Pool Bums/Promotion!

Pic from my cell of Gavin at the pool today - we had a blast with all our friends. Even the hubby's got to join us after work! Looking forward to our 4 day weekend; we're packed and ready! (Minus my camera, can't find it anywhere! :( Good thing we have Jason's little one to take with us for Gavin's first plane ride.)

Got some great news today - Jason is promoted as of June 1! We are able to do a ceremony early morning on the 1st in New York so his parents and sister can be there to share in the moment before we get on a plane and head back home. I'm so proud of Jason. Captain Smith!!! (I'll have to get used to saying that!) I already told LT that he's going to be outranked as of Monday.

3 Teeth!

On Tuesday, May 26th, Gavin's 3rd tooth erupted. It totally caught me by surprise because it's not a top tooth! His lower right lateral incisor popped through. He looks so funny with 3 bottom, off centered teeth! I'm betting the top teeth aren't far off. (In terms of nursing, I can't complain that he's only getting bottom teeth so far. At least I have his tongue as protection!) I'll try to get a picture of his newest tooth later today. I've been pretty bad about carrying my camera around lately, and haven't captured ANY pictures of my little man! Bad mama...

Tomorrow we leave for our big trip up to NY to see Pop (Oh, and Gammy and Auntie Lou Lou too!!!) - I'm a little nervous about traveling on a plane with Gavin for the first time, but I'm pretty sure he will be a champ. At least I will have Jason with me and I always have nursing as a fall back option if he gets cranky. Too bad he can't have peanuts yet, or he would LOVE the flight attendant since she gives out snacks. Flights should give out mini bags of Gerber Puffs to the kiddos, now thats an idea. Wonder if they will give him some wings since this is his first flight?

Well, I'm up early this morning to get our house cleaned and us packed before Gavin gets up this morning. Somehow I always end up on the computer when I schedule time to clean??

Praying for good weather, as we'd love to hit up the pool this afternoon after our morning workout! Also praying that Jason will get off work early today so we can get this long weekend started!

Fun Night!

Last night some friends of ours renewed their vows and had a reception after. If any of you know me well, you know that I love weddings - we had a blast! I was thankful Gavin was able to come with us and that he was so well behaved. We were able to make some great family memories of dancing together. Thanks so much to Dani, who held Gavin for awhile so Jason and I could do some dancing of our own for awhile. We tried to do a little "2 step", which resulted in me breaking a toenail, but it was fun trying nonetheless! I wanted Gavin to match us in our red/black theme we had going on, so he's wearing one of Reagan's hand me down 2T shirts! It was a bit big, but he sure looked good!

Gavin and I on the back patio of the country club getting fresh air

I'm sweating from taking Gavin out and doing the twist with him on the dance floor!

Gavin, myself, Melissa, and Mackenzie tearing up the dance floor!

(I think Gavin is sneaking a peak at the bride here. She wore a long beautiful dress for the ceremony that she was originally married in, and then came out in this super short, sexy number for the reception with red heels on!!)

Though this picture is a little fuzzy, I LOVE it! We were slow dancing and singing to one another laughing. Gavin was falling in and out of sleep and his head kept falling backwards. I love our family ♥

Gavin finally crashed. He was so peaceful sleeping on daddy's shoulder.

Here is Jason teaching me how to 2 step. I'm not sure I was a very good student, but it was still funny trying to learn. We're going to try and find lessons somewhere to learn a few dances to country songs. (No, that's not a hole in the back of my dress, just the slit!)

Not too sure about this one?

Still so in love after all these years!

A picture with my girl, Dani! You would have no idea she was about 8 months pregnant in this picture. She makes for one sexy preggo!

Fun at the Gym

This morning we were registered to participate in the Savannah Mile Run in downtown Savannah, but it was canceled due to weather (is this rain ever going to end?). We didn't know it was canceled until we had already gotten up at 5:30am, packed the car, woken Gavin up, driven downtown, and sat waiting for awhile. Whew - an early morning to say the least. We contemplated a breakfast at J Christopher's but opted for a nap and something healthier to eat at home. Gavin was wide awake by this point and ready for the day so a nap was out of the question. We had breakfast and decided to go workout on post at the Ranger gym. I'd never been in there before, and was excited to get to workout at a real gym without having to put Gavin in childcare. He had a blast playing on the floor with Max (Neelee & Andy came too so we could workout together). The boys got pretty tired about 45 minutes into the workout so our husbands got to really see what we go through with working out with kids. They would disappear around the corner every time the boys would start up again, trying to avoid helping! But, at the end, the husbands took over the kids and let us finish up with some good abs. Below are some pictures from our morning. Pull ups with a little help from daddy

(I have a VERY similar picture of Jeff/Jason when Jason was about Gavin's age. I might need to get them framed together!)
Legs are still a bit to short for the leg press machine

Which machine is next, daddy?

