Morning Light & Newborn Faces

September 17, 2017 by Elisabeth Norris Leave a Comment

Oh the many faces of a newborn.

Hello, World v2

September 16, 2017 by Elisabeth Norris 3 Comments

Happy Second Birthday

February 3, 2017 by Elisabeth Norris 2 Comments

Gabriel, how wonderful it is to celebrate your second year. And I mean that with every fiber of my being. It has been such a stark contrast to your first year of life. Different in every way. But we found our groove, didn’t we? And I’d like to say it has been a good one.

We survived a fractured tibia which resulted in our first trip to urgent care. Wearing a cast for a full month wasn’t fun but it allowed you to heal completely. It didn’t slow you down either. We survived the transition to one nap. In hindsight, you actually made that easier for us by getting all your funky nap stuff out of the way before fully transitioning. We made new friends this year. And not just acquaintances but real friends that add so much to our life. We faced a whole lot of pressure to do things this way and that way. But I stood my ground and did what was best for us.

Our adventures were hermes bracelets many which allowed you to discover so much of the world around you. You explored to your hearts content. You discovered the ocean and the joy it brings. You absolutely love the rush of the cold water against your legs. We also discovered just how much you love swimming pools too! We walked, we ran, and we played in the dirt. We discovered new trails. And sometimes you are simply more content to explore around you rather than playing on the playground. We covered some distance and spent some time in Southern California which is always an adventure when it comes to visiting Mimi & Poppy. And we finally took our first family vacation to Apple Hill. It sure was hot but you were a trooper. What can I say, you love to explore, you love to go. And you almost always have a good time. I feel so privileged that I am the one who gets to introduce you to this amazing world around you.

When you aren’t exploring, you can often be found building. Building with blocks, building with magna tiles, stacking, knocking down, making order. I know I shouldn’t be surprised but your critical thinking is so sharp for such a young age. You learn fast and do your best to help. “Vacuuming” and “sweeping” are totally your thing. You’ve started carrying things up the stairs for me. You know how to use a drill, roll paint, and install floating floor. You know when those knee pads need to go on and how to put them on. You have an observant mind.

This year I’ve watched you slowly start coming into yourself. You laugh and play discount cartier bracelet with such a joyful heart (though we already kind of knew that.) You freely extend kindness to those around you, especially those your age. Always ready to share. It is interesting to see how you love the company of others but do so cautiously. You take the time to make sure someone is safe before welcoming them in. And let me tell you, you have a pretty good read on people. Don’t ever stop doing this. You are incredibly sharp. You learn quickly, intently, and often times I know you know more than you are letting on. You have long since put two and two together. And you know how to express your needs. It’s pretty amazing for only being on this earth for two years.

When you came into this world my heart changed in a way I still can’t fully express. And now, as we wrap up our second year together I am awed at how my heart continues to grow and in a way, burst, with love for you. We can have a rough day but by the end of it you melt my heart. From the little things like the way you like to cross your legs and make sure your blanket is in place while reading books. Or how amazingly silly you get during our bedtime routine. It is unlike any other time of the day. And now you are giving real hugs and real kisses. And they are real. You mean them with every fiber of your being. So pure and so true. I know that will change in the years to come but I am happy to embrace every amazing moment with you right now. After all, that’s what they all say, enjoy the time/cherish these years, it goes by so fast.

You are an amazing ray of light.

Happy birthday.

Love,
Your Mama

Photo Credit: Michelle Smarr – Smarrtypants bracelet replica cartier Photography

Photo Credit: Michelle Smarr – Smarrtypants Photography

Checking in with Gabe #19 & 20

October 12, 2016 by Elisabeth Norris Leave a Comment

We have been busy. It’s almost halfway into October and I’m just now sitting down to talk about August and September. It’s been good though. We’ve had family come and visit, we did a 4 day getaway, and we started remodeling the downstairs bedrooms. Add in the needs of an active toddler and all the regular stuff that comes with life… needless cartier love bracelet to say, life has been full.

Daper little guy.

