GGpa recently gave Gavin a very special gift - the money bank he had as a child. Gavin will gradually obtain many family pieces over the years and already has a few from both sides of the family, but this is the first piece to skip two generations and go directly to him. When he's older, I hope he realizes how special the bank is, that his great grandfather saw him as a little 16-month-old and wanted him to have this bank to save his coins.

GGpa grew up on a farm in tiny Walnut Bottom, Pennsylvania. Over the past three decades, I've heard story after story about my grandfather's life on the farm and I always love hearing them. He had such a different life than I've had, a young rural farm life that very few kids experience anymore. His stories are few these days, but when Gavin and I visited the GG's yesterday, he shared a new one that I hadn't heard before. Remembering that he recently gave the bank to Gavin, GGpa told us that many different sales people visited the farm frequently. In addition to salesmen like the meat man, a junk man also visited regularly looking for items to collect. After some time, GGpa and his sisters understood the types of wares the junk man sought and would search out items for the junk man between his visits. When the junk man returned and collected the new items, he'd pay young GGpa who deposited the dimes in the bunny bank.

It seems like "just a money bank" but I picture my grandfather's young, tiny hands placing those coins in the slot over 80 years ago and think it's so special that Gavin's little hands will soon do the same.

Here, I was aiming for a creative shot of the bunny with Gavin blurred in the background. Gavin chose to take a Quaker oats container and yell into it because he thinks his voice sounds funny that way. So much for the artsy shot. The giggles heard at the time make up for it, though!

Making bunny hops and some noise he thought bunnies might make...

This shot is overexposed, but I simply adore Gavin's eyes. Would I sound too repetitive if I said they are the most beautiful shade of blue that God ever chose to paint anything in this world?