Happy 17 Months!

Almost 1 1/2 years old!

The months go by so quickly and Gabriel continues to learn new things every day. It's happening faster than I can up with these days. I try to jot down notes when I can to remember for later.

He loves to make you laugh and then he says "That's silly" or "That's funny" afterward. He has the best sense of humor. He is constantly trying to "tickle tickle". He likes knock knock jokes or when you mess up nursery rhymes.

He continues to follow Leah and Louis around and tries to be just like his big sis and big bro. He wants to be where they are and do everything they do. Louis copies Leah, Gabriel copies Louis. One after the other. It amazes me they all don't fight more but they just tolerate and love one another.

We're working on showing Gabriel how to be more gentle. He is definitely the roughest of our three kids. He is physically over the top with the things he does. Nothing is safe around him. If he wants it? He will get it. Whether it means moving a box, stool, chair, stacking toys one on top of another--he will get what he wants. He climbs what I would think is unclimbable but he proves me wrong.

The past month he has shown his more assertive side. Most of his phrases and the words he uses tend to be descriptive of his assertiveness, what he wants, what he needs. He does not take well to being told no. He will get upset and his face will pout up in one of the cutest pouts I have ever seen. It is hard not to just hug him and do whatever he wants. He will throw a tantrum like I've never seen. It usually happens when it is someone unfamiliar to him telling him he cannot have or do something. It doesn't happen often but when it does, he is nearly inconsolable. Knowing that he reacts this way has led us to be more sensitive to his needs and help him try to navigate his feelings a little better.

I often hear from others concerns that Gabriel is too attached to me. I tend to brush those comments off. I'm his mom. He spends all day with me. All night with me. Kind of expected but overall in the entire day? Really not the way people see it in those few moments they are around.  He will go to me first when he is tired or upset but outside of that and his need to nurse/for comfort? He is typically on his own, running off and rarely looking back for me. He's very independent. He can go hours being in the house with people, with me around and never so much as look for me. It's an interesting growth to see in him--where as months ago I couldn't leave his sight without him freaking out.

He's very headstrong. And can be stubborn. But always sweet. He keeps me on my toes.


Developmental Milestones (via BabyCenter)

Mastered Skills (Most kids can do)
Uses six words regularly - Gabriel has about 4 or 5 words he uses regularly. A few phrases he uses more often like "Go Away" "That's mine" "I don't wanna."
Enjoys pretend games - Gabriel and Louis play pretend all day long. Pretend pirates, pretend kitchen, pretend daddy. They pretend to talk to one another on the phone.
Likes riding toys - He enjoys riding toys, usually sits backwards on them and pushed back on them.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Feeds doll - Gabriel loves to play with the "bebes" and he often brings them cups or has Louis nurse them. Or brings them to me to feed them.
Speaks more clearly - I've noticed over the past few weeks that the words he does say are more clearly understandable to others but overall it's still mostly the family at home that understands him best.
Throws a ball underhand - He loves to throw balls, well anything really.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Dances to music - Our favorite past time is our daily dance party. We have a few a day and Gabriel is the first to get up to dance.
Sorts toys by color, shape, or size - I've noticed that he likes to sort big and little things together but nothing specific to color or shape.
Kicks ball forward - Gabriel is a soccer fan in training. He loves to kick balls around, forward, to the side. He has taken to aiming his kicks too. 

Oh Santa...

We were up early today and all ready to head out to our friend Jen's son's C's birthday party when she met us outside to let us know poor C was sick :( so no party. All dressed up with nowhere to go we decided to hit up the mall for a visit with Santa and breakfast at Ikea.

I wasn't too sure how Gabriel would handle the visit to Santa. We got there just shortly before 10 am and waited in line with a few other families. Santa arrived promptly at 10. Gabriel kept having me hold his hand and walk over to the photo area and then run away. He didn't seem upset and he did seem a bit excited about it. When the time came to head into the photo op area he wasn't clinging to me at all. Louis chose to sit on Santa's lap, Leah next to him and I put Gabriel in her lap. He wasn't crying or upset. I could tell he was a bit anxious as he has his hand in his mouth but he didn't try to run off. I walked away and he sat for a few shots.

The photographer tried her hardest to get a pic of him without his hands in his mouth so we could see his face.

Happy 16 Months!

The last month has been a lot of fun with Gabriel. He has developed a great sense of humor. He says "tickle tickle" and tries to tickle himself then you. He pretends he's sleeping and when he sees you glance away will open his eyes and stick his tongue out at you. He loves to play with Leah and Louis, they make him laugh so much.

