Gavin turns ONE

My baby is one. I cannot believe it. Is it possible that it’s been one year since we brought him home? I do remember life without him, but those days are slowly slipping away from me as life with him is now the norm. He is such a sweet boy and, like I think every other month, is really coming alive.

He shakes his head no, tilts his head to the left, puts everything up to his ear, still has two fangs (the front ones are coming!), snuggles into my neck when someone new talks to him, waves hello and goodbye, does pattycake and “so big” on command, has walked 12 steps in a row, loves when his daddy comes home, loves to be with other kids, and can’t get enough attention. He is playful and loving. Just lately he’s been a little clingy to me and may be turning into somewhat of a mama’s boy. That was good timing, with school just getting out and all. Now I can be with him for many, many days in a row.

We celebrated his 1st birthday with three others – cousins Maddi and Nick and uncle Matt. We had a BBQ at our house with Brian’s family. Gavin had a great time and loved to be around everyone.

He wouldn’t touch his cake. I was surprised. He liked it though when I put it in his mouth or he buried his face in it instead. He’s no dummy – chocolate is good! This was no AmyJane’s friend-made cake (I need to learn!), but my best effort. I thought it turned out pretty cute.



He got several books, a swimming pool with toys, blocks, and a xylophone. Brian made sure I got him some sort of hammer so he could start hitting things. No boy of Brian’s will be unfamiliar with tools. In fact, the two of them watch (and record!) Handy Manny all the time. Funny.


It was a great day and fun to celebrate Gavin. Gosh, we love this kid. I feel like if I’m not careful I will wake up and he will be graduating from high school. Time is so short and it passes so quickly. I hope I can remember these seemingly insignificant days, because they really are the ones that matter most.


This picture cracks me up. Sums up our year of both mom and dad focusing on this little dude 24/7.

Summertime

School is out – hooray! I’ve been waiting for summer for a very long time. Right after school got out Brian headed to Clear Creek to be a counselor at the district’s 5th grade summer camp. Since it’s no fun to be at home for that long, Gavin and I took off for Arizona to see the fam. My three-year-old nephew took this picture for us. BTW, I chopped 8 inches of hair to donate to Beautiful Lengths...my grandma said I could do something else for cancer patients...

We went swimming, visited aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents and great-grandparents, strolled around the mall, and ate at yummy Arizona restaurants. My sister Lynsey dropped everything and hung out with us every day. We had a fun time – even with three carseats in the backseat.



This boy is not meant to be an only child. In fact, I think he’d be a really great younger brother, but it’s too late for that. ☺ He loved being around his cousins and was totally entertained by them. I actually got to sit down and visit.


Gavin started walking while we were there – something he hasn’t done tons of since we got back. When we left Utah, he had only taken one step. By the end of the trip he was up to 12. I emailed Brian his daily progress so he wouldn’t feel left out.


It’s always nice to see everyone and think Gavin and I will do it every summer so he can know his Arizona family.

St. George

Early in May we traveled down to St. George to spend the weekend with my sister Lynsey, her husband Matt, and their two boys. We saw Brian Regan at Tuacahn. I had never appreciated him before – he always seemed overly goofy when I saw him on comedy central. But he really is funny. I laughed the ENTIRE time. It was like doing a million situps. I needed that.



It was fun to have my sister’s family with us and I’m learning what a funny thing it is to take a bunch of kids to a restaurant.

That weekend Gavin had his first swim…and loved it. He sat on the step of the baby pool and dove right in. Good thing we were sitting right there! I think he thought it was a giant bathtub.

It was fun to see him smile and have so much fun. We’ll be headed down to St. George again soon and I’m excited to take him again. While Brian and I played a game of shuffleboard, Gavin sat in his stroller and people watched for about a half hour – perfectly content. Sweet boy.

Eleven Months

What we do:

Pull, grab, climb, stand, cruise. This includes Gavin pulling himself up in the tub by the faucet. Stresses me out.

Visit Wilson, long stroller rides, get the mail, enjoy nice weather.

Crawl like crawling should look. Eat, nap, roll away during diaper changes, smile, lots of screaming, grind six teeth, sign occasionally, feed self with spoon sometimes, make messes constantly.
Unload cupboards, bang pans with a wisk, be loud generally.

Make mom and dad happy and proud. Just when we think we can’t love this guy anymore, we do. I do, however, recognize that we are in a new stage. He won’t hold still anymore – not hardly. I already miss that. I’ve had to chase a pooey bum on the run. I mean really, who’s in charge here?

