Christmas Lights

In downtown San Jose, they have Christmas Lights every year. They close off a few streets and set up small carnival rides sometimes. In the park there are sponsored trees and huge displays. Girl scout and cub scout troops and other organizations decorate Christmas trees which then line the sidewalks. In between the groups of trees, there are large... what are they called? displays: animatronic scenes of Santa and his reindeer or ice skating bears. It's fun. Here are a few pictures of our evening out. Gabriel loved looking at the lights, but was especially interested in his surrounding when we held him instead of leaving him in his stroller.

Christmas

We enjoyed a nice fire before driving around to our families for Christmas.

Gabriel, our sleeping angel.

We received so many wonderful toys for Gabriel this year for Christmas. We are so thankful for them all and love that they will last us all year long as he matures. Here is Gabriel trying out his Jump'n'Go doorway jumper. More pictures will appear with Gabriel's new treasures as the weeks pass.

Toes!

Back, by popular demand... heeeere's Gabriel! He recently found his feet and just managed to get his toes into his mouth. This trick is sometimes his first step from rolling from his back to his tummy, which he does all the time now. Of course, he's forgotten how to roll back over from his tummy to his back, so he gets frustrated after a little while.

Oh Christmas Tree

I'm certainly not a great photographer, but here's our Christmas tree made out of Construx. It was such a fun family project. I just put lights and a few ornaments on it and I think it looks great!! The best part is that the "branches" can hold the really heavy ornaments, unlike a typical tree.

First Solids

Gabriel has been fussy while drinking the last third of his bottle lately. We're not sure what the reason is. So yesterday (Monday), two days before his 5 month birthday, we decided to try something new to console him. We mixed the rest of the formula with a tiny bit of rice cereal. His first "solid" food! He loved it. He smiled the whole time and kept opening his mouth for more. So tonight, when he refused to finish his bottle again, we made him some more cereal. Again, all smiles. These pictures don't show how messy things got, but the majority of the food got in his mouth and was swallowed.

Construx

Here's a cute picture of Gabriel helping Paul build a roller coaster out of Construx for a tennis ball. A Christmas tree is next, pics soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a special Thanksgiving: Paul's older brother flew down from Washington. So Gabriel and his two boy cousins (all born within a year of each other) were together for the first time. It was great to see how quickly babies change as we observed the three cuties. We took pictures at the local park, here are the three dads and sons. Gabriel loved the swing though he was still a little too small.

After we got home Friday, we learned that the stomach flu had gotten passed around! I was sick all day Saturday and Gabriel got it that night. Paul is fighting it off currently. So if you're in the area, DO NOT stop by for at least a week (we don't know exactly how long the germs live).

Crawling

Paul said that Gabriel crawled two inches yesterday while I stepped out for an errand! Well, it was more of a scoot. He's definitely trying.

Rolling Over

Today is Gabriel's 4 month birthday! At his check-up appointment today he weighed an ounce shy of 14 lbs. Last night he decided to impress me by rolling over from his tummy to his back all on his own, TWICE. I tried to get him to do it again on camera this morning, but this time he didn't quite make it.

Giggles

Did we mention that Gabriel now giggles and laughs at times? We'll try to get it on video. He is also doing raspberries (tthpts!) now. Both with the tongue out and with just the lips. We had a fun evening with him the other night exchanging raspberries!

Belly Time

Hanging Out

Gabriel and Paul, hanging out together.

Little Pumpkin

We went to the family Halloween party on Saturday night. Here's our little pumpkin:

Bobble Head

We've been trying to get more video of Gabriel talking. However, he's gotten camera shy: just staring at the camera whenever we turn it on regardless of what he was doing two seconds beforehand. Paul took this of Bobblehead Gabriel. He is growing up and we know soon he'll have excellent head support.

Hands-Free

Yay for slings! Paul, Gabriel and I went to the mall today to get started on our Christmas shopping. We picked up this sling and had a great day!

Busy Times

We had another game party at our house this weekend. In part it was to celebrate Paul's 30th birthday! Yay! Sadly, my gallbladder surgery was scheduled at the last minute for Friday. I am getting better every day now. "No lifting anything over 10 pounds for two weeks." Yeah, right: Gabriel is over 11 pounds now. How am I suppose to not lift him?! It was a great weekend though. Paul got to spend time playing some of his Stone Tablet Games games with other people. We are both very thankful for all the help our moms gave us.

Here is Gabriel pouting (moody today) and a cute close up.

Ugee! Gabriel's first 'word'

This morning I was feeding Gabriel and when he finished the bottle, he cried and distinctly said "Ugee!", which sounds a good deal like "Hungry" to me. This came as no surprise to Rachel and I am forced to conclude that "Ugee" is his first word. I subsequently gave him to Rachel who breastfed him and he was happy.

Rainy Day

We lit a fire in our fireplace for the first time today. Orion isn't sure what this creature is. Gabriel likes it too because it is a bright light. Happy 3 months today, Gabriel!

