Persnickety Sarah

Slow-Cooker Recipe: Classic Minestrone Soup < Slow-Cooker Recipe - AllYou.com

2012-01-29T11:39:00.000-05:00

Slow-Cooker Recipe: Classic Minestrone Soup < Slow-Cooker Recipe - AllYou.com

Trying my hand at this recipe this afternoon.

The Boys are Roommates

2011-11-30T22:51:00.003-05:00

I pulled Gabriel's old Christmas jammies out of a storage bin and passed them down to Garrett tonight. Glad they will get another round of wear.

The boys have now both been sleeping in the same room for more than a week. They are going to bed at the same time, and most nights they are quickly settling down and falling asleep. Gabriel tends to awake and cry out in the late evening and Garrett usually stirs in the early morning, and would go back to sleep if we snuggled him. But the last two nights, they both even slept until wake up time with no stirring through the night. It only took 14 and a half months to get to this point.

Garrett's Greeting Turns Sad

2011-11-28T22:36:00.006-05:00

One of the highlights of my work day is when I go to pick up the boys from their day care center. I usually gather up Garrett first, and I get a huge greeting from him. When Garrett first sees me, he gives a big smile, makes a guttural laugh, and comes charging me with his arms stretched out. He hugs me and grabs at the hair at the back of my neck with his little hands in a loving gesture. Over the past few pick ups, this lovely greeting then turns immediately to a "throw himself on the floor and cry and out" demonstration. I wonder exactly what he is saying. "I love you, Mom!" Quickly followed by him trying to tell me how hard it is to switch from two naps to one a day, or how exhausted he is from toddling all day. His sadness is usually short lived and I assume has more to do with Garrett exerting some of his own independent feelings.

Finished Knitting project!!!

2011-10-16T20:24:00.001-04:00

I am sad to say I started these socks in April 2009. I just don't get to knit much now that I have beautiful children. These brown bamboo socks are now finished and way too small for the original recipient, Gabriel. But they fit Garrett just right.

Candy Corn Inspired Cupcake

2011-10-16T11:32:00.001-04:00

Feeling Halloween festive today and whipped up these cupcakes.

Gabriel's First Dental Cleaning

2011-10-11T11:21:00.001-04:00

Gabriel has visited the pediatric dentist a few times now, but this morning was his first attempt at an actual tooth cleaning. Gabriel brought his listening ears and did great. His teeth are all sparkling clean! A little decay on a top right molar that we need to watch. And his knocked in front tooth is still trying to decend. It's crooked but not discolored, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. Gabriel picked a new pink toothbrush, got some kid toothpaste and he chose a red dragonfly for a prize. The hygienist said that Gabriel should receive a special reward envelope in the mail for giving up his paci last March.

Swapping Footwear

2011-10-01T08:43:00.001-04:00

Inspired by the upcoming clothing swap at the boys' daycare and the change of season, I went through all of the boys shoes and the storage bag of shoes not in circulation. I pulled out things that no longer fit to store them away, handed some of Gabriel's shoes down to Garrett, and made a list of essential footwear items we need to get for Gabriel. Gabriel hated these slippers in the photo when he was young enough to wear them. Now that they have been passed down to Garrett, he wants his own pair of "bear feet." At one point he thought he might like dinosaur feet. He keeps cramming his feet in them hoping his feet will fit.

Mountain Dew Cupcakes

2011-09-28T22:24:00.001-04:00

Mountain Dew cupcakes with lemon frosting and a Mountain Dew reduction for Gabriel's teacher assistant's birthday tomorrow. These should NOT be shared with the children at the day care. I am not responsible for caffeine overload.

Breakwater Beach Cape Cod

2011-09-21T13:29:00.001-04:00

#36 Watches Shaun of the Sheep

2011-09-20T19:17:00.001-04:00

#36 came out of the bedroom as a special to watch Shaun of the Sheep with us in the living room before bedtime.

Salt Marsh

2011-09-20T11:42:00.001-04:00

The boys overlooking a saltmarsh close to coast guard beach cape cod

Happy Grandparents Day to Nana and Papa

2011-09-11T22:10:00.002-04:00

We LOVE Lowe's!

2011-09-02T07:38:00.001-04:00

More specifically, we LOVE the "blue carts" and lawnmowers at Lowe's. The boys can share a cart successfully right now. Gabriel likes to hug and kiss Garrett down the aisles. I realize this won't last, but it's adorable right now.

Garrett is 11 Months Old Now

2011-08-16T22:18:00.005-04:00

Garrett turned 11 months old today. I am saddened that his first birthday is coming around the corner so quickly. And once he turns one, I think technically I need to start calling him my toddler. It just doesn't seem possible that this handsome and chipper little guy has already been with us nearly a year.

Garrett can stand for several moments at a time now all on his own, not holding on to anything to stabilize himself. He seems to be enjoying his new skill since it frees up both of his hands to grab things. Garrett has been enjoying standing by the fridge and playing with the Leap Frog magnetic toys we have stuck on it. And he certainly loves his crawling mobility since he can get to what he wants fast. At school, Garrett is a fan of the climbing structure in his class room where he goes up the stairs and slides down the ramp, and just hangs out holding on to the railings.

There are now two bottom teeth in Garrett's mouth and three teeth poked through on the top- and I am quite certain I can feel a sixth trying to pop through. Garrett has gotten his teeth sooner than his big brother did, and I have concluded that this is why Garrett seems to be mouthier. Anything is game to go in Garrett's mouth. Garrett also dove right into table food much faster, seeming to enjoy the chunks and real table food taste.

Garrett has been saying "up" for a while now, which was Gabriel's first word too. We have also heard Garrett regularly use Elleigh's name, and he calls me Mama. Garrett and I have a set of tones that we share when we are happy and content, and Garrett seems to initiate them at appropriate mood times.

The boys are having longer and longer spurts where they play together with the same toys, and it is clear they are going to be good friends. Gabriel relishes his role as big brother and he is very nurturing towards Garrett.

At this point, there are still flecks of blue in Garrett's eyes so I am wondering if he is going to have hazel eyes in the end. His hair is so soft at this point since it is starting to thicken up and grow, but he's still not ready for a first hair cut.

Appleview Orchard

2011-06-26T22:10:00.003-04:00

We found a little gem right up the road from our house tonight. We went to Appleview Orchard for ice cream. We decided to go there last minute rather than the super popular ice cream place down in Chichester. We were close to bedtime and wanted to make a quick trip. What we found at Appleview Orchard was good ice cream and FUN! There is a wrap around deck that faces the sunset, loaded with rocking chairs and benches for leisurely sitting around and eating ice cream. The barn's kitty came to visit us while we ate. After finishing up our cones, we then visited the free attractions. They had a toddler sized bouncy house set up, but Gabriel did not want to try it. Gabriel enjoyed looking at the farm equipment and tractors, and climbing and sliding on the playground structure. They had a little play house and Garrett had fun in the sandbox. Before we left, we thanked the bunnies and the goats for having us over for ice cream and said "night, night" to them. We will certainly be making ourselves regulars this summer and fall. Our quick trip for ice cream didn't turn out to be quite so quick.

garret's first swing ride

2011-06-24T10:55:00.001-04:00

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Gabriel's Ponies

2011-02-19T13:46:00.001-05:00

Occasionally when I pick Gabriel up from The Learning Center, he will be sporting a stylish hair do. The teachers tell me that often when they do the girls' hair, Gabriel will ask for pony tails too. I don't mind if I'm not trying to go anywhere special on the way home. Daddy makes them masculine by calling them horns.

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Happy Valentine's Day!!!

2011-02-14T23:08:00.001-05:00

We had a good Valentine's Day! I gave the boys their Valentine's Day gifts yesterday. The little guys got conversational heart candies and each got a new video. Garrett got an I Love Airplanes video and Gabriel got a John Deere construction vehicle video. Oh, and each got a copy of an Elmo Valentine's Day board book. I made cut out heart shaped sugar cookies on Sunday afternoon and then put cookie icing on them last night. It was nice to do something creative. I sent a plate to Garrett's school and a container to Gabriel's, and then saved the cutest ones to eat at home. The boys enjoyed opening their cards from their grandparents. Gabriel brought home a heart made out of paper plates with little valentines inside from his schoolmates. And today I got a dozen red roses delivered at work.

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Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T05:56:00.001-05:00

I made cut out sugar cookies yesterday and then decorated them with cookie icing and sprinkles. I like to use the cookie icing because it seems to be sturdier for transport. Not to mention it's a lot easier to make decorative details with cookie icing verses traditional frosting.

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WOW! Knitting again!!

2011-02-06T15:13:00.001-05:00

It's been a long time since I have knit, since well before Christmas. It felt very good to make it to Knitting group today and knit, chat, and have some coffee. I got my bamboo toddler sock out and actually finish the first sock. Sadly, I started this project last April and it's still on the needles. I really like the feel of this yarn.

