Experiencing an Ear Infection... ... ...

We have discovered the painful reality of having an infant son with an ear infection. Seriously, how come no one warned us of this enjoyable experience? The ear infection essentially drains into his throat and into the sinus cavity, causing him to cough like he has bronchitis and causing his nasal passages to block like it is a sinus infection. The poor kid had some really rough days where he didn't sleep for more than an hour, maybe two, at a time. This, of course, took its toll on us as well, but more so his mother than I as I spent the last few days out on a job interview.

The upside is that we have started to turn the corner with this problem, though he still has some lingering residuals to get rid of. Oh, and then there is the wonderful experience of a having a baby on antibiotics (ammoxicillin), and those who have experienced this will know exactly what kind of surprise side effects that brings.

Nonetheless, things are going well. Gavin is pretty much adjusted to going to daycare and one of the ladies there has made special efforts to bond with him. Of course, he is quite a people person, and seems to find comfort in most places, but it is nice to know that they try to do these sorts of things with the babies so there is someone comforting there for them.

Next week I return to the interview game and hopefully Gavin will be his usual, happy self. Me being gone puts enough strain on Nikki without the added stress of him being sick.

And, as you can tell, I have included a couple of photos. Nikki took these last night. Enjoy!

So close...

Everyday we get just a bit closer to rolling over from our back to our belly. From there is crawling, and then everything will be brought to bear on the new world we shall call Gavinland. But for now, we keep reaching, trying to figure out this rolling over thing.

He really is so close. He gets right to that edge and kicks a little, but alas he ends up returning to his back. This is accompanied by a look of "give me that"--in reference to whatever toy (or TV remote) being used to lure him into this attempted rollover. Of course, a few seconds later, we try again. This is seemingly Gavin's mini version of the life of Sisyphus.

Beyond this rollover game, there isn't a lot new to share as we are just finding our stride once again after our extended trip back home. Gavin is slowly getting accustomed to the new daycare and things are going well for him there, so that is a big relief.

As a side note, I came upon this website and found it humorous enough to share http://www.cutethingsfallingasleep.org/. I really enjoy the puppy who keeps falling asleep in his water bowl--and there are other enjoyable ones as well; surprisingly, watching things nod off can be quite humorous.

Anyways, next week begins my interview travels and so with that tight schedule I do not know if I will get a chance to post. I will, of course, make sure I post if something exciting happens, like him rolling back-to-belly, especially if Nikki or myself can catch it on camera, but I wanted to give everyone notice of my absenteeism so as not to once again receive messages demanding more news--which is perfectly acceptable behavior for this blog under normal circumstances.

Until my next post, I hope you enjoy these few recent photos.

And so we begin 2009

Our first post of the new year...how exciting. Let me start by saying how great it was to see everyone--at least those of you we were able to see during our trip home. We, of course, wish we had more time during our visits to see more people and to visit longer when we do, but alas there never seems to be enough time.

All in all, it was a good home trip. My stay was a bit crazy, what with the trip to San Francisco smack dab in the middle, but it was nice to take a few days here and there and just spend time with family. And I know Nikki and Gavin enjoyed their time in Illinois, so we wanted to say thanks to all of you who found time in your schedules for us.

Anyways, no traumatic trips through Brevard, NC this time back as we were fortunate enough to receive a GPS for Christmas. And while we did travel our normal route--a bit easier now that we split the drive over two days--it was still comforting to know that we had the GPS and it's just fun to play with...so, thanks Nance and Joe for the Christmas gift!

I did want to mention that my upcoming schedule may make it difficult to keep regular posts, but I will do my best as I enjoy these things and I know several of you read them fairly regularly. But with the upcoming travel for campus interviews, it becomes a bit harder to squeeze in time to post. Nonetheless, where there is a reading public, there will be blog posts.

Oh, and before I forget, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I have included a brief photo montage below of some images from our trip home. Unfortunately, most of the photos taken during this trip were on other people's cameras and I forgot to snag those images before we returned. But I think this is a nice sampling of images. Enjoy!