Do you hear what I hear?

Gabriel will often run to find me and ask me if I heard a sound that he heard- "You hear train?" "You hear dump/ garbage truck/ car" "You hear a boom boom?"  The boom boom is probably the most common sound he mentions to me.  Usually he is delighted by the sounds he hears, but occasionally we hear a really loud sound from outside or the people upstairs, which scares Gabe, and he will scream or cry, and then ask me if I heard the "boom boom".  After reassuring him that I heard it, and talking about what might have made the sound, his curiosity is appeased and he goes back to what he was doing before.

Indoor Fun

Sometimes you don't need toys to have a good time.

But simple, classic toys can hold my attention for a long time, especially at Grandma and Grandpa's house, in a cozy chair.

Building forts in the front room is exciting, especially if that means that Mom will come in too and play for hours...

... and even more when there are snacks involved...

... add in my favorite monkey, my cars...

... a good story...

... and my little brother, and I am a happy (indoor) camper!

Brotherly Love

This morning as I was getting the boys changed and dressed, I laid Luke down in Gabe's room while it was Gabe's turn to be dressed.  The boys are always aware of each other inasmuch as Luke watches Gabe's every move, and Gabe likes to know where Luke is, what he is doing, and he likes helping him be happy and entertaining him.  Anyway, when Gabe was done, he became absorbed in playing with his toys in his room, and I took Luke out into the front room with me.  A little bit later, I was blow drying my hair, and I heard crying.  I quickly turned off the blowdryer, and found Gabe who was crying in his room.  I asked him what was wrong, and he sobbed "Luke... where Luke?!"  Relieved that he wasn't hurt, I took Gabe by the hand and we went to the front room, where he was able to see for himself that Luke was doing just fine, at which point he went back to playing and all was well.

6 months old (Luke)

Luke turned 6 months old last week, and I thought I should probably document all the most important things about his life so far...

Some Stats:
Height:  26th percentile
Weight:  17th percentile
Head Circumference: 90th percentile
Teeth: 2

Likes:
Tickling- Luke is soooo ticklish.  He gets the biggest grin on his face and just giggles so cutely. 
Peekaboo- Lots of delight whenever we play this game (several times each day).
Watching Gabe play (Luke is intensely interested in whatever Gabe is doing, and is not happy if he can hear Gabe but not see him).
Binky- Luke still sometimes goes to sleep with his binky in his mouth, or just likes to play while he is sucking on it.  I think Gabe was pretty much done with the pacifier by 6 months old, but Luke seems to like it a lot more. 
Diaper changes (truly, this kid never cries during a change, and usually looks very happy to be freeeeeeee)
Rice cereal is starting to finally become a "like". Luke has been a bit slower on the uptake (or intake!) with solid foods, but I think he has caught on and is enjoying eating.  I started him on some carrots this week and he isn't sure what to think about them yet.
Water- filled teething toy that has been frozen.

Dislikes:
Drinking from a bottle (but will sometimes take one after a few minutes of cajoling).
Waking up from naps (super grumpy).
Being in his swing, walker chair or bumbo seat for more than 10 minutes. High pitched squealing and back arching start at that point.
Being on his tummy.  He immediately rolls to his back when we attempt tummy time.  I am pretty sure he can roll to his tummy but he just wont do it.

Luke is sitting up by himself but wobbles over after a little while.  Luke likes the bathtub, loves grabbing things and chewing on them, and being held.  He is in the stage where he wiggles on my lap when I hold him, trying to get his hands on things, but if I put him down, he realizes his mobility limitations and wants me to pick him up again, until he wants to be put down again....

 Luke has the cutest little chubby cheeks that are so nice to kiss!  He grins when we kiss him too, which is just adorable.

Luke is a very social baby.  He hasn't yet become anxious around strangers; he will grin at anyone and be content in their arms if they want to play with him.

Luke loves watching Gabe play, and he is very entertained by everything Gabe does.  Luke is very aware of what Gabe is doing.  I think when he is old enough to crawl he will follow Gabe around as much as he can to try to be part of the action.

We all love Luke dearly, and feel that he is a wonderful part of our family.  I almost can't remember what it was like (or at least I don't want to!) to not have him with us.  It is true about your heart expanding and your capacity to love increasing as your family grows. 

Blogging Delinquency

I have been not so good at blogging lately.  Oops.  I have posts that I have started and not published.  I guess I will try to catch up.  Part of the problem I think is that there isn't a ton of stuff going on that I could write about.  So I guess that leaves me with writing mostly about the boys, which is fine, since they are pretty much the biggest most interesting parts of our lives right now.

Let's see, BJ has been playing tennis quite a bit this summer/ fall with his brother in law Andy and is looking forward to playing racquetball as the weather turns wet and cold.  He has also been playing a little church basketball.  He is enjoying the exercise he gets from doing that- it is hard for us to find the time to be active with little kids and busy schedules, but we try!
I have been working a tiny bit in the cancer screening clinic at the Health Department, and also spending time working on things for my craft blog, which will soon move from its blogspot address to its own, new address.  My favorite projects from the last couple of months would probably be making a regular shirt into a nursing (breastfeeding) shirt, sewing infant scratch mitts, and recycling shoe boxes and magazines to make great wall art.
I have also been going to Zumba classes for the past few months, and I love it!  I can only get away 1-2 times a week to do it, but it is amazing the difference it has made in my energy level.  I feel really good.
Gabe is just too cute.  He says the funniest things.  He often calls BJ "honey" or "buddy".  It cracks me up.  He also occasionally calls us by our first names, which is also funny (for now).  He has a slight lisp that is cute and he has some trouble saying certain short words, like "green", but has no problem pronouncing "dinosaur".  He loves Luke, and Luke obviously loves him.
Sometimes it is hard to nurse Luke because he just wants to watch what Gabe is doing.  He is very entertained by Gabriel's antics.  Luke is a smiley baby.  He takes great naps but is not doing so great at sleeping at night.  We need to figure something out to help him sleep better.  It has been hard because he has been sick for a couple of weeks, so we have a smiley but somewhat grumpy baby.  It is kind of a bummer to not be able to use medicine to help him, but some of the things that have helped us make him more comfortable are the humidifier, "Little Noses" saline drops to thin those nasal secretions, letting him sleep in his padded carseat (it keeps him more upright, which makes breathing easier), and The Nose Frida (a kind of weird but very effective tool for aspirating baby noses).  Luke hates tummy time.  He doesn't cry any more, he just rolls over onto his back as many times as I put him on his stomach.  He is getting stronger.  He can almost sit up without help- well, he can already do it, but not for very long.  It's kinda hard to do when your body is in the 20-30th percentile for height and weight and your head is in the 90th percentile, you know?  Haha.  Luke loves playing peekaboo and snuggling with anyone who will hold him.  His cousin Marissa had him laughing hysterically last night at our family Halloween party (thanks, Danielle and Kirk for putting that together!) just by talking to him in a cutesy voice and pointing out things on his and her costume.  I love how cuddly Luke is right now.  He is also very grabby and wants to put everything in his mouth!  He has been teething like crazy.  He has two bottom teeth which came in a few weeks ago.  He will be 6 months old in a few days. 