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Gabriel's Out of the Crib

2011-01-28T22:07:00.001-05:00

Gabriel started the transition last night to sleeping out of a crib. We put the crib mattress on the floor, and then the whole family gathered around Gabriel as he tried to fall asleep. We turned the Oli night lights on and the turtle that projects stars. The dogs are enjoying the new "dog bed" on the floor and certainly show interest in snuggling up with Gabriel. When I checked in tonight on my way to bed, I found Gabriel hanging off the bed.

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Double Well Baby Appointments

2011-01-19T22:08:00.001-05:00

Michael and I took Garrett and Gabriel to their well baby appointments on Wednesday. We were able to coordinate Gabriel's 2 year appointment with Garrett's 4 month appointment and got them back to back slots at Concord Pediatrics.

Garrett went first and he is growing well. He was his usual jovial and chatty self during the appointment with the nurse practitioner. Garrett now weighs 15 pounds and 4 ounces (50-65% percentile) and he's 25.5 inches tall (75% percentile). Garrett seems to be bulkier than I remember Gabriel being at this age, and Garrett seems to be wearing bigger clothes sooner than Gabriel, but the actual appointment measurements just aren't supporting that. It might be those gorgeous ham hock thighs that are throwing me off and making me think Garrett is a pudgy baby. I went back and looked at Gabriel's 4 month appointment stats and he weighed 13 lbs and 14 ounces, but was about a week and a half younger at his appointment than Garrett was. Gabriel was 75% percentile for height as well. Garrett was great with his immunizations and he consoled quickly. And Gabriel was very patient during Garrett's appointment. Daddy took him out just prior to the shots just so there wouldn't be any unnecessary emotional trauma.

Gabriel now weighs 28 pounds (50th percentile) and is 35 inches tall (65-75%). And supposedly if you double a toddler's height at 2 years, you can get the predicted adult height. So that would put Gabriel at 5 feet and 10 inches when he is fully grown. The surprise from Gabriel's well baby check is that he had a nice ear infection. Considering typical two year old behavior, Michael and I (and his day care providers) really had no clue he had a red, pussy inner ear. We started an antibiotic that night since we weren't sure if this was a new and developing ear infection or something that had been around a while. Gabriel had a shot free appointment this time around.

Snow Broom

2011-01-12T15:46:00.001-05:00

Gabriel just loves Mommy's snow broom!

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New Year's Resolution

2011-01-09T17:25:00.003-05:00

One of my goals for the new year is to do more blogging about the boys. I have a lot of photos for their milestones, but I have not been keeping baby books for them. So it's even more important that I keep blogging so I have the narratives and more details. I found an application for my cell phone that should help me to accomplish this as well. Stay tuned!

POOP!

2010-10-24T08:18:00.002-04:00

Gabriel is 21 months old and just pooped on the potty for the first time. Gabriel mentioned he had to go poop and Daddy whisked him off to the bathroom. We haven't been putting a lot of pressure on potty training. We've read two books about using the potty. We have had a potty in the bathroom for a very long time, but used it mostly as a stool. And we recently bought an Elmo potty seat to go on the big toilet. We talk about how some day Gabriel will wear underwear and use the potty. And when he was pooping in his diaper, I would encourage him to tell me in the future when he felt like this and I would take him to the bathroom. We honestly have been thinking he wouldn't be ready until at least two years old, so it had been all talk so far. And we have already been warned by a few parents that there sometimes is a honeymoon period with that potty followed by regression. So far, we've had a pee on the potty and a poop. We will let Gabriel show us what he's ready for. But Gabriel was certainly proud of himself and he kept announcing, "I DID IT!"

I wonder how traumatized Gabriel will be as an adult that I posted his first poop photo?

Garrett's First Trip to the Library

2010-10-19T13:53:00.002-04:00

Garrett had his first trip to the library today. We went to the Lapsit morning program at the Concord Public Library. It's a story hour/play time designed for children from newborn to age two. Garrett was wide awake when we got to the library and he seemed to like the colorful rug, the singing, the overhead lights, and looking at a few board books. Garrett was by far the youngest attendee of the day, but he was very popular with the toddlers anyway. They liked looking at him, and Garrett watched them toddle around. Many Moms remarked about how alert Garrett seemed. Garrett became very sleepy as the hour was winding down and he took a solid nap to recuperate. The program will be taking a hiatus and starting up again in November, and I plan to try to take Garrett again sometime before I have to go back to work. I may even try to find a day that it will work to take both Gabriel and Garrett together.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T22:25:00.002-04:00

I had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Gabriel slept "late" until 5:45 am.

Gabriel and I left the house early and headed to the NH Sheep and Wool Festival at the Hopkinton State Fairgrounds. I've wanted to go for years and finally made it. Though, Gabriel turned out to have a crabby morning, and it was rather brisk in temperature and windy. So I can't say I loved my trip. But I did buy some fancy colored wood sock needles, and some red and grey sock yarn. Maybe I can make matching socks for Gabriel and #2. I found a little stuffed llama for Gabriel, which he clung to tightly- probably because he was freezing. And I found a little sheep rattle for #2. Oh... and I got a little felted sheep kit too. Maybe I can make a few for the Christmas tree this year.

I've been wanting to go to Buy Buy Baby in Nashua, so Gabriel and I went for a ride to Nashua this afternoon. It was too cold to be outside any more, but I enjoyed the sun from the car. Gabriel napped on the whole ride down. We saw a huge Elmo at Buy Buy Baby. We also found an Elmo Learning Curve sippy cup. It's almost impossible to miss anything Elmo with Gabriel around to point him out. I bought a nightgown for #2 and a matching soft cotton blanket. Today was the first day I actually bought things specifically for #2. Gabriel got a Darth Vader T-shirt. The newborn clothes are looking really small again in comparison to Gabriel. I also bought Gabriel a booster seat, which he used for the first time tonight. Time to put his high chair away. He's getting to be such a big boy! He seems proud of himself sitting up at the table with Mommy and Daddy and reaching up over the edge of the table with his fork.

Yesterday I got a basket of pink and white cut flowers and a Mother's Day balloon from Gabriel. And on Friday he brought home from The Learning Center the cutest purple and white dragon fly for me. The kind made with nylon and wire. I think Gabriel painted the white nylon purple himself.

And today I got a card from Gabriel. And a card from Elleigh and Lucas with a gift card to the Elegant Ewe. And Daddy and #2 got me a card and another gift certificate to Motherhood so I can buy some more prego clothing.

And I most enjoyed that Michael cooked dinner, start to finish. Marinated steak tips, garlic and asiago focaccia, butternut squash ravioli with a maple cream sauce, and salad. And then two chocolate dessert pieces that we all shared on the couch while watching a family movie.

Gave my Mom a call this morning, but we did our annual Mother Day flower shopping trip a week early this year. So that happened last Saturday and then tonight I had to bring in all of those new flowers because we are to get down to 33 degrees tonight. Burr!

2010-01-30T08:19:00.001-05:00

Gabriel and I drove to West Lebanon to visit with Nana, Papa and Angus on Saturday after swim class. We met at Friendly's and had lunch. We even enjoyed sundaes despite the bitter cold temperatures outside. Gabriel is definitely a fan of sundaes. He would moan and nod his head while eating the bites of sundae. After a good lunch, we went shopping at Kohl's. Gabriel got a new palm pilot toy (just like Mommy's) and he seems to really enjoy it. It looked like a good car toy and it seemed to keep Gabriel's interest. Then we went to K-Mart where Gabriel and Papa tried out a wheelbarrow from the toy section. I find it interesting that Gabriel still isn't walking much without holding on to something. He certainly can walk, but just doesn't. Crawling seems to be his fastest mode of transport. We saw his first steps back just before Christmas and thought for sure he would walk by the new year. He instead went on a walking hiatus, just to surprise us with 5-8 step walking episodes at his January 10th birthday party at Grammy and Grampy's house. And though we encourage him to hold our hands and walk, he doesn't like it. And he walks around the house holding onto his play gate, or the wall, or the fridge. So in K-Mart, Nana showed him a wheelbarrow. Gabriel has to lift the handles up, balance, and push- and he can seem to do all of that while balancing Papa's soap and seeds in the bucket area. He later tried out a toy lawnmower too. His teachers are telling me that this is consistent with what Gabriel is doing at school too. He uses pushing toys to walk all over, but he certainly isn't needing them for balance.

Chuck E Cheese

2009-12-30T23:10:00.001-05:00

Gabriel took his first trip to Chuck E Cheese's on Wednesday night. We met our friends Shaelyn and Karen there for some pizza and fun. Karen and Shae gave Gabriel a new Tupperware sorter toy. I remember having one of these as a kid, or at least having access to play with one. I apparently really liked it since I can still remember it. I certainly hope it becomes a favorite for Gabriel too. Gabriel helped me play a game of Whack-a-Gator and he took a ride on a fire truck and Clifford the Big Red Dog. Shaelyn showed Gabriel how to climb on the toddler play structure. He wasn't too sure about it, but then he saw the steering wheel mounted on the wall and he was much more willing to climb in. He also took a couple trips down the exit slide.

