Ice Cream!

Gavin enjoyed his ice cream tonight! He even had sprinkles and a cherry on top! Of course, his favorite part was the cherry, followed by the sprinkles, and lastly, the ice cream...just like his mom! After the ice cream had melted and was too soupy to spoon up, he lifted his bowl and drank it! Here's a video of him enjoying his ice cream. Be sure to watch for the part where he shows his true hammy self (just like his dad) and says, "cheese" when he notices the camera pointed at him.

It's Show Time!

It's show time! Gavin loves all of his toys that sing and move along with the music. He especially loves setting them all off at the same time. He calls it, "show time." Here are a couple videos of him bouncing along during "show time."

Getting Ready for a Bath

Logan absolutely LOVES being clean! He just lights up whenever it's time to take a bath...or get his diaper changed! We jokingly call his changing area his happy place because he smiles whenever he's there, and if he's fussy, he usually settles down if we put him there. Here's a video of him getting ready for his bath.

On his Playmat

Logan is growing up so quickly! He really enjoys lying on his playmat and kicking his feet. He even "talks" to the toys that are dangling from above.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I think that this year has been by favorite Halloween so far! We took Gavin trick-or-treating to several houses and he had a great time, although you probably couldn't tell if you were the one answering the door. He was so shy that he refused to say anything to anyone who answered the door. Yet once they closed the door and it was just the four of us, he would quickly say, "More house" because he wanted to go trick-or-treating at more houses! He couldn't resist digging through his bag while we were between houses either. He knew that he was getting candy and asked if he could eat some. Of course we let him eat some. (YES! I know we're supposed to go home and check it first, but in my defense, I checked the pack of Skittles under the front porch lights at a house that we were trick-or-treating at!) After we went to several houses, we finished off the evening at "Uncle" Brad and "Aunt" Lorrie's house. Gavin had a great time there playing with everyone. I think his favorite part of the entire evening, though, was handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters who came to the door. He would say, "bye bye" to each of the kids as they left. He even said, "Bye boy. I love you!" as one boy walked down the driveway. So cute!

Here's a picture of Gavin and Logan in their Halloween costumes.

The Next Picasso?

Gavin is a budding artist. He wanted to stay in my room while I fed Logan in the family room. This has never been a problem in the past. About 10 minutes after I had left my room, Gavin came out and called my name while lifting up his shirt. As soon as I saw the pen in his hand and the scribble all over his belly, I felt my heart skip a beat! All I could think was...please don't let him have drawn all over my furniture! I immediately went into my room, while still feeding Logan no less, and took a deep breath. I didn't see any drawing on the bed. So far so good! I took another deep breath and walked around the bed to see if he had drawn on our brand new glider and ottoman...and he had! I don't even know where he found the pen. As far as I knew, we didn't even have a pen in our room! I guess that's a lesson to me to never leave a curious toddler unattended, especially when they're being REALLY quiet!

If anyone knows how to get ink out of fabric, please let me know!

Here are some pictures of his artwork.

Bad Day

Gavin has a new favorite song! If you ask Gavin what it is, he'll tell you "Bad Day", which everyone else knows as "You Had a Bad Day" by Daniel Powter. His favorite part of the song is the chorus. Once it comes on, he pretends to play the piano.

We discovered that he loved this song today. I was tired of listening to kid music, so I tried playing a few different songs from my playlist on my computer. We found that he liked "When You Say Nothing At All" by Allison Kraus, but after hearing it once, he wanted to hear something different. He also liked "House on Pooh Corner" by Kenny Loggins, but we already knew that. When I first played "You Had A Bad Day", Gavin told me that he didn't like it, but since I like it, I asked him to listen to it for just another minute. As soon as the chorus came on, he looked at me and smiled. Ever since then, he was hooked!

Little Logan

There are times when Logan loves being held. He'll cry and fuss until someone holds him. But then there are times when he just wants to lay down and kick his feet. He absolutely loves looking at all of the toys on his playmat. The only problem is that Gavin wants to lay with him too, so I have to be sure to keep an extra watchful eye on Logan when Gavin is around. I guess I really shouldn't complain, though. It's only because Gavin is really starting to love his little brother. He just wants to be near him...it's so cute!

Here's a video of Logan kicking around.

