He's a Builder-Inventor

On any given day, it is very typical to see Gavin building, combining, creating, or inventing something. His little brain is constantly trying to figure out how things work, why certain parts go together, and how he can make things cooler, faster, or just better. In fact, the large majority of his conversations with Wes are him asking Wes to explain how something works and the majority of his conversations with me are him explaining why he took one of his toys apart. This kid takes everything apart. Very few of his toys are still in tact. He's either purposefully taking it apart or trying to push his toys to the limit and they break. One of his absolute favorite things to create is a towing system for different vehicles. He likes to figure out how he can connect different vehicles (bikes, trains, helicopters, planes, cars, trucks, construction vehicles, motorcycles). Carabiners, ropes, and clips are his best friends. He's definitely a builder-inventor.

Cat and Dog Kids

Have you seen this video on YouTube? It's freaking hilarious. And, it mirrors a lot of what Wes and I have been saying about our twins for years. Go ahead, watch it.

In many ways, Gavin is our little dog-like kid and Vivi is our cat-like kid. Gavin likes to snuggle, hug and kiss, and he wants to be around you every second of the day. Vivian, on the other hand, only wants to do what she wants to do, she doesn't particularly enjoy cuddling, I have to beg for a kiss from the girl, and she is perfectly fine with independently playing on her own.

Right Brain vs. Left Brain

Gavin and Vivian come home from school with drawings, activities, paintings, or other projects on a daily basis. And I just love looking at the vast differences between our two twins. Let's just say that one of our twins is clearly left-brained and the other one is right-brained. Here are a few examples.

The month of July was an "Under the Sea" theme at their school, so everything had to do with the ocean. Below is Vivian's tracing of the word "Shell." Although she didn't attempt to make her own letters, she traced all of the pre-dotted letters perfectly. She even wrote a version of her name at the top (Vivian doesn't typically write her name out correctly, but she always uses the correct letters- so she'll include the letters V, I, A, and/or N, but just not usually in the correct order).

 

And then here's Gavin's version of tracing the word "Shell." He looks like he did some of it, but then got bored, color-happy, or just pissed off and decided to scribble all over the page.

This is Vivian's scuba diver. She used a variety of colors and attempted to color in the lines (and came very close).

And, here's Gavin's scuba diver. 

I like to call it, "Death to Scuba Man."

Here's Vivian's tracing of the word "Fish." Clearly, she really liked this activity. She not only traced the word 4 times, but she also attempted to do it herself on line #3 ("FiFsh"), wrote her own name all over it, and decorated the page with hearts.

And here's Gavin's. I don't think he liked doing this one as much as Vivi.

He's a Tough Guy

Gavin is pretty tough. In fact, just the other day we took the kids to JMU's arboretum for a picnic dinner and a nature walk. We brought our go-to beach/picnic blanket and ate dinner. Then, the kids ran around like crazies while Wes and I cleaned everything up. Suddenly, Gavin started SCREAMING. We looked and saw a couple of wasps around him and he was grabbing his back and leg. We told him to run away while we ran towards him. 

You guessed it, the wasps stung him. Three times. He was a mess. But it only lasted for about 3-4 minutes. Then, he just stopped crying, said he was okay, and asked to continue playing. He's a tough kid. If this had happened to little miss, it would have been GAME OVER.

The Penis Diaries

Aaaaand, we're back from vacation. So naturally, I thought I'd write a post about penises. Here it goes.

Since he was very young, Gavin has been... well... obsessed with his penis. When he was just a baby, Gavin would grab himself during diaper changes and would constantly want to be naked by stripping down to nothing so he could get in a little "playtime." Don't remember? See a few old penis-related blog posts HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. This fascination with his manhood has not changed and probably won't at any point in the near future. But recently, in the last few weeks, we've had a few rather comical experiences centered around Gavin's... well... you know.

1. It seems like a day does not go by when I don't have to tell Gavin to get his hands out of his pants. In fact, I usually have to say it multiple times a day. He puts his hands down his pants at the dinner table, during story time, and especially while watching TV. It's ridiculous. I feel like I live with Al Bundy.

2. Lately, Gavin has been trying to draw Paxton's attention to his own penis. Let me explain. During about half of Paxton's diaper changes, you can hear Gavin encouraging Paxton to play with his penis. It's generally something like, "Hurry up, Bubba. Play wif it quick before Mama puts yo diaper back on." It's like he wants to let Paxton in on a secret. He wants Paxton to also experience the joy of playing with his wiener. We've also been coming into the room to find Paxton without any pants on. When we inquire, Gavin will say, "He don't like pants. He wants to be naked! Everyone wants to be naked!" Gavin either just really wants Paxton to also be penis-happy or he doesn't want to be the only one getting in trouble for whipping it out at dinner.

