The other day I laid Gabe down for a nap, turned the monitor on, and went downstairs to wash some dishes. Not too long after, what do I hear loud and clear through the monitor? My precious little angel ripping a big ol' gurgly fart into the baby monitor. After getting over the initial shock and disbelief that the sounds I heard came from MY FIVE MONTH OLD CHILD, I about died laughing.

Big Things!

Okay, I know. I say it every time--I SWEAR I'm going to be better about posting more often! I'm sorry, dear readers, that it has been so long since my last update.

SO much has happened since my last post in *FEBRUARY* (again, my apologies). There are way too many pictures and videos to post! I'll update my sidebar with new links to photo albums and videos so you can see what's been going on with your own eyes!

Gabriel started teething probably over a month ago, so he's drooling all over the place. Before I had a baby I was a little grossed out annoyed  put off by baby slobber. Ick. But now, it's as much a part of life as my own finger nails and doesn't bother me a bit. I actually have found time to laugh about the puddles of drool created by my little spit factory! I guess the fact that he's cute and he's mine makes it more than bearable.

The end of February was a momentous time--my baby boy rolled over!! He rolled from is back to his tummy. I was so caught up in the moment I didn't even think to grab my phone or a camera or anything--bummer. Also in February, Gabriel went swimming for the first time! (In a pool...which is sad since we live in Hawaii). He also had his first experience with baby cereal!



Then Gabe started sitting up unsupported around the middle of March. I was so proud of my little sugar lump!! And then, only a few days later, he rolled over from his tummy to his back! And THAT I have a video of!



Around the end of March, Gabriel started eating baby food! First peas and then carrots and squash and sweet potatoes. I figured it was okay to start feeding him 1st foods since 2nd foods are for unsupported sitters. They also say that your baby may be ready for baby food when he starts showing interest in what you're eating. Also, if/when they open their mouth up when you put a spoon up to it. He was showing all the right signs, so I decided to give it a try. There are those who are adamant about not feeding babies food (or anything but milk/formula) until they are six months old. I think, as with anything baby-related, it should be on a case by case basis. No two babies develop or grow at the same rate, so why set the same "rules" for all of them? Anyway, he LOVES peas. And carrots. And sweet potatoes. And squash. And apples. And pears. And bananas. And pretty much anything I feed him. He's such a good eater!

Gabriel is getting really good at grabbing things. It sounds trivial, but only a month or two ago, he was stuck staring at the things he wanted to play with. And even if I put a rattle or other toy in his hand he couldn't do anything with it....except stare at it. But NOW! he reaches for and grabs whatever he wants! That includes bottles! He can hold his own bottle now!

Lately he's been obsessed with travel kleenex packs (he'll play with one of those over any of his toys or teethers), his tongue (he recently discovered that he has one and he has control of it), and blowing raspberries.



I love my cuddly little lump of fat!! I was calling him Bubba Love for a while--I still do sometimes--and that warped into Boop-a-doo somehow. So I call him that or "Boop" for short. Sometimes I call him Sugar Lump. My mom calls him Chunkalump. LOL It's hard to believe, but we actually do occasionally call him by his given name.

Anyway, he's screaming for attention right now, so I'll end this here. If there is anything cool, weird, crazy, creepy, or otherwise "of note", I will let get it on here in my promised more oft-occurring posts!

Made Some Bibs!

I repurposed some cloth diaper burp rags and receiving blankets to make them into bibs for Gabe! For this project, I used: old receiving blankets and cloth diapers, crafting velcro, bias tape (for edges), and good ol' creativity.

First, I made a master template (which I didn't get a picture of) and traced out the shape on some cloth diapers - I used these pieces as a super absorbent filler layer.

Then I used the same template to trace and cut out the pattern on his old receiving blankets that I no longer use (the thin, cheap blankets that you get a million of from everyone since they come 3-5 to a pack for less than ten bucks).

I layered everything together and pinned on my velcro...

I wanted the edges to be pretty, so I went to Wal Mart and bought some bias tape in different colors. It comes in packages like this and is SUPER cheap (think less than $2--in HAWAII...so...cheap)

Then, we (my mom and I) simply sewed it all together (Thanks for your help, mom!! Things went to much faster with two hands doing the work!)

Here are a few of them we made. I think they turned out really cute!!

Gabe loves them--they are soft and comfy and they really do their job well! The cloth diapers in the middle do a great job of soaking up spills! I'd say these are the best bibs on the market--and the cheapest for their quality!