Gavin at Two

This post has been written a million times in my head.  If only I could just connect my head to a computer and download the info instead of finding time to sit down and type.  We have been very busy around our house with some major home improvement projects.  Pictures to come.

Now all about the two-year-old Gavin:

I used to describe Gavin as angelic, sweet...and then Gavin turned two.  The High Council speaker today in church pointed out that loud kids make great missionaries and then pointed to our row and said, "Like these boys."  Thanks for pointing out that we are the loudest family in church. He burst my fantasy bubble where I tell myself other families are louder and that Gavin's loud laughter/screeching is music to people's ears.

Let's just say that Gavin has learned to speak his mind and to fight for what he wants.  If he is happy, we all know it and his giggles really are music to my ears (except in church.)  If he is mad because he isn't getting his way, then he throws a great temper tantrum.  Maybe because Gavin is a second child, he has learned to be louder so that mom pays attention.  When he starts a temper tantrum, we all pay attention!  Gavin has Dallin wrapped around his finger though.  A lot of the times Dallin is causing the screaming by taking Gavin's toy or trying to wrestle with him when Gavin doesn't want to.  Gavin starts screaming and Dallin has learned to pull Gavin on his lap and start singing "I Am a Child of God."  Gavin calms right down.  It is really precious to see.

Favorite Song: ABC's, "I Am a Child of God", "I Love to See the Temple", and "Choose the Right."  Gavin has great pitch and when he starts singing, we all know what he is singing even if he can't say all the words.  Gavin breaks out singing all day long.  I need to catch it on video because it is so cute.  He loves to listen to Primary songs and will say the last words of each sentence.  So when he is listening to Choose the Right and you get to the chorus you hear the word right sung really loud over and over.  Love it!  Gavin also loves dancing and has learned a weird dance from Dallin that involves smacking his behind.  We are trying to teach them both other ways to dance.

Favorite Toy: Gavin just discovered the movie Cars.  He is hooked and likes to play with all Dallin's cars. Gavin plays independently really well and makes the cutest car sounds as he is playing. Gavin also loves playing outside especially if he sees a dog.  He will follow a dog anywhere.

 Crazy underwater hair!  Not my best picture but I love how Gavin is still smiling underwater!

 Gavin is adventurous.  He loves daddy throwing him down the slip and slide.

 While Dallin and I were taking the trash out, Gavin found some sprinklers.  Apparently he didn't realize he wasn't in his swim suit!

Favorite Game: Wrestling, Duck Duck Goose, and Don't Eat Pete (a Family Home Evening Game)

With Gavin, any sitting activity (like Family Home Evening, Family Prayers etc) becomes a wrestling match or Duck Duck Goose after a few minutes.

 Wrestling with daddy

Favorite Food: Milk, Cheese, Mac and Cheese (only the yucky box kind), cheerios, pancakes, bread, gum, candy...Gavin is super picky because these are really the only foods he will eat without a fight.  He is great about drinking a green smoothie for me every day thank goodness so that I know he is getting all his nutrients.  Gavin isn't motivated by desserts.  I can get Dallin to eat anything we are eating because he knows there is a small treat after dinner.  Gavin could care less.  It is such a strange concept to me. When it comes to food, Gavin's stubborn streak comes out. I make vegetable soups once a week and then puree Gavin's so that it is nice and smooth.  I can get a couple of bites in him this way while he is distracted with toys on his tray.  He has been known to purposely gag though and throw up.  I can't sneak anything in his mouth that isn't completely smooth.  He will just put his hands in his mouth and pull out whatever I got in there.  We are trying all kinds of tricks with Gavin to get him to eat (I refuse to resort to hot dogs and chicken nuggets every day which he would happily eat...depending on the day) and sometimes we win the battle and sometimes he wins. I wish he would stay consistent though besides being consistently picky.  One day he loved corn on the cob, and the next day he wouldn't even try it.  That's very typical.  Gavin is also strange in that he likes to try weird things like vinegar when we were dying Easter eggs or play dough, but if I put something super yummy on his tray and tell him to try it, he won't even touch it. Presentation is very big with him.  Gavin eats breakfast and lunch pretty well and at dinner we offer him all kinds of foods.  If he tries something there is lots of cheering and if he refuses he doesn't get his treat.  His green smoothie at dinner time fills him up.  If anyone has ideas for picky eaters, I'm all ears!

Gavin has no problem sneaking cookie dough or eating cookies.

Favorite Body Part: Gavin is obsessed with belly buttons.  It is getting to be quite a problem because he tries to pull up other people's shirts to find their belly buttons.  There have been a couple of girls who really don't like their shirt being pulled by Gavin while he tries to get to their belly button.  We will keep working on understanding personal space!

