Debut Stage Performance

Gavin made his stage debut this evening. Some of the early reviews rumored to hit the press in the coming days are: "Riveting...", "Captivating...", and "Born to entertain, destined to touch your heart..."

You did not know it would happen so soon and, frankly, neither did we. As a result I managed to get this 70's-quality example of what one would find looking for early childhood pictures of mom and dad. No 8,000 megapixel image that Grammy can plaster on her classroom wall at school or cool movie to stick on Youtube. Gavin was heard mumbling, "Way to go, Dad."

So what's the backstory? We attended the 5th Annual Weekcreekers Holiday Gala -- an annual fundraising event for Weecreekers, Gavin's daycare. We did expect to participate in a silent auction and dinner. By the way, how do you know you live in the mountains? When you bid on a cord of firewood at a silent auction. Anyway, following the dinner, the various classes of children performed skits for their classmates and parents. In true Weecreeker fashion, even Gavin's toddler class, the Turtles, had a turn on stage. Before we knew it, his teachers rounded up the class and gathered the kids on stage. They managed to "hold the line" and shook bells while everyone sang "Jiggle Bell Rock". It was quite cute and thankfully I had taken my cell phone even though I knew I would no signal at the event.

First Sled Ride and Snow Picnic

With the arrival of our first significant snow in the canyon, Gavin got to open a Christmas present early. He went for his first official sled ride in two popular modes: the relaxing mommy-drawn sled excursion and the fast-paced driveway "hillside" ride. The hillside ride, not filmed, was of course ended by Gavin's first-ever "snow picnic".

Gavin Sings "Ring Around the Rosies"

Happy Belated Halloween!

Happy belated Halloween! While this was not Gavin's first Halloween based on the fact he was part of the world last October...it was his first Halloween based on his participation this time around. As you can see, he chose to be a bat. I say he chose, even though Mom picked out the costume, because he accepted the costume and wore it for a couple hours. The first time he tried it on a few weeks ago, he ripped the hood off.

You might wonder where mountain folks go to trick-or-treat. Our neighborhood is not convenient for a Halloween Night out especially for a toddler. We did hear about a kid's Halloween event down on Pearl Street in Boulder. So we scooped up our little bat and flew down to check it out.

It was a party indeed -- a couple hundred kids and parents swirled around the various stores where employees, dressed as witches and other Halloween characters, handed out candy. Although Gavin is walking, we carried him through the crowds and let him pick out a treat when he was so inclined.

Here are the candies that Gavin picked out himself. I have to say, he does have good taste. Of course, Gavin did not eat any of his candy. He just warmed up to buttered toast in the past few days. Sweets appear to be a future acquired taste.

We had a good time and I think we will take advantage of the Pearl Street Halloween in the future. Best of all, Gavin seemed to enjoy himself. He even allowed us to sneak into the county courthouse and vote while we were there.

Guinness World Records: Messiest, Miserable Toddler

You may have noticed that I began tagging posts as "Toddler". Yes, Gavin has indeed ascended from babydom to toddlerdom. He has taken the name-sake "steps", begun asserting his opinion, and flashing from happy to upset faster than you can say "Wha-".

In this case, "Wha-" gets finished off in my head as "Why the (insert colorful phrase of your choosing) would you smear your lunch over your entire head and then be terribly upset with the results?" Of course, then I realize he has never had a butternut squash face mask before -- he was experimenting. I can imagine the appeal although I can honestly say I have never had one, nor ever will, unless such treatment is applied by Gavin during a subsequent incident.

I hope other parents out there who see this shining moment are giggling about a similar moment they experienced with their own kids at this stage. I have been chuckling the entire time I wrote this, in hindsight.

Daddy's Office or Romper Room

This kid can walk, climb, scale, fall, dive, and generally get where he wants to go.

First Walk Down the Driveway

Today, Gavin ventured outside for his first walk. Accompanying his mom, Gavin navigated the bumps, cracks, and varying grade of the driveway. Since the driveway is not exactly a short run, it provided Gavin plenty of exercise being the first time he has explored the yard in bipedal fashion.