Where Did My Baby Go?!

2009-12-21T10:31:00.001-05:00

On Sunday afternoon, Gabriel took his first steps that we witnessed. Gabriel took his hand off the side of his hexagon gated play area and then fell towards Daddy, making 3-4 stumbling steps in the process. He repeated it for Mommy, and then he moved onto other activities. He's been pulling himself up for so long now, and cruising well, that in some ways I am surprised he hasn't started walking sooner. And I certainly hadn't been encouraging it.

When I told Roberta and Melissa about it at The Learning Center this morning when dropping Gabriel off, they were excited for him. They denied having seen any steps at school already, but then again, they are so kind they wouldn't tell me and burst that bubble even if they had seen him walk already.

And our big boy also slept through the night in his own crib Sunday night. When I awoke this morning and Gabriel wasn't nestled next to me, there was a bit of panic as I made it into his room to check on him. I thought for sure something must be wrong. But he was sleeping with his bottom up in the air and his pacifier in his mouth. He's always been a good boy about sleeping through the night, but I think the whole family prefers it when he is nestled in the bed with Mommy and Daddy. I hope that he will occasionally still come and sleep with us in the early mornings, as I am not sure Mommy is ready for the separation.

It was quite a lot of big boy firsts for Mommy and Daddy yesterday!

Gabriel Finally Said It!

2009-12-16T19:32:00.002-05:00

After much asking, we finally heard it for the first time tonight!

Gabriel's First Christmas Card

2009-12-10T20:22:00.002-05:00

Gabriel received his first Christmas card today. He bounced happily in his jumper while holding it. Thank You Grammy and Grandpa Abberton! You can see one of Gabriel's first top teeth glistening in the photo.

First Bundle Up of the Season

2009-12-07T21:03:00.001-05:00

Mommy had to wrestle Gabriel into his snow gear for the first time on Monday morning. Thankfully, we only had to go to the car and then into The Learning Center, so we got to skip the snow pants. Gabriel seems to understand that he needs to push his hands into his mittens and his feet into his boots, so I think that makes it a bit easier to dress him. I think Gabriel looks a lot like Cousin Angus in this photo.

SNOW!

2009-12-05T16:34:00.000-05:00

As we were leaving the children's Christmas party on Saturday afternoon, snowflakes were starting to fly- big, white, fluffy ones. Gabriel noticed them right away and was excited and delighted by the flakes. I suppose these are the first snowflakes that he remembers seeing.

Uh Oh!

2009-11-02T22:16:00.003-05:00

Gabriel has been saying "Uh Oh" a couple of weeks now. He likes to knock things over and then innocently say, "Uh Oh!" We have been trying to explain that "uh oh's" should be accidents. What he is doing is a little too deliberate to be an accident. I don't think we are getting through to him. Gabriel has enjoyed knocking things off the edge of the tub for a while now too. He will sometimes throw his pacifier down and say "uh oh," and then point at it because he wants it back.

"This is Halloween..."

2009-10-31T21:57:00.003-04:00

Michael and I have been humming and singing the theme song to Tim Burton's Nightmare before Christmas movie all week. "Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! In this town we call home." You've got to have seen the movie to appreciate it.

This was a wonderful Halloween. Very convenient that it fell on a Saturday. Gabriel spent the morning with me in Concord while I got my hair cut at Mane Element and then we went food shopping at the Concord Cooperative Market and Hannafords. Gabriel wore his skeleton play suit and skull and cross bones socks as we paraded around the city.

When we got home, Gabriel took a power nap with Daddy, Elleigh, and Lucas. You can see Gabriel's skeleton suit on him while he is sleeping in the car seat. I wanted to make sure Gabriel got a good nap in before we hit the road for Trick or Treating. This photo was taken before we realized that Elleigh and Lucas had eaten Gabriel's Jack O Lantern. Michael left them out of the crate while he went to the dump, and apparently they devoured the face of Gabriel's pumpkin while unsupervised. Here's our pumpkin after the brutal Halloween attack. It was so windy that I can't imagine anyone could keep their pumpkins lighted last night, even with a face to help block the wind.

Once awake, we put Gabriel's costume on and drove to Grammy & Grampy Abberton's house. Daddy took a moment

to pose with Yoda and Darth V

ader before begging for treats. And of course, Grammy Abberton was all ready with special treats. Gabriel got a travel size See and Say toy and a whole container of baby puffs. And a 12 month sized outfit. Gabriel was Grammy & Grampy A's first Trick or Treater in years... maybe ever.

A house on Route 28 has had a very festive Halloween display all month. Every year they go all out with Halloween decorations, and I was excited to actually have a reason to stop and visit them this year. We went before it got too dark so their display would be slightly less scary for Gabriel. He didn't seem to mind any of the noises or costumes. And they gave out a green pumpkin covered cup with a straw (which Gabriel will certainly enjoy) and the cup had candy in it (which Mommy and Daddy will certainly enjoy.) We then put our own candy out in a bowl on the door step and then walked through our cul-de-sac Trick or Treating. Gabriel was very chipper and had a good time singing with Daddy and making horror noises. I was happy at how much fun Gabriel seemed to have walking around with us in the dark from house to house. We hit 5 houses before the sprinkle of rain became more significant. So we headed to Town Pizza for dinner. Yoda had chicken, cheese and tomato pieces off from our slices, a little crust, and guzzled a bottle of breast milk.

Gabriel Surprised Us This Morning

2009-10-31T10:36:00.000-04:00

Gabriel was sitting with Daddy on the couch and just started clapping this morning. And he's quite good at it!

Gabriel's First Jack O Lantern

2009-10-30T22:25:00.001-04:00

I finally got around to carving a design on Gabriel's pumpkin Friday night. It had been sitting (all cleaned out) just waiting to be carved since earlier this week. I went with a lower case "g" for our little Gabriel. And then I scored spirals into the hard flesh so light would seep through the spirals while the light would shine through the "g" brightly. Michael proclaimed himself a pumpkin traditionalist and didn't want me to do anything but a face, but I think he was okay with the end results. At least he didn't say anything otherwise.

Halloween Parade

2009-10-30T17:35:00.001-04:00

Today was The Learning Center's annual Halloween parade. All of the parents stood out by the visitor's entrance at the hospital to get a glimpse of the kids walking/strolling by in their Halloween costumes. Because of the H1N1 concerns, this year the parade wasn't allowed into the building. They were trying to keep the little petri dishes outside with all of their germs. I think Gabriel was quietly overwhelmed with the parade. All of these kids were bopping around in costume, and there was so much to see. He just sat in the front of his classroom's multi-baby stroller and watched. I didn't get great photos this year because I wasn't prepared for the camera frenzy that came from the other parents. Every time I had a good shot, some Mom stepped into my way. Next year I am bringing my A game, now that I know what to expect, and I will do much better at getting some fun shots.

Preparing Our Pumpkin

2009-10-26T22:51:00.009-04:00

Gabriel picked out his pumpkin earlier this month and now it is time to carve it for Halloween. We lined the tub with tissue paper from a package we recently received and then put the pumpkin and Gabriel in the tub. I sliced the top off the pumpkin and then we all took turns scooping the guts out with a spoon. Daddy did most of the work, but Elleigh and Lucas even helped by licking pumpkin slim off Gabriel's hands. I roasted some of the seeds in the oven with salt, pepper and olive oil. Mmmmm! Maybe tomorrow night we will actually get to carve a face into the pumpkin. Every project these days takes so long to accomplish.

9 Month Pediatrician Appointment

2009-10-26T22:08:00.005-04:00

Gabriel had his 9 month appointment today with his pediatrician. Gabriel is actually 9 months and 3 weeks old today. This normally would have been his one infant appointment that doesn't have any shots, but since it is flu season- we got Gabriel his regular seasonal flu vaccine. The H1N1 wasn't available in his pediatrician's office. So just one shot today that he recovered from quickly.

Gabriel's weight was 21.5 pounds and he is 29.5 inches long. If we go by the growth charts for a 9 month old, then Gabriel is in the 60th percentile for weight and 81st for height. If we go by the charts for a 10 month old, then he is in the 47th percentile for weight and 66th percentile for height. Gabriel's head measured 48 centimeters, which is the 97th percentile for 9 month olds and 95th for 10 month olds. Either way, he still has a big noggin and I am thankful I had a c-section.

At this point, I am buying Gabriel nothing smaller than a 12 month size for clothing. He recently had another growth spurt, and now he is getting too long for the 9 month old size. I'm still sending him to day care in that size and "using up" those outfits. It's very sad to put his outgrown items away for storage. I don't think his 12 month outfits will last him all winter though, so I have a few of Gymboree's 12-18 month sized outfits to make it the whole winter. Old Navy also has a 12-18 month range size too. I got Gabriel two fuzzy 12 month sized Carter's footed pajamas recently that may not last him very long either. His feet are already looking a little cramped in the feeties and the fabric isn't strechy like cotton.

