Reunion and More!

This past Sunday, Carlton and I were able to attend a reunion for the What to Expect When You Are Expecting Luncheon that I attended last year when I was pregnant with Gavin. This is the first year they have held a reunion for the new parents. The author, Heidi Murkoff, was there to visit with each of the families and hang out. We got a couple pictures:

Reunion group photo

Heidi's husband Eric

 Gavin's new favorite game is to scoot/crawl across his rug to knock over the blocks we got for him. So we have been setting up half the blocks on one side and the other half about 4 feet away so that he gets more practice scooting around. 

We also got him a new high chair since the Bumbo is not working as well for feeding him. He can reach too far outside of it and grab stuff nearby. So now with the high chair we can keep him out of trouble!

In this video he is trying a piece of shrimp for the first time. At first he was just sucking off the sauce. I ended up cutting it into small pieces so he could actually eat some but he didn't seem to like the shrimp much...just the sauce!

I bought a Halloween costume for Gavin but we haven't made it to any events. Unfortunately most of them are in the evening around his bedtime, so we took a few pictures the other day before Carlton had to leave again.

Update on my ankle - really quick I had a biopsy on my ankle over a month ago now and the initial biopsy had suspicious skin cells (not melanoma). So the dermatologist had to go back in and remove more skin to make sure she got to healthy skin around the mole that was removed. So I had tend stitches in my ankle for about 2 weeks and now it is healing up! The morning after I had the stitches put in, I had to take the dogs for a walk and it was raining! So I had to wrap my leg in saran wrap to prevent the area from getting wet. That was super fun.

Healing nicely now

Seven Months!!

We have reached the 7 month mark! He is still not crawling but he does have his own version of scooting around. We rearranged the bedrooms, so that the spare bedroom is now Gavin's room. So now his area rug can stay on the floor without us rolling it up everyday to put it away to keep the dogs off of it. His crib is all set up and he has been taking naps in it since we got it in his room. He still sleeps in the bassinet at night because he is not sleeping through the night just yet. But he's getting closer!! Here are some pictures!

Daddy time!

New room set up!

Big boy in his crib

All smiles!

He loves the baby in the mirror!!

Taking the 7th month photos was definitely entertaining! He was all about going after the number and chewing on it! Here's a series of pics showing his determination.

Lil' dragon!

We got this cute dragon outfit from friends of my parents! 

  In this video you can see his scooting skills. He's having a great time exploring his world! I am totally okay with him not crawling yet. I am not looking forward to having him getting into everything at his level in the house!!

Daddy's Home!!

Carlton came home this past week after having his underway extended an extra couple of weeks (at the last minute). We are very happy to have him home although this first video does not show that! Ha! Gavin was sleepy and had been waiting on the pier for about 30 minutes in the heat, so he really didn't have much of a reaction.

Later when I had to go back and pick up Carlton to bring him home, Gavin reacted by crying and screaming!! Carlton sat in the back next to him and Gavin just cried and screamed non stop for a good ten minutes. Then about an hour after we got home he was fine and seemed to be remembering who Carlton was!

This is a video of Gavin trying a pear for the first time. Despite the faces he made, he loved it! He kept going back for more of it!

Ticklish thighs!

We have tried several different foods now and he really likes...the spoon! He loves holding it and chewing on it. Sometimes he will even eat what the spoon is holding! He makes faces for everything he has tried but he does seem to enjoy sweet potatoes and green beans. For non-purees he likes bananas and pears. He wasn't a fan of potatoes or pasta.

Airplane with Daddy!

Airplane with Mommy!

Playing around with the burp cloth

It was a long day of playing on the rug for Gavin and he could not keep his eyes open!! He ended up doing a face plant on Carlton's chest finally.

I can suck on my toes!

He can sit up when we put him in the sitting position but hasn't gotten there on his own yet. He sits very straight!!

Beets! Not a fan.

Made in Guam Baby!

Six Months Old!!

Gavin is still very active in his exersaucer

He is also chewing on anything he can get in his mouth!

He's working on his leg strength:

And he turned six months old on September 18th! At his 6 month pediatrician appointment, he was 17 pounds 5 ounces, 27 inches tall and doing great! He can roll front to back and then back again. He will sit for a few seconds if I sit him up but he has not gotten into the sitting position on his own yet.

I tried a hat on him that we got as a hand me down from my friend Jenn but it's still a little big on him!