We took some pictures of the boys in BJ's parents' photo studio.  BJ did a great job photographing them.  Gabe knows the drill for picture taking.  Luke was tired and on the verge of tears the whole time, but did pretty well too.



Love those boys!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I posted this on my craft blog earlier this month, and it occurred to me that I should post it here too, so here it is, read on if you have a minute:


I have posted about breast cancer before, but as October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the information bears repeating, I am reposting.  A part of my life that I don't really share here is that I am a public health nurse, and I work in a women's clinic where I do breast cancer screening and education. Consequently, I have come to feel strongly about early detection/ screening and being aware of your body. I hope you will take a minute to read/ review and maybe make a few changes in your life if necessary.

Breast cancer is a frightening disease. Most women fear that they or someone they love will get it. Our fears may or may not be well- founded, but they are made worse when we hear statistics like:

• Over 40,000 people will die of breast cancer this year; about 400 of them will be men.

• 85% of all diagnoses have no family history.

• 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. (Source: http://www.breastcancerawareness.com/facts.php )

Unfortunately, not all risk factors are things you can prevent, but here are a few things that can help you lower your risk of breast cancer:

• Exercise and make wholesome food choices.  Make an effort to maintain a healthy weight.

• Limit alcohol intake and smoking.

• Be aware of your family history. Talk to your doctor if breast cancer is in your family. This may affect the recommendations your doctor has for you.

• If you are approaching menopause, evaluate with your doctor whether hormone replacement is necessary for you or not. (Source: http://www.cdc.gov/)

In addition, set aside a few minutes each month to do a breast self- exam. Women, if you are at least 20 years old, you should be doing this (as well as getting an exam at the doctor’s office once a year)! I know you may feel uncomfortable, or it may be difficult to remember, but do whatever you have to do to remind yourself! Put a note or sticker somewhere you will see it, or choose to do it on your birthday- date each month. If you are at least 40 years old, you need a mammogram every 1-2 years (every year after age 50). Men, please encourage the women in your lives to do this- it may save their life. When breast cancers are detected early, women have an excellent chance of survival.  If you need a reminder on how to do a self- exam, check out this link that has step- by- step instructions: http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/About-Breast-Cancer/What-Is-Breast-Cancer/Breast-Self-Exam.aspx

I like to tell the women I screen that doing a breast self exam isn't really about following a rigid set of instructions or searching for cancer.  Thinking of it that way can cause anxiety that may cause you to avoid even thinking about it.  I recommend being aware of your body- becoming familiar with what is normal for you.  Think of it as a way to have peace of mind.  If you do notice a change, whether it be a lump, a change in color or texture of the skin on your breast, a change in shape or appearance of any part of the breast, or anything out of the ordinary that persists and doesn't resolve, you should have it checked immediately by a health professional.

As women, we so often put all of our energy into taking care of other people that we fail to take care of ourselves.  If you are not making your own health a priority, please consider that you can best care for those you love by keeping yourself healthy and, well, alive.  What I'm saying is that there really isn't any good excuse for not giving your health the attention it deserves.

If money or lack of insurance/ underinsurance is an issue, there are programs that offer free or low cost mammograms to women over 40 each year if you meet certain income requirements. The clinic I work at is one of these programs, and there are programs like this all over the U.S. You can check out the CDC’s website to find out if you qualify.

OK- one more thing. Take a minute to check out this video. It is about a type of rare but highly dangerous form of breast cancer called Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) in which there may not be a "lump", but rather changes in the outward appearance of the breast.  This can affect women of all ages, so even if you are not 40 years old yet, check it out, okay?

Happy Birthday BJ!

So happy to celebrate this day with you!  You are a wonderful husband and a great dad!

My "helper" Gabriel

Here are some of the things Gabe has done today to be helpful:

Doing dishes.

Entertaining Luke.

Feeding the monkey to keep him happy.

Good thing I have a son who does so much to help me (and make me laugh)!

Gabe stuff :-D

Gabe is at such a fun (and busy) age.  I admit sometimes I feel like pulling out my hair when I just can't seem to keep up with his energy on the days that he just runs from one thing to the next (i.e. this week when he sat on Luke, then poured a cup of water on the couch, dumped a box of cereal out onto the floor trying to get a snack, grabbed at the hot oven when it was open and barely escaped getting burned, climbed up on a kitchen chair to wipe his hands on the painting in the dining room, filled his diaper basket with Legos, balanced on the seat of his tricycle to push buttons on the television, climbed up on top of the entertainment center.... the list could go on and on...).  By and large though, he is very happy and fairly obedient for a 2 year old, and we seem to have gotten past the stage where he said "no" to everything automatically.  He rarely throws a tantrum when he has to stop playing to eat, or have a diaper change, but he sometimes does throw a fit if we try to take away his toy monkey while he eats.  He does on occasion have to go to time out, which is sometimes in the crib, and usually he will start yelling "happy!  happy!" to let us know he is ready to be happy and get out of time out.  He also sometimes says that in the morning after waking up- I think he is a little confused sometimes about why he is in bed.  He is communicating so much better, speaking in short sentences, and trying so hard to enunciate.  He has a very unique way of pronouncing some things:

Grandma is Ma-hmah
Grandpa is Bappa
Gabe is Babe
Marissa- Sassa
Cara- Caca
Collin- Lollin
Flower- Hlah-hlow
Geek- drink
Nannich- sandwich
Ice hmeam- Ice cream
Ded- red
Neen- green
Lue- blue
Puh-po- purple
Eh-hlent- elephant
Key-key- monkey and blankie
Mah-hmoom- vacuum

Gabe says so many other words, and for the most part they sound just like you would expect- normal pronunciation- and he is stringing more and more of them together.  He is learning to pray, and he is starting to anticipate what to say a little bit.  He really enjoys praying.  Gabe also does pretty good at saying please and thank you. I often remind him to say thank you, and one day after I had him pick up some books that he scattered all over the room, he said "Mommy, thank you Gabe!"

Gabe sings a lot.  He loves to sing "Baby Beluga", the alphabet song, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)", and a few others that he sings on his own during the day.  He also likes to sing along with us for "I am a Child of God", "Heavenly Father Loves Me", "Little Red Caboose", "How Much is That Doggy in the Window", "Jesus Said Love Everyone", "Jesus Once Was a Little Child", "Jesus Loves Me This I Know", and a bunch of other ones.

