My Little Helper!

Since I can no longer do all our laundry, clean the house and manage a project or two all in one day, I spread everything out in more manageable pieces throughout the week. This is also easier on Gavin so he doesn't feel neglected from being hauled from room to room in my attempt to get the entire house clean. Monday is typically laundry day (no idea why I picked that day, it just seems to work out well), so Gavin was being a good sport and helped me sort, wash and fold it all throughout the day.




He loves feeling different fabrics, so he loved being in the laundry basket!

Gavin also had his first bath in the big tub tonight! He has been trying to climb out of his baby tub for several weeks now, but I wasn't quite ready to move him out of it. Although he sits up on his own quite well, I wasn't sure how he would do in the tub but I also did not want to get another "in between" tub. So, we gave it a shot and he did really well. It will take some getting used to for him to just sit and play, but he seemed to enjoy having more space and more toys to play with!

Sun and Grass!

After about a week of rain, Saturday we finally had a day that was warmer and not cloudy/raining all day. About time! Gavin and I spent the morning out on the deck watching Scott cut the grass and enjoying the sun. We both really enjoyed the fresh air and sun after being stuck inside.


The fun was interrupted when we had to head in for a nap but we went back outside later in the afternoon to check out what Scott was working on (he was filling in the holes in the front yard that he dug back in January when we were dealing with the water line break and pulling out some bushes that were not doing well and we never really liked anyway). Gavin was very interested in watching what Scott was doing so I got him in his truck and pushed him around so he could check it all out.


Since it was freshly cut, I thought it would be fun to sit him in the grass. He was not impressed and was actually reaching up to tell me to rescue him from the torture. We will have to try it again another time!

7 Months Old!

Where has the time gone? Where did my tiny little newborn go? Gah, it seems like every day goes by faster than the last! He has so much personality now! Just look at him hamming it up for the camera!



Alright, here is where we are another month later...

Stats:

Weight - Roughly the same, 21 and a half pounds (we won't get another official weight and height check until next month, we are not going to the doctor this month)

Height - Roughly the same, about 29 inches

Clothing Size - Since his growth has slowed down so much (I guess they were right in saying once he started moving more he would slow down), he has not grown out of too much in the last month. Depending on the brand he is wearing either 6-9 or 6-12. A few things of his 6 month onsies (which technically means they are 3-6 month sizing) still fit so he wears those still. He has a few shirts and shorts that are 12-18 months. (They are still pretty big on him, but I want him to get more than just a few weeks use out of his clothes.)

Milestones -

*Gavin has been working on his "pinch and grab" skills (fine motor skills). I introduced "puffs" for a fun snack and safe way for him to practice. These are great because they dissolve in his mouth so you don't need to worry about the choking hazard other foods can create. He seemed to enjoy them, but he wasn't able to pick them up and get them in his mouth. He would end up with (typically more than one) the puffs in the palm of his hand which made it virtually impossible for him to actually eat. We worked with him to try to show him how to pick up one at a time and move it to his mouth. Instead of trying to do that, he would just grab our hand and pull it towards his mouth to eat the puff. Thus accomplishing what he wanted, eating his snack. It was really cute!

Although he will still do this if you are holding it out for him, in the last two days he has (seemingly) all of a sudden started picking up a puff at a time and eating it. I placed a few on his tray today and I turned to put the cap on the container and send Scott a message and in the 30 seconds it took me to do that, he had eaten all of them! So I tested it some more to make sure I wasn't going crazy (because I couldn't find them on the floor or anywhere on/under his high chair) and sure enough, he did it again!!

*Gavin is still very stubborn about being on his stomach. It is pretty difficult to enforce playing on his stomach when he immediately rolls over. Although I am in no hurry for him to crawl (or walk), he does need to eventually and he certainly needs to continue to build his muscle and control. So, I started putting him on his hands and knees to get him to use those muscles some more. He is doing pretty well with it and rarely protests that as badly as tummy time, even though it doesn't take too long before he flattens and then rolls to his back (and then tries does pilates trying to sit up). He has been making some progress though and has begun to rock back and forth a little, which is the first step to actually crawling. I am sure we still have another month or two before that happens (at least that is what I tell myself to feel better), but it is still nice to see him grow and progress towards new milestones.

*Gavin has been sitting on his own for a while now and although sometimes he forgets to use his hands to steady himself or not to throw himself backwards, he does really well and prefers to be sitting while playing. He now lunges after the toy he wants if he can't easily reach it (mini-demonstration via pictures below). This used to mean that he would just smash into his mat, but he has now learned how to go to a crawling position which he then flattens out from to reach whatever he was after. It is pretty funny to watch because he has not yet figured out how to get back to a sitting position and so he ends up on his back doing his pilates.


*Gavin's sleep was pretty good up until about a week and a half ago. His sleeping had deteriorated to the point of waking up more times than I care to count, not falling asleep easily and waking up way too early (especially given the lack of sleep). This was all impacting his napping as well (which is already not all that great) and making us all miserable.

