Gabriel, B'gosh

In due time, he'll wear overalls like his dad. For now, he can still wear the hat.
We officially frown on dressing up our child in other people's clothes for cutesey pictures. But what the heck.

Messy Marvin

His table manners aren't much. But he's got quite an appetite.

Gabriel is now eating 2, sometimes three meals a day. Finely granulated rice cereal with a little bit of pureed veggie mixed in.

He's really starting to enjoy eating-- absolutely knows what's going on, and anticipates each bite--and will sometimes grab the food from you.

As is usually true, you can double-click on the image to see a much bigger version. If you dare.

President -Elect Obama!

Yeah!!!!!!!

Flying

with a little help from dad.

Solid

Food that is.

Starting in October, Gabriel entered the exciting world of solid food - starting with rice cereal and progressing through 4 veggies (green beans, peas, avocado, and squash).  So far he's doing really well (no surprises that this kid loves to eat), but didn't seem particularly enamored with with beans.  He also has an aversion to chunks at this point, despite the fact that his 2 front lower teeth are in and ready for action.

Back on the charts!

At his 4 month check up, we learned that Gabriel is no longer "off the charts" for height and weight.  He now weighs in at 20 pounds 14 ounces, and measures 27 and 1/4 inches.  Still a big guy, but that just means there's more to love... and we do!

A word of Advice

Gabriel consults with his consiglieri before making his next move... 

On the move (almost)

Though his feet don't quite yet reach the floor, Gabriel really likes the latest plastic contraption in our collection - the tot rider II (a vast improvement over the tot rider I to be sure).

All by himself (sort of)

With the help of the Bumbo seat, Gabriel now enjoys sitting up while playing with (eating) his toys.  

No Choice

Until he's 18 (and hopefully thereafter), Gabriel will be aligned with the preferred party of the liberal elites.

Centerfold

Hopefully he won't hate us too much for posting this shot.  And if he does, it will just be the first of many parent-sourced humiliations.

All Snuggly

To spell mom while she got a pedicure, Auntie Wendy strapped Gabriel in the Moby wrap and took him for a nice, snuggly walk in the hood.

Our little leprechaun

Though there's no Irish in his veins (that we know of), Gabriel seems to have the little Leprechaun jig down pat.

Burping...again

Despite the frequency of meals (usually every 2-3 hours), Gabriel is sometimes a bit stunned by the whole forced-burp thing.  

Miles of smiles

Smiles started happening at about 2 months. Now, you can expect a torrent of them in the morning, and a decent supply later on. He seems like a pretty happy kid. 

The Polish Prince

Shows off his aquiline profile...

Forcing a Smile

No shortage of smiles from this kid. This one looks like one of those smiles where you're being told to smile for the camera but you really don't feel like it.

He Must Have Picked It Up From His Grandmother

Our boy thinks duck is pretty tasty. 

Yuppie scum

I guess you just have to embrace it. 

Sunday morning, back from the farmer's market with a mocha and a kid in the Bjorn. It's a good, if easily mockable, life. 

Gabriel and Mom on the Beach

An indescribably wonderful shot, although Gabriel doesn't seem to be in the spirit of things.

Max Bends the Rules (Again)

If his table tennis behavior is unconventional, his billiards technique is downright revolutionary. While at the beach, Max had ample time to test his theories about the just distribution of balls between the eight holes on the pool table. Oddly, the correct answer always seemed to be that they all belonged in the same hole. His unorthodox position on top of the pool table proved very effective in "winning" every match. 

Max Bends the Rules

Turns out ping pong would be more fun if we all just used a bigger racket. Max taught me a few lessons about the finer points of table tennis at the beach. He's a wonderful kid, albeit with little regard for the rules governing equipment modifications.

Gabriel Gets His Feet Wet

In the first of what will hopefully be many encounters with the Atlantic Ocean, Gabriel and the surf get along just fine. He wasn't especially interested in going for a swim, but didn't cry bloody murder either. 

