Get Out of the Way!

Gavin is coming through!!!! It hasn't taken him long to get the hang of walking with a walker(?). He really leans into it though, and we have to be his brakes for the time being. It won't be long now.

Gavin's One Year Pictures

Last week we took Gavin to have his one year pictures taken. We were running a bit late with them because some snow (imagine that!) caused us to reschedule the photo shoot. After talking with a coworker, we selected Melissa Goldberg as our photographer for this special occasion. The depot in downtown Grapevine was the perfect location. There are really nice colorful houses and storefronts in that area that are great backdrops for the pictures.

We also brought along Miranda's rocking chair that she had when she was a little girl. Gavin seemed to get the hang of it while he was posing. He started rocking back and forth like he had done it before. We also brought along the blue monkey who has been in all the month day pictures. Incidentially, Gavin has grown quite attached to the monkey and gives him a great big hug whenever he sees Blue (as we call him).

These are a few of my favorites, but there are many more that are just as good. It is going to be hard to pick the ones that we want to print.

Gavin was a good sport for about 45 minutes, and then he decided that he was tired of all the sitting and moving and sitting again. By that time we had already gotten tons of good shots so we called it a day. Follow this link to view the rest of the pictures. We are getting a proof CD with all the images. So if you want prints of any, just let us know and we can send you the image to have printed.

Gravity Lesson

Gavin loves playing with his basketball goal. He has figured out how to push the button that the ball is supposed to hit when the ball goes through the goal so that he can "cheat" to hear the music. He enjoys putting objects other than the ball in the net: note the Duncan Hines icing container's red lid and the tags from a pair of new pjs.

Monday while we were "playing" basketball, I showed him the hole above the rim and how an item dropped in it, comes out at the bottom. (Monday's object of choice was the sticker from a new package of diaper wipes. I don't know why he picks the things he picks to carry around and study.) Today, he put one of his tags through the hole, then followed up with his hand. I reminded him that it comes out below. So, he started dropping the tags in the top and picking them up below. After a few minutes, he put both of the tags in the bottom, then stretched up to the top to look for them. I had to explain that gravity makes them fall down and prevents them from levitating back up the shoot. I hope my scientific explanation was accurate enough.

Hangin' with Dad

Sunday, we got up and went to the 8:50 church service in order to work with Gavin's morning nap. It actually worked quite well. We got him back and down for a nap just a bit after 10; actually, he fell asleep in the car. Thankfully Dave was able to get him to go right back to sleep.

After his nap, it was time to eat some lunch and cheer for the Yellow Jackets as they played Duke for the ACC championship in basketball. Pizza was the obvious lunch of choice. Gavin enjoyed eating it and watching TV with Dad.

Mama enjoyed that she was gone to pick up charcoal when it was time to clean up that face. Dad enjoyed hangin' with his boy, but not the outcome of the game. :)

Stockyards Go Green

We took Gavin down to the Stockyards in Fort Worth for the Stockyards Go Green St. Patrick's Day Celebration and Parade on Saturday afternoon. There was live Irish music and a parade following the daily longhorn cattle drive. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather--sunny and 70.

Gavin cooperated and wore his Georgia Tech hat. (Maybe that was the good luck charm for their win in the ACC semifinals.) He had a death-grip on his toy of the day, a telescope from his pirate party.


He finally looked at the camera for a milisecond. He was too busy watching all the people--especially the kids dancing to the jigs and reels.


Just a bit before 4, we lined up to get a good view of the cattle drive.
Check out the snoot dripping from this nose. Somehow, I don't think he'd let his mom wipe his nose the way I wipe Gavin's.

Mama held Gavin up for part of the parade.
There were various organizations that rode horses and floats in the parade.
Gavin was super happy when he and Dad scored a pair of beads for him to wear.

As we were leaving, we realized that we didn't take his picture with the big Stockyards sign. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to go back sometime.

Pull Em Up - Shove Em Up - Way Up!

Well that didn't take long....Gavin has started pulling up. He did once for me last Friday and I haven't been able to get him to do it again. But tonight he did three separate times within a span of 10 minutes. I think the key was having the blinds open in the front windows. From there he can push up from the window sil pretty easily. Incidentally we had the glass in two windows fixed today that had been broken since we moved in.





He's still a bit shaky, but look at that wide stance...

I am also adding several new videos to GavinTube. Some from his birthday parties, some with pulling up evidence (those are short - he's a fast little bugger), and some with us just playing and jabbering. Enjoy.

Other February Highlights

By February 5th, I had this cluster of daffodils in bloom. Amazingly, they are still bloomed. When the foot of snow fell, the daffodils bowed under the weight of the snow. When the snow melted, they perked back up.

On Monday, February 8th, Gavin figured out that he could use his army crawling to come find me. I had put him down on the rug in my bedroom while I walked into my closet to hang up my suit. In just a minute, I heard Gavin coming toward me. He looked so proud when he turned the corner and saw me. His smile couldn't have been bigger.

We celebrated a low key Valentine's Day. Gavin enjoyed his balloon and opening his cards.

Valentine's Day is also Mason's birthday. He turned 8 this year. He loves his new hedgehog.

On Wednesday, February 17th, Gavin learned how to crawl on all fours. He's constantly moving now.

On February 20, Gavin found the windows in front. I raised the blinds so that he could see out. He loves watching out. A few evenings later, he sat there for 20 minutes watching the boys across the street playing basketball.

Little Red Wagon

Gavin got a red wagon for his birthday. Sunday afternoon we went out for a ride.

We are pleased at how well Gavin balanced in the wagon when the ride was a bit bumpy.

After the ride, we came to the backyard to hang out for a while with Mason. Gavin was thrilled to be outside in the yard with Mason. Mason tolerates Gavin; he gets nervous sometimes with Gavin. It's funny to see Mason leaving when he sees Gavin crawling toward him. But, for a few minutes, Mason did tolerate being near Gavin.

Gavin didn't let being outside stop him from exploring. It's a good thing the grass is dormant right now, else I'd be getting grass stains off the knees of those pants. Gavin crawled a good way through the yard, with a few stops along the way to rest.