"Daddy Sang Bass"

Last night, Gabe and his daddy were playing the guitar. We've always said we would start our child out early with an instrument. Of course, Daddy plays the guitar, and mama plays the bass so Baby Gabe needs to master a mandolin, or banjo, or fiddle or something. But I guess it's ok if he gets his start on the guitar. What floored me was the fact that Daddy actually let Gabe chew on his Gibson!! Watch out Daddy. You're being quite brave there!

Gabe also showed us that he could hold his own bottle! We aren't really involved much with Gabe's bottle feeding since he gets most of them at daycare but when he got fussy last night, I handed Daddy a bottle with some water in it (Gabe was NOT impressed) and Daddy just handed it to him while he was laying on the floor and sure nuff, he knew just what to do with it! Well, he is a genius after all...

This morning, when I woke Gabe up, I was surprised to see that he wasn't in his usual flat out on the back position! (and that end of the crib is NOT where I put his head the night before!) Check this out...

Look at that sweet little hand (Daddy does this too)...

Cuteness

I've always loved pictures of babies on their tummies with their heads raised up, looking around. Now I have some of my cute little man and I'd like to share them with you...
These were taken on January 25, 2006

Baby Gabe was rolling all over the place last night when I took these shots. Back to front and then he even made it front to back again.

I also have some cute shots of him after his oatmeal dinner the other night. He is a pretty messy little eater!! These were taken on January 24, 2006.

And last but not least, my sweet little sleeper. I don't want to comment on how beautifully he has been sleeping lately so as not to jinx it. But I think it's so cute the way he sleeps with his hands up behind his head. I think he does it to keep his hands warmer because sometimes they are cold when he wakes at night. This is how I found him one Saturday morning, January 9, 2006.

He did it!!!

Gabe rolled over last night!! He did it three times in a row, so it wasn't fluke this time!! Oh, my little boy is growing up...

Gabe would also like to send out a HAPPY first birthday to his cousin JB!!!! Happy birthday little fellow. We all hope you have a wonderful one!!

New Things

We are currently trying new things at our house. The biggest one being starting solid foods! As per the recommendation of Gabe's pedi, we are starting with rice cereal, then when Gabe gets the hang of that, we'll graduate to oatmeal and yellow and green veggies and fruits. It's really hard to work something "new" into your schedule when you are only 5 months old (and hard for Gabe's mommy too!). But we are getting there! Gabe got a good helping of cereal three evenings last week and once over the weekend. He's also had it here and there a couple of times before that. He really seems to like it (I'm not sure why, I tried it and it's pretty bland!). But he'll grab at the spoon and try to pull it in his mouth! And he only loses a little bit at each feeding (well, not counting all of that that he gets on his clothes, face, and hands! Oh, and on his mama too!).

We also tried a tad bit of formula a couple of times last week for the first time. I don't know if Gabe is ready, but Gabe's mommy is getting ready to think about weaning in the next couple of months and we want to slowly get him used to the taste of formula. We are running into issues there though, because both times we tried it, Gabe's little face, and chin and chest broke out with a red "prickly heat" looking rash that could have only been due to the formula. The plan is to try a different brand of basically the same formula, and then if that doesn't work, try a lactose free one. Or just keep breast feeding I guess, but that's not really Gabe's mommy's first choice at the moment. Breast feeding has been wonderful, convenient, and far easier than I ever imagined it would be and when Gabe's little sister (or brother I guess) gets here, I plan to do the same, but all good things must eventually come to an end and I am incredibly proud of both myself and Gabe for making it this far! The plan is to see it through the 6th month for sure, then reevaluate after that. Only one more month to go...

We're still working on rolling over! I know I posted earlier that he did it, but I think that was just a fluke thing. He is VERY close though! He can get his bottom half over; it's the top half that he has difficulty with. He can do it if you hold his hand for leverage, but I don't think that counts either.

Other than that, we are waiting on teeth. We are not rushing this milestone by any means!! Hopefully Gabe will be one of those babies you hear about that seem to grow teeth just over one night, with no qualms whatsoever. I doubt it though. I'll let you know...

Five months and counting

January 17, 2006

Baby Gabe is FIVE months old today!

Happy Birthday Baby Gabe!!

Meeting People

Gabe had a big weekend! He met lots of his cousins, Aunts and Uncles that he has never met before from Grammy's side of the family. Everyone just went on and on about how good he was, and, well, he was very good. He is such a laid back little fellow (well, most of the time) and that makes me and Daddy happy! He'll let anybody hold him and he was just content to sit and watch everything that was going on around him. He did get a little tired and took a couple of little naps, but he didn't fuss to take them, he just got real sleepy and feel asleep in whoever's arms that he happened to be in!

I think everyone's favorite question when you have a little one is "how is he sleeping"? It's certainly a relevant question because sleep in a newborn can certainly be fickle. For the most part, I can usually proudly say that Gabe sleeps like a champ. Yes, we have some rough nights here and there, but mostly he does great.

When he was about 3-4 weeks old, we started letting him sleep in his bouncy seat because he had congestion and reflux and sleeping upright made him more comfortable. We would also occasionally let him sleep on his tummy when he was taking naps and he LOVED to sleep like that, but we never tried it at night as there is a danger of SIDS for little babies that sleep on their tummies. We feared that we would never be able to get him to sleep on his back again like he was supposed because when we tried it for naps and stuff, he wouldn't have it. But he got to where he could almost sit straight up in his bouncy seat so we kind of worried about letting him sleep in it since he sleeps by himself in his room. So right after Christmas, we began weaning him from his bouncy seat. The first night he slept in his crib for a about two hours, then we put his seat in there. The second night he made it to 4:00am. Then on the third night, he made it all night without putting him in his seat! He has slept this way ever since and seems to have no trouble at all with the transition! It has been a welcome relief because sleep is a good thing for Gabe's mommy and daddy!!

Happy New Year!!

New Year's was nice at our house. Gabe attended his SECOND birthday party and had a GREAT time!! This was his cousin Eli's 3rd birthday party at Pump it Up!! Pump it Up is a cool party place with huge blow up slides and mazes and jumpy things. Of course Gabe didn't do a whole lot jumping, but he had a great time watching all of the other kids run around and have fun. He didn't even grumble once - not even when mommy realized it was over 30 minutes past time for him to eat!! And mommy even got in on the action by crawling trough the maze with Jessie and Lindsey. It was a lot of fun!!

Also on New Year's Eve, I tried Gabe out for the first time in his ExerSaucer (or flying saucer as Daddy calls it!). He really seems to like it a lot! He can't really reach the toys and stuff yet, but he has a good time looking at them. It also gives him a good vantage point to watch what Spanky and Possum are doing. He loves watching the kitties!!

Daddy and I did not make it to see 2006 arrive together. I feel asleep on the couch around 10:00 and we both retired to the bed around 10:30. I did however get to ring in the new year with baby Gabe as he decided to wake me up just minutes before midnight. I was lifting him out of his crib, literally for a midnight snack, at the stroke of 12 bells. What a year 2006 will be. I can't wait to spend it with him, watching him grow and change right before my eyes!

Here are a couple of other fun little pictures that you might enjoy (me and Daddy got us a new digital camera! Can you tell?!)...

Gabe dressed like a "big boy"...

Me and Gabe playing with his new dinosaur...

Gabe helping us watch "the girls" (Maggie and Hobo that is)...

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what happens when you let Daddy brush your hair!...

HAPPY 2006, from our family to yours!