We are certain he enjoyed it since he chanted his usual mantra when he is having fun, "Happy, happy, happy, happy..." He also practiced "up", a new word which he has learned. We even think we heard "up, please" after one fall. However, I am willing to admit that is just my proud daddy-brain at work.

And Stretch to the Right

The fitness genius that introduced you to BAWL is now breaking new ground in the world of toddler-led fitness programs with his new system TAPER, or Toddler All-Purpose Exercise Routine!

Now that ski season is just weeks away, we are using Gavin's innovative techniques to get our bodies tuned for the winter season. Seen here demonstrating his mind-blowing moves, Gavin achieves a physical trifecta of balance, coordination and flexibility using the "O" ball and a xylophone mallet. I guarantee you have never been part of a fitness program quiet like this.

Disclaimer: Please consult your physician before beginning any physical regimen. Anyone with a predisposition to giggling should avoid engaging in TAPER all together as they are at higher risk of injury.

What's In a Word?

You are absolutely correct. Today's photo has nothing to do with the title. However, it is a good representation of Gavin's progress and you might guess what he is up to. With the abilities to stand, climb, toddle, and crawl, he has access to good 60% of the house. Gavin is keeping us busy, but has not gotten into any serious trouble or messes -- yet.

So onto the title... What's in a word? I've been think about this question in relation to Gavin for quite a while. I am fascinated watching Gavin develop the desire to do things and say things. Even more amazing are the moments when he bridges the gap between the two and begins to communicate.

As many other parents are doing these days, we have introduced Gavin, as well as ourselves, to American Sign Language. He has been able to ask for milk, crackers, "more", and to go to bed for several weeks now. It is an interesting process as babies and toddlers tend to interpret signs in their own way. For instance, Gavin is able to identify dogs by sight or sound and will sign dog by tapping his chest with the palm of his hand instead of his thigh. Whatever works -- apparently he is getting his point across.

As far as the verbal stuff, I think I had formed a preconception of the First Word as a glorious milestone where Gavin would announce some complicate word at least three syllables long and I would beam my parental pride. And from time to time, Gavin has blurted out enough of a word to recognize such as fish or apple. At present, Gavin can say cracker, car, and happy (we think). So between the signing, the partial words, and now the distinct words, what's in a word?

What I have realized is each new word he expresses is a wonder in itself whether it be a new sign he picks up or a new verbal exclamation. It is something I already knew -- that each day brings some new discovery. And on the days Gavin decides that the status quo will suffice, I am just as happy listening to him chant "happy, happy, happy, happy" as he cruises along.

Faces? Did You Say Make Some Faces?

It has been a long time since we have seen a "Gavin Faces" series around here. Well, if you were itchin for a fixin then here is your shot. You can be sure there is plenty more where that came from!

Don't forget the rest of the faces!

Bubble Snack

So you want to have a bubble snack? Gavin demonstrates the proper technique for effectively catching bubbles for consumption. If you have caught snowflakes, that provides a good base to work from. There are subtleties, however, and Gavin will go on at length discussing the minute, but important factors.

Silliness aside, he looks like such a big boy!

A Good Diaper is a Clean Diaper

As you may remember, Gavin made a bold move a while back switching from disposable diapers to cloth diapers. Many products were trialed and evaluated. Only a few met his demanding standards.

To show his loyal support to one of the diaper finalists and to receive a free diaper, Gavin sent in a "diaper in action" picture, or DIA -- not to be confused with Denver International Airport.

You can see Gavin's commercial web debut at Precious Dignity. (scroll down the page)

Exploring the Unknown

For quite a while, Gavin's sphere of influence was limited not by his stamina when it came to rolling or soldier crawling, but by non-physical boundaries. This was fortunate for us...Gavin would not cross the threshold of open doorway between his room and the hallway, nor would he venture from the living room into the kitchen due to the change in flooring materials from carpet to hardwood. It was almost supernatural, like some spell was holding him back.

Well, sometime in the past couple weeks, the spell was broken. While playing with him in his room one afternoon, he suddenly lost interest in his toys and made a break for the door. I assumed that he was on his way to shut the door (because he cannot leave any open door stay open these days). Much to my surprise, he ignored the offensively open door and continued right over what had been an impassable barrier. Once though, he looked over his shoulder and issued a triumphant giggle. Guess it's time to buy baby-gates.

