Funny Hair

I have this thing during pregnancy. Well, during always; but heightened during pregnancy. I get sick of my hair. So, in an effort to not be too drastic, I cut bangs yesterday. Gabriel spent the rest of the morning giggling every time he looked at me, telling me he was laughing at my funny hair. He took this picture, but I had to move to get into the shot. Enjoy my silly hair!

Soccer Season

After spending a couple hours at J & M's soccer games this morning, we came home ready to tackle some gardening & sewing projects. Talking on the phone to try and locate some raspberry starts, I heard my still-for-another-6-weeks-baby's voice: "Mommy, you dwop me off at socca pwactice?" I quickly finished up the call, walked around the corner and found this cuteness:

My heart nearly broke that there was no practice for him. So I hugged him, took some pictures, then offered him lunch instead. He took it like a champ.

Not-so-super powers

Gabe loves to dress up. To his sister's dismay, he's moved on from princess attire, and can regularly be found wearing boyish get-ups. As I was cleaning up costumes he'd flung all over the family room floor, I realized he had yet to discover our stash of capes. Today, I rectified that. I was trying to explain what these costumes were for, sort of stumbling in my description until he looked me in the eye and said, "Superman." Moments later, he fell flat on his face, picked himself up and muttered, "AWW-AWWW!! I tan't fwy!" Thankfully, he attempted take-off from the ground.

Happy Birthday Baby

The past month and a half have been a blur. The start of our homeschooling adventure has been filled with excitement, frustration, challenge and success. It has been all-consuming, which has left no time for this blog. I'm finally coming up for air and plan to start a series of posts that will give you an up-close look into what homeschooling is... in our family.

But, for now, we're backtracking. Because my baby turned two a couple of weeks into the school year. And that is something worth documenting!

Gabe & big sis helping to make his favorite treat, cookies. Love that the shot captured his miscalculation.


present opening... playdough and tools from big brothers

candy from Daddy...that was a hit


a snuggly kitty from big sister


this cake may be a bit ug, but it was all he talked about for weeks afterwards...his "choo choo bir-day"


and a little candle-licking

Thanks for all the happiness & joy you bring us, angel boy. We love you!! (But PLEASE stop growing so fast.)

Father/Son Campout

Every year, Clint and the boys go on an overnight camp-out with the other men/boys we go to church with. Gabe was once again left behind...maybe he'll be out of diapers next year! If dirt is any indicator of the good times enjoyed by my boys, I think they had a blast!!

In their absence, the girls set up a tent, too. Ours was conveniently located in the living room.

Gabe & Autumn enjoyed a couple movies tent-side, before G was whisked away to his crib.

That left time for me and my baby girl to snuggle and watch another show.

In the morning, we ate and bathed, then hurried off to a Pioneer monument dedication. The President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of our Church, Boyd K. Packer, came to dedicate it. It was a nice ceremony.

Autumn captured how at least half of the meeting really went down for me, chasing G who thinks it is hilarious to bolt away (the giggling only increases when he heads for the street.)


(As a side note, we were sitting pretty close, and there were only 100 or 200 people there. Anyway, Sister Packer was sitting on the front row watching and I saw her look over at me and smile a couple of times. She has 10 children, so she must understand... that's what I perceived, anyway. I love being around seasoned, virtuous mothers. I can only hope their strength and goodness is just a little bit contagious!!)

Snack time

G is getting very resourceful. Yesterday morning, he apparently got the munchies. Finding no appetizing food on the floor, he hauled the bathroom stool into the kitchen. Strategically placing it next to the counter gave him easy access to the breakfast condiments I had foolishly left out. As I was getting dressed, J & M came downstairs and began loudly scolding him in between side-splitting laughter. And this was the crime scene as I walked into it:

This was taken AFTER i washed half the syrup bottle off his shirt and shorts...and after i told him it was yucky (but then let him keep at it when i realized i had to get a picture of it. BAD mommy!!)

Occer Ame

This is what we heard Gabe say almost every day for the past 7 weeks. Sitting on the sidelines while A, M & J played their games was torture at first; he wanted to kick the ball and score a goal, too! After a few weeks of games, he began finding Autumn's soccer jersey at home (plus a random pair of cleats.) He would bring them to me, saying, "Occer ame?". I would dress him, and this is how happy he became each time:


What a stinking cutie!!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Gabriel is in a major mimicking stage. He spends a lot of time observing. Observing me, observing Clint, and mostly observing his siblings. Sometimes, this leads to really cute stuff. Like how he folds his tiny hands together in prayer, and even momentarily closes his eyes. (I know because I peek... it's really too adorable to miss entirely.) Other times, it leads to not-so-cute behavior. Like when he grabs the wii remote, points it at the television, and chants "Die! Die!" in his tender baby voice. (The boys are working on yelling "Go!" while playing their favorite tank game, because I can hardly stand it.)

