So Smart

Some time ago Gabe figured out that if he took one toy in his right hand, and another toy in his left, he could combine those toys to make some sort of sound. Two balls knocked together make a nice click. A ball and a block make a different click.

Next Gabe surprised me by using a spatula to try and reach a Tupperware that had fallen out of his reach. (In the kitchen, he gets to play with kitchen things. The metal measuring cup is a favorite because banged and scraped across the floor it makes quite the racket.) He also reached out to try combining a chewed pizza crust with Mommy’s arm.

Gabe has learned another type of wave: the super-model wave. He alternates between this one and the finger-wave; and now he combines waves with objects. I don’t recall him having waved at a cheerio just yet, but it’s only a matter of time.

This morning, Gabe knocked my socks off with yet another trick: I pointed at the ball-pooping train and told him to “put the ball in”, and he did! Repeatedly! We played put-the-ball-in and press-the-button while Mommy sucked on her coffee.

Gabe also said “ba” a few times after mommy used the word “ball”, but whether he meant anything by it is a secret he isn’t yet telling.

So, even though Gabe decided to start his day at 4:30 A.M., it was still a good morning!

Gabe likes Flowers

Fun Before Bedtime

Gabe found his belly!

Gabe's Garden gets Mulched

A truck full of mulch arrived today, and Michelle and I spent an hour or so spreading it out over the whole of Gabe's garden. The front yard looks respectable again! Here mom and Gabe enjoy the view.

Gabe seemed to enjoy sitting in his future fortress. I can't wait to see them both grow!

Gabe also seemed to like to eat his future fortress floor, so mom rushed to the rescue.

Gabe and the Blocks

So simple the square,
That I rolled down the stair.
Oh please don't step there!

When we returned from the vineyard this weekend Michelle needed to go out and plant some new arrivals into Gabe's garden. This left time for Dad and Gabe to play inside before bedtime. Not knowing how to keep him occupied I spied the box of blocks and decided to see how Gabe would respond to them. Of course like everything at this stage he tried each one out for taste.

While I'd like to say Gabe is building this tower he's actually knocking down one I set up for him. I'd build up the tower and he'd pull the block off the top knocking the rest down. This seemed to be great fun for him.

Gabe soon discovered that clapping two blocks together works a whole lot better than clapping hands together if you want to make some noise.

Gabe spent a fair bit of time turning each block around to see what it had on its different sides. That is if you consider several seconds before the block got popped into his mouth a fair bit of time.

Gabe played with the blocks for nearly an hour and only tired because it was in fact time for bed.

Near the end he pulled the label off of the box of blocks. Looking back I think he might have had more fun with the label than he did with the blocks, but the blocks lived to be played with again. The label did not.

On Martha's Vineyard

Here we are, out for the annual ride-for-MS bikeathon on Martha's Vineyard! It is a sadly miserable day out there, and I can't say I'm sad to be stuck indoors with Gabe. Chris is braving the weather right now for the two of us. He graciously downgraded from the 100- to the 50-k this year so as not to leave me stuck with Gabe ever weekend while he both built the bunny fence and bicycled; and seeing the weather today, I'm thinking it worked out for the best. This is not casual bicycling weather. It's wet, and cold, and if their route takes them along a beach, it will be a grinding wet slog against the wind.

I had expected some fussiness from Gabe on the trip, what with this being a break from his routine. But Gabe has surpassed my wildest hopes: he is napping well and often. (He is sawing logs as we speak, in fact.) He didn't fuss once on the drive and ferry ride over. Chris reports that Gabe charmed a group of twenty-something men on the ferry, and babies are usually a repellant for that social group! And since arrival he has been mister social butterfly, flapping, clapping, and flirting with anyone and everyone. He has only fussed when I have taken him away for diaper changes and other solitary activities.

Last night, when I kept him up late at the party and he should have been getting fussy, he just got mellow. He was content to sit and watch. We seem to have a real socialite on out hands. This pleases me, because of all the things I could teach Gabe, good social skills is not one of them.