Birthday Boy

You and Charlotte.

 You and your friend Ratie. Most of your friends are girls these days. There aren't many boys in our ward your age or even a year older.

 Opening your box of presents from Grandma and Grandpa Gerber.

 Opening your Thomas the train set from Grandma and Grandpa Merrill. You clapped when you saw it. So cute.

 Your dad and I got you your first tri-cycle. Your feet don't quite reach the pedals. Next summer you will be riding that thing like crazy, I'm sure.

2 Years Old

Today you turned 2! These first two years of your life have flown by! I can't believe two years ago I was holding a little tiny baby in my arms, and now you are running around, talking and seeming more and more grown up every day.

We are celebrating your birthday tomorrow since today was Sunday and your Dad had a priesthood meeting to go to tonight. It will be fun!

Some of your favorite things right now are:

Cars

Airplanes

Trains

Playing outside

Snuggling in Mommy and Daddy's bed

Stickers

Playing with water in the sink while I bake/make dinner

Wrestling with Dad. (Giving him the "elbow")

Thomas the train shows

You still love your binky

You love to give kisses, and give the baby in mommy's tummy kisses

You are talking all the time and learning new phrases or words everyday. The other day I dropped something on the floor and said "shoot." Now every time you drop something you say, "shoot". I guess it's a good thing that's all I said! I've also heard you say, "dang-it" a few times. It's pretty cute. 

You love your friend Charlotte who lives right behind us. We go on walks most days and you are always calling her name..."Charle"...pronounced, "Char-Le", and wanting to knock on her door to see if she is home. You two love playing together and play so well. We are sad they are going to be moving in a few weeks.

I love you so much Gavin and am so glad you joined our family two years ago. I am so lucky to be home with you everyday. You bring so much joy to my life and I am always learning new things each day from watching you. Happy, happy birthday my sweet boy. 

So Handsome

We took a trip to Medford about a month ago to visit Grandma and Grandpa Merrill. Dad was busy at home studying for a big test he had. You had so much fun swimming in Grandma and Grandpa's pool, eating otter pops (or "parnicles" as you called them), and enjoying all the attention you got. Uncle Phil and Aunt Corinne were there as well, and Corinne took some really cute pictures of you. You are growing up to be such a handsome little boy! 

You're 2nd birthday is only a couple weeks away, and I cannot believe how fast you are growing and how quickly you learn things. You are always on the move, and love to play outside....coloring with your chalk, finding bugs, going for walks, and playing in the water. Definitely a boy.

Lucky Mother

Today is mother's day and I have been thinking about the almost 2 years you have been alive. Time has gone by so quickly and I am so blessed to be your mom. I am so glad Heavenly Father sent you to me just how you are. I love your happy personality and I am so grateful to be able to be home with you everyday.

Being a mom is not always easy, but I am always learning new things and how I can be better. I am learning every day how I can help you, and I hope that I am a good example to you as you grow up. I want you to always know how much I love you and that I have a testimony of this gospel and of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Gavin, you bring such joy to my life. I love when you give me sweet kisses and still want me to rock with you before bed. I am excited for you to have a new baby sister. I know you will be such a great big brother to her and will love her so much.

Thanks for being such a sweet and lovable little boy. I love you so much and am so honored to be your mom.

Here is the gift you gave me this year. You made it in nursery, and I love it. I love your cute little red hand print.

Quick Catch Up

I feel like there are so many things you keep learning and saying, and I just can't keep up. So, here is my attempt at capturing all your growing up in the past couple months.

The weather has started to look and feel a little more like spring lately which means you can go outside and play! Oh how I would love having my own back yard with a fence so you could run free all afternoon. You hate when we have to come inside and you aren't a big fan of holding my hand either. When you start to walk near the street I come after you and you start to run, then I grab your hand and we walk and you keep trying to loosen the grip....so independent! You like to play with some of the neighbor kids, and when you aren't outside and the front door is open, you laugh and yell at them. It's cute. You love to explore everything around you and throw anything you can pick up....such as rocks.....which you call cars..that is a tricky one to say.

Speaking of cars, I am pretty sure that is your favorite word to say, and you love to play with your cars. You also love the movie "Cars", and you will point at the t.v. saying, "cars, cars, cars, cars" until I play it.

Some of the words you say the most are cars, "peas" for please, "arnge" for orange, no (in the sweetest way possible), mama, dada, along with many others. If I tell you to say a word you usually give it your best shot, and sometimes it sounds pretty good.

You recently discovered a love for gummy bears. I keep them in a certain cupboard, and one night I was upstairs talking on the phone with your grandma when I heard you yelling something from downstairs. When I came down you were standing in front of the cupboard saying, "peas, peas". You knew what you wanted.

You have also learned how to take your diaper off, and love to be naked. You get pretty mad sometimes when we have to get dressed in the morning. There are many times when I come downstairs and I find a diaper sitting in front of the t.v. and there is little Gavin pant less and diaper less. Haha...you are a silly guy.

And last but not least, you are going to be a big brother in September! We just found out it is going to be a baby girl. We are so excited and think you are going to be a great big brother.

Animal Sounds and Tantrums

You have recently started making some animal sounds. You can "cuck cuck" or "quack quack" for a duck. "Sssssssss" for a snake. A quiet roar for a lion and tiger. "Hoo hoo" for an owl. Those are the main ones. You also have said "gum ka" for grandpa a few times....pretty cute, and baby.

One thing I love about you is your spirited personality. You have a lot of personality in that little body of yours and you want everyone to know it. If you don't get what you want you aren't afraid to make a scene ;). Usually it starts with some stomping and then the body stiffens and I have to lay you on the floor where you throw a fit and let me know you're mad. After a few minutes you usually get over what ever you didn't get your way with and move on to the next thing. Although it can be frustrating at times, it's fun to watch you develop such a fiesty personality. On the other hand, you are a very sweet boy and love to snuggle with your dad, and me. You still let me rock you to sleep and you love to play with my hair.