Gabriel is ONE!!!

Stats
Weight: 23 pounds, 10 ounces (62%)
Height: 30.5 inches (78%)

We measured him on our DIY growth chart and got 29.5 inches. It's possible ours is off a smidgen because it's hard to hang something precisely 6" off the ground! And it's possible that Gabe wiggled while the nurse was measuring him laying down. We'll go with the average of the two, 30 inches!

Four days after his birthday, Gabriel had his 12 month checkup with our favorite doctor, Doctor A. He was impressed by Gabe's medical record- his growth pattern, advanced development, and overall great health. He even asked us, "what's your secret?" Proud parents moment!!! Doctor A said a child's immune system is what it is. It was encouraging to hear that anyone who says you need to expose your child to germs to strengthen their immune system is wrong! He was breastfed. He doesn't go to daycare. We stay away from sick people. I wipe off shopping carts, restaurant high chairs and tables and use a cover & place mat. He has only had 1 virus and a cold fewer times than I can count on 1 hand. I'm not an extremist who sanitizes everything, but I do want to set-up Gabriel for a happy & healthy life in every aspect!

Likes:
-Playing "swords" with Daddy (with a toy drum stick and toy baseball bat)
-Going behind and under furniture
-His play tent

Dislikes:
-My Bubble wrap calendar {a Christmas gift from Mom & Dad W; it used to hang on the back of his door but had to be moved because he would cry just being close to it, let alone popping a bubble!}
-Having his face wiped {this isn't new, I just didn't think of it when writing the past several months posts}
-Being still and forced to stay in one place for a photo shoot...

New skills:
-Pointing
-Dancing! He stomps his feet and bounces up & down.
-Blowing kisses!!
-Feeding himself with a spoon!!
-Mastered walking, changing directions, and now he tries to run!
-Getting on & off of his ride-on trucks
-Throwing and kicking
-Sorting/moving things (food on his sectional plate or clothes from one laundry basket to another)

Clothes/Diapers:
Gabriel is mostly wearing 12-month clothes with some 18-month pajamas & pants. Still in size 4 diapers. He wears size 5 shoes.

Eating:
He can fully eat what we eat now! Some new foods Gabe has tried: chicken stir-fry, cheese ravioli with (unsalted) butter, and bacon. It is no surprise that he loves bacon- I ate it very often during my pregnancy! He tried cow's milk four days after his birthday. I expected him to take a sip and make a what-is-this? face but he guzzled it down and went ahhh! As far as breastfeeding: we made it!!! One year, and Gabriel is still nursing! I am starting the process of weaning. It's slow and gradual... For now, he nurses when he wakes up, a couple hours later before his nap, only sometimes in the evening, at bedtime, and once in the middle of the night. So 4-5 times/day. The easiest feeding time to drop first was in the afternoon.

Sleeping:
No change in his napping. Since we got him a boombox for Christmas, he falls asleep to a CD of nature sounds & instrumental music.

Hair & Eyes:
Medium brown hair. Big brown eyes. Long eyelashes. His 5th tooth (upper left) is almost all the way in, and his 6th and 7th are starting to break through the gum.

Randoms:
-When Perry or I are leaving the house, he will watch from the sidelight windows (face pressed up against the glass and all!) until we drive off out of sight. Melts my ♥.

Gabriel Turner is such a joy and literally makes every day better. Perry and I are completely addicted to him. Thank you God for this precious, priceless gift you gave us one year ago. We love you SO MUCH, Gabe!!!

Gabriel's Winter ONE-derland Party!!!

We had Gabriel's 1st Birthday Party on his actual birthday and it was so much fun!! Perry & I took pictures of our birthday boy and snowflakes and ordered his invitations from Tiny Prints. LOVE how they turned out!!

For the Winter One-derland theme, I chose snowflakes and polar bears with the color scheme of several shades of blue and white. On the front porch I used plastic tablecloths and balloons, as well as balloons on the light post (since we don't have a mailbox at the street!). Inside I hung homemade zigzag streamers in front of the dining room window and all over the house were snowflakes we found at Wal-Mart in their after-Christmas clearance. Score! I also picked up a few other style snowflakes at Party City.

I displayed one picture from each of Gabriel's 12 monthly photo shoots, the snowflake ornament favors and party blowers on the foyer table.

Other DIY Pinterest projects:

We had a table full of delicious food- big thanks to my Mom!! Mom W also brought yummy meatballs- thank you! I handled drinks & the desserts: snowflake cupcakes, powdered sugar donut polar bears and Gabriel's smash cake (thanks for icing it, Dad D!).

We loved watching Gabriel eat his cake! Before & after!!!

Sharing with Grandma & Papa

"Gabriel, how old are you?"

