Raising the Roof

When it comes to dancing there's no worse sight than seeing me cut a rug. Behind closed doors and away from others I have no problem dancing. But the kind of flailing, ridiculous movements that I make simply aren't meant for public consumption. Gavin however, instinctively knows how to dance. He's been doing it for about as long as I can remember, even before he was able to walk. We'd have music playing and he'd rock back and forth in his high chair while eating.

The video below shows his latest moves to a brand new tune called Heartless by Kanye West (iTunes link). Enjoy.

0 comments - Posted by Aaron at 10:02 AM - Categories: Gavin | Video

Gavin's First Motorcycle Event

I knew it was only a matter of time before Gavin would experience his first moto event. I just didn't think it would be so near his 2 year birthday. I was checking e-mail at work one morning two weeks ago and saw a message from Blake, a guy I first met when I worked at Healthstream years ago. Blake was one of the instrumental guys in pushing me over the proverbial edge of purchasing my first motorcycle. Six years and three motorcyles later I'm still hooked on pretty much anything that involves two wheels. Blake's e-mail was about a vintage motorcyle trials event, one we checked out last year in Dickson, TN. Only this year the event was going to be invaded by Palmer, Blake's three year old daughter and Gavin, who had just turned two. Gavin and I headed over to Blake's around lunch time on Saturday. After checking out his new house (which was awesome) we headed to Dickson, TN for the event. It took about an hour and half to get there and Gavin was more than ready to get out of his car seat and venture into the woods. After a daddy diaper change (after two years I still don't have this perfected) on the tailgate of my Titan we were off. We hiked into the woods and after 5-10 minutes of walking we were at the first trials station. Here's a video of that station which shows (briefly) Gavin and Palmer watching the riders.



After a few minutes at the first station we hiked through the rest of the 25 stations, many of which were empty. It was a beautiful day and thankfully wasn't too hot. I don't remember how much Blake and I walked last year at the event but this year it must've been 2-3 miles. It was pretty grueling with a 26 pound boy on my shoulders who was laughing and grabbing at trees and limbs as we went along. Gavin would intently watch and listen to each rider as they rode through the woods. Several times he would shout out some gibberish and point. For several months now Gavin has said "bike" when we pass one on the highway. He must've said "bike" 300 times throughout the day. We spent roughly two hours watching all the bikes navigate the rough terrain and everyone had a blast. After snacks and another diaper change on the tailgate Palmer and Gavin were in their carseats and we were headed home. Blake and I were able to have some great conversation during the ride home thanks to the toddlers nodding off for over an hour. At the close of the day Blake and I both agreed "Toddler Trials" was a tremendous success. I look forward to taking Gavin and Palmer again next year!

Here's a few more videos of the riders.

0 comments - Posted by Aaron at 8:00 AM - Categories: Gavin | Aaron | Video

Gavin's Two Year Birthday Party

Last month we celebrated Gavin's second birthday with family and friends. He had been a pretty sick fella leading up to the party and was still running a fever as the party kicked off. Nevertheless, he was able to have a good time and enjoy the cake, ice cream, presents, and family. Here are some pics and 2 videos from the party. The first video is of everyone singing happy birthday followed by Gavin. The second video shows Gavin's first attempt at blowing out birthday candles. He needed mommy's help. Enjoy!

0 comments - Posted by Aaron at 5:38 PM - Categories: Gavin | Photos | Video

Family Photos 2008

Last year we had a huge birthday party for Gavin and who could blame us, it was his first! This year isn't much different. Lindy has been planning and working on Gavin's second birthday for months and it is shaping up to be a blast. In preparation for the big day we decided to have more professional photos taken of Gavin and somehow Lindy convinced me to participate. I really don't like photos taken of myself but we had fun with it and so did Gavin. I've uploaded 12 of the 113 photos to Flickr and have included a little slideshow of them below. Enjoy!

4 comments - Posted by Aaron at 4:13 PM - Categories: Gavin | Lindy | Aaron | Photos

Getting Dizzy Wit It

One morning after breakfast, I heard giggling from the living room.  Here's what I saw:

1 comments - Posted by Lindy at 11:09 PM - Categories: Gavin | Video

Banana

I finally figured out this is how Gavin says banana:

1 comments - Posted by Lindy at 9:23 PM - Categories: Gavin | Video

Our Little Swimmer

It wasn't too long after Gavin was born we introduced him to a real water bath. Previous to that day we used warm sponges to get him clean. He took to the water naturally and never seemed afraid or apprehensive. When this summer kicked off with long periods of warm weather we began taking Gavin to our neighborhood pool to introduce him to the water more. It has been absolutely amazing to watch him progress. To help Gavin learn more about swimming and that a little fear is okay, Lindy enrolled Gavin in swimming lessons. Every Monday morning they go to an indoor pool in Hendersonville and work on swimming fundamentals such as going underwater, hanging on to the side of the pool, floating and moving arms and legs to propel through the water. Gavin and Lindy have both enjoyed this special time together. Several occasions this summer we've taken Gavin to my parents houseboat on Dale Hollow Lake. He loves to watch the boats, greet all the people, and of course swim off the back of the houseboat. Each time we visit the boat we take our Flip Video camera (highly recommended) and shoot footage of Gavin swimming. Below is one video we took on July 5 followed by four videos we took today. If you watch them in progression you can really see how Gavin is much more confident and "at home" in the water this month than he was in July. Furthermore, his progression this weekend alone is quite incredible. He went from jumping off the boat into our arms and being dependent on us while in the water, to jumping in and surfacing by himself and swimming around (in all directions) by himself. We are thoroughly enjoying watching Gavin grow, learn new things, and become more confident in himself!

July 5: Gavin jumping off the houseboat. He was a little tentative and needed help getting to the ladder in order to get out of the water.


August 3: Gavin jumps off the boat and shows how he can swim way out to Mimi.


August 3: Gavin swims around with a noodle and shows how he can navigate different directions.


August 3: Gavin demonstrates control while rolling from his front to back and back to front. He also copied me when he intentionally fell backward off the ladder.


August 3: He continues to fall backwards off the ladder before jumping off the boat and showing how relaxed he is while swimming by himself.

0 comments - Posted by Aaron at 10:22 PM - Categories: Gavin | Video | Vacation