Fall Fun

Gavin and Brandon had a great time playing in the leaves this weekend. Gavin had so much fun that Brandon bought him his own little rake. The look on his face when Brandon gave him his rake was priceless! He wanted to go outside right away, but it was WAY too cold! He ended up pretending to rake leaves all around the house until it was warm enough to go outside.

Here are a few pictures of him playing in the leaves.

Pumpkin Carving

Gavin helped us carve our pumpkin this year. He was really interested in what was inside the pumpkin and scooping all of the pumpkin guts out. When he thought his hands were too icky from the guts, he just wiped them off...on his shirt, of course! Afterwards, we cleaned some of the seeds off and Gavin helped me cook them. He helped me spray a bit of oil on the seeds and then he sprinkled them with salt. He even put the tray in the oven to roast the seeds. When they were done, we ate them for snack.

Here are some pictures and a video of our pumpkin carving experience...

Here's what he thought of the seeds...

Boo at the Zoo

We brought Gavin to Boo at the Zoo today, and we had a great time! He was so excited when we told him we were going to the zoo. I thought that he would want to spend most of his time looking at the monkeys like he usually does, but he was way more interested in seeing all of the kids in their costumes. He also liked looking at the characters dressed in costume. Of course, he wanted to look at them from a distance. He wasn't very interested in trick or treating, but he was excited to hold his bag. He didn't even want to let go of it to get in the car. Once we got in the car, he dumped all of the contents of his bag on his lap. Luckily, I was able to collect all of his treats and give him a few M&M's instead. He seemed pretty happy with that :)

Here are a few of the pics that we took today.

Happy Birthday Gavin!

Happy Birthday Gavin! Gavin had a wonderful time at his 2nd birthday party today! His friends Damon, William, Brennan, Will, Abby, and Ben all came to celebrate at his Elmo party. They colored pictures of Elmo, played Pin the Nose on Elmo, and tossed some balls around the house. Afterwards, we ate some pizza and cake. Gavin didn't want to open his presents, though. I hope his friends weren't too disappointed. When it was time for his friends to go home, Gavin was so sad that he started to cry. Luckily, Aunt Lorrie and Uncle Brad were here to play some basketball with him to cheer him up!

After his friends went home, Gavin took a nap. When he woke from his nap, Gavin opened up his presents. He loved them all! Thank you to all of his friends that came to celebrate his big day with him!

Happy Birthday Ginger!

Happy Birthday Ginger! She turned 6 years old yesterday (who better to have a 9/11 birthday than Ginger?!?!?!), so we celebrated her birthday with some cupcakes.

Logan is a week old today, and he's doing really well. He had his first check-up at the doctor's office yesterday, and he is gaining weight! Logan came home from the hospital weighing 6 pounds 8 ounces, and he weighed in at 6 pounds 10 ounces at his appointment. I'm excited that nursing seems to be working for us because pumping for an extended period of time just wasn't an option for us. He also measured 19.5 inches long, so I guess the measurement they took at the hospital was a bit off. He's in the 20th percentile for weight and the 40th percentile for height. His head circumference puts him in the 50th percentile. I guess he's got a big head :)

Gavin is a wonderful big brother! He really likes holding Logan and pointing out his eyes, nose, and mouth! We just have to be sure he doesn't poke poor Logan's eyes out :) He loves to help us get different things around the house...as long as he's in the mood. (Gotta love an almost 2 year old!)

Here's a video of Gavin giving Logan his first bath at the hospital.

Playing with Damon

Gavin had his friend Damon over to play today, and the two boys had so much fun together. They colored, built towers out of mega blocks, played with the trains, and read books together. They even gave each other hugs, but of course, I didn't have my camera handy during these sweet moments (I'm sure Brandon and Damon's dad appreciate not having pictures of their boys hugging each other!) During lunch, Gavin started pretending to sneeze and Damon just thought it was the funniest thing! The two boys were cracking themselves and each other up! Here's a video of their silliness during lunch!

A Chicken Sandwich!!!

Gavin was asking for some bread on the way home from the Discovery Center today, so I decided to try and make him a sandwich. To my surprise, he ate it! He ate almost the entire thing too! I was so happy since he has been a VERY difficult eater the past week or so. He also ate a container of baby food green beans (yes, he still eats baby food! it's the only way I can get him to eat vegetables other than cucumbers, and as long as he's willing to eat it, I'm willing to buy it and feed it to him!), and TWO go-gurts (we're out of his regular yogurts, but it was a good thing since he thought it was something new and different). After that, he ate a small slice of watermelon and then asked to get down from his booster seat. About 5 minutes later, he came out of the pantry asking for some goldfish crackers. I guess his appetite is back (and I am definitely NOT complaining!)

