Gavin's 2nd Birthday

Yes, I realize that his birthday was 6 weeks ago. Busy, busy, busy! However, I did manage to get some pictures downloaded from my camera of his fabulous celebration. Grandpa and Grandma McGee were in town for the big day. We rented out Kid's Corner at the clubhouse which made the festivities SO much easier than having them at our house. Obviously, the theme was Bob the Builder. Gavin has been all about diggers, dumpers and dozers since last summer. With all the construction here it's no wonder. However, I will say that trains are definitely the new obsession. He asks to play trains every waking minute of the day. All videos, music and activities are about trains. He's not partial to Thomas, just trains! Anyway, we really enjoyed having a fun little party for him and we are so thankful to have family and friends right here in town.

Click here to see all the birthday pictures in an album...






Gavin had his 2 year pictures with Lillian last weekend. You can imagine how anxious I am to see the proofs. In fact, she sent me a sneak last night. I am going to have to change my blog background to accommodate this new picture.... I'll post when the proofs arrive.

The Thoreau-bred Baby

I have to plug my friend Keli's blog. Keli and I have been friends since she started teaching at Creek Wood about 4 years ago. She is a VERY dedicated english teacher, new mother and wife and one of the wonderful Christian women I can admire. Not only is she cute as a button but she is one of the funniest people I have ever met. Her advanced grasp on the english language only adds "punch" to her jokes... a bit like Dennis Miller... aka "over my head"! The 3 MUST READS on her blog are "Drrrrrty Christmas, Indeed", "Boy, Interrupted" and "Dedicated". Kuddos Keli! I hope your blog is a must read all over the world!

What to do on a rainy day....

What should you do on a cold rainy day? Pretend it's a warm spring shower as you look through the window! What a stinker! He is SO in love with his green frog boots. I didn't stage this... this was G after a morning bath. He was in his "big boy underpants" and somehow found his boots on a shelf in his closet. I know he'll hate me for this pic when he's 15 but I couldn't resist capturing the sweetness of this shot!

P.S. Starbucks update: you can order a nonfat hot chocolate and ask them to top it like a salted caramel hot chocolate. it's not nearly as rich but it is still VERY num yummy!

Num Yummy!

So...I am totally playing off of one of my favorite commercials on TV (the num yummy Campbells ad)... I had to talk about this fabulous drink that my friend Holly Winn told me she's hooked on. Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate from Starbucks. The only problem beyond the ridiculously overpriced tag on it is the calorie content. 590 calories and 26 g of fat for a venti!. Seriously???? How is that even possible? How could I not taste the 8 strips of bacon and lump of lard in this drink? But in all seriousness.... it's still fabulous but most definitely a 'once in a while' kind of drink. I found a knock off recipe for it on the web. hopefully I can modify it to a lower fat version too.

~enjoy!

Happy Halloweenie!

Tons of Fun! That's what we had this weekend. Gavin had a wonderful time as a lion. I don't know how this happened but we managed to NOT get a picture of Gavin with my niece Allie who was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. They were adorable. My nephew Chase refused to be the Tin Man or Scarecrow.. he went as Anakin from Star Wars.

Chad and I attended Halloween parties both Friday and Saturday night. We dressed up for the one on Saturday. We decided to go as ACORN volunteers. We were armed with clipboards and ballots. No need for anyone to show ID. We accepted ALL those who wanted to vote.. no questions asked! Here's a picture of our costumes. I got crafty and made the T-shirts and badges on the computer. You can't really tell in the picture but I had a lip ring in. If I had found more jewelry I would have added some eyebrow rings and a few more in my lips. Chad had a love patch goin' on with his hippy hat. Sadly, the hat is mine from college. Yes... those are Grateful Dead dancing bears on the hat. Thank God I grew up!!

We had a great time but I think several folks thought we might actually be promoting Obama. GOD FORBID! Anyway, at least we hopped back into a vehicle that had a McCain/ Palin bumper sticker!

