Chris planned it all and kept most of it secret from me. Friday, I was picked up from work by suave Alex and a limo. You know, it's not really every day that Schanzenfeld sees a limo. My students were asking if it was Justin Bieber's. Yes, that's right. Me and the Biebs are tight so I just borrow his ride every now and then. The paparazzi even managed to capture the moment!
I was dropped off at home and told I had 45 minutes to be ready. Fun! I was so excited to wear my new dress. I was ready a few minutes early so what did I do? Oh, took about 84 pictures of myself. :D This is when the perma-grin began and it only faded around 2 a.m.
When the limo returned, it was filled with 3 of the 5 girls. It got silly fast. I loved it. We drove to Altona and Gretna to pick up some more rowdies, then the limo dropped us off at Bravo's. Don't be too worried. Alex, our ever-smooth driver, made sure that Meg had his number. Right Meg? Still got him on speed dial?? ;)
Bravos was amazing, but I do feel the need to apologize to the other patrons of the restaurant. We might have been a tad loud - shocking if you know me, I know. Everyone that they seated in our half of the restaurant moved after a few minutes. My bad. Oh wait. And Crystal's. And Megan's. Haha. Alright, it was a joint effort.After a quick call to Alex, who was quick to let us know that he was waiting in the parking lot, we returned to Winkler and posed for the obligatory group photo. Crystal was putting on a brave face, saddened that our driver was done for the evening.
I was impressed when I walked into our garage. Chris did a great job. Please note the decorations - a single, gigantic balloon. Classic!
The biggest surprise by far was the cake. It's no secret that I. love. carrot cake. Love. Funk's carrot cake is pretty much my kryptonite, so I knew that there would be carrot cake involved in the celebration. What I didn't plan on was the fact that my husband, unbeknownst to me, had taken 3 days off work to turn a Funk's carrot cake into a masterpiece for me.
I was so impressed! It was a HUGE upside-down, topsy turvy cake with a little hand-crafted figurine of me!
After the surprise of the cake, we all changed into our bathing suits to enjoy some hot-tubing.
We may or may not have also belted out some Glee karaoke for a while.
The rest of the evening was spent eating amazing food, singing, hot tubing, and watching a movie late, late into the evening. Thank you, ladies, for your friendship. I love you all and am so grateful that you were able to celebrate with me! 
The biggest surprise by far was the cake. It's no secret that I. love. carrot cake. Love. Funk's carrot cake is pretty much my kryptonite, so I knew that there would be carrot cake involved in the celebration. What I didn't plan on was the fact that my husband, unbeknownst to me, had taken 3 days off work to turn a Funk's carrot cake into a masterpiece for me. 
I was so impressed! It was a HUGE upside-down, topsy turvy cake with a little hand-crafted figurine of me!
After the surprise of the cake, we all changed into our bathing suits to enjoy some hot-tubing.We may or may not have also belted out some Glee karaoke for a while.
The rest of the evening was spent eating amazing food, singing, hot tubing, and watching a movie late, late into the evening. Thank you, ladies, for your friendship. I love you all and am so grateful that you were able to celebrate with me! 
Giving monkey kisses. 
Another thing you forget about is how horrenderous labour is. And how horrendous you look in labour. YIKES!! This picture was taken after my water broke. Look at that shelf of baby! I was working on day 3 of intense labour. Not a pretty picture - obviously!
His head was huge! 
He was battered and bruised and covered in poop, but he was here safe and healthy.
My heart melts when I look at his baby pictures. I honestly could post a gazillion pictures, just to stare at them all day. There's nothing as sweet as a fresh baby.
I remember how worried I was during my pregnancy. Chelsea was our world, and I couldn't fathom how I would ever be able to love another baby like I loved her. Then this boy appeared and it is amazing how quickly I fell in love. His widow's peak and dimples? Sigh...
Gavin has brought us so much joy. I can't even express in words how loveable this kid is. He is always happy (well, until this week - sigh - temper tantrums), and so caring. He adores being touched and snuggled. If I happen to be standing near him, he'll take my hand and place it on his head, just so I can give it a rub. At daycare, he is spoiled with hugs by the older children - so much so that he has come to expect hugs from random children out and about!
My boy really doesn't talk much yet. We've noticed a huge improvement since his surgery, but he's still got a ways to go. I am never "mommy", but always "mum." It's like he's taking attendance. He'll look to Chris "Dad" then me, "Mum" "Dad" "Mum" and every once in a while we'll get a "Dog" as he points to Sophie. It's awesome. 
He is also HUGE into counting and easily counts to 10. Today he was even working on showing me his fingers as he counted. If I knew how to post a video, I totally would. 
Right now, we have issues with him eating. I know that it's a normal phase, but I seriously wonder how he has enough energy to get through the day. He has cereal and a banana for breakfast... and that's pretty much it for the day. There's a few snacks here and there, but not much. He's addicted to his sippy cup and his extremely watered down apple juice.
(Not the most flattering picture - I know. We never did figure out what caused that horrible rash on his face.) Gavin is a very rough and tumble boy. He adores wrestling, body slamming, and any sort of rough horseplay. He giggles the entire time he's jumping on the trampoline and you can never lay down anywhere without him thinking it's time to wrestle. He is always running, even if it's just a few steps. He even had to get 2 stitches in the side of his head lately. I am honestly surprised it took this long. He plays hard!!
He is definitely an outdoors boy. We are outside as often as we can be, and if it's windy or cold and we are forced inside, he'll stand at the door and cry.
My goal lately has been to really focus on my kids. When I am home, I try to ignore everything else that is going on and just love on my babies (again, whether they want it or not!) Fantastic photography by none other than the ever talented Chelsea H. 
