What is our 1 year old boy up to these days?

As promised, here is a little bit of info about what our Gavin has been up to lately!

At his 12 month wellness check, Gavin weighed in at 19 lbs, 10.4 oz and 28 3/4 inches long. He wanted nothing to do with being still or held by the dr, nurse, etc. In fact, he freaked out more about laying on the exam table than he did during his vaccinations. But, in all of his protesting, he demonstrated what a good walker he has become, that he understands and can express "no", and that he has great lung capacity.

Besides "no" (shaking his head, more so than saying "no"), Gavin's language seems to really have taken off in the last few weeks. Among the regularly identified words we have: "Mama", "Dada", "Numnum" (yum, yum for eat/hungry), "Nana" (Banana), "Ahah " (for Abbie), cat (I haven't heard this one, but he says it for Gma and Gpa when their cat is around), and "Uh oh"when he drops stuff.

Not only is Gavin a walker, through and through, he recently started to be able to move from seated to standing without holding on to anything. He is always on the go, which can wear him out pretty well some days.

One of the best things to watch is the way Gavin and Caylin interact with each other. Don't get me wrong, they have their less then stellar moments too. But, the way they randomly hug and giggle and play with each other is so sweet. Gavin definitely love his big sister!

Besides hugging his big sister, Gavin has become quite the snuggly guy, when he is not busy walking and playing around. It melts my heart every time he toddles up and rests his head on me or his daddy! While Caylin has always been a great hugger, Gavin definitely wins the prize for most affectionate (at 1 year of age, anyway).

This weekend we went to get some pictures taken for Gavin's 1st birthday (among others that we will share at a later date). Here are a few of my favorite from that session.

1st Birthday Party

I decided to save the posting about all that our 1 year old Gavin is up to these days until after his 12 month wellness check on Wednesday. So this posting is dedicated to his 1st birthday party.

On Saturday Gavin's Gpa and Gma Brown were kind enough to allow us to use their house to host a little party to celebrate our big one year old boy! We had a great time celebrating with friends/neighbors and family!

Caylin and Laura

Singing "Happy Birthday to You" to the Birthday Boy

The highlight of the party had to be the eating of the 1st cake. Gavin surely did not disappoint! At least, he did not disappoint me. Lots of fun messy face, but not so messy that I had to strip and hose him down :)

(The 1st Birthday Cupcake Cake was a big hit)

"Hummm, this stuff is pretty good"

"Ok, it is really good! (but I don't care for that 'cake' stuff as much"

Gavin has many generous friends and family members who showered him with gifts (at the party and otherwise). He didn't seem to get the whole gift thing at first. It was like, "why are you showing me this cool toy and then putting it off to the side and making me open something else. But, he eventually started figuring the unwrapping part out. Fortunately he had such a wonderful big sister to help him figure it all out!

Checking out the cool mower from the Zorow family

tunnel fun (care of Ama Flo)

All in all, it was a fun day! Thanks to everyone that helped made it a fun and special day for Gavin! We missed through of you who could not make it, but know that you were there with us in spirit!

Happy Birthday Gavin

We'll write more later about our Big Birthday Boy! However, we had to share this fun video of his morning wake up on his special day!

Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin Prayer

Dear God,
Open my mind so I can learn about You;
(cut the top of the pumpkin)

Take away all my sin and forgive me for the wrong things I do.
(clean out the inside)

Open my eyes so Your love I will see;
(cut the eyes out in heart shapes)

I'm so sorry for turning up my nose to all You've give me.
(cut a nose in the shape of a cross)

Open my ears so Your Word I will hear.
(cut the ears shaped liek the bible, we did rectangles)

Open my mouth so I can tell others You're near.
(cut the outh in the shape of a fish)

Let Your light shine in all I say and do.
(place a candle inside and light it)

Amen.

Lil Man on the Move

11 months old (as of Tuesday) and boy is he on the move!

Summer Fun

It seems that we haven't had much of a chance to blog this summer. So, here are a few pictures of some of our summer fun!

fun on Gpa/Gpa Brown and Dave/Joan's Boat

Fun and funny hairstyling

Friday morning play dates at the local waterpark

Gavin - moving from a butterfly crawler to a true crawler to a cruiser

trips to the playground

and much more fun that I just didn't get on camera... oh well!

Da Da

This video is almost a month old (my how time flies) but I just have to share it; partially because it is just too cute not to and because we can't get him to do it anymore. Though it was timely, as he was saying this right around Father's day!

Hot Camp

Caylin has reached the age where she can start to enjoy in some of the local summer camps and activities. This week was the first of those experiences, "Tot Camp" or as Caylin called it "Hot Camp". This was also her first class experience without a caregiver accompanying her. She had a blast! It was interesting try to get an understanding of what they did each day. Fortunately, each day had a theme and the teachers talked about what they would be doing with the parents as we dropped the children off, so I could use that to prompt her memory.

