chiquita bambino: Sweet kids, sweet life

Monday, December 3, 2012

Sweet kids, sweet life

Same tree, new location

A year ago at this time, I was in funky haze of life with a newborn and a 2.5 year old. I think there was a lot of Max & Ruby, several attempts at cute pictures of the two of the kids together, and many prayers for good naps (and good nights). When I think back on that time, I somehow don't recall how exhausted I probably was, or the lack of patience I may have exuded. I seem to only remember the warm, fuzzy times, and it makes me just a little bit more excited about this holiday season.

It just seems like this past year went by so fast!!

Gabe @ 5 weeks old

Mia is taller, more grown-up, tells us funny things, leaves the "t" out of the "th" sound (so "things" sounds like "hings"), and is much more verbally expressive and her comprehension of the world around her is increasingly widening. She can hear you say something and repeat it back and it seems like it makes sense to her, even if she asks "why?" about it a million times (still)!

She also unintentionally makes us laugh. The other night at dinner Greg was telling me about some things going on at work. I was processing what he said (sometimes that can take me a while), so after seconds of silence I said, "I hear you," to which Mia promptly responded: "I didn't say any'hing," very matter-of-factly. Greg & I burst out laughing. Girl pays attention!

Our most recent family pictures -
Gabe gets clobbered by Mia. No big deal.

Gabe is crawling, babbling, waving, buzzing his lips with his hands, chowing down on all sorts of foods, and breaking molars left and right. His right molar just broke through and it appears the left one is working its way in, as well as a bottom tooth on the right! I am so thankful for the amber teething necklace because it has seemingly helped us so much through this process!!

[Interested in a teething necklace? Use my coupon code MC25 at http://hyenacart.com/stores/inspiredbyfinn/ within the next 2 weeks and save 25%! These would make great gifts for anyone in your life suffering from teething or inflammation (can be used on adults too!)]

He walks great if you hold his hands. He moves his legs like he knows what he's doing, but if you let go, he does a mini-squat, and then plops down on his bottom and starts crawling like a mad man. I guess in this case, both the flesh and the spirit are weak. Mia did not walk until 15 months, so I am okay with this.

He makes sounds that sound like, "buh buh" (bye bye), "what's that," "mama," and "dada." He does lots of other mumblings too, but I haven't decoded what they might stand for now. If he is getting whiny or insistent about something, he might say, "digga digga digga" really fast and earnestly!
He is still really easy-going and plays independently really well. We can set him down in front of a bunch of toys and he'll just play, investigate and rummage through them all.

We had family pictures done the weekend before Thanksgiving and should be getting them anyday now. I can't wait to update our old family photos. Gabe doesn't look quite the same as he does in the header on this blog!

These are my hoodlums

The rest of this month is enjoying holiday things in FL before we head out for a bit to visit our families. We can't wait to be with everyone for the holidays, but we're also enjoying our family time down here. It's been a while since we traveled and have done an extensive road-trip so our fingers are crossed and prayers will be lifted that things are smooth-sailing. Gabe just got an upgrade on his carseat so 2 fist pumps for the Britax deal at Target on Cyber Monday. Gotta love Target!

sleepy Gabe in church on Sunday

PS: We had a great Thanksgiving with both sides of our family! We hosted it at our house and it went really smoothly. I was very thankful for a low-stress holiday, lots of good time, and family time!