POST 100!!! - Raising Evil Knievel

First of all, Yippee!! Happy Birthday to Gabe's Mom (the Blog)! This is post #100!!

Secondly, I am raising Evil Knievel! This little man is not afraid of anything. In this picture, the 2 red circles are the injuries sustained this last weekend. The one on the left is from running in front of me and knocking into our desk in the kitchen. The one on the right is from jumping on the bed and falling off. I was right there... both times. I am not an irresponsible parent, I am just never sure what the heck this little guy is going to do. I may think he is going to do one thing, and then he goes and does another. My friend Tami told me that her son Nick always had bumps, bruises, etc... on his head. I always worry that people think I'm either an abusive mom or a negligent mom. Truth is, I'm very responsible, I'm very cautious, and I'm very attentive. However, I'm raising Mr. Knievel (there's no evil to him!) and he is afraid of nothing. I've heard boys will be boys. To any of the Gabe's Mom readers, were any of your kids this way? Were you constantly worrying about what people think? I hope he outgrows this dare devil phase. My rough and tough little man.

Tonight we took Gabers to town to look at a computer that Daddy was interested in. While Daddy was looking at computers, I took Gabe down the telephone isle. He was cracking up when I pretended the phone rang and I answered a bunch of different ones. Dad could hear him a few isles down. We told him if he was a good boy, we'd take him to the "pet store" aka Petco and let him look at the lizards, bugs, & fishies. He was just entranced by the fishies. It was too cute. We had a lot of fun tonight, me & my boys. I love them both so much.

Also, last night, Gabe showed a more sensitive side. He was having trouble going to sleep, so I thought I'd try rocking him. He's never really been a baby that needs to be rocked. He's always been ok with it, but it hasn't really been something he required. But, last night, I thought I'd try rocking him and singing to him. My little dare devil, on the go all the time boy sat on my lap for over a half hour with his head on my shoulder while I sang to him. I sang All This Time, Masterpiece, (both by Sandi Patty), Valentine (Martina McBride), and the traditionals like Rock a Bye Baby and Hush Little Baby. Let me tell you, this was truly one of those moments. The ones I dreamed of while we were waiting to be parents. As much as I didn't want the time to end, I had to put him to bed. He stayed awake the entire time, but began rubbing his eyes and I knew it was time. I love him so much. Sometimes I feel like I can't contain the joy that fills my heart in being his Mommy.

Thank you, readers, for sharing in this journey with me. I love being Gabe's Mom and I love that you all want to share part of this journey with me. Keep on reading... I'm going for 200!!

The First of Many

I have a feeling this will be the first of many times that my tub sees dirty little boy hands like these. Gabe had just come in from playing outside all day. Actually, he didn't "just come inside". It took dragging, bribing, and Daddy strength to get this little bugger to come in the house. He just loves - loves loves loves - being outside. He's already taking 4-wheeler rides with Papa, learning how to change gears on the machinery, and running around in the yard chasing the dog. He's just growing up so fast. I love this little guy so much. How he has the energy though, I have NO idea! I need some of that! I've been dragging this week... It's been a busy one. It's 11:30 and Gabe's Mom is headed to bed. I don't even care if the bed bugs bite.

Oh Where Oh Where has Gabe's Mom Gone??

Many apologies to regular readers! We've had a very busy week. Greg was gone on business this past week and every night, me & the Gabers had something going on. I was getting up around 5:45 every morning and not going to bed until after 11:00 each night. (That's not much sleep for me!) Gabe really missed his Daddy. Greg got home Friday night around 9:00 and woke Gabe up to see him for a bit. Gabe was so excited to see him. Now, if Greg leaves Gabe's sight, Gabe kinda has a fit.

This morning, Gabe started saying "Tractor"! It was so cute. His vocabulary now includes: Mama, Dada, Papa, Tractor, Diaper (Bi-per), & ball. Sometimes he'll say Bye Bye, but not very often. His sign language now includes: More, please, thank you, good (he just claps his hands together one time) & milk. It's hard to believe he's 15 months old already.

Monday night, Gabe's birth family is coming over to visit. I'm very excited to see them. I always like to see their reactions when they see Gabe for the first time in 3 months. It seems like he changes so much between the times that they see him. I always struggle with what to fix when they come over for dinner. Even though I don't have to, I still want to impress them. I probably shouldn't worry about it, but I do! Even though they don't have to, I want them to really like me. I am pretty sure they already do, but I guess I just need the reassurance. I know they're happy with the decision they made and I know we couldn't be happier with Gabe in our family. I'm just so thankful to her. So very, very thankful. She gave me the gift of being a mommy to a wonderful, happy, intelligent little boy. I hope each time we see them, she can tell how happy she has made me. I also hope that she can see that Gabe is happy.

