Visit to Texas

Hello there.

It's me again. Back to tell more about the race we've been on called "summer."

Don't get me wrong, it's been a lovely time. But when I stop and sit down I feel a bit like I've been running a marathon.

Pack, travel, play, travel, unpack, laundry and then more laundry and then the cycle begins again. And don't forget the house guests we've enjoyed in between. We have had a great summer so far and thankfully August will bring a nice change of pace from all of the "active fun" we've been having. Looking forward to some "lazy fun."

But I'm off topic. Now on to...

TEXAS

A week after Gavin and I returned from California we were off again, with Tony, to Texas to visit Mimi and Bapa (Tony's parents). They've lived in New Braunfels for 18 months and this was to be our first visit.

We spent nearly two weeks with Mimi and Bapa and had a blast. We stayed mostly in air-conditioned areas to avoid the heat, and got out a few times to sight see. We visited underground natural caves, Landa Park/Water Park, Gruene and relaxed in the local river. Tony and I got to go to the movies, Six Flags Fiesta Texas and San Antonio River Walk while Mimi stayed with Gavin. We also celebrated Father's Day and my 31st birthday together.

Gavin loved his Mimi and Bapa. The love was definitely returned, especially by Mimi, who shows considerable enthusiasm for Gavin even though he is grandchild #11. What a treat for us to spend time with both grandparents in the same month!

Gavin also had some of his first experiences in the water. He preferred to be gradually introduced to the water (especially when cold) but once he got used to it, he loved it.

Cold at first and then the river was lots of fun.

The kiddie pool was a big hit!!!

There's surely more to tell, but at the rate I'm goin, I'll stop here. Otherwise, I'll be several months behind before I know it.

11 Month Photos (finally)

We're just over two weeks from Gavin's first birthday (gasp) so I figured I should get on it and upload his 11 month pictures. I still have many stories to tell from our adventures the last 6 weeks, so stay tuned. I hope to add several postings this week.

Here are a few photos from Gavin's 11 month birthday. We spent the week at Black Lake Bible Camp in Olympia with Tony and our middle school kids. The setting is beautiful!
Demonstrating one of his new favorite skills-- Thumbs up! Sometimes he does both hands which reminds his Aunt Tonia of "The Fonz." Gotta love the genuine delight in this expression. Gavin is amazing and so much fun with all of his facial expressions.

Love it!

Action Shot-- Gavin has for a long time expressed his enthusiasm by shaking his arms up and down; sometimes in front and sometimes to the side (seemingly winding up to take off). It brings a smile to my face every time to see the joy he has as he takes in and discovers life.

Demonstrating his exploratory skills. It goes something like this..."Hmmm. What's that? Let me quickly crawl and reach for it and put it in my mouth to see what it is. And if mama sees me do it, it will be an even better game to see if I can get it in my mouth before she stops me."

Other skills we're enjoying:

*Waving-- to anyone, anytime, anywhere (almost)
*Blowing kisses-- again, not always well timed but so cute (Tony's not so sure it's something a boy should do, but I figure since he's still a baby it's harmless.)

*"So Big"-- Raising his arms with and without prompting to show how big he is

*Peekaboo-- Gavin has begun initiating this game. The best is when he finds ways to move is body behind or below objects to play.

We recently took a ferry ride to Seattle. He enjoyed most of the 35 min ride alternately standing on the bench and then bending down behind it to play peekaboo with the other passengers.

*Extrovert-- no question. He is one to scream (yes, scream) with delight when others are around but especially babies and kids of similar size. I may have mentioned this before, but I was keenly aware of his enthusiasm on our recent ferry ride. After a few minutes of "screaming" his greeting to a 10 month old I realized that his voice was probably being heard a long way down the boat. Oh well. I'll take screaming in delight over any other kind of screaming any day.

SUPER BABY!

We just got back (okay, so it was a week ago, but time is really flying) from almost two weeks in Texas with Mimi and Bapa (Tony's parents). While there will be more blogging and photos about our trip later, I wanted to get these photos up as soon as possible.

Introducing... SUPER GAVIN!
While we were in Texas I thought it would be great to get Gavin a "Don't Mess with Texas" t-shirt. However, halfway through our trip I still hadn't found a shirt that met my standards. Then, while Tony and I were at Six Flags (and Gavin was with Mimi and Bapa) we stumbled across this outfit at the end of the Superman ride.

Let's just say after all the hemming and hawing over the rigth DMWT shirt, there was no conversation needed over this one. We saw the onesie, looked at each other, nodded in agreement and delight and the onesie was ours. Couldn't wait to put it on him when we got home. I'm also looking forward when he will be walking around in this one-- then the cape will have even greater dramatic impact.

"Official" SuperBaby stance.

Action Shot.

Would you dare mess with this Baby of Steel???!!!