No Sippy Cups for Gabriel

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

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!

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

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!

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

Apple Picking

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!

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

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.

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.