Pumpkins

As I started to clean out our pumpkins for carving, I realized that Gavin would probably think that the "guts" would be pretty cool to play with, and possibly appetizing? So I stripped him down to a t-shirt and diapers, assuming it would get pretty messy...and I was right :)

After these pictures we're taken, he started scooting/crawling all over the kitchen....dragging the "guts" with him...thank goodness for our Swiffer WetJet!

Once the pumpkins were cleaned out we got to carving...

Daddy carved Goldy the Gopher

Gavin (Mommy) carved Scooby Doo

Mommy carved out the moon & stars

For those of you who have been following the blog, you know that Gavin and his pumpkin "match." Yep, Gavin is Scooby Doo for Halloween this year! We are going to stop by a couple neighbor's homes to show him off, but other than that we're just going to answer the door and hand out candy. Here is sneak peek picture...more to come!



By the way....Gavin's first word is Dada! He started repeating Casey saying it last night, too cute! He already knew that I am mama and Casey is dada, but now he actually says it! Well, at least to Casey :) Casey also taught him a new trick last night...when he says, "Momma's talkin'!" Gavin covers both his ears. He's also become quite the little "walker." We've set our living room up so that our love seat connects to the ottoman which connects to our couch in an L shape, he can start at one end and walk all the way to the other, and he also has figured out that to get down all he needs to do is sit, what a strong & smart little man we have on our hands :)

Mistakes and Pumpkins

I've made a parenting mistake...

Shocking isn't it?

Shut it Casey...it is shocking when I make parenting mistakes... :)

I made the mistake of letting Gavin push the keys on my laptop a couple months ago. He thought it was really fascinating and in turn I thought he was acting really cute. For a long time he'd only pay attention to my laptop if he was on my lap...but now, not so much. He can be on the other side of the room, playing with a fun toy, and bam! he'll notice me on the computer...I've never seen a baby move so quickly across the room and scramble up the side of the couch...

Wham, wham, wham! He bangs on my keyboard before I can stop his little fingers. Crap Gavin, what in the world is that screen and how did you even pull it up?

He's also managed to restart my computer on several occasions, and delete emails I am halfway through writing. What a stinker...so now I am restricted to using my computer while he is confined in his exersaucer/jump-up or when he is sleeping :)


Unfortunately, the weather has been really yucky the last few days, and you would not believe how many leaves we have in our yard. Seriously. It's disgusting. You cannot even see our sidewalk anymore...it's ridiculous. The wind has not been blowing in our favor and all of the neighbors leaves fell in our yard, and on top of that came the leaves from our large tree. And since it's been so rainy/gloomy out we haven't been able to get out and rake up any of them...any guesses on how many bags we'll fill from our front yard alone?


Last fall, I raked up thirty-two bags of leaves in one afternoon...I have a feeling that the next house we live in will have fewer trees...but maybe not...because I really love having the shade in the summer...hmm, guess we'll just have to wait and see!


Luckily, the weather was fairly nice on Tuesday so we went to the "pumpkin patch," aka the parking lot in front of our local Cub Foods. They have ridiculous amounts of pumpkins every year, so we've never felt the need to head to an actual patch. Enjoy some pictures!

Wheelin' around the "patch" with Daddy

Did you notice the tiny little pumpkin above?
It was too heavy for Casey to carry, hence the cart

Haha, kidding!

Posing on the hay bales

Hanging out on the pumpkins

He's really starting to look like a toddler isn't he?

See, he does have hair!
Just too blonde to see in most pictures!

Any guesses on what Gavin is dressing up as for halloween? We even carved his pumpkin to match :) Pictures of that tomorrow!!!

CF Clinic

Had another visit to our CF clinic this morning.

Everyone commented on how big he was! It has been awhile since we've been in the actual clinic. Our docs allowed his PFT at six months to be "counted" as a visit, so it's been several months since the nurses have seen us. One nurse (who has always helped us) couldn't stop staring at him and commenting that he's turned into a little boy!

He is just under 29 inches "tall" and weighed about 19 pounds...let's just say they weren't thrilled with his weight. We briefly talked about adding another medication to help his enzymes work more effectively, but Casey and I think that's it's partially due to him being sick (and teething) for the last couple of weeks. He just started eating normally (aka eating us out of house & home) again Sunday/Monday, so we're gonna head back in a month and see if his weight has increased enough. If not, we'll discuss adding another medication, but I won't even get into it until we for sure need to add it. They also think that it might be because he has grown so "tall" so quickly, that his weight can't keep up...so we'll keep you updated!

