Gavin does NOT like Santa! We've tried bringing him to see Santa three different times, and each time we go, he CRIES! A local toy store had Santa there for photos today, so we brought Gavin to try once more. Here's what he thought of Santa.
We brought Gavin and I to Chuck E. Cheese's for dinner tonight. He absolutely LOVED the show and all of the children, as well as the balloons that were up for the birthday parties. He ate his dinner so quickly that I think we just might need a stage show of animated characters in our own home! (If you'd like to see a video of him eating his dinner, please visit his website) He was absolutely mesmerized by the show. Every time one of the characters would move, he would quickly point to them. After dinner, we let him go on some of the rides and play a few games. I'll let you watch the videos to see if he enjoyed the rides or not.
Gavin has his first boo boo, at least the first one to leave a mark. I just hope it doesn't scar :) He was walking in our room the other day when he tripped and fell. He hit the edge of the bed frame and cut the outer corner of his right eye. My poor baby cried and cried. Hopefully, it will heal really soon. Here are some pictures of his boo boo.
Gavin has started walking! He took his first steps on October 23rd, but hadn't really done more than take a couple steps here and there since then. Last night, he decided that he was going to walk. He took about 10 steps while Brandon was at work, and then when Brandon got home, Gavin was walking all over his playroom! Here's a video of him walking across his playroom.
Gavin had his first birthday party on Saturday, October 18th. It was lots of fun. He had his Grandma and Grandpa Yallaly come celebrate with him, as well as lots of friends. I made him a monkey smash cake, and again, like a gentleman, he didn't really get into his cake until we gave him a fork to eat with. Go figure! Gavin had so many presents to open that he couldn't even open them all at his party. He is such a lucky little boy to be loved and spoiled by so many people. Here are some pictures of his party.
Gavin celebrated his first birthday on Wednesday, October 15, 2008! His Grandma Yallaly was here to celebrate with us. "Uncle" Brad and "Aunt" Lorrie came over to celebrate too. We had cake and opened a couple of presents. Gavin was such a little gentleman while eating his cake. He didn't really dig into his cake like I expected him to. It wasn't even until we gave him a fork that he even started eating his cake. What can I say...he's got table manners!!!
Gavin enjoyed his first lollipop the other day. I wanted to take some pictures for his first birthday invitation, so I thought it would be cute if we got some with his lollipop too. Needless to say, he LOVED it! He didn't quite know what to make of it when we first gave it to him, but after Brandon gave him a taste he was hooked! He sat in one place so that I could take pictures until my heart was content! He even shared his lollipop with Molly...she was loving that!
We are so lucky to have such great neighbors! Gavin just loves them! Whenever we go outside, he always looks towards their house and waves...even if there isn't anyone standing outside. It's so sweet! I guess if someone always had a big smile for me and lots of fun stuff to play with, I would probably like that person a whole lot too :) "Aunt" Lorrie always has great toys for Gavin to play with, and she lets him do stuff that I'm too overprotective or germaphobic (I know that's not spelled right) to let him do at home. It's good for me too since it helps me to let go of some of my craziness about germs. Ahh...one day...I just MIGHT be a normal, non-germaphobe. Maybe...just maybe! Here's a video of Gavin playing with his "Aunt" Lorrie. (In case you're wondering, yes, they are playing in rocks, and no, I did not die of a heart attack!)
Gavin absolutely LOVES going to The Little Gym. He really likes playing on the equipment, playing with the balls, and popping the bubbles. He doesn't really like the opening circle activities that the teacher would like him to do. I sure hope this isn't a sign of what's to come when he's in school!
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I am such a forgetful mom! I completely forgot that it was Ginger's birthday until about 8:00 that night. We celebrated her birthday the following day with a chicken sandwich from McDonald's. She and Molly LOVED it! What a Happy Birthday for Ginger! We can hardly believe that she's already five years old...she still acts like such a puppy!
Gavin is growing up so quickly! He is cruising along on just about anything. His push toy still moves a bit too fast for him, so I gave him his tricycle to "ride". He sits on it and walks up and down our driveway. He loves being outside and watching everything that goes on. He especially loves looking at all of the plants and going to our next door neighbors house. He always tries to ride his trike over there. What a friendly, little boy!