His bold exploration continues. The DGZ (De-Gavinized Zone) on the first floor has also been dismissed. Gavin has discovered the elusive route to the front door and you can see him surveying his next conquest, The Deck.

New Skill = Less Public Appearances

Gavin recently acquired a new skill: nose-picking. While I'm all for learning new things, this nose-picking falls into the category of "things-Gavin-never-really-needed-to-know-or-discover".

We are in the process of renegotiating his scheduled public appearances while the exploration of his nasal caverns plays out. Not surprisingly, the PNPF, or preferred nose-picking finger, is also the PPF, or preferred pointing finger. So if you find yourself in the "line of fire" just beware of where that finger has been!

Blackraspberry Wins!

Gavin received his first taste of ice cream this afternoon. As Daddy was sitting in front of him, Daddy's ice cream, blackraspberry, was the first flavor that Gavin tried. He made faces, let the ice cream dribble out of his mouth, rubbed it all over his face, and, of course, signed for more.

He also tried the other flavors on hand, chocolate (Mommy) and mint-chocolate-chip (Grammy). However, Gavin quickly decided these ice creams were not for him. He's a chip off Daddy's block apparently.

At first, he was spoon fed his first few tastes, but once he selected his favorite flavor, Gavin went for it all in true ice cream licking fashion!

More of Gavin's Favorite Pastime

We finished off our Fourth of July holiday weekend with a day trip to Rocky Mountain National Park.

All our hikes with Gavin have been local, within twenty minutes of the house, and have been short affairs, less than two miles. None of these hikes required meals or naps. Today, we thought we would push the boundaries outward and upward by taking our longest hike to date. We were successful! Gavin loved every minute of the just-shy-of-three-miles hike that included a picnic lunch above the roaring Glacier Creek. As for his nap, cozily wrapped in Mom's fleece, he promptly dozed off in the car as we left the park and slept soundly on the return trip home.

With a little more planning and organization, we hope to be able to complete some five mile or more hikes that take us to some of the best vistas Colorado has to offer.

Happy Fourth of July!

This is what our new hometown Fourth of July looks like. A small community parade in our backyard. Gavin mostly liked the parade except for the loud horns from the firetrucks. He was decked out in as much red, white, and blue that he could get his hands on!

We hope everyone had a great Fourth of July celebration!

Sitting In the Crib

Gavin has been practicing many new skills such as crawling and sitting. His crawl is very similar to one of those autonomous robots you see on science shows, a.k.a. the creature crawl. In the realm of sitting, Gavin has much improved over the past week going from pushing up from on his side into a sitting position to backing himself up into a sitting position, which is oh-so-much-easier as well as being the quicker method. When he awoke early on Wednesday morning, I just knew I would walk in to find him sitting up in his crib for the first time.

The nights have been getting warmer, so Kiersten dressed him in his PJ's minus his usual sleep sack. Along with his new-found sitting skill, this freedom-of-movement was all he needed to achieve this crib-based milestone. He is not pulling up yet, although we are finding many encouraging games to goad him into it, so walking in on him peeking over the crib rail is an exciting moment that is still over the horizon.

Back to Messy Meals

In the beginning of feeding Gavin solid foods, things were very messy. After a while, though, he got the hang of things, we got the hang of things, and we all settled into a routine where all the food transferred from the jar to Gavin's mouth made it into his tummy. Of course, there were the occasional return-to-sender moments, but they were fairly infrequent or were small in quantity.

We recently turned a corner in the food department and are experimenting with various foods that are not the standard baby puree. Gavin's current favorite item, and mine as well, are Dr. Praeger's Spinach Pancakes. Yesterday, he even stuck his thumb in the pancake, pulled out some spinach chunks (no plums in this case) and deftly ate the the spinach off his thumb. I am calling it the first official moment that Gavin fed himself at dinner. But, we have returned to the days of the messy dinner until Gavin practices this new skill and we find our new equilibrium.