They were thrilled about how his lungs sounded (clear!) and his height. And they all laughed when he did "so big," clapped for himself & waved...the funniest was when one of the nurses came into to collect his pee...as she said it, "I'm here to get pee! Yay!" and Gavin started clapping, what a goon!

He also got his first dose of the H1N1 vaccine, he'll get his second & final dose in a month when we go back to the clinic. He didn't even flinch when he got it! What a trooper! He's been sleeping for the last three hourse, so I'm sure he'll be hungry and cranky when he does wake up :)

We've also been asked to speak at our CF Educational Day on November 14th. They love our positive attitude on becoming involved with clinical research, and have been asked to say a quick blurb on our opinions and why we are so determined to help with research in any way we can. As soon as we come up with our short (but sweet of course!) speech I'll post it here!

Wordless Wednesday

A Time for Giving

I was directed to this blog today by Jaxson's mommy Lacey.

Here is Juliana's posting...

Arianna's school nurse asked me today if she could have any of Arianna's clothes that she has out grown. Explaining to me that a woman that works at the school, and just moved her for CA, had a baby girl on Saturday.

The baby aspirated muconium and is in the NICU, and mom suffered a stroke yesterday. She has absolutely nothing for her baby and now will have hospital bills to pay, she does not have medical insurance to cover any of the unforeseen cost.If any of you out there have little girl clothes that you were planning on getting rid of, or any baby items that would be useful to them I am pleading for you to let me know, I will find away to get them to her. We have found a crib, my parents neighbor just so happens to have one that didn't sell at her garage sale.

If you have anything, anything at all that you would be willing to donate to this little family, please email me: jenvanderpool@yahoo.com where I can get you connected to Julianna (or you can email her directly). Diapers, formula, clothes to grow into etc...I know many of you have extra/new baby stuff laying around that you no longer use (or never used at all!).

The holidays are upon us, and while many of us (including our little family) are struggling, it's an important time to remember that there is always someone more in need.

UPDATE: I now have an address for mailing the baby supplies...please email me so we can get stuff to her soon!

Not Me Monday!

It's been a long time since I've done a Not Me Monday!

I most definitely do not cringe everytime I realize Gavin is starting to grow out of his jump-up that hangs in a doorway. I would never use that toy to keep Gavin out from under my feet. I did not just realize that I'm not sure if we have a place to hang it when we move to our temporary home in a few weeks...I did not just say a really foul word outloud while realizing this...I also never try to brainstorm a new kind of bouncer that I could make for him once he gets older...hmm a mini trampoline perhaps?

I do not have a child that loves to be the center of attention. He most definitely does not do "so big!" and immediately clap for himself until someone pays attention to him. Nope, not my little guy, he's never the noisy child that wants everyone looking at him...

He never pulls himself up onto furniture while almost immediately realizing that he doesn't know how to get back down to the floor. I would never ignore his whining hoping that he'll realize all he needs to do is sit down. I never cheer for him when he does fall on his behind crossing my fingers that he'll realize that he can get up and down on his own. Nope, not me! I am always here helping him out for his every need...

By the way, I most definitely did not just take that picture of Gavin in his jump-up so that I could post it here today...nope not me!

For more Not Me Monday's head on over to MckMama's site!

Merry Christmas! Umm...wait, what?

Merry Christmas! I mean...

Happy Thanksgiving??

Wait...it's October....right?!?!

Hmm...the view outside today definitely looks like December...

Looks like we're headed into a long and snow filled
winter here in the frozen tundra!

Rainy Friday & Updates

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, as many of you know our life has been a little off schedule lately. We are currently down in Rochester...took a look a couple of potential places to live for the next few months, Casey has had a couple of meetings about potential jobs (cross your fingers!) & we visited the Mayo Clinic


No, we did not visit Mayo for anything CF related (whew) but Casey had a follow up appt for a clinical research study he participated in (again, not CF related) and Grandma G. works there. So we strolled around in the skyway system & visited one of the coolest Barnes & Nobles...it used to be a theater.



We think we've decided on a small two bedroom townhome. It's all one level...which will be great for Gavin once he starts to walk, we won't have to shovel/plow snow, and there is a small back patio/yard where we can let Louie outside. Yes, it's small, but it's clean, cheap, relatively new, and it's only temporary. I think it's a great fit for what we need right now.