We brought Gavin to Lucky Peak yesterday to celebrate Jeff's 23rd birthday. Happy Birthday Jeff! Gavin had a SUPER time playing with everyone. His "Aunt" Lorrie helped him dip his feet in the icy cold water, and she even taught Gavin how to feed the dogs watermelon. Thanks Lorrie!!! I hope Jeff had as good a time celebrating his birthday as Gavin did.
We brought Gavin to the fair today, and we thought for sure his head would explode with excitement! He was sitting up straight and tall in his stroller so as not to miss a single thing! He enjoyed seeing all of the different animals in the petting zoo, but he REALLY seemed to enjoy watching all of the big kids ride the roller coasters. Here's a video of him watching the big kids on a roller coaster.
Brandon gave Gavin his very first taste of shaved ice. I'll let you watch the video and judge for yourself whether Gavin liked it or not.
We were in St. Louis last week for Brandon's Grandma Niehaus' funeral. It was very sad, but we're glad that she's in heaven with Grandpa Niehaus now. Gavin was wonderful on the trip. He was smiley and happy for everyone, even without his normal naps and routines. He was able to meet all of his cousins and second cousins on Brandon's side of the family. Here's a picture of Gavin with everyone.
We also had the chance to visit the St. Louis zoo. Gavin really enjoyed seeing all of the animals in their habitats. We couldn't tell if Gavin had more fun or if his Grandma Yallaly did! Here's a picture of Gavin with his Grandma and Grandpa Yallaly at the zoo.
Gavin also got to meet Brandon's long-time friend Louie and his family. Louie's son, Charlie is only one month and 5 days younger than Gavin. He also has two year-old twin girls that Gavin LOVED watching play. Gavin had a really great time visiting with Uncle Louie and his family. Here's a picture of Gavin, Brandon, Uncle Louie, and Charlie by the barn that Brandon and Louie played in when they were little boys.
We brought Gavin to the YMCA today so that he could swim, and he had a BLAST! Here's a video of him "swimming" with B. Check out how he actually moves his arms, as if he is REALLY swimming. I think I'll be signing Gavin up for swim lessons this Winter!!!
Here's another video of him playing in the pool with Brandon. He is such a dare devil. I don't know what it would take to scare him!
Brandon and I brought Gavin to play at the park the other day. He had a really good time watching all of the kids playing. He wanted to crawl all over the place! The park had a water feature, and Gavin really seemed to enjoy playing with the water. Here's a video of Gavin playing with one of the water features.
Gavin was able to spend this past week with his Auntie T. He had such a blast! He really laughs hard whenever she's around. Perhaps it's the crazy faces and noises that she makes at him. She brought her web cam with her, so Gavin's Goong Goong,Po Po, and Auntie Em were able to see him too. Since they watched him for what seemed like hours, I guess this means I'll be getting a web cam sometime in the near future. I really am glad that Gavin is lucky enough to be able to see his family even though they live far away. It's great that technology allows far away family to see him grow up.
Here's a picture of Gavin with his Auntie T reading to him. He's really loving it!!!
Gavin took his very first "steps" on his hands and knees last night. He's such a big boy now! I was eating some dehydrated apples, which he LOVES, so of course, he comes crawling towards me with his mouth wide open for some. Instead of putting it down low, I held the apples up a little higher so that he would have to look up. Lo and behold, we now have the beginnings of a hands and knees crawler! I think Brandon and I are about to be in some SERIOUS trouble soon :)
I am so excited that Gavin has made his very first friend. Gavin has had several play dates with his friend Damon. Damon just turned 1 in June, and if you consider Damon pushing Gavin over to steal his toy as playing really well, then they are the BEST players there are ;) It's really nice to know that Gavin has such an easy-going personality. As long as he's got a toy to play with, he doesn't mind sharing at all! I just hope he stays that way! Here's a picture of Damon for those of you who don't live near enough to meet him in person. (Brandon is VERY envious of Damon's full head of hair!!!)
Gavin and I were just having some fun today. I discovered that he likes it when I make a growling noise and then toss his toy at him. He's such a boy!!!
