15 Month Well Toddler Check Up!

We had Gavin's 15 month check up today. It was certainly interesting. It started off like normal. We checked in, Gavin played with toys and we waited to be called back. We were called back and as soon as Gavin saw the exam room he had a total meltdown. Screaming, crying, death grip meltdown. Awesome. We then found out that apparently there were two Gavin's in the waiting room (crazy) but since we were back there already, she took Gavin's measurements and then moved us to a different exam room. 

Weight: 28.5 (90th percentile)
Height: 33 inches (93rd percentile)

I then had a little time to try to calm Gavin down while we waited for the doctor. He sat on the table, shoving food in his mouth while still crying and playing with some cars. It was interesting. He finally calmed down and was having fun with his toys and exploring the room until the doctor came in. Another meltdown ensued. Double awesome.

He calmed down but only if I was holding him, so I held him while I told the doctor what he had been up to the last couple of months (eating, sleeping, talking, etc). Gavin was fine, quiet (which is strange for someone that rarely stops "talking" most days) and clinging to me for dear life. He finally was willing to get down and play a bit. It was a welcome break for my arm as well as a nice way for his doctor to see him in action. This went well until she got too close. I ended up having to hold him, crying, while she did a quick once over to be sure that everything was good. Then the bad news came. There were three shots he needed. Awful!

So, I did everything I could to get us ready to go while we waited for the nurse to come in with the shots. Gavin was not happy because he just wanted to open the door and bolt. I got him half dressed (since he gets shots in his arms now I can get him all ready to go except for his shirt and coat) and packed up all his toys and snacks. Another meltdown happened as soon as the nurse came in and just continued to escalate as she gave him the shots. It was terrible. I felt so bad because of how upset he was but it was over fairly quickly.

Despite the many meltdowns, it was a good appointment. Everything looks good and he is on track with what he should be doing at this age. Although I didn't have any concerns about Gavin's development, it is still nice to hear that he is doing well according to where he should be.

We don't go back until 18 months. It is nice that his appointments are a bit farther apart now, especially given his new found fear/hatred of the doctor's office. I don't think I am lucky enough that he would have gotten over this by his next appointment but I certainly hope that it isn't too far down the road!

New Friends!

Gavin and I have joined a new playgroup to make some more friends in the area and to have more activities to be involved in! We love the playgroup at the museum but that is only once a week and for 5 weeks at a time and then a month off before the next session starts. So, I started looking for something close by.

I had looked a while back and didn't really find anything that seemed like it would be a good fit that was close enough. A minimum of a 45 minute drive (and likely longer) on a regular basis just wasn't appealing. Especially, when you have a child that hates the car. I figured since it had been a while, it was worth another look to see if there was anything that was either new since I last looked or maybe a possibility now that Gavin didn't scream/cry the entire time he was in the car.

I saw all the ones that were too far and the ones that were a bit closer but not really a good fit for Gavin and I. Then I came across one that was worth checking out. It is in a town that is about 25-30 minutes away but that is a totally manageable drive. I figured it was worth checking out. Worst case, if we didn't like it, we could always back out of the group and keep searching.

I liked that this group is very active and had a lot of mom's from all over the area. They have activities almost every day that you can attend. You just RSVP and attend the ones you want. Some are at people's houses and some are at businesses in the area. They try to focus on no cost and low cost activities, which is awesome!

Gavin and I have been to several play dates already and have had a great time at each one! He loves playing with the other kids and I love having another mom to chat with and relate to. I haven't taken any pictures yet (I didn't want to be the crazy newb with a giant camera stuck to her face at the play dates) but I will be taking some that I will share soon!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles!

Gavin and I have a great time playing with the trains he got for Christmas. He pulls out the basket that has all of the tracks and trains in it and starts pulling them out for me to build with. I build various configurations for him to push trains around on. His favorite part is the bridge. He loves to push trains around but also try out his other cars and trucks. He has to pull them all out to see what he likes best. He even pulls out his larger vehicles like his dune buggy and tractor to try out on the train tracks.

Just two of the configurations that we have put together. We have tried lots of different ways with no dead ends, lots of dead ends, crazy loops, etc. It is a lot of fun. I am glad that Gavin likes them and I look forward to him picking out some more pieces to add to his collection!

Gavin's DVD Player...

Several months ago, we let Gavin claim the DVD changer on the entertainment center as a toy. It had stopped working and we hadn't taken the time to see if it could be fixed or just get rid of it because we already had the Blu Ray player (and used that anytime we wanted to watch a movie). We hoped that this would deter him from touching everything else. It sort of worked. He enjoyed playing with it, opening and closing the tray, turning it on and off and watching the tray spin as he "disc skipped". Unfortunately, he would eventually get bored and attempt to touch everything else.

In the last two months he has been exploring what other ways the DVD player can be fun. It started with placing a weeble on the tray and then pressing the close button. He loved to watch the weeble be pushed off and fall. He then moved on to wanting actual discs. I found a few that he could have because they were either already ruined, blank or otherwise worthless. He loved this! It was great, until he managed to get a disc stuck and jammed the DVD player and rendered it useless.

We unplugged it so Scott could take a look and see if we could get it open and fix it for Gavin. Thankfully, the top does come up and we were able to get out the two discs that were stuck. It took a bit of work because they were really stuck! After we got it back together and plugged in, Gavin went right to work and even had a partner because Scott was helping him try all kinds of new things. Cars, balls, foam pieces, alphabet/number magnets, and pretty much anything that they could get their hands on. The various cars and balls they tried were the favorite. Scott managed to get a foam piece stuck pretty quickly because they were small enough to just be swept in and fall through and never come back. We opened it up again to take it out before we put it away.


Scott had planted all kinds of ideas in Gavin's head of things to try with his newly fixed DVD player. This meant he quickly had it jammed to the point of needing to be fixed again. I opened it up and was surprised at what was in there!

He had a DVD that he got a hold of stuck, a magnet letter, a magnet number and an ornament that he had swiped from the tree! Little troublemaker! No wonder the tray was stuck and refusing to fully close again! I pulled everything out and it is back in working order for Gavin. I can't wait to see what he tries out next!

Where is the snow?!

We had some unseasonably warm weather this weekend! We took advantage of it and let Gavin spend a little bit of time out on the deck and

Acting crazy (gnawing on a carrot)...

Running to Scott's truck (a favorite place to play).

Pushing around his own truck!

It was nice to spend a little time outside and not have to be bundled up. Gavin loved running around and we even took a short walk down the road because Gavin really wanted to explore some more. I am sure he will be really happy when the weather really warms up and we can spend more time outside!

New "Toys"...

I have not gotten around to packing the suitcase away after our trip. Gavin has decided to lay claim to it as a new toy. It started with him pushing/pulling it around the house. It has now progressed to him wanting to ride it around. So, we often comply by pushing him around the house because it makes him so happy.

Gavin also laid claim to some wrapping paper that he swiped from the stash that had not made it back to storage yet.

He was very excited about the roll and all the paper that he could shred and tromp through. He is such a silly little boy! He often makes us wonder why we bother search for toys to buy because he often loves the non toys more.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2012! I am so excited for everything in store for us this year! 2011 was a great year. Watching Gavin go from a tiny newborn to the walking, talking, crazy toddler he is now! We plan to attend more playgroups, story times (at the library), make some new friends, play in the snow (we are hoping we have a good snowstorm soon), go to the park, go on walks, go swimming, explore and so much more! I look forward to all we have awaiting us this year as a family! Happy New Year!