A rare visit to the Outer Banks in high season (second week of August), and the water's wonderfully warm- 73-74 degrees. 

All Smiles... well, almost

At about 7 weeks, Gabriel learned how to turn on the charm - smiling at people as well as inanimate objects (he loves the ceiling fan and his bear mobile).  Here he is with his dad in Deep Creek MD.  

And there he goes again... this time with his Grandma Gardner.

A visit from Auntie Erin and Cousin Megan

Gabriel got to meet his future partner in crime in late June, and already has another visit scheduled for late July.  Better hide the car keys...

A head start

Because we expect Gabriel to embrace our general world view (brief and non-violent rebellions permitted), we are exposing him at a young age to the liberal media.  Dowd and Krugman are early favorites, but wait til we introduce The New Yorker!

Swingin' kid

Thanks to Erin and Greg, Gabriel has this cool baby papasan swing.  He usually enjoys it for at least 15 minutes, which is long enough for mom and dad to accomplish a "hands free" task.  Sometimes he even falls asleep!  The seat rocks in 2 directions, plays music (of sorts), and has a mobile with freakishly happy looking birds and butterflies.  When it gets on our nerves, we turn off the sound and listen to Sesame Street Platinum (a "greatest hits" compilation) instead.  I'm a big fan of "Fuzzy and Blue" despite the fact that it's a 90s hit.  For old school, there's always "I love trash."

Sacramento Grandma

In the first 6 weeks of his life, Gabriel got to spend some quality time with his west coast Grandma Rein. When not being entertained by finger puppets or odd musical medleys, Gabriel enjoyed some quality time in her lap just gazing around and looking cute...and often falling fast asleep. He's looking forward to sharing his lovely smile with her when she returns to DC later this fall.

Sing along

He may not know all the words (for that matter, either does Grandma Jan), but Gabriel seems to really enjoy the serenade.  

One Month Check Up

On June 19th we took Gabriel for his one-month check up with the pediatrician.  In addition to receiving a clean bill of health, Gabriel was much admired for his early efforts to hold his head upright.  Matthew and I were informed that we likely would need to child-proof the house earlier than anticipated, as Gabriel is already able to prop himself up while on his belly (see below).

We also learned that - since birth - he has gained over 3 pounds and grown nearly 3 inches!  That puts him in the 95th percentile for height and weight.  Who knows how much more he's grown since last week...

Gabriel was doing this solo (honest!), but I wasn't quick enough with the photo so got the shot right as he was being transitioned to a seated position by Dr. Bradley.

The Calm Before the Storm

When Gabriel is sleeping (which is most of the time), he's a very peaceful guy. Both mom and dad are usually lucky enough to get at least one nap a day in which the Goose falls asleep, tummy down, on our chest. It's about the best feeling one can ever imagine having. 

Professional Help

Amy and Antti Makinen, friends from our grad school days in Rochester, are just about the more experienced folks we know in kid-related matters; their eldest, Lucas, is now about 10 years old, and their twins are (I think) 6 years old. All three of them are wonderful and beautiful kids, and their parents have always seemed remarkably well-adjusted to us. So I think we'll be relying heavily on Amy and Antti for tips on how to do things right. 

At left are some of the contents of a care package that appeared in the mail from them last week: a pound of french roast and 500 ibuprofen. 

Best. Care package. Ever. 

A Visit from Uncle Joe

Here is Joe Braverman, paralyzed with fear. 

Joe is an old friend from Alison's consulting days at Covance. We're counting on Uncle Joe to be Gabriel's tutor on all things volleyball and NASCAR when he's ready.

We are not (yet) counting on him as a babysitter, since he froze in the exact position at left for half an hour after being given Gabriel during his visit.

On Grandpop's Lap

Gabriel likes to be held, but has a special affinity for lap time with his "grandpop" Rein; perhaps it's the Tin Tin T-shirt...

