February 2014

February with these two was so much fun! Now that Gavin is walking so well, it's fun to take him places that he can walk around with us and explore together. It also has created new challenges as I find myself trying to keep up with both kids who often are running in opposite directions. 

I love watching their brother-sister relationship grow. Gavin loves to follow Ava round everywhere she goes, but he is also VERY wimpy when it comes to her even slightly touching him or taking away one of his toys. He is definitely not a pushover in that regard haha. He loves to snatch things out of Ava's hands and then run away quickly and them scream and throw himself on the floor in anger when she takes it back. Ava is sweet for the most part, but she definitely likes to big Gavin and push him down or sit on his face when she knows I'm not looking. If I didn't just describe a big sister-little brother relationship, I don't know what is! Ha. I love these two so much! 

This month I hing up a collage wall in Ava's room. 

Ava is still as cheesy as ever - if not more. And I love it! :)

Sky high: Gavin got to jump at munchkin Mondays at sky high. He LOVED it!

We went to the Bay Area Children's Museum in Sausilito. This is right next to the Golden Gate Bridge - the kids had so much fun! We would go all the time if it weren't so far away.

Ava got sick this month. Actually, Ava AND Gavin got sick and it was a horrible, messy, stinky week in the Webster household. (Many tears were shed...by me! Ha!) And the true test to know if Ava isn't feeling well is if she will sit still for any length of time. She seriously spent so much time laying on the couch, and that's how I knew she really was sick (because usually she can't sit still to save her life!) Poor kiddos!

We went to the Oakland Zoo with a group of friends. Ava loved petting the goats and brushing them with the little plastic combs. She thought it was hilarious when one of the goats pooed right in front of her - she laughed SO hard! Of course Ava spent most of the time running away from me and getting into all kinda of mischief, so she ended up sitting in the stroller for "time out" more times than I care to admit. That girl. But we had tons of fun and are getting a zoo membership so we can go all the time! :)

Lands end trail: one Saturday we went into the city and hiked a bit of lands end trail. We've done this before from the other end of the trail, but this time we started at the cliff house side. Always a beautiful view and as always, my kids loved being outside! 

Ava ran away from me in Costco and scared me half to death. I was in the BACK of the building (which is huge!) and I found her as someone was stopping her from running OUT the front doors! I was soooo scared and just upset and bawled the second I found her. Needless to say, Ava is officially a strict "cart rider" and her "walking beside mommy" privileges have been suspended. Ugh. 

Other random cute pics:

Ava gave Gavin his first "tramp stamp" - luckily with washable marker. 

Cutest little DIAPER FREE bum!

Little artist lately. This is how Ava draws people. One head, two eyes, two eyebrows, one belly button and two feet." The important parts, ya know?

Lots and lots of hours at the park, as usual. 

Ava have auntie kait a thumbs up for getting a great new job in Richmond! 

And on the last day of February, auntie kait came to visit! Here's Ava waiting at the BART station to pick her up!

And that's February in a nutshell. I wrote this on my iPhone so hopefully it's not too horrible and disorganized. It's good enough! :)

Now onto a happy March! :)

Ava loves Valentine's Day!

Really though. Valentine's Day, or should I say "Balemtimes Day" this year was so fun! Ava discovered that this day = massive amounts of sugar - which she definitely loved. She jumped for joy and squealed "MAIL! PRESENTS!" each time we would open the mailbox to a package packed full of pink glitter and heart-shaped candies and toys. She loved helping decorate Valentine's cookies and sneakily picking off the sprinkles and popping them into her mouth. I loved spending this fun holiday with my sweet Valentines!

Gavin {11 months}

Dear Gavin,

You turned 11 months on February 6, 2014. 

You are now walking! You are still much faster and efficient at crawling, but you get better at walking every day. You can stand yourself up in the middle of a room and then you will slowly, carefully walk all on your own. When you notice I am watching you, you BEAM with pride. 

Right at 10 months, you started sleeping through the night finally! I put you down for bed at 7:30pm and you sometimes wake up once around 3 or 4 to eat, but usually you sleep straight through to 6 or 6:30, when I bring you into bed with me, feed you and you go back to sleep until around 7:30am. When I put you to bed, I can put you down wide awake and you sing yourself to sleep. You take two naps, one at 9:30 for about an hour, and one around 1 or 1:30 for about two hours. 

Still nursing 3-4 times a day. Wearing size 3 diapers, size 9-12 month clothes for the most part, some 12-18 month. Eating pretty much any table food we put in front of you. 

You wave, give kisses, and smile at everyone everywhere we go. You love to try to keep up with the "big kids," and you LOVE your big sister. 

This is your last month as my "baby," - next month you will be a one-year old. You are growing into a toddler, into a little person, into a little man before my very eyes. And although time is passing me by quicker than I would like, I am loving every minute of you. 