Today, he hiked atop our couch, which must seem like a major mountain peak. I saw what he was trying to mimic, handed him a couple of books, and then he tried to read like his biggest brother. I don't think Jonah even noticed him, or the flash of my camera as I tried to capture the learning taking place. And, maybe in a few years, Gabe won't notice either.



But for now, he didn't mind hamming it up a bit. Then asking to look at the "baby" on the screen.


Well, baby, we hope we don't mess you up too much!

first snow

Gabe keeps eating snow. More specifically, the snow that falls off my children's boots when they come inside. From taking care of the chickens. Which requires walking through a lot of chicken ****. (Saying that may have been a reason I agreed they could have chickens. I haven't actually said it, yet. Out loud, anyway. What's my problem??) Anyway, I decided to gather up some fresh snow for him to try out. He liked it. So I set out the winter wear box, to see what would happen. He threw on a girlie hat, some gloves, and tried to go out the door. I helped him with the rest, changed his hat (after Autumn & i giggled a while), put on my own stuff & we went out together. He loves balls. A world covered with ball-making material...heaven! Too cute.

p.s. Somehow, i deleted the really cute pictures while trying to upload them on the computer. At least i have some documentation though, right??

Watching My Baby Fall

Yesterday afternoon, Gabriel gave me quite a scare. Autumn needed some motivation cleaning her room, so I toted Gabe upstairs, set the gate up on the landing, and started cleaning other rooms. Sometimes, all she needs is some company to get moving. I was a little nervous about the gate; it's one of those wooden, expandable Evenflo ones with four rubber stoppers that push up against whatever surface you set them on. Anyhow, I could only get 3 stoppers on surfaces, because of the floor moldings. It seemed pretty sturdy, but I still watched and distracted Gabe when he got too close. While I was cleaning my room, I saw that he was right next to the gate. He leaned against it and I yelled, "NO, Gabe!" I came toward him, but was two steps too late. He put the full weight of his body on the gate and it came crashing down. I watched in horror as he fell face-down on one stair, and then flipped over. His feet hit a stair, followed by a nasty blow to the back of his head. I was screaming loudly now, and his eyes locked on mine. The look on his face was pure panic (likely a reflection of my own), but there was nothing I could do to help. He flipped again, landing when the wood floor crashed against the back of his head in a loud THUD. Somehow, I was over the fallen gate and to him in a second. He lay still, fully conscious, and screaming wildly. I wanted so badly to lift him in my arms and cradle him. But, since he just lay there, I didn't dare move him.

A lot happened immediately afterwards (phone calls to 911 & Clint; Micah clearing out the entryway; Jonah running to get my sweet neighbor Melisa). There was the arrival of people after people, all crowded in our tiny entryway around my tiny angel. He soon was moving his limbs and turning his head. It was decided that we should still take him to the hospital to be examined, and we did. He was concerned about the ambulance ride (and more concerned about the ambulance driver). We got through the CT scan without sedation or too much restraint. The results were normal; and, amazingly, he only has a tiny raspberry on the side of his forehead to show for the ordeal.

But watching him fall like that, and being so powerless in stopping it, has me reflecting on parenthood. So many thoughts rushed through my mind in the instant that it happened. Broken bones, injuries, brain damage, the unthinkable. But I could do nothing. Well, sure, if I was the calmer sort, I would have thought to pray. Yet, I still could not stop or even soften the fall. In the Emergency Room, I told Clint I know we will experience this again. Sometime in his future. We will watch him figuratively fall, waiting to comfort, console & help him at the bottom. It's part of life, right? I've come to love each of my children so dearly; watching them suffer is nearly unbearable. And yet, I feel an approach to divinity in the experience. I am fairly certain that God does not scream wildly as He watches His children stumble and fall, in sin and hardship. And, unlike me, He knows what outcomes await at the bottom of our personal stairs. But I cannot believe His heart doesn't ache for us; that He does not yearn to help and soothe and comfort. I know I have felt such compassion from Him many times along my way.