(Mountain) Lions and Tigers and Bears

For Mom's birthday, Gavin really wanted to go to the zoo to celebrate. So ten months after landing in Colorado, we finally made a trip into Denver to grant Gavin's wish.

Since he is the Kelty hiking carrier's biggest fan, we opted to treat the day as a hike instead of having Gavin use the stroller. We realized immediately that although we were the only family to opt for the baby/toddler on the back, it was the best decision because Gavin was able to see the animals over the fences wherever we went. Gavin got a special treat during snack time as there were free-roaming peacocks on the lawn where we stopped to setup our mini-picnic.

His favorite animals seemed to be peacocks, rhinoceroses, seals, fish, and polar bears. In all other cases, he was more interested in people-watching than animal watching. In the case of the peacocks, Gavin was so interested by them that when the peacocks let out one of their heard-around-the-zoo calls, he tried to echo their call back. His final achievement of the trip was to say "fish", pronounced "fsss", and make the sign at the same time.

Building Towers Is Child's Play

For months, Gavin has played with the blocks in the picture. This amounted to chewing on them, banging them into other toys, and throwing them as far as possible. While I have showed him how to build a tower on several occasions, all those structures were immediately leveled by Gavin's incredible right hook.

Tonight, Kiersten and I were discussing the fact that Gavin had not experimented with stacking his blocks. At the very moment we talked about this milestone, Gavin expertly lifted a block with two hands and placed it on top of another block. "The crowd went wild!" is an understatement. As Gavin has caught onto Mommy and Daddy's cheering as a positive sign, he was encouraged by our whooping and clapping and continued the exercise by picking up the third block and topped off the block tower.

It was a thrilling and bizarre moment. Gavin spent the rest of the evening practicing stacking with vary success. He is pictured here with his third successful stack.

A Little More Shade Please

Even though we are knee-deep in projects as new home-owners, we are taking the time to explore the area and enjoy the mountain-living we were striving to achieve. Our most recent adventure took us to Gross Dam Reservoir a short drive from the house. Although it was not a true hike, Gavin insisted that we use his Kelty carrier.

What a life! He might as well have some caviar up there in his cozy perch and fill that that sippy cup with Perrier while you're at it. This kid travels in style wherever he ventures.

Gavin's Big Move

While I wish the title referred to Gavin crawling, I am instead referring to Gavin's residential move from his second apartment to his first house. After completing a cross-country move within the past year, Gavin was not phased by the prospect of relocating just twenty miles from the shadow of the Front Range into the mountains themselves.

However, much like the popular decorating shows like While You Were Out, Gavin woke up Thursday unsuspecting of the surprising day he would have. He left the apartment for daycare early that morning just like any other daycare day. After a fabulous time with his friends, he strapped into his car seat unaware of the surprise waiting for him.

It only took a few minutes to arrive at his destination, which tipped Gavin off to something being afoot. He chose to go with the flow and see how things played out, although he expected the next item on the agenda to be dinner. He was caught off-guard when Mom walked him inside the unfamiliar building and surveyed his surrounding with a wide-eyed gaze. Dinner arrived, but it was served in a spacious dining room (at his usual dining table) next to a kitchen that flowed into a huge living room. After finishing a dinner conforming to his usual fare, he figured that he should explore the bathing facilities if the Thursday routine was to hold true to form.

Again, a usual fixture, his bathtub, appeared in an unfamiliar room. It was shocking and comforting all in the same moment. They met his exacting standards for hygiene and, more importantly, entertainment -- including the automated bubble blower. He splashed around happily and could not wait to head to his bedroom next.

After drying off and combing his hair, it was finally time to check out his quarters. Although the layout was different, all his furniture had been setup and toys were laid out. How were Mom and Dad able to do all that? His found his new room to be a bit bigger than his old room as well as being further down the hall from Mom and Dad. More space and privacy!

He finished the day with a bottle of whole milk and curled up with his blanky for his first sleep in his new house. Before drifting off, Gavin thought to himself that this new place might just work out after all.

