18 Months!!

Today our baby boy is 18 months old.  I can't believe so much time has passed so quickly.  I am very very thankful for Gabriel & the light he brings into our lives!

Gabe had a checkup this week, & he seems to be growing like a weed!!  He is 26.4 lbs (fully clothed) & 34 inches tall.  I was surprised to learn he is in the 90th percentile for height, but everyone tells me he is soooo tall & looks older than he really is.  (He definitely thinks he is older too!)  He is moving along well developmentally & never seems to slow down.

He continues to talk a lot, especially at home when it is just the two or three of us.  He has started to string words together & has become fascinated with the concept that something is "gone."  He likes to tell us "Daddy gone" or "Mommy gone" even if we just leave the room for a couple of minutes.  He continues to also try our patience & test the limits on what he can do.  He just gets this ornery look on his face that lets me know I better be watching because he is going to do something his is probably not supposed to.  As you can tell, he has quite the personality & can be very stubborn/head strong at times.  My sitter told me this week that she had never watched a little boy who could be so dramatic.  Happy one minute, screaming mad the next & then goofy soon thereafter.  I know that we have a long road ahead of us when it comes to controlling some of those emotions & learning how to properly express them. 

Gabe is constantly working on his climbing skills & has been found on the couch, the kitchen table, the coffee table, the TV stand & numerous chairs around the house.  If he can pull himself up onto it & there is enough room for him to sit, then you will find him there.  David said he recently caught him in our bedroom, pulling the dresser drawers out & attempting to climb up them to reach the top.  He loves being outdoors & going for walks around the subdivision.  I can't wait for the snow to come this year so that he can go out & play in it for real. 

Aunt Dani (my sister) came to visit us last weekend, & we had a great time mostly hanging out at home.  I think this was the first time she & Gabe got to spend a lot of time one on one.  He loved her & was even starting to say something close to Dani by the time she left.  :)

Wearing his new winter coat.  He insisted on trying it out.

Helping Aunt Dani with her work.

His favorite hiding spot in the laundry room between the furnace & water heater. 



18 Month Pics

We had pictures taken since Gabe will be 18 months next week.  It was a bit more challenging this time because he really didn't want to stand still, let alone sit on something & pose.  We ended up having to have two employees, one to take the pictures & one to help corral & entertain him.  :)  He still looked adorable so there were quite a few good shots, & we had a terrible time choosing!!

"Ootball!! Ootball!!"

I think that Gabe uttering the word "Ootball" has been one of David's proudest moments as a father.  :)  With the new NFL season starting recently, football has been quite the topic of conversation for David.  He is a huge Colts fan and has always told me that his son WILL be into football too.  The fact that Gabe can identify the game even without seeing the ball is a testament to this.  And every other ball is just "ball."  He will plop down on the floor or cuddle with David to watch the games for a few minutes.  Very cute!!

He continues to talk a lot, pointing out trucks & bug & many other things.  He then likes to ask "See em?"  But he says it like one word, so I'm constantly telling him "Yes, Gabe I see it."  Or if he can't find something...."see em?"  He is very curious....& is always scanning the immediate area for anything he has missed so far.  (He is terrible at a restaurant...too busy watching waiters & eyeing other people to eat food.)

This past weekend we got a visit from Grandma Dawson & made it out to the Johnny Appleseed Festival here in Ft. Wayne.  We had some great food & got to walk around a bit.  We are working on him saying "Grandma" but he definitely loves all her attention!!

Pretty sure I was only turned around for a minute, but there was yogurt & ketchup everywhere.

Watching a spider before he decided to try & catch it.

"Jumping"

Gabe has become fascinated with the idea of jumping even if he can't quite get the action down.  He "jumps" (with assistance) out of his high chair, off the changing table & even into the car.  This past week he started trying to jump from the couch arm rest onto the other cushions.  It may be hard to hear, but he is chanting "jumping, jumping, jump" while he does it.

(I remembered to video right side up this time.)