MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Well, we had snow a couple weeks ago, but it looks like we'll have a tropical Christmas day (temp is supposed to be in the 70s): so I guess we are getting the best of both worlds this year in Houston :o). We've been sick, so blogging has been on the back burner...upstaged by sipping antibiotics, puffing on inhalers (that's Elliot, he had some lung congestion issues), and keeping the snottage under control. But, we didn't want to miss a chance to wish everyone the Merriest of Christmases and a Happy and Healthy 2009. We started counting our blessings on Thanksgiving day and we're still counting. Thanks to all of you for your friendship and love! We hope to see and/or hear from all of you soon!

--Gavin & Elliot (and parents :o)

Snow? In HOUSTON?

You betcha! Here's proof :o)

Elliot Toddling

It's really tough to catch the action, but Elliot has been toddling much more lately. He doesn't even wait for encouragement anymore: if he feels like walking rather than crawling, off he goes! He can walk about halfway across a room before stumbling or getting so excited he just lunges for his target (as seen in the video :o).

Christmastime is here!

Our church hosts a small Christmas festival. We went while grandma was in town. Here are some pics.

The skinny on Elliot

So here's the skinny on Elliot:
1) He's not skinny.
2) He's saying Mama (which doubles for mom & milk), Dada, and Gaga...the latter being his version of my name and the thing he says the most.
3) He's capable of eating anything. Mom found him crunching on one of my crayons and moments after she extracted that, she found him munching on a small screw that had fallen from a hinge he dismembered (by leaning on the door of a small cabinet). Crunch crunch.
4) He's a superstar at church because he laughs for all the ladies taking care of us. Guess I'm being upstaged.
5) He has a mohawk.
6) He dances like a white boy, but he likes hip hop. Dig?
7) He sooooo knows how to walk, but chooses to crawl much of time, probably b/c mom thinks crawling is really cute.
8) He loves to eat food, but only if he can feed himself; he's not real hip on the spoon-feeding routine.
9) He's only 10 months and he's already working the system: He climbs up on me and then shrieks in dismay when I roll over and he falls. How is that my fault?
10) The best way to get him to be still while changing his diaper is to sing numbers to him.
So there you go, 10 facts about Elliot who is already 10 months old!
Peace,
Gavin

Here's a video of my boy schoolin' the bushes. ...Somebody's gotta show 'em who's boss.

Thanksgiving

Well, we have lots to be thankful for--food for one thing! The video is Elliot enjoying food like only a 10 month old can. And Gavin didn't need any encouragement to dig into his grub either (note the cheek full).

Recent activities - photos :o)

Nov 11, 2008 Looks like Gavin wrote all these words, but he doesn't quite have the fine motor skills for that. These are just all the words he could think of for mommy to write down.

Nov 11, 2008
Here is a picture that Gavin drew. Mom asked him to draw a picture FOR Mr. Doug (our neighbor that brings him goodies all the time). He presented this to mom and said triumphantly: Look mommy, it's Mr. Doug! Granted it doesn't look a whole lot like the the actual Doug, but it resembles a human face on a rudimentary level. Mom was proud.

Riddle time - Gavin

How can you fit a whole pot into this small plastic container (with the lid closed)?

Lame-o

Yep, that's what they call it when you have a blog and you don't blog: LAME - O! Anyway, you're going to have to cut us some slack because we've been dealing with a stomach virus among other things, but that alone has caused many an extra load of laundry along with the extra baths needed to repair damaged hieny. :o(

Like father, like son - Elliot

So I caught Elliot playing with the remote control a moment ago -- a pretty big no-no around here. Feeling like I should be playing with him anyway, I just got out a big foam ball to see if he would drop the remote on his own. A second would have to be divided into many parts to define how quickly the remote hit the floor. :o)

Of course part of it was that he'd rather play with something animate (me) than push rubber buttons on a remote, but I see a parallel to daddy here. Jon will switch off almost any sporting event to go actually toss a football, play golf or whatever. I guess if our boys carry on like Eli he'll have eager participants when they are a little older...and I'd better get in shape...or get coordinated...or both, or I'll be stuck home watching football by myself. Ha!

