Bryan and Stacie Huelsbeck

Gavin hasn’t been his usual cheery self for the last couple days so I took him to the Dr yesterday to get his ears checked again since he was acting a lot like he was when he had an ear infection a few weeks ago.  But nope, the ears were clear.  This time his throat was red.  The Dr said probably just a virus and to let it run its course.  They also weighed him again and he was 17 lbs 11 oz!  I knew he had been going through a growth spurt but… WOW.  Even the nurse had to do a double take!  Anyway, today he seems to be feeling a bit better and is back at daycare.  Hopefully this will be a short bug.

 Oh, and in other exciting news, we have had several episodes of sleeping through the night in the last week.  He hasn’t done it every night, but as long as we stick to his bedtime feeding schedule, he seems to do really well.  Here’s how it goes: Around 7:30 pm, he nurses, then about 30-45 min later he has some cereal, then he takes a bath, then he takes a bottle, then to bed by 9 pm.  No wonder he weighs so much, huh?  Oh well, whatever gets us through the night!

The sign is officially up.  We are both a little sad about this, but honestly, there are more reasons to move than to stay… so we’re just trusting God to take care of the rest.  Here’s the website we created- if you know of anyone looking in the Acworth area… please send them our way!

 http://charlestonparkhome.googlepages.com

I know the pictures are really all you guys care about…  

Here are a couple pics of him in his new duckie tub.  It’s so cute- it even quacks when you squeeze its beak.  Unfortunately, he’s really not quite ready for it yet.  Needs a few more weeks and then he’ll really be able to sit up and enjoy it. 

The little fatty started rice cereal yesterday.  Not quite sure how he feels about it yet.  He makes some pretty terrible faces, but he continues to open his mouth for more… so who knows.  Doesn’t he look like such a big boy in the highchair?

And Granny got him this cool car toy that plays music and lights up and helps him learn how to sit up.  He really enjoys it.

This is his Rainforest Jumperoo.  He’s really starting to enjoy this thing… I’ll try to get a video of him and post it soon.  It’s so cute when he gets going!

Sleeping in on 4th of July…

I just thought this was the cutest thing.  He fell asleep while twirling his hair in his fingers…

Gavin survived his first visit with cousin Colin.  Actually they really seemed to like each other.  Colin really liked Gavin’s toys!  And Gavin enjoyed Colin’s bunny…

And these are just a few more cute shots I’ve gotten over the last few weeks…

Gavin had his 4 month appointment today.  A little late b/c he was sick and I didn’t want to do his shots until he was better.  He did really well with the shots, only cried for a few minutes.  The Dr was really impressed with how strong he is and how well he is holding his head up.  Here are his stats:

Height- 26 1/2 inches (80th percentile)

Weight- 16 lbs, 9 oz (70th percentile)

Head Circumference- 17 1/4 inches (80th percentile)

Of course they asked us all the normal developmental questions, one of which is whether or not he’s rolling over yet.  Not that he should be by now… the Dr explained that some babies go straight to sitting up before they ever roll over.  And some don’t do it until 7 months… so its really not something to be concerned about- he’ll do it when he’s ready.  Well, I told them that he rolls from side to side all the time, but that because he hates to be on his tummy, he really shows no desire to roll over all the way and I bet he’ll be one of those babies that sits up first.  Well, sure enough, as babies are apt to do, he made me eat my words!  No sooner had the Dr left the room that the little booger decided to roll over to get his toy!  And then he did it 2 more times for us!  He’s still having a hard time getting that one arm out from under him, but I bet he’ll work that out in no time!  I can’t believe how fast this is going!

The Dr gave us the green light to start rice cereal, so we’ll be trying that out this weekend.  Should be interesting!  He also told us that it is probably time for this little man to sleep through the night and at this point, he’s not hungry, he just wants us.  So, we are going to let him cry a little tonight and see how it goes.  I’m not so good w/ listening to him cry at 3 am.  Basically, I’m a zombie and I just walk in there, pick him up, feed him, and put him back down and go back to bed.  It’s a quick fix.  But he really needs to learn ways to comfort and soothe himself back to sleep, so I need to figure out some way to NOT go in there or if I do, to NOT pick him up.  Yeah… we’ll see how that goes.

 I promise I’ll post some pictures soon… I’ve been slacking about downloading them.

Well, my wood knocking didn’t do any good whatsoever.  All that sleepiness last week was not a sign of a growth spurt as I had hoped, but was actually a double ear infection and early teething!  Poor little guy.  He never ran a fever so I almost didn’t even bother taking him to the pediatrician.  I’m glad I did though.  Some antibiotics and tylenol seemed to have done the trick and he’s back to his normal happy self. 