Where Oh Where has my Baby Boy Gone?

Oh what a long summer! Here's the latest from our compound...

1. Potty Training: I have had several of you ask how Gavin's potty training is going. Well, if you wait for him to tell you he has to go then it's really hit or miss. However, if you ask him if he wants to go he'll tell you yes and always "performs". Is that potty trained???

2. We have spent most of the summer working on the back yard. We had Mike Hays Landscaping do a landscape design for us back in April. We began with the Green Cowboy... hhmm. Not so good. We then moved on to Ed. What a miracle he was! He managed to salvage most of the plants that the Green Cowboy nearly killed. We had a sweet man named Jesus.. that's "Hey Zoos" not "Gee Zus". do the fireplace and patio. He didn't speak much english but he was truly a craftsman. We are so happy we found him.

3. I organized a consignment sale this fall here in Westhaven. My friend Ann (mom of QUADS) helped me run the sale and I think we will do it again in the spring. We did nearly $10,000 in sales and donated 50% of the proceeds to Waves, Inc. Because we had a 70% split with the consignors, we didn't net $10,000 but it gives a good idea as to how busy the sale was. I spent a lot of money on advertising this first time but hopefully we will not need to do that much advertising in the future since we now have an email database of consignors and shoppers. A HUGE shout out to Lillian for designing our logo and the site!

4. Chad's little brother tied the knot! Coby and Melissa were married on September14 in Kansas City. Gavin took his first plane ride and did REALLY well!!!

5. I am trying to lose weight. I will not call this baby weight since I lost all of that a long time ago. No.. this is "stay at home mom" weight. This is what happens when you have a toddler who isn't really interested in eating and a mom who can't imagine throwing that food in the garbage... hence it ends up in my mouth! We are doing a neighborhood "biggest loser" competition. It's $25 and winner takes all! I doubt I'll win but it's motivational.

Well that's all folks. Hope you are looking forward to the end of the political season as much as I am!!!!!

Potty Time!

I can hardly believe it but yes... Gavin is "supposedly" old enough now to begin potty training. I know some of you will tell me it's too early but I am determined to at least give it a try. The Baby Whisperer says that the AAP did a survey in 1957 and at that point in time 95% of all 18 month-olds were potty trained. Really??? Of course this was back before disposable diapers. So I decided to do some research. Apparently, kids who use cloth diapers are potty trained significantly sooner than those in disposables. So that got me thinking. Should I switch to cloth at this point and see if he potty trains? My friend Kris in Alaska has been a great help. Her son Will is one month older than Gavin and is nearly done with his potty training. Kris has been using cloth diapers since he was born. She likes BumGenious and Fuzzibuns. At first I thought she was crazy but after being "enlightened" with information from her, I think I just might try it with the next baby. Next baby??? No.. there isn't a "next baby" but hopefully there will be some day down the road.

So what am I doing to potty train? To begin with, he's been watching his Elmo Potty Time DVD everyday. This week I have asked him if he wants to use the potty about every 15 minutes. He usually says "yes" but has been unsuccessful in accomplishing anything as of yet. He sure thinks it's fun though. I have a tiny little book that he reads while on the seat. He also has a couple of toys to keep him occupied. Earlier this week I ordered a training pant called Kushies. They are flannel on the inside with a liner but the outside is poly so they don't soak through. They just arrived today and when I sat down with Gavin to discuss what they were he could hardly wait to put them on. After getting the first pair on he ran around the house in glee. He would stop, look down at his underpants and then squeal in delight and start running again. Then he put the second pair on top of the first. Overly excited I say! We will see how the next few days go. It's Friday and at least Chad will be home all weekend to help. I feel like I'm living in the bathroom the past day or so...

Yesterday I stopped by to bring Kim (Scott)Cornwell and her husband Jason dinner. Of course all that is just a ploy to see the new baby. Kim and Jason welcomed Kennedy into their lives on July 15. She is adorable and perfect in every way. She has so much hair! I told Kim that it will be a lot more fun to have hair like that on a girl then it was on Gavin! Poor Gavin just looked like Donald Trump. At least Kennedy will get to put some pretty bows in all that dark hair.

