Gavin is 5 Months Old Today

Gavin is 5 months old today! Wow, where does time go? He is growing and changing so fast. I wish I could pause his life right now, so he'd stay this size for a while. We've reached some milestones: He sleeps through the night pretty consistently now, although he has a few nights every now and then where he wakes up. But when that happens, all I have to do is put his pacifier back in his mouth and walk away. The nights of sleep have been sooooo needed, even though I'm still tired (just not as much). Jason and I have talked about starting him on oatmeal cereal. We don't give him rice cereal because when we tried it in the past, he screamed every time he was finished with it. So, we quickly said no to that. We gave him a little bit of oatmeal in his bottle last night. He kept it down pretty well. I think we're going to start off giving it to him at night for a little bit and then start adding it to his normal daytime bottles. We tried feeding some to him with a spoon first, but he hasn't quite figured out what to do with his tongue - he kept pushing it out. So, we'll have to practice more with it. We're working with him to get him to roll over. He spends a lot of his time on his back because he doesn't lay on his tummy very well. When we give him tummy time, it usually only lasts about 5 minutes - for 2 reasons...1) He throws up when he's on his tummy. It doesn't matter if he just ate 1 minute ago or 1 hour ago...he's going to throw up - And 2) He doesn't know how to relax his butt cheeks. He keeps them squinched (is that a word?) together. His legs go straight out and he looks like he's doing the "super baby". He bobbles around on his belly! It's actually quite hilarious to see him do it. But anyway, we're still working on that one. He's getting to where he can sit up more by himself for a few seconds. Then he just slumps over face forward into the carpet. Sometimes Jason and I will just sit there and look at him when he does it - partly for our amusemet because he looks so funny when he does it (aren't we mean?); and because we want to see if he'll try to push himself up with his hands. So, my little boy is growing up. I'm looking forward to more milestones.

Go Red for Women

Red! What a sassy color! It's bold and gets people's attention. If you're not into wearing showy colors, that's ok. But just once, do it for this reason...

This Friday, February 1st is National Wear Red Day to raise awareness for the Go Red For Women national movement founded by the American Heart Association to help you to fight back against the No. 1 killer of American women. A friend of mine from school has a mother and sister both with heart disease. I am sure many of you have been effected by it as well. If you'd like to participate, it is easy! All you have to do is wear red. For more information visit http://www.goredforwomen.org/

What To Wear: National Wear Red Day has its own dress code. Wear your favorite red clothes or accessory - a red blouse, a red dress pin, a fabulous red handbag - put on red lipstick, or sport some red socks. Go red in your own fashion to show your support for women and the fight against heart disease.

Why You Should Wear Red: Too few people realize that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women (and men), but the good news is heart disease can often be prevented. Spreading the Go Red For Women message “Love Your Heart” raises awareness of heart disease and empowers women to reduce their risk.

To take a look at some statistics and graphs, visit this website: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200026

Be sure the spread the word to other women you know!

Wordless Wednesday

Here are 2 of my favorite recent pictures:

Life is Sacred

Today begins Sanctity of Human Life week. Abortion...how can I ever begin to describe my feelings on this topic without tears welling up in my eyes. And I really don't need to go into it because you already know what it is and how it's done. There are a couple of websites that I'd like to share with you that I found interesting: 1. Focus on the Family http://www.family.org/socialissues/A000001095.cfm 2. Pro-Life.Com http://www.prolife.com/ I went to a birthday party last night for Jason's nephew. While I was there, a lady brought in a newborn baby - like a "fresh out of the hospital" newborn...or so I thought. I wondered why in the world this mom would have her baby out in the cold damp air! I found out, as I eavesdropped, that this baby wasn't a newborn afterall. He's 9 weeks old, but only weighs 7 pounds! So, I'm thinking, "Oh, he must have been a premie, then." When I finally got up the nerve to talk to her, I found out some interesting things. To begin with, the baby wasn't hers. She is in the process of trying to adopt this tiny little boy from a family member. The mother (and father) of this baby were on methamphetamine throughout the pregnancy, and the baby was addicted to meth when he was born. This baby was not a premie! He was a full term baby, weighing in at only 5 pounds when he was born! The lady and the doctors just now weened the baby off drugs last week. She said that as he went through withdrawals he would shake all over and scream all day. I asked her what the long term effects would be. One side of the baby's head is smaller than the other side - the eyes, ears, skull, etc, but she said the growth would eventually even out. He also has some kind of muscular problem with his neck (I can't remember the exact name). She has to take the baby to therapy 3 times a week. And she also said that he would be a slow learner. I'm just having a hard time understanding how someone could continue to take drugs even though there was a baby growing inside her. I do understand that when someone is on drugs he/she doesn't think clearly and that the drugs have a complete hold on him or her. But could she have not tried to get help - at least during the pregnancy? My blood boils as I type this. So no, this has nothing to do about abortion, but it has everything to do with protecting a life and respecting what God created - the same meaning behind Sanctity of Life Week. I challenge you to say a prayer each day this week (and always) for all the mothers who are considering having an abortion - that God will place someone in their path to encourage them to make a different choice. And pray for God's protection on all those sweet little babies out there, that they'd be given a chance to live.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I Love About Gavin: 1. The way he smells when he's just had a bath at "Nana's Bath & Spa" 2. His fat rolls on his thighs (and cellulite on his hiney) 3. His breath (but not when he burps or throws up) 4. When he grabs my face and holds it 5. How he loves to be naked 6. How he splashes in his bath water (he loves taking a bath) 7. The sound of his laughter when Jason or I tickle him 8. The way he tries to be a big boy and hold his bottle by himself even though he can't always keep a good grip on it 9. How he surprises himself when he squeals out loud 10. His poo-poo faces 11. The way he always pulls the blankets over his face to cover his eyes 12. When he grins at me when he catches me peeking into his crib in the morning to see if he's really awake 13. When he growls at me if I try to take his bottle out of his mouth to burp him

Wanted: New Recipes

I love to cook and try new recipes, but I'm finding that lately I'm cooking the same old thing all the time . I'm tired of cooking spaghetti, pork roasts, and cube steak. I've run out of fresh ideas. Do you have any favorite recipes you will share with me? I'd love to try them out!

Truths About Parenting

Some truths about being a parent: Those who say they "sleep like a baby" haven't got one. The best thing to spend on your children is time. Insanity is inherited; you get it from your kids. Having children will turn you into your parents. For adult education, nothing beats children. It now costs more to amuse a child than it once did to educate his father. *These were taken from www.bellaonline.com/articles/art37589.asp