is growing so fast! Since he turned one we have turned his car seat to face forward, he is off formula and starting to get off bottles. He is also getting in his 7th tooth. He is just truly a toddler now and no longer my little baby :(.

When we were home two things seemed to be petty clear: physically he is most like Jacob and personality wise he is most like me. That worries me a little because in my family Rachel and I are most like my mom and Ellie is most like my dad. Growing up Rach and I fought with my mom all the time and got along with dad where as Ellie fought with dad and got along with mom. I don't want that to be the case with Gavin and I. I am hoping that since he is a boy that maybe that will be different.

We also realized that Gavin may have Rachel's crooked toes but he has Jacob's big fat baby feet. I have always had trouble finding shoes that fit Gavin because his feet are so large they won't fit into a tennis shoe. It didn't matter much before he started walking - shoes were just to keep his feet warm in the winter - but now he is actually using his shoes and it is hard to find a pair that fit. Luckily in the summer he can wear sandals and hopefully by the time the cold weather is back his feet will be a little more normal. Jacob's mom said that Jacob's feet were exactly like that and eventually he grew out of it but I forgot to ask how long it took.

Here are a few pictures from this week.


I'll take my nap as soon as I finish this call








look at my muscles










Learning to give foot massages

One Year Pictures

We took Gavin to get his pictures taken for his birthday this weekend. Luckily for us they turned out much better than the disasters in Feb. Here are a few of the pictures. I think he looks so much older in the first one it makes me want to cry.

He wouldn't stand still so Jacob and I held his hands to keep him in place and I think the picture turned out adorable.