Father's Day 2008

Yes... I know the music is cheesy but what can I say? I love those two wonderful men in my life and so this music just fits them perfect. Anyway, here are some pictures we took this weekend. We didn't do much other than relax and ride around the neigbhorhood in the golf cart. Gavin is really insistent on driving the golf cart these days. Trouble I say! He also likes to sing songs which sound similar to an east Indian chant. I will have to post some video soon of that... it's really too funny. Gavin's latest loves are his new Bob the Builder DVD (get this if you have a boy! It's wonderful) and construction equipment. He's "moooooved" off of the cow thing here recently and life now revolves around diggers, dumpers and dozers. Absolutely every piece of construction equipment in Franklin has been pointed out to me in the past month. If I'm ever on the phone with you and you hear Gavin screaming, it's most likely because he sees a dump truck, dozer, etc...

So we still aren't hearing that many "words" or at least that's what I thought. I had Gavin evaluated by the state's early intervention specialist and he tested above average in his speech. Really??? I can't understand a darn thing he's saying. I mean, I know what he's squealing about or fussing at but I didn't realize that it is considered "talking". My friends Sarah and Linda both have children who I swear can give full dissertations so my perception is a little askew I guess. Anyway, the comical part of this whole evaluation though was that he scored "exceptional" in his social skills. Amazing!!! My child is sociable??? Who could fathom that? Especially since I am such and introvert.. .ha ha ha. I think I've had Gavin face forward in a sling or carrier since the minute he was born. He lives to socialize. Yesterday, my mom had about 12 women over at her house for a shower. Gavin just walked right on in and started entertaining all of them. No fear, no hesitation... just socializing. His latest thing is that he knows the different houses we are passing in the neighborhood. I take him for golf cart rides several times a day and we go to look at the construction equipment here in the neighborhood and then we usually stop to visit a friend or two. As we pass different friends houses he points to the ones he knows he has playmates at... even if he's only been there once. What a nut! By the way, do you notice the matching outfits? I'm such a dork! I'm just glad Chad was willing to participate!

Gangsta Gavin

How funny is this? We didn't stage this picture at all! Gavin was playing around in the bonus room and came across my black Capital Records hat (from Chad's music days) and Chad's watch. I looked over and he had put the hat on sideways and had the watch hanging off his wrist like it was a big gold link bracelet. Of course he took the watch off by the time we got the camera out but funny none the less. By the way, if you can hear the music I have set to this post then you gotta check out the YouTube link to this video. It is the funniest darn thing I have seen in years.

Today was Mother's Day. Chad and Gavin gave me my Mother's Day present a couple weeks ago though. They bought me a digital SLR camera... Nikon D60. I am so excited to learn how to use it. I also need to figure out how to use Photoshop Elements 6 since I bought that months ago and haven't done a darn thing with it.

Last night, Chad and I went to see Verdi performed at the new Nashville symphony hall, The Schermerhorn. We aren't necessarily well versed in the world of opera or symphony but we enjoyed the performance not to mention the beauty of the hall. The building is amazing. They did a fantastic job of making it look like it had been constructed in earlier times. The inside is beautiful too. Afterwards, we went to Sole Mio for dinner, wine and dessert. Tiramisu.... Yummmmm....

You may have noticed I haven't posted for over a month. It's been a rough month for Gavin. Three weeks ago, Gavin got strep throat. Then he broke out in cold sores all through his mouth. His gums, tongue, cheeks, throat. It was AWFUL! He wouldn't eat a thing. Then when we thought we were all well.. he ends up with strep again! My friends call him the "Bubble Boy" since I won't go to playgroups or childcare with him... so how does he get this crap? I think I might buy my own shopping cart to take to Target, Walmart, etc. Do they make a bubble to fit over them?

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