Tuesday they made a rocketship and talked about "astranots go into space". Wednesdsay was Wild and they ready Where the Wild Things Are and made a "monser, his name tookie monser, Mama". Thursday was about plants and growing things. Caylin came home with a fun tissue paper flower and a pot w/ a bean planted in it. Finally, Friday was Water World. Caylin was excited to get to where her bathing suit to "hot camp". They played around outside in water (jumping in puddles and such) and made playdough (indoors). I'm not really sure where the playdough comes into the theme, but they seemed to be excited about it.

(Caylin's "hot camp" craft and make n take collection for the week)

(curly Caylin after her last day of "hot camp")

what's lil brother up to?

Looking over the last few postings, I realized that there is little about our lil G man in there. Surprising too, because he has been up to quite a bit lately. At just over 7 months, Gavin is truly mobile now. The rolling that was highlighted at 6 months has quickly turned into a "wounded crawl". The video below was taken over a week ago, and he's gotten much better since then. But, you'll get the gist.

Also, the first tooth on his 6th month day was quickly followed by a second one, right beside it. Now he appears to be working on the top two. They seem to be quite painful, at time. But in general, Gavin has been quite a trooper.

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"Hi" can frequently be heard coming from our little guy, lately. As with his sister, we are calling this his unofficial first word. We say that because we know that he does not truly know what it means. But we do know that he hears it A LOT from almost everyone he knows when they first see him. So, weather you have been gone for the day or for a few seconds, you could very likely hear a "hi" when he see you!

Gavin loves to watch everything around him. Though he has several favorites: Daddy, Caylin, Abbie, and Grandpa Brown. No matter what he is doing, if one of these individuals enters the room, he will stop what he is doing, turn his gaze towards them, and watch their every move. This can make things like feeding him quite a challenge when daddy and Caylin are playing together nearby.

Child Dedication

Yesterday, Tim and I dedicated Caylin and Gavin; vowing to raise them according to God's plan to the best of our abilities. It was a fun service. As you can tell from the video below, Caylin had a great time during the worship time prior to the dedication.

Birthday Fun, part two

More birthday girl pictures:

"Look ma, no hands!"

(taking a spin on the new scooter)

pool fun at the marina

No birthday is complete without a birthday hat picture!

present time with Gpa/Gma and Dave/Joan at their boat

Playing around with lil G

Birthday Fun

As promised, pictures from Caylin's 3rd Birthday adventures:

The Circus:

family (sans lil G) picture

Caylin's favorite animal at the circus

enjoying a little (ok, quite a bit) of popcorn during the show

roaming clown

elephant w/ doggie in the basket

(this is about 3/4 through and we were starting to loose Caylin)

Presents at Ama Flo's (and Aunt Marcia's) house

Birthday Ice Cream Cake - as requested by the birthday girl

more to come (including birthday weekend #2 at the boat) once I get the camera card into card reader...

Happy 3rd Birthday, Caylin!

Three years ago, today, this amazing little ladybug entered our world!

(Caylin @ 2 days old)

And as she grows....

(Caylin's 1st Birthday Picnic)

we are constantly amazed

(Caylin's 2nd Birthday)

and blessed to have her in our lives!

Today, as we celebrate Caylin's 3rd Birthday, I can hardly believe that those pictures above are of my "big girl". She really seems to have grown up a lot over this past year. I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but some where along the way she has lost that "baby face" look. She(finally) has little girl hair and she loves to have "ponies" and barrettes in it! Caylin's vocabulary and understanding of language has just exploded. She has always been a verbal kiddo. But, now there is so much more to what she is saying (usually). And, fortunately for us, her strong will is still softened with a desire to please and help others!

Obviously, one of the biggest events for Caylin this past year has been becoming a big sister. I am often so impressed with how well she has taken to this new role in her life. And, now that Gavin is more interactive, she seems to be enjoying it even more. When he is around, she is always finding ways to engage with him. And, she is usually very gentle and kind to him (so far). She loves talking to him, giving him toys (and a paci when necessary), laying on the floor and letting him "pet" her face and hair, and giving him hugs and kisses. She will even share some of her things with him, which can be harder for her to do with other kids. It really is such a neat thing to see!

Though we are thrilled about how well she has taken to big sisterhood, I think Tim and I are probably the most excited about her potty training progress. There were definitely bumps along the way. However, at this point, we can pretty confidently call her potty trained (during the day). She still wears a pull-up for bed, but that is just fine with me at this point! You can also tell that this is an accomplishment that she is quite proud of as well!



