We LOVE chunky organic apples!

I went grocery shopping on the way home Friday night with Gabriel. Gabriel was patient while I found organic apples, and picked out a few of the more milder flavored apple types. And then I cut up those apples on Saturday morning, and steamed them in the microwave. Then I put a quarter of a Golden Delicious apple in my food chopper with organic cinnamon. I tried to get it really smooth, but I wanted to keep the skins since they are nutritious. So the result was some chunkiness in the apple mixture. I added a little organic multi-grain cereal and was able to give a small portion to Gabriel while it was still warm from cooking for his breakfast. And this was Gabriel's response to all of that hard work! The whole body shutter is a nice touch. For all of his expression, he did eat the whole bowl for breakfast.

How Do We Stand All Of The Cuteness?

Elleigh, Lucas and Gabriel asleep
Originally uploaded by sarah_knit

Another busy weekend! It seems like it takes all weekend to get caught up on the week's worth of the laundry and all of the bottles and dishes that the baby goes through. I spent much of this morning making more puree: spinach, yellow carrots, broccoli, zucchini, peaches with cinnamon, and banana oatmeal. It just does my heart good to make Gabriel food. I like knowing what goes into it. Apparently, it was an exhausting weekend for Elleigh, Lucas and Gabriel too. They all fell asleep together on the couch, sharing The Boppy.

14 years!

Today is my 14 year anniversary working for Concord Hospital. Some days it seems like just yesterday I started at the hospital, and other days seems like it's been 100 years of hard labor. Once an employee has put in a decade, annually we get a longevity bonus in our date of hire month. I'm not getting rich on the bonus by any means, but I do have a little mad money now... which will probably be spent on my darling little boy.

Great News!

The Learning Center just informed me that they can now keep Gabriel full-time in day care, Monday through Friday, until 8/21/09.  That's a two week reprieve!  And then he has the two days only (Monday and Friday) guaranteed from 8/22 through 10/4 still- and then permanent full-time from 10/5/09 on.  If we take out Wednesday's with Grammy A., that now gets us down to only (12) days (Tuesdays and Thursdays) that we don't have child care for between the end of August and the beginning of October.  And there is still the possibility of Gabriel getting additional days in between 8/22 and 10/4 as other kids take vacations and days off.  I don't have an official vacation myself on the books for this summer, so I know I can easily cover several of those days as my vacation days.  Being out of the office one day a week isn't as big of a deal as taking a whole vacation week off since nobody really has to "cover" for me when I am out of the office for just one day at a time.  And I have plenty of paid time off so I will still get paid.  And Michael will be able to cover some of those other days too.  Things just keep looking more positive on the day care front!  Things always work out for the best.

The Daily Scoop

Today was Gabriel's first day at his new child care center. I think we are going to really like The Learning Center at Concord Hospital. Drop off was much more calm and quiet than it was at our last day care. And Gabriel goes to a dedicated room for infants now, so there is no mingling of older children at drop off and pick up. It felt like Gabriel was moving in with all of the accessories I had to bring in for him: milk, frozen milk, bottles, yogurt, crib sheet, sippy cup, swim suit and towel, 4 changes of outfits, diapers, permission slips, etc. When I went to visit him at lunch time, he was tickled pink on a blanket playing with a whole basket of toys with two staff members doting over him. I noticed one of the teachers had already had a change of clothing herself, which I bet we can put our money on Gabriel being the cause of that. All of the older kids were on their nap mats and sound asleep. Everything just seemed so under control! Later in the afternoon, the lead teacher sent the following e-mail to all of the parents of children in the upper house infant room so we would know how the day went.

"This morning we welcomed a new friend to our classroom. Gabriel's first day was today and all of the children helped to welcome him. We spent the morning exploring the classroom and the new materials in the room. Many of the children enjoyed exploring the ball maze. Some of the older children joined the toddlers for some water play and outdoor exploration.

This afternoon we will be spending time on the deck and maybe the playground. We are also hoping to get some time to paint with brushes. If not this is something we will do tomorrow."

6 Months Old!

Gabriel is 6 months old today!

It just doesn't seem possible. Maybe it is because I am enjoying 99% of being a parent so much, but the days are whizzing by. I still don't feel like I have even grasped the fact that I am a Mother yet. Occasionally I look at Gabriel and wonder how all of this happened.

There's something new every day that Gabriel is doing or discovering. It's quite enjoyable to share in his simple pleasures. And Gabriel is very good natured for the most part, so he is fun to spend time with.

We are experimenting with solid foods these days. I'm trying to make some of his food myself: sweet potato, avocado, carrots, green beans, and banana are some of the first flavors. If I had to guess, I suspect Gabriel likes bananas the best. Avocado is probably his least favorite at this point. We are beginning to get him use to the sippy cup idea by giving him an ounce or so of water after dinner.

Gabriel is getting better and better at sitting up all by himself. He rolls from his stomach to his back and vice versa with ease. He does well on his stomach, holding his head up, and having enough strength to use his arms to grab toys.

Especially in the last few weeks, Gabriel has become aware of his surroundings and interested in anything he can get his hands on and stick in his mouth.

I wish I was flexible enough to play with my own feet like Gabriel can. He even sucks his own toes.

Gabriel seems to know his own name now, turning to look when his name is called out.

And he constantly jabbers! And when he isn't talking, he's discovering his voice and screeching.

Gabriel still enjoys his tubbies and he is my favorite subject for photography.

We are looking forward to Gabriel starting at The Learning Center at Concord Hospital tomorrow. Now Gabriel will ride to and from work with Mommy most days. And I am going to enjoy being able to check in on him during the day if I wish and also having the opportunity to participate in some of the activities at his day care center.

Happy July 4th!

We were very pleased to get a break from the rain... FINALLY! We took Gabriel outside after dinner to sit on a blanket. It actually was chilly, but at least the sun was out. It has been so wet through May and June that we have not had the opportunity to take the boy out like this. He sat under the maple tree, enjoyed looking up through the leaves and playing with his new shoes. I don't put shoes on Gabriel's feet very often, so when I do, they are like new toys attached to Gabriel's feet. He's quite good at geting them off too. Gabriel watched Daddy play with the water in the pool. Yet another side effect from the crappy, rainy weather- the pool is still not swimmable. Who wants to go out in the pouring rain and run the pool pump and vacuum it? We didn't go and see any fireworks, though, the neighbors had some good sized amateur displays throughout the evening. We just stayed home, getting caught up on laundry, watching the NASCAR race on TV, had some Brats and Beans for dinner, and enjoyed a lazy day together.