A rose by any other name...

Father has so many meanings...daddy, confidante, teacher, friend, etc.

To Gavin, Dada has many meanings...lotion, wet wipes, phone, remote control, monkey, toothpaste, toothbrush and penis, just to name a few. My little guy is stuck on the word "dada". He has 15-20 words that Gary and I understand like: up, snack, outside, apple, nana, cereal bar, ball, no, bath. He can sign several words, too, to get his point across. He follows two step commands and even combines words like, "Hi, Jack Jack!"

A few words we have no choice but to notice...eye is one of them. When he gets on his "eye" kick, he will poke everyone's eye in the room. Then, he will proceed to nose, mouth, etc. Poor Jack gets the brunt of this. When he is on the floor resting after a walk or hard run, Gavin molests his facial area pointing out every landmark. Jack is usually too tired and too patient to move.

I know my child is brilliant so I decided I was going to be super proactive and change this. I'm super over phonetic. Tonight, I was trying to get Gavin to say "monkey". So, I started out..."ma, ma, ma, monkey!" He responded, "ma, ma, ma, dadadadadada!" Hahahaha! I love him so much! Even this is so much fun!

My mom once told me that we wait for our kids to walk and talk and then we wait the rest of their lives for them to shut up and sit down. I'm waiting to test this theory because I don't want him to shut up or sit down....yet!

A few favorite things...

Here are a few of Gavin's favorite things...in no particular order.

Saylor girl.

Mr. Potatohead's tongue.

Corn on the cob.

Play on, under and around the kitchen table.

Driving his pimped out caddy.

Popsicles.

Socks??

Einstein bagels, Dada and Jack Jack.

Summer vacation...

Our first summer vacation with Gavin was also my 32nd birthday. I have to say...so far it was the second best birthday ever (the best birthday was my 27th birthday when Gary proposed) As we were getting ready to leave for the resort, Gary, dad and Ellie decorated the dining area and bought me a cake. They sang a very melodic, yet off tune version of "Happy Birthday" and we had cake. I had two pieces of the yummy red velvet with cream cheese icing.

Then, off we went to the The Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama. Love it!!! There was so much for us to do there. The day normally started with breakfast and feeding the ducks. We did that every morning. Towards the middle of the week, Gavin would wake up saying, "quack, quack". Some of the ducks were really aggressive...one snatched the bag of food out of Gary's hand! Most of them were very cute and some even ate out of our hands.

Most of the nights ended the same. We went to dinner and then walked back to our hotel. Most nights we walked back along the board walk area that faced the water. It was really beautiful. Gavin even had his first experience with sand and the beach. I think he liked it!

One night on our walk back, Paw Paw decided to dump his coffee out and catch a fish for Gavin in his cup. He didn't catch a fish, but he did find a hermit crab shell. Later on that night, we heard some "scratching" noises. Turns out, the hermit crab shell was occupied. Paw Paw returned the little crab back to his home on the rocks.

Dada and Gavin on a hammock on one of our walks home.

Our days were spent in different ways, depending on the weather. Most of the mornings were overcast, but not raining so went down by the pool. The pool was great!! It had an area that gradually got deeper with a couple of splash areas. Gavin loved it!

We also went for walks down by the marina, bike rides and played "chase" in the room when the weather was bad. We ventured out a bit, too, to eat and to walk around the really cute downtown area.

I only wish there was more sun. We got a couple days of sun at the end of the vacation. It was probably a good thing, because nobody got terribly sunburned.

We went to New Orleans at the end of our trip to say hello to N gee and grandma. We made a visit to one of our favorite places, Lucy's, and made a trip to the New Orleans children's museum.

Over all, it was a great trip!! Gavin did sooo well on the plane rides, and he slept like a champ! He even slept through the fireworks that the July 4th weekend brought. I think he got a little homesick and was ready to come home. He sure was happy to see his Jack Jack!

Coupon lady

I have become a coupon lady. I am the lady in the check out line that pulls out 20 something coupons while you wait behind me. The only thing that could make it worse would be if I wrote a check. BUT, I have saved a butt load of money doing this...at least 35% of my grocery bill every time I go! Clipping coupons also helps me stay on track. If I have a grocery list and a goal, I am less likely to buy stuff that I don't need. This is important because I am a marketers dream. I will buy most anything "new and improved" or just something I find that's cool. This is especially true for toiletries.

So...for the last 4 weeks, I have been waking up on Sunday mornings to get a newspaper, checking coupons.com, and looking for the best deals in the grocery stores advertisements. I also called grocery stores to see if they double and triple coupons and if they take competitors coupons. What I have found out is that grocery stores double coupons up to $.50 and triple coupons up to $.39. Target does not double or triple coupons, but they are much cheaper on most things anyway. The MOST fun thing ever is when you get a store coupon and a manufacturer's coupon, and you get stuff for free or very cheap! Why did I just start doing this?!!! Between spending sensibly and clipping coupons, I have saved about $400 this month! That's more money to spend on clothes or shoes or Gavin's college fund! Another perk? I like the attention I get at the grocery store..."Girl, you a good shopper!" Yeah...I'm a good shopper.

Happy Easter, Gavin!

This was Gavin's official second "first" Easter. Last year didn't count...although I do love the funny bunny pictures. I can't wait to show those to his future girlfriends.

Gary put together a couple of sweet little Easter baskets for Gavin to have when he woke up Sunday morning.

Later on that day, we had an Easter egg hunt.

What a difference a day (or two) makes!

I've heard the expression (said with your twangiest Texas twang), "If you don't like the weather in Texas, just wait a minute and it'll change." That was our reality this week. On Saturday night/Sunday morning, we received about 3 inches of snow. Gary decided to take the family out to play in it. Gavin and mommy no likey...

But, like the good Texans we are, Gavin and I waited just a minute (ok, more like a day or two), and the weather did change! Today there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the temperature was 73 degrees. We likey...a lot! Spring could be my new favorite season...sorry fall.

Mr. Independent

At almost 13 months old, Gavin is becoming so independent. He plays by himself, staying busy for what seems like hours! I can only keep his attention for a few minutes with some silly puzzle or singing animal toy. Then, it's off to doing, well...whatever it is he wants to do. Most times, it's playing with things that do not belong to him...the remote (T.V., Wii, radio), cell phones, anything behind the wet bar, Jack's toys, shoes, Gary's gym or work bag, my purse or diaper bag, the DVD's in the coffee table. You get the point.

I love it when he plays the game of "yuck". It's his way of going around and touching the things he's not supposed to. The other day he walked from one thing to another correctly declaring them "yuck". First, he walked to the garbage can in the kitchen. Yuck. Then, he moved to the bathroom and pointed at the toilet. Yuck. He then walked into the laundry room where I heard Gary say, "No baby. That's not yuck". Gary was wrong. Gavin was pointing to and touching the garbage can in the laundry room. That is also yuck.

Another sign of independence came yesterday at dinner time. Normally, I fix things that Gavin can pick up with his fingers (because he will not let me feed him). Lately, we have been practicing with the spoon. This is what happens when dada, uh, "helps" Gavin eat with a spoon.

Good job, boys. I don't think either one of them really get it ;)

I'm happy that he is finding his independence, but in a way, I'm sad to see him grow up. I know I'm going to wake up one morning, and we'll be dropping him off at college...at least that's what other people have said!! I'll just have to make a point to capture, and relish, every moment from now until college!!