{Gavin 18 Months}

Dear Mr. Monkey Gavin,

Today you turn one and a half. I cannot believe that it has been a half a year since you turned ONE! That sounds crazy when I type it out. But, as we all know, time passes so quickly when you are having fun!

You are at such a fun and adventurous age right now. You certainly never sit down and are always on the go. You keep us all on our feet, all the time! Now I know what it is like to take care of a very busy toddler, and I am so tired! You are so much fun, you smile all the time, and sometimes I look at you and I cannot get enough of you. Your cheeks, your hair, your words, and the way you hold my hand. I am so deeply in love with you. You love strangers, and you are not afraid to go up to someone and show them what you want. Of course, all we ever hear is "He is Sooo adorable...the cutest little boy!"

You still have a very serious love for food. All food all the time. You want a "snack" at every hour, and you eat very well. Just when I think you are full, you will go and ask for more food. Some of your favorite foods include pasta, banana, turkey, any fruit, yogurt, cheese, peas, and all sweet treats. You now drink cow's milk, and you love it. You ask for your "Milk" or "Wa-Wa" when you are thirsty. Some days you will drink 3 glasses of milk:) One of your favorite foods is still the Plum Baby smoothie pouches. They are fruit/veggie purees with a straw, and you suck down about 2 a day, always on the go. It is a great way to get some veggies in you, and they are nice and healthy. OK, on to the snacks. Most of your snacks are just little bowls of what you would eat for a meal, and we call them snacks. But, you also have a ton of real snack food you like. Goldfish, cheese sticks, apple chips, raisins, prunes, veggie stix, and a ton of others. And of course, if someone offers you real junk food, you will take it! As for sweets? We cannot even crinkle the wrapper around you with out you wanting it over and over. You definitely have my sweet tooth! There are now absolutely no restrictions in your diet. We were going to wait until 2 to give you nuts, but today when were were out to lunch, you had a ton of french fries that were cooked in peanut oil. Oh well! Fingers crossed!

Sleep. Oh Gavin, I think it is safe to say that your sleep habits are pretty good these days! You used to wake up at 4am, but now you are getting up closer to 5:30 or even 6 some days! You continue to do really well overnight, and sleep from 7pm on. You rarely wake up at night, unless you are sick with a cold. OR A HURT NECK! See previous post about that! You are napping one time a day, after lunch sometime, and this varies from 1 to 2.5 hrs. Most days, you also take a quick power nap at about 9am in the car. (You fall asleep wherever we are going, and I let you sleep for a little) This routine seems to be working. We feel pretty lucky:)

Nursing. You are only nursing once a day now, at bedtime! You have completely weaned yourself, and I think that this last feeding will go soon. You are still excited to cuddle and calm down this way, but I am thinking this won't last much longer. I am so happy with this experience, and I feel very blessed that I was able to give you what you needed for the last 18 months! A very natural and smooth process:)

Words. Oh I mean Gavin language. Gavin you talk all day long. A mix of words and Gavin language. We LOVE all the noises you make, and are so proud of the connections you are making. Every day you try to say a new word, and we need to start watching out! No more S#*& around here!

Activity. Well, I don't need to say much here. Anyone and everyone who knows you, knows that you are very active, all the time. You do like to sit on laps to read books, and this time is so great for everyone....it gives us all a break!

Gavin, I could go on and on and on about you. You bring us such joy, each and every day of our life. I am so proud of you and the little person that you are becoming. You are so sweet and love to "kiss" all the time. It melts my heart each and every time...Love you little monkey!

Momma

Boardwalk with Grandma!

After we left the park we headed to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk! Grandma AND Gavin both had never been here. We parked the car and walked along the boardwalk. We grabbed lunch, and headed for the beach. Of course, Gavin was in heaven with the sand. He loved being able to play in it, and feel it between his toes. We sat in the sun and ate our pizza....while Gavin ran around. Gavin was even brave enough to go in the ocean!!! A wave came up to him, and it scared him, so he tried to walk backwards...and then fell on his bottom, and then fell all the way backwards in the water! Poor boy! I scooped him right up, and he was not that upset by the wave, he was upset that his clothes were wet! So, we took everything off, and he was a little chilly, so he just wore his jacket. He was fine with that! 

We are so excited that we live so close to the beach....I have a feeling since the weather is so nice, this will be a regular trip now!

Gavin and "tee's"

Today we decided to head over to Santa Cruz to go to the Redwood forest, and the beach. This was one of Grandma’s favorite things to do last time she was here….so we thought Gavin might like it too!

