Housework and Playtime with LT

Gavin heard that daddy was coming home this week (Wednesday) so he thought he better be a big boy and help mommy get the house cleaned up. First he helped me with laundry... We're gonna have to work a little harder on learning that clothes go IN the dryer when they are wet, NOT over the laundry room floor!! It was a great first attempt though.

Next, he helped with dishes. (See photo below.) When I tell you that our son has no fear, I am not exaggerating by any means. Gavin helped unload the dishes (his method of unloading is taking them out of the basket and throwing them on the kitchen floor - gonna have to work on this one!) and even tried to get the ones up on the counter. How a 9 month old figures out how to climb the dishwasher to reach the counters is beyond me, he's just one smart boy!
After we discussed why standing on the dishwasher isn't the safest thing, he accepted the floor. Who knew spoons could be so fun!? Yes, in the photo below our son STANDING with no assist! He was so wrapped up in playing with the spoons that he let go long enough for me to grab the camera and snap a few pics. I'm so proud of this boy!

Mommy decided to save the rest of the housework for after Gavin's bedtime. (Things get done much faster that way!) I love how when Gavin plays, LT follows him everywhere. They are becoming close buddies!

Gavin entertained himself with his new cars (do we have a future Nascar fan?)... notice that LT isn't far. :)

Gavin and LT played in the playroom for awhile this afternoon. I snuck around the corner and snapped a few pictures of them. I didn't want to get caught, as I always ruin the cute moments when I'm spotted! Gavin kept showing LT his new wiffle ball, as if he knew he was teasing him. LT was great though, and didn't try to get it once. He just sat there!

I usually put a little snack in the cup holder on the exersaucer during the day. Gavin learned today how to feed LT and I almost busted out laughing. Gavin would get a handful of Puffs and hold them up to LT's mouth. When he would start eating them Gavin would laugh and do it all over again. I guess Gavin's snack is now for both of them. At least they are learning to share :)

Softplay

Before we get to the meat of today's post I have to brag that Gavin is officially saying "mama" :) It's been the highlight of my day, hearing him say it over and over. It's so cute too. Ok, onto today's pics:
This afternoon we went to the mall (There were some GREAT sales in Children's Place so I got Gavin a few sleeveless t-shirts (regularly $7.50, on sale for $3.74) and a new baseball hat ($2.99) for summer. We stopped at the softplay and Gavin love, love, loved it! I've never realized how much he could already climb, go through tunnels, etc. It was a blast watching him. Whew - he has some energy though! I should have worn my workout clothes to the mall just to keep up with him! The only downside were the other (hate to use this term, but...) GHETTO families that were in there! I was in people watching heaven. Kids were screaming and arguing with one another... it was a bit ridiculous! I really think some parents dropped their kids off and left to shop. Other parents just came and sat in the corner and didn't even notice that their kids were pushing other kids and stepping on them! Where has the supervision gone these days?! Overall, it was a good experience and we'll be back again soon. Next time maybe during the week and in the morning when its' probably much less crowded!

Showing mommy that he is already a pro at climbing stairs!

Chasing after Mason

Getting ready to go through the tunnel

Over the shovel he goes

Definitely going the wrong way on the slide!
Below is a video of him...

I tried making several videos but they kept ending with me dropping the camera to grab Gavin after he climbed too high!

Instead of climbing through the tunnel like most kids, Gavin decides to climb OVER it!

Afterwards, we went to Chili's with our friends and the kids. Gavin wore his new hat to dinner since it matched his shirt.

Big boy in the highchair

Our next purchase will be matchbox cars! Mason let Gavin play with his Lightening McQueen car at dinner and it was a hit. He sat there forever just rolling it back and forth on the table.

10K for Lowcountry Autism Foundation

This morning there was a 5k & 10k run in Beaufort, SC (Cat Island) to support the Lowcountry Autism Foundation. I love races for a great cause like this so we packed up and made the hour drive north to participate. It was a little smaller of a race then I expected, but it was perfect. Most of the path was shaded and it wasn't too crowded. This is always helpful when running with a jogger! The start was still a bit rough, but we made it. To my surprise, I ended up winning for females! It was definitely an accomplishment. All the training paid off. Neelee also ran the 10k (came in 3rd for ages 25-29) and Mary ran her first ever 5k (came in 2nd for ages 30-34). We were so proud of her!! Already looking for the next race - they are sure addicting!

Max & Gavin in their pj's at 6:45 am... ready to make the drive to SC!
The race is about to begin... Fleet Feet did everything for the race free of charge so that all the proceeds could go directly to the Lowcountry Autism Foundation. Thats awesome!

Gavin and I at the turnaround... notice how he's peacefully asleep and I'm sweating my butt off?! Something about that just isn't right!

He needed a little post-race water after all that hard work!

Neelee & Max finishing up their 10k... She looks like a professional! I love how the boys rack out once we start running. The 6am wakeup just wasn't their cup of tea!

These were the best oranges ever

Gavin decided he needed a post race banana too... don't want to get muscle cramps!

Going up to get our 1st place medal!

So relieved that the 6.2 miles is overwith...

Gavin couldn't put the banana down long enough to smile

Max says he's so proud of his mommy for running hard and getting a medal. He says thanks for getting me a new chew toy so I can get these teeth in!

