Our boy is a 1 year old!

I haven't been on here in forever...so sorry for that! We've been extra busy lately!!! Little man turned one a month ago and instantly became a toddler! He's already walking, running, and playing soccer! He has a handful of words, his favorites of which are "dada", "mama", "papa", "mickey", and "belly" (our puppy dog). And we are working on our 8th (and possibly 9th) tooth! He's going to have a big old smile for Mickey when he meets him in less than 2 weeks! Papa and Grammy are taking us for mommy's 30th birthday and so that Gavin can meet Mickey for the first time! I know he'll have a blast trick or treating for the first time in Disney World!!! I will definitely post pictures of him (and the whole crew) dressed up as the 101 Dalmations!!!!

First Time Swimming in the Lake

Well we had quite the exciting weekend with our little man. We went up to the lake and he went swimming for the first time with Daddy! He had so much fun! We found a little blow up boat and he floated in it for about an hour the first day! He let Daddy's float him on his back and he learned how to kick in the water to make a BIG splash! The puppies had a lot of fun too! Duke swam the whole time Gavin was in the water, and Bella got in once Mommy talked her into it. I think this little boy is going to be just like his Daddy...my little otters!

On another note, Gavin has gotten quite good at crawling and pulling up...I hate to say it, but I'm sure this child will be running around soon! I don't know how we'll ever keep up with him, as he can go a mile a minute already - just crawling!!! He nevers ceases to amaze us!
Well- off to go catch that little booger again!

Easter Weekend

We had such a wonderful Easter this year! We got to wake up and open our basket from the Easter bunny and then we got all dressed up and went to church with our friends Meredith, Kai, Jeff, and Anne. It was a lot of fun! Then we met daddy at work and went over to Aunt Janie's for a little bit and hung out with the gang before dinner at Zsa-Zsa and Grandpa's with Ray. Then after dinner we drove up to the lake and spent the "weekend" with Zsa-Zsa and Grandpa. We swam in our little pool, crawled around, played with our toys, and just relaxed! It was definitely a wonderful 1st Easter!

Gavin's 1st Trip to the Beach!

Wow it's been a long time since I've written anything on here! Little man is doing great! We just got back from our first trip to the beach and he LOVED it! We are already planning our next trip down! While we were there, Gavin learned how to soldier crawl, he started working on fullblown crawling, his bottom two front teeth broke thru, he started eating solid, solid food, and he turned 7 months old! It was a very relaxed but productive trip! ;D We sure did have fun spending 6 whole days as a family! Hard to come back to reality- hopefully not for long though! Here are some pics of our trip to Kiawah for Little Man's 7 month birthday!

 

There are more images on our Gallery Link if you want to see more!

Fall Update

Well I've been awfully lazy about updating our blog, so here we go! We had a wonderful 2nd month with Mr. Gavin! He is learning new things constantly- he is now smiling and starting to laugh at us! He loves the little monkey on his vibrating chair and just smiles and talks to him all the time! His little legs are getting stronger everyday, his doctor was amazed at how good he can hold his head up and stand up on his little rolly legs! Our big boy just had his 2 month dr's appointment and weighed just a little over 14 lbs and was 24.5 inches long! He is in the 95 percentile for both categories! Yay little guy!
For Halloween we took him over to united methodist to take pictures with the pumpkins! Of course he fell asleep in the car right as we pulled into the parking lot, so he's sleeping in all of the pictures, no matter how hard we tried to wake him up. Such the stinker! But we did get some good pictures and we took some more when we got home.
Now we are super excited about Thanksgiving!!! We are so glad a big part of the fam is coming up for dinner! Gavin cannot wait to meet the Moore and Garrett side of his family! We will definitely be taking hundreds and hundreds of pictures, which I will eventually get on to here!
We hope everyone is doing great and we will post again soon!

1 Month Photos

Gavin was such a good sport today while I took his 1 month photos! And as always, Rusty was a good boy too! Tomorrow we are going to attempt photos with Marmaduke and Bella. And we'll be getting pumpkin patch photos soon too! I think my camera has already taken more pictures since Gavin has been born than its entire existence! I sure do love this little boy!!!

Relaxing Sunday

Last night Gavin let me sleep from 2 - 7:30 am! And now he's been taking a morning nap for the past 3 hours! This little boy had some sleep to catch up on! So I've just been having fun playing on the computer, straightening up around the house, and playing with the doggies outside. It has been quite the relaxing morning! Later on we're going to go over to Morgan's house to go for a walk, instead of the park, and to play with Hasting's.
We have finally got a routine down with our new re-usable diapers our Aunt Ashley gave us. We sure do love them- no more rashes or irritated skin! We will definitely be asking for more for Christmas!
Our little boy is getting so big! Grammy went with us to his doctor's appointment the other day and we found out that he has gained 3 lbs! And 3/4 inch! This is one growing boy!!! Yesterday we went through all his clothes to see what still works, and he is officially out of newborn sizes and has completely skipped over 0-3 month in most brands! So he is now in 3 month and 3-6 month stuff! Thank goodness for hand me downs, otherwise mommy would not have been prepared!!! He loves this one outfit from cousin William that has a lion face on the front, he thinks it is sooooo funny! And mommy likes it because it is warm and snuggly!!
Well, off to enjoy this down time a little more and start a new load of laundry. Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday. We love this weather!!!