Having fun in the huge tire

Resting/Playing with Max and of course snacking on some puffs!

Friday

My super sweet husband pampered me Friday! I finally was able to get a hair appointment so Jason and Gavin stayed busy while I was pampered at the salon. I made for such a nice morning getting to catch up on magazine reading, relaxing, and leaving feeling refreshed with a new do! It's nothing too fancy, just got highlights and a trim. I went darker for the winter, so its nice having some lighter pieces here and there now! When I got out of the salon I called Jason and they were at the grocery store so I met them there. I walked in and quickly spotted them, but they didn't see me. It was so sweet watching them together. Jason could barely pay attention to the grocery shopping because he was so engrossed in playing with Gavin in the shopping cart and making him laugh. I just stood there and watched for a minute. It makes my heart smile to see them share moments like that. I enjoy these 4 day weekends soooooo much because they are able to catch up on some much needed time together. When I got out of my daze of watching them together, I walked up to them. Jason told me I couldn't look in the cart, as he shopped to make a special dinner for me that night. He is so thoughtful. He made Spinach-Walnut stuffed chicken with a side of squash and zucchini. I loved it. He took the time to go to the magazine section and pick up a "Healthy Cooking" magazine to make a meal that would be fancy, yet still fit in with my healthy eating plan. He could have made just anything, but the fact that he really took the time to plan out something so special like that is one reason I love him so much. He's so thoughtful and has such a good heart. I'm thankful our son has such an amazing father and male role model in his life.

Welcome Home, Pop!

We are so excited to announce that Jeff/Dad/Pop is HOME!!!! After a year long tour in Iraq, he is back in the states. We are so excited to be flying up to NY next weekend for a quick trip. (It was SUPPOSED to be a surprise, but SOMEONE messed that up a bit!!!) We can't wait to see Jeff, Starla, Lindsey, and even little Chiefy for a few days. I've warned them to start baby-proofing now! Gavin is everywhere and into everything these days!

Speaking of that, we decided it's finally time to get socket covers, as Gavin was trying to plug the printer in all by himself this morning. OH NO!

Trash

Gavin has discovered the trashcan and LOVES the swinging top on it. I had to quickly take the trash out, as he wanted to pull out everything he could reach!

"Dada" / Breakfast

I have to let ya'll know that Gavin says "dada" now! He said it over and over Sunday night, I thank the Lord Jason was home to hear it all afternoon long! Gavin doesn't correlate that "Jason" = "dada" yet, but its still so exciting that he says it!

Now I gotta start working on "mama"!!

What a sweet hubby I have!

Sunday morning Jason made breakfast - and took the time to make a personalized breakfast for each of us! He knows I'm trying to watch what I eat so he made egg whites for me with wheat toast and light yogurt. Then, he also made Gavin eggs for the first time, and made himself an omelet! Thanks baby!
Gavin testing out his newest finger food - eggs! He wanted to try using a big boy spoon :)

Care for Cora 5k Run

***Many more pictures from the actual 5k should be posted soon. I'm waiting to get them from a friends camera and from the professional photographer that was there!***
Saturday morning we did a 5k Run for a little girl named Cora, who has childhood cancer. We ran it as a family. Jason and I took turns pushing Gavin in the jogger. I got my fastest time yet - 25:00 exactly!

Here is our morning workout group, with little Cora (in the hat) and her mom.

Afterwards we all went downtown to celebrate our 5k accomplishments! We went to J Christopher's for brunch. I LOVED my breakfast. I got the low carb dish - egg whites, turkey bacon, wheat toast, and fruit.

We went to Telfair Square after breakfast to play in the grass and get a few pictures of Gavin. I love this one!

