Gabriel Update

First of all, you may notice that very few of these pictures actually involve Gabriel looking at the camera.  Most of the time he's too busy to stop and take a picture.  Always on the go.

We took a trip to Atlanta after Christmas and he had a great time visiting family and friends and playing with cousins.  I really did enjoy Christmas with Gabriel this year.  He got really into the whole holiday and was looking forward to things and making memories.  He still brings up things that we did or places that we went.  He got sad when we took down the decorations. And, like all children I guess, he got obsessed with getting presents.  I don't feel like we went overboard with getting him things but I think the combination of his birthday in November and then Christmas made him want more gifts to open.

Christmas at Gammer and Pop Pop's house.  Wearing his new
Darth Vader towel while he plays with a new helicopter.

Cupcakes at Hannah Kate's birthday party

New pretend food from Uncle Matt and Aunt Stephanie!  This kid still loves to cook.  While we were outside a bit ago he was making me a cake out of snow (and then licking it himself)

We went to the Georgia Aquarium while we were in Atlanta too.  I didn't get a picture of him with them, but he loved the penguins the best.  He got a little plastic one while we were there and just this evening he took it out in the snow to play.

Looking at jellyfish

Cousins!

We had a big snow storm here last week and for the first time Gabriel loved playing in the snow.  He liked walking around in the yard and pretending.  We were on a search for Frosty the Snowman and we many times went into his "cave" (a clearing in the trees seen below) to hide from the Abominable Snow Monster.  It was fun to see him all bundled up and enjoying playing.  He did sled a little bit but didn't seem like he cared about it much.

We still have our Christmas tree on our deck (weird but true).  When it started snowing Gabriel asked several times if we could bring the tree in the house and have Christmas again since it's snowing.  I guess snow = Christmas.

Other random Gabriel things: he's starting to enjoy chapter books, which I really think is neat.  Taylor is reading him "The Lion, The Witch, And the Wardrobe."  I've been reading him A.A. Milne's "Winne-the-Pooh." (he got into Winnie the Pooh at his cousin's birthday party.  He didn't seem interested before that).  I like that he wants to sit and listen and asks us to read more.

He still really likes his Pixar movies and toys with his new recent favorite being Inside Out (thank you Uncle Aaron and Aunt Tiffany).  He's trying to express emotions more since watching it.  We hear a lot of "That makes me so mad!" and "I'm sad" now that he's seen that.  He also likes watching Daniel Tiger, Sid the Science Kid, and parts of Fantasia and Fantasia 2000.

And since I've brought up Daniel Tiger, Gabriel's new favorite song is from that show and goes like this, "If you have to go potty stop and go right away.  Flush and wash and be on your way."  I will never get that song out of my head.  We have started potty training again and it thankfully seems to be going much better than last time.  He gets excited about going.  Usually when he goes bolting to the bathroom he says "stop and go right away!" as he's running off.  I am cautiously optimistic that things will go better this time.  He is at least initiating going himself and isn't throwing fits about it so that's a big change for the better.  I'm trying to stay calm about it and not push him.

So that is Gabriel right now.  Always on the move.  Working hard at pretending.  Throwing lots of tantrums.  Not listening well.  Frequently saying something funny or acting goofy.  He keeps us on our toes :)

Corban is 5 Months

Corban turned 5 months old last week.  This month didn't involve a wellness visit so I'm not sure on measurements, but when he went to the doctor when he was sick a couple weeks ago he was 15 pounds 2 ounces.  He's wearing 6-9 month clothes (mostly for the length factor).  He usually sleeps through the night and we're working on the nap thing.  He's not so great at putting himself back to sleep during naps and this resulted in 4 naps a day until a few days ago.  We're trying to figure out his daytime sleep a little bit better, but that's hard when we're sometimes going out and his naps are short and in the car.

Wonderful hair going on.  I actually trimmed the front a little because
he had 3 chunks of hair that were longer than everything else.

So Corban got sick for the second time.  In November he had a cold and an ear infection.  This time he got bronchitis.  He caught a virus when we went to Atlanta over New Years and it took him a couple weeks to get rid of it.  He had a nasty cough and was wheezing quite a bit too.  I could feel his poor little lungs rumbling with my hand on his back. He turned the corner for the better the day before the doctor said we'd get more aggressive with treatment (antibiotics and breathing treatments).  Enough with being sick.  Winter can end now please.