So, after a lot of discussion we decided to try a few things to see if that would maybe help the situation. We decided to push up his bath and bedtime from 7:30 to 7, so that he would be asleep by 8. We decided to see if he was ready to sleep by himself in his crib (he has been sleeping in his crib for naps for about 4 months, but was still in bed with me at night because he was still getting up 2-3 times a night to eat). We also decided I would nurse and put him to sleep in his room instead of laying on the couch or in bed and then transferring him to bed later.

Well, the first night was a complete success! Gavin was out before 8, slept for 6 and a half hours, ate and went back to sleep for another 3 hours, ate and then slept for another 3 hours! It was awesome! We tried not to celebrate too much, just in case it was a fluke. Thankfully he has continued to do well. He is asleep earlier and sleeping later in the morning than 7. I also get the benefit of having some time to myself after he is in bed, instead of being tied to him longer like I was before. I am sad that he was finally ready to be in his crib, but it has been nice for Scott and I to have more time together as well.

*Gavin is doing a million times better in his car seat as well. He does well during our ride and even sleeps in his car seat now! It is certainly about time, considering most kids always fall asleep in the car!

*Gavin is a babbling machine! It is so much fun to hear as he comes up with new noises to make and even tries to repeat us when we make the noises back to him. Although it means nothing at this point in time, it is still fun to hear when he actually manages to use m's and I hear a mom or ma ma ma ma ma ma. I don't want time to go by any faster, but I do look forward to when he says that and knows what it means.

*Gavin has quite the personality. He is so happy and fun. He laughs all the time, sometimes at the strangest things. He loves to be sung to and he already loves to be bounced all over, "thrown" up in the air and wrestle. He loves to sit by himself and although he doesn't want to be left alone in the room (he often gets upset if I step out to get something from another room), he also doesn't want you on top of him all the time. He likes his personal space. He also is so strong, he will push/pull do whatever it takes to get himself in the position he wants to be held in. He even pries your hands off of him if he is standing with your help so he can just hold your fingers!

He is certainly growing up fast, he is such a joy in our lives and we look forward to all the amazing things yet to come!

I will leave you with some pictures from our quick photo session on the back porch today. Enjoy!

Rain, Rain Go Away!!!

The weather situation here is a bit out of control. It has been cloudy and raining since Friday and we are in for at least a few more days of it! We are going a bit crazy being stuck inside. Gavin and I have spent a lot of time sitting in the bay window so he can see outside.


As you can see, he wants to get outside! Despite not being able to actually get outside lately, this is one of his favorite spots. If he is cranky, that will almost always put him back in a good mood.

Scott was home today and tried to cheer Gavin up and teach him how to play the guitar. Gavin loves watching Scott play, especially when he gets to join in the fun!


We are hopeful that the rain clears in time for the weekend and we can finally get outside again, we both are in desperate need of sun, fresh air and a walk!

Adventures in Gardening...

Well, I have transplanted the lettuce and cucumbers that had begun to grow. I am still waiting on the peppers, I am finally seeing a few small sprouts coming up. They seem to be taking their time! I really hope that they come in as nicely as the lettuce and cucumbers have.

Before Transplant:


After Transplant:


I am really excited about the beginnings of my garden and hope that we are able to enjoy everything that comes out of it! I also hope this leads to an expansion next year. I would love to add tomatoes, squash and chives. Who knows, by then I may even have Gavin helping me!

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!!!!

We have been pretty busy lately!

I have been cleaning and organizing various things in the house during Gavin's naps. Although I still have a long way to go in some rooms, I have at least made a little progress in getting rid of items that were not used/needed or garbage and reorganize things to make better use of the space. It is amazing how long it can take to get things done, even when you are motivated, but I try to keep reminding myself a little progress each day/week is better than nothing and it will eventually all get done.

I have started a very small "garden" this year. I have been wanting to do this for years, but I never really put in the time needed to have it be successful. I think I also tried to take on too much at once. So, I decided to start small and see how that goes and then maybe add to it later in the year and next year. I planted a few kinds of lettuce, cucumbers and bell peppers (it was a variety of colors in the pack - hopefully they will be pretty and tasty). They are almost all ready to be transplanted into bigger pots so that is one of my projects tomorrow. I will post some pictures once I finish.

I had my first "official" Mothers Day. It was a nice day with Scott and Gavin. We went to my parents house for dinner that my dad made. It was delicious - smothered chicken, broccoli, artichokes and rolls! He made German chocolate cake for dessert as well! It was great to not have to cook and clean up and to have such great food!

Gavin and I had quite a few outings last week and the week before. We spent several days with Lisa, Rich and Elena, always lots of fun! We went to the park with them and did some walking, ran some errands and played at their house. Gavin really loves spending time with them!