I think I've figured out what was causing his eating problems this past week, though. His top right two year old molar is coming in. He was poking around in his mouth while I was reading him his stories before nap, so I stuck my finger in his mouth to see what he was poking at and I felt a sharp little point coming out. Hopefully, the rest of his two year old molars won't give him as much trouble as this one has. Maybe that's why he has been SO cranky the past week???? (I can only hope it was because if his behavior this past week is the beginning of the terrible twos, then I am in for some HARD times!!!!)

Here's a video of Gavin enjoying his first chicken sandwich!

The Discovery Center

It is way too hot to play outside, so I brought Gavin to the Discovery Center today. He had so much fun exploring and playing with all of the different exhibits. On the way there, he kept reminding me that we needed olives. I asked him if he wanted to go to the store to buy more olives or if he wanted to play, and of course, he immediately said, "bay" (Gavinese for play). It's the first time he has said the word "play." It amazes me how quickly his vocabulary is increasing each day!

Lucky for us, the Discovery Center was pretty empty when we got there so Gavin was able to run around pretty freely. His favorite exhibits were the ones that involved balls...of course! Here are a few videos that I took of him today. (I know, I know! I'm a video crazed mom these past couple of days!)

Growing up!

I can hardly believe how quickly Gavin is growing up. It seems like just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital, and now he's running around swinging golf clubs and telling me, "No Mommy! No! No! No!" When I ask him, "Where did my baby go?", he runs over and lifts my shirt so that he can pat my stomach. I don't think he understands that there is a baby growing inside me, though. I think he believes that my stomach is called a baby, so he pats my belly when I ask him where my baby has gone as if he's reminding me of where my stomach is.

He's now 34 1/2 inches long and 23 pounds 9 ozs (and that's wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and socks!). Now that he's on some sort of eating strike, I have to wonder if he'll EVER gain any weight?!?!? As long as he's healthy, though, I have to try not to stress too much about how much he's eating...try being the operative word!

Dancing Like Michael Jackson

Brandon was watching America's Best Dance Crew: Top 10 Performances, and Gavin wanted to dance along. When they got to a group dancing to Michael Jackson, Gavin decided he needed to get up off the couch and show us his moves. The more he watched it, the more adventurous he got with his dance moves. The second video I took of him was when he decided to move his legs up and down. How funny is that? Is it wrong of me to say that he's absolutely the cutest thing in the world?!?!?!?!

Watch Out, Tiger Woods!

Watch out Tiger Woods, here comes Gavin! Brandon showed Gavin how to hit balls with his golf club today, and Gavin took to it like a fish takes to water! He loves hitting the balls with his club. Of course, he loves anything that Daddy does! Here are a few videos of him hitting the balls in the yard. My favorite is the first video where he nearly hits the ball over the fence!

Eating Edamame

The terrible twos are here, and they are here with a vengeance! Gavin has been refusing to eat much the past 4 or 5 days, so I've been trying to make his favorites in hopes that he'll eat something. At lunch today, he decided that edamame was all that he wanted to eat, but after eating only a few of them, he wanted to throw them so that Molly could eat too. Finally, he decided that it would be ok to eat them if he ate like a dog too. Here's a video of Gavin eating his edamame like a dog! Remind me...how long do the terrible twos last????

A Relaxing Day on the Lake

What a great day for relaxing on the lake with our neighbors! That's exactly what we did today, and Gavin loved every second of it! He was a little more hesitant about getting in the water this time, but he eventually warmed up to the idea and would sit and kick his feet. He did, however, want everyone else to go swimming though! He also loved splashing the noodle in the water after "Aunt" Lorrie showed him how to, but I think the highlight of his day on the boat was the mini M&M's that he got to eat!

I didn't get the chance to take too many videos since the battery on our camera died, but here is one of the videos that I did manage to get today. In this video, you can see what a ham Gavin is becoming. He even pauses to say, "cheese" when he sees that the camera is pointed at him.

Here's a new video of Gavin driving the boat with "Uncle" Brad. He LOVES getting to drive!

