Dear Tavin: Month 10

Dear Tavin,

Well it's the busiest time of the year and our schedule reflects it!! Felt like we were go go go all the time!

First up was your 9 month pictures!  Since it was the holidays we had some fun with them :)

The week before Christmas was filled with lots of running around getting last minute gifts.  Thank goodness we live close by all the prime shopping places so that one of us could make quick runs after you went to bed!

Our first Christmas stop was Great Grandma and Grandpa's.  Ah what fun.....creating memories.....

Then it was off to Grandma and Grandpa D's for the long haul!  You did so great with all the hustle and bustle.  Sleeping in your pack and play at your Great Aunt's and Uncle Keith's house!  You also managed to sleep a little bit with a house full of people!  I was so impressed!

Your pre-sneeze face...

Ripping off the paper...

The whole gang

Your cousin Jake got this cool Packers outfit for Christmas and he was so excited that he HAD to try it on right away.  You were pretty much in awe of him...it was cute to watch you together

I also tried to get some of you in front of the tree on Christmas night....but you did not want to sight still for anything!

After coming back home on Wednesday it was back to the grind on Thursday.

And then with the New Year looming you decided to stay up most of the night....teething!  Your top teeth were coming through (left front, and right eye tooth).  Good thing I only had to work a half day!  I was TIRED!

We didn't do any crazy celebrating...just watched a movie (Brave) and you were up every so often. New Year's Day was like any other day...housework and more housework!

It was so nice being able to spend extra time with you over the holidays!    And it was time to get back to reality and a more normal schedule.....but not before you got sick!

Sunday (January 6) you were mostly yourself during the day...a little crabbier than normal but then that night your fever spiked (made it to 103..yikes!).  I thought for sure you had an ear infection or something else major, so I took you to the doctor and guess what....nothing!!  I was shocked!  So we left there and since you still had a fever, I took you to work with me.  You were in a decent mode most of the day.  You slept much better Monday night and were able to go to daycare on Tuesday.

Wednesday (January 9) we had your 9 month check up.  You weighed in at 19.5 lbs, 2'3.5".  You definitely are quite the short chunker!  The doctor didn't have any major concerns.  It was a quick and pain free visit!  Next visit though won't be as fun as you'll have to get your shots :(

Later in the week you developed a cough and runny nose.  I had to pick you up on Friday from daycare because they were worried about your cough.  You came back to work with me and were your normal self, except for your cough.  I even took you for a walk with Sadie to help calm your cough down and it worked!  After dinner Friday night, we took you for a quick walk around the block.  Thank goodness for warmer than normal temps!  With you carrying the cold bug, Dad and I both managed to get sick too :(  So Saturday for lunch I made Broccoli Cheese Soup.  It was your first meal with us that you could eat!  You really enjoyed it.  Saturday night your cough was still bothering you.  It was like a tickle in the back of your throat and every time we laid you down you would wake back up with it.  So I made Dad run and get you some cough syrup.  But in the process of him being out, I managed to get you to sleep.  Go me!  The Packers also played this night and since we were trying to get you to sleep we didn't get to watch it until 10:30 p.m.  It was major bummer that we stayed up so late only to watch them lose.....

Sunday (January 12) was a pretty much a bum-and-do-nothing-so-we-can-feel-better day!  Dad let me take a nap in the morning and then helped get you down (and stay down) for a nap.  The next week was actually the first normal week we've had in a LONG time!  It was nice to get back in to the rhythm of daycare/work/home stuff! Let's hope we have more weeks like this in our future!

So here's what you've been up to this month:

• terrorizing the kitchen (pulling things out of the drawers and cabinets)
• pushing anything that will move so you can "walk"
• climbing up and then down steps.  You caught on pretty fast
• wanting to feed yourself.  You'll take the spoon away from us and fling it.  But as soon as we put food on your tray, you'll gobble it up.

It's amazing to watch you now.  You are like a little sponge soaking up every little detail about life and people!

Love,
Mama

Dear Tavin: Month 9

Dear Tavin,

Every month I say I'm going to not wait until the very last minute to write this.  But here I am, last minute, writing this.....

First up this month was Thanksgiving.  Grandma E, Aunt Nikki, and Uncle Tim came to celebrate with us.  Dad and I stayed up late on Wednesday to get everything ready.  Somehow we managed to pull it off!  Turkey, corn casserole, homemade bread (3 different kinds), stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, apple pie, pumpkin pie, butterscotch torte.  MMMM so good!  You didn't quite get to enjoy the dinner as you were passed out cold but you did later have a few bites of sweet potatoes and apple pie :)

The next weekend (11/23-11/25) we went to Grandma and Grandpa D's.  It was a great weekend. 

Loving this picture of you and Grandpa!

Reminds me of this pic:

Yep, that's your Mama with Grandpa way back when (circa 1980)!

We converted one of the toys from Aunt Angie into your "command center".  You loved being able to climb in and out of it all weekend!

Dad and I also went to the movies!!! (insert shocked face)  It was nice to get away but I missed tucking you in for bedtime!