Trip to BR

So we drove for a long time -- a looooong time, because a lot of our favorite people live in this place called Baton Rouge and we like to visit them from time to time (and we LOVE it when they come visit us :o). Anyway, I'm getting better at riding in the car for hours on end, but I still can't fall asleep in my carseat like I used to. Hhh.

Anyway, we had a great time! We saw lots of friends and learned some important things.

I learned that I am not two-and-a-half anymore I'm "two-and-a-three-quarters." Thank you Aunt Jess Concienne. Now sometimes that comes out before I even introduce myself because I love the reaction I get :o).

I learned how to climb into the treehouse at Nana & Poppa's by myself.

After four full days I finally talked myself into taking a bath in a new tub, only to realize anew that taking a bath is fun and a different tub isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I learned that I have a special bed at Greg and Miranda's house AND a special bed in Aunt Jael's room; who else is that lucky??

Oh! And I have a NEW COUSIN! Where did she come from?? Mom says she came from Aunt Melly's belly, but that rhymes and sounds like a whole lot of silliness to me. Anyway, I really liked going to see her in the hospital. I like saying her name: Lexi (it's the first L sound I've been able to pronounce). My comment was "I think she's really cute." We got to see her one more time before we left town, but I was a little distracted playing with my boy Leighton. I did perk up when Mom was holding her; it still doesn't sit well with me when mom holds other little babies---guess I'm not ready for any more siblings yet. But cousins are wonderful!!!

Well, we are back home and enjoying that. I'd better go watch the election results. My boy McCain better pull this one out (whatever that means...). Okay, a little late for a plug; polls are closed in most places...anyway... tootle loo!
Gav

Uh, already need an update on that jiggy bit...

So minutes after posting the news of my first unassisted steps, I created a need for an update by taking several steps in a row! I thought one was a rush...wow this walking thing is really cool!!!

Gettin' jiggy - from Elliot

I had a really big weekend. Not only did we drive all the way to Baton Rouge, but I took my first steps and said my first word!!! The first step was for Nana; she's very proud of that :o). I think my parents might have doubted it (they were away attending a wedding), but I am more than happy to oblige anyone who asks now: walking (stepping, really) is hilarious fun. All you have to do is reach your hands toward me and say "come on" with a big smile. I almost fall down laughing, but then I usually take one tiny step and then collapse, giggling into the waiting arms.

Now on to the other big news: my first word. Oh yeah! I said Mama!!! Mom & dad have both been working on me consistently, but I think mom was more insistent since Gavin said Dada first. I'm going to be her favorite! Haha!

I was introduced to Nana & Poppa's dog Bjorn this weekend. I crawled right up to him with only a hint of hesitation when he moved to meet me. He was a gentleman (he didn't knock me down) and I love big hairy things!! We had fun rooting around in the grass and I was really gentle petting him.

We stayed with our friends Greg & Miranda who are so much fun. They also have super cool stairs that are very fun to climb...funny this will probably be the only time that I can go up stairs, but I can't walk across the floor.

I'm going to let Gavin tell you about the rest of our trip, but we had a really good time seeing everyone.

In just general Elliot news, I now have a half a mouthful of teeth. The bottom four are in a nice neat row, but the top is--well, to put it kindly I have a bit of a pirate grin. One of the top middle teeth has yet to break the skin (it's soooo close), and I've got another gap on one side. Goes sort of like this tooth - gap - two teeth - gap - tooth. Aye matey, I'm a handsome feller!

Feasting Eli Style

So, I started sprouting teeth not too long ago and so mommy thought perhaps I'd be ready for a little texture in my grub. She tried a bunch of different things and got the expected icky-face response, and then I'd start gagging and usually ended up throwing up all over the place. Well, it didn't take her long to wise up and try the texture first so that I wouldn't throw up a whole meal each time, but I still wasn't tolerating any texture, not to mention solids. She started to think that maybe I was just not going to be as easy as Gavin in the whole eating arena.

