Monday, December 15, 2014

Family pictures

We had our family pictures taken again this year (always at Christmas, for our card). We used Jenni Lee Photography. I'm in love with our pictures! I can't wait to have them framed!







And what a difference a year makes. This was last Christmas...




Gavin at 10 months




Only 2 months until this little (big) guy is a year old! How can that be?! It goes even faster with the second baby! At 10 months...

-We are still fighting your eczema. Some days are good and others are really not good. Right when I think it's under control, your leg will go crazy. It's usually your right one. I'm really hoping you grow out of it, or just get small spots like your big brother, but I'm thinking that this will likely be a life long thing for you.
-Your reflux has been acting up the past few weeks. This usually means a new tooth is coming, or you're growing. I don't see any new teeth, but you have had some extra drool (compared to normal).
-You now have 8 teeth, 4 on the top, 4 on the bottom.
-You're clapping your hands- to "If you're happy and you know it...", when someone says, "Yay Gavin!", or when you think you've done something worthy of celebration (like sticking a piece of food in your mouth).
-You've been doing "so big" for a while, but you will do it on cue every time now. Or when you've done something worthy of celebration (like sticking a piece of food in your mouth). This is how it goes, food goes in, raise your arms. Food goes in, clap and smile huge.
-You are pointing at things. Sometimes you can isolate your pointer finger, but mostly it's with your whole fist. You will point to it, vocalize, look at me (or daddy) to make sure we are looking at whatever it is you are pointing at, then look back at it.
-You are finally going to your sitter without crying. Some mornings you even lean to her when you're ready for her to pick you up. This morning you waved bye-bye to Hunter and me as we left. Thank you for making morning drop off easier (both on me and I'm sure on Miss Kimberly).
-You will scoot on your butt to get to places. You do have a lot of mass to move. Still trying to figure out the whole crawling thing, but you really want to.
-You are babbling up a storm. I hear new vowels and consonants and combinations all the time. No new true words.
-You are pulling yourself to a stand, with support (you don't have the greatest balance, so we have to make sure we are behind you when you do this).
-You absolutely love the Christmas lights. When we went to Christmas Town, you just "Oooh" and "Ahhed" at all of them!
-You will dance as soon as you hear music. You stop what you are doing and dance.
-Your new favorite game is "fetch whatever I've thrown over the side of wherever I am". Yesterday, you were in the shopping cart at the store and you had your hat. You looked at me and said, "Uh oh!" and threw your hat over the side of the cart. This entertained you the whole time we were there.



You are changing all the time. You have become so happy and playful. You continue to adore your big brother and your daddy. Mommy will do if Daddy isn't around or if you have hurt yourself while on Daddy's watch. You are also very sensitive to sounds (like sneezing) and to being told "no". You would have thought we told you that you could no longer eat with the reaction to loud noises and no.

Sorry it's blurry... he doesn't sit still. This is the face he makes as soon as he sees the flash on the camera

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Hunter's Parent-Teacher Conference

It's always nice to have parent-teacher conferences. I get to see what Hunter has been up to and get an idea as to where he is academically, socially, and developmentally. Hunter is my little problem solver and has a mind for math and science. His teacher said he loves to learn and if he doesn't know the answer to something, he does his best to figure it out (either independently or asking the teacher for help). He loves doing school work and will often pretend he is doing his phonics book here at home (with a coloring book, a work book we have here, etc.). I love how much he loves his school. Carl and I have nothing but positive feedback for his school!

At each conference, the teacher does an interview and then looks at the academic development. We get this in a cute little envelope (usually with his hand print).



His teacher then asked him to write the alphabet, his numbers, and draw shapes. I'm very impressed with his writing skills and fine motor development.




He asked me how to spell my name. When I gave him a compliment as to how well he wrote 'f' he said, "I know. It's because I'm in a phonics book."


The silly boy himself...