Thanksgiving Weekend 2010!

Great time with family, friends, and fun! We started the long weekend with Gran-Gran's arrival on Tuesday afternoon. Gavin was excited to see him!

Then uncle Brock and aunt Betsy arrived the next day...more loving for the G-man!

We began preparing the Thanksgiving feast that Wednesday night...and, wow, what a big help family can be.  I forget how much help extra hands can be until they are here.  Thank you Berryhills and Gran-Gran you guys made Thanksgiving "easy."

We started off our Thanksgiving day with a race at 0800.  It represented many "firsts" for our family...Gavin's first 5K, my first race since having him (6 weeks ago), and our first race as a complete family (minus T-money)!  The Berryhill's decided to join in the fun too.  I have to say I am very proud of all of us...running on little to no sleep. 

Yes...we figured out the car seat was crooked and fixed it BEFORE the race :).

Notice all  the smiles-kinda :)

After the race and still asleep! Gavin was tired from all the exercise.

Next up we attended the 2nd annual Thanksgiving Football game.  The Shabazz's arrived just before game time and we loaded up in 2 cars and headed out.  The Capps family (aka the Colts), Adam's squadron buddies, and others played for 2.5 hours...while the rest of us played armchair quarter back.  Tobiah made it to the game too.

The Armchair quarterbacks

 Notice Gavin was passed out AGAIN...

The Colts vs. the Others

The "Cromwell plus" Clan

Notice who stills has the energy... 

The aftermath...

By 12:30...we had ran a race and played some football, now it was time to EAT!  We ate around 3:00 that afternoon.  Thanks to the efforts of our good friends the Katsotis's, we enjoyed a wonderful, non-traditional, Italian meal...including raviolis, lasagna, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, salad, fried okra, and Italian bread.  It was grrrreaaatt!

I would have to say Gavin's first Thanksgiving was a success with lots of love and family time.  We are very blessed, as a nation, family, and individuals.  Thanks be to God, our Lord and Savior! 

Sunny Saturday with a UFC Night

What a great day!  Weather was mid-sixties and sunny.  We started out the morning with a 3 mile run as a family.  Gavin started out not liking it but quickly fell asleep while feeling the motion of the jogger. It was our first "long" run as a family so we were very encouraged by Gavin's response.  Then Tobiah got some one on one time with Adam while he gave him a good brushing!

Later in the evening, the Shabazz's came down to spend the night and enjoy some UFC 123!  Gavin enjoyed all the extra attention and loving he got from family. 

Thanks uncle Shaheed for burping me!



and cousin Samadah for bathing me!

Gavin enjoyed his bath time and then quickly fell asleep after an eventful night!  I made sure and handed out ear plugs just in case Gavin doesn't want to sleep all night.  We will see...

Helping out with the laundry...

We had another great day.  Daddy was gone all day to Florida to "retire" a prowler so mommy, Gavin, and T-money enjoyed the day without him.  Gavin and Tobiah even chipped in and helped mommy with the laundry.  I managed to capture a smile from the G-man while I was folding clothes. 

Unfortunately it would be the last smile of the evening.  We had a rough night due to Gavin struggling with gas pains. I did do some research and found ColicCalm, which is a form of gripe water. It is all natural and approved by the FDA so we will see if it works!  Keep you posted...

1 month old...officially!

Today was a big day for the G-man and I.  Gavin had his 1 month checkup with Dr. Warren this morning and received glowing remarks!  He weighs a whopping 9.5lbs, up 3 lbs since leaving the hospital.  He has also grown to 21 and 3/4 in from 20 inches in the hospital.  He received his second HepB shot.  That hurt me more than him, I think.  Next we tackled Walmart and did some much needed grocery shopping.  He did great right up to the end. He had enough of the carseat and wanted to eat. 

So much has happened in just a short month...we can't wait to see what the next month brings (hopefully more sleep among other things)!

4 weeks old and counting...

Another week of "firsts".  I am starting to see that children learn fast and grow up quick, for sure!  This week Gavin FINALLY got the concept of  "feed, wake, sleep".  He is really doing good during the day and during his nap time.  Although the "cry it out" method is controversial, Adam and I are firm believers that it doesn't hurt the child to whimper for a few minutes while he is trying to settle himself.  In fact after this week, we couldn't be more sure of it.  Gavin's "wake" times are not very long right now because if he gets overstimulated, it is harder for him to fall asleep.  This cycle is good for mommy and child in order to set a pattern for both.  We are also trying to establish 7:00am as his first morning meal.  After he eats his breakfast, I try and read to him while he "talks and smiles".  Another first for this week, is Gavin smiling and it is too much fun.  This week he has started focusing on stuff in the house, us, and the dog.  Other wake ideas include Daddy time, walks, running errands, swing, and tummy time.  I think Gavin's favorite, right now, is reading with mommy or daddy.

Today, Gavin attended his first birthday party...Happy Birthday to Caleb Capps.  He was a trooper.  Although my plan of feeding him and then using the car to soothe him to sleep didn't quite work as planned, he was very much awake and alert.  He did eventually fall asleep in his car seat and slept great for the ride home.  What a good boy!

3 weeks old and counting...

This week has been a good one. We have been making big strides at  night.  Gavin is starting to figure out how to sleep at night and take naps during the day.  We also started a "night-time" routine in order to help Gavin differentiate between the day and night...bath time comes between 6:30-7:00, followed by feeding, then swaddling, the night-night.  He loves taking baths...daddy even got in on the fun!

For Gavin's 3-week birthday, we decided to try bottle feeding so that daddy could get in on the fun and maybe I could sleep for 4 hours straight.  Gavin did great. He gobbled it down like a champ...taking 4 ounces!  So I doubled my workload by pumping on top of breast-feeding but it is well worth it for Adam and I. We also figured out that he really loves tummy time...he sleeps like a "baby" :).

This week, although tiring, has been very rewarding.  We are all learning each other and figuring out what works and what doesn't.  I look forward to next week and the milestones that we will accomplish. 

Happy 3 Weeks old to me!