Chompers

Gavin has officially started teething. We have had our suspicions for awhile now with all the drooling that he was doing. He has not one, but two teeth coming through at the same time. They are on the lower part and seem to be the molars on the left and right side. Sorry, no pictures yet - Gavin hasn't learned to open his mouth and say "Ahhh". Poor little guy - you can tell that they hurt....he has been a little more fussy than usual lately. I think that they bother him more at night when he doesn't have any distractions to keep his mind off the pain. But we bought some teething tablets last night and are going to try those out today.


Gavin has also acquired a taste for rice cereal. He finally figured out that you can eat with a spoon, and readily opens his mouth for the cereal. We gave in and added a little apple juice to the mix after many refused feedings. Both Miranda and I tried the plain rice cereal, and were in agreement that it tastes like paste. No wonder Gavin didn't like it.

A New Toy

For a week or so, Dave and I have been thinking that we need to get Gavin's exersaucer out of the attic and get it cleaned up so that he would have another opportunity to work on strengthening his back and neck muscles (and that brain muscle, too). After trying out Dean's exersaucer last week, I knew Gavin was ready. So, we finally got it all cleaned up. With a blanket tucked in the seat with Gavin for extra support, he's ready to go.

Mason likes the exersaucer, too, since Gavin is down on his level. Gavin has gotten a few more kisses from Mason--something Gavin thankfully doesn't mind.

Crime Scene

Me out for a leisurely morning mow: Hey, it isn't too bad out here today. A little warm, but it shouldn't be too hot today. The grass is looking a little better this week after some cooler temps last week. This is a nice way to.......WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?????

I stumbled upon a crime scene in our front yard this morning. Evidently a cuddly little raccoon met his maker in our front yard sometime last week. From the look of the tail, it was a tiny little guy. We have seen a coyote walking around in the front yard before, so that is our first suspect. The last time that we saw the coyote was in the summer when it was really dry. We have been told that they tend to go into the neighborhoods in the dry summer in search of water and food. So that is our prime suspect given the evidence that we have.

Now after thinking about it, I bet that little raccoon was part of the family that lived in the storm drain at the end of the street. Poor little guy.....

I give you Exhibit A: Tail and what looked to be a leg bone.

I give you Exhibit B: A pile of fur - evidently whatever ate this guy isn't a big fan of furry food.

Five Months Old

Gavin is five months old today. He celebrated by sleeping until 7:30 this morning. After his breakfast and some play time, he took a nice long nap in his swing until 11:45. After lunch and getting dressed, there was more play time. Then he and I went to a baby shower, while Dad worked in the yard.

As always, Gavin was a hit at the drop-in shower. Gavin made the rounds hanging out with Robin, Glenda, Stacy, Kaye (mom-to-be), Kaye's mom, and Todd (dad-to-be). He was extremely well behaved, especially considering that he hadn't had a good afternoon nap.

Back at home, we had the five-month photo op, some playtime in the exer-saucer that Dad cleaned up today, a bath, and bed time. We're still working on the rice cereal. Gavin's not to sure about it. He gave it a good effort last night, but today hasn't been so interested. When we weighed him before his bath, he weighed 16 pounds 9 ounces.

This week he has been giggling and rolling over. We've had few belly laughs. Last night while Becky was babysitting so Mama and Dad could have date night, she said she got a good belly laugh out of him. A few nights ago as I rocked him to sleep and continued to read The Three Musketeers, I grabbed a peek of him smiling in his sleep, so I stopped reading and watched him. The smile faded to his usual mouth partly open sweet baby sleeping face, then he belly laughed in his sleep.
Gavin loves being "tossed" in the air almost as much as he loves going on rocket ship rides compliments of Dad; sound effects make the ride super fun. Since we've come back from Minnesota, Gavin is aware of Mason. We catch him watching Mason in the room. Mason isn't the only one Gavin watches, he is cognizant of other people being in the room and turns to see who's there when he hears a voice.

