catch up!

I think I need to catch up a bit. We've been busy at home and I've been super busy at work! Gavin is continuing to learn new things each day. He really is learning to push the boundaries and test Steven and me. He certainly listens to Steven more than he listens to me - I guess because Daddy is more firm than Mommy. His teacher at school told me this morning that he will begin transitioning to the 2 year old room next week - but when I went to pick him up today he was already over in that classroom playing - and he didn't want to leave! Man, when did my adorable little baby boy get so big!? I love watching him grow and learn and be so independent but at the same time I miss those cuddly baby stages too.

We enjoyed 2 days of school shopping with Grammie, Shayna and Lucas. Shayna is going into 5th grade and is wicked excited because she finally has a locker! Her 5th grade teacher is Mrs. Benne - she was one of my teachers when I was in 5th grade - crazy! Gavin is such a trooper when we go places.. he rarely cries and he just goes with the flow - what a blessing!

I've taken so many random photos over the past week - some are from when Gavin came to visit me at work and our evening trip to Longs Park.. others are from our shopping trip and there are some randoms ones taken home.. ENJOY!









Last night Gavin went to a Barnstormers game with Steven and his mom. I had to work late - bummer. Gavin got a batting practice ball from an usher AND he was chosen to be the Rally Roni boy! That means he was on the big screen, he got a Rally Roni t-shirt and he got his whole section a free box of Rally Roni :-) Of course, all this fun stuff happens the night I'm not there. Steven said they all had a good time, except the team - they were not playing well at all!

Super Saturday!!

We had such a great day together as a family on Saturday! Our first stop was the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Steven and I were a little nervous because neither of us had been there before but I am so thankful we went! They had a great Africa section with elephants, zebras, rhinos, camels, lions, leopards and giraffes. Gavin and I got to ride a camel - which was super fun for me because they are one of my most favorite animals!!! Marie is the name of the camel we rode and her adorable baby's name is Mocha. I didn't know how Gavin would react but he really had a good time. After the camel ride we got to visit with a momma elephant and her baby, named Samson. This baby elephant was just adorable - and really smart too! Then I got to feed a giraffe - super cool! The giraffe walked right up to me - we were so close I could see the dirt in her eye lashes - amazing!! Her name is Angel and she is 11 years old - another interesting fact, her tongue is 18 inches long - yikes!! I can't wait to take Gavin back there when he is a little older and can do more things on his own.




After the zoo we walked around Inner Harbor and had some lunch. It was such a beautiful day outside and the water was lovely. After the Inner Harbor we drove over to Fort McHenry to please my husband, who really enjoys history. We enjoyed some peaceful moments by the water watching the boats and ships pass.

We were home for about two hours, then it was time for another adventure. We went out to dinner with Steven's brothers and their significant others - Steven's older brother Gene, his wife Judith and their son Jordan - Steven's younger brother Christopher and his fiance Kristy - and Steven's other younger brother Michael and his girlfriend Amanda. We had a great time. I had never met his brother Christopher or his fiance so that was definitely very exciting for me. It was also really fun for them to meet Gavin! We talked, laughed, joked and picked on each other - just like a typical family! We also took some pretty silly pictures - which I'm sure you'll enjoy! Jordan loved giving Gavin kisses, that was very cute! They played really well together. I hope we can do that again soon, it really was fun and meant a lot to everyone.

SIZE 7!

So we went to get Gavin some new sneakers last night - he wears a size 7 - can you believe it?! I thought he would still be a size 6 because that was his size just a few months ago, but Mommy was wrong! He seems to like his new sneakers - he better, they were $40 bucks! He was strutting around in them this morning like a big boy - what a cutie :-)

Busy bees!

*This was on the driveway when I got home from work on Thursday - my boys are so sweet*

We sure were busy bees this weekend! Saturday was the annual Anderson pig roast so we spent the day with family relaxing in the sun and eating a ton of food! Gavin loved swimming in the pool, flirting with the girls and playing ball with the big kids. OH - my little guy can WALK in Uncle Wayne and Aunt Donna's pool.. last year all he did was float around in his silly raft.. now he's walking in the shallow end.. oh my. I didn't take many pictures (can you believe it!) but here are a few cute ones!





Here's my baseball boy! My mom got Steven this really neat book about all the major league baseball parks and Gavin LOVES to sit and read it.. what a silly goose!!


Sunday we spent the afternoon at Grammie and Poppop's house. Poppop just came home from the hospital again so we wanted to spend time with him and try to make him feel better. Gavin really had a great time playing with everyone. He enjoyed wrestling with Lucas, coloring with Shayna, playing ET with Poppop and ticking Grammie. He also had a blast playing outside in the rain puddles with Shayna and Lucas.. nice idea Grammie :-) Enjoy these fun photos of our afternoon at Grammie and Poppop's!


Finally after a busy weekend we got to relax at home for a while.. these shots of Gavin are so cute - minus the scary red eye and the yucky pacifier.

This morning while climbing down the stairs Gavin saw his "Cylo book" sitting on the stairs - I forgot to put it away! He decided to sit down on the stairs and read his Cylo book to Mommy! It's actually a program booklet from one of the Barnstormers games we went to but if he thinks it's his Cylo book then that works for me!