2 weeks of Travel....

Wow...it has been a 2 week whirlwind here. It began in KY and ended in Panama City Beach for a week long vacation with the family. Nels, Gav, Nana, Papa, and myself took a mini-trip to Pigeon Forge, TN and visited The Great Smokey Mountains. It was so beautiful, I've been many times before, but that mountain line never ceases to amaze me, God really is an artist, the world His canvas. I loved seeing Nelson's expressions, this was a first time visit for him. He was in aw. Literally. Gavin fell asleep, but someday we'll take him there again, and he'll appreciate it, just as we did. A few pictures from our Tennessee trip >>>








We enjoyed a relaxing week at Nana and Papa's house, then it was on to Panama City Beach with Nana, Papa, Aunt Mary, Aunt Kelly, and Steve. Unfortunately, I didn't get that many pictures. A 16 month old just doesn't allow you the time to stop and take a nice photo. Especially a 16 month old that has NO FEAR of the Great BIG Ocean. He would run in to the ocean as quick as he could, get knocked down by waves, tossed around by waves, even went under a few times...but did this stop him from running in to that ocean every single day for a repeat...NO, it did not :). Gavin loved all that the beach had to offer. The waves, the salt water, a diaper full of sand, all of it...even a nice nap on the beach each day! We went out for dinner at night, out to shops, and even to dog races. How quickly that week passed by.





Short post, very few details, I know...but did I mention that I have a little cuddlebug that wants nothing more than EVERY SINGLE OUNCE of MY Attention??? Yep...I'm lovin it!

Mama's Georgia Peach

With all the commotion of the holiday weekend...I forgot to mention one of the most important parts of the day---my little sweety turned 16 months old ON July 4th! In just 8 more months, it's the big 2! Yes, that may seem like forever to some of you...but to me, it will be here with the blink of an eye.

What are you up to at 16 months Gavo???? Well....

1.) You love the word "duck" and you say it perfectly, absolutely perfectly. You enjoy rubber ducks in your bath and more often than not, you'll have one of those ducks accompany you outside of your bath too!

2.) Your newest fave animal sounds is "baaa" and you can recognize a sheep immediately and when you do...I always here a big "baaa". You recognize many animals. But you're quick to announce the sheep and the duck.

3.) You LOVE to play with the computer mouse. Mommy couldn't count the times a day I have to say "no" or "stop" to you messing with the mouse. I'm guessing that's where you learned the lovely word "OP" that you yell at me from time to time. Unfortunately, when you yell "OP" at me...I can only turn my cheek and smile a little. It really tickles me that you say it with such force and you really believe that because you've said it...I must listen. :)

4.) You also love to run to your room and slam the door behind you. I get flash forwards of you as a teenager every time you do this. Also brings a lil' smile to mama's face. You bring a smile to my face always, daily, hourly, minutely, secondly.

5.) One thing that doesn't make me smile...are those nice little gifts I find swimming in the tub with you (wink). 2 different occasions now...I've left the room for maybe a minute, and returned to find you swimming with some new buddies. And boy oh boy, you have no problem splashing around in that mirky water...kicking, laughing, rolling...ahhhhhh, the life of a mommy :-)).

6.) You are known to throw a few tantrums here and there. Yep, our angel, throws himself on the floor, kicks, squeals, wines. Mommy and daddy find that ignoring you is the best thing to do...when you realize no one is watching you get up and go about your business.

7.) The newest thing mommy says to you on most days..."Gavin, you only get one head, you better take care of it!" Why do I say this??? You're constantly falling and bumping your head, throwing yourself back and bumping your head...it's ALWAYS the head. In his case, Hair DOES NOT equal CUSHION...haha. It's fluffy and all, but doesn't make the fall any better.

8.) One of the quickest things to upset you...when daddy goes outside without you. If ANYONE goes out the door, you think you MUST go with them, or life as you know it..is over.

9.) Your appetite has been awesome the last few days. You've had more of everything, more often, and you've even had a HAMBURGER on 2 different occasions. Now, that's impressive! You're also loving graham crackers...those are a new fave.

10.) Why the title??? (Mama's Georgia Peach) Well...we're traveling through Georgia right now...it's 11:27 pm...and you're in the backseat...snoozing away. Mommy and daddy love you...to the moon and back...more than all the stars in the sky. Sweetest of dreams to our baby boy.

