Random Stuff

Gabriel is having a fussy day/week .  His mommy has a headache.  And since he is finally taking a nap I thought a little post was in order.  I don't know what to do about his sleep situation.  He still naps in the  morning and in the afternoon.  I guess I figured that when he was ready to "drop" one of these naps that it would be the morning one. I figured he'd just start staying up until closer to lunch and then eventually he'd just need a nap in the afternoon.  For the last week he is taking a really long time to fall asleep for his afternoon nap and then he's not falling asleep for the night until much too late.  So, it would seem that the logical conclusion would be that he's getting too much sleep during the day, BUT he just can't stay up in the morning.  I was in the car with him at 10:15 yesterday and out he went.  I tried to keep him up this morning and it was torture for both of us by 10:45.  If he only were to nap in the morning though he would need to go to bed super early.  I just hate it that it's taking him so long to fall asleep for his afternoon nap, but I can't wait and have him nap at 5 pm, nor do I want to put him to bed for the night at that time.  Ugh.  I don't know what to do.

 

On a happier note, it's getting warmer and that means we can go to the park or walk around outside more.  Hooray for slides, swings, and tromping in the grass!  Gabriel discovered rocks yesterday morning and kept trying to feed them to me.  Yummy.

Chillin' in a chair at the library

Gabriel has been sick twice in the last 2 weeks.  The first time it was some kind of viral thing that lasted most of the week.  I don't like taking him to the doctor (for one thing it's money, and mostly I know that most things are viral and therefore just need to run their course).  But, after a fever for 3 days something just didn't seem right.  The doctor said his throat looked like he could have strep.  They swabbed it (poor guy) and it was negative.  It finally got better at the end of the week.  He did loose 2 pounds in the process though. Then last weekend he got a fever again and had some GI issues.  I'm not sure if it's that he's getting more teeth or what but he still seems uncomfortable and incredibly whiny.

And if that wasn't enough yesterday morning he smacked his face on something at the park.  He barely cried and got right up and started playing, but by the time we were headed home he had a nice black eye show up.  I guess if I'd been sick, was getting teeth, and kept bonking my head I might not be in the best mood either.

 

We did have some visitors last weekend and Gabriel always likes to have some new playmates.  Here he is with his slightly older twin at Cracker Barrel.

And since I don't have a lot of pictures to post, here are some pictures of Gabriel's "Favorite Things" as of today. . .

Stickers and markers.  I was surprised how quickly he latched onto putting stickers on paper.  Thankfully I have lots of those leftover from years ago when I worked at the scrapbook store.

Books, books, books

Puzzles.  Especially these 2 animal ones.  When you hold up the chicken
piece he makes a "bawk bawk" noise at it.  So cute. 

               

DVDs.  But still not just for watching.  He "reads" the back of the cases, he "reads" the little books inside the front cover, he takes the paper out of the jacket.  So many fun projects.  Every once in a while though I ask him if he wants to watch a video.  He always gets one of the above (thanks Aunt Tiffany!).  And while we may only watch 15 minutes before I turn it off, it's a welcome change from Baby Einstein (although he still really likes the animal videos, especially since he can name some of the animals too).

And while he's saying many things now, the most recent funny thing is that he has come to think that "Up" = "Please".  He was wanting to get on the couch a lot the last week and whenever he did we said "Up, please." Now when he needs something he says "Up!" It's really cute.  He wanted more milk yesterday and he brought me his cup and said "Up!"  Funny kid :)

Who could be cooler than this guy?

                                                 

Some Pictures

Gabriel (and his parents) have made the move to Blacksburg.  And even though he won't hit the 9 month mark until next week I figured a little update and some pictures were in order.

In short, the move was a little hard on Gabriel.  Everything just became so different so quickly, and for a boy that likes routine that messed him up a little.  He seemed more fussy the week before we moved too (probably because there were boxes everywhere and everything looked different in general around our apartment).  When we got here his sleep was totally off.  It's starting to get back on track, but he was having a very hard time napping even though he was very tired.  He was also waking up way too early (that's worse than not napping in his mommy's book)

Loki seems to be adjusting ok too.  All of the sudden Gabriel is fascinated with her.  He gets really excited when she walks by.  I think that Loki is torn on what distance to keep from him.  If she gets too close he's likely to grab her hair.  If she stays too far away she might miss out on some food he's likely to throw her way.  I think she's warming up to him now, especially since she gets to eat whatever falls off of his tray.

Ready to head off for his first Sunday at our new church

 Besides all of that, I'm adjusting to being home with him more.  I am so glad to be here with him and not be staying up all night working 3 times a week, but at the same time I've started a whole different kind of work.  I think that it will take the two of us some time to get into a routine together of what works for our day (and I'm sure that will be constantly changing too).