Sunday night when we got back home you were your normal cheery self.  But when you woke up Monday morning you were running a fever and not feeling well.  I ended up staying home with you.  You did not want to lay down by yourself at all!  We held off on taking you in to the doctor hoping you would get better but Monday night was even rougher and you were not any better on Tuesday morning.  I again stayed home with you on Tuesday and ended up taking you in.  The diagnosis:  ear infection (blah!).  We got the antibiotics and the next day you were feeling much better.

On Saturday (12/1), we pretty much stuck close to home (the crazies come out on the weekends this time of year!) and tore apart our storage in the basement.  We had quite the mess but somehow managed to get it all cleaned up that weekend.

We also managed to get our Christmas tree up that night while you were sleeping. You've been doing great gently touching it and just looking at it.

The ornament Grandma got you last year for Christmas has been your favorite. You smile when we listen to it each night.

The next Saturday (12/8) we stayed low key again.  We went to church in the afternoon and sat in the front row.  Behind us was an elderly couple.  You were quite charming and were holding the elderly women's hand.  You definitely made her day!  She was all smiles when she left church.  Later that night, Grandma D came.  We were supposed to get a huge snow storm and she came early because Grandma, Aunt Angie, and I were going Christmas shopping on 12/10.  well the snow didn't start until early Sunday afternoon.  But it was great to have Grandma around. She was like a little elf:  doing our dishes, hanging up your diapers, and watching you while Dad and I took Sadie for a walk. 

While I was out shopping, Dad called and said he had to go pick you up from daycare.  You had thrown up and were running a fever!  WHAT!?!?!?  was my first thought.  You were in a pretty good mood, had just gotten over an ear infection, what next?  So Dad had to take off and spend the day with you.  I didn't make it home to see you before you went to bed (sniffle) but when you woke up on Tuesday you were doing pretty good (same as Monday morning).  Grandma was still there so we took a few pictures before work.

But then around 11:30 I got the call again.....running a fever, clingy, and not yourself   So I went to get you and brought you back to work.  You did pretty good.  Took a while to settle down but once you did you took a great afternoon nap.  Wednesday morning you were still running a fever!  So you again came to work with me.  You were in a good mood most of the day, even climbing the steps at the office numerous times!  Finally on Thursday, your fever was down and you were able to go back to daycare.

The weekend of 12/15-16 we went to Grandma and Grandpa D's again, this time to help Uncle Keith move.  Although we (you and me) didn't do any heavy lifting, it was nice to spend time with family (as always).


What you've been up to this month:

• Trying more new foods (including more food that Mom and Dad are eating)
• Starting to try to walk.  You're afraid to let go but when you have something to hang on to you're good to go!
• Finding anything and everything on the floor (and not on the floor--grandma's earring from her ear!!) to put in your mouth.  
• Watching your Mama like a hawk.  It's cute to look at you from across the room when someone else is holding you.  You have the "are you sure this is okay, mom?" look on your face.
• Pulling bag after bag out of the drawer in the kitchen.  
• Doing the touchdown signal!  You respond more and more to it!
• Wanting to climb steps all.the.time!

Note to Mama:  Posing a very mobile, 9 month old by yourself is extremely difficult!  Try and do it with Dad next time around !!

It's so hard to believe that you have now been "out" for as long as you were "in"!

Love,

Mama

Dear Tavin: Month 8

Dear Tavin,

These months are just whizzing by!  The weekends have been pretty laid back and have been all about getting things done!!  Yay for Mom & Dad!

The weekend of October 20 was all about raking leaves.  We managed to get quite a bit of it done while you took some extra long naps.  Grandma and Grandpa came over to help on Sunday as well.    Grandma even helped snap some pictures of you/us!

The week of October 22, your daycare peeps were on vacation so guess who got to watch you all week!  DAD!!  He found out just how hard it is to take care of you (i.e, was in bed by 8:30 the first day he watched you).  You had quite the week with Dad.  Visiting his work, visiting Grandma E, playing in/on boxes, waiting for Mom to come home.  All in all you both did very well.

Then came Halloween.  Though we didn't dress you up, I still had a few cute outfits that we put you in.

The Drunken sailor look...

But Dad dressed up...wait for it...as King Candy from Candy Land!

This costume really tested Mom's creative abilities.  But with some help from some of your Nestie Aunties (thank you Jacqui!), we managed to pull it off.  And pull it off pretty decently I must say!

The weekend of November 3 and 4, we did more work around the house.  I also found out that we had a hungry beaver baby who loves to chew on his crib!!  So I went to Google and found a quick solution!

I think it turned out pretty good for doing a quick fix before the beaver you chewed on it even more!

November 5 was a sad day as we had to say goodbye to your Great Uncle Mike.  You never met him but he was a pretty awesome guy.  The memorial service was touching and tearful.

On November 11, we trekked to some backwoods to surprise your Aunt Angie for her birthday.  We met at a restaurant and you did such a great job!

What you've been up to this month:

• exploring more rooms in the house
• clapping (so adorable)
• drinking from a sippy cup
• wanting to go-go-go!

The "how much longer do I have to do this" face

Ready to take off!

Love your smiles!!

With the holidays coming up, it should be interesting to see how much trouble you get in to!

Love,
Mama