So how is Gabriel? He won’t stop growing! I know it’s what discount cartier bracelet kids are supposed to do but this kid is in the 90th percentile for height. He is still as happy and active as ever. Every day he is grasping new concepts and is suddenly doing things he hadn’t been before. His active nature has made him very secure on his feet. Running all over the place. Sometimes I think he enjoys the freedom of running around the Marine Reserve to the confinement the park can present. And that is fine. I want him connected to the earth. His arms are getting longer. He can now stand on the fireplace hearth and grab things off the mantle. le sigh

He is developing an interest in building. Specifically with his mega bloks. He can sit for a good 20 minutes putting them together and taking them apart. We are still working on structural integrity but I am sometimes amazed with what he comes up with. He has also been enjoying the wood peg/chunky puzzles. A good friend of ours recently gave us a whole storage bin full of these types of puzzles, including a couple of latch puzzles that have been a great way to change up his play.

Measuring.

One of the biggest cartier jewelry replica changes in the last couple of months has been the transition to one nap. I know!!! He actually transitioned fairly easily but I think that was due to the fact that the couple months prior to the transition were all over the place. It was a stressful/exhausting period where I was reminded again and again that consistency is important! But you still have to let go and go with the flow of what happens that day. He reached a point where he was taking more one naps that two. That combined with crossing the 18 month line and our getaway basically forced our hand to officially go down to one nap. The first week was amazing because he was sleeping 3+ hours! Can’t say that he is doing that anymore. But it has certainly changed how we do things. Yes it gives us more flexibility but there are some whole new rules about needing to be home by a certain time because short naps in the car can completely ruin the day.

Out… for a moment.

Eating all the food

I didn’t think there was much to say about food and I really don’t have much to say about it but I was amazed at how many eating/food related pictures there were! He is still a great eater. Right now he mostly prefers vegetables, cheese (requested at every meal these days), fruit, and nut butters. He does eat meat but not a whole lot of it. He’s really digging shrimp though. The change in naps definitely changed his eating pattern a bit. I’ve seen his appetite decrease during mid day. Which turns out to be fine as he is eating really solid breakfast and dinners with minimal snacking. He knows how to let me know if he is hungry and is good at saying “no” when he is not.

Fruit inspector.

He has become accustomed to using a fork. He actually prefers to use a full size fork over a kid size. He has also been using a smaller coffee mug for his water cup with meals. Speaking of cups, he has such an interest in drinking whatever it is we are drinking. From kombucha, to sparkling water, to coffee, he is clamoring for our cup if he detects a difference between our beverages. It’s quite silly if you ask me. He used to greatly dislike sparkling water but will commandeer my bottle if I give him a drink. It’s never just a drink.

Family Visit

In August my parents, sister and niece drove up for a visit. My parents have visited several times before but this was my sister’s first trip up here. First time for all of them to see our home since buying. We did all kinds of adventuring from braving Pier 39 to the beauty of Devil’s slide and Montara beach. Gabe had so much fun with them. It is also amazing to see how much he clicks with my sister. He’s just completely chill with her. No questions asked. He was the same way with her earlier in the year when I went down to Southern California for a visit.

Fist bump with Poppy.

A weekend away

In September we headed to Apple Hill for our first real family getaway. Apple Hill is a place I heard about several years ago that is basically an area of Apple farmers (among many other things!) that have everything to do with fall: apples, all things apple foods, u-picks, kids activities, and what not. It isn’t terribly far away and seemed like a good way to make some memories. We had a great time and came home with about 30lbs of apples and some interesting apple finds. We were sooo overdue for a change in scenery. Will be sharing all the details of our trip in another post. I did though include a few pics from our adventure in this gallery just incase I never get around to writing the Apple Hill post. ;)

Fresh apple cider doughnut.

Remodeling

“Helping.”

As I mentioned to at the beginning of this post, we started working on the house!!! And we started with Gabe’s room. It really was the first room I had some cohesive ideas about so we thought that would be a great place to start. While a good chunk of his room is finished, the details and decorating is not. I plan to do a FULL write up on what we did with before and after shots at some point. It’s all been documented. For now if you want to see any of the progress you’ll have to find it on my Instagram account.