I tried "real" food with Gavin just last week for the first time. I decided to start with pureed carrots. Christine was super sweet and sent me her Baby Beaba which I used to make a few different purees!! So we tried the carrots to see what Gavin would think:

We also attended our first birthday party that happened to be for a one year old and a pool party! So I had to get a rash guard for Gavin to keep his skin protected. He was not a fan of the pool this time though, I think the water was too cold for him.

I was finally able to go get a haircut this past week too!! I got two inches cut off and though it was styled by the hairdresser, it was pouring when I headed home. So the style was ruined and my hair got fluffy, but here's a picture anyway!

Top Heavy

This past week I had to take Gavin to the pediatrician because he had a rash all over his back. Thankfully it was nothing serious and cleared up in a few days. Since we were at the doctor's, they did his measurements and he is now in the 75th percentile for head circumference (17.1 inches) and height (26.8 inches), 50th percentile for weight at 16 pounds 14 ounces. So he is making progress with being able to roll from his back to his tummy and then back again. The doc said he will probably take a little longer to sit up on his own because his noggin is big right now! He's too top heavy to stay upright for long!!

We are using the Boppy pillow sometimes to practice sitting up - here is a progression of pics taken in about a ten second span. He smiles at me first, then is distracted by the phone taking pics, then is distracted by his toys nearby.

This is a very quick video of me tickling Gavin. Hard to hold the phone and record while also tickling him. Over the past few days he seems to have developed certain areas where he is ticklish now. He also anticipates being tickled which only adds to the fun!!

Last two pics for this post. Just thought it was so cute how he fell asleep clasping his hands together like this. And in the close-up you can see his eyelashes...they are so long! He definitely got those from his Daddy!!!

Progress!

Gavin has hit a milestone! Or at least I think it's a milestone. Just this past week, in fact on the day that Carlton left for an underway, Gavin rolled from his back to his tummy!! I didn't see it at first. He was in his playpen and I was on the other side of the island in our kitchen. I looked over and was seeing the top of his head rather than his face! I kept watching to see if he would do it again and he tried once but his arm got pinned underneath him. Then he tried again and made it!! I was able to get a video of it finally and sent it to Carlton so he was able to see it before the boat left!

Gavin has also been perfecting his foot in mouth technique and he is getting good at it!! Especially with his right leg.

He is definitely working the legs up to crawling but hasn't quite figured out how to move forward with them yet.

He is still enjoying his exersaucer and I think it's helping him to strengthen his legs. He really enjoys being in an upright position so he can see a lot more around him.

He also likes sitting in his Bumbo while in his playpen so he can still see us when we are in the kitchen.

North Korea, 5 Months, and exersaucer...oh my!

The past two weeks have been interesting to say the least. We had the whole North Korea threat hanging over us for a bit and I was worried about it until I read that it's a regular thing for Guam. According to the locals anytime tension increases between the U.S. and North Korea, Guam gets threatened because of our proximity to them. So that alleviated a lot of my fears - still wasn't happy about Trump handling it like a bull in a China shop but at least it has blown over for now.

Carlton came home after that whole thing and we were very happy to see him!

Unfortunately the second night Carlton was home, Gavin got sick. He was super fussy and wouldn't go to bed. We couldn't figure out what was wrong until he threw up on my and the bed. Then we realized the problem! He proceeded to throw up three more times in about 30 minutes and had a mild fever. Giving him Tylenol was not fun...most of it ended up on is pajamas! He ended up sleeping in bed with Mommy and Daddy because very time we put him in his bassinet, he woke up and cried. He just needed some snuggles. Luckily the fever only lasted about 36 hours and the vomiting never returned. He just needed lots of sleep and cuddles!

Feverish Baby

Gavin recovered quickly and is back to his regular activities! He has become proficient at getting his toes into his mouth. He is also getting better at pulling his socks off.

"Nom, nom, nom"

"Oh, hey Mom"

Loves his cozy blanket from Christine!

Strong man impression

 We got this exersaucer from our friend Jen Pearce and we finally tried it out this past weekend! He loves it!!

'Sup

5 Months old!

Loves the umbrella handle

View from Museum

New Chamorran Museum

This past weekend we decided to go check out the new museum - we have been admiring its architecture for the past year but haven't actually gone to see what is inside. The exhibit was a bit disappointing but the museum itself is a very cool building and has great views from the second floor.

Gavin hit five months old on August 18th!! He is not crawling or sitting up yet (which is fine by me) but he is getting better at pushing up on his hands when he is on his tummy. He is also much more aware of his surroundings and grabs at anything within close proximity.