Starting Solids!

We started a little bit earlier than we were anticipating (5.5 months), but we couldn't delay it any more! He was more than ready. It had gotten to the point that he was so mad whenever we were eating just because he wasn't eating, as well. Since he's sitting unassisted and has excellent small motor control, we just went for it. We gave him a banana, just like we did with Jeffrey. I remember the huge mess and the non-eating that occurred with Jeffrey. Not so much with Gavin. He picked it up like no big deal and just started nomming on it. Same with avocado. It's still a little messy, let's be real. You can tell that he was ready for some real food, though.

It makes me sad that I'm not the sole provider for him anymore, but he still needs me :) I just cannot believe how big my little guy is getting.

Open House

Last week, Jeffrey's school had their Open House. I was so excited to go and talk to his teachers and see how he's really doing. Turns out that he's doing amazing! His teachers love him and think he's a great addition to the class. They were impressed that, even though he's only there twice a week, he's a leader in the class while he's there. All of the other kids love to go and see what he's doing. Apparently, he always gets to sit on one of his teacher's laps during story time. Nobody else even questions it; it's "Jeffrey's spot." I was happy to hear that he talks just as much there as he does at home since that shows that he's happy and comfortable there. He's even starting to stop protesting nap time (after a LOT of discussion on our end that, even if he doesn't want to nap, some of his friends might!). He tends to be a trouble maker at lunch time, though, since he's the class clown.

I left just beaming about my little boy. I'm so proud of him all the time, and it's nice to hear such wonderful things about him from his teachers. They raved about how smart he is and all that he knows. They were most impressed that he knows what days he goes to school. He's also into counting/adding and spotting differences (especially gender differences, sigh). His knowledge of tractors is considered top notch in his class, and his best friend in his class, Finn, is the all-knowing student about dinosaurs. They like talking to each other about their specialties, which I think would be so adorable to see.

I'm so happy we decided to send him to MDO! He's loving it, and so am I.

We had a good run!

We're dealing with our first childhood illness. Yes, that's right. Jeffrey has never been sick before. I'm not really sure this even qualifies too much, as he just has a fever. He's had a runny nose for a few days, but, other than the fever, he's acting relatively normal. He's not quite as active and has moments that he just wants to lay on the couch, but he doesn't feel bad. When I picked him up from MDO yesterday, he was the worst- shivering pretty hardcore and flushed. Tylenol brought it down quickly. Today, it's been fluctuating between 100-102 depending on his activity level, but he hasn't needed any Tylenol at all. I'm hoping it's gone today, so we can still enjoy some of our activities this weekend. We're already missing a Halloween party today :( The fact that he's acting so normal makes that harder than if he actually felt sick. Darn virus.

After seeing Jeffrey get this little virus, we're pretty sure that it's what must have been wrong with Gavin a few days ago. He had a "fever" of 99 one night, but that was it. After a few rough nights, he's back to normal. Since Jeffrey isn't breastfeeding, I assume it's why it's hitting him a little harder. He's still got one pretty tough immune system, though!

So tired.

Last night was rough. It felt like we had Jeffrey as a little baby again. Yawn.

There was a lot going into last night, so it's not surprising how it all went down. First off, both boys have runny noses. We have Gavin's mattress on an incline, but it still bothers him. He's quite the crazy mover at night and doesn't always stay the right direction! This also leads to him getting caught up against the side of the crib quite a bit, but he goes back to sleep easily after you move him when that happens. A major issue is that he's not swaddles anymore. I miss the Miracle Blanket. Sadly, my chunk is too tall for it now. His knees were always showing, so it was really easy for him to break out. Plus, he rolls all over the place now. No swaddle and a runny nose/cold together have been having him wake up more than usual the last week or so, but last night? A fever added on. Yikes. It was just a slight fever, so I'm thinking we may be entering the lovely world of teething. He's doing much better today after a good nap and a good poop. Plus, he has on his amber necklace. He's napping again now, so I hope he's even happier. I'm sure he's exhausted since he didn't sleep much, either.

Even though it will be so sad to say good-bye to his sweet gummy smile, I hope it is teething and not an indicator of any illness. Jeffrey slept in until 10am (!), but I'm thinking that's because Gavin woke him up last night. Let's hope. We've evaded illness up until this point, and I'd like to keep my record!

