Introducing Dane Oliver McClements!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at 9:49 pm Dane Oliver McClements joined our family! He weighed in at 8 pounds 12 ounces and 21.5 inches long. He looks a lot like Gavin but is already showing how different he is!

 

We are all doing well. I am enjoying the rest and snuggle time with Dane during my short hospital stay (we go home tomorrow (Friday) morning) but I am looking forward to getting home and having time with Gavin. This is the longest I have ever been away from him so that makes it a bit harder. He is very well taken care of between Scott being home and my Mom taking care of him when Scott needs to be at the hospital with me. That makes it a bit easier to be away, even though it is still hard.

Gavin's first meeting with Dane went far better than I ever could have hoped. I didn't really know what to expect but I had done some reading on tips when introducing a new baby to try to make the transition a bit easier so I was hoping that trying a few things like not holding the baby when your older child(ren) come in (so they don't think they have been replaced), making sure to actively involve your older child(ren) with helping out where possible (get diapers and wipes, bring over toys/books, helping pick out clothes and blankets, etc.), and still giving as much one on one time as possible. A lot of those we won't test out until I go home but the first time Gavin saw Dane he had a huge smile on his face! It was the cutest and sweetest smile I have ever seen. I don't know if he fully understands what this all means yet but for now he has zero problems with Dane. He was giving Dane hugs and kisses and helping to hold him.
He was even pretty good in the room in general. He explored everything (including all the outlets and buttons available) but I was expecting it to be much worse. I was expecting his visit to only last a few minutes and him having to be carried to the car throwing a tantrum. I was very happy to be wrong about that!

Now I get to enjoy/endure one more night in the hospital. It is nice to relax but I do look forward to my bed and not being woken up every hour or so by various nurses and other hospital staff coming in for me or to take care of something in the room. Although, at least I have my own room, it would be much harder if I had to share a room and then we both had people coming and going. Yay for private rooms!

Soaking Up Fall!

Gavin and I have been spending time outside at home again. Although I hate the thought of finding a tick on him, with the weather being so nice and getting closer to my due date (which will mean significantly less time outside for him), we have been outside as much as possible. We still occasionally go to the park for the playground, we haven't been doing that as often because there were fewer and fewer other kids there with school being back in session. That meant Gavin quickly was bored and wandering off looking for trouble.

So, Gavin and I have been going for walks through the neighborhood and over to Valkill. I let him pick what direction we go and he almost always chooses to go the long way to Valkill and then wants to go through Valkill. We always stop at the bridge so he can throw rocks in the water (saying that is a favorite activity is an understatement, he asks to do it all the time). Gavin has also taken to wandering the woods behind our house. He frequently asks for the leaf blower to be pulled out and started. He used to run screaming (even after he kept insisting he wanted it started) but now he likes to help clear off the deck and driveway or blow leaves back into the woods.

We have been having a lot of fun and it has been great that the weather has been so nice. It has been awesome to watch the leaves change and fall. Gavin loves running through the yard when it is covered in leaves and it is fun to show him all the different shapes and colors they come in. I will be sad when it is too cold to be outside and after the baby is born because we will be stuck inside for most of the next few months until it starts to warm up in the spring. Until then, we continue to make the most of the beautiful weather!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snow!

We got some snow today! Although it didn't really amount to much, it did accumulate a bit on the ground so Gavin and I went out to play in it after we got home from our weekly grocery store trip.
 

Gavin was so excited and loved being out in the snow. It had just started to snow while we were at the store so he loved walking to the car in it and couldn't wait to get home and get outside. Unfortunately, I haven't picked out snow pants or boots yet but his coat and hat from last year still fit perfectly and I had already picked out mittens for him. So I bundled him up and just put him in his sneakers since it wasn't that much snow. He seemed to be plenty warm while he drove his truck through the snow and then stomped and ran through the snow in the yard and on the deck. It was so much fun to watch.

It started getting too dark and we had to head in to make dinner but it was a lot of fun while we were out there, I was so glad to have a little snow before the baby is born so I could be outside with Gavin because after the baby is born it is unlikely that I will be able to be out with him. I can't wait to get more snow and watch Gavin enjoy it. He loved the little bit we just got so I imagine he will love when (if) we get enough to really play outside making snowmen and sledding!

 

 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Gavin and I had a fun day at home and outside driving his truck around the yard. I was so excited to get him dressed up and out trick or treating! We made dinner, ate, and (impatiently) waited for Scott to get home from work so we could head out to a few houses in the neighborhood. Gavin and I watched out the window as some kids started gathering and walking around. We only had one trick or treater before Scott got home, Gavin was really excited. When Scott got home, we bundled up (Gavin was already dressed and since his costume was a warm fuzzy monkey, we didn't need to put his coat on, we just put some mittens on and headed out to our friends house so they could see Gavin.

 

 

Gavin loved walking around, seeing the other kids walking around (he got lots of oh, look how cute, comments), and going up to doors to ask for candy. We only went to 5 houses but those houses all gave Gavin several pieces, he was so excited!

When we got home, Gavin dumped out his pumpkin to check out what he had gotten. He was even more excited because we let him eat a few pieces as we handed out candy to trick or treaters. 

 

He kept raiding the bucket of candy we were handing out to trick or treaters.

 

Gavin loved helping to hand out the candy.

He was really upset when we were done for the night because we were nearing bedtime. I think he wants every day to be Halloween now. It was a really fun day and evening!

JUMP!!

