Bath time!

Bath time at our house has never been terribly enjoyable for Gavin.  He has not been a big fan from the beginning for some reason.  When he screamed bloody murder after 99% of the baths we gave him in his baby bath, another mother at his school suggested that he start taking a shower with Clay.  Her son hated baths and when they started showering instead she said he loved it.  Well loved it would be a great exaggeration for Gavin but he didn't scream nearly as much so we have stuck with that.  Until last week when we had been in that germapolooza aka the walk in clinic.  I was too tired to try and hold him up in the shower because I had been holding him for the last 3 hours straight so I figured why not try giving him a bath in the big tub.  I figured he probably wouldn't like it anymore than the other methods of getting him clean but I also figured he couldn't like it any less so what the heck.

Well boy did he prove me wrong!  He LOVED it!!!  I put him in there with some rubber duckies and he just splashed and laughed and splashed and laughed.  Of course I didn't have the camera with me so all the pictures are from the next night when Clay was home.  You would never guess he was sick by all the smiles we got!







Those blurry things are his arms rapidly splashing the water everywhere :-)


My absolute favorite shot, what a sweet little face!!


This last one is a video, SO CUTE

Visit to see Santa

This past Saturday even though Gavin had an ear infection (he seemed to be getting over it) and it was really cold outside, we decided to take him to the mall and get his picture with Santa.  I wanted to leave early that morning so the crowds wouldn't be that bad but of course that didn't happen for many reasons.  So we get to the mall right at 1 and immediately go to where Santa is supposed to be but we don't see him!  So we walk around his little area two or three times until we finally see the sign that says he has gone to lunch and won't be back until 2.  Ugggghhh!  Well of course after all of this we are not going home so we decide to try and find a stocking for Gavin because we hadn't gotten him one yet.  So we waste about 45 minutes looking and not finding a stocking because Clay wants one as plain as possible and all they have left are either frilly ones or ones with some kind of cartoon theme.  When we get back to Santa's place there are already 6 or 7 families in front of us.  Clay has Gavin in the front carrier which so far has worked wonderfully.  Then he hands him to me so he can go find a bathroom.  Well all of the sudden Gavin starts grunting and reaching for something behind me.  I turn around and it is a lady that he is reaching for.  Well I tell him that she doesn't want to hold him but then I guess she heard me because she asks me if she can hold him.  I know, I know  save your breath I know I should have said no but I was so caught off guard that I didn't.  So instead I just stand over her like a crazy person all ready to chase after her if she makes a run for it although she already had a little girl so she couldn't possibly get away with both of them :-).  So I just stand there awkwardly waiting on Gavin to realize that she is not his Momma and to reach back for me.  Well he sure takes his precious time and in fact he waits until Clay gets back, I think he was trying to get me in trouble :-).  Anyway, Santa finally came back from lunch and the mayhem began.  All the parents were excited and dreaming of awesome pictures that they would pay a minimum of $15 for and all the kids were completely freaked out by this big huge man in a red suit.  All the kids but Gavin that is, he thought he was just fine and I truly think he thought Santa's beard was a cat.  He kept turning around and looking at it like he wanted to grab it.  Thank goodness he didn't, I would have died!  I tried to take some free pictures but they didn't turn out so great, the one we paid for was cute and a good keepsake.

7 months!

Gavin turned 7 months old on December 12th.






This picture below deserves a funny caption, I just can't figure out what it is!



His 7 month pictures were not taken exactly on his birthday and he isn't in any cute outfit mainly due to his illness and being really grouchy.  So I took them when he is most happy which is after his evening meal :-) and in his pajamas.  He cooperates less and less each month for these pictures which I guess is probably normal and will continue for several years!  It is so hard to believe that we have had this precious little boy for 7 months now.  I can't believe they (not sure who "they" would be) haven't come to tell us it was a mistake and take him back.  Clay and I have been having so much fun being parents and I would never have believed you if you had told me I would before he was born.  Some of his milestones may be repeats from 6 months, I should be better about keeping up with this stuff as it happens but I'm not and don't foresee myself getting any better.  So without further ado his 7 month milestones are:

• He is sitting up completely by himself and for long periods of time.  Every once in a while he will take a fall and it scares me completely to death since we don't have carpet on our floors 
• Has completely mastered the army crawl and is getting really fast
• Has just started to be able to hold himself up when he is standing and has something to hold on to
• He now helps me by pushing his arms in his sleeves when I get him dressed.  This is such a big help!  Now if I could only get him to hold his legs still!
• He has started reaching for absolutely everything he can see and if he gets it, it goes in his mouth.  If we don't let him have it, he has started to fuss (which I do not like at all!)
• Started to grunt to let us know he wants something (also not an attractive quality :-))
• Has started reaching for us, which absolutely melts my heart! Unless he is reaching for his Daddy that is.
• He has gotten 4 teeth, the two front ones on both the top and bottom.  He has also just started grinding them, apparently likes the sound it makes.  It drives me and Clay crazy, it is like nails on the chalkboard!! Hopefully he will move on soon!
• Gavin can hold his bottle all by himself and seems to enjoy doing so unless he is really sleepy.
• He can also feed himself a cracker or banana piece.  He will get a Cheerio in his mouth after many tries if he doesn't give up first :-)
• He has not caught on to the sippy cup thing although I am sending it with him to school so they will work with him on it.  
• Will eat any fruit or vegetable that Gerber or Beech Nut make other than Green Peas or Peaches.  I haven't started feeding him meats or cheeses yet but as soon as he gets over this ear infection I think we will give it a try.  He also hasn't had juice yet and I am going to hold off on this for as long as possible.  I know once he tastes how sweet that juice is, he will never want to drink something unsweet again.  
• I have started feeding him cereal with breakfast and also slowly cutting his formula back.  He was getting 36 ounces a day and I am trying to get him back to 32 ounces which is the top of the margin on the feeding chart I have.  But it isn't that big of a deal to me if he won't do it, I know those charts are only a suggestion.  So currently he is getting 4 bottles with 6.5 ounces every 3.5 hrs and 1 8 ounce bottle before bed.  He also has 1 jar of veggies and 1/2 jar of fruit at lunch.  Then for supper he gets cereal and half a banana.  
• He has just moved up to size 4 diapers, and will hopefully be here for awhile.  He is still in some 3 - 6 month clothing and all 6 - 9 month.  
• He also seems to have started fussing when his diaper is dirty, which is a nice change although it took us a while to realize that was what he was doing :-), kind of slow sometimes.