Gabe likes to point out colors, body parts, objects in the room, people in pictures, and foods.  He loves dancing.  He likes to try to count, usually saying "One, two, three... six!  EIGHT! Nine, nine, TEN!"  He knows his name and that he is two years old.

Gabe also recognizes the way to go to Grandma and Grandpa T's house.  He gets very excited in the car when we get close, and when we arrive, he is shouting "Ma-mah's house! Bappa's house! Yay!" and he runs into their house saying "Hey!"  He loves to grab his Grandma's hand and pull her out of the kitchen, into the family room, down onto the couch, and look at a doggy snow globe with her, or play with the stuffed dog and bear puppet that he has been fascinated with for about a year.

Gabe is tickled and gets so wound up when Marissa or Cara come over to visit. He is just beside himself with glee, and he runs around, jumps, screams, squeals, laughs hysterically, and generally makes a ton of noise at the attention and tickling he gets from them. 

Gabe loves giving hugs, playing with buttons and anything that is mechanical or technological. He loves being outside, going to nursery (finally!) at church, reading books, Thomas the Tank Engine, visiting with family, and looking at animals and things in nature.  Gabe really loves his monkey.  He carries it around for hours, puts it in the high chair, the baby swing, the bouncer chair etc.

Family Pictures

We took a drive up the canyon yesterday and really enjoyed the changing colors of the leaves- brilliant reds and yellows mixed in with the greens.  Gabe loved being up there.  We took pictures right before we left, so the kids weren't too thrilled at that point, but I think we got a few good ones.  Here are some of my favorites. All photos were taken by BJ's dad, Ron.

August

Here are a few pictures from the goings- on of August.  By way of explanation, we had my family here for almost a week while they dropped my sister Cara off at school.  We loved having them stay with us.  And we love having Cara nearby now.  I will post more updates soon.

4 months old- Luke

This is Luke in a nutshell:

Loves being tickled, playing peek-a-boo, being held, going for walks in the front carrier, being part of the action going on at any given time, and watching Gabe play.  He is a pretty "go with the flow" kind of guy- as long as he's getting attention, he isn't too picky about what's going on.

Likes binky, car rides (usually), sitting upright, being wrapped up tight to fall asleep, the baby swing, playing in the baby gym, trying to put toys and fingers in his mouth.

Dislikes: being cold, hungry (well, don't we all?), um, can't think of anything else at the moment that he doesn't like.

About half the time, Luke sleeps around 7 hours at night, but he also frequently wakes up at 4am to eat.  He would probably go back to sleep if I didn't get up and feed him, but you just don't think of these things very clearly in the wee small hours of the morning when your baby is STILL IN YOUR ROOM.  (What am I thinking?  It is definitely time for Luke to move to Gabe's room.)  He is a fantastic napper, however.  I love that he takes 2-3 decent naps a day (1-2 hours each).

Luke is a pretty happy guy.  It is easy to make him smile and laugh, and he seems to be trying to be happy even when he is not feeling well (like last week when he was super congested and struggled at night for several nights).  He, like Gabe as a baby, is serious about eating.  He gets hungry and he must eat right now!  He is pretty solid, and all that chub makes for delicious cuddling and cheek smooching!

Luke now has a head of fuzzy hair, and I get the feeling he is going to have my complexion: the reddish hair, the freckles, light skin, the whole bit.  

It is such a miracle the way babies so quickly entwine themselves into your heart and you almost cant remember what it was like without them.  I so love my little Luke, and his smiles just melt my heart.  Life isn't necessarily a bed of roses all the time, but those smiles help me get through the crazy puke-and-multiple-blowouts-in-public days when I have to take him home practically naked because he messed every single outfit in the diaper bag while we were out.  Not that that ever happens to me.  Ha. Really though, Luke radiates love and happiness and is really delightful to have around- we love him so much!

Anniversary

We celebrated our 6th anniversary a few days back.  Time does seem to fly.  To celebrate we went out for dinner and to a dessert cafe which was yummy, and I surprised BJ by taking him golfing, or letting him take me golfing, however you want to look at it.  He has been saying for some time that he wanted to teach me to golf, and I thought this might be the perfect time, since I was planning the activity and knew that he would never expect me to choose this for our anniversary.  I had a fun time teasing him about what we were doing, and at different times during the evening he thought we were going to the movies, to a play, an outdoor theater, and dancing.  Haha.  It is the first time I have been able to pull off a surprise for him without totally giving it away.  Anyway, we did have a fun time golfing, despite a minor sprinkler incident for which we were refunded our money (but that's a story for another time perhaps).

I'm glad that after six years, BJ is still my best friend, my sounding board, my stand up comedian, my debate partner, cooking companion, and a patient and engaged father to boot.  There are a hundred more things I could say, but I will spare you the mushy-ness for now and just say that it has been a good 6 years with BJ, and I couldn't be happier about the next 60 (at least!).

Funny Stuff

The other night I went to check on Gabe and he was talking in his sleep.  He kept saying "Hlay. Daddy! Hlay!"  "Hlay" is how Gabe says play, and he says that to me many many times over the course of a day; i.e. "Gabe, do you want to eat some lunch?"  "No! Hlay!"

I went to an exercise class this week and I put on a brightly colored headband.  Before Gabe went to bed, he said, "Mommy!  Cool hat!"  He also loves to wear his hat I made him this week.  It is a big boy hat. 

Gabe is finally starting to speak in short sentences at times.  When BJ leaves in the mornings to go to work, Gabe usually says "Bye Daddy! I love you! Daddy bye-bye- car."

Luke has been laughing more and more this week.  He thinks that blowing rasberries/ the elephant sound is especially funny and he tries to imitate.  He blows bubbles and gets drool all over himself but he just grins so big like it is his favorite thing in the world.

 We put Luke in the baby gym thing with music and toys and lights.  Just like with Gabe at first, it was a bit overstimulating.  He was so excited; with his gasping and kicking and flailing he looked like he was going to fly away.  Luke has also started grabbing toys with purpose.  He has some spinning toys on his chair that he bats at over and over.  Gabe tries to get in on the fun too.  

I have had a hard time getting Gabe to eat new foods this week.  However, he sometimes brings a toy or stuffed animal to his chair when he eats.  I have been able to get him to eat something after pretending to feed it to his monkey or bear or cat first.  He laughs and laughs and opens his mouth to eat it.

Bumbo seat: Is it worth it?

Photo from http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3433615

Has anyone used a Bumbo Seat for their baby? Luke is 3 months old and wants to be sitting upright most of the time, but the baby seats we have for him are reclining.  I did not have one of these with Gabe, so we have never tried one out.  They cost around $40 which seems like a lot for a baby seat that will only be used a couple of months.  I guess I am wondering if it is worth it? What are your thoughts?