Ever since Gavin "discovered" jumping a few months ago, he hasn't stopped looking for new ways to jump on, over, and off of everything. He started by just jumping in the air from the ground. This was so much fun he thought jumping off things would be fun. He started jumping off of the footstools, the bay window (to us), steps, and the bed. He loves when we are either making beds or changing sheets and there is a pile of sheets and blankets for him to jump into.

His most recent discovery of jumping fun is from a bookcase in our bedroom onto the bed. 

As you can see, he is crazy and gets some serious air jumping onto the bed. He is really good about waiting for us to be there next to the bed to avoid him bouncing off, which he has almost done a few times when he does flips as he lands. He loves it and is always smiling and laughing as he jumps and then climbs back up to jump again. It is a great way for him to burn off some energy on days we are stuck inside as well! We run around and chase each other, "rum" (pretend we are cars/trucks and run around the house), play hide and seek, and run Lightning McQueen or other cars around the house, but jumping is Gavin's favorite!

New Ride!

Gavin has a fancy new truck to cruise around the yard in!

After much debating about what to do for Gavin for his birthday, I took him to Toys R Us to see if there was anything that caught my eye and Gavin's interest that would be worth considering as his present. We didn't actually stop in the Power Wheels section, but Gavin freaked out as we went by and desperately wanted to stop and get out of the cart to play. I was able to distract him with looking at some other toys in the next section but I knew that I needed to reconsider my position on Power Wheels and at least look into what our options were.

We decided to go back together to look at what Toys R Us had and let Gavin try a few out to see if it was even possible to find something in a reasonable price range and size. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety available. I thought the only options were the small "starter" ones that are far too small for Gavin or the large, $400 plus, size that seated two kids. I didn't know there was an in between size that would fit Gavin! Toys R Us didn't have many of the in between size so we took to the internet to see what was available from different brands in that size to get an idea of the price to decide if it was worth it. Scott found the perfect vehicle! A truck that was the perfect size and a very reasonable price! So, after a little bit of research to be sure that was our best option and we were getting the best price, we ordered it from Amazon. Unfortunately, although it qualifies for Amazon prime shipping (we are so spoiled by this), it took about 4 extra days of "processing" before they ship it out. That meant there was no way it would be here by his birthday. Huge bummer.

It came last night and it was totally worth the wait! Scott met the UPS delivery guy outside to have him bring it to the garage. We didn't want Gavin to see it so I distracted him and he didn't even notice Scott was gone for a few minutes and that something was delivered. Scott took care of putting it together and getting the battery on the charger after Gavin went to bed. Scott had planned to come home from work a little early so that we could unveil the truck to Gavin. We knew it would be a nightmare if Gavin had access to the truck before it was ready. He wouldn't understand he had to wait so it was much better to have him see it for the first time when it was all ready to be used. It didn't take Scott very long to put it together but the battery has to fully charge before it can be used for the first time (18 hours), so coming home a little early from work put us at a perfect time to try it out for the first time!

Scott went downstairs to take the truck outside before I brought Gavin down. Gavin just thought we were going outside to play so he was excited and headed straight for the garage door where Scott was waiting with the video camera (I had the Canon to take pictures of his reaction).

He was really excited! He saw it and he immediately climbed in to check it out. We tried to show him what to do but he pretty much figured it out what it does on his own right away. He still needs to figure out the whole steering concept, so we had to help direct him and keep him from running into trees, the house, and walls. He did really well and would often stop to just check out his truck. He could decide whether he wanted to drive or check it out more. It was really cute. We didn't know how long the battery would last, especially with driving through the grass, but he had a good 45 minutes of pretty much constant driving. It probably would have gone even longer if it had only been driven on pavement because while it was perfectly capable of driving through the yard, it was clearly using more power to do so.

The truck was absolutely a huge hit! I am so glad that I caved and gave Scott's idea some real consideration. I can't wait to go back outside for Gavin to spend more time enjoying his truck!

Happy Birthday Gavin!

It is absolutely unbelievable that Gavin is 2 years old today! Although Gavin is constantly testing and pushing his limits, he is a lot of fun and can be so sweet. It has been amazing to watch him learn and grow. I really enjoy being able to communicate more with him each day (even though he frequently chooses not to listen). He makes life crazy but still fun for us.

Some things that Gavin loves:
·Tractors, trucks, cars (pretty much any vehicle)
·Climbing, jumping and running (everywhere)
·Helping with anything we are doing
·Lightening McQueen
·Being outside and exploring
·Being around other kids

We had a somewhat typical day today. It was raining (and it rained all day long) and I knew the forecast was for a really rainy day so I had planned that we would go to the museum after his nap. We did what few things needed to be done around the house in the morning and played with various toys before his nap. Once he was down for his nap I quickly did everything I could for dinner so we could maximize our time at the museum and not have to rush home. Then I took a quick shower so I could get ready to go. Unfortunately, Gavin woke up early and quite unhappy. Nothing could shake the scream fest. Although this does happen from time to time it is pretty rare and I never know how long it will last or what will snap him out of it.

 
Once he calmed down (about an hour later), I was able to get him dressed and we headed to the museum. I thought since the weather was bad and he likes it there it would be a good place to spend a few hours playing for his birthday. It was also fun for me because his birthday last year was the first time we had gone.

We had a lot of fun playing and Gavin enjoyed the few other kids that were there as well. Since Gavin's present wasn't here yet, he didn't have anything to really open but we did have a dinner with things he likes, chicken salad sandwiches, pasta salad, and peas. It was a fun and relaxing evening together! Now we just need his present to arrive!