Adventures with Gavin

We have been very busy since the last post. Gavin is growing like a weed... 17 lbs at the last weigh in! I just can't believe how much he has impacted our once quiet little existence. He's getting even more vocal, I guess we're just waiting until all of the chattering begins to form actual words. Until then, we communicate through a series of determined grunts, happy chattering, and the ever present click-click noise (a family favorite). Anyway, we started off June by celebrating our first Father's Day, and perhaps the greatest holiday to date. I thought it would be ideal to spend our first father's day with all of the dad's in our family who have had such an impact on how we look at raising up Gavin.




















Dad's Little Man. Father's Day 2008

Later on in the month, we took Gavin over to his cousins' for his first day of swimming... his leanings appear to follow Dad's and it looks like he may be gravitating towards backstroke (pretty sure he'll be faster than I was). What we thought would end with a purple-faced screaming child, actually turned out to be quite pleasant, he stayed in the water for quite a while playing with his cousins. As you can tell from the pictures, Mom and Dad may have been a bit excited about equipping him for his first day at the pool.














Watch out ladies... Gavin's got a new suit.





















Everybody in the pool!!! Dad, you're blinding me!

This weekend, we decided that we had been cooped up in the house for too long and ventured out to the aquarium. Gavin loved it (OK, again, I might be speaking for him). He seemed particularly interested in the trout displays, probably because I spent a bit of time explaining to him which trout we catch-and-eat, and which ones we release. The boy might be brainwashed, but he also really seemed to like to watch the stingrays play in the petting pool. We couldn't get them to come over to play with us, but Gavin thought it was great when one particular ray came up out of the water and soaked the kid across the pool. All in all, it has been a great month. Melissa and I are still trying to find the balance between work and Gavin. We are slowly learning that five minutes with the boy means so much more than anything else we could be doing at the time.


















Enough of the outside Dad...
let's see some real rays!
















'If I have to hear one more 'fish-fact' from Dad, I'll....'

Under the sea, under the sea. Mommy it's better,

down where it's wetter take it from meeee...

Gavin has really impacted our lives. We are finding that the moments spent with him are so precious. As we were discussing this afternoon, he has been a great teacher to us both. Some of the things that I personally have learned from him are:
1. Learn to look at every little thing with a sense of wonder and awe, no matter how trivial they may seem.
2. Even if things seem rough right now, and you can't stop crying... wait a minute and something is bound to make you smile.
3. Small things such as a ceiling fan can be found entertaining

4. Mom and Dad need me as much as I'll ever need them.

5. The chaos that fills so much of our lives, can be brought to a screeching halt by a small giggle or a quiet little yawn.

All in all, the past four months have been quite the journey for the three of us. As always, we have appreciated the love and support of friends and family. Gavin has enriched all of our lives and taught us to appreciate so much more over this short time. We look forward to many more adventures over the summer. We look forward to hearing from you all.

Love,
The Greens