Birthday Boy!

Gavin turned 2 on August 13th. Instead of a party this year, we borrowed a trailer from some friends, went camping for the weekend and went to the zoo (Pt. Defiance in Tacoma) for the first time.

We had a great weekend and lots of fun as a family.

Birthday morning Oatmeal. One of Gavin's most requested meals. He especially likes the raisins.

Gavin loves wearing the head lamp.

Presents. He understands them now and is very happy to open them.

Daddy sporting Gavin's bear mask.

A little time at the beach before going to the zoo. We had great weather!


Gavin posing next to the Tiger and her cubs in his special birthday Tiger shirt from Gramme-- perfect zoo attire.

Watching the big elephants.

Family photo op in the shark's mouth.

Gavin's first carousel ride. One wasn't enough for him, so we sprang for a second.

One of the only photos with mom that day. At this point we were all tired and what looks like a fun photo is actually a smiling moment in the midst of toddler meltdown. Yes, he is 2, but for most of the day he was extremely fun and in a great mood.

I made Gavin's birthday carrot cake (in advance of our trip) so that we could celebrate around the campfire.

This boy sure does love life!

Road Trip 2010

Every year our vacation comes up at the end of June and every year we try to come up with creative ways to enjoy vacation on a budget. This year we had the awesome opportunity to stay in a cabin on a river in Eastern Idaho, so we took it.

As we learned more about our destination, what we thought was a 10 hour drive we found more like a 15 hour drive. But on the upside, the cabin had a boat and a quad, was 30 minutes from the entrance to Yellowstone National Park, and we discovered that in a very short time we would be in three different states. The thought of the drive was daunting, but we really wanted vacation and we figured that we wouldn't know if it was too long (especially for Gavin) if we didn't try.

We set out at 3 am early one Saturday morning and arrived in Island Park, Idaho 19 hours later. We stopped about every two hours once Gavin was awake and had a fairly smooth and uneventful trip. We were so impressed with Gavin as a traveller. We had a great 7 days in Idaho with alternating lazy and sightseeing days and then finished off with two quick days in Wenatchee with Tony's brother Andrew and family.

We returned home with lots of great memories and really, truly rested. We were so thankful! It was especially sweet to be together as a family after Tony had worked so hard (night and day and on days off for nearly two months) to write a paper for his doctorate program.


Lunch stop (and our first visit ever) to Spokane and the Riverfront Park.

A nice reprieve from the regular toy and snack passing we did to the back seat.

We learned to love rest stops with free coffee and cookies. Gavin appreciated the exercise and had no concern for his lack of pants.

We celebrated Father's Day and my birthday while in Idaho. Despite the convenience of a boat docked outside the back door, we didn't go out too many times. Gavin was sadly traumatized by having to wear a life jacket which made for unpleasant boat rides.

Nonetheless he enjoyed throwing rocks in the river with dad and the kiddie pool that our friend Laine had set up.

He loves animals and was surprisingly brave to visit with this bear at a nature center nearby Mesa Falls in Idaho.

Tony attempted to eat a one pound burger but had to stop halfway because of a soggy bun. Gavin sat like a big boy all week without a highchair. It was fun and novel for all of us, but we quickly returned to the highchair upon returning home. Containment is our friend.

Tony single skiing with an absolutley beautiful backdrop... My boys having fun with the quad (just a toy for big kids).

We had an awesome day at Yellowstone National Park! We took 12 hours to travel the lower loop of the park and visit all of the "hot" spots. The geyers were so interesting and colorful and there were so many different types throughout the park.

We waited for nearly 90 minutes to watch Old Faithful erupt. We enjoyed the experience but were dismayed to find we had waited on the wrong side of the wind and say mostly steam/spray and not much of the geyser. Gavin had to have a cookie to keep him occupied during the wait since a nap was not happening.

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The Lower Falls were beautful. We opted for the long distance view instead of the switchback hike to the top of the falls.

Another view of the falls and a random geyers on the side of the road on our way out of the park.

We tried a different life vest, but it didn't make a difference. This is before the meltdown and subsequent return to shore. We know Gavin would love the boat if he could just get over the vest. I guess it will come in time.

More good times in the kiddie pool.

Taco stand in a bus in West Yellowstone... and the tacos were great.

These are Briggs, grandparents of our friend Laine, who generously shared their cabin with us.

Our visit in Wenatchee with Andrew, Connie and the kids was lots of fun. Not only were Gavin's cousins so great to play and entertain him, Gavin also got to play with Moses or "MoMo" their dog. In case I haven't mentioned lately, Gavin's love/obsession with dogs is unmistakable.

Gavin and his cousins Ellie, Ethan and Alex. Connie told us that they were so excited to have us, and especially Gavin, visit. What a blessing to be with family!

And a few parting pictures...

The backside of our architecturally "creative cabin" and a view from the backyard.

A Not-so-rare Performance

Gavin is ever the talker, story teller, performer. This is a short snipit-- a mere taste of the talking and gesturing he does these days. He does have about a dozen or more intelligible words, but they are not yet included in these monologues.

I posted this video on Facebook and was reminded by a friend's comment that Gavin's pause at the beginning as he contemplates what to say is very Tony-esque. He's contemplative like his dad and a talker/extrovert like his mom.

We LOVE this kid and find ourselves giving each other looks of sheer delight and joy as we watch Gavin grow and develop.

Love to you all!

"Sew" Busy

Hello there friends and family. Once again, I've fallen off the face of the blog universe. Busy, yes. But this time there is a new excuse. I have rekindled a hobby-- sewing. And I'm having "sew" much fun. I will soon post a blog showing my creations, but first I want to brag about Gavin.

Gavin is now 18 months. And all I can say is that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this stage. His personality is so fun and he is learning so quickly. The joy of his discovery and learning is so infectious.

In as few words as possible, here are some highlights of Mr. Gavin:

*He uses sign language for the basic necessities of life (more, food, milk, etc.). This started at 15 months and is very effective.

*He LOVES dogs. All shapes and sizes (except the big ones that bark really loud). "Dog" was one of his first words and is still the word he uses the most and universally for many other animals.

*He's big and healthy. Weighing in at over 29 lbs, he is in the 90th percentile for his weight and 30th percentile for his height.

*Gavin sleeps well, eats well and laughs a lot. Praise the Lord!

*He loves to play with balls and actually throws pretty well. He also will kick the ball around like a soccer ball.

*He's a flirt and he loves to entertain. He loves to wave and smile at folks while we are out. Sometimes he acts shy, but it doesn't take much to warm him up.

I could go on, but hopefully you start to get the picture. And no, he's not perfect. We deal with tantrums too, but those pale in comparison to the rest of our joyful moments.

Here are a few snapshots of our handsome boy. Photos are in order of older to most recent at the bottom...

He loves to talk and laugh on the phone. It works with remotes and other things too.

Gavin had his first laser treatment on Jan 28 for the port wine stain on his face. It looks bad, but the procedure was amazingly painless. Gavin was a star patient. We'll be going back every 2-3 months for 6-8 treatments total.

First haircut. He did fairly well but every now and then was a little disturbed.

Sick and Tired. He was out!