3. This next one is the best. I think I've told this story 481 times since it happened a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I don't know how well it will transfer into writing (my impression of Gavin might be pertinent to the success of this zinger). Anywho, I'll give it a whirl. A few weekends ago, when we were at our friends, the Alhassani's house, for a fun-filled family-friendly evening, Gavin yelled at me from the basement that he had to pee. I yelled back (as I always do) with, "Okay, just make sure you don't pee on the floor! Aim at the water! I'll be down in a minute!" I went downstairs, walked into the bathroom, and there was a pee trail from the door all the way to the toilet. I was in shock. I said to Gavin in a seriously concerned voice, "Oh my gosh, Gav! How did this happen?" Then, as serious as can be, in a very literal tone of voice, Gavin said back to me, "Mom, you know there's a hole on the end of my penis, right? Dats how it happened." Then, I almost peed a little.

I never thought I'd talk about penis so much in my lifetime. Until I had a son.

Sleepy Gavin

I've blogged about Gavin's incredible sleeping habits several times (see HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, or HERE to refresh your memory), but this one may take the cake.

The Best I Can Get

Gavin is your typical crazy, whiny, active, silly, stubborn, hilarious, ornery, mischievous almost-four-year-old little boy. I try my hardest to get nice photos of him. And sometimes, I get real winners. But then there are those other times, most of the time actually, where this is the best I can get out of him. Oh, Gavin.

He's Poop-Obsessed

Yes, our sweet little angel, Mr. Gavin, is obsessed with saying "poop." It's got to be a boy thing. He must say poop at least 195 times a day. It's ridiculous. And he thinks he's F*CKING HI-LA-RI-OUS. 

He calls people "poopy head/face/butt/girl/boy," he just yells out "poop" at random times for a good laugh, and he describes objects as "poopy." But the best is when he replaces words of popular songs with "poop." For instance, the twins are completely consumed with Alicia Keys' song, "This girl is on fire" (see music video below if you're unfamiliar).

Anyways, he's changed the chorus to say, "This poop is on fi-re," "This girl is poopin on fi-re," or "Poop poopy on fi-re!" Even more ridiculous, he'll change the other words to "She's walkin' on POO-OOP," or "She's got both feet on the poop, and she's poopin' it down!" It's insane. Seriously, I can only handle hearing about poop so many times a day.

He's a Puzzle-Addict

Gavin is a puzzle-addict. He's really enjoys doing them and he's actually really good at putting them together. Yes, the boy who seemingly has a very short attention span, constantly switching from one activity to another, loves sitting completely still (for 20 to 40 minutes at times) and figuring out how pieces of cardboard fit together to make a picture. It's one of his all-time favorite things to do.

Vivian tries to copy her brother and do puzzles with him, but she just doesn't get it. No matter how hard she tries, he always finishes his puzzle before her and sometimes completes two puzzles before she finishes one. Vivian understands the purpose of a puzzle, but she still shoves together two pieces that don't belong, banging them with her fist into place. Gavin gets very frustrated by Vivian's blatant disregard for puzzle etiquette and will reprimand her when she doesn't do it correctly. He then tries to teach her the correct way. Well, you know how that plays out. Vivian yells at him to leave her alone or she'll hit him, because as you know, she's the boss.

We've even started redirecting Gavin's energy (when he's disobeying us or clearly too wound up to function) by having him take a "puzzle break." And it seems to be working. One of us will notice that he's about to go off the deep end and we'll say, "Gavin, let's take a puzzle break." His face will usually light up, bringing him back to reality and away from a total meltdown, and he'll run to the "puzzle box" to pick out one of his favorites.

So while Vivian is a bit more physically coordinated than Gavin, he definitely beats her in the cognitive skills area (at least with puzzles, anyway).

Fun with Gavin

Me: "Gavin, what's your favorite letter?"

Gavin: "Umm... what wetter (letter) Mommy start wif (with)?"

Me: "M."

Gavin: "Den (then) M is my favorite wetter (letter)."

Sometimes, he's sweet.

He Loves Him

Gavin loves his little brother. He's just a little too rough with him. Like Vivi, Gavin also wants to help care for Pax and he becomes quite concerned when his little brother cries. He hugs him several times a day and wants to hold him daily as well. But, it's difficult for him to figure out how to express his love in a safe and gentle manner. Hopefully, he'll either learn to calm down around him or Pax will learn to deal with it all.

His Love Affair Continues

Gavin has loved vacuums, brooms, and mops from a very early age (see HERE, HERE, and HERE). He even got a dust buster as a gift for his second birthday. And let me tell you, it was one of the best gifts he ever received. Well his love affair with these things, and especially for the vacuum, has just continued to grow and grow. 

We recently got a new vacuum (the old one just gave out on us) and Gavin has made it his job to use it just about every single day. He loves all of the attachments and hoses and of course, the actual vacuum itself. He even hugs it goodbye. Crazy kid.

He Gets Frustrated

All of the time. About all kinds of things.

You see, Gavin has a lot of BIG ideas about how things should happen, what he wants to do through out the day, and how to build certain things. And when things don't go his way, he gets VERY frustrated. Poor guy.

