Catch him if you can...

Gavin is growing and changing and learning new things so quickly these days that it's hard to keep up! Time for a blog update so I can record the highlights.

Things about Gavin's current stage that I want to remember include:

• Trying to walk up and down the stairs. Apparently crawling is not acceptable anymore. Gavin is delighted when he can hold the hand rail and scale the steps on his own. This makes me extremely nervous, especially when he attempts a descent. The stair gates are more important than ever.

• Opening the top kitchen drawers. Most notably, Gavin has discovered the silverware drawer. He knows he can grab handfuls of soup spoons from one side...and sharp knives from the other. Garry installed a latch for the drawer last night.

• Viewing the backyard from a chair perch in front of my bedroom window. Because he kept scaling the chair, desk, and bookshelf in the baby's room, I removed the chair and put it against the wall in my room. Gavin quickly discovered its new location, but I'm glad. He loves to look out the window, especially when the boys are playing outside. It makes him feel included and I'm not obligated to chase him around.

Gavin's favorite new pastime.

• Enjoying the back yard play structure. When I'm feeling up to a rise in my blood pressure, I'll follow Gavin around outside. He absolutely loves climbing the ladders and going down the slides in the back yard. He loves doing the Superman thing on the swings. He just loves being outdoors. One day I'll have Garry trail him with a camera for a fabulous photo shoot. The "what if he falls" concept stresses me out too much to have a camera in my hand.

• Figuring out zippers. This morning Gavin had stripped to his diaper by the time I got him out of bed. He discovered how to unzip his footie pajamas! This means he can also take off his coat, which I don't really appreciate. He already removes his socks and shoes every time we get in the car, but now zippers have expanded his mischievousness.

Just before heading out the door:
fully dressed with a cute beanie we got for 99 cents this week.

• Trying to copy almost everything we say (and succeeding a fair portion of the time). Gavin is talking so much more than his brothers did at this age. We barely had "mama" out of Zachary at 16 months. Gavin says all kinds of recognizable baby-speak words and has started signing "thank you" without prompting when he receives something he wants.

• Opening doors with a lever-type handle. Thank heaven we don't have those at our house. But doctor's offices do, and our church does, so suddenly Gavin has a lot more freedom (slash naughty potential). He can palm doorknobs at our house, but does not yet have the strength or dexterity to work them. It won't be long!

So that's the word on our not-so-little man. Oh, and he also cut two eye teeth this week. Life is never dull with Gavin in the house!