Cuddles...

Ever since Gavin was born, I followed certain rules about sleeping. Even as a tiny baby, I followed the "put him to bed drowsy, but not asleep" mantra. He had very scheduled feeding time, awake time and sleep time. He rarely slept with us or on us because I was so terrified of having a child that didn't sleep well or a child that climbed into bed with us every night. That advice really seemed to work. Gavin has been sleeping through the night since he was 8 weeks old and has always napped well.

I did always have one regret about such a scheduled kiddo...he would never snuggle or sleep with us even when we wanted him to. When it was time to go to bed, he wanted to be put down in his crib and left alone. He even told me, "bye bye" one night when I lingered to rub his head, so cuddling before bedtime was out of the question!

About 3 weeks ago when I was putting Gavin down to bed, he said, "Hold you, Mama?" I said, "You want Mama to hold you?" He said, "uh huh". So, I gave him his monkey blanket, and we went over to the rocking chair so that I could hold him for a little while. After about 3 or 4 minutes, I put him down in his bed drowsy, but not asleep. The next afternoon before his nap he said, "Hold you Mama? Rocking in rocking chair?" This time we sat down in the rocking chair for about 5 minutes. I started to feel his breath get a little slower and louder, his head got a little heavier on my chest, and then he stopped moving. Oops. I rocked him to sleep!!! I sat rocking him for another 5 minutes or so just enjoying our time together. I picked him up and put him in bed, and he didn't even move! And guess what? I liked it so much, we did it again the next day! That night, I put him down after rocking him for a couple of minutes, and he started to whimper. "Hold you Mama? Rocking in rocking chair?" Realizing that this was a bad idea, I said, "No baby, it's time to go nite nite. I love you", and then I left the room. He went to bed without incident, but this really made me think. It felt so great to have him fall asleep on me, but doing that is pretty selfish. If I keep doing that, he'll expect it and won't be able to go to sleep by himself or he'll nap poorly at school because I'm not there to rock him. I guess rocking him to sleep every now and then isn't such a bad thing, but I need to be careful not to make it a habit...no matter how great it feels.

My boy...

It seems like over the last couple of days, Gavin has really started talking and budding quite a personality. There are many words that would describe him, but if I had to choose one word, it would be: comedian. I wonder if that is any surprise considering his parents. He is so funny and silly. He has great comedic timing and knows how to make us laugh. And when he does make you laugh, he mimics you! He knows falling is funny and invites you to partake. He knows it's funny to make you look away and then tickle you. He has the best little laugh I have ever heard.

I would also describe him as good natured. OK, that's two words, but those words are fitting. He is very rarely rattled by things that we do. Gary can tease him about something, and he just laughs about it. He is so easy to get along with.

I think he is a little shy, too. When there are a bunch of people around or a few people he doesn't know, he is a little observer. He is very quiet and just watches. Then, when and if he feels comfortable, he lets his inner comedian loose!

Other adjectives that describe him: persistent, goal oriented, sweet, lovable, sensitive.

He's speaking so well over the last couple of days. And, his memory and direction following blow me away.

For example, this week was very cold and we've stayed inside most of the week. I decided to bundle us up and run a couple of errands. We talked about looking for fire wood, so we could light a fire in the fire place tonight. He kept talking about "wood" and "light fire in fireplace". When we got home, he helped me unload the wood. I was unsure about lighting the fire myself (he was very disappointed we had to wait) and I told him we had to wait until Da Da got home. He seemed to forget about it pretty quickly and went off to play. As soon as Gary walked through the door tonight, he grabbed his hand and said, " 'mon DaDa, light fire". Gary said OK and then stated we needed our fire starter (giant lighter). Gavin proceeded to the drawer where we keep that lighter and fetched it for Gary. We lit a fire, and everyone was happy.

Later that night, Gavin was on the changing table and started to fuss. Gary was putting his diaper and pajamas on, and I walked over to him and asked him why he was upset. Me: "Baby, what do you want?" Gavin: "Um, beans and applesauce!" Me: "OK, I'm going to go warm up some beans, but you can't have anymore applesauce tonight. Would you like some yogurt?" Gavin: "Heat up beans, and NOOOO applesauce (waving his finger in the air), only yogurt!" He repeated that a couple of times and then when he heard the microwave go off, he looked up at us and said, "They're ready!" So, we went to sit down and eat our beans and yogurt. I was feeding him because I didn't want him to dirty his pajamas. He looked at me and took the yogurt and said, "I hold it!" And he did.

