All Smiles

Gavin graced us with his first real smile on Christmas day, but since then has only smiled a couple of times. I just barely captured this smile a couple of days ago. What a sweetie pie!!

More Kung Fu

And now for the knock-down punch! First the wind up... then the punch!

Kung Fu Gavin

Who knew Gavin was secretly studying martial arts??? (and I thought he was napping!)

Check out his awesome Kung Fu moves!





Hoo-aaah-yaaa-watch-aaahhh!! Hiiiii-ya!!!

Sporting his fancy Winnie the Pooh overalls and doing high kicks! You go, little man!

Grandpa Pants

A few people have suggested that Gavin sometimes looks like a tiny old man. I contribute it to his little bald head, alert eyes and fair eyebrows, and wrinkled up forehead. I could imagine how he could resemble an old man just a bit. Then, I started dressing him the other day in an outfit he hadn't quite grown into yet and man, oh man! Or should I say Man, OLD Man! Ha, ha, had to take a picture of him in these grandpa pants to share with you!!! Now all he needs is some suspenders!

Christmas Gifts

It seems like it has been forever since I have posted on Gavin's blog! It has really only been a little over a week, but a lot has happened in that time. Three major events aside from Christmas and all of the related festivities.

1. Gavin started sleeping for a 5-6 hour stretch at night!

2. Gavin smiled real smiles for the first time!

3. Gavin rolled over from his tummy to his back!

Yup! It was a big week for us. Gavin was a real trooper through some crowded, overwhelming Christmas shopping trips, but we had help from his Auntie Carrie as well as his cousins Renee and Dana. They sort of took turns going shopping with us, so that there was someone to help keep Gavin content while I shopped or someone to sit in the car with him while I quickly ran into stores so that I didn't have to take him in and out of the car so many times. It was a huge help! I even got MOST of my Christmas cards sent out before Christmas - not all of them though - some are still coming!

On Christmas Eve, we went to Church with Cliff's parents, his Aunt Nancy, and his Uncle Herman at the Methodist church in River Falls. At the end of Church, we saw some of our good friends, the Kelly's and enjoyed a quick visit with them! Cliff's Aunt Darlene and his cousins were also at Church and we had dinner with them at Cliff's parents' house after church. Gavin's second cousin Hanna sure enjoyed him and she was really good with him. She is five years old and was so excited to meet him and she even promised him her school picture! : )

After dinner and visiting, we headed home and got ready for another day of Christmas celebrations, this one, beginning with breakfast at our house for Cliff's parents and Uncle Hermy. We were hoping for a good night's sleep, but had no idea that Gavin was about to give us the greatest Christmas gift ever - 5 hours of straight sleep!!! He slept from 10pm until 3am and then went back to sleep for another 3 hours after he ate! We had a delicious breakfast and exchanged gifts. We were spoiled again this year, particularly Gavin! We all received many very generous gifts and it is always the most fun to see everyone else open the gifts we got for them! One of the best things about Christmas Day was as we were opening gifts and I was talking to Gavin, he was looking at me and smiled. The more I talked to him, the more he smiled. It was very intentional and the most wonderful Christmas gift we could ask for! He also slept for 5 hours straight Christmas night and 6 hours straight the next three nights!

In the afternoon, we headed over to Cliff's Aunt Darlene's house for a late lunch and visiting with cousins and aunts from out of town. It was a very nice visit! Cliff brought his 4-wheeler and took Hanna and some of the grown ups for sled rides behind the 4-wheeler. It was a fun time, but was pretty cold out! Gavin and I stayed cozy and warm in the house!

The day after Christmas brought more celebration! The Sellner Family celebrated Christmas on Dec 26th at my parents' house with most of my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews. We had a wonderful brunch and again really enjoyed the gift giving. We also enjoyed lots of games and card playing. Gavin received several wonderful gifts, including some very special Christmas ornaments, a couple of outfits, an exersaucer, and some wonderful books. Most importantly, he received a lot of love.

Here are a few pictures!

Grandma and Grandpa Sellner with almost all of their grandkids. Boy, these cousins sure look like they just can't stand each other, don't they! :)

Gavin and Daddy by our Christmas Tree checking out one of Gavin's gifts.

At one month old, Gavin can almost sit up on his own. Well, for a minute anyway - and then just after you take the picture, he topples over. Ouch. Sorry, Gavin! The picture was worth it, right? Smooches!

One Month Old Today

Happy Birthday Gavin! You are one month old today!

Today is also a big day for another reason. Gavin had his first babysitter today. Auntie Carrie came over tonight and watched Gavin for a few hours while Mom & Dad went out to dinner with some friends. It was a much needed date and thankfully Gavin was good for Carrie.

We're getting ready for Christmas, wrapping presents, shopping, and STILL trying to get our Christmas cards done! Hope to send them out before Christmas, but we'll see!

Here are a couple of pictures from today of our growing boy!

Camouflage Baby

Hee, hee... Where's Gavin?

4 Weeks Old Today

Gavin is four weeks old today. I can't even believe it. I have just two weeks left to be home with him and then it's back to work! I am treasuring every minute I have with him.