That goofy grin that we see so often that is so hard to catch on camera

Things that Corban likes: baths and having lotion put on afterwards, laughing at Gabriel making goofy noises and faces, playing in his jumper, either being flat on the floor or standing with help, being held up in the air, eating cereal, having songs sung to him, reading books in the glider

Things that Corban does not like: being in a sitting position, rattles that are shaken too hard, tummy time (but this is getting better), and Gabriel growling at him like a monster

Wow

Loving that he can now sit in the jump-a-roo

Cousin bonding

We started doing rice cereal a few days ago since he seemed interested in eating and is sitting up pretty well.  When we're eating a meal he's watching our every move and opening his mouth sometimes.  Yesterday I started giving him a spoon while we eat and he just chews on it while he watches us.  He has cleaned the bowl of cereal every time we've tried it, but we'll just stick with that for now and take it slow.  He seems eager for more though.

Getting ready to eat for the first time!

Loved it

Have there always been birds up there?

All warm and comfy in my car seat

Corban is still a very chill and sweet boy.  He doesn't cry much (except when he's not wanting to fall back asleep during a nap). He loves to smile and laugh and goes with the flow most of the time.  He's even starting to like cuddling a little before naps and bed, which he didn't seem to care about before.  I love that he wants to put his head down and suck his thumb while I sing to him now instead of just being put down and left alone.  He's such a joy.  There are a bunch of wonderful guys living in this house with me.

Corban is 4 Months

Corban was 4 months old today so we celebrated by going to the pediatrician and getting some shots.  He weighed 15 lb 1 oz (55th percentile), his head circumference was 16.75 inches (59th percentile) and he was 26.75 inches long (95th percentile).  He's so tall!

Corban is such a happy baby.  He likes to smile and "talk" and he's usually the most vocal when Gabriel is taking a nap and the house it quiet.  He likes his hands, drooling, his play mat, his black and white plastic ring, the little stuffed "Jeremy Fisher" crinkle toy, and doing tummy time riding up in the air on our legs.  When he gets fussy he prefers his swing to being rocked.  He sleeps from 6:30 pm until about 7:30 am with a night feeding about 10 pm.  He has no real schedule during the day but he usually naps about 4 times.  He's becoming more predictable and that sure is nice. We even went out twice last week (once for my birthday and once to a ballet performance) and a babysitter put him to bed with no problem.

Tummy time!

A friend at church took this picture when he was asleep in the baby carrier one morning.  He was holding onto my sweater the entire time he slept 

Chilling in the bouncer

Learning to sit up

These boys certainly keep us busy around here but they sure are a joy.  When I was taking Corban to the doctor this morning Gabriel said "Mommy, I will be so happy when you get home!"  Gabriel has turned into such a little boy these past few months.  He lives in his world of pretending, running and jumping, listening to music, reading books, and begging for movies.  He has loved getting ready for Christmas this year with the new movies and music (this years favorite is again Angels We Have Heard on High with Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Away in a Manger coming in next), and opening up his daily paper stocking with a Christmas activity (things like drinking hot chocolate, watching Christmas movies, driving through a live nativity, camping by the Christmas tree, shopping for Angel Tree, making crafts and cookies, and shopping for the food pantry).  He is certainly at a challenging age with daily tantrums, whining, and defiance but we're making it and learning along the way.

Playing with Gabriel.  Gabriel has his moments when he's not nice to Corban, but overall he's a very helpful and concerned big brother.  He likes to hug and kiss him, read books with him, and he even pulls down the shade on the carseat when they are riding in the back and sun is in Corban's eyes.

3 Year Old In The House

We now are living with a 3 year old and a 3 month old around here.  Since I'm such an awesome mom I accidentally scheduled Gabriel's pediatrician visit for the morning of his birthday, so after his breakfast of bacon, oranges, and biscuits with honey (his favorite breakfast things) we went for his well child appointment.  He didn't need any immunizations and I think he actually had fun going.  He liked getting his eyes checked and he was talking the doctor's ear off. His weight is in the 55th percentile and his height is the 38th percentile.  After his appointment we let him use a giftcard that he had to pick out a toy at the toy store (he chose some pretend food for his kitchen).  He then wanted to eat lunch at Waffle House (more bacon).  He is currently napping.  When he wakes up he requested to paint with his new paint supplies and then he asked for corn dogs for dinner (we're being super healthy around here today).

