Gavin's first guitar lesson

Is this picture cute or what? Gavin has been taking some recent interest in Daddy's "tar," and here he's getting his first free lesson. It would really be neat if Brent could teach our son to play!

Gavin graduated to a big boy bed!

These pictures were taken on the first night that Gavin slept in his "big boy bed," which was the night of his birthday party, Sept. 13. We just thought that his birthday would make for a good time to transition him from his crib to the bed and give him some time to adjust before someone else, namely his baby brother, is sleeping in his crib next door.
You can tell that he's rather confused and bewildered that we would have actually expected him to sleep in the new liberator--a much better name for it than the "big boy bed"--and it's honestly been quite an adjustment for the little man.
In this picture, however, Gavin looks like he can play the part of the big boy that will accompany the bed with the same name. He's lying so still and nicely, like he plans to get a wonderful night of rest in his new surroundings.
But, let's call a spade a spade. The daytime nap situation has been MUCH harder than the nighttime sleep. He avoids napping for 3o minutes on a good day to two hours on a bad one. (The whole process is taking us more like one hour these days, so I have to remind myself that we're making progress.) Featured in the above picture are Gavin's feet under the gate at the top of our stairs: the only thing I saw when I went up to check on him the first day of "sleeping" in his bed. He fell asleep there for about 40 minutes until he woke himself up by knocking his feet against the gate, at which point I took him into his bed. That day wasn't as horrible as day #2 when he refused the nap altogether, and it's been getting better ever since. I have to realize that this is a whole new freedom now that he'll have to get used to and become more comfortable with. Admittedly, the only way that I get him to nap some days is by lying down next to him--and it doesn't take much for me to fall asleep there either, let's be honest--and I'm worried, as is Daddy I know, of setting a bad precedent that I won't want or be able to maintain.
Gavin and I really like snuggling, though, so I also tell myself (and Brent) that those are priceless memories that I won't regret. Being 25 + weeks pregnant right now, falling asleep next to my sweet son for a mid-day snooze is not the worst thing I could be doing....right?

Gavin's 2 year birthday party - Part 2

Gavin had no qualms about digging right into his birthday cupcake.
He's so funny about cupcakes. He won't let me touch the paper (as in, taking it off) so he licks all of the frosting off first and then takes small bites from the top before he'll finally give in and remove the paper.
Another special birthday treat: juice boxes! I can't imagine that he's getting much juice out in this picture since the straw is practically coming out of the box.
Gavin sat on Daddy's lap for a lot of the gift-opening. It took him a few gifts to catch on to the whole thing, but soon he was running over to the gift table and ripping the paper off of each one. He had some help from some of his buddies, too, which was quite adorable and didn't really seem to bother Gavin.
Here we are: the proud parents of our spunky little two-year-old boy. What a joy and treasure he's been in our lives over the past two years. Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate him that day. It was a really special day.

Gavin's 2 year birthday party - Part 1

We had Gavin's birthday party at a local park this year, and we think that it was a real success. Our families and about ten of Gavin's little buddies came. Here are the little folks, above. Don't they look like they're just checkin' in and chattin' for a few without their parents around? So precious! (Featured guests: Aiden Turner & Medina Allen, covered by Aiden in the picture.)
An unexpected guest at the party was this neon green caterpillar. What a treat for the kids! It was as if God had placed him on the playground just for this occasion. The kids took turns putting it on a stick, holding it, petting it and just marveling at it.
Here are Gavin and some of his best buds, Reagan and Camryn Petitt, our neighbors and friends. It's pretty adorable to see how well Gavin (2) plays with Reagan (4) most of the time.
Curly-haired Caleb Schmidt is featured in the red shirt on the right. Grandma Topping is holding Gavin's cousin, Madison.
Daddy held the cupcake with a candle in it, and Gavin knew exactly how to blow it out. (We had practiced a little bit at home.)

