Gavin's Updated Room

It all started with an outfit that inspired Gavin's room...

That outfit evolved into this...

As I've been rocking Gavin in his room lately, I've been discontent with his room. Ridiculous, I know, because he has one of the coolest rooms. But still...something was missing. So I was flipping through a Pottery Barn Kids catalog a few weeks ago and saw this.
(Notice the tree in the background with the shelves.)
So as a birthday present, I asked Amanda if she would do a third tree in Gavin's room.

Blank wall before:

This girl makes me sick that she can draw this so fast.

Bethany came over for a little bit to help, too.
We made a teeny Gavin handprint leaf under the bottom shelf.
Paint on a 6-month-old's hands. Hmmm...not too smart. On the forehead.The very tired artist after a long day.
Adding the branch shelves:
It's my favorite of them all!

We also FINALLY hung pictures on the walls. My friend Emilee got this idea from the Girltalk Blog and I stole it from her. I did it with Hughes downstairs in black & white a few years ago and wanted to do it for Gavin. I love how it turned out and love it in color!

I got this idea from Mom from Gavin's newborn pictures to do his "parts." (Are you seeing a pattern? I'm basically a copycat!)

It has one of my favorite verses from when I was pregnant:
"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."
~Psalm 139:13-14

Now when I'm rocking him, I can't quit smiling at all of the changes in his room! I love it!

Peek-a-Boo!

Gavin's new favorite thing in the whole world: Peek-a-Boo! Here's a video I took a couple of weeks ago. It looks like he's figured it out and is playing with me. I'm a little skeptical though--I think his head might be so big that he gets tired of holding it up so he rests it for a minute. :) Either way, he is too cute. Please excuse my loud "Peek-a-Boo!" in the background. You may have to make it bigger to actually see him ducking behind the pillow. Don't you like how he's pulled the sheet and mattress cover off the bed? Love this boy.

Family Field Trip

This weekend was Teacher Appreciation Days at Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. Because I am a certified teacher, I showed my school ID and our little family got to go for free! I am still officially a Knox County employee on maternity leave, so we were still following the rules. I am SO GLAD that we went! Gavin is so aware of his surroundings these days that we knew he would have a blast. He did not cry or whine one single time the entire trip--from the time we left our house to the time we got back (about 5 hours). He LOVED every single minute.

Soaking everything up like a little sponge!

This is my favorite part--it's a moving 340-foot glidepath going through a tunnel of fish and sharks!

"WOOAAA!"

"Umm, Mom, I'm not so sure about this. Did you see how that thing looked at me?"

"Much better."

"The Jelly Man. Takin' on the Jellies."
I CANNOT WAIT for Gavin to watch Finding Nemo in a few years so we can learn about all the fish and animals in it and then see them in person! Poor kid, I'm going to cram Science down this boy's throat.
Here's Crush!
We should have gotten a video of us passing Gavin off to get him inside this tube--pretty entertaining.
His head looks tiny here! Haha!

Gavin wanted to touch all the fish.

This video sums up how much this boy loved his first Aquarium! I'm sure we'll be visiting the one in Chattanooga soon!

Boating Bliss

Ryan's parents let us borrow their boat for about a month. We tried to take it out as much as we could, but with schedules and rain, we definitely didn't get out as much as we wanted. There's always next summer! :) Thanks so much for your generosity, Robert and Julie!

We tried Gavin in the lake right when we got the boat. Still not a fan...

The boat does put him to sleep, though.

An evening ride with Lon and Sharon...
...and Peter and Bethany
(look at that sunset!)
Lon in my life jacket. Nice, Lon.
Bananas in a teether ring--anything to keep this boy occupied on the boat!
Gavin's bed in the boat.

Our wonderful neighbors Stan and Diane (who possibly love Dakota more than we do!)

Last Sunday, we traveled to Boomsday via boat! We didn't even leave the dock until after 8:30. Fireworks started @ 9:30 and we got there just in time.

We don't always make Gavin wear a lifejacket, but he definitely had to at night! Notice there's only one strap on it for this hefty boy. :)
Elizabeth, Liz, and future Haylee--having a great time and no clue what's in store for them.
I think Braden somehow knows what's coming. Look at that terrified face...
Thank goodness for my responsible hubby who had to drive with MANIACS after the fireworks show.
Watching the fireworks on the back of the boat--it was an incredible view and one of the coolest things I've ever done.
You can see the boat lights behind Ben, Elizabeth, and Braden. What we didn't know (and were NOT prepared for) is that ALL the boats leave AT THE SAME TIME!! It was seriously one of the most terrifying experiences of my life! It was pitch black and boats were coming about 5 feet away from us--most of them much bigger than our boat which means lots of waves and tons of rocking. Whew.
Thank goodness this little guy had no clue what was going on. We arrived safe and sound about 1 1/2 hours later!

We tried for a better day on Labor Day, and it was perfect weather and not too crowded.
It was a great way to celebrate my birthday!

We went out with Matt, Shannon, & Libby and Josh, Sarah, & Lucy. Here's the dads holding their daughters.
Gavin FINALLY liked the lake! Hooray!
I love this picture. The girls watching the boys.
And then they switch and watch the girls fighting! Notice Shannon kicking Sarah in the background. Haha.

Gavin was exhausted after all the excitement.
And Ryan was exhausted after Josh pulled him on the tube.
Maybe next year this little guy can tube!