Me want food.

William around 4 months.

Gavin's 1st Full Bath

Is it me, or is there a resemblence between him and his cousin William?

What Sophie and William would look like if they were co-joined twins.

Gavin has the sweetest, most adorable cousins ever!!!

Greensboro Visit

 We had so much fun with everybody this weekend! Gavin sure does love getting visits from his family!We cannot wait until Thanksgiving!!! That is going to be one fun filled holiday! Plenty of time to snuggle up with everyone!We sure do hope we get to keep seeing each other as often cause he loves playing with you guys! Can't wait til next time! xoxo

Gavin's 1st Full Bath

 Gavin had his first full bath tonight and absolutely loved it! It will definitely become a nightly routine soon! He was so relaxed during the entire bath- until of course he had to get out. Nobody likes it when the fun is over! But then we gave him a nice massage with his new lotion that Grammy got him and he stopped crying immediately! Little man already knows how to live it up! And now he's been sleeping for four hours since! (with a small dinner and snack break of course!) Hopefully this will be the beginning of many a nice, sleepy nights!

Gavin Welchman

Well- it's been awhile since we've posted anything on here- and for good reason- our little guy has arrived! Gavin was born by c-section on September 13th, weighing 8 lbs 14 ozs and measuring 22 inches long! Not quite what the doctors were guessing- but he is here safe and sound and that is all that matters! He has already stolen our hearts and definitely runs the household already!

We just had our first little photo shoot and he slept through most of it. We will be doing another one in a day or so, as I've been quite lazy with the camera! I will post pictures up along the way, but most will be on our Picasa page.

I hear someone calling me- so I better go! Life is good! ;D

Big Weekend

Well, we have had quite the weekend! We found out on Friday that our "little" guy is actually going to be a pretty big guy. Our doctor is worried that his shoulders might be too big to have a normal delivery. So, for his safety and mine, we have decided to have a c-section on Monday. We're going in to the hospital in the late morning to check in and be prepped for surgery. The actual surgery will be at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, and hopefully he will be here quite quickly after that!

We were thrown for a loop at first, as we had planned on the traditional birth, with the excitement of not knowing, calling our friends and family to let them know he had arrived, etc. But we are now quite settled in to the idea of this being the best for our son, and we are actually looking forward to a calm afternoon with our little family of 3. Our doctor has been wonderful about everything, and has promised to let John stay with our little guy up in the nursery to be assessed, while I am being stitched back up. And then letting him bring little man back down to the recovery room as soon as possible so they can be with me for the rest of the evening. Hopefully, recovery will go quickly, and we will be in a normal room by that evening, ready for our first night together as a family! Even though we won't be in a room until that night, John will definitely be letting everyone know how everything went, and we'll kind of do a phone tree to spread the word!

We will be posting photos up too, just as soon as we can! You know we'll have thousands by the first night! We love all you guys so much and cannot wait to see you with our new bundle of joy!

Update

Well we went back to the doctors today and got some good news. My blood pressure is back down, although he still wants to keep an eye on it, he said he's not worried about it because of one day. We made an appointment for next Friday (9/10) to see the doc again and have an ultrasound done. He wants to see just how big baby boy is getting and he said possibly go ahead and schedule an induction. Although we're still keeping our fingers crossed that baby boy will be here by then anyway!!! On one of the discussion boards I'm on, a girl told me that pineapple is supposed to hurry things along, so we're going to the grocery tomorrow and I'm going to buy a couple of them! I've been craving fruit anyway! ;D Not that I'm trying to hurry him, but after having his foot in my rib all day and now he is aggressively kicking me in the exact same spot (pretty sure my rib is now bruised!) I'm ready to get this little booger here! We definitely don't need to worry about how strong he is- I think he would beat me arm wrestling!!! We will keep y'all posted on any new happenings! Keep sending us good thoughts! xoxo

Doctor's Appointment

Well, we had our weekly dr.'s appointment today and everything seems to be going along ok. There were a couple of things a little off, but nothing that he said he would worry about yet. We're going to go back tomorrow morning to have my blood pressure rechecked, it was a little high today, so he said he's going to keep an eye on it to see if we need to induce early. But for right now he said we're healthy enough to ride this out to 41 weeks! As far as baby boy goes, he is healthy and happy. His heart rate was good and he's still moving around like a crazy little boy, so no worries there! Nothing has progressed as far as dialating goes, but fingers crossed that will change soon! We will keep you guys up to date as we find out new stuff! Come on baby boy!