Then one fair evening a couple weeks ago she got the notion to put some peas on my highchair tray just to see what I would do. You are a genius mommy! Nobody likes to eat peas all ground up; they are perfectly packaged for tiny fingers to grab and tiny throats to swallow. Now, that's not to say one hasn't caught me by surprise and caused a little gagging, but they were a big hit.

It did take some practice to actually get them to my mouth. I'd say I was swingin' at about 2% that first day. And yes, I realize that means 98 out of every 100 ended up in my highchair rather than my mouth. We persevered tho, and within a couple days it was 50/50 and I'm happy to say that I'm now getting about 80% in my mouth--gotta leave SOMEthing for mom to clean up; she sweeps three times per day!

So, the end result of all this work? I ate exactly what everyone else ate tonight: creamy chicken soup with yummy veggies and barley. Mmmmm!

Latest Gavinism

"kumbaYAWN": kumbayah

'Nuf said, but makes it funny to know that Gavin was singing this at the top of his lungs while we were eating outside at the Central Market (nice, but slightly stuffy store near Highland Village in Houston).

Hurrication

Here are some pictures from our hurrication as they are calling it now. They are roughly chronological.

Guadalupe State Park


Playing in Andy & Aubrey's yard


They have rockin' trees.




Daddy made me a swing.


Fredricksburg

Nice romantic bathroom in the cottage...cool rug.
Our cottage was on a working ranch; these Elk are part of the "working" part. We couldn't touch them, but they were very close much of the time.
Elliot in the cottage.
Gavin looking at goldfish in town (Fredricksburg).
Elk are cool.

Labor Day Weekend - Family Time

Meant to post these pics weeks ago. Guess we got all in a tizzy over the hurricane. Anyway, we did some cool stuff over Labor Day.

We checked out Brazos Bend State park. It was a sweltering hot day, but I hiked over 2 miles on my own two feet. There was lots o' sweat and a little bit of whining toward the end of the hike, but I made it and mommy didn't have to carry me. Instead she challenged me to count my step; that distracted me enough to finish the last 250 steps or so.

Next we went to Lake Houston. There is a pretty neat park there and even tho it was still sweltering hot there was a stiff breeze coming off the lake to make it bearable. Did a little walking there, but not nearly as much. ...Oh, and where was Elliot amidst all this walking??? As you'll notice he's riding high in the sky in the backpack carrier. I know! I think mom & dad are slipping with him. He's gonna expect the world on a silver platter now...

Elliot Videos

Some cute Elliot videos

The truck the Briggs gave Gavin for his first Christmas is now a favorite of the smaller Malden manchild.



Here I am making my newest sound. It's longish and of course I don't say much til the end of the shoot.

Mike and Gust

Can't remember if I told you, but I got two fish a few weeks ago. I finally named them...well it was a team effort with mom. She thought we could name them Mike and Gus sort of in honor of the two storms (Ike and Gustav) that have recently effected our lives. So mom mentioned the names to me and I said "YEAH! Let's call 'em Mike and GusT." No matter how many times I try to say Gus it comes out Gust; so Gust it is.

Footnote: Hurricane Ike actually saved Mike and Gust's lives b/c we were having some issues balancing the chemistry of their tank and somehow with 16 days of no interference from us they got it all figured out, so thanks hurricane Ike for saving my fish!

Stump Garden In Honor of Hurricane Ike

So daddy had a great post-Ike idea. He's been collecting stumps for my stump garden. Check it out.
~Gavin

Quiet time with mom

I got up early to hang out with mommy this morning. She thought she'd get some quiet time. We couldn't know what was about to happen...

Everything was fine till she wanted to write an email and I stuck stickers all over her (thanks Nana!!)

...Then she morphed into the sticker monster!!!

As you can see she was very aggressive and dangerous: this shows her in the full attack posture. But don't worry, I contained the situation: a sticker monster w/o her stickers is gentle as a kitten.

~Gavin the fearless monster-tamer

Just a rainy October day

The joy of teething biscuits. What a mess. Yes, he was placed directly into the bathtub.