I think he got cake in his eyes and/or nose... what a mess!

After his cake-smash, Gabriel got a bath, then we all hung out. Until Gabriel was worn out!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY GABRIEL!!!! Mommy & Daddy (and everyone else that knows you!) LOVE you!!!!

Gabriel at 11 Months Old!

Likes:
-Carrying around kitchen utensils (like a spatula or big wooden spoon)
-Looking at all the Christmas decorations go up around our house
-Feeding us his finger foods. Hopefully he'll be a good sharer!
-Everything from his 10-Month post

Dislikes:
-If he wants to get down from being held or do something on his own, he will push and swat(!) our hands away
-When I say "ouch". He immediately starts crying like whatever hurt me was his fault! It's so sweet but sad!
-Stranger danger!

New skills:
-Clapping!
-Giving hi-fives
-Shaking his head "no" (although I don't think he makes the connection with the meaning just yet)
-Walking well

Clothes/Diapers:
Gabriel is wearing 12-month clothes. Still in size 4 diapers.

Eating:
Some new foods Gabe has tried: grape jelly sandwiches; grilled cheese; spaghetti; turkey, stuffing, some veggie casseroles, Grandma's zucchini banana bread, and pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving; and ground beef (it comes right back out of his mouth!). Breastfeeding is still going great! He nurses when he wakes up, about 2 hours later before his morning nap, in the afternoon (once, or sometimes twice if in the early afternoon and then early evening), at bedtime, and once in the middle of the night. So 5-6 times/day.

Sleeping:
No change in his napping.

Hair & Eyes:
The color of his hair is lightening up some! His big brown eyes with long lashes make me melt.

Randoms:
-Perry & I are afraid he will be a temper-tantrum boy. When he gets over-tired, grumpy, or clingy to Mommy, he can have some serious meltdowns, literally turning to a puddle on the floor. And he can whiiiiine. I wonder where he got that from!
-Gabe says "Da da" a lot! Perry patiently waited for his turn and now it's only every once in a while that I'll get a "Mama"!
-I wasn't as diligent in recording details this month due to the holiday season gearing up. I'm sad this post is short. But no worries, his 12-Month post... ONE YEAR... will be BIG!!!

Gabriel is 10 Months Old!

Stats
Weight: 22 pounds, 4 ounces (58%)
Length: not done
^at 10 1/2 months when he got his flu shot booster

On the move and doing his own thing!

Our expressive little man :)

Likes:
-Walking around, exploring the house
-Holding the remote control, the house phone or our cell phones
-Opening & closing things, including doors (with supervision to avoid smashed fingers!)
-Picking toys out of the ottoman toy box
-Pushing things across the room, like his Leap Frog table, laundry baskets, empty boxes
-Everything from his 9-Month post

Dislikes:
-Having something taken away from him
-Sometimes he isn't happy to be laying him down for a diaper change

New skills:
-Walking!!!!! He took his first steps on October 19 at just 9 months & 1 week old!!! *Warning: this video is rated PG-13 for Daddy's language. He was shocked at how far Gabriel walked! ;)

-Initiating peek-a-boo (he will pull a blanket up to hide his face and quickly, before you even have a chance to say "where is Gabriel?", he puts it down and smiles so big! He also started leaning back to "hide" behind something, then lean forward to peek out!)
-Cheesy smile, crinkled-up nose and all!

Clothes/Diapers:
Gabe can wear 9 or 12-month clothes, although he is still most comfortable with the leg length of 12-month sizes. We moved up to size 4 Luvs diapers when he wears disposable.

Eating:
This month Gabriel started eating finger foods! He continues to love pieces of banana. I made diced carrots, green beans, broccoli (sometimes with cheddar cheese), diced sweet potato and sweet potato "fries". He loves Gerber Puffs but we try to limit them {the serving size on the package is 70 pieces. Really?!}. Other finger foods he has tried: pieces of whole wheat bread, whole wheat rotini pasta, cubes of mozzarella and mild cheddar cheese, pears, mango (but he couldn't quite chew them so I pureed the cubes), kiwi and toppings/spices: grated Parmesan cheese, cinnamon, garlic. His favorites are cheese and carrots! His least favorite was kiwi. I don't think he even swallowed any. He also tried a few new spoon-foods: canned pumpkin (plain and with pears), scrambled egg yolks (which he strongly disliked), plain yogurt mixed with fruits, mashed potatoes. Shortly after turning 9 months old, Gabe went through a 2-week phase of refusing food from a spoon (now we know it was most likely related to his 2 top teeth coming in. I wrote about that below in Randoms!). All the boy would eat were finger foods, and even then his appetite was low. One day I decided I would try offering him purees to see what happened and the strike was over! Thankfully there was no change in his breastfeeding and that is still going well! He nurses every 4 hours during the day when I'm home. Strangely, he started flat out refusing a bottle of breastmilk from Perry. My initial thought was it was due to the plastic nipple of the bottle causing pain on his top two teeth coming in, but he won't even drink it from a sippy cup but continues to drink water! Someone said to us, "he has learned where it comes from and it ain't a bottle!" That seems to be the case :)

Sleeping:
Gabriel is still waking up in the middle of the night, but usually just one time. The time will vary, but he tends to go 5-8 hour stretches. His nap schedule is still the same: morning nap 2 hours after waking up and then an afternoon nap sometime later. His naps range from 1 1/2-3 hours long.

