Dear Gabriel,
First of all, sorry for combining your two and three month
letters into one. As you will learn through the years, I get a little behind on
projects like these sometimes.
Your life has changed so much in the last two months, and
it’s been so fun getting to know you a little more every day. I think you’re
having fun, too, because you’re starting to smile! This was the first time I
captured one of your heart-melting grins on camera.
That gorgeous grin has only gotten much bigger. A lot of
mornings you wake up with a big smile on your face and it is the best way I
could ever imagine waking up. A few mornings ago, you woke up at 4 a.m. not for
your usual snack but just to grin for an hour. Your dad and I laughed a lot
about that, though, it’d be nice if you did that a tad later, little one!
In the last two months, you have grown so much you look like
a whole new baby! I’ve had to shuffle through your clothes so many times
already. (and yes, it made me sad!) You’re definitely over 12 pounds now.
So here’s some of what you’ve been up to these last two
months:
You had your first bath in the tub! You had a really pesky
umbilical cord that took a whole month to fall off, so that’s why we had to
wait. Don’t worry, we washed you off before that…but you don’t get into too
much that makes you really “dirty.” You have mixed feelings on baths, it seems,
but I think you’re growing into them more.
I also started going back to work this month, and you get to
come along. You’re the star of the office, for sure! It’s a huge blessing that
I work somewhere that I get to take you, but it doesn’t come without some
challenges for both of us. Turns out you don’t always want to work in the hours
I go to the office.
Luckily, you tried the Moby wrap and like it, so I can wear
you around from time to time and keep you close to me. I also use it as a trick
to get you to fall asleep when nothing else works. It works every time.
You were Baptized on Palm Sunday at Holy Family. Your godparents
(Nanan and Paran) Becca and Mike (and little baby Vera Grace in Becca’s belly)
came all the way from D.C. to experience this with you. You also had your first
party in your honor, complete with a photo booth!
Becca was nice enough to take some family photos of us at
our house before she left.
This month we went on your first lengthy out of town trip to
meet your Uncles Chris and Phillip and your Aunt Lauren and cousins Trenton and
Lincoln (and for mom and dad to eat crawfish!) You were a great traveler!
You also met Uncle Sean, Aunt Lynn and our
good friend Dominic. And, you had plenty of visitors here this month, too! Our
friends Chelsea, Travis, None Mae and
Eden Claire; Greg, David and Andrew; and your Aunt Jade and Uncle Reuben.
Everyone loved you!
You are really starting to engage with the world and just
enjoy learning about it. Some of your favorite things are just hanging out with
me while I cook dinner or fold laundry. My goodness, you really get into
laundry, and I’m hopeful when you’re the age to fold clothes you’ll still enjoy
it!
You don’t quite grab toys and play with them yet, but you
love when we shake your rattle for you. You like playing on your activity mat
pretty well if I put you down in the right mood. Mostly, you really love when
we talk to you, sing to you and tickle you!
Probably the place you love to be most is outside! You do
like car rides, but nothing gets you as calm as a stroller ride, which is good
because mom likes walking and running! I put you down on a blanket in the grass
the other day and you really loved that, so maybe some summer picnics are in
our future. And, you were pretty happy watching your dad play music with Alli & Jon, too :)
You love outside so much, I even have started rocking you to sleep in your bassinet outside to
coerce you to take naps. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out as you
get older.
You’re a
busy baby who seems to like being on the go, so that’s handy for us all.
You really are happy most of the time. In the evenings,
though, you get really tired and cranky. We call this time grumpy o’clock. We
do our best to keep you calm until you get to bed.
Oh yeah, and you did your first art project for your grandmas...you weren't super thrilled.
What your parents are feeling:
We are incredibly happy! It’s amazing how quickly a day goes by with you and how rewarding it is to see you smile, even on the hardest days we have.
We’re all still adjusting to this whole parent venture and to working and parenting, and it has definitely been challenging and tested me in so many ways! You, Dad and Charley are my heart.
I always knew I wanted to be a mother, but I never imagined
how incredible it would be until these last two months, and it was so wonderful to celebrate my first Mother's Day with you! Here's the sweet present your dad made me.
Love, Mom
P.S. Here's you dressed up for a golf tournament for my work. You were the star of the Country Club, for sure!
P.S.S. Here's what happens when you play with a five-year-old :)
