Boo! I mean woof!

Well its been another busy week!  This picture is of Gavin's halloween costume this year.  I originally wanted to dress him up as a monkey or lion, but I waited a little too long to buy his costume, so since my choices were lady bug, princess, or puppy dog, we went with puppy dog.  This is the only picture I managed to get of Gavin before he completely melted down.  Clearly, Gavin does not enjoy being humiliated just for his mother's enjoyment.

I would say the costume stayed on a grand total of 3 minutes. We'll try again next weekend when we give out candy to the trick or treaters!

Also, Gavin had his 2 month appointment last Monday (he'll be 10 weeks old tomorrow).  At the appointment, he weighed a healthy 15lbs 1 oz and is now 25 inches long!  Once again, he's off the charts for both height and weight.  He's officially wearing mostly 6-9 month clothes now, and I'm filling box after box of outfits that are now too small.  Maybe next time!

Gavin had a fun week playing at home with Mommy and running errands.  He is making more new noises (gurgles are the newest), blowing bubbles, and is getting ready to grab things, but isn't quite there yet.  He seems a bit distrustful of foreign objects.  He has to do a "test bat" a few times before he'll try to grab something with his clenched fist.  He's also learning cause and effect, and enjoys kicking the arch on his playmat and swinging at the rattle, since doing these two things make the most noise!

Gavin also got to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Mayner and Aunt Shari and Uncle Andy this week.  Below are a few pics from their visit:

And finally, below are just 2 cute pics of Gavin hanging out with his parents.  This next week will be a busy and sad week, as its my last week of maternity leave!  Its going to be difficult balancing out trying to get many things done before I head back to work with trying to spend as much time as I can with my favorite little guy!

Ok, I forgot I have to post one more picture.  Open up the picture below to full size to truly enjoy the look of pure joy and love that Gavin is giving to, you guessed it, the ceiling fan.  Where's the love for Mommy and Daddy buddy? :)

Gavin In Action

Here are some videos of Gavin's favorite new activities:

Gavin on His Playmat

Gavin and His Bears

Scooter Baby with Daddy

2 Months old!

Gavin is 2 months old today!  He has grown so much in the last month, and looks more like a baby and less like a blob :)

Here is Gavin smiling at Mommy...I like this picure :)

Gavin chillin with his teddy bear friend, Rufus.  No teddy bear gang signs in the pics this month.  Maybe Gavin and Rufus have cleaned up their act.

Below is our 2 month letter to Gavin:

Dear Gavin,

You’re 2 months old today! You’ve gone through so many changes in the last month, its hard to remember them all. Looking back on your 1 month letter, you seem like a totally different baby!

A month ago you were still sleeping in “Froggy” and only sleeping for about an hour and a half at a time. Now you sleep in your crib, and you sleep from about 8pm to 6am with usually just one wake up in between! Mommy and Daddy really love your new sleeping schedule 

Last month, you didn’t really “play” very much, and now you love to play when you wake up in the morning. You always have a big smile for Mommy when she walks in the room to get you, and you love to play with the bears mobile, or your new favorite toy, your playmat with the flashing, singing globe!

You’re also starting to figure out that you can bat at things within your reach, and you’re starting to grab things. In fact, just today Mommy noticed that you were checking out one of her fall decorations, so she moved you close enough to touch it, and you not only reached out and grabbed it, you tried to pick it up off the table and drop it on the floor!

This last month you’ve also visited a lot of new places. You’ve been to lots of restaurants with Mommy and Daddy, you went to Mommy’s school to visit her teacher friends, you’ve been on lots of playdates with Olivia and Caleb, and you even went to the farmers market! And soon you’ll be visiting another new place, daycare. Mommy is very sad to not be able to play with you all day, but she’s excited for you to meet other babies and have lots of new experiences.

You haven’t had your official 2 month doctor appointment yet, but you’re definitely still growing! Mommy and Daddy guess that you weigh about 15 pounds and are about 24 to 25 inches long! Although you may be a big boy, it sounds like Daddy was too. We checked his baby book when we visited Grandma and Grandpa Gillespie, and Daddy was almost 15 pounds when he was 2months old too. So don’t worry Gavin, you’re just your father’s son!