A much shorter post than usual but it’s all I have. Pictures make up for everything.

Matching hats.

Cheese!

Attempting to use the nose frida.

Gabe will eat your breakfast if you are late.

Ice cream.

Worked his charm and got a free plum. Devoured!

Not going to miss out on almond butter.

Looking for lunch.

Found it! Strawberries.

A shot of watermelon tomato gazpacho.

Drinks.

What is the delay, mama?

Carrying jars around the house.

Explorer Gabe.

Up, up and away.

Made a quick mess of the garage.

Broccoli devourer!

Hi!

Putting on my shoes.

Snacking outdoors.

Sampling our haul. Strawberries again.

Kicking back.

Pretend recipe making.

Model stare going on.

No smiles with Poppy and Leah.

Grumpy cat in the face.

It’s all about Grumpy cat.

Explorer Gabe flying in the trees!

Watching the tide pools.

Fist bump with Poppy.

Not sticking around for this picture.

Off in the distance.

Wee!

Buried baby!

Sisters with their children.

Stealing some pork. Hungry boy is hungry.

Playing.

You better believe water was all over the counter moments after this picture was taken.

Long boy is long. Nothing is safe.

Reading.

Rolling.

Found kitty in the pack n play.

He gets away with big messes when we are working on a room.

Kitty instructing him to push the screen out so she can sneak out.

Attempting to drink coffee.

Fresh apple cider doughnut.

So good we fights over the last bite.

Running through the vineyards.

That look!

Time well played.

Daper little guy.

Out… for a moment.

Playing.

Adventure is just over yonder.

Hmm whole tomato?

Fruit inspector.

Summers finest.

Putting his books away.

“Helping.”

Morning on the deck.

Yummy chia pudding and blackberries.

Messy face.

He carried that lamp all the way up the stairs.

Measuring.

Morning snuggles.

Kitty love.

Big apples don’t scare him.

Loved the apple pure for a batch of apple butter.

At least he tried to help me pick it up.

Letters outside.

Crack in the window? Let’s shove books outside.

Pushing daddy.

Looking up at a balloon. Sheer joy.

He’s getting the whole petting thing down.

Frozen yogurt at Ikea!

He stole my epic bar.

Building.

Sorting.

Putting it together.

Learning Tower

August 16, 2016 by Elisabeth Norris 1 Comment

Testing it’s sturdiness

Early this fake cartier bracelet summer I found bracelet replica cartier myself in a predicament. It seemed like every time I was in the kitchen preparing food Gabe would get frustrated at me for doing so. He would proceed to push himself between me and the cabinet while whining at me. Not cool. Especially when I’m chopping or have something on the range. If I picked him up and showed him what I was doing his mood cartier love necklace would immediately change. He was interested and was happy to have a taste if he could. He didn’t mind being told that the pan was hot and was happy if I let him hold the spatula, letting him move the stuff around the pan. Upon putting him back down, more often than not he would resume his frustration with me. If I was lucky I could get him distracted with something in the living room and resume what I was doing. He generally exhibited this behavior in the afternoons and was greatly exacerbated by skipped naps. Ohh the power of skipped naps.

So why not pull up a chair? Well, in the past the chair did work. But once he became more confident on his feet it didn’t quite work so well. He didn’t stay in one spot and didn’t quite realize he could easily fall off. I was concerned enough that I didn’t feel safe putting him on the chair anymore. What’s a mom to do?

Gabe’s got this

Build a learning tower! I had found the plans from Ana White for it a while back but I was still scoffing at the “silliness” of a learning tower and had not learned the error or my thoughts. Buying a learning tower was sooooooo out of the question, but building it? That we could do. I REALLY wanted to do this on my own but I knew I wouldn’t be able to pull it off in any timely manner and I kind of needed it now! I’m knowledgeable and somewhat skillful but don’t have enough hands on experience to pull this off on top of being a stay at home mom with no help. So I told Will that we were doing this project and moved it up to the top of the priority list.

