Cutie Pie

Gabriel's sweet "cheese" smile still makes my day.
I love how relaxed and peaceful he looks when he's sleeping. We are still grateful that we found a way for Gabriel to fall asleep on his own. He looks forward to reading books with us and takes his "bunny banket" to bed with him.
Gabriel is talking up a storm, putting 2-4 words together to form thoughts. He is working on counting to 20 (he can say 1-10, then "telve, tirteen, sixteen, eighteen, nineteen"). He knows his colors, even li-bue and dark-bue. He knows his shapes and can identify animals and not just their sounds (sheep instead of just bah). His favorite toy is still his building blocks, especially if dad is home. He also likes his toy cars and drawing on paper with colored pencils.

Gabriel learned to say his own name about two weeks ago, which really helps communication. Gabriel has also learned to say Paul's name. Sadly, I need to just call Paul "dad" from now on and hope he answers. I think Gabriel mostly uses "Paul" when he's trying to get someone's attention.

While the initial excitement of a new baby is wearing off a little (although the nausea hasn't at all), we're still making plans and are happy. We're rearranging our bedroom to make room for a crib (this next baby WILL use it, hahaha). We decided not to worry about names until we know the sex of the baby. And I am nesting big time--I cleaned out our closet and have a huge desire to get rid of half our stuff.

Big Announcement - Very Excited

We can't hold the news in any longer--Gabriel is going to be a big brother!!

We had our first ultrasound last week. The baby is due March 12. (The second ultrasound to check major organs and sex will be in about two months.)

Line of Cars

Gabriel likes playing with his cars. They go, they jump, they go up and down hills, and they line up. I thought it was cute so I wanted to take a picture. At first Gabriel wouldn't let me use the camera, but I reminded him that he could see the image AFTER I took the picture.
So he posed and said "cheese" for the camera.

Water Slides

Paul's company picnic was held at Raging Waters today. We went and weren't too sure what Gabriel would like or would be old enough to do. Wow, were we surprised! He is SUCH a water baby! We put a little life jacket on him and he loved wading in the shallow pools and then going deeper to put his head under the waterfalls. The highlight was going down the small kiddie slides right into the pool of water. His head would go under for a second (before mom or dad caught him and pulled him upright). I was a little worried so I asked him if he was okay. He'd grin and say "more more" and I'd verify and say "You want to do it again?" and he'd say "YES!" with all his might. He was sad to go home and even asked to go back after he woke up from his nap.

We tried our own mini slide into a pool at home. Not even close to as much fun, but this is a cute video of Gabriel anyway. Sliding, talking, and painting.

Sly Park Camping

We all had a great time at Sly Park camping with Paul's family! The first thing Gabriel did as soon as he was out of the van was bend over and rub his hands in the dirt and pine needles!

I brought some playdough for Gabriel in case we needed a little down-time.
Paul's mom brought this ball-and-rope game.
We brought boffer swords too, a big hit with the kids.
Here's Gabriel having a nice walk along the beach. Paul and Gabriel played in the muddy water the first afternoon and Gabriel LOVED the water and splashing.
The three of us went on a great hike through the trees. Gabriel loved choosing which path to take and running along the trail.
The highlight for Gabriel (no pictures of this) was going down to the dry creek and throwing big rocks into the tiny puddle that was left. All the normally forbidden things (splashing, throwing things, playing in the dirt) were allowed.

ABCs

After we used it as a lullaby for so long, Gabriel now sings the ABCs throughout the day, unprompted. I tried to capture it on video this time. This is the second time through AND for the camera AND with a half-full mouth, so he's missing a few of his usual letters. Even at his best he skips some, but I still think he's adorable and so smart.

Backyard Camping

To prepare for our family reunion/campout with Paul's family next weekend, we decided to try camping in our backyard first. John and Everett joined us and the kids had a blast running in and out and around the tents. Gabriel slept between Paul and I in the tent (so we could share being kicked in the head!). I think it was a big success!
Paul BBQ'd dinner (hamburgers and chicken-zucchini-pineapple kabobs), and after dinner he made a wood flaming fire so we could roast marshmallows. Gabriel loved the graham crackers.