Gabriel is a size 4 shoe. I just bought him winter boots in size 5 hoping they will make him through the winter. And I found a pair of Keen sandals for him on super dooper sale a few weekends ago at LL Bean. I got him a size 6 sandal and was concerned he'd never grow into them by summer's end. Now I am worried his feet will get so big that he will outgrow them before it gets warm enough to wear them. I think I read somewhere that the growth rate should slow after 12 months.

Still no teeth! He has a beautiful toothless grin.

Gabriel is healthy and developing well. We are blessed!

Outlet Shopping

2009-10-25T21:28:00.001-04:00

Gabriel and Daddy took a nap on Sunday morning in their matching maroon T-shirts and dark grey sweatpants. Too cute!

After his nap, Gabriel and I went to Borders to knit a little bit with the knitting gang. I stress "a little bit" when I look at the few rows on the toddler sock I got done.

After about an hour, we headed towards the Tanger Outlets to make a return at Carter's for Nana. We were incentivized to make the return because we got to take the credit and buy Gabriel stuff with it. We did find a winter hat and mittens set, and some new pajamas at Carter's. It turned out to be a decent afternoon weather wise, so Gabriel seemed to like strolling the entire length of the outlet with the breeze in his hair. We found new day care sneakers and winter boots at Stride Rite. We found a "My First Christmas" outfit at Gymboree and Christmas Eve pj's and a blankie. We got another winter hat and a pair of mittens at The Children's Place. We got a new pair of fuzzy footed pajamas at Old Navy.

Gabriel has recently discovered a new sound, "Ow!" And since we were winter boot shopping, I got to try to cram boots on Gabriel's feet in several stores all the while he was experimenting with , "ow!" And footwear is not Gabriel's favorite thing in the first place. "Ow, ow, Ow, OW!" I made sure to make light of the verbalization so people didn't think I was off in the back of the store hurting my baby.

Black Bean 'n' Pumpkin Chili Recipe

2009-10-18T12:26:00.003-04:00

I wanted to share this lovely recipe that I found for black bean and pumpkin chili that inspired me. Click on the link below to be directed to Taste of Home for the recipe. I never follow a recipe exactly. This is probably why I am not a great baker. But I used this recipe as a suggestion and then jazzed it up a bit. I used both chicken thighs and breasts. I find chicken that is cooked a long time just dries out, so I thought the thighs would keep a little more moisture. I also used my Penzey's chipotle powder and cilantro. The chipotle made the dish more spicy than it was originally intended. I didn't have cumin powder, so I used cumin seed. I made a double batch and sent one crock pot to school with Gabriel for teacher appreciation day and then we have been eating off the other batch ourselves all week. I got rave reviews from the teachers at The Learning Center. The taste is unique with the pumpkin in it, but because I used chipotle powder, it still tasted like chili. But it also tasted like fall to me because it was warm comfort food, and of course had the pumpkin flavor.

Black Bean 'n' Pumpkin Chili Recipe Taste of Home Recipes

Markers & Stickers

2009-10-07T21:03:00.003-04:00

The rain didn't stop the teachers and babies at The Learning Center from having just as much fun indoors as they would have had going outside! For a morning project, the group colored with some markers on paper and then added some fall and Halloween stickers. The teachers report that all of the friends were very excited to have stickers they could put on their paper. The children would stick it onto their paper and then ask for more.

For those of you who know I have grown up and really become grossed out by stickers, I am sure you are getting a laugh from imagining me opening my daily e-mail newsletter and seeing my child in a photo with stickers. As soon as I picked him up this afternoon, I looked for any stray stickers that might still be stuck to his clothes or skin. Nasty! Yuck! He was free and clear.

I also found a note on his daily log that Gabriel crawled across the floor to the infant room's refrigerator today and attempted to open the fridge himself. When the teacher asked him if he was hungry and wanted his bottle, she said Gabriel put his hand up by his mouth and nodded. We use sign language with Gabriel and putting my hand by my mouth like I am putting food in it is our sign for food.

It seems that every day now he is doing something new.

No Sippy Cups for Gabriel

2009-10-05T22:27:00.007-04:00

For the last 3 months, we have been offering Gabriel a sippy cup of water when he eats solids. It always seemed like he never had much interest in the sippy cup, and it never appeared as though Gabriel actually got much water out of his cup. So we tried a little apple juice, prune juice, and breast milk in the sippy to see if that would elicit more interest. Nope! We tried the Avent sippy cup system and a plain little Take & Toss sippy cup. I decided to get the Take & Toss straw cup for toddlers and tried giving that to Gabriel to see what would happen. Guess he's into straws and not sippies. There was no learning curve at all with the straw. Now he guzzles water after he eats dinner. Please ignore the kale, potato and apple on Gabriel's face in the video. Dinner was really good tonight!

The Deerfield Fair

2009-10-04T22:57:00.004-04:00

We took Gabriel to his first fair this afternoon. We visited the maple house soon after we entered the gates of the fairgrounds. We bought some maple cotton candy and everyone had a taste of maple syrup. (I always feel a little guilty when I enjoy New Hampshire maple syrup instead of Vermont maple syrup.) We found several exhibits of old and new tractors. Gabriel got to sit on his first tractor and he seemed to know exactly what to do with the steering wheel. A love for heavy equipment must just be one of those innate things that boys are born with. Mommy and Daddy had Italian sausages. Later on, Mommy had a big donut and Daddy had fried dough. Gabriel got a taste of both. We also went through several of the animal barns. Mommy and Gabriel pet the sheep and visited the fiber tent. The rack of knitted wool winter hats caught Gabriel's attention, and I ended up buying a grey hat with ear flaps and a sheep design on it for Gabriel to wear this winter. Gabriel got a mylar Elmo balloon just before we left. Gabriel really enjoys batting at balloons, so he will have a good time with Elmo until it deflates in a week or so. I've uploaded a video of Gabriel on his first tractor. Turn up the volume so you can hear him make the tractor sound.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2009-10-02T17:29:00.001-04:00

Not really, but I actually bought my first 2009 Christmas gifts today. The Employee Activities Committee at the hospital where I work sponsors a book fair a few times each year to raise funds. So I went down and checked out the offerings on my morning break. Ironically, none of the gifts I bought were books. But Christmas will come fast again this year, so I might as well start sooner rather than later. And on my last trip to Target, I noticed that they already had a Christmas aisle set up.

Last year, Christmas was very different since we were expecting our bundle of joy and we were focused on preparing for Gabriel's arrival. Who knew if we would be parents early? And we had so much to do in anticipation that some of our normal Christmas activities were omitted. I didn't travel to Vermont because I was so pregnant and too close to my due date.

But this year I am looking forward to figuring out what traditions we will want to start with Gabriel. And I am already thinking about what should go on Gabriel's wish list letter to Santa. Please feel free to comment if you have ideas we should consider incorporating into our new family holiday traditions.

Gabriel Plays With Leaves

2009-10-02T17:01:00.001-04:00

While Mommy and Daddy worked on Friday, Gabriel was at The Learning Center. The teachers took the babies for a walk and collected leaves. After a nap, they got the leaves out to explore them in the classroom. They are going to save the leaves that survived exploration for an upcoming project. Friday was also the last day for two of the children in Gabriel's classroom. Ella and Ben are old enough to transition to the toddler room next door. I will miss Ben especially because he always greeted me by yelling out "Baby Mama" when he saw me dropping Gabriel off. We are delighted that Gabriel will officially have a full-time slot at The Learning Center starting Monday. We were able to get enough drop in days this summer that Gabriel was essentially full-time. Mommy and Daddy had to take a few days off to cover when there wasn't a slot at The Learning Center. And thank you also to Grammy Abberton for watching Gabriel on some Wednesdays when she was off.

Peek A Boo!

2009-09-28T22:36:00.002-04:00

Sometimes it's nice to get a quick game of Peek-A-Boo in before a soak in a warm tub!

Apple Picking

2009-09-13T21:50:00.005-04:00

Gabriel and I headed to Gould Hill Orchard in Hopkinton on Sunday morning to pick apples. The weather was warm enough that we could wear short sleeves, but the sun didn't get too hot.

The Mcintosh and Cortland apples were ready. Gabriel enjoyed sitting in the grass and batting at dangling fruit. The trees were so full that Gabriel didn't have to reach far to get to the apples.

I took a bite out of a Mcintosh and then gave it to Gabriel to lick up the tart juice. He seemed to enjoy the taste of the apples. Still no teeth, so he had to stay content with just licking and gumming the apples. I hope to make Gabriel some homemade baby food apples to eat in the near future.

Lucas' Birthday!

