I have a lot to learn about little boys

I finally got Gavin to sleep for about an hour or so this afternoon, and he did stay in his bed the whole time.  After his nap we went outside to play as usual. I noticed the grass was half dead in spots so I decided to hook up the sprinkler and water half the yard while Gavin played. Now, I'm not an idiot, I knew Gavin would end up playing in the water and get soaked. "No big deal, let him have some fun," I said to myself...

What I didn't anticipate was Gavin picking up the sprinkler and chasing me with it. Come on, really? Would a little girl do that? I tried everything I could think of to get him to put it down - bribing, threatening, pleading. None of it worked. I had to run after him and take it away from him, getting soaked in the process.

Milestones

Over the last couple of weeks Gavin has been eating like a lumberjack. Everyday he feels heavier and I suspected he's been growing taller too. Well this morning my suspicion was confirmed as Gavin reached up and flipped the lightswitch. Then during naptime Gavin was still making a lot of noise 20 minutes into it so I went to check on him and found him standing in the chair in his room holding a ball. He climbed out of his crib for the first time. Then, while I was trying to write this post I heard Jake telling Gavin not to break his Curious George music box that is kept in his room. Gavin can now open doors too. It's only 2:55, I'm scared to see what the rest of the day brings.

Ok, I let Gavin stay up for about an hour and then put him down for his nap again. 30 minutes later I peeked into his room to find this:

Yay!

We got some great news last Friday! Our background check, needed to start the adoption process again, is finally done after 5 months of crazy holdups. Our home visit from our caseworker to complete our homestudy is scheduled for May 7. The next week or two after that we should have our profile online and be ready to be chosen to be parents again! Yay!

Easter Egg Hunt

The Easter Bunny came to our house Saturday afternoon while Gavin was taking his nap. Gavin was quite pleased to find eggs with m&ms inside all over the backyard. He wasn't too keen on putting the eggs in the basket though. His method was to pick up the egg, shake it to hear if there was an m&m inside, then open it up, eat the m&m, drop the egg on the ground, and go get another one.

Gavin's newest toy - he hits the ball really well.

Audiologist

Gavin had his appointment with the audiologist today. His hearing is fine. She said he has some congestion behind his right eardrum, which apparently is different than fluid. Gavin is getting over a cold so it could be due to that. The audiologist wants to see him again in a month to see if it's cleared up. She said if he has congestion in his ear all the time it could delay his speech by making everything sound muffled. The audiologist was very impressed with Gavin's sign language skills and said his receptive language was above average. She said not to push him with his talking and just give him a break until he's ready.

Addendum: One of my friends e-mailed me to ask about Gavin's sign language. I forget that someone reading this blog may not know all of Gavin's quirks. He doesn't do real sign language. Gavin has his own form of sign language he has made up using gestures. We can usually figure out what he is trying to communicate through these gestures. For instance during the testing with the audiologist there was a piece of paper with various pictures on it, one of them being a baseball. The audiologist asked "where is the baseball?" Gavin pointed to the picture of the ball, then gestured like he was throwing a ball, then put both of his hand out to his sides palm up to ask the lady where is the "real" ball - he was hoping to play with a real ball when she mentioned it. Gavin has become quite adept at this form of communication. Saturday Gavin was playing in the backyard and was able to gesture to Jake that he wanted to play on his slide, which was in his bedroom at the time.

Bubbles!

Last week I was cleaning out Gavin's closet and he decided he wanted to try on his Elmo costume I recently bought at a consignment sale. It's still pretty big on hime but he loved it, and threw a big fit when I made him take it off because it was making him hot and sweaty.

This week Gavin has been sick with allergies or a cold or a combination of both. He's been getting upset pretty easily, and not listening to us at all when we ask him to do something. However, bath time always makes him happy. I sit and read while he plays in the tub. This is when I read the Ensign, our church's magazine. I let Gavin play until the water gets cold, but he would stay in there all day if I let him. Also, "bubbles" is his favorite word lately, one of the few he is using consistently.

Today I am so thankful that I get to be a stay at home mom and work only on days that I choose to work. I worked today and will tomorrow as well while Jake watches Gavin. I haven't worked 2 days in a row in a few months, and I am really tired. I enjoy my work, but miss being home with Gavin while I am there. I can't imagine having to work full time and only being able to spend a couple hours a day with my family. I know a lot of working moms who seem to be able to do it all, but I'm glad I don't have to be one of them.

Gavin Helps Build a Shed

Monkey Joe's

Last week was too cold to play outside and by Friday Gavin needed some exercise, so we went to Monkey Joe's. Gavin wasn't very interested in the under 3 area that he prefered on our last visit in September. Instead he liked going on the big slides, with Jake's help to climb up. Both he and Jake got plenty of exercise.

magnets

Play-Doh fun

Untitled from Kelly on Vimeo.

Got out the play-doh for the first time this morning. Gavin loved it, and it held his attention for over an hour. I only had to pick play-doh out of his teeth one time. In other news, he finally got an appointment for the audiologist, but it's not until March 29. Also this week Gavin has graduated out of his highchair and into his booster seat, eating off a real plate now. Yesterday was my 31st birthday. My friend Aleita was nice enough to watch Gavin for us while Jake and I went out to lunch. Then the 3 of us went out for ice cream and to WalMart to buy my birthday present, a new waffle iron.