Growing Up

Gabriel continues to grow and amaze us every day! He walks easily on his own and does so every chance he can. He usually only crawls to get to something to help him stand and walk. He loves to climb. And he is starting to go up and down steps while standing up and holding onto the doorjam or wall. Gabriel has been trying out non-baby food for a while, mostly bread products like graham crackers, animal crackers, bread, and bagels. Now he likes peas and corn and will eat fresh fruit if I hold it for him. Otherwise fruit is too slimy. He poked at a carrot once, but I think it was just because it was orange (his favorite color)!

Faces and Fathers

Gabriel plays peek-a-boo with the cat.

Gabriel's famous frown.

Happy Father's Day! We went to Kirby Cove again.
We're sad that it was so windy and cold, but we still had fun for a short time.

HOT Days

It has been HOT here the last two days, and it looks like today will be another one. Thankfully, our house doesn't get too hot. I broke out the water-in-tupperware again for Gabriel so he could splash and stay cool. We spent the late afternoon in our sunroom yesterday. It faces east and sits on the earth, so it cools off first. It is definitely not a baby-proof room, but that's okay. Lots of fun things to play with, heh.

Playing

We had a wonderful Sunday together as a family. Gabriel continues to walk whenever he can. He stands, takes a few steps, stops, then either he'll feel unstable and sit down or he'll continue walking sometimes in a new direction. The green&white boxes you see are on the hearth because Gabriel is climbing. I had just a case of water bottles blocking the fireplace, but that wasn't enough anymore! The other day, I got out the mini-futon (the size of a beanbag) for him to climb on. He loved it. He climbed up and went feet-first down. He even got on top of it, stood up! and jumped and clapped his hands. Didn't last long, but I was impressed.

First Haircut

I have been meaning to cut Gabriel's hair for a few weeks now, but I wasn't sure how. Do I buzz it? Do I take him to a salon? Do I cut it myself while he's asleep?

So today, when he woke up from his nap and was still mellow, I strapped him into his high chair and cut it myself. He was an angel. Very interested in the scissors, of course, but he was very patient with me. I was sad to cut off his curls, but now he looks like a little boy instead of a little elf. Here are some pictures of Gabriel right afterwards. The last picture is a "before" shot of Gabriel and Paul yesterday morning.

Walking Videos

Toys

Gabriel decided to take out all of his toys this afternoon. He spent quite some time pulling out each one and either tossing it aside or playing intently with it. I love his concentration here.