Sumter from the sky!

A couple of weeks ago squadron friends, Tom "Axe" and Lisa Dent flew me over Sumter in their airplane. I'll be the first to admit, Sumter looks much better from above - you don't notice the trailer parks!


Before my flight, next to the plane.


With the pilot!


Boarding the plane. I was so scared, I wanted a parachute!


Do you see "Experimental" written on the plane? That's because it doesn't 100% fully comply with some aviation law in the states (it's a British plane)


Here is inside the cockpit. You can kind of see the sign that states why the plane is only experimental... Right under the "Passenger Warning" advisory!


Gavin waiting for Mommy to land. Thanks Lisa for watching him!


Josh and Ryan hanging out in the hanger.


Here is the hospital where our next child will be born this January!


That's the back of our house, the one on the right in the cul-de-sac. "Hi Moose!"

The following pictures are of us coming in for the landing. Tom told me we were landing on the grass. I 100% thought he was kidding. He wasn't. Hahaha. It felt like we were going to skim the tops of the trees!



The landing wasn't anything like what I expected. It was very smooth and not jerky, thanks to my skilled pilot :).


The Dents have since PCS'd but Gavin and I are so appreciative to the Dents for their friendship the short time we were stationed together. Gavin definitely enjoyed the play dates and would like to personally thank Josh for letting him play with his toys everytime we came over! I'm sure we'll run into eachother later down the road - ours is a small community! Thanks again you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kisses from Gavin!

Gavin recently learned how to make the kissing sound. It's so cute - Here's video of him blowing kisses to Mommy!



This is a picture of former Fiends from a bbq at Kimber and Dirt's house this past weekend. This is only a small fraction of Fiends stationed out here. We love having them around!


Jen and Chris "Marsa" Mulder had their son, Travis, four weeks ago. Congrats to them! This picture especially cracked us up because the picture taker kept telling Oliver "Chico" that only part of his head (STS) was showing in the picture and he said that's fine. We all thought that at least half of his face would show, not just his forehead! Had I known, I wouldn't have scrunched down for the picture!!!

Oh what a difference a day makes!

Yesterday I posted video of Gavin walking for a few seconds and stated that he prefers to crawl. Well, things have changed! Gavin's been walking 75% of the day today. He walks until he loses his balance or trips over something and then will crawl to the nearest object, pick himself up, and start walking again.

I kept describing his walk as looking like a little drunk man but my neighbor, Dana, summed it up perfectly when she said he looks like a little wind-up toy. How true it is!

Here's a picture of Gavin and his bff, Ryan, at Lowe's. We thought the boys looked so cute in this cart!

More Video of Gavin WALKING!

Gavin continues to amaze me each and everyday. He's been walking more and more for longer and longer stretches. The furthest I've seen him walk thus far has been about 10'. We walk together all the time - I hold his hand and he walks beside me. He still prefers to crawl but I can tell that he'll be a full fledged walker soon!

Here are videos of Gavin walking in our room and in the hallway. Please excuse the mess in our room. The finger prints on the large mirror are obviously Gavin's. He loves to stare at himself and pound on it...

Gavin's 9 month appointment

Gavin had his 9 month doctor appointment on Thursday. He now measures in at 29.5" and 19lbs. He's in the 75% for height and only the 25% for weight!!! I can't believe he's not gaining any fat because it seems like he's constantly eating. He has about 30oz. of formula a day, plus 4 oz. of peach juice, a banana, a container of vegetables, a jar of #3 baby food, and at least 1.5 cups of cantaloupe. This isn't in addition to his handy snacks and goldfish! Where's it all going? Probably to his feet - they're the only fat things on his body.

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks.

Roar! Gavin wearing cat ears at the Music's house



Gavin in the morning.


The flowers that Brett sent me, accompanied by a sweet card. Thank you honey!


He's getting too long for his carseat!


Gavin eating his new snacks.


Gavin in the car.

We're Expecting Baby #2!