Favorite Person: Mommy hands down.  I get so many kisses and hugs all day long.

Favorite Item to Wear: Underwear! Since Gavin was 18 month, he has gone number 2 on the potty.  I wish I could take credit for this and say I'm an amazing mom, but I can't.  Gavin just likes using the potty and reading books while he sits.  Recently he decided that he wanted to wear Lightning McQueen underwear like Dallin.  The problem: we can't find underwear small enough for our tiny Gavin.  Gavin is 25 pounds and in the 25th percentile for his weight.  At home Gavin wears underwear all the time.  When we go out, he needs a pull up.  He has a hard time when he goes out because after he drinks, he goes potty every 20 minutes.  If I'm running a lot of errands, it is too hard to keep finding a potty.  He will get there soon. The funny thing with Gavin is again he isn't motivated by candy.  He will go potty because he wants to.  If I say use the potty and you will get a piece of candy, his stubborn self comes out and he will not use the potty for awhile. The dentist will be so happy that he doesn't need a piece of candy every time he goes potty!

Gavin fits perfectly in our family and is very popular where ever he goes.  He loves saying hi and bye to people and will keep repeating himself until you say hi back.  He is hard to ignore. His eyelashes and curls attract a lot of female admirers!

We love our Gav Gav!

Moments

When we visited my new niece a couple of weeks ago, my super talented sister-in-law had her camera out taking random pictures.  I'm not sure if it is her camera or just her, but she catches moments with my boys that I never seem to capture.  I love how close by boys are and how much they love playing together.  They have their moments when they fight (or in other words, Dallin is playing too rough), but for the most part, they just crack us up with their silliness together.

 

I dressed the boys in matching outfits for the day for when they weren't wearing costumes.  I love dressing the boys alike for a couple of reasons.  One is that Dallin likes being twinsies.  He will ask to wear the same thing as Gavin and if he doesn't have the same shirt, finds something similar between the two so that he can say they are twinsies.  Another reason is so people looking at our family know that the boys are brothers.  We have had our moments like at the beach when some nice, well meaning girls asked if we knew where (pointing to Gavin) his parents were.  Another time I was walking out to my car after grocery shopping when a lady asked if I had a day care in my neighborhood assuming that I was babysitting Gavin.  It really doesn't matter if they are wearing the same thing or not though because if you spend any time with the boys, you just know they are brothers and have always been brothers.

Looks Can be Deceiving!

Two brothers just hanging out together

Actually, I'm not sure how I caught the above picture because it lasted a second. This is what really happens when they are together:


Gavin jumps on Dallin and a wrestling match ensues in a chair.

Sometimes it goes too far and needs a referee

Some hugs are too tight

But as soon as the referee interferes, it begins all over again.

Two brothers who just can't get enough of each other.

(And Dallin, you better watch out. In a few years Gavin won't be so little.)

Big Brother/ Little Brother

I know I just posted about brothers, but I keep catching more cute pictures of the two boys together. I can't help it. I love watching this relationship grow. Our friend passed these shirts on to us. Aren't they cute??? Dallin is so proud of being the big brother.

As we were putting Dallin to bed the other night, he asked if Gavin could sleep with him. It was so sweet.

I found Dallin's froggy blanket next to Gavin this morning. No one is allowed to touch this blanket according to Dallin and yet he decided to share it with Gavin. (Have you noticed that Gavin is always swaddled? He loves being in his cacoon with his paci.)

I can't wait to catch more moments like the above!

My Brother

Dallin has been praying for a baby brother or sister for a long time now. There are no complaints from him. He is very excited about his brother and wouldn't trade him for any other.

We had just put Gavin into his car seat in the hospital parking lot. Dallin looked at him and said, "My brother?" then reached over over and grabbed his hand. Just look at his face. He is so excited to have a brother.

Dallin really likes helping with anything to do with Gavin. This is the first time he helped with a feeding. He isn't always interested in feeding Gavin, but every once in awhile he will ask to help.

Isn't this cute?

This picture was taken while Dallin was watching a tv show. He looked over at his dad and asked if he could hold Gavin. He held him for at least 10 minutes which we thought was amazing because Dallin doesn't hold still that long.

This isn't a fantastic picture because my hands got in the way and Gavin is not happy, but Dallin was a great helper bathing Gavin. He had his own rag and tried hard to make Gavin happy.

Dallin likes turning on Gavin's bouncer music and the vibrator. We sometimes even catch him dancing to it. I didn't grab the camera in time, but right before this shot, I caught Dallin just sitting and staring at Gavin. I'm excited to see this relationship progress!