I can hardly believe Gavin will be ONE in three weeks. This year has flown by...

Wicked Cool

Last week Brian and I were able to see Wicked at the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake. We have had tickets twice before and were unable to go. Once we were moving and the other Brian had pneumonia. Luckily, Brian took pity on me and I flew myself to Denver a few years ago to see it with my friend Melanie. But Brian still has never been – until now.

It was absolutely AMAZING. It is the best show I’ve EVER seen – and I have appreciated many a musical… There is no time to look at the program to see who is playing what character or what song is coming next. Besides, we all know what song is coming next. And if you don’t, let me urge you to listen to the CD because you are seriously missing out. My attention was completely captivated. So wonderful. So funny. Beyond entertaining. Best $100 you’ll ever spend.

Spring Break 2009 - San Diego, CA

Scene 1: Take Gavin to G&G Robinson’s house for a six day stay. So strong while inside. Said goodbye. Not so strong when we got in the car. I wept. Brian kept driving.

Day 1: Flew to San Diego. Drive to sister Anne’s house two hours away. Listened to Wicked. Sang loudly to Ipod. Got carsick in a wretched canyon. Arrived and hugged cute nephew Cohen.


Day 2: Easter Sunday. Went with sis Anne to brother Dave’s (and Rachelle) house in Indio. Ate yummy food. Took pictures of more nephews. Forgot to take one of Anne and Paul. Shoot.

Day 3: Drove to Escondido. Wild Animal Park.

Beautiful sunny day. Free tickets from Brian’s friend. Saw elephants, parrots, vultures, gorillas, snakes, butterflies, tiger, etc.


Decided I’m not in shape - a very hilly park – lots of huffing and puffing. Will work out when I get home. Brian fed birds (lorikeet?) – Natalie just took pictures.

Brian swam in the ocean. It was freezing – he didn’t seem to mind that he was the only one out there. He was like a little kid.

Day 4: Took it easy. Chilly day. Old Town. Best Mexican Café I’ve ever been to – homemade corn tortillas. Speak to my soul – I haven’t had a tortilla that good in six years! (allergy…) Drove by the temple and to La Jolla. Freezing by now. Went to hotel and flipped between American Idol and Biggest Loser.

Day 5: Sea World! Atlantis rollercoaster – 2x – first thing in the am. Still to cold for everyone else, so line was so short. Saw polar bears, beluga whales, penguins, sea otters, flamingos, sea lions, dolphins, and killer whales. Felt like we were alone in the park – not crowded.

Best part: Brian’s friend from work has a cousin who is a killer whale trainer. Met with her. She let us in training facility – behind those locked gates! Personal chat – answered all our questions. “Do you know how cool/totally unusual your job is?” She does. Watched her in the next show. She was the main swimmer – very talented (and brave!) Afterwards she got us a free table at “Dine with Shamu” dinner. Yummy food. Whale up close. And again, free. So fun. Went home for two hours to rest.


Came back for nighttime dolphin then Shamu show. Way cool. Perfect ending to a sweet day with Bri.

Day 6: Beach. Getting warmer outside, but still chilly. Brian boogy boards. Comes and tells me it’s my turn. So scared. I don’t love the ocean. Fun to look at, awesome to listen to, but NOT fun to be in. Big waves, salty taste, possible sharks. Bri dragged me in. I cried. Later told me he thought I wasn’t going to make it. I calmed down. Boogied three waves and called it day. Scary, but fun 10 minutes. Walked down pier. Got minimal sun. Checked out of hotel and drove to Seaport Village. Ate at a BBQ place across the street. “Great Balls of Fire” scene from Top Gun was filmed there. (Came home and watched movie – confirmed – it was indeed filmed there.) Flew home.

Final scene: Gavin asleep at G&G’s house. Woke him up and he smiled. He remembers! Happy to be home. So happy to see my baby. Sad to feel like I forgot his face (not too much, but just a tiny.)


Best part: Reconnecting with Brian. Nothing else to worry about for six days – no obligations or interruptions—just us. He is still my very favorite person to be around. We have a lot of fun together. Happy five years to us!

Sun

It's been away from us here in UT for a very long time now. I was just about to get violent about it when all of a sudden, (I think it's safe to say) Spring arrived.

My tulips are about ready to show their color, the chapstick in my car is melty, and flipflops and capris are all over the place. It does my heart good.