1 and 3 and 9

This past week marked several milestones for us. Gavin is 1 month old! Time has flown by since he was born. I feel like it is still the beginning of July, and here we are in August. But Gavin is truly a good baby. He is giving me a reasonable amount of sleep at night so I can function during the day. That's all I can ask at this point, really. And he adds an incredible dynamic to our family. He is sweet and calming and so very handsome.
Owen is 3 years old! Yes, my little Owen had his birthday this past week. And the big brother in him is coming out full force. Aside from his usual help with diaper changing and burping and the like, I have noticed an interesting phenomenon. He likes to hold Gavin...a lot. If I happen to leave the two alone for a moment, I come back to find Gavin in a new place. Hmmm. I wonder how that happened?
We have been married for 9 years! Mark and I just celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary. And he gave me the best anniversary present ever. He let me sleep in first of all. And when I awoke he told me he'd be taking the day off work. That may not seem like much, but tears came to my eyes when I heard it. I NEEDED the break. We spent the day getting some important errands done and eating lunch out as a family. It was low-key, relaxing, and simply wonderful. Eating good food and tackling my "to-do" list...the day was just right.

An Adjustment

I had a short list of things I wanted to accomplish today:
1. Do the laundry
2. Go grocery shopping
3. Make banana bread

Here's what I accomplished:
1. Took clothes out of dryer and folded just four items
2. Wrote out a partial grocery list
2. Opened my recipe book

I think I'll readjust tomorrow's goals to look something like this:
1. Feed Gavin all day
2. Keep Owen busy while feeding Gavin all day

Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Solomon

I thought it would be a fun comparison to show a baby pic of the boys. I'm sure you can tell the middle picture is Mark. (His mom hinted to me that he was not the cutest baby, but I just love that photo. His little features and head of hair are ridiculous!) Mark was a small baby at birth, weighing in under six pounds. And the photo doesn't show it, but he had distinct red hair.

Owen is the baby on the right. He weighed 8 lbs 4 oz at birth and was 21.5 inches long. He was also 9 days overdue! His hair does not show well in this picture, but he had a substantial amount of medium blonde.

Gavin is on the left. Of course he weighed 8 lbs 8 oz and was 19 inches long. He was also born a day BEFORE his due date. It was a good thing my doctor suggested inducing me early. I can't imagine how much longer he would have hung out in there and how much more he would have weighed! He has more hair than Owen did and it is a slight red/brown color.

When I first saw Gavin it felt a little like deja vu. I couldn't stop thinking about how much he looked like Owen at birth. And although there is a clear resemblance, they each have their own distinct look. I can't wait to see how their personalities compare!

Introducing...

Gavin Mark Solomon
Okay, okay. If you've been anywhere near Facebook or Twitter you know he arrived a week ago. But his name hadn't been established until just yesterday.

Yes, we left the hospital without choosing one. And no, we did not get harrassed by the nurses for doing so. We pretty much waited until the last possible minute to put it in writing. That's just our style this time around.

But he's here and we are overjoyed! He weighed in at 8lbs 8oz and was 19.5in long. The labor and delivery were just short of amazing. I had a wonderful experience (much improved over O's delivery) and actually felt good afterwards.

We're all so excited to have baby Gavin around, no one more so than Owen. His new favorite activity is trying to wake baby up every time he is sleeping (which is most of the time). He also happens to be an expert on what baby wants. A true bother...I mean brother.

I'll post more pics and info in the coming days. For now we are simply adjusting to life as a little family of four. It's truly amazing. We love our little Gav.