I am glad to be a mother. I am grateful for the experience. And I trust He will strengthen me so I can help the little ones He has sent me.

here he is, playing with Clint's scarf while we waited for the doctor

So Cruel

Footage of the fact that Gabe loves his Daddy

Daddy's Boy

On one of several car trips today, it was just Gabe & i. We'd dropped off who needed dropping and had some time before we had to start picking up (would've just said picking, but then you might get the wrong idea.) Anyhow, he was just chattering away in the back. I started listening, and realized he was mentioning his Dada. He loves his Daddy, and says all the variations of Dada he can say at his tender age... Da-da, Dad-ee, Da-dee, & Da. He would jabber about something else, but kept coming back to talking about his Dad. I'll admit it, I was starting to feel a little jealous. Why, just this morning, I brought him into bed with me. He practically plowed over me on his way to Clint's side of the bed (Clint was playing church basketball at the time.) He pulled back the covers, calling for Da-dee, then whimpered when he couldn't find him. It took a few more seconds of searching before he finally accepted that Dada wasn't there. Anyway, back to the story. He really began talking a lot about Clint, and I finally decided to look at him while we were stopped at a red light, and see what was prompting this discussion. Did he have his toy phone in hand or was he looking at Clint's coat in the back? As I turned, I saw him flipping the pages of his favorite book:



The pages are filled with illustrations of monkeys and gorillas; and, for once, I was glad he wasn't uttering the scarcely-heard "Mama." :)

Happy birthday, little guy!

As to be expected, Gabe wasn't entirely sure what to make of opening presents. At first, he seemed curious. Then, he tried to wiggle off my lap. Tearing strips of wrapping paper off the box caught his attention for a minute. And, in the end, the boxes and ribbons were the biggest hit. :)



J & M (especially J) were bummed that I was stealing this little guy away on his actual birthday (for a trip to CA to be discussed later). They've been looking forward to celebrating with him for.... well, a year now. We did the next-best thing, and that was to party a day early. I told them that Gabriel doesn't know the difference, which was a very small consolation. We did all enjoy, no less than we would have the next day, watching our little angel devour his pint-sized birthday cake.


(He got so much frosting up his nose, he sneezed yellow buttercream until it all cleared out.)

Do As I'm Doing

Follow, follow me.

Happy (late) 11 months, Gabe!

Happy 10 months, Gabe!!

Sorry, I just couldn't resist posting it...



While Daddy & Gma were with Gpa at the hospital during open-heart surgery, your sister took the opportunity to play dress-up...with you! You didn't really know how you felt about all that head-gear. You kept reaching up to remove it, but stopped yourself short each time.

This month, you've learned to crawl on your hands and knees, growl like a scary monster (that gets a reaction you LOVE), blow kisses, and bite. You're always very remorseful after digging into my shoulder with your teeth, but can't seem to completely stop yourself yet. We're working on it!

What everyone always says about you is that you are such an easy baby. And it's true...normally, you just hang back and observe quietly. Then, after you've had enough of that, you start babbling away at full volume, with occasional "scary" growls. You are a sweet, sweet boy, my little angel Gabriel.

Happy 5 months, sweet Baby Gabe!!

Exer-saucing

What do you do...

when your baby is pushing 16 pounds at his 4-month Doctor's appointment AND he tries to intercept his Daddy's fork at the dinner table each time it passes him by?

Well, with Dr. Brown's approval, we introduced the little chunk to rice cereal.

Like, gag me with a spoon, Mom!


On second thought, I think I'm much better at gagging myself with that thing than you are!


Actually, that stuff's kinda good!

Now bring on the strained peas, Mama!!

All bundled up

Look at those cheeks!

Happy 3 months, Gabe! (plus a week)

More Gabe!!

Gabriel has been such a good baby so far...as you can see in these pictures, the kid's big on sleep!! He's just starting to occasionally come out of his newborn hibernation, so we'll post some open-eyed shots soon. His older brothers & sister (esp. Micah & Autumn) just can't get enough of him; they love holding him and just admiring his cuteness.

Micah lending some helping hands


a photo taken by Micah while i snuggled with Gabriel



and a close-up of the tired kid.

i've been REALLY enjoying having my Mom around to help; we're looking forward to Papa's arrival tonight, as well. How will i survive come Monday, when Clint goes back to work from the weekend & my parents are back in sunny California?????