Baby LaTour: July 2015

This week was fun-filled as usual: a little play dating, a little sight-seeing, and a little family time.

Teeth: Still only the lower two incisors. However, the drooling and chewing is going full-force, so we think another one (or two?) may be lurking.
Crawling: Not fully yet, but Gabe did start this army crawl thing where he slides himself forward (belly still on floor) with the tips of his toes. Click here for a video example.
Sleeping: Some nights Gabriel goes from 7:30pm-5:45am and then back to sleep till 7 or 7:30 after nursing. Other nights he has random wake-ups at all different hours.
Eating: He PLOWED through a half a corn cob on Saturday! And I mean seriously ate >85% of the kernels off clean! With only 2 teeth! He has had corn cobs before, but he never got much off, even when I "started" it for him. We were amazed! (I think Auntie Debbie made magical corn cobs or something - it was so fun watching him devour it!) I also captured a few special moments with cousin Evan & with Grammy.

Daddy grabbed a picture

Drinking: Gabe is doing well with various types of cups, but he has a bad habit of trying to throw them (as well as any food he doesn't want at the time). This is the face I got when I took away the straw cup before it could land on the floor!

Playing: Some new second-hand toys have Gabe enthralled this week. Craig set him up on the alphabet train and got some cute shots. We have also been teaching him how to share his toys (in hopes this will continue later in life!).

We scheduled a last-minute photo shoot with a photographer (Photography by Suzanne) late last week and got the pictures back this week. I can't get over how cute Gabriel is! (Ok, I know that I am his mother and I'm supposed to say that, but we do get compliments on his cuteness almost everywhere we go, haha!) Here are some of our favorites:

On Thursday, Gabe and I went out adventuring. We had a play date with Julia & Irina first, then stopped over at the Kingsbury's to see Auntie Janet (Carolyn & Lucas were napping and Connor was at day care). No picture evidence, sorry! That night I "hosted" an online Usborne books Facebook party. (I'm not usually into the direct sales stuff, but as you already know, I can't resist a good book for Gabe - or myself - so this was the perfect opportunity to get a free book for hosting and a discount on other books. The consultant, Katie, did a great job - it was really fun!) We were blessed to receive a wonderful gift of several books for Gabe from our long-time family friend (& one of my babysitters when I was little!) Ginny Julian - Thank you so much, Mrs J! (If anyone wants to order, please let me know; shopping is still open for the weekend! Sorry, couldn't resist that plug!)

We have been taking advantage of Massachusetts' "Free Fun Fridays," and this week that landed us at the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton. So much for educating Gabriel - he slept through the whole thing! After the museum, we had a picnic lunch at the Wachusett Reservoir.

Maybe he absorbed the culture through his eyelids...

Woke up for lunch at the reservoir!

A beautiful spot for a picnic! Just hope the dam holds!

Not so tall now, are you, hubby? Haha!

A couple of fun videos:
Angry Monkeys
Morning Jig

Other pictures from the week:

Watching Daddy fix the steam heater

Practicing standing on the new couch

After-bath hair do

I know, strange title for a blog post! But, seeing as I have been picking up a lot of second-hand toys for Gabe lately, it kind of has been Christmas for the LaTour household!

The boy turned 37 weeks this week. I think he's trying to push out another tooth because he has been awfully drool-y and almost constantly has his fingers in his mouth, chewing away. No sign of any additional pearly whites yet though!

I pulled out Gabe's shape sorter block (thanks Uncle Gregory & Auntie Christina!) and started working with him on shapes and colors. He actually will put a block on top of the corresponding hole if I tap on the box and then he'll push on it when I hold it over the hole and ask him to push! (Then he peers into the hole to see where the block went!) So fun to see him learning!

We had a doggie visitor this week, and Gabriel LOVES animals, so it was a match made in heaven!

Gabe is showing his toys to Muppet

Awaiting dinner

Baby yoga - downward facing dog??

Gabe also will now touch his finger to your pointed finger. I am hoping this progresses to high-fives soon! Click here for a video.

We met up with friends Julia & Irina at Elm Park for lunch after the breastfeeding support group meeting. It was a beautiful day - perfect for a picnic! Gabe passed out on the blanket after lunch.

On Friday, we took off to Tower Hill Botanical Garden for "Free Fun Friday" adventures. Just before we left, we ran into Amanda, Ginny, & Sammy (Gabe's birthday buddy!). Gabriel was looking around everywhere; so glad we can expose him to some fun things locally when he is so young.