Boys of the park

This afternoon we headed to Kekoa's house for a park playdate! Since G is finally on the same schedule as Kekoa, we are finally able to get together in the afternoons for real play-dates:) 

We played for a little bit at Kekoa's house, and then headed to Bachman Park, downtown Los Gatos. It was a beautiful walk, through the most beautiful town. We arrived at the park, and the boys made a dash for the sandbox. I never knew how much boys loved sand! They usually don't really play together, but today there was some interaction! Gavin was practicing "sharing" the sand toys, and I was very proud of him:) Kekoa did the funniest thing, he thought he should sit in the little dump truck...so cute!

Of course, Hsiaolei and I were able to talk, and have a really nice conversation while the boys played. This was so nice, and I really enjoyed our time. There is nothing like some adult conversation with a great friend:)

After the boys played, we had some snacks, and Gavin shared his snack with Kekoa. He tried to stuff it in Kekoa's mouth, pretty cute! Gavin LOVES to share his food. All the time. I think it is because he is secretly hoping he will get more food in return;) I am only kidding, he really does love to share food. Even with strangers at the market! 

Towards the end of the day, the boys were pushing each other in the dump-truck, and it was so cute to watch. Then Gavin caught eye of the older boys playing in the woods. Gavin always gravitates towards the older kids, especially the boys. He always sees them climbing trees, and running in the woods, and ALWAYS wants to join. He was off, in the woods, climbing the steep hill! Of course Kekoa wanted to join, so we were all in the woods. Hsiaolei laughed about how Kekoa has NEVER been interested in the  kids playing in the woods....that is until he saw GAVIN doing it! Such a good little influence Gavin is:)

We had a lot of fun today, thanks guys!

Gavin's Choice!

The past few days, Gavin has really been into picking his outfits out. I will tell him its time to get dressed, and he will go pick out his clothes. And socks. And shoes. And hats. This week he spent a few afternoons in his snow boots, when it was 70 degrees out! 

Gavin and HIS bike!

This is one of Gavin's Christmas presents from the Lyons family and Uncle Pat. The weather here has been very sunny and pretty warm during the day, so we finally got it out. Gavin and his daddy put this together one morning, and off he went! He cannot reach the pedals yet, so we have to push him. And steer for him. We have gone around the block about 800 times in a week. My back hurts!!! I just love how proud he is of himself, such a big boy!

Mr. One Nap

That's right. My baby is no longer the baby who takes 2 naps a day. He is on to one. Not by his choice, by ours. We have been doing a lot of experimenting around here to see if we can get him to sleep a little later than 4am. And this one nap thing has helped!

5:30 AM EVERYONE! Yes, you might say this is early, but NOT in our house!

So, here is the new schedule. Although it has been a VERY HARD WEEK, things are moving in the right direction. Slowly, but they are. Awake 5:30am. GO GO GO GO till 11am. Nap. GO GO GO GO till 7pm, then bedtime. We are pushing the nap a little later each day, so that eventually he will take an afternoon nap, go to bed by 7 or 8 and GASP maybe sleep till 6ISH. (I am up by 6am anyways, so this would be perfect.)

Since we are not taking any trips anytime soon, we thought this is the time. To be honest, we need to stay put for a while, as Gavin does best when he is on his schedule...and traveling is hard in general. I HATE not being able to see my family more often, but it is getting harder and harder. Not to mention its quite expensive, and we are living on a little more than one income. So, we are here, AND WE LOVE VISITORS!!! (And Delta has some good deals now, hint-hint!)

Gavin is a very big creature of habit. He LOVES his routines and schedules. So do I. This is an adjustment for all of us but it seems to be going in the right direction. Although, this makes him even more a toddler...only toddlers nap once a day! Goodbye 2 naps!

Happy Birthday KK!

Today was Kaylin's 1st Birthday Party!!! This was such a special day, and it was soooo pretty outside! (70's!!!) I got to the party when it started at noon, and got to enjoy lunch with friends and even got to hold KK for a few minutes. G and Derek showed up a little after 1, because Gavin was still sleeping from his nap! (We are trying this one nap a day stuff.) Anyways, once G got there, he ate a ton of food (shocker) and had TWO cupcakes! Kaylin was so cute with her cake. She would get a crumb off, and eat it. Over and over. She was not messy at all! It was such a big difference from Gavin's cake eating!!! (I guess that's the difference between girls and boys;) Kaylin was then baptized in the back yard, and it was a beautiful ceremony with all her family and friends around. I think I got a little teary!!! 