Gavin's top two teeth are delaying their appearance. The poor kid has been miserable all week. We've gone through our fair share of tylenol, baby Orajel & teething tablets, but I wish they would just pop through!

Oh, and we also got to sneak in a trip to Urgent Care. We had tried to go to the Target minute clinic, but little ones have to be at least 18 months old to be seen there, so off to Urgent Care we went...

After lots of ear tugging, we had thought Gavin had an ear infection (luckily, he doesn't) and because we don't have a regular ped here yet, we figured that urgent care was the best route. We pretty much hid in the back corner of the waiting room, I think we were the only people there that did not have flu symptoms. The doctor even came into our room wearing a mask (she removed it when she realized why were there) which made it all the more apparent how contagious this new flu strain is.

So now we are hanging out at Grandma & Grandpa's, wishing the rain would go away but enjoying the lounge time in pajamas!

Wordless Wednesday

Minnesota Harvest

It's sunny, no wind, and about 50 degrees. Needless to say, almost all Minnesotans are outside today...especially after the gloomy, rainy/snowy weather we've been having. Yes, for those of you who live in warm weather, fifty degrees feels like a heat wave today.

Instead of slaving over yard work, we decided to hit up the Minnesota Harvest apple orchard.

On the wagon (pulled by a John Deere!)
with Daddy
out to the apple orchard

Hangin' with Mommy!

Someone thinks that two teeth are all
you need to bite into that apple...

Picture time in the orchard!

Adults are wimps...

There, I've said it. Adults are wimps. Kids are the tough ones.

This week, Gavin had nearly a 102 temperature, more teething and a really nasty cold...and it barely phased him. He also face planted crawling over me yesterday and cut his lip with his teeth. After about 2 minutes of crying he was totally over it. I guess as Lane's mom has stated it, he's "CF made!"

Now if this had been me, I would have been bitc...I mean, crabbing about it for days. Lying on the couch whining about a sore throat, my need for a glass of orange juice and some DayQuil. And if I had cut my lip? I would have complained every time any salty food touched it, that stuff stings! But as many of you know, CFers have to add salt to nearly everything they eat, and lots of it, and it never bothered my little guy once.

But I do know an adult, that is most definitely not a wimp. Not anywhere close. In fact, over the last few months she has become one of the strongest women I know.

See this little face? The brave woman is his mom, Ashley, the wife of Bryan

For those of you who know me and/or follow my blog, Bryan is my brother's best friend (who I considered a brother) that passed away tragically earlier this year. Ashley has just started a blog of her own to vent her feelings, share her story, and to find a support group of others who have gone through similar situations. Head on over to her blog here to check out their story. She wrote a beautiful post yesterday about their love story, it truly is something out of a movie. Let her know that I sent you over!

Their son Owen and my son Gavin are only six weeks apart in age, and Bryan and I always joked about how they were the "next generation of best friends." I'm pretty sure Ashley and I might force that role on them still...ok, I'm kidding, kind of, not really...nope I'm not. They're definitely going to grow old being best friends continuing on my brother David & Bryan's friendship. Please stop by her site and show her some love!

Moving on...

We have spent the last few days hibernating...which is easy to do in this gloomy weather...trying to come up with some sort of plan for the next few months. We have figured out a plan for our living situation (the inspection on our current home was yesterday, we are still waiting to hear from the buyers) for the next couple of months. While it's discouraging to go back to renting for a bit, as long as we are all under one roof... that's all that really matters.

We're praying that my car survives just one more bitter cold winter, it's on it's last legs but we cannot afford any major car repairs, or a new car for that matter...

Remember being a kid and wanting to grow up oh so badly?!? Well no one informs you at that point that being adult can really suck sometimes. The bills, home/car repairs, child rearing, headaches etc. can really take it's toll. There are many days lately where I would love to be eight years old again running around at recess...

But back to business...our main priorities at this point are getting moved, finding Casey a job, and then getting a job for myself so we can get ahead financially again. If any of you have connections to someone hiring, or thinking about hiring for a sales position in the area, please let us know! We are open to any suggestions at this point.