3 Months Old

I can't believe my little baby Luke is already 3 months old.  That seems so crazy to me, and it makes me wish I could slow time down a bit.

On the other hand, I love interacting with him, and all the grins and coos he gives, and other vocalizations that are so cute.  He started laughing a few days ago, not quite a giggle yet, but a more explosive laugh- a ha-ha, like he doesn't quite know what is happening to him.  It cracks me up.  He smiles a lot at Gabe when he comes close.  Gabe imitates me and in his sweet, high little voice says "Hi baby Luke" over and over and pets Luke's head.  He will sometimes try to stick Luke's binky in his mouth, or share his toys with Luke.  He knows how to work all the buttons and switches on Luke's swing and bouncer chair.

Luke holds his head up on his own and likes to be held upright, not so much cradled, unless is going to sleep.  He still sleeps fairly well, although lately it has been not quite as great because of the teething.  Bleh.  The poor kid and his swollen gums.  I can still feel a corner of a tooth popping out, but it hasn't changed much from last week, so I wonder how long it is going to last. 

Bottles aren't his favorite things, but Luke takes them pretty well.  He also seems to like his binky more than Gabe did.  He doesn't want it all the time, but he likes it when he is starting to get bored, hungry, tired, or having aching gums.

I love my little Luke!  I'm so in love with him, just like I was with Gabe- it's really true, more kids doesn't mean dividing up your love, it means more of it to go around!

Teeth!

It makes me want to cry that my almost- 3 month old is cutting teeth.  This didn't happen with Gabe until he was almost 6 months old.

It is also weird to me that my 2 year old has 20 teeth.  And has for a while.  I guess I have toothy kids. 

Wah.

2 1/2 Months Old

I have been meaning to post about Luke; funny how my days just seem more packed with "stuff" and I don't get as many chances to blog as I used to.

Luke is such a great addition to our family.  He is so mellow.  Gabe adores him, and Luke is so tolerant of all the hugs and kisses he gives him.  I love Luke's smiles.  They are so radiant, and sometimes he just scrunches up his little nose while he grins and coos and it is about the cutest thing.  I love when babies start smiling socially.  That has probably been going on for 3-4 weeks. 

Like Gabe, Luke loves to be held and doesn't seem to like (actually hates) tummy time, so I'm trying to figure out what to do about that.  He has spent a fair amount of time in the front pack when we go on walks, and it cracks me up that he falls asleep in less than a minute after being put in the baby pack.  However, if I put him in and we stay around the house (i.e. no constant walking, just doing chores or something), he starts whining and squirming.

He sleeps pretty well; he takes a couple of naps during the day, anywhere from 45 min to 2 hours at a time.  At night it depends.  Some nights he will sleep about a 4- 5 hour stretch, and some nights he will sleep 6 or 7 hours in a row.  It just depends.  I try to be pretty consistent in the bedtime routine, so I really have no idea what makes him sleep longer sometimes.

Luke has plugged tear ducts like Gabe did.  It's not really a problem, but his eyes sometimes get goopy, and it predisposes him toward eye infections.  Fortunately, we keep antibiotic eye drops on hand, so we can take care of it quickly. 

We finally got out the baby swing and Luke seems to like it.  So does Gabe, unfortunately, so we are doing our best to teach him how to act around the swing when the baby is in it- i.e. leaving it alone.  Luke likes being in the swing best when I am very near him, and he can watch what I am doing.  It is my favorite place to put him while I clean, cook, or fold laundry because he is high enough that he can pretty much see everything, and he is happier and I can get more done.

Happy Birthday #2 Gabriel!

We had a fun little celebration for Gabe's 2nd birthday this week (we had one a week or so ago with my family in CA as well, but I wasn't really prepared to do a party while we were on vacation).  We didn't do anything particularly exciting in the afternoon, other than Gabe got to eat goldfish crackers in the living room while he watched some clips from 40 Years of Sunny Days (best of Sesame Street).  In the evening, we met BJ's parents for dinner at Cracker Barrel and had a nice visit, then we all came back to our place and watched Gabe open his presents.  I guess we all chose well, because once he figured out that opening presents got him new toys, he was jumping up and down and squealing with each one.  He is crazy about vehicles of any kind, so he loved his tricycle, cars, and train set that he got.  Since he is always standing up and making his cars go across the entertainment center, we thought it would be good to get him a little table and chairs that were just his size.  He loved it.  Kind of a lot of big-ish gifts this year, but he was ready for some big-boy toys, and all our kids will benefit from this stuff, I guess.  Anyway, I think BJ and I had at least as much fun as Gabriel watching him unwrap all his stuff.  We had planned it for quite a while and we were pretty excited!



Gabe just cracks me up.  When I give him a stern look after he does something slightly naughty, he tells me to be "bappy"- which is funny since we tell him to be happy when he is throwing a tantrum (or have timeout).  I can't help laughing.  Lately his favorite word to say is "no" (welcome to the twos)- even when he doesn't actually want to decline something.  So he will say no first, then what he really means.  Example: "Gabe, it's lunch-time.  Do you want to eat a sandwich?" "NO! Sess..." (Sess= Yes)  "Do you want a drink of milk?" "NO! Guk..."  "Can I have a kiss?" "NO!..."- he gives me a kiss.

Gabe wants to know what everything is.  He brings me an object and says "uhtsiss?" until I tell him what the object is named, then he repeats it several times.  He has names for most things he comes in contact with.  They don't always sound much like their real name, but he sure tries!  He has been really fascinated with letters of the alphabet, and of his own motivation has learned the letters X, O, F, B, T, V, and Y, and identifies them correctly almost all the time.  We often hear him singing or humming the tune of the ABC song/ Twinkle Twinkle Little Star- occasionally singing a phrase, then going back to humming.  Recently, we wondered if he knew the words to any other songs that we often sing him, so we made up a little game where we sing a song, omitting the last word of a phrase, to see if he would sing the word- and most of the time he does!  It was so fun because after doing that for a while, he started singing even more words of the songs along with us.

Gabe continues to love on Luke.  He rocks the baby in the baby seat, he pats his head and tummy, puts a pacifier in his mouth (sometimes after tasting it himself), sings the baby songs (usually Baby Beluga- we're not sure, but he may think Baby Beluga is Luke), and occasionally tries to share his toys with Luke.  For a while he was calling Luke "Eeeee", then "Lllll", then it was "Doot", and now it is "Guke".  Gabriel still refers to himself as "iyel"- sounds like the last part of his name. 

The changes I notice in Gabriel's development seem to be coming more and more quickly.  Sometimes I feel like time is passing way too fast.  Then again, it's fun to see what comes next.  I look forward to what the next year brings.

We're back!