Some of you may have wondered why I'm sporting a belly in the Savannah beach pictures... Well, we're expecting baby #2 on January 27!

I'm currently 12 weeks pregnant and Brett and I found out that Gavin will be a big brother four days before he left for Iraq. The first trimester went just as well as with Gavin's - no morning sickness, just T-I-R-E-D! Hopefully my energy will return soon because I'm sure Gavin is sick of watching me sleep in the middle of his room while he plays around me.

I find it fascinating that after carrying one child for 41weeks my body, more specifically my belly, knows exactly what to do and is e-x-p-a-n-d-i-n-g well before I ever started showing with Gavin. *sigh* I guess all of you weren't lying when you told me I'd show a lot more quickly with my second child!

We are ecstatic and couldn't be happier or more excited to add to our perfect little family!

Weekend in Savannah

Brett's parents are building a home in Savannah, Georgia so this past weekend Gavin and I packed up and headed the 2.5 hours south to Gram's and Gramp's house! Their house is still having the finishing touches applied so we stayed in the community's model home. These homes are gorgeous Charleston style homes and each have their own elevator - something I'm sure Gavin will have fun with later.

Day One:

We took off at 10:00am, during Gavin's naptime, with the hopes that Gavin would sleep the entire trip down. Unfortunately, he only slept for 30 minutes and fussed the entire rest of the way. Here's a picture of Gav stretching out his legs at a rest stop...


Three hours and two stops later, we arrived at Gram Pam's and ate lunch at Uncle Bubba's, which is located next door to their house!

I ordered the shrimp & grits and it was deeelicious! Oh, I also tried fried pickles - not too bad!


We even met Uncle Bubba (Paula Dean's brother)

Here is video of Gavin eating a lemon at Uncle Bubba's...


After lunch we took a walk on the neighborhood pier




and took a walk through the new house...

The house - the shutters still need to be put on

The kitchen

The custom bar lights - I love these!

Later we went to the neighbor's, Bill and Kathleen's, and had a "Low Country Shrimp Boil", consisting of shrimp, red potatoes, sausage, and corn. It was all soooo good!

Gavin getting ready for dinner!

Mommy and Gavin - absolutely stuffed

Gavin and Gramps playing horsey

Gavin entertaining himself in the tupperwear drawer

Here we are eating the deeelicious "Low Country Shrimp Boil" and experiencing true Southern charm

Day Two:

Our second day was spent on the beach at Tybee Island, a short drive from the the new house. We were at the beach for five hours and Gavin didn't fuss once! This was his first time at the beach and he basically sat in his stroller the whole time but he seemed to enjoy watching the seagulls, pigeons, and waves. A good time was had by all!

Mommy and Gavin on the beach

Gavin walking to the beach - his first time! This video kills me because I hate seeing the part where the wave hits him in the face. He was fine with the water until he swallowed some. So sad :(.

Gavin with the horseshoe crab shell. Unfortunately, he kept eating the sand so he was banned to the beach towel and stroller.

Gavin passed out after a long day at the beach!

So cute.

Here's video of Mommy enjoying herself on the beach while Gavin was being watched by Gramps and friends. This was so relaxing!

After our long day on the beach, we hosed Gavin off, had dinner on the island, and drove back to the model home.

Day Three::

Today we woke up, had breakfast, and then Gavin and I headed back to Sumter at around 10:45am. This time, Gavin slept until around 12:30pm, I stopped to feed him once, and we were home by 1:40. Being home and with Moose is great but we miss the beach and, of course, Grams and Gramps. We can't wait to go back!

Here are random pictures from this past weekend:

More Video of Gavin Eating

Another requested video. Here he's "eating" cucumber. He doesn't really eat it but chews it until the skin breaks and will suck the middle part out. I think it's more soothing for his gums rather than tasty, but it keeps him occupied for quite some time!

In the video you can hear Gavin attempting to talk. Following are adorable pictures of him in the middle of conversation:





He's not talking in this one, but he looks so cute and you can see his teeth.