Urgent Care...

We had our first visit to Urgent Care in a bit of a rush last night. Thankfully, it turned out to be unnecessary but I am still glad we went in.

During Gavin's bath he slipped when he was trying to have his face wiped after having splashed water in it and bumped his face. He was obviously upset but not seemingly more than he would normally be from getting hurt. I got him to stop burying his face in Scott's shoulder so I could take a quick look and try to figure out what he hit and see if he would have yet another bump and bruise (frequent occurrences around here). That's when I saw the blood and seemingly lots of it. I grabbed a damp wash cloth to try to get the bleeding under control to figure out where it was coming from. I knew that head and mouth cuts often bleed a lot even if they are tiny and no big deal. We have had a few bleeding cuts from Gavin's mouth and face and there was a lot of blood but we were able to quickly determine where the blood came from and that a doctor visit was not needed. 

Once we figured out where the blood was coming from (below his lip), we then had to try to figure out how deeply it was cut. That was the hard part. There was so much blood, it was hard to tell how deep it was and it seriously looked like he had bitten through his lip. I quickly looked up the number for our doctor's office to find out when their urgent care closed. They were closing in about 20 minutes, at 8pm. We decided to quickly grab a diaper and clothes for Gavin and get in the car and visit urgent care. We are about 10 minutes away so it was worth the drive in, just in case stitches were needed. If nothing else, it was worth it to avoid a potential trip to the ER. We arrived with about two minutes to spare. There was no one else there so we were taken right back to have Gavin looked at. He was so good about it. By this time the bleeding had basically stopped and he was probably wondering what in the world we were doing visiting a doctor.

Thankfully our visit was unnecessary because stitches were not needed. The doctor cleaned up the cut, put some antibacterial ointment on it and said to keep it as clean and covered as we could given the location. It was even in a location that would aid in the healing because it forced the cut closed so that worked in our favor for quicker healing.

After a bit of a stressful evening, we snuggled together on the couch and watched a little of Cars 2 before Gavin passed out for the night. Although our visit to urgent care wasn't really needed, I am still glad we went to be sure that it wasn't more serious and avoided a trip to the ER. The urgent care at our doctors office is far more convenient because they have all of our records already, so no paperwork. It also is much faster and 100% covered by insurance. Although I hope we don't need to go in again anytime soon, I am glad we have the option there for us!

Creepy, Gross, and Just Plain Disturbing!

Maybe a bit dramatic, but this is what Gavin and I came across while playing outside this afternoon. Gavin was amused and hissed at it and repeated my constant ramblings of how gross and nasty it was. Needless to say I was freaked out but happy I saw it go next door as I watched from the deck (all while hoping it couldn't get to us).

On a good note, with Gavin's help of course, was able to fix an issue with one of the wheels on his truck. Gavin was excited to have tools to "fix" his truck with. He had a great time!

Toddlers are Fun!

I really do enjoy having a toddler most days. Gavin is a lot of fun and can be so sweet when he asks for hugs and kisses. However he is often quite a challenge these days. As he learns and grows he becomes more fun and more opinionated on everything. There are some areas this isn't much of a surprise since he has always been one to defy what most people believe is normal baby and toddler behavior but a few have caught me by surprise because they happened earlier than I thought.

Gavin certainly enjoys playing with his toys more and wants you to sit and play with him. This is somewhat recent because he often didn't care whether you were playing or just sitting there with him before. This makes setting up and playing with his trains a lot more fun. He even puts tracks together himself now. He still asks for help or for us to fix something if it comes apart but his interest level has certainly changed drastically. 

He now likes to "pretend" things happen more. He has used anything and everything as a phone and had conversations for quite a while but he now likes to make things crash. For the most part this isn't a problem, they are his toys so if he wants to crash them, fine. This usually ends up with a toy (or several) being taken away and a massive tantrum on Gavin's part (and depending on the day an adult "tantrum" as well) when he gets too carried away. I figured tantrums would become more frequent but man, Gavin is an expert tantrum-er and he makes tantrums I have seen other kids throw look like amateur hour. I am afraid for what the next few years hold because supposedly it gets worse before it gets better. Gavin has a lot of freedom around the house. The few areas (bathroom, downstairs, and Scott's radio room) are gated or otherwise blocked. His toys (except for those taken away) he has easy access to, he is allowed to climb on a lot of things (couch, bay window, and beds), and we are always looking for new fun ways to enjoy his toys.

It can certainly be tough as he explores his world and tries things out and has to learn what is ok and not, but he is such a curious little boy, it makes it fun to watch him learn and grow! Even though we can't have fun conversations with Gavin yet, it is nice (and fun) to be able to communicate with him more than before. He understands so much and has for a long time, it is nice that he is able to speak more and make it easier to help him when needed and help him understand his limits and boundaries. It should be interesting to see where this all leads as he grows and especially when he has a sibling in just a couple short months!

