Olympics

Gabriel got to see a tiny glimpse of the opening ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics. We had a special shirt for him to wear. And as you can see, he practiced some important moves.

Top left: shot put practice?
Top right: Disgusted with the judges' scores
Bottom left: Looking to coaches for advice
Bottom right: Appealing the scores...(learned that from the gymnasts!)

Walking Practice

Gabriel has been practicing walking behind a push cart for a while. He just recently took interest in doing it for more than 3 or 4 steps at a time.


This has sound, but it's just the background television noise. There is nothing important to hear.

Catching Up

I have a bunch of stuff I've been meaning to post, so I'm going to play catch-up this week.

Here are some recent photos.

Black beans are the bomb.

Running away with the circus

Already driving

Bonham and Dallas

Gabriel, Grammaw, and I went to visit lots of our extended family in July. Our first stop was Bonham where I lived when I was little. Gabriel got to meet his Great Grandmother "Mom" while there. Mom is called Mom by all of her grandchildren. There a story of how the name originated, but at this point, I just like to think of it as a way to honor the matriarch of the family. She's sort of the original Mommy from whom the rest of us received life and love.

Gabriel and Mom
You can see Jim's name embroidered
on the blanket thrown over
the back of the chair.
I like that he is in this picture, too.

While visiting Mom, Gabriel also met my Aunt Beth, my cousin Kelley, and Kelley's daughter Lily. Lily was a big, big help in entertaining and caring for Gabriel while the big people visited.

After our visit in Bonham, we left for the Dallas area. We visited with Grammaw's brother and his wife for a little while. Gabriel was lucky enough to get a few little gifts from them, but the highlight of that visit was climbing the staircase!

So glad we don't have stairs at home.

We had to come back down the stairs in order to make it to the family reunion of all kinds of cousins on Justin's side of Gabriel's family tree. There were too many people there to name, but it was fun to see cousin Easton who is just 9 days older than Gabriel.

I was reminded that trying to sleep with Gabriel in my bed is not a good plan. We tried that for a few hours one early morning while in Hobbs, and I tried it again in Dallas. He was really upset and couldn't get back to sleep in his playpen, so I tried to cuddle with him and get him to settle down next to me. But mostly I got kicked and flopped on while he fussed and cried for about 3 hours each time. He hasn't slept in my bed with me since he was 4 months old, and even then he was on my chest, not next to me. I won't soon try that again.

Gabriel was a very good traveler. We were in and out of the car quite a bit, going to a lot of different places, and sometimes driving for a long time. By the end of this trip, he had pretty much mastered drinking from a straw.

Raised on decaf non-fat mocha fraps with whip
and cherry limeades, all because of straws.

New Mexico

Gabriel racked up a whole set of firsts last week when we went to New Mexico to visit Aunt Lydia's family.

First trip out of state
(I barely caught the New Mexico sign.)

First long car ride
(About 8 hours each way.)

First stay in a hotel
(We had all this plus J's golf clubs, a stroller, a backpack full of toys, and my purse.)
(For a three night trip)

First time to meet cousin Hunter, cousin Easton, and uncle Ryan
(Easton was born 6 days after Gabriel.)

I think it was also his first Wendy's chicken nugget, his first McDonald's chicken nugget, and his first Dairy Queen blizzard, but I didn't get pictures of those.

It was definitely his first trip to a zoo when we visited the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park in Carlsbad. I can't be trusted to get the camera out, apparently, but we saw a bald eagle, prairie dogs, a sleeping bobcat, bison, and elk as well as various snakes and native plants. Hunter's favorite part was the "bomb cat." Gabriel's favorite part was the Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers.

One Year Letter

Dear Gabriel,

We just celebrated your birthday. You are officially 1 year old. How on earth did this happen?!

Your dad and I have watched you grow so much over the past year. We have loved every smile and every laugh. We’ve listened to every coo, cry, and babble. We’ve encouraged you to wiggle, roll over, crawl, and now stand up and cruise along the furniture.

I remember standing over your tiny body and craving the day when you would reach for me to pick you up. And after that, I anxiously awaited the time that you would throw your arms around my neck to hug me and hold me. Now that I have those moments to treasure, I look forward to hearing you call me mama, to you telling me you love me, and to you running from across the room to jump into my arms. I won’t wish your life away, but know that I look forward to every milestone, big and small.

You are an observant little boy. You watch everything, soak it in, and dissect it. Then you apply what you’ve just learned and practice it until it’s right. You will be the child who takes apart the DVR or the microwave just to understand how it works. You’re not really interested in walking yet, but I’m convinced it’s because you won’t try it until you know you’ll be successful. That’s pretty much how you started rolling and crawling.

You are smart and curious. You put small things inside bigger things, you understand how to open and shut drawers and doors, and you try to put your socks and shoes on your feet. You play peek-a-boo with blankets and with your hands. You like us to take turns putting on sunglasses or hats. You laugh when dada throws a ball up in the air. If you want to give me something, you grab my hand, turn it palm up, open my fingers out, and put the thing in my hand.

You are opinionated. You know what you want, what you don’t want, and when you do or do not want it. You learned early on how to push something away from you when you didn’t care for it. And you completely understand and exercise the connection between crying and getting someone to pay attention to you. (Your dad says I give in too much…)

You are a blessing in so many, many ways. But a big one for this mama is that you let me sleep every night. I give you your last bottle and rock you and sing to you, and then it’s into bed. You sit up for a bit and listen to your glowworm play a song, and then you go to sleep for 10-11 hours. I do not miss the days of listening to you cry when we put you in your crib for bedtime. It is glorious to kiss your sweet head, tell you goodnight, and leave the room without any fussing. But I do miss the extra long cuddles we used to have in the rocking chair. These days you are more comfortable in your crib than on my chest. So for those few moments when you lay your head on my shoulder, close your eyes, and get your body settled for the night, I drink in your smell and your existence. I think that’s what fuels me for another day.

There are so many signs that you are growing up…that you are not the tiny newborn baby we brought home from the hospital. That you are growing to be strong and smart and healthy. That’s what I want for you. You make me happy and proud. Your smile brightens my world.

You are beautiful.

You are my baby.

I love you,

mama

Happy Birthday!

At G's 12 month well-check appointment, he was:
weight: 23 pounds 4 ounces (60%)
height: 31 inches (80%)
head circ: 47.2 cm (70%)

Gabriel's first birthday party had a rainbow theme. I made various rainbow-colored decorations for the inside of Grammaw's house, and Grammaw hung up twirling sparkly decorations from the ceiling of the deck. Aunt Jordan made THE most AWESOME birthday cake ever to top it all off.

Here are a few pictures of the big day.

Obligatory birthday hat

Grumpy clown

Hesitantly testing the smash cake

Enjoying the cake once he figured out what it was

The awesome 7 layer rainbow cake made by Jordan

Inside of the rainbow cake

A slobbery birthday kiss from cousin Easton Graves (9 days older than Gabriel)