Summer Fun

Time for an update in pictures.  I wish that I had more energy to write more, but oh well.  I feel that I have many thoughts about the state of life with a toddler, so maybe one day I'll type it up.  But let's be honest, that might not happen ;)  

Summer has brought with it many chances to get outside and do fun things.  Our typical weekly activities include the pool, the park, story time at the library, class at Romp and Roll and playing the the yard.  It has been nice to explore some other things too though like the duck pond, the fair, the zoo, and berry picking.  While I'm not going to write a whole lot, for my own memories sake I have to note that Gabriel loves BEANS (green and edamame).  The other night he had the choice between a bite of a brownie and a cup of beans and he chose the beans.  He also loves "Old McDonald" and "BINGO", books, his bed, making a pretend "shocked" face, Loki, putting the groceries on the conveyor belt, and of course anything Toy Story.  He's a funny guy.  

Here he is with one of Mommy's headbands.  I call this photo "I want to be in a 80's workout video."  Move over Jane Fonda.

Play Doh is fun

And so is feeding Rice Krispies to a stuffed dog

He loves to play in the kiddie pool.  And by "play" I mean throw Sulley, Mike, Woody, and Buzz into the pool, climb in and throw them out, then climb out and throw them in.  The process continues until he decides that it's time to climb on the patio furniture.

Gabriel loves his Daddy.

He also loves berries

Gabriel loved having his cousin for a visit.  He still occasionally wanders around the house saying her name and looking for her.  If only she lived closer. . .

Feeding the ducks.  While we have gone a couple times I sadly have no good pictures.  To note, however, Gabriel would much rather feed the very large squirrels than the ducks.  And when he does feed the ducks he prefers the say "Hey duck!" and then throw a whole piece of bread and watch them all fight over it.

Gabriel started doing a couple things while his cousin was here.  The first was really getting into giving a "hug" and a "kiss."  He smothered that girl in kisses.  He also kisses his toys and random furniture.  The new habit that I'm not so fond of is his wanting to suck his thumb all the time.  He's always sucked it when falling asleep, which has never really bothered me.  Honestly, if he'd always had this habit during the day it wouldn't bother me so much, but it's too late now to start this habit if you ask me.  We're trying to discourage him from doing it, but what do you do when multiple times every hour he flops down and sticks in it his mouth?  Not sure what the outcome of this will be.

Building tall towers

I found this little Toy Story bag at a consignment store.  He loves having his own bag with pictures of his friends on it.  And while part of me is loving not having the diaper bag anymore, another part of me isn't ready to have a child with a backpack.

Another shot of the "pack pack."  Apparently when he was just with Taylor the other day he was showing random people his "bag."

We saw lots of new things at the zoo!  And rode a train!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

The local fair had a petting zoo and Gabriel liked seeing the animals and feeding them carrots.

Big boy on the swings.  I thought he would get scared but he seemed to enjoy it  And when we rode the ferris wheel every time it was going down he said "Whheeeee."  So cute.  Getting way too big. 

18 (almost 19) Months

Gabriel looks so much bigger to me than he did in the posts a couple months ago.  He doesn't really weigh that much more than he did at 15 months (he's now 25 pounds) and he only grew 1.5 inches (now 32.5 inches) but he just acts so much more like a toddler.  So, here are some random pictures and captions to update a little on what Gabriel is up to these day. . .

Aunt Stephanie is hilarious

Why is she staring at me?

Why is she pulling my hair?

I'm not quite sure about her, but my cousin is pretty cute so I'll put on some music for her

Gabriel still loves to read.  His favorite book seems to rotate.  He has a one word name for some of this favorites.  Before bed tonight he wanted to read "Hammy" (Green Eggs and Ham).  Others times we read "Hat" (Cat in the Hat), "Sock" (Fox in Socks), "Pop" (Hop on Pop), "Rock" (Rocks in My Socks),  and "Cordy" (Corduroy).  He also really likes Where the Wild Things Are (he always says "HOT" when you read the last page of the book), SkippyJohn Jones, Alexander and Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day, and his Disney Storybooks.

What does this growing boy eat? Everything.  If there is one thing that it's harder for him to eat it's meat.  He will eat plain chicken dipped in ketchup, but he's not a huge fan of other meat (although he does eat it sometimes mixed in something).  Favorite foods: grapes, strawberries ("sabbies"), apples (it's obviously hard for him to bite -- he spent quite a while licking one today before I cut it up), cucumbers, edamame ("beans"),  and broccoli 

What does Gabriel do for fun these days?  Climbs on and in EVERYTHING, plays with the DVDs, carries around random things that aren't technically toys, chases Loki, wanders around outside, plays in the car while it's sitting in the garage (there are lots of cool buttons in there), goes to class at Romp and Roll, the library, the park, the pool. . .

He has so much to say.  It's still mostly babbling, but he knows so many words all of the sudden.  Taylor realized that he's asking what things are called too.  I can't really think of a way to type what it sounds like, but he points at something he doesn't know, asks what it is, and then repeats whatever you tell him.  I can understand why only parents can understand most of what their child says.  He knows the name of most animals, household objects, and simple things outside, but it would be hard to understand him if you weren't around him everyday.

Helping Daddy put together patio furniture

Helping to take apart the futon

He loves to brush his teeth

And he loves his new step stool

There was a fawn in our yard for a few days.  His mother was leaving him during the day and coming to get him at night.  Gabriel loved it.  He was standing at the back door pointing up the hill and shouting "Fawn! Fawn!"  I'm not sure if it was Taylor cutting the grass (even though he left a large area where he was hanging out), but he's no longer there.  Gabriel is really liking having a back yard though.  He likes to watch the birds, squirrels, and rabbits and wander around.  He tried to eat a random flower today and then gagged though. . .not a fun moment.

Gabriel loves his Daddy!  Happy Father's Day!

Such a cute and sweet boy

On a not-so-cute note he now thinks that when you tell him "no" it can be ignored and he laughs when he gets popped on the hand.  Oh, new realms of disciple that we must now figure out.  But, it's hard to stay mad at him when he has such a sweet smile and likes to say "please?" so sweetly.  We love our little man.

6 Months

 Gabriel was 6 months old last week!  To celebrate we took him to the pool for the first time.  I think the pictures tell the story of how he felt about it. . .although I took him again today and he seems to like it a little better. . .

 

 Little man went to the doctor today for another round of shots (ouch).  He weighed in at 15 pounds 10 ounces (20th percentile).  His height was 26 inches (40th percentile).  His head circumference was 17 inches (75th percentile).  While his weight percentile dropped again the pediatrician wasn't concerned since he's eating and developing just fine.  And it's no shocker about the head.  I've doomed the poor kid to have a large noggin.

He's still working on eating.  He's gotten down having some cereal and moved onto vegetables just today.  He didn't seem to be a fan but we'll keep trying. . .

And here are some other random pictures and videos from the last month.  As a side note, I may always sound perky when I write blog posts, but he can certainly be exhausting.  He's so much fun and such a happy baby (most of the time), but he certainly can drain the energy right out of you.  What I want most is just to have a day when I don't have to get out of bed and can just sleep and watch TV.  And while this isn't possible (the little man has to eat), I certainly appreciate a good nap ;)

Look at me!  I can grab my feet!

I want to be just like Dad

I can do everything he does

So, in summary, Gabriel is eating well, sleeping well, and growing like a champ.  So love this little boy!