These are the ways you currently communicate:
You can point to:
your head
your teeth
your belly
your nose (this one is new - you need a little prompting)
You can say/repeat, but we're not sure you know what they mean:
Oprah
gracious (you said this when playing your "gracious" game with Grandma)
mama (you occasionally say this when we've put you to bed but you don't want to go to sleep)
da (you seem to say this when Dad comes home)
no (we told you, "No touch" and you said "no" a number of times)
tick tock (you say this while we change your diaper)
tickle tickle (you make noises that sound kind of like this when you tickle yourself)
Definite words:
dropped
stuck
buh (for "bye")
boom (when you fall down)
up (when you want to be picked up or put down)
You understand:
when we ask you to close the cabinet door
when we ask you to turn off/on a light switch or the tv
when we ask you to sit down so you can have a snack
when we ask you to bring us a book
when we tell you "no touch"
when we ask you to dance (you don't do this much anymore)
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
Monday, January 16, 2006
First Birthday
Dear Gabe,
Happy first birthday! I can't believe you're already one! Everyone told me how fast time flies when you have a child. I believed them but didn't understand how much it really speeds by. I feel sad today because I know how quickly the first year has gone and I don't want the rest of the years to pass me by so fast. But I'm also so happy to see how you've grown and to reflect on the wonderful little person you're becoming!
The thing I've loved most about your first year is being your mom. I know that sounds a bit trite and typical, but I've never been a mom before and I love it. It is a huge honor to take care of you everyday, to teach you little things, to comfort you when your sad, to play when you're happy, and to cuddle you when you're tired. I know all those things will be continue as you get older, but I really have liked them this year.
There are lots of things I would wish for you, but these are a few of the highlights that come to my mind...
I hope you come to know Jesus as your own personal Savior. I want you to know Him the way I know Him - as a wonderful, loving, holy Father who desires amazing things for your life.
I hope you learn to feed yourself. I love feeding you, but you're so picky on the textures you like. I hope you start liking a variety of foods and that you like to try to eat them with your own spoon.
I hope you learn to enjoy peace and calm. Those aren't always available in large quantities at our house since your dad and I are pretty intense people, but I want you to have opportunities to experience them and know how to seek them out for yourself.
I hope you always know I love you fully. You don't have to meet any standards or goals to be loved by me. You just are.
I hope you escape my hangups. That's probably too tall an order, but at the very least I want you to know that I know I have my own hangups and issues and I'm sorry that they'll probably effect you.
Happy first birthday to my very precious son! I love you!
Much love,
Mom
Happy first birthday! I can't believe you're already one! Everyone told me how fast time flies when you have a child. I believed them but didn't understand how much it really speeds by. I feel sad today because I know how quickly the first year has gone and I don't want the rest of the years to pass me by so fast. But I'm also so happy to see how you've grown and to reflect on the wonderful little person you're becoming!
The thing I've loved most about your first year is being your mom. I know that sounds a bit trite and typical, but I've never been a mom before and I love it. It is a huge honor to take care of you everyday, to teach you little things, to comfort you when your sad, to play when you're happy, and to cuddle you when you're tired. I know all those things will be continue as you get older, but I really have liked them this year.
There are lots of things I would wish for you, but these are a few of the highlights that come to my mind...
I hope you come to know Jesus as your own personal Savior. I want you to know Him the way I know Him - as a wonderful, loving, holy Father who desires amazing things for your life.
I hope you learn to feed yourself. I love feeding you, but you're so picky on the textures you like. I hope you start liking a variety of foods and that you like to try to eat them with your own spoon.
I hope you learn to enjoy peace and calm. Those aren't always available in large quantities at our house since your dad and I are pretty intense people, but I want you to have opportunities to experience them and know how to seek them out for yourself.
I hope you always know I love you fully. You don't have to meet any standards or goals to be loved by me. You just are.
I hope you escape my hangups. That's probably too tall an order, but at the very least I want you to know that I know I have my own hangups and issues and I'm sorry that they'll probably effect you.