Baby #2's Ultrasound Pictures

Here are some of the pictures that we got from our ultrasound today. It's amazing how much detail they can get from a 3D/4D ultrasound.

Now all we need is a name. Any suggestions?????

At the zoo with Grandma Yallaly

Gavin loves going to the zoo, so we decided to go there during Grandma Yallaly's visit. We had a great day! Gavin played on the giant giraffe slide, climbed on the gorilla and the lion, and ran through the prairie dog tunnel. We were even lucky enough to see the lions laying right up against the glass. His favorite exhibit is the monkeys, though. If it were up to Gavin, we'd stare at the monkeys all day long! Here are some pictures of Gavin and Grandma Yallaly at the zoo.

A Visit from Hannah

Gavin was lucky enough to have his big cousin Hannah visit. He had a TON of fun playing with her, and I just know he'll be so sad when she has to leave tomorrow. He especially loved playing ball with her. When he woke up this morning, he refused to play football with anyone except Hannah. Here are some pictures of them playing at the park on Friday afternoon.

Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July! We had a little barbecue at home with Dan, Corrie, and their baby, Ben. Gavin was very sweet to Ben. He shared all of his toys and even crawled around all over the floor with Ben.

Here's a video of Gavin and Ben dancing to Gavin's favorite cd.

And a couple pictures of Gavin trying to "feed" Ben.

Sandy Point at Lucky Peak

We brought Gavin to Sandy Point Beach at Lucky Peak on our anniversary. Gavin had so much fun at the "bea" He loved digging in the sand! It was an impromptu trip, so we didn't have the forethought to pack beach toys for Gavin to play with. We only brought him a shovel and a rake. The poor kid stared longingly at the other children's beach toys. He was happy after lunch, though, when he got to use his yogurt container and his veggie container to build sandcastles. Brandon even taught him how to build them and then smash them! Gavin thought that was lots of fun. He wanted to smash everyone's castles! Uh-oh! I guess we'll have to keep our eyes on him whenever we go to the beach to make sure he doesn't smash another child's hard work! :)

Here's a video of Gavin and Brandon playing in the water. I love the giggles!

Disneyland!

Gavin loved watching all of the dancers and listening to the music at the Celebrate Your Life parade at Disneyland. Here's a video of Gavin watching the parade.

The Playhouse Disney Live show was great! Gavin had a wonderful time watching the show and dancing along to the music. Here's a video of him watching this show.

We had a great time on all of the rides. Here's a video of Gavin on the Ladybug ride at California Adventure (It spins around like the Teacups). I know I'm getting old when this ride makes me a little queasy :)

Show Week!

It was Show Week at The Little Gym. This is where the kiddos get to show-off what they have learned throughout the session and then receive a medal for all of their accomplishments. Here's a video of Gavin receiving his medal.

Splashing at the Park

We went to Settler's Park with some of Gavin's friends the other day. He absolutely LOVES splashing in the water and swinging on the swings. Here are some pictures of him at the park.

Here's a video of Gavin playing with Abby. In case you can't tell, he's trying to tickle and hug her.

Gavin's First Boat Outing

Gavin went on his first boat outing today. We went to Lucky Peak with "Uncle" Brad and "Aunt" Lorrie. He had such a great time, and boy oh boy is he a dare devil! We heard the biggest giggles and got the biggest smiles when we were going full speed. He even got to "drive" the boat. Here's a video of Gavin driving.

The water was pretty chilly (and when I say chilly, I mean that it was cold enough that it would numb your feet), but that didn't stop Gavin! He wanted to jump right in! Here are a couple of videos of Gavin splashing in the water.

It's a good thing Gavin was wearing his life jacket! Who knew he would be brave enough to try and jump right in?!?!?

A Visit to the Dentist!

I know it has been a while since I last posted, but c'mon...give the pregnant lady a break, would ya? Yes, that's right, I'm pregnant! Gavin will be a big brother in September! We are very excited, and we will keep you posted as to whether it's a boy or girl, just as soon as we find out.

Gavin went to the dentist for the very first time today. He did really well until it came time for the dentist to look inside his mouth! (Does that count as him doing well at the dentist?!?!?) It's a good thing Brandon was with us because it took both of us to hold him still while the dentist looked inside his mouth. His teeth and mouth look healthy, but we're going to have to give his paci the ol' heave ho pretty soon. We knew the time was coming...I was just dragging out the inevitable to protect the sleep that I get at night!

