Gunderson Cousins!

This afternoon we went over to Aunt Beth and Uncle Eric’s for dinner. Gavin got to spend a ton of time with his Gunderson Cousins! Wiley, Jack, Cal and Daniel were SOO good with the boys…they helped watch them, and made sure they were safe while playing.  Gavin got to go down the slide with Daniel, ride cars with Jack, swing with Wiley, and play cars with Cal. Gavin really was in his heaven with all the boys and boy stuff. He was so dirty and tired after playing there all afternoon and evening!  When it was time to leave, Gavin wanted nothing to do with getting in the car…so we stayed a little longer!  Again, Gavin’s HEAVEN! We sure wish we did not live so far!

Graeter's Ice Cream

Tonight after dinner we went to Graeter's Ice Cream in Hyde Park Square. (A Cincinnati classic!) It was Gavin’s first taste, and of course he loved it. He would open his mouth so wide for the bites. He also ran around the water fountain about 300 times chasing Ma…had to run off some of that sugar! Perfect spring evening:)

Ault Park

This afternoon we went to Ault Park with Ma, Pat, Eva and baby Noah. Gavin got to play at the playground, play in the fountain, and explore the park.  He even got to climb a tree with Uncle Pat’s help! What a beautiful day!

Yard work with Pop

Gavin called Grandpa “Pop” all week long, so I guess that’s his name! Pop took Gavin out with him each time he did yard work or anything…he knew G loved to help with this kind of stuff. Gavin also got to “Bah-bah-bah-Bee” with Pop too. (That’s Bar-B-Q if you did not understandJ Every time anyone would mention the word Bar-B-Q, Gavin would then tell you “Meat” because that’s what you cook on the grill! Such a little smarty!

Catching lizards with Uncle Pat

One person that Gavin ADORES is Uncle Pat! He just loves hanging out with his Uncle, and I am pretty sure its because Uncle Pat does lots of fun stuff just like Gavin’s Dad. Today Gavin was helping Pat catch some lizards, and he loved it! He was SO proud of the lizard in the pot, and sat there to watch him for so long! He says "Pat" so well too:)

Uncle Pat was also kicking the ball on top of the house, and Gavin was so happy to play with him. Each time the ball came down, Gavin would go pick it up and bring it to Pat. He would then tell Pat “High” because he wanted him to kick it high again.

Hanging out

This morning we all went for a walk to the fire station in Mariemont. It was a very pretty morning, and the boys loved to see the fire truck and walk around downtown.

Then after dinner we tried to get yet another cousin picture. Trying to keep all three sitting down next to one another AND smiling AND make sure baby Noah does not get thrown off the couch = quite a tiring task!

Great Grandma’s house & Glasses

This morning we headed to visit Great Grandma and Grandpa. Gavin got to sit in the hammock swing that I used to sit in when I was littleJ He also wore Great Grandma’s glasses and thought he was so funny. We are so glad we were able to see them a few different times this trip!

Cooking with Ma

This afternoon Grandma and the boys made chocolate chip cookies! They each got to help mix the ingredients, and Gavin snuck in a bite of them all too, especially the brown sugar! Griffin is very well behaved while making cookies, so Grandma was a little surprised that she was not able to turn her back for ONE second with Gavin! 

More Cousins

This afternoon after naptime, my Aunt Sue and cousin Allison came over to visit with her kids (Kate and Hunter). Kate was so cute with Gavin, and played very nicely with him. Hunter was so sweet, just sat and played with toys, and flashed a big old smile when you would talk to him!

Aunt Eva was over with baby Noah, and of course Gavin loved this. Gavin has always really loved Eva…she is so good with him, and he loves to go sit on her lap.

Cute Cousins

Today Gavin and I headed over to Griffin and Annabel’s house to play. We were able to play outside before it rained, and the cousins had a blast together. These are some of my favorite pictures…they are just so cute together! The only reason we were able to get some good pics of them on the bench was because they each had a big bowl of blueberries AND Erica was pretending to sneeze:)

Happy Easter!

Today is Easter Sunday! Gavin woke up to a HUGE Easter basket in the living room…filled with tons of toys and snacks. Gavin could care less about the toys, he only wanted the snacks and candy, go figure! After eating his prizes, he and Ma played with the toys. Thank you Grandma for the great Easter basket!

