7 Months

Guess who was 7 months old earlier this week?  Yup, this super cool guy. . .

Not much too exciting to say, so I'll let the pictures do the talking for the most part.  Gabriel is becoming so much more aware of everything.  It so much fun to watch him discover new things (mostly by putting them in his mouth). . .

Notice the destruction behind him.  It's really cute to watch him play with the DVDs on the shelves (although when he gets to the point where he's taking EVERYTHING off of ALL the shelves it might not be so cute)

He's pretty much mastered sitting up by himself, although sometimes he does fall backwards.  He's not crawling yet, but he's doing a pretty good job of rolling around to get somewhere if he wants to.  He basically rolls back and forth and inches his way along. . .

And then sometimes gets stuck. . .

As far as sleeping goes he goes to bed between 7-8 pm and usually wakes up between 7-8 am, although the last week he's thought that 6:15 am is a great time to wake up and start the day.  Thankfully he just stays in his crib and has fun rolling around and talking to his toys because that is WAY to early for this mommy to start playing.  

Checking himself out

The grocery store is sensory overload.  So many things to look at

He's also starting to try new foods.  Several vegetables and fruits are now on the menu.  He mostly just loves rice cereal though.  All the other foods are touch and go depending on the day, but he can down that cereal in the morning in no time.

And just today he went to the Georgia Aquarium.  He was kinda fussy, but he was a little trooper and really enjoyed looking at things (I think more at all the people than the fish, but that's ok too)

Love you darling boy!

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!

All in a Weeks Work

Gabriel did quite a few things this week.  Besides rolling over from him tummy to his back, he rolled over from his back to his tummy last night in his crib (and was not too happy about it).  He also has made quite a habit of sticking his legs through his crib slats.  He almost sits by himself now too.  Where did all of these muscles come from all of the sudden?

He also learned to drive. . .

Got his very own little chair. . .

And tried eating for the first time.  These pictures are actually from the third time he ate, but you get the idea. He actually did much better than I thought he would.  Despite the shocked look on his face he kept opening up for more, so all in all I consider it a success. . .

He looks so small in the chair

I put my banana up to his nose since he's always seemed to like smelling bananas.  I was trying to take a picture because he usually smiles after he smells them.  He lurched forward and bit the end off.  Apparently just smelling it doesn't cut it anymore :)

 

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 :)

First Easter

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia

I woke up yesterday morning with that hymn in my head, so Gabriel got to hear that first thing when he woke up.  For Easter weekend Gabriel spent lots of time with family (Saturday evening with my family and Sunday afternoon with Taylor's family).  We went to church at Perimeter (because their 9 am service worked out better as far at timing for getting to meet with family for lunch) and he spent some time playing and sleeping in the nursery.  Here's a shot of the 2 of us before we went to lunch.  Unfortunately we forgot to take a family picture. . .

Happy (belated) Easter! 

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!