On Saturday morning, we went swimming at Aunt Kristen's neighborhood pool. It was Gavin's first swim of the summer and we were a little wary after an unsuccessful dip in a kiddie pool in our back yard recently. Gavin, however, loved the big kid pool and a huge smile rarely left his face all morning. He swam with Daddy, Kristen, and Mommy and also spent a lot of time freestyling in his floating crab.

Mommy played a game of extreme peek-a-boo by disappearing under the water.

We kept telling Gavin, fast feet, so he'd kick his feet under water and swim. He didn't make much forward progress, though!

Keeping an eye out for sharks in the distance...

Time for Mr. Pruney Feet to dry off...

His swim wear model pose...

Whenever we read a book to Gavin and say "little boy," he always points to himself... He also claps now whenever the book is finished (and whenever a song ends, too!).

On Sunday, we headed to Umstead to enjoy a lovely summer afternoon in the woods. Daddy explained the topography map to Aunt Beth. Gavin was just wondering why his horse stopped moving...

Yay! We're moving again! Gavin has issues whenever Daddy stops walking.

The intrepid explorers pause to admire the majestic beauty of the North Carolina wilderness.

We followed this stream for most of the hike.

Eventually, we found an accessible path down to the stream with lots of rocks to walk around on. Gavin enjoyed the opportunity to stretch his legs but wasn't thrilled that his freedom required a constant hand hold.

He attempted to distract Daddy in hopes of being set free. Look, Daddy! There in the woods ... a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a winch and snorkle!

Alas, he settled for getting his sneakers a little wet in the water. Next year when he's ready to explore more on his own, we'll have to outfit him with real hiking boots!

Gavin doesn't yet use the potty directly, but once or twice a day he has need of it to dispose of things we shouldn't put in the trash. In deference to the solemn occasion of giving up a little of onself, Gavin salutes as the magic chair makes his stinkies disappear.

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This rather long video, shot on the first of July, shows Gavin dancing for a whole song. He never tires.

We (meaning Jeff) just finished painting a chalkboard wall in our kitchen. In addition to providing a place to plan the weekly dinner menu and share messages, it provides an artistic outlet for Gavin. If this kid's chalk talent is on par with his father's, he's got a heck of an art future ahead of him! Natural talent is just oozing off this chalkboard...

Just pick up a can of chalkboard paint at Lowe's, brush on a few coats, and ... WA LA! Chalkboard wall!

It was tough to tear Gavin away from his LEGOs to play with chalk. Thanks for putting up with photo-happy Mommy again, my boy!

I think these are supposed to be fireworks. Yeah, fireworks.

Auntie Beth is visiting for the summer and brought a few Spanish-English books to read to Gavin. His favorite is a board book about using the potty. Today, he was enjoying it so much that Daddy and Beth decided it was time to put the book's message into action.

We're not potty-training yet, but wanted to see how he'd react to sitting on the porcelein throne. Daddy taught him how to do this when he has *ahem* those diapers:

While we're on the subject of bathrooms, here is the new shower curtain in the hall bath. Gavin isn't using this bathroom yet but it will eventually be his. He bathes in our tub for now because it's bigger and our bathroom has a window so it's a more pleasant place to spend a half hour every evening!

I've been quite anti-character with all of Gavin's clothing and decorations, but could not pass up a One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish shower curtain. Gavin loves Dr. Seuss books and a fish theme is perfect for a bathroom!

Mommy and Daddy really like Gavin's pediatrician. Gavin ... not so much. His eighteen month check-up was yesterday. Gavin probably remembers it better as that place where he cried loudly for fifteen minutes straight.

Yet again, he left with a perfect bill of health and a new set of stats:

• 24 pounds, 6 ounces (30-35th percentile)
• 32 ¾ inches long (70th percentile)
• 50.5 cm head circumference (98th percentile)

He's grown just a half inch and less than a pound since his last checkup three months ago. Gavin is thrilled to hear that he doesn't have to go to the pediatrician's office again for six months now.