Road Trip 2012

Almost a month ago, we packed up the Subaru and headed the 1,000 miles to Clearwater, Florida. Four days of driving and three days of actual "vacation" left us pretty dang exhausted. Overall, it was a pretty good trip. It's always nice seeing family, and we got to introduce Gavin to his Great-grandma on the weekend before she turned 100. All of the difficulties of travelling with two young children mean nothing when you compare it to that. The likelihood of them ever seeing each other again is pretty small, and it was amazing to have Jeffrey see her, as well, since he's older and more understanding. Since he's so hyper and crazy, he made her smile a lot. She kept thinking that he was Jony, which made me smile. Jeffrey is a LOT of work right now, but I know that he'll grow up to be an amazing man.

As for driving, it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. SO glad about that. The first day was a dream, and the weather was beautiful! We made great time until we stopped for dinner. A blowout from Gavin and a pee incident from Jeffrey kept us in Slidell quite a bit longer than we had planned, but we still made it to Biloxi to stay the night. The next day? Oh goodness, it was horrible! Both boys were over being in the car, so we were stopping way more often. Gavin was pissed, and Jeffrey was out of control. Do you know how uncomfortable it is to sit in between two huge car seats for an extended amount of time when you have to sit sideways?!? Luckily, since we moved Jeffrey forward facing (big boy!) for the trip, he wasn't able to kick us while we were sitting there. Jony's parents left that morning, as well, and beat us to our destination. That was quite a bummer. The way back was really smooth since they were so exhausted. Plus, we left a lot earlier, and I think that made a big difference. The biggest downfall of the car ride was how it messed with Jeffrey and his potty training. He did relatively well, but a few times of holding it too long caused him to be pretty uncomfortable. So, we're still recovering from that. Bummer.

While we were there, we went to the Florida Aquarium, which was really fun. Other than that, it was just a lot of family time. We went to a small little beach just to say that we did, but we were sad we didn't have time to go to Clearwater Beach, which is beautiful. Next time. Jeffrey was so overwhelmed with all the activity and new people the entire weekend that he was insane. Plus, he wouldn't let me do anything with him, so Jony got a major glimpse into my life. He wouldn't even let me unbuckle him from his car seat. That started before and has carried over after the trip. It's getting a little better, thankfully, because it makes me pretty sad to be rejected constantly from my son. Gavin, on the other hand, did great unless we were in the car. He wasn't very trusting of us every time we put him in the car seat, since he can't understand if we were going for a long time again. Poor thing.

Besides wishing we were in a minivan or something else with a third row and wanting our almost 3 year old to calm down, we have no regrets about the trip. The 100th birthday party was a success, and we're grateful that we were able to attend. That said, we've agreed that we're not going on any vacations until December of next year (and that's not definite). It feels nice to think of taking a year off, but it'll be great for savings since we want to buy a new house in the next 1-2 years.

Since it took me so long (getting on the computer with two hands with two kids? Impossible), here are some photos from the trip:

5 Months!

Having a birth day at the beginning of the month is crazy with how it slaps you in the face that another month is gone. September has been so busy with school, fall activities, and our trip (a post about that is coming soon). Now, here I am with a five month old little boy. Let me tell you, Gavin is one special little baby. He's rarely upset and, if he is, it's because he wants social interaction. He LOVES people. Give him a compliment, and he will give you the biggest smile. Not that it's too hard because he's so dang happy all of the time. He's got to be the easiest baby in the world. He's started really making some major noises, and he has this hilarious scream/screech thing he does that freaked us out the first time since it sounds like he's a dying chicken or something. He does it when he gets really excited. Add that to loving social situations, and you can imagine how loud our dinner table is now that he's joined us in his high chair. No solids food yet, much to his disappointment. He's definitely tried, and he's quick with good aim! He's in the big boy car seat, which he loves. As he continues getting bigger, his vision of Jeffrey is becoming better, which makes for hilarious car rides. My boys are obsessed with each other. Gavin is starting to move about with rolling and scooting, and he will attack Jeffrey if he's close enough to give him the chance. There is some definite roughhousing in my future, no question. Those moments give me some of the purest laughs from both of them, and I love it. He's starting to sit up on his own. He's really good at it until he gets excited (all the time), and his arms flail up and down, which knocks him over. It's pretty amusing to watch. He's pretty amusing, overall!

5 month stats:
-no clue about size- fat and tall is all I know
-still in some 3 month onesies from Carters, but he's basically in 6 month clothes in everything else
-rolls in one direction multiple times
-scoots
-gets up on his arms and toes: baby push-ups!
-sitting up (pretty much)!
-will pull himself to standing if you offer your fingers
-babbling and making all sorts of strange noises
-grabs things with miraculous speed and accuracy
-no longer sleeping in the swaddle, and he still sleeps pretty well! Wakes up about 1-2x a night on average
-loves looking at lightswitch plates and is obsessed with Sophie