8 Months Old

Gabe is 8 months old & time does not seem to be slowing down!!  Neither is he for that matter.  I'm pretty sure he has been over every single square inch of the living room & kitchen floors at least twice.  Not to mention the majority of his room.  He spends a lot of time crawling/scooting/rolling around after toys or towards some unknown object he just has to touch or lick.  He is a master at sitting up & gets closer & closer to crawling. He has begun pulling his knees up & rocking back & forth.  He has started saying "da-da-da-da" & even working on the "mmm" sound.  I can almost hear a "ma-ma"  :)  He will now just leave the room or his toys to go & explore.  I was folding laundry on the floor while he played with his blocks only to have him suddenly crawl right out the door & down the hallway.  There was no way he could see something around the corner so I guess I just was not interesting enough.  The time for closing doors & making sure things are picked up off the floor has come.

Gabe continues to make us laugh each day.  He is definitely going to be an ornery little boy.  He has a special affinity for our power strip near the TV despite David's constant scolding.  He will now move towards it, turn back & look at David, move closer & then look back at David.  If David doesn't get up to stop him, then he will continue towards his goal.  But if David does get up, then Gabe stops & heads towards him.  It seems they are playing a little game!  He crawls under things & tries to go over anything in his way.  It's quite funny to watch him go over blankets or toys just to get where he wants to. 

Thanksgiving weekend we went to Illinois.  We were able to spend some time with both sides of the family.  I also got a little Christmas shopping in, & David got to visit some friends.  It was really fun to see Gabe with his cousin Coye.  They are just under six weeks apart but already have such different personalities.  Coye is just starting to roll over so he was a sitting duck for Gabe to go & touch.  Gabe just cruised right up to him & started touching his face, his hair & trying to lick him.  He was very intrigued!  Coye was less than thrilled.  The best way for them to interact was to have someone hold each one so they could touch each other & steal toys.  I look forward to many years of them playing with each other. 

After Thanksgiving, I got all of our Christmas things out so we could do a little decorating.  Gabe was not so sure about them when I got them out of the tub.  (I only have a few figurines/candles & the tree.  Not the boxes & boxes that my mom & older sister have.)  I have put up our little 2 foot tree on one of our coffee tables so that Gabe can see it but not touch.  He has been very intrigued by the lights & watches it like it's going to move.  David said his new favorite place is under that coffee table.  We just got a bigger tree from my mother-in-law, but we will wait until next year for that one.  Not sure we would have had the energy to keep him from constantly touching it or pulling all the ornaments down. 

Gabe with his XBOX controller.

The boys "playing" together.

Gabe splashing in the tub.

Playing with his two bath toys.

Random Videos

These are some new & old videos of Gabe just being Gabe!

 

Gabe rolling around & scooting.  This is how he spends his days now.  :)

Gabe is playing underneath the bench that he rolled himself under.

 

Gabe in his jumperoo.  He has finally figured out how to jump instead of just hang & play.

Gabe playing with his socks...working on his hand eye coordination.

 

Gabe in the tub trying to drink the water spray.  He still loves being sprayed!!

TEETH!

This past weekend, I discovered that Gabe has teeth.  His front two teeth on the bottom have come through, & I think perhaps more are on the way.  We have been waiting for this to happen, but I was still not very thrilled.  He seems to be doing ok with them & has only bitten me a few times.  I'm hoping he learns not to very quickly. 

I have tried to take a picture of them, but Gabe has been uncooperative so far.  I have jokingly said I would need 5 hands but that is not very far from the truth.  One to hold him, one to hold down his hands, one to hold his head, one to hold his mouth open & one to hold the camera.  & then he would be screaming!!  So, pictures will have to wait until the teeth come in more & are easily seen.

7 Months

A couple of weeks ago, Gabe turned 7 months old!  Time has been flying by, & I haven't had much time to update.  He continues to be a very curious little boy who is constantly checking everything out.  When we go somewhere new, or even just to Walmart, he spends most of the time just looking around & taking it all in.  He has also started reaching towards things to touch them.  He will all of a sudden just lean out of your arms, so he gets held pretty tightly now.  He even reaches for things like doorknobs. :)  He has begun scooting across the floor on his belly, & we are hoping to see him crawling soon.  He will now roll across the floor in either direction, spin on his belly & scoot to where he wants to be.  Needless to say he is all over the living room getting into all kinds of things.  He also tends to get stuck under chairs or tables depending where he is!  I've been trying to get him to follow me out of a room so he can try longer distances, but he usually ends up staring at me like "Pick me up Mom.....just pick me up if we are going somewhere...."