This year we are opting not to do an official Birthday Party. We figure we have many years of kiddy birthday fun ahead of us. Instead, we are traveling up to PA to spend the holiday weekend with my family. We are going take the Birthday Girl to see the Ringling Brother's and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Oh, and in case you are worried that our Ladybug will miss out on bday cake if there isn't a party, I'm already planning to have her highly requested ice cream birthday cake at a famly picnic event. The following weekend, she's got a Birthday trip to Gpa/Gma's and Dave/Joan's boat. I'm sure we'll have lots of Birthday pictures to post in the near future. Below are just a few from our mini celebration, last night. Caylin chose to have chicken fajitas for dinner and then got to open her presents from us and those mailed from Great Grandparents and Aunt Lisa & family!

Stats

Yesterday we got to kill two birds with one stone in regards to wellness check ups. We were in for Caylin's 3 year and Gavin's 6 month check. The long and short of the visit, we have two happy, healthy and well developing kids!

Caylin weighed in at 28.8 pounds and 35 1/2 inches tall. These fall into the 31st and 16th percentile, respectively. Typically, I don't really care about percentiles, but considering these are way higher than any of her previous measurements, it is exciting for us to report. She was eager to tell the dr. all about herself. She impressed him with her conversation, her art work (the drawing that she had been doing while the nurse was asking me questions and getting Gavin's measurements), and her potting success. He informed me that we have quite a precocious little girl. Geee, really? We could have told you that one. And, luckily for Caylin, no immunizations this go around.

Gavin weighed in at 15 pounds, 7 ounces and 25 3/4 inches tall. Gavin showed off his two new mini pearly whites. He also drooled all over the doctor's stethascope. Gavin was not as lucky as his big sister. he got two vaccination shots. He did fine for the first one and quicikly calmed down after I picked him up for a big cuddle after the second one.

Along with his new teeth has come several sleepless nights for mama and daddy. Gavin has NOT been having good nights this past week. Fortunatley, last night things seemed to get back to a relatively normal state. We are hoping this has nothing to do with the drs visit and shots and more with the fact that both of his new teeth are finally through his gums' surface. This stuff is new territory for Tim and I, as Caylin was just under a year old when she popped her first teeth. Needless to say, we are hoping that the teething takes a little break so that we can recover.

Caylin and Gavin stop their playing to pose for a picture

(if you look closely, you can see Gavin's little teeth on the bottom)

What has been most fun for us to watch is how these two are really starting to interact with one another. Gavin almost always smiles when he sees his big sis. Caylin loves to hug and kiss on Gavin. And, Gavin loves it when she does, reaching for her face and playing with her hair. Caylin likes playing peek-a-boo with Gavin, which usually turns into "where's Caylin" as she runs loops around main level of the house. She is even willing to let him have one or two of her mega blocks while she is playing with them. We know this won't last forever (and quite honestly, it would be kind of freaky if it did) so we are trying to enjoy it now while it lasts!

6 months old

Yesterday marked the start of Gavin's 6th month of life. And full of life and energy he certainly is. We don't have his 6 mo check up until next week, so I don't have those stats to report yet, but we have no worries about his growth. He is a happy eater and some days it seems as though he is growing right before our very eyes. He's been eating solids for a little while know (fortunately for us, our Ped. group supports solids before 6 months, or we would have had one grumpy 4 1/2-5 month old). So far, his favorite food seems to be bananas. Though, he is pretty content eating most anything we've offered him to this point. The best is the way he turns his head up and to the side, with his nose wrinkled when he is full, as to say, "no more for me, thank you."

In the past few weeks, Gavin has really taken off in the rolling department, literally. When he wants to get somewhere, he starts tucking those arms in and away he goes. Slowly but surely he works his way off his play mat and usually tries to head in the direction of his big sister. Fortunately, Caylin loves it and encourages him on. Additionally, he has been chattering up a storm as well. Needless to say, Caylin is a great role model in that department. :)

Gavin showing off some of his new moves (and sounds):

Gavin celebrated his 6 month day by revealing his first tooth!!! It is barely above the surface of his lower gums, but it is clearly there. With all of the drooling and finger chewing and toy chewing he has been doing, I'm not totally surprised to see it.

I'm sure we'll have much to report next week, when we head to the peds. Not only will Gavin be getting his 6 month wellness check, Caylin will be getting her 3 year check too. More to come on turning 3 at the end of the month! :)

Fun with sidewalk chalk

Caylin having fun drawing with chalk on this beautiful day!

(Yes, that is chalk all over her face)

Caylin's Lunch Time ABC Song

Caylin's Lunch Time ABC Song:

Garden Bug

Yesterday was the first beautiful day of this spring that the whole family was home and we didn't have any other pressing plans. So, we decided to head out doors and work on cleaning up the flower beds. We kept Gavin in, as he was napping and it was a bit too chilly (IMO) for him to be out in the morning. Caylin, however, was the best little gardening bug. She LOVED wearing the cute little princess gardening gloves that her daddy picked up for her at Lowes. She had fun using her garden shovel and rake to help pull all of the dead leaves out. Now, she is looking forward to putting "pretty flowers" into the garden the next time we get out there... which might just be next weekend, if we are lucky! :)