Finally!

Well, folks, this will be short but sweet. Gavin is finally walking! Yay! Is it any coincidence that I have lost two pounds in the past week? Perhaps this is the reason I hadn't lost those final five pounds of baby weight up 'til now? My child walks and I drop to single digit clothing since I'm chasing him all over the house. Carry on, little man, carry on!

Oh No He Didn't!

Overnight it seems that I have a sassy pants toddler on my hands. Gavin tried to pull one of his grandparent's floor lamps over yesterday, and when I asked him not to play with it he said, "Want to!" What?? Where the heck did he learn that? He has said it a few times since, so he is obviously aware of its meaning.

Gavs is also becoming quite clever. At dinner tonight he picked up his sippy cup and started shaking water all over his head and on the floor. When I asked him what he was doing he said, quite proudly, "Waining!" Is that smart, or what??

I'm Going Back to Cali

Here are some pictures from my trip out West to California in August for the Harvest Crusade. It was a wonderful event, with some 126,000 in attendance over three nights to celebrate the 20th anniversary. Plus, Chris Tomlin was there and gave a concert on the final night, complete with a fireworks display. Pretty amazing. The great news is that Harvest will bring a crusade to Chicago next September at Allstate Arena. I can't wait and will fill you all in with more details as they are available.

While out in SoCal I was able to visit with some of my great girlfriends, Lisa and Victoria, for a day. We had a blast visiting Fashion Island for some shopping, lunch, and Pinkberry Yogurt. Lisa and I even got to go to a kids and husband-free movie and saw (500) Days of Summer. Good times!

We're Still Eating at Cozy Thai

I'm beginning to think that I've gone overboard with the Thai food (okay, you all can stop laughing now and pick your butts back up off the floor). Gavin is going nuts, asking for it all the time now. As soon as he wakes up from his morning nap he starts chanting, "Soup? Cozy? Noo-dahs?" Every single day.

We go once a week (usually on Tuesdays for anyone who wants to join us) and I have now learned to pack up everything they put on the table to take home as leftovers. This means all the free bowls of miso soup. Heck, that's two more meals for a toddler! And a noodle dish can feed both of us, plus our wonderful babysitter, Carol, for a couple of meals. It's value-added in this economy.

I'd better stick to the Thai lunch specials with Gavin for now. I don't want him developing a taste for anything like Alinea or Charlie Trotters before he's two.

Talking, Talking, Talking

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that my son is a big talker. Hmmmm...I wonder where he picked up that quality? It's really getting fun now that he can have little conversations with us, and some of the phrases he uses crack us up. For instance, when he is in distress or really wants something from me, he anxiously implores, "Hon-ey, hon-ey!" Half the time I don't think he remembers my name is Mama (to him) since all I seem to hear is Hon-ey, but it's super cute!

Some other funny little phrases:

Cacoon: "Ah-Coon"

Seriously: "Sil-ee-ous-y"

Dangerous: "Dane-jus"

Open Door: "Open Door!"

And, of course, every stranger we come across is on the receiving end of a "Buh-bye" or a "Hi!"

Gavin is taking little steps here and there until he remembers he is walking and instantly develops shaky legs and begs Hon-ey to help him "sit!" But this week he has been telling us, "Walka, walka!" This means he wants to walk holding our hands. Hey, I'm all for this progress. I'm starting to think my child might be the only kid in pre-school to crawl out of the car to meet his teacher. I like to think that he talks so much he doesn't have much interest in walking, and that would be about right.