We got a new puppy!

We have a puppy and a kitty now :)

Cute little tail.

Gus went to the doc this afternoon, and he is fine. Just a virus, more than likely, the doc said. If his temp continues, then we should bring him in for bloodwork, but we can already tell that he seems to be feeling better. The rash on his face is a symptom of the virus. He just ate 5 ounces before going to bed, which is the most he has eaten in one sitting since Monday. So, things seem to be looking up. Although I can hear the little man crying right now, so I better get off of here and rock him back to sleep :)

We are planning on taking more costume pics tomorrow, but just wanted to give you a preview of his super cute pug puppy costume so you could see it all day on Halloween. Check back for updates very soon!

Still Sick

Just a quick update, Gus is still sick. So after talking with our moms last night, I realized that I am kind of clueless when it comes to this 'taking a temperature' thing, cause I had no idea I was supposed to be adding a degree to his temperature since I have been taking it under his arm. This means that for the last three days, his temp has ranged from 100-103, and that is with him taking medicine around the clock. Needless to say, I called and left a message with my Dr.'s nurse a little while ago to see if we should bring him in, or other things he suggests I do at home. He is really not eating well at all, and has started pulling on his ears a little. This morning his face was red and blotchy when he woke up. Josh and I are getting a little exhausted, as the last two nights have been very inconsistent, sleep-wise. So, anyway, I will keep you posted after we hear from the doc.

100th Post!

My naked little cutie cooling off and talking to his toy Glow Worm.

In about six months I have posted on here 100 times! Just a little For Your Information... and thanks to all who frequently visit our blog. As long as their is interest, I plan to continue this blog infinitely.

Well, sad news. Gus is sick. Not just a cold, but honest-to-goodness, temperature to tummy ache sick. The last few days he has not wanted to eat and has been 'talking' all the time, almost like he is groaning. Yesterday when I picked him up at daycare in the afternoon, he was not feeling well at all. I checked his temp and it was 1o1.6, which isn't horribe, but high enough to be concerned.

We have been giving him Tylenol around the clock, which is keeping his temp under 100 degrees, but his eating is waaay off. He doesn't want to eat, and he moans all the time like his stomach is in pain. Over the last few days, he has gotten a few good feedings in, but mostly little 1-2 ouncers every few hours. As long as he is still eating something I am okay with it. It makes me so sad though! I hate that he doesn't feel well.

On a happy note, we found a Pug Puppy costume! So check back this weekend for super cute Halloween pictures.

Playing

Since my last post this afternoon, I was curious of how much Gus actually weighs, so I weighed him with me, and then just myself, and the different was 19 pounds! So, I guess he weighs about 19 pounds now. I still think of this cute little guy playing as my little guy though.

First Cracker

Our Huge Baby

Girlfrieeeeend....

Who can resist that smile?!?!

On Sunday, Gus got to try Gerber Graduate Wheels and the sippy cup. He basically just plays with the cup, but it is good to get him used to it at this age. Sometimes he brings it to his mouth like he wants a drink, but he also does that with his rattle, so I am definitely not boasting yet :)

If you look closely beside his left eye, you can see a little rash starting. He loved the wheels, but they started to give his a little allergy rash, which was his first ever, so I am going to put them away for a week or two and try them again later, after we introduce a few more foods.

You never really know how big, or developed, or skilled, or whatever you want to call it, your baby is until you meet one that is the same age. On Saturday after church, we went over to a friends house. Sarah, Christian and Wyatt Nord are friends from when Josh and Christian worked together a long time ago in School Aged Services at the YMCA. They are expecting their second child around the first of the year.

Anyway, we stopped by their house to see them on Saturday night and they had some other friends over who had a baby the same age as Gus, actually their baby was five days older than Gus. We learned that Gus is a House. Their baby weighed almost 15 pounds, Gus weighs over 18 (we think anyway, maybe more!). Theirs was in 3 month clothes, and Gus is in 12 month (and some 12-18 month!). Their baby could roll all over the place and scoot, while our little sumo just laid their looking at us like, "You think I am supposed to be able to lift my huge body to do that??". Gus could sit great and play with toys much better than him, but man is Gus a big dude. It was pretty funny actually. I guess their baby was and has always been in the 5th percentile. Gus has ranged from 95th to off the charts.

