Saturday, Gavin turned three! We started the day at the local YMCA for that last class in a series of six weeks - a sports sampler. Gavin has really enjoyed the class and interaction with other little boys his age. Crazy, but today was the only day we took pictures. So, here's my favorite...Gavin walking on the balance beam, picking up tennis balls along the way on the "course" set up by the coach. Gavin has excellent balance, so this activity was right up his alley. He also got exposed to the basics of rock climbing today, though he's too little to "really" climb. Over the past weeks, Gavin has been exposed to soccer, basketball, running (which he's also really good at), hockey, duck-duck-goose, walking like various animals (dinosaur, crab, elephant), and of course today's wrap-up gymnastics/rock climbing. It's been fun!
Busy day...we went right from the Y to final touches before the big party! This year, we opted to buy a cake instead of making our own. I've had a great time the past two years making an extra special cake creation, but this year, I couldn't find just the right Thomas idea. At least one that I felt I could successfully accomplish. Nothing like going to a kids birthday party only to find that the mom went crazy staying up all night and there is no cake to be had. To keep my sanity (what little I have left some days), I decided I was fine with buying the cake. In exchange, I was able to focus more on the food - turned out good, complements 50% to Pinterest.
Here's the cake. It's "okay", not great, but okay...
Gavin's favorite part of a birthday party...BALLOONS! We rarely have them in the house, so they're always a hit when they're here.
It was a Thomas theme...with an angry bird thrown in. We went to a birthday party last week for a friend's daughter who had an angry birds theme. Gavin fell in love with giant red bird balloon, so Elizabeth promised him one for his party. He didn't forget the promise and was ecstatic to have him join him on his birthday!
All grins for the happy birthday song and candle...
And the gifts couldn't come soon enough. So many thanks to our friends and family for your generosity. Gavin loves all of your creative birthday gifts!
So, three. Gosh, can't believe it! Gavin is growing so big in all that he does. He's certainly building his personality and pushing the limits for more and more independence. And just when we think he's too little to do something, he surprises us by accomplishing it. For Christmas, he got a few 25 piece puzzles. We opened one of them a few days after Christmas and forgot that it was open sitting on the floor. Next thing we knew, we turned around and he had it all put together...in a matter of five minutes or so! Who knew he could do it all by himself!
Gavin's creativity seems to grow exponentially lately as well. He reenacts stories and adds fun little twists. He's very into the word "and"...really more like "AND" (major emphasis on the word). Here's how a typical statement flows (actual example from today, after playing the game Mouse Trap, talking about a couple weeks ago when he played it at Brad's aunt and uncle's house...took me a minute to place what he was talking about): "Ava and Lexi chased me up the stairs, AND they took balloons from my hands AND they stuck them to my shirt and hair AND we ran around AND the marble on the game didn't work right"....the story goes on. He really is growing to love playing with his cousins. We got iPhones a month ago or so, so a few nights a week we get a FaceTime request from them. On both ends of the phone, it's all giggles and amazement that they can talk to each other and see each other and run around and still see each other. Gavin finds it quite amusing. We're fortunate to live so close.
Potty training is usually going okay, though the past few days there have been more accidents than normal. Typically, Gavin is able to stay dry all day, though we still put him in a Pull-Up for naps (when he takes them, he's been "playing" through them most of this week). And he doesn't stay dry at night yet. A few nights, but not most. We have our days that using the potty is a struggle. Mainly, I think it is just that sense of independence and not wanting to do what we think he should do just to be different than us. Ah, the joys of toddler power struggles! We learn to pick our battles I suppose.
We go for a three year well child appointment tomorrow morning, so we're anxiously awaiting the update. We haven't had to take Gavin into the doctor at all the past year (quite an accomplishment really! Though we've seen the dentist twice for tooth/mouth injuries.). So we're excited/nervous to see how he's doing. I've blogged about Gavin's history of falling off of the growth chart for weight around one year old, then back to the 3rd percentile at two years (another huge accomplishment). We'll see where he ranks now. He's still generally a skinny kid, but around average height. If only they made 3T length pants in a 24 month waist, we'd be all set!
Gavin's doctor is my primary care physician as well. I haven't seen him (other than bumping into him at a restaurant) since a few days before Grace was born. He cared for me during my entire pregnancy with Gavin and delivered Gavin. He's been my doctor for about 25 years. With all that happened with Grace, I of course was referred to an OB and MFM specialist, so I only saw my PCP once a week or so in the hospital. It's going to be emotional seeing him tomorrow, knowing how much he cares for our family and our well-being. And knowing that he won't get the chance to care for Grace and watch her grow at each well child appointment. She would have been 9 months old this week. Gavin's birthday party would have been so fun with her crawling around!
Anyway, here's to hoping that three is just as fun and rewarding as two. We're very blessed to have our Gavin! Sorry God, you can't have this one!
Gavin's creativity seems to grow exponentially lately as well. He reenacts stories and adds fun little twists. He's very into the word "and"...really more like "AND" (major emphasis on the word). Here's how a typical statement flows (actual example from today, after playing the game Mouse Trap, talking about a couple weeks ago when he played it at Brad's aunt and uncle's house...took me a minute to place what he was talking about): "Ava and Lexi chased me up the stairs, AND they took balloons from my hands AND they stuck them to my shirt and hair AND we ran around AND the marble on the game didn't work right"....the story goes on. He really is growing to love playing with his cousins. We got iPhones a month ago or so, so a few nights a week we get a FaceTime request from them. On both ends of the phone, it's all giggles and amazement that they can talk to each other and see each other and run around and still see each other. Gavin finds it quite amusing. We're fortunate to live so close.
Potty training is usually going okay, though the past few days there have been more accidents than normal. Typically, Gavin is able to stay dry all day, though we still put him in a Pull-Up for naps (when he takes them, he's been "playing" through them most of this week). And he doesn't stay dry at night yet. A few nights, but not most. We have our days that using the potty is a struggle. Mainly, I think it is just that sense of independence and not wanting to do what we think he should do just to be different than us. Ah, the joys of toddler power struggles! We learn to pick our battles I suppose.
We go for a three year well child appointment tomorrow morning, so we're anxiously awaiting the update. We haven't had to take Gavin into the doctor at all the past year (quite an accomplishment really! Though we've seen the dentist twice for tooth/mouth injuries.). So we're excited/nervous to see how he's doing. I've blogged about Gavin's history of falling off of the growth chart for weight around one year old, then back to the 3rd percentile at two years (another huge accomplishment). We'll see where he ranks now. He's still generally a skinny kid, but around average height. If only they made 3T length pants in a 24 month waist, we'd be all set!
Gavin's doctor is my primary care physician as well. I haven't seen him (other than bumping into him at a restaurant) since a few days before Grace was born. He cared for me during my entire pregnancy with Gavin and delivered Gavin. He's been my doctor for about 25 years. With all that happened with Grace, I of course was referred to an OB and MFM specialist, so I only saw my PCP once a week or so in the hospital. It's going to be emotional seeing him tomorrow, knowing how much he cares for our family and our well-being. And knowing that he won't get the chance to care for Grace and watch her grow at each well child appointment. She would have been 9 months old this week. Gavin's birthday party would have been so fun with her crawling around!
Anyway, here's to hoping that three is just as fun and rewarding as two. We're very blessed to have our Gavin! Sorry God, you can't have this one!
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