Kids Kingdom!

Gavin and I visited a new play place today. I have heard from several people that it was a nice big place and a lot of fun do I thought I was time for us to check it out. I am working on formulating our possible strategies for this winter since we will not be able to spend the same time outside due to colder weather, possible snow (maybe we will actually have snow this year), and a newborn to work around. I want to have as many get out of the house before we go crazy options as possible.

Gavin wasn't interested in getting into either of the ball pits until he saw some other kids playing. He loved watching them and finally wanted in and started to really get into and enjoy it! (Sorry for the crappy pictures, I only had my phone with me to take pictures and it really wasn't able to capture anything without making a mostly blurry mess... I will need to bring the Canon to get some good pictures sometime when Scott can come as well.)








Gavin loved the sand box area. It was huge and had a ton of great toys in it! This was the most interest I have seen him take in sand and not throw it and dump it out of the play area, which is what he mostly tries to do at the museum's sand box.






This will definitely be added to our list. Gavin had a blast. We were there for 2 hours and if we hadn't needed to leave I'm sure he would have gladly stayed for 2 more hours, or even more! I was really glad I had done all the prep work (and even had part of it in the oven set up to start baking before we got home) for dinner that morning while Gavin played and napped so we could stay as long as possible. I can't wait to go when Scott can go so we can get some better pictures and have even more time to play!

Changes...

After two incidents of pulling ticks off of Gavin, I mostly refuse to go outside at home now. I know that, unfortunately, in this area that will likely always be something we have to contend with but when one incident was on a day we hadn't even been outside and the other we had not even spent much more than an hour outside and it was already working on attaching itself by the time we came in, I am done for now.

To replace our time outside at home I have been working really hard to arrange our schedule each day so we can get out and have fun things to do and for Gavin to get to run around. There is an added bonus of Gavin getting to play with other kids even more often and we have even made some new friends! To maximize our time out (usually after Gavin has napped) I have been being really good about meal planning each week (which I have been doing for a long time but I had been slacking some in the last few months), doing as much prep work for dinner as I can in the morning when Gavin is playing on his own or napping, Gavin has been better about helping pick up all his toys before he naps, and I make his lunch and have that and snacks and our water packed up before he wakes up so if he doesn't want to eat right away we just take it for him to eat while we are gone. Most days this works out really well and we get at least 2-3 hours to play wherever we go, depending on how long he naps. It has been fun.

We have been to the museum several times (Gavin still loves it!), the playground, the library, and run our weekly errands (Gavin even enjoys these too). We have a few places we know about from last winter that we will check out from time to time when the weather makes it more difficult to be outside but they are a bit farther away so we have been sticking closer to home to maximize our time playing while the weather allows us to be outside. It is certainly easier to not have to leave home all the time but Gavin doesn't mind because he is really enjoys seeing all the other kids when we go places to play. It also causes him to burn more energy by running around more than he does when we are outside at home. He seems to really look forward to going these places and has started asking or his shoes and going for a ride. He is often very cooperative in getting changed and out the door pretty quickly once he is up. He seems to understand that if he cooperates we get to go play with kids and have more time there.

I am hoping that we will be in a good enough routine with the changes we have made that it will not take us too long to incorporate a new baby into the mix. We probably will not be going places every day but we still need to get out at least a few times a week to prevent both Gavin and myself from going a little stir crazy. I'm sure our first outings as a group of three will be quite interesting when the time comes!

Family Visits

We had the pleasure of my sister Becky and her family visiting for the week! They stayed with our parents which allowed us lots of time together. I really enjoyed seeing how her children have grown and visiting with all of them. Gavin absolutely loved all the time with the kids and attention they gave him. They were all so good to him! They played with him, helped keep him out of trouble as he wandered around, took him outside and chased him around and kept him safe, and they were so sweet in treating him as if he were more like a younger sibling than just a cousin. I really enjoyed watching them interact as well as having some time I could sit and enjoying visiting with Becky, Matt, and my parents.

We spent several afternoons with them over the week they were here and available. We did lots of fun things inside, outside and even had a fun trip to the mall. Gavin really liked the outside time. We brought over his pool one afternoon that was hotter and set that up to play in while a slip and slide and sprinkler were set up as well. Gavin wasn't so sure about the slip and slide but after watching his cousins he gave it a try a few times and started to enjoy it more. He mostly loved watching and chasing his cousins around. He got ahold of the sprinkler and attacked anyone close enough with that. No surprise there since he loves doing that to Scott ad me at home!