Wildflower Season Begins

The hummingbirds have arrived and the wildflower season has begun. Apparently, there is a whole field of flowers that will pop-up over the next few weeks at our house. I promised the former owner that I would scour the grounds with guidebook in hand as he once did. The first flowers into the sunlight are the Pasque Flower. I spotted them today while up at the house meeting with more contractors and making a small move of random boxes.

As I also mentioned, the next several weeks are also hummingbird season. I would not have thought hummingbirds made low-mountain elevations home, but their return is a big event along the Front Range. I cannot wait to put the feeders out and catch a few snapshots of them.

Happy Birthday, Gavin...Again!

Today we celebrated Gavin's 1st birthday. We were not able to get in the planned hike nor were we able to take a stroll along Pearl Street due to a major grass fire west of Boulder. It turned out all Gavin wanted was a trip to the local park playground and have an extra-long ride on the swings.

For his birthday, we had all the usual suspects: decorations, balloons (unpopped), birthday hats, presents, and cupcakes. Gavin seemed to have X-ray vision while knowingly eying his presents. He appeared to be drawn to Volume 2 of Baby Signing Times (pictured holding the wrapped DVD) and the large box on the left in the picture (which received several approving pats from Gavin).

The climax of the afternoon was, of course, the official singing of Happy Birthday accompanied by Gavin's first sugary treat. He loves singing songs and made a bid for grabbing the lit candle. The cupcake itself was a different experience. Gavin's six sense immediately alerted him to the fact that the chocolate delight in front of him was no jar of Turkey & Rice or container of Peas. His natural inclination was to grab and squeeze with all his might and then banish said tasty treat to carpet looming below.

The full set of birthday pictures can be found on Smugmug.

Happy Birthday, Gavin!

Gavin had his first birthday today. It was a gorgeous day in Colorado as the latest Spring snow storm cleared out. Although it was a big day, Gavin only had plans to catch-up on naps he missed while at daycare this week. His low-key expectations happened to jive with our own plans to delay his celebration until tomorrow since Mom had to work today.

Do not fear, Gavin still had a special day:

• He received a special birthday wish from Aunt Jill (a singing birthday card). Gavin loves cards and this was his first-ever singing card providing several minutes of entertainment -- at least until he decided that it was also a snack.
• Gavin received a Skype call from Grammy wishing him a Happy Birthday.
• Dad and Gavin broke out the Kelty frame pack and went for a short hike in the park.
• Dad took Gavin to visit Mom at work since he missed her very much.

Tomorrow we'll have hats, cake, and presents!

Paparazzi Block

With all the photography sessions that Gavin has been exposed to, he is learning to defend himself against this optical onslaught. He is shown here practicing the "Paparazzi Block", or, as Gavin refers to it, the "pa-ba".

I have taken quite a break here on Fish in the Tank and just wanted to let everyone know that this gig is still playing. Many of you know that I have plenty to discuss between our visit to NYC and buying a new home. Of course, there are new Gavin-related stories as well, such as his escapades flying the friendly skies and starting daycare.

Just one week until the Little Big Guy's birthday!

Growing, growing, growing...

On the eve of Gavin turning eleven months, here is a little comparison of 1-month Gavin, 3-month Gavin, and 10-month Gavin.

Happy Belated Birthday, Blog!

March 10th is the blog's birthday! Did you send out an e-card to Fish in the Tank?

It is hard to believe that a year has gone by already. Of course, this is just a precursor to Gavin's birthday in just over a month. Go back to the beginning and spend some time reminiscing and reliving this past year -- The Big Baby Shower Day.

The Dreaded Norovirus

A happy affair was celebrated this evening -- the return of dinner to Gavin's schedule. The normal fare disappeared from the menu when, a week ago this past Friday, Gavin evacuated his entire dinner into his bathtub.

Until just over a week ago, we had only heard rumors of the evil stomach bug that was taking down families back East and around town as well. We hoped that we would be spared the nausea, misery, and other symptoms of the Norovirus infection. Of course, that was just a fairy tale hope. I watched in horror as first Gavin went through a night of several episodes of vomiting followed by Kiersten falling ill 48 hours later. Unfortunately, she followed Gavin's lead and spent 12 hours commuting between the bed and bathroom, often crawling to make the trip.