We’re looking forward to the next few months Gavin. You’re going to have many first holidays, you’ll be baptized, and you’ll reach lots of new milestones! Happy 2 month birthday little guy!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

And here's some pics from Gavin's playdate this week:

Guess who is the youngest baby in this picture...oh thats right, our "little guy" Gavin.

Lean on me, when you're not strong....

Aw, Gavin holding hands with his future girlfriend :)

A lucky guy

Notre Dame has touchdown Jesus, we have touchdown Gavin! All the football watching is already rubbing off on him. But really, this is Gavin hanging out during his shower in Geneseo while I opened up all the loot he got. Gavin received so many great presents and he's awfully lucky to have such loving family and friends!

Here is Gavin hanging out with Grandpa after the shower. Gavin is either smiling at the ceiling fan or Grandpa...given the picture below, its probably Grandpa.

And here is Gavin taking a nap with Grandpa after a long day of opening presents. Gavin likes when Grandpa tells him all about all the fun things they will do when Gavin is older like play baseball and go sledding.

And here is Gavin yesterday at his play date (aka Mommy sanity time). The cutie on the right is Gavin's friend Caleb, who believe it or not is actually 3 weeks older than Gavin! At this rate, Gavin might be wearing a real Bears jersey in his future! Also, this picture shows Gavin's fighter pose, which has become more popular in the past few days. I don't know why Gavin is always geared up for a fight, what baby would mess with this bruiser?

I had two really cute videos I wanted to post but its not working for some reason. I'll have to get my technology expert husband to help me when he gets home from work!

Get to know Gavin part II

Gavin has had a fun and busy week since our last post. This last weekend he got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Gillespie, Uncle Kevin, and Uncle Kyle and Aunt Allison. He was so excited to hang out with so many family members that he slept really well that night! And for about the last week or so, Gavin has actually had a night time "schedule!" And he is starting to sleep for more than 2 hours at a time! A predictable bed time and much more sleep has made Ryan and I much more pleasant people to be around these days :)

Gavin and I also went to a mommy and me class this week (its actually called "Surviving Motherhood" but I think that sounds a little extreme...we're not trying to live off the land and start a fire with two sticks here). There were TWO other Gavins at the class, and one of the "others" was even wearing the same shirt as original Gavin! But the class was a nice way for me to see that other moms go through the same things I do, and to confirm that Gavin might be the biggest 7 1/2 week old ever. Gavin could easily take down all the 3-4 month old kids I saw there...hmmm.

Today, Gavin and I went to my middle school so I could show him off to the staff (and I also got some free pizza at my Studio One's pizza party...it was Domino's, but still, free food is free food :). Gavin was such a good boy on his first day at school!

The "get to know Gavin" part of this blog is the list of nicknames below. I realized I left this out of last week's post, and anyone who knows Ryan and his brothers well knows that a good nickname is very important! Most of the Gillespie boys have nicknames that can't even be traced back to their origins, but thats what makes them great. Gavin's nicknames are pretty simple so far, but I'm sure he'll earn some wacky ones soon enough. So far Gavin goes by all of the following:

Gav

Gav-o

Gavvy

Gavitron

Gavinator

Gavination

And my personal favorite, Booger - I've definitely referred to Gavin as Booger in front of people who don't realize that its a term of endearment :)

Below is a video of how much Gavin loves his bath time. I didn't know there was audio so enjoy my super high baby voice...I had no idea that I'm such a baby talker!

Get to know Gavin

Gavin is now 6 weeks old and maybe its really too early to tell, but I think we're starting to see his personality shining through! He is making new noises, noticing more things in his world, having more time where he can entertain himself, and is sleeping in his crib!

Since he is turning into more than a baby blob, I thought this blog would be a goood time to talk about Gavin's current likes and dislikes.

Likes

• Mobiles: Gavin loves the mobiles in his pack n play, crib and on his swing. We're not sure if he thinks the animals on the mobiles are his friends, or if he thinks they are going to attack him, but either way, he is very entertained!
• Ceiling fans: Gavin is mesmerized by the ceiling fan in our family room, and just recently discovered the one in our bedroom. He cries if we take him out of the viewing area of the fan if he is not yet done marveling at its wonder.
• Mirrors: Gavin thinks that super cute baby he sees in the mirror is awesome. We've tried reaching out and touching the baby in the mirror, and that freaks Gavin out a bit!
• Things that can be grabbed/pulled while I'm holding him: Favorites in this category include my hair, my necklace, and his latest discovery: the drawstrings on my hooded sweatshirts.
• Sitting like a "big boy": Gavin likes to be held so that he uses one of our arms to sit on with his feet dangling and him facing out so he can view as much of the world as possible. However, this position doesn't last too long when your son weighs 13 pounds and still tries to flop all over the place!