Doctor's Appointment

Today we had one of our final doctor's appointments before baby boy gets here! Nothing has progressed any further than last week, but baby boy keeps on growing and is at a healthy, fullterm size. So our doctor was thinking that if he isn't here somewhat soon, he might go ahead and induce me, if John and I agree. He seemed a little surprised that I hadn't dilated any after all the contractions I have been having, so I think we're going to try some home remedies and see if any of those help. A couple of my friends swear that walking and spicy foods do the trick, so those will be first on the list. I really don't want to have baby boy get here before he is ready, but I also completely trust our doctor, so I think we're going to do whatever he suggests. He is the professional! So we will just wait and see how things go from here and see if baby boy decides to come on his own soon! Fingers crossed!

Day with the Girls

Baby boy had quite a fun day today with his mama, the girls, and Hastings and Charles. The weather was so comfortable we watched Charles play t-ball in the backyard- it was very nice getting some fresh air and getting out of the house! Now he has worked up an appetite again, so he's doing his happy dance while the lasagna cooks and we wait for daddy-o to get home! Tomorrow we have our big doctor's appointment to see how far along we're getting! Fingers crossed we're getting closer to his arrival- but we'll understand if he's not quite ready to get here! I will definitely miss being pregnant- but I cannot wait to meet this little guy- and it will be very nice to sleep on my stomach again! (when I get to sleep :) We got his little corner all set up in our room, so he can sleep with us when he gets home. The puppies really like the owl mobile on the pack n play, so that might be going away, but besides that they don't seem to care about any of the new noises or smells. They are being very good brothers and sister!
We had a nice last baby class last night too. It was baby care night, so we learned swaddling, diapering, pretty much basic baby care, and we visited the labor floor in the hospital. The rooms are huge! Complete with a futon for Johnny boy and extended cable so there's no chance of missing the big game! Plus big bathtubs and showers and the floors are locked, so patients are free to roam the halls peacefully. We were both quite impressed! Although our teacher did warn us that the mother/baby unit is nothing like that floor! Hopefully I'll be able to enjoy its luxuries, at least for awhile! ;D

Baby Boy's Nursery

Our Big Day

Well today was quite a big day for me and baby boy- we actually got out of the house to do some errands! Once again, it was extremely hot, but we toughed it out for his big brother! Rusty has been having joint issues and we're thinking it might be arthritis starting to show, so we went to the drug store and got him some doggy aspirin and some vitamins that help rebuild cartilage and repair joint damage. Hopefully these will work- we've got to get our Rusty-butt up and going before baby brother gets here! Then we came home and hung out with Johnny boy until he left for class. Then we cleaned the nursery really well and took some pictures of it so you guys can all see how far it has come! It is totally ready for baby boy to get here! Even miss bella agrees, as she has finally stopped going potty in there! Thankgoodness- because I had no clue what else to do for her! Well, Johnny is on his way home from class now and bringing us Subway for dinner! So we're gonna go get ready- cause baby boy is hungry 24/7 these days- and just thinking about our veggie wrap is making my tummy growl! Gotta love these growing boys!

Getting Ready

Today John worked a double shift, so to pass the time, I did some of my crazy cleaning, which of course brought on those crazy contractions again. They have finally died down now though, and baby boy is just as active as ever, so no worries here! But to be prepared, we have finished packing our hospital bag, just in case this little boy wants to show up a few weeks early! Which of course I will not argue with because he will be "full term" as of next Thursday! And the carseat is ready in the car for his safe trip home! But seeing as how he is his father's son, it would not surprise me if he was to show up after his due date, and he's just been messing with us this whole time! Good sense of humor those Welchman boys have! Either way we are ready for our new arrival, as soon as he is ready to get here!

Baby Boy's first outfit

Today has been quite a productive one. One of our good friends, Monica, came into town and we decided to go over to Carter's and bought baby boy his first outfit for the ride home from the hospital. It's quite adorable! Light blue with puppies all over it, with a matching hat, and booties that will be waaaaay to big for him! We thought the puppies were quite appropriate since he'll be coming home to meet his brothers and sister!
I've also re-organized his closet for the 10th time- but I think I finally have it how I want it. The nursery is finally completely ready for his arrival! We'll put some pics of it up soon, so everyone can see it, and all the new additions. And I'm sure it will never be this clean and tidy again- so we've got to document it while it's still all organized!
We had a good doctor's appointment earlier this week. Everything is progressing nicely. He's already in the head down position and has finally dropped! So I get to breathe again- literally! Maybe he'll get here early, even just a few days, cause we can't wait to meet this little guy!

First Post

So with the new addition coming to the family, we've decided it would be a good idea to have a little blog where we can put pictures, milestones, and other fun tidbits to keep everyone up to date! So here we are, starting our new blog called Puppy Dog Tailz. We have just hit the 36 week mark in our pregnancy- so only 4 more weeks to go til baby boy gets here (hopefully)! Of course, being extremely excited since day one, we are all ready for this little boy to arrive! Today we had fun taking the first set of family portraits- doggies included! But I have promised them they won't be tortured like that again until after he gets here! Well- as I am hungry every 30 minutes now- I'm going to go grab a snack until John gets home!