Then & Now (Part 1)

We thought a little "Then and Now" leading up to Gavin's first birthday would be fun. Here's the first installment.

THEN: 6 days old - Daniel and I took Gavin on his first errand, to Target. We packed a full diaper bag with 2 changes of clothes for the less than 20 minute expedition, secured Gavin in the Moby wrap, and headed inside the store. That is when disaster struck. A stranger met us four feet in the door and despite learning that he was 6 days old (i.e. still fragile, breakable, and ridiculously susceptible to the world's germs) she pulled back the Moby so she could see his face and rubbed his cheek. I was horrified. We pushed forward - we needed exactly four items (cannot remember what four items were so important now, but I know we needed four). Somewhere about the first aisle, I started to worry that the fluorescent lights were hurting Gavin's eyes because he seemed to be squinting and going cross-eyed even more than usual. Somewhere about the third aisle, I started to worry that we had not secured the Moby tight enough because Gavin was starting to wiggle. Somewhere about the seventh aisle, Gavin had had enough and started crying. (It was just a weak newborn cry, but at the time it seemed like the loudest, most emotional, and emotion-evoking sound ever. Hey, we were new to all of this.) We had only two of our four items, but we decided to divide and conquer (something we have now mastered). I headed back to the car with Gavin, and Daniel forged ahead. Still shaken and worried that we were baking in the car, Daniel quickly threw the third item on our list into the basket and then the fourth and headed to the checkout. As he went to unload the basket, however, he realized that somewhere between item three and item four he had snagged someone else's basket. Too bad. He bought our one item and ran to the car. We walked back into the house and thought, wow, we're never braving the outside world again.

Now: 6 months old - Because Gavin had been so content on the road trip back from San Antonio (about 75 miles south of Austin), Daniel and I decided to stop at Ikea (about 20 miles North of Austin). It was holiday season and the store was packed. We leisurely shopped for house furniture for a couple of hours, sans diaper bag, snacks, or toys. As we waited in line at the check out, Gavin noticed a pit of stuffed soccer balls that I can only imagine were touched by every single kid that was dragged to the store during the month of December (aka the month of runny noses, etc.). We threw him right in and he loved it, take a look.

$5 RAFFLE FOR TWO 3-DAY ACL PASSES (and other great prizes)

Funds go to my daycare. Raffle drawing extended to April 23. Call or email mom or dad if you'd like to purchase.

Getting Our Feet Wet All Over Again!

I could give you a thousand excuses for why it has been four months since the last post . . . I returned to work full time . . . Daniel is back to working for other clients . . . we were asked to be on the Austin Cool House tour and we've been meeting with the committee and photographer . . . we've been designing and planning for landscaping, etc. In the end though, there is really just one explanation: Gavin has become cuter, more rambunctious, and more mobile and we're so consumed with living that I reverted to my former bad-diary-keeping self. No more!

Here are some pictures from Gavin's first visit to a famous Austin spring-fed swimming hole, Twin Falls. Daniel and I have been here many times over the 14 years that we've lived in Austin, on dates, with friends, and with family. Hands down this was our favorite visit.



Perhaps if I post it, it will happen: Check back around April 16 for an all-inclusive blog post about the past 10 months!

First Day of School

"Gavin had a good first day. He liked the big purple block with mirrors on it, so he could watch himself =). He also liked being rocked in the rocking chair and was really happy as long as he was in someone's lap and was happy for a few minutes at a time being on the floor with his new friends. It takes awhile to get used to so many other babies being in your space!"

-- Note from Leah (Gavin's teacher) about his first morning at school.











We have an amazing kid, but he is not an easy daycare student. He has taken a bottle less than ten times and has fallen asleep with someone other than mom or dad a total of three times. However, at his first day of school yesterday, he drank three ounces from a bottle and slept for 30 minutes. More importantly, he was all smiles and hugs when we picked him up. We're calling it a complete success.

Kiddie Karma

Someone told me that with a newborn you should expect one tough period every day and one tough day every week. I cannot say whether this is entirely accurate because the magic potion of overwhelming adoration and infant smiles mixed with limited sleep puts parents in a constant state of drunken love such that it is nearly impossible to clearly remember those tough times. The good times, however, remain crystal clear.

For 115 minutes on Wednesday, I was the Baby Whisperer #2. (No matter how good, I can never be Baby Whisperer #1 because the title is already taken by our beloved Clay.) I had to dodge a cup of lemonade swarming with bees, push through a blister rubbed raw by the thong part of my sandal, and scare off a stray dog that charged us, but I did it. I had one of those moments where I thought, you know what, I'm rocking this parent thing.

While babysitting Lewis (our friends' son who is 6 weeks younger than Gavin), I managed to simultaneously feed him and Gavin, play and sing songs with them without any crying, and get them to sleep at the same time while out for a walk. It was awesome. And it might have lasted for 116 minutes, but for one small thing: I thought, you know what, I'm rocking this parent thing.

That's when it ended. It didn't end badly, but it ended. Lewis decided he was done with the walk, his cries woke Gavin, Gavin's diaper leaked, and we were still three blocks from the house.