Today was a great day and a reminder that he is growing up so fast. I hope I can cherish every moment.

Catching up....

It has been a super busy time for us since the week before Christmas. We drove down to New Orleans with the boy and the dog. We hardly even knew Jack was there and Gavin was entertained by sleeping or the portable DVD player we borrowed. It was actually not a bad drive. We left super early in the morning to miss Dallas and Baton Rouge traffic. It worked. We got there Wednesday afternoon and rested that day. GiGi and "Unc Dada" pulled out the big guns..the tractor!

The next night we went to Beth and Joey's to eat dinner and exchange gifts. My poor monkey didn't feel good...he kept saying "Bye bye, GiGi home".

Friday was Christmas Eve. We had dinner at my sister's house....ham, sweet potato casserole, spinach casserole, etc. Yum! We opened a couple of presents Christmas Eve for those who weren't going to be there in the morning. We made some cookies earlier in the day that we left for Santa, along with some milk. Santa ate most of the cookies and drank the milk.

Gavin very methodically opening a present

We woke up Christmas Day, early, and opened presents. No one was as excited as Gary, Gavin and I. We opened some presents and ate breakfast. It was a little overwhelming for Gavin because he had a LOT of presents!!! He was a great helper and was bringing presents to people and offering to help open them. Later on that day, we went to Jan's house for dinner. Gavin and Sara got along really well! She entertained him most of the night, which was great. And, we got a great surprise...Michelle got engaged!! We are so happy for her! Gavin opened most of his presents, but was starting to get overwhelmed, so we took a couple for him to open Sunday. Gavin loved his dinosaur that Santa left! "EHHH!"
The Marchand boys

Ellie, Sara and Gavin

On Monday, Gigi, Gavin, Gary and I went to the aquarium. Gavin was soooo excited! He ran around pointing to everything...It was really cool to see him so excited. Monday night, Michelle and Leonard came over to watch the Saints vs. Falcons game and share their news.

Tuesday we were supposed to go to Fulton Street and to the Roosevelt to see lights and snow. Gavin's "cold" finally got the best of him, and we had to take him to the urgent care center. Turns out, he had an ear infection and RSV. Doc put him on cough syrup and antibiotics, and we ate Popeyes for dinner.

We left first thing Wednesday morning. We left early again to miss all the traffic. Oh my goodness was it great to be home!!!

A couple of days later Beth and Joey came in to celebrate New Year's Eve. We made dinner reservations at Sambuca. The meal was pretty good and the service was pretty bad!! Overall, it was a good time, although our friend Jonathan got sick and had to leave early. And Joey was ready to go 30 minutes before midnight. The band was pretty fun and the group of people there was so diverse. The next day I got to cash in my Christmas present and go shopping with Beth all day. It was sooo fun! The best Christmas present EVER!

The weekend after that, Dad and Ellie came in town for the Cotton Bowl. The game was incredible! We sat six rows up in the end zone. At first, it was annoying because we were in the Aggie's section, but they soon stopped making so much flippin' noise! Games are always more fun to be at when your team wins :)

The next day, we went to J and Tina's house for a BBQ and to watch the Saints playoff game. Sadly enough, they lost. Better luck next year, right? Then, we came home, gave Gavin a bath and lit our own fire in the back yard and talked until the boys came home.

Sunday...it snowed! We got a couple of inches of snow that accumulated briefly on the ground. Gary built a snowman (about a foot high) and Gary, Gavin and Jack played in the snow. It was too cold for anyone else! The next day, Dad and Ellie's flight was cancelled, so we went to the mall and to Houston's for dinner. MMmmm! There flight left the next without incident.

Dada, Gavin and "George" the snowman.

We have been busy. And I am whipped! I so enjoyed having company, but I'll enjoy having the house to just us for a few weeks!