Gavin Michael Curt

Gavin woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning or something because he had nothing but complaints. But his complaints really illustrated his expansive vocabulary. He woke up asking for his blankey which he had thrown on the ground. I picked it up for him and he said "I no like it," and dropped it again. Getting him dressed is always a challenge, the boy hates to be in the submissive position on his back nude. But as I dressed him I was having a conversation with Tyler about expectations. You know, I expect him to be a good boy; he expects me to be a good mommy. These are basic expectations. Gavin began repeating the big word, "Spectation." In the car on our way to school, as I backed the car out the driveway Gavin complained "Bright," as the sun hits his eyes. "Glasses?" he asked but I have misplaced his sunglasses so I just told him to close his eyes as they adjust to the sun. But he had already moved on to asking for food and drink. "Cracker? Puc?"(that's Gavinspeak for cup). "I want cracker. I want puc. I want glasses." Those are some nice three word sentences he had but there I was empty handed with nothing to reward the well spoken young man with. But, I kept reminding him today is Waffle Wednesday so we're on our way to school to eat waffles! "I no like it," he'd reply. I really can't win at this game. Meanwhile, Gavin is stripping his socks and shoes off each foot. He does this to delay our arrival in time for breakfast at school. Some days it really gets mommy mad but she's learned lately to ignore it. Five year olds don't obsess about taking off their shoes and socks, do they? It soon became painfully clear he was just trying to find any excuse to complain about and delay our arrival at school. "Finger," he told me pointing at his finger, "Need ice. Finger. Ouuu." I told him I didn't have any ice but his finger should be okay once we got to school. "Loud," he tried next, covering his ears. So I turned down the already quiet radio asking him if that was better. "Better," he replied but then Tyler piped in that he wanted to hear the radio. We were almost to school. What a long 7-minutes that drive was. I get him out of the car "Cold!" he said, making me feel guilty for not putting on his jacket before getting him out. So, in we walked to Kindercare, Gavin barefoot and with no jacket, Tyler toting his umbrella and wearing his rainboots and rain jacket. "Is it supposed to rain today?" I overheard one parent asking another. No, I just have nutty kids I replied to nobody in particular.

We had a great weekend visiting with Papa Neb and Gramma Wan. You can tell when the kids have a good weekend because Monday mornings back at school are really difficult. Gavin calls all his Papas Papa Curt. We practiced and practiced with him but the dude can't say Papa without the Curt! We went to Mariposa County one day and checked out their Mineral and Rock Museum. There, Gavin learned to say "amythest" and "malachite" surprisingly well! The next day we headed up to Columbia where we went through a cute little Gold Rush town. Gavin and Tyler went on their first stage coach ride. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that was my first stage coach ride too. We had a great time visiting with everyone. Gavin shocked us all with his ability to eat a very big burrito. No wonder he was so fussy before dinner; the boy was starving! Chili travelled with us as well. Every time we got in the car, Tyler and Gavin cracked up at seeing Chili in their car. On our way home, we actually got Gavin to say Papa Neb without the Curt. But when he woke up the next morning, he walked through the house asking for Papa Curt again. Now that we're back home and in our old routine, everytime we get in the car Gavin still asks if he can see Chili in the back.

For the first time, Gavin climbed out of his crib this morning. I let him stay in there longer than usual as Tyler was entertaining him and I was running late. I walked in his bedroom just as he did it because he was a little disoriented as he pointed at his crib to tell me what he had done. As if I didn't notice that he was out of it. Not sure if he fell or not, but man I hope he forgets he did that and stays in his crib from now on. Or else the days of him staying there all night are numbered.

Sweet little Gavin is really starting to make sense. He can finally communicate his wants, "Want puc," (that's cup backwards) "Want walk," and my favorite, "Want pug," I want a pug too but more than that, I want a hug!

He's also communicating his agonies "Tyler hurt," "Tyler push," "Tyler foot," "Tyler." I guess that's more like a singular agony.

Mack and Tyler were playing together Saturday and Gavin was trying to keep up with the big boys. This was the first of what will probably be many times, but it made me so sad to see how they treat him like the outcast. "Oooh don't touch Gavin he's poo-poo," (guess which one said that) and "Run from Gavin he's the bad guy!" Gavin didn't care, he just chased after them screaming and having a blast. But, the older kids would slam the door (yikes!) and block Gavin from coming in. He'd turn around and wander off to the other room to check out what Owen was up to. Meanwhile, I'm the one who's broken hearted for the rejection he just unknowingly suffered. I can really see how parents take the brunt of so much of their kids' problems and want to solve them all. And it's not like Mack and Tyler were mean to him, they were just pretending and Gavin really couldn't have cared less. Owen too. The toddlers are in their own little individual zone while the preschoolers are in imagination land. Meanwhile, the adult is trying not to take everything so seriously!

The kids are so ecstatic about spring. Between it staying light later, the warmer evenings, and their new sandbox, it is difficult to get them inside. Last night we ate dinner at the park becuase they were so excited to play at the park. Gavin ate his corn on the cob, chicken leg and biscuit and drank his entire Capri Sun standing up on the edge of the park (I wouldn't let him go on the bark with the food).

Then we came home and they played out back with chalk. Just this afternoon I let Chilidog come in after basking in the sun. He has squiggly lines of blue chalk all over his fur :)

The Dorrs gave us four tickets to the Kings game today, up so close we could call out Peja's name and know he heard us. It was amazing how close to the action we were. Gavin was all decked out in what used to be Tyler's Kings outfit. It was a 12:30 gametime. Gavin promptly fell asleep for his nap shortly after the game started. He slept through the entire first half, halftime, and finally woke up in third quarter. Shortly after he woke up, Tyler fell asleep for his nap. Nothing like a little background noise of 17,000 noisy Kings fans to put our boys to sleep!