Gavin enjoying his first birthday cake on New Year's Eve
He was surprised and perplexed about the singing
Everyone keeps telling us that he is going to have some wild New Year's Eve birthdays in his future!
Gavin's first birthday was pretty low key. We spent the day at home as a family and then headed over to Lynnie and Richie's for a delicious New Year's Eve dinner where we sang happy birthday to our little guy and let him tear into a cake. His present from Mom and Dad was the orange chair seen above. Liam has a blue one that he got around his first birthday, which is still a favorite. Gavin has recently taken a liking to it, so we decided he was ready for his own. He was truly excited and promptly dove into it and then climbed all over it. It is now in his room and he loves to lay in it....very cute.
I thought that I would talk more about Gavin and what he is doing these days. He has been walking since the week of his birthday. He is very proud of this and toddles everywhere. His coordination is amazing. He can already stoop to pick toys up and keep walking without falling (most of the time). He has earned the nickname of Bam Bam as he loves to bang on things. He has a hammer bench that he loves to hammer the pegs, flips it over and repeats. It is so funny to watch his determination. He is stubborn and already showing his dramatic side. He gets mad when he has to put on his coat or get strapped in car seat. He is also starting to voice his dislike for Liam taking toys away from him. He is happy, smiley and cuddly most of the time. A true Mommy's boy, but loves his wrestle time with Daddy and Liam. He says da da and uh-oh officially, but has many other sounds for things. He babbles all day long and if he follows in the footsteps of Liam, will be quite verbal before too long! Gavin loves to read books, throw balls and "cook" in Liam's new kitchen. He is a FANTASTIC eater with some of favorites being Mexican and Chili (I am not lying). He gives endless kisses and is curious and a little bit of a daredevil. One last thing I must mention is his beautiful dark eyes and the endless curls that you just have to touch when you see snuggle him. How fast a year can pass!
I tried to be a good wife and make Dane cookies. He has been off gluten for quite some time now due to his DH. He loves my chocolate chip cookies and I wanted to make some for him. I used my same recipe and substituted a gluten free flour for all-purpose flour. This was the result. SAD! They were paper thin, crispy and tasted like alphalpha sprouts! Now I know what gluten does.
The dining room is where I can find the boys often these cold winter days. They love to draw and color. That is where we keep Liam's easel and coloring table. Liam would draw and color all day long. He is really trying (at times) to stay in the lines and make his drawings reflect the real thing...like coloring Thomas blue and grass green, etc. Because Gavin follows Liam around like a shadow, he wants to do the same things as him. The other day I was in the kitchen doing dishes when I realized I couldn't see Gavin anymore. I walked a lap around the main level and he was in the dining room, standing at the easel scribbling with chalk. It was very purposeful and he was so proud of himself. It was adorable. He would put a piece down and pick a different color and scribble more. Then he ate a piece of green chalk...it's non-toxic, right?