We also made a trip down to Somers to go to lunch and visit with some of my friends from work. I have been wanting to make a trip down for quite some time, but it kept being put off because of bad weather and Gavin not doing well in the car. Thankfully, he has been doing much better since his move to the convertible car seat, so I thought we would give it a shot. The trip down went well and in the little over an hour it took to get there, he only started to fuss a little towards the end. He did really well while we were there also (we spent most of the day there) and loved all the attention. The only issue we had was he absolutely hated the elevator! It was the craziest thing, we would walk on and he would immediately start getting upset. I even tried the stairs to see if that was better (since we had to go up to the 4th floor, I initially took the elevator to make my life easier - he is heavy!) and he still freaked out. Thankfully everyone we were on the elevators with were really good sports about it and didn't seem to mind. We had a lot of fun visiting and everyone loved him! I fed him in the car before we left to get him to take a much needed nap and when I transferred him to his car seat he stay asleep! He then slept the entire way home which took about an hour and 15 minutes! Aside from that being a long nap for him (he usually only naps for 45 minutes at a time), this is the kid that used to refuse sleeping in the car and pretty much screamed about being strapped into a car seat! Huge improvement! (He has since stayed asleep when transferred to his car seat twice!!!)

The last few days have been less fun because we apparently have to pay for the week of beautiful weather and have had several cloudy/rainy days and many more ahead of us. That means we have been mostly stuck home and inside. We have been trying to make the best of it and having fun. I pulled out a few toys that he hasn't really played with and they have been a big hit. Especially his phone...


He also loves the coasters we have (that almost never get used). He discovered those this morning when we were sitting and watching the rain.


I have also been busy baking, again. It really is a problem, especially since I end up eating most of whatever it happens to be. I really need to find the self control I used to have... it has been missing for quite some time now!

Oh well, that is all for now. I will be sure to share a few other fun things soon!

Playdate!

Today we had a fun afternoon with my friend Lisa and her sweet little boy and girl! Gavin absolutely adores her son Rich (he is 3). He loves to watch him run around, show him toys, explain things to Gavin. Gavin just smiles and laughs. He even tried to tackle Rich today. It is a lot of fun to watch! Gavin also loves watching the newest edition to their family Elena. She is so precious and Gavin loves to sit and watch her look around. It is awesome because Gavin gets some time with kids and I get a chance to talk to Lisa (yea for adult time!!!). I even remembered to take a few pictures today!





It was a great day and we look forward to seeing them again later this week!

Gavin's New Tricks!

It seems that almost every day Gavin has a new "trick" or becomes aware of something new (even if it really isn't new).

Gavin has enjoyed having blankets/towels/burp clothes (pretty much any kind of fabric) fall on his face and then be pulled off, fall on his face, then pulled off, over and over again. His eyes get so big and he smiles and giggles. If he is grumpy it will often put him in a good mood again (at least while you are playing). I had turned it into a form of peek a boo to make it more fun and he loves it even more now. I tried to get some pictures of this, but unfortunately, I have no mastered getting the after photo with the level of excitement that is always there. Oh well...




Gavin has started kneeling when he plays from time to time. This is my favorite new thing he does, I just love how cute he looks kneeling at a toy. His Lightening McQueen car and Leap Frog table are the toys he is most likely to do this as.


Gavin's sitting has greatly improved, however he has started lunging after toys more often now and almost always ends up on his stomach. This usually leads to one of three things. 1. Immediate anger and screaming that he is on his stomach and also didn't get whatever toy he was after. 2. Scooting backwards in an attempt to still get whatever toy he was after and then anger/frustration because he is moving farther from the toy. 3. Rolling over and then attempting to get himself back to a sitting position, which really only looks like he is doing Pilates. It is funny to watch as he tries to figure out how to get at the things he wants, he is so determined!

We started introducing more finger foods for Gavin to work on the coordination he needs to feed himself. I tried giving him some sweet potato fries I had made and that ended up in disaster because he immediately grabbed one and tried to shove the whole thing in his mouth. So I went to plan B and picked up some "puffs". They are puffed rice that come in a variety of flavors and are great because they dissolve when Gavin manages to get one in his mouth, so you don't have to worry about him choking, even if he manages to get more than one in at a time. (Once he can be trusted to not shove a handful in his mouth at a time and to chew what he has before attempting to swallow we can go to cheerios and other easy snacks). He still has trouble getting them in his mouth once he gets one up (it usually ends up stuck to the palm of his hand or falling out of his mouth). He has however quickly figured out that when we hold one out for him to pick up or to try to show him what to do, he just needs to grab our hand and get his mouth to it to get one. So creative!






We just introduced a new toy/feeding item at the end of last week. It is a mesh feeder, essentially a piece of mesh that has a handle on it that you can enclose food in and hand it over to your child without having to worry about them choking on pieces of food that are too big. I tried putting a piece of apple in it first, that was not a hit, but I think that was because Gavin apparently does not like apples (he apparently doesn't like any fruit, but that is a different story for a different day). Then I tried putting some sweet potato in it and he couldn't get enough of it. He was even upset when I took it to put more in when he had finished the first piece. It is a great item because he gets the freedom to feed himself (which he really wants) in a fairly easy way!



The last new thing that Gavin has started is trying to climb out of his tub. I am wondering if this is the beginning of him trying to pull himself up using anything and his tub is just the easiest place to start. I am really hoping he holds off on using other items to try to stand up with. I am really not ready to have a mobile baby!