Looking all grown up in his t-shirt and jean shorts 

Gabriel still isn't crawling, but he'll do it when he's ready.  He scoots and twists his way across the floor for the most part.  Here he is exploring a cabinet while I do some things in the kitchen.

One thing that I really have enjoyed the last couple weeks is getting out with Gabriel more than I have in the past.  I've tried to take him somewhere every day so that we can both explore our new town a little.  Some days it was just running some errands and picking up things that we needed.  Today we went and wandered around a new store.  We went for a long walk.  And the most fun of all was that Taylor and I took him to a little park a couple of times.  It's nice to be able to go outside and get some fresh air without so much humidity.

He loved the swings.  He thought it was so funny to try and pull our sunglasses off each time he came towards us.  He got pretty good at grabbing them off of our faces.  I'll have to figure out how to post the video!

5 Months

Gabriel turned 5 months old today!  Here are some pictures and random tidbits about the last month. . .

Such cute cheeks

It seems like in the last couple weeks Gabriel has started to do so many new things.  Even little things.  He clasps both of his hands together in front of him, pulls his legs up and grabs his feet, and sucks his thumb more efficiently and seems to want a pacifier less.  His major new trick is rolling off of his tummy and onto his back.  That being said, he has decided that tummy time is no more.  He stays on his stomach for a few seconds and then rolls on his back.  He's pretty happy to be able to end the tummy time torture at will now I think.

Still such a happy and smiling baby

He also went on his first major roadtrip.  We ventured to Baton Rouge to visit some friends (it was to great to see the Nasses! And we can't wait to meet their little boy once he makes his appearance several months from now). Gabriel did much better in the car than we thought he would.  We drove at night with the hopes of not messing up his sleep schedule too much.  On the way out he was a little fussy, but on the drive home he basically slept the entire way with stopping once to eat.  He woke up for good when we were about 30 minutes from home.  Taylor may have been really tired from driving, but at least Gabriel stayed on track and wasn't too worn out.

Checking out some fish

Baton Rouge has some yummy food.  I think he wanted a big bite for himself

Gabriel is really starting to be very aware of everything.  When things move or people walk into the room he gets very distracted.  He hasn't really cared about stuffed animals before, but last week he made a new friend that he likes to spend time with (mostly grabbing the long arms and sticking the hands in his mouth)

Not quite sure what to think of him during their first encounter

But he quickly decided that they could be friends

He's also gotten so much better with sleeping.  He goes to bed between 7-8pm and wakes up for the day around 8am.  He eats a little late night snack around 10-11pm.  He sometimes wakes up and makes some noise but many nights he sleeps until morning.  The last several times I've gotten home from work around 8am he's just in his crib sucking his thumb and making no noise.  I wonder if he wakes up a lot and just stays there silently.  I guess he's trying be polite and let us get a little extra rest before he wakes us up ;)

One of his favorite toys remains his plastic rings.  So simple and easy to "eat".  Speaking of toys, I think he's about to graduate to some much more interesting ones since he's moving around more and becoming more alert.  Speaking of eating, I think that soon we will be starting to try giving him a little cereal every day.  We'll see how that goes and I'll certainly be taking pictures.

He loves to be held in a standing position.  He even stays standing if you lean him against something.

Can you guess which parent picked out this outfit for him? 

He is almost sitting up by himself now too.  He just needs a little support.  He's getting so big and strong

Washcloth in the mouth. . .yummy

A whole new perspective on bath time

The weather has been so nice some days and it's great to get out into the fresh air.  We're starting to explore the outdoors.  Unfortunately our favorite people watching spot, the Caribou Coffee at the Forum, closed last week.  Gabriel and Taylor had some fun outside the other day though.  The manager of our apartment complex secretly took this shot and sent it to us.

Other than that nothing new!  Just enjoying watching him explore the world.  It's so much fun to watch him learn and grow :)

4 Months

Gabriel was 4 months old yesterday.  I can't really believe that.  He seems like he's always been a part of our lives, but at the same time it seems like just yesterday that he was born.  But, when I stop to really think about it, I was already pregnant a year ago so we really have known each other for over a year now.  We just hadn't had the chance to look each other in the eye yet ;)

Happy sitting up on the couch and playing with his favorite toy --
a black and white striped plastic ring with a larger plastic ball
that he can easily stick in his mouth

 We had an appointment at the pediatrician's office today.  He weighed in at 14 pounds, 5 ounces (40th percentile) with a height of 25.5 inches (40th percentile) and a head circumference of 16 5/8 inches (50th percentile).  He's just trucking right along!

Looking so sweet and happy before the evil shots.  After this was much crying and screaming.  I didn't want to be a jerk so I let the nursing student that was there give him the shots. . .I remember what it was like to need experience in such things. . .but she did them slowly and I kind of regret not asking for the nurse that was there that did it so quickly last time.  But she has to learn and I understand that.

