16 Months!

Our snuggle-bug Gavin is 16 months old!

~He has cut 4 molars, two on top and two on bottom.  His upper canines are visible, but haven't cut through yet.
~He enjoys stacking blocks and does a great job!  He's easily able to stack 5 blocks.  If Mommy or Daddy starts the stack, he typically continues until about 8 blocks.  He may be able to do to more, but knocking down a block tower is far too entertaining!
~He continues with his "baby talk" and his receptive language is flourishing!  He doesn't have too many recognizable words, although he commonly says some "words" during appropriate times.  For example, he enjoys bringing us shaker cars repeatedly and will often say something similar to "again!"  Also, he occasionally says sometime remarkably similar to "you're welcome" after being thanked for something.  He frequently holds objects/food towards us, as if he wants us to label it.  After being given it's name, he occasionally giggle before continuing on his way.
~We've successfully eliminated his morning nap and he no longer has his sleepy appearance in the morning.  He has been taking great afternoon naps, typically lasting 2.5-3 hours.
~Gavin has recently learned how to go down stairs and loves it!  He does a reverse crawl and caught on very quickly after we introduced it.  When asked if he wants to go downstairs/to the basement, he'll immediately drop what he's doing and make a mad dash to the basement door, shrieking most of the way there!
~We've had remarkable improvement in his skin!  Previously, we were applying his steroid cream and medications daily.  His face would look fine in the morning, but would start to have some bumps as the day progressed.  While working on cutting his molars, we noticed that his face appeared slightly chapped.  We began applying Vasoline daily at bed time which resulted in great success!  We've also been avoiding egg whites, garlic, and peanuts in his diet.  We haven't applied his prescription medications in weeks and his skin looks perfect!  We're hoping this continues!
~Gavin makes an adorable revving car noise, similar to a raspberry, when playing with toy vehicles!
~When asking for food, he'll point at the object, sign "more", sign "please" and then flash a smile.
~Gavin seems to enjoy picking up toys!  He'll happily bring toys to the appropriate bins and giggle as he puts them away.  We hope this behavior continues!
~He enjoys clicking his tongue and thinks it's comical when we do it in return!
~Gavin blows kisses, but not always on demand.  He'll give a sweet "a-mah!" on the back of his hand, which makes is extra adorable! He also gives sweet, sometimes sloppy, open-mouth kisses on our cheeks or lips.

15 Months!

Our little man is 15 months old!

~Gavin loves to walk!  He's able to walk very quickly and frequently roams the house.
~Overall, he's a pretty quiet guy.  But, when he talks, he seems to have something to say!  He's transitioned from babbling to "baby talk", including multiple sounds, pitches, etc. in longer phrases.  He says Mama, Dada, Bye-bye, Ni-ni (night night) and tries hard to say "cookie"
~Gavin came down with his first bug this month, including a fever, fatigue, runny nose and cough for a few days.  His eyes were also quite puffy and goopy after waking up.  We took him to the doctor, who confirmed his cold and said he had a bacterial infection in his eyes.  We gave him a few doses of antibiotic eye drops and he returned to his normal self soon!  He was a super-snuggler during his sickness.
~His receptive language skills are flourishing!  He understands and appropriately responds to many things we say, including going to his highchair when we ask if he wants to eat, going to the basement door when we tell him we are going downstairs, and going to his room, retrieving a book, and taking it to the recliner when we ask if he wants to read a book.
~Gavin has cut two top molars.  Two bottom molars aren't far behind.
~In addition to "more" and "all done", he also signs "please" which is adorable.  Rather than going across his chest when signing, he rubs his hand on the same side of his signing arm, giving him what we affectionately refer to as his "chicken arm"  He also flashes an adorable smile when signing it, making it nearly irresistible!
~He likes identifying other's eyes, nose, and mouth and is pretty accurate!
~He no longer drinks bottles during the day and nurses at bedtime.
~Gavin is transitioning into taking one nap a day.  He frequently fought morning naps at the babysitter's house.  On weekends, he was more likely to take a morning nap, but then didn't sleep in the afternoon.  We recently made the call to only put him down in the afternoon unless he looks tired around the time of his morning nap.
~He seems to be developing a right hand preference.  For example, when we recently handed him a crayon, he grabbed it with his left hand but then changed to his right hand before coloring.

