Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

We picked the most perfect day to get our Christmas tree. It was sunny and mild on Saturday mid-morning. Not wet, not snowy, not windy and not cold. Just perfect. Check out the beautiful blue sky in this picture of Brad and Gavin.

Here we are with the "chosen" tree, a lovely Norway spruce.

Every year we go with my parents and my Aunt Sally to get trees. This year was extra special with Gavin along. Grandma Mary likes any and all photo ops with the little guy. So, here's Gavin with Grandma and Grandpa and their tree.

Watching Grandpa and Dad cut down the tree.

A rare photo of me with Gavin. I'm usually the one behind the camera.

After all the the searching and walking, we had one tired baby on our hands. About 15 seconds into the car ride home he was sleeping peacefully...for two and a half hours! Enough time to get our tree in the stand and put up a few Christmas decorations.

Here's a randomly placed Thanksgiving "left over" picture that was hiding on my mom's camera. Brad's face is a little goofy, but otherwise, it's not too bad of a shot.

I'll post soon with a picture of Gavin and the decorated tree. And I owe everyone a post on Gavin's adventures in crawling. Every day he gets faster and faster...and into more and more things that he shouldn't be investigating. More to come!

Gobble, Gobble

We all had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday, especially Gavin. He very much enjoyed feeding himself turkey, sweet potatoes, carrots and peas. And all of the wonderful company. And, big news of the week, Gavin is officially crawling (more to come on this)!

Here's our little turkey on Thanksgiving morning. I love the crocked smile and bright eyes.

Showing off his crawling moves for the family.

Ready for the long-awaited feast.


Visiting with Great Grandma Gavin.


And with Grandma Mary and Grandpa Fred.

Enjoying left-overs the day after Thanksgiving.

So much to be thankful for!

9 Months

A day late...

Our baby is quickly transitioning to...not a baby! Well, he is still very much a baby. But every day I look at him and see a little more of the little boy in him. And now he's been alive along as he was kicking around in utero.

We took Gavin for his 9 month well-child visit this morning. He continues to grow, grow, grow. But at a slower rate. He's slipping on the weight growth chart, so we're working to "plump him up". He's just not a chubby baby. All else went well at the appointment. He was able to get his first H1N1 vaccine and his second seasonal flu vaccine (thankfully they had a supply for second-round infants).

So, what's different and new at 9 months? Gavin is a little babbler, having many conversations in jibberish. And he is becoming more and more mobile every day. Still not quite crawling, but getting closer. He'll creep and roll all around to get where he wants to go. And gets up on his hands and knees, rocks back and forth, and leaps forward onto his belly. And the last couple of weeks he has perfected sitting from a laying position. We frequently find him sitting in the mornings now in his crib. Soon it will be standing!

He's also advancing with play. He enjoys the cause and effect of banging toys together, feeling the different textures and just general exploring. Simple toys are his favorites -- blocks, rings, his "cell phone" (that we call a Jitter Bug, due to its size). Here he his getting ready to check his voicemail.

Gavin survived his first cold a few weeks ago. He's come out of it with a new found fondness for solid foods. He's developing a liking for finger foods and many times prefers these over spoonfeeding. His favorites right now are baby french toast, avocados, bananas, peaches, yogurt, chicken and cheddar cheese. I think cheese is his very favorite (he is his mother's son in this aspect).

So, three quarters of a year already. Hard to believe!

Hard Lessons to Learn

On Friday, Brad went in to get Gavin after he awoke from his nap. This is what he found...a very discouraged baby who had twisted his way from laying to sitting, with his leg stuck through the crib. What a photo op - grab the camera!

Look at that face!

So, that's the summary of the week...lots of new movement. Crawling backwards, sitting up from laying, interest in pulling up. Now we just need to work on crawling forward. Any day now I think.

Summer time fun in November?

Enjoying the nice weather with my first trip to the neighborhood playground, complete with swings, slides and monkey bars...

This is going to be even more fun next Spring!

Leaves

I Think I Can, I Think I Can...

Almost crawling. Let the baby-proofing begin!

Trick or Treat

Part two of Halloween. Here's our little monkey all dressed up for a photo op.

We visited some friends and family. Here's Gavin with Scooby Doo (aka Leksi). Aren't they cute?

And with cousins Harry Potter (aka Luke) and Princess Jasmine (aka Ava). Not pictured: Super Woman (aka Lexi) who was opposed to being photographed. I think Luke won the prize for best costume. He makes a pretty good Harry Potter with those specs.

With Grandpa Mark...

Grandma Mary and Grandpa Fred...


And, finally, with Mom and Dad.


Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween. What a fun holiday for kiddos!