Sleep Update

First, here is a picture I took of Gabriel. He loves playing with these cords by the tv. They are color-coded to the slots they go into--red, blue, green, and yellow on the side.
Milestone to note:
It has been almost three weeks since I took an experienced mother's advice and tried a new sleep method with Gabriel. The difference in our lives is unbelievable!! He is happy to go to sleep, sleeps longer, and sleeps through the night. All wonderful things! The difference is that we tried the "let him cry for 10 minutes" method. The first night was the toughest, he cried for about 45 minutes before finally falling asleep by his bedroom door. The second night we couldn't believe that it worked--he fell asleep by himself after the normal stories, a few songs, and a "I love you, good night."

We did try this method at least three times in the past (5 mo., 6 mo., 9 mo.). The last try, Gabriel cried for two and half hours and then threw up he was so upset, even with us comforting him every 10 minutes. I think it really helps that Gabriel can understand that we're just in the other room. We can talk about his day together and he remembers and understands our words. And, of course, he has his bunny and blanket (he was never attached to anything in the past), and a Cookie Monster blanket for over his window to make it darker but lit from the back so he can see Cookie.

In the past, I (or Paul on my nights off) would read a few stories, sing several songs (and then sing some more when he kept waking himself up), and then hang out on the floor near him until he feel asleep, usually around 10pm plus/minus half an hour. Now we start at 8pm and are out of his room by 8:30. I am still figuring out what to do with all my extra time in the evenings now! I feel like a new woman. Paul and I feel like a couple again (instead of two tired parents sharing a house)!

Father's Day '09

We went to the awesome campsite and beach again for Father's Day this year. This year the weather was perfect! (Last year... not so fun with a 1 yr old in freezing weather.) Gabriel had fun chasing the waves, climbing tree stumps and the hills, and exploring rocks and weeds.

Happy Father's Day, Paul! You are a wonderful father! I knew you would be even when we were still dating. You are very patient and playful. I love to see you wrestle with your son and his loud laughter when you tickle him or chase him with his three-headed dragon. You come up with great games to play with him. You are good at keeping a level head when I get crazy. You make parenthood fun whenever you get excited about the newest thing your son is doing, sharing in our amazement at his growth. Thank you for going to your job every day. Gabriel misses you and asks for you throughout the day. But his "Daddy, daddy" dance when you get home is priceless!

Here is your adorable son, playing in the sandbox after ripping my dead mother's day flowers out of the pot and putting it on his head as his "hat." He wore it for the rest of the afternoon while outside.

Almost Two

My darling in overalls (he found those pockets on his own):
Making faces in the mirror:

Gabriel Can Count!

The other day Gabriel counted to 10 for the first time! He hasn't gotten quite all the numbers again since then (he has always confused 7 and 9), but it's exciting to hear him. I got the camera out and tried to capture it. I faced the screen towards him so he sees the "baby" that he points out at the end as he's counting.

Zoo

We went to the Oakland Zoo today. It was Gabriel's first time at the zoo. While it was a lot of walking for not a lot of animal seeing, I think he had fun. We saw the giraffes...
And the elephants.

And the highlight of the trip was the carousel ride at the end! Look at the big smile.

Recent Videos

Gabriel discovered he can stomp his feet to make drum sounds too. He was doing this with a giant proud smile on his face. Then I grabbed the camera... but you can still see that great big smile of his every once in a while.




Here's the video from today. This is right after he asked for the glove to put on his hand (so he could use it as an oven mitt).

Cooking

Gabriel has been interested in pretend cooking the last few days. Here he is stirring his magnet letters and scooping them with his favorite spatula.
He's being cute because he knows I'm taking his picture.
I cleaned out the garage of empty boxes and Gabriel has fun playing in and on them. Gabriel was "cooking" outside earlier and asked for a glove. I assume he was pretending to use the oven and needed the oven mitts. He sure pays attention to what we do!
I have great videos too, I'll see if I can post them later.