Wiggle Worm

Gavin is quite a wiggly boy, but we never buckle him into his bouncy seat. For one, he doesn't like being strapped in. And two, I really didn't think he'd go anywhere. If he does jump out, he's not too far from the floor, right? So yes, he's wiggled down to the end of the seat several times, but that's all. This morning, Jason walked away to go into the kitchen to get himself a bite for breakfast. When he came back into the living room and saw him, Gavin was almost out of his seat. Jason grabbed the camera:(And yes, Mom, I know you've told me over and over that I need to start buckling him in.) So, are we bad parents for letting our child wiggle out of the bouncy seat - and take pictures while it's happening???

Scrapbook Retreat

Ok, so I had the BEST weekend ever! I went on a scrapbooking retreat with Scrap Happy in Greer. Fourteen ladies went - including Kelli and Jessie - and we stayed in a house on Lake Hartwell. I was so excited to be away because this was my first time being away since Gavin was born. Of course, Friday night I was awake several times - thinking that I heard Gavin stirring in his bed...then I remembered I wasn't at home. And I woke up at the crack of dawn like I do every morning now. It has become automatic. But on Saturday night, I took a Benadryl - and guess what!!! I slept all through the night - didn't wake up one time - and woke up at 9:00 in the morning. I haven't slept that long since I was pregnant! Holy cow! I was a new woman! And to be honest, I came home looking forward to seeing Gavin and Jason - I felt like a better person from having some time away. For any of you that scrapbook or make cards (Meredith, I know this is too far for you) or do any paper crafting, Scrap Happy in Greer is a small scrapbooking store near Belks on Hwy 29. It's on Middleton Way, in the shopping strip up from Capri's, next to This-N-That. If you're ever in the area, check it out. Right now, everything in the store is 1/2 off. The owner, Laura, just moved her store into this building, and she's deciding to scale down what she carries in the store and be more selective of what she sells. So, there are some good deals going on. Happy Tuesday.

Learning to Eat

For the past few days, Jason and I have been trying to get Gavin to eat cereal and fruit from a spoon. Here are a couple of pictures from our attempts.

(Yes, he's wearing a Halloween bib. Cut me some slack. As long as it does the job, right?) (Gavin kept turning around and looking at everything in the kitchen. Jason had to get his head and turn it so he could get the spoon in his mouth.)

(Jason is going to freak out when he finds out I put this picture on my blog; but I just couldn't help it. I love Jason's face.)

My Valentine

Some pictures of my sweet Valentine:

Just for Jackie Mac

I went to church with my parents this morning and saw Megan McC's mom. We were talking about our blogs. She said that she saw mine, but said I needed to do more. She said she didn't want to read about stuff - she wants to see pictures! So, this is for you Jackie!

5 months old picture He loves getting the royal treatment at "Nana's Bath & Spa"(And Gavin isn't the only one who loves to take baths at Nana's house. Jessie, Jacob, and Karis love it too. There was one Saturday when we were all at Nana's, and there was a line waiting to have Nana give them a bath. There's just something special about Nana's magic touch.)

Gavin loves to cover his face when he gets tired. He'll use a blanket, one of his stuffed animals, or even his bib to cover his eyes. After he goes to sleep, I uncover his face. (It makes me nervous.)

Wonton Chicken Salad

One of the best parts about my job, now that I'm in the science lab and not the regular classroom, is that I get to eat with adults instead of 20 children. Once a month, the related arts team has a Friday Feast. Each of us brings in a food item to share for lunch. The art teacher brought in the best salad EVER! It was sooo good that I just couldn't stop eating it. I wanted to share it with you because it is so simple. Here's the recipe: Wonton Chicken Salad -chopped lettuce (iceberg or romaine hearts) -chopped up cooked chicken -slivered almonds -fried wontons (She actually fried them herself with wonton papers. I'm thinking that I'd just get them already fried from the local Chinese restaurant.) Dressing: -2 tsp salt -1 tsp pepper -1/4 cup sugar (maybe use splenda?) -1/4 cup vinegar -1/4 cup olive oil I hope you'll try this salad. It is delicious. I promise!

Venting Session

Ok - so this post isn't going to be really positive. I'm using my post as a venting place, for a moment. Thursday, Kelli and I noticed that Gavin wasn't acting himself. He was real clingy and didn't want to play much by himself. On Friday, he was ok. Then, he woke up yesterday morning with a congested cough. He's had a cough before, but it was small. So, I thought he'd be ok. I gave him some medicine the doctor gave me the last time he had a cold and then went off to the Upward basketball games at church. He was in a pretty good mood the whole time. The only time he got fussy was when he was tired. There was so much noise, and nowhere for him to take a nap. He was coughing some there, but no too much. When we got home yesterday afternoon, we had a difficult time. He wouldn't play, he wouldn't swing, I couldn't rock him, or bounce him in his bouncy seat...nothing. He screamed, and screamed, and screamed. He finally gave up and went to sleep. And ever since then, his cough has gotten worse and he has acted more and more sick. This morning he woke up, and when he started coughing, it was a more yucky congested cough. . He whined every time he coughed, so I knew his throat had to be hurting. And when he whined or made noises, it was like he's lost his voice. He had a 101 temperature last night and then again this morning, and that's with Tylenol in his system. So I thought it would probably be higher if he didn't have Tylenol. (We took it rectally b/c we were told that's how the doctor would do it b/c it was most acurate.) So Jason and I went to the Mary Black Urgent Care. (DON'T EVER GO THERE!) We got there as soon as it opened and there were already like 20 people ahead of us. We waited for 2 hours before they even got our insurance and information. Meanwhile, Gavin is screaming, well trying to scream, because he doesn't feel well. When the lady finally called us back, she looked at us with no expression and asked us what we were there for. I wanted to grab her face and make her look at Gavin and say, "What do you think?" It was clear why we were there! Could she not hear him coughing and trying to breathe? Duh! When she took his temperature, she took it in his ear and it said 98.7. Bull malarky! You can't tell me that his fever went back to normal that fast! She took us to a room to wait for the doctor and we explained to him everything that we explained to the dumb nurse. I wasn't worried about the runny eyes, runny nose, and some of the cough. We've done that before. I was worried about how much junk was in the cough and that he was losing his voice - more of a sore throat thing. I wanted to make sure he wasn't getting strep throat or something. Plus, Gavin has been tugging at his left ear for several days. The doctor barely looked at him - barely looked in his ear, barely looked at his throat. We were done in 5 minutes. He said it was a cold. We already know what to do with a cold! So then the nurse brings in a paper and says that it's something I can read about upper respiratory infections, but it was for adults and not children. First of all, an upper respiratory infection is not the same as a cold! So which is it? What does he actually have? Second, the paper was for adults, not babies! How in the world is that supposed to help me???? So basically, we wasted 3 hours of our time today! It was not helpful at all to go to that place! Ok, I'm done.