Sweet Cheeks & Thunderbolts

Baby's with some heft are rare in our family-

only Ava and Gabriel have graced us with rolls,

so forgive me for celebrating my little man.

He's not a chunky-monkey by any means-

but he is sturdy-

especially compared to Owen,

and recently,

to my dismay,

I realized he was growing. 

Which meant only one thing...

All that beautiful baby fat

was starting

to

disappear...

Sad!

So one last hurrah
(Sorry, I couldn't resist the lightening bolt)...

 

before he grows...



up...

for good.

I love you, sweet cheeks!

XOXOMom 



Chubby Thighs!

   

Who says they're bad?

  

Certainly not me!

  

Gabriel,
We love you so!

   

You are joyous to behold and we love that you're apart of our family!

  

You are absolutely beautiful, in every possible way!

  

 All my love,

Mom

Water Babies!

 

 Gabriel is growing so fast now!  I can't even remember the last time I took photos of him in the tub.  Now he's finally sturdy enough to be held by his sister, who thankfully loves to hold him in her lap while I snap away!

  

 At this point in time, he's mostly just in awe of the water.  He doesn't really move around much.  He's more or less content to grab onto a toy and then just watch.

  

 He's a handsome little guy, and our home was definitely not complete without him.  I'm grateful for prayer, promptings, and yes, chubby blessings! 

  

Sweet Potatoes, Squash, Carrots...Oh my!

T

 

 

The transition from rice cereal to pureed vegetables is quite the adventure.  For most, the journey is complicated and fraught with ups and downs...a love/hate if you will.  For our son, it was the same.  He was at first startled, then grossly insulted, later resigned, and then finally he wholeheartedly embraced the new cuisine!

Oh!  To be six months again, and trying everything for the very first time!

Belly Time!

We always loath the doctors advice to place our babies on their bellies to strengthen their back and neck.  It's not that we disagree with their advice, our kids just hate to do it and ALWAYS cry!

 

Except for Gabriel.

He squirms for two seconds and-boom!-he's out like a light!  He may not be working his muscles but at least he's catching some ZZZ's!

Gabriel's Baby Blessing

Gabriel Dodge Lopez Ramos Elmer
Baby Blessing
August 2nd, 2009

This was a truly special day,
and Samuel and I are both grateful
for everyone who made it so.

We love you!

Floating...literally!

Early Monday morning, at about 3 a.m., I woke up experiencing a lot of pain and pressure. As I walked the house and began counting contractions, I realized the time had come to wake up Samuel and get ready for our trip to the hospital. By 6 a.m., after settling the kids with their aunt and uncle, we arrived.

Everything was looking great, my contractions were steady, close together, and fairly strong, and then came the news:

Our son had decided to float!

Which means there was no longer any pressure helping things along!

We've since been released and lo' and behold the contractions are far and few between!
Talk about a false alarm and some serious disappointment!

I think Ava took it the hardest though. When the kids came home from their much anticipated 2-day sleepover with their cousins, she howled and howled.

I'm happy to say my reaction wasn't quite so dramatic.

Packing our Bags

Since I'm 36 weeks now, and my babies usually come at 38 weeks, we decided that for this Monday's Family Home Evening we would pack our bags!

The kids are thrilled because they'll be staying with their cousins; I'm thrilled for my mini-vacation and meet & greet!

With everything thrown in the living room, Owen took a liking to my deodorant and began to "apply" it!

He was super-proud of himself!