I will post pictures of Gavin at the dentist just as soon as I find the camera! Yes, I actually took pictures of Gavin at the dentist, and yes, we cannot find the camera right now. Relax, it's not the big one and it wasn't me who misplaced it!!!

Among other firsts, Gavin went sledding for the first time on our ski trip to McCall. He absolutely LOVED it! Before the sled even stopped, he was signing for more...SO CUTE!!! For all of you Gavin picture lovers, here's a pic of him sledding at Brundage Mountain. FYI...we were not supposed to sled here, but it was a Monday afternoon and we were the ONLY people in this area :)

From Christmas Til Now

Ok. Ok. Ok. I know I'm a complete slacker when it comes to updating this blog, but the good news is that we're back home and everyone's feeling better! I know it has been a while (a little over 2 months) since my last post, so this one will be a bit long.

I guess I'll start with Christmas. This Christmas was VERY different from last year! After breakfast, we brought Gavin into the living room to check out what Santa had brought him. Of course, the only thing he wanted to look at was the fantastic train table that his Grandma and Grandpa Yallaly bought for him. We had set it up where the coffee table normally is, and all he wanted to do was play with his trains! The look on his face while he played was that of pure joy! After quite some time (and lots of coaxing), we finally got him to look at some of his other gifts. He loved everything! He went from present to present and played with everything! It was so cute!

The next night, Gavin got a huge boo-boo on his face. He was running with his bubble blower (I know, I know. What kind of parents would let their kid run around with a bubble blower?!??!? Now we've learned our lesson!), when he tripped and fell on it. It worked just like a cookie cutter in his face and cut a perfect circle and a semi-circle underneath. My poor baby was dripping blood everywhere. Luckily it didn't need stitches, but it did take a while to heal and he still has scars on his face! Hopefully the scars will disappear by the time he's 5! So we had to bring Gavin on the plane to Florida with a huge band-aid on his face. What we didn't know was that he's allergic to something on the band-aid, so the poor kid had even more red marks on his face from the band-aid!

We had a great time in Florida! We were able to spend lots of time with grandparents, and we even got to see some friends! We were able to meet Brett and Monica's daughter, who happens to be one of the most adorable little girls on the planet. We had dinner with them, and Gavin just LOVED playing with her!

Here's a picture of Gavin and Allison. Isn't she adorable?!?!?

We also got to meet Brady, Kelly and Matt's little boy! Gavin loved playing with him too! Here's a picture of Gavin and Brady.

Gavin had tons of fun playing at his Grandma and Grandpa Yallaly's. Brian and Katie were nice enough to come down so that we could spend some time with them and Reagan. It was so nice watching Gavin and Reagan play together. Gavin even got jealous when Brandon picked Reagan up to hug her good-bye. Boy oh boy did the tears come down! We also brought Gavin to Downtown Disney. He rode a merry-go-round and a train for the first time, but I think his favorite part of the day was just getting to walk around and looking at all of the people!

At his Goong-Goong and Po Po's house, Gavin was able to go to the beach. This kid LOVES playing in the sand, and he isn't afraid of the ocean anymore! He kept trying to run into the ocean. Poor Emmy was soaked from having to run in after him!

When we got back from Florida, I had all intentions of updating this blog, as well as his website, but it just wasn't in the cards. After recovering from an ear infection that he got while in Florida, Gavin came down with the stomach flu! Yup, my poor baby was throwing up everywhere. He couldn't keep anything down. To make matters worse, the only thing he likes to drink is water but I could only give him Pedialyte. Eventually he drank it, but only after a lot of protesting. I ended up getting the stomach flu too, which is AWFUL to have when your husband has to go out-of-town on business! Gavin was absolutely WONDERFUL, though, and played by himself while I rested on the couch!

Brandon felt it was time for Gavin to loose his trailer park mullet that was growing on the back of his head. I thought they were cute little baby curls, but Brandon obviously felt differently. So, I brought Gavin for his very first hair cut yesterday, and he was a REALLY good boy! The only time he gave the hair dresser a bit of a hard time was when she was trying to cut the hair by his ears. He would try and push her hands away. I gave him a fruit snack to hold, and that problem was quickly solved! Other than that, he did GREAT! He got a balloon afterwards, so he was in HEAVEN! Now he looks like such a big boy.