And this is a moment that mommy hopes will get more & more common as we get older: I'm not teasing Elliot, imagine that.

Classic

We are two studious little boys.

Adventures with Cheerios - Elliot

I got a formal introduction to Cheerios last night. Here is some evidence. Half the pictures came about because mom was trying to capture a good shot of my current crazy dental situation. Check out the chompers...you know you're jealous!!!!

Elliot

Blog News from Emily

Well, I've posted everything back to Gavin's first birthday post and I plan to get the rest on here soon (tho I'm not sure anyone will really care to read that far back...). Anyway, they will all be in one place, pictures and all, so people can glance back if they want. Hopefully I can post a little less content a little more often in this format. For those of you who don't know this all started as emails to friends and family each month and I just recently decided a blog format would work better than jamming mailboxes with pictures and lengthy emails.

Can you tell who's who?

Church anxiety

So, we've been going to our new church for a few months now and everyone seems so nice and there are several kids for me to play with and a super cool play area and very cool blocks and toys and lots of nice people and pretty windows and nice paintings on the walls and nice music and ... can you tell I'm avoiding something? Well, I have this little problem: I'm not so crazy about going in the nursery on my own.

The first few times I as just a wreck: crying & clinging, then screaming & clinging. I felt pretty silly for making such a scene, but it was pretty scary stuff. Of course once I got over the initial separation I had a really good time playing and learning. After a few visits I progressed to doing all that freaking out before we left home and mommy thought we'd have a really terrible time getting me into my class then, but apparently I got much of my anxiety out before we got out of the car, so that meant I didn't cry as much at church, but I sure did have the
I'm-trying-to-be-brave-but-this-is-really-scary look on my face (complete with very sad chin-quivering).

Today I didn't do any crying, but I spent much of the morning at home very quietly hiding under my blanket reassuring myself that I would have lots of fun playing with all my new friends. So I guess I'm making progress, but it really is tough to go out on one's own at first.

Of course mom always comes back to get me and we both enjoy a very big hug and then I show her all the fun stuff I've been doing while she was singing or learning or studying. ...For the record Elliot has never cried once at being left in nursery...but then again he's not to that age yet. We are hoping he has an easier time than I do.

~Gavin

A couple of Pumpkin Patch Pix

Crawling, and teeth, and sticks--OH MY!

Oh, dear, it's been a long time hasn't it? Well, we've been a little tied up. What with the 16 day hurrication and all... We did fine through the storm because we weren't here (doubt we would have slept much if we had been). Our carport collapsed and our power was out for just over 2 weeks, but no major damage. Our neighbors who stayed apparently had a wild time tho, because we lost about 10 trees on our street--we live on a very short street!! Most of them were sizable oaks, so that may shed some understanding on exactly how crazy it got around here. From what I hear much of the area experienced similar stuff.

But, anyway, none of you want to hear about boring hurricanes and dull storm damage!! That's old news. Here's the juicy stuff you're looking for. I (Elliot) am still crawling most places; but I am super fast. I keep trying to get mom to enter me in a crawling derby, but she doesn't really see things the way I do (she walks uprightly after all...). I took my first trip all the way up the steps the other day (I've had many trips interrupted by concerned parents...). Hoo! What a rush. I zip back over there every chance I get, but mom keeps them all blocked off most of the time. It will be all of the time once she gets a gate with a door in it. :o(

I have 5 teeth and more crowding in every day, but I still gag on food with any texture. I am getting adept at the pincher grasp, which means I can put nearly anything (no matter how small and perilous) into my mouth. My latest conquest was a small bit of wicker from one of the baskets in which I keep some toys. Mom was praying all the while she was digging in my throat trying to rescue that little stick. For the life of me I can figure out what the big deal is...she's still in a tizzy about that. Anyway, I was totally back to my normal jolly self after I re-positioned my esophagus, so she and the doc don't think there is too much to be concerned about, but I can't try any more tricks for a few days b/c she's watching me like a hawk. Arg!

