Blair, Lisa & Gavin: Family Updates

Happy October! Hasn't it been an absolutely beautiful month? The weather has been so crisp and perfect!

Gavin loves being outside amongst the leaves, they are by far his most favorite thing. He. is. so. cute! We've been going on "walks" which involve him taking 2 steps before he sees a leaf he must pick up. After he chooses the leaf he proceeds to tear it into tiny pieces and then runs to find the next one. I'm pretty sure it's become an obsession!

He loves to run! He's still not too fast because it is still quite new to him but he loves to be praised for how fast he is! He has found out that running with socks on in the kitchen results in falling down. He now enters the kitchen with EXTREME caution when he's wearing socks. He tiptoes, slowly!

Books are still one of his favorite past times. He loves to count the items (whatever they may be) on the page by having me or Blair holding his hand while he points his finger. He's extremely partial to the turtles, goats, and the sharks that we see.

We cannot get enough of his personality! Gavin talks and talks and talks! There was a period of about 2 or 3 days where he said very clearly the word, toor-tool (turtle). It was quite possibly the cutest thing we've ever heard! I am so sad we didn't catch it on camera but I didn't think he would just stop saying it. We haven't heard it since :-( And now we're back to no understandable words except for "yes" or "ya" which is his answer to every question, thank goodness its yes and not no!

Gavin's eating has improved by leaps and bounds since the last time we updated. It's been so stressful and emotional for all of us but I think we have finally turned a corner. He now understands that no you cannot spit out your food, bite, throw tantrums or food during meals (dinnertime has been so fun). And we now better understand when he's really hungry and when he's full. I'm so grateful that we're learning to understand each other more. Teaching him is hard and most definitely something we can't tackle alone. I feel we've been inspired through a lot of it and I'm so very thankful! We still have some things work on but Gavin is doing SO much better!

I can't believe how much Gavin has grown. He is so much heavier now than before and still does very little to help when you're holding him. He would rather walk anyway! We have conversations every morning, usually about what his dreams were like that night. He talks as if it's a real conversations, he even uses his hands sometimes, I love it!

Gavin LOVES his teddy bear! He carries it all over the house by using his mouth, he bites onto the teddy bears nose and holds it there, that way both hands are free! Isn't he efficient?? When asked where his teddy bear is he promptly runs to find it!

Gavin has become very helpful around the house. He throws away his own diapers, puts his books away and is always willing to help load the dishwasher. He loves to be needed and is quick to do something when we ask! This will last his whole life right?

Gavin loves to carry things around, especially heavy things. I think it makes him feel tough! He loves to play on the bed and especially the couch. Thankfully we've caught him every time he's fallen off. He loves the bathroom and loves to bring things to me that he finds in the bathroom. His hair is growing, yay! He adores his daddy!

He is so much fun!

Blair and I are doing well. Blair's work is keeping him busy, but not past 2:30 which is fantastic! He enjoys it but is still always on the lookout for a different opportunity. He has been having a lot of back problems which has been rough. Blair is pretty sure it started on his mission and is now at a peak. It is so frustrating to see him in so much pain. The chiropractor helped put his spine back in order but it didn't alleviate any pain. Blair was able to receive a blessing from his dad this last Sunday which was so great. It blessed him to know which doctor to see. This last Tuesday we went to a Osteopathy doctor and she works with a more natural approach. This new doctor does a series of injections called prolozone. It's a combination of some different things (which she explained and I can't remember) followed by injections of ozone. It was strange to watch her work but the effects have been great! Blair puts his own socks on again so something must be right! We have two more visits scheduled and we have very high hopes that this is the place he needed to come to. I'm so grateful.

Work has been going well for me, more so now than before. I've been there about a month and a half and have had nothing but trouble with my wrists, hands and back. When going back to work in the past I have a lot of soreness for about a week and then I feel better. Not true this time. Blair is so sweet to work on me and I've been able to get a couple of massages but I'm still so sore and it's been waking me up at night. I was also able to receive a blessing on Sunday from Blair, my dad and Gordon and it was such an awesome experience, coming from three men who I love so much. I have felt so much better since! I feel like I might finally be over it and that my muscles are adjusting better to the activity. I really enjoy work, I love getting to know people and I truly enjoy doing massage!

Life has been really good lately even though we've been going through some struggles. We love our families so much, they are such a strength to us.

Here are some funny little pictures we've taken lately along with some videos, of course they're all of Gavin, he is by far the cutest one in this family :-)