Who Needs a Pacifier?

A rubber ducky work just as well.

Nine Months

While we were at Grandma and Granddaddy's, Gavin had his nine month day. We took a few pictures minus the blue monkey; we didn't think to pack it with us when we were gathering everything we'd need.

Gavin has changed a lot in the month of November. Most notable is his front tooth, which appeared on November 1. He sits independently. He rolls to any thing he wants--still no crawling--though he's starting to roll and scoot around. He waves. He claps. He clicks his tongue.

Today, we had his nine-month check-up. It was nice to answer yes to most of the questions the nurse, Erica, asked. Does he respond to his name? Does he pick things up between two fingers? Does he bang two things together? The only "no's" were in response to crawling and pulling up to standing.

Today, Gavin weighed 18 pounds, 13 ounces; the 20th percentile. And measured 27 inches; about the 15th percentile. Dr. K said that a drop in weight gain is normal around this age as babies become more active, but added that we need to be exposing him to lots more food choices. So, he's been cleared to eat anything except honey and nuts. Whole milk is OK as a supplement. Yogurt and cheeses, OK. Scrambled eggs, meats = OK. She also recommended lots of fat---yes, fat. Mashed potatoes with butter. Whole milk. Milkshakes made with whipping cream. We had already added a food snack with his 4pm bottle this week because he was grumpy in the afternoons. So, we'll start adding more foods. I guess those little chompers are going to be getting a workout. (And, those diapers will get more odiferous.) Pray that Mama and Dad don't get too stressed when he doesn't eat well. :)

Happy Birthday, Granddaddy

For special birthdays, we get out Gavin's birthday hat and a sign to make pictures. It usually takes several tries to get a suitable picture. Now that Gavin is more inquisitive (and enjoys eating paper, if we'll let him), it is extra hard.

Sunday night, we tried to get a picture so that we could get Granddaddy's card in the mail.

Gavin wouldn't look at the camera, but he really concentrated on the paper.

So, Monday night we tried again. Gavin was a little out of sorts Monday evening. He just wanted to be held. So Dave held him. In an effort to stop the paper-eating, I changed the sign to the dry-erase board.

And, even being held wasn't enough to make us smile. So, Dave bounced Gavin. And, we finally saw the smile, but there's a glare on the board.

So, Dave bounced some more. Here's a great smile.

Darn it; we forgot the birthday hat. Oh well . . .

Happy Birthday, Granddaddy!!!!

Family Time in Georgia

Now that the weekend is here, maybe I can get caught up on blogging. We traveled to Georgia for Thanksgiving to spend time with family. Wednesday, we took Gavin to meet his great-grandmother. While he not Granny's only great-grand, she is his only great-grand. (My grandmother has 7 children, 14 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren. Hmm, I think I got that right, feel free to correct me.)

Back at Grandma's house, Gavin got to take his first bath in the real bath tub. Though his balance is fine while sitting up, I put a towel down in the tub for a little extra cushion. (Yes, I'm a bit overprotective about him bonking his head.) He had a great time in his bath. It won't be long until we have to move him into the bathtub here at home. He loves to splash, and the water gets splashed out of his ducky bath tub.

Thanksgiving Day, Gavin was able to play with Lesa, Bridget, and Tessa.

And Hayden came to play on Wednesday and Thursday. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the boys together. But I love this picture that Dave took. Hayden is so full of energy and is such a riot. He was walking around with Grandpa's magnifying glass looking at things. He's becoming such an independent 3 year-old who wants to play outside by himself. Needless to say, I played out with him a bit and spent lots of time looking out the window to watch him.

Gavin also got to play with Jonas. (Again, no pictures of the two of them together.)

And, no trip is complete without lots of grandparent loving. Gavin had fun with GrandBob.

Sippy Cups Rule!

Sippy cups have proven to be both a source of a refreshing drink, and also a pretty sweet toy. Here are the antics from tonights dinner drink. Look Ma, no hands!

Whoops, where did it go?

Fall Family Pictures

We took advantage of some late fall foliage and good evening light to snap a few pictures of Gavin with the grandparents and second cousins. They turned out pretty well....maybe I do know what I am doing behind the camera just a bit.

SNOW!!!

Yes, it's only the second day of December, but we had quite a bit of snow this morning. There was at least an inch on the car when we left for work this morning. It was snowing pretty hard when we left, and was expected to continue for another hour or so. Thankfully it will all be melted and gone by tonight when the temperatures are supposed to dip below freezing.
Gavin seemed to enjoy watching the snow fall. He was staring out the windows as I fed him breakfast this morning. After breakfast, we bundled him up in his "big" coat and took him outside for a couple pictures before heading to school. The pictures are a bit dark, but it's pretty easy to see that G was having a good time.

Gavin's GT Weekend

While visiting our families for Thanksgiving we were able to attend a Georgia Tech basketball game and also the GT - UGA football game. Gavin seemed to enjoy every minute of the basketball game and also the tailgating prior to the football game. We didn't take him to the football game since it was cold, late, and that game is no place for a 9 month old (even though we saw a 6 month old leaving the game with his Mom after midnight...).

The whole family was in attendance for the basketball game. Jonas was there showing Gavin how it's done - he's a pro at going to GT basketball games. Gavin enjoyed watching the crowd, the flashing signs and those people running around throwing a ball. Tech even won; given it was only Mercer they were playing....but still.

Gavin had a great time at the tailgate for the football game. He was able to play with the leaves and grass (a highlight of the afternoon for him). Old friends were able to get some Gavin time which he always loves. He also showed his support for his team. He wore a GT hat, and a gold and navy striped shirt, but cold weather gear was the overriding factor in clothing that day.

I think that someone forgot to tell the GT linebackers and defensive line that we had a game on Saturday because it looked like they took the day off....ugh, if only we had an average defense to go along with Paul Johnson's offense.It was a fun getting to see our families and reconnect with friends that we hadn't seen in years. The outcome of the football game was a bit depressing, but we have better things to look forward with the ACC Championship game coming up this weekend. The only other bad part of the weekend was getting home from the game at 1:00am and then having to get up at 4:00am to catch our flight out of Atlanta (and G woke up at 2:30 crying...).

Here's a video of Jonas at the basketball game. He's perfecting his Bud Song dance moves...it's pretty cute.

Breakfast Anyone?

This was our breakfast this weekend that Miranda and I shared. It was very tasty. But I think that we have been watching too much Man vs. Food on Food Network lately. This was made of four eggs, four bacon strips, a big breakfast roll from Tom Thumb, and some cream cheese. I don't think that the picture does it justice showing the size...

Using My Chompers