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.