Aaaahhhh....

Jamaica.... what more can I say? How about Jamiaca and the Ritz Carlton? It was the best 4 days we've had in a long time. Not that all our other days aren't good, they are, but we sure enjoyed such a beautiful country. The Jamaican people were wonderful. Everyone had a smile for us which is so refreshing in today's world. We had a smile on our faces too... especially since we didn't have to pay for any of this vacation. Chad doubled his sales this past year and was rewarded by becoming a member of the SunTrust President's Club. The top mortgage lenders and their mates are invited to spend a few days in a beautiful location while also attending some SunTrust functions. At first we thought it may be a little "boring" since he had to go to business meetings each day and every night we had a dinner reception to attend. However, it was so entertaining and we had a fabulous time getting to know some of Chad's coworkers and thier spouses. The entire trip was planned out by SunTrust and not one detail was left out. Starting with the welcome reception and gift baskets! We spent time at the pool, the beach and we even went on a catamaran cruise one day. During our cruise, the boat anchored off shore so that we could snorkle. It was incredible. I really had an "WOW" moment looking at all the creatures under the water. What a wonderfully creative God we have! I will conclude with some pictures of our trip. By the way, Gavin stayed home and Chad's mom and dad took care of him at our house. We are so thankful that they were able to do that for us! It took a lot of the guilt off of us knowing he was spending quality time with his Grandma and Grandpa McGee.

A couple of views from our room






Awards Banquet - SunTrust Nashville Group

Gavin's One Year Pictures

OK, so I realize he's 14 months old but it took a while for us to get these done. Our wonderful friend and photographer (Lillian) was out on maternity leave for a little while. She got back to work right away but I couldn't manage to get myself or Gavin together enough to do a photo shoot. Anyway, here is a link to the pictures.
http://web.mac.com/lillianbphotography/iWeb/lillianbphotography/mcgee.html

A Day at the Park

Yesterday was gorgeous so Gavin and I decided to go to the park across the street from our house. We ran into a couple of friends while we were there and my friend Jennifer took a picture of us. Gavin absolutely loved watching all the kids play. He hollers out to them but since he isn't really walking too well yet, he can't really interact with them.

Tonight it's snowing and we are supposed to get 5" by tomorrow morning. I sure am glad we took advantage of yesterday's weather because it doesn't look like we are going to have weather like that for awhile.

Playdate with the Fireman

Today Gavin and I went to a mommy's group playdate at the Franklin fire station. Gavin was very interested in the truck but was not at all amused when the fireman came out with his full gear on. My otherwise "happy" child was not about to let this "Yellow Darth Vader" come anywhere near him or his mommy. Santa was no problem but this was not negotiable with Gavin. Here are some pictures.

Walk This Way!

Gavin is walking!!! Well, at least we know he can walk. He still crawls when he wants to go somewhere but he will take a few steps on his own if you encourage him to do so. I'm highly disappointed that I didn't witness the first steps. Here I am, at home with Gavin ALL DAY LONG but on February 21st, I took 90 minutes out to go to bible study and he decides to walk for my mom! Worst yet, my mom actually told me!! I would never have been the wiser if she hadn't told me but alas, she couldn't keep it to herself. Anyway, check out the youtube video. Too cute!

Safe and Sound

Many have contacted me concerned about the tornados that hit our region yesterday. All is well here in Franklin but our neighboring community of Fairview did get significant damage. It was the deadliest outbreak of tornados for Tennessee since 1933. I think the death toll is at 33 and there are still 15 missing. Once these 15 people are accounted for, it may end up being the deadliest on record for our state. We did seek shelter at my parent's house. They live a couple blocks away from us and they have an underground shelter in the garage. Here's a link to the company's website.

www.flatsafe.com

Please pray for those who have lost so much.

Snow Angel!

So we had a light dusting of snow last Wednesday night just before Gavin was going to bed. I put his coat on and we headed outside. He was mesmerized by the HUGE snowflakes. He did see snow a couple weeks prior to this but didn't have the opportunity to play in it. He kept sticking his tongue out at the flakes but of course I couldn't manage to ever capture that on camera! Anyway, I hope the weather is warmer wherever you may be reading this. Happy Tuesday!

More!! More!!!

Our little stinker is signing! I have been working on baby sign language for what seems to be forever. This weekend, he finally started doing it!! Although it's only one sign, it makes my heart so proud!! I started crying when he did it.. and again... and again. It's so cute. He typically does it when he's eating and he wants "more" crackers, juice, etc. However, I noticed he was doing it yesterday when Chad was tossing him around. Whenever Chad would stop, Gavin would sign "more". Oh... so cute. I took some video but I will have to wait to post it. I just wanted to share.

Happy Birthday Gavin!!

So it took me a while to get these pictures up. I am not budgeting my time well at all these days. I don't even have my Christmas decorations down yet. Hhmm... it's 70 degrees today. Do you suppose this might be the day to do it?

Gavin's birthday party was a big production! We had lots of family and a few close friends come. Gavin was getting pretty tired by the time the cake was rolled out. He had quite the time playing in the frosting and then by the end of it all, he was just glazed over, covered in blue, white and yellow frosting. It was EVERYWHERE! Including my woodwork, walls and floor. Idiot me popped a balloon that had frosting all over it... you can imagine the rest of the story. My advice to anyone else who is ordering a 1st Birthday cake... go with plain white frosting for the smash cake. Seriously!

For two days, Gavin had bright green poop... how disgusting... I figured out it was all the food coloring from the frosting. You remember the equation, "yellow and blue make green". Now I have the proof.

Gavin has opened lots of presents over the past couple weeks. It's a bummer his birthday and Christmas are so close together. All his toys will be a year old by the time he gets another round. Oh well, I don't think he is too abused or anything. His favorites are the farm toys and his ride on truck. He just loves the farm stuff so much. He always has a ball in one hand and an "Little People" animal in the other.

Well, must go now. Little stinker is making noises. Below are some pictures from that day.

By the way, if you have a blog you would like me to link on my page, email me. I don't want to post someones blog if they haven't given their blessings to it.

Here Comes Santa Claus...

How cute is he??? While all the other kids were screaming and totally freaked out by the man in red, my little stinker went right to him and started messing with his beard! That's Gavin for ya.

This will be a very busy week. Gavin's grandma and grandpa (Chad's parents) are coming to visit from Missouri on Friday. We are going to celebrate Gavin's first birthday on Saturday and then we will have Christmas with his parents on Sunday before they return home.

We went to Missouri for Thanksgiving and Gavin rode the 4 wheeler with daddy. He giggled the entire time. He loved the loud noise and vibration. What a boy.

Well, I will post more after the birthday party!