Fixing his truck

Not sure what the fascination is lately with things on his eyes, but tonight G was busy fixing his truck with his tools, and he "needed" to wear his protective glasses. They were a little tight, but that did not bother him. He says he "works better" with them on:)

Reading like Ma

Gavin wanted to read like Ma today....so he put on her glasses, got her book, and sat where she sits when he naps. 

{Gavin 28 Months}

Dear Gavie,

Today you are 28 months old. Not sure when I am going to stop aging you by months, but I am too tired to think of something else!

You continue to be the most social and sweet child. You make us laugh ALL day long, and are always learning something new.

You talk about everything you do and everything we do. There is never any confusion about what you want or what you don't want. You are loud and clear!

You have continued to amaze us by being completely potty trained...we don't even need to remind you to go potty...you do it all on your own, and you prefer to go potty by yourself. You are very proud, and you love to tell us about your potty ("Holy Massive POOPOO!" is a common phrase)

You have been sleeping until almost 630 and even 7am some days. If you are up earlier than that, you go to Daddy's side of the bed, climb in, and fall back asleep right next to Daddy...its very sweet, and I think your Daddy secretly loves it.

We read books all the time, and your favorite books right now are all Curious George. Your Cincinnati Ma got you a Curious George Pizza book for Christmas, and I think we have read it about 100 times at least. Also Avocado Baby remains a favorite, and you even read the pages to us...3 sentences on a page, and you have them all memorized.

Now that you are in a big boy bed, our bedtime routine has changed up a little. We used to just read you books, plop you in your crib, and out you were. Now, we read books, and then lay down to sing "Three songs" to you. First its "Sunshine" (You are my Sunshine) then its "ABC" and last is "Bitty Bitty Spider." Then when I am done singing you ask for "Daddy sing ONE song!" We think you have mastered the skill of stalling!!! Even though the routine is a little longer now, you still sleep great, and we enjoy singing to you...as you never used to like to be sung to!

Appetite? Well, lets just say that we shop in bulk at Costco (with ONE child) and I fear that I will be needing to go to Costco once a WEEK when your brother is eating like you! You are a eating machine, and eat every hour all day long.

You continue to be so sweet to your baby brother. You give him hugs and kisses, and always put toys up my shirt for him. You give him your blankie when he is "cold" and ask him questions. (You hold up a toy to my belly and say "Baby, whats THAT???") Its pretty cute.

I have been on bed rest for about a week now, and you are starting to understand that Mama is not able to get up and chase you around....or go with you to fun places. BUT you still get to play a lot and go out with Ma and Dada...and lots of friends, so we are pretty lucky!

We sure love you Gavin!

Mama & Dada

Gingerbread Man!

Yesterday Daddy brought home a very special treat for Gav...a gingerbread man kit! We waited until the weekend to do it, so G and Daddy could do it together. (Plus Ma left today, and we knew G would hit a sugar withdrawal once she was gone;) Gav probably ate 3/4 of the candy toppings...and the rest made it to the gingerbread man. They both also ate a lot of icing before it made it on to the man...Once they were done, we all got a taste...as if G needed MORE sugar...That's what the holidays are for, right?

Arnie Blarney

Poor Arnie. For the past 3 weeks he has been peeing on the couch...and then yesterday he pee'd somewhere else, so we thought we better take him to the vet to make sure he did not have a UTI. The vet first examined him, and we learned then that he had pee'd in his cage on the way to the vet! I KNEW something was wrong...also he did not cry in the car, and he ALWAYS does...I just knew that he was sick.

