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).