14 Months!

Our sweet Gavin is 14 months today!

~Gavin is a full-time walker!  It's very rare to see him crawl.  He's able to go from sitting to standing independently and is getting faster everyday. He's very proud of himself and frequently roams around the house.
~He loves to eat and is our "meat and potato" boy.  He has enjoyed all meat, especially chicken, meatballs and hotdogs.  He also gobbles up spaghetti and pizza. He frequently gives an enthusiastic "Mmmm!" after taking a bite of food.  He continues to make pretty comical faces at cold foods.
~Gavin enjoys drinking milk.  He gets one bottle/nursing during the day, which we're thinking of weaning from as he drinks a good amount of whole milk during the day.  He nurses before going to bed at night.  He gets very excited about this nursing, so we predict he'll continue for awhile.
~He continues to babble quite a bit and will imitate intonations and some sounds.  He frequently states/babbles "My Mama!"and says bye bye ("Ba-baaa!"). He signs "more" and "all done" and we've just introduced "please."
~Gavin loves to play chase!  He's sure to giggle when you follow him saying "I'm going to get you!" and shriek in excitement when you catch him!
~He'll blow raspberries when asked what an elephant says.  He also does it when playing with cars.
~Gavin frequently points to objects of interest and things he wants.  Lights and pictures are recent interests.
~Wanting more result interpretation and a local allergist, we took Gavin and his allergy test results to the same allergist we saw for Brennan.  He wasn't completely convinced that Gavin's allergies and eczema are related because he's not severely allergic.  He prescribed an antibiotic ointment to use, should his eczema seem to get infected.  He also recommended keeping a diet diary to help determine triggers for his flare ups.  We're continuing to avoid garlic, peanuts, and egg whites, but will use "trial and error" to see if he reacts when exposed.  Since his appointment, his face has looked great the majority of the time, but he has had a few red, blotchy days.  We're also increasing how often we apply his CeraVe lotion.  The allergist also said that his Vitamin D levels weren't very low.  After reading some information about the dangers of too much Vitamin D, we stopped giving him his supplement.  If he continues to have flare ups over the winter, we may give him smaller doses to see if it makes a difference.  He also received his egg-free flu shot.  We have a follow up appointment in January. 
~He has an adorable smile and infectious laugh!
~Gavin loves to snuggle.  He still likes to snuggle Mommy for a few minutes when she returns home from work.  He also frequently comes to us while we're playing on the floor for a brief snuggle.  When you ask him for a kiss, he'll snuggle instead--not quite right, but still adorable.

He Walks!

We were finally able to get a video of Gavin walking!  He's doing a great job and getting more confident each day!

Mr. Patriotic

While talking about preschool today, Brennan mentioned that they say "the pledge"  He recited it several times!  (Sorry about the direction of the video!)

Allergies All Around!

We were anxious to hear back from Gavin's allergist.  We emailed the doctor, 3 weeks after the draw, to inquire.  We learned that he is allergic to peanuts, egg whites and garlic.  He had not yet received the remaining results.  We emailed again yesterday, 4 weeks after the blood draw, to ask again.  We learned that his IgE was normal (11).  He also reported that he is Vitamin D Deficient.  His result were 21.5, with normal being between 30-100.  He recommended starting Vitamin D3 2000 IU daily as a supplement.  He also said we need to eliminate peanuts, egg whites and garlic 100%.   We're supposed to report back if this treatment plan doesn't result in improvement in a month.

Just days after being diagnosed with a double ear infection and Upper Respiratory Infection, Brennan had an allergic reaction over the weekend!  He's never had peanut butter, telling us that he "doesn't like it." He had a few raisins and craisins out of a bag of trail mix.  Within a few minutes, he looked like this:

. 

We took him to Urgent Care, but it closed 5 minutes before we got there.  Since the reaction seemed to be contained to his eye, we decided not to take him to the ER.  We gave him allergy medicine, which helped with the itching and redness.  By the next day, his eye returned to normal.

We were able to get him into a local allergist today and a prick test was completed.  He desperately wanted to itch his back, trying to roll onto his back on this exam table and rub his back on Mommy while sitting on her lap.  He tested positive for a peanut allergy and was given a prescription for Epipens.  We're supposed to  avoid all peanuts, including foods fried in peanut oil and foods manufactured in plants with peanuts.  He is able to have tree nuts. We'll go back in a year to refill his Epipen prescription.