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The rambunctious ball popper inspired some rambunctious dancing.

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Mommy and Gavin make bus noises together. Gavin makes terrific horn honks - "ba, ba, ba, ba, ba."

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He's a very inventive dancer, never a boring routine.

Step 1: Plaster the chosen slice of bread against your face.

Step 2: Bite out the center.

Step 3: Admire your handiwork for a moment and ponder how awesome that perfect circle is.

Step 4: Slowly expand the diameter of the bread hole.

Don't be bothered by manners. This is delicious bread, we're talking about. No time for neat eating.

Step 5: Eventually, the crust of the bread will fail under the pressure of maintaining such a perfect circle. Do NOT lose hope!

Continue eating the insides of the bread (the yummy part), leaving the crust (the icky part) untouched.

Step 6: Continue biting the bread off the crust, surveying the carcass for edible bits when necessary. There may appear to be no yummy morsels left. Do NOT despair!

Yummy, delicious bits of bread hide close to the crust. Search them out! 

Step 7: When you are satisfied that all of the bread has been eaten, gently fold the crust and throw it onto the floor for Mommy to clean up.

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It looks like Muddy might live up to his nickname, after all. You can tell he's going to be famous - not because he's starting to play so young, but because he enjoys being applauded already. At the end of the video he asks us for vocal accompaniment by giving his sign for singing (one he invented himself by choosing one of the Wheels on the Bus motions from Rhyme Time at the library).

Today is a big milestone for Gavin - a year and a half old! Wow, the first half of this year has gone by so much faster than the first half of last year. Here's what Gavin is up to at 18 months old:

Gavin is a pro at climbing stairs. Within a week after moving into our two-story house he had the backwards-on-the-knees descent down pat. At the top of the stairs, he immediately dropped to his knees and start slowing moving down backwards without either parent having to remind him. He quickly crawls up the stairs but also likes to walk up and down under Mommy or Daddy's close guidance.

Gavin is sleeping so well in his own room. He usually woke up once during the night while at the apartment if he lost Mr. Sucky and probably only wimpered because he knew Mommy and Daddy were right there in the room with him. We don't hear a peep out of him all night now.

Gavin's favorite pasttimes are reading and playing at the living room window.

Gavin has weened from one of the three bottles he milk he drinks daily. He takes his late afternoon serving in a sippy cup now. With the stress of moving and the pain of teething, we haven't been pushing the transition much, but the afternoon bottle was pretty easy to switch to a cup.

He loves music. He often starts clapping or snapping on his own when he hears a good song with a beat.

Gavin can calculate the fifty numbers in the Fibonacci sequence.

His favorite books are currently The Little Engine That Could and The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers. He has a dozen Berenstain Bears books, but only likes the Strangers book. He'll let us read a few pages into a select few of the others, but most of them he doesn't want to hear at all. He also loves Go Dog, Go at Gmummy's.

Gavin knows most of the books he likes their cover but when he's searching through his stack for a book, he'll often pick one up and start flipping through the pages if he wasn't sure about the cover to see if it's the one he wants to read. He does this with his Berenstain Bear books all the time: He knows he likes one of them so he'll pick them each up one by one until he finds the Strangers book!

He loves to sit next to us on the couch. He just thinks the couch is really neat. I suppose I agree since it's been really nice having a couch after an entire year without one!

Gavin is obessed with cars and emergency vehicles. He likes to make a siren sound whenever he sees a police car or fire truck in a book or if we even say one of those words.

Peek-a-boo is still a popular game. Gavin cracks himself up when he plays.

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This past Easter, Gavin tried his hand at his Aunt Kristen's piano. He missed the finer points, but it's a good effort.

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Gavin has yet to master the vertical leap.

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Gavin takes a special delight in hiding things behind his back. I especially enjoy the poker face he assumes.

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I've been saving up all my oatmeal containers for Gavin to play with. This is the best game we've played yet. This video is from May 30th, I'm a bit behind.