After he wore himself out a little he fell asleep in the car.  Then when we got home he ate and we both decided that a cuddly little nap was in order:

So what types of things does Gabriel like to do these days?  Well he really loves anything that involves making faces, sitting up, being held in a standing position, grabbing at things, sticking things in his mouth, or chatting it up with Mom and Dad.

 The many faces of Mr. Gabriel:

Contemplative

Shocked

Mellow

He now has a little jumperoo.  He can be in it for a few minutes at a time and seems to enjoy it

He's very good at helping with the laundry.  But I can't seem to find him in this picture.  Where did he go?

He's still not a fan of "tummy time" but he seems to dislike it less than he used to.  I feel that he may not roll over for quite a while as a result.  He just gets so mad after a few short minutes.  He likes it more if one of us is on our back with him on our shins "flying" in the air.  Still though, it's a relatively short time before he's had enough

I went back to work about a month ago.  It was, without a doubt, very difficult.  Once I get to work I'm fine, but some days it's just so hard to leave him (and I also hate being more tired than I already was.  I want to be alert and enjoy my time with him.  That's what caffeine is for though). I know that he's in good hands with Dad, and I'm glad that they get some quality time together, but it's just difficult.  One thing that going to work did help with though was getting him on more of a loose schedule.  Since I get home in the morning around 8 am we started trying to get him to eat for the first time of the day around then, which has led to him waking up most days around then, which has led to a more consistent start to the rest of his day.  While he's not on a strict schedule, it at least has laid the foundation for the general times of his naps and feedings (and he's therefore a little more predictable).

Hanging out with Dad at Caribou when the weather was nice and Mom was at work

 As far as his sleeping is concerned, he never returned to being the amazing sleeper that he was before his last growth spurt.  He goes to bed between and 7 and 8 pm and wakes up for the day around 8 am.  If he wakes up before around 3 am and wants to eat we try to get him back to sleep without him eating.  If it's after around 3 or 4 am we feed him if he's seeming hungry.  Every night is different though.  Some nights he sleeps until 6 am without a peep.  Other nights he just seems to wake up every couple hours.

Looking like a little stud about to leave for church in the super soft and fabulous shirt that his Aunt Stephanie bought him

This last week he seemed to be having the signs of teething.  He didn't want to eat very much, was drooling like crazy, chewing on his hands, and biting (as opposed to sucking) on things.  He was really warm and fussy.  Maybe he has some teeth in his near future.

He laughed for the first time 2 weeks ago.  It was the cutest thing I've ever heard.  He's such a happy and playful  little guy.

Happy 4 Month Birthday Sweet Gabriel!

3 Months

Gabriel is 3 months old today!  He still doesn't like having his picture taken.  He'll be smiling and cooing like crazy, but the minute you put a camera in front of him he becomes so serious.  We've managed to get a few smiles caught on camera though. . .

Stop pointing that camera at me!

One of his favorite things is sitting propped up and being able to look around.
A whole new perspective on the world!

As far as sleep goes, he's been going to bed between 7 and 8 pm and then getting up for the day sometime between 7 and 8 am (with some feedings in between.  We always get him up and feed him before we go to bed between 10 and 11 pm). While I bragged for a while that Gabriel was such a good sleeper, something changed in him after his little growth spurt a few weeks ago.  In other words, he decided that sleeping until 5 or 6 in the morning is just no fun.  Waking up around 1-2 or again around 4-5 is just too exciting to pass up.  Last night he only woke up a little after 3, but that was the first night in a while that he did that.  Hopefully that was the start of a new phase of better sleeping again.  He's also so much better about going down for naps (although he sometimes still wants to be swaddled up for those).

So peaceful

In other news, I went back to work this week.  I'm working nights for the time being.  While it was a rough week for me and very hard to leave, Gabriel got to spend some fun evening time with Dad (and poor Taylor had to start feeding him at night for the 3 nights that I'm gone).  He actually did much better with taking a bottle in the middle of the night than I thought he would. 

Gabriel was kind enough to help me fold laundry by keeping track
of the socks until I found the second one in the pair

He thought that tasting a few of them would be fun too

And then he realized that his friend the thumb was way more interesting.  His favorite
hobbies now include putting his hands and fingers in his mouth and staring at people.
So easy to please :)

Again spending time with his friend, the hand

There was no pediatrician visit this month (and thankfully he hasn't been sick), but we know that he's busy growing, growing, growing.  He's wearing 3 month clothes and size 2 diapers.  I can't believe how big he's getting.  Happy 3 Month Birthday Gabriel!

It's hard to resist kissing those cheeks