Understood?

When Gavin was about 7 months old, one of his teachers said that you could have an entire conversation with just his facial expressions. He has started using more words, but the facial expressions have just expanded. Yesterday at the park one of the parents remarked that you could really understand what Gavin was "saying" . . . ironically, his actual vocabulary is limited to about 15 words, but that parent was absolutely right. He is expressive, communicative, and very entertaining.

Check him out:


And he has developed about as many nicknames as he has expressions. Here are a few:
Baby G n/k/a Little G
Gav
G
Little Man
Little Man Mustache
Gav-man (best sung like you would Batman)
The Gavinator
Squishy
Snuggles
Steamroller

Gavin's First Birthday Paint Party

There are two competing theories about a first birthday party. One theory: don't do it. The guest of honor at best won't remember it and at worst will be totally unimpressed that there are too many other people in his house during what should be nap time. The opposite theory: do it and do it big. The expressed guest of honor may not remember it, but two older, formerly sleep-deprived, unmentioned honorees are in desperate need of a celebration after a year that has totally rocked their world. Despite my inherited tendency to overdue holidays and celebrations, I think we split the middle quite nicely this time.





Although Gavin will not actually remember the celebration, we all enjoyed it (including the 1 year-old-honoree), and we have these great pictures as reminiscences for when he is older.

Happy Birthday!

One year ago today, almost at this minute, Daniel and I held Gavin for the first time. As all parents know, at that exact moment Daniel and I both learned what true, unconditional love really is, and it instantly made us want to be better people and made us love each other even more.

The past year has gone by quickly, too quickly. We are constantly trying to get ahead of time. I want more time. I want more time in the morning after Gavin gets up, rubs the sleep from his eyes, cuddles in for a few minutes, and then slowly starts to actually wake up at first with a few grunts, then kisses for both mom and dad, a few crawls over both of us, and then the final take off where he shimmies off the bed and does not stop moving and exploring again until bedtime. I want more time with him at daycare where he walks me around the room, proud of the new toys he has discovered and the new skills he has mastered (like climbing up onto the toy shelves), gives his little friends kisses, and initiates games of chase and take-and-give or tug-o-war. I want more time with him after work when I pick him up from school, get surprised face as he sees me walk into his class (this never gets old), runs (or something like it) over to me for a quick hug and kiss and then another tour around the room. I want more time with him and Daniel at home in the evening listening to more laughs. And, as tough as it is to admit now that Gavin isn't waking up every hour, I want more time with him at night, cuddling in the dark, just the two us, snuggled up and exhausted.

Not so surprisingly if you've known me long enough, however, I simply cannot wait for whatever is next and I find myself having to remember that what is next will come all too quickly. Indeed, just seventeen more of these ridiculously speedy periods and Gavin is off to college. How wonderful it is to be his mom and get to intimately watch him grow up. I'm not sure that I'll ever be as good of a teacher as I think this miracle deserves, but I am thankful, so very, very thankful that he is our son.

I've loved you since before you were born, Baby G. And each day you make me fall more in love with you, with your dad, and with life. Thank you for bringing the purest, most magical joy to our lives. Happy Birthday!

Then and Now (Part 4) - Social Butterfly

Then: 6 months - We called his first day of school a success, but reading between the lines you could probably tell we were still a bit nervous about the whole affair and whether Gavin would thrive there.

Now: 11 months - Gavin blows kisses to the teachers, pushes out of my arms to go play with his friends the second we walk through the door (although he still whimpers when I finally leave . . . for a whopping 15 seconds), and has indeed thrived. He is getting ready to graduate from the Butterfly Room to the Monkey Room (1 year to 18 month olds), which means one nap a day on a big boy mat rather than a crib, constant outside playground time, and eating at the table in a proper chair. It is bittersweet. I've watched other infants from Gavin's class make the transition, and they instantly turn into big kids. Definitely more sweet than bitter though because each and every phase of this wonderful person's life has been better than the previous one.

Sampling of Daily Notes from the past 6 months:

"Gavin had a great day today! He enjoyed going outside on the buggy and watching the butterflies fly around the flowers. He also really liked playing with the blocks and trying to give Bailey kisses."

"Gavin was the Butterfly dentist today. He would crawl to Bailey or Gretchen and gently put his finger into their mouth. He also liked going on the playground and going down the slide."

"SUPER HAPPY BOY! Loved going out on the buggy and climbing in and out, in and out, in and out of the donut. He also must have had one crazy weekend, because he talked nonstop. Also played chase with Daisy and Lula around the chair."

"Gavin had a great day! He liked being king of the room. He made sure to pull ALL of the toys off the shelves and made a nice big mess. =) He liked getting to play with Kai (new Butterfly). Kai would chase Gavin all around the room and Gavin loved it."

"Gavin had a wonderful day. He liked watching the rain from the open window and the birds that kept landing on the porch - very interesting! He liked crawling up onto the big singing block and made his surprised face each time it would start to sing. :0 He also found the LOUDEST toys to play with while Henry and Bailey were sleeping."

