Life with Gavin

Life with Gavin is....entertaining.

This is a boy who can turn anything into a game. He pretends, he sings, he dances. He is just bursting with personality and shares it with everyone. He says, "Hi! My name is Gavin Drew! I'm TWO!" to everyone he meets.

When our new ward bishopric visited the other night, Gavin wanted each of them to play with him, to watch him do this or that, and to listen to his incessant chatter. I laughed to myself as I observed the incredulous looks on all of their faces. Gavin's pace is just second-nature to us, but it tends to take other people's breath away. He didn't sit still during the entire visit.


Life with Gavin is....messy.

Mealtime is particularly hair-raising, because Gavin has discovered the powers of velocity and altitude in creating natural disasters with his food. Instead of just dumping his plate, he throws it across the room. The best part of the mess scenario is Gavin yelling, "Mommy Heidi Ann! Come clean up this mess!"

Gavin also gets into EVERYTHING...still. I keep thinking he will outgrow this phase, but it hasn't happened yet. Whether he is devouring new jars of peanut butter, eating cups of yogurt without a spoon, squeezing the toothpaste, splatting banana-coated hands on the piano, or sprinkling cleaning agents on the carpet, he is always out-smarting and out-lasting his tired Mom.


Life with Gavin is....busy.

The other day I was trying to have a phone conversation with a friend. I was also trying to clean up the kitchen. Gavin refused to watch TV or play with his toys, so he put a series of DVDs in and out of the DVD player for a few minutes. Then he climbed in the dishwasher. Then he got jam out of the freezer and ate it with his fingers. Then he turned the gas stove on and scorched the bottom of Garry's birthday cake, which was cooling on the back burner. Then he pushed the mop around the part of the kitchen I had already mopped. Then he slipped on the wet floor and smacked his head. Then he woke up Lexi. Then he poured floor cleaner down the sink. Then he got a garbage bag out from under the sink and shook it until it opened. Then he filled the bag up with toys (this was my suggestion), and then he climbed in and demanded a pillow so he could rest on the floor.

As my friend will testify, dealing with this relentless barrage of mischief and energy is rather taxing, especially while trying to accomplish something -- anything -- around the house. Sometimes it's just easier to give up. On that particular day, we sat on the couch and watched Curious George together.

Today I walked away from the ironing board for a minute to fetch Lexi from her crib. When I returned, Gavin had stripped and put his pants on the end of the board. He was reaching for the hot iron when I walked into the room. Earlier, I had been cleaning the bathrooms with Gavin at my heels. When I walked away with some trash, he opened the bottle of Windex and poured it down the drain. Later he messed with the buttons on the washing machine and set a ten-minute delay on the wash cycle. I don't even know how to do that. Once I figured out how to cancel the delay, I forgot (again) to set the child lock. Half an hour later, Gavin stopped the machine mid-cycle and threw in his teddy bear. Naptime commenced immediately.


Life with Gavin is...tender.

For a while, Gavin was resisting naps with every ounce of strength he could muster. He often screamed in his room for an hour instead of sleeping. Believe it or not, this was enough of a rest period for both of us that we could carry on through the day. But about a month ago, the tide turned. Preparing for nap time is now a very gentle, sweet process, with Primary songs and hugs and "I love you." Sometimes Gavin even falls asleep while I am singing to him.


Life with Gavin is...pretty great, actually.