We started out at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. It was a beautiful walk into the park, and we stopped at the ranger station to get a flashlight to see in the trees. We walked around to see the big beautiful redwood trees, and it was so amazing. These trees are so old, and so big…and walking around under the shade of them is so peaceful. Grandma and Gavin went inside one of the oldest trees there, and got to look around with the flashlight. When Grandma went back in the tree with out Gavin, he became very concerned about her and ran after her! 

Just like Daddy

Every morning, Daddy leaves for work with his lunch bag. Gavin watches him go, and waves bye-bye. The other day, Gavin grabbed Daddy's lunch bag, walked to the truck, and wanted to leave...he thinks he is going to work:)

Monkey's first trip to urgent care!

Today Gavin took his first trip to urgent care. We knew this day would come soon enough. To be honest, I thought it would have happened a LONG time ago! BUT we have been lucky, and monkey has never hurt himself...until yesterday.

Yesterday was any old day, and Gavin was his usual self. A total monkey. Running, climbing, and trying to hang on things. Just. like. a. MONKEY! He went to bed, no problem.

Woke up a few times and fussed, but went back to bed.

Woke up at *gasp* 6:30 AM!!!!!! In Gavin world, this is LATE!

Woke up crying (Unusual) and wanted to snuggle (Also unusual). He is normally happy and full speed from the moment he wakes up.

So we cuddled on the couch, and he was acting strange. I tried to lift him up, and his head was like a dead weight on my chest. He could not and would not move his head. And if I did it for him he screamed like he was in severe pain. Grandma and I knew that something was wrong. I called the doctor, and she said to wait to see what happened.

We gave him time, Tylenol, and just cuddled. He was a happy boy as long as he was laying down on me or Grandma. 3 hours passed, and he was still laying. Not wanting to eat, but happy. As long as his head was on our chest. We knew he was not feeling good, so we just let him rest. Gavin and Daddy played....and then he fell asleep on Daddy's chest for over 2 hours! During this time, I called the doctor again and told them that something was wrong and she agreed that he should come in. Of course, my brain starts to think about the worst...meningitis, and his symptoms would fit that perfectly. So we decided to go in at 2:30.

by 2:30, Gavin was able to hold his head up, and was almost back to his usual self. But, he could not look up. Every time we would show him something above him, he would try to look up, and then cry. We knew then that his neck hurt, and it was not a headache. So we went in to the doctor, and she did a very thorough examination. She said that most likely, he just hurt his neck somehow, and he was getting better. We knew that, but of course, wanted to be safe.

A little Motrin, and he is almost back to normal. He is in bed, after a great Mexican dinner....keeping my fingers crossed that he feels better by the morning!

Favorite Activity: Hose Water

Give Gavin a hose, turn it on a little bit, and Gavin is in heaven. This is one of his favorite activities these days. It has been so warm in the afternoon, so Gavin will sit here and play with the hose for an hour. He likes to fill the watering can and water all the plants. You can see the look of sheer concentration in his face. His body is usually soaking wet with hose water, and right below his chin is soaking with drool:) I must have made him wear his snow boots the first time we did this, because now each time he wants to play with the hose, he goes and sits by his snow boots. Since they will obviously not be used for snow, we call them his water boots.

Grandma's HERE & Big boy cereal & Crayons!

Two days ago was just any old day, Gavin had just woke up from his nap, and we were having lunch. I heard someone at the front door, and it was GRANDMA!!! I was in shock! Grandma was here for a surprise visit, for 2 weeks!!! I have always wished that this would happen, but Ohio is pretty far away for this to be an easy task! Gavin was all smiles, and very excited to have his Gma here to play with him non-stop! We are so happy:) (Everyone else was in on the secret but me....)

We have been having fun with Gma, showing her all the fun stuff we do. Parks, walks, play-dates, and Happy Hollow so far...and we have a lot planned for the next few weeks. I will be sure to take lots of pictures!

Here are some of this morning, when Gavin got my bowl of cereal for breakfast. Yes, that is CORN POPS in the bowl. A big treat for Gavin! He is getting so good at eating with the spoon...and LOVES to have a bowl with food for each meal. Then the other pictures are of Gavin coloring with crayons. He is starting to really show an interest in coloring/drawing. The next thing on our list of Gavin Gear to get? An art easel! I also think he would enjoy play-dough and markers....but am I ready for that stuff? He already has purple crayon on his rocking chair...after 10 minutes of having the crayons out. Hmmm. 

*The first picture of him drawing is his "fake smile" that he gives me when I bring out the camera now. I say "Smile Gavin!" and he does that face...He thinks its pretty funny....so do we:)