In the afternoon after naps, all the cousins had an Easter egg hunt! We were so happy that it was NOT raining (As it had been ever since we arrived). Grandma had about 100 eggs filled with treats and toys…for THREE kids! Oh my it was soo much! Right as the hunt started Gavin found his first egg, opened it, ate what was inside, and then threw the empty egg on the ground. He proceeded to do this with about 10 more eggs….and this was right before dinner! Even though he ate a ton of treats, he still ate a great Easter dinner of ham, turkey, sweet potatoes, and cranberries. I think Griffin got the most eggs as he really understood the concept. He even went inside and opened each one with his great Grandpa to see all the stuff he got:)

What happened after dinner? MORE treats! Griff, Gav and Annabel got an Easter cupcake! They devoured them, and of course Gavin wanted more. It was right then that I knew when we got back to California he would have to go through a sugar detox!

After dinner Gavin got to help change baby Noah’s diaper. He was so cute, asking if he had “pee” or “pooooo” and wanted to help do everything. He sure loves his baby!

Already Gavin has had a TON of new words. I cannot think of them all but some of them include “Buueettt” (bullet), “Suugar” (sugar), “Ahh-Bow” (Annabel), and a ton more. He has turned into a parrot. He will say WHATEVER you say, so watch out! Lots of his new words include “Geez”, “Gosh”, and “Darn” J REALLY need to pay attention to what we say!

Made it to Cincy!

Today was our first day in Cincinnati, and we spent it just hanging around with the cousins, baking cupcakes, and holding baby Noah. Gavin LOVES “My Baby” and asks for him all the time. He is really good with him and he gives him plenty of hugs and kisses. 

Gavin was a great little traveler yesterday, and we were able to get an empty seat next to us so G could have it…those Delta ladies really like Gavin, they remembered him from our last trip;)

Playgroup Easter egg hunt!

Today we had the Almaden playgroup annual Easter egg hunt! This egg hunt was a LOT better because it was with a smaller group than yesterdays egg hunt! There were about 12 families there, and Gavin knows quite a few of the others pretty well from playgroup. 

There was a lot to play with, including bubbles, which Gavin spotted right as we drove in, and could not WAIT to get to. It was a great little park and had a nice shaded area. We had a potluck lunch and Gavin really showed off his eating skills. Everyone was talking about their child is not a good eater, and watching how GREAT Gavin eats...Seriously he was showing off! Someone brought mini corn dogs, and wow Gavin loved them! He had never had them before, and it was like Christmas morning to him. He ate an entire plate of pasta/veggie salad, a clementine, and SIX mini corn dogs! He just kept eating them! Then for dessert he had about a million animal crackers, because he thought they were "cookies". Then he saw the real cookies, and had one of them too. Seriously, my stomach hurt just thinking about how much he ate. Finally Derek and I had to remove him from the food area...or he would have kept asking for more and more! 

It was time for the egg hunt, and Gavin helped the dad's set up. Finally time to go get eggs! Again, Gavin got one egg, opened it up, and gobbled down what was inside. More animal crackers and fruit snacks. He just kept going and going...Again we had to remove the eggs with food in them because he was not stopping! At the end we got a picture of the playgroup boys together...they were all sitting still and then poor Brent freaked out. You can see who Brent is, just look for the poor crying face!

Warning: Do not try this at home!

I know, not the smartest place to let him climb into...but its better than pulling up a chair to climb on TOP and then try to jump off, right? So yes, this is fine with me! 

Here is our morning routine. Gavin pulls out the clothes and hands to me to fold. Once there is enough room for him to jump inside, he does. And then he throws the rest of the clothes to me to fold. Such a great helper!

Saturday night dinner

Tonight we headed to the McCulloch's for a BBQ. Gavin and Kaylin just ran around outside while we had margaritas...Perfect night! They showed off how cute they are when they feed one another. Seriously, they just get along so well! For dessert we had lemon bars, and Gavin inhaled one while KK made a sour face...:) Then it was baths and jammie time. Thanks for the great Saturday night guys!

G and Buddha

This spot in Grandma's front yard is a favorite for Gavin and Shadow the dog. Gavin talks to the buddha and Shadow runs around the edges of the garden. Here is Gavin reflecting on his day with the buddha!

Easter Practice

Today we went to the annual Los Gatos Easter Egg hunt to practice for Easter:) Gavin got to wear his cute turtle sweater, AND eat TWO suckers! What a day for the little guy:)

We planned to leave about 15 minutes ahead of time and arrive right in time for the toddler egg hunt. Well, as with every event around here, it was PACKED! That did not matter one bit to Gavin. He got right in line, and when they called them in to find the eggs, he was the first one in...only his hunt stopped right there! In addition to the eggs, they also had candy spread all around, NOT in the eggs. Well, for Gavin that was all he needed! Forget the eggs, he found his first sucker and was DONE. He stood there and ate it (drool everywhere), and then found another. He got a total of 3 things in his basket, and he ate 2. I had to hide the last thing as he would have eaten it as well, and 2 suckers was plenty for this boy! (not to mention we have no idea how he eats them so fast...we are convinced that he does not chew them, just swallow!) 