Dislikes

• 
  Wiping the milk off his face: and chin, and double chin, and behind his ears....this kid gets milk everywhere! He is definitely a boy and wants to stay dirty!
• Getting out of the bath: Gavin loves splashing around in his bath, but like his Mommy he hates getting out of the nice warm water. There is not a hooded towel warm enough to convince Gavin that the world is not ending when he gets out of the water!
• Mommy taking a shower: No matter what kind of deep sleep Gavin might appear to be in, he is instantly awake and PO-ed the minute I step out of the shower. He is kind enough to let me get clean but will not tolerate any extra time for frivolities like getting dressed or brushing out the wet rats nest that is my hair.
• Red lights and freight trains: I mean really, most adults dislike these as well, so I can't blame Gavin for hating these two events that interrupt his car naps.
• Mommy or Daddy sitting while holding him: If you are privileged enough for Gavin to allow you to hold him, you will be standing, swaying and bouncing him at all times, thank you very much. Thank goodness for the Baby Bjorn.
• Iowa onesies: Last week Illinois had a bye week so Ryan "gave me permission" to put Gavin in the one Iowa onesie we have for him. But apparently Gavin bleeds blue and orange because he howled like I have never heard before when I tried to put his Iowa outfit on. Sigh...at least my football team is ranked :)
  

Below are a few new pics, including Gavin and I watching college football (we're friendly rivals), Gavin's first cold weather outfit and Gavin and Daddy hanging out.

A future linebacker?

Mommy and Daddy might be spending a lot of their time at football games in the future. Gavin had his 1 month old appt on Monday, and he is measuring off the charts for both height and weight! Gavin is now 23 inches long and 12 lbs 8 oz!

Gavin has has a very busy week! On Wednesday he went to the Farmer's Market in Grayslake with Mommy and her friend Kristin and her daughter Olivia (Gavin's future girlfriend if he plays his cards right!). We got some delicious corn on the cob and ice cream before Gavin decided he had enough of all that fresh air.

Yesterday Gavin had quite the fussy day, but we still decided to go visit Annie and Tom and their new baby Jack. Jack and Gavin had the same due date, but Jack decided to show up in a more timely manner, so Jack is 2 weeks older than Gavin. Gavin was not too excited to be out and about yesterday, and didn't want to follow Jack's good example, but like always, he knocked out as soon as we were moving in the car on the way home.

Today, Gavin and Mommy got up very early to go meet Mommy's teacher friends for breakfast before school! It was good practice for Mommy...now she knows just how many things can go wrong when you're trying to get two people ready in the morning! But once we got to the restaurant 20 minutes late, Gavin calmed down and let Mommy enjoy her bacon and eggs :) And Gavin got to meet another of his baby friends, Caleb, who is also only 2 weeks older than Gavin.

Gavin is also taking some big steps towards (hopefully!) being a better sleeper! Gavin currently is convinced that Mommy and Daddy are doing super exciting things when he sleeps, so he fights off sleep as much as he can. He only sleeps in his bouncer that Mommy and Daddy have nicknamed "Froggy" because it has a frog hanging from the top that plays music. But last night, Gavin slept for over 2 hours straight in his pack and play, and another 2 hours straight in his crib! Too bad one of those stints was from 6-8...Mommy can't pull off napping at that time of day!

We don't have many pics to post for this week, just Mommy with Gavin, Gavin and Daddy napping, and my first attempt at a video posting! (Gavin enjoying the mobile in his crib).

But we have something better instead! When Gavin was about 2 weeks old, our friend Kim took professional pictures of him, and she is just about done publishing them to her website. The link is below to check out some super cute pics of Gavin...and there are more to come, so check the website again in a few days to see all the pics! The link is: http://www.khchicagophotographer.com/gavin/Welcome.html