Growing Up

Gavin is one years old! The past few weeks Brooks and I have really settled into the idea that our little boy is growing up. We have seen a huge transformation in him with lots of changes going on. The night before his first birthday, we looked at photo albums of his birth and searched through his baby book and were amazed at how little and small he was. This past year has gone by so fast and Brooks and I both agreed that birthdays take on a whole new meaning. You truly are celebrating the life of your child! We realize that Gavin will never be a "baby" again and we are excited to see him grow up and who he will become. We are just making sure that we savor EVERY minute of his life. Brooks and I are so grateful that the LORD entrusted us with this little boy. We are responsible for training him and teaching him EVERYTHING we know-- but it's really neat to see how much he has been teaching us (about ourselves and about who we are).

One of the biggest changes (which we aren't too upset about) is Gavin has stopped taking formula and quit his bottles all together. We tried for a week mixing his formula with whole milk, which he would drink, but only if it was in his bottle. Then, when it came time for no more formula and just whole milk, he kept trying to pull it out of his mouth and would wipe his tongue. He does not like the taste of whole milk. I thought it was just because he was sick and not feeling well last week. However, he wants NOTHING to do with whole milk, even when he isn't sick. So, I tried giving him soy milk and he LOVES it. He sucks his sippy cups dry within minutes. The first few days of no bottles were a little sad and made us think we didn't have a baby anymore, but then we realized we didn't have to wash another bottle or buy another container of formula!! So we got over that thought real quick!

Gavin has also decided that he is not into crawling anymore! He started walking a few days before his birthday and now he is walking EVERYWHERE! My favorite moment is when he falls down and says, "whoa!" It's the cutest thing ever!

We started going to Little Gym once a week, which Gavin LOVES beyond words!! Two of our warm up activities are to walk in a circle (which he will not hold my hand for anymore) as well as to run around in a circle. When it's time to run, I grab his hand and pretend run, which he responds in complete laughter and tries to run along side me. It's hilarious and precious. He tries very hard to pick his feet up but wants to keep up with me and then his feet get tangled up together.

Gavin has also become more verbal. He likes to repeat words or the sounds of words that we say. He says mama, daddy, doggie, ball, whoa, and even "aggie" (for Maggie, our dog), He likes opening and closing doors, drawers, and cabinets. He even knows what things are in specific drawers, cabinets, and behind certain doors. His favorite drawer has become one in our bathroom that has Brooks' toothbrush. He LOVES the pantry for some reason, but didn't like it when the can of mushroom soup fell on his foot (he was okay within 5 seconds of finding the bag of marshmallows).

Here's a peak of Gavin walking around the house.