A really cool thing about this project is that it is a good scrap wood project. If you don’t have scrap wood, it’s an astonishingly cheap $30 in materials project. It turned out that we didn’t need to buy a single thing. We already had everything!

Assembling side piece. Drill the pilot hole then screw together.

Not including paint, it took us about 3 days to build. Which included some dry time for glueing. Painting ended up spanning a full week because of dry time, number of coats, and life. I think the hardest part was cutting the arcs with the jig saw.

While it is far from perfect, I am quite proud of the end result.

The Good
Gabe loves loves loves his learning tower. I don’t know if I’ll ever see him so excited to “do dishes.” He watches me clean up after every meal and now he could do what mama does. He loves being engaged with what I’m doing. Using the food processor? Let me help! Cutting veggies? Here let me sort the measuring spoons and stick my fingers in the salt bowl.

Gabe learned really fast how to climb in and out of it. I think it was instrumental in pushing him to learn how to climb off things backwards. Watching him climb off backwards made it pretty clear that the hard straight edge of the platform was digging into him. So we removed the platform and routed the edge. Problem solved.

Time to do disihes

The Not So Good
Oh the not so good.

He quickly learned how to push it around the kitchen. We intentionally glued felt pads to the bottom of it so it wouldn’t scratch the wood floors. Protects the floor but makes it easy to move. Gabe figured this out fast. He then started moving it around the kitchen. And then he started moving it around without us being in the kitchen. He suddenly had a way to grab dishes out of the dish rack and the chef’s knife sitting in said dish rack. The once safe spots were no longer safe!

So we removed the tower from the kitchen and put it in the farthest area of the dining room. He still moved it into the kitchen. I can’t blame him for his curiosity and enthusiasm to help out and learn. But argh! Thankfully he has backed off from pushing it into the kitchen by himself.

And then there is the moving of what feels like all the things when he is “helping.” It can become frustrating day in and day out. And don’t think for a minute you can set him at the counter a safe distance away. Nope, he gets down and pushes his way back over to where the action is. He better be ready for becoming a sous chef if he keeps this up!

Moving things right along

So Worth It
Despite the frustrations it can bring, I love it. It is an incredible learning tool. Having him on the same level as me changes everything for him. It’s much safer than a chair and it will grow with him. Even more so than the water table, I’m really glad we built this.

It’s a continual lesson in learning. Some afternoons I just need close off the kitchen. Some days I need to be more mindful than others, slow myself down and let him engage.

Material

Side piece

Cutting the arc

Side pieces assembled

Assembling side piece. Drill the pilot hole then screw together.

Connected

Gabe’s got this

Testing it’s sturdiness

Getting a little creative

Rounded corner

Pushing it into the kitchen

Moving things right along

Time to do disihes

Time to do dishes

Scrub brush inspection

Water/Sensory Table

August 9, 2016 by Elisabeth Norris 3 Comments

This was a fun little project that we were able to pull together in about a day. At the beginning of summer I started seeing various water/sand/sensory tables across the internet as activities for kids. While I am still not quite ready to deal with sand or rice I did like the idea of water. Gabe is a huge fan of baths and the idea of him splashing in water seemed like something he would love. I also really liked the idea of having something unique for him to play with when we couldn’t get out of the house or I desperately needed something to keep him from bouncing off the walls. And the best part? We got to build it.

We took inspiration from two projects. We followed the basic structure and materials list from this one and took inspiration for the top piece from here. We were able to find all the materials at Home Depot, even the storage container. We opted for a pvc pipe cutter instead of a saw for cutting the pipe and considered it a good to have in the garage type items.

The one trouble we ran into was not being able to find ¾ inch 3-way side outlet elbow at Home Depot. They had ½ inch but not ¾! Ran into the same thing at Ace. The internet says they exist but these two stores? Nope. We hemmed and hawed and didn’t want this turn into a wild goose chase. Because let’s face it, road blocks like these turn into a goose chase. So we found a janky solution, an elbow with a ½ inch threaded side outlet and a threaded ¾ inch adapter.

