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!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
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.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Gabe and the Blocks
So simple the square,
That I rolled down the stair.
Oh please don't step there!
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.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Nine Months Out
Although my blog focus has been on the garden lately, Gabe has given us no shortage of things to be proud and amazed of. As of Monday he is nine months old, which means he’s been out now for longer than he was in. Last week tooth number three came through, with a good bit of drool. Gabe has taken some experimental chomps of my nipples that have caused me to yelp (while at the daycare, no less). This, alongside a greater appreciation for banana, avocado, bread, Cheery-o, carrot, potato, and rice, is becoming a demonstration of how Gabe is readying himself to leave the boobs and bottles behind.
Which reminds me: I need to get a photo of Gabe when he has painted himself with avocado. He can’t get enough of the stuff. We only let him feed it to himself on bath nights, because he has to be hosed down afterwards. Just the act of carrying him to the tub results in the necessity for me to change my shirt.
By far the most exciting news, however, is Gabe’s expanded hand vocabulary. He already has two hand-sings, of sorts; the flap – like he is trying to fly – indicates that he is excited and wants something. “Gimmie”. We are trying to teach him the sign for “more” but in the mean time, when he wants more of something, he flaps. And the “bwabwabwa”: back of hand dragged over his mouth while saying “aaaah”. He does this to tell the world that he is happy. I think. Or perhaps it is more as a way of calming himself down. I say this because he makes the gesture-sound as a way of self-soothing when chatting by himself in his crib, and also after vigorous play, when he is exploding with enthusiasm.
Added to these now is the clap! No, not Chlamydia, you sick puppy. He claps his hands! And he gets so very excited when you notice his clapping, and you applaud his efforts. If you start clapping he will beam and clap along. So not only does he do the gesture, but he recognizes that it means “fabulous, terrific, wonderful!”
Just days after he started clapping, I did a double-take: Gabe was looking intently at his own hand, and waving to himself, in that adorable little-kid bend-at-the-knuckles manner. And when he saw that I recognized what he was doing, wow was he excited. Instantly we had a game of waving and clapping, clapping and waving. Chris and Gabe and I have been rolling in the fun of this new game for days. “Bye bye Gabe! Oh, you waved back! Clap clap clap! Bye bye!”
Ah, over the monitor I just heard Gabe make a super cute coo in his sleep. Which reminds me, I need to get to bed. But first, about that gardening I mentioned: Gabe’s Garden is coming along nicely. Here is the view of it from the front window. It now needs mulch, more plants, and toys. I’m thinking if the weather is nice, and if Gabe is sufficiently mobile, we may have his first birthday party out there.
Which reminds me: I need to get a photo of Gabe when he has painted himself with avocado. He can’t get enough of the stuff. We only let him feed it to himself on bath nights, because he has to be hosed down afterwards. Just the act of carrying him to the tub results in the necessity for me to change my shirt.
By far the most exciting news, however, is Gabe’s expanded hand vocabulary. He already has two hand-sings, of sorts; the flap – like he is trying to fly – indicates that he is excited and wants something. “Gimmie”. We are trying to teach him the sign for “more” but in the mean time, when he wants more of something, he flaps. And the “bwabwabwa”: back of hand dragged over his mouth while saying “aaaah”. He does this to tell the world that he is happy. I think. Or perhaps it is more as a way of calming himself down. I say this because he makes the gesture-sound as a way of self-soothing when chatting by himself in his crib, and also after vigorous play, when he is exploding with enthusiasm.
Added to these now is the clap! No, not Chlamydia, you sick puppy. He claps his hands! And he gets so very excited when you notice his clapping, and you applaud his efforts. If you start clapping he will beam and clap along. So not only does he do the gesture, but he recognizes that it means “fabulous, terrific, wonderful!”
Just days after he started clapping, I did a double-take: Gabe was looking intently at his own hand, and waving to himself, in that adorable little-kid bend-at-the-knuckles manner. And when he saw that I recognized what he was doing, wow was he excited. Instantly we had a game of waving and clapping, clapping and waving. Chris and Gabe and I have been rolling in the fun of this new game for days. “Bye bye Gabe! Oh, you waved back! Clap clap clap! Bye bye!”
Ah, over the monitor I just heard Gabe make a super cute coo in his sleep. Which reminds me, I need to get to bed. But first, about that gardening I mentioned: Gabe’s Garden is coming along nicely. Here is the view of it from the front window. It now needs mulch, more plants, and toys. I’m thinking if the weather is nice, and if Gabe is sufficiently mobile, we may have his first birthday party out there.
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