Climbing

When we decided that we would go to TN for Christmas, we also decided not to go all out on Christmas decorations. Instead of buying a 6 ft real tree, I would just decorate our smaller 2 ft fake tree that I typically put in Gavin's room. I put the tree on the console table behind our couch. It worked out well I thought, because it also  prevented Sawyer from pulling off ornaments, etc. 

Little did I know that Sawyer's climbing abilities include being able to climb into the couch and reach the tree.

Conversations With My Son

It was dark in Gavin's room. Casey had just finished reading a bedtime Christmas  story. I walked over to his bed and kissed his sweet little head. He was awake. 

"I love you, sweet boy."

"I love you too mommy."

"I love you more."

"I love you most!"

"Well, I love you infinity."

"I love you 100,100 and 1,000,000 infinity."

"Ok, you win."

"Yesssss..."

"Just drop me off, mom."

There's been a change over the past few weeks. Gavin no longer needs his mom or dad to walk him up to his classroom. He prefers to just be dropped off in front of the school, where he can catch up to classmates arriving at the same time and go to class without our help. I barely get a "bye mom." My baby is growing up - needs me a little less. 

Conversations With My Son

"Hey mom, I wish people would think that it is not nice to leave trash on the earth and nature. You know, like glitter. Because it makes nature dirty and people want to explore and they can't explore when there is trash everywhere."

Gavin calls litter 'glitter.' I've explained the difference between the two words, but he still gets it mixed up. Makes me giggle every time. Sometimes when we are driving around town he will exclaim, "Mom! Look at all the glitter over there." Then he comments on how glitter is making the world unhappy.  

This is Gavin standing in our friend Milo's front yard. 

Conversations With My Son

While driving home after picking him up from a few hours of hanging out with Casey at the shop, where he made two small spiral notebooks of colored paper. We were talking about how he could make a notebook for his teacher as a Christmas or Teacher Appreciation gift. Gavin thought this was a good idea.

"Mom, you're kind of like my teacher, because you know some stuff and we do learning at home. It's like I have two teachers, one at home and one at school."

He followed this comment by saying that I don't know quite as much as his teacher, who apparently knows 'a lot more stuff', according to Gavin. It's true, she probably does, she's got several decades more life experience than I do. I'm just happy that Gavin recognizes and appreciates the learning environment Casey and I try to foster at home too.

Conversations With My Son

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember my old school?"

"Your preschool?"

"Yes. Remember that we took naps?"

"Yes."

"I miss that."

"You miss nap time, huh?

"Yeah, Kindergarten makes me tired."

Gavin's official school portrait wasn't very good this year. I took a cue from my sister and just made my own fall school portrait. I like how it turned it out. I think I was able to capture Gavin's essence with this one.

I get this face frequently as well...

And I think this shot really captures his energy...

Fall soccer comes to an end

Another soccer season is behind us. Gavin will begin his spring season in March. It has been our pleasure to watch Gavin grow into his sport. He continues to improve his skills and develop good sportsmanship as he matures.

He is still pretty exceptional at all sports, but soccer seems to be taking hold. He looks forward to both practice and games. Leonel Messi is his favorite pro player. Casey cherishes his time as Gavin's coach. I hope he can maintain his involvement as Gavin transitions into competitive soccer.

Here are some warm up and post game pictures from our last game of the season.

When Big Brother Is Away, Baby Brother Will Play....

Sawyer enjoys playing with Gavin's toys while Gavin is in school. This morning he was interested in Gavin's collection of matchbox cars. He sat still and quiet for at least 10 minutes while he inspected each vehicle.

Ten Months of Sawyer

Sawyer is very active, like another young Morrison boy we know and love. He is a mischievous baby and enjoys exploring and investigating his surroundings.

When he is awake, he usually crawls quickly from room to room, searching for contraband like toilet paper that needs to be unraveled or dog water that needs to be splashed in. He enjoys  batting objects that roll and chasing them. Sawyer loves playing chase and hide-n-seek with his big brother. He insists on participating in whatever Gavin is doing, whether it be playing Legos, playing soccer, wrestling, or playing airplane with Casey or me,  even drawing and writing. Of course Sawyer lacks Gavin's motor skills, but he tries nevertheless.

He is curious and fearless and very happy. He loves us and we love him.

Halloween

We hosted a Halloween party this year for Gavin and his neighborhood friends. It was a great way for us to spend time getting to know folks from our street. The kids and adults had a great time.