Happy first birthday to my very precious son! I love you!
Much love,
Mom
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Since Your Dedication
Dear Gabe,
I've been meaning to write this for a few days now, but I just wanted to tell you how special your dedication was for your dad and me. It was exciting for us to be "recognized" as a family and to commit to being a family that honors God and teaches you about who He is and about the relationship He wants to have with you. It's very overwhelming to think about how to teach you about God; He's much bigger than I can understand. So how can I teach you something I don't fully know myself? All I know is I need to build my relationship with God so He can teach you about Himself through me.
You're crawling now, and you just got a tooth! It makes me a little bit sad to see you growing up. You're getting very big now and you look like a little boy more everyday - you're not the little tiny baby you used to be. But everytime you change, I find new things I love about you!
Okay - I just heard you getting up from a nap so I'll have to cut this short! I love you heaps and loads and bunches!
Love,
Mom
I've been meaning to write this for a few days now, but I just wanted to tell you how special your dedication was for your dad and me. It was exciting for us to be "recognized" as a family and to commit to being a family that honors God and teaches you about who He is and about the relationship He wants to have with you. It's very overwhelming to think about how to teach you about God; He's much bigger than I can understand. So how can I teach you something I don't fully know myself? All I know is I need to build my relationship with God so He can teach you about Himself through me.
You're crawling now, and you just got a tooth! It makes me a little bit sad to see you growing up. You're getting very big now and you look like a little boy more everyday - you're not the little tiny baby you used to be. But everytime you change, I find new things I love about you!
Okay - I just heard you getting up from a nap so I'll have to cut this short! I love you heaps and loads and bunches!
Love,
Mom
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Putting You To Sleep
Dear Gabe,
I feel really bad today because you are crying. I hate it when you cry. What's worse is you really want us to pick you up, cuddle with you, nurse you, etc., but we aren't doing it. I'm feeling really bad today so I wanted to tell you why we're doing this.
You recently stopped sleeping well. You were really refusing to take any naps at all. And you were getting very tired! So we knew you needed to start to learn how to go to sleep on your own and how to soothe yourself. We've tried a variety of things in the past to help you learn this, but none of them really worked. So what we settled on is putting you in your crib and sitting with you until you fall asleep. We pat you, shush you, and occasionally pick you up, but for the most part we let you learn what makes you feel more sleepy.
Yesterday was the first day. You were awake in your crib for an hour before you fell asleep. It was a very long hour for me. Then you wouldn't sleep at all for your second nap. For bed, you were awake in your crib for an hour and forty minutes. It felt like eternity. We don't know yet if it is working, but I sure hope so!
Anyway, I just want to tell you that Dad and I love you very much and we feel badly that you have to be unhappy while we work this out. We wish we could do it for you and make it easy for you. I'm sure this won't be the last thing we wish we could fix. But know that we love you and we are trying to figure out how to do the best things for you!
Love,
Mom
I feel really bad today because you are crying. I hate it when you cry. What's worse is you really want us to pick you up, cuddle with you, nurse you, etc., but we aren't doing it. I'm feeling really bad today so I wanted to tell you why we're doing this.
You recently stopped sleeping well. You were really refusing to take any naps at all. And you were getting very tired! So we knew you needed to start to learn how to go to sleep on your own and how to soothe yourself. We've tried a variety of things in the past to help you learn this, but none of them really worked. So what we settled on is putting you in your crib and sitting with you until you fall asleep. We pat you, shush you, and occasionally pick you up, but for the most part we let you learn what makes you feel more sleepy.
Yesterday was the first day. You were awake in your crib for an hour before you fell asleep. It was a very long hour for me. Then you wouldn't sleep at all for your second nap. For bed, you were awake in your crib for an hour and forty minutes. It felt like eternity. We don't know yet if it is working, but I sure hope so!