Ode to Io

Io, our black kitty, suddenly had a stroke or something last night and died. He was less than four years old. Tail chaser, spider finder, blinds licker, mirror watcher, fly swatter, plastic muncher, talker, general spaz, and my shadow, we will miss him!

Funny video

Here is a video of Gabriel sucking his hand. He's been getting the blanket in his mouth lately too because he is starting to grab things. I'm not sure if he prefers the taste of the blanket or if it's just easier to get it in his mouth than his hand. (Naturally, the kitten had to get some attention too since the camera was rolling.)

Pig

It's the Chinese year of the Pig. Wikipedia says, "To bear children in the year of the pig is considered to be very fortunate, for they will be happy and honest." Gabriel looks happy to me!

Look Ma, Look Pa!

Such an accomplishment: Gabriel is finding his hands more easily. Here is a close-up of his concentration and a video.

Conversation

Gabriel is talking more and more, now at other times besides when sitting in his bouncey seat. Here is a video of him talking. (I'm experimenting with Google's blog video capabilities, so let me know what you think.) Naturally, as soon as I turned on the camera, he quieted down. Listen for his favorite sound to make: the squeak. He also moves his mouth a lot, experimenting with movements -- look at his tongue go!

2 am

Just thought I'd post a quick note to the blog. Gabriel has been "sleeping through the night" most nights lately, which in technical terms means he sleeps for 5 hours or more. So I feel great in the morning. On Sunday, he fell asleep around 7pm. I didn't think too much of it because often Gabriel takes an hour nap at noon or 2pm then again around 6pm. But he fell asleep at 7pm ... and didn't wake up. So Paul and I went to bed at 9pm. Hmm... 7pm plus 5 hours is ... midnight. Yup, Gabriel kept sleeping past midnight (thankfully), but now it's 2 IN THE MORNING and he's wide awake, ready to start the day. He's talking to me and wiggling around in his bouncy seat. What do you do at 2 in the morning? Do I get dressed and prepare for the day? Or do I hang out for an hour and hope he goes back to sleep like he usually does in the middle of the night?

Oh the joys of parenting. :)

Side Roll

Gabriel is just too cute! I had to post more pictures. He turned 10 weeks old yesterday and is over 10 pounds now. Gabriel can roll to his side. He has also found his hands, and if he tries, he can bring them to his mouth to suck on. He continues to talk and have conversations with us. He has a favorite word that he likes to say (hard to turn into letters here, something like: ooh-AAH-ooh) and has a darling yell right before he sneezes.

New Trick

After a few weeks of practicing, Gabriel grasped his toy keys for the first time tonight. This was while watching his father grasp a video game controller, so we know it won't be long now until they are racing together with Mario Kart.

Weekend

What a weekend we're having! Paul stayed home Friday with a cold and now I'm fighting it off. When I got up in the middle of the night, I saw this: I think Orion misses being my only baby.
In other news, Gabriel is getting better at holding up his head. He's been quite fussy lately, but still cute! I asked Paul to take a picture of Gabriel holding his head up, but Paul got me in the shot too. Oh well. Now you know what I really look like as a mother: no shower, no make up, messy hair, old shirt ...

Two Month Shots

Gabriel turns 2 months on Wednesday. He got his shots today at his pediatrician appointment. Here he is, wiped out from the ordeal.

Family Reunion

We went to Paul's family reunion this holiday weekend. It was fun. All Paul's cousins got to play together and this photo represents 4 generations!

Four Years

Wow, four years ago (as of yesterday) Paul and I got married!

What sweet bliss!

Meanwhile... on the other side of town

In between laughing with Gabriel, Paul has been working hard on more games for Stone Tablet Games. He is finishing up the Dungeon Escape! expansion pack. Here he is with his new toy, I mean, tool. A giant paper slicer. Yes, that's a phone book he just cut in two. This should make cutting the game cards much faster and easier.

Play Time

Real Smiles

Okay, I finally whipped out the camera fast enough to catch some of Gabriel's smiles. (I have a video too, but I'm not sure how to post that yet.) Both Paul and I are surprised that he is smiling this early in life, but I'm glad because his smiles make everything worth it!

First Bath

We gave Gabriel his first bath yesterday. He wasn't a big fan of the water, but he sure liked being clean!

Smiles

Cradle Rockin'

Gabriel is 4 weeks old today! Here is the cutie sleeping in the cradle my dad made for me (all those years ago). This didn't last long, he was awake and back in my arms minutes after this was taken.

Oh! And I think he had his first awake smile this afternoon. I had just finished feeding him, and he looked right up at me with big eyes and smiled an open-mouth-crinkled-eye smile. That was great, I look forward to more of that. I may even be able to get a picture of it someday.

Blessing

Here is our cute little family, taken on Sunday after church when Gabriel was blessed by his amazing father.

It was great to have almost everyone from our immediate families here! Gabriel was lucky enough to have all three sets of his grandparents here to celebrate.

Ducky Day

Here's a beautiful quilt my aunt Denise made for Gabriel.

Dancin'

Gabriel loves music, especially dancing with dad and hearing Paul sing to him.