The World According to Alisa: "Gavin take a Jennifer Shower?"

That was the question from Gavin when I told him that Aunt Jennifer's shower was the next day. I started using the word "party" after that as I realized we were confusing the kid with talk of showers and he was picturing the bathtub! He comes up with some funny things and I have to take a step back and try to think what he's picturing.
He has definitely been in the "terrible two's" lately and I find my patience wearing thin more often than not. He is definitely exerting his independence and likes to see how far he can push things. Tell him not to do anything and he is certain to do just that - several times over in fact. Like when he poured the shampoo on the floor - just because he could! He was so crabby this past weekend - nothing seemed to make him happy. I was telling my Mom how frustrated I was and how you just begin to question your ability as a parent, when she reminded me that overall he is such a great child and very well behaved. One thing she noticed about my parenting skills, though, was how I try to reason with him. He speaks so well and you can have a pretty normal conversation with him that I do forget he is only 2 1/2 and reasoning is not really a quality he possesses at this time. She just reminded me that he doesn't know why he does things, he just knows he can and that even though he communicates quite well for his age, he still is only 2. A hard to thing to remember when your patience is wearing thin.

I am so behind in entering things that have happened, I just never seem to have enough time to enter it all with the pictures. I will post another video of Grandma and Grandpa's gift to Gavin that will make you laugh out loud I promise! Anyway, when we arrived in Michigan, Gavin had this waiting for him....

A John Deere Tractor - you can see the obvious joy on his face! I never planned on owning one of these, but I guess I am not a grandparent, so my "plans" are not accounted for! At 2 1/2 years old, Gavin can drive with the best of them! By the end of the day he was turning right onto sidewalks (without running over the shrubs) and navigating next to parked cars in the driveway - it was amazing to watch.

On Saturday, we celebrated with a couples baby shower for Jennifer and Kirk - fun was had by all! It was a bit cold, and the clothes I packed were really for warmer weather, but oh well! Here are the happy Grandparents to be (again!).

Gavin stole the show when he realized he could talk into the microphone. Not one to be shy, he immediately began a rendition of Old MacDonald - the only problem was that people began to clap when he was finished - and Gavin hates clapping! So he shouted "no clapping" into the microphone, which only made people laugh and clap more! Ay yi yi!