Gavin enjoyed our trip to the mall. Hr rode in his stroller some but he liked it much better when he was set free and the kids kept up with him to keep him safe. He liked climbing on the ride on cars too, as long as they weren't moving. He was not impressed when we put money in to make them move. Of course no trip to the mall is complete without a stop at Sears so Gavin can test out the tractors. He really loves tractors!

Annika took some pictures for me one day and I took a few some of the other days. I will work to combine the best ones into collages once I get get my computer to cooperate. I am glad I have these pictures but I always wish I did I better job with capturing more!

Vacation!

We had a wonderful time together while Scott was on vacation the last week! It started a little early because his department had a BBQ the Thursday before 4th of July week (that Scott takes off every year) and they were given the rest of the day off. So, Scott got home in the afternoon, much earlier than a typical day and he was off Friday, so we had a little over a week together! We had a lot to do before we could pack up and head to PA because the Terrain needed its spring/summer detail job. Friday, Scott got the Terrain washed and started all his work changing oil, rotating tires (we actually have enough miles on it now that it was necessary), waxing and all the interior and under the hood detailing. It is quite a job but Scott managed to get it all done so quickly. I was thoroughly impressed. Gavin and I had some play time while Scott was working because I knew we would have at least a day and a half (possibly 2 full days) of not as much fun with doing laundry, packing and preparing our lunch for our trip.

Gavin and I spent most of our play time outside because it was really hot. We filled up his pool and has the sprinkler on while we drank lots of water and ate lots of cold fruit. It was a lot of fun. We went in to visit Scott from time to time for a break from the sun and heat. Gavin really enjoyed seeing Scott and trying to help him with all the work on the Terrain. He even was putting on lug nuts!

Scott finished all the work on the Terrain between Friday afternoon to Saturday night with the exception of a few minor detailing items that he finished up Sunday while Gavin napped and after he went to bed. It was nice because it made it a bit easier for me to get what I needed to get done because Gavin wasn't as bored as he would have been since he had Scott to help entertain him.

Despite a few minor hiccups, we were packed up and pulling out of the driveway about 10 am Monday morning. It is amazing how long it can take to get three people ready and do the last minute packing and house preparations before we can drive away.

We were shocked with how much traffic there was and the seemingly constant construction zones were making it seem like we had a painfully long drive ahead of us. When you know you have an 8 hour drive running into so many slow downs and frequently stopping, we were really fearful for what was in store for us later.

Gavin did surprisingly well. Significantly better than any other long drive we have had. He does fine around town and has for quite some time but anything over an hour or two has still been a struggle. His new toys were a huge hit for a while and then we put on some cartoons for him to relax a bit more when it was nap time and he seemed to need a little help with drifting off to sleep. He took a reasonable nap (especially since sleeping in a car is never all thy comfortable no matter what you do) and we decided to start looking for a rest stop so we could have lunch and give Gavin some time to run around and burn a little energy.

We stopped a little way outside of Carlisle, PA, which is roughly half way. I was really glad we decided to go this route for lunch instead of just stopping in Carlisle. We got a picnic table in the shade and Gavin had a great time running around. He wasn't pleased when we needed to get back on the road but at least he had enjoyed running around for about 45 minutes.

The second half of our drive was a lot of the same. Significantly more traffic than we have ever seen and lots of construction zones. Gavin did great though. He was enjoying his toys, we played some games, and watched some movies. It was great that he has started to show more interest in movies. We watched some I knew he liked and when he was bored and wanted a change of movie i let him look through and pick one out to watch next. Even as we got closer, he was still doing fine. I'm sure he would have rather been playing outside but him not screaming the whole way (or even most of it) was such a nice change!

When we arrived, Gavin was happy to get out and immediately started to check everything out. Despite all the traffic and a significantly longer stop than normal we managed to get in around 6:30 pm. Not too bad. It was still plenty light enough for Gavin to check out Pappy's cars, pool, and some of the land he was going to roam for the next 4 days.

I quickly got things unloaded and set up while Gavin was busy outside so that when they came in for dinner, bath and bed that I wouldn't have to go searching for anything.

Gavin enjoyed checking things out inside as well. We let him stay up a little bit later since he had been stuck in the car all day and was really needing and enjoying all his exploring. Unfortunately, a few minutes before we were heading to bed he managed to fall and hit the corner of his eye pretty hard. Instant bruising and bump. He calmed down pretty quickly as long as we stopped trying to put ice on it. I was very grateful it wasn't anything that ended up needing an emergency room visit since we have manage to avoid those so far and being out of town would just make it a lot more miserable experience. Once Gavin was out, I was able to keep some ice of his head for a little while and I think that really helped the bruising and bump to clear up quickly. He had a nice scrape there but nothing worse than anything he had done before.