Put me in the zoo...Part 2

This was the first time that Gavin strayed from the polar bears: his faithful ride, ever since he and Reagan both rode on them for Gavin's first trip on the carousel. Now that he's a pro, he chose a new animal and sat alone...and even rode one-handed when he looked back at Daddy. He wanted Mommy on the monkey next to him.
The zebra was a good choice!
It was so fun to look for Daddy from the carousel. Gavin got pretty good at waving to him too.
Daddy and Gavin took a ride on the train. Don't they look so cute in their baseball caps?
Gavin has just recently decided that this is a great mode of transportation. It was especially fun that day at the zoo, and here we were all looking at the giant ant eater. At the time I prided myself on catching the ant eater in the picture, but now I can't seem to locate him. (I'll just blame it on the glare from the glass.)

Put me in the zoo...Part 1

These pictures were taken on a recent zoo excursion with Daddy, hence the pictures to document it. We're standing in front of the lion exhibit here.
Gavin has little use for the stroller at the zoo these days, so we're getting more used to hoofing it and strapping him in just for the ride back to the exit. Thank God for fruit snacks!
I love seeing the zoo and all the animals through my son's eyes :)
It was extra fun to have Daddy with us that day. It's always a special treat when he gets to experience our little field trips and fun outings too. Gavin likes watching the elephants, especially when they kick up dust and throw grass and dust on their backs.

It's a Boy!

Well, here I am at about 23 weeks. We just found out a few weeks ago that we're having another little boy. To be honest, it has been a really tough adjustment for me. We both were hoping for a girl, but Brent has more peace about this whole thing than I do. I still catch myself thinking things like, "I'm glad that Gavin has a play kitchen now, and it'll be great to have things in the house that a boy and a girl will enjoy playing with." What girl? My first thoughts upon finding out were, "What about my childhood doll house that we've stored in our basement for our little girl?" and "What about that whole big box of my old dolls and 'girlie' toys that I was saving?" One of the things that has struck me the most in all of this is the great sense of finality that I feel, just knowing that we're only planning on having two children, so this is it! I knew that it would be hard for me to find out about a second boy--not because it's a second boy as much as the fact that it's not a girl--but, frankly, I didn't expect to find it this difficult. In that regard, I'm very glad that we elected to find out the gender so that I have plenty of time to get adjusted to this reality. Brent reminds me--as have many of you--that the bond between brothers can be quite strong, and I am praying that our boys will be great buddies someday. It's funny how much our expectations are based on our own, personal experiences and frames of reference. I just always assumed that, because I have a brother that I've always been close to, that's how it would work out in our family too. That's just the only thing I had ever known. Despite all of these emotions, we are, of course, so grateful that the baby boy looks and sounds healthy and strong. He sure is kicking like a healthy little dude! I know that I will love him with all of my heart, and I hate feeling ungrateful for this wonderful gift that God has blessed us with.

Hiking in South Boulder

A couple of weekends ago we took Gavin on his first "big boy" hike in South Boulder. He loved it! And why he shouldn't he have? There were bugs to look at, rocks to climb, sticks to hold, dogs to greet, dirt to hold and gorgeous scenery to behold. I was so glad that Brent suggested this activity.
Here's Gavin's giant walking stick that lasted him all of maybe two steps before he abandoned it.
Here's our sweet boy hugging Mommy on a rock where we stopped to rest for a drink.
Daddy carried his 30 pound son in the backpack on the way back to the car, but his back suffered for it a little bit. You can see that Gavin loved the free ride!
It was one of those beautiful summer/fall days in Colorado that makes us wonder how or why we'd ever this amazing state. Being in South Boulder, especially, was really neat for me that day. I thought of how long I'd been hiking and how everything in that part of the world was so familiar to me and brought back so many wonderful childhood memories. We passed Fairview (my high school) and let Gavin play at the park at Viele Lake, just minutes from the houses where I grew up. How surreal to be there with my husband and our two-year-old son all of these years later. I loved sharing one of my passions--hiking--with Gavin and seeing him love it too!

Our little piglet...

Our son LOVES black beans, and here's the dirty little piglet face to prove it. Thanks, Aunt Randa, for the doggie big, too. It's THE only bib that our son will actually agree to wear.