But now we have a new problem.  Sleep.  Ahhh yes, that was once his favorite activity.  I remember when the child would sleep 20 hours a day (seriously).  But now, we have apparently moved into something known as “the four month wakeful period.”  Basically, from my understanding, this is when his brain is at a particularly active developmental stage.  He is finding things to be much more interesting and doesn’t want to sleep for fear that he will miss out on something.  Well, I don’t know what the kid thinks is going on at 3 am, but I swear he’s not missing any parties or anything.  He still goes down easy for us around 8:30 or 9 pm, but then around 12:30 he wakes up fussing.  I go in to check on him, and he gives me this giant grin- like “heh, it worked- now play with me.”  I turn on his rainforest soother (this is a really neat crib toy that makes nature sounds and lights up and has a monkey that swings back and forth) and he drifts back to sleep… for a while.  Then we repeat again in half an hour.  And again in another hour.  And so on.  Until Daddy finally caves and puts him in bed with us.

I know we shouldn’t complain.  We got 4 months of very good sleep out of him.  And from all my internet reading (and believe me, I’ve done a lot- looking for a “cure”), it appears that this is just a phase.  And since it’s almost time for him to start rice cereal, we are also hoping that the pediatrician gives us the green light for this next week and that may help him re-establish a healthy sleep pattern.  But please, PLEASE, cross your fingers and say a prayer that this phase is a short one.  Mommy and Daddy really miss our sleepy little boy.

Sorry bout that.  I’ve been officially reprimanded by several friends and family members for slacking off on my posting duties.  I’ll try to do better.  Lucky for you- I’ve got a lot to say this time, and even better- a lot of new pictures to share

We have been pretty busy around here lately.  Gavin is growing and learning so much.  A couple of weeks ago we went to the zoo with Poppy.  Mommy thought that Gavin would sleep the whole time but he was wide awake and looking around.  He loves to go for walks in his stroller and it was such a nice day.  I’m sure he had no idea where he was but Mommy and Poppy enjoyed it.

Last weekend, he took his first plane ride to Wisconsin for cousin Erin’s wedding.  He did so well!  He didn’t fuss at all on the plane.  He was wide awake and putting on a show for all the other passengers for the first half and then he napped for the rest.  He is basically a pretty laid back little fella as long as he has mommy or daddy nearby (and one of our fingers to suck on- weirdo).  We can take him anywhere.  But apparently when we leave, he gets a little nervous.  We’ll have to work on that.  On this trip, he got to meet all kinds of new people including his aunt Megan and uncle Terry, who had not gotten the chance to see him yet.  We all had a great time- even though the weather did not cooperate and Daddy had hard time getting a flight home… he finally made it in on Monday afternoon.  

At Grandma and Grandpa Farnsworth’s house, Gavin has a portable crib with a mobile that has hippos on it.  It’s stationary, so Gavin generally finds it quite boring.  That is, until he found that he could make them move by kicking his feet against the side of the crib!  Here’s a quick video of him doing it:

 Also, Gavin has discovered his voice.  He makes the funniest sounds.  I think his favorite is this “GRRRRRRRR” sound- kind of like he’s rolling his tongue.  I can’t even replicate it.  But he will start babbling and get louder and louder- it’s hilarious when he gets all wound up.  Another new trick is that he has learned to roll on his side.  Of course, he still hates to be on his tummy, so it will be interesting to see what he does when he finally flips himself over all the way.  I’m betting he gets really mad and screams his head off. 

We go back to the Dr for his 4 month shots in a couple of weeks.  It will be interesting to see how much he has actually grown.  I’m estimating that he is about 16 lbs right now- but not sure exactly.  I know that he is bigger than some of the 6 month olds in his class already!  Please pray that Gavin’s good health continues to hold out.  We have been so blessed to not have anything more than an occasional stuffy nose even with him being a dreaded daycare baby.  I’m just knocking on wood that this trend continues! 

I am so so happy to have him in daycare at my office.  I live for 9 am and 2 pm when I get to go down and feed him.  It’s so much fun to go down there and play with him and his classmates.  They sing songs and dance and it’s just such a happy room- makes my day brighter.  Don’t know that I could do this work thing without him nearby.  This morning when I went to feed him at 9 am, I could tell he was sleepy.  As soon as I got him he pretty much passed out in my arms and he was out hard!  I just sat in the room and watched him sleep for a while.  So content and peaceful.  He’s been napping a lot today- I think it has to do with this growth spurt he is going through right now.  Guess that means Daddy will be up late with him tonight!

