Gavin

This big boy has been getting so good at drawing people & writing his name. But it wasn't until one day I cam into the room & he showed me his work that I realized how hard he's really been working. I twas SHOCKED! It took me a second to really see what was on the paper as he tends to be all over the place, but low & behold, there was another word other than his name....D-A-D!!! And that's what he explained to me was that it was a picture of Dad going to school. I cheered & praised him & then asked him to show me again how he wrote DAD just to confirm it wasn't a fluke. *Am I awful for doing that?* I'm happy to say it wasn't a fluke & he can spell DAD. 

Yay! I guess what surprises most about this is that I have not been working with him on this. It was completely out of the blue for me to see. We got him a little Learn & Write tablet to practice his letters & such & I guess it's been paying off. :) 

Every day I find myself saying how big he is getting & I can't believe he's not my baby anymore. Gavin is getting very independent & likes to do most things by himself. Which is helpful in a lot of ways, like going potty, putting on his shoes, taking his dishes to the sink, getting dressed, buckling his seat belt etc. But then there are the things that more of a hindrance then a help. Trying to brush his own teeth, or wiping his own bottom (yuck!), making his own sandwich, pouring is own drink. I've been trying to give him more opportunity to do things on his own & implement more chores for him to do so he can earn rewards. Right now we have been using a jar where if he does his chores ie: make his bed, get himself dressed, pick up his toys etc. he can put some pom-poms inside. Once the jar is full, he gets whatever reward we are working towards. Currently he was working towards going to see Disney On Ice: Dare to Be Brave. Well he filled that jar up & was SUPER excited about going to see Tangled's cowboy & horse Maximus & Prince Navid & all the other princesses too. We went on Saturday morning & invited Aunt Laura & our friends Lisa & Tynley to join us.

 

 Gavin pointed all the different characters by name & was diggin the music.

 My handsome Gavin.

 

 The worst quality of pic ever, but too sweet not to post. A Gavin sandwich!

 He loved it so much he couldn't take his eyes off the show even. Haha!

 Lisa, Tynley, Laura, Gavin & Me

 I was a mean mom & wouldn't buy him any of the over priced memorabilia after the show. Those mugs that Tyn is touching were $12. Yikes & NO WAY!

 These two make quite the cute date if I say so myself. They had a great time as did I.

I was so proud of Gavin for working hard for something that he really wanted. We all need motivation to make good choices & it's fun to see it in your children's daily life

My sister in law Becki is amazing at staying organized with a houseful of six kids. She is always coming up with brilliant & creative ways to keep her kids busy, helpful & happy. Which in turns keeps a clean house & a happy mom. :) Well a little bit ago she had me design a blog for her where people would be able to view & purchase these fabulous chore charts that she created. Her talented daughter & my niece Ashely did all the artwork too! Seriously, this family is beyond talented. I have the entire kit & am SOOOO excited to start using them now that the jar has been completed. Check out her blog: I HEART CHORE CHARTS & get some for your kids. :)