We've been working on head, neck, and back strength for sitting up. The positioner is helping, as are tummy time sessions. Gavin is almost too big for his infant tub; I can't wait for him to be sitting up good so we can advance to a different tub--probably an inflatable one that fits inside the regular tub. And soon, we'll get to pull out cousin Hayden's high chair for those rice cereal feedings.

We've had some sleep setbacks with our travels, but we are slowing getting back to sleeping through the night. Rolling over didn't help the effort since two nights this week, Gavin has woken me up because he's on his belly. I hope that he gets back to his good sleep pattern before I have to head back to work--or at least before students return to school on August 24th. Naps are still preferred in the cradle swing. I don't know what's going to happen at daycare on the third of August; maybe he'll learn to nap in his crib there. I hope they get him to nap elsewhere because soon he's going to be too big for the cradle swing. Until then, that's where I'll let him nap. I've tried putting him in his crib, but he wakes instantly. I don't want crying to be associated with the crib since he's been sleeping so well there, so I'm wimping out and not forcing the issue. I suppose I'm spoiling him because I know come August 3rd, Mama's spoiling will come to an end. (Yeah, right.)

Dave and I continue to marvel at the little blessing that lives in our home and hearts.

"No more photographs, please."

Two Three Firsts

Today Gavin had three firsts.
1. Play date
2. Roll from front to back
3. Roll from back to front

Today, Gavin and I had our first play date at Lindsey's house with Dean, Morgan, Cortney, and Brady. We were so busy visiting and watching the boys play when we arrived that we neglected to get a picture of everyone playing. Lindsey prepared a delicious lunch of quiche, baked tomatoes, and fruit salad which the mommies enjoyed while playing with the boys. Gavin grabbed a quick cat nap; he was tired after watching Brady toddling around. Brady's only 9 1/2 months, but he is walking! Dean is sitting up and scooting around. I loved to see him excited and bouncing up and down in place. Lindsey was watching her four-year old niece Morgan. Morgan played for a bit with Gavin; it was sweet to see her handing him toys. She's a good little helper, especially since she has a little brother. And, I'm so impressed, she can write her name and discuss favorite Tom and Jerry cartoons.

Cortney and Brady headed out so that Brady could have lunch and his nap, and Dean went down for his afternoon nap, leaving Lindsey and me time for mommy chatter while Gavin played. As we sat in the floor with Gavin on his tummy, he started craning his neck to look at Lindsey, he got most of the way on his side, then held the position for a seeming eternity that was really just a few seconds I'm sure. Lindsey encouraged him to roll over since the hard part was done, and he finally pushed himself over. I couldn't believe it. I was thinking, "Wow. That's what they're supposed to do first; roll from front to back." Happy that I had a witness so that Dave would believe me, Lindsey and I cheered for Gavin. In just a minute, he rolled from his back onto his tummy to get closer to Lindsey and a ball that she was enticing him with.

Gavin also got to sit in Dean's excersaucer; Dave and I have been talking about the fact that we need to get the one we've been loaned out and ready for him since he's been sitting up better. Gavin's test run in Dean's confirmed that. (Dave got it out tonight; it needs a good scrubbin' then it's ready to go.) Gavin was at first in awe of all the cool toys on the exersaucer, but was soon playing with a couple of the toys.

Gavin started getting cranky because he was tired. We loaded up and within 5 minutes, Gavin was fast asleep for his ride home.

Note: I started this post Wednesday evening. I decided to wait to add the photo this morning since it was past my "bedtime" when I looked at the clock last night. This morning at 5:39, I heard Gavin, so I turned on the video part of the monitor to see what he was doing. He wasn't on the screen, which means he has wiggled to the top of the crib out of the camera range. Typically, he's not happy when he does this, so I jumped up and headed in to move him. I found him at the very top of his crib, perfectly perpendicular, and on his tummy. Guess he wanted to practice rolling over? ? I think I'll be finding him this way much more often. I'm just glad he wasn't mad when I went in to rescue him. He was just hanging out.

