Gavin is fully mobile now.

Indeed, as this sequence of pictures shows, he's not only mobile, but he's bound and determined to get whatever it is he thinks he can reach. He's a very determined young man.







Not quite the "eye-of-the-tiger" yet - but you can definitely see that he has desire in those eyes.

Heaven help us all.

Gavin eats...or tries to anyway...

We took the plunge. Gavin was getting too big to survive on mommy and formula alone, so it was time to give him the messy stuff.

Caleb, after an early, messy stage, has turned into a nearly obsessive compulsive clean eater. I'm not sure what to hope for with Gavin. On the one hand, clean is good, on the other, Caleb freaks out when it's not clean, so...whatever.

Anyway, here is the record of Gavin's first bites.


Like any good child we REALLY want to get our hands on whatever is being waved in front of us.

So, let's solve the problem...


We have a spoon in our hands now - so it's all good.



The biggest problem is that it just won't stay in there. Of course, the fact that he sticks his tongue out isn't helping any, but still...



The trick is to open your mouth. Caleb really enjoys helping feed baby brother - it's oh, so much fun. He really wants to be the one to wield the spoon, but that just ain't gonna happen.



It's all just a little overwhelming the first time - isn't it?

This was a week ago or so and he's doing much better. He is actually opening his mouth now and eating well. His weight has reached a plateau and he's down from his heaviest of just over 20 lbs. to just over 19 lbs. Still a healthy boy by any definition, but not quite as chunky as he has been.

Spring hike with the boys

On Saturday we went on a little hike. That morning I took a friend of mine up to the top of Superstition Mountain (for trip reports on those hikes, look here and here). Anyway, the mountain was just so loveley clothed in her spring flowers, that I had to take Marci and the boys to see it.

It was well worth the double trip.

This was Gavin's first experience with the backpack - but he really didn't seem to mind.


In fact, he really dug sitting back there and having me be his beast of burden (a great deal if you can get it, as long as you get to be the "burden" part).

It was late afternoon, so the sun was out, but the temperature was a perfect 75 degrees. The mountain was, of course, spectacular.


We brought along some friends so Caleb would have someone to hike with his own age, but he had a lot of fun anyway. I just wish, when he posed for the camera, that he would learn how to smile.


The base of the mountain was simply awash in little gold flowers (from the brittle bush in bloom).


Which also provided some majestic views.


With the gorgeous weather, the absolutely crystal clear sky (just look at the blue in some of those photos) it was the perfect day.

We ended up going a total distance of just over 1.5 miles, and even after that, Gavin was still just as fascinated as ever with all the color and the fun of riding in the backpack.


We'll go on another hike in the mountains as things warm up in the desert (82 degrees today - yuck). But Saturday was a great day, and we all had a lot of fun.

Be afraid - be very afraid....

We went to an airshow at Luke AFB on Saturday. They had a number of planes and helicopters available for visitors to climb around in. Caleb was VERY excited to climb inside this Marine Blackhawk helicopter and play with their gatling gun.

I would say a little too excited - except for the fact that it was so freaking cool!

Good times.

Just a cute picture

Gavin was in a good mood, so I snapped a couple of pictures of him, and this one was just too cute not to post.

This is what he's like most of the time. He's been pretty sick recently with a fever and a nasty cough, but all he really wants to be is happy. It's kind of funny to watch, but he gets this look on his face that says "I know something hurts" but then he sees you looking at him and immediately brightens up so that you see this totally bizarre war of "I want to be happy" and "It hurts" going on. Usually the "I want to be happy" wins out.

He's an excellent little baby.

Playing in the snow

Arizona has had an exceptionally wet winter this year, and a part of that has been a bit of snow in the mountains. Now, some of you that live in snowy areas may not think this is all that neat - but for us desert dwellers, we look forward to at least once a year going up to the mountains to play in the snow.