We are looking and looking for a new puppy costume, since it looks like it will win the poll for his Hallween costume (Thank you Lord!). I bought one last week that was supposed to fit up to 20 pounds, but it was waaaay too small. I tried to exchange it yesterday but Target was out and the other places I went were all picked over. Josh is going to try to find one today on his way home from work... otherwise I will be drawing on my Home Economics skills from 15 years ago! It might not be pretty. Last resort, we may have to choose another costume last minute. But thanks so much for voting, hopefully the puppy thing will work out. What poll should I put up next??

Loves to Sit

Chewing on his bottom lip. He still prefers that to anything I can hand him- including a binky. He just won't and has never taken to one.

He loves to smile. That big drooley smile.

Gus grabbing for daddy's hand. I tried to make this pic look old fashioned; I enjoy playing around with photos.

He really likes to sit alone. He falls over sometimes, but he doesn't seem to mind.

And, he tumbled back onto a pillow.

This weekend we don't have any major plans. Gus and I went for a walk this morning with Amy and Kaylyn, and then tonight when daddy gets off work we will go to church and buy Gus a... drum roll please... sippy cup and baby biscuits! I am so sad that he is already old enough for these! I hear that now is the time to introduce sippy cups and yesterday I was eating a cracker and he grabbed it out of my hand and shoved it in his mouth! Before I had the chance to get it out, he had taken a bite and was sucking on it. I tried to to scrape it out of his mouth, but he swallowed before I got the chance, so I guess he is ready! I was going to wait few more weeks, but those are the signs that he is ready for solids like crackers.

Tomorrow we will just hang out and maybe help daddy with the basement. We haven't gotten very much done on it over the last few months, so it is time to keep plugging away.

I'll update with weekend pics in a few days... Love and miss you all~

Snuggly Sweaters

Daddy and Gus in their warm winter sweaters.

Gus 'bear'ing the cold in his blue bear sweater hat.

My cutie in his favorite shirt.

Up close and personal.

Gus in another warm snuggly sweater (thanks Brody!) as I blog.

I keep telling myself that I am going to stop taking pictures of Gus every single day, but every day I see him and I fall in love with how adorable he is! I may be addicted to him :) I guess there are worse addictions, right?



This week is going by surprisingly fast. I thought that it would drag and drag and drag on because I had such a busy weekend and drove so many miles, but I think I have caught up on my sleep. Josh has been great helping out around the house and Gus has slept two of the last three nights so that is nice for mommy and daddy's sleep schedule. Now I need to catch up on grading...



We don't have any plans this weekend. Just stay in KC. Josh has about three weekends left of Saturday YMCA games, and then a month or so off (from Saturdays) until January. Hopefully we will be able to visit a few people in Des Moines or St. Louis once we have normal weekends again :)



Lindsey had another appointment yesterday and it went well. She is almost to the halfway mark, so that is a comforting milestone to reach in pregnancy. She finds out the sex of the baby within the next few weeks and we are very excited.



Well, that's really it for this week, I am sure I will post an update soon. Love and miss you all.

Fun Weekend in Iowa

Mommy and Gus wanted to leave very early on Friday morning to head back to Iowa so daddy got up and helped get Gussie ready and pack up the car. This is a last minute hug and snuggle from daddy before we hit the road.

The car was packed full! It is a good thing daddy didn't come with us cause we didn't have any extra room. Here is Gus loaded up and glad for the quick stop at a rest area along the way.

We were able to get a great picture of Avery, Gus' cousin. Avery is Matt and Jen's youngest daughter. She got to play with Gus a bunch over the weekend, and boy did he have fun with her.

Josh's cousin Jill and her husband Corey have three boys. This is Chase, the youngest. He is just a few months older than Gus. Look at that H U G E smile! Adorable :)

Here are the two boys playing at Grandma's. Nama Paulette babysits for Chase, so Gus was happy to get to see him Friday afternoon before we headed to Cedar Falls to meet up with Aunt Lindsey and cousin Kennedy, and of course, Grandma Sue too.

Kennedy sure is getting old. Here she is showing off her new Halloween headband from Gus. Boy did she look cute!

A kiss from Kenny.

Gus taking a snoozer while Kennedy held him in the hotel room. We stayed at the Isle of Capri in Waterloo. And no, we were not very lucky... But it is was halfway between Grandma Sue's and Aunt Lindsey's, so it was a great place to meet.