Batman sighting at the Children't Museum

We're still all about pretending.  The other day we were playing with ink and stamps.  He decided that the ink pad needed to talk to the stamp.  The conversation went like this:

Hi Ink!

Hi Stamp!

You wanna dance?

OK!

The ink pad and stamp proceeded to dance together.  So random and funny.  We are always pretending to be something around here.  Pixar characters, Kung Fu Panda characters, random animals, pretending with various stuffed animals, making food in his kitchen, etc.  His poor Jessie doll.  He makes her into any character he can think of (and then gets annoyed if we forget that she's not Jessie that day).

Playing the cello in the church nursery

Making cookies with Gammer

Cookie Decorating

His birthday party was actually this past Saturday.  This the first year that he's had an official party with other kids invited.  We thought that he needed something special with all of the transition that he's had the past few months.  He sure did look forward to his party.  He's been asking about it for weeks.  Of course we had it at one of his favorite places, Romp and Roll.  He got to pick two activities (they had a fake snowball fight and played with musical instruments) and also got to use the moon-bounce and inflatable slide.  He had so much fun.  He just ran and ran the whole time it seemed, bouncing from one thing to the next.  And then he of course got cupcakes.  He had such a good time!

And here are a few pictures of him opening presents.  He now has his very own little chair, which he is loving.  Just the right size for him to curl up and watch TV or read:

Lightening McQueen CD player!  He was introducing the "Mommy" Lightening McQueen to the "Baby" Lightening McQueens.  

I can't believe that this energetic, TALKATIVE, funny boy is three years old today.  Happy Birthday Gabriel!

Late addition to the above post: when Gabriel went to bed the night of his birthday the song he wanted before bed was "Happy Birthday." Also, toward the end of the day I had said "Happy Birthday" to him so many times that he started saying "Happy Birthday!" back to me when I said it to him.  Funny boy.

Corban is 3 Months!

Time flies.  Little Corban is 3 months old already.  He is frequently smiling, occasionally laughing, and a very happy baby most of the time (he laughed the first time while I was making his arms dance around while changing his diaper). He cries when he's hungry, when he's tired, and when he gets double ear infections.  Poor little dude.  He had actually slept through the night for about 8 nights in a row when a cold that his brother shared turned into some nasty ear problems.  A night of screaming led to a pediatrician visit and our first round of antibiotics.  Thankfully he is doing much better, but being sick certainly broke the "sleeping all night" thing we had going on.  It was nice while it lasted.

You know I'll never smile for a picture when you want me to

Sad little guy when he was feeling sick

When we went to the doctor for his sick visit he weighed 13 lb 8 oz.  This little dude sure has some rolls.  There is an especially troublesome one on his neck.  We give him a bath almost every day but there is still fuzz and milk dried in there sometimes.  He is starting to grow out of his 3 month clothes too.

Still love the play mat!

I'm assuming that this came from watching some Veggie Tales at church, but Gabriel frequently refers to Corban as "Baby Cucumber."  The other day I said "I think it's time for Corban to take a nap," to which Gabriel replied, "No! It's time for the baby cucumber to take a nap!"

I hate tummy time but if you do it this way I get tricked into having fun!

Corban is also mastering the art of sucking his thumb.  I heard him wake up the other night and he was a little bit fussy but I soon heard the sound of him sucking on his thumb and he went right back to sleep.  Hooray for being able to self sooth.  Although if we're in the car and Corban starts crying Gabriel will often put one of his own fingers in Corban's mouth and proudly state "I got Corban to stop crying!"

Corban and I took a very brief roadtrip to celebrate a friend's wedding and to meet his new cousin!  It was kinda tiring but so worth it:

And here are a few more pictures because I can never narrow it down and choose just a few:

If I focus really hard I can sometimes get this thing in my mouth

This guy is funny