He is growing up so fast! And boy oh boy has his personality developed. He's SO dramatic about things. We went grocery shopping today and he wanted a bag of candy that I had. I didn't want him to chew on it, so instead of screaming for it, he started throwing his head backwards and moaning. When I didn't respond, he started putting his hands on his head while he threw it backwards too! What a little drama king! I am NOT looking forward to his terrible twos!!!
I've read that it's good for a baby's butt to get some naked time. I don't know if it's true or not, but Gavin LOVES his naked time, so that makes it good enough for me. We spent this evening outside while Brandon worked on his latest project. Gavin LOVED LOVED LOVED being outside, especially when he was completely naked. He kept crawling to the edge of the blanket so that he could play with the grass. When he realized that the blades of grass were sticking up right near his mouth, he must've thought that he needed to taste some. So he opened his mouth and tried to let a couple of blades in his mouth. Thankfully, I caught him before he sucked on some. You know me...I'm a germ FREAK and the very idea of him sucking on grass that was most likely pooped on by one of the girls gave me the heeby jeebies! I know his grass eating is inevitable, but I just hope that he does it without me seeing or knowing!
I've finally given in and left Gavin with a babysitter. Does it really count if I put him to sleep before the babysitter came? I guess I need to start somewhere, right? Brandon and I went out for our 5th anniversary so we had our next door neighbor come and stay with Gavin while he slept. We had a really nice time and a super yummy dinner too! Brandon got me the camera that I've been eyeballing, so here are some pics of Gavin and the dogs. There are so many features to this camera, that I've barely scratched the surface of learning how to use them. Hopefully, my pictures will only get better as I learn to use all of the features of my new camera. If you feel like it, leave a comment and let me know what you think, or if I can improve them in any way.
It's official...Gavin has realized the power of crawling. He loves when I stack blocks into a tower across the room so that he can crawl to it and knock it over. Check it out...
Gavin made a fingerpainting for Brandon as part of his first Father's Day gift. As you can see in the video, Gavin isn't quite sure what to make of the gooey stuff. He ended up having a great time, and his fingerpainting turned out beautifully!
Gavin crawled forward for the first time on his own today! I'm really glad that Brandon was home to see it. He has worked so hard with Gavin on his crawling, and he misses out on so many "firsts" when he's at work.
Gavin loves to splash in the tub. After getting his dinner all over his face every night, we look forward to bath time to help wash all of the food off of Gavin's face, hands, and feet (yes, even his feet get full of food!) Gavin especially loves his baths because that's when he gets to splash around. He just loves flapping his hands up and down to splash the water. He'll even flap his hands when he's not in the water if you say "splashes".
We let Gavin practice his musical skills today, and we may just have a musician on our hands! We showed him how to bang the wooden spoons on a pot just once, and he took to it instantly. Here's a video of our little drummer boy.
Gavin tried drinking from a sippy cup tonight. He couldn't get any of his milk out when the valve was in, so we took it out to let the milk flow easily. He tried really hard to drink like a big boy! He did manage to drink some of it, but a lot of it dribbled down his chin. Not too shabby for his first try at drinking like a big boy, though!
I can hardly believe that Gavin is 7 months old today. People always told me that time would just FLY by and to cherish every moment that Gavin is a baby. I didn't believe them, especially during the first 3 months of Gavin's life and I was sleep deprived. I thought time seemed to DRAG! Now that I look back, I really do miss having such a teeny tiny baby (but I wouldn't trade him for anything in the entire world). He seems like such a big boy!
Here's a video of Gavin rolling around in his crib when he's supposed to be taking a nap. He didn't know I was in his room videoing his antics. I did get to see him play with his crib pad, so that is no longer in his crib. I had NO idea that he used it as a toy also!!! That boy DEFINITELY likes to play!
I had a wonderful first Mother's Day today! Brandon took care of Gavin so that I could sleep in, and boy oh boy did I take advantage of that! I slept until almost 11:00!!!!! I guess I was tired! After I woke up, Brandon made what was supposed to be my breakfast but it turned out to be more like brunch. After that, Gavin woke from his morning nap and gave me the best Mother's Day present of all...he said "Mama"! We heard him waking from his nap over the monitor. He was cooing to himself like he usually does. Then all of a sudden, we heard him distinctly say, "Mama". Brandon and I both looked at each other after hearing Gavin. It was such a great gift for me to hear him say that. After we fed him, we packed up Gavin and the dogs and headed to the park. It was a gorgeous day for a walk in the park. Gavin and the dogs really seemed to have a good time. Gavin went on the swings for the very first time. At first, he sat in the swing all chill seeming as if he could care less about the swing. Then Brandon and I pushed him in it so that he moved a bit faster and higher and then he seemed to enjoy it more. He would smile as he went higher. What a little dare devil! Here's a video of Gavin riding on the swings. Just so you know, it is NOT him that you hear giggling on the video. It's the kid next to Gavin that's giggling.
