Fluffy Bum!

I have been thinking for quite some time that I wished I had given more thought and consideration to cloth diapering. I wrote it off as not for me/us early on, even before really understanding the benefits, recent changes and how easy and nice it might actually be. Since Gavin was born, I have done some reading and started to gain some interest. I figured that since we didn't do it from the beginning that it wasn't worth while, especially considering the great deal we were getting through Amazon Mom. Unfortunately, prices have been increasing (as with just about everything) and in the last month they went up significantly. I decided that it was time to more actively consider the benefits of switching.

I decided that it was something that would be good for us and after Scott and I discussed the initial investment to switch, I began to look and what we would start with to figure out what would fit our needs. I decided not to do a trial (various companies give you the option to try out several different types of diapers to figure out what you like) because I had already decided the general direction I wanted to go and the company we were ordering from allows returns of diapers that are gently used if you don't like them. So, we went with a few different brands (and colors and patterns), of what are called pocket diapers, to get us started. These have a waterproof exterior (equivalent of the rubber pants that used to be used), a fleece lining and pocket between the two that you "stuff" with a liner. The liners can be made up of all kinds of materials, microfiber, hemp, bamboo, flannel, etc. The most commonly used is microfiber.

I was so excited when they arrived on Wednesday, I immediately got started with the pre-wash process. The diapers only have to be pre-washed once, but all the liners and the wet/dry bag (to store dirty diapers before being washed and while away from home, etc) all need to be washed and dried several times before they are ready for use. Unfortunately, that meant that they were not going to be ready to test out that day. Thursday morning we got Gavin changed into his first cloth diaper!


He was indifferent to it, as long as it doesn't interrupt his play time, he doesn't really care. He certainly looks cute rocking the cute patterns and colors though!!



We have several other colors and patterns for him to show off as time goes on. I am sure I will pick up a few more as I find good deals on the ones we like the best. Yes, I am crazy, but I am really excited about the change and so far it has been and awesome transition!

Second Chances!

Gavin and I have been having a lot of fun the last couple of weeks! We have spent time in his pool, walking around the yard, chasing him around the house and lots of other fun things! Last week, after dinner, we decided to take Gavin the swings again and see if he would change his mind about them. We gathered a few toys, the cameras and snacks and headed off to the park down the road. Gavin was in a good mood so we were hoping he would react better than our last swing attempt. He loved it! Smiling and laughing like crazy!



He also loved watching the cars pass by while we pushed him! We were so excited that he enjoyed it this time! We have not had a chance to make it back yet, but we will be soon and as often as possible (once this heat lets up)! Now we need to get him to understand and like the slide as well!

9 Months Old!!

What a busy month we have had! With summer here, it seems that time is passing by even quicker as we prepare for vacations, enjoy the weather, run our usual errands, etc.

9 Month Photo Session:







Let's see what has changed in the last month!

Stats:

Weight - I am guessing close to 24 pounds now, it is hard to get him to sit still on the scale long enough to get a good read!

Height - Around 30 inches (maybe closer 30.5-31) based on my last attempt to get Gavin to stay put long enough to take a tape measure to him!

Clothing Size - Nothing new here, thankfully his growth has slowed down enough that he hasn't grown out of anything in a while! We just added a new item to his wardrobe today though, shoes! Gavin is now the proud owner of a cute pair of soft soled sneakers (pictures will be provided at a later date)!

Milestones -

*Gavin is now scooting and crawling all over the place. It is amazing how fast he went from just lunging and pulling himself places to actually scooting and sometimes doing what I consider an actual crawl! He was just beginning to really get the hang of it while we were in PA and ever since then he hasn't stopped! He is so quick, if we are in the living room and I step into the kitchen for a drink, by the time I peek my head out to see what he is doing, he is almost always already on his way (or to) a cord, outlet, the pile of electronics in the dining room and occasionally heading towards the entertainment center (this is actually surprisingly rare so far)!

*Gavin is still determined to walk. He is a cruising machine! He is quite daring when he tries to move from toy to toy or to furniture, all over the place. He even pushes his table, car and the footstools around to get himself closer to whatever he wants to reach next. He is so creative! He has also started to let go when standing. He is really stable and standing for longer periods (still only a max of 10-15 seconds at a time, but that is pretty good). He is getting really close to being able to stand himself up without the help of an object as well. I am sure once he is more stable free standing and starts to take steps he will also figure that out.

He also loves to hold my hands so he can walk around the house (or outside in the grass). We make laps around the house when he is restless to walk but not satisfied with walking around furniture. He now has a pair of shoes so that he can walk outside more often, other than in the grass.

*Gavin's stranger anxiety hasn't let up yet. Thankfully, it does not always result in a screaming meltdown (you would think they were trying to take him away and torture him by the way he reacts sometimes), but he is still very quite and clingy around people that are unfamiliar. I am still hoping we get past this soon, but I am guessing that won't be the case. Oh well!