Cutting and assembly was easy. I quickly realized how easy it is to work with pvc! Especially when don’t have to glue it. With the cuts there was a bit of accounting for how much the pipe would go into the fittings. But other than that. It was together in no time.

We bought some extra fittings to play around with what we could do on top. While what we came up with worked, we decided that to do the really cool stuff you really need a bigger table. Despite, I’m quite please with the end result. And I think Gabe is too.

One Month Later
I would like to say that we have used it on a regular basis but we haven’t. But it isn’t due to lack fake cartier bracelets
of interest. It has simply been a very grey and cold summer on the coastside this year. I’ve learned we get much more breeze/wind protection on the back deck than the front fake cartier bracelet so I’ve moved it back there.

Overall I’m really happy with the project. I like that we built it and didn’t buy it. Even though summer is winding down, we will look for opportunities to fill it up and splash about. For now I am leaving cartier love bangle it assembled. But when it is time to break it down for the winter? Best part! It all fits inside itself! Huzza!

He loves it!

Checking in with Gabe #17 & 18

August 3, 2016 by Elisabeth Norris 1 Comment

Striking a pose.

I know how we got here but somehow August is staring us in the face. It has been a fun adventure filled summer thus far. While we haven’t taken any trips or done discount cartier bracelet any bucket list type items, we have certainly been doing our best to enjoy the opportunities hermes bracelets around us. A big part of this shift has been Gabe’s age. He is simply able to do more, enjoy more, and experience more. The awe and wonder of this age is great.

Adventure

At the beginning cartier bracelets of June we headed to Elkus Ranch for their Sheep to Shawl day. While I knew Gabe would be a bit young for this I still wanted to see the ranch and was confident there would be some fun for Gabe. And there was. From grinding corn to feed the animals, to petting the goats, playing with wool, and chasing chickens we had a wonderful time exploring and taking in the ranch. It was so nice to see some of the south coast. I’m looking forward to more activities at Elkus as Gabe gets older.

Grinding corn the old fashioned way.

That same day we decided to do lunch at the beach. We continued south looking for a less crowded beach. And boy did we find one. A normally closed off beach was open and we took advantage of it. It was so pristine and perfect. We quickly set up our beach tent (Ohmygoodness! These things are awesome!) and ate lunch on an almost private beach. It couldn’t have been a better day with warm sunny weather. We took Gabe down to the water. He lit up with excitement as the waves crashed against his legs. It was COLD but he didn’t care. He squealed in delight. The sand in his toes, the movement of the water. He is 100% sold on the beach. He loved it. And he has loved each trip to the beach since. He is happy to play with his sand toys, digging and dumping. Or trying to run head first into the cold water. It’s just so much fun.

Oceanside family lunch. Beach tent FTW!

In contrast to the beach we’ve also done a few trips to a kid pool over the hill. We were introduced to one in Palo Alto during a MOPS playdate and loved it. It is a nice break from our foggy cold summer. Gabe loves it but man, it is quite a bit of work keeping up with him. He is not the kid the stays in one place, nope, he wants to explore ALL of the pool and it is a big one. It’s still fun to go for several hours and head home. Great energy expenditure!

Pool day!

We were delighted to see the whales returned to the harbor for quite the feast this year. After seeing them feasting for a week we decided to stop and take it in. Gabe didn’t quite see the whales but he was certainly interested in all the birds flying around! We also had lots of playdates, park trips, and everyday life excursions to fill out our days. He held up to several long days of furniture shopping. He got to experience having another kid his age come over and play with his toys. So many wonderful things to take in.

Celebrations

Happy Fathers Day!