Hair & Eyes:
No change in his medium brown, thin hair and big brown eyes.

Randoms:
-His top two teeth came in as a pair, finally breaking through his gums at 9 1/2 months. They look huge in his little baby mouth, with the cutest gap in between them!
-I could not believe it- he actually started opening his mouth and willingly takes medicine (ibuprofen)!
-The whole family, Mommy & Daddy and (local) grandparents, went to Trick-or-Treat The Trails on Gabriel's 1st Halloween! It was fun, and he was so cute! Separate post to come.

Being a Mommy- his Mommy- is the best!!!

Gabriel is 9 Months Old!

Stats
Weight: 21 pounds* (54%)
Length: 29.5 inches (82%)
Head circumference: 45.5cm (52%)
*I don't think his weight is correct. The nurse had Perry put Gabriel in the sitting position on the infant scale. The number on the scale kept fluctuating because Gabe does not sit still, and Perry couldn't let go for more than a second or two to make sure he didn't fall! He was 21 lbs when we weighed him at home a month and a half ago!!

On the move!

So he would sit still stay in one place long enough for us to take pictures, we distracted him with a book, shoes (that he wanted to eat), and a hat (that he did not want on his head)!

Likes:
-Riding on Daddy's shoulders
-Playing with my wedding rings on my hand
-His Leap Frog table
-Being outside
-Watching, talking to and touching the dogs
-Everything from his 8-Month post

Dislikes:
-Messing with his mouth (holding his lip back to see his new teeth, giving him medicine, etc)
-Everything from his 8-Month post

New skills:
-Crawling perfected!!
-Cruising- to & from and all around furniture and along walls!!
-Easily getting into just about any position (laying, sitting, standing, and even squatting & kneeling!). He has learned that he can get almost anywhere. If he wants something, he'll get it!
-Standing with his arms stretched out for a few seconds!

Clothes/Diapers:
Gabe has definitely outgrown 6-month clothes and is filling out 9-month stuff, sleep 'n plays especially. He is most comfortable with the length of 12-month sizes. At the end of September I got the storage bin of his 9-12 month fall/winter clothes out of the attic so I could wash everything and reorganize his closet & drawers. He's in cloth diapers about half the time, disposable the other (still size 3).

Eating:
He has tried a few new foods, including meat & dairy. I rinsed, trimmed and boiled a boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped it and ran it through my Ninja with sweet potatoes. He liked it! I try everything that I make for him- the texture was odd but it tasted good. I also did a combination with peas, but he wasn't as enthusiastic about it. He tried his first dairy, cottage cheese blended with banana. He ate 7-8 spoonfuls before deciding he was done with that. I'll continue to offer it, though. At the beginning of October (38 weeks), we gave Gabe carrot-apple juice, diluted with water of course. Now he's a pro at drinking from his sippy cup. Breastfeeding is still going well. He nurses every 4 hours during the day.

Sleeping:
Gabriel is still waking up in the middle of the night, but usually just one time. Most times his diaper is full (if not leaking out!) and he is usually hungry. Teething has disrupted his sleep some- I think the pain wakes him up and can make him grumpy but also wears him out. He continues to take 2 naps a day, one ~2 hours after waking up and a second in the afternoon/early evening. I hope he isn't ready to drop his 2nd nap any time soon. One time on a Daddy Day, he took one long 4-hour nap! "Daddy Days" are most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays whenever I have to work and Gabe gets to spend all day with Daddy! That particular morning, he woke up extra early so he was ready for a nap before I left for work. I laid him down at 9:50am and he slept until 1:45pm. Perry texts me throughout the day; neither of us could believe he was sleeping that long!

Hair & Eyes:
Medium brown, thin hair and precious brown eyes!

Randoms:
-Gabe reached an exciting milestone: first tooth!!! Actually two! His bottom front teeth came in at the same time, starting one week before his 9-month birthday and we could see the outlines of his top 2 teeth under his gums! 
-He had a cold (runny nose, sneezing).
-He rolls and chews on his tongue and learned how to make a "click" sound.

I love life with our happy, cute boy!!!