2009-09-02T22:09:00.001-04:00

Lucas celebrated his 2nd birthday on Wednesday night. Mommy and Gabriel sang him a birthday song in the morning when he got up. And then we all went for a walk down the cul-de-sac and up the hill. Lucas got a new boomerang toy and a dino-Cuz. And he got two cans of special Merrick dog food, and Lucas and Elleigh enjoyed the Beef Pie and Sweetie Fries flavor for dinner.

Gabriel Helps With the Laundry

2009-08-29T10:01:00.005-04:00

It is just amazing how fast Gabriel's "firsts" are coming now. Turn up your sound because I narrate this video.

Because of the cooler weather today, I pulled out some of Gabriel's larger clothing with long sleeves. This is an outfit from Nana and Papa and it's a Carter's 9 month size. The pants are a little long, but the top is doing just fine. My suspicion that I should start buying at least 12 month sizes for winter feel confirmed now.

2009-08-26T21:40:00.002-04:00

Gabriel and I went to White Park again tonight to hang out with Jaxson and his Mommy again. Gabriel enjoys the swing while Jaxson is not a fan. The boys had a picnic dinner together before the rain came in and chased us back into our cars.

Gabriel Takes A Stand

2009-08-25T21:20:00.001-04:00

Standing! Gabriel doesn't get up there by himself, but once up- he can stand independently for a short period. He has even managed a few side steps without tumbling over.

Helping With Laundry

2009-08-23T21:44:00.000-04:00

Gabriel and Lucas supervising Mommy on laundry detail.

Taking Steps Towards Crawling

2009-08-23T17:45:00.000-04:00

Oh,my! It really is going to happen soon!? Gabriel has been experimenting with getting up on his hands with his belly off the floor, and rocking back and forth, for at least two weeks now. He is able to move a few feet in what ever direction something looks interesting by rolling or inching across the floor.

Today's Scoop

2009-08-21T20:43:00.005-04:00

I can't wait to get e-mail's from The Learning Center with notes, and often photos, of the things that Gabriel did during that day while I worked. And I am often amazed at what the teachers pull together for activities. Today they made squishy bags by putting paint under contact paper and sticking it to a cube they have with a mirror on the side. And then later in the morning they played with textured stamps and paint. Playing with sand paper and ice cubes was on the docket for the afternoon.

Jumpy Seat Fun!

2009-08-20T20:30:00.002-04:00

Warning! Watching bouncing baby repeatedly may cause motion sickness!

The doorway jumper allows Gabriel to get a good jump on Elleigh and Lucas. As put out as they appear, they continue to sit close to him when he is in the seat. So I can only assume they sort of like the game too.

White Park Play Date

2009-08-19T22:51:00.001-04:00

Gabriel and I met Jaxson and Alison at White Park on Wednesday night for a play date. Alison and I were in prenatal pool exercise class when we were pregnant at the end of last year. It was nice to share the joy and comiserate with someone who has a child of the same age. And it was neat to see how simliar and different the boys are in their development. Gabriel took his first swing on the play ground and really enjoyed it. I can't wait to bring him back to swing soon. The boys played on a blankie too for a little while before we had to head home to go to bed. And we've already set up our next play date together.

Candle Fund Raiser

2009-08-18T22:13:00.002-04:00

Today is the kick-off for The Learning Center's annual Yankee Candle Fund-raiser!

If you are a Yankee Candle lover and want to make an order, let me know. I have to turn in all of the final sales information by 9/8/09. The candles will be delivered for me to hand out by 10/20/09. The catalog is scratch and sniff, and I will be carrying it around with me until Labor Day weekend. It's hard to believe that I have at least 18 years of school fund raisers ahead of me.

The Boys Like Reading

2009-08-17T21:50:00.000-04:00

Daddy, Gabriel and Lucas enjoy a bedtime story together! "Guess How Much I Love You?"

Tough Night at the Dinner Table

2009-08-10T22:13:00.004-04:00

I think we got some of the sweet and white potato combination into his mouth. Gabriel was a little tired tonight and kept rubbing his eyes while he was eating. Before eating puree, I gave Gabriel some little chunks of tofu to try. I think he liked gumming them for a change in texture. He likes to grab for the chunks on his tray, but he's still not able to pinch them and get them to his own mouth.

You Make Bath Time So Much Fun...

2009-08-07T22:26:00.006-04:00

Gabriel has such a good time in the bathtub. He's always enjoyed his baths right from the start. And now that we have good bubble bath, I actually can get enough bubble coverage so I don't get obscene baby tub photos and videos to post. He doesn't mind having water dumped over his head. He likes to kick his feet, and then eventually he got into splashing his hands in the water too as he got older. Now he seems determined to play with the lever hardware in the tub that releases the water down the drain. He likes to watch us blow bubbles at him with the bubble wand that came with the California Baby bubbles. He plays with his Star Wars bath tub toy set. It's a nice end to our days.

7 Months Old

2009-08-05T22:25:00.004-04:00

Our baby turned 7 months old today.

There's mostly brown now in Gabriel's eyes. Just a little blue hanging on at the edges. So my hope that Gabriel would have Daddy's beautiful light blue eyes is long gone now. But they are not as dark brown as Mommy's yet.

Gabriel sits like a champ now. Rarely does he topple over. He even sits up in the tub all by himself these days.

He is interested in what is around him and wants to move to explore. Sometimes he becomes frustrated when he's on his stomach and can't get to things. The care givers at The Learning Center have been holding him up by the stomach in a crawling position to try to show him how to crawl. I prefer to not encourage that sort of mobility at home. He seems to be a people watcher too when he's out and about in his stroller. I can only imagine what he's thinking. And the dogs are some of his favorite things to watch. Even better when they pop up in the chair next to him to say hello and give a kiss.

The Learning Center has proved to be a smooth transition. We still need to secure some days of alternative day care before Gabriel is officially permanent full-time starting 10/5/09. But otherwise, all three of his teachers are fantastic. And Gabriel seems excited to be at The Learning Center when I drop him off in the morning. And on Monday when I picked him up, I almost felt like he wasn't happy to see me and to be going home. They do walks and water play, and paint. Yes, paint! They are quite brave with a whole room of infants. And the staff are always doing something creative with the babies like adding color to the pool water or freezing Jell-O for them to check out. And my favorite is the communication. Most days I get an e-mail, often with photos attached. And I get a little written log of what went in my baby, and what came out, when Gabriel slept, and cute comments about his day on it. And at pick up I am also assured to hear cute antidotes of how the day went in the infant room. I don't know where the teachers get all of their patience.

Gabriel shows interest in toys and seems to get that they are for fun and to be explored. Favorites so far are his Taggies football and his V-Tech baby laptop computer. Gabriel likes to close the lid on the laptop, which makes all of the lights and sounds stop, and then we have to open it back up for him so he can do it all over again. And again. And again. And again. Gabriel also seems to like to spin the wheels on vehicles. And of course the doorway jumper and his exerciser are still main stays, but he's so much more active in them now. Any tag on any item is of interest to be touched and checked out.

And most heart warming is that in the past few weeks, Gabriel has started to actually snuggle back. He has always partaken in snuggling, but now he buries his head into the crook of my neck and his little arms are starting to hug back. And he's started to put his arms into the air in anticipation of being picked up.

He makes parenthood fun, so far. It's hard to believe that someday he will be a teenager and he may never speak to us and definitely won't want to be seen in public with us.

More Photos of Gabriel- Too Cute Not to Share

2009-08-03T00:45:00.001-04:00

Shopping Like A Big Boy

2009-08-02T22:18:00.008-04:00

Mommy and Gabriel were out on the town today! After cleaning out some outgrown clothes in Gabriel's bedroom, we headed off to knitting with the ladies at Borders. Gabriel flirted, laughed, and pooped through knitting- and seemed to have had a really good time. And I worked about 3/4 of an inch on one of his blue toddler socks.

Gabriel has gotten to be a good enough sitter now that today we tried our first shopping trip without using his infant car seat in the shopping carriage. Instead, I found a shopping cart seat cover at Babies R Us. It lines the dirty carriage seat, and the version I bought has two pillows on the side to help him stay upright. Gabriel really seemed to like sitting up and being able to look all around. We started down the diaper aisle at Target and he was awake, and then after loading in some new cruiser diapers and some old Target stand by diapers, I looked up and he was passed out on one of his puffy side pillows. I pushed him around finishing my shopping having to endure all of the people ahhing over how cute he was.

While in the baby section at Target, I also found California Baby calming bubble bath. It's all natural and gentle on sensitive skin, but also has aromatherapy that is suppose to promote calming. It smelled good, and it bubbled up quite well. This impressed me because the Method bubble bath didn't bubble up for me. Gabriel really seemed to enjoy the bubbles in his tub! I like the bubble wand in the bottle so I can blow bubbles at Gabriel while he soaks. Not that Gabriel doesn't fall asleep without much trouble at night in the first place, but sleep seemed to come to him even faster and gentler tonight than normal.

