Brother, Brother

One of the best decisions we made as a family to date was the one that made me a stay-at-home parent. While it can be chaotic, exhausting and sometimes redundant? It is never boring and having a chance to see the boys bond makes it all worth while. Today they were watching a show together, nicely side by side on the couch. Usually they end up irritating one another and it doesn't last very long but today it was like this for 15 minutes or so. At one point Gabriel had his head on Louis' shoulder and Louis had his arm around him.

Side by Side

Matt was away for the evening and the boys had little interest in going to sleep. The boys are wearing matching shirts-the Yankees-gifts from Grandma Ruth.  Wide awake. We had a late dinner. Fortunately afterward they calmed down a bit and went to sleep.

Happy 14 Months!

Gabriel is running around the house and everywhere else we go. While he does still love to be worn and carried around, right now his favorite place to be is on the go. He's bubbly, energetic and determined. I see a streak of stubbornness developing.

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Eats with fingers
Empties containers of contents
Imitates others 


Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Toddles well
Initiates games
Points to one body part when asked
Responds to instructions (e.g., "give me a kiss") 

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Uses a spoon or fork
Matches lids with appropriate containers
Pushes and pulls toys while walking  

Bros Forever

Louis loves to pick out clothes for Gabriel to wear and he especially loves to go all matchy match with their outfits. His favorite outfit to match are pajamas. The boys ready for bed.

Pieces of Autumn

It has become our yearly family tradition to head out east to Water Mill and visit The Milk Pail and Hanks Pumpkintown. We spent the afternoon picking apples, posing for pics, picking out some beautiful pumpkins and playing.

Gabriel couldn't wait to get his hands and mouth on an apple.

Nom Nom

Look Who's Talking!

Over the past two weeks Gabriel has made leaps with his verbal skills. Up until now he's had a handful of words mostly understandable to me and a phrase and a few words others can understand. The past two weeks though I've noticed he's moved on from babbling (what appeared to be more random) and is attempting to hold a conversation. He stops for you to respond and looks mildly annoyed when you don't. He's definitely talking with an intent behind it. So while most of what he says is still hard to get, it's a fun new chapter in Gabriel's development. He looks so excited when he says something and you finally understand him. Right now he's favorite thing to do is to ask "What's that?" and pointing towards whatever object he wants you to name for him. He has added Leah's name to his vocabulary. Clear as can be---Laaayaaah.

Having an artsy day

I count myself as lucky when it comes to my children and their love for all things arts and crafts. I wasn't sure if Gabriel at just a year or so would have any interest but today he spent nearly an hour alongside Louis while they painted and drew on the driveway.

Attempting to break into the garage, one of the more dangerous rooms in our house but of course it's Gabriel's fave one.

Obsessed with getting to this tomato

Not so happy about the leaves in his face

Baby G on the Road - Part IV

By Day Six of our road trip it appeared Gabriel was used to the hotel room and our routine. He and I would wake up early in the morning, usually around sunrise. We'd get ready for the day and head down to breakfast. The breakfast room at this time in the morning wasn't busy and we were able to sit and enjoy our breakfast. We'd then head back up to the room, at this point either Louis would wake up and I'd go down with both the boys back to get Louis breakfast or Matt and Leah would finally wake up and head down together. It was nice to spend the early morning with the boys.

On our final day in Toronto we visited the Ontario Science Centre and Centre Island.

Baby G on the Road - Part III

By the fourth day of our road trip I found I wasn't as worried about Gabriel and the car anymore. In fact by this point he was happily climbing INTO his car seat--a first for him. It was a nice change as up until this point I've always felt guilty about forcing him into the car knowing how miserable it makes him. At home I limit the time he spends in there as much as possible.

We headed to the Toronto Zoo. Like his older siblings and most children, Gabriel loves the zoo. Unfortunately at the start of our visit to the zoo we had an accident involving our camera and the lens broke so we had a very limited number of photos at the zoo and not one of Gabriel. Wish I had one of him playing in the splashpad/sprinkler area. He couldn't get enough of the water.

Day five of our trip brought us to the city of Toronto.