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.

Hey Santa!

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.

After seeing Santa, Gavin got a much deserved break. He got to play on their train table. He LOVES it. Here are a couple of pics of him playing at the train table.

Chuck E. Cheese

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.

First Boo-Boo

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.

Photography Assignment

Since Gavin has been born, I've really gotten interested in photography. Brandon has gotten me an SLR, and I've been trying to learn as much as I can about shooting in manual. I've taken a photography class, and I've been lucky enough to find someone who is willing to mentor me. (Wende Trew...her work is beautiful) She gave me an assignment to do to try and expand my comfort zone. We were to take a picture of a subject using window light. So I used Gavin as my subject, of course, and here's what I came up with. I'm not usually a fan of black and white images, but I really like the way this one came out. He's so serious in it! It's getting more and more difficult for me to get Gavin to stay still long enough for me to take a photo, let alone get him to look at me! I guess I just need to keep practicing!

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.