This month (um, I mean June- last month!) has kind of just whizzed on by!  Here are some pictures from the last month.  We had a few significant events I should probably mention:

On June 6th, we blessed Luke.  My parents were able to fly down and most of BJ's family were able to be present, which was great.

We embarked on a 12.5 hour (each way) road trip to meet my family at Yosemite National Park.  My parents and siblings still at home were there, as well as Marissa and Richard, who live about 2 hours away from Yosemite.  This was our first real road trip with the boys, and they did great.  I really couldn't have asked them to do any better.  Gabe was obviously sick of his carseat on the way back, so there were a few minor meltdowns, but he did way better than I expected, and I guess that means we may have more road trips in our future.  We did some fun things while in California, including: descending 165 feet down a spiral staircase down one of California's deepest limestone caves (we didn't go all the way to the bottom though- it was over 400 feet deep), doing a 1/4 mile zip line at 40+ miles per hour, hiking and sightseeing in Yosemite, hiking through Big Trees State Park with the biggest trees I have ever seen, having a little early birthday party for Gabriel, and lots of swimming, tennis, ping pong and visiting.  I love my family!  It was nice to have everyone together (of course we missed my brother Tayler, who is serving a mission in Australia)- it seems like it is getting harder and harder for us all to be together.

Anyway, here are the pictures:

Most Common Words

I made this word collage on www.wordle.net.  It shows the most common words I use in this blog... I guess Gabe is on my mind a lot!

Funny Gabriel

 Gabe has been a busy little boy lately!  He keeps me laughing constantly.  I couldn't possibly write every single thing he does (although I wish I could so I could remember every thing about him at this age) but here are some of the things he has been doing/ saying this week:

This little sunsuit is from BJ's Great Aunt Peggy- had to take a picture of him in it for her.

Words
"ahsiss"= what's this?
"guk- guk"= dump truck, any kind of truck
"leeleelolo"= mini loader (tractor)
"att-ol"= apple
"do-ckie"= broccoli
 "ah lo lo"= I love you (accompanied by signing)
"Dute"= Luke
"nu-nu-noh"= no no
"oh-ee-oh-ee-oh"= cheerios, cereal
"annow"= hanger
"ya-ya"= tortilla
"wwwhy"= away
"lallow"= yellow
"c-c-how"= after we say "c-c-cow" -usually says "how" for cow
"hi daddy; hi baby, hi mommy"

 "hen! baht-baht-baht"

Singing
-abc song- "a-d-c-d-e-e-e-o-e-o-e-d-e-d-e-c-e-c....", sings the right tune and everything, but gets stuck in a loop and can't remember the tune for the last phrase.
-"lalala" to whatever tune
-Old Mac Donald Had a Farm- "Yi-yi-yo" and animal sounds
-How Much is that Doggy in the Window?- "wuff, wuff"- between each phrase

This picture is priceless!  Gabe is wearing some 3-D glasses.

Funny/ Cute Things
-Kisses- All the time.  In church on Sunday, he kept kissing me on each cheek and the lips, over and over, and leaning his head on me and making an "awwwwww" kind of a sound.  He still kisses Luke many, many times each day.  He sometimes still says "muah" but usually he makes a real kissing sound.  Also, he is enjoying blowing kisses- it's adorable!
-The other night I was up around 4 am after feeding the baby and I went to check on Gabe and cover him back up, and he sat straight up, said "cheese", and laid back down and was totally asleep the whole time!  Haha.
-Poor guy has been teething again. He has 10 teeth, and is working on 12- the last 4 are big molars. (What the heck? He is still only 1!)
-loves wearing glasses
-Gabriel is the kid who throws bark chips at the park.  Yep, the swing is a fairly good attraction, slides not so much, but the real excitement is grabbing handfuls of barkdust and throwing them at the play structure, on the slides, or just up in the air.  And screaming (with delight).

Gabe with Grandpa C. on Luke's blessing day.  Cool dudes! (Gabe always says "coo" after he puts sunglasses on.)

5 Weeks old

 I know I said this when Gabe was a baby, but it's still true- the days seem to go by so slowly, but the weeks and months just zoom by!  I can't believe that Luke is already 5 weeks old.  He has already changed so much.  

He is holding his head up for longer periods of time, and looking around, watching Mommy and Daddy, and of course Gabe as he runs around the room.  He takes a bottle and his binky pretty well, which is a relief.  He seems to prefer nursing but at least he doesn't reject the bottle.  He is starting to smile more, which we love!  Those smiles are so precious!

We usually put Luke down to sleep for the night at around 11:30pm after one last feeding, and then he will sleep for several hours, waking up anywhere from 3:30am to 5:30am to eat again.  Luke is a pretty mild- tempered little baby.  He does fuss a bit in the evenings, not so much crying as whining, grunting, and grimacing as he tries to find a comfy position.  He also rubs his face which is not good since he has sharp little fingernails.  He seems to have trouble getting burps up, and he also gets hiccups that BJ terms "ferocious" quite often.  BJ is really good at helping him in the evenings- Luke cuddles right up to him and calms down better than he will for me at that time.  

I made these little mitts to keep Luke's face from getting all scratched up.  I made a pattern and tutorial which I posted here for those interested in making some.

 Thankfully Luke is very tolerant of Gabriel's love for him.  He gets squished a few times a day before I can run over and save him from the hug Gabe is giving him.  He also gets lots of kisses on the head and pats all over as Gabe says "sass" (soft) over and over again.

I love watching Luke grow, but it kind of makes me sad at the same time.  I love that newborn smell, and the way he just melts into my shoulder when I hold him.  I love his rolly-polly chubbiness, and how soft his skin is.  He has the same fuzzy hair that is long in the back and nearly bald in front that Gabe had as a baby.  His umbilical cord stump finally fell off a few days ago- it took quite a bit longer than Gabe's to fall off, and it was a bit of a shock, since I had just checked it minutes before, then had to change his diaper while we were in the car in the zoo parking lot- and it was gone!  I found it in my lap... ew.

Luke in the front pack at the zoo.

 Luke loves riding in the front pack.  He just relaxes immediately and goes right to sleep.  He was happy for several hours that way at the zoo on Monday, and we often go on walks outside with Luke in the front pack and Gabe in the stroller, which works really well for me. 

I'm not exactly sure how much Luke weighs now, but I'm guessing it is between 10 and 10 1/2 pounds. 

I love this sweet little boy!

Gabe and Mother of Two

It's time for me to write another Gabriel update... so here's what's new.

Gabe is 22 1/2 months old and definitely starting to act like a 2 year old.

