Soaking up the sun..

And this sweet time with my little guy. He enjoyed our lazy day of naps and sand.

Making Momma's Heart Melt...

Some little boy was very, very quiet this Saturday morning...and this is the mess his momma found him sitting in. Makes my heart melt to see how much he is really starting to enjoy books! Hopefully he has that little bit of me in him...

Our new "CHEESE" face...which is a new word to his vocabulary!

Where did a year go...

These pictures were taken almost a year to the date apart at one of my favorite churches in Charleston. Sigh! At least he still has some of those chunky love rolls...

Happy (Belated) Father's Day

We took Matt to the Braves game Friday for his Father's Day present....we had a great time. Little Man did so well...he made it through the whole game...flirting with all the women, winning over the ice cream man, and enjoying the people watching!

The camera battery to the big camera was left in the car...so I enjoyed playing with my itouch and the my new infinicam app..(thanks L!)

So Tired

We definitely have a little water bug...and I can't wait to see what he thinks of the beach in a few weeks! He played so hard in the pool that he passed out over his lunch...little snores and all...sigh...off to catch up on all the little things while he naps!

Mr. H's Kindergarten Graduation

Little Man and I were able to see Mr. H graduate from kindergarten this week. He was in a class of 7 boys...


Singing some of their chapel worship songs...G was clapping and dancing along...


Getting his certificate...

Picture with his momma... Mr. H picked her dress out so she would be the prettiest momma :)Mr. H is very good with G and we enjoy our weekly Firehouse subs and yogurt together. He's been deemed G's officially peanut butter sniffer...since Mr. H hates peanut butter as much as Little Man doesn't need to eat it.

Yay! Aunt V's Finally Done

Mother's Day Weekend was not only the House of Poo...and I don't mean Winnie for us but a great weekend of celebration...we loved our mothers and grandmothers from afar; which I know they all appreciated! But we also made trips to Columbus to see Aunt V receive her pin and take her oath with all her fellow nursing students and then on Monday she walked in her cap and gown...

Here she is receiving her pin...

With Little Man...

Who didn't last long inside the cermony...and here is mad at his momma for saying no to playing on a dirty golf cart...

With the grandparents...

We are so excited for what the future holds for Aunt V...slightly hoping she makes it to Atlanta...

Easter Egg Hunting

Was a blast! Gavin was so funny and really enjoyed it! Thanks to his teachers at school; he knew exactly what to do and was beating his cousins to the eggs...well Jake stopped to enjoy the treasures inside ;)

Crazy Hair Day..umm Month

For April Gavin's school celebrate young children's education month, which meant I had to keep up with what was happening each day....one day they did crazy hair day. Matt did a mohawk and we sent G happily off to school...

We pick him up to this...

Just so you know we are on about 3 weeks of having ORANGE hair so if you have a blonde don't try to color their hair for halloween!

Working on 17 Months

We have been a pretty busy crew around this house lately. Between work travel, family and friend get togethers, & a little guy constantly on the go. Gavin is so much fun. Of course I love the baby stage...sweet cuddles and gummy smiles...but this age is a blast. Little Man is learning something new everyday. It's just complete amazement. Friday, he turned to his daddy and out of no where said..."Hold This." Speaking of speech...

We have been battling ear infections since last October with at least one a month and combine that with the RSV, allergy testing, and random stomach bugs, we have have worn out the insurance card. The ear infections lead to our pediatrican to determine it was definitely time to visit the ENT for a consultation. She was worried about the frequency and possible delay in his speech. Last Tuesday Little Man recieved tubes in both ears and the hopes and prayers that our ear infections and runny noses will be limited. But I will have to say it was one of the worst days as a parent. Gavin did really well with the surgery and it was over before I had even settled back into his room. After napping that morning though, he woke with a 104 fever and a very panicking mommy especially hearing the worry in the nurse's voice. A quick call to the ENT's office had us back to the Pediatric ER for x-rays and more poking. Lucily we weren't having a reaction to any of his meds just seeing the infection for the ticking time bomb in his left ear and a mucus plug in his right lung from the surgery. We are very thankful for the great customer service at Kennestone that day...the nurses, doctors and staff were all wonderful and loving with Gavin. (How do other working Mom's handle this...now we are home with a stomach bug. Pray that my new manager continues to be as flexible and understanding as my previous one.)

With having no ear infection for a month, his jibering and random words have definitely increased with conversational jabbering and hand motions for great emphasis! :) He is saying repeatedly the following: uh-oh, more, baby up or baby down, hi, hello, bye bye, momma, daddy, night night, go, moon (which sounds a lot like more) and a version of thank you. Some things he says out of the blue and he won't repeat to save your life are two, five, hold this, the end, a version of elmo and a version that sounds like he's counting to three with major clapping when he's finished. Can't wait to see how much progress he makes now that the fluid is no longer behind his ears....Matt dreamed he has a british accent so we will see ;) Plus he seems to be a lot less clumsy with his walking...a point the ENT made after seeing G face planted in front of him. Great Parental Moment I tell you!

