First Christmas

Gavin had a jam-packed first Christmas!

He was the center of attention at every family gathering...

Christmas Eve service at Ryan's parents' church

"Are these all for ME?"
His favorite game was to climb on the pile of presents, rip off the bow, bring it to Dakota, and she tore them up. I gave up putting the bows back on!

Aunt Amanda helped him unwrap.

Christmas morning:

"Is this big 'ol thing for me??"
Everybody loved Gavin's new wagon from Nani and Pop, including Chad...
...Dakota...
...and the Gavster.

His Gram and Papaw got him his first video game! It works with the horse that you ride on. So cool! He was giggling he loved it so much.
How did Ryan and I know we were truly meant to be together? We had the same stockings as kids. Could there be more of a sign?? :) So Mom had a stocking made for Gavin to match!

We got Gavin a Little People Nativity set for Christmas. He loves playing with it! And I love it that I can set it at his level and not worry about him breaking it! (Thanks, Elizabeth! :) )

Ryan got me new pads for our DDR!
Cutest little reindeer there ever was!
Four generations

What a memorable Christmas as a little family!
And with all of Gavin's new toys, what did he want to do the most?
Play the piano with Pop...
...and bang on his Pop's drum all night long. I love his open mouth with him singing here with his cousin Caroline:
Ummm...what did we ever do without our mini van???
It was a great first Christmas! We are so richly blessed!

Unk

My brother (a.k.a. Unk) moved up to New York this summer, so Christmas was extra special because he and his wife Megan flew down to spend the week with us at Mom and Dad's house!

To surprise them when they got home, we all wore our "I <3 New York" shirts.
Gavin loved being with Chad! I love how Gavin is looking at him here...
He especially loved it when his Unk played guitar, drums, or piano with him.

We already miss you, Chad and Meg!

Little Drummer Boy

This was Gavin's favorite thing to do at my parents' house over Christmas...

More pictures of Gavin's first Christmas to come!

Getting Ready for Christmas

This little guy is ready for Christmas to come!

"You mean it's not until next week!?"
Gavin riding his reindeer...

Last weekend, we went to "Christmas at Chilhowee" with Peter and Bethany.
We all got free reindeer antlers. It was so silly and fun!

Gavin can't wait for his first Christmas!!

White Christmas

I don't remember the last time we have gotten snow before Christmas! Here's Gavin in his first snow on Saturday. He was very curious for a few minutes and swished his legs around in it...until he realized he was freezing cold and he cried and we went in after a total of about 4 minutes!

Friday night we went to the Christmas parade downtown with Walt and Kim.

Gavin kept this Santa hat on all night! But tried to take his Dad's off all the time.It was sooooo cold. Gavin was such a trooper!

Santa Clause!

I can't wait to go next year when Gavin is actually interested in the parade! :)

9 Months

Gavin is so fun right now! Ryan and I really love this stage. 2 things I didn't get pictures of that he's learned this month: clapping (all the time!) and he's starting to wave. Something new every day!

Spending time with Libby and Lucy

Pulling up to standing all the time now!
And getting into a lot of trouble that way!

Teething....whew. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. He now has 3 teeth on the bottom and 4 came in the same week on the top! You can imagine how fun that week was.
What's the perfect teether ring? A frozen waffle!
Eating is quite the messy affair these days. This boy loves his food! And loves to put things in both hands at the same time.

Climbing up the stairs. He's a little daredevil!

Gavin has become a musician! I guess if you think about our musical family (on both sides), it was inevitable.
He likes to drum on everything--including Dakota.
He also loves to "sing"--or scream might be a better word to describe it!

And LOVES to "play" the piano. This is a long video, so just watch a little bit so you can see how funny this boy is.

We went to Chattanooga quite a bit this month and got to spend a lot of time with family.

Lovin' on Great Grandpa Bruce

He loves spending time with Great Grandma Buddie

More pics of Gavin's First Thanksgiving

Rex and Gavin
Reese is a year older than Gavin--not much bigger!
My cousin Jason helped Gavin walk for the first time behind a walker on Thanksgiving day. This boy is growing up too fast!!

We ate one of these guys that my 8-year-old cousin Ross shot. Bacon-wrapped venison. Mmmmm. Gavin can't wait to try it next year.

9 month stats from our doctor's appointment this week:
Head: 49.0 cm (off the charts still!)
Height: 28 1/2 in (75%)
Weight: 22 lbs. 13 oz (75%-90%)
Is he slimming up a little bit?!?

Happy Thanksgiving!

This shirt says it all...

I am so thankful for this little boy.
What are you thankful for?

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness continues to all generations." ~Psalm 100:4-5