He is such a good eater.  He eats mostly anything we give him, including most vegetables and fruits.  His favorites are broccoli (cooked or raw), green beans, grapes (really, all fruits), and any vegetable with dressing on it, preferably Ranch.  He even eats spinach salad.  :D  The only thing he is really picky about is that he will NOT eat food if it is hot, warm, or even lukewarm sometimes (maybe with a little coaxing).  It has to be room temperature or refrigerated- cold.  He also cries if he eats anything remotely spicy.  He regularly asks for drinks throughout the day- by signing "water" or milk" or saying "dzus"- juice.

His fascination with animals and motor vehicles continues.  He makes the sounds all day.  He loves seeing the real things or playing with his toys.  Cows, horses, and ducks are his favorite animals.  And dogs. And birds.  Haha. He loves trucks and tractors, anything that is big and makes noise.  Whenever we hear a train passing, he stops and imitates the whistle, over and over until I say "Yes, that is a TRAIN."

Other things that are fun to Gabriel are going outside, practicing jumping, dancing to music, scribbling on paper with a pencil, and reading books.  Lots and lots of books.  All day, every day.

 
Here is a picture of Gabe with all his favorite toys.  He is almost never without the yellow car he is holding.  I don't know if he just loves the color yellow, or if we are forcing that on him by buying all the cool stuff only in yellow. 

We are seeing a very sensitive side to Gabriel develop.  He seems to understand people's emotions and take them to heart.  If you smile or laugh at something he does, he gets very happy and does it over and over again.  If he does something naughty and we act really sad, he will cry.  For example, a couple of nights ago, Gabe was stepping on BJ's feet over and over again (he does this to us a lot when we are sitting on the couch, and we have been trying to discourage it for quite a while), looking at us and deliberately stepping down to see our reactions.  BJ decided to try the sad approach, so he said "Ouch! That hurts me!" and looked really sad.  Gabe looked so forlorn that I had to laugh quietly and cover my mouth- Gabe looked at me and must have thought I was crying.  Poor boy.  He started sobbing, so dejected, and eventually started hyperventilating.  It took a few minutes of comforting him, telling him he wasn't in trouble, Daddy was ok, but to not step on his feet etc. until he was calm again.  Then he signed "I love you" to BJ.  It melted our hearts.  If someone is sad (unrelated to anything he might have done) he goes and hugs and cuddles with them much longer than he would normally allow.  Also, we finally imported the videos on our camcorder onto our computer, and I watched a few of them yesterday afternoon, including some from Luke's birth.  I thought Gabe might be interested in seeing the baby right after he was born, but the baby started crying hard from being suctioned etc. and it showed him with the CPAP machine on him in the NICU, and it was just too much for Gabe.  He was crying, and saying "beebee" and started trying to drag me away from the computer.  Needless to say, I stopped the video, and we went and looked at the baby in the bassinet to show Gabriel that the baby was ok.

Some of Gabe's recently evolved words:

"hemmee"- help me
"hao!"- help
"doggy"
"ducky"
"how"- cow
"hat"- cat
"coo"- cool
"dats"- pants, dance
"soss"- socks
"suz"- shoes
"suss"- bus
"haow"- car
"tee"- tree
"wowie"- wow!, owie, flower
"sasses"- glasses
"nuh-nuh"- no-no
"deet"- eat
"vaff"- bath, giraff
"oo-oo-oo-ah-ah-ah"- monkey
"duh-duh-doh-doh"- bulldozer
"di-di-doh-doh"- mini loader (from his tractor book)
"dut-dut"- dump truck/ tractor

One of Gabe's favorite places- behind the couch, looking out the window, waiting for cars to pass.

Gabriel seems to love everything about Luke, constantly wanting to kiss, hug, and poke him, and he doesn't show any resentment toward him.  That said, I am seeing him go through an adjustment period which I assume has to do with having the baby around (who incidentally comes with a new set of rules) and me spending time taking care of the baby, feeding him, etc.  He is acting more emotional, and misbehaving more, testing the limits, and doing things he knows he isn't supposed to do, while watching to make sure I am looking.  He obviously wants more attention, and I am trying my best to be patient with him and make sure that I stop what I am doing more throughout the day and give him my undivided attention for a while.  Honestly though, some days it is all I can do to hold it together until BJ gets home and gives me a little break where I can disappear for a while.  Sometimes I feel so frustrated with myself- I want to be the perfect, fun, patient, educational, multitasking, calm mother.  Instead I often feel like the boring, frazzled, frumpy, tired and deadbeat mother.  I don't feel like I have postpartum depression, although at times I have definitely experienced the baby blues.  I don't want to turn this post into a downer!  I am generally happy, and grateful for the way my life is going right now.  Luke is easy to take care of so far.  I really think Heavenly Father sent me this baby with this personality at this time for a reason.  He sleeps quite a bit right now, which allows me to get some things done and take care of Gabe, and when he cries, it is really more of grunting, grimacing, and whining- not screaming, which caused me so much anxiety when Gabe was a little baby.  I guess I am just trying to get into a routine and figure out how to take care of two kids and keep myself sane and relatively pleasant to be around.

Some things that I learned from having Gabe which I have been trying to do since Luke was born (some more successfully than others) and which have helped me are:
-Take a shower and get dressed in real clothes every day.  No exceptions.
-If possible, do hair and some minimal makeup.  Not a must, but if I can manage it, it makes me feel more put together like somehow I can face the world better.
-Go to bed earlier.  This one is a "duh" but every night I am so tempted to stay up late after the kids are asleep so I can do... whatever I want.
-Eat better, drink more water.  Since I don't have a pregnant body demanding I eat every 2 hours anymore, sometimes I actually forget to eat and drink- not a good thing.  I try to remember to do both, and especially drink to prevent myself from getting dehydrated and my milk to dry up.  >shudder<

This time around I have also learned not to try to take a nap when the boys nap (at least at this time).  Yes, I know it sounds strange.  Usually people say "Sleep when the baby sleeps."  I found I was getting so frustrated when I would try to nap, and one of two things would happen.  Either one would go to sleep and the other would wake up, or I would lay down and just start to drift off into delicious sleepytime, and wake up with a start to the sound of a crying baby.  Just plain frustrating.  So, where possible, we have been trying to go to sleep earlier, and BJ gets up with Gabe in the morning and lets me sleep an extra 30 or 40 minutes in the morning.  That does help.  I think things will continue to change and we will figure out other solutions too.

Anyway, lest it seem that I am unhappy or discontent, I assure you I am not; I believe I am adapting to being the mother of two like most moms- with a few growing pains.  That said, I welcome any advice on helping toddlers adjust to having a new baby in the family- this is a new experience for me!

I am certainly grateful to have these sweet boys in my life (the two little ones, and one big one- he's sweet too! Although I should say man, not boy...).  I love each of them so much.  It's amazing (but not surprising) to me how Luke has fit right in and nestled his way into our hearts so quickly.