Poor sick little boy

As I mentioned before, Gavin has not been feeling well.  He has had SEVERAL ear infections lately and this past one he was diagnosed with last Tuesday, at his two week follow up from his last ear infection has been AWFUL.  Normally you can't tell he is sick he acts just like his normal happy self.  But I noticed the weekend of Clay's birthday that we was getting super grouchy.  Then on Monday I noticed he had started tugging on his ears again.  So at his dcoctor appointment they decided to give him the antibiotic shot this time since the normal medicine didn't seem to be working.  Poor little thing, those shots hurt more than normal and he already didn't feel good.  They told us to keep him home for the rest of the day and the next to try and give his immune system a chance to rebound.  By Thursday morning Clay thought he felt good enough to go back to school but by lunch they had called me so Clay went and picked him up for me.  Gavin seemed to me like he wasn't getting any better so I sent our friend the PA a message asking her what we should do.  I didn't want to over react if it just took the antibiotics that long to kick in but I also didn't want to wait and not take him to the clinic on Friday morning if I needed to.  So she called us in some ear numbing drops and put us on a 3 hr pain med schedule.  I really wanted to keep him home on Friday but really needed to be at work so my sweet, sweet husband also stayed home with him on Friday.  On Saturday it seemed like he had turned the corner so we ventured out to the mall to try and get his picture with Santa (see later post for pictures), and then to church on Sunday.  Well he got a low grade fever last night so I am home with him again today.  He didn't have a fever first thing but I just took his temperature when he woke up from his nap and he has a fever again.  So prayers for his health would be much appreciated!

Clay's family birthday party

The night after the cookie decorating party we went down to Clay's parents house to have a family party and celebrate Clay's birthday.  Gavin of course loves going down there because he is showered with love and attention by everyone!  His grandparents have not held back in buying him Christmas presents and in fact I think they have bought him so many they have already started sending them home with us so all the other grandkids don't get jealous on Christmas day.  Gavin hadn't been feeling well so it took him awhile to warm up to his usual entertaining self, which really confused his cousins.  They kept asking me, why doesn't he smile anymore, why isn't he laughing when I do this or that.  It is really sweet how interested they are in him.  By the time we sat down at the table to eat though he was back to his usual antics and had everybody laughing instead of eating.  He absolutely LOVES bananas and since I had already fed him his cereal and bottle before we sat down, I gave him one to keep him entertained.  Well he did more entertaining of us than eating I am afraid although it was not from a lack of trying.  Normally he gets his banana in one of those Fresh Feeder things which makes it easy for him to handle and also a whole lot less messy which before this day would have been hard for me to believe because he gets banana EVERYWHERE when he eats it in the feeder.  Anyway, the poor boy chased those pieces of banana all over the highchair tray and managed to get a little in his mouth but mainly all over his hands, arms, face, hair, clothes, etc.  After that I gave him the big piece which I thought may make it a little easier.  Not a good idea looking back, he probably could have choked on it.  He did enjoy himself though and we all had a good time laughing when he would grab the half of banana and it would slip out of his hand like a wet bar of soap.  Poor Clay has never been so ignored on his birthday, especially since he is the baby and only boy in his family.  But he didn't seem to mind, he is just as enamored with Gavin as the rest of us.

Gavin with his Aunt Krista showing off his new John Deere boots courtesy of him Nanny-Ma and Papa


Sweet cousins




One of Gavin's new toys.  It will take him a few months to grow into but this is one of those heirloom toys that hopefully he will be able to give to his kids. Again courtesy of Nanny-Ma and Papa


I wish I had gotten one of him during the whole banana thing but this is him entertaining all of us later on


Cool cake Clay's sister made.  Let me know if you would like her contact info, she sells cakes and according to Clay they are very tasty, I can't eat any before I finish loosing all my baby weight :-).

First Christmas Party

I am a little behind, big surprise :-).  Not this past weekend but the weekend before, Gavin attended his first Christmas party.  This is the second year that our friends have hosted a cookie decorating party where we decorate cookies for us to eat but with the majority going to some very special kids at the Children's Advocacy Center.  Of course Gavin didn't get to decorate any, I don't think anyone would have appreciated drool softened cookies :-).  But he did get to play with his friends Clare and Jackson.  We really didn't capture how sweet it was.  Clare and Gavin were rolling the ball back and forth to each other and of course by the time we got the camera out they had pretty much quit.  Below are a few pictures and short videos of his adventure.  To watch the video click the video icon in the picture and it will take you to Picasa to view.







Gavin is not showing any manners in this one, poor Clare.

Gavin's First Christmas Tree

We took our annual trip out to Hambrick's Christmas Tree Farm to find our Christmas tree. It was FREEZING and Gavin really wasn't all into it, not that I expected him to be. He was a good sport about the pictures though at least until the very end :-). I am happy to say that the tree is up although it is yet to be decorated.

This is it! The perfect tree!!

The tree is down!!