Fun

Babies are fun. Silly. Crazy. Goofy. Fussy. Stinky. Lovie. Cute. Incredibly FUN. Gabe is now speeding around on all fours like a pro. It didn't take long, and while he always has that infamous baby's eye for everything he CAN'T have he also seems happier since he's managed to find a way to move around on his own. I LOVE it.

We bought him two pairs of shoes today and stocked up on baby food (thanks to a sale at Babies'RUs)... and then we ordered him a new car seat. The convertible car seats sure are a lot more expensive than they were when Thomas was Gabe's age, but then I suppose they're probably safer now too. I don't like making big purchases like that though. I always worry that I might not have picked the right one but won't realize it until it's too late to return it. (We ordered the Evenflo Triumph Advance DLX.) Here's hoping our research paid off.

In older kid news, Thomas and his friends put on a final show and dinner to end his summer program last week. They acted out skits, sang songs, and put on a terrific slide show in the theater. There were some great photos of Thomas including the most memorable, a photo of him in the pool with a caption: "We even fought Prince John." (It's a Robin Hood reference, in case you aren't familiar.) I wish I could share it with you all.

This week he has an orientation at his new school. I ended up taking the day off, plus I worked Saturday in order to have Tuesday off for his doctor's appointment, so I should (hopefully) have a fairly light week. I'm looking forward to spending a little extra time with my boys.

Oh, and teeth! Thomas finally has a wiggly one! He must be the last one in his class to lose any - and he hasn't lost any yet. We noticed on Friday that his first big tooth had broken through... behind his baby teeth. Brian noticed it because the front baby teeth were no longer straight. Sure enough the new tooth must have finally started to push those baby teeth out of the way! I think it will still be a while before the first tooth falls out as it's still only a little wiggly, but we'll work on it.

Gabe, on the other hand, is about to cut two more teeth. We can see them, and they look like they are through, but his gums are still smooth. My guess is that they'll poke through tomorrow or Tuesday, at the latest.

I'm mildly amused that the two of them are getting teeth at the same time, not to mention that Thomas is losing some too, particularly since I recently cut a wisdom tooth too. We're all teething together. Aw, ain't that cute... or not!

But anywho. Have a happy week, and enjoy the long weekend to follow! I am not sure how much time I'll have to post this week, but I'll at least try to throw in a few pictures.

Before I go, here are just a few for today. They're strange shots, I know, but I'm like a little kid when it comes to seeing something I made actually being used (and looking somewhat cute in the meantime if I do say so, myself - at least to me!), so I was excited when Gabe could finally wear the little baby slippers I made last year, and I couldn't help myself.

Of course Gabe liked the camera, but he really just wanted to eat it, so he tried to attack me when I started taking pictures of is feet.

...FUN, I tell you! Buckets and buckets of terrific, adorable, sweet baby FUN!

20 Things...

I had a pretty bad day at work today, so I thought I would try to focus on the positive tonight and, on this 20th day of August, post 20 somewhat random things I love, so here goes (in no particular order):

1-The over the moon, so-excited-he-can-barely-take-it look on Gabe's face when he sees me after a full day at day care/work (He goes crazy!)

2-The mere idea that Thomas said if he ever wins an Olympic medal he's going to give it to his mom

3-Gabe's super soft, super light blond hair

4-Watching the Olympics with Brian and appreciating the same things

5-Calling Brian at work over some obnoxious computer issue (because whoever designed the program had to have been terribly overpaid, considering the quality of the design, or maybe because the program was so out-dated I felt like I should have been walking around bow-legged with an animal skin coat wrapped around me, grunting and scratching my head as I tried to figure the *I'm not typing a word here because this is a family friendly blog* thing out) and him knowing the answer every time

6-My two daily cups of coffee - typically one at work and another at home before bed (Yes, I'm addicted to the habit of a cup of decaf whenever I feel like it... )

7-The fact that I can do that now with the Keurig (see prior post)

8-Summer (but not just summer... wildflowers, rays of sunshine reaching through the deep green treetops... swimming at the lake, stopping to let a horse pass on my way to Gabe's daycare, seeing so many people out and about - riding bikes, playing baseball, flying kites... )

9-Having this blog and using it as therapy (since I always try to limit the negative and share all the good stuff)

10-Waking up to see Gabe look up at me with a great big grin

11-Witnessing the incredible love Thomas has for Gabe

12-Saying grace with Thomas and Brian at dinner time (It sounds so simple, but it's true.)

