Sam and Kayla's Excellent Adventure: October 2016

Well here we are folks. The eve of my baby becoming not a baby anymore. Tomorrow Gavin turns one. And not that something magical happens overnight and he all of the sudden won't be my little man anymore, but in a way it kind of feels like it is the end of an era of life, of Gavin's first year. A year I can never get back. Once you have a baby and you hit the ground running it feels like the sleepless nights and shirts covered in spit up will never end. But then there is this moment that you realize your baby will not be a baby for very long and there is a sudden sadness that comes with that. But at the same time I am so excited for this next year. Gavin is so sweet and such a joy in my life that I can't wait for this next phase that comes with turning 1.

I honestly have no clue what his growth is like so here is just a guess and we will see if I am right on Monday!

Estimated Height: 31 inches

Estimated Weight: 23 pounds

Gavin at 11 months has been so much fun. Even though it is a pain int he neck that he is into everything I love that he can crawl. He is a speedy little crawler and can get from one side of the room to the next in the blink of an eye. I forget how fast he is sometimes. Even though he has crawling down, he really has no interested in walking or taking steps at all. He doesn't even really cruise along furniture or anything. We try to get him to walk with us but he just drags his feet. It is kind of funny. I figure he will just get to it when he is fine and ready. He does this adorable thing where he does the downward facing dog yoga pose all the time. Sometimes he even tries to play like that and he loves to look at you through his legs. Gavin has 8 teeth now and I think he might be getting more soon. I thought he was teething but it turns out he was sick. He recently had a fever followed by a rash, which has made him pretty grumpy this past week. Gavin is a tall boy and can reach things on tables, desks, dressers, that I think he wouldn't be able to reach. It gets him into trouble. Speaking of trouble, he has starting realizing when I don't want him to do something. I will say his name and he will kind of startle and hurry and drop whatever he has or sit down. It is pretty funny.

This October has been so lovely with Gavin. We have enjoyed the beautiful weather and the Fall leaves. We went to Cross E Ranch and enjoyed their little Fall festival by playing on the hay bales, going on a hay ride, seeing the animals, going through a corn maze, and eating fresh homemade corn dogs. We also went to the Zoo with cousins and Gavin actually really liked it. I let him crawl around and get into things and he had a lot of fun. We did the carousel and Gavin just thought that was the time of his life. I love that he is so much more aware of the things we are doing, or people he is around, and just able to participate things more.

I feel like I am finally getting the hang of this motherhood thing. It only has taken me all year to do! But even then I feel pretty overwhelmed a lot of the time, but I am so grateful to be Gavin's mom. I feel so lucky to have him. I just love how sweet Gavin is. I love that he likes to snuggle and read books before bed. I love that he has been sleeping through the night more (still not perfect) and sleeping in more (instead of waking up at 5:45 every morning). I love his curly hair and his long lashes and that he is such a handsome little boy. I love how much he loves his grandparents and aunts and uncles. I love that he has started pointing to things like balloons, trees, lights and the cat. I am pretty sure he is trying to say the word kitty. He loves our cat Nala but also gets a little stressed out by her because I think she scratched him the other day. I love that he will put his head against mine or rest his cheek on mine. It melts my heart! I love his little voice and when he just chatters away in the back seat when we drive. I love how much he loves dogs and other animals (even flies that get into our house). I love that he likes to hear me sing, even though I know I have a terrible singing voice, but I love that he doesn't know that yet. I love his cheesy smile and his sweet friendly demeanor. He is seriously the best and I love him so much. Tomorrow he will be a full person, a big one year old! So tonight I will mourn the loss of my little baby, but mostly I am overjoyed in the new adventures we will have together in this next phase of life.

Some favorites from our Prusse Family photo shoot by my wonderful friend Torrie