Luke's Birth Story

Well, I wrote out the events of Luke's birth as I remember them, and I was about to copy and paste it into this post, but realized it was waaaaay too long.  Instead, I will post an abbreviated version here, and for those who are interested/ fascinated with childbirth like me, I will post the link to the whole thing at the bottom of the post.

So Tuesday night I was feeling very anxious to go into labor since Wednesday was my actual due date and I wanted to have the baby before Marissa and Richard left on Thursday, and my mom came to help on Friday.  We tried all sorts of things to get my labor started, but nothing seemed to be working, so we laid down to go to sleep, and finally the contractions started coming.  We timed them for an hour and when they were 4-5 minutes apart, we called Marissa and Richard over to stay with Gabriel while we went to the hospital.  They monitored me for an hour or so then admitted me around 3:00am-ish.  We waited for things to start picking up, but instead my labor seemed to stall.  We were kind of disappointed but looking back, I think it was a blessing because it allowed us both to get a few hours of sleep that night.  I was able to be put on intermittent monitoring so I could walk the halls and try to get things going, and it probably helped a little bit, but in the mid morning I hadn't progressed past 4+ or 5 centimeters (I was 4 cm when I was admitted) so we decided to allow the doctor to break my water.  I felt no change for the next hour, and then BJ and I decided to use some of the childbirth hypnosis techniques we had been practicing, and BJ helped me visualize my labor starting up again, and allowing the contractions to become strong and do their work.  It worked; almost immediately after we started doing that, my contractions picked up, and things got intense fairly quickly.  Things continued to intensify and progress for the next 4 hours or so, during which time BJ was my main support, talking me through each contraction and helping me visualize being relaxed and calm.  I also listened to a few hypnosis tracks on my iPod, but mostly I preferred having BJ help me- he had a very calming influence on me, and he was so helpful in keeping me comfortable and relaxed.  It seemed like every time the nurse or doctor checked me, I had hardly made any progress, and I was feeling a little discouraged, thinking that I couldn't go on much longer, and I would have to have an epidural.  I was also fighting the "urge" to push (eventually not just an "urge"- but a sensation that my body was taking over and overriding what my mind was wanting to do) for about an hour since I wasn't fully dilated.  Then, it seemed like all of the sudden the doctor was telling me I could go ahead and push, which was so much more comfortable than trying not to.  I pushed for nearly 15 minutes, and Luke was born at 3:42pm, being 9 lb. and 19 inches- quite a chubby baby!  It was such an amazing feeling to look at him and know that he was finally here and that I was able to avoid having an epidural and forceps and many other interventions that we had when Gabriel was born and which I had wanted to avoid so badly.  The doctor actually said that she didn't think I would have been able to push such as big baby our on my own if I had gotten an epidural, so I was glad that it worked out the way it did.  Unfortunately, Luke was not breathing well at first so he was taken to the NICU to be put on a CPAP machine and have surfactant put in his lungs to help them stay inflated better.  After a while, I joined BJ and Luke in the NICU for a while, then we headed downstairs and got settled in our new room.  Luke finally came down to the well- baby nursery about 8 hours after he was born, and we went and saw him get checked by the nurses and took pictures of his first bath.  It was after midnight by the time we were able to bring him in our room with us, but it was sweet to have him to ourselves finally.  I was able to get up and walk around on my own, albeit a bit slowly, and I really felt like I was already healing much faster this time.  Luke nursed like a champ, and had no further issues with breathing.  We feel very blessed to finally have him with us and doing so well.

Gabe came to see his new baby brother the next morning, and he was fascinated for about 1 minute, then was more interested in the balloons and toy tractor in the room.  BJ stayed with me in the hospital until Friday, and we were so grateful to Marissa and Richard, and BJ's parents who watched Gabriel so that BJ could be with me and the baby.  BJ picked my mom up at the airport on Friday, then came back and took me home from the hospital.  It was good to come home and be able to wear normal clothes, and sit in our much more comfortable chairs and bed, and start figuring out a new routine.  It was nice to have my mom here to help for nearly a week.  We have mostly stayed close to home since Luke was born, and I am getting into a new rhythm of taking  care of two kids.  So far, although I am definitely busier and more tired, it hasn't been hard.  Luke is a really good baby, sleeping quite a bit during the day, eating well, and usually sleeping for a 5 hour stretch at night.  Most nights I only have to get up to nurse him twice after going to bed (refreshing! Gabe woke up every 2 hours all night for quite a while).   Hopefully that continues!  He is also growing well.  After loosing 10 ounces in the hospital, he has gained it all back and then some- at his 2 week appointment yesterday he weighed 9 lb. 7.5 oz., and was 20 1/4 inches- wow, over an inch growth in 2 weeks!  He is so mellow and easy going.  I guess Heavenly Father knows what each of us need individually- I figure he must want me to have more children in the future!

Anyway, that is the story of Luke joining our family.  Click here if you would like to read the much LONGER version of the story. 

Photos for one and all

So, these are a long time in coming, but here they are. Lots of photos for our faithful fans to view. ;-)

Welcome Baby Luke:


Brothers:


More of Gabe and Luke (my favorites are in here):

Welcome baby Luke!

We are a little late in this announcement, but better late than... later, right?

Luke Stanley Taylor was born at 3:42pm on April 28th, 2010.
He was 9 pounds and 19 inches.

Luke is doing great, and I am recovering quickly. 

We will post pictures and more about the birth (for those interested) shortly. 

Still Waiting

Well, here's the baby scoop: we are still waiting for this baby to come.  We get a little nervous at times as my blood pressure wants to creep up a bit, which makes my doctor want to start talking about inducing me.  However, she knows how much I want to avoid that, so as of now, I am on a sort of bedrest.  Although every time I take my blood pressure at home, it is normal, so that is good.  I think being sick last weekend (bad stomach bug- the first time I have thrown up this whole pregnancy) got me really dehydrated, and kind of spiraled me into this.  But I have to say, I feel good in general, other than being 9 1/2 months pregnant.  Ha.  Anyway, I had the doctor sweep my membranes, hoping that might help bring on labor, but nothing much has happened as of yet.  We also made smoothies from all sorts of tropical fruits (supposedly fruits like pineapple, mango, and kiwi can bring on mild contractions etc.) and did some acupressure, but to no avail.  I'm not supposed to go on long walks at this point (I've done plenty of that over the past 3 weeks anyway) and I'm really not interested in using castor oil.  So now I'm just waiting and thinking positive birthing thoughts.  :)

I stopped working this week, which was nice, and allowed me to rest quite a bit more.  I also worked on a few crafty projects this week to help the time pass and keep me distracted from wondering when this baby will come.  I sewed a diaper bag and some diaper cases, made a basic picture family tree for Gabriel, as well as some picture flashcards of family members.  He seems to like looking at those, and he can name quite a few family members.  He gets especially excited to point out both sets of his grandparents. 


