Making it Better

So Gavin picked up this new thing lately and its so darn cute....


As you know he is clumsy (as most 20 month olds are but he is particularly clumsy) and is constantly falling and/or hurting himself in some way. Often times I'm there to witness the injury and offer some quick encouragement and reassurance that all is ok. However, sometimes I'm not. So now if I don't see the injury occur he promptly rushes over to me while crying and points to "where it hurts"...arm, fingers, head, leg, you name it. What he wants from me is reassurance and at some point he learned Mom would "kiss and make it better." So, for I would say about 95 % of his injuries, which are more shock/drama than actual injury...he runs over, points to the spot and wants me to kiss it. At which point he instantly stops crying and returns to playing.


How much do you love that? I mean sometimes I feel like I'm straight off a tv commercial....all he needs is a kiss from Mom to make the pain go away. I just wish I could bottle that up and keep that solution for the rest of his life.

Mommy Moment

In light of Mother's Day, I thought it was necessary that I document a "mommy moment" that I had on that actual day. I did something all mothers claim they will never do but before you realize it...you are doing it at that very second. Now I may have done it before (although I don't recall) and never thought twice about it but on Sunday mid-action ...it hit me. I am so "that" mom. What was it? Something very simple...

I licked my finger and wiped something off Gavin's face.

Yep, one swift lick of the thumb and I was rubbing who knows what off his face for a picture...dirt, food...I don't know. The point isn't what was on his face, it was the action that I did. We all claim that is gross and probably tried to stop our own mothers from doing so when we hit a certain age.

Well...mid wipe I thought...what did I just do?? You know what my response was? ...another quick lick and wipe for the other cheek. I'm a Mom and I have priorities now....unfortunately level of "gross factor" has serverely dropped on the list.

Mother's Day 2009

As mentioned before, we were in Detroit for Mother's Day. It was a beautiful day outside and after going to church as a family, we went to Gross Ile for lunch at Grandma and Grandpa Norton's house. We had lots of fun playing outside, eating a wonderful lunch and spending the day together. Unfortunately...we had a long drive ahead so we had to leave mid afternoon to head back home. Mother's Day is such a special day and I'm happy to have spent it with family. What a blessing to have the mothers that we do....one of God's greatest gifts is that of having and being a mother.

Gavin discovers a new interest...

...and becomes my own little Stevie Wonder.

Thirty little fingers on 88 little keys.

Cousins on the front stoop.

Our Harris family.

Great Grandparents with 3 of their 9 great grand kids.

Grandma and Grandpa Norton with the Harris kids...and kids.

Harris clan.

Helping Grandma open her present.

Cousin love (notice...the dress is still on).

Finally home....Mommy and munchkin cuddling on the couch.

Miss Morgan's 4th Birthday

This past weekend we went up to Detroit to celebrate Mother's Day and my niece Morgan's 4th birthday. For her special party we went bowling and had a princess themed party. She was in heaven on her big day and was smiling and happy the whole time. Here are some pics...

Birthday girl was up first.

Followed by Kate.

Gavin's first turn bowling.

Watching it roll....VERY slowly down the lane.

Snack time.

Morgan's princess cake.

While the girls were into princess fun...the boys found the train set.

From the minute Morgan saw her princess dress-up dress we gave her for her birthday she was in love....in fact she only took it off to eat and sleep for the next two days.

Making a wish.

Beautiful princess Morgan in all her glory.

Craziness...12+ kids in one house for one princess party.

Gym Kinetics

So I just recently signed up Gavin for Baby Gym at Gym Kinetics. Its a local gymnastics center where every morning they have a baby gym class.

Gavin absolutely LOVES it. They do lots of activities to focus on gross motor, balance, coordination, etc. This includes lots of climbing over big foam mats and through tunnels....jumping and climbing through "the pit" full of spongey squares (think McD's playland but cooler and less gross)...running and jumping on trampolines....practicing forward and backward rolls...the list is endless.

Gavin just smiles and laughs the whole time. We've only had 2 sessions so far but we also sing songs while we stretch and this last time got to play with the parachute, play on some baby gymnastic rings and practice walking on a few inch high balance beam.

I'm telling you so far it is money well spent. Gavin cried when we left the first day. They do a great job with the kids and keep them entertained the whole time. He definitely loves our new gym class...hopefully one of these days I'll take my camera in with me and get some shots of him.

Celebrating Birthdays

The same weekend we celebrated two of my favorite Lisa's birthdays...Lisa Thomson and Lisa Karavas. Saturday night a group of us went out for tapas to celebrate Lisa T turning 28...it was a fun night filled with lots of new foods, sangria and good conversation. Then on Monday night we had a surprise dinner at an Italian restaurant to celebrate Lisa K turning 30. She was totally surprised and it was very fun to celebrate with her. I only have a few pics from Sat night and none from Monday night but ....they'll have to do.

Daddy Day

So the weekend after my mom and I hosted a shower for Heather, we attended a shower at her sister's house. It was a Sat mid morning which meant Chad and Gavin were on their own for most of the day. Of course on a "Daddy day" they do all sorts of fun stuff....starting with a bath in the big tub (aka the whirlpool in our bedroom) complete with bubbles. They also went to the hardware store, the pet store and out for lunch where they flirted with all the ladies in the local cafe. Sounds like a typical day Gavin has with mom...yeah right. Here is just a few pics of the bathtime fun.