At our latest well visit his stats were: 24 lbs 1oz, 31.25" in height and 19" head circumference.

He is becoming so much fun outdoors with loving to play golf even mimicking Matt's head motions, riding his toys, pushing his toys to mimic Matt mowing grass and now we have added climbing. So all kitchen chairs must be pushed under grandmas...or you will find him on top of the kitchen table...just saying! We have had a few full ledge tantrums but mainly shouts of exasperation...I'm not ready to for the terrible two's. He's also trying to kiss and not just slobbery lick you face. And we finally have 8 teeth...four on the top and four on the bottom. What a LONG six or so weeks it was to get the newest two in!

Well hopefully this catches you up the G Man....and his current happenings!

Little Golfer

What Gavin is Really saying to Matt is "No Daddy...its easier if you just pick up the ball and run with it!"

Table Fun is Full of Giggles

The iPad

So we really are not in to Gavin watching TV...I know he catches more than he should with it being on in the living room...so watching sesame street this past week was a new adventure. Hey you have to do what you have to to get a kiddo to do a breathing treatment without it being wrestle mania!

But this one commerical catches his attention no matter what...its the tune to the iPad commercials..here is a few takes of his dancing moves...as we play the commercial over and over...he starts dancing the minute he sees it or hears it :) Forgive my camera skills...

The sweet moments

I knew being a parent..a mom would be hard. But its even harder than I ever imagined. I won't lie to those ladies out there thinking about making the leap...but then there are moments that make it so worth it. To see the joy on his face when he figures out how to climb down the stairs after you show him just once...or the first time you let him try feeding himself with a spoon...all by himself...but this morning was one of those sweet moments I want to tuck away and remember when he's got a smart mouth..and his mommy isn't very cool anymore or the day I'm not his number one lady anymore...

I heard him start with that cry that I knew something was wrong before 5am...in my antihistamine stupor I climbed the stairs saying that prayer that he doesn't realize that I am NOT carrying a bottle of his delicious formula. But no this time...I picked him up and he tucks right in. His head all snuggled against my shoulder, arms tucked under him...looking for some mommy snuggle and warmth. So I started rocking him in the glider and he starts his sweet little coo of falling back asleep. But then he sits straight up, looks me straight in the eye and jibbers something so serious and then follows it with a kiss on my cheek...and then back to snuggles and soft snores. Such a sweet moment...even though I will never know exactly what he was telling me...a simple notion that he was saying thank you mom is just enough...because oh do I love that sweet little boy...

His favorite thing to do...

Is turn the faucet on and off in our master bath...when he gets really quiet this is where you can find him...when you are trying to get ready...this is where you can find him...when you forget to shut the bedroom door...well you get the point :)

The Big Snow...no really Ice Storm

These are a few pictures from Monday when we ventured out with Gavin. He just needed some fresh air so we layered him from triple onsies and babylegs to flannel lined overalls, sweat, jacket, and mittens. We haven't attempted to leave the neighborhood yet but I think Matt won't last too much! And I was right. He has attempted to leave at 5pm on Tuesday...let's see how far he gets!

13 Months

Gavin is almost 13 months and busy busy busy! He has to find his "route" where ever we go. In other words he finds a path and he walks that path carrying toys..talking...finding things he's not suppose to... you name it! Over Christmas his "talking" exploded with him exploring using his tongue and now he has whole "conversations" with you. Just ask Matt's dad...late one night while we were visiting Gavin was off his sleep schedule and woke around midnight and ended up giving Matt and his dad a lecture including arm motions!

The adventure of taking away the bottle has started. I am not a current believer of going cold turkey because I feel like that will be torture due to his current classroom at school. He's in a transition room from small infants to junior toddlers so many of his fellow classmates are just crawling and still heavy bottle users.

Gavin's current stats: 23 lbs, 29 3/4" in height and 18 3/4 inches in head circumference

Gavin had his first visit to the ER right before Christmas just as we started our trek around the Southeast. We are not quite sure exactly what food items Gavin is allergic to but we are headed for blood tests this week and are armed with epipens. It was quite an experience that I hope and pray we never have again.

We had a wonderful Christmas season with family and friends! And are looking forward to a calm January because February and March are looking to be busy months with a wedding and several babies on the way!

The Christmas Cookie Decorators at Work :)

Just a few of the best Christmas Cookie Decorators hard at work. If you need sprinkles don't hesitate to call on Mr. Jake. He sure knows how to use them!

And the cake was goooood!

What a wonderful year we have had! And we couldn't have made it without all the love, support, PRAYERS, encouragement....pep talks...from our family and friends.

So Today Gavin ate cake :)

Gone a little bannana's...

I have gone a little bannana's on Gavin's birthday party preparations....I think its just a ploy to keep from really accepting my little baby is about to be a toddler in about 4 days. Man has this year flown by...