Here's a video of Gavin playing with his first balloon. I think that Goong Goong enjoyed it as much as Gavin did :) I can DEFINITELY see a LOT more balloons in our future!!!
We took Gavin swimming to see how he'd do in the pool. He wasn't crazy about it at first, but I think he started to like it after awhile. He reminded us of a sea otter that we saw at the Seattle Aquarium.
We brought Gavin to the beach the other day. He wasn't too crazy about the surf, so I think we'll have to wait until he's a bit older before we take him back to the beach. I think the roar of the ocean might have bit a bit much for him. At least we got some cute pictures :)
I survived my first plane ride with an infant! Gavin was WONDERFUL! The take-offs and landings were a breeze! He was such a great kid the entire way...let's hope he keeps it up for the trip back to Idaho!
Gavin is always watching me work on the computer. After spitting up all over the touch pad, I decided he wasn't allowed to play with my laptop anymore. So we gave him his very own keyboard. Here's a video of him "working" while Brandon and I eat dinner.
Gavin has started to sit up without support today. He's still really wobbly, but I guess he's got to start somewhere! Now if only I could keep him from falling over onto his face!
Gavin loves his Gator socks! (Thanks Brian and Julia!) Just listen to him tell you that the Florida Gators are his favorite team in the entire world! Doesn't it sound like he's singing...Da da da da da. Go Gators!
Gavin was pretty sad when he realized that the Gators were no longer the national champs. See how sad he is?!?!?
We finally put the toy that Auntie T gave us together, and Gavin LOVES it! He's still a little too small to play with it on his own, but it sure is fun for him when Brandon or I hold him up so that he can play. Thanks again, Auntie T!
Gavin LOVED getting his Easter basket! His eyes just lit up when he saw it. He loved pulling out the Easter grass and the plastic eggs. He had so much fun playing with his new toys! Brandon and I are really looking forward to Christmas now that we've seen how much Gavin enjoys the holidays! We're having Easter dinner with our neighbors later tonight, so I really hope Gavin behaves. He has been a bit fussy the past couple days because of....................NEW TEETH!!!! Our little boy is getting teeth! I can hardly believe it! We peeked in his mouth yesterday and saw the tops of two teeth poking through his bottom gums! I just cannot believe that he is getting teeth already!
Look at how Gavin just loves digging through all of the goodies in his Easter basket!
Gavin absolutely loves to play with his feet! It's amazing how his feet can keep him occupied long enough for me to get something done! He has started mimicking me whenever I laugh. It's the cutest thing! He also tries really hard to hold his own bottle now. What a big boy!
Can you believe it? Gavin is 5 months old already! It's already hard for me to remember how tiny he was when we first brought him home from the hospital. He has outgrown so many of his clothes already...it's crazy! We measured him the other day, and he was 27" long! If he keeps growing at this rate, he'll be a GIANT!!! I don't know how much he weighs right now, but I'm thinking about taking him to be weighed at the doctor's office. If I do, I will be sure to post it. Here's a picture of him that was taken the day after he turned 5 months old. (Thanks for the stylin' shirt, Nancy!) Doesn't he look like such a big boy?!?!?
Welcome to our family blog! I will try my best to keep everyone updated on the ongoings of our family. If you want to know about Gavin ONLY, then you can still visit his website. There will be lots more pictures of him there. Gavin went on his first vacation at the end of February. We went to McCall with Grandma and Grandpa Yallaly, Uncle Brian, Aunt Katie, and Reagan. It was so much fun! Gavin stayed at the cabin with Reagan, Grandma, and Grandpa while the rest of us went skiing at Brundage. It was a beautiful day, and we ALL had lots of fun!