Selfishly, I hoped against all hope that I would prove to have the invincible immune system of the family. Yet again, like a 16th-century Spanish galleon in a hurricane, my hopes sank 24 hours after Kiersten fell ill. Now we arrived at a situation that was unplanned and eye-opening. With no family or friends, what would we do if I got as sick as Kiersten? In the end, I proved to be either darn lucky or have that super-hero strength immune system and only had to endure a few hours of the worst that Gavin and Kiersten spent at least half a day suffering. The low point was lying on the floor, too nauseous to get up, with Gavin sitting in front of me miserable and crying and I just did not know what to do.

Kiersten and I recovered quickly and have felt fine for at least a week. Gavin, in the meantime, has had a rough week. His appetite returned quickly, but his gastrointestinal fortitude did not. We used tricks learned with past illnesses and experimented with his diet to help keep him fed, hydrated, and minimize his nausea and vomiting. It was a challenge to keep him happy and he seemed to always be hungry and be miserable for it. Finally, after watching his disposition improve by leaps and bounds over the past couple days, he had a normal day yesterday. Kiersten brought back the old daily menu of cereal, veggies, and meat to Gavin's delight. It has been a while since we have seen him so excited at mealtime!

Introducing Gavin's Movie Quotes

We are starting a new segment called "Gavin's Movie Quotes". The premise is simple. Along with the usual posting of a Gavin picture, I'll also include a movie quote inspired by said Gavin photo. Of course, I am absolutely ready to be hounded and challenged by this blog's very vocal community (eh-hem...hint, hint) concerning my interpretation. I will accept suggestions for both existing posts and for new quotes with pictures selected from the Smugmug galleries.

Capice? Let's get to it then! Sporting his new cloth diaper, Gavin evoked one of my all-time favorite movies.

Movie: Men in Black

Quote: Jay says to Kay while putting the MIB suit on for the first time, "You know what the difference is between you and me? I make this look good."

That First Year Sneaks Up Quickly

Gavin received his first invitation to a birthday party. One of his friends from back in NYC is turning one year old in April just a few days before Gavin. Unfortunately, he cannot attend, but that did not dampen his excitement when he saw the invitation -- it was hours of fun. Gavin is a master manipulator and demonstrated repeatedly how well he could rotate the card. Of course, the card was also prolifically licked, as are all objects these days.

I cannot believe that one year has just about passed. Gavin has changed so much, grown so much, and so much has changed in our lives as well. Keep your eyes peeled because something else turns one year old before Gavin does (wink, wink).

First Haircut

At ten months, Gavin's hair was scraggly and unruly. Something had to be done! This past weekend, we took him to Lollilocks and got him the first-timer treatment. Gavin proved once again to be concerned-but-willing-to-go-with-the-flow. There were no tears, just a few skeptical and dirty looks which quickly turned back into smiles once the cutting had ended.

Gavin Goes Green

Turning 10 months old just days ago, Gavin decided one can never be too young to begin thinking about one's impact on the environment. The obvious consideration for a green overhaul is his use of disposable diapers.

For quite a while, Gavin consistently produced one full diaper pail of dirty diapers per week. Dad conveniently emptied the diaper pail on garbage day on his way to breakfast and promptly disposed of the smelly stack in the trash outside. Recently, however, Gavin's waste output has increased and the convenient weekly routine has broken down. Not to mention that those boxes of diapers seem to be winding up empty within days of being purchased.

Bring on the cloth diapers. These ain't your momma's cloth diapers! With a multitude of adjustments and fashionable colors, it is hard to turn down this cost-effective replacement for disposables. As you can see, Gavin is excited about his new-found drawers and is particularly pleased with this eco-friendly or economically clever option.

Anyone notice how the top of Gavin's head is equal with mom's mid-thigh. He is the Little Green Giant...

New Faces of Gavin

It has been a while since we have examined the many faces of Gavin. He is sporting a few new looks which are based on the time-honored tradition of imitation.

First, we start with Gavin's dashing, baseline look -- the very adorable baby boy face we have come to know and love.

