20 Minutes Or Less

The other night I made dinner and it reestablished in my mind why Moms who cook every night are amazing. I was making a very simple dish (20 minutes or less prep) and while doing so let Gavin roam around the kitchen floor and the surrounding areas while I did what I needed to do. Below, you will see pictures of what happened to my nice clean house by the time my dinner was complete. It just goes to show that when choosing a recipe, if it says Prep Time: 20 minutes or less...add another 20 minutes on the end to clean up the mess your child makes while you make this "quick" and "easy" meal.

Ending with a look of pure innocence...as if he did nothing wrong. If only I could have gotten him to spend that 20 minutes in this contraption...but he only wants to be confined after the damage is done.

Fun with Grandma & Grandpa

Last weekend my inlaws came down and spent the whole weekend with us. We filled the time with tons of fun activities including the Water Park/Pool and Brookfield Zoo. Gavin was amazing all weekend and in spite of being way off schedule, teething and totally spoiled, he was a champ and spent his days smiling, giggling and showing off for his Grandma and Grandpa Harris. They loved showering him with kisses and attention and he just soaked it up.

Gavin showed off in the pool acting like a pro.

And he soaked up the sun and all the attention.

It was a very fun day for Gavin at the pool followed by a very long nap.

Next stop the zoo where we also got a little wet...

We avoided the rain by taking in the dolphin show.

Expression during the show...not sure if he is terrified, fascinated or just entranced.

Gavin didn't quite measure up to a baby dolphin calf.

Our little jungle boy.

Hmm...this hand is just like my Daddy's.

He reached and reached but just couldn't ...quite...get...there...

Gavin has a new appreciation for Jonah.

Gavin got a real feel for his true height potential some day.

10 Months Old

So Gavin is ten months old...crazy. Here are a couple things I just want to remember about where he is at right now...

1 - He just cut his second tooth.

2 - He is "cruising" around like crazy. For some the term cruising means "to sail or travel about"...you envision this in a leisurely manner...why the baby world has chosen this term for children when they walk along furniture beats me. There is nothing leisurely or smooth about Gavin's cruising. In fact he is like a maniac when he cruises...bumping and banging everything in his path.

3 - He eats everything. He is starting to prefer regular table food to his baby food and likes to hang half his body out of the high chair against the tray restraints in protest to baby food.

4 - He still loves Maddie and she still hates him (more posting on that later I hope).

5 - He knows how to climb stairs and the more you yell no, the faster he goes and the more he giggles.

6 - He sleeps like a champ most nights...still up early though around 6-6:30 am. He takes 2 and sometimes 3 naps during the day.

7 - He is just possibly getting the hang of SO BIG even though I have been working on it for months...he has done it a couple of times but that is it.

8 - He has started to do his own version of wrestling. He literally dive bombs toward you with his mouth open and laughs and laughs. He rolls around and topples on you over and over...needless to say, we are both in a fit of giggles.

9 - He misses his Daddy...Chad has been working like crazy lately which means Gavin has been missing out on some quality Daddy time.

10 - He is generally a happy boy. He is not really afraid of strangers, he'll show off for anyone and he absolutely is the highlight of every one of our days.

Water Park Adventure

On a cloudy, kinda rainy Monday afternoon, 4 moms, 7 kids and one girlfriend who isn't a mom but is willing to put up with our kids on her day off all headed to Tinley Water Park. The weather wasn't very warm but we evaded the rain and took advantage of the afternoon all the same. The kids loved the slides and especially the splash park where the water was shooting everywhere. Hopefully we'll do it again...when the sun is out.

Becca, Elena, Gavin and I get used to the water.

No matter what the weather, Gavin loves being able to splash.

Water up the shorts...highlight for Gavin, not for mom.

Gavin thought Cooper running through the water was hilarious.

Taken by child #2 of 7.

Mom is taking this opportunity to teach Gavin about geysers.

The whole group, wet, cold and loving it.

ScarFace

Ok, so that title may be a bit dramatic but this is Gavin's very first major laceration on his face. Last week Thursday while at my parent's house when I was at work, there was an "altercation" with a box. I've tried asking my mom multiple times what happened and the most I get is something about her opening a big box and Gavin being "so fast" and basically nailing him in the face with it. You can see from the picture, this was no small cut, in fact, this picture was taken days later and it is looking so much better. I know it is just one of many...

One Less Fish in the Sea

All the girls dancing the night away.
The happy bride and groom.

It's true...there is one less fabulous fish in the sea. On June 28, our friend Lisa got married! She is one of the few single girls left in our group which just means...for all the men out there, your pickings just got a little slimmer. :) The wedding was fabulous...the groom was sweet...the bride was stunning...and we all had an amazing time celebrating their wedding day. Congrats George and Lisa!!

Just like Daddy

Gavin has already started to show an interest in Daddy's line of work. Who else gets this excited about toilets?

Smiling like he isn't going to be naughty at all...

Getting very excited about the prospect in front of him...

Winding up...

Diving right in!!

(For the record this toilet was cleaned yesterday and I first shrieked and yelled "no!"...then got past my repulsion and ran for the camera...however that was before he dove in!)

Such a "Dad" Thing To Do....

So just recently I did something that was quite unlike me...I usually reserve this type of behavior for Chad. I went to Babies R Us to pick up a few things and I wanted to get Gavin one of these little play tables. Something he can pull up on and play around with but will be easy to move from room to room as I am doing stuff in the house. I was looking for something simple to occupy his time as opposed to outlets, cords and sharp objects. As I am looking, I find a toy that looks so great and fun. In fact, I lose all concept of purpose, intent and price and I put it in the cart. We get it assembled at home (yes, it required assembly) and my senses returned. I just looked at it and thought...what have I done?? I pulled a "DAD" move...suckered into the more expensive, grossly large and inappropriate item because who cares about practicality when it looks great. At least I had one redeeming "MOM" moment...I used a coupon!! Check out below...

For the record, peaking through this little thing gets him laughing so hard, you'd think we were doing a stand-up routine on the other side.