Vamos a Mexico!

It's the time of year for our SCC Youth Mexico Mission Trip. For those of you that aren't familiar, we take a group of high school students and leaders down to Door of Faith Orphanage in La Mision, just south of Rosarito.

The photo above is from our commissioning during 9 am service last week. (If you click on the picture and look very closely, you might be able to see Gavin on the middle left in the back row.)

We leave tomorrow and this year we're taking Gavin. Are we crazy? Sometimes I wonder. But most likely we're just living on the edge a bit. We've been to the orphanage so many times that I think I know most of the variables. I think. I'm almost positive Gavin will do great. It's his mom that I sometimes wonder about. Will I be able to relax and enjoy too? That's the hope.

This year there has been more buzz than normal about declining safety in Mexico. After extensive research and conversations and two pre-trips down to the orphanage, Tony feels confirmed that we should go on the trip once again this year. Sure, there are bad things happening that we see in the news, but most seem to be near the Texas border or in bad areas of Tijuana. We heard a report that said travel was okay as long as we stayed away from drug and prostitute areas. I think we can handle that.

This year we're taking 25 students, 11 adults and one infant. It's a great group and we're confident God will do some great things. In fact, we've got one of our leaders reporting this year on our very own blog. Be sure to check it out.

http://sccmexicoteam.blogspot.com/

The Latest in Photos

...with my added captions, of course.


After our walk in the park we had a little sunshine. Gavin enjoyed his second grass experience.

T-shirt weather was nice for a change.

Gavin's friends Mackenzy and Joshua. We know their moms from my "SHE" group at church.Mackenzy got up close and personal and Gavin wasn't quite sure how to react.

Gavin loves meal time and would probably eat just about anything we put in front of him. Pears are not quite a hit, but he's chosen not to discriminate.

Winter in Washington means Gavin doesn't get a lot of "naked" time. But, some days it seems pointless putting clothes back on after the second or third outfit change.

Gavin's new bilingual toy that I found at the Thrift Store and cleaned up nicely. So far he's mostly concerned with how to get it into his mouth.

Our little guy with the big kids before Crossroads--High school youth group.
With Papa on a Sunday morning before our Mexico Commissioning service. (Thanks for the cool shirt Marie.)

7 Months Old!

Another Friday the 13th and Gavin is 7 months old. I had the 6 month marker in view for a while, but this 7th month marker snuck up on me. Now he really sounds old.

Here are photos from our birthday morning photo shoot.

These are some of his favorite toys, but you might not know it from Gavin's facial expression. The measuring cup always surprises him when he puts the handle in his mouth. His little thumb is just the right size to almost get stuck in the hole on the end of the handle. That one baffles him too.

EVIDENCE

Okay, so last I wrote, we were discovering Gavin's abilities to roll. We've found him several times asleep on his tummy with the pacifier and he'll even wake up, be on all fours whining, and go right back to sleep once we give me the missing plug. Guess he likes sleeping on his tummy. We had swaddled him for so long and his sleep positions were always so predictable. Things have changed.

Here is the evidence. I took photos with flash and he was so comfy he didn't wake up.



Gavin had his first cold last week, but he was a real trooper. He was in pretty good spirits, but everything about his face was red and goopy or watery. Two days of sick, then two days of some serious catch up naps, and now he's good to go.


This photo is Gavin's first taste of Sweet Potato, which was a hit. He was in the thick of his cold here but still up for trying something new.

Gavin is scooting backwards a bit and recently scooted onto the wood floor for the first time. I found him near this plant in the entry way. He didn't really notice the plant this time around, and thank goodness-- I still need to do my homework to see what plants might be poisonous.



Other recent evidence:
1. Papa's idea of necessary clothing-- a bib and a diaper (yes he is wearing a diaper).


2. Papa reviewing important fine motor skills with Gavin



3. Gavin's short legs and long body. Adorable all the same.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Yep, this Baby's Rollin'.

