Gabe Loves Mulberries

He looks likes a little baby vampire with the mulberry juice dripping down his chin.

Fruit-Seeking Behavior

Gabe has acquired a taste for fresh strawberries, raspberries, and mulberries. Whenever I walk him past the raspberry bushes he starts reaching now even though they're really tart due to the wet overcast weather we've been having.



It was so cool to watch him reach for a raspberry, grab it, and eat it!

Mobile Baby!

As of last Tuesday, the baby is no longer a turret. He moves! He gets up onto his knees, and with a look of pure joy, he crawls where he wants to!

Yesterday morning, Chris and I looked on with wonderment as our little bundle scootched on his knees from our bedroom, to the hallway, and down to the bathroom. He stopped there to visit with his beloved cabinet doors. The bathroom cupboards are all now protected with the parent-proof. . . I mean baby-deterrent devices, which means Gabe can use the cupboard handles to pull himself up onto his knees, whereupon he lunges maniacally like a gorilla shaking the bars of its enclosure, as happy as a pig in poo.

Oh, is he happy! I had attributed to his recent weeks of irritability to the viruses he had collected like Pokemon cards. (Did I mention that we suspect one of those viruses was Swine Flu?) But in retrospect, I think he was just frustrated at being immobile.

The upstairs baby gate is now a Very Useful Thing. Downstairs, we still need to get some gates up. (This morning Gabe made four breaks for the garage, and one for Chris' desk.) I need to finishing modifying our new TV console to be the perfect baby-proof game-station container. The kitchen cupboards are three-fourth secured, and one of the cupboards has been designated as a play-space for Gabe, because cupboards make him so very happy. I may leave the towel-drawer unsecured, as well, until I get tired of him emptying its contents.




So far there have been more head-bonks than pinched fingers, and one undignified face-straight-into-the-floor. Gabe is such a trooper, though. With the application of some hugs, he is right as rain and ready to continue his rampage.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Gratuitous Tub Photo

Applesauce

Maybe they won't recognize me with a beard.


There, just a little more on my chin. . .


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. . . .


CHOO!


Sorry for sneezing applesauce on you.


I'm not sleepy, really!

Sick Baby

Gabe was sick again today running a fever that ranged from 101 when the Tylenol was going strong to 102.8 when it wasn't. Michelle also discovered that the rectal thermometer is easier to use than the under-arm approach. Gabe squirms like mad to get away from us when we try to take his temp under arm, and if you take his temp as part of a diaper change he's all coolsville. That isn't what I would expect, so it was a good thing to learn.

I'm looking forward to a weekend where Gabe doesn't end up sick or lend us his cold so we end up sick. He's been on a bad string of fevers lately and I'm ready to stop asking the question, "Is that spitup or puke?"

Still Gabe handled today like a champ, still laughing and playing. He was a little more irritable to be sure, but not nearly as bad as I get when I have a fever of 102.

Garden in the Woods

We spent the morning at the Garden in the Woods with some of our friends on a photo and native plant expedition. It was a whole lot of fun and Gabe was great for the whole trip. He seemed to enjoy rolling around in the stroller and attempting to grab flowers and leaves as the rolled by.

Gabe is becoming much more nimble. He'll now throw a ball wildly towards me and I roll it back, rinse, repeat. I'd say maybe 25% of the time he actually gets the ball to release towards me, but it is clear he's trying to. I like this new game.

I feel so blessed to have such a social happy baby!