This weekend is Father’s Day.  Daddy already got his new laptop so he’s all set (unless Mommy can figure out some way to surprise him in the next couple days).  Mommy got a beautiful diamond necklace for her first Mother’s Day so I think we’re even.  It’s hard to believe that it was Father’s Day weekend last year when we found out we were having a baby.  It’s crazy how much has happened in that time. 

Well, since I know what you are really looking for… here’s some new pictures- ENJOY!

Gavin seems to be losing his hair.  We figured it would happen, I mean Bryan and I were both very blonde babies- it just makes sense that Gavin would be too.  So he’s starting to look like he has a receding hairline.  When I part it to the side, he looks just like Hitler but without the mustache.  I’ve always said that he looked like a little old man with a cheap toupee- but now that toupee is REALLY starting to look cheap.  It’s just so hard to imagine him without all that dark hair.  It’s become such a defining feature.  But I can see the new little blonde hairs coming in already, so even though its kind of funny looking and a little sad, it’s also exciting to see what he’s going to look like!

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve gone off the deep end with the picture taking.  Me, the one who never remembered her camera on all those amazing travels.  Yep, I’m snapping pics left and right now.  Seriously, the ones you see here are only a few.  We have WAY more.  Only problem is that I don’t end up in very many of the pictures (mainly because I hate having my picture made!)  But I am in a couple this week.  Also, I’ll include a few more of those professional newborn pictures we had done.  And check out the last one… you can really see how much Gavin looks like Bryan.  Enjoy!

-Stacie

Gavin is getting so BIG!  Check out the pictures below w/ all his cute little fat rolls!  And doesn’t he look just like Bryan?  Spittting image.  Every single day he does something new that amazes me.  Today we decided to go for a walk and take Gavin in his Baby Bjorn.  He really liked it!  He was awake and alert and looking all around.  He really loves to be outside (definitely did NOT get that from mommy!).  His daycare teachers take him for buggy rides when its nice out and they always say that he enjoys it so much.  But apparently the sun gets in his face and he gets mad so they asked us to get him a hat… guess we’ll be going shopping this weekend :-)  Daycare is going really well- I love having him at my office so I get to go down and visit during the day.  It makes it so much easier to be at work.  His teachers are really nice and Gavin is actually starting to interact with the other kiddos so that is fun to watch.  Everything is pretty quiet with us for the moment- I hope it lasts.  Tomorrow, Gavin is going to stay with Grandma while Mommy and Daddy go see the Lion King with Granny and Peyton.

 P.S.  I decided to start putting the new pictures with the posts… just makes it easier to see!

Wow, I can’t believe it has almost been 3 months since Gavin was born!  He has grown so much- he’s becoming a bit chunky!  Big difference from that skinny little thing in the hospital!  He has chubby cheeks and cute little fat rolls on his legs now.  He went to the doctor last week for his shots and he weighed 12 lbs 8 oz and was 23 3/4″ long.  He did surprisingly well with the shots.  Actually, he screamed louder when I stripped him down to weigh him!  I cried a little too- but we both survived

Bryan and I can waste hours just staring at him.  He’s so funny- all of his little expressions and sounds… its just so fun to watch.  Bryan has taught him a new trick- how to stick his tongue out.  In fact, Gavin has gotten so used to sticking his tongue out at Daddy that he does it as soon as he sees him- sometimes just when he hears him! 

Bryan and I took a quick one night trip to Disneyworld this weekend and Gavin stayed with Granny and Poppie.  It was good to get away- but I missed him so bad!  I guess I didn’t expect to miss him THAT much for just one night… but I did.   It’s so funny how differently we viewed Disneyworld this time- instead of rushing to ride all the rides, we took our time and just kept saying “I can’t wait until Gavin can come see/do this!”.  Not that we didn’t thoroughly enjoy ourselves- we never get tired of Disneyworld.  But we are so looking forward to sharing that with Gavin when he is old enough to really enjoy it too. 

Wow, 9 weeks has FLOWN by!  I’m back at work now and Gavin started daycare this week too.  He’s adjusted really well so far.  He sure has been sleeping well this week-  neither of us want to get up in the mornings!  It’s been a roller coaster for me all week, but overall I think I’m happy to be back at work.  We’ve been staying at my parents house this week while they are in Israel.  The commute has been awesome!  But next week we’ll be back to our house and start our routine w/ an hour-long commute each way.  At least we all get to ride in together- so its not like we are totally missing out on each other.  

Gavin is getting a lot more interactive now.  He smiles and laughs and he’s just starting to discover his hands.  He’ll just hold his fist out in front of his face and stare at it and turn it from side to side.  So cute.  He has to have his shots next week- I’m dreading it already. 

Great Grandma and Grandpa Farnsworth are coming to meet Gavin tomorrow so we’ll try to get some pictures and then upload this weekend!

 -Stacie