The vet examined him and found #1 a tooth abscess (that we will not worry about till we figure out why he is sick) #2 his hear rate was 300bpm! Normal cat HR is about 180...so its extremely fast. Some sort of arrhythmia? Hyperthyroidism? UTI? These are the three things it might be, and we needed to do a blood test and urine test to find out. We could treat the thyroid very easily with diet modification and we could treat the UTI with ABX, so I thought we better just do the tests. IF the tests show nothing, then it is most likely a heart disease of some sort (Arrhythmia or Cardiomyopathy). If it is cardiomyopathy then there is nothing we can do...and I am pretty sure if he is in some sort of SVT (Arrhythmia) then there is nothing we can do, as we are not going to "shock" his heart every time he flips in to the rhythm. The vet knows that we want him as comfortable as possible, and we will treat any issue that CAN be treated VERY easily...but that is all the testing we are doing. Not only is it VERY expensive, but more importantly, Arnie's quality of life is priority. 

We got home, and Arnie slept in the garage all night. We can't trust him in the house, and I feel horrible!!! But Derek made him a little sleeping area with blankets, so I guess its the best we can do for now. 

Derek and Gavin have been fixing the sliding door in the kitchen all day so that we can get it working...that way we can let Arnie in the house (Kitchen/family room area) during the day...that way he does not make a mess in the bedrooms...under the beds is his favorite place. 

I brought Arnie in today to lay with me on the couch and he just slept. His paws are disgustingly dirty from his litter box, something that Arnie NEVER lets happen, and I think its a sign that he just feels to bad to even clean himself. He smells like pee, but we don't think it is a good idea to stress out his already overworked heart by giving him a bath...we will wait a few days for the lab results...

In the mean time, Gavin has been so sweet to him. Touches his head, pets him really softly and says "Its OK Arnie, Arnie no feel good!" He really knows Arnie is sick, and you can sure tell. 

UPDATE: Poor Arnie has been diagnosed with diabetes AND cardiomyopathy. Poor guy. We started him on a whole new diabetic diet of canned food...and we hope that helps the excessive thirst and urination...we will see. So far he LOVES the food, and wants it all day long. He misses his dry food we think! We will see how this does for now...good thoughts for Arnie!

St Nick visits a little late...

Tonight St. Nick came to the Moore house! This was the first year he stopped by (Of course, Ma was here!), he was a little busy on December 5th...so he came tonight! Gavin got a little truck, cars, clementines and CANDY! He was most excited about the candy of course! Thanks for celebrating with us MA!!!

Gavin at the Dentist

Gavin went to see Dr. Rabitz for the very first time today, and it was a really great trip to the dentist! First, when we walked in, the entire office and waiting room is geared towards children, and it is a tree house theme...with TONS of toys and things to look at. Once we went back to see the dentist, Gavin walked back, and climbed up on the chair like he had been there before! He immediately lifted up his shirt, as he thought the dentist wanted to listen to his heart and stomach...Guess he has been to the Dr a lot lately! Then we met with Dr. Rabitz, and he was wonderful. So sweet, and very good with Gavin. He explained everything to me, and he is a very knowledgeable dentist...He obviously did his homework, and looked at Gavin's chart to see that I am a nurse...as he seemed like he was expecting my questions about fluoride...He recommends giving Gav a fluoride drop since its not in our water...We don't use fluoride toothpaste for G as he does not spit it out yet. I have done a TON of research about ingested fluoride and I am still on the fence about if I want G to have it...but Dr. R had some good knowledge and facts about why it IS good for him....still have to think about it.

Then he examined Gavin's teeth, and Gavin sat completely still and let him. He opened, shut, and smiled for the dentist. He was so good!!! I was in shock, as no one has even really tried to look that thoroughly at his teeth before! 

Then the hygienist put some headphones on G so he could see the cartoon playing right above him....Gavin was SOLD! Cartoons (He's does not get much of these and you can sure tell!) kept Gavin busy for the next 30 minutes...and she cleaned his teeth, each one, and even squirt water and suctioned his mouth....he did exactly as she said...Ma and I were just laughing so much!!! I guess I never dreamed it would be that easy to take a 2 yr old to the dentist!!! 

Dr. Rabitz says Gavin's teeth look perfect, no cavities, and no concerns. He said G will get 4 more teeth in the next 6 months, and he can already feel them. Might explain G putting everything in his mouth...oh wait, he has always done that!

Next appointment in 6 months:)