1 year of laughter, 1 year of fun, 1 year of love to grow on!

Dear Gavin,

The first year of your life has flown by, with this I never want to forget all of the little everyday things that have gone by so fast!  This is my attempt to try to remember as many "little" things about your first year of life.
        Your original due date was June 26th.. you were exactly 2 weeks early.  I woke up and knew that you were starting to come so we called the dr and they wanted us to come in to get checked out.  As I was getting out of the car at the hospital my water broke.... 10:45 am.  It all went so fast after that... started pushing around 1 pm and you were born at 3:20 pm.  I even made the comment while pushing.. this isn't as bad as I thought!   You were perfect!  A slight cone head, 7 lbs 3 oz and didn't cry very much.  You had dark dark hair and dark skin.  You had many visitors at the hospital and daddy and I really didn't know what to name you Braxton, Gavin, or Carter.  You are such a Gavin!
       The first week your daddy took off work and we got to enjoy you to our selves!  We got to bond and figure out your little schedule.. eating every 2 hours.  you also were not gaining any weight so we went to the doctor 8 times in 2 weeks.  You ate from a special bottle and took expressed breast milk.  you always had a problem breast feeding and when you ate from a bottle you always had it dribble from your mouth.  (this continued for 3 months until we FINALLY figured out from my lactation classes that i went to every week for 12 weeks ... that you were tongue tied -which led to getting your tongue clipped) After the tongue clip, you breast fed until your first birthday... while still taking bottles.
      You always slept very long stretches.. we would wake you up after 4 hours to eat, then you quickly turned to every two hours, routinely until you were 8 MONTHS OLD... Mommy went back to work when you were 3 months old.  You went to daycare with Miss Amy and Mr. Jon.  They have 6 pug dogs and 8 kids at daycare, of which only one other is a boy.  You were the youngest by 8 months.   You had a very strong neck and would always try to lift your head.  You were a very happy smiley baby.  People always commented that you looked like a little man and that you looked like daddy.  Mommy always thought you had her eyes though.  You lost your hair quickly and didn't have much, and still don't have much.  But you do have curls in the back!!!!
*Bed time is 7pm and you nap really well you go to sleep easily.. we don't have to rock you to sleep first.. 
*Once that tongue got clipped -- you eat like a machine!  lMommy home made your food and did organic foods... you love fruit and really haven't disliked anything!  Just recently you want to feed yourself and not want to be spoon fed. You say mmmmmm when you like things and recently smack your lips.
*first word was da da, followed by ball, bath, ma ma, dog, light, uh oh, puff, hi, bye bye, ba  ba -- recently you are trying to repeat what we say with same syllables.. flower, light, etc.
*You have always loved baths - recently wanting to play more, stand up, and crawl around in the tub. you get really excited when we say bath, and throughout the day you will crawl in the bathroom and say bath?
*You love going around the house looking, picking, and playing with things you are not supposed to.. cords, computers, tupperware, cody's dog bowl, drawers, cabinets, EVERYTHING... once we say your name, you look back at us and smile
*You love to have us chase you around the house and roll over for us to get your belly
* You had 8 teeth by 10 months of age
* You have had 5 ear infections in 4 months
*Your favorite toys are anything that light up and make sound.... YOU LOVE music and dance (wave your hand) and sometimes try to sing with us
* You love your paci and have learned to put it in your mouth at a very early age.  You play with it in your crib to keep you entertained if we are not sleeping.  You roll around, throw it, and bang it on the crib.
* now that it is summer you are such a boy- play in mulch, dig in dirt, and crawl with your legs extended so your knees don't touch the grass., and being outside looking at flowers, birds, watching cody run around, observing nature.
*Favorite songs have been: wheels on the bus, happy and you know it, itsy bitsy spider, skiddery mrinky dink,
*at a early age you have been interested in fans and lights.  even walking through lowes looking at fans gets you sooooo excited.  Ooooooooo.. and hold up your hand is how you usually respond.  You find them whereever we go!
*You like to give mommy kisses ... sometimes your toys and daddy get them too!

*You are a snuggly, cuddly little boy!
Gavin, watching your joy for life, your wonder of how things work, your evolving personality, and contagious smile makes our day fullfiled.  We can't wait to hold you, play with you and watch you grow every single minute, hour, and day.  I know you feel our love for you and are comfortable and happy as a child.  I hope that as you grow up you feel secure, loved, and keep your playful happy go lucky personaltiy as you have had this whole year.      So much to look forward to and see your personality come out even more!!!
We Love You Gavin Jay!