13 Months

Our sweet Gavin is 13 months old!

~Gavin enjoys eating table food!  Some of his favorites include spaghetti, pizza, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, peas, carrots, pears, oranges, crackers, and desserts!  He also enjoys drinking milk!
~After not hearing back from the allergist, we contacted him.  He had not received all of the blood work results yet, even though we completed the blood work nearly 3 weeks earlier.  Results he had received showed reactivity to egg whites, peanuts and garlic.  He suggested eliminating these foods 100%.  We're anxious to hear back from him with more results and details. His skin has been looking much, much better, but he still has occasional flair ups.
~He's made huge gains in walking!  He is able to stand independently and has taken several consecutive, independent steps!  We've seen him take up to 6 steps on his own!  He can go quite far if holding our hand(s).  He prefers crawling, but is becoming much more confident in walking!
~In addition to signing "more", he's also signing "all done" by waving his hands in the air above his head!
~While he has fun at the babysitter's house, he's always excited to see Mommy and Daddy when we return from work.  He waves his arms in excitement when Daddy arrives to pick him up.  When Mommy comes home, he immediately crawls to her, pulls himself up on her legs to be picked up and snuggles for a few minutes.
~He's a very good sleeper!  He puts himself to sleep easily, usually quickly playing in his bed for a few minutes before heading to dreamland.  He woke up a few times overnight closer to his 1 year birthday.  After learning about his minimal weight gain, softy-Mommy went into his room for a quick nursing session.  Since then, he's slept through the night without issue!  He's starting to occasionally skip his morning nap.
~He makes several funny noises, including clicking his tongue, "th", "shh", quick breaths through puckered lips, and elephant noises!
~He enjoys looking at books for short periods of time.  He likes pointing to pictures in books and consistently identifies babies and dogs.  When he sees a book he wants/looks at a book, he'll repeatedly say a throated "k" sound.
~Gavin loves to take baths!  As soon as he hears the water running, he'll drop what he's doing, quickly crawl to the bathroom, and bang on the door/attempt to reach the doorknob of the closed door.  He's also been known to try to crawl into the tub while we're undressing him!  He enjoys playing and splashing in the water!
~We're seeing some glimpses of drama in our regularly very calm and happy baby.  When frustrated and tired, he'll briefly lay his head on the ground and whine.  Is this the beginning of temper tantrums?!
~Gavin enjoys picking up toys!  He'll pick them up, put the in their container, move the toys around with his hand, take them out, repeat.  He also regularly empties the tupperwear drawer.
~He likes to show us things that he's holding, as if he's saying, "Look at what I have!"
~He enjoys throwing balls! 
~Gavin continues to be a climber!  In addition to climbing on the trampoline and Brennan's bed, he also climbs on toy containers and our mini-slide ladder.  He's also climbed on a stool, then climbed onto the couch.

Allergist and 1 Year Appointment

Daddy and Gavin traveled to Akron for Gavin’s appointment with the Pediatric Allergist.  He explained that Gavin’s persistent eczema may very likely be due to an allergy.  He ordered blood work to test for food allergies, environmental allergies, and vitamin D deficiency.  The doctor also recommended using CeraVe lotion rather than Eucerin, which has lanolin, another common trigger.  Daddy took Gavin to get his blood drawn a few days later.  They had a difficult time getting a good vein, but were able to get 2 vials of blood.  We’re hoping to hear the results soon.

Daddy also took Gavin for his one year well baby appointment.  Current stats:

Height: 29.5 inches (50th percentile)

Weight: 20lbs 7oz (25th percentile)

Head Circumference: 46cm

He’s healthy and happy!  The doctor said his small weight gain may be due to a food allergy and wasn’t concerned about his growth.  He’s also pretty active and is learning to eat more table foods, so he may be eating less.  Per usual, the doctor commented that his ears “look perfect!”  He received two vaccinations.  We wanted to take it easy on the little fella since he had his blood drawn the day before this appointment, so he didn’t get all of the possible vaccinations he could at this appointment.

Preschool!

