Wednesday, June 22, 2011: Both sides

Gavin hugs himself. He hugs other people, too -- and stuffed animals, for that matter. But he's got this hugging thing down so well that he'll even say, "Gavin hug," and wrap his little arms around himself. His hugging technique is quite good, too. He hugs you and then says, "Other side," and moves his head to the other side of your head so that both sides of you are good and hugged.

Sorting. Gavin's all about sorting things by color and other like-features. He's got this little cart full of blocks and he painstakingly takes the blocks out and forms long rows of all red or all yellow blocks on the floor in his room. Or he'll choose two colors and put the blocks in the little cart careful to separate the two. At his end of the year daycare party one of the women from the toddler room (Gavin was in the infant room but would hang out in the toddler room when there was room for him since he is technically a toddler. He will be in the toddler room officially in the fall) made a point to tell us about Gavin's propensity for sorting and she said it like it was a big deal. Like she was impressed because of how advanced he was. I like to think that Gavin is probably going to win the Nobel Prize for Sorting one of these days. One of the other day care teachers also remarked about how smart Gavin is while we were at the party. I know that at this stage of the game kids are all developing at different rates and some things come earlier than others. But I also like to think that Gavin is really exceptional. Because, you know, he is. I know I'm biased because you can't really trust anyone who is madly in love, but I'm hip to the fact that my kid's no dummy. And so handsome to boot! Stacy says I tell Gavin he is handsome (or some variation) too often. "I don't want him to think that's the only thing we value him for." She actually said that to me. I really don't think that's going to be his perception. It's not like we're neglecting to teach him how to read and stuff. But I am exceptionally shallow, so I can understand where her concern comes from.

Gavin's going to be two in less than one month now. Holy shit.

We're getting our kitchen redone so we've been eating at a lot of restaurants. I think I've mentioned how thankful I am that Gavin is really good when we go out to eat. Here he is the other day sitting proudly in a booth at Panera. That's his Grandma Kathy next to him. Or her arm, at least. I mean, all of her was there, but only her arm made it into this photo. No weird dismemberment stuff going on here. He at mac and cheese and he ate all of it. My mom says she thinks he has hollow legs. He does eat a lot. Some times I worry we're over feeding him and dooming him to a life of obesity, but I realize this isn't rational. He might be going through a growth spurt right now because he's sleeping a bit more than usual and, well, he just seems bigger. Stacy put him on the scale at my mom's and she claims he's still 30 lbs. I think he's more than that now. I don't know how accurate the scale is. After all, it's in the shape of a giant blue plastic fish. Not exactly doctor's office quality. This photo was taken with my cell phone so the quality isn't great, but you still get an idea for how big this kid is. You can also see how beautifully curly his hair is. And Stacy wonders why I tell him he's beautiful all the time. It's just because I'm thinking out loud. I know she thinks it, too.

Stacy signed Gavin up for Spanish classes this summer. The two of them went to a sample class and she was all about it. So now he's going to join the Bright Loritos. Specifically he'll be a Parakeet. I hope he likes it. I didn't get to go to the sample class because our cabinets arrived at the same moment they needed to leave. So I got to stay home and lug stuff out of the garage to make room for giant boxes instead.

Gavin calls the guy who's doing our kitchen "John. Man." You ask, "Who tore up our kitchen?" and he says, "John. Man." When he came home from his last day of daycare there was nothing left in the kitchen and when he saw it he said, "Happened?" And he quickly assumed a man had done it. He's now totally unfazed by the whole kitchen thing. He likes to watch John work and is curious, but he doesn't seem to think it's especially strange that we wash dishes in the bath tub now and go to a lot of restaurants. He's a pretty adaptable kid. We're lucky like that.