Gavin's First Tooth

As if last Friday wasn't momentous enough with Gavin earning his blue belt...that same night his first wiggly tooth came out!

It had been loose for about a month. He wasn't in a big rush to get it out, and neither was I. 

The tooth fairy left him a $5 dollar bill - a little extra for the first tooth. He's got nineteen baby teeth left, and I think the tooth fairy will be a little more thrifty with all of those. :)

Gavin's dental hygienist told me that kids lose their teeth in the same order they get them. So here's a picture of my chubby, smiley, nine-month-old baby with only his first tooth in. Sure enough, it was the first one to come out!

Tae Kwan Do

Gavin recovered from strep throat in time to test for the next belt level in Tae Kwan Do. He's determined to get his black belt. Although that's still a ways off, he earned his blue belt (5th belt color) tonight!

He's in the center of this picture, with the other green belts, running through their moves before the test:

 Here is where he had to break a board by using what is called a "side kick" - you can see the focus on his face!

He broke the board on the first try and the instructor handed him the two pieces (the kids get to keep them):

And he passed! Master Beck tied on his new blue belt:

We're so proud of him!!!

Strep Throat

The day after the Valentine party, Gavin didn't feel well. We were at Grandpa and Grandma Cordes' house for dinner, and he actually fell asleep on their couch.

When he didn't get better in 48 hours, I took him to the pediatrician. Turns out, he has strep throat. 

At least he now has antibiotics to help him get better!

Valentine Party

I got to volunteer at Gavin's class Valentine Party. I just love being there with his class! The kids, especially the boys, have a lot of energy, but listen well when told to settle down. :)

The kids made necklaces out of Froot Loops....and Gavin and some of the kids at this table turned them into headbands. Oh, well. Some of the girls turned them into bracelets. 

 We also did relay races in the hallway. The kids had to balance candy hearts on a little plastic spoon. We added hearts with each new turn. They did really well!

All the kids decorated boxed for their Valentines, but they distributed them before the party started. That was just as well, since we had another craft planned that we didn't even get to!

This was the last class party of the year, but there is still one more field trip that I hope to be able to chaperone. We'll see!

Superbowl Sunday

We had fun watching the Seahawks win the Superbowl on Sunday! Gavin was thrilled.

He even drew a picture about it at school. He wrote: "This weekend I watched the super bowl. It was crazee!" (Gavin-spelling)

And he drew out favorite Seahawk player, Marshawn Lynch. Look closely...those colored dots around Lynch's head are Skittles.

He eats Skittles after each touchdown he scores. And the fans throw them onto the field. Some fans even dress sup in Skittles costumes! So Gavin made sure to include them.

Kindergarten Open House

Gavin's school had an open house last week, and he was very excited to bring me there! We went to his classroom and received a checklist of activities to do while we were there! And Gavin was determined to do ALL of them. 

We visited the Art room - this heart was done by his class:

We spent the majority of out time in his room. Here is the "Smart Board"  - the kids all love it:

Here is a snowman he made...

And this is the story that goes with the snowman. In kindergarten, the kids are encouraged to spell phonetically, so I will translate.  It says: "At night my snowman he celebrates the first day of winter!"

Gavin and his friend, Claire:

I had to find his seat, looking only for his "smile:"

The kids made puzzles and we put it together:

The finished product:

We also visited the library, gym, and music teacher. It was so much fun!!

Snow Days

Gavin's school was cancelled on Monday and Tuesday, due to the record cold. Monday morning was minus 17, wind chill minus 42! Tuesday was only a few degrees better.

We stayed home and built several Lego sets:

Here are some pictures of our downtown area:

We made it up to 27 today - feels balmy!!

Green Belt Test

Gavin still loves Tae Kwan Do, and on the Friday before Christmas he got to test for the next belt level.  He was at the third level (orange) and moved up to green! We are so proud of him!

Here he got to do his favorite thing - break a board:





 Getting his new belt tied on:
 

Pirate Ships

Gavin just can't get enough Legos lately! These are twp pirate ships that he mostly built - Francis and I helped a bit. The one with black sails is the "Black Pearl" from "Pirates of the Carribean" (800 pieces) and the one with red sails is the "Queen Anne's Revenge" with 1000 pieces!

Board Games

After we opened presents, we played board games. This is "Ticket To Ride," which Gavin loved!

Grandpa Cermak must have have said something silly here:

Gavin got "Operation" from the Maurer girls (thank you!!). He tried it and did okay, but Nana Cermak was the surprise steady-hand winner of that game!