One of the hardest things for me to do as a mother is to watch my son grow up. While it is cool and fun to see him learn and develop, there's always this little sad peep in the back of my head because I want him to be my baby for ever. I try to focus on the positive, though! For instance, when he was super tiny - I could not wait for him to be able to hold his own bottle!! Don't get me wrong--I loved our special cuddle time when he needed to be fed! And I was happy to do it! But sometimes it was a little frustrating because there were things that needed to be done, and I wished I could just give him his bottle and put him in the boppy so I could finish my housework.

Fast-forward to a couple of months ago.

I got thinking, "You know....he can't drink out of a bottle forever. He needs to start getting used to sippy cups and straws and regular drinking cups..." So I went to the store that same day and bought him a few different types of "big boy" cups. Some were sippy cups with different types of spouts and then I bought one or two with silicone straws. I knew it would be a while before he would be able to use the straw ones, but I decided there was no harm in giving one to him now and then to let him practice and get used to it. Actually, I let him try it out that night. He didn't quite know what to do with it so after ten minutes or so, I poured the formula in a bottle and gave it to him. The next morning I let him try the straw again after he had his cereal. Guess what? He did GREAT! Second try and he nailed it!!

He still tries to tip it back sometimes...

I'm so proud of my smart boy!! But I'm also sad because that means he has taken another step out of "baby" and into "big boy"...  I'm not sure how I feel about that...

[Photos in this post are from 8/28/10]

Aub and Tobe

In mid-August, my sister and her husband came to visit and Gabriel got to meet his Auntie Aubrey and Uncle Toby! He really enjoyed playing with them!! You could tell these two are going to be a pair of pretty awesome parents one day--hopefully soon!! *wink*wink*

Well...that's all I got ta say about that...

[Photos in this post are from 8/18/10ish]

King of the Crib

Most moms know that the best time to get things done is usually..when? That's right--NAP TIME! You don't always have the luxury of scheduling around nap time though. Normally, I would just set Gabriel down and let him play, but I needed to get stuff done upstairs and the baby gate was nowhere to be found and I can't just let him crawl around upstairs and he's too smart/strong to use anything other than a baby gate to block his path...so I had to put him in his crib. I don't like to do that. 99.9% of the time, I only put him in his crib to sleep. That way, he understands that when he's in his crib it's time to SLEEP! So anyway, I put him in his crib with some toys so he could play while I got stuff done. My back was turned to him and I was busy in the closet when I smelled....baby wipes?

 WHAT are you doing, young man?!?!!

...caught ya...

So he knows he's caught, right? And what does he do?

KEEPS PULLING THEM OUT!! He would grab a diaper wipe, pull it out of the box, and then look at me like "...and? What mom? What are you gonna do?"

What a freaking turd, right?! So I turned the diper wipes around and removed everything else in the crib caddy..which left him with nothing to do because, OF COURSE, he doesn't want to play with things that are actually toys....meant to be played with....

So he just stood there. It was kinda funny. He mostly just stared at me...like he thought I would eventually give in and give the wipes back. But I didn't. I went back to cleaning. So then he starts yell-babbling at me! Ha! Like he's telling me off! Hahahaha--you had to be there! It was hilarious!

Then partway through his rant, he's legs decided not to stand anymore and he just dropped out of nowhere! LOL...he tried to recover like nothing happened...

...and then he continued telling me off...I suppose he was ranting about who was REALLY in charge here (not me)...it was his "King Of The Crib" speech...

"Forget about that...I did that on purpose. Now see here, mom..."

"I am in charge of what goes on in this crib! If I want to destroy an entire box of diaper wipes, I will do so AS I PLEASE!!"

"And another thing! I'm getting bigger every day and you can't tell me what to do!"

"Stop laughing!! This is serious!! I'm trying to lay down some ground rules and expectations here!!"

"Is this how it's going to be, mom? I try to assert myself and you just laugh at me? Fine...I'll show you...just wait 'til I'm 17..."

...and then his legs buckled again....

"Whoop! Down I go..."

