Happy Birthday Gavin!

Gavin had a birthday yesterday and he's 11! Hit it!

I LIKE GAVIN BEEEECAAAUUUSSSEEE....

I like Gavin because-

1. He is a very polite boy. I generally get good word back from his school and church teachers. Considering some of the chats I've had with Whit's teachers it's a relief to be fairly confident when I pick him up no one is going to pull me aside to discuss that Gavin wanted to discuss- oh say- recent parental disagreements or body parts during class instead of fractions or the prophet Jonah. Or inform me he's been licking blocks again. He's just a good, nice kid. Dependably nice. Which is underrated. Lots of parents want to breed a genius. A super star. I just want nice kids. Nice teenagers. A very wise man once said to me- "There is something very special about being average." I like that. Although, being half Hart he comes from a gene pool "where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and the children are above average." (guess it, 10 points) He also happens to be polite and kind and I really appreciate that. Most people do. He's not that weird kid kind of nice. None of that Hollywood child actor stuff. Obnoxiously trained to mimic their adult counterparts using words like "brilliant" and "humbled" No. He acts like an 11 year old boy and always remembers his yes please's and thank you's. It hits the spot. This is one of the many reasons I like Gavin.

HOWEVER- He is starting to throw down with some pretty serious tween sarcastic rippers like- "Wow." "Wow Mom." Or "Really? Really Mom?" Or the big slam in your face- "FAIL!" They're brilliant and they totally humble me. FYI- You can knock down any worthy opponent when you scream "FAIL" in their face. Real. It's taken me by surprise as I'm a little out of practice with all my good comebacks. I haven't combated in a verbiage smack down in years. So I turn around and use them on Christian "Susie, can you shut the garage do-" "FAIL!" Which leads me to-

3. Gavin is a funny kid! He has really developed a razor sharp sense of humor. Gee, I wonder where he gets that from? Don't jump to conclusions friends. Although I am the funniest person I know, I'm thinking of his grandpa Hart, our Great aunt Jenny and all his clever regular aunties. A family of cut up's he was born into. The dry, wry Hart sense of humor mixed with a little fartpoo repressed Sonner's slapstick. A deadly combination. Between his verbal rippers and gastronomical one's he keeps me giggling all the day long. During his Parent Teacher Conference this year, Mrs. Sanchez mentioned that during their annual class Karaoke Revolution Party (luckies!) Gavin and his mate danced and sang to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun!" She said he killed it.

Well, maybe she didn't say "killed" it. But it's what she meant. He had the class in stitches.

Let's see... New things I've noticed about living with an 11 year old boy. They stink! So flipping flopping bad. It's olfactory proof that I really, truly have a soon to be teenager on my hands. By the way I smell some pretty odious odors in my house but tween boy funk is pretty freaking rank. As married adults Christian and I are somewhat socially and contractually expected to keep our odors down to a minimum, and other than the random person at the DMV or our stale morning breath I don't get whiffs of real adult stinkage that often. It's not a part of my daily world thank goodness. And yes the babies do stink but it's somewhat tolerable and familiar. Being exposed to a constant stream of stale B.O. is new and odd. Disgusting. But especially odd. It's something that I am trying -and failing- to get used to. Or come to terms with. Boy's stink. I never stood close to my brothers long enough from ages 8-18 to really realize that and I have a nasty gag reflex so Christian tries to keep things clean and odorless for me. Let me tell you- it does NOT smell like teen spirit around here. The pre-teen boy who's yet to develop a serious interest in girls has no real motivation at this point his youth for the daily brushing of teeth or application of actual shampoo in the shower. A mother with a sensitive nose is certainly not reason enough to brush one's tongue. No, teeth get scrubbed when mom stands over his shoulder and hair get lathered only when she points out which one the shampoo bottle is. Rubbing Ivory on the top of one's head where mom sniffs does not count. Oh my. I almost can't wait for the crushes to start.

11 years old and far too cool for you and the rest of the world, he has yet to let go of his habit of climbing in bed with me in the morning for our chat's. It's the best part of my day. I hold the covers over my face and cherish those precious mornings. I'm not sure when they will end. I suspect soon. sigh. I've discovered I don't do well with my boys getting older. No, not at all.

Gavin Happy Birthday! I love you. We love you!

I was going to make a really awesome birthday music video but my ukulele skills need some fine tuning so I found two professionals to do it the way it needs be done. Take it away Rebecca and Camden!

For a hoot, toot and a giggle hop on over to "Older and Wisor." It's to the left. And excuse all my spelling and grammatical errors. I should say excuse that there are more than usual. Please. It's Christmas Eve! I gotta go.

Christmas post coming soon. Sometime around New Year.