He's also taken to asserting himself more in our family. Newest words and phrases in his vocabulary are mine, me, no me alone and go away. He used to toss his food off his plate when he was done eating. Now he'll tell you he wants to 'get down' at least once and tries to hand you his plate before tossing it. I'd say that's progress. :P

He has also added the words Melmo (or other variations of Elmo), says grandma (which may sound a bit like mama but there's definitely a difference). He still doesn't really say mama to me but when he does it's super sweet to hear. He is very lovable and gives kisses and hugs. If you kiss him or he hears/sees you get a kiss from someone else he can't help but give kisses to everyone. He also blows them.

He still isn't the best sleeper but a lot of that has to do with all the teeth he's been cutting and his teeth seem to take four times longer than Leah and Louis' ever did. I can deal with the lack of sleep but I feel bad he's so miserable.

He loves to dance, sing and listen to music. Lately drums have been a favorite of his. Abuelo has quite the collection and Gabriel enjoyed them on Thanksgiving. Gabriel also enjoys looking through books. A few times during the day he'll bring me over a book or two and crawl into my lap.

Mastered Skills (Most kids can do)
Turns the pages of a book
Has temper tantrums when frustrated
Becomes attached to a soft toy or other object
Sing

Emerging Skills (Some kids can do)
Discovers the joy of climbing
Stacks three blocks
Uses spoon or fork
Learns the correct way to use common objects (e.g., the telephone)
Help around the house
Say up to 10 or 15 words - Not quite there yet but I see he's made a leap over the past month.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Takes off one piece of clothing by himself - He detests socks & shoes and lately has started to take off his pants.
Gets finicky about food
Switches from two naps to one
Experience less separation anxiety
Dance to music

Happy 15 Months!

Gabriel has been moving around like a toddler for quite some time but over the past month I can see he's behaving less like an infant/baby and more like a toddler. So while he may be the baby of the family and my baby? He is definitely no longer a baby. I accept he hasn't been for a while now.

Gabriel is curious, growing more independent and has a bit of mischievous streak. He enjoys helping me around the house, things like answering the phone, vacuuming, throwing out trash (and things that aren't trash too--thank goodness for the lock of our trash can), sorting laundry and wiping down the tabletops. He is a nonstop whirlwind of activity. One thing to the next. He loves to play with blocks, especially Duplo/Mega Blocks. Our daily dance parties continue to be a favorite.

He is becoming more social. He'll shout at you, pinch, poke at you to get your attention and see your reaction. He has learned to give kisses with his mouth closed, he makes a 'Mmmm' sound as he does it. He'll kiss each person one after the other. Cutest thing ever! He's found his sense of humor and will often just do things that he finds amusing and laugh. The whining has started a bit but it isn't on overdrive yet. He loves to go wherever Leah and Louis are off to. He loves going outside to play and gets excited when he knows he is heading out with his grandparents. He has developed a wonderful relationship with Matt. I'd say the first year or so Gabriel was all about Mommy but that has changed quite a bit. He runs to Matt as soon as he gets home. Wants to head up to bed when Matt goes to sleep at night. Daddy is fun.

Gabriel's food tastes are developing. Over the past few months he wouldn't touch cheese but now eats it with gusto. It has opened up a whole new range of dishes he is now willing to eat and enjoy doing so. He loves coconut and almond milk. Continues to nurse throughout the day. He won't start to eat his meals without the proper utensils. He eats most of his meals independently.

He's started to talk more and words are becoming easier to understand. He had added 'me', 'mine' and 'up' over the past week. He also says 'uh uh' when he means no.  He says 'cat', 'dada', a version of Leah and Louis, a very whiny version of "I wanna get out". He says 'mama' or 'mommy' if prompted but hasn't really said it to me yet. I'm always around and honestly I can see he has very little need to ever call me. He sings a lot. I noticed the ABCs and Twinkle Little Star melody. Old McDonald Had A Farm, Row Row Your Boat and Part of Your World (Little Mermaid) are some of his other favorite songs to sing along to in his baby talk.

Aoooww Says the Wolf

We got the cutest dress up props today. Louis picked out a dinosaur tail for himself and grey wolf tail for Gabriel.

Oh Fridays...

Friday evenings are hard right now. Matt is bowling so the boys try to stay up as late as possible. Tonight I was able to get them both to calm down for a bit with me on the couch. They both ended up falling asleep.

 The boys sure spend a lot of time sleeping on the couch together. 

 

Chalk Talk

Our days are constantly busy. There is very little stopping, the boys are always on the go. They want to move from one activity to the next. Louis does take time to sit and do things but Gabriel isn't quite there yet. One thing that both boys will do for at least 15 minutes is play with chalk outside. Whether it be drawing on the garage door, sidewalk or driveway---they are content. Gabriel has started to draw more scribbles and really enjoys when you draw circles around him. Then he colors inside them.

Daddy's home!