Gavin is growing so much! I weighed him a week and a half ago on Saturday, Dec 6th and he weighed about 10 lbs (our scale doesn't have ounces). Then I weighed him again this Monday, Dec 15th and he weighed about 12 lbs. Oh my goodness, he has grown! He is a really good eater and has the most scrumptious double chin I've ever seen. His little jowels just beg to be kissed.

He is sleeping 2 1/2 - 3 hours at a time at night now, which is good and relatively consistent. If he goes to bed around 9:30 or 10:00, he tends to wake up around 12:30 or 1am and again around 3:30 or 4:00 and then around 7:00. He still naps quite a bit of the day away as well, but usually in short spurts and of course he always sleeps better and longer when he is being held. He seems to know now when we lay him down in his bed and tends to fuss more then.

I did get the cold that Cliff was so carefully trying to protect us from, but Gavin still seems to be doing okay and doesn't seem to be any worse off. He is getting my antibodies in my milk, so hopefully that will keep him healthy. He sure is a snuggly little guy! We were a little concerned yesterday because he seemed to have a really upset stomach and was spitting up more than normal, but he didn't have a fever and his diapers still looked good (that's a relative term), and he seems to be feeling better today. The sun is out today and even though yesterday's high temperature was -2, we are warm and cozy in the house. We had company the last two days. My neice Dana came over Monday afternoon and brought lunch and we went in to Hudson for a couple of Christmas-shopping errands. Stacy Delwiche stopped over yesterday afternoon with the boys and brought dinner. The boys had fun looking at the Christmas Tree and Cole in particular was very interested in Gavin. It was sweet!

Our internet has been down for a few days now and between that and fighting this cold, I've been a little "disconnected", but hope to finish the birth story for you soon!

A couple of pictures for you of Gavin with the Christmas Tree as well!

Our birth story - part I

I decided I should write this all out before I start forgetting details. Is it possible that I could actually forget parts of this memorable day? Let's see - where did I leave off? I think I last posted on Monday 11/17 that we had received a gel treatment and were home letting the gel do it's job. We were just three days overdue at this point, but wanted to get the labor going slowly and relatively naturally if possible. When we went in for a gel treatment, here is what would happen. After the nurse checked my cervix to see how much it had dilated and how effaced (thinned) it was, they put two monitors on my belly - one to monitor contractions and one to monitor the baby's heart rate. On Monday, I was having contractions, but I couldn't really feel them much yet - they weren't dilating my cervix much either. My cervix was dilated to 1 cm + a wiggle or almost 2 cm. They monitored the contractions and the baby's heart rate for a while and then put the Prostaglandin gel on my cervix to try to soften or "ripen" my cervix. Then they monitored the contractions and the heart rate for another hour or so before they sent us home. We went back in on Tuesday morning and received another gel treatment and were sent home for the rest of the day with instructions to come back that night for another gel or a suppository of the same hormone that would work overnight rather than just while we were there at the hospital. When they put the monitors on my belly on Tuesday evening, they saw that I was having pretty good contractions and they were pretty consistent. The nurse called Rita to tell her this and Rita decided that we should not to the additional gel treatment and instead we should go home and get a good night's rest and come back at 6am Wednesday morning (11/19). We decided that with the good contractions that were happening on their own, labor would start relatively easily once my water broke, so we decided to have Rita break my water Wednesday morning. (...to be continued...)

New Pictures

Here are just a couple of new pictures of Gavin for you.

3 Weeks Old Today

It has b n a week since I have posted anything on the blog and I know I still owe you all the birth story, but honestly, where has the time gone? It's now 11:30 and so far today I have fed Gavin a couple of times, changed two diapers, had a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal, fed the dog and put him outside, put wood in the fireplace, and... that's it. Gavin and I got up at 7:00 this morning, so in over four hours, those are my accomplishments. I have not showered, haven't thought yet about lunch, considered walking outside for a few minutes, but then Gavin didn't like that idea and decided to wake up and scream for a few minutes. He is now sleeping peacefully in his swing and so rather than eat, go outside, shower, or nap, I am FINALLY posting something.

We are all happy and mostly healthy. Cliff came down with a tough cold last weekend and we've been doing everything possible to keep Gavin and I from getting it, short of having Cliff move out of the house. He has been sleeping in Gavin's bedroom, since Gavin sleeps in our room, so all of us can get the most sleep possible. We've been wiping down door handles, light switches, faucet handles, cabinet pulls, etc. with Clorox wipes, and Cliff hasn't held Gavin (or me for that matter) since Sunday. Cliff seems to be feeling better, so we're hoping all of the care he has taken is paying off and he is getting over the cold. We got another 3" of snow overnight Monday night and yesterday morning, so the yard is covered in a nice blanket of white. It's really beautiful, and I'd love to take some pictures of Gavin out there, but it is FRIGID! It was 1 degree above zero when we got up this morning.

On Sunday, we went to cut our Christmas tree. Gavin stayed in the car because it was too cold for him to come out and help us choose the tree, but he helped us decorate the tree last night. The house is currently full of boxes of Christmas decorations and the floor has a light dusting of pine needles and glitter (from the ornaments), but there are more important things right now than housework... like the little baby that is waking up and ready to eat! Gotta run!

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