A Bumper Crop

I don't think that's exactly what you would call our entire tomato harvest, pictured above. Dave and I love homegrown tomatoes, but just can't seem to grow them. Daddy says our soil is too poor; I have to agree with him. Dave and I have about decided that we can go to the farmer's market and buy good tomatoes easier than trying to keep them watered, get good soil, find the perfect spot for sun with a bit of shade, etc. I guess you can take the girl out of the country, but she can't grow a tomato in the suburbs.

New Tricks

Gavin is learning all kinds of new tricks.

1. He rolls onto his side very easily now. He pulls his knees to his tummy and just rolls. Once on his side, I sometimes help him roll onto his tummy. He smiles when I do this for him. One day he'll figure out how to roll all the way over himself.

2. He can really laugh. For a long time he's been smiling and making sounds, but he's starting to really laugh. Friday or Saturday, Dave was making avocado dip and tapping a spoon against the side of the glass blender pitcher. Gavin thought this was hilarious and laughed each time Dad did it. He's given me real laughs from the crib. And last night, he was smiling and laughing on the changing table.

3. Squealing is fun. Gavin has found his "loud" on the volume control. He loves to squeal. One night at the cabin, he and Jonas were squealing back and forth to one another; it was too cute. It started with someone "chasing" Jonas and his squeals at being "caught". Gavin must have thought, "Wait. I know how to do that," because the next thing we knew, Gavin was squealing. Jonas would squeal a reply, then Gavin squealed."

4. "I'm still not sure about rice cereal and a spoon, but Mama and Dad keep trying."

5. "Naps are the best in my swing." I'm so worried about him starting daycare on August 3 just because of naps. He takes great naps in his swing, so I worry about how he'll nap there without a swing. I've tried to break him of the habit, but I'm not having a lot of luck. He will nap for 30-45 minutes on the sofa or on my bed. The minute I put him in his crib, he's awake. I'm hoping the sweet ladies at daycare will be understanding as he learns how to nap in his crib there.

6. Gavin's hair is growing back in--what he has coming in seems to be blonde, but as more comes in it looks like it might be light brown. Who knows? His hair may be like his eyes--which seem to be hazel like mine--ever changing.

Adventures in the Parking Lot

Miranda, Gavin and I headed out to do some running around this afternoon.

First we went to a children's resale shop to try to sell some items that we bought and haven't used very much. So as we are waiting on the price that the store will give use for the items, we noticed that another customer was asking the lady at the desk about one of the things. She was obviously very interested. So the store gives us the price for it and it was almost an insult. It was probably a tenth of the retail price, and the item was practically brand new. We didn't take the offer, and the lady immediately offers to buy it from us. The clerk then asks us to "take your business outside". I laugh a little to myself and happily go outside to make the deal. This lady was a foster mother that needed it for a new child that she is caring for. So we agreed on a price and sold it to her. We also found out that the store had already quoted her a price that was two and a half times what the store had offered to pay us for it. Everyone won this time, we sold it for a nice price, and a foster mom got a great deal.

We then headed to Dillard's so that Miranda could do some shopping for back to school. We parked away from the store in some of the only shade we could find - shaded parking is coveted this time of year in Texas. Gavin and I cruised the mall while Miranda shopped. He flirted with the girls, and I tried to avoid the skylight sunbeams so that he wouldn't get mad. After we finished shopping, we headed back out to the car. Without going into too much detail - people were having sex in the car next to us IN THE MALL PARKING LOT AT 2:00 IN THE AFTERNOON! We left and laughed about it the rest of the way home. Hopefully Gavin won't be scarred for life by this incident. :)

Things that go Drip, Waaaa, and Blink Blink in the Night

Last night was an odd night for sure.

Miranda and I were awoken at 3:00 by the shower gushing for no reason at all. I got up to inspect; turned the shower on and back off and it stopped dripping. As I was coming back to bed I noticed that my clock was blinking because the power went off sometime during the night. This is the second time this has happened this week. Maybe I need to get an alarm clock with a battery backup.