13-Brian's sense of humor

14-Friends... Afshan, this one's for you! I am SOOooooo happy for you I could just burst. And I miss ya. When I have a down and out day I know if it were college and we were on our way to dinner at McKinley's I could talk to you, and you would understand like a sister.

15-Speaking of sisters... and brothers and moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles and cousins and nieces and nephews...

16-Watching Gabe play in the bathtub since realizing how much fun splashing could be (Tonight he splashed half of his bathwater right out of the tub. He was having so much fun!)

17-Anticipating autumn

18-Baby faces covered in sweet potatoes

19-Flowers from Thomas

20-Singing in the morning

And one more for good measure; it's something (my sister) Jessi used to say to me every night before bed, and now I say it to Thomas every night after he leans over his loft to give Gabe and I each a quick kiss goodnight: "Goodnight. Sweet dreams. I love you."

Busy Boys

Gabe is seven months old today. He has started to crawl. He has been coming very close for a while now, but at least within this past week he has found the strength to really do a traditional crawl. He takes about four steps or so and then stops to lay on his tummy, grab a toy, or roll over, so at least his crawl is in slow motion. He pushed himself to sitting from his crawl this weekend, so I'm sure he'll be racing around in no time. Oddly enough he really isn't much of a sitter though; he can sit unassisted for a little bit, but when he starts to lean he doesn't try to balance. He just falls over and rolls around some more. Brian has taken to calling him "Monkey." It fits. (Gabe is also standing up while holding on to furniture, but for those of you who have met him, that's not really so surprising.)

I think Thomas enjoys really being able to play with Gabe now. To him, the things Gabe does are hilarious, and to Gabe, Thomas is a pretty funny guy, himself.

I'm so thankful for both of them.

Summer in the Adirondacks

Home, sweet home. Well, actually our apartment is a virtual disaster area right now, but we're here. We spent all day yesterday at a campground about 25 minutes away, but we came home to sleep in our own beds at night. I didn't bring along the camera this time, so I'm sorry I have no photos to share, but I think it's safe to say we all had a nice day. It was Thomas' first time roasting marshmallows and, accordingly, his first time eating a s'more, so that was pretty cool. We were itchy and scratchy today, but those bug bites were good reminders of a nice afternoon hike around the lake. I think we'll do it again some time.

Happy Weekend.

They're in!

Thomas at 6 Years

Gabe at 6 Months

Best Brothers Forever

We pick up the prints tomorrow from JCPenney. I can't wait to frame them!

Good News

Tommy is just fine now. His surgery did end up being less involved than originally planned. We were all pleased.

As it turned out, he didn't have a cholesteatoma. He did have a lot of fluid. The doctor said he also had a lot of adhesions and scar tissue that he removed... so apparently there was a lot of action going on in there that we weren't aware of. There was also a large hole (the reason we were intitially sent for the CT) where some bone had eroded. He said he thought about repairing it now, but apparently that wouldn't do any good as Thomas' Eustacian tubes are still maturing, so he would end up just having to do it again anyway. Instead we'll wait until Thomas is 8 or 9 and go in for another surgery. That means, though, that Thomas will be prone to getting a cholesteatoma in the meantime, so he's going to have a custom ear plug made that he'll have to wear in the shower and any time he goes swimming. For at least the next three weeks, though, he just has to stay out of the pool and take baths with special care.

So, all in all it was good news - aside from the need for a second surgery anyway. The doctor was able to see what he needed to see by lifting up the ear drum and didn't have to make an incision behind the ear as he had expected. He put in a tube. We will follow up in three weeks.


The bandage is off now; he just has cotton in his ear, and the plan is to go back to his summer day camp program tomorrow! Yay for Tommy!