Happy Baby

Friday / 8 months old

Gavin turned 8 months old on Friday. It's hard to believe he's 2/3 of the way to his first birthday! I'm gonna be a bit OCD about his birthday party, so I bet I start planning sometime in the next month or so! He's 21 pounds exactly! His weight gain has really slowed down a lot in the last two months - I'm sure that has a lot to do with the fact that he's constantly in motion. He's clapping, waving, crawling, pulling up, and walking along furniture. He mumbles all the time and has the cutest giggle. I can tell he's really going to be a risk taker. He's such a daredevil already!!! He has no fear. (The proof is in the scratches on his face and ruffed up knees!) Gavin is the MESSIEST eater, evident by the food always left on his face and clothes. He likes to save snacks for leftovers! Jason and I have the happiest little boy. He's so friendly to everyone (he's known for waving to strangers in the parking lot and grocery store) and can put a smile on anyones face! We love our little buddy so much.

Little soccer stud

Using the net feeder to try watermelon for the first time!

(What a sticky mess!)

Friday night Jason was able to make it home for the first home cooked dinner in awhile. He's been working an odd schedule lately so Gavin and I often tackle dinner alone. We wanted to make it super special since he was finally going to be home again. I fixed a pork roast with veggies and fresh herbs. Jason mentioned that he had been craving sweet potato's so we also had those as a side dish! Gavin tried the Lamb & Lentils I made him. Jason and I thought it looked and tasted gross, but Gavin enjoyed it. There's not one thing this boy doesn't like yet! We enjoyed our family dinner and a stroll around the neighborhood. Family quality time rocks!

Video of Gavin enjoying his watermelon:

Bath Video

Gavin is too good at escaping the sink now, so he's been moved to the real bath tub! Our next purchase is going to be a non-slip mat fo r the bottom tub. He's all over the place!

New Foods!

8-10 months is an exciting time in the food world - all kinds of new things can be introduced! I've started cooking a few dinners this week to freeze and use over the next month and am adding in some dairy with his breakfast or lunch each day. It's been interesting, as I'm a pretty picky eater, and wouldn't normally purchase a lot of these items to use in cooking for Jason or I. I even purchased some organic Tofu this week for him to try!!! (Ewww). Below are some of Gavin's new meals!

Chicken with sweet potato and apple

(He LOVES this!)
Lentils & Lamb
(Haven't tried this yet, but will soon...)

Yo Baby Yogurt

Cottage Cheese & Peaches

(Not something I've ever had, but he liked it!)

Father & Son

A few more pictures from mother's day... these were taken at Vinnie's Pizza after our beach outing. Nothing makes me smile like watching my boys together happy, laughing, and especially Jas rubbing Gavin's ear!

Photos from Neelee's Camera

I think he has my eyes in this picture!

He is just too stinkin cute!

This was supposed to be Gavin's 4th of July outfit from Nana, but with it being a 12 months size, we figure we better get use out of it before it's too small! He was sooo cute in it today with his crocs from Gammy. We ran several errands this afternoon and everyone stopped and complimented how cute he was and what a happy baby he is. It sure makes running errands take a lot longer when you have people stopping you in every aisle to talk about your baby!

Daddy is working tonight, so it made me smile when I went in to check on Gavin and he was curled up with "Vinnie"...

Future Musician?

Gavin's new favorite toy... I ended up cutting the string off and now he takes the mallet everywhere hitting whatever he can find that makes noise!

Sunday: Mothers Day

Yep, you can officially call us beach bums this week. We got up Sunday morning and threw around ideas for what to do for mothers day... all I really wanted was some family time. Jason was finally released from "lockdown" late Saturday night and we were so thankful that he was able to be home for mothers day. I just love watching Gavin and Jason bond on the weekends, I don't like when other things get in the way of our weekends!! So, what better place to get in some needed family time then the beach?!? Jason hadn't been able to see Gavin having fun in the sand yet, so I wanted him to experience that. We had a really good time.

My boys

Taking Gavin out deep!

The waves were finally calm enough to get him out a little. He was nervous at first, but then loved it when I would jump every time a little wave hit us. He was laughing!!

Take a look at Gavin's farmers tan! Those spf 50 shirts really work.

I'm so thankful I could spend my first "real" mothers day with my family.

Playing in the sand with my son.

What a dirty boy!!!

On our way home from the beach Jason took me to Vinnie's Pizza downtown. It was delicious and I ate way too much.

For my mother's day gift, I'm going to get my hair done this weekend (if I can get an appointment) and Jason's going to get to spend some one-on-one time with Gavin while I get pampered. I also got a new swimsuit. Motherhood and nursing led to my old suits not fitting properly, and I'm very excited about my new suit for our next beach day! Thanks for making my mothers day exactly what I wanted babe - a fun day with my 2 favorite boys :)