Then at 3:45 Gavin woke up because he had pushed himself into the corner of his crib and was bonking his head on the slats. Getting him back to sleep was easy. The hard part was laying him down in his crib without waking him up. I failed four times before enlisting Miranda for some help. It was strange - he would be asleep in my arms for 10 minutes and I ever so gently lay him in the crib only to be greeted by wide open eyes when his head gently touched the mattress. Miranda failed a few times too I guess because I then woke up to Gavin "talking" very loudly. When I walk into the nursery, Miranda is in the chair smiling and Gavin is in the crib just talking up a storm. Eventually he went back to sleep on his own. Hmmm, maybe we are onto something here....

The shower head started gushing again while Miranda was trying to get Gavin back to sleep. Again, the handle was all the way in the off position. So, it has been a strange night of things that go "bump" in the night.

Gavin's First Try at "Solid" Foods

Gavin has been giving us hints lately that he wants his own plate. So we decided to try some rice cereal after dinner tonight...maybe he gave us the wrong hints. Needless to say the rice cereal wasn't welcomed by Gavin. First the spitting started. Then when we kept trying to get him to eat with this strange utensil called a spoon, he got a bit upset with Mom and Dad.

Dad's Fishing Report

The fishing in Minnesota this year wasn't great and it wasn't bad. But it was a bit on the slow side for my tastes. The northern were cooperating early in the week, and the dinky walleye were cooperating somewhat at the end of the week. Bass and panfish didn't feel very hungry this week evidently. But I did get to catch all the gamefish in the lake:

Dinky walleye were my nemesis this week - two keepers out of 8 fish. Barely enough for dinner for four people one night....

The northern that were caught were nice fish. This is a 28" fish that I caught on July 4th. Unfortunately he literally tried to inhale the lure, and became dinner that night. I also caught 26" and 24" northern this year.
This is the only bass of the trip - I didn't fish for bass all that much this year. This guy was a hard fighter though on the flyrod. Five minutes after catching this fish, I snapped my 8wt rod at the butt section - ugh.

Mike was even able to get out and catch a fish or two in between showing Jonas the finer points of perch fishing.
That's all of the fishing report for this year. It was a different kind of year at the cabin this year. With the addition of Jonas and Gavin our priorities have been reorganized a bit. This year I probably fished the least that I have in a long time, but also had one of the best trips ever because I got to spend time with my son and my nephew. And truth be told, the extra sleep this year was a very welcome thing.

Itasca State Park

This post goes hand in hand with the Mississippi Headwaters post - it's all at the same park.

It is always amazing to me to see an old growth forest. The trees are substancially bigger than anything you will see outside of park lands. The park hasn't been logged since it's founding in 1891. There have been forest fires that have done extensive damage, but most of the old growth timber still remains.
There are of course smaller things to look at too.
This staircase is on of my favorite parts of the park. Do you think that anyone would spend the time or money to build something this grand in a state park today?

Jonas is Two

Happy Birthday Jonas!!! We are so glad that we've spent 3 consecutive weekends seeing Jonas. (That will probably never happen again, even if we did live in the same state.) I think the picture above epitimises who Jonas is--a sweet giving little boy. He is such a good big cousin to Gavin. He was always willing to bring Gavin toys.

Monday afternoon I put Gavin in his bouncy seat while I unloaded the dishwasher, Jonas came toddling in and went right over to Gavin. He squatted down in the floor next to Gavin; both boys just looked at each other for a while, then Jonas got up and went over to find a toy for Gavin. As he brought it over, I praised him for being so nice to "Baby Gavin." I asked Jonas to dance for Gavin, which he did.

Jonas loves to give Gavin pats on the head. And whenever a diaper was changed, Jonas might come by to see what was going on. Jonas does a fantastic job putting diapers in the trash, too.

Jonas loves to sing and dance. He gets so excited at the end of each song that he claps and wiggles. He's working on the ABC song. He can recite all the animal sounds in Moo Baa La La La (what a great Sandra Boyton book). He called GrandBob's bluff when a fractured version of Sheep in a Jeep was offered as authentic.

I think one of my favorite things about the trip was watching Jonas figure out how to maneuver the step from the porch into the kitchen. On Saturday, he would stop and crawl up the step. By Monday morning, he would put his right knee down, but follow up with his left foot, then stand. By Tuesday, he was walking over the step. What a guy!!!




