Make Way for Gavin

I knew this time was right around the corner, but I still didn’t expect it to sneak up so quickly. But we’ve arrived – right in the middle of Gavin’s learning explosion. He’s turning from a baby into a kid right before our eyes.

Here’s what I’ve loved most about the past couple weeks:

He has a sudden and intense interest in the potty.
I hauled up one of the little IKEA seats from storage and he loves to go into the bathroom and give things a try. We’ve had success twice now on the big potty, including his first wee this morning. He doesn’t get all the fuss we make – cheers, clapping, hugs – but he’s pretty proud of himself. One of the best parts is watching Natalie help him. Like a tiny mother, she tells him all of the steps, helps him undress and claps for him. They’re amazing together.

He “gets” signing.
Gavin’s been signing for months, but lately you can literally see his eyes brighten as he puts two and two together. He signed “banana” this morning, after I showed it to him once – it’s been months since I’ve used that sign with him. He signed “milk” two nights ago with both hands, another first. He signs “book” regularly now and started signing “shoe” yesterday evening as well. All these new signs, popping up one or two a day. It makes sense to him now, how he can use these to tell us things and ask for what he wants. I love it.

He loves to sing.
Gavin started singing as a baby, just saying “ahhh” and swaying his head to the music. But now he puts together all of his little made-up words into a made-up melody and goes on for minutes at a time. It’s really the best when he doesn’t think we’re watching. But we are.

He hugs.
Tight. Gavin started squeezing me this morning. He’ll give me one of his tender little hugs, with his head on my shoulder and arms around my neck. But now if I squeeze him and say “squeeze” he grabs on tight. He hugs deeply now.

He's silly.
When something’s really funny to him (usually Nat), he squats when he laughs, all bent over and hunkered down.

He’s sooooo dramatic.
Gavin’s been working up to it these past two months, breaking out of his chill and mellow baby ways. It was a tantrum here, a little fit there. But now. Oh, boy, now. That kid can throw himself to the ground, arch his back, crank up the tears, holler, cry, thrash, bite, fling, flail, grab and kick with the best of them. That’s not to say he’s a nightmare – far from it. He’s still our sweet little boy. But he’s tired of being sweet and cooperative all the time. He’s ready to take a stand for himself, have an opinion and make some decisions for himself. He won’t leave you wondering how he really feels. You’ll know.

He reads.
I keep thinking of Gavin’s teachers telling me at conferences two months ago, “Well, of course, he loves to read.” I sat there speechless. My kid? The one who squirms and runs away after one, maybe two pages. Really? They went on to describe how he loved to sit in laps during story time and listen intently. He even likes to read by himself. Well, that one I’d seen sometimes in the car, when he was buckled up tight and couldn’t get away. But sure enough, on a Thursday two weeks ago I read an entire book to the boy and he didn’t try to leave once. In fact, the next day we read for 20 minutes straight, Natalie on one side of me and Gavin on the other, all cuddled under a blanket on the couch.