Turkey Tango

LT participated in his very first school program shortly before Thanksgiving.  Here's a portion of the show we enjoyed:

I hope all of you enjoyed a happy Thanksgiving with family and friends.  We played host to Grandma and Grandpa Gonzalez and cousin Matthew.  They prepared our Thanksgiving feast, and we happily gobbled it up.  Our only regret was their visit was too short!  We look forward to seeing them again soon.

Itchy Winter Scalp?

Gabriel has a solution for you:

Halloween

Now that Ted is older, he appreciates the spooky side of Halloween much more.  Take, for instance, Dracula Ted:



Maybe that's why he chose to be a villain this year for Halloween.  He was so excited about his costume that he walked around the neighborhood saying, "I'm Darth Vader!  I'm Darth Vader Ted!"

Gabriel, on the other hand, was a little less convinced that wearing his costume was a good idea.  Yoda Gabriel he was.

Confusing, in particular, the ears were.

He decided that pumpkins were OK, though.  I agree.  Meet Drac-O-Lantern: 

And this is the Cyclops:

Happy Halloween!

Good Luck Charms

How can you lose when these two cuties are your fans?

Sic 'Em Bears!

First Foods

Gabriel is the kind of baby who doesn't believe he actually is a baby.  He is sure that he can do the things that everyone else can do, like eat dinner.  So, when he hit 6 months this week - the age at which the doctor gave us the OK to start solids, we thought he would be ecstatic.  Boy, were we wrong.  Meal times (all three of them) have been full of grunts of dissatisfaction.  It didn't dawn on me that he would realize he wasn't actually eating like everyone else.  But when your brother's plate is full of brightly colored food, like Cheetos, Granny Smith apples, and red grapes, the contrast between rice cereal (a.k.a. baby mush) and "real food" becomes apparent.

In this video, Gabriel's third meal, I'm trying to get him interested in his meal - which was darn near impossible since LT was sitting across from him eating an orange creamsicle.  There's never a dull moment in our household!

Baby in Motion

I see baby barricades in this child's future . . . many, many baby barricades.



This video is a couple of weeks old, and it doesn't really capture Gabriel's maneuvering skills.  He still hasn't mastered a "proper crawl," but he can propel himself forward for short distances and turn around.  When big brother is in the vicinity, he tries extra hard to get where he wants to go.

Giggles

When Gabriel was first born, I used to worry about bath time with the boys.  It's not always convenient or possible to leave the baby with another person while I get LT taken care of.  Turns out, with the help of a baby seat, bath time is giggle time for the boys.

Fundraiser Time!

I'm not one for pestering people for money, but now that we have a child in public school, it seems that I might be asked to do that from time to time.

So, if you're feeling in the giving spirit, or if you want to get some early Christmas shopping in, take a look at Ted's page for his school's fundraiser.  Here's the link:

http://www.gaschoolstore.com/Login/WelcomeShopper

LT's personal ID # is 22YJE7D.

Purchases made through September 18 help Ted qualify for different prizes.  Purchases made after that date will still help to raise funds for his elementary school.

Thanks in advance for your support!

First Day of School

Here are a couple of photos of the big boy on his first day. 

He's done great so far and enjoys being in school. 

The school's theme this year is college. It took us awhile to find the Baylor themed decorations . . . thought we were going to have to speak to someone about the oversight. 

"Because I'm Fast, Not Slow . . ."

A few weeks back, my then four-year-old informed me that he could not stop running around the upstairs and sounding like a one man herd of elephants because he simply is fast.

The same must be true of the summer.  Last time I looked, it was April.  Gabriel was an itty bitty baby.  Easter was a recent memory, and school was starting to wind down.

Now, the summer is OVER.  Little Ted is five and will start kindergarten (!) TODAY.  Gabe is four months old and rolling over in a desperate attempt to start crawling.  What happened to the time?

In a word - PLENTY.  So, here's a  recap of the last several months.

Gabe's 1st bath - without tears!  He seemed to really enjoy it.

The brothers have gotten to know each other.  They're great friends - no one can make Gabe laugh quite like Little Ted. 

Ted's mom hosted a baby shower for us.  It was lots of fun, and everyone got to meet Gabriel for the first time.

Little Ted completed preschool!  (Wasn't he just learning how to walk?)

Then he turned 5!  Ted insisted on wearing his Super Mario costume, which went well with his Spiderman and Captain America cakes.

Baby Gabriel grew . . . he added 3 lbs. between his 2 and 4 month check ups.  I'm constantly rotating clothes in his closet and trying to keep up with his growth spurts.

I wonder if the fall is going to march through as quickly as the summer did . . . we'll soon find out!

Fun Outing

As the big brother, Little Ted has found that Baby Gabriel gets to determine "what happens when" most of the time. But LT is a patient big brother and manages this change well. 

That said, he's been deserving of a special day just for LT, and he got it on Saturday. Grandma's work hosted a family fun day, which just so happened to be a mini carnival. LT had fun in the bounce house and on the train.  He also morphed into a ninja turtle and tried cotton candy for the first time. 

On the way home, he fell asleep and was sad to learn he had to clean off his turtle at bath time, both of which indicate that he had a great time.