In case you need a visual on the referenced surprised face that occurs each time Gavin here's a noise (music, dog bark, chickens next door, loud truck, lawn mower, car alarm, etc.) or sees any animal (dog, cat, bird, fish tank) or someone that he wants to meet (kids at the grocery store, mailman, random stranger walking on the sidewalk while we are stopped at a red light) or on command/response to your surprised face:

Then and Now (Part 3) - Walking on Sunshine

Then: 1.5 months - Remember the July 2009 "Kickin' Coaster" post? (You can catch it here if you need a refresher: ) We described Gavin as "our little mountain climber" and a mover and shaker.

Now: 6 months - Gavin started pulling himself up to a standing position and trying to climb furniture. He refuses to sit and instead belly scoots to you (imagine something ala Stripes with Bill Murray yelling, "Never leave a man behind!"), climbs up onto your lap, turns around, and grabs your fingers like they are his personal reins as he yells "giddyup!" (or, at least, pulls on your fingers, rocks back and forth, and grunts). Being the novice parents that we are, Daniel and I accommodate, no encourage, this "walking."

7 months - Still refuses to sit. Legs. Must. Be. Moving. Mom and Dad are thoroughbreds. (Plus, let's admit it, we're not particularly tall so we don't have to bend down that far to walk holding onto Gavin's hands.) We're surviving and we're still so proud.

8 months - Still moving. Still refuses to sit. Must. Kick. Ball. For hours. NO, seriously, hours. I feel guilty that Gavin is at daycare during the day where his teachers obviously cannot give him the individual attention that he needs (read, demands) and probably cannot spend all day walking him around the room playing soccer with whatever toy crosses his path. So, at night, we walk. And walk. And walk. And walk. And kick. And kick. And kick.

9 months - Alright kid, let's get a move on. You may have started this, but Mom and Dad are going to finish it. We're practicing because Mom and Dad are about to be taken out to pasture. We're cutting the reins, or at least we're trying. Unfortunately, it works like a kill switch. Gavin is walking us around the room, I mean Speedy Gonzalez style walking around the room, holding onto both hands. You quickly slip one hand away and FREEZE. Midstep. Followed by a full blown toddler style temper tantrum where he throws his head back and arches his entire body backwards (which is precarious considering you're holding onto only one of his hands) until you again give him both of your hands. And the switch is instantly flipped back. No more tantrum. No more crying. Just walking.

Thankfully, we've discovered that he loves to push his cart across the room, which means no more humpback-of-notre-dame-style walking for Mom and Dad. He walks from one end of the room, bang, hits the wall on the other side. Mom, turns the cart around. He walks to the other side of the room, bang, hits the opposite wall. Dad, turns the cart around. You get the picture.

10 months - "I may be walking in circles, but I got this Mom, leave me alone." Why did I ever want him to walk holding onto only one hand? Please, remind me. Because now, he still crawls (or cruises) over to you, sits in your lap, grabs both hands, stands up, and then throws one of your hands away to walk with just your other hand. The problem? His balance and coordination are still a little off and he ends up walking in a circle - to the right if it is your right hand, to the left if it is your left hand. This do-si-do is fun for the first 10 or 15 minutes, and then I get dizzy. I try to grab his other hand, but he pulls ninja tricks, hiding it or rolling it so that it is impossible to hold onto.

Having said all of this, watching the look on his face as he practices and then masters each new motor skill has been amazing. He is a determined little boy. I know exactly where he gets it. A few months before Gavin was born, Daniel kayaked 65 miles in a single day after having previously kayaked a total of three times for a total distance of, maybe, 5 miles. Daddy D and Little G power through it. And although it means a (nearly) one-year-old has got us by the reins, his determination is a wonderful quality.

11 months and 3 weeks - Watch out world, he walks.

Then and Now (Part 2) - Everyone Deserves Music, Sweet Music

Then: 4 months old - We traded in the weekend ACL Festival passes (officially - 3 days. 8 stages. 130 bands. unofficially - 90 degrees. crowded. exhausting. definitely - fun!) we had purchased before Gavin was born for something a bit more manageable as an infant's introduction to the Austin music scene - Stubbs Bar-B-Que Sunday Gospel Brunch. Grandma and Grandpa (Grodner), Auntie Shana, Dad, Mom, and Gavin all piled into the downstairs stage of this historic Austin live music venue to listen to Danny Brooks. As the band took the stage, we put Gavin in his noise reducing ear phones, and he was content. As the low, slow soulful sound of the band begin, Gavin actually seemed to be enjoying dancing in my arms. Then the bass kicked in. It wasn't loud (at that point), but you could feel the vibrations through your body. Gavin did not like it at all. His body tensed, his eyes shot wide open, and he started crying, hard. It was such a sensory overload, that, after I calmed him down in the quieter upstairs dining room, he passed out in dad's arms for the rest of the concert.




