Nhamo in paradise

And more growth...grasping and teething

...text to come later...

Growth Spurt

Snacking all night long and fussy in the morning - it looks like we're starting a growth spurt over here.  I knew he was due for one, but was really enjoying the good sleepful nights and nonfussy days we've been having!  He really is growing like crazy.  In a few weeks, I'm betting 70% of his clothes won't fit him (which is good timing, because auntie and uncle J's  baby shower is at the end of February.)  Also, as I posted a few days ago, , his social and physical development is just skyrocketing.

Here he is sitting in his little bumby for the first time (with a little extra neck support.)  His 2 month old doctors appt. said he had the neck control of a 4 month old!  Truth be told, however, he really doesn't like the seat that much lately - I think it's too much 'work' for him right now (kind of like tummy time.)

We have to bribe him with twinkling lights to get any kind of productive tummy time going.  :-)  He just loves this star that lights up and plays music.  How quickly things change as a parent!  When we first received this star, Ty and both thought we wouldn't let him play with it.  We both don't want him hooked on electronic stuff.  Here we are 3 months later, and the star has become our best friend.   Need 5 minutes to finish eating?  Put the star on!  Need to encourage him to lift his head up - put the star up!  LOL

Here's a cute little expression.   

 

Here's Gabriel on his mat with the mobile.  Around two months old he recognized he could get it to move if he kicked the side of the mat.  In the last week or so, we moved the mobile down closer so he could reach it (thanks for the suggestion nana and papa!)  Sure enough, he started batting at it and now he just goes crazy when we put it up.  He'll bat and kick at the same time, watch it rock all over the place and just laugh and laugh.

You know your a parent when...

You reach into your pocket for your hankie and realize you've been blowing your nose on a onesie.  :-)

Happy 3 Month Birthday, Gabriel!

Happy 3 month birthday, kiddo!  Things to blog about when I get the chance...
- baby coos
- reaching out for the rattle for the first time (b and n)
- grasping the rattle and bringing it to his mouth
- grasping our fingers and tasting them
- lifting his head and shoulders of the ground
- smiling at everyone in market of choice (and then continuing to be a social butterfly all week)
- exploding poop!
- making monkey noises with baba
- starting to try to pull himself up on baba's fingers
- understanding communication and expectations a little more.  For example, waits for us to let him out of the carseat instead of screaming as soon as we put the carseat on the floor.  He knows we will get him (however,

Queerspawn

Except for a few football games, Gabriel has yet to really notice any of the pictures on the various 'screens' around the house.  Yesterday, Ty was watching some Eddie Izzard  pieces on YouTube with him on her lap.  He actually looked at the screen and started grinning and laughing.  Thinking he might like some more baby-age type stuff, she pulled up various cartoons for him.  Nope!  He began to fuss and cry, and only stopped when she put Eddie back up!  That's our little queer spawn.  :-) 

Guess who slept through the night?

Needy boy...

Usually our little guy spends time under his playmat in the morning while mama and baba eat breakfast.  He loves his playmat and will talk and giggle the whole time.  This morning, however, he played for a few minutes and then got fussy.  We tried the swing, and he was quiet, but just didn't seem very happy.  Baba went over and picked him up, put him on her shoulder and started singing to him.  He immediately clutched onto her, put his head on her shoulder and relaxed into her, letting out a little baby sigh.  As I'm writing this, they are on song #5 of his favorite CD and he is fast asleep.  Poor needy little boy this morning.  We love you so much.

After bath cuddles

Around here, bath time is baba time.   We've been giving Gabriel a bath every evening whether he needs one or not (most often not) in order to get a routine going.  Our routine consists of the 4 'B's.  Around 7:30pm, it's bathtime, then 'bundle' (where we put his swaddle thingy on him), book and boobie  Although lately the book gets dropped because he doesn't want to wait to eat.  I think we'll try to read to him *while* he eats so it's at least still in the routine. 

"Hi Nu"

This was Gabriel's first 'i' comment.  I heard it in the kitchen as I was making lunch.  He was talking to his  light up star on the mobile.  So we've now got 'ahh', 'eee', 'ooo', and 'iii'. 

Big Boy!

At 3 weeks...this cute outfit was too big..

...and now, at 10 weeks, it's almost too small! Just look at that little fat belly.  :-)

The boy who will not sleep...

I am typing on handed as my other hand is patting my son, who is lying in his co-sleeper, eyes wide open.  He is tired and fussy and needs to sleep.  But this little boy has deemed life is too interesting to sleep through and is fighting sleep every step of the way. 

He used to zonk out anywhere, allowing his moms a little freedom.  Alas, no longer.  The experts tell us it helps to get him into a nap routine.  To have him nap in the same space every time and to reduce distractions. So here we are, stuck in a darken room rocking and patting the boy for the past hour and a half trying to get him to take an hour nap.  There is some irony in this somewhere, but I'm too tired to find it.

Why the sleep deprivation, you ask?  The last reports were that the boy was sleeping well at night.  Get this - we are purposefully messed with our decent amount of sleep by trying to get him to sleep in the co-sleeper instead in the bed.  As you might of guessed, the boy doesn't like this new arrangement. 

What's that sound?

Just now, Gabriel was under his hanging toy thingy getting 'diaper-free time' as Ty and I were working on our laptops.  Our of nowhere we heard a 'crinkle crinkle'...Gabriel had reached up and grabbed his toy all by himself!  It's great - he's telling us all about it - giving us a loud 'aeeh', to which we responds 'yeah, you tell it' and he keeps talking.  :-)

He's also getting much better head control  The nurse practitioner at his 2 month check up said he was at a four month old level in this area. I think it's because he's rarely laying on his back.  Most of the time he's being carried around, looking over our shoulder.

Here's a cute picture of us dancing together in the living room.

Laughing in his sleep...

Gabriel has been smiling at us for the past couple of days.  Right at us too - today he peering out from his Baba's shoulder and just lit into a huge grin when he saw me coming up behind her.  He loves it when we talk to him.  His two favorite conversation pieces are 1) when we start saying doing the alphabet talk (more on that later.) and when he talks to us about his mobile.  The alphabet talk goes like this:  use every consonant with five vowel songs - so it starts with bae, bee, bi, bo, boo, and then moves on to the letter 'c' in the same way.  He LOVES it.  Just smiles and smiles, and talks back to us.  He also loves to talk to his mobile.  He's very focused and will say 'ahh, ooo..and then pause like his thinking before he continues on.  What's great about this is that he will include us in his conversation if we are watching over him.  He's laughed a few times when awake, but his biggest laughs are still reserved for sleep (just like his smiles were at first.)  It's sooo funny - he lets out these long joyful chuckles.  I always wonder just what he's dreaming about.  My dad suggested he had a very enjoyable past life.  :-)

These pictures are all taken within seconds of each other...he was having a whole conversation with his Baba....telling her all sorts of funny stories.

Gabriel's first protest

Those neurons are going crazy...

This morning Gabriel reached out and hit a toy for the first time.  He was so proud of himself!  He and Ty were laying on the couch, and Ty was holding a small toy above him.  It's a mirror with little toys hanging from it.  He looked and looked at his face for a long time, and then Ty started showing him how he could hit the toy and make it move.  He was fascinated - and then tried it himself.  The look on his face was priceless.  He spent the next 5 minutes hitting the toy and grinning at us.  :-)