Happy 3rd Birthday, Brennan!

 "Happy Birthday to Me!"

 Enjoying cake at his birthday party!

Brennan is 3 years old today!  He's such a kind, intelligent, polite, and funny young man and we're so proud of him every day!

To celebrate, we had a Cars party, based on the Disney Pixar movie, as chosen by the birthday boy.  Guests enjoyed food with names from the movie, including Sarge's Sloppy Joes, Fillmore's Fruit Salad, Doc Hudson's Dippin' Veggies, Mater's Tator Chips, and Antifreeze (green lemonade) and Motor Oil (Iced Tea) to drink.  The kids enjoyed making license plates and racing cars on a race track, made by Uncle Matt.  It was a fun party and we're so thankful to be able to celebrate with friends and family!

Brennan's birthday fell on Martin Luther King, Jr Day, so Mommy was able to spend the day with the birthday boy!  He had fun playing with all of his new toys, opening more presents, and playing with a balloon Daddy brought home for him.  He chose his birthday dinner: Hot dogs, tator tots, cherry tomatoes and yogurt.  We also enjoyed more birthday cake.  Brennan seems to think he needs to blow out candles (either real or pretend) after singing "Happy Birthday"

5 Months Old!

Our sweet Gavin is 5 months old!  He's such a joy and has a wonderful personality!

~He's able to sit independently and seems to enjoy the new perspective of his environment.  He still topples over from time to time so we stay nearby, just in case!
~Gavin is reaching for objects, including toys, burp cloths, hair, napkins--you name it, he wants it!  The vast majority of the time, the object then makes its way into his mouth
~He's starting to blow raspberries!
~Taking naps in his crib is now acceptable to Gavin.  Not surprisingly, he's taking better naps than when he slept in a vibrating chair, either in the family room or in his bedroom.  He naps around 9:00am and 1:00pm, each lasting about 1-2+ hours.  Sometimes he'll also take a cat nap around dinner time.  Bed time is around 7:30pm.
~We decided to start sleep training and he's done a great job!  Gavin almost always falls asleep when nursing, but wouldn't always stay asleep when he was being put in bed.  One night, when we knew he had a full belly, clean diaper, and had been burped, we decided to have him stay in bed after he woke up during the transfer into his crib.  He fussed for a few minutes and then was out for the night!  He has put himself to sleep at nap times, bed times, and after over night feedings.  We typically give him a taggie blanket, turn on his musical soother on his crib, and a kiss and he's asleep within a few minutes.
~He usually sleeps through the night (~7:30pm-5:30/6:00am), but sometimes gets up once during the night.  When he's up, he wants Mommy.
~We've given him cereal a few times.  After a few bites, he seems to "get it" and eagerly looks for the spoon.  We'll give it more regularly soon.
~He's found his feet and likes putting them in his mouth!
~We seem to have finally found the solution for his skin!  We were prescribed Desonide 0.05% ointment and used it regularly for about a week.  Now, we only use it when his skin starts to get red.  We use Eucerin lotion twice a day and Aveeno baby body wash.  While I haven't been paying super close attention to it, he seems to have been doing better since I cut back on my peanut intake.  Farewell, daily peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch!
~Thankfully, bottles are a perfectly acceptable way to eat now.  Phew! 
~We love his smiles, shrieks of excitement and giggles!

Potty Time!

We decided to take the plunge and start potty training Brennan.  He wasn't showing a lot of interest in using the potty, but could tell us what he was supposed to do.  We thought we'd try it over a weekend and if he wasn't successful, we'd try again later.  We were pleasantly surprised at how well he did over the first weekend, and he continues to do a great job!

Over the first weekend, we set a timer for every 15 minutes.  Like magic, Brennan would immediately stop what he was doing--playing, eating, watching a show, reading a book--and run to the bathroom, often exclaiming "It's time to go to the potty!"  He would sit for 5 minutes, when an alarm would go off again.  Reading a book helped to pass the time.  He earned a sticker every time he sat on the potty.  If he was successful, he earned an M&M and a sticker.  He did a fantastic job!  He progressed from not telling us about his first accident in the morning, to telling us just in the nick-of-time by the afternoon.  We continued our plan on Sunday, extended the amount of time between attempts to 20 minutes.

We sent him in underwear with extra clothes and a bag of M&M's to the babysitter's house the next day.  He did great all week!  She also set a timer and reported that Brennan and Jacob, the other boy also potty training, ran to the bathroom and sometimes debated over who would get to go first.

A week in, and we've stopped using the timer.  We've learned that we can't always rely on him telling us when he has to go, or answering honestly when asked and we should take him anyways.  He seems to wait to poop until he's wearing a diaper--luckily we haven't had to clean dirty underwear...yet!  We've even gone on a shopping trip with him only in underware!  We predict it will be awhile until he's sleep trained, so he wears diapers while napping and overnight.

We're so proud of our big guy!

4 Month Appointment!

We had Gavin's 4 month appointment today!  Current stats:

16 lbs 15.5oz (90th percentile)
27" (90th percentile)
42 cm head circumference (50th percentile)

The pediatrician prescribed another cream for his eczema and gave us samples of another, nonsteriod, cream.  He suggested that we try the non-steriod cream for a week.  If we don't notice improvements, we can try the new prescription cream.  If his skin still isn't clear, he recommended eliminating dairy from my diet for approximately a week.  He may refer us to a pediatric dermatologist if the eczema persists.  He stressed that it's trial and error to find the correct treatment.  He's not kidding!  Gavin's skin looks good some days, but can return to red and rough patches quickly.

He received three vaccinations, one oral and two injections.  Unfortunately, we had the super slow nurse.  Fortunately, he calmed down quickly with snuggles.  

Christmas 2012

We had a wonderful first Christmas as a family of four! Brennan especially enjoyed opening his presents this year, sometimes barely looking at the gift before moving to the next present.  He also enjoyed opening others' presents, but would first deliver it to the appropriate recipient.  Gavin enjoyed watching the action and visiting with family!

Our celebration began on the 23rd with a visit from Daddy's side of the family.  Later that day, Grandma and Grandpa Mealy came to visit through the 25th.  We traveled to Cincinnati on the 29th to celebrate with Mommy's side of the family and ring in the new year!