Boating Bliss

Ryan's parents let us borrow their boat for about a month. We tried to take it out as much as we could, but with schedules and rain, we definitely didn't get out as much as we wanted. There's always next summer! :) Thanks so much for your generosity, Robert and Julie!

We tried Gavin in the lake right when we got the boat. Still not a fan...

The boat does put him to sleep, though.

An evening ride with Lon and Sharon...
...and Peter and Bethany
(look at that sunset!)
Lon in my life jacket. Nice, Lon.
Bananas in a teether ring--anything to keep this boy occupied on the boat!
Gavin's bed in the boat.

Our wonderful neighbors Stan and Diane (who possibly love Dakota more than we do!)

Last Sunday, we traveled to Boomsday via boat! We didn't even leave the dock until after 8:30. Fireworks started @ 9:30 and we got there just in time.

We don't always make Gavin wear a lifejacket, but he definitely had to at night! Notice there's only one strap on it for this hefty boy. :)
Elizabeth, Liz, and future Haylee--having a great time and no clue what's in store for them.
I think Braden somehow knows what's coming. Look at that terrified face...
Thank goodness for my responsible hubby who had to drive with MANIACS after the fireworks show.
Watching the fireworks on the back of the boat--it was an incredible view and one of the coolest things I've ever done.
You can see the boat lights behind Ben, Elizabeth, and Braden. What we didn't know (and were NOT prepared for) is that ALL the boats leave AT THE SAME TIME!! It was seriously one of the most terrifying experiences of my life! It was pitch black and boats were coming about 5 feet away from us--most of them much bigger than our boat which means lots of waves and tons of rocking. Whew.
Thank goodness this little guy had no clue what was going on. We arrived safe and sound about 1 1/2 hours later!

We tried for a better day on Labor Day, and it was perfect weather and not too crowded.
It was a great way to celebrate my birthday!

We went out with Matt, Shannon, & Libby and Josh, Sarah, & Lucy. Here's the dads holding their daughters.
Gavin FINALLY liked the lake! Hooray!
I love this picture. The girls watching the boys.
And then they switch and watch the girls fighting! Notice Shannon kicking Sarah in the background. Haha.

Gavin was exhausted after all the excitement.
And Ryan was exhausted after Josh pulled him on the tube.
Maybe next year this little guy can tube!

Leg Update

Gavin had his follow-up appointment for his leg yesterday, and the x-rays showed that nothing was there! So he is completely healed. Praise the Lord! I think we already knew that after he started this Wednesday...



The doctor said it didn't make his leg weaker or stronger, just back to normal. So all is well again! I think we're going to have a crawler soon!

Go Vols!

Gavin watched his first UT football game on Saturday.
He is already a huge fan (literally and figuratively!) of the Vols and our new Coach Lane Kiffin.
"Rocky Top, you'll always be..."
Our friends Matt and Shannon had us over to watch the game. My, how our football game parties have changed with these little ones!
Gavin and his best bud Braden:
Enjoying a post-game celebratory drink with Aunt Amanda:
GO VOLS!

6 Months

I cannot believe Gavin is already half of a year old!! Oh, how I love staying home with this boy. I would have gone back to work this month, and I can't imagine leaving him. People ask me a lot if I miss teaching. I think teaching is such a part of me (I'm sure I tell people things they don't care to know!) that I'll always miss it, but instead of teaching 20 kids, I get to teach Gavin new things every day! I am so thankful to Ryan for working so hard each day so that Gavin and I can stay home! We are unbelievably blessed.

I wish I would have done this from month #1, but just now thought of it. Lon and Sharon brought Gavin this mini-Dakota in the hospital. Here he is with it at 4 days old:

And here he is with it today at 6 months! Wow, he's gotten so big! I wonder if the boxer shrunk at all... :)
I think I'll do a picture with it every month from now on to see how big he's getting. Wow. Makes me sad to look at those 2 pictures!

Enjoy these pictures from the last month...

Visit from Great Aunt Joanna and Cousin Madison from Florida! It was so great to see you guys! And Gavin LOVES his gator! Loves to bite him, that is. :) We named him "Peaches" because Gavin got peaches all over it after he ate peaches one evening! :)
These two are inseparable. Dakota likes to give Gavin lots of kisses when we're not looking! Gavin can be screaming his head off and see Dakota and immediately calm down.
Aunt Amanda moved out earlier this month. We sure do miss having her in our house, but are so glad she's in Knoxville instead of Nashville!
I just have to say how much I love that this boy sucks his thumb! It makes for an easy life for us and a happy baby!

We got a new high chair (I love Craig's List!) that Gavin eats in each evening. He likes to lick whatever bowl we have his food in.
He is eating as many fruits and veggies as we can give him! He HATES green veggies, particularly sweet peas. Let's hope that changes!

