Master of the Stairs!

Gavin decided to tackle the stairs on Monday. He made it all the way to the landing with only a little help from me. I was very impressed with his skills, as this is the third time he has been on the stairs! He of course had a fun time doing it, that child will laugh at anything! I love the picture of him at the top laughing, it is like "See Mom I did it"!



Gavin has decided to use the excersaucer as his tunnel instead of actually sitting in it! He likes to put his cars in there and watch them roll around. Plus I use it as a blockade so he can't go into the kitchen area, he realized that he could just crawl right through it. He was in and out of that thing a half a dozen times yesterday! It was pretty cute.



This morning my son fell flat on his face onto the tracks of our tv console. He loves playing with the sliding doors. Which is a no no and as I was walking to grab him he fell right onto his face. This was about 15 minutes after he did it. I can't believe that he marked so quickly! I felt awful. At the grocery store earlier the manager asked if our kitty did it! Try explaining what really happened! I should have just gone with the kitty story!

Happy 8th Month Birthday Peanut!

Today Gavin turns eight months old. As I type this, I can hear him PLAYING in his crib, instead of taking the nap he so badly needs before we go meet Daddy for dinner at the golf course. Gavin is getting very vocal when we go out to dinner lately, so to add to that -lack of sleep, it will not be a fun time! Oh how we miss the days of having a 3 hour sushi dinner and he would sleep through it! :)

A few new firsts this week for the big man. Yesterday we went to our very first "playdate". I have recently met and joined a Mommy's group in our neighborhood. Which is great, because we have playdates with the kids once a month, but also just with the Mommy's once a month! I have really enjoyed getting to meet some of the other woman and their kids.

Back to the playdate, there was another little boy there that was 3 days older than Gavin. He was a little smaller, and the youngest of 3 boys. All under the age of 5. Immediately the other little boy would go after Gavin and grab his face, his hair, take his toys, etc. I guess being the youngest he has had to become tough and fight for his toys. This is the first time Gavin has ever been around another baby. EVER. So he was a little taken aback at first, then completely went after the little boy and made him cry. MY BABY MADE ANOTHER BABY CRY! THE HORROR! I was so appalled, but like the other Mom said, "he is just mimicking my son". Overall it was a great time and I got to chat with a couple new Moms.

Gavin also decided a few hours ago to attack the stairs going up (we already have a gate on the basement stairs). Yes, my boy was starting to crawl up the stairs when I heard a toy fall onto the hardwood. I turned the corner and he was trying to get to the 2nd stair when he lost his balance and fell back. Luckily he has a hard head and didn't even make a peep.

The peanut has also taken a few steps with the "push toy". He has been walking while holding our fingers or around the furniture for some time. But he is slowly progressing to balancing on his own and not needing a lot of support. It is scary thinking that he will be walking shortly. YIKES! I am not ready for that, and I don't think Elvis will be either!

The Rockies newest FAN!

Gavin had a very exciting Saturday evening, he took his first trip to the Rockies game with Daddy and Papa. Mommy was a little nervous about this, but daddy was very persuasive and alas, I think they all had a good time. Greg said Gavin got a little overwhelmed with all the people, the lights, sounds, etc. But did very well overall. They of course did not stay that long, but long enough for Papa to take 100 pics!

Gavin then had a nice little slumber party at Grandma and Papa's, of course he got to stay up late and had a ton of fun! I love the pics of him at The Kunz's, he is of course in the dishwasher, which he loves to do- but Daddy won't let him do at home! And the pic of him on the train, is a very "Greg" stance, with one had on the steering column and the other on his leg. Very cute!

Meet Gavin & Mommy's Retirement

So we finally had our big bash, meet Baby Kunz and Shawna's retirement. But more importantly, it was, "we finally finished our backyard, so what better way to break it in then have 140 people over!" It was a huge success and we had a ton of fun. The new playground got such a workout! Greg and his Dad put lights on the perimeter about 2 weeks before, so kids were on it way past dark!


The jumpy castle was obviously a huge success, kids would come running from the cars when they drove up to get right into it; as you can see by all the shoes and of course it always being full! Heck even the adults had a good time in it! The last pic of the castle shows it falling over, that is because of Greg, Lane, Kristi, Marv & Dani were causing havoc in it! Yes, we are very responsible.

I have to say though, the pinata was great (thanks Kristen!). I got this as a birthday "gag" gift last year and we always said that if I had a retirement party we would bust open "Bob the Turkey". And alas, the day before while downstairs rummaging to find some things, I came across Bob and filled him up. The kids had a wonderful time with him! It did take A LONG TIME to bust him open, but he finally "lost his head" and the candy was a flowing. I think I saw a few adults push some kids out the way to get to the candy!