Up until now, I could count the number of times I'd watched Gavin roll. It just wasn't his thing. Turns out he just needed the right motivation-- his pacifier. Three times in the last two days Tony and I have found Gavin in his crib on his tummy.

Today, on one of those occasions, Gavin was waking up from his nap and fussing just a bit. I entered his room to find him on his tummy, 180 degrees from where I'd left him, just a few inches from his pacifier. Did he fall asleep like that? Did he wake up and go searching for his pacifier? I don't know. But I do know (or have at least reasoned with my mommy intuition) that it's his pacifier that has brought about the new skill of rolling from back to front.

It's inevitable folks-- Gavin will soon be on the move. I'm still in the denial stage.

Solid Food update: After 2 and half weeks of "Rice Cereal Training", it appears that Gavin is now actually eating and swallowing his rice cereal. It took a bit of getting used to, especially in how to maneuver his tongue, but now that he seems to have gotten it, we can start adding to the menu.

Here are some fun photos taken in the last week or two.

We took a walk at Port Williams beach on Sequim Bay. It was COLD, but we had to get out, at least for a bit.

A Big Day for Gavin

This week, on Wednesday, Gavin had a BIG day. It was such a momentus day, I kept him up a half hour past bedtime so that he could show off his new talents to his Papa after he came home from youth group.

Here is what Gavin added to his repetoire on Wednesday:

1. Sitting Up-- Yes. He is sitting up. I decided earlier in the day to prop him up and see what happened. He fell backwards pretty quickly, but with each try, he was able to stay up longer and longer. By the end of the day, he was holding his hands out at his side to balance himself, sitting for long periods, and even leaning forward to reach for toys. The falling backwards still happens occasionally when he gets excited, but it won't be long before we can rid ourselves of the safety pillows behind him.

2. New Sounds-- I was in the other room when I first heard Gavin's new sound and thought he was choking or gasping for air. Turns out he had learned that if he sucked in his breath he could make a different sort of screeching sound (which still sounds like gasping to me). He finds many ways to incorporate this new sound into his conversations.

Here is a video of these first two new skills...


3. Arms extended/butt up-- This is what I would consider the "crawling position" and Gavin has begun practicing doing his baby push up and getting his bum up in the air. It's a bit before he crawls, but he's getting the idea. I'm more convinced than ever that Gavin will mostly skip the rolling and go straight to crawling.

4. Laughter has been unleashed!-- We don't have a video of this yet, but Gavin is finally laughing-- more than a few giggles at a time. I discovered this when I was holding him on my hip and let his body hang backwards a bit. He had to work hard to hold himself up and for some reason found this as the occasion to finally laugh. Since then, we've found other ways to make him laugh and now have laughing sessions as we tickle or gobble him up. This is where the real fun is. We knew he would be the laughing type-- his laughing gene just had to be unlocked.

Gavin's Half Birthday

Last Friday (Friday the 13th) we celebrated Gavin's 6 month birthday. Half a year. Wow. Wow. I mean, he's so old. So grown up. It's amazing to think how much he has changed and developed over the last six months. What a miracle to watch God's design unfold.

Strike a pose!
Just before he tipped over and was rescued from nearly falling off of the chair. Sitting not quite mastered yet.

We commemorated his six month birthday with a photo shoot (of course) and then his first meal of rice cereal. It wasn't quite what I'd call a meal, but it was definitely an experience. For as much as Gavin has been interested in our eating, he's not quite sure what to do with the runny, not quite breastmilk stuff that is offered to him on a spoon. He welcomed it with joy and interest, even helping with the spoon at times, but most of it came right back out, dribbling down his chin. He needs some time to develop the right tongue movements and then we'll be off and running.

Have we mentioned that this is a fun age?! Tony and I are both having so much fun, I'm not sure I'm ready for a mobile child and the house is certainly not baby-proofed yet. Gotta go, there is work to be done and preparations to be made.