Brennan loves preschool!  He’s started attending Wee Care Preschool in Fremont on August 27^th and will go on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.  It’s an excellent program and was highly recommended by many of Mommy’s co-workers that have sent/currently send their children there, too.  It’s a full day program, unlike many of the programs in Sandusky, so we don’t have to worry about getting him to/from school mid-day. 

We talked about preschool over the summer, including reading several books.  Brennan was very excited about going and frequently asked what day it was, presumably asking if it was time to go to school.  He enjoyed playing at orientation the night before school started.  Brennan was very excited on his first day of school and transitioned very well (better than Mommy!).   He must have had a great time because he talked about school until he fell asleep on the drive home!  He’s had a lot of fun each day and the teachers say he’s doing a great job during the day!

When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, Brennan enthusiastically responded, "A giant!"

Happy 1st Birthday, Gavin!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Gavin!

It’s hard to believe that Gavin is already 1!  He is such a blessing and brings joy into our lives every day!

To celebrate our little guy, we had a bouncing ball themed birthday party the weekend before his birthday.  Gavin loves to bounce on beds, the trampoline, etc. and we thought this theme was appropriate!  We had a fun party with friends and family.  The weather was perfect, allowing the kids to play and swim outside.  Gavin enjoyed being around loved ones, opening presents and eating his cake and ice cream!   

Birthday Buddies, Gavin and Grandpa Mealy!

 Happy Birthday, Gavin!

He spent the day at the babysitter’s house on his actual birthday and brought cupcakes to share with his friends.  That evening, he opened presents from Brennan, Mommy and Daddy and enjoyed more cake!  

~Gavin is quite the babbler!  We often hear repeated “Ga”, “Ma”, “Ba”, “Da”, “Oh”, “Ah” and combinations of these sounds. 

~He signs “more” at meal times to request food.  His adapted version of the sign looks like a clap and is adorable!

~Gavin has made great progress in eating table food!  Previously, he would apprehensively look at bites of food and then at Mommy/Daddy as if he was asking “What am I supposed to do with that?!”  When he ate, he would occasionally give dramatic facial expressions.  Now, he willingly tries food, isn’t dramatic, and eats much faster!  He still gives funny faces at sour or cold foods.  Sometimes, he seems picky about which bites he wants to eat.  For example, if there are two bites of bread on his tray, he’ll throw one on the floor and eat the other. He does a great job feeding himself!

~He’s also made great progress in sleeping!  Between his 11 month and 12 month birthdays, he woke up once overnight and needed help going back to sleep.  After a quick diaper change and snack, he went back to bed.  He usually puts himself to sleep easily and wakes up happy!  He takes 2 naps a day, both about 1.5 hours long. 

~Gavin is a very fast crawler and is slowly starting to show interest in standing and walking.  He enjoys cruising along furniture, walking while holding our hands and pulling himself up on nearly everything, but doesn’t seem to have much confidence in standing and walking independently.

~He’s becoming very proficient at climbing!  He can now easily tackle the stairs, Brennan’s bed, and the mini-trampoline.  He’s also able to climb back down, feet first.  We haven’t attempted going down the flight of stairs to the basement, but he successfully climbed down the two stairs to the garage.

~He’s showing more interest in books, especially lift-the-flap and touch-and-feel books.  He enjoys turning the pages, so be prepare to read fast or be interrupted!

End of Summer

Mommy returned to work today after a wonderful summer at home with the boys. I am very grateful to have a job that allows me to spend a few weeks at home and I love spending my days with them.  We didn't take many trips this summer, but did spend several days in Cincinnati.  Each week, one or two of the boys had a "Mommy and Brennan/Gavin day" while the other boy went to the babysitter's house.  This allowed the boys to get individual attention at home and stay familiar with going to the babysitter's house to ease the transition in the fall. 

11 Months Old!

Our sweet Gavin is 11 months old!  He's quickly transforming from a baby to a little boy!

