New recent voracious passions of mine include:
1. McDonald’s Sweet Tea for $1. Oh. My. “Hi. My name is Carrie and I am an addict.” “Hello, Carrie.” When we were driving back from IN, I was in all sorts of a tizzy, because the Mc’y Dee’s both there and in OH don’t offer it. Must be a Dixie Line thing. Tim thinks I have a certifiable problem.
2. Jergen’s Natural Glow. If next time you see me I am not fluorescently blue, you know who to thank. If I am instead orange, please break the news gently. Tim does not appreciate my new shades of tan. He informs me he can’t really see anything different. I rest securely in the knowledge that he is wrong, and continue to glow serenely and with great satisfaction.
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Yesterday I left the house around 6:30 AM for work, and returned around 12:30 AM the next morning. 16 hours, baby. Yeahhhhh… My hair was fuzzy by the end of the night, along with my brain.
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Gabe is drumming loudly on the side of the couch with all sorts of “DEET DEET DEET DEET DOT DOT DOT DOT BISH!!!!!!!!!!”.
“Gabe, you need to be quiet – the baby is sleeping. Don’t drum so loud – you drum quietly.”
“No – no no no no you s’op (stop) dat!!!” (pouty scowl)
Stern gazes from the Mama. “Gabriel, you do not tell Mommy to ‘stop that’. If you tell Mommy to ‘stop that’, you will need to go sit on the chair.” Continued stern gazes.
“No no no you do not do dat, ok (waffles a bit) – I am twying to dwum, ok?”
“You may drum, but you need to drum quietly.”
Mommy goes on her merry way, and Gabe is some decibels quieter.
Man. We have entered the new arena of “You S’OP dat!!!”, and trying to desassify the Sassy Pants that is trying on some new sassy shoes. Trying to teach him how he can have opinions, but they need to be expressed nicely. Learning “please” is a big one. He’s usually pretty good at saying ‘Thank you’, or, in Gabe dialect “”Cank you!!! Oh, cank you Mommy!!” :) He’s also pretty good at saying he is “soh-wy” (sorry). “Peas” needs some work though. “I want dat!!!! No no no you gif me dat!!!” accompanied by distressed wailing and sadness will not do. Sigh. Wow. That kind of stuff is honestly a lot of consistent WORK! It truly fits the category of “training” and “discipline”, and it’s always hard to know QUITE if the way I’m addressing it is the very best way or wondering if there is something I should be doing differently. Parenting seems to involve a lot of “doing the best you know” – and hoping it works. :)
Gabriel has also just recently hit the phase of “No no you gimmee dat, Baby Isw’l, dat’s MINE!!!!” Example: Gabe is playing happily in another room on the other side of the house and four rooms away, Baby Israel leans over and starts playing with Gabe’s cement truck. Gabe’s possessive ownership radar emits a piercing shriek and Gabe hurtles through the house to rescue his estranged truck, snatching it away from chubby hands and knocking Baby Brother over in the process, accompanied by loud declarations of entirely unshared ownership and the necessity of a hands-off existence by those 9 month and younger. Sharing. Yet another fun lesson we are learning. It’s sort of interesting to see him hit these developmental things, because until just a few weeks ago, he was fine sharing.
Just two mornings ago he woke up and had hit one of those new verbal peaks that you can sort of tell immediately. He suddenly had a bunch of new words to chatter away with.
A few weeks ago, he decided for the first time that it was his turn to pray and tell a story and sing a song. So he prayed while I strained to hear – it was all very quiet and mumbling and contained some “God-b’esses”, and then he told me a story that went like this: “Once there was a little boy named Gabe (that’s how I start my stories with him) and one day he said ‘Mommy, let’s go to school today!’, and Mommy said ‘Yeah! That’s a great idea!’ So he and Mommy got in the car and Gabriel had his pens and his markers…(there were a few more things that I forget)…and then they went back home and Gabe went to sleep.” (That’s how I end all my stories too) It was so cute. I had never told him a story about going to school - he came up with it out of his own head. Then he sang me a C’oe song. Every night he asks for a song about Chloe or Baby Israel or some random item, and we just make up words and the melody on the spot and my songs are the coolest ever as in not at all. Then he told me a “butterf'y story”, which is what Tim does with him, where he links his thumbs and makes his hands wave like a butterfly that he calls Charlie, and goes and gets Gabe’s pacifiers when Gabe makes a paci-sucking noise. It is great fun. So Gabe waggled his hands around and told me about Charlie the butterfly and made paci-sucking noises and flew around and grabbed his paci’s. It was so precious. I sure do love my boys.
Quotable quote of late: "Mommy, can you t'un (turn) on da suns'ine (sunshine) and t'un off da wain (rain)?"
Mommy's favorite Gabe words: "I'm skuk!!" (I'm stuck!!) :) "I godda badoon!" (I gotta balloon!)
Granddaddy and the boys on the golf cart. Gabriel sure does love that G'anddaddy. He is G'anddaddy's faithful little helper, and got a mite forlorn when G'andaddy had to go somewhere without him.
The Fireman's Parade.
It got a little loud at times for Gabe. :)
Poor Israel was so sleepy!
The Beery Reunion. It was so green and beautiful I had to take a picture! There were 250 people there.
Auctioning off 5 of my Great-aunt Mary's quilts.
This is where you get to admire my cool new skirt and shoes. :) My shoes have a little bit of a platform heel and are very nice. And so is my Candie's skirt. Happy sigh. :)
Israel in his highchair. He loves the project of picking up food and putting it in his mouth. He is happy to practice his skills at any time you may suggest.
I had to include these legs for posterity.
And, oh fine, this one too. :) 
Gabe climbed into Mom's lap and conked out last night.
Couldn't resist this picture.
Gabe burst into noisy tears this morning when I confirmed his lip-quivering inquiry as to whether we were going home. Grandma, however, had clever diversions in mind, and his tears dried quickly at the realization there was a goody-bag to be had. He could hardly wait to get into his carseat so that he could down his gummy-pizza. :) Sweetheart. G'amma saves the day!!!