Anyway, I just want to tell you that Dad and I love you very much and we feel badly that you have to be unhappy while we work this out. We wish we could do it for you and make it easy for you. I'm sure this won't be the last thing we wish we could fix. But know that we love you and we are trying to figure out how to do the best things for you!
Love,
Mom
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Catching Up
I never intend to go this long between updates! The point of this was to help me keep track of my life, but that won't work very well if I don't write regularly!
Gabe is funny. I can't believe how big he is getting. Yesterday, for some strange reason (although it made sense at the time), I decided to call him "Stanley." Well, he thought that was the funniest thing. Tahd would drag it out a bit when he said it - kind of like "Staahhhnleeey" - and Gabe would laugh and laugh. He got hiccups and everything. It was very cute. Here's a general update on him:
* He eats a variety of solid foods - oatmeal and rice cereal, arrowroot biscuits & Gerber puffs, bananas, avocados, peaches, apricots, pears, apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash. There might be a few others, but that basically covers it.
* He goes to bed around 8:00 at night and usually sleeps until around 4:00/5:00 to eat.
* He takes 2 naps a day - AM and PM. Occasionally he takes 2 PM naps.
* He wears size 6-12 month clothing.
* His eyes look like they might be changing color to brown.
* He has no teeth.
* He goes through about 5 diapers a day.
* He loves to take a bath and has gotten very proficient at splashing. He also loves to "swim" in Grandma and Grandpa's pool.
* He has a fair amount of separation anxiety; he cries when I leave the room quite regularly.
* He still doesn't go to bed awake and go to sleep by himself - only on a rare occasion.
* He is discovering his hands and how he can move them.
* He can creep quite quickly across a room.
* He wakes up anywhere between 6:30 and 8:30 each morning.
* He says lots of syllables but no words. His favorite syllable seems to be "ba."
* He likes to ride in his stroller and is almost always very well-behaved in public, even if he is tired.
* He doesn't really like to be left in the nursery.
* He likes to play "Peekaboo," "How Big Is Gabe," "Horsey," and "Where'd Gabe Go."
* He seems to like to watch older preschoolers.
Okay - well I need to get ready for my hair appointment so I should go do that. I need to dry my hair so I can have her wash it and dry it again in a few hours... go figure!
Gabe is funny. I can't believe how big he is getting. Yesterday, for some strange reason (although it made sense at the time), I decided to call him "Stanley." Well, he thought that was the funniest thing. Tahd would drag it out a bit when he said it - kind of like "Staahhhnleeey" - and Gabe would laugh and laugh. He got hiccups and everything. It was very cute. Here's a general update on him:
* He eats a variety of solid foods - oatmeal and rice cereal, arrowroot biscuits & Gerber puffs, bananas, avocados, peaches, apricots, pears, apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash. There might be a few others, but that basically covers it.
* He goes to bed around 8:00 at night and usually sleeps until around 4:00/5:00 to eat.
* He takes 2 naps a day - AM and PM. Occasionally he takes 2 PM naps.
* He wears size 6-12 month clothing.
* His eyes look like they might be changing color to brown.
* He has no teeth.
* He goes through about 5 diapers a day.
* He loves to take a bath and has gotten very proficient at splashing. He also loves to "swim" in Grandma and Grandpa's pool.
* He has a fair amount of separation anxiety; he cries when I leave the room quite regularly.
* He still doesn't go to bed awake and go to sleep by himself - only on a rare occasion.
* He is discovering his hands and how he can move them.
* He can creep quite quickly across a room.
* He wakes up anywhere between 6:30 and 8:30 each morning.
* He says lots of syllables but no words. His favorite syllable seems to be "ba."
* He likes to ride in his stroller and is almost always very well-behaved in public, even if he is tired.
* He doesn't really like to be left in the nursery.
* He likes to play "Peekaboo," "How Big Is Gabe," "Horsey," and "Where'd Gabe Go."
* He seems to like to watch older preschoolers.
Okay - well I need to get ready for my hair appointment so I should go do that. I need to dry my hair so I can have her wash it and dry it again in a few hours... go figure!
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