Uncle Ken

Uncle Ken stopped by to visit the other day, and was nice enough to feed (and burp) Gabriel. Goose was happy as a clam. We are stoked that Ken will be moving into our neighborhood later this summer-- more friends for Gabriel and more beer for dad. 

Wendy and Gabriel

One of the greatest privileges of parenthood is dozing off with a child on your lap. But it's also a nice thing when family and friends take over this "task" for a bit. As in so many other ways, Wendy was invaluable on this score during her week here.

Nurture or Nurture?

One thing we've both struggled with over the past couple of weeks is fitting in meals. When your child is making like a sack of potatoes on your lap, the last thing you want to do is to disturb his peaceful rest so you can have a snack. But it's pretty vital of course, especially for Alison. So you figure out ways. For me tonight, this meant my entire dinner was consumed flat on my back. With a kid on my chest. Using one delicately perched plate and a fork.

Alison's task was more hazardous: don't spill ice cream on Gabriel. As shown here, she succeeded.

Someday Gabriel will forgive us.

A "curious" Wilbur

Both dogs are somewhat put out by the shift in our attentions, but seem reconciled to their fate.  Wilbur especially may require a bit more time to fully adjust.  In the interim, we anticipate many more sniffs of the newest member of our pack.  Thankfully - as seen here - Gabriel has many grandparents and other admirers who have got his back.

A Portable Kid

Gabriel has a pretty chill disposition (lucky for his parents), but is never more content than when taking a ride in the car or stroller.  Good thing too, as we have plans for ice cream walks almost every night...

Uncle Fred

Cuddling Alison's laptop. I was too late to capture a picture of a very happy Gabriel napping in Freddy's lap, so this was the best we could do to commemorate the occasion. 

Benefits of Maternity Leave

Benefit #1 of maternity/paternity leave: it's always nap time. After two and a half weeks, Alison and I both find that we're reasonably caught up with sleep, and are both delighting in our ability to just nod off on the couch with a kid in our lap on a warm June afternoon.

Gabriel Visits Grandma

And turns on the charm...
After two weeks of life on the planet, this is about as close to smiling as he gets. His two apparent emotions are impassivity and agony. Pictured at left is impassivity.
But even his stonefaced impassive look is very, very cute.

Happy Two Weeks, Gabriel!

To celebrate Sprout's two-week birthday, I took him out to visit Grandma Gardner tonight while Alison was tutoring at Project Northstar (for those keeping track, her pregnancy hiatus from tutoring was a grand total of two weeks!). He wore his crab suit.

A Sad Day

After taking care of us for a full week, sister Wendy flew back to San Francisco this morning. As shown at left, she cooked for us pretty much the entire time she was here, and gave Alison and I time off from baby duty. If we ate and slept well in our first week back from the hospital, we have her to thank-- and her cheerful disposition helped keep us on an even keel. I forecast sandwiches and leftovers for dinner tonight.

It's a sad day. But our loss is Rawdance's gain. Thank you Wendy!!!

Feet

He's got 'em. They're incredibly smooth on the bottom. Like his dad's, they seem fairly wide-- what Grandma Gardner has always referred to as duck feet.

Burping Basics

Burping a baby isn't rocket science, but it isn't obvious just how hard you're supposed to pat him on the back. I started soft and was chastised for my feather touch. Later on, as I pounded vigorously, a concerned grandmother (who shall remain nameless) worried aloud that I would knock the kid out. Here, a one-week-old Gabriel endures my experimental love taps.

Alison is Magnificent

Gabriel's first doctor's appointment was today-- 8 days after his birth, and 4 days after coming home from the hospital. There was a bit of delay because he came home the Friday before Memorial Day, and pediatricians (like everyone else) take Memorial Day off.

This shot of a lovely Alison was taken while waiting for our doc to see us.

Gabriel Hitches a Ride With Grandma Evelyn

Only a week old, Gabriel is already trying to hold his head up. Here Grandma Evelyn gives him a bird's-eye view of things.