Gavin had a wonderful time overall, a little overwhelmed at some times. But alas, he seemed pretty happy, especially getting loved on by all the Grandmas! My Mom, Greg's Mom and my stepmother and of course he got some loving from everyone else!

The horseshoe pits, bags, polish horseshoes & fire pit got a huge workout! We figured out that the fire pit was on for about 7 hours straight- I had a hankering for S'mores! :) And by the way, Greg and I were the winners of horseshoes by the end of the night! Finally!

We would love to thank everyone who came to the party, we had a wonderful time and hope you did too! Thanks also for those that brought munchies, muchos appreciated! Thanks to Mom and Marv for picking up the food! A big thanks to Lane and Dani (Greg's cousin and girlfriend) who drove all the way from Nebraska to whoop it up with us! They single handily kept all the food moving! And a humongous thank you to the Kunz's for the food! It was hit and we very much appreciate it!

Zootastic

Yesterday we spent a beautiful fall day at the zoo with my Mom, sister and her family. Gavin was pretty fascinated with the giraffes and of course his cousins! Jackson was very into Gavin yesterday and would walk right next to his stroller just looking at him. It was very cute and we had a great time checking out all of the animals, except for the fish/reptile house. Mommy and Grammy do not like the snakes in there!

Gavin also rode his first train ride with Daddy. I took a ton of pictures to document this first adventure. We spent the remainder of the day watching the Broncos home opener. Daddy was a pacing fool and wouldn't let Gavin down until he knew we had won. He thinks holding Gavin at the end made them win, alas he is Daddy's new good luck charm! Hopefully it will work for the entire season!

Our Party

We have yet to see all the pictures of the party. (Since Greg and I are the slackers and took only a few photos). Of course we took them of the very beginning of the party when the jumpy castle got dropped off & the very end of the night when it got picked up. Gavin and Daddy were the first to jump in it, and Heather and I were the last. It was a fun night. More to come.

Gavin & his Personality

Gavin cracks me up on a daily occurrence. Who knew a 7 month old would already know ALL the buttons to push and how to fake cry already! It is amazing how much of a sucker I am when it comes to him and his "personalities". He definitely has me wrapped around his little pinkie! He already knows exactly how to search out all wires, covered outlets, the dogs toys- which he immediately sticks in his mouth! He loves to look at you when he is about to do something he knows is a no no, see what you will say or do, smile and then do it! He is very clever. An hour ago he was feeding himself and accidentally hit himself on the nose with the bottle. Some milk squirted out of the tip onto his face and he started laughing hysterically. He continued to do this the entire time he was eating! I was laughing so hard, he was so cute and funny. Makes me love every day with him even more! He has quite the sense of humor already.

With regards to the pics at the beginning of the post, I took them all in one day and is just a little collage of how our day goes from him waking up; greeting me with a smile and standing in his crib! To us spending all day on the floor, playing with toys, the dogs, etc. The 2 middle pictures crack me up, that is Gavin trying to take the camera from me. I love his scrunched up nose, the "I am intent on getting that thing out of your hand" picture. I love the picture of him laughing, his hair is looking so RED! Scary! Of course the love for the dogs have not dwindled. I think Elvis is finally starting to reciprocate.

The Kunz's

Greg's parents and sister are absolutely a god send for us with regards to Gavin. Not only are they soooooooooo overjoyed to have the little bean in all of our lives, but he has stolen all of their hearts. I never thought I would see Jerry (aka Papa) down on all fours talking gibberish to Gavin. But alas, it has happened and I couldn't be happier. Linda (aka Grandma) needs a Gavin fix about every 4-5 days. We are always very happy to oblige this whim and it is wonderful for us that we have so many loving family members (including my own) that will take him for a night. Aunt Jenny goes way overboard with regards to him with presents and love. She has taken to him like a moth to a flame and vice verse for the little bean. Greg and I are so lucky that we have both our parents and siblings within a 30 mile radius so Gavin can grow up with all this love!

I can't imagine having a child and not having such a support system around me. I know I have friends that do this, but it just could not be me. I love the fact that with a single phone call on speaker I can have my cranky son smiling because Grandma was talking to him or Aunt Jenny was singing to him. Even better when Papa walks in the house and Gavin hears his voice and immediately starts crawling towards it and lighting up like a Christmas tree when he sees him.

Even Great Papa is in awe of the little bean. He constantly says how "pretty" he is. He then goes on to say that he knows boys aren't supposed to be called pretty, but he is so perfect, what else can you call him?? He is very wonderful with Gavin and I love the picture of Gavin with his Daddy, Papa and Great Papa.

With regards to the pictures I attached, I know that Gavin is very small in a few of them, but I just love those pics! Grandma was the first to hold Gavin after Daddy when he was born (because Mommy was in la la land), and the picture attached documents that. Her very first grandchild! A huge moment!

So thank you to the "original" Kunz family, you are appreciated more than you know!