Second, we have Gavin's squinting face. It is believed that this face has its roots in Gavin's early weeks when his dad winked at him. A second theory postulates that Gavin began squinting during Christmas and was inspired by the Christmas lights -- altering their appearance by adjusting his squint factor.

Last, we see Gavin in mid-execution of an "elephant call". Again, his dad was spending some quality time teaching Gavin some life lessons. Gavin caught the drift of the lesson in just seconds and was soon trumpeting like an elephant calf. The lesson was captured during the filming of "Gavin: The Documentary" and a preview will be released in the coming weeks.

Technology Is Inevitable

To give Mom a little space and time to concentrate on job-hunting, I took Gavin out on a pilgrimage I have been meaning to make for a while.

Back East, I used to make a trip to Microcenter or one of the other techo-shrines in Manhattan on a monthly basis. Outside of Denver, however, I have found the tech store situation to be very similar to the restaurant scene in our town -- there are a several national franchise chains, but nothing with a high-caliber specialty. Don't get me wrong...Best Buy and P.F. Chang's have their uses, but sometimes you need more.

Fortunately, there is a Microcenter in Denver. It is at least a thirty minute drive from our home and would definitely have been out of the question to drag Kiersten to. For just Gavin and me, it turned out to be a perfect father-son trip.

Although I want to distance Gavin from the whole technology scene somewhat, I realize that it is too much a part of who I am to deny him or attempt to ignore its influence. Cruising the aisles buckled into his shopping cart seat, Gavin seemed pretty interested as much as an infant can be. There was much grabbing for items hung on racks and boxes stacked on shelves with the intention of licking or chewing, I am sure. Eventually, I selected a new keyboard and put Gavin in charge of keeping it in the cart. He did an excellent job and banged out a catchy, rhythmic beat for the remainder of my long-awaited perusal of all things artificial and electronic.

Uh oh!

When informed that the kitchen had run out of his favorite meal-time treat, Gavin was visibly distressed. He prefers the bland-but-green-leafy-goodness of veggies like peas and green beans. On his list of least favorite foods are apples (too sour), most berries (too tart), yogurt (too tangy)...you get the picture.

For the time being, Gavin is more a steak-n-potatoes baby, but we will keep trying and hope that his taste buds eventually catch-on to what they are missing.

The Turning of the Tide

Gavin's prognosis was pretty much on the money. Just in time for his monthly anniversary (he turned nine months yesterday), his symptoms started clearing up.

The biggest difference is his appetite or willingness to use the bottle returned. We were getting worried that he would begin to get dehydrated after a few days of taking in significantly lower-than-normal fluid levels. True to form, he did bounce back.

I learned something not-so-interesting and maybe revolting to anyone else during Gavin's most recent illness. He was incredibly snotty...and not just runny snotty...explosive snotty. We had to deal with quite a bit of mucal messiness. In the past, I found kid snot to be on par with biohazardous, nuclear waste. Not so with Gavin -- it was easy to take being slimed in stride. Maybe it is just because I was more concerned that he was miserable, or that I had already shared his germy goodness, or maybe I know his snot is half my snot on genetic level.

In either case, I am glad that Gavin has returned to his normal mode of sliming, blowing raspberries, instead sneezing all over us.

Gavin's Bad Day

Although Gavin is generally a happy, cheery lad, once-in-a-while the stars do not quite align and the gods do not favor him -- making for a miserable Gavin. Today was one of those days.

Since we returned from our vacation, it is evident that Gavin, as well as Dad, picked up a bug at day care. The mood du jour is cranky and clingy. Gavin does manage to distract/entertain himself by practicing his rolling. He has gotten very proficient over the past week. Unfortunately, he is quicker than either Mom or Dad realized and Gavin rolled himself right off the bed. Thump! Poor guy.

On top of his unexpected, startling success, a visit to the doctor resulted in a diagnosis of RSV, or "Really Sucky Virus" as I read one parent put it. According to the doc, Gavin has at least a few more days of coughing, runny nose, and decreased appetite.

While Gavin is under the weather and, in the accompanying picture, looks a bit apprehensive of heights, I am sure he will "bounce back" and be his normal self in no time at all.