First Haircut!

Today, we took Gabriel for his first haircut. We went to a fun place, called Doodle Doo's. The place was awesome and we would highly recommend it. First of all, there are so many fun distractions to keep each child calm and relaxed, including TVs/DVD players at every station, dozens of kids shows to choose from, bubbles galore, lollipops and more. Each 1st timer receives a certificate and a baggy with a few of their hair clippings.

Gabriel sat in a train seat, with his stuffed friend "Pete" in the back. His stylist was very friendly and the owner of the store came around several times, blowing bubbles and cheering him up. There was really only one moment when we thought he was going to "lose it", but a few bubbles later he was fine.

Here are some pictures from his experience going from "Tom Brady" hair to clean-cut.

The Before Shot, a.k.a. Tom Brady hair

Choo Choo!

All Smiles!

The After Shot, a.k.a Clean-Cut Dude

The New Bed

Here are some fun pictures of Gabriel in his new bed. A comforter/pillow set and bed rail later, he is sleeping through the entire night (knock on wood).

Reading w/ Abuelos

Gabriel loves his Nana and Abuelo (baba). Here are some cools pictures of them spending some quality time together.

the "Big Boy" transition

As Jenelle and I prepare for Gabe's 2nd birthday...whoa, it's hard to even say that, can't believe it is already here...we are regularly reminded of Gabriel's developing sense of autonomy. In an effort to be as supportive to him as possible, throughout this delicate period, we have attempted to give him many options regarding his growing world. One of which is whether or not he would like to transition to a "Big Boy" bed.

The night that the mattress was finally delivered, I asked Gabriel where he wanted to sleep, of course he said the big boy bed. By the next evening, Gabriel and I worked together to dismantle his crib. Since then, Jenelle has purchased a very cool pillow and comforter set. We figured we would start with the twin mattress and move to an actual bed frame, once he develops some familiarity and confidence with his new sleeping environment.

Jenelle also purchased a small, plastic, portable stool, which he drags around the house. He often uses it to turn on/off light switches and/or his cd player. He even uses it to get up on our bed.

Oh, I forgot to mention, he also likes to play on our bathroom counter, haha. I've said it before and I say it again...they grow up so fast.

What's your name?

Gabriel has finally begun to say his name, or at least a close approximation of his name. Since our last post he has gone from calling himself "Babo" to "Gabiel"! This evening his mother heard him talking as he was playing with a laundry basket, so she asked him what he was saying and he responded, "Gabiel HIDING". Jenelle and I looked at each other and ran for the camera, the video below is his response to his mother asking him, "What's your name?".

Looking back, it is amazing that only a year ago he starting standing up! To those of who have kindly shared words of wisdom with us regarding parenting, you were so right...they do grow up quick.

Hello, my name is: Babo

...or Bob.

I'm sure that Gabriel is not the easiest word for a not quite two year old to say. When we ask him, "Gabriel what is your name"? His reply has always been, "baby". However, recently he has been able to mimic a lot of words that we say, so his pronunciation has become stronger with many words. Now when we ask him what his name is, his reply is "Babo" for Gabriel and "Bob" for Gabe. He also likes to talk in third person. One our favorites is, "Babo fast!". That is what he says when he runs around the house ;). Or "Babo did it!", when he is able to do something on his own like wind up a toy.

Gabriel's vocabulary is expanding everyday. He has been putting words together to make somewhat of a phrase but today takes the cake. He made a complete sentence! Well, minus some words to make it flow. His sentence was, "Babo may mess woom". Which translate to, "Gabriel made a mess in the room". I was so excited to hear him say 4 words in row like that! Not so excited, though, about all of the books he threw off his bookshelf and on to the floor.

Our little baby is definitely not a baby anymore. He's a talking toddler!

Sing, side, choo choo, san

It's been about a month now that Gabriel's swing set was "created". It took Steven many nights of assembling the frame in the garage and entire Saturday of putting it all together in the backyard, with the help of Jenelle's dad and Steven's parents. The minute Gabriel wakes up in the morning he runs to the sliding glass door that leads to backyard and repeats, "sing (swing), side (slide), choo choo (the glider) and san (sand). He loves to swing, but is still a little cautious of the slide (only because it's pretty steep for his age).