~He's regularly using more sounds in his vocalizations.  In addition to "Mama", he also says "More", which sounds similar to "mo."  While not heard often, he's said "cookie" and "book."
~Gavin loves to climb stairs.  It's difficult to move a load of laundry because he immediately goes towards the stairs, despite attempts to distract him with toys or block the stairs with barriers.  He's able to climb them pretty quickly!
~We've implemented Operation Come-On-Kid-Please-Sleep-Through-The-Night.  While he would previously go back to sleep quickly with a diaper change and brief nursing session, we (especially tired Mommy) wanted him to sleep through the night more consistently.  He's done a great job!  We've gone in a few times overnight to change very wet diapers and Mommy has fed him a few times when he cries a I'm-not-going-to-sleep-without-you cry, but these nights are very, very limited.  If he wakes, he may cry for 5 minutes before going to sleep again independently.
~He frequently pulls himself up to standing and cruises along furniture.  He also climbs onto the mini-trampoline independently and, recently, onto Brennan's platform bed.  He also likes to crawl over us when we're siting or laying on the floor.
~Gavin seems to know exactly what he shouldn't get into and is frequently drawn towards these items especially electric cords, nightlights, puzzle pieces, toilet paper rolls, and Brennan's shoes.
~We're introducing more table food with some success.  He does best with crackers and especially enjoys goldfish crackers, graham crackers and Cheerios.  He has more difficulty with softer foods, such as fruit.  After making a face, he'll gum the pieces and sometimes tries to swallow them too soon.  We've found that he's more likely to try new foods when we feed it to him on a spoon.  Although, he prefers to feed himself crackers/Cheerios/etc.
~He's mastered drinking from sippy cups and straw cups.  At the end of a day's worth of meals, he typically drinks about 3/4 of a full cup of water.
~Gavin likes to "sing".  He'll join in with an "Ohhhhh" when we sing a looooong note.  He also likes to say "Ohhhh" in varying pitches while we gently tap his mouth with our hand.
~He still has little interest in books, but is starting to have a longer attention span for them, especially touch and feel books, and when he can turn the pages.  We're trying to increase our talking and singing to him to help with his language development.
~When he wants to move a toy/blanket/etc, he's been known to bite onto the object and crawl away.
~He's starting to pat our backs when giving hugs.
~Gavin is a Momma's boy! 

Pediatric Dermatologist Appointment

We traveled to Pepperpike today for Gavin's appointment with a Pediatric Dermatologist.  She recommended continuing with the steroid ointment we having been using on his face.  She prescribed a different, stronger ointment for the eczema spots on the rest of his body because they haven't responded as well to the original ointment.  Unlike previous directions from the pediatrician and dermatologist, she instructed that we only use the ointment for as long as his skin is red and dry, rather than a predetermined length of time (e.g., 1 week).  If it flares again, we use it again. We expressed our concern about her recommendations, since we've been using the steroid ointment for so long without consistent results.  She is not concerned about any side effects of it's continued use and said that it will not "cure" the eczema, but will treat it.  We are already following her bathing recommendations--short, daily baths using Aveeno soap; pat dry; immediately apply ointments and lotion.

We scheduled a follow up appointment, but are likely not to keep it as we weren't highly impressed with her.  He has an appointment with a Pediatric Allergist in late August.  If needed, we'll find another Pediatric Dermatologist for a second opinion.

He speaks!

We've decided that Gavin has spoken his first word: Mama!

He's said it for a while, but we were debating whether he was babbling or saying it intentionally.  He says it very clearly when appearing to look for Mommy, when Mommy is walking away, or when being fed--leading us to wonder if he was also trying to say "more." 

First Dentist Appointment

Brennan had his first dentist appointment this morning!  We had prepped him by talking about the dentist and reading a book about what might happen at a dentist appointment.  He did a great job!  Initially, he was a little apprehensive about having the dentist's fingers in his mouth, but the doctor was able to see what he needed and said that everything looks great.  We go back again in 6 months for another "child check up" and he'll have his first cleaning in a year.

Higher and higher!

Gavin climbed our steps for the first time today!  Previously, he hadn't shown any interest in tackling them.  He has attempted to climb onto Brennan's bed and the mini-trampoline, which are higher steps.  He was in the basement with me, crawling around while I was moving a load of laundry.  I looked at the stairs and he was on the first step!  I immediately went to the stairs and was there for possible support.  He quickly climbed the entire flight of stairs without assistance!  He climbed them again two other times today.  We recorded him, but are having technical difficulties with posting the video.

Speaking of higher, Brennan counted to 50 yesterday--his highest yet!  He was counting objects in a book and kept going and going and going...