Gavin is learning the concept of availability since he seems to think that anything in my (and any other kids') hands is just waiting for him to play with it. He's doing okay, but still has to be reminded 8 thousand times a day. I'm getting so tired of mom asking "Gavin, is that available??" Hhhh!

That Gavin, he says all sorts of wacky things (especially when put up against the cute little sounds I make ;o). Here are a few:

"That is the _____est my ever seen": that is the ____est thing I've ever seen. Doesn't really come through typed out, but it's really cute in person.

"Pepper-ernie": pepperoni (especially cute b/c we have a friend named Ernie)

"Mommy almost comes back": mommy always comes back (exclaimed when mom collects him from the nursery at church; he's still not very good at letting mom and dad go to church, Bible study or MOPS meetings)

"Lets sing another picture": please sing the next verse of a given song

He gets confused about the whole Mr. and Mrs. thing. He called daddy's former boss Uncle Rick because the Mister confused him. Now he's trying to get it straight, but still pops out with a Mr. Jennifer rather than a Mr. Alan (Jennifer's husband), or a Mrs. Andy rather than Mrs. Aubrey (Andy's wife). Maybe he's just old fashioned.

"Women": lemon. This is especially funny b/c Gavin really likes lemons (thanks Josh & Jess), so he's almost guaranteed to shout out in restaurants as soon as daddy's iced tea arrives at the table: Daddy I want your women! I looooove womens!!

Another funny situation happened when daddy arrived home a couple minutes later than normal one day. Earlier in the day mom had been sweeping the back steps and the broom was still near the back door (outside). The combination prompted Gav to run outside and greet daddy saying: "Daddy! You been sweeping around??!!" Which sounds exactly the same as if Gavin had said: "Daddy! You been sleeping around?" Got quite a laugh from the parents.

Oh, me, there are so many more; cute things are said everyday around here. I just can't remember them all...

~Elliot

Look Mom, no hands!

Elliot is creeping closer & closer to walking. I catch him standing alone all the time now. At first he didn't realize it, but now he does it deliberately--especially when there are TWO cool toys he wants to play with. I've been trying to teach him all the cool moves I know, but he's still pretty content to crawl around after me.

Gav

Big Brother Chronicles - Pets and parking

Well, it's official these are the dog days of summer. It is so hot & yucky outside that we only go to the park or walk or go to the zoo, or do anything in the morning. And that's pretty tough b/c Eli likes to nap somewhere in there, so if he's going to have any shot at a normal day we stay home a lot. Anyway, to alleviate our cabin fever dad scrubbed off my playground and brought it inside. It's a little cramped to be sure, but much better to have it to climb on inside rather than all the furniture. Elliot thinks he can climb on it too and that makes mom plenty nervous.

Well, I'm experiencing another first: I got my first pets over the weekend. We got two fish and put them in my playroom. They are very high maintenance and have already had a scrape with death when the ammonia levels got too high in their water--whatever that means. Anyway, we like to watch them swim around and the are piggies so they are fun to feed, too.

So Elliot wasn't kidding, I really do like to play with my letters. It's a great thing to do inside and in the car (I have magnet letters & a small board that they stick to); I love to put 'words' together and sound them out; sometimes I get it right. The best is to string a whole bunch of letters together and ask: What does that say, mommy? XPRYEPNMBCQRI haha!

Mom has been telling me what some of the traffic signs say to keep me occupied in the car, so I've become something of a backseat driver: That sign says SPEED LIMIT, mommy! Yellow means slow down. That sign says ONE WAY. It says END ONE WAY over there. There are the railroad tracks! W-O-W that says wow! (billboard). P-h-a-r-m-a-c-y: what's that say mommy? Nooooooo parking!!! All in all, she takes it on the chin.

Well, that's all I can think of for now. Hoping for cooler weather soon!
Gavin

Elliot's Update - 7 Months

Hey Everybody!
I'm seven months old today. I'm crawling like crazy and cruising quite comfortably along anything that will hold my weight. Yes it's early to be cruising already, but one good thing about starting so early is that I'm too short to bonk my head on tables when I walk under them and I'm not heavy enough to pull chairs over on myself. I've also been cutting my teeth on letters...no, no, not like that. Mom isn't that much of kook about teaching reading early...I mean literally chewing on some of Gav's letters to help my toofers come through. And really, I would chew on anything, letters just tend to be handy most of the time since that's something Gavin likes to do most of the day.

