11 years and Going Strong!

Happy Anniversary!!!






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Happy Father's Day!

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One Year + 2 Days Ago...

Oops...running a tad behind...
On June 9, 2011, this is the first time we saw Gavin's sweet face. We could not wait to bring this sweet baby home. He was always on our mind.

This is the first picture we received of Gavin with his foster mother. We could tell just from this picture how much he was loved. Gavin's referral day will always be a day where we think about his very special foster family.

This is just one picture from his 1st birthday. This is one of my favorites. You may be wondering why since Gavin is so serious. I.love.this.picture. because of the pure love that his foster mother has on her face for him. It makes my heart ache. 

This is a picture of his foster mother, father, and brother. I know he still misses them all especially his foster brother.

In this picture his foster grandmother and grandfather are also pictured. He also had a foster uncle and aunt who we know he loved very much.

We know that without the love and care from this beautiful family Gavin would not be who he is today. I've often wondered what is going through the foster family's mind as they are waiting until their foster child gets their travel call. It brings tears to my eyes thinking how they could unselfishly love him for a whole year and be strong enough to say goodbye to him. We love his foster family very much and they will always be considered part of our family. We can't wait until we see them again!

Naptime

Let's just say that naps are very random to non existent. We would skip them but since he still wakes up during the night naps are a must! Typically he will fall asleep in a stroller, which is way too hot now, or if we're driving somewhere...


Didn't even leave the driveway yet! Happy napping!!!

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5 Weeks Home

It's hard to believe that we have been home for 5 weeks!

Here's some things we've learned about Gavin:

5 Loves...

dogs, anything with water, grapes and watermelon, Pororo, sweets

5 Things that are eh...

getting our hands and face wiped, diaper changes, broccoli, red meat, going to sleep

5 Words We Can Say

...okay I'm breaking the 5 rule right now and of course some of the words only Matt and I can probably understand  ;-)

hi, umma, appa, mama, dada, up, uh oh, all done, I, help, egg, Ace, Gracie

CHEESE!!!-yes I love that he can say the word cheese-he was definitely meant for us! 

Each week we notice something new. 

Around week 4 Gavin started to really babble a lot. It's fun to listen to him. He loves to talk on the phone whether someone is on the other end or not. 

He also began to play with some of his toys. He really enjoys his toys that make music. 

He is warming up to Matt, especially on the weekends. He will let Matt carry him when we are not at home. During the week they go to the park or on a walk together and then I finish up the bedtime routines since Gavin is still a tad wary of Matt at home. 

Nights are still a work in progress, or sleep in general. This is something that the foster family had mentioned in a letter to us, so it was something we knew we would probably be working on for awhile. 

We or I actually had the first visit post placement visit with our social worker. 

2 Thumbs Up!

She says he's doing remarkably well for being home for such a short amount of time! 

One last thing...

the other day Gavin's bedroom door was actually closed and all of sudden there he was with the door open. Matt wondered if we had shut the door all of the way or not. So, we made sure that the door was shut (Matt was in the room with him) and after a few seconds the door opened. After playing with the door awhile, it appears that Gavin can open a door with a round door knob if he's pulling the door...I'm sure that he will discover he can push the door while turning the knob will occur fairly soon...