Surprisingly, Gavin slept fine. Apparently the injury and not being at home in his bed didn't impact his sleep, at least not the first night. Yay!

After breakfast and showers we headed outside for a bit before Gavin needed a nap. He really enjoyed having so much land to roam. We went up to check out the pool and were shocked it at how warm it was. Between the hot (and often humid) weather and the new solar cover Scott's dad had, it was 95 degrees! What a surprise! Usually the weather is such that you can't spend much (if any) time in the pool. Usually even if the pool is a good temperature the air temperature makes it a bit too cool to really enjoy much time without being cold. We were really excited that it was looking like we were going to have lots of pool time!

We didn't have too much time to play and for Gavin to explore before we needed to head inside for a little lunch and for Gavin to take a nap, but it was nice to get outside for a little bit before his nap. After his nap we headed back out and Gavin really started to enjoy himself. The afternoon consisted of some fun time in the pool, including Gavin deciding to test his new favorite thing of jumping by jumping into the pool. Good thing he decided to jump in to me the first time he tried it. He loved it an immediately wanted out singe could jump in again. That was most of what we ended up doing at the poll all week. Gavin wanted to jump in, over and over again!

He also took his first ride on the tractor. He didn't show much emotion while riding but he absolutely loved it. He couldn't get enough of riding around on the tractor. It is a good thing Scott's Dad has so much property because Gavin and Scott spent a lot of time exploring it on the tractor. They did actually make some good use of that time by cutting most of the grass as well but Gavin was happy as long as he was out for a ride. It was the first thing he asked for when he woke up in the morning and he continued all day long, whenever he wasn't currently riding. To say he loved it really is an understatement!

We had a very nice and relaxing rest of the week. We enjoyed a lot of pool time because the weather was so hot and Gavin enjoyed lots of tractor rides. We had lots of awesome food that Scott's Dad cooked for us. I was even pleasantly surprised that Gavin was mostly eating well. You never know with him so it was nice he was willing to eat a fair amount (at least compared to what he often does when we are not home). Although Gavin didn't sleep as well as I would have liked (especially since he has been sleeping so well the last month), it also wasn't as bad as the last time.

We saw Lori and her family a bit the last two days we were there and had a lot of fun with them. Gavin loved having Tyler and Jake to play with. He really enjoyed watching and following them around. Tyler and Jake were so good with Gavin as well. They were helping him and showing him how to do things. I wish we were able to see more of Gavin's cousins, he always has such a good time and they are all so good to him!

We had decided to head home Saturday so we had one day to unpack and relax before we settled back into our normal routine and Scott went back to work. We were hopeful Gavin would do half as well as he did on the way out. We planned to be on the road at roughly the same time (10) since that gives us about an hour and a half before Gavin would normally nap. We let him run around outside and he took one last tractor ride while I finished packing our bags and getting the car loaded.

Overall the drive was fine but the first couple hours were a but rough. Gavin had not slept well the last two nights, which meant I had not gotten much sleep either. He did fine for a little but but when it came time for his nap, he was a crabby mess. He was fighting it hard and so we had a miserable time for at least 30 minutes while he protested everything. Toys, snacks, movies, books, everything we tried. He did finally pass out but it was a rough unhappy ride getting to that point. He didn't really sleep long enough but at that point something was better than nothing. We were ready to stop at the rest area for lunch not too long after he woke up so that was great timing. Unfortunately, it was so hot that we weren't sure how long we could really stop. We saw a high of 107 while we were on the road and it wasn't much less than that when we arrived. Unlike when it was 97 on our way out, thee was no breeze, even in the shade. We ate our lunch, let Gavin run a little, used the rest rooms and then packed up and headed out. Gavin wasn't pleased but it was just too hot to be outside running around like that. Despite his initial protest in getting back in the car he did fine the rest of the drive. We had fun reading, playing, watched some movies and before we knew it, we were home.

Gavin was clearly happy to be out of the car. He was running around and pulling out all the toys we didn't bing with us, checking them out as if he were telling them he missed them. It was really cute. We were all happy to be off the road but Scott and I were certainly a little sad because we knew there was only one more day of vacation before we returned to our day to day activities. We also knew it would be a while before we had another vacation since the next time Scott will likely be taking time off is in November after the baby is born. Although we are looking forward to that because he is given two weeks of paternity leave and plans to take another week of vacation like he did when Gavin was born, that will be a busy time and is several months away. Then he will have time off at Christmas but that is even farther away! Usually Scott's vacation is better spread out but that just didn't work this year. It sure will be nice in November and December when he is around so much though!

(Pictures to follow once I get a chance to make my computer cooperate with the camera!)