Lots of wonderful things to celebrate this summer. We celebrated Father’s day and summer solstice together this year. We surprised Will with balloons, movie theatre candy, and handmade movie tickets for Star Wars later that evening. But really the best part was the lightsaber card I made for him. Then that afternoon we went over to friends to celebrate summer solstice. We did the entire meal in an outdoor woodburning oven! Everything from pizza to roast beef and potatoes. And of course the watermelon and blueberries that the kids ate their weight in. I can haz clay oven??? Gabe got to meet Melanie’s chickens and feed them mealworms. I basically spent the whole day chasing him around the yard. Of all the days Gabe could choose to be super active this was it.

Ready for the parade!

The 4th of July was spectacular! We donned our best red white and blue, decorated the stroller, and walked in our local 4th of July parade. Our local mothers club always takes part in the parade and since I am a member we get to take part. We ended up running into people we didn’t expect and had an absolute blast. We waved, strolled, and walked down main street. At the end we pulled off to the side and watched the rest of the parade. This is also where Will showed Gabe where the shutter button is on the camera. Afterwards we grabbed some food and headed home. At this stage it was really nice to take part in something that didn’t last for hours and hours. It was just enough to feel like we took part in something, celebrated with others and then headed home for some good eats. Something I am very much looking forward to making a tradition.

Shutter button discovery.

To round out the celebrations we had friends over for Will’s birthday. It was a feast per usual. Gabe did an amazing job of being the center of attention. He basically sat at the table for the whole lunch and ate, and ate and ate. We had to cut him off from aioli. Good thing it was a bath night. It warms my heart to see people so smitten with him. He totally fed off it too. It was a wonderful time had by all.

Growing up

It’s amazing to say just how much I’ve watched him transition into toddlerhood in these last two months. There has only been one time before where I have noted such a drastic transition. It’s crazy and amazing all in the same. I can’t say it was one thing inparticular. It’s as if he has shaken off more pieces of his younger self and is fully embracing toddlerhood.

Because some times you just need to get yourself stuck on the push cart.

Life without a cast on is great. It is amazing to me how once you are out of a particular situation you don’t look back. And we certainly didn’t. It took a good month or so for his leg to strengthen back up and for his gate to return to normal. I think everything healed up nicely and we have not looked back. No more broken bones, please.

Sooo not happy.

He had his first haircut in June. While I was completely smitten with his long hair, I couldn’t deny the fact that he kind of looked like Doc Brown. Especially when he rubbed his messy hands in his hair. It was hard to see him as this clean cut little boy but he soooo needed to have everything cut to one length. He did pretty good for his first cut. He sat in Will’s lap and cried while Brian cut his hair. No thrashing or fighting. Just a cry of protest. He was of course all smiles afterwards. I did indeed keep a lock of his hair.

He’s still eating all the food. We’ve kind of gone wild for berries this summer. I’ve started going back to the farmers market which has contributed to our berry problem. He’s making friends with the farmers… flirting really. There is one who we buy from regularly who loves to give him not just a piece but a whole fruit! We transitioned off the bottle and onto a straw sippy cup. I wish that meant I didn’t still have to prepare bottles but I do. To this day, this kid does not like cold milk.

Can’t even eat a strawberry without giving a look.

I’ve stopped counting the number of teeth he has. In the last three months so many have pushed through and continue to push through. He’s been a trooper through all of it. He can now walk on his tip toes. He can climb up on the couch on his own… no more leaving one cushion off. The climbing also includes climbing up on the hearth as well as up onto our bed via the chest that sits in front of it. He is sliding backwards off things. Walks up the stairs using the handrail. Sliding down the stairs in every which way. We’ve had a few falls and a ton of bruises but at the same time there is such an increase in confidence and stability.

And one of my more favorite things, holding my hand as we walk.

So now, with August here, we head off to enjoy what the rest of summer has for us.

PS: I really abhor what Jetpack is doing to my photos. I’ll add finding a solution to my long list of things that need attention. Until then, here are some good quality pictures that have been compressed and squished to make me look like I don’t know what I’m doing with a camera.

Raspberry finger.

He knows where the lens cap goes.

Pausing to read.

A boy and his cat.

Sideswiped by a goat!

Hay inspector.

Grinding corn the old fashioned way.

