Mother's Day

For some reason Mother's Day made me feel very emotional this year. I guess having a baby of your own and realizing you're a "mom" now may make one who is prone to being emotional, a little emotional on the said event of celebrating motherhood.

But it was a good day, all in all. And I'm delighted to be a mom to little Gavin.

Who is . . .

happy.
biting.
pulling up to standing.
still not crawling.
getting his 7th tooth.
bellying laughing.
ticklish.
taking swim lessons.
almost 9 months old.

I can hardly believe it's gone so fast! What a ride, what a great, great ride!

elf in training . . .

We had a wonderful first Christmas with Gavin. Here are some of my favorite shots from the day. . .

Gavin, look what Santa left us under the tree. Is that for me?

opening gifts with daddy . . .

Grandpa Dial, what did you get from Santa?

Gavin's own big boy chair - thanks Grandma Dial!

we enjoyed a yummy prime rib dinner.

Great Grandparents - so sweet

nothing better than snuggling with a sleeping baby Gavin. This is what bliss looks like . . .

But next year I've decided that we're not leaving our house . . . you'll have to come to us on Christmas day. :-)

busy bees

Since it has been a little while since my last posting (yes we are still surviving) thought I'd update what's been happening since I returned to work:

Gavin was dedicated on November 23 at Covina First Baptist Church. He did perfectly as he made the congregation laugh by making noise which the pastor took as an Amen! and he spit-up both while on stage. :-) Lots of support and love from friends and family. Also we were blessed by our good friends James and Kim who dedicated their daughter, Sophia, that same morning. These two kids will have the joy of growing up together and this was a perfect pairing for us. We just love them!

Also we had Thanksgiving, lots of yummy food, but I stepped away from the table to nurse Gavin mid-dinner and by the time I got back the table had been cleared. So here's my bone to pick with my family . . . we spend weeks and days preparing for holiday dinners, hours cooking and selecting the right dishes, so why can't we stop for a few minutes and enjoy the meal?!? Just because you have finished your turkey do we really have to start the dishes before it is even settled in your stomach? I want to stay at the table and enjoy the company of family. Have a conversation about what's been going on in our lives, the world, etc. For the life of me I wonder if this is just my family or does this happen in other houses too? So at my house, my tradition will be that dishes stay on the table long past the meal being over and we've enjoyed and relished in the holiday. Now I'm wishing I was having Christmas at my house. Next year for sure! :-)

Other than that we've been busy with work, taking care of household chores (which is much harder now that I'm not at home during the day and we want to spend time playing with Gavin on the weekends), partying with the normal holiday festivities (5 parties in one weekend - sigh!) and watching Gavin grow and chance before our eyes. He has recently found his feet - I love it when he grabs his toes!

We also had our first cold. Both Gavin and I got sick, but we're starting to feel better. Yet I have to say I hate using the nasal aspirator. He just screams and cries after I do it. The first time I did it he cried so hard I ended up crying too! (They never tell you when you become a parent that it really does hurt you more than it hurts them. I thought my mom was lying when she told us that.)

I'll try to be better about finding time to blog more often. I miss it!