All About Gavin - 8 months old!

Gavin is 8 months old now. We are having so much fun together! Here's a peek into what he's up to...
Gavin's mind is focusing on physical development these days. Meaning, Gavin likes to MOVE! He started out army-crawling at 6 months old, then graduated to real crawling a few weeks ago. We installed our baby gate at the top of our stairs this weekend and it was a huge relief. He has just started pulling up on things to get into a standing position. Next up will be cruising, then I guess we'll be moving on to actual walking! It seems to be happening so fast. As soon as I adjust to one stage, he has moved right along to the next. He is super-squirmy and loves physical play - being swung around, thrown in the air, rolled over and over, tickled - all these things make him giggle like nothing else can!

Gavin also just endured the arrival of his first 2 teeth (one on top, one on bottom) and has 2 more about to break through. We're doing our best to keep him comfortable. He is always gnawing on his little fingers and toys (sometimes Cassidy's favorites, which causes major distress in her world). Our latest discovery is pretzel rods - he loves to sit in his high chair and gnaw on them until there nice and soggy. I think the salt must be a nice bonus too!

Last weekend, Gavin learned to clap. It was so adorable to see him put it all together for the first time. He claps his closed fists right now and loves to perform if you ask him to "clap, clap, clap!" I find him practicing when we're not looking. Then when I call his name and make eye contact, he gets a big grin and starts clapping harder.

When Gavin decides to take a break from moving, he likes to "talk." He babbles throughout the day (ba ba ba, ma ma ma) and plays with all kids of sounds - every version of squeals, squawks, and squeaks. Gavin is a very happy baby most of the time. But on those occasions when something is not to his liking, he is not shy about letting us know. He is particular about certain things, and can get pretty fired up if they aren't just right. For instance, he likes his daytime bottles to be given to him while he reclines in his blue chair. He likes his nighttime bottle to be given as he lays on his back on a rocking ottoman in his bedroom. He hates lying still on his back, so the minute we lay him down after a bath, or throughout the day for diaper changes, he flops onto his belly and tries to crawl away. It's exhausting to get him changed and dressed - we literally have to hold him down to keep him from twisting and wriggling. He cries the whole time, even though we sweetly explain that this same experience will continue to happen multiple times per day, every day. Of course as parents, it's our job to look for the bright side of these traits, so we've decided that he will one day be an active, athletic, productive young man with strong opinions and high standards. :) Ha.

Gavin is on a consistent daily schedule now, sleeping through the night from 7pm - 5:30am (we have an early bird here, and would welcome tips to change this. Ha.). He's napping twice a day - one short nap in the AM and one longer nap after lunch. Luckily, he and Cassidy nap at the same time in the afternoons so I usually get a nice chunk of quiet time. He takes his bottle 4 times a day and eats 3 "baby food" meals as well. He loves to snack on Cheerios. He is getting more interested in sippy cups and I have a feeling we'll be letting go of that bottle soon. When Cassie leaves a stray toddler sippy in his path, he makes a crazy beeline to get there before I step in and mess with his plans. And we are so grateful to find that he does not have a cow's milk allergy like his big sister. He has yogurt in the morning for breakfast and loves it!

Fortunately, Gavin seemed to lose interest in his pacifier at around 6 months, so we were able to take that away without any fuss. That's a battle we are not looking forward to with Cassidy, so it's nice to know we'll avoid it altogether with Gavin. He has a special cuddle blanket that he uses to help himself fall asleep, and before lying down in his crib, he loves to rock with me in his rocking chair while I hum lullabies. He smooshes his little face onto mine and likes to have his ear directly on my cheek as his eyes start to close. He is my little snuggler! We love you Gavin!

All About Cassidy - 2 years, 4 months old!

Cassidy is a busy toddler these days! Here's a little glimpse into what life is like in her world right now...
Cassidy is starting to learn all about the world around her. She likes to practice using new words and ideas that she has come across. For instance, last week she wanted to watch a particular movie, but when we opened the case, the DVD was missing. "It must be lost!" I told her. This is a new idea to her, things being lost or going missing. Later that day, when she woke up from her nap, I walked into her room and she very seriously said, "Mommy! My stomach is missing!" Really, I asked? Where did it go? "It fell in the sink and floated away! It's lost!" I tickled her belly and told her thank goodness I had found it. She also likes to watch mommy put on make-up, and last week I found her in the bathroom "painting her face like mommy." There was eyeshadow all over her cheeks and chin. Hopefully mommy gets it on better than that.
She also does a lot of pretend play. Stuffed animals are a favorite part of her playtime. She talks to them, creates little stories with them (Oh no! Leopard got stuck in this chair! I will save you leopard. *new voice* Oh, thank you for saving me, Cassidy! *back to her voice* You're welcome leopard! *Hugs all around). She likes to have them join her for mealtimes, and she often makes "snacks" for them to eat together. In this picture, she made green bean salad for herself and Boo (her favorite cow stuffed animal, named after the cow at Wagner Farm). Later on, Gavin was invited to the meal and got to gnaw on a few green beans too. Cassidy also spends a lot of time singing, dancing, and playing hide-and-seek (her toddler version). It's fascinating to watch her wheels turning as she absorbs more and more each day.

A couple weeks back, Cassidy went on her first school field trip! We rode a big yellow school bus to the pumpkin patch. (That big yellow bus was half the fun!) I went along as a chaperon. It was a rainy day, but the kids didn't mind one bit, and we got to pet baby goats, feed the lambs, and watch baby chicks and piglets take their naps. We had apple cider donuts and each child got to pick out a small pumpkin to take home. The kids had a great time, and I thought it was pretty hilarious fun. We had 15 two-year olds and 20 three-year olds, all trying to walk together holding hands in the rain, with their puffy coats and boots, it was a riot! I give her teachers a lot of credit for their willingness to tackle it!

Speaking of school, Cassie does a lot of art projects at school that come home with her. We decided to create an art wall in the kitchen. She picks out the spot and we tape it up for display. We're running out of room, so we'll have to start trading old pictures out for new ones. They do lots of finger painting and work with glue sticks and scissors. She is also busy learning to recognize all the letters and numbers, and learning about new things like red lights/green lights, the helpers in her community, and how fruits and vegetables are grown.


Cassidy has become a helpful big sister. She happily gets diapers for Gavin and helps us feed him bottles and food. She shares her toys (most of the time! so far she is actually doing pretty well with this) and pushes him in the tree swing in the backyard.

On the horizon, we have things like potty training (no interest at the moment), weaning from the pacifier (I can't even imagine how this will go), and moving into a big girl bed (for now she loves her crib). Thanks to the stores getting holiday items onto the shelves well in advance, she is already very excited for Christmas. Erik and I were just saying last night that it will be even more fun this year as she gets into the spirit of it all. We count our blessings every day for our happy, healthy little girl.

And coming soon: All About Gavin at 8 months old!