Baby Gabe

We’ve already talked about Baby Gabe’s penchant for mischief, but he took it to another level on our trip to Minneapolis for Jeff’s wedding.  We stayed at Jeff and Sarah’s place where they have a nice fenced in yard.  They have 3 gates with latches for entry/exit.  Every time we left the yard with Baby Gabe in tow, we unhooked the latch.  What we didn’t know was that he was watching us the whole time.  So on our last day there, we had a picnic outside with family, including several of his toddler cousins.  Suddenly, he ran straight for the gate, unlatched it, and ran out.  He didn’t fiddle with it at all.  He knew exactly what to do.  Other kids almost made it out, too, but we got to them in time.

On another occassion, Baby Gabe and his dad were at Borders.  Gabriel had this fascination with the water fountain next to the restroom.  After a few minutes, Baby Gabe’s dad picked him up and carried him into the middle of the store.  Baby Gabe immediately turned and walked right back to the fountain.  Next, Baby Gabe’s dad took him all they way back to the children’s section at the opposite end of the store.  Because of the store’s layout, this wasn’t a straight shot; some navigation was required.  Upon being dropped down, Baby Gabe headed right back to the fountain, weaving through aisles and even under a table.  They only thing that thwarted him was the double glass door exit.  Once he saw that, he turned in that direction and walked right out.

We now believe we could have an entire acre of fenced-in yard for Baby Gabe to run around, and the first thing he would do is run straight for the fence to get out.

We’re discovering there is no adequate means of babyproofing for Baby Gabe.  We have lever handles that he can now reach.  He has a little scooter, but instead of sitting on it and scooting around with his legs, he finds it more enjoyable to stand on it like a skateboard.  He tries to climb onto anything chest high or lower.  And if there’s nothing to climb, he’s been known to stack his books and climb those.  He literally walks on his tiptoes so he can scan what’s on tables, nightstands, and in drawers.  He once wanted something shiny on our dresser, but it was way out of his reach.  So he opened the bottom drawer, climbed in, and stood up on a pile of clothes.  Now his eyes were above the dresser.  He pulled open the middle drawer.  Before he could climb into that one, we grabbed him.

Baby Gabe was the perfect baby during our trip out to Boulder for Christine’s wedding.  He slept the whole way out and most of the way back.  While there, he ate everything — jellyfish, peking duck, roast pork, fish stew, italian sausage, etc.  He also slept well.  He carried this through for a few days after we returned.  Then he got a mysterious fever for a couple of days.  We assume it was teething related.  For a few days, he had great difficulty eating and sleeping and was generally very clingy, which is totally not what Baby Gabe is normally like.  It’s been a week, and now he’s getting back to a normal eating/sleeping schedule.  If it’s not a virus, it’s teething.  We just have to go with the flow just like he does.

We attended the annual Festival of Books on the UCLA campus last weekend, and we thought it would be a good place to have Gabriel run around.  It was for a while.  He met many new friends and a big, friendly Labrador Retriever.  Then he found some steps.  He spent the next 10 minutes walking up and down.  We guided him, of course.  Then we moved to flat ground.  He was fine on the steps so we figured we didn’t need to hold his hands anymore.  Wrong.  He leaned forward to look at something and then tumbled forward for a full faceplant on the concrete.  We heard a sickening thud and rushed over.  The picture shows the result — abrasions on his forehead and nose.  The amazing thing is that he cried for only about 30 seconds before calming down.  He cried again when we used a wet tissue to clear out the bits of gravel and blood, but in a few minutes, he was struggling to be let down so he could walk around more.  He’s tough and resilient.

Baby Gabe’s mobility has opened up a whole new world for him.  He can now run around in the neighborhood park, in malls, and at home.  He gets into everything, including old shipping boxes and cabinet drawers.  We just got magnetic locks for the drawers this week along with a cute lion backpack with a leash for a tail.  Some people think it’s weird to have your kid on a leash, but if your kid is anything like Baby Gabe, you’ll soon see the need for it.  He runs everywhere and doesn’t like to hold hands when walking.  His new-found independence and inquisitiveness has unfortunately affected his dinner.  It’s odd because he’s fine at breakfast and lunch.  But when dinner rolls around, he’s been very fussy and picky.  We hope it’s just a phase.  Otherwise, he’s been the same old Baby Gabe — pleasant, friendly, and happy.

It’s no exaggeration to say Baby Gabe has been sick more days in 2010 than he’s been healthy.  This last one was the worst he ever had.  It came at the tail end of his latest cold.  He contracted a really bad case of cold sores.  They erupted all over his tongue, gums, and roof of his mouth.  He had fevers as high as 103.  He would not stop crying on Thursday and much of Friday.  What was scary was he refused to nurse so he wasn’t getting food or liquids.  The doctor took one look into his mouth and said, “His mouth is a mess.”  Fortunately, we caught it early so she prescribed acyclovir for him.  It seems to have helped a lot.  He’s still got some sores, but he’s at least nursing and eating soft foods and is back to his playful self.


Baby Gabe attended his first wedding this past weekend.  His Uncle Elvin and Auntie Lisa were married March 12 in Phoenix, AZ.  Although he had a bad cold and was fighting  a fever, Baby Gabe made the best of it.  He looked dapper in his pinstriped suit.  He waved and gave high-fives to entire tables at the reception. Unfortunately, the dancing got started past his bedtime.  Otherwise, we’re sure he would have had a line of ladies waiting on him to ask them to dance.