Red, White, and Blue 2010

We've had a busy busy weekend and it has been so nice :-)! It began with a sleepover...Gavin's cousins Nicolas and Natalia had there very first nite away from home with us and we had a great time! Icecream, laughs, screaming (in a good way), Bambi...all that good stuff! On Friday, July 2nd, Gav's Aunt Lisa, Uncle Scott, and cousin Nadia joined in on the food and stayed with us through today! The sleepover gave me an idea of what it would be like to have 3 children and there are no complaints, I loved it! And another perk, you RARELY get to sit down for more that 2.5 seconds, which will hopefully help in working off all that baby weight that I would have, hah!

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and headed out to Kelly Park, here in Florida. The most attractive part of this park is the natural spring it has flowing through it...the water is CRYSTAL CLEAR and so beautiful! We rented tubes and floated along the spring, splashed around, and had a fantastic time. The water is always the same temperature 72degrees not matter when you go. It was so nice to get out and enjoy this beautiful, natural spring that God created just perfectly (as He does with everything). Afterwards, we went out for dinner at a favorite authentic Italian Restaurant of mine and Nelson's...Caffe' Positanos, for a lovely dinner full of carbs!!!






Sunday, July 4th we took all the kids to Green Meadows Petting Farm in Kissimmee. The kids loved the animals, they got to pet them, hold them, and even take a Pony ride. The ONLY downfall to this trip was the torrential downpour that we endured...but we didn't let us stop us. We just soaked up that rain in our clothes and kept on moving! Gavin even played in the mud puddles and loved every second of it!!! I didn't get any pictures of that because I was afraid to get my camera wet, but I pulled it out when I could. We also got to take a train ride through the farm, which was very pleasant. We topped the day off with fireworks at St. Johns River, they were perfect, the music was perfect, I think we all felt very patriotic, thankful, blessed...grateful to be Americans. I was worried Gavin might be afraid of the fireworks, but he just sat back and watched them with amazement. We also visited with some friends of the family, Bill and Rhonda...who so graciously invited us up to their condo.









Today has been a day at home, relaxing, refueling for the week ahead. Kentucky....here we come!!!!

The Itsy Bitsy Spider.....

The Itsy Bitsy Spider went in to Gavin's Mouth
Over ran your mommy to try to get it out
You chewed up the spider, your belly it went in
Please itsy bitsy spider, never go in Gavin's mouth again!

That's right Gavin. Yesterday afternoon, you picked up a dead spider, chewed it up, and swallowed it down! You won't eat vegetables, you won't eat beef, you won't eat a lot of things, but you were happy to eat a spider. Daddy tried to get it out, but you swallowed quickly on purpose just to be the little rotten turkey you can be :). He did get one spider leg out though...AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

I'm sure my little turkey will be eating lots of juicy bugs before it's all said and done, haha!

Lil' Dominicano

I took these photos of Gavi today...the duds he's sporting in these photos are from the Dominican Republic and once belonged to Gavin's big cousin Nicolas. I desperately want a new camera because in my eyes, I have the perfect lil' model, but not the most perfect equipment to capture him. But for now, this is the best I can do.

Daddy's Day 2010

Wow...2 posts within a week...I'm on a roll!!! Gavin's in his room playing now, so I'm taking this nice little opportunity to blog!

Father's Day this year was mainly about relaxing. Nelson has been staying busy with work the last week or so, so on "his" holiday weekend, he wanted to lay back and take it easy. Saturday night we went out to eat at Carrabba's (Nelson's FAVE restaurant). There was a 45 minute wait, but the food was more than worth the wait, and Mr. Gavin was on his best behavior, so it made for a nice evening. Sunday, nothing too eventful, a trip to Sam's Club, Lowe's, and we went to see a model home, just for the fun of it! Upon returning home, we spent the afternoon eating pizza and watching "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" (lol). Nels may never admit it, but we BOTH love our Housewives reality shows!!! :o))

Without making this post incredibly long, I will just say, that if I threw everything I wanted and hoped for into a model with the hopes of creating the PERFECT father, I would get a Nelson. He adores Gavin and Gavin adores him! Nels can be exhausted from a long day of work, but always takes the time to play with Gavin every evening. As soon as Nels steps in the door from work, he goes down to his knees, opens his arms, and waits for his baby boy to coming running to him with a hug. This is routine, happens everyday...and brings so much joy, pleasure, and contentment to my heart. Nels is PRESENT for everything. Doctor's visits, trips to the beach, trips to the pool, dinnertime, bathtime, bedtime. And even more important, he's Present with his whole heart...Gavin and I are beyond blessed to have him as a father and a husband.