Now: 10 months old - Gavin had his first festival camping experience (mostly) at the Old Settler's Music Festival. About 20 friends camp overnight at Ben McCullough park for 2, 3, or 4 nights, and then attend the festival at Salt Lick Pavillion during the days. This is car camping on steroids. Different coolers for cocktail ice, water, sodas, adult beverages, breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner. A firepit with a granite slab. The camping spot is staked and claimed the weekend before. The boys collected enough campfire wood to build a medium sized log cabin. Daniel, Gavin, and I headed to the campsite at 9:30 am on Saturday. We spent a leisurely morning hanging out in our camp chairs around the fire (yes, even Little G had his own chair). We ate breakfast tacos, decorated our CAMP HOMETEAM cup, and played in the creek next to the campsite. Then we headed over to the pavillion for some music, the petting zoo, and some good old fashioned bare foot festival fun. Gavin LOVED it. Even the rain did not dampen our smiles. Around 8pm, we headed back to the campsite, ate dinner, got in our camping jammies, and packed into the tent. Unfortunately, despite 3 months living in a tent in Patagonia, mom and dad's camping skills were rusty. We failed to recall that we had a two man backpacking tent (meaning, to save weight when hiking, it barely fits Daniel and I sleeping shoulder to shoulder without an inch between us). We thought we had picked a nice flat spot to set up the tent, but we failed to recognize the flat grass and ripple marks and ended up setting up the the tent in a flood plain. The makeshift footprint we had put down under the tent was collecting the water like a kiddy pool. As Gavin joyfully climbed over Daniel and I, not recognizing that it was bed time because there was no place for him to lie down, we decided to call it quits. We grabbed Gavin's rain jacket, jumped in the car, and drove back to Austin (about 30 minutes). Gavin passed out in the car quickly after his eventful day, and Daniel and I spent the entire drive home rationalizing our decision. How it was best for Gavin. How we were being responsible parents. How we had not wimped out, we're still hardcore. And just to prove it (and because we had had such a great day Saturday), we woke up Sunday morning and headed back out to the campsite for Sunday's music. So Gavin attended his first multiday music festival and camped, mostly.

Then & Now (Part 1)

We thought a little "Then and Now" leading up to Gavin's first birthday would be fun. Here's the first installment.

THEN: 6 days old - Daniel and I took Gavin on his first errand, to Target. We packed a full diaper bag with 2 changes of clothes for the less than 20 minute expedition, secured Gavin in the Moby wrap, and headed inside the store. That is when disaster struck. A stranger met us four feet in the door and despite learning that he was 6 days old (i.e. still fragile, breakable, and ridiculously susceptible to the world's germs) she pulled back the Moby so she could see his face and rubbed his cheek. I was horrified. We pushed forward - we needed exactly four items (cannot remember what four items were so important now, but I know we needed four). Somewhere about the first aisle, I started to worry that the fluorescent lights were hurting Gavin's eyes because he seemed to be squinting and going cross-eyed even more than usual. Somewhere about the third aisle, I started to worry that we had not secured the Moby tight enough because Gavin was starting to wiggle. Somewhere about the seventh aisle, Gavin had had enough and started crying. (It was just a weak newborn cry, but at the time it seemed like the loudest, most emotional, and emotion-evoking sound ever. Hey, we were new to all of this.) We had only two of our four items, but we decided to divide and conquer (something we have now mastered). I headed back to the car with Gavin, and Daniel forged ahead. Still shaken and worried that we were baking in the car, Daniel quickly threw the third item on our list into the basket and then the fourth and headed to the checkout. As he went to unload the basket, however, he realized that somewhere between item three and item four he had snagged someone else's basket. Too bad. He bought our one item and ran to the car. We walked back into the house and thought, wow, we're never braving the outside world again.

Now: 6 months old - Because Gavin had been so content on the road trip back from San Antonio (about 75 miles south of Austin), Daniel and I decided to stop at Ikea (about 20 miles North of Austin). It was holiday season and the store was packed. We leisurely shopped for house furniture for a couple of hours, sans diaper bag, snacks, or toys. As we waited in line at the check out, Gavin noticed a pit of stuffed soccer balls that I can only imagine were touched by every single kid that was dragged to the store during the month of December (aka the month of runny noses, etc.). We threw him right in and he loved it, take a look.

$5 RAFFLE FOR TWO 3-DAY ACL PASSES (and other great prizes)

Funds go to my daycare. Raffle drawing extended to April 23. Call or email mom or dad if you'd like to purchase.

Getting Our Feet Wet All Over Again!

I could give you a thousand excuses for why it has been four months since the last post . . . I returned to work full time . . . Daniel is back to working for other clients . . . we were asked to be on the Austin Cool House tour and we've been meeting with the committee and photographer . . . we've been designing and planning for landscaping, etc. In the end though, there is really just one explanation: Gavin has become cuter, more rambunctious, and more mobile and we're so consumed with living that I reverted to my former bad-diary-keeping self. No more!

Here are some pictures from Gavin's first visit to a famous Austin spring-fed swimming hole, Twin Falls. Daniel and I have been here many times over the 14 years that we've lived in Austin, on dates, with friends, and with family. Hands down this was our favorite visit.



Perhaps if I post it, it will happen: Check back around April 16 for an all-inclusive blog post about the past 10 months!