Well, most days it just feels that way.
No one said this would be easy, but dang...no one can truly prepare you for your child morphing into the devil incarnate after being an absolute angel 20 seconds earlier. Somehow I was also unprepared for the 4:00-6:00am playtime parties. And the way your baby can go from "oh cute, he's starting to crawl!" to "get away from the stroller wheels/laptop cords/toilet bowl!" in about 2 days. All of a sudden, after having some of his cutest moments staring up at me from the change table, he now seems to think his clothes are made of shards of glass and screams accordingly. Instead of laughing at the slight leakage of a poo-splosion, we've now seen a true Poomageddon....more than once. And sleep? Well. It's as if we lit his mattress on fire before gently placing him on it each night.
Busy, tired, drained, exhausted....
And then after yet another night of hourly wakeups and sleeping in a puddle of puke (if you're lucky enough that it's not something from the other end), you wake up and do it all over again. With a smile on your face and enough makeup slapped on that you look somewhat ALIVE.
Sigh.
So what have we been up to? Well....
Gavin turned 5 months old.
He rolls from his back to tummy often. He likes playing with his toys but only for a few minutes before getting bored and needing to move on to something more interesting. He started speaking in a "smokers whisper" and expressing his delight with a loud inhale noise. Everything he gets his hands on went in his mouth (including his hands...and feet). He loves his blankies, but also likes putting them over his face, loves when Daddy dances and sings for him and still loves to eat.
We went to Europe. Barcelona, Montpellier, Lyon, Montreux, Florence, Tuscany. It was heaven. What I wouldn't give for a glass of Cava, a Lyonnaise salad and a heaping plate of pasta right about now.
Gavin was the perfect traveler, slept on the plane (better than at home!), napped in the stroller while on the go, smiled for the camera, fed anywhere and everywhere and loved the freedom of no carseat on the trains!
He scratched the rocks of Roman ruins in Old Lyon, had his first foods (avocado, banana) in our condo in Switzerland, cut his first tooth in Tuscany, rocked his hat and jacket in the mountains, his tank top and bathing suit in Barceloneta and got compliments on his sunglasses wherever we went. We chose the PERFECT time to go. Not that the trip was without complications, but traveling with a 5 month old was easier than we thought and we would recommend it to anyone. Hey, if he doesn't sleep at home, you might as well not sleep in a Tuscan villa!
Gavin turned 6 months old. He eats lots of different foods (loves apples and sweet potato) and eating is easier with SIX teeth. Peekaboo is an all-time fave, especially with Daddy when he gets home. Storytime involved slapping and scrunching pages instead of reading. The right leg stomp becomes a real phenomenon. Seriously, he will not stand without stomping. Bangs toys and hands on the floor and high chair and "scratches" everything, especially different textures. The hatred of putting a shirt on begins and he will fight you to the death if you try to pick his nose.
Gavin's first wedding and first Halloween! Now, isn't that the cutest Peter Pan you ever did see?
Special thanks to Baby Gap for the most adorable wedding outfit ever (that bowtie!) and to a very special Nana for her crafting of Pan's outfit and hat :)
Gavin turned 7 months. Heavens above, he is getting too big! He is eating like a champ, but still loves to nurse (especially all.night.long). His favourite food is pears and he loves beef and sipping water from a cup (with help). On Thanksgiving weekend, he started inching forward and now he has the fastest army crawl around and is getting into EVERYTHING. Cords, dirty stroller wheels, the shower curtain and toilet are among his favourite conquests. Peekaboo almost always gets a laugh, he has tickly toes, and he likes sitting way up high on Daddy's shoulders. Teething has become a NIGHTMARE and our normally happy boy has a very split personality that turns on a dime. He is getting better at sleeping in his crib for naps and at the beginning of the night but much prefers to sleep with Mommy and Daddy for most of the night (which happens every night so we can all get some precious sleep!). For Christmas, Gavin is wishing for anything hard to bite on and a room full of cords, Daddy is wishing for a queen sized bed and Mommy is wishing for 3+ hours of consecutive sleep.