We did awesome! I'm so proud of us ladies and our running efforts lately. We sure missed Melissa. She was signed up to run with us, but came down with a terrible bug on Friday. We're just glad she's home resting and getting better, but we sure wished she could have been there with us today!

Posing with the time clock

Max made friends with some older twins! The little girl closest to the bottom of the picture has autism. The mom stopped and talked to us for awhile. She also has a 5 year old with autism. Since she knew all the signs and symptoms from her older son, she was able to figure it out really early with the little girl and started her in early intervention at 5 months of age. You can't even tell this girl has any hint of autism from speaking with her. She was so sweet and loved the little babies. So glad we could run this today to make girls like her have a better life.

After the run we went to Subway for lunch then made the drive back home. Tonight we celebrated our victories by enjoying a delicious dinner downtown at Carlitos Mexican Restaurant!

Busy Boy

Cruisin' along the furniture after breakfast
Sneaking away to play with the vacuum cord...
I need to get Gavin his own little vacuum, he's obsessed with ours! The noise doesn't scare him at all, he follows me as I vacuum and tries to stand up on it and help.

Helping mommy with dishes

Sneaky boy :)

Tonight Mary had us over for dinner - Gavin couldn't take his eyes off Mason! Gavin wants so badly to be a big boy that he follows the big kids everywhere and tries to do whatever they are doing. I'm not ready for him to be a big boy yet!

Thanks so much for dinner Mary :)

Mr. Independent & Peekaboo

Gavin has become such an independent little player. Don't get me wrong, he still loves his mommy time and his time chasing and crawling all over LT - but he really gets into playing by himself. He's unstoppable and a HUGE mess maker, but its entertaining to watch him in action! In a 30 minute time period he'll go from the Tupperware cabinet, to his blocks, to the bathroom to bang on the tub (his way of asking to take a bath!), to his push toy, to hiding under the table, etc. I keep a gate up at my room (to keep him out of the dog food) and a gate up at the guest room (to keep him away from the computer), but every other room in the house is free game to him. I don't know how he keeps any body fat on him with how much exercise he gets a day!!!

Hiding under the kitchen table

Playing Blocks in his playroom

Below is a video of him playing peekaboo during breakfast yesterday morning!

Tom Triplett Park

Yesterday our crew headed out for a morning run at Tom Triplett Park in Pooler, GA. We wanted to try a new running track since we were getting tired of running in our neighborhoods. We needed a new view! This park was great. The track is 1.4 miles long (we're waiting to find confirmation of this - it isn't marked anywhere and we can't find it online!). Neelee and I were determined to run an hour and we made it! 5 laps = 7 miles. Go us!

There were so many ducks and geese along the trail. You can tell they were so used to people, as they wouldn't move when you came (even if they were in the path, they would just sit there and make you go around them.)

Gavin and I after our run

(he falls asleep 99% of the time)

Mary being the good girl and stretching after her run... the rest of us need to follow in her direction and become better stretchers!

Melissa with her new double BOB!

Myself and Neelee posing proudly after our 7 miles :)

Everyone did such a great job - next time we run at Tom Triplett Park we will be bringing a cooler with lunch and will let the kids play at the park. Instead, we hit up Subway yesterday. Mmmm...

Jason's pic on website!

Jason's photo made the cover of the Ranger Rendezvous website... the photo was taken at a training exercise. We are so proud of him! Click below to view the website.

http://rangerrendezvous.soc.mil/

Father's Day

Critters!!

This morning we took a walk at about 8am... it's the only time I feel safe taking Gavin and LT out anymore, as our heat index has been around 115 this weekend. It's so hot! We stopped and took a few pictures to send to Jason on the cell phone to wish him a happy fathers day since he can't be here with us today. He sure loves his boys and I hope he will get our pictures sometime today!

When we arrived back home we had a surprise waiting for us - a snake and a gecko!!!

I took a few pictures then went inside to google what type of snake it was (just wanted to make sure we were safe!) It's a Common Corn Snake, so we're good to go. It slithered away into a hole on the side of the house, so I'm sure it will be visiting us again soon. We will be picking up some snake stuff from Lowe's soon. I'm afraid LT will bother it and get bit if we don't get rid of it! The gecko below is another familiar critter at our house - we probably see 5-10 of these a day!

New Play Room

Thursday night we went to a coffee - I hadn't been to the last one so it was nice to see all the ladies again. There was some great food! The lady hosting had turned her dining room area into a toy room. I always told myself I wouldn't do this, but I loved it - the kids entertained themselves the whole night and had a blast together (see photo above!). So, I was inspired. When we got home I put the master plan into action and began moving furniture.

Getting Gavin ready for bed...

Here is the finished product for now. It will take a dramatic change come July, when we will bring some of Reagan and Ella's larger toys back that they have outgrown. We can't wait!

I like having the bigger dining room table in my kitchen much better. The small black table fits just right in the corner of the dining room. I texted Jason a picture and he loved the result. We've already had two playdates since the dining room overhaul - the kids really enjoy it!

When Gavin woke up Friday morning I put him in the room. He took a few minutes to look around, and played nonstop after he figured it out. I love his little alfalfa sprout!

Here is Gavin and Max having their first playdate in the playroom. It makes for easy cleanup because everything just goes back into the toybox!