I think it has been somewhat of a hard week for Gabe- or at least the last few days have been hard, as I have had less energy and he has a little cold.  That makes for a whiny baby, but he tries to be happy.  We have enjoyed the warmer weather on some days, and have tried to take advantage of that.  Gabe has asked for lots of walks ("Gok! Mama! Gok!)" outside and we have done that, although more in the evenings when BJ comes home since I haven't had tons of energy for pushing the stroller.  Other days we go out on the patio or on the lawn and blow bubbles, or do a short walk around the block and to get the mail.  I have enjoyed hearing Gabe's babbling this week.  He has been whispering to himself as he plays, something that sounds like "ti-koo-ti-koo-ti-koo".  He has also been pointing out various articles of clothing- "souz", "sass" (shoes, socks), "paaatssss" (pants) and he tries hard to say shirt and other things, but they don't sound much like the real word yet.  Perhaps my favorite word that he says (this week!) is cheese- "tziiiiz", which he says kind of in the back of his throat, over and over while he eats cheese, or if he sees a camera!  I'm not sure how he made the "say cheese!" connection at first, but we are going with it.  So funny.

He loves to pretend he is talking on the phone, and he will hold up my cell phone if he can get his hands on it, or his play cell phone, his favorite car, or anything that remotely resembles a phone- even the foot pedal to my sewing machine!

Gabe's antics keep us laughing pretty constantly; as you can tell by the amount of "Gabe stuff" I post on here, he is the main thing that is going on in our lives.  There isn't always much other stuff that is interesting to post about.  I have liked using this forum as kind of a family journal though, and especially chronicling Gabe's growth and development since I am waaaaaay behind on his baby book.

Speaking of chronicling, BJ and I had some fun reading from our journals about the time we were dating, engaged, etc. and realized that we didn't write nearly as much as we should have.  Fortunately, on a road trip we went on early in our marriage, we brought along a tape recorder and some blank tapes, and told "our story" up to that point in as much detail as we could between the two of us, filling both sides of several tapes.  A year or two ago, BJ converted the audio on those tapes to mp3s with the intent of transcribing it all some day.  This week, spurred on by reading our hilarious but sadly lacking journal entries, BJ began the process of transcribing the first tape.  Judging by the eye rolling and laughing coming from his corner, I can only assume the recording must be pretty cheesy.  I am going to go in and edit and format the document so it can be easily read.  Then we can add it to some of the other stuff I have compiled from that time period (some of our email correspondence- also pretty cheesy and entertaining to read).  Anyway, I think that recording a little bit at a time (as opposed to trying to sit down and write all at once)  is a good way to preserve some of our memories, and is possibly more motivating when you have a ton of stuff to catch up on!  Then you can have a record of what your voices sounded like, and you always have the option of transcribing it. Anyway, just a thought.  Here is one more picture that I just barely caught on camera the other day- just one more thing that represents the funny things Gabe does all day that amuses me!

The update and Gabe is 21 months old!

Ok, well, there isn't really much of an update.  This week has just been kind of a waiting game for us.  BJ had a 36+ hour day after he had to work a day, then all night, then the next day too (Ironically just after we read in 3 Nephi where the sign that Jesus would be born would be a day and a night and a day as if it were one day).
My doctor's appointment went well... nothing really noteworthy to mention.  My contractions have definitely been picking up in frequency, duration, and intensity, but not consistently.  I do have my hospital bags all packed though, with  my list of everything to grab last minute!  On Sunday I had a recurrence of my sinus infection- the one I had a couple weeks ago that the antibiotic never really took care of.  It hit me with a vengeance but I went to Instacare and got quite a strong antibiotic which helped immensely and so I'm not in any pain now.  Gabe does seem to be fighting another mild ear infection but he is doing much better and I think he will be able to fight this one off by himself. 
I am trying not to become too impatient to have this baby, and just use this time to keep preparing, spend time with Gabe, and work on some crafty projects.  We have been going on a lot of walks this past week which Gabe loves.  He points excitedly to the stroller and says "gok, gok!" (Not to be confused with "gook"- book, or "guk"- milk/ drink.)

 Yesterday we went for a drive and were listening to the Remember the Titans soundtrack when Gabe found his new favorite song!  When Gabe wants something, and sometimes when he's whining he says "nananananana...?" -so when he heard that in a song (Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye by Steam), he started laughing, rocking back and forth in his seat, clapping, and singing along which really made us laugh.
Gabe has gotten a lot better at going to sleep at night and at nap time.  We've been able to put him down for bed after our nightly routine (diaper/ jammies, brush teeth, sing songs in the rocking chair, drink of water, say prayer) while he was still awake for quite a while, but up until a few weeks ago, I was still rocking him all the way to sleep for his nap.  Now he is quite the "big boy" as he goes to sleep on his own after a few minutes of rocking and songs at nap time.  Occasionally when he is tired he will even sign "sleep".  A lot of the things he signs are now accompanied by the word itself, which is fun to hear!  Of course he has learned a lot of words without signs too.  My favorite words to hear him say are "cute", "cool", "shoes", and "love" (and "mom-my" of course!).  Anything that makes an identifiable sound is referred to by its sound instead of its name.  He loves splashing in the water and arranging his toys on the side of the tub at "baaaff" time.  He does not love the post- bath routine so much.  He tends to have dry skin and gets some eczema patches, so we put on lots of lotion and some hydrocortisone cream first thing after drying off. 
 

We usually have some reading time every day- initiated by Gabriel- he brings me book after book after book, and sits quietly on my lap (mostly!) turning pages, pointing to things, babbling, and sometimes requesting to read the same book several times in a row.  Gabe still loves cars and dogs (toys, the real things, and the sounds they make) above almost anything else.  He seems to be amused by poking my belly and saying "babeeeeeee" or "saaaaaaaahhhhhfffff" - soft.  We're trying to do our best to prepare him for having a baby brother, but I don't really think he has any idea of how life is going to change!  I'm sure he will adapt quickly though.  We are going to try to have him spend some time with his favorite people- aunts and uncles and grandparents!  All grandmas and pas are "baba" right now, and he greets them with hugs and kisses- "mmmmah!"
I am excited for the weather to warm up more so we can do some fun things outside.  Gabe is up for pretty much anything outdoors, and he especially enjoys going for walks to see the creek or the cows (and any other animal we encounter), swinging, going down slides, running around on the grass, and last summer we discovered he loves swimming and is fascinated by bubbles, so we will have to try to do lots of that this spring and summer.  We are all ready with his swimsuit/ rashguard, hat, sandals, sunscreen, and lots of energy (Um, him, not me, currently)!  Let's get to it already!