Gabe continues to eat & eat.  We have introduced him to cereal, acorn squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, peas, bananas, applesauce, apple juice & now yogurt.  He seems to be ok with everything except the green veggies & the applesauce is hit & miss because it is a little tart for him.  Peaches & pears are up next.  He now eats 3 times a day.  It can be a little time consuming, & sometimes David says all they do is eat & sleep!!  All in all, he is a good eater, & he has definitely been putting on weight more & more.  (Grandma Diane remarked that all of his weight has gone to his thighs!)  He is definitely not a skinny little boy, & his little rolls are super cute.

Gabe has also been showing his personality more & more.  He can be downright moody sometimes!!!  He is usually quick to smile if we talk to him, & he will laugh or giggle when he gets excited.  But he has his little frown down pat & lets you know if something is not going the way he wants it to.  I think sometimes he gets bored rather easily so it can be difficult to try to entertain him while doing other things around the house.  He has started to dislike being strapped into his car seat (especially with his hat & coat on) so that usually ends in crying.  He can also be very tenacious & has started making a fuss when we take things away.  He will repeatedly go after the same thing you have taken out of his hand or moved him away from.  He especially likes Daddy's XBOX & the cable modem that sit just off the floor on the TV stand.  There is really no other place to move them so we just have to be diligent about watching him & hope that he learns not to touch them.  I think perhaps he got some stubbornness from both sides & see many battles of will in the future!

He is definitely a joy for all of us, & we can't imagine life without him.  We love to share what new things he as done that day & look forward to watching him grow!

Gabe in his skeleton pjs for Halloween.

He loves to pet Daddy's head.

Hanging with Daddy

Eating carrots!!

Doing laundry with Mommy.

He got himself stuck here & then decided to bang on the bottom of the bench for a while.

At work, Gabe got an old keyboard to play with.  This is his desk...

Gabe on the Move

Recently Gabe has started moving around a lot more.  He doesn't just lay on his blanket or under his floor mat for long.  He's finally gotten the log roll down, so it's roll roll roll when he's on the floor.  He's actually quite funny because he will pause to play & then roll again & pause to play, etc.  He only rolls one direction as well, so he will spin on his tummy & sometimes go back to where he came from.  He is pulling up his knees & also straightening his arms, but not at the same time.  So needless to say, he spends a lot of time "swimming" in one spot if he's not rolling.  Yesterday, David said he left him in the middle of the living room to go to the bathroom & came back in less than 5 mins to find NO Gabe.  He had gotten all the way to the other side of the room behind the couch on his way to the kitchen.  We are definitely working towards crawling!!

Gabe has also been changing in other areas.  He continues to babble quite a bit & is clearly saying "na-na" &"ga-ga" as much as David pretends it's "da-da".  :)  I just love his little facial expression as he tries so hard to tell me something.  His little personality continues to shine through as he smiles at both of us & giggles when we are being silly.  He even finds himself amusing & has started to do things to get our attention.  He definitely has a grouchy side too though!  He is very curious about everything & just watches when we go to new places or meet new people.  My mom & dad were here for a visit, & he did very well with both of them.  He usually does better with women, but he had no problems with Grandpa holding him or making him smile.  I'm so glad he hasn't gotten too clingy yet. 

He is eating very well most days.  He gets veggies with Daddy in the morning & cereal with Mommy at night.  We recently tried to give him green beans & he gagged, even throwing up a little.  I'm not sure if it was the texture or the taste or if he was just expecting something different.  He ate them ok once we decided to mix them with sweet potatoes.  Hopefully he will eventually eat them after he gets used to them.  So, we are up to 3 veggies & cereal, working on the sippy cup as well.  I'm going to give him some banana here in a few days & then maybe come carrots. 
Here is a series of pictures I took while Gabe played on the floor & I washed dishes.  This took place over about 5 mins of time.  At the end, he was trying to roll one more time into the bench.

