Our Month in Pictures

Somehow I have little time to update a blog lately. I do think about you all- all the friends, family, and friends of friends/family who have said you enjoyed reading the blog, and so this one is for you. Our month in pictures. Gabe has been home just over 3 months now, and he's growing, growing, growing! And learning, learning, learning!

Gabe knows the bumblebee song (ouch he stung me!!), and can count to 10 (sorta/kinda). Every time he gets to 10 he cheers and claps. It's adorable. Apparently I say "goodness" quite often because my little tape recorder says it too. His English is expanding rapidly. 

One recent Saturday evening in service, the pastor talked about the monotony that small children find wonder in. Every joy that makes them laugh, they want to "do it again," until the adult is sick to death. And yet God makes the sun rise every morning and the moon every night. Without fail, they "do it again." There are so many times now when I remind myself to enjoy these small moments and big moments of joy and growth. There's wonder and magic in Gabe's laugh, and I pray that we have the patience to slow down and enjoy it instead of rush on to the next thing. These are some of those moments.

This was a rainy Sunday afternoon where Gabe grabbed his stuffed buddies to read to them. 

Recently he's been very fond of his backpacks (pack-pack). He loves to load it up anytime he knows we are going bye bye. 

One night fixing dinner I thought Gabe was watching Mickey quietly. (Insert laugh here). This is where I found him, almost asleep. He did the same thing to Tim the next morning.  

Hours of fun to take a walk. 

We started sitting him on the stool for snacks or to color and now he climbs up on his own. It's a little scary to just find him up there. 

Daycare started potty training in earnest so we said we would try at home. This is after bathtime one evening. Gabe loves his Disney stuffed animals. He also knows all their names and will ask for them. 

Puppies are another favorite thing. He calls every puppy "Toby," like one of our Goldens. This cutie is now also named Toby. The other night at bedtime he wanted Toby. The dog or the stuffed animal?? Only the stuffed animal would fit in his crib, so that's what we went with. 

Gabe and Harley have a good relationship too. It's more based on food and the principle that small kids drop a lot of it. Here they are watching a movie together. Gabe moves Harley or Toby out of the way if they bother him. The other week he discovered that they have tails, so we are watching them all closely. 

Gabe is a daddy's boy for sure! Daddy's lap makes it all better!

At a recent doctor visit he was given trucks to play with while we waited. He lined them all up carefully first thing, then walked away. I moved them around and messed them up, and he fussed at me until they were again perfectly in line. He did eventually play with them and throw them around the room... And line them back up again. 

Another Disney fave, Simba. Simba is #2 on the pecking order after Mickey. Sometimes they're allowed to share space, as you see here. 

Our caped crusader keeping busy while we cleaned the bathroom on Saturday morning. He got the stool and table situated on his own, and started coloring. 

We have entered the stage where bedtime is playtime. It's always an adventure. This was a recent evening after it sounded like a dance party in his room after lights out. When it finally got quiet, I found the blankets and toys on the floor and one pooped small child in the crib. He literally goes full bore until he can go no further. 

This afternoon we had a water party and when it was time for a snack, Gabe wanted cheese on his cracker, same as Mama. This kid doesn't dip anything, ever. His cracker was plain per usual protocol, so he got down, walked over, and stuck his cracker in the cheese dip. Every cracker thereafter had to include cheese. That's my boy! Notice the grass on his nose. He had a blast getting dirty and then squirted clean with the water hose. 

I sprayed Gabe with water, so here he is returning the favor to Harley. He thought it was hilarious to get her wet. She did not mind.