So Big!

Sorry for the direction of the video.  It's too adorable to not share!  He's also starting to play Peek-A-Boo with blankets!

10 Months Old!

Sweet Gavin-boy is 10 months old! 

~He loves being mobile!  He can crawl quickly, using a variety of crawls depending on the floor surface.  He travels the fastest for electrical cords, puzzle pieces, and patio door blinds (i.e.: things he shouldn't have).  He also likes to crawl to air conditioning vents.  Want him to crawl even faster?  Chase him exclaiming, "Hey! Hey! Hey!".  This is also guaranteed to get a belly laugh.
 ~He also likes to pull himself up, especially on Mommy/Daddy, the mini-trampoline, Brennan's bed, and his crib.
~Gavin enjoys giving kisses and high fives.
~While it seems that he may only be repeating us, he's clearly said "Up", "Hug", and my favorite, "Mama!"  We're anxiously waiting for him to say them intentionally and meaningfully!
~He continues to enjoy eating, gobbling up all purred food we offer.  Gavin also enjoys Puffs and Mum Mum crackers.  He's successfully eaten tiny pieces of soft fruits (pears, bananas), but hasn't mastered Cheerios yet as he usually ends up spitting them up.
~His smile is full of pearly whites--8 teeth!  4 on top and 4 on the bottom.
~Gavin goes to sleep around 7:30pm and wakes between 5:30am-6:00am.  More often than not, he wakes up once over night.  He could very likely put himself back to sleep, but he goes back to sleep easily with a diaper change and quick nursing session.  I suppose I'm a softy, as I assume that his cutting teeth or eczema is bothering him when he wakes up.  He's a full-time belly sleeper, usually using one of his blankets as a pillow.
~Speaking of eczema, we continue to battle with his flare ups.  We've had a few appointments at the dermatologists' office and he's been prescribed several creams/ointments.  We declined using a cream that has been "black boxed" due to possibly causing cancer, despite the dermatologist assuring us that she would feel comfortable using it on her infant.  We also made an appointment with a pediatric allergist, wondering if an allergy is preventing his eczema from being controlled with medication.  The earliest appointment for new patients is mid-August and we're on the cancellation list, allowing us to go in if someone cancels their appointment.  He's a trooper with his skin, although it does seem to bother him at times.
~Gavin is most attracted to noisy toys.  Upon picking up small toys/objects, he'll immediately shake it to see if it makes a noise.
~He also likes to "dance", bouncing when he hears music.  He continues to like bouncing on beds, the mini-trampoline, etc.
~We're working on introducing sippy cups.  We've removed the valve on cups and he'll get excited when he gets a drink of water.  He usually chews the cup when given with a valve.  He also likes to play the infamous I-drop-and-you-pick-up game with sippy cups.

Ready, Set, Go!

It didn't take long for Gavin to master mobility and he now crawls very quickly!  Sometimes, he'll crawl on one knee and one foot, typically when he's not on carpet.  He also "monkey crawls" on his hands and feet.  He consistently "monkey crawls" when he's transitioning from carpet to tile/hardwood.

This video was taken about 2.5 weeks after beginning to crawl:

Mr. Memory

I've heard people say that kids remember everything.  They aren't joking.  Brennan's memory impresses us daily!  A few recent examples:

~While putting puzzles together, he can place pieces in the correct spot even without the adjacent pieces in place.  His biggest puzzle is 48 pieces, which he can assemble within a few minutes.
~He's a whiz at a 28 picture memory game on our tablet.
~Since the weather is warming up, we're visiting our local parks again.  On our first trip of the season, we told Brennan we were going to the park.  He questioned if we were going to the park with the "blue steps and the red slide" or the park with the "brown steps and the tunnel slide" 
~While on a walk around the neighborhood, he was identifying numbers on mailboxes.  He read one of the addresses "6063", reading from bottom to top.  We continued walking and explained that you read the numbers from top to bottom.  Without seeing the numbers, he replied "3606!"
~While on another walk, he pointed to a house that previously had a "skeleton on the front door"...as a Halloween decoration.

Although, this is also the child that when asked what he did at the babysitter's house, he consistently replies, "I don't know!"