6 Month Photos

We decided to have some pictures taken of Gabe.  We went to Portriat Innovations in town and had a great experience.  David & I even got into a few of the pictures too.  The photographer did a great job of making Gabe pay attention & smile.  He even laughed at her a few times.  We had a really tough time picking out which pictures we wanted to print & went home with a lot of photos (we will have to be buying some more picture frames.  Here are a few of my favorites....there will probably be more on facebook sometime soon.

Solids & More

A week ago Saturday, I tried feeding Gabe rice cereal.  He definitely wanted to eat the food & got excited about just the spoon.  However, he was not very excited about the mostly liquid concoction they recommend you start with.  After a few bites he didn't want to keep eating.  He just gave me this look that said "Why am I drinking from a spoon?  This is silly....I'm done!"  :)  I also don't think that I got the recipe quite right.  I made the cereal myself after milling the rice & cooking it.  It didn't dilute well with breastmilk so it was a little chewy.  So, the next day we just bought rice cereal to feed him.  I'm going to keep trying to make it, but I don't have time in the evenings during the week.   Since his first feeding, I have been making the cereal much thicker.  Gabe actually eats it very well & seems mad when he has to wait between bites.  I know patience is going to be something we work on for many years to come.

This last Saturday, David started feeding Gabe too.  We started him on acorn squash, & he seems to enjoy it a lot more than the cereal.  Maybe it's because there is some real taste.  So far the boys have continued to do well during the day with eating.  He now eats twice a day, squash with Daddy around noon & cereal with Mommy at supper time.  We will probably continue to introduce new foods every Saturday.  Up next are sweet potatoes, green beans & maybe mashed bananas. 

Gabe has also been making strides in sitting up.  He was gradually getting stronger & stronger & then all of a sudden he just started sitting up fine.  He now will sit & play for 5 mins or even longer.  He looks like such a big boy sitting on his own!! :) 

All in all Gabe is such a good little boy.  He wakes up with a smile on his face & seems happy to be with either of us.  We are very blessed to have him & so excited to see him grow.

Eating for the first time.

Talking between bites.

Waiting for the cereal to be ready.

David feeding Gabe for the first time.



 Sitting up & playing with his blocks.

Cheesing for the camera.



Sitting by himself in the middle of the couch.

This particular day Gabe was happy just to look out the window & pound on the glass. 

6 Month Check-Up

Earlier this week, Gabe went for his 6 month check-up at the doctor.  He weighed in at 16.6 lbs & was 27 inches long.  This time, he got to sit on the big digital scale instead of try to balance on the infant one.  He looked very cute just sitting there trying not to fall.  His weight dropped down a percentile, but the Dr was not concerned.  Gabe is moving around more, & he only nurses 5 times a day since he sleeps for nearly 11 hours at night.  The Dr seemed to think that he would go back up after we start solids.  The rest of his check-up seemed to go well.  He has had a slight cough the last couple days & had a "dull" looking ear, so the Dr wanted us to just keep watching him.  It's possible it could just pass or develop into an ear infection.  He got four vaccines again (one oral & three in his legs).  Overall he hasn't been too fussy since & has probably just slept a little bit more. 

We are probably going to start feeding Gabe cereal this weekend.  He has had a few bites of food here & there over the last few weeks.  I gave him some very small bites of peach yogurt the other day, & he was very upset when I walked away with the empty container.  David also claims that one day he found Gabe licking his lunch plate.  He had eaten a pork chop with BBQ sauce & must have left the dirty plate on the seat of the couch.  Gabe was sitting nearby & must have fallen/lounged over onto the plate.  The next thing David knew, Gabe was lying with his face on the plate, licking BBQ sauce up like a little puppy!  I definitely think he is ready for solids, & both David & I are looking forward to it.

Looking cute!

 

Gabe has been fascinated with his toes lately.  He has been able to touch them for quite some time, but now wants to suck on them whenever possible.

We are working on Gabe sitting up by himself.  He is getting stronger everyday.

And then he falls over.....

The boys watching the game together in their Colts gear.