For instance, he constantly takes all of the cushions off all of the furniture in the living room and then attempts to make a castle fort. The blue prints for this castle fort are usually quite complicated. He'll start building and quickly realize that it doesn't look how he pictured. Then the loud whining ensues, "I prolly (probably) need some help! Dis (this) not working!" When Wes goes over to help him, he gives very specific instructions about where everything should go and if Wes takes any creative liberties in the build, well, let's just say that he should avoid doing that. After the castle fort is made to his specifications, you would think that all would be good in the world. You would be thinking wrong. Within a few minutes of playing, something else catastrophic will occur and the frustrated whine (potentially accompanied by crying and tears) will resurface.

We try to encourage him to, "Try harder," or "Think for a minute about what you want and then try again," but the problem isn't usually that he's not trying. Instead, it's that he wants to do/build/create something that is way beyond his abilities. We're glad he's inventive, but it would be nice to avoid the multiple-times-a-day-whine-fest.

His Special Spot

The weather has been pretty nice outside lately and we've been able to go outside just about every day. And when we go outside, Gavin spends a large majority of his time in the same place; his special spot.

Sometimes, it's hard to see him...

... but, if you look closely...

 ... there he is...

... digging in the dirt.

"Y" has suddenly become "CK"

The weekend before Easter (when my mom was visiting), Gavin suddenly starting pronouncing words correctly. If you remember, I few weeks ago, I wrote about how Gavin would always incorrectly say marker, sticker, or any other word with a "CK" sound in the middle (watch the video HERE). He did this since he learned to talk. But a couple of weekends ago, he started saying the "CK" in these kinds of words. And it's not a fluke. He's continued to correctly pronounce words like ticket, turkey, bucket, and cracker. I'm happy that he's learning, but I'm sad that this little toddler quirk of his is officially gone. Tear.

Our Little Man

His "Guys"

A couple of weeks ago, the "guys" came back to put some sod down in the backyard (it was literally a mud pit after all of the construction). Gavin was VERY happy about this. He was screaming, "Mom, my guys back! My guys are back, Dad!" while watching them through the window in the playroom.

Well, he was happy until he realized what they were doing (putting down new grass over the mud). Then, he started screaming at the guys, "Stop guys! No cover my mud! I need that mud! That MY mud! Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Poor kid.

Mar-yur, Sti-yur, Cra-yur

In general, we find it easier to understand Gavin, as opposed to Vivian, when he talks. But there are a few words (or sounds) that Mr. Gavin is completely incapable of pronouncing. One of these sounds is a "ck" sound. But, only if its in the middle of a word. He can clearly say any word that begins with a "c" sound, but when its in the middle of a word, that "c" or "ck" sound turns into a "y". Just watch the videos to see what I mean.

The first video is of Vivian saying the words: marker, cracker, and sticker.

The second video is of Gavin (who was a little upset at the beginning) trying to say the same three words.

I don't know why he does it, but he's terribly consistent.

Construction

Our house has been under construction for the last 3 weeks or so. You see, our basement was flooding just about every time it rained, so a trench (or something) had to be built in our back yard up against the back of the house. This also meant that our back deck had to be torn down (tear) and then put back up (yay!). Well, it's done now and we love the finished product!

Shockingly, the best part about this construction has been that Gavin and Vivian (but mostly Gavin) have been watching the "guys" do their work everyday. Gavin is completely fascinated by them. 

Every weekday morning, he runs to the window and counts how many guys are working. Then, he proceeds to tell us about it, "Guys breaking boards, Daddy" and "Guys getting more nails in their truck" were common reports. He waved at them (and they sometimes waved back), talked to them through the glass, and reported on every single thing they did. He loved it.

Vivi, on the other hand, would sometimes yell at the guys, telling them, "I see you! You breaking deck! You bad boi! You go time out!" She was interested from time to time, but not like Gavin. He would spend hours a day watching them out the window.

Now that they're gone, he asks us, "Where my guys? Where they go?" Poor kiddo.

He's a Naked Man

If he could have it his way, Gavin would be completely naked (or at least pants-less) every single second of the day. In fact, we find him completely naked several times a day.

Just last week, Wes put the kiddos to bed. When he came downstairs, Gavin started yelling at the door for him to return. He only yelled out twice, so we ignored it. Then, it was quiet. They went to sleep.

About 30 minutes later, Wes went back upstairs to move Gavin in case he had fallen asleep on the floor at their bedroom door (which he does 1-3 times a week). When he opened the door, Gavin was not only not at the door, but he was in his bed with his head actually on his pillow (which is a great feat for Mr. G). The only problem was that he was completely naked.

He also loves de-robing during the day in another room (for ex: the playroom while we are in the living room) and then running back into wherever we are yelling, "TA-DA!"

Still there are other times when he plays quietly in another room after stripping down to nothing for several minutes until we realize how unusually quiet he's being and find him in-the-buff.

In fact, just last night I politely asked Gavin to NOT take his pants off. He did it anyway and so I asked him to keep his diaper on. He responded by yelling, "No, Mom! I love my penis!"

Come to think of it, he's always hated clothes.