When your child is quiet...

... take that as a clue they are doing something they shouldn't be!!!

(like eating dog food!)

Bathtub escape artist

Before you watch, I'm aware I probably didn't have Gavin in the safest of situations as I chose to film him instead of having all eyes and hands on him during bath time, but I promise he was okay... sometimes you just have to adapt a little in order to hear your kid crack up like this!

Here's my little escape artist, cracking up every time I told him to sit down!!!

Family Date at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

Last night I was SPOILED! I was a bit (okay, a lot) bummed in NC when Jason and I couldn't escape for a nice date on my birthday. He surely made it up today. We had a fantastic date in downtown Savannah. The day started with Jason taking Gavin out of the house to give me some quiet time. Little did I know they were out playing sneaky and planning a great night! They also picked up goodies and came home and made me a great brunch. As we were eating, I was told to be ready at 4pm in a dress, no questions allowed. Gavin went down for a nap after brunch and Jason and I worked in the yard for about 2 hours. We got some sun! After the nap he played outside with Gavin and gave my ample time to get ready all alone. It was awesome getting to take a shower without being rushed. We headed out (I still had no idea where we were headed!) and ended up downtown at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Jason had made reservations, letting them know that we would be celebrating my birthday. The waiter was great! Jason and Gavin presented me with a card at dinner... almost made me cry! Then, the waiter brought us out complementary champagne and a dessert of choice - I picked the cheesecake. IT WAS AMAZING!!!! After dinner, we walked the river. Jason took care of Gavin the whole time, what a treat. I'll never forget last night, I love making memories like this. I have a wonderful husband and son and am so thankful for them everyday. Thanks so much for my surprise family date!

Gavin and mommy waiting for dinner
Gavin was pretty excited about the birthday candle on the cheesecake!

Family shot

(Gavin couldn't take his eyes off the candle)

Having a drink on a balcony overlooking River Street

Thursday: HOME!

I decided to head home a day early... Gavin wasn't napping or sleeping at night being in a different environment, which led to a tired mommy! We threw in the towel and decided to head home today. I know Gavin needed sleep because he slept the entire drive home!! He slept for 2 1/2 hours, woke up at a rest stop to eat and get a fresh diaper, and he was back out for another 2 hours! The picture above is him at the rest stop. My friend Ieva, gave Gavin this new book this morning and I gave it to him to look at, but he was back asleep before he could even get the book opened! Thanks for the book Ieva. We read it after bath tonight and he loved it.

Gavin and I played outside in his car and then went for a nice run tonight with the jogger. We stopped by a friends to pick up our mail (Thanks Dani!) and talked to her for a little. Since we have no groceries, we went to the nearby Mexican restaurant and picked up chips, salsa, and a quesidilla to go! YUMMY!

Wednesday: Just Claying Around/B-day Dinner

Today I met up with some friends at a pottery place called "Just Claying Around" to make something special with Gavin's footprints on it. They had so many items to choose from, but I chose a platter that we can use for years to come! This will also be something easy to duplicate for a future child.

I drew the initial plan in pencil (it burns off in the kiln) and then got to work with the paint! It was interesting trying to keep Gavin and all the other kids occupied while we painted our pottery pieces! (the painted platter will be seen below)
Gavin thought it tickled while I painted his feet

Melody and Elizabeth painted a "I ♥ Dad" coffee mug for Kyle to take to Afghanistan with him next week.

Kayla working hard on her plaque!

Leslie and Carmine painting polka dots around Carmines footprint

Here is our finished work of art! Gavin is pretty proud of himself :) I can't wait to see the finished product after its fired in the kiln - the coloring and shading will be much different then!

Later that night we joined Jasons platoon for dinner. My dear friend, Kellie, brought a cake and candles for the waitress to bring out after dinner. She was too sweet! She also gave me a card with a Bath and Body Works giftcard. I'm looking forward to picking out something to pamper myself with later this week! Gavin enjoyed the candles... a little too much!

A family photo with the cake

Tuesday: Cape Fear Botanical Gardens

We met up with some of our old platoon for a fun playgroup today at the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens. Can you say POST DEPLOYMENT BABY BOOM!?!? Yep - SEVERAL of us got pregnant in the months after the guys returned. Pictured above is Ieva/Jack (3 mos), Lindsey/Benjamin (6 mos), Me/Gavin (7 mos), Kayla/Sierra (8 mos), and Leslie/Carmine (8 mos). Whew, lots of babies, all from one platoon! I'd say the boys dominated this round.

