Happy Holidays From Our Family to Yours

Devin and Cousin James

T Street Lights and Santa

Every year, we meet up with close friends to walk around and see the Christmas lights near T Street. There is a homeowner that dresses up like Santa and hands out candy canes to the kids. Devin told him he wanted a "Bob the Builder Tool Belt" this year. So darn cute. Even Gavin got in the picture. And you can see from the group shot below how our group is growing every year with all the kids. So fun!

Gavin - 6 Months

Gavin just turned 6 months old and is such a love. He continues to be his happy, easy going self. He really only fusses when he is tired or has a serious poopy diaper. Gavin has recently perfected his ability to sit up. And he is starting to get up on all fours when he is on his tummy. He hasn't really figured out rolling yet, but my guess that is coming soon.

We just started Gavin on rice cereal, carrots, and green beans. He really struggles when they are too thick or the texture is not really smooth. But that is pretty normal considering he's been only on solids for little over a week now. But he seems to really like them for the most part. Although he does like to do a good old raspberry while eating which sprays food everywhere!

We finally have Gavin sleeping the night again. We moved him into his own room and do hear him up several times in the night, but he manages to get himself back to sleep without any crying. It is wonderful. And he loves to sleep with his lovie covering his head. He must like it super dark or to feel himself breathe. It freaked me out at first that my young baby would have a small blanket on his head, but he seriously prefers it that way. And I know the lovie is small and easy for him to get off his head if he wants to.

Gavin is not much of a pacifier baby, which is fine with me since his temperment doesn't really require it. And it was so hard to get Devin off the pacifier that I'd be thrilled to not have to go through that with Gavin.

I just moved Gavin up to 18 month size clothes. He is a growing boy. The sleeves are a little long, but it fits otherwise. He really moved through the previously sizes super fast, so I'm glad I just had a bunch of Devin's hand-me-downs.

One thing I really appreciate about Gavin is how he is pretty self entertained. I can put him on the floor with some toys or in the exersaucer and he'll play for a long time on his own. And he always enjoys a good laugh with his older brother. The two of them laugh back and forth. It is very sweet!

We Have a Sleeper!

Just recently, we moved our guest room downstairs and moved Gavin's crib out of our room into his own. When we had Devin, we spent a ton of time and effort setting up the perfect room for our new baby. With Gavin, he really just got moved into the fold of being in a room with us along with putting his changing pad on our bathroom vanity counter. He really never got "all set up" in his own space. As a result, we all weren't sleeping well. We'd stir in the night and wake Gavin up and vice versa.

The first night after having Gavin in his own room, I was quick to be there and pick him up all night long. Exhausting!! Gavin and I actually ended up sleeping in Devin's bed by morning (thankfully Devin has a queen size bed). But I since realized I was picking Gavin up quickly when he wasn't even crying. He was just stirring while trying to get back into another comfortable position.

After a few days, I now have Gavin only getting up once in the night. He goes down at 8 p.m. or so and will sleep until 2 a.m. He eats really quickly and goes right back down until 6 a.m. I can often feed him again and he'll sleep another few hours. This is so great compared to our previous routine. We also just started him on cereal, so I'm confident I can get that 2 a.m. feeding to drop off too. Life is good. I just needed to let the boy sleep and not interrupt him. Now, he goes to bed with his door shut and no monitor. If he needs me, I'll hear him. And so far, we are all sleeping so much better and Rich and I are finally back in our own bed!

Cereal Time

Gavin has taken such a huge interest in our food lately that we decided it was time for him to get a little of his own. We started yesterday with the rice cereal mixed with some breast milk. He ate it pretty well for his first try. Then tonight, I put enough rice cereal in to mix with 2 oz of milk and he practically ate the whole thing. He was hungry with his mouth wide open. I'll most likely get him going on some organic vegetables this weekend. I can't believe we are already at this point...he's growing up so fast!

The feeding routine has also kicked us in gear to start signing to him. Gavin is very attentive so my guess is that it won't take long before he signs back. I remember to this day when Devin signed for the first time while sitting his high chair and signing for "more." It was such a great moment when he could communicate with us before he could even walk or talk. It is very empowering. To this day, Devin still signs when saying certain things.

Family Pics

Last weekend, we took some pictures with Rich's family. The boys did great during the whole photo shoot. The ones of Devin wearing the tool belt were merely for entertainment...to get him interested in taking more pictures after he discovered the "Bob the Builder" toys.
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