So we've been experimenting with some various foods since I wasn't really digging the plain Jane veggies mom was cooking up. My favorite way to eat meat is mixed with plenty of avocado--nice and creamy :o). I also like sweet potatoes, finally. Egg yolk is okay, but doesn't taste like much. Other than those, I eat pretty normal baby stuff: squash, peas, rice & oatmeal cereal. I'm almost old enough to try some soft finger foods, but mom made my food just the tiniest bit lumpy today and my ultra sensitive gag reflex kicked in: super big yucky mess.

I'm still not saying too much, but I do like to practice copy mom & dad saying hey and my favorite syllables: oy goy goy goy which I say very easily around my pacifier. :os I've started to wave my fingers, but mom's not sure if that's a howdy doody or the sign for milk. Guess we'll see when/if I start to do some more signs. Of course I still laugh about anything but teething & throwing up.

Oh, fun thing: The Beach - Went to the beach Aug 23. Left home around 4 pm, so we arrived at Surfside at 5 pm. It was perfect timing. We didn't escape the sunscreen slatheration, but nobody got too much sun and it was cooling off nicely. It was also low tide and there was this perfect little section of water for me to play in. It was about ankle deep and protected by a sandbar, so new water came in every now & then but it was nicely protected from breaking waves. So I was able to crawl around all over the place (which was good b/c daddy forgot the blanket) without sand sticking to my hands and mom didn't have to worry about waves breaking over my head. I got a couple splashes in my face from crawling a little to exuberantly, but most of the time I just chased after whatever caught my eye: seaweed, shells, light dancing in the water, etc. What a fun way for a crawling creature to enjoy being outside!! Gavin had his usual hoot of a time scooping wet sand that acts so much like mud and checking out the stuff that washes up on the beach.

Well, better catch a nap.
Later,
Elliot

Big Brother Chronicles - Back in the Saddle Again

Well, I'm pretty much back to my normal inquisitive self these days (what's that sign say, mommy? how bout that one? and that one?? and THAT one????). I am loving the book reading even more now because I get to practice my sight words and sounding out if I want. I'm back to napping and night-nighting with out too much of a fuss...and I don't wake up mad that I'm in the new house anymore. I'm back to playing on my own for more than 26 seconds at a time which gives mommy a little respite during the day. I'm back to only flipping out a couple times a day and for only a couple minutes each time...okay there's an occasional meltdown, but it's not everyday anymore.

We took a trip to Baton Rouge and that seems to have really helped me. I really wasn't so sure that garden of Eden was there anymore. Mom gave me the heads up that we were going and I was really excited about seeing friends & family, but I looked a little bewildered when we drove up to Nana & Poppa's. They told me it was still there and everyone was fine, but nothing reassures like seeing it in person. I had a hoot of a time (tree houses, pool, and fun, oh my!), but I was actually happy to be home once we finally got back (LOTS o driving!!). I'm finally okay with this house being our home now.

And lately I've been counting everything I can get my hands on. I can count all the way to 30, but I unless I really focus I don't always get the orders right. So when I'm just playing it's not uncommon for me to count & count & count a bunch of things and then exclaim with great satisfaction: Mommy, I counted all the way to ELEVEN! The truth of course is that I counted about 57 things, but I ended up saying eleven last, so that's what I counted to.

Elliot finally popped his first tooth out the other day, but you know those cute front teeth in the middle on the top & bottom that usually come out first? Well those are still snuggled in his gums it's one of the next set on top that has made it's debut, prompting mom (that's what I call her lately) to theorize that the other 5 (3 on top & 2 on the bottom) will be out in a hurry to balance things out. We'll see if she's right. Elliot is also cruising all around holding onto furniture (stable and not-so-stable). He can get from one room to the next faster than mommy can keep up.

Gotta git,
Gavin