Tis the Season

It just seems like yesterday when I was updating our lives aka the life of Gavin.  That little turkey seems to be doing something new weekly and it's beginning to get hard to keep up with him, haha.
So let's see, Halloween was pretty low key. Gavin dressed up as a Dragon (Joe nicknamed him that weeks after he was born) and he was so cute. We bought it a month or so early in a size 3-6 month and it fit him like a glove on Halloween. We didn't get to go around the neighborhood to show off his outfit because just a few days before he came down with a nasty cough and cold. So we all stayed in and watched scary movies for the night.
November hit and Gavin was sitting on his own, and starting to learn how to feed himself the bites of food we put on his tray. Soon came the 21st of November and with that our great friend Kelsey came to visit with her adorable daughter Skylar for Thanksgiving. The next day, our little snow angel babies got to experience their first snowfall. I'm not sure if they really cared about it, but it did make for some adorable pictures. Then on the 24th, Kelsey's amazing fiance Eric came into town just in time to experience a little more Seattle snow.  Thanksgiving was very low-key for us. It snowed all morning, so we didn't think that driving all around was the smartest idea with a baby, so we waited until about 3 and headed over to Dad's house for a Thanksgiving feast. Gavin had so much fun with his buddy Skylar, and Joe and I had fun getting to visit with our good friends, but as we all know, all good things must come to an end. They all headed back to Arizona on Sunday with some great memories and awesome pictures in tow.
Which now leads us into the present. Yesterday was my big 29th birthday. It was so nice just relaxing and spending some quality time with my family! Joe surprised me with a day (literally took over 4 hours) to get my hair done. Joe and Gavin left and went shopping while I just sat back and relaxed. When they came to pick me up, the much dreaded thing happened, it was time for little Gavin to get his hair cut! I have been avoiding this day for awhile, and finally came to the realization that he could only have his hair in his eyes for so long. I ran and grabbed my camera, and before I knew it, the stylist was cutting away and my little boys beautiful blonde hair. I started to get teary eyed when she whisked away the cape and a chunk of his hair was nowhere to be found! I was so upset! But like magic, I looked down and between the chunks of my dark hair on the ground, was a baby chunk of blonde hair just sitting there. I picked it up and taped it to a card so I could put it into his baby book.
After the salon, we headed straight to Bellevue Square to go get pictures with Santa. The line was about 25 minutes long, and the whole time everyone kept on telling us how we shouldn't be surprised when Gavin screams and cries while on his lap. It was pretty comical watching some of the other kids reactions to Santa, and all I could do was hope that Gavin had a much different reaction. Soon it was our turn, Gavin went right into Santa's arms and started giggling. The first picture was taken and they said 'we've got our shot' but I begged for a couple more so we can have options. They said he was by far one of the best babies that they had ever seen. I guess if he isn't so fond of Santa next year, at least we have one good picture of him with Santa :).
I can't wait to see how the rest of the holidays pan out. Joe has a Christmas party for work on the Argosy cruise ship, and Gavin will be having a baby sitter. I'm hoping that as he continues to get older, he still allows people other than Joe and I to take care of him.
Happy Holidays to you All!
Love,
The Harvey's

Avocado Shmavocado

Well, the time has come to let Gavin enter the world of solids! Something that I have not been looking forward to. It just makes me realize that he is getting so big so fast, and also that he now doesn't have to only rely on me for his nourishment. Since the day that he was born, I knew exactly what his first solid would be, an avocado. Not only is it full of good nutrients, it also is my favorite! So, Sunday morning we stripped him down into his diaper.  Joe got the video camera rolling and it was beyond hysterical (to Joe and I) from there. Of course, as a mom, I had to take picture after picture.....after picture as I didn't want to miss ANYTHING!!! Well, to say the least, he was not a fan. He was gagging, drooling, coughing, whining, etc etc etc. I must admit, he was quite the sport, and he definitely gets a gold star for it. Being new at this, we wondered if it was just the avocado that he wasn't enjoying or if was the new texture and taste in his mouth? Of course, my curious mind had to see what the problem was, so I quickly cut up a pear, and without a moment going by he gagged and spit it out! So, day one of solids has come and gone.  I know that as long as we keep up on this everyday, it will only get easier and better tasting for him.  Pictures will tell all you need for this!
Until next time.

Stretch and Snake's Wedding

Alas, we meet again...
We just came out of an amazing weekend, well kinda (I mean, it is Thursday...)!  I was beyond thrilled when I was asked to be the bridesmaid in Jake in Melissa's wedding. What a wonderful experience that was! It's so much fun getting to go to weddings, after you have had one of your own, just to see the unique ideas each person has. Melissa did such an awesome job at everything, and the details were so spot on.  I had so much fun with her in the final days prior to the wedding. We got to do her final dress fitting (I cried!), go get our nails all pretty, have our hair and makeup done, and lastly got to oversee the final touches being put together at the venue.
Joe and I had a blast! The wedding was at the Januik Winery in Woodinville.  It was beautiful!  We got to laugh, take pictures, eat, dance, and be merry.  As luck would have it, I was one of the lucky one's who got to make a speech. Now any of you that know me, I HATE speaking in public.  I always have and I am sure that I always will.  When it came down to crunch time, I came through in the clutch and spit out a few short sentences, making it short and sweet.  We could not be happier for the new married couple and wish them many, many years of wedded bliss (and we hope for lots of babies too (: ).  We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives!
Our little bundle of joy was not present, but he too got to have a fun day, full of adventure. Auntie Glynda babysat from 11 am til about midnight. She took him to the Evergreen State Fair, and said he didn't let out a peep the entire day.  He's growing so fast, and becomes more and more like a little boy everyday.  We just love savoring every moment with him.
Until next time....

The Harvey's journey to blogging

Hello All!
This is our first time blogging, so bare with us. Any suggestions would be appreciated!!!
Well let's see, where to start? I guess we should jump back in time a little and go from there.  Joe and I got married last July 11th (2009), and it was just perfect. We went to Vegas for a mini-honeymoon, as we were planning on doing something bigger later in the year.  Well, as luck would have it, the stick turned positive on August 28th, and so the honeymoon is yet to happen. :). In November, we lost Joe's dad to congestive heart failure. We were able to find out 3 days prior that we were having a boy, and got to share the news with him.  In December, we lost another great person in our lives, my 'Uncle Jerry.' January came, and I was having pre-term contractions and I was put on moderate bedrest. We moved in February to Monroe, which now we live about 2 minutes from Joe's work. May 2nd came, and so did baby Gavin. He weighed in at 6.106# and 19 3/4". He is now 3 months old and cute as a button. Now that we have got you this far, I promise to keep updating the blog as often as I can. I definitely will be keeping everyone posted on Gavin's latest accomplishments and any exciting news that comes along as well.
Talk to you soon!
The Harvey's