On a happy note, Gavin has been showing more and more of his silly personality. He now repeats many of the noises Casey and I make. For example... if we whisper, he whispers... if we make a really loud noise, he makes a really loud noise. He loves to clap, wave, and hold up his pointer finger when we ask him, 'who is number one?!?' He also climbs stairs, pulls himself up on everything, and is starting to walk along furniture. His favorite thing to do is sneak up on whoever is using the laptop and bang on the keys...he'll be emailing by 12 months at this rate :)

Wordless Wednesday

Tough Tuesday

The last 24 hours have been a huge emotional rollercoaster for our little family.

To start, Gavin has a nasty cold, had a temp of 101, and is really cranky. One good thing out of it though, he's been a great little snuggle bunny :)

Secondly, our plans of buying a new house in Rochester have been dashed. Casey's company got bought out (without any warning) and Casey and several of his coworkers were laid off. So in other words, our house here sold on Friday and as of Monday we can no longer get a loan for a new home. It really, really sucks. No other way to describe it. The timing could not be any worse.

I know everything will work itself out, we are still planning on moving to Rochester since we no longer have a home here in the cities...but it's very scary not knowing what will happen next. Or where we will live next. Money is already stretched thin after the lay off earlier this year at his old company and now this....we don't know what we're going to do.

We have a big support system that will help us...but let's be honest. We're sick and tired of having to be helped out. Everytime we think that life is getting more stable and we're finally getting ahead...WHAM. We're trying to avoid panic mode...but I think it's here to stay until things get figured out.

Snow!

Since I last posted it has snowed twice here in the frozen tundra.

Yes. You heard me correctly. It is October and it has snowed twice.

But that's what happens when you live in Minnesota! It's currently snowing right now, and in my opinion it's absolutely beautiful out! I love the first few snows of the season, its never that cold (30 degrees isn't that cold to Minnesotans, it can easily get sixty degrees cooler than that) and the snow melts in a day or two. Plus, last winter I was pregnant and wasn't able to go skiing and this year I can. So bring on the snow mother nature! I want to hit the slopes!

The first snow of the season

Saturday morning

The second snow fall of the season

Monday morning

Since Gavin was born in February, and was too young to comprehend the snow, I thought that this morning might be a fun time to introduce him to the frozen stuff. So I sat him down the front entryway, grabbed some snow from the front steps and sat it in front of him...

At first he thought it was pretty cool...

Not surprisingly, he had to stare at it for a bit...

And then he realized it was really cold, and it wasn't so fun anymore...

Better get used to it little man! It's here for many months out of the year! And your daddy really wants you to play hockey....

Packing

Offer received....

Counter-offer accepted...

It's offical. We're moving!!!

Let the packing and house hunting begin!

Soooo big!

Gavin officially became an eight month old...time sure flies when you're having fun! He also crawled (vs scooted) for the first time ever on our kitchen floor, and truly understands what to do when you ask, "How big is Gavin???

He's pulling himself up on everything these days, he cannot get enough of it! He forgets that he can't walk yet and tries to step away from what he's holding...which results in a sore tush :)

Wordless Wednesday

Votes for Gap for our CFers!

Come vote for Gavin at the Gap Casting Call! We entered him to see if he is the next Gap model :) And if we win fan favorite, he wins a $1,000 gift card. Which would really help out my addiction to Baby Gap!

VOTE for Gavin HERE!
If for some reason that link does not work, our ID is 47649682

And while you're at it...vote for Nathan too!

VOTE for Nathan HERE
If for some reason that link does not work, their ID is 891244246

Naughty Baby!

Look closely at the picture below...

The other afternoon I was sitting in the living room and heard a loud *THUNK* coming from Gavin's room. I didn't think too much of it because he often kicks the sides of his crib before he falls asleep. Then I heard another *THUNK* and after a few moments I heard another...

What in the world?

So I snuck a peek through the cracked open doorway and this is what I found...

My little stinker had discovered that he could reach his library books on the table next to his crib. But he did not realize that in order to get them into his crib you had to rotate the books to fit between the slats. So he'd pull them to the side of his crib and *THUNK* they would fall to the ground. So now, before naptime/bedtime I have to clear off the table. What a naughty baby!

On Sunday evening my mom and brother stopped by to say hi.

Because my brother lives in Chicago, Gavin doesn't see him often and wasn't quite sure what to think about this "stranger" in his home. He loved staring at his glasses and tried to pull his hair...

Obviously he isn't used to being around men with a full head of hair (sorry Casey!) and had to figure out what that stuff was :)