16 Months

Gavin is learning so much every day that I can't get it all on camera.

His new favorite thing: pointing to planes when he hears them in the sky:

We go outside every morning before it gets too hot. Ryan's parents bought him a t-ball set for his birthday and he hasn't quite figured out how to hold the bat. :)

Much better!

He's very curious about nature.
Here he is examining some wild flowers--his Nani would be proud!

We play in the water as much as we can because it's been soooo hot.

He loves loves loves the hose.

And who better to teach him to drink out of it than Dakota.

You can see how excited he gets about it in this video:


We've been having picnics outside. Here he is with his buddy Braden.
Naked is the best way to eat a PB&J!

He loves to ride in the car cart at Kroger when we go grocery shopping. He also waves at every single person going by, but of course I have yet to get a picture of it.

He would walk around with a set of keys every second of every day if we let him. But when he's done with them, he just drops them. We've found keys all over the house and yard. I think he needs his own set so we don't lose any! He knows keys go in holes so he thinks any hole will suffice:

He has been walking with his hands clasped behind his back lately. So cute.

He loves using his big boy toothbrush. We used a finger brush up until this month (ridiculous, I know), so it's really nice to not get our fingers chewed on anymore!

Mommy's little helper:

We needed to cook dinner for friends coming over, so we put a video on and put him on the couch. Amazingly, he sat still for 15 minutes! That is a world record for this active boy.

He loves my makeup drawer:

Makes me a little bit concerned... :)
He loves to put the brushes all over his face and hair:
I just love this precious boy!

Getaway

I requested a getaway with Ryan before our little girl comes this fall. Ryan planned an entire week! Gavin stayed with our parents 3 1/2 days each. So thankful they live so close that we can do that!
We went to Charlotte, NC for a work trip for the first 2 1/2 days (I shopped all day at Ikea, read by the pool, and got a pedicure while Ryan worked!) and then off to Charleston, SC just the 2 of us for the rest of the week.

We stayed at the Francis Marion hotel downtown the first night:

It was so fun to just leisurely walk around without pushing a stroller or having to calm down a screaming toddler! :)

I always love walking through The Market downtown. I see these butterflies every time I go and always want to get them but have no idea where I would put them! Next time I'm getting one. I love them too much.

And this picture was just too funny not to share:

And I would like a real life picture of Gavin and Ryan like this. Soooo precious!

We ate out at much nicer restaurants than we ever ever ever do. Which is nice because we definitely can't go to a nice place with the Gavster! And with 2 kiddos very soon! :)

Fleet Landing by the ocean (we called ahead and requested a window seat!):

Poogan's Porch

Years ago, I remember watched Food Network's "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" and saw him try to beat this guy's 7-layer coconut cake recipe from Charleston. Coconut cake is my absolute favorite so of course my pregnant self remembered this while we were there! I googled and found it at Peninsula Grill. It was totally worth $11 a slice!

We went to the beach for a couple of hours to relax and read. A thunderstorm was coming so EVERYBODY (including lifeguards) deserted the beach. It ended up not raining and we practically had the beach to ourselves!

And of course I'm rereading Eclipse to get ready for the premiere next week!!

The last day we went to Boone Hall Plantation.

Can I plant oak trees in my front yard down my driveway to look like this?? These are my absolute favorite trees!

We took a little wagon ride around the plantation with a tour guide.

I was SO HOT being so pregnant in such a hot city that I had to buy a sundress while we were there so I wouldn't die of heat exhaustion. :) I now know why girls down there wear dresses all the time!

Thanks, Ryan, for taking me away for so long! It was such a wonderful anniversary week with you!

And here's a couple pictures of what Gavin was up to while we were gone:
He sure doesn't look like he missed us very much!
A week was a VERY long time away from him. Around day 4 I was missing him like crazy! Maybe after 2 kiddos I'll want a week next time! :)

5 Months

First let me show you a before picture of Gavin's precious curls that I reluctantly cut off this week:

Look at my big boy in his big boy haircut who was "all done" with the picture taking before we got our 5 month picture:

5 Months and giving me a high 5

(I am now out of creative ideas for these pictures--any ideas for 6 months?)

Here's our precious baby girl, who, like her brother, likes to cover her face for ultrasounds:

So the ultrasound tech somehow erased her arm on the 4d ultrasound so we could see her face (amazing!):

As of last week, her name was:

Eleanor Joy Hughes

and we would call her "Ellie"

but Ryan is thinking we have 4 months left and it's too early to decide on a name.

So we'll see if she's Ellie Joy or not!

And Ryan finally got to feel her kick last week for the first time!

She is a ninja kicker like her brother!

Elkmont

Last weekend, 15 of us went to Elkmont to enjoy the annual lightning bug show. This is mine and Ryan's 6th year going and I think it was the best year yet! I so wish I could show you pictures of these synchronized fireflies, but they don't pick up on our point and shoot camera. If anybody ever finds a picture or video of them, I want to see!

On the way to see the fireflies at dusk...

The tent we stayed in was humongous and had 3 rooms!

Here's Gavin's room (yes, it was big enough for his pack & play!)

Gavin loved playing on the air mattresses:

Playing with Papaw and Gram at the campsite:

Amanda froze all weekend

I bought this shirt especially for this camping trip. He's taking a bite of food here so he looks quite unhappy actually! He really did such a great job all weekend. I think he'd rather live in the Smoky Mountains than at home! So much to explore and sticks galore to pick up!

Playing in the FREEZING creek.

"I'm not so sure about this, guys."

Dad forced him in.

He's only been in water with sand so he kept stomping on the rocks.

Gavin the Explorer

Do you see the wings on this boy from the humidity?

Gram and Papaw got him his only little chair:

Low Country Boil on Saturday night. Finally a picture of my parents! They took Gavin around the campground in the wagon all the time--I'm so sad I don't have a picture!

I think eating with your hands and camping just go perfectly together, don't you?

Gavin loved camping food.

"Alright, guys, give me something to fix. I know what I'm doing here."

(Thanks for his camping pj's Aunt Joanna! They are my favorite!!)

Reading about Tennessee with Gram:

He got very interested in a Grandaddy Long Leg and followed it under this rock.

I just love seeing the world through his eyes!

If anybody in Knoxville wanted to go see the fireflies, you can still go this weekend! Here's info:

http://www.mysmokymountainvacation.com/firefly-show.html