Inspecting the product.

Beach walker.

Oceanside family lunch. Beach tent FTW!

Striking a pose.

Playing with seaweed.

Crashing waves.

Laundry pusher.

Happy Fathers Day!

Farmer Gabe chasing the chickens.

String tangler.

Last of the long hair.

Bath time long hair.

First haircut.

Sooo not happy.

Almost done.

Found his way into the drivers seat.

In-N-Out Milkshake!

Furniture building with Daddy.

Tightening down the screws.

Kitty put a few holes in his windmill.

Strawberry lover.

Can’t even eat a strawberry without giving a look.

Berry thief!

Reader.

Getting his instructions.

Water table fun!

Ready for the parade!

Happy 4th of July! Riding down main street on Daddy’s shoulders.

Striking a pose.

And another… oh wait, he just doesn’t want to wear his hat.

Shutter button discovery.

Gabe’s first self portrait.

I was there too! Too bad our reds clash.

Because some times you just need to get yourself stuck on the push cart.

4th of July family portrait.

Pool day!

Because… you know, why not.

Playing.

Laughing at us.

Something doesn’t belong.

Self portrait.

In mamas shoes.

Whales, whales, whales! Oh wait, you just see us.

Beach time.

Devouring a plum.

Banana eater.

Such a helpful guy. Putting away the caps he took out.

Food prep with little hands.

Sliding off the bed, somewhat stuck.

Strawberry coconut milk.

Vegetable inspector.

Made a little mess with some thick coconut milk.

Assisting with the back gate installation.

Happy birthday Daddy!

Mozart of modern times.

Checking in with Gabe #16

June 3, 2016 by Elisabeth Norris Leave a Comment

He knows where the lens cap goes.

I am happy to start this post with the news that Gabe’s leg healed perfectly and he is out of his cast!!! On top of being 16 months old.

Life with the cast

Life with a cast wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Limiting replica cartier ring at times, yes. But very workable in part to Gabe’s determination. As I mentioned last month, he found his inability to walk very frustrating. It took him a bit to accept the fact that he had to go back to crawling. But once he did that, he was all over the place. It took about a week and a half for him to start walking on it. He gained back a whole new sense of freedom. We couldn’t help but call him “peg leg” from how he walked. But it didn’t stop him from doing anything. He did everything as he would have. We ended up putting a sock over the cast to a) keep him from messing with it, b) keep it clean, and c) add a little grip for walking on the wood floors. It ended up working really well. I also had to buy a few more pairs of wide leg pants so that it would fit over the cast. No jeans and snug fit jammies for the month!

No cast will keep him from climbing in a basket.

One of my initial concerns was the cast setting him back developmentally but thankfully it didn’t seem to have too much of an impact there. I felt a bit limited though in my ability to get him out to play. Adventuring like we had been was kind of off the table. I also didn’t feel as comfortable just setting him down anywhere to walk, even with the sock on. So there was a bit more time in the stroller and a few extra shopping trips. The unfortunate side effect of this was a couple of weeks of bad naps. He simply wasn’t burning the energy he needed and I paid for it.

Cast removal.

It wasn’t until the week before the cast removal did I start counting down. I was ready to be done with this! I was ready to give him a normal bath… goodness, he was not a fan of being wiped down. May 26th finally arrived. The removal of the cast was actually pretty quick. They used a depth set dremel like tool with a vacuum attached to it. He cried a bit but not because of the noise, loud noises don’t bother him. He wasn’t a fan of being held still. I don’t think it took more than a minute for it to come off. His poor leg was so dry! We were then whisked off for a quick x-ray. Gabe was not a fan at all. Being held down and this big scary thing looming overhead is not his idea of fun. Lots of tears. And of course the tech messed up the first image. Back into the doctor’s office to examine the x-ray. Everything looked great. You could cartier love bracelet replica easily see a whole new layer of bone growth. He was given the green light to resume life on his leg… with a few cautions. It is going to take him a couple of weeks to get his gate back. Between muscle stiffness and a little atrophy it will take a bit to get it back up to where his other leg is at. Because of this he will walk as if he still has the cast on. She also warned to not do anything to injure the leg like go down a slide together. Oh darn.