We miss you already!

Mama's Fishing Report

Sorry no pictures for this post since I didn't catch a fish this year!


I did make it out three times to fish. On my first cast, I hooked a Northern Pike using my trusty double jointed creek chub. I can't tell you how many Northern I've caught using this lure over the years. I wish my newish reel were as trusty as my creek chub. As I started to reel him in, my reel didn't seem to be pulling in line. Dave grabbed the line by hand and began to pull as I reeled. Finally, we got the fish up to the side of the boat. Since Dave had been helping land the fish, he didn't get the net out to scoop him up. Just as Dave reached over to grab the fish, the fish cut my line, gaining his freedom and forever losing my favorite lure. (No I can't buy another one just like it since the newer ones are painted differently.) The remainder of that outing was uneventful. It's never a good thing to get a fish on your first cast; it makes the rest of the trip quite long.

I did get some nibbles from Walleye while out the 2nd trip. Dave always reminds me that I have to let line out and be patient while I feel the Walleye work eat his way up the worm to the hook. I released the bail; I waited, but not long enough. When I reeled in I had 1 1/2 inches of worm left. I guess I learn to wait longer. My third trip out was a nice ride in the boat, but no fish.

Oh well, I'll be back next year. Those fish better watch out.

Mama at the Lake

Gavin and I spent a good deal of time playing at the cabin. It was great to be able to lay his quilt out on the grass and enjoy fresh air. The chipmunks didn't mind that we were sharing their yard, as they busily stored the sunflower seeds that were put out for them. We watched ducks learn how to swim and dive in the lily pads. We saw a mama bullhead swimming in the shallows with hundreds of her minnow babies. We watched the clouds; we watched the birds; we watched the lake.

Sometimes our playing was conducted inside .
Sometimes we sat watching for Dad to come back in from fishing.
Other times we were happy to play with toys.

And, sometimes, on very special occasions, Mama gets to motor the boat. Watch out!!!

Leech Lake

Just south of the cabin is Walker, Minnesota, on the shores of Leech Lake. We did a bit of shopping Wednesday afternoon, then took Gavin down to the city dock for a few pictures.

Dad and Gavin on the rocks.
Mama climbed down and a sweet passerby with a son also named Gavin took our picture.

Trying our darnedest to get the boy to smile. I think I see a hint of a smile. The camera isn't fast enough to catch it.

Paul Bunyan and Babe

Another "must-do" is a photo opportunity with Paul Bunyan and his trusty blue ox, Babe. When we visit GrandBob and Grandma, we'll have to look for the picture of Dave's first visit to see Babe and Paul.


Some nice lady offered to take our picture with Paul and Babe. Evidently, she didn't fully press the button to snap the photo, oh well. Another time.

The Mighty Mississip'

Near the cabin is Itasca State Park, home to the headwaters of the Mississippi River. One of the cabin traditions is to go dip your toes in the headwaters on your first visit. So, we had to take Gavin over on Friday afternoon. We'll go back in a few years when he's big enough to splash in the waters himself.

Dad and Gavin pose for a picture.


Gotta get those tootsies wet.

After the photo op, Dad and Gavin set out for New Orleans; they made it about 100 yards and then decided that they'd head south some other time.

Another Sink Bath

We've been traveling. We just returned home from the family cabin in Minnesota. Gavin got to have more sink baths!!!! Uncle Mike was kind enough to snap a quick photo to preserve the moment.
I'll be working to update the blog with pictures of Gavin's vacation. We love life at the cabin. Sometimes you can get a cell phone signal, sometimes you can't. We have no internet connection unless you go into town, sit in a hotel parking lot and hook up to wi-fi; which Dave and I didn't do. Days are filled with eating, fishing, relaxing, and catching up with the family. The nights were cool--in the 50s; the days were warm--in the 70s.
Now I have but 3 weeks until I head back to work. I'm going to treasure every minute I have left with Gavin before he and I go to school.