Well, I promise to do a better job blogging this week. I apologize for my absence!

Kisses from Jinxi

Kissing Papa's Picture

Why we do what we do

Monday, my little boy will be 15 months old. It feels like it was just yesterday when we brought him home and he made us a family. This year and three months has gone by so quickly. Isn't he precious? Gabey, Daddy and I love you more than words can say, more than songs can describe, and more than blogs can share. We love you up to the sky. We love you from here to the moon. Never forget for a minute, we will always do what we do because we love you - we will always be looking out for your best interest. Even if you get mad because we won't let you put your finger in the outlet or throw your toys in the toilet... We don't let you because we love you. Even if you cry when we bring you in the house after playing outside... We bring you in because it's cold and we don't want you to get sick. We do these things because we love you. Dear boy, YOU are a child of God and it is our job to keep you safe and to raise you under his loving care. We will make mistakes. You will get mad at us. But always know we do what we do because we love you and we're doing the best we can do.

Love,
Momma

Big Boy Stuff

Yep, he still loves his big boy pillow from Tami. Even though he isn't sleeping on it, he's hugging it. Tami, this little guy sure loves it.

Gabe's been doing a lot of new things... let me just list a few:

• He can now sign more, thank you, please, milk, and he can kind of sign good and bad (he just claps his hands together really hard). We've been trying to say "good boy" or "bad boy" just to help him understand when he does something he's supposed to ... or not supposed to ...


• He has been saying "DaDa" rather consistently. Daddy is no longer "Bob". He also says Papa, Bubbles, and sometimes he'll say bye.


• He has started throwing things. Everything he can get his hands on. This kid loves balls - basketballs, tennis balls, golf balls... He played with a "big boy" basketball at our neighbor's house and we could hardly tear him away from it.


• Speaking of throwing... he's throwing temper tantrums. I mean laying on the floor, scooting with his feet, and crying when he doesn't get his way. Tonight, he bit Daddy. We had to put him in time out. I felt pretty awful about it. We had to use the high chair so he'd stay put and the entire time, he had his arms out and he was crying. We stayed in the room with him, but tried not to pay much attention to it. When we took him out of the chair, after about 1 minute, (he was still crying and pretty ticked) he settled down and was fine after that. Does anyone have any suggestions for the tantrums? Did we handle this right? Ugh.


• He poops in the tub. Not a good milestone. Sorry to tell people this Gabe, but it's new and it's gross. I guess this embarassment is Mommy & Daddy's payback for having to clean it up! Love you!


• He's kind of a ladies' man. This week at daycare, he kissed his old, steady flame AND he kissed an older girl! Please, Lord, tell me this isn't a preview of the years to come!


• Now that the weather has been a lot nicer, Gabe's been playing outside a lot. He loves it and we are having a ball outside with him. It is so much fun to play with your kids outside.

Ok, one more pic for you... Twist my arm...

This picture says: "Yeah, I'm a big boy... I climbed the steps all by myself. Mommy was fake sneezing to get me to smile. It worked. I love that Momma."

Momma says: "And I love that Gabey."

Gabe, The Waterboy

Not sure where he learned this... Greg and I don't do it. As much as we try to tell him not to do this with a straight face, we can't keep from laughing every time he does it! So, if you come over to our house and you're thirsty, just remember...

This is what happens at Gabe's house.

15 Month Pictures

He's growing up. We had so much fun taking pictures yesterday. I love Portrait Innovations! Here's a few more:

Gabe & His Momma

Daddy's Outfit

When Gabe was born, Greg's mom gave me some of Greg's baby things. Today, while we were getting clothes together for pictures this afternoon, I remembered that we had this one! It's a little small, so I don't think we'll take it for his pictures at the studio today, but I was able to get this one good shot. I tried an action on it that is for a vintage picture since Gabe's parents' childhood items are now vintage (ugh.). I do want to try some other actions with it to see what I can come up with. My computer is nearly dead, so I'm not able to do as much photo work as I'd like.

I can't believe he actually left this hat on! Happy Friday to you all and have a GREAT weekend!

Happy Thursday! Just Because We Love You!!

If this doesn't make you smile, well.... you got problems. S'all I'm sayin'.