Joy!

As soon as we got home he was walking like nobody’s business! Stiff? Yes. A couple days of pain? Yes. A sense of joy and freedom? Absolutely. I’m not sure who is happier to have the cast off, me or him! We celebrated that evening with a super long bath. Oh how he has missed his baths. I don’t think I’ve heard that many squeals of delight and splashes coming from the bathroom.

We were blessed to have the best experience you could for such an unfortunate incident. Now, to not repeat a similar incident.

Development

Every month Gabe is able to amaze me at what he is learning to do. Its funny, you “know” kids develop at such a rapid rate but to watch your own child do it before your eyes is something else. His strength amazes me. He is officially lifting weights now. He can lift 3lb weights from the floor to the hearth and back down no problem. While in a cast. He’s going to end up being more motivation to keep my butt moving than anything. I’ve also seen a real increase in his fine motor skills, specifically in his dexterity. He will grab up numerous blueberries in one hand and is able to turn knobs and clicky things very well now.

Weight lifter.

Gabe has picked up a couple of new hobbies; stacking and sending things over the baby gate. One day he just decided he wanted to pile all the things on top of his activity cube. And now he spends at least 20 minutes a day filling any basket/trash can/vessel that can hold things with all the things… blocks, balls, socks, vacuum cleaner attachments. Then he dumps it out and repeats or fills another vessel with items from the already filled thing. As for his other activity… I really hope it doesn’t become a thing. So he has long since enjoyed sending his 3 wooden balls through the baby gate and down the stairs. Sometimes he will send a few other things but not often. Well the other day he decided to send ALL the things over the baby gate. We shall see if and how this progresses. I’m not too keen on the idea of cleaning up the stairs every day.

Stacking.

I am feeling a bit of caution to see him start moving through the more challenging stages of development. He has certainly taken a few steps cartier bracelet in that direction this month. As he is learning to express himself and learning that he has a bit of autonomy we now have situations where he doesn’t want to give things to me. Sometimes taking things, say a tube of healing balm or something he shouldn’t have, away from him results in a small fit that includes tears. Thankfully with a bit of redirection I can usually get him over it pretty quick. I know it is inevitable to go through these things, I just want to do my best to find ways of helping him work through these challenges.

Food

I have seen a big shift in eating patterns this month. Milk isn’t holding him over as long it has used to so I’ve had to adjust mealtimes. It hasn’t been too big of an adjustment but has certainly changed the order of the day and how fast we can get out the door. He is still eating well and a lot so nothing new there. He has taken to tossing food off his tray when he is done with it. :/ needless to say, we are working on teaching him that you don’t do that. It’s a slow process. :) He is also finding great amusement in poking his food now. Especially when it is soft and gooey like brie cheese.

Carrot mash.

I finally started the process of weaning him from the bottle. I tried to do it a couple months ago using the sippy cups we had. He had no problem drinking from them it’s just that they weren’t very efficient. He wanted his milk and he wanted it now. And then I got distracted and never followed up with research on sippy cups (oh my goodness there are so many!!!!). But now I’ve found one that mostly works and he is doing okay on. I’ve ordered a couple more so we should have this figured out pretty soon. I’m tired of washing bottles! Though the complexity of the parts to some of these sippy cups are just as bad, if not worse, than the Dr. Brown bottles we use. I am thankful though that he really didn’t have any problem giving up the bottle. It’s just finding the right cup for him.

Friends

Not a whole lot of adventure this month but we did have some good times with friends. My best friend and her husband came up for a short visit. We went and explored Pier 39 with them and Gabe got to watch the harbor seals up close and personal. And then we spent Memorial day with some of our local friends. Kids running around, stopping Gabe from stealing wine bottles, amazing food and wine. I truly love gathering with these people. We also welcomed new friends as new neighbors! And to top it off we had several great playdates with a new friend.