Gavin lately

This little boy has been such a sweetie lately. I think the Elf on the Shelf has had a little to do with it, but the truth is that he really is a good boy. December has been a .great month and I am so hoping that it carries over into January. He has a good heart. It is not uncommon for him to walk up to us and give us hugs and compliments. "I think you're so great, mom" or "Love you, dad" or "You're the best, dad." Brian and I could eat him up right now. I love those little stretches of time where it's a little easier to overlook the hard parts of parenting. I feel that way about both of my kids right now.

I am constantly amazed at what Gavin is learning. Recently he said, "I used to be afraid of the Grinch and then I realized that he is not scary and he is nice." Realized?? His vocabulary continues to baffle me. The other thing he said the other day that I wanted to remember was on our way home from a friend's house in Provo. We were getting closer to home and he asked, "Is this our village?" Meaning is this Pleasant Grove... I had to laugh.

He's got an ear for music and comes home singing primary songs and continues to sing them for weeks after. Next week he will be a Sunbeam. I was just released as the primary chorister and am only sad that I won't be able to see him singing his guts out in the front row.

His latest obsession is with dad's iPad. Brian got one to use for work and Gavin is always wondering where it is and when he can play it next. This 3 1/2-year-old can work that thing like nobody's business. And when he has it, it's dead silent until I go and find him and make him turn it off. He is figuring out difficult puzzles and playing Angry Birds like a mad man. His attachment to that thing is frightening - borderline crazy. What he won't do for a moment alone with that thing.
He gets so excited that he trips over words and sentences just trying to get his story out. There are many Aaa-nds mixed in there and although there are moments when we are unsure what on earth this exuberant kid is talking about, we love him to pieces.