Happy Halloween!

Good Morning, Gavin

No caption needed.

The Poop Stops Here

Today was the first official day of fairly normal gastro-intestinal processing and bowel movements. Since Wednesday of last week, Gavin's dirty diaper production tripled. We certainly did not demand that he try harder in the Number Two Arena, so we are assuming that Gavin had his first viral battle.

Thankfully, he won without any extraordinary measures. He was very uncomfortable, cried quite a bit, got completely off his well-tuned sleep schedule, and was generally not himself. We picked up two tips that we found very useful in dealing with Gavin's bout of viral diarrhea. First, use baby powder in combination with diaper rash creme (or Triple Butt Paste -- I love the stuff). Second, switch to a non-milk-based formula -- Gavin appeared to develop a lactose intolerance since the virus chased out all the good microbes from his system.

While the whole experience was a stinky mess, Gavin put up some impressive numbers:

• 9 consecutive days of 4 or more poops.
• 28 consecutive poopy diapers over the course of a 3 day period.
• 84 total diapers (36 diapers is a normal 9 day period).

How did mom and dad fare? Gavin's previously mentioned sleep schedule had been taken for granted. We have been sleeping through the entire night for several weeks. That, of course, went out the window with the illness. It's one thing to wake up and feed a hungry baby. It's an entirely different ball game to wake up to a screaming baby and change an abnormally messy diaper. However, we knew Gavin had the short end of the stick in the arrangement and he always flashed a brief smile after being returned to fresh and clean state.

As you can see from today's photo, Gavin is exhausted, or pooped if you will, from his ordeal. We are glad it is over and are very happy to return to the normal routine.

Catching On Quickly

Gavin has been intensely watching his parents at mealtimes the past couple weeks. He has scrutinized sipping techniques of both hot and cold beverages and spent countless minutes analyzing the use of tools that allow them to put stuff in their mouths. You may not be aware of this, but Gavin is a HUGE fan of putting stuff in his mouth. He would like to meet the inventor of such wonderful stuff so that he can offer a congratulatory drool.

Today, Gavin found his moment to shine. Turning his thorough analysis and observations into practice, he demonstrated that he could, in fact, manipulate an object called a spoon and "get it in the hangar" as Gavin has heard his dad say.

Bravo, Gavin!

First Snow Arrives

The first snow of the season arrived in the Denver-metro area on Sunday. Of course, there have been a few storms in the mountains, but this was the first snow where the snowflakes fell just outside our doors and windows. The picture below is a before-and-after photo, Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon, respectively. For the after-after picture, just refer to the before picture...the mile-high style sunshine has already cleaned up the storm.

It is a pretty good system. Places like NYC could use quick-melting snow. Storms only look pretty during the storm in New York. Once it hits the ground, it turns into black goo -- nobody enjoys trodding through that!

We knew the cold and snow were coming, so we have been working on building Gavin's outdoor attire and were prepared for winter weather. There was no way I would let First Snow come and go without showing Gavin, so after bundling him into his winter-wear (Polartec suit, hat and mittens), we took a short walk into the snow. Honestly, Gavin seemed unimpressed. It was barely an inch and the grass was still visible, so I cannot say that I blame him. He impressed me, though, by tolerating the wind better than he usually does.

I am sure he is just waiting to sled down the hill behind our apartment, which just happens to be kid-sized. Do they make infant sleds?

Gavin Goes Skydiving

So he has not gone skydiving...yet. However, Gavin is determined to perfect his free-fall form long before he begins walking, let alone strapping a parachute to his back.

Good Morning, Gavin

This guy has really mastered the art of sitting up.

Gavin Meets Rice Cereal

Gavin ate his first "solid meal" today. I use the terms "solid" and "meal" loosely because the cereal is really a bland paste and he only ate a couple teaspoons. I suppose that's good for a baby...a fiery bowl of chili would probably not go over so well.

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Good Morning, Gavin

Gavin was a little home-sick for NYC today so we put on his FH t-shirt to make him feel better.