Baby Food

My mother has always been an advocate for making your own baby food, so I really didn't even think twice about the fact that I would be doing it sometime soon.  With Gabe quickly approaching that 6 month mark, I have been trying to decide how to tackle this since mom & dad had moved to Illinois.  Luckily, she was visiting this past Saturday so I took the opportunity to make her work.  :)  It really is quite a simple process of cooking the veggies, pureeing them with a blender & pouring them into ice cube trays to freeze for later.  In about five & a half hours time, we froze 6 different vegetables in 26 1/2 ice cube trays.  We made green beans, carrots, peas, corn, sweet potatoes & acorn squash.  Needless to say Gabe will have plenty of food for a while.  Now that there is some food in the freezer I actually feel ready to start him on solids.  I was a little hesitant before but am getting excited now.  I just want to see his face as he tries new things & learns to like real food.  He has a checkup next week & then we will probably start cereal.  I am going to be experimenting with making my own cereal too.  I'm hoping to be able to make large batches of brown rice cereal & freeze it instead of using the dehydrated enriched white rice cereal we could buy.  I don't know anyone that has actually done this so it will definitely be a learning process as I figure out the best way to make it.  I think all three of us are looking forward to solids now.  I am just wondering what kind of mess I will be coming home to when David starts feeding Gabe.  :)

The two freezers full of trays.

The end product: 10 bags of veggie cubes.

Lights Out!!!

On Wednesday evening of this week, Gabe & I were in the nursery getting ready for his bath.  I had just finished clipping his fingernails, & he was wearing only a diaper when the lights went out.  We both just looked at each other for a few moments, waiting for them to blink back on.  I then picked Gabe up to investigate further.  Our entire house was out, along with everyone along our street.  It must have been quite the site to see me in my pjs, holding Gabe in a diaper standing at the end of our driveway in a slight drizzle.  We hurried back inside, woke up David to let him know & called the electric company.  I decided that we couldn't wait around all night, so I lit six candles & told Gabe we were taking a bath.  He was very entertained by the candles & seemed to be fine with the idea that he was bathing in near darkness.  I'm very glad we had hot water!!  After as good a washing as possible, he got lotioned up & in his pjs.  One candle went with us to the bedroom to be his nightlight & to bed he went....without his music, his fan or his monitor.  It was actually very peaceful without all of the typical mechanical noise (like the air conditioning) around our house.  He passed out in no time, & I headed out to do my nightly "chores" in the dark.  I just had to chuckle to myself as I moved the candles out into the living room/kitchen & walked around with a flashlight.  I ended up being able to get some dishes done, sort through the mail & pick up the other random debris that finds its way out during the day.  I was just about to consider going to bed when the lights came back on so I could use the computer.  All in all it was not very convenient, but it was a nice break from all the bright lights & noise of normal life.  We definitely made the most of the situation as life continued on.  But an hour & a half was long enough!

Gabe was fascinated by the candles.

Gabe in the tub with his candles. 

How dark it really was without my camera flash.

5 Months Old

Today Gabe turned 5 months old. David & I cannot believe how much he has grown & how fast time has flown by. Gabe has gotten over much of his crying & fussiness & seems to be a happy little boy overall. He is quick to smile at nearly anyone, especially after just waking up. He has started to giggle often as well, finding a wide assortment of things amusing.  He loves to be sung to & even dances around to the radio with Daddy.  He is very alert all of the time & very curious about what is going on.  His latest fascination is watching people eat.  He just looks like he is concentrating so hard as he watches us scoop food or take drinks.  He will even go so far as to imitate us by chewing his tongue.  We are planning to start him on cereal sometime in the next few weeks.  Probably after his next doctors appointment when we see how he is progressing. 

He has started rolling over quite a bit & now prefers to lay on his stomach.  He has also started to roll in his crib at night.  Typically there is not enough room for him to get all the way over, so he has become a sometimes side sleeper.  He looks adorable passed out on his side.  :)  Gabe continues to be quite vocal.  He continues to coo & will let you know with a scream if he doesn't like something.  He has recently started "yelling" for extended periods of time.  He just seems to be loudly talking to something & definitely voicing his opinion.  His stuffed tiger seems to receive a lot of this scolding!!! 

Overall, Gabe is such a joy to both of us.  His little smile & a slight cuddle make every day so much better!

David had trouble getting Gabe to nap one day because he was overtired.  He finally put him in our bed, & they passed out together.

We are currently working on sitting up.  He typically ends up as a "Gabe sandwich" but is getting better & better each day.  I'm just looking forward to not having to use the infant tub anymore.

Mr. Smiles!!

He was originally sitting up but then fell over.  He was very happy to just lay like this, talking away & kicking his leg.