*grunt* "Just...pretend that didn't happen....I'm really a lot bigger than you think, mom..."

He is such a funny kid and I am enjoying every second of his baby cuteness!! No mom could ask for a more awesome son. His personality just cracks me up! It will be hilarious to hear what he has to say when he can actually talk.... HA!

[Pictures in this post are from 8/8/10]

What is the legal driving age where you live? ... And when did you start driving? ... Really? My mom started teaching me when I was much too young to even have a learner permit. Mostly on back roads and deserted parking lots... Well, readers, it seems she has instilled in me the same reckless parenting philosophy when it comes to startin' 'em young...

My mom and I were running errands and she needed to "just run in real quick" somewhere....that "real quick" turned out to be a half hour or more... Gabriel got fussy. So I took him out of the car seat and gave him the wheel!! LOL He didn't quite know what to think and he mostly just sat there. (I had to actually put his hands on the steering wheel to get these pictures...) People were walking up to the car, though, and poking their heads right through the window to get a look!! Seriously, people? Back UP!! Get your stranger face away from me! They would pop in and be like "Aww...is the little guy taking the wheel now?" and "New driver, eh? heh heh heh..." After about the fourth freak stranger, I finally put him back in his car seat. I didn't know our vehicle would turn into a tourist attraction....geeze...

[Pictures in this post are from 08/02/10]

Little Muscle Man

Gabriel is doing more things faster and better every single day. He's so smart and so strong! I just love him.

[Photos and video in this post are from 7/29/2010]

My Lil' Champ

Brace yourselves--this is going to sound like bragging (and it kind of is). On top of being unbelievably adorable, incredibly hilarious, and oh-so-sweet, Gabriel is a super smart kid. He is very good at a lot of things. This post will be focusing on EASILY one of his greatest talents and passions:

EATING.

You may think your child is a great eater, buy mine's a PRO. Seriously. He will eat pretty much anything. (I even fed him some goat cheese last night...that's a post for another time)

BEHOLD!

 As soon as he learns how to open up jars, I'm in trouble...

If I don't move fast enough he will try to eat his bib, utensils, or any other unfortunate object within reach...

Sometimes, to make things easier, I just strip him down and let him go to town. After a jar of baby food, it's finger snacks! I'm learning which ones to feed him depending on the amount of patience I have left in me for the day (some get really messy...ugh)

 He LOVES these organic teether biscuits (biscuits in a way that a dog biscuit is a biscuit...which isn't a biscuit, in my opinion...) that I got for him at the whole foods store. They are not mommy-friendly though...

Everyone in the family insists on giving Gabriel all sorts of messy foods and snacks. They love watching him get all gooey and sticky--and he loves it too!! But guess who has to take the gooey, sticky baby out of the high chair and clean him up afterward? Yeah. That would be me.

 I have learned to ALWAYS ask the mother/parent if it is alright to give their child any sort of snack or treat. Messy babies make messy mammas....

Watch out, ladies and gentlemen. We have a champion food gobbler and mess-maker in our midst!

[Photos in this post are from 7/23/10]

My little baby is looking like a toddler and I hate it!!

Back in July, there was a PACOM (Pacific Command--all of the military in the Pacific...command....) beach party at Bellows AFS Beach. My mom, Mike, Gabriel and I all went and partook of the festivities. It was cool. Would have been more fun if I was actually a part of PACOM and knew other people there...but I didn't.

Anyway, if you've been to Hawaii, you'll know that (among many other birds) there are a LOT of pigeons and doves. Everywhere. Gabriel is a little unsure of other living things--besides humans, that is. So it was pretty funny to watch him stare at the pigeons. I couldn't tell if he was terrified or just really really curious...

He just watched it, though, so I think he was just curious. Pigeons are funny.

I am always so amazed at how much Gabriel is growing!! It's crazy! There are times that I look at him and think, "Holy crap--he doesn't even look like a baby. He looks like a little boy." and it makes me sad because part of me just wants him to stay a baby....

Mamma's big boy!!

[Photos in this post are from 7/23/10]