Since Gavin turns 1 tomorrow (!), here's the round-up of photos from the last month.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Birthday party
For Gavin's birthday party we thought it would be fun to invite all of the babies he knows (along with their families) to a little get-together. (Below, it's Hazel, Spencer, Harvey, Michaela and Gavin.)
I made the owl cake, which was surrounded by leaf cookies made by my friend Racquel (they're the best cookies on the planet). 
Gavin spent most of his effort eating one of the Oreo eyes, but he did eventually have some actual cake, and it was cute. He was just very cautious about it and not at all destructive.
Here are a few more photos of Gavin and his sweet little friends. We tried to line them all up for pictures, and it was mostly a hilarious (and unsuccessful) endeavor.
Hazel, Spencer, Oliver (standing), Michaela, Gavin, Honor
Hazel, Spencer, Gavin, Harvey, Michaela, Honor's head, and Jason 
Spencer, Michaela, Honor (and Gavin's head at the bottom)
Spencer, Gavin/Michaela, Honor (back), Jason
Oliver (standing), Hazel, Esther (screaming), Spencer (screaming as well), Gavin, Harvey (being carried away)
Credit to Mike Farr for the great photography.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Kraków
We visited Kraków, Poland, this weekend and had a wonderful trip. The main market square is immensely beautiful, as you can see from the above and below photos.
We visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine, around since the 13th century, which was really impressive. Below are photos of Becky and me outside the mine, and (because we didn't want to pay extra to be able to take photos inside the mine) a wikipedia photo of the super-impressive chapel carved out of salt by the miners themselves. The tour guide mentioned that the chapel can be hired for weddings and also hosts other events like concerts. One of the tourists asked how much it costs to hire the chapel, and he said it only costs like 3000 zł (which equates to $1000 or about £650). We thought it was a bargain to get such a cool venue for a wedding!
The rest of the mine was cool too, with underground lakes, various salt formations and many statues carved by miners over the centuries. 
We visited Wawel Castle with its beautiful cathedral (above) where Pope John Paul II offered his first-ever mass as a priest.
Also in Kraków is the factory of Oskar Schindler, which we visited. The museum was extremely well done, perfectly capturing the Zeitgeist of Poland pre-war, during WWII and post-war. The attention to detail was staggering, which made for a fascinating visit. A plaque on the outside of the factory quotes the Talmud "Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire." If you don't know the Oskar Schindler story, please just watch the movie.
The rest of the mine was cool too, with underground lakes, various salt formations and many statues carved by miners over the centuries. We visited Wawel Castle with its beautiful cathedral (above) where Pope John Paul II offered his first-ever mass as a priest.Also in Kraków is the factory of Oskar Schindler, which we visited. The museum was extremely well done, perfectly capturing the Zeitgeist of Poland pre-war, during WWII and post-war. The attention to detail was staggering, which made for a fascinating visit. A plaque on the outside of the factory quotes the Talmud "Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire." If you don't know the Oskar Schindler story, please just watch the movie.
Here are a few more Kraków photos.
Oświęcim (Auschwitz-Birkenau)
While visiting Kraków we took a day trip to Oświęcim to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. After we visited Dachau in 2009 we said we didn't need to visit another concentration camp because it is just wrenching. But we were so close in Kraków, and it was actually Armistice Day (Veterans Day in the US), plus it's the best-known concentration camp. 
It was even harder for me this time, now that I'm a parent, to think about how many children suffered and died. The parts of the exhibit that talked about kids were just too much.
Auschwitz was an actual labor camp, and the nearby Birkenau was the extermination camp. Over 1 million people are estimated to have died at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Below is a photo that only begins to capture the eerie sea of chimneys at Birkenau, where the Nazis rushed to destroy everything just before the camp was liberated. They deconstructed most of the barracks, except the chimneys, which still stand. And they go on as far as the eye can see.
In the next photo is the shooting wall next to Block 11, the so-called "death block." Here prisoners were shot by firing squads in great numbers. The windows in the adjacent Block 10 are boarded up so there were no onlookers.
The memorial in the next photo (which is also translated into all of the languages of Auschwitz victims) pretty much sums up the entire place. It's definitely "a cry of despair."
It was even harder for me this time, now that I'm a parent, to think about how many children suffered and died. The parts of the exhibit that talked about kids were just too much.Auschwitz was an actual labor camp, and the nearby Birkenau was the extermination camp. Over 1 million people are estimated to have died at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Below is a photo that only begins to capture the eerie sea of chimneys at Birkenau, where the Nazis rushed to destroy everything just before the camp was liberated. They deconstructed most of the barracks, except the chimneys, which still stand. And they go on as far as the eye can see.In the next photo is the shooting wall next to Block 11, the so-called "death block." Here prisoners were shot by firing squads in great numbers. The windows in the adjacent Block 10 are boarded up so there were no onlookers.The memorial in the next photo (which is also translated into all of the languages of Auschwitz victims) pretty much sums up the entire place. It's definitely "a cry of despair."Polish food
The Polish food was a huge highlight of the trip to Kraków. Above, we loved the zapiekanka, which is basically a halved baguette with a mushroom base and toppings of all kinds. We saw people eating them and had to try them--so delicious.
Our favorite was definitely the Polish national dish--pierogis. We had them fried (above) and boiled (below), and both were simply outstanding. 
Gavin loved them too and ate about 5 in one sitting.
The below filled pizza dough (bombers) were super-yummy.
And we also had some delicious pastries. Some were a little messy to eat. :)
Gavin loved them too and ate about 5 in one sitting.
The below filled pizza dough (bombers) were super-yummy.And we also had some delicious pastries. Some were a little messy to eat. :) Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Friendship
I thought it would be fun to post about some of Gavin's friends. We don't have photos of all of his friends, but here are a few. Above and below, he's with Michaela, whom he loves to kiss, as you can see above, and laugh with.
Below he's with Harvey several months ago. Even though Harvey is 2 months younger, he has been bigger than Gavin most his life--and Gavin's no small baby! We love Harvey.
The next is one of my favorite pictures: Gavin with Oli(ver), and it looks like they're hugging. Oli lives a bit far away, so they don't see each other too often, but we'll look forward to seeing Oli (and his parents!) again in November.
Hazel is Gavin's newest friend and his partner in highchair hijinks below. Gavin loves to get together with her for play dates--mostly to play with her toys and eat the rocks in her garden. 
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