9 Month Appointment

Gavin had his 9 month well baby appointment today.  Current stats:

19lbs 1/2 oz
29"
44 cm head circ

He's happy and healthy!  The doctor was pleased with his milestones.

Just in time for his appointment, Gavin's rash around his face broke out again.  It looked wonderful just a few days earlier!  We reviewed our current and previous treatments.  She recommended applying the Desonide steroid treatment again for 5-7 days.  We haven't been using the cream since weaning him off after the dermatologist suspected that his skin became "addicted" to it.  She also prescribed an antibiotic cream, also to be used for 7 days, in case it was becoming infected.  We're also continuing with frequent Vaseline applications to serve as a barrier against wetness from teething.  If this regimen doesn't work, we'll go back to the dermatologist.   His little thumbs are also becoming red from chewing on them while teething, so we're also applying Vaseline to them while he sleeps.  Adam and I are beginning to suspect that his skin may be more chapped than an eczema rash, or maybe a combination.

9 Months Old!

Our sweet Gavin is 9 months old!

~Gavin is officially mobile!  Once he realized the perks of mobility, he took off.  He transitioned from sitting to his belly more gracefully and intentionally.  Then, he learned to move from his belly to sitting. Within a few days, he was crawling!  Just a handful of days later, he was able to crawl further distances and with more fluidity.  He's most interested in going after things he shouldn't have, including Brennan's small toys and electrical cords.  He's very proud of himself!
~He's showing interest in pulling himself up on objects, especially Mommy and Daddy.
~He loves to eat!  He eats a combination of store bought and homemade purred food.  We've introduced Cheerios a few times, but he doesn't completely mash them before attempting to swallow.  We'll try again soon! 
~Gavin has 5 teeth--3 lower and 2 upper.  Based on gnawing and drool, another isn't far behind.
~He enjoys babbling.  Some new sounds including ga and ma!
~Gavin loves to bounce!  He bounces in your arms, on the floor, on his bed, etc.  He also enjoys sitting on the mini-trampoline and bouncing!
~He enjoys giving wet, open mouth kisses...and we love getting them!
~Gavin is quite an easy going young man!  He typically goes with the flow with wherever we are and whatever we're doing!
~He's inconsistent about sleeping through the night, sometimes getting up once.  The easiest way to get him back to sleep is a diaper change and nursing.  We suspect teeth and itchy skin are the culprits.  He also has difficulty going from belly to back, leaving him "stuck" if he doesn't want to sleep on his stomach.
~Gavin's skin quickly fluctuates from broken out to clear.  We haven't been able to pinpoint why, but hope we can find the answer and solution soon.

He Crawls!!

Gavin is officially mobile!  Daddy captured this video of Gavin's first crawling attempt!  Mommy was very grateful to have it on film, especially because she was on her way home from work when it happened.

8 Months Old!

Our amazing Gavin is 8 months old!

~Growing Gavin: Gavin loves to eat!  We've yet to find a food that he doesn't like as we continue to introduce new fruits and vegetables.  After experimenting with eliminating and reintroducing cereal for a few weeks, we didn't notice a significant difference in his skin, so we're continuing to give him oatmeal and rice cereal.  He's becoming very proficient at feeding himself puffs.
~Grinning Gavin: Gavin has 4 teeth!  Three lower teeth and 1 upper tooth.  Based on his gnawing on toys, we suspect another tooth is en route.
~Gabby Gavin: He's becoming quite a talker!  His newest favorite sounds include "baaaabaaa" and "A-bwah, A-bwah!"
~Grabby Gavin: If it's within reach, he wants it!
~Giggling Gavin: He has such a sweet giggle, and his smile lights up his entire face!
~Gavin is creeping his way towards mobility!  He moves himself around in a circle when sitting on or his stomach.  He's also able to go from sitting to on his stomach, although sometimes unintentionally.  While on his stomach, he pushes himself to his knees, but isn't bending his legs yet to get into crawling position.
~He's still waking up once overnight, although not consistently.  He goes back to sleep easily after a diaper change and nursing.  He may be able to put himself to sleep independently, but these steps seem to get everyone back to sleep quickly/keep others asleep!  He naps twice a day, 9am and 1pm.
~He loves to splash in the bathtub!  We bathe both boys at the same time and they frequently have splash parties!