After the "hunt" we got to visit with friends. We saw Brody and his family and then ran into Kekoa and his family. How fun to see friends.

We stopped by the petting zoo, where the line was about 400 kids long, so we just looked. G was happy making animal noises with Grandma. 

Daddy got some tickets so G could go to the toddler area where they had a bunch of toys and balls. Gavin was in heaven here. Notice the close up picture of Gavin's face...and then look at his nails. A few of them are pink. Gavin watched me paint my nails this morning, and wanted in on the fun. Why not? :)

Gavin had a blast in the bounce house. It was the perfect toddler size...he usually does not like them, but this one had a 3 person max, and they were all little ones. Gavin was actually the one JUMPING around the other kids:)

The last stop was lunch. We grabbed some pizza slices and headed to the shade area to have a picnic. Gavin and "Ma" walked up and down some stairs for about 20 minutes, I guess he was working off all that sugar.

It was so beautiful today, and G came home and took a 2.5 hr nap. This will have to be a new Easter tradition:)

{Gavin 20 Months}

Dear Gavin,

Or should I call you your nicknames. MonkeyFace. BoogerButt. BoogerFace. LilMan. Bubba. Buddy. Gavy. GMan. LoveBug. Snuggler. Sneaky. Smartiepants. Trickster.

I think there are probably a lot more too. 20 months ago you were born, and that is crazy to me. Whats even more crazy is that you will be 2 this summer. The time flies so fast.

Your Dad and I are really loving this phase of your life. You are such a fun age, and you really love life. All the time you are as happy as can be. You are only unhappy when you are sick, and thankfully that is not very often. Always a smile to greet us in the morning, and always a million laughs a day.

You are a very social toddler. You love to people watch, and interact. You know that everyone who meets you will tell you just how cute you are, and you are such a flirt. You are so sweet to others, and you will generally give anyone a hug.

You have taken a very big interest in feeding others. You love to give us bites of your food and you always feed your friends. Food makes you pretty happy, so we guess you assume it makes everyone happy:) Your appetite is quite big, and you are not that picky. The things you do not prefer to eat are green veggies. Not a big fan. Everything else? You like. Some things you love? Pastas, grains, milk, cheese, meat, fish, yams, ANY fruit, and ANY sweets. Just like your momma, love your sweets. You are too heavy for me to carry around anymore...so you do lots of walking whether you like it or not:)

Some of your favorite activities to do lately? Most of them involve being outside, this is where you are in heaven. Any time you are outside, you are happy. This past week you helped your Dad plant the summer garden. You help dig, plant, and everything in between. You know what each garden tool is for, and you carry them all to the place where they belong. You also love to do yard work with Dad. OK, I think you pretty much love to do ANYthing with your Dada. You look for him when he is not home, and you are so excited when he gets home from work. We are so lucky that we got to spend the entire week with dad since he is off work for spring break! What a fun week!

Another new for you this week...you prefer your DAD to put you down for naps! It is usually me, but since Dad has been off work, you prefer him, SO CUTE! Watching you and your Dad together makes me so happy...he is so patient with you, and gives you 100% of his attention, all the time. It truly is so sweet.

We leave for Ohio in a week, and we are getting soo excited! Of course we are always sad to leave Dada and Ma, but hopefully we can do lots of phone calls and some skype:)

Happy 20 months little man, Mama and Dada LOVE you so very much.

Chalk Artist

The other day we bought Gavin some sidewalk chalk at Target. I am not sure why we did not get him some chalk sooner...WAIT I know why, he would have eaten it. These days Gavin does not try to eat absolutely everything...only about 20% of new objects go in the mouth. Some might think that's a lot, but trust me its not. He does not walk around and LOOK for something to put in his mouth like he used to! So, since he only tries to eat the chalk every once in a while, we gave it a try. Gavin will walk up and grab some chalk, and then go lay down on the driveway and color away. Then he will throw his piece that he thinks is damaged, and get a new one. He concentrates soo hard too. There is almost always drool on his cheek from the hard work! You can see the drool on his cheek in the last few pictures...and no that big wet mark on the driveway is not drool, its oil from the car;)

Saturday Night

Tonight we had Danny, Angie and KK over for dinner. We were so glad to see them, and Gavin was talking about KK all day long. KK is actually the 4th name Gavin has said on a regular basis. Mama, Dada, Ma (grandma) and "Day-Day" for KK. It is so cute! I told him she was coming for dinner early today, and all day long he would say "Day-Day???" :)

Lets just say that these two toddlers in the same room is a little nuts. OK, its CRAZY! They are both wild, and run around everywhere. Gavin has found his match in his little toddler life. We seriously do not sit down, we are chasing them around because they are both pretty unpredictable. Angie and I are both very glad when the kids are in the other room with the dads....so we can have a break and chat.