And on to my daddy. I know I can count on him for anything. Even now, 12 hours away, he makes me feel safe...I trust him with my whole heart and I love him with my whole heart. He CAN do anything and WOULD do anything for his family. God blessed me with the perfect daddy, I will always be his little girl, and he will always be my hero.

15 months...

So...I'm very behind on my blogging! I once was such an avid blogger and now if I post bi-weekly I'm doing well.

Gavin turned 15 months June 4th, yes, 15 months. 2 is just around the corner it seems. I find it very difficult to get good photos of Gavin lately, because the only time the child is sitting or still is during sleep--and you can only get so many unique sleeping photos!

Gavin David at 15 months:

1) Gavin absolutely adores sports! He's definitely all BOY! He has perfected T-ball, he knows how to put the baseball on the T, swing the bat, and knock the ball far! He also enjoys golf :-)...he swings the golf club at any size ball, and sometimes even at me, hah! He has recently taken up basketball...he has a small goal, but because he's still a little small, he tries to put the ball through the hoop from the bottom (unless he has help).







2) He's also half fish ;-). He loves to play in the pool, go under water, and even attempts to swim (while he's in our arms of course!). He can even float on his back when wearing water-wings...I was impressed, as always...And I'm beginning to believe that he would play in the bathtub for hours without end, if only I would allow him to do so. He tends to throw tantrums here and there when it's time to get out of the tub, which makes for a soaked mama!

3) What a picky eater I have on my hands!! He literally lives off of milk, toast, chicken nuggets, fruit, cheese, yogurt, goldfish, mac and cheese, and pizza. Notice I left out vegetables, beef, all other pastas, etc. And lately, I'm lucky to get him to eat a meal at all...what can I say, he's a busy little guy...and sometimes HE thinks he has better things to do that sit down and eat!

4) Bedtime is 8:30 and he's early to rise, no later that 7am everyday. But what a precious wake up call for me! Nap lengths vary, anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 hours, once a day.

5) If he wants to know what something is, he'll look at it or point to it and say "dat?". He loves learning new things and sometimes you can sit back and see the wheels in his head turning.

6) He claps A LOT. Funny story: During a nap a few days ago, I was lying next to him for a few minutes watching him sleep, and suddenly, with his eyes still closed, he raised his little arms in the air and clapped a few times!! Who knows what the little guy was dreaming about!

7)He loves books. And for the most part will sit through an entire story. I hope he is always a book lover.

8) Gav is obsessed with balls. All sizes, all types. Really, anything round is a ball to him. I can't take him to the fruit and veggie section in the grocery story without loud screams of "ball" and "bae-ball" in reference to apples, peaches, onions, etc. I guess in his eyes the grocery store is such a tease. He sees all these colorful, glorious "balls" everywhere, but can't touch, can't throw, CAN'T.

9)He wears a size 4 diaper and is in 18 months clothing. We've retired all of the 12 months clothing, it's packed up, in storage, and just itching to be put to use again someday :O).

10)Although Gavin can't communicate as well as he'd sometimes like too, he does an amazing job at getting his point across. If he doesn't want something he shakes his head "no". If he doesn't want you to bother him he says "OP!" (stop). When he wants milk, he runs to the refrigerator and tries to open it. He points. And he can spit out some long sentences full of jumbled sounds...not sure what he's saying just yet, but I have a feeling I'll understand him very soon. He also says many words.

11)15 month check-up stats: Weight- 25.4lbs placing him in the 65th percentile
Height- 31inches placing him in the 50th percentile
Head Circ. - 18 1/2 placing him in the 50th percentile

12) Gavin received his MMR vaccination yesterday. He was suppose to get this at 12 months, but I just wasn't ready yet. I went in to the visit with intentions of postponing this shot yet again, but after speaking with his pediatrician in depth about it, Nelson and I both decided to give them the go ahead.

Gav and Nelson's first trip to Turkey Foot, KY