I love you,

Momma 

Ava, my sweet little love

I feel like I don't document anything about Ava anymore. But she still continues to grow and change and learn new things just as much as before, if not more! She is bright, smart, sweet and SO funny. She LOVES to learn new things constantly. I will teach her something, thinking in my mind there is no way she will understand or remember this...and then a day or so later, I will hear her repeat back what I had taught her, all on her own. 

She loves to sing and dance, loves to color, loves to "cook" in her kitchen, loves being outside, playing with her friends and giving lots of hugs and kisses. She is sensitive to people's feelings and keenly aware of emotions. If you are sad, she will hug you tightly while asking, "Happy now?" 

She is fiercely independent and knows exactly what she wants. She loves to do any and everything her momma does, but all by herself of course. She ADORES nursery and asks for it several times a day. She loves to grab a blanket, climb up onto my lap and snuggle on the couch.

She knows her alphabet letters and most of the sounds they each make. She knows how to spell her name and tries to write it on her own. She draws "people" with one big head, two little eyes, one mouth, one belly button and two "feet." She was potty trained after two accidents. 

She is the absolute best daughter and big sister we could possibly ask for. I honestly feel incredibly blessed that I get to spend my days, my life, with this beautiful little girl. 

I just love my sweet little love. My Ava.

Gavin {10 months}

Dear, sweet Gavin boy,

(side note, these pictures are completely and totally unedited)

Ohhhh my goodness. Where to begin with you, my little love? You have such a tight hold on my heart that so often during the day I say out loud, with no one but myself to hear, "GOSH! I just LOVE YOU!" And I do!! You are such a sweet, smiley, happy little guy that just melts my heart.

You are now totally and completely mobile. Your preferred method of getting around is most definitely crawling, and you do it well and very, very fast! You are busy and all over the place, into every nook and cranny, climbing into, onto and behind everything you possibly can. All I have to do is look away for one minute and you're off, while I'm left searching the house looking to where you ventured off. (The more mobile you become, the more my "free time" dwindles...which is why these blog posts have become harder and harder haha.)

I love to watch you enthusiastically speed after your big sister, trying so hard to keep up with her. For the most part, you really do keep up with her nicely - you two are already sweet little friends. If there is ever a time that my heart will just BURST with love and joy, it will definitely be while I am watching my two sweet kids play together. I hope, more than anything else, you will always be genuine friends with your sister. 

Things you love:

• Dancing. The second music comes on, you bob up and down and sway back and forth with a big grin on your face. 
• Eating. Holy moly kid, you LOVE to eat. And you are a fantastic eater who will eat just about anything we put in front of you. When you're done eating, you promptly throw everything left onto the floor. You also LOVE drinking from a sippy cup, which is great since you never really liked bottles.
• You think you're funny and love to play little "games" with Mommy and Daddy. You love to drop your pacifier or toy and when we give it back, you immediately drop it again. Sometimes it takes me a few times to realize you are playing with me and dropping it on purpose. Then you laugh and laugh.
• You can sign a few words in sign language: more, grandpa, milk
• Mom. You are definitely in your "Mommy stage." Especially when we were in Colorado, someone else would be holding you and the second you saw me, you would reach for me and whine and whine until I grabbed you.
• Getting into things
• Being outside
• Playing with other babies and kids - you are very social.
• Waving at any and everyone - you smile at everyone! 

Things you've been up to lately:

• You have two new teeth - the top front two teeth. You now have 4 total.
• You were sick for the first time. :( 
• I still nurse you about four times a day, but you also LOVE cow's milk (only because you steal Ava's sippy cups and chug the milk like it's the most delicious stuff you've ever had). This makes me hopeful for a smooth transition to whole milk when you turn 1.
• Trip to Colorado for Christmas & New Years! First time in the snow (you hated the cold and clung to me so tightly anytime we were outside), met Santa for the first time, experienced your first Christmas and spent a lot of time with our wonderful family! You are one LOVED little boy! You even learned how to sign "grandpa" while we were there (all thanks to Grandpa Webster and his tireless efforts - that eventually payed off!!)
• Nam and Nampa came to visit San Francisco and stayed with us for several days! They took us to some great children's museums and fun places to play! It was a wonderful visit!
• For Thanksgiving, we went to Southern California and you met the Bryson family, who were extremely nice to have us stay with them for a week! We had a great time at Knott's Berry Farm, visiting Uncle Jayson's mission, go karting and visiting with family!
• In Colorado, you were a TERRIBLE sleeper. And that's all I'm going to say about that. haha :)

Nicknames:

• Gavers
• Gavin boy
• Chunkers (Ava)
• Bubbas (Ava)
• Gav
• Bud/Buddy

Sweet Gavin boy, I adore you. I love having a son so much. You make my life brighter and I feel so blessed that you are mine. You attract A LOT of attention everywhere we go. I hear people constantly talking amongst themselves in line behind me or as they walk by us, oohing and awwing over you. And when you flash your sweet smile and wave that chubby little arm...it. melts. hearts. Swoon.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

Love forever,
Momma

Gavin 10 months from Ashley Webster on Vimeo.