After her party, we walked home and stopped by the park. Gav had to run off all the sugar he just ate! Such a beautiful day, Happy Birthday KK!

{Gavin 17 Months}

Dear Gavin Donovan,

Yes, I have been using your middle name a LOT lately. You seem to be learning how to test your limits! I remember people saying that they could not believe that their toddler had entered the terrible two phase BEFORE they were two....now I see why!

Oh Gavin...you sure are such a little monkey! Most of the limit testing you are doing is all about standing places you shouldn't (high chair, couch, table, toilet, you name it!) You love to climb, and then you love to see our reactions. Hmm. Most places you climb are OK, but its not OK to stand in your high chair, or stand on tables. You look at your Daddy's face, and you will usually sit down! You sure do obey your Daddy! As for me? Well, sometimes you listen to me. Other times not so much!

Another new thing you have done in the past few weeks is attempt to bite someone. Holy Lord, this was a big surprise to me! I could not believe my eyes when I saw you PULL a friends sweater to GET HER CLOSER to you so you could BITE HER! I was in shock. Of course I was able to grab you in time, but seriously? Oh man. So the discipline has started! Thankfully, you have only done this 2 times, and both times I was able to grab you first. Both times you were tired, and cranky. And NOT in the mood to be touched or messed with by others! SO, the advice I got from others who went through this? WATCH YOU LIKE A HAWK! Hahaha I already do, because if I didn't you would be GONE.

Your activity level? Its crazy. You go-go-go all the time. You nap when you are tired, and you get up at 4am. This does not make sense. How can you do so much and require such LITTLE sleep? We have a call in to the pediatrician to ask for help with your sleeping habits. Your dad and I are pretty tired!

You have recently started to really love to bead books:) You LOVE to go get a "Boo" and sit in our lap to read it. Your favorites are Goodnight Moon, The Hungry Caterpillar, and any other book that has animals, or cars/trucks. Each day you love a new book. We LOVE reading to you...and you will now sit still for almost the whole book!

Just today for the very first time, you read ME a book!
Mom-"Baby see's a cookie, what does baby say?"
G-"More!"
Mom-"Baby sees his bottle, what does baby say?"
G-"JUICE!"
Mom-"Baby opens mommy's pocket book, what does baby say?"
G-"KEE!" (keys)
Mom-"Baby gets in mommy's car, what does baby say?"
G-"Buh-Buh!"

You love your books so much that you pick a few to sleep with each night and when you nap. I lay you down with your blankie and paci, and books, and you read them in your crib (After we of course have already read 15!) I say goodnight, kiss your cheek, and shut the door. I hear you "reading" your books for a few minutes and then you go to sleep! WOW! What a change from when you used to scream in your crib! This new routine is AWESOME:) It is so adorable to hear you in there reading your books.

Your words increase by the day. Most of them are just sounds, that we understand. You try and try to mimic my mouth, and love to hear me sing. I have a terrible voice, but you don't care! Each day you surprise us with a new word, and this is such a fun time.

One of your favorite things to do is go get things and bring them to certain people. I will say "Gavin, please go get your Goodnight Moon book and bring it to Daddy." You go and do this. We tend to do this all day because you LOVE to bring things to people. You follow instructions very well, and sometimes you really surprise me with how much you really understand!

Oh Gavin, you are such a little toddler now. We are having so much fun with you, and each day you make us smile and laugh so much. We love you little monkey!

Momma and Daddy

Weekly Dinner

Tonight we had Danny, Angie, and Kaylin over for dinner. We usually get together about once a week for dinner, and we love it! KK (My nickname for Kaylin) is turning one on Friday!!! We are SO excited to go to her party:) (I am also still in shock that she is turning one!!!)

KK and G have fun together...well when Gavin is not bopping her on the head! We are working on being gentle... The really good thing is Kaylin has no idea whats going one when Gavin does this, and she does not even cry! Little does Gavin know, that one day she is going to realize whats going on, and get him back! 

At one point we looked up to find Derek and Danny pretending to play in the band too! They were actually just talking, but they were holding the guitar and microphone...HA:)

Of course, the best was KK and G playing in the band. Gavin was even singing for us:)

We are so excited to celebrate with KK on Saturday!