We LOVE chunky organic apples!

2009-07-26T10:13:00.007-04:00

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?

2009-07-19T22:44:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-07-17T14:24:00.000-04:00

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!

2009-07-09T13:19:00.001-04:00

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

2009-07-06T14:54:00.004-04:00

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!

2009-07-05T22:45:00.006-04:00

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.

2009-07-04T23:03:00.005-04:00

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.

Easily Entertained

2009-06-28T17:21:00.000-04:00

The video isn't great, but you can still get the gist of how much Gabriel enjoys a mylar balloon. He enjoyed looking at his Easter balloon from Nana D. in early spring. But now that he is a few months older, he gets physical with his balloon. This balloon came from Mary as a leftover from her Pampered Chef open house. We've had an awful lot of fun considering the balloon was already over two weeks old when we took this video and Gabriel is still very excited about it.

Look What I Can Do!

2009-06-17T21:31:00.003-04:00

Gabriel is able to roll himself from his back to his stomach in both directions proficiently now. He's finally enjoying time on his tummy now that he has the strength to keep his head up and he can investigate things from this new position. Sometimes when on his back, Gabriel can even scooch himself a few inches. And quickly, Gabriel is learning to sit. He can sit a few seconds without help now. Then he gets wobbly and just tumbles over, so we keep padding around him in all directions. (No babies were hurt in the making of this video.)

Sassy Jumping

2009-06-12T19:48:00.002-04:00

Gabriel enjoyed a jump in his Sassy seat when he got home from day care on Friday night. And then Daddy tickled Gabriel while he sat in his chair waiting for dinner.

Mmmmm.... green peas!

2009-06-09T20:22:00.004-04:00

Gabriel tried green peas for the first time Monday night. Of everything he has tried so far, green peas went down the fastest. Here's a photo of Gabriel enjoying his peas for a second night in a row.

I learned today that Gabriel can go to The Learning Center full-time starting 7/6/09. He has the permanent Monday/Friday part-time slot, but then another child that takes Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on a drop in basis doesn't need the care between 7/7/09 and 8/7/09. So we were offered those days. What a relief. Now Michael and I need to cover the week of June 29th (July 4th holiday week) and then we don't have to worry about coverage again until August. We will have to wait to see what will be available for the rest of August and September. I am feeling less panicked now about day care coverage.

Michael, Gabriel and I go for our family visit and orientation next Monday morning at The Learning Center.

Strolling Around the Neighborhood

2009-06-08T20:33:00.003-04:00

The whole family went for a walk on Monday night. We went around the cul-de-sac and then up the road to look at the neighbor's huge perennial garden. For the first time, Gabriel sat in the chair part of his stroller instead of being put in his car seat and affixed to the stroller. He seemed to enjoy the forward facing view and had no trouble staying upright with the harness on him.

It seems like there's something new happening every day now.

When I picked Gabriel up at day care tonight, I learned that the closing date of the center has already been moved up a week. They are now closing on June 26th. I am hoping that the inconsistencies that I saw in Gabriel's care today were just a fluke. The staff may be in an initial shock from learning their employment fate and are preoccupied. My little mother voice is telling me to be prepared for an even earlier closure.

On a positive note, Gabriel had been constipated a few days. We were feeding him prune juice and apple sauce, providing belly massage, and doing every thing else we could think of in an attempt to get things moving. Well, things finally moved on Monday when he was in day care. There was a note next to the 3:15 BM that said, "WOW!" And the outfit he went to day care in came home sealed in a Ziploc bag. Oh, so glad that didn't happen while he was at home.

Child Care High Turns To Crisis

2009-06-08T06:24:00.001-04:00

I was so excited on Friday when the director of The Learning Center on the Concord Hospital campus called me to say that Gabriel will have a full-time spot at the beginning of October. YIPPEE! We finally made it to the top of the waiting list! The director was probably happier than I was since she won't have to expect weekly pestering phone calls from me to see where Gabriel is on "the list" anymore. I was also offered a part-time slot to get started after the July 4th holiday and can begin bringing Gabriel on Monday's and Friday's. I thought this was a good idea, even though having two part-time slots at two different child care centers will cost more, I thought that it would be far easier to start merging Gabriel into The Learning Center now on Monday and Friday while he has little stranger anxiety, so the big move in October when he is 9 months old won't be so traumatic. I was so pleased after I got the phone call. It was like my kid got into Harvard with a full scholarship, except, I'm still paying for everything.

The day care market in Concord is non-existent for infants, and the few spots that are out there are tough to secure. The one place we found an infant spot in Concord showed up on WMUR news recently due to a state investigation. Glad we passed on that place. I told directors of child care centers I was pregnant long before we got a chance to tell the happy news of Gabriel's pending arrival to our parents, so we could do tours and get on wait lists at those child care centers.

The Learning Center rarely has a snow day because the hospital never closes. Gabriel's pediatrician is on the Concord Hospital campus, so that means I don't need to take a whole half day off for well baby appointments, or sick baby appointments. I will have more flexibility in my work schedule since I won't have to run out of my office at 4:30 pm to make it in time to pick up Gabriel. I will be able to make all of those special events he will have at the day care since he's just a short walk across campus. (So looking forward to the Halloween parade!) I can feed him lunch instead of pumping. The Learning Center offers kindergarten and field trips when he gets older so there is no need to scramble again for child care unless I change jobs or until Gabriel goes to first grade. And right now The Learning Center offers summer programs for kids up to grade 3. On most days I will now be able to have Gabriel in day care hands for less than 9 hours verses where he is now it is 10 hours due to the commute from Concord to Epsom. There are so many things to celebrate with his acceptance at The Learning Center. October just can't come soon enough!

When I drove to pick up Gabriel at his current day care center that same Friday, I was on a high. I knew that it would be a hard conversation to talk to the current director about moving him to part-time after July 4th, but I was ready. And then when I went to have the conversation, I learned that Gabriel's current child care center is closing. WHAT!? They hope to be able to keep enough staff and kids to make it through July 4th. My best child care day ever was now my worst day care nightmare. I am in high anxiety now trying to figure out how to piece together child care coverage between now and his full time slot in October.

I have to remember to keep counting my blessings at this point. For one, Gabriel is a great baby. They call him Smiley at day care and tell us how easy he is. So thankfully we don't have a cranky baby to try to find child care for. And Gabriel is social, so he seems to enjoy people right now and he flashes smiles easily. The Learning Center had already offered him the Monday and Friday slot after July 4th, so I have 2 out of the 5 work days covered. Grandma Abberton has Wednesday's off since she works four 10-hour shifts, and she is willing to spend some quality time with her grandson this summer. 3 out of the 5 days covered. A handful of people have mentioned they would do child care for us previously, so we will start the process of following up and trying to figure out who really was serious and how to work all of the child care together in a way that works best for Gabriel. And I am spreading the word to everyone I can think of who might potentially know of some safe solutions in the Concord area. We at least have an end point knowing we have the full-time slot in October.

Falling Asleep at the Table

2009-06-02T21:45:00.006-04:00

Gabriel had a hard day and just couldn't stay awake long enough to have apple sauce for his dinner. It takes a lot of energy to grow so fast.

We Rocked 'n Raced

2009-05-20T22:52:00.003-04:00

The 2009 Merrimack County Savings Bank Rock 'N Race was a tremendous success! Thank you to those of you who sponsored Gabriel and me. The official tallies are not yet available, but there were at least 6,100 people who walked and ran the 5K in support of Concord Hospital's Payson Center for Cancer care. Gabriel enjoyed looking at all of the people and flirting with my co-workers. He slept for most of the actual walking. I got a work out pushing Gabriel up and down the hills of Concord. We crossed the finish line at 1 hour and 16 minutes. I think that's very respectable considering I was in the hospital on oxygen 4 months ago. Maybe Gabriel and I can make it a goal to finish in a better time next year. Thank you Sue N. for taking this photo of us on the state house steps.

Excited for the Rock 'n Race

2009-05-19T09:17:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow night, Gabriel and I are joining some of my co-workers for the seventh annual Rock 'N Race fun run/walk in downtown Concord! This year's race benefits Concord Hospital's Payson Center for Cancer Care and begins on the Statehouse Lawn at 6 p.m. Gabriel and I will get there early so I can find close by parking. The 5K is going to be draining enough on me, so no need to add more distance by parking far away from the start/finish line. I am still trying to regain lung capacity from the damage of the pulmonary embolism I had on January 19th.

It's not too late to donate if you would like to support Gabriel and I in our endeavor. Click on the Rock 'n Race badge in the side bar and it will direct you to our on-line donation page. We know this is a hard time financially for some of our friends and family members, so if you can't donate- still send us a ton of positive energy! That will be just as much appreciated.

Afternoon in Portsmouth

2009-05-17T16:50:00.002-04:00

We took a drive out to Portsmouth on Sunday and spent the late afternoon shopping and grabbing dinner.