Tonight we had Corona's, margaritas, and a very yummy dinner. Grilled pork tenderloin, broccoli casserole, and rice pilaf. It was all very good, and this kids ate it too. After dinner and drinks we had banana cream pie, and the it was verrrry good. Whip cream and all, Thanks Angie!

Bath time followed, and Angie and I were in charge of this one....as usual. Next time we are making the boys do it so WE can go out front and have some drinks! Haha yep, Derek and Danny went out front to jump Derek's car (Gavin left the lights on, oops!) AND have some of Danny's homemade liquor....:)

After bath, Gavin knows its time for his blankie and paci...and KK knows too! They both had their paci's in their mouth as SOON as bath was over! Haha, Angie and I were laughing about how our 15mo and 20mo old toddlers still have pacifiers....whatever works! (I DREAD the day we will take this thing away...seriously dread it!)

Since Gavin does not have any cousins here, KK really is like a cousin to him. They share smiles, laughs, food, drinks, words, and looks. Every time we are together they bathe together. They fight with each other, and they kiss and hug. They get along so well and it is so neat to watch. They really are like family to one another:)

Thanks for the fun night guys!

Typical Moore Family evening

Every evening when Daddy gets home from work, Gavin greets him in the driveway. Gavin looks and calls "Dada" EVERY time a car drives down the street....very patiently waiting for him to get home.

Once Dad gets home, Gavin sprints to his door and jumps in his arms. Then Gavin shows Dad either the lawn mower (because he wants to cut the grass), the cat litter box (because he wants to change it) or the skateboard. Dad tells Gavin he needs to go in and change out of his work clothes, and Gavin goes right along side him. After Dad changes, Gavin tries to talk Dad into one of those things, and the skateboard usually wins. (Because we do not need to mow the lawn or change the littler box EVERY SINGLE DAY!)

Gavin tells Dad to ride the skateboard first, and watches him ride down the sidewalk. Gavin gets so excited that he bends down and puts his hands between his knees....like he can't contain his excitement. Then Gavin takes his ride. First he rides it standing up, and then he lays on top of it for a ride. Over and over.

Gavin and Dad play outside while I go in and finish cooking dinner....and then I call them in to eat. We sit down and have a nice dinner (as nice as possible with a monkey at the table). Gavin sits at the table with us now, and not in the highchair:) After dinner, I mention dessert, and Gavin RUNS back to the table to sit down...LOVES his sweets:)

Gavin and Dad go back outside, usually in the back yard, and play in the sand. Or play in the hose. Or run around the yard and play tag. I do the dishes while I listen to them laugh....Hearing them have so much fun together is probably one of my favorite parts of the day.

After I straighten things up, I join them outside. We usually go for a walk around the block, to the park, or to the school nearby. Gavin still has an unbelievable amount of energy at this time, and needs more time outside. This boy is in his glory when he is outside.

Once we are home it is bath time. Most of the time Dad gives a bath. Sometimes Gavin only prefers me, so there is no choice...just depends on the mood. After bath, we do "Meedd" (Medicine) on Gavin's arms and stomach. It is not really medicine, just lotion. Then he runs around naked, and we tackle him down to brush his teeth. He is better with brushing his teeth now...he does not fight it, and actually likes it. The trick is we tell him we are looking for and brushing off all the food he ate during the day. "LOOK, I see some yogurt! Oh and some cheese! And WOW some chicken too!" We sound nuts, but that's OK because he likes it and it works:) Right after we are done brushing he SPRINTS back to his room to get his paci and blankie. He knows its time to settle down for bed:)

Lastly its time to get jammies on and read stories. Gavin brings a book to Dad and reads it, and then a book to me to read. We do this for about 20 minutes and then at 8pm its time for bed! Gavin says night-night to Dad and then jumps in my arms with his paci and blankie. We walk back to his room, say night-night to the stars on his ceiling, and I lay him in bed. He rolls over and snuggles into his pillow. I close the door, and we do not see monkey until 6am when he wakes up. Perfect evening:)

Fun in the Sun

This morning Gavin and I were in the front yard playing while getting ready to go to the zoo. It was so pretty and sunny...and I wanted some 20 month shots of G. It is getting harder and harder to get him to sit still for pictures. Who am i kidding...most of the pictures of Gavin these days are of him on the move! He thought it was hilarious when he ran towards me while I was taking the pictures. We ran up and down the street about 10 times....I am sure I looked nuts, but Gavin was laughing so hard:)