*Gavin is using his ability to "drive" Lightening McQueen to his advantage. He even has started to get the hang of steering it towards things. This just gets him to the "forbidden" items/areas much quicker.

*Gavin has discovered lots of new noises and vowel sounds this month. He seriously doesn't stop "talking" almost the whole time he is awake! It is really nice that I don't have to hold a one sided conversation all day long because he "responds" when I talk. Well, respond may not be accurate, but he loves when I repeat noises back to him and he loves when I talk and sing to him even more than he did before! He has discovered rolling his r's, sounding like a duck (only way I can figure out to describe that one), continues to blow raspberries all the time, uses v, m, d, g, b and occasionally throws in another random consonant into the mix. Although he does sometimes use mamamama, momomom and dadada, he doesn't yet seem to put together that those mean something. It will be interesting to see when he does clearly understand the significance and use them as such.

*Gavin has finally started to clap on occasion. He won't mimic me, but he does sometimes clap on his own, it is really cute and I can't wait for him to start to do this more and with other things as well!

*Gavin has four teeth (middle two on the bottom and top middle two - although these are not all the way in yet), the top middle two were a pretty awful experience. Between the fever, terrible sleeping and general misery, I am glad they finally cut through! The bad part is, he has one more that started to come in as his second top tooth was cutting, so over a month later, we have two teeth down and hopefully only one more to go (for now)! The top teeth have been pretty brutal, I really hope that the next ones don't leave him feeling so miserable. He is still happy most of the time, but his sleep has been all over the place (and of course traveling doesn't help that either) and he is clearly often having pain from the teeth trying to cut through his gums. I hope for a long break from teething after this!

*Gavin loves to throw toys (quite an arm) and drop toys when he is up high (high chair, crib, pack and play). He loves it. He will hold something over the edge and carefully pick a place to let go and watch it drop. He gets so excited when it hits the floor and watches to see where it ends up. We play his game for a bit, but even though he doesn't get tired of it, I sometimes do, especially when I am trying to make dinner, clean up or even just get him to listen to a story.

*Gavin loves food even more now than he did when we first started introducing solids. He still has some purees, but he is eating more and more of what we are eating. He loves pancakes (plain, blueberry, peach), yogurt, spaghetti and so much more! It is so nice that he seems to like everything he tries and not insisting on everything being pureed!

*Gavin loves the TV show Yo Gabba Gabba! I put it on last month when he was miserable with his fever and we snuggled on the couch and watched an episode. It was the first time he actually would snuggle with me like that! I even tried other things like Veggie Tales and Sesame Street but he had no interest. He only sat and watched an episode with me like that once, but now if I put it on as a distraction, he will watch it for a few seconds here and there (I think he likes the music). It is also great if he is particularly crabby and having a hard time relaxing during bath time or in the car (he has fallen asleep to it a few times now... handy). Nice to know what weapons of distraction we have when we need them!

Gavin is such an absolute joy (even when he is a tired, whiny, miserable teething mess)! It is amazing to see how he has grown in the past 9 months. He continues to amazing me every day with all he does. I enjoy all of his smiles, hugs, kisses and laughing every day! He is an amazing little boy and I am so proud he is ours!

Home Sweet Home!

We had a great visit, but it certainly is nice to be back at home! It is nice that Gavin has returned to his regular napping and night sleeping (he didn't nap all that well and he had been waking a lot at night when we were away) and he even has some new tricks that he has perfected since we got home.

Sunday we relaxed and enjoyed our last day of Scott's vacation. Scott got the grass cut and the Terrain washed while Gavin and I got his pool out, not as much fun as the big pool, but better than nothing!

Lounging in the pool!



Monday we returned to our normal routine. Gavin was really sad to see Scott have to leave for work, after a week and a half of spending the day with him, he wasn't happy.

Gavin and I have still managed to have lots of fun this week. We went to the grocery store, where everyone oohs and ahhs over him. We went to visit Lisa, Rich and Elena. He had lots of fun chasing, grabbing, tackling and wrestling with Rich! He is also completely fascinated with Elena, he just stares at her trying to figure her out. He is not used to seeing babies smaller than him. He is only used to seeing bigger kids and adults so I think he is not sure what to make of her yet.

Gavin has also decided to start moving a lot more. He is a cruising machine, scooting and crawling after toys, cords, anything exciting (and he is FAST!) and riding Lightening McQueen to get into even more trouble! It is amazing how quickly he has put together the pieces of how to move around like he is. He has also started letting go when he is standing! He has let go and stood for several seconds before he either has to grab hold again or falls on his butt. He has been trying to stand up independently (not using furniture, toy, person to pull up to stand) ever since he started pulling up and he is getting much closer to making that happen too!