Both Michael and I were in need of sneakers. I suspect that my Asics were at least 3 years old. So we went to Runner's Alley to get fitted for new athletic shoes. I ended up with a pair of pink & gray Mizuno sneakers that feel great on my feet. They are very, very comfy- but the store didn't have any other color combinations to pick from. The new sneakers will come in handy for the Rock 'n Race coming up this week. I am wearing a size ten now that my feet have spread from pregnancy. Michael got a pair of Brooks. Gabriel slept through the whole fitting business.

Gabriel and I shopped at Life Is Good while Michael looked at books in the shop next door. I have liked LIG products for a while, but have a new appreciation for the "Good Vibes" of the company since Bert Jacobs (Chief Executive Optimist) was the keynote speaker at a Human Resources conference I attended recently. I picked out an optimistic T-shirt for myself, a Rocket dog toy for Gabriel, and bought some birthday presents for some lucky little people. Gabriel slept through LIG, even while I squeezed his stroller between racks of T-shirts.

And then we went toy shopping at G. Willikers and found some more birthday presents, and little ball toys for Gabriel. Gabriel slept through this store as well.

Michael and I went to Muddy River Smokehouse and had some things to eat that would never be worthy of a low cholesterol diet. Michael had the snakebite chicken burrito while I had a combo plate of Texas Beef Ribs and smoked sausage. I have plenty of leftovers and plan to have ribs again Monday night for dinner, and then have the smoked sausage with pasta for dinner another night with Michael. The Muddy River Smokehouse definitely has generous portions! Gabriel woke up while we were at Muddy River and seemed surprised to see his new Rocket dog toy.

It never did clear up brightly on Sunday, but I was glad we left the house and got some exercise strolling around the streets of Portsmouth. I thought the temperature was just right for a jacket and a leisurely walk.

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:44:00.004-04:00

Gabriel and I went to Vermont all by ourselves on Mother's Day to see Nana Doaner. Gabriel slept on the ride over so he was wide awake to visit with the family when we arrived. Mother's Day weekend just wouldn't be Mother's Day without flower shopping. Nana, Gabriel and I went to Pinewood Gardens to pick out some of our first flowers of the season. Nana spent some of her Mother's Day gift certificate. Gabriel bought me a Rosemary plant. I got myself a pink Million Bell hanging plant for the deck. It was a little brisk as we shopped, but Gabriel held out well while we shopped around. Nana and I can get a little carried away in our flower shopping frenzy. I'm posting a photo of Gabriel and Nana, though I know Nana is going to hate the photo of herself, but it really is a good picture. I also found an old photo of Grammy Johnson and Nana shopping for flowers in the same exact spot on Mother's Day 2004. I suspect Grammy Johnson was shopping with us in spirit this Mother's Day as well.

Gabriel's 4 Month Well Baby Appointment

2009-04-29T20:35:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday afternoon, Michael and I took Gabriel to his pediatrician office for his 4 month well baby appointment and immunizations. Gabriel was 16 weeks and 2 days old. He weighed 13 lbs and 14 ounces, which is still the 50th percentile for his age. And he was in the 75th percentile for his head circumference and height. The nurse practitioner reports he is growing consistently and right on schedule. Gabriel has had a cough for a week now, which came either from Daddy or the little 12 month old girl in day care. And he seems to be developing a cold on top of the cough since his nose and eyes are runny and goopy now too. I've been told that this is par for starting day care and being exposed to all of the new bugs. The good news is that his double ear infections seem to have resolved. Gabriel again took his shots like a trooper. He calmed down quickly. He goes for his 6 month appointment and shots at the end of June.

After the appointment, Gabriel and Mommy hung out at the hospital for a while. We filled a prescription at the pharmacy, visited the Human Resources staff, and checked out the lactation room. We stayed on the campus because there was a reunion for babies recently born at The Family Place. It was nice to see other babies and their Mommies and Daddies. We saw some babies from the Baby Steps classes we use to be able to attend before Mommy's return to work. And most exciting was we finally got to meet Jaxson and his mom, Alison. Alison and I took prenatal pool exercise classes together before we had the boys. We plan to set some play dates for the future.

Karen's Green Message on Earth Day

2009-04-25T09:55:00.004-04:00

My friend Karen Rix had a lovely letter to the Concord Monitor published on Earth Day all about the original green group- The Girl Scouts. Check out the article here.

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-12T21:51:00.004-04:00

Gabriel makes one cute, fuzzy bunny! The dogs are quite happy that Mommy has taken to dressing up the boy rather than them these days.

The Easter Bunny brought a huge pile of loot for the whole family. I think the Easter Bunny forgot that Gabriel doesn't eat anything but breast milk right now. So Mommy is working hard at eating the supply of sugar and chocolate that The Bunny left off. Hope the Easter Bunny came to your house too!

Mommy, Daddy and Gabriel went to the Egg Shell Restaurant in Loudon to have Easter breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa Abberton, and Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Norm. And then we went and hung out at Grandma and Grandpa Abberton's house for a leisurely visit to allow our breakfasts to digest. It was Gabriel's first visit to Grandma and Grampa Abberton's house.

And if that wasn't enough Easter excitement, we went to Lowe's where Mommy and Daddy bought a new fridge while Gabriel napped in his car seat in the shopping carriage. We will get delivery of the new fridge as early as next Sunday.

Over The Mountain And Through The Woods...

2009-04-11T21:35:00.003-04:00

... to Grandmother's house we go! Gabriel made his first trek to Nana and Papa's house on Saturday. Gabriel slept the whole way to Vermont. When we got to Nana and Papa's, he stayed up for 3 and a half hours. He spent the time smiling at Nana and Papa, playing with his Easter balloon, sucking on the ears of his new bunny, and learning how to run the remote. He tried not to, but he did eventually pass out. And Mommy and Daddy loaded him back in the car at that point and drove home. The round trip makes for a long day, but we hadn't been to Vermont since November.

Gabriel's First Fundraiser

2009-04-09T22:10:00.000-04:00

Gabriel will be joining me for this year's Rock 'n Race in Concord on May 20th. We will walk 5 kilometers with thousands of other people in order to raise money for The Payson Center for Cancer Care at Concord Hospital. I have participated in this 5K for many years- as a volunteer, a runner and a walker. Well, minus the one year is was raining and I chickened out. Human Resources puts a team together and I plan to push Gabriel in his stroller. It's my favorite 5K ever since there is music and food along the pathway. If you'd like to sponsor Gabriel and I for the Rock 'n Race, please visit our fundraising web page. This year, donations can be made directly on-line. Or, we will be happy to accept donations the old-fashioned way too. Gabriel and I are happy that it's getting warm enough to start our walking training program.

double ear infections

2009-04-08T22:41:00.001-04:00

Gabriel had his first non-routine appointment with Concord Pediatrics on Wednesday. He had a fever over the weekend that Tylenol took care of, once we figured out he had a fever. By Monday, he started rubbing his ear against his car seat and bouncy seat. By Tuesday night, it was clear that Gabriel was having discomfort trying to nurse. So on Wednesday morning, I took Gabriel to the pediatrician. The diagnosis was double ear infections. Poor boy! We were instructed to give him Tylenol and Ibuprofen alternately. The two medicines seemed to keep him comfortable enough to sleep and keep him from being grumpy thankfully.

11 Weeks and 5 Days Old

2009-03-28T10:57:00.004-04:00

Parents told me when I was pregnant to enjoy every minute with the baby, as the time will go so fast. It certainly does! I have finished my eligible time out of work under the Family Medical Leave Act and will be returning to work on Monday, March 30th. I have already started picking through work e-mail's via remote access just so I am not as overwhelmed when I return on Monday.

Meanwhile, Gabriel has grown so fast! He has some outfits that are 6 months sized that he can wear now, and he will most certainly start the summer off in 6 month clothing. He is also going to bed in his crib now. It only took about a week to transition him from our bed to his crib. Unfortunately, it does make for a more disruptive sleep for Mom and Dad than we have had for the last several weeks. If Gabriel stirs or needs his pacifier popped back in, we have to get up and out of bed and go to his room now. And Gabriel has to get uncomfortable enough that he makes noises that can be heard on the baby monitor in order to tell us he needs a minor adjustment. Gabriel pushes himself around on his mattress with his strong legs, and even can flip himself onto his side now. These movements tend to set off his Angel alarm, which of course makes us go running into his room to make sure he is still breathing. Gabriel doesn't need to be swaddled anymore in order for him to settle down at night, though he does still fight going to sleep as if he doesn't want to miss anything. Usually by 9:30 pm as of late, Gabriel is ready to go to bed and for the most part he will sleep through until morning. He starts to sleep lighter and wake up around 4:30 am like clock work, but will sleep in a snoozing pattern with a little intervention. Considering everything, he's a good sleeper, which I think is the whole key to enjoying maternity leave. I can't imagine taking care of an infant completely exhausted all the time. We have also noticed that Gabriel seems to be losing some of his hair off the top of his head, but not in the back yet. And his eyes are not as blue as they were when he was born. There are some flecks of brown in there now, but the blue isn't totally gone. I have given up hope though that he'd get Daddy's pretty light blue eyes. Gabriel still hates tummy time, but we do insist he tries it every day. Maybe his day care providers will take on the challenge of getting him to do tummy time so we don't have to make him cry during our precious few hours that we will have him home at night on work days.