I will no longer be able to take a shower while this boy is awake. I left him on my bed (with pillows surrounding him of course) and this is what I came out to when I got out of the shower...
Here's a video--I think it's funnier to see him moving around under the sheets...
(For some reason the video won't work for me unless I press play and then hit the slider bar. Hopefully it works for you!)

After Gavin's fractured leg, he got a double eye and right ear infection. I would say this was hands down the worst week of this kid's life! I did NOT take this picture for the blog. He woke up last week with his eyes glued shut with sleep, and I wanted Dr. Glover to see how bad it was in case he didn't look bad when I took him to the doctor (I read somewhere to do that--thought it was a good idea!). He didn't need to see the picture because he diagnosed him right away, so you guys can see how pitiful he is.
Taking his first antibiotic. With a broken leg. Pitiful.

Visit with Great Grandpa Bruce and Great Grandma Betty
Four Generations
These guys are best buds! They hang out once a week (at least!). I know Braden can't wait until Gavin can play with him instead of just sit/lay there!
Braden calls Gavin "Ga." I love it!
Halloween costume idea: Sumo Wrestler?
First visit to an outdoor pool (indoor pool in NC doesn't count, I don't think). He loved Braden's whale float! How sad that it's been all summer and we're just now getting to the pool.
We officially have a scooter! He scoots backwards--not forward at all. Look how far he got off his mat earlier this week! I think he looks quite proud of himself.
Gavin is quite the talker! Here's a video of his adorable coos.
By the way, this boy LOVES his Exersaucer!!


6 Month Stats:
Head: 18 1/2 cm. (WAY above 97%!)
Weight: 20 lb. 2 oz. (90%)
Length: 26 1/4 in. (50%)
Maybe with Ryan being so above average in height and me being so below that we'll produce an average baby? :)

Boo Boo

It took me 25 years to break a bone (my finger 1 1/2 years ago).

Ryan has never broken a bone.
How long did it take Gavin? Less than 6 months...

It all started on Friday. I think I've posted before that he is a pro at rolling on his belly, but he can't roll to his back. So I spend a lot of my days rolling him back over when he starts fussing about it. So I was flipping him over and his left leg got caught underneath him behind him and sort of next to his head (it was a terrible position, that should have been my first clue). He cried quite a bit that day, but got better. He didn't move his leg a whole lot, but I thought it was just sore. Well, Monday night he woke up every 3 hours in a panic crying really hard each time.
So I took him to Dr. Glover (his pediatrician) and he felt around and said that if he were a skinny boy, he might be able to feel a break, but all that padding kept him from feeling anything! Hahaha. So he sent us to Children's Hospital to get it x-rayed. They took 7 x-rays and said there was a fracture above his left knee at the bottom of his femur bone. Apparently that's common for kids when they move it the wrong way (but it's usually not the Mom's fault I'm sure!!). The x-ray tech said if he needed a cast, it might be a double leg cast with the broom handle in between. Whew! So we went today to the Knoxville Orthopedic Clinic to see a specialist, and THANK GOODNESS Gavin does not have to have a cast! What an answer to prayer. It's a clean fracture, so it's lined up good, and since it's at the bottom of the bone, no need for a cast. If he were more mobile, this would be a different story, but since he's not crawling or walking yet, we're good! So we'll go back in 3 weeks to get another x-ray to get an update on how it's healing.

So you can see in these pictures that he now uses his right leg all the time (before it's always been his left):
The Orthopedic doctor said he's doing everything he needs to do by not using it and putting weight on his right foot instead. The only time it hurts him is when he gets startled and he jumps.
He's obviously feeling ok!

First Tooth!

Life at the Hughes' house is not as peaceful these days. Here's the reason...

His first tooth peeking through on the bottom left (his bottom right) and I think another one is about to pop up next to it!

Gavin is not a fan. And I'm not ready to be rid of his precious gummy smile!
That would explain him gnawing on everything in sight these days!
Praying for a less fussy day tomorrow...

Oh, Dakota

So take a wild guess what happened to our dog--not once, but twice--that would make her get a bath with spaghetti sauce?

Oh, yeah, sprayed by a skunk on Friday night and Tuesday night. There's apparently a family of them in our neighborhood and she has not learned her lesson! We tried a tomato sauce bath, but that didn't get the smell out. So luckily we found some special skunk shampoo at Pet Smart.
Speaking of Dakota, the Gavster LOVES her now. He has just started noticing her and grabbing on to her. We are so thankful for such a gentle dog!
Now if we could only get her to stop licking! Any ideas? Ryan wants to write to The Dog Whisperer to see if he can fix her!