Kennedy tried very hard to get Gus to fall asleep Friday night. She was such a good helper!

Wide awake.

Warming up in the hot tub.

Gus' first dip in a pool. It was so cold that I felt bad for the little guy, but he did great! He never screamed or cried, but he did have a very inquisitive look on his face when I put his feet and legs in the cold water.

Future NBA Star

Gus is going to make daddy and mommy tons of money when he plays in the NBA someday, or at very minimum, college basketball. D-1... This past weekend he started palming this soft little ball he has. He can palm it and pick it up with just one hand. Recruiters, we are ready...

Pushin' real hard...

So, he's gonna hate me someday for these... but it is just too funny not to post.

It's a big one...

We leave for Iowa Friday morning!

Mommy and Gus, cuddling while we blog :)

Gus playing with his ExcerSaucer while mommy types.

Gus is awfully lucky. This morning daddy stayed home with him because Sandy (daycare provider) had to be with her father for some hospital tests. We hope everything is okay. But daddy and Gus got to get some good quality time in before we go to Iowa without daddy.

This week we started feeding Gus cereal in the morning (just like mommy and daddy... well sort of!) and level 1 and 2 baby foods for supper, and of course several bottles of breastmilk in combination and throughout the day. Tonight he tried sweet potatoes for the first time and it was adorable. He L O V E D them. He would open his mouth for the next bite almost immediately after I put the one before it in! I had to find out what all the excitement was about so I tried them, and I must admit, they were the best of the baby foods I've tasted so far. Surprisingly sweet. But then again, I love sweet potatoes.

Earlier today, mommy and Gus picked up a few groceries for daddy and did a little shopping at Legends. Mommy needed some new sweat pants and some hair products... anyone got any suggestions for the post-baby-hair-falling-out problem??? I bought some special shampoo today and have been doubling the prenatal vitamins, but I am going to be bald soon! I am afraid to blow dry my hair! :-{

...We are getting very excited for this weekend; daddy even is I think- he is going to hang out with some guys from work while we are gone. It will be nice for him to get some friend time in, as Gus has been pretty consuming for both of us lately (although we love every minute of it!). Gus is getting excited to see Kennedy and hopefully some of his Dillavou side cousins too. He also misses his grandma's very much and can't wait to see them either. Mommy will hopefully get the chance to see a few of her friends while she is back, but also misses her family. Mommy is really excited to see if Aunt Lindsey is showing yet!!!

We are hoping to leave very early on Friday morning, so that we can see Papa Randy before he goes to bed. Well, not sure if I will post before we leave on Friday, but I am sure to have tons of pics for you when I get back on Sunday!

5 Months Old

Mr. Tough Guy.

Arica and Brody (they have a blog too) at the flag football game tonight. Brody's daddy and Gus' daddy play on the same team and work at the YMCA together.

Brody and Gus.

Gus' belly meat.

Gus standing. Who knows? Pretty soon he may just skip over the other stuff and start walking. Who needs to crawl anyway?!?!

He really likes to sit and look at the TV. He always seems like he is amazed at the new perspective that being just a few more inches off the ground presents.

Gus is officially Five Months Old (well, as of tomorrow [Monday} anyway) and we can hardly believe how quickly time has flown by. Each day he changes and grows and starts doing brand new exciting things. Here are a list of Gus' accomplishments and attitudes: He can smile basically on command. He has rice cereal, squash and carrots under his belt. He loves to stand with help, and sit independently in the tri-pod position (for 20-30 seconds anyway). He enjoys grabbing onto his toes and chewing on his (or mommy or daddy's!) fingers. He laughs out loud all the time and likes to grunt and grrr... at us. His favorite toys are his colorful links, his frog chew blanket and his vibrating bouncey chair (recently he likes to tear off the velcro Giraffe and throw it on the ground). He can palm a soft ball and his favorite person in the world to listen to or look at is his daddy. He still has no hair or teeth. He likes bathtime, where he can splash and kick his legs.

This week will hopefully go by quickly, as mommy and Gus are excited to head back to Iowa on Friday. We get to see many people on both the McCollom and Dillavou side. Daddy has to work so he has to stay in KC all alone. We will miss him very very much. And I am sure he will miss us (especially Gussie!).

Oh, and keep voting for your favorite Halloween costume... looks so far like the Lobster is in the lead (thanks Rach, I have no idea how to make that costume!)...