This is a photo of our boy this morning, snoozing in our bed. He put himself on his side and was soothing himself with his pacifier.

Big plans for this weekend include enjoying the beautiful weather forecasted for today, and maybe heading to Babies R Us to look into a jumpy seat and/or an exercise play center for Gabriel to start using in the upcoming month. He has strong legs and I know he will love a jumpy seat.

Gabriel's Two Month Appointment

2009-03-25T21:46:00.004-04:00

We took Gabriel to his pediatrician's office today for his 2 month appointment. He was a very good boy. He weighs 12 pounds and 12 ounces now, which is the 50th percentile for his age. And he is 24.5 inches long, the 75th percentile for height according to the ARNP that examined him. Charts I found on the internet show that he is more between the 75th and 90th percentile for his height. Either way, I am still not sure where the height is coming from. And his head is 16.5 inches in circumference, which is between the 75th and 90th percentile for his head size. The big noggin comes from Daddy. Gabriel was a trooper for his vaccines- three shots in the thighs and a liquid vaccine he took orally. He did cry when he got his shots, but he was soothed quickly. The photo of Daddy and Gabriel was taken in the exam room before he got shots. Gabriel slept most of the morning following his appointment. He had a low grade fever in the early afternoon that Tylenol took care of. And he's a bit cranky this evening, not that I blame him. He doesn't seem to be sore, but those were awfully big needles in comparison to his little legs. I am finding that the new temporal thermometer is a lot more convenient than the old fashioned rectal thermometer.

Gabriel's First Day in Child Care

2009-03-24T22:08:00.002-04:00

Michael and I dropped Gabriel off at Precious Angels Childcare & Enrichment Center this morning just after 7 am for his first trial day of day care. Because he is going to the center so early in the morning, Gabriel gets left off in a communal room until enough kids come to break off into the age appropriate rooms a little later. So drop off is a bit chaotic. Gabriel was asleep when we left him, so he did fine with the separation. Mommy had a little melt down in the lobby though. I felt bad about "wasting" a day of maternity leave with Gabriel by putting him in day care. But I am glad to have all of the emotion behind me now rather than trying to deal with it on Monday in addition to my return to work. Gabriel was apparently pleasant on his first day, though, Katelin called by 3 pm to say he had already eaten all of the breast milk I sent with him. So he had a fourth bottle of formula to make it through the day. Gabriel goes again on Thursday for his second trial day, and then he is full time on March 30th- the day Mommy returns to work. I can't believe how fast the 12 weeks have gone.

Oh, Lordy, Daddy's 40!

2009-03-17T22:29:00.004-04:00

Michael turned 40 today. Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Gabriel and I picked Michael up at work today and took him out to lunch for his favorite food- Pizza. We went and got slices at Sal's pizza. I really enjoy the flavor combinations and got BBQ chicken pizza for lunch. Of course, Mike had to pay for his own pizza because I forgot Sal's only takes cash and I didn't have any cash on me.

When Daddy got home from work, we went for our first family walk around the cul-de-sac. We saw a glimpse of spring today and it was still warm enough this evening to enjoy a walk.

Michael has been craving tuna melts lately, so we made tuna melts for dinner.

We finished dinner just in time to go outside and watch the space station, with the shuttle docked to it, go through the sky. It came up on the southwest horizon and passed overhead until it went out of sight on the northeast horizon. It was in view for 6 minutes.

We are celebrating birthday week this year for Michael. We have something special planned for him each day for seven days. However, plans have needed to be altered a bit since Daddy surprised us with the need for another business trip this week. So he takes off to New York tomorrow and we put the special birthday treats on hold until he gets back.

Gabriel is 10 Weeks Old

2009-03-16T20:11:00.002-04:00

Gabriel was 10 weeks old on Monday. The little guy changes so fast. He has started to outgrow many of his newborn outfits, mostly due to length. But he isn't quite big enough around the middle yet to keep up the 3 month sized clothing. It saddens me to have to pull out the garments that he's outgrown to put them away in storage. And we just have a day or two left of size 1 diapers and then we start on size 2. Gabriel has some chunkiness now to his cheeks, stomach, chest, thighs and calves. His unofficial weight on Monday was 12 pounds even according to the bathroom scale. And on Monday night, Gabriel took a rattle in his hand and stuffed it into his mouth. It's the first time I have seen him take interest in a toy in his hand like that. Gabriel really enjoys his jungle mat now. He can shake the poles enough by tugging on the hanging toys or kicking to change the music himself. And he is able to entertain himself longer now as his attention span gets longer. Gabriel still isn't a fan of tummy time, though he needs to do a little bit every day to build neck and upper body strength. He started using his Bumbo seat last week, and already with one week's time he is a lot stronger and can keep his head up longer. Gabriel has the most pleasant coo and a little shriek when he is delighted. And it just melts my heart when he smiles at me.

The time is flying by so fast. Very few of the things I thought I would accomplish on maternity leave have gotten done. I can't believe I need to return to work in just two short weeks. Gabriel trials a couple of days of child care next week. I have quite a store of frozen breast milk in anticipation of him being away from me during the work days. I'm hoping to continue breast feeding at least until Gabriel starts taking solids at 6 months, but I know it will be quite hard to keep up a milk supply while working full-time. And there won't be much time with him on work days. He may be up with me a little in the morning, and then a few hours at night before he goes to bed.

Gabriel Enjoys His New Blankie

2009-03-12T21:02:00.003-04:00

Shelly and Steve sent Gabriel a package that arrived today. It was a nice surprise! In it was this bright blue crocheted blankie and a Reed & Barton divided baby plate in the shape of a whale. Very cute! You can see that Gabriel is already enjoying the blankie. I don't want to rush Gabriel, but it will be fun to use the plate when he starts eating solid food. Thank you, Shelly and Steve! I believe Gabriel is a first cousin one time removed from Shelly.

Lora and theYoda Sweater

2009-03-11T23:36:00.000-04:00

Gabriel and I made it to the ManchVegas knitting group Wednesday night at Barnes & Noble in Manchester. This was Gabriel's first visit, and most importantly, he got to meet Lora. Lora knitted Gabriel a lovely orange Yoda sweater. The sweater is in a kimono style so it makes it easy to adjust the size. He's been able to wear it since he was born with the sleeves rolled up. Lora immediately put Gabriel to sleep when she held him, and then she continued to hold him for at least another hour while I got to knit. I worked on the heel gusset of a blue wool sock for Gabriel to wear next fall. If you are lucky enough to be a member of Ravelry, you can check out all of the specs on the sweater on the website. Lora's username is Lorak. Thank you, Lora! We love the Yoda sweater.

Lots for Tots

2009-03-05T22:10:00.002-05:00

Even though the thermometer said it was only in the 30's on Thursday, it felt much warmer outside. I wore a nylon spring jacket and was perfectly comfortable leaving the house. Gabriel and I went to Manchester to check out Lots for Tots. Lots for Tots is a children's resale store, focusing mostly on reselling children's clothing. It was fun looking through the whole wall of 0-12 month baby clothing, hunting for bargains on name brand baby outfits. There were some really cute things there, especially for girls. I think I bugged the mother of a newborn girl by showing her all of the cute infant girl outfits that I came across. I purchased a whole bag of clothes for the transition to day care for less than $40 that included Gymboree, Zutano and Gap items. I got several plain sweatshirts so he will have something to wear in the mornings late spring and early summer until it warms up later in the day. Gabriel is such a good shopper. I timed the trip with nap time so he slept in the carrier while Mommy searched the racks. Here's a link to Lots for Tots if you want to check it out yourself. Gabriel and I opened the moon roof on the drive back home and enjoyed the tease of spring.

Gabriel and His Mobile

2009-02-27T12:39:00.005-05:00

Gabriel was enjoying his mobile in the crib this morning and I shot video of him. We are starting the transition of Gabriel to sleeping in his crib at night in his own room. During the day, I am putting him in the crib so that he gets use to it. I am trying to put him in the crib for some of his naps, but to move him while he is sleeping results in him waking up, so there has been no actual nap in the crib yet. We don't want to transition too briskly because with the sleeping arrangements the way they are, we are enjoying good spans of sleep at night. Last night, Gabriel slept 8-1/2 hours!

Birthday Wishes!

2009-02-27T09:54:00.007-05:00

Grandma A is celebrating a milestone birthday today, though we aren't going to tell you how young she is. We are looking forward to going out to dinner tonight with Grandma and Grandpa.