President's day was that day for us. Caleb has been bugging us to go and play in the snow for months now, so we finally found an opportunity and went to Flagstaff to get our yearly fix.

As you can see, we were well prepared for the cold:


Marci looks like she's pregnant with a 20+ lb. kid.


Caleb had an absolute ball. He made snow angels:


And made a snowman with his friends:


And had fun playing with his daddy:


Good times all around.

The other children in the pictures are the children belonging to a good friend of mine from high school that I hadn't seen in over 10 years (some of you may remember Kim Green...she is now Kimberly Troksa). She happens to live in Flagstaff - how convenient!

Holy Crap!

Gavin just got back from the doctor for his 4 month check-up; dude thundered in at 18 lbs., 26.5 inches long. That puts him in the 90th percentile for both.

He's a growing boy.

Baseball - or something similar

Again, it's the form that counts.

Dig the form

Not that you're supposed to when you're putting - but look at the form for that swing.

Kid's a minature golf monster.

Get that ball!

I've been publishing lots of pics of Gavin lately, so I thought I'd include a few of Caleb and what he's been up to recently.

Soccer is over, but during the season we managed to score 3 goals. One was even for our team. Go Mighty Monsters!

Blessing Gavin

We recently blessed Gavin. We did it right after Christmas, mainly because all of the family was here for both mine and Marci's family.

We had so many people that we eventually decided to just have myself and the two grandfathers in the prayer circle. It was really nice to have everyone in the same place at the same time. We then went over to Kathy's (Marci's mom) house for dinner and dessert.

Back at ya' buddy!

Currently we're slightly past the "Look! I've discovered my tongue!" stage - but not by much. Now Gavin is sort of in the I'm-figuring-out-how-to-roll-over-but-then-I-get-stuck-and-don't-like-it stage. Good times.

Lookit...the chubbiness!

Yep, that is one chunky little dude. We can barely get his pants on over those chubby thighs. The doctor put him in the 95th percentile in weight (15 lbs. at 8 weeks).

You gotta love cubby babies.

Grandpa with the the latest McLain

Indeed, the proud grandfather sitting with his latest grandson, knowing that there are two now to carry on the family name.

He couldn't have been happier or more proud.

Family pictures

What can I say - I have a beautiful wife and two handsome boys. I take no credit for any of it. All credit for good looking kids goes to the aforementioned wife. I just get to hook my thumbs in my suspenders and say "Them's my boys!"

I'm just lucky I guess.

Just the boys

Again, what more can be said? Goofy, half-talking smile on my face notwithstanding, there be some cute little boys hanging out with daddy.

Life is definitely good.

Dig that smile!

This is what Gavin looks like when he's happy. He usually achieves this particular state of Nirvana after he has eaten, burped loud enough to wake the neighbors, dropped a load in his diapers or peed on mommy or daddy.

In other words - fairly often.

Yes, he's sleeping...your point?

Yes, indeed. Babies sleep a LOT. Gavin likes to sleep in the "touchdown" position (originally made famous by Caleb). He also snores. Poor little dude is already afflicted with the McLain sinuses. He's doomed.

Honestly - will the McLain children ever be free of the horrifying curse of snoring like a congested moose? Their future wives can only hope.

Smile, dang you...

This is the latest in my attempts to get a shot of Gavins charming, crooked smile. Like I said - he'll smile for Marci all the time, but as soon as I show my ugly mug around he clams right up.

Isn't it a little early for him to be a surly teen?

Repose of the content

Gavin is a fairly content little dude. He especially enjoys laying on my chest. Who knows, maybe it's the warmth, maybe it's the slow heartbeat and breathing, but he usually calms right down and goes to sleep whenever he is laying on my chest. Sometimes it's the only thing that will calm him down. Go figure.

I still think he likes Marci better though. He'll smile for her all the time - but never for me. I figure it's just cause she's better to look at (which is obviously true), and the fact that she's his meal ticket. Hhe's only interested in me as a relaxation matress.