Busy Gabe, Sweet Sister

Talk about second child syndrome. . . Gabe had his nine month appointment and I left without his little sheet that says his height, weight, head circumference and percentiles.  That's why I've delayed this blog post so much b/c I've been trying to find it and can't !  Terrible.  But, I think I remember in general what his stats were.  Actually, I think what happened was we went paperless and so now I have to access that info on his online growth charts which will still be an estimation b/c it's all through a graph and not exact numbers :)  So here you have it: He weighs 21 lbs, 12 oz which is the 85th percentile.  His head is 18 1/2 inches which puts him in the 97th percentile.  Huge head, apparently.  And lastly he is 29 3/4 long which puts him in the 97th percentile as well.  

Other things he's up to (and I of course have video of none of it):

Saying Mama FINALLY

Real crawling (belly up off the floor)

Pulling up - he often does this and then goes tumbling down, resulting in a head crash to the ground.  Another thing that I probably would have called 911 about with Sofia, but just a little cuddle usually stops the crying.  

Giving big slobbery open mouth kisses

Still not sleeping through the night.  So brutal, and I'm convinced once he has his own room this will pass.  

FREAKING out when I leave his line of sight or even look away from him. I mean full on meltdown, like if you didn't see him you'd thing someone was physically harming him.  

I'll tell you what, these two kids as babies have been night and day.  Not good or bad, but I'll be the first to support the notion that kids are all just different!  I'm sure some of it is environment but a lot of it is just who they are, and Gabe is a way different baby than Sofia was, that is for certain!  It's pretty interesting to experience.

I do have video of one new awesome thing he does.  The Spanish song my mom sings to him "La Linda Manita" is supposed to teach babies how to wave and he does it now.  Super duper adorable.      I also find it adorable that Sofia and him are interacting more and more each day.  They are total clowns together and it makes my heart so happy to see them cracking up together.  When Gabe cries Sofia gets very concerned and tells me he needs a kiss.  So, so sweet.  The other day in the car, Sofia was doing her Little Einsteins patting routine and I noticed that Gabe was patting his lap right along with her!! It was pretty awesome.  

Here is a pic of Gabe not getting enough of his sister.  She was trying to watch Brave and all he wanted to do was be right next to her. She was a trooper about it, too!

Click here to see the video of Gabe doing "La Linda Manita"

Clapping

A fun milestone.  Gabe LOVES to clap (just ask Uncle Adam).  I can't seem to get it on video but this was the best I could get.  I love fat baby hands clapping! Sometimes he even says "YAAAAAY" along with the claps.  Love.

Clapping video

He and Sofia are starting to interact a lot more.  It's the BEST!  They "talk" a lot during meals and Sofia always has Gabe cracking up.  He just adores her and I think she's starting to see that he can be fun too!  I think she realizes she will always have a captive audience in him . . .

Gabe is also mastering the art of eating with his hands.  He devours puffs with such determination, it's impressive.  He tried eggs this morning and aside from the gross mess, I think he quite liked them.  Can't you tell?

I suppose I should also add for honesty's sake (and to prove that parenthood is not all roses) that all this happiness and fun and smiling in the day time is balanced out by a child that does not like to sleep.  It's wreaking havoc on Mike and I. . . I just pray that this kid will learn to sleep through the night very very soon.  He was doing great and then this sleep regression business kicked in again.  I feel like I might as well have a newborn right now, it's the most maddening thing!  But, it's certainly tough to stay mad for long.  Sigh. . .

Fuzzy Caterpillar

Sofia sings a lot of songs, but I think this one might be my favorite one.

Fuzzy Caterpillar

Christmas Craziness

I think it's been almost a month since my last post. . . whew.  I think I am just starting to feel a sense of normalcy again this week!  Same for the kids.  I absolutely love the holidays but I also love when they are over.  It is such a fun, busy, chaotic time in the very best way possible, especially so with two children and families that live on opposite ends of the country!

We were definitely non-stop for the month of December, beginning with Christmas parties and shopping and then celebrating Christmas here in Houston. Then, travelling to Chicago after Christmas through January 3rd and during our stay in the Midwest we went to Indy for a wedding and then to Milwaukee for a day.  So much fun, but man were we exhausted!  I think the ones who it affected the most were the poor kiddos!  Don't get me wrong, they had a blast.  It was so much fun watching them with their cousins and just enjoying Christmas and all the festivities.  There's nothing like it.  But, once things started wrapping up in the last day or so of our trip, I could just see their little sunken eyes and their temperaments started to slowly crumble.  Luckily, they recovered but it was crazy b/c it definitely took a few days to see the old Sofia and Gabe come back to life. They had a lot of sleep to catch up on and, just like us, I think were glad to have a little "quiet time" at home.  It's funny b/c Mike and I were thinking how we were excited to get back home even though we don't have a home of our own but I figured out it was just getting back to "our normal" as I call it.  

So, that being said, I am definitely enjoying being back in our routine.  Also thanks to brutal temps while we were there I realized I don't miss winter all that much at all!!!

Christmas morning, look at those hilarious sleepy faces

 One of many princess wardrobe changes that morning 

 Gabe most enjoyed the paper of course

 What 2 1/2 year old doesn't need a LaZBoy?

The boys havin lunch with Grandma

Our Mom and Me aprons.  Love!

Schnieders Number T-shirts! Grandma and Grandpa with #2 and #4

Bonding girl time on the iPad

 The Packer Princess!