Jack and Gavin

Gavin and Carmine meet for the 1st time. I love how Gavin greets people! He's not going to be shy at all like his mommy - he's all daddy.

This geese family circled us as we had our picnic.

Gavin and I enjoyed watching them.

After lunch he crawled up my legs and grabbed my arms to stand up!

Sunglasses!

We found the biggest sandbox I've ever seen before, full of shovels, buckets, and trucks.

Driving a tractor!

He had fallen asleep and I woke him up for one more picture. Poor thing was falling asleep on my cheek.

My favorite picture of the week!
Gavin is a little country boy at heart:)

Fast asleep!

I think this was the only nap he took the 4 days we were in NC and it only lasted about 20 minutes!

Monday: Heading to NC

Here is Gavin in his new Britax Boulevard car seat! It was delivered just in time for our trip to NC. We made it there with NO tantrums! I think he loves having more room. He looks so small in the big car seat.
We arrived in NC and Jayda and Gavin got to play together for a little bit. They took their baths and brushed their teeth together. They kept wanting to share toothbrushes!

Here's aunt Kellie with Gavin and Jayda - all ready for bed!

Thanks Chad, Kellie, and Jayda for opening your home to Gavin and I.

Pulling Up!

Four days after learning to crawl, Gavin can now pull himself up into a standing position! At 6am and again at 9am this morning I found him like this, so proud of himself. It's a good thing we had already lowered his crib... I think we may need to lower it again though! We also had to take the mobile down, for fear he'd pull it into his bed and get tangled in the strings.

LT is very excited about Gavin's new talent. He greeted him with a kiss this morning!

Here he is at playtime, pulling up on a basket

This new talent also makes for a hard time going to bed... I had to sneak a picture of Gavin's tantrum when I put him down for his nap!

Race for the Cure

What a morning... we got up before the sun today to participate in Savannah's own Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It was awesome! Several of us Ranger Wives formed our own team, the "Rangers Ladies!" - complete with shirts and all! Some of us even sported our husbands "ranger panties". Hopefully this will become an annual event and even more wives will participate next year!

It was chilly when we arrived downtown at 7:30am - had Gavin in a sweatsuit and wrapped in blankets! By the end of the run, it was nearing the 70's and we quickly shed all the layers! He was so excited to get in the jogger... going for a run is one of his favorite things to do. He enjoys looking around so much and often falls asleep.

In an attempt to find the starting line, we accidentally walked up on the filming of "Ruby" - we snuck in a few pictures. Can't wait until this episode is aired!

Neelee and Max have become some of our newest workout buddies. The 4 of us, plus Melissa and Colton try to find days to get together for a jog around Daffin park or a yoga class on post. Its so nice to have workout buddies that had babies last year also, we are all going through the same body changes and its so helpful and nice to encourage and motivate each other.

Paula Deen's sons officially started the race... I took this picture above a couple minutes after it had started, we had no moving room and just had to be patient. It was soooo hard to maneuver a jogging stroller in this craziness, but after the first mile it was much easier. It was such a motivation seeing all the names people had written on the back of their shirts... these people were definitely running for a cure!

Paula Deen's son's!

Paula Deen spoke before the race started, but I couldn't see her except for a quick second (darn tree was in the way!) She joined some of the survivors that weren't able to walk for long on one of the trolly's so they could still participate in the race.

It was awesome to see the survivors cross the finish line. They were greeted with cheers, a medal, and a pink flower. Many of the woman were still very sickly looking and without hair... such an inspiration to watch them cross that finish line!

Here we are after crossing the finish ourselves... both boys fast asleep!

Another photo in front of "Tent City"

They filled one of the parks with tons of tents for each of the sponsors. They were teaching about breast exams, giving massages to the survivors, etc.

Here's Rudy and her crew finishing up the 5k walk.

Gavin and I after our first 5k run together.

We are already planning our next one on May 16th to help raise money for a 2 year old child with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Find out more HERE. I love getting the chance to teach Gavin at even such a young age that there are ways we can get out and help others in need! I'm searching now for a race for Juvenile Diabetes so we can run in honor of my cousin, Clay Hippenmeyer!

Gavin enjoyed his post race meal of blueberry mango cereal!

He loved watching all the people walk by and gave them a big smile and showed off his 2 teeth.