Playing Catch(-up)

The last month has flown by, and as you may have noticed, I have not blogged at all. I did "write" several blog entries in my head, but never did make it to the computer to share them with you. In fact, just last week I downloaded a month's worth of pictures from my camera. I was a little behind.

It almost seems silly to play catch-up now, but since this blog serves as a journal for us of Gavin's first year (and in the off chance you may want to know what you've missed the last four weeks), I will do a quick update before chronicling Gavin's 6 month birthday and the latest news.

One of Gavin's new skills and activities this last month was playing catch. Yes, catch. We'd set him up in a reclined position and without much coaching he learned to move his arms inward to trap the ball. And, if that didn't work, he often stopped the ball with this feet. He would even do some fancy footwork to raise his feet in an effort to bring the ball up to his hands. Seemed like a pretty amazing skill to us, but maybe it's normal. We won't be surprised though if these are early signs that we'll have a soccer all star in the future. We now play a modified version of this game as he loses interest in the reclined position and wants to sit up (but is not quite sturdy enough to catch and sit).

Other than that, the big theme between 5 and 6 months seemed to be "almost."

Almost... sitting up. For most of the month he's enjoyed sitting on our laps or nestled in the boppy pillow on the floor, but hadn't quite mastered sitting on his own. One of the fun new skills that came along with almost sitting-- bouncing. The joy is contagious when he bounces up and down on your lap, arms raising up and down. Don't forget the sound effects.

Almost... giggling. Gavin is no question a happy baby, but for some reason we still have not been entertaining enough for a full giggle. He'll string a few laughs together, but we're still waiting for the unabandoned belly laugh.

Almost... ready for solid foods. It has been obvious for a bit now that Gavin is completely enamored with my coffee cup. He loves watching it raise and lower and will turn and twist his body to get a glimpse of it on the floor. That and some other clues have had us preparing for his first "meal" on his 6 month birthday. I considered feeding him rice cereal in one of our coffee mugs but then had a moment of parent foresight-- Gavin grabbing my full, hot coffee mug thinking it was his food-- so I decided to go with glass bowls instead.

Hi-Chair "Practice"

Do you think he needs more to eat?

Almost... on the move. These days we savor the fact that we can set Gavin down to lay on the floor and when we come back, he is still there. However, he is growing his moving skills and reminding us that it won't be long before he is one the move. On his back, he's learned how to arch and will rotate 180 degrees. On his tummy, he first figured out how to lift his legs and push, burrowing his head and eventually moving forward. Now he's figured out that he can move a bit while in the push up position. But, since his legs don't work in tandem with his arms, when his arms are in control he scoots backwards. This can be a bit frustrating, especially when there is a toy or other target out in front.
Almost forgot to mention that Gavin and I survived our first week without Tony (he was in San Diego at a Pastor's conference). He was definitely missed, but I'd say we fared pretty well. And it was pretty cute to see Gavin smile when we said Good Night and Good Morning to Tony's photo on the wall. He's also been interested in the phone lately and even responded to hearing Tony's voice mail message on speakerphone.
It's been quite a fun month. I wish I could just bottle everything up-- all of the excitement, joy, new discoveries, emotions, sounds --to open up at a later date. But alas, Gavin keeps growing and changing and reminding us what a gift he is and to savor each moment.