It is so much fun to see him figure all these things out! He is always so excited and proud of himself (and I, of course, show approval and encourage him to indicate how well he is doing) and he seems to enjoy his toys so much more! He plays "fetch" with himself by throwing the rings from his ring stacker and then chasing after them. It is really cute! It is awesome he is learning, growing and moving around but I can't believe he is already at this point! Aside from the fact that I can't get anything done while he is awake because the second I turn my back or leave the room he is off to find something he shouldn't be getting into, it just means he is always so busy. He is constantly moving and entertaining himself or demanding you help him to entertain himself (i.e. I become a jungle gym for him to climb around on). Oh well, as much as I have loved every stage and miss when he was smaller, I do really love where he currently is because he is so much more fun now. So, I will continue to sit back and enjoy every minute of him!

Pittsburgh, PA!

Our week in Pittsburgh was great! It was so nice to see everyone and get a chance to relax as a family. It was a very laid back week, which was really nice. We were able to visit family, spend time outside and at the pool and just enjoy the week together!

Our drive to Pittsburgh was significantly better than our previous long car trips. Gavin did really well playing with all his toys and even took a long nap! We picked out a few new toys and books to pull out during the drive to help keep him entertained. A xylophone, see and say, ring stacker, 100 baby first words and some Berenstain Bears books (some of my favorites from when I was a kid). He seemed to like them and enjoyed having new items to chew on.



We enjoyed visiting with Mike, Teri, Matthew and Erin the first few days we were there. They also had made the trip home for 4th of July. Once Gavin warmed up (thankfully there was only a little bit of screaming and crying at the unfamiliar people), he loved having Matthew and Erin around.

We spent out first full day outside, letting Gavin acclimate to the new surrounds by checking out (pulling up and eating) the grass and watching all the cars and trucks drive by. He loved all the traffic. Anytime we were out front or in the breezeway, he was distracted by all the traffic. Scott got the Terrain washed while Gavin and I hung out in the grass. Erin even joined us for a bit.




We also had to get Gavin in the pool! We have been looking forward to this for a long time. He loves his little pool and baths, so we were really hoping that he would like (if not love) the big pool. We got his floats blown up, covered him in sunblock and got him dressed (quite the undertaking for someone that hates when I put sunblock on him and hates getting dressed and undressed). At first, he wasn't quite sure what to make of the float and the pool. He stared at everything, taking it all in and then it seemed to all click and he understood what to do... lots of kicking and splashing! We had so much fun pushing him around, throwing him in the air with his legs landing in the water, splashing and dancing around!


4th of July we spent more time in the pool and got to hang out with Lori, Paul, Tyler and Jake as well! Gavin was thrilled to have more kids around to play with. They did a great job entertaining Gavin, giving Scott and I a little break. Gavin loved watching all the bigger kids play some soccer. He was giggling away when they were practicing using their head to hit the soccer ball. I am sure as soon as he can manage, he will be in on the action as well!


We had a great BBQ 4th of July night, lots of great food, including the best (seedless) watermelon I have ever had! (It was so good, we brought one home with us and it is almost gone!) Then the fun ended for Gavin because it was time for bath and bed. Thankfully he went down easily because even though I didn't want to venture off too far (between needing to try to remind kids to try to keep the noise level to a minimum and also just wanting to be close enough to be able to hear him if he did wake up) I did want to visit with everyone! The kids had lots of fun with sparklers in anticipation of the big fireworks to come when the sun was fully set. The big fireworks were absolutely awesome! (Gavin slept through the entire thing, even though you could hear them loud and clear in the house.) The fun was put to an end early because of the neighbors horses not being able to handle the noise, but it was certainly fun and pretty while it lasted!

The rest of the week was pretty relaxed. We spent a lot of time in the pool, ran a few errands, Gavin road around the house on Lightening McQueen and practiced his cruising and scooting, relaxed around the house and ate a lot of really good food!

Sitting with Pappy Hank...



Lunch at Panera, yummy!


So proud of the Gavin Tornado that he caused!


Breakfast time!



See ya later!

Been A While...

I have a lot of fun things to update on from the last two weeks. I am going to do this in a few pieces so I can make sure to include all the fun because there was definitely a lot of fun!

Two weeks ago, Gavin and I spent most of the week preparing for our family trip to Pittsburgh, PA to visit Scott's family. We did all our laundry (so we would have everything we needed for our trip), cleaned the house (nothing worse than coming home after a long trip and car ride to unpacking and a house that needs to be cleaned) and prepared all our entertainment and snacks. It was a pretty busy week but we managed to fit in some play time as well! Gavin decided that since he has mastered rolling, sitting up and scooting around that it would be fun to absolutely demolish his play area we have set up in the living room...


It literally took him minutes to tear through all his toys, rip up the bottom row of foam tile puzzle pieces and pull over his play